ReMix: Star Ocean: The Second Story 'Ocean of Tears'
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- Game: Star Ocean: The Second Story (Enix, 1998, PS1)
- ReMixer(s): EgM
- Composer(s): Motoi Sakuraba
- Song(s): 'Theme of RENA'
- Posted: 2003-02-25, evaluated by djpretzel
I tell you what - it's a pretty good indicator that a ReMix is strongsauce when it sounds good even at 3AM, with a major headache, after listening to various music for four or five hours repeatedly. EgM alias Eric Hache gives us a brief but enjoyably solemn respite from the stresses of daily toil with this orchestral Star Ocean 2 mix of Rena's theme featuring a prominent, emotive oboe solo. Behind that there's beautiful strings, choir, flute, harp, and dramatic percussion. This reminds me of Dale's sweeping, Joe Hisaishi-esque arrangement of . . . the same theme. Boy, that sounded dumb. Oh well, write it off to sleep deprivation - they are fairly similar arrangements - Dale opens with clarinet whilst Eric opts for the oboe, but the intros are alike in development. However, the mixes do diverge more when you get into them. I'd say Eric's take is a little less grandiose, a little more melancholy. He also brings in some rock-ish drums whereas Dale keeps it strictly in the orchestral realm. You could get nitty-gritty and say that Dale's got some better piano samples, but that'd be missing the point - both of these ReMixers know their stuff, both have produced outstanding interpretations of this song, and passing either version up would be a big mistake. Dale exits on a very introspective piano solo, ending on a sustained chord that diminishes into the darkness, whereas Eric exits with a lovely oboe-flute duet and a final, punctuating bit of percussion. It's fun just listening to these back to back and hearing the points of convergence and divergence. And if you play them both at the same time, and watch 'The Wizard of OZ', the music fits with the film! No way!11!!1!!! Really, this does compliment our existing Rena ReMix nicely, offers something new, if not dramatically new, and provides a rare glimpse into the subtle but telling differences between how two accomplished arrangers take on the same tune in the same genre. Recommended.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Relaxing and pleasant, this is a pretty nice mix.
- OA on April 30, 2008
That said, there needs to be more remixes for Star Ocean: The Second Story. I feel that the gameplay overall is inferior to TTEOT, but the music was a heck of a lot better.
- Superrpgman on April 7, 2007
This is def one of the best source tunes out there in my opinion and EgM sure made the most of it and found a way to give all the various melodies and harmonies lots of emotion and time to shine. This is one of those tracks I keep on replay.
- avaris on September 3, 2006
- Isk on October 2, 2003
- MrFeral on September 28, 2003
I'd like to see more SO2 mixed, the boss battle theme would make a great mix because there's so much stuff you can do with it. Please do more Star Ocean 2!
- Zero Angel on April 27, 2003
- Ardelin-Gardivash on March 16, 2003
0:01 - Hm.. not a bad intro.. but i feel like we're sort've jumping into things here, a bit fast.. but .. it works.. those low hits sound really cool.
0:30 - Mmm.. this sounds great, I love how it feels.
1:00 - The Cymbals need more kick to them. As for the drums i actually Like how they're not that loud.
1:25 - Very pretty piano medly.
1:35 - The strings are overbearing on the piano line, the lead should always be able to be heard. and i can barely make it out.
2:03 - I love how you progressively add elements to the song.. taking it to a new level with each addition, But. this mix seems to wander a bit between "sad" and "happy" .. And while I appreciate the movement from each side, it feels like you werent sure which one to make it, though its probably just from the original, but either way, I would've appreciated more 'defined' sections of being sad and happy.. er... if that makes sense.
2:30 - The melody is fairly dynamic and does not get old easily.. Curious how the ending will come at this point.
2:40 - Okay, some problems here too. I love this fantastic lead-up to the actual ending few notes.. its great, it slows the vibe down enough for closing.. but then..when you get to the actual last few seconds..you just end it, and the song sort've falls on itself, this part feels rushed, and i think far better, more meaningful work could've been done.
- k-wix on February 26, 2003
- Dark Heart on February 25, 2003
- Dark Heart on February 25, 2003
My only request is that these two awesome ReMixers (Dale and EgM) maybe make another remix of a different track. There are so many to choose from in Star Ocean 2.
But again, a masterful piece of work. Well done.
EDIT: After reading the other reviews, I'll also say that all of EgM's other Mixes are superb as well. You've got the talent.
- Veovis on February 25, 2003
- Strider Kyoden on February 25, 2003
- Xathien on February 25, 2003
Anyways, SO really never was a game I could get into, but that doesn't mean it was terrible. It's a great game, with a nice action-rpg battle system. The music also was VERY excellent, and a big kudos to remixing this. Also, I really like how much it stuck to the source material. On this site, you'd practically expect a techno version of Rena's theme, huh? :lol:
- Cypher19 on February 25, 2003
drums are sweet. Keychange is sexy.
EgM's on a roll IMO
- DaleNorth on February 25, 2003
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