ReMix: Shenmue 'Reflections'
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- Game: Shenmue (Sega, 2000, DC)
- ReMixer(s): Reuben Kee
- Composer(s): Osamu Murata, Ryuji Iuchi, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Takeshi Yanagawa, Yuzo Koshiro
- Song(s): 'Shenhua ~Sedge Flower~', 'Shenmue ~Sedge Tree~'
- Posted: 2004-04-17, evaluated by the judges
This fantastically beautiful, high-quality piano medley arrangement from Shenmue comes courtesy of first-time contributor Reuben Kee (check out the cool Flash website with the playable piano key navigation metaphor - rather slick) - though it may be his first submission, it's a very professional (compositionally and production-wise) effort and impressed the panel with versatility and depth. Vigilante concisely opined:
"One of the best piano remixes i've heard. Post it."
If you need more than Jesse's economical sentences to persuade you: this is great work, with perfect touches like the full stop at 4'10" and then more delicate pickup, numerous flowing transitions, and in general a strong left-hand presence that keeps a solid bass and midrange foundation going a large portion of the time. Reuben can clearly play AND arrange, and for solo piano arrangements, both skills are in the end necessary, and are exhibited here quite admirably. This is an excellent piece that all fans of solo piano and Shenmue should look into and listen to repeatedly - it's very comprehensive, and for a medley, has a truly amazing sense of coherence and continuity.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the I love OA's analogy up there about how the song transforms from a
flower to an oak- delicate to resounding strength perfectly
describes in my head, too. A lovely piece.
- WesternZypher on January 25, 2011
- WesternZypher on January 25, 2011
Firstly, can I just say this is an absolutely amazing song! It
really conveys the emotion from the original track and the games in
general. I loved Shenmue and Shenmue II when they first came out
and I played them on my Dreamcast. They're still two of my
favourite games of all time.
It captures the emotion of the game perfectly and really makes me want to go back and play through Ryo's adventure again (as well as wish they would release the final game(s) of the series!), and I know that during my relaxing summer holidays that's exactly what I'll do.
Well done, an amazing track!
- _heartilly_ on June 5, 2009
It captures the emotion of the game perfectly and really makes me want to go back and play through Ryo's adventure again (as well as wish they would release the final game(s) of the series!), and I know that during my relaxing summer holidays that's exactly what I'll do.
Well done, an amazing track!
- _heartilly_ on June 5, 2009
It starts out delicate like a flower and ends up strong like an
oak. This is how piano mixes should sound. :-)
It certainly helps that the source music chosen is a pair of fantastic songs from a game that had an overall phenomenal soundtrack, but as things get more interpretative, the remix ends up stronger. I loved the rhythmic changeup after the climax.
Great stuff, shame there aren't more comments on this one. Shenmue is one of the games out there that i'd never want to play, but the music is about perfect.
- OA on March 17, 2009
It certainly helps that the source music chosen is a pair of fantastic songs from a game that had an overall phenomenal soundtrack, but as things get more interpretative, the remix ends up stronger. I loved the rhythmic changeup after the climax.
Great stuff, shame there aren't more comments on this one. Shenmue is one of the games out there that i'd never want to play, but the music is about perfect.
- OA on March 17, 2009
Wish I could do the arrangement. Listening to it is amazing, yes,
but it'd be nice to be able to have it come from yourself and not
speakers. It's sad what happened to Reuben, is the specific sheet
music lost forever, then?
- Falos on December 25, 2007
- Falos on December 25, 2007
Simply Superb. One of the best piano remixes I've heard in a long
time. Some of the best things life truly are free and this is one
of them.
- Xeiros on December 13, 2007
- Xeiros on December 13, 2007
WOW people need to listen to this its amazing. Sound quality of the
piano on this is the best on the site.
OMFG this might be the best unknown remix on the site! I'm saying that bc of the lack of comments. The reason I heard this bc I listened to Reuben's Naruto mix on AR and went to check out his stuff here, and I'm glad I did.
This mix accomplishes the number one aspect that a solo piano arrangement lives and dies by and thats emotion and feeling.
- avaris on September 4, 2006
OMFG this might be the best unknown remix on the site! I'm saying that bc of the lack of comments. The reason I heard this bc I listened to Reuben's Naruto mix on AR and went to check out his stuff here, and I'm glad I did.
This mix accomplishes the number one aspect that a solo piano arrangement lives and dies by and thats emotion and feeling.
- avaris on September 4, 2006
If it wasn't for his recent submission 'The Place We Knew', I
probably would have never found this track or his others.
This truly is a gem though. It is definitely one of the most advanced solo piano songs I've heard on this site thus far, it being full of expression and feeling (what most piano mixes tend to be iffy at).
- Orion_Black on March 10, 2006
This truly is a gem though. It is definitely one of the most advanced solo piano songs I've heard on this site thus far, it being full of expression and feeling (what most piano mixes tend to be iffy at).
- Orion_Black on March 10, 2006
It's a crime that so few people have commented and reviewed this
song. This just reeks of style and emotion (hmm, maybe 'reek' isn't
the best word for that). The expansion of the main theme is done
with such class, and it accurately conveys the feeling of the
source and the game as a whole. Brilliant work.
- watkinzez on October 1, 2005
- watkinzez on October 1, 2005
Yea is there a Piano sheet music for this song? I really wanna play
it, its beautiful!
It takes you back to all the special moments from Shenmue! So instead of playing the game yet again, i can just listen to this! :D
- Mairuzu on July 19, 2005
It takes you back to all the special moments from Shenmue! So instead of playing the game yet again, i can just listen to this! :D
- Mairuzu on July 19, 2005
DAMN ! 8O 8O 8O this song is awesome one of my favorite ... im
searching everywhere for the piano sheet but unfortunatly i didn't
find it ,some one know where i can find it ?a
- D2sco on November 11, 2004
- D2sco on November 11, 2004
nostalgic gen wrote: it's a shame it's just in 128kbps cos it doesn't really do the tune justice. All the same, a lovely piano arrangement. Look forward to hearing further submissions :)
I agree. Kind of odd that it's a 48KHz sample-rate MP3 too... when 128Kbps compression usually lowpasses all frequencies above 16KHz.
All the same, I loved the beautiful arrangement, and the fluid fusion of the Shenmue (Sedge Tree) and Shenfa (Sedge Flower) themes. Some parts sounded very similar to the Shenmue Orchestra Version tracks.
- Moguta on May 30, 2004
I absolutely loved Shenmue--one of the Dreamcast's shining gems,
and a game few have rarely matched when it comes to character
complexity. Don't get me wrong--I absolutely love chewing through
Marines with my trusty crowbar, turning opponents to dust with
rocket launchers, what have you, but sometimes I like to enjoy a
game that's had more than 5 minutes of plot thrown into it (that's
not to say games like Half-Life are pointless, however...) Though
some tend to disagree, human emotion is just as important in a good
game as explosive action, if not more so, and Shenmue had the music
style to fit its vast, nicely woven plot and interesting
characters. The main theme, next to the Sha Hua song (is there a
remix for that yet?) just so happens to be one of my favorites not
only in the game itself, but even among an impressive list of
cherished tunes. This game came at a time when just about every
game was dominated by a hard rock or otherwise intentionally rough,
electronic kinds of music--and it was arguably Shenmue that came
along and showed people just how cool quieter music could be, even
in a brutal action sequence. It's nice to see that this remix
continues that "legacy," and it was even better to go back and hear
a great song I probably never would have gotten the opportunity to
hear again otherwise. Throughout, this is generally a soft and
gentle piece, and intentionally feels less out-and-out Japanese in
comparison to many of the other songs in the game. It was meant to
be a somewhat solemn, emotional piece that tried to convey the
somewhat distraught feelings of the main character to the player in
the best way possible, while retaining a bit of mystery as to what
exactly those feelings were--thankfully, to me at least, that
wasn't lost in the slightest in this faithful re-realization. This
is the kind of music you might find yourself getting lost in for a
great while, and that's what actually makes it most difficult to
describe. Although the showcase here is a gentle, mellow piano,
this remix is by no means simple. It rises, it lowers, it pulls you
in, just as it did in the game, and makes for a nicely enjoyable
(and reasonably lengthy) song you'll want to listen to again and
again. I would have to whole-heartedly recommend this one...and now
I wish I still [i]had[/i] Shenmue...
- The Master Maniac on May 20, 2004
- The Master Maniac on May 20, 2004
Excellent remix. I always have a soft spot for Shenmue remixes. I
love em all. Such an excellent game with such an excellent
soundtrack.
- ThirdeYe on May 2, 2004
- ThirdeYe on May 2, 2004
it's a shame it's just in 128kbps cos it doesn't really do the tune
justice. All the same, a lovely piano arrangement. Look forward to
hearing further submissions :)
- nostalgic gen on April 30, 2004
- nostalgic gen on April 30, 2004
