ReMix: Mega Man X 'The Zero Sacrifice'

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Mega Man X

There's really no denying it - the electric guitar, initially panned hard right, that enters at around the minute mark is definitely the high mark, some might say saving grace, of this Mega Man X arrangement from Vigilante. The rest of the instruments aren't bad, and the ReMixer does an especially good job of muxing with the theme and even bringing in some other earlier Mega melody, but the guitar's on a higher level. I do appreciate the very brave use of the solo trumpet, even if it's not the best patch in the world. The drums are rockin' but do sound, as one judge noted, a little GM-ish (General MIDI) - not the highlight. To round things out, I take some issue with panning decisions and mixing - some elements are cut above or below where it seems like they should be, and panning - while discrete and obviously at play - is sometimes overly polarized. BUT, but, but, there's some mean classic rock electric guitar noodling that blends in really well that truly compensates and turns the ReMix into an overall success, with portions being downright great. In essence, the arrangement is (more than) there, the guitar is definitely there, and while some of the other players may be catching up to varying degrees, this is enough. Also dig the very enigmatic, moody ending quite a bit. As our newest judge Beatdrop summarizes: "Well, about 50% of this song sounds very General MIDI-ish (especially the drums), but the guitar work more than makes up for that. The arrangement also happens to be top-notch, which helps cover up for the samples used." - my sentiments exactly. Mega Man nuts ( . . . as in "fans", yo) need ask no questions, and lovers of rock in general should find this some satisfying, crunchy, driving stuff. Kudos to Vigilante, with the constructive suggestion that improving his sampleset somewhat could yield devastating, downright scary results. Cool.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I'm resurrecting this ReView because the guitar work is so good. Vigilante really set an example with this one, despite the otherwise synthetic sound.
I am unfamiliar with MMX except for Star Salzman's take on it but I keep coming back to this mix for the amazing guitar. It sounds like Mark Knopfler's grittier soloing and that ranks pretty high in my book. Fantastic!

- glasfen on October 27, 2008
First remix, eh? Wouldn't be able to tell, cause this is GREAT!
Ok, some constructive thoughts then. The opening was nice, sounds like a trumpet of some sort, and over the time more instruments are pasted on top of it. I liked the samples of what that sounds like a female choir, gave it a very beautiful touch. And then the guitars came, nothing that i really can complain on. The drums are okay, maybe isn't sounding real, but that was also the problem with it. :wink:.
The tunes from MM2 was a nice add since that game also has some real good music. Overall I thought that this was a good remix, but considering this was your first then it's great. Awesome Vig.

- Bummerdude on January 7, 2006
Greetings All,
Not being a remixer myself, and not knowing the names of instruments and such, my comments will sound generic at best.
This is a good example of a remix which takes a good song, adds something to it, but doesn't take away from the original. It sets a somber mood that befits it's title, and the part of the game from which it was taken. I really liked the ending with the original megaman theme excerpt thrown in. A VERY nice and "old school" touch, one I won't soon forget.
If your looking to relive how you felt sieging the first Sigma Fortress stage...and seeing "zero's sacrifice" for the first time...then this is the song for you.
Remix on my friend....

- DKnight2066 on August 26, 2005
Well I know Vig's an established remixer and this tune is old, but I just have to say, it's my favorite of his. Although the sound quality isn't tops, the weaker samples make the guitar sound so hot in contrast that the overrall side-effect is dramatic. It actually ends up as a good thing. I don't know how it would have sounded with better samples, but probably less naked. And naked can be good. To me this sounds like the mix that got the most heart poured into.

- HumpteeFree on August 26, 2005
Why it rocks: It's a solid song. The guitars are the stars. I like the one that opens with the light flanger on it. Tight arrangement.
What it needs: It suffers from fancy synth syndrome: with hundreds of factory patches, you gotta use them all. The synth textures could be focused a bit more. One of the guitars cuts out in mono! (Just moved, haven't set up *real* sound yet.)

- Clockwork Dolphin on June 16, 2005
Yes i like this remix It has a nice touch but I want more Zero Remixes He is them man of Megaman Cuz he helps mega out of everything and he is so powerful, but i dont want to start an agrument so Just make more Zero Remixes plz. well later

- Nathsazar on October 22, 2004
First song I downloaded when I found out about the OCRemix! It is very emotional and captures the feeling of a hollow victory. Forever I shall love this song.

- Brim on August 4, 2004
Yeah, the guitars really do make this song. The trumpet used in the begining is nice also, as well as some of the "waw" sounds that fade in and out of the background. But, other than those three elements elements, everything sounds very synthy and GM-ish especially the short notes you hear in the MM2 bit at the end. Luckily, the few good elements, especially the guitar, drown out that stuff, so you don't notice it as much, but it still sours the overall experience a bit. Were you to redo those elements that didn't sound so great, I would give it easily a 9 out of 10, it would truly be a complete and excellent mix.

- Gnam on July 12, 2003
An excellent contribution to ocr, i especially liked the subtle vocals and the synth sounds playing below the great bass and beat playing the forte. Just plain cool.

- AXNJAXN on February 26, 2003
all this song needs is geddy lee singing about tom sawyer over it....
heh heh :vomit:
good guitar playing makes me jealous... i must make something better!! gyahhh hahahahahahahaha :nicework:
this one coulda used a bit of eq'ing in my opinion...

- lefty on February 25, 2003
Cypher19 wrote: I would've preferred the song to be a bit faster (to better reflect the actual source song, which is Sigma's first stage

Yes...well, here are the stats.
"Zero Sacrifice" -120 bpm
Sigma Stage 1 OST -150 BPM.
if you think you can play that solo 25% faster, be my guest. :wink:
I would have given it a shot, but I already knew what the results would be. :banghead:

- Vig on February 24, 2003
This is one of the better guitars I've heard in a remix for quite a while. Great job, this song tickled my fancy.

- Bruk on February 24, 2003
Initial response to judges comments & review posts- Smeg, Vig, that's what [i]I[/i] was about to submit!!
(listening as file DLs...)
First ~30 seconds: Nice start, everything works but perhaps the melody synth that might be trumpet but I can't really place. Go more or less realistic, not somewhere in the middle next time
...
Next ~30: A scosh grainy, but I dig the bass. I've dealt with worse percussion myself, I'd say (perhaps counter to everyone else in the universe) what it needs more here is not quality samples but volumetric bringing out of what's already there, especially snare.
...
Next ~15: DAMN! If that's what you meant by Red Nostalgia needing better guitar, I'm sorry, it ain't happening! (not that I haven't made a few improvements, but... yeh.) Wow. Yeh. The guitar solo is this mix. period.
...
Next ~15: More goodness. Synths come in at about the right time to offset the drop of the initial "damn that's a sweet guitar" shock.
...
hating dial-up connection...
...
Next ~30 (at about 1:50 now): no more guitar?? waaahhhh :cry: Nice MegaMan Classic break, tho. Pity you got the idea thru judging before me, now I'll really need to submit Red Nostalgia within a couple days or it'll look like I've ripped it from you!
...
Next ~30: Guitar! :D but... This is a 3-and-some minute mix with Zero in the title, so why haven't I heard him at all by 2:20??
...
definitely getting broadband in college. Even if I have to get special permissions and install the cables in the dorm myself...
...
Next ~20: not much here I haven't heard previously, but all nice
...
Next ~40: siren's a nice touch. Still more classic MegaMan than Zero. I want my Zero!!!
...
And that'd be the end in 10 seconds. No Zero??? At all? :puppyeyes: You're no fun anymore!
Two point review:
+ The Guitar!!!
- misleading title...
Congrats, and let's hear it for success of first mixes!

- seanstar on February 23, 2003
Not too bad. I noticed a number of off-sounding notes in the guitar lines, but that's not a big deal.

- Emperor Nakoo Hiryuu on February 23, 2003
Once this gets going, it's a pretty groovy piece. The guitar lead and some of the quieter sections in the middle are really well pulled-off. There does seem to be some very minor static and popping sounds near the end of the first section (and then a few other places), but that's easy to overlook.
Pretty solid first mix.

- Israfel on February 23, 2003

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