ReMix: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos 'Ninjascape'
Download MP3
Play Preview
- Game: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (Tecmo, 1990, NES)
- ReMixer(s): Ashane
- Composer(s): Mayuko Okamura, Ryuichi Nitta
- Song(s):
- Posted: 2005-04-23, evaluated by the judges
Not being one to deny the totally sweet, awesome nature of ninjas, what with the constant flipping out and killing people, it's hard not to love some badass guitar-driven Ninja Gaiden 2 mixin', which is exactly what new submitter Ashane has provided with this arrangement of the classic "Parasprinter" theme. Said theme is probably the most recognizable from the series, and was originally crafted as sort of a rock piece, insofar as the NES could effect one, so it's fulfilling to see the source material's mojo-potential realized. And realize it he does - introing with silky smooth clean arpeggios, a lead is brought in over top that quickly illustrates Ashane's skills, doubling up for some Boston-style harmony before transitioning into full-on rock circa 1'23". After that, you get precisely what the title delivers: a soundscape of pumped ninja action, as realized via a fairly straight arrangement of the original that focuses more on additive elements, replacing the drum track with something that follows a bit closer and makes more sense contextually and adding mucho riffin to the melody. Although there's a good deal of technique on display, it never feels gratuitous, as Ashane always works back to the melody, and also works around it when flying through more elaborate passages. This is important, because the piece was originally an entry into Dwelling of Duels (mirror), a monthly (sometimes bi-monthly) competition for VG cover artists who play live instruments. While the live instruments in question are usually guitars, the extent to which pieces submitted could be called covers, using our definition, varies - sometimes the degree of arrangement is rather substantive, which is a good thing, because it means pieces like Ashane's are "compatible" with OCR standards and can be submitted here. At any rate, competitions can be double-edged swords - on one hand, they can get people involved, enthusiastic, and bring out a sense of community and (hopefully) friendly competition. On the other hand, they can establish heirarchies, imply that certains styles or approaches are quantifiably "better" than others, and reduce the chances that any given artist will take certain risks that might decrease accessibility. The most dangerous pitfall I think would be showmanship - putting the illustration of one's personal abilities above what's right for the arrangement. However, from what I've heard thus far, such potential traps have been avoided - there's some great stuff coming out of DoD, and it's good to see a cross-section of that submitted here, especially when it's comparable to this NG2 piece. Larry wrote tomes on this in his panel decision, so while I suggest reading it, I'm gonna wrap things up with a more manageable quote from Sir Malcos:
"...I thought the intro sounded great. I agree with the comment made about the support guitars, making it more up front or panning them would have given a lot more interest to the section preceding the freestyle bit. Really liked the fadeaway ending. It was the intro that really grabbed me in this mix, good stuff."
Indeed - a great original, arranged skillfully for an instrumentation that fits like a glove.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Halt on April 23, 2009
Anyways, Awesome mix. I cannot get enough of stuff like this. Plus, I have a bunch of Ashane's other stuff. As expected, Great stuff man, keep on doing what your doing. ;P
- Halt on April 23, 2009
- metalsnakejuice on April 23, 2009
Expert playing and a great source selection. Solos were killer and completely shredded, and the only complain I has is that the ending didn't live up to the rest of the track's legacy.
Great stuff. \m/
- OA on October 17, 2008
- Hayabusa on January 26, 2006
- Brim on May 4, 2005
nice nice nice!
- junker on May 1, 2005
- Cyan_Ide on April 26, 2005
Excellent guitar work and good drum beats, although pesonally I would've brought up the drum levels just a little more, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying this mix throughly. This mix is well crafted, and well executed. Thumbs up for this one,
Ashane.
Keep up de good work!
- debeerguy007 on April 26, 2005
Excellent ReMix, Ashane! Welcome aboard!
- Txai on April 25, 2005
On my playlist for at least the next month.
Gjob!
- Dace K on April 25, 2005
Great job dude, we will slowly take over OCR! muahaha! :P
- Darangen on April 24, 2005
YoshMaster wrote: It's extremly rare that I post but this is my favorite remix as of a long time! I LOVE this rockin' crazy piece of music:)
You simply HAVE to post some new songs real soon!!! You are one of the best guitar players on OCremix!
Thank you for this wonderful remix!
This will play all summer in my car:P
More Ashane songs, you say? http://www.vgmix.com/search.php?username=Ashane&show_songs=1&wip=1
- KyleJCrb on April 24, 2005
Content Policy
(Submission
Agreement and Terms of Use)
Page generated Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:11:44 -0500 in 0.0999 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.
