ReMix:The Last Ninja "8-bit Kamikaze" 5:33

By lazygecko

Arranging the music of one song...

"The Wilderness (Game Play)"

Primary Game: The Last Ninja (System 3 Software , 1987, C64), music by Anthony Lees, Ben Daglish

Posted 2003-11-15, evaluated by djpretzel


Though this is the first Last Ninja ReMix on OCR, there's no shortage of remixes of this C64 classic elsewhere on the net - it's sorta the Commodore-ReMixing equivalent of FF6 or Chrono Trigger. Fortunately, Gecko Yamori's take on the venerable classic is distinct and stands on its own as a creative electronia track, with unique guitar chords, quick rise-fall arpeggios that recall the SID in all its glory, a deep, continuous bass, richly processed guitar on melody, and a general overall vibe of - you guessed it - real ultimate power. Dirty analog synth solo at 3'25" and the synth rendition of the melody that follows both rock, and while not overwhelming in complexity, this arrangement just does an excellent job of providing kickass ninja music, for all of your kickass ninja needs. This is a track GY needed to cover, OCR needed to have a ReMix of, and this ReMix holds its own with the very best of the other Last Ninja mixes in existence. The tradeoffs between and integration with guitar timbres are what give it extra life beyond what a straight electronica mix would have offered. Recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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WesternZypher
on 2020-12-02 13:23:59

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kelvingreen
on 2012-10-21 13:20:00

This is a great mix of a great tune. It retains enough of the feel of the C64's SID chip -- in particular in that funky, dirty bassline -- but isn't afraid to roam a bit further afield with the embellishments. I wish there were more C64 -- and Amiga -- mixes on here, and I wish they were all as good as this one.

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TillyFun
on 2012-08-12 16:00:54

Pixelated ninjas meditating and sparring in the woods! :) It gives off a very good vibe and is strangely relaxing to listen to. ^_^

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WesternZypher
on 2010-12-07 22:16:15

I miss Gecko Yamori's music...I wonder where he's at, or whether he still does remixes...(this song's nice, it prompted that thought)

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42
on 2009-03-22 15:45:34

hmm...

Interesting.

I would have expected this to be more intense/faster, not paced techno.

Even though it feels contained, I like it, it's different.

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Marmiduke
on 2009-02-17 09:18:52

This is one of those rare tracks that I can listen to all night and never get sick of it. It kicks some serious ass. One of my favourite mixes on the site. The melody is a perfect fit for the type of mix this is; a song that slowly unleafs and blossoms before unveiling its true splendour. The beat is warm, the notes are colourful, the result is a very well-made, calculated piece of synth music that I absolutely adore. Fantastic work on all parts. It's well worthy of excessive listening, so get to it, people.

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OA
on 2008-04-16 14:29:01

Great intro synth; I love that sort of fade in intro with a cool sound and a good pattern. The synth bass is pretty static though, but the beats are pretty hot, and the lead synth I am digging.

Recently i've gotten way more into the synthetic side of things (mostly because my orchestra samples are jacked), so I can really appreciate some well balanced and good sounding synthwork.

The track overall is a bit repetitive, but it's very enjoyable with some pretty good production, and a generally funky vibe. The ending third is the most creative and interesting, i'd say. The ending was somewhat weak, but overall this is a really nice track.

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WWWWolf
on 2005-07-15 11:36:17

"Whoah" to the third power. (Or with a dramatic echo, if you prefer.)

Not a bad remix. Not bad at all. Not quite as fun as Puffy64's, but it's hard to say exactly what makes this so interesting. It sure sounds epic. Definitely got that "Real Ultimate Power" thing down somewhere there.

(By the way, LN1 and LN2 have - as the writeup says - tons of remixes; I wish there were more remixes of LN3. LN1 soundtrack is ninjaesque, LN2 soundtrack is modernly ninjaesque and rocking, LN3 soundtrack was just plain *moody*.)

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Red Shadow
on 2005-02-08 22:22:56

DJP pwns for mentioning realultimatepower.net in a write up. Best fucking write up ever.

Oh yeah and the track is aural candy too.

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Liontamer
on 2004-09-23 01:15:02

Was just checking this out again; played this on my show way, way back. Very phat stuff, and I love that funked-out lead during the first section. Nice work, changing up the flow throughout the track, Dan. Everything here was pretty solid, and I'm glad I heard this one again. Definitely deserves much more attention then it's getting, but I hope it's gotten a hot response from the European side, since they appreciate these mixes more.

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Domukaz
on 2004-03-02 15:25:48

I think the low-quality samples are just part of the groove of the song, and I have no problem with 'em. It makes it seem even more ninja-esque. Very danceable, and that's really my only criterion for remixes like these.

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ArseAssassin
on 2004-02-09 08:34:45

Hm.

Now this is strange... The first time I listened to this it didn't really stand out to me, but now... I notice it's got this very cool ninjagroove in it, especially drums are great.

Nice work!

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lazygecko
on 2003-11-29 09:39:27

Sonic Wanderer just released his own remix of the same track, so check it out:

http://remix.kwed.org/download.php/2142/Sonic%20Wanderer%20-%20Last%20Ninja%20Wilderness.mp3

He takes a very different approach, with a very 80s feel :)

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Toxic Soul
on 2003-11-18 22:35:28

Hm... after listening to this mix, I have to say I enjoyed it. The bass was exceptionally cool. I loved the opening. The drums come in soft, and then they build in the mid-30 second range. Shortly after, some cool guitars come in and around 1:18 a second guitar comes in. The real power of this song comes from it's ability to meld beats and music in a beat. Very cool.

Around 1:50 we begin to see our tune building, and at 2:03, the ninja-esque element of the mix comes in. Awesome. I loved this.

There was a bit of a problem with this mix - this is just me being picky, though, the synths for the song sounded very high-quality at points, and then some samples seemed very low quality. If the low quality samples could be replaced with higher quality ones, this mix would be even higher on my list of favourites.

On the whole, I'd give this mix about an 7.5-8.5/10

Very cool, stylish, good beat - a couple of little things I didn't like, parts where the music seemed to go too high into the treble area - but on the whole, a very strong mix, and I'd recommend downloading it.

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Jonathon Striker
on 2003-11-17 22:33:01

Okay, first off I must reply to djpretel's comment on the song, "...and this ReMix holds its own with the very best of the other Last Ninja mixes in existence." First of all, I must commend you for being first on OCRemix to have a Last Ninja song as it is more popular than people think. However, for him to say the best in existence is overexaggeration. Don't believe me? visit http://lastninja.c64.org/ also check out http://www.puffy64.de/ and http://www.acc.umu.se/~amber/LastNinja/. I'm not putting you down, but I'm just saying. Anyways, for your remix, I like the sound. The start got me thinking of an intro to a Jackie Chan movie, which is about right since its got the chinese sound for this japanese based game. (Ninjas are japanese, not chinese, a common misconseption of Ignorant Americans and Europeans, though now not a common problem.) The music is Groovin', though I would have expected either a solo, or a little more variation to the rhythm. Its just a basic remix style, more like an upgrade from C64 standand. If you were to remix another, I would say give us the Last Ninja on PS2 or X-Box feel. Just my opinion.

I Rate This Remix : 7/10 C+

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
The Last Ninja (System 3 Software , 1987, C64)
Music by Anthony Lees,Ben Daglish
Songs:
"The Wilderness (Game Play)"

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File Information


Name:
Last_Ninja_8-bit_Kamikaze_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,409,939 bytes
MD5:
59ea88fbafc99bbf983625d3e4d04a1d
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
5:33

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