ReMix: Dragon Warrior 'Kingdom Come'

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Dragon Warrior

Unknown gives us another Dragon Warrior ReMix, this time the stylistic weapon-of-choice being orchestral instead of techno. This arrangement takes some unusual turns, including some exposed choral passages towards the end. Judges had mixed feelings about some of the samples used, the sound quality and some intermittent clipping issues, and more importantly the articulations and dynamics being somewhat mechanical and not emotive or "human" enough. I can see where all those criticisms are coming from, but I also concur with their more positive comments, that the ReMix flows well and does some interesting things with the material. This doesn't really speak to the music itself, but I also must laud Unknown for some very cool mix titles - 'Hail to the Throne' and 'Kingdom Come': not bad. This piece uses some louder bell tones that can be a little disconcerting due to their relative volume, as well as rim shot, but there's also a cool snare drum solo, more emotive, flowing passages in transition, and very extensive usage of choral timbres. The Wingless offers this bit of advice: "Remember: part of your job as a mix'r is too keep your eye on the subtleties of your piece. Orchestra pieces especially. I might go so far as to say Orchestra pieces are hopelessly dependant upon their subtleties.", whilst Beatdrop at 180 indicates the mix "does plenty to prevent it from being boring, and that's saying a lot coming from me when directed at an orchestral piece." I think I'm somewhere in between - I can see where better dynamics, better samples in some cases, and most importantly more attention to articulation and the subtleties of instrumentation could definitely have improved the work, but the overall piece is still effective on several levels and elaborates nicely on Sugiyama's chip-orchestral originals. Good stuff.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Thanks for the mix, i won't say much in terms of the technical aspects, but i did enjoy it quite abit. I always get a kick when a great sounding mix is done from source material that was from an old basic 8bit soundchip.

- Streets of Rage bum on August 13, 2008
Yeah, there is a good deal of clipping in this, and some of the samples are pretty weak, mainly the trumpet and the harp at the end when it is exposed.. The choir sounds pretty good in most parts,as do the strings; not completely realistic, but very pleasant sounding. Arrangement is good, but everything is super mechanical and quantized, and some of the notes would sound better held out with some rubato.
Overall decent, but not as emotive as it should be.

- OA on July 6, 2007
Mixed feelings about this piece, which I think is generally good.
It seems that the percussion is driving the melody, I would have brought out the strings more.
Very nice inclusion of the overworld theme.
Unfortunately this piece strikes me as unfinished, and I think if it were fine-tuned more, it would be a tremendous improvement.

- uneek on September 19, 2004
first half... awesome
second half... eh

- bonerxsxex on November 2, 2003
I really liked it.

- Rychan on November 1, 2003
Right, I'm not sure how this song is good aside from some decent arrangement. It's weird when you hear judges say something along the lines of "I can tell there was lots of time spent on this" as opposed to other times saying "Even though they spent a lot of time on this, that can't be the determining factor."
This mix was processed. Straight up tempo, and no variance on the expression of notes. The soundfonts used were only a notch above GM. And the arrangement was ok, but the ending left much to be desired.

- Ryan8bit on October 28, 2003
This is a great mix, but the amount of clipping really makes me wonder how it even made it onto the site.

- Species8472 on October 27, 2003
WHOA! The clipping gets thick here. I don't know how you guys can listen to orchestral with clipping. It hurts my head. Anyway, overall nice track. Vibe-y instrument could've been much less midi-ish, and the articulations could've been more human, but the oboe/cello section DEFINITELY makes up for all the bads. It's simple stuff like this, as Wingless said "the subtleties" that make orchestral good. I just wish the clipping didn't bury the song in the louder parts, or I'd keep this...
Nice Work either way. :nicework:

- Kamikaze Noodle on October 26, 2003
A pretty decent orchestral piece.
Just a couple of points I can think of to say:
- Pretty decent arrangement.
- The choir rubs me the wrong way. A midilike choir is a big no in my book, especially if you're going for a realistic orchestral feel.
- My favourite bit is when the overworld theme (?) comes in. Very nicely done.
Nothing much else to say, really, other than that this is your staple orchestral mix, nothing more, nothing less.
Fans of this song should go and look for Russell Cox's Dragon Warrior - Journey of Solitude. It's as good if not better than this track.

- Blak_Omen on October 26, 2003
Haha, I know a lot of people put thier first post in a ReMix that they really like alot, and guess what - here's another one.
I've been lurking this board for a looong time. I never wanted to register though, I just had a good time seeing everyone elses opinions on remixes.
But I must say, I do love Dragon Warrior. I am very biased about this in every blatent way possible. This remix is a near perfect fit to the emotion that the series as a whole portrays. I can't get enough of it, and I can't wait for some more, much needed, Dragon Warrior (possibly DWIV!) remixes!
Great stuff. Thanks so much, Unknown.

- G on October 26, 2003
A very enjoyable mix to say the least. I rather liked the pacing, bit of a deviant from the norm.
I love the chior-ish stuff even if not all of it sounds very "humanish."
:D

- BionicTaim on October 26, 2003
very nice, i was surprised at how good it was, excellent sound samples

- LibertyCabbage on October 25, 2003
Really nice... I always loved the Dragon Warrior themes... And this is more interesting than I expected.
I can agree a bit with the slower idea - but at the same time, it needs the speed later... Considering where it goes, I think it all works quite well.
Enjoyed it a lot, overall. Definitely going on my next OCR compilation.

- Black Starre on October 25, 2003
I would like this piece more if it were a tad slower. The song progresses quite quickly. Many of the instruments have a short decay too. But I love the arrangement, and the overall progression of this piece.
Some of the samples aren't the best, but I don't mind. That midi-ish brass that hangs right from 0:48 to 1:33 just warms my heart. Yet the left-itis on the vibe-y instrument is quite bothersome... subtlety is key!
The choir bit from 2:47 to 3:47 is brilliant, but as I said before, it would sound twice as brilliant if it were somewhat slower.
Great work!!!

- Dj Orange on October 25, 2003
Definitely worth a listen. One for my playlist...
Very nice work on the WHOLE THING (almost). the samples used are wonderful, and the whole aura of the song just says "Niceness+5". Seriously, though. if you're a fan of orchestral mixes, this is the song for you.

- RocketSniper on October 25, 2003

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