ReMix: Shenmue 'Reflections'

Slalom 'Slalomicide' prev   list all   next Sonic Adventure 'Lightspeed'
downloadDownload MP3
4,972,544 bytes, 5:11, 128kbps
Stream/preview on YouTubePlay Preview
Streaming preview on YouTube
eStarland.com
Shenmue

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.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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 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
I couldn't agree more, Falos and Xeiros.

- Amru on December 26, 2007
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
This is really good! I've only played Shenmue 2, although the intro to this song sounds familiar. You got talent! :wink:

- M Funk on April 30, 2004

Content Policy
(Submission Agreement and Terms of Use)

Page generated Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:48:25 -0500 in 0.0493 seconds

All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Original content is copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of the site and the FAQ available there for information about the site's history, features, and policies. Contact David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with feedback or questions not answered there.

top of page