ReMix: Darius 'Silverhawk Legacy'
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- Game: Darius (Taito, 1986, ARC)
- ReMixer(s): The Coop
- Composer(s): Eikichi Takahashi, Hisayoshi Ogura, Masahiko Takaki, Naoto Yagishita, Tsukasa Nakamura, Yasuhiko Tanaka, Zuntata
- Song(s): 'Captain Neo'
- Posted: 2004-01-23, evaluated by the judges
If you were around arcades in the era, you couldn't help but notice the classic shooter Darius, as it was one of the first games to use multiple monitors for a pretty mammoth horizontally-scrolling playing field. The Coop gives us our first ReMix from the seminal 80's classic, which spurned several sequels bearing the "gaiden" suffix. This has a pretty 80's synth feel with maybe an early 90's kick/bass going on, and some orchestra hits also reminiscent of a couple Pet Shop Boys covers ("Always on My Mind", anyone?) - the arrangement is fairly fluid and begins with a tense, minimalist synth pad duet, growing into more elaborate, synth-laden action. However, the sound quality is a little on the murky side and the sampleset could use an upgrade. We've, uhh... mentioned this about The Coop before, that his arrangements are largely solid, but that the sounds, programming, and effects could use a bit more polish. Judge Vigilante writes:
"Allright, coop, you keep getting better...this isnt as mono as your previous mixes, but i still think you could be doing more panwork. The arrangement is good. but i think it's time for a sample upgrade"
...and I don't think he was being too harsh. We'll look to the ReMixer's next submission to maintain the high arrangement quality but definitely improve on mixing, samples, effects, etc. In the meantime, enjoy the arrangement - it does create a nostalgic atmosphere and harken back to the era, and covers a classic, important shooter that seems to have a pretty cool soundtrack that I'd imagine not many are familiar with.
Discussion: Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the I'm not sure why, but this song is making me think of Ninja Gaiden (the NES one). That isn't a bad thing! I did have a problem with the ending - such a quick drawdown really rubbed off as out of place to me, just the opposite of DA's thoughts there.
- Bahamut on November 8, 2009
This is simply an arrangement piece, and that it does very well. I can definately enjoy it a lot on that level. I just can't help but see this as a failed opportunity to reach for the loftier heights that the arrangement deserves, and not just settle for an E for Effort.
Promising on the writing front; pretty uninspiring elsewhere.
- Marmiduke on July 16, 2009
I am not familiar with the original. Can't comment on (re)arrangement, but it didn't bore me once I sat down and listened. The instrumentation did sound kind of generic/dull to me though, there wasn't very much beef to hook me in with that. Still pretty good stuff.
- Master_Yoshi on January 16, 2009
0:07-0:13 - Huh. Sounds like a combination of [i]Super Metroid[/i] and [i]Out of this World[/i].
0:32 - Odd little bit, but it doesn't stay too long, so no biggie.
0:45 - Yeah, we rockin'! BAM!
0:53 - Whoa, disappointing drop in intensity...
1:26 - Ew. The lead synth sounds cheesy when exposed like that.
1:47 - Now that's totally 80s right there. Awesome.
2:06 - Oo, sounds like an epic tale of reminiscence or something.
3:38 - It's the 80s all over again. Rejoice!
4:11 - Fitting ending, but could be more pronounced if the synths weren't so muddied together.
Basically, certain synth choices draw different levels of "WTF?" from me, but they aren't dealbreakers if I casually listen to this mix. Others (drums and bass particularly) are strategically placed as underlying mood intensifiers when transitioning to the next section. As said before, The Coop's arrangement prowess exceeds the production side of his mixes. I'm no expert on mixing/mastering/EQing and whatnot, but I think that for its time, this mix isn't that bad.
- Polo on December 10, 2008
Nice composition, and I enjoyed listening to it. Soem parts felt a little slow, with only the melody over the bass, but the parts that had more going on were nice.
- DragonAvenger on August 26, 2008
Things seem to be a bit centered in the middle, which is too bad, because there is a lot going on, and some of it occasionally gets lost.
The song starts out good, with the melody taking up most of the spotlight, with the bass, drums, and pads keeping things moving, but staying out of the way. About halfway, things pick up for a bit before smoothly transitioning to a calm breakdown and buildup, and that's when the song kicks into high gear.
The sixteenth note runs are excellent, though by this point, the drums start getting a little stale, and could use a change in rhythm.
Overall this is a good mix despite a few flaws, and would be completely at home in a PS2 soundtrack.
- OA on December 18, 2006
i was going to remix it too.. it would make for a great freestyle remix.
good job with your remix btw. i love the synths. Im not feeling the drum samples much though. shrug
- neostormx on February 1, 2004
ps: can anyone try remixing other classic shooters like TwinCobra or Slapfight? man, those bring back memories!
- Streets of Rage bum on January 27, 2004
- Kamikaze Noodle on January 24, 2004
FYI, the title of the original tune is "Captain Neo."
- StClair on January 23, 2004
Ok, onto the track.
Pretty ok techno piece. Arrangement is pretty good but the quality of the sound is not great. Aw well, you can't always win. It doesn't help that I've never owned a SEGA system to play the game to become versed and be somewhat nostalgic to oberlook the quality of the sound.
The drums need to be tightened up. Pretty good basic rhythm you have, just that it need s to be tightened up a bit with a bit of tweaking. The synths - sequencing is pretty good. The management of the synths are very poor as they are not very clean, flowing or... what's that word. Forget it, it just does not meet that potential of energy that could have been set. The first few synths are not bad, actually pretty good but it gets a little production sloppy.
I guess you are not too interested with the sound quality as opposed to the arrangement but the synths are not too bad. But they certainly could have been a lot better.
- Xelebes on January 23, 2004
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