ReMix: Ninja Gaiden 'Ninjitsu Groove'

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Well, I'm back in action at my new house... sort of. As of right now, I have no computer desk, so I'm writing this at an odd angle, sitting on the floor. This should thankfully be addressed tomorrow when IKEA show up, but for now I'm an essay in bad posture and a case of carpal tunnel waiting to happen. ProFiction aka MixMastaMunk submitted this ReMix awhile back, but it didn't pass the judges panel for a variety of reasons. This is where SysteManiac stepped in, took the Reason file, and gave it a makeover, cleaning things up and making them zippier all around. The end result is a more polished arrangement that mixes solid, varied techno with some excellent piano motifs, filtered synths, dancing arpeggios, and notably some nice percussion fills and accents on top of the more rudimentary dance/techno 4/4 groove. From the straight synth chord progression intro to some of the more elaborate piano climbs and falls, this arrangement successfully oscillates between being relatively spartan and more ornate, and does so relatively smoothly. The bassline is a bit underdeveloped, and both the judges and myself are a little unsure what happened around 2'40", but overall the effort that went into keeping this four minute techno piece GOING places is commendable. It can be blocked into discrete pieces that do have significant differences between them, and moves ahead nicely because of this development and variation. As Judge Asulin puts it succinctly: "This is solid and clean techno. Lots of varied drums... lots of varied melody, progression." Psyches me out for the new 3D Ninja Gaiden on the way; guess I'll need an XBOX first though. Good collaboration from ProFiction and SysteManiac, check it out.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I like the "space" this mix creates -it's roaming, ambient, and good for zoning out while working

- WesternZypher on July 13, 2011
Lots of intermingling going on in this mix. Howling synths create a misty vibe, fading and percolating like a ninja casting genjutsu. Reverbed piano is an avuncular standout, alternating between playing a few judicious keys that speak for themselves and playing some rapid runs across the octaves. In the busy sections, beats are amply accentuated by players like pizzicato and a bubbly bass that sounds like the Maru Mari sound effect in [i]Metroid[/i]. But even if the sound field gets muddy at times, the arrangement keeps on blooming. Various synths carry the source's rising arpeggio while altering the backup melody inch by inch. Such a mellow, evolving undercurrent keeps me hooked.
Btw, it's spelt ninj[b]u[/b]tsu, but lotsa people misspell it with a second "i", so it's no big deal.

- Polo on September 19, 2009
The mix starts out with a nice sweeping synth, and kicks into trance mode right away. The kick is a little too quiet, and the drums don't have any real presence to them, but the synths are nice enough. The centerpiece features a breakdown of piano and synth.
The piano here is fantastic, and the run near the end where is slowly shifts to a synth playing the same line is inspired and something that made me do a double take. About halfway through, the beat gets mixed up (thankfully), and ambient synths round it out until the end.
If I had my way, I'd focus more on the piano work and less on the synths, and kick the drums up about seven notches (BAM), as instead of adding to the mix, they sortof suck the life out. The snare should be snappier, and the kick more powerful.

- OA on December 17, 2006
Nice intro. This song sounds sad, yet upbeat. Reminds me of the leadup to the last level in a game. Perhaps that's what this is... I don't know 'cause I never heard the original. Very enjoyable tune.

- Aamp on September 25, 2003
I actually thought this song sorta carved out it s own little feeling. Sort of subdued energy. Some parts were admittedly rough (2:20-2:58), but the overall feeling I enjoyed. With maybe more polish this could've been even better, but I don't think I'd worry too much about it. What's here is solid and you'll either like it or not. The fills are a nice touch, the piano is excellent (the part at 1:22 made me wanna spooge myself), and the pads are well used. The lack of bass drum is, I think, helpful to the feeling of the mix. (this isn't a hardcore dance track) So I don't understand why everyone is brutalizing this song. Oh well, opinions will differ.

- Kamikaze Noodle on September 3, 2003
Okay, I thought it was freakin' incredible. Maybe it's because I'm not exactly a normal connoiseur of music, and the extent of my music knowledge was high school band, but I really enjoyed it for the ambience, not to mention the retro-groove.
Can't wait for Ninja Gaiden for the XBox. Makes me happy I own one. :)
Sarge out.

- SargeSmash on September 1, 2003
Nice work on this!

- Joshua Morse on September 1, 2003
The original was kind of a hard song to interpret, so I have to give kudos on that. But this arrangement, while not repetitive in terms of the leads, just doesn't seem to go anywhere. It doesn't have a clear build up to anything, which just makes it better background music than something to really focus on. Maybe that was the point, I don't know. But it is a worthwhile listen.

- Ryan8bit on August 31, 2003
You evil being of goodness :twisted: to have made a song of such......whats the word for it.......ah i know!!! :roll: sometimes action's speak louder than words!!! :banghead: there thats what i think about it. :)!! (interpertion, i just play it over and over again banging my head on the desk sending my pop corn on the grounld) :roll: it's so fast and slow and good all at the same time that i just can't stop!!!! :puppyeyes: which means you did good young one :nicework: and now after all that headbanging i got to.... :vomit: well i'll need to go to sleep :sleepdepriv: before i put myself there by other means :sleepzzz: just keep up the good work 8O [img]http://www.geocities.com/shido_lohart/shidoweb.jpg[/img]

- Gren-Lohart on August 31, 2003
eh wont can i say its ok.

- Lasakon on August 31, 2003
The vibe I get here, is cheap 80's German techno.....
I don't like the drums, I don't like the crappy synth that comes in at 0:29, I don't like the way the song builds to nothing, I [b]do[/b] like the paino work, I don't like much anything else...
Overall, I give it a 2/10.

- SnappleMan on August 30, 2003
The drum "fills" are pretty nice. :) I'm not a huge fan of the reverse cymbal though; It's too frequent and has a very short attack. I also wish the bassdrum was a bit more pronounced - this mix needs some drive!
More gooks and a stronger bassline could really bring this to life. Right now it just doesn't satisfy.

- Dj Orange on August 30, 2003
Pretty nice stuff. I wish the bass kick was louder. The piano stuff is really nice, as is the synth that begins at 2:17. 2:47 is kinda weird, but not that bad. Nothing in this mix blows me away, but it's quite competently put together and enjoyable.

- sgx on August 30, 2003
first listen:
nice drum work *clap clap clap*
reverse kick... ummm.... ;)
The build between 1:55~2:05 sounds quite weak... I mean it's only drums. Drum roll sounds a tad too cliche.... filtering sweep riser would make me .... make me... go wow?
Going anywhere? Sounds nice and fluid... I don't know about it going anywhere... but nice variation you got there. Nice nice.
Pretty good... just that build seems weak at that particular spot.

- Xelebes on August 30, 2003
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on August 29, 2003