ReMix:Final Fantasy V "Wicked n' Floating" 4:54

By AeroZ

Arranging the music of one song...

"Cursed Place"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES), music by Nobuo Uematsu

Posted 2007-10-04, evaluated by the judges panel


Final Fantasy... V? What's that?? With all the VII love (or, for the anti-fanboys, lack thereof), it's nice to see someone throwing some TLC to one of the lesser known FF soundtracks. Of course, this isn't the first time Mr. Freij has done so, with his memorably-named Dark Butz recently arranging Ahead on Our Way and Dark World. Here he moves on to different territory:

"Well, I have not much to say more than Final Fantasy V is a real goldmine. Nobuo has made really good melodies for this game, and I will fight to get them as popular they deserve to be. "Cursed Earths" is a fantastic example I think. Simple but genius."

I wonder how the FFV OST is percieved relative to the other FF OSTs in Japan, where it was domestically released in sequence; I've not often heard it referred to as a "goldmine", but AeroZ is certainly doing his part to convince me. Like its forebear, this is again a fairly liberal arrangement that tosses in a good deal of original material amidst multiple connections to the source that vary in strength. Also like Dark Butz, it employs what I'll call an "advanced chiptune" approach to most of its sounds, utilizing basic synth textures but then manipulating them in funky ways with processing, etc. In the middle of numerous chromatic tapestries, I especially liked the triplet call-and-answer section at 3'25", which had more of a "hook" than other passages. Shariq writes:

"Wow, this is really solid. I agree that it's liberal, but I don't think it's overly so. I can definitely hear the melody in here, albeit heavily riffed on; it does manage to retain its core though. This is a great example of how to really explore a simple melody. I love all the rolls in the square lead, and everything integrates rather nicely. Nice percussion + bassline interaction too."

I agree; Sebastian's doing a great job of expanding FFV tracks and shedding a little light on them. With the recent (and some might say, ridiculous) announcement of Jurassic Park 4, Sebastian's FFV mixes remind me of the scientists in the first film, filling in the dino DNA gaps with frog DNA; he's essentially extrapolating new material that would have worked in the original context. Whether this means his two mixes are female and will still somehow find a way to reproduce remains to be seen, but I think the analogy is entertaining, if not completely effective. Great stuff; I hope to see the ReMixer continue evangelizing the merits of the FFV OST, though it'd be interesting to switch genres or incorporate more acoustic elements. At any rate, this is a slick piece that fits snugly alongside your Butz.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2018-02-05 06:29:25

Holy crap, those drums are absolutely insane! 8O And it's just a pretty cool tune overall! Nice job here :)

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Necrox
on 2015-12-06 15:37:03

Good to see someone put obvious work into an underrated source. A lot going on here and for good; big props for making everything flow together in arrangement, mixing, and sound design. The melody coming in at 1:53 was pretty sick and fit awesomely. Love when things get a bit darker at 3:34; the melody there is superb. Great mix.

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TillyFun
on 2014-09-19 19:05:27

What a groove! :) There are so many layers... how did... does... I don't even :D

Heh, wow. ^_^ So many fun melodies. However it works, it works well. ;)

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tweex
on 2009-11-09 17:04:00

Intro has Seb all over it :). The chiptune synths with the pumpin drums are, as always fantastic. I especially like the time signature changes/syncopation. The production quality is top notch. It's got a great break-beat feel that really has me groovin'. The arrangement is wonderful and keeps the action moving. You really have a talent for that funky bass guitar sound. Just as rhythmic as a slap bas part without being slap bass. It acts almost as a counter melody line, but it's not intrusive at all. The dissonant breakdown section is also very unique to AeroZ's style. You certainly hear it in his previous mixes. Nice break down at the ending. Great work again!

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Marmiduke
on 2009-08-02 23:59:09

I love complex arrangements like this, and this is perhaps one of the best examples I've come to hear in all my years listening on the site. That's not to say it is the most complex, but I think its more productive than other tracks that are conceptually similar.

Of course the dealbreaker is whether things get overwhelming or not, and fortunately this mix completely steers clear of that by using simple sounds in clever and interesting ways. It's like a scrapbook full of ideas strung together with the utmost coherency.

In other words, it's freaking brilliant.

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evktalo
on 2009-03-19 04:54:52

This piece is a shot of aural happiness. Thank you AeroZ!

--Eino

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42
on 2009-01-23 20:43:16
Complete organized chaos

Indeed.

It's too incoherent for me to like, but it's interesting nonetheless. I'd give it an A for effort.

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Dr. Rod
on 2007-12-12 02:17:01

Ive reviewed this before, but I just wanted to say that this is my favorite remix on this site...I cant wait to hear more from ya AeroZ!

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evktalo
on 2007-12-08 13:38:52

According to my last.fm stats this is my top listened song and for a lot of good reasons. Alongside Shnabubula AeroZ is my favourite remixer and I badly desire more music from him.

There's an overwhelming amount of stuff going on here in this mix but it stays safe from being overbearing. That's some organized chaos magic right here.

I love how AeroZ uses so simple, chiptunish sounds as the base of his music. I like chiptune sounds as they are, but the skillful processing and mixing makes them especially delicious.

My favourite parts of the remix: the lo-fi start with the beautiful arpeggios; the descending "icicle" chords at 01:33, so beautifully reverbed; the Megaman-style bass line part right after.. But really there's nothing extra or unneeded here, and you could name any of the parts, there's lots of goodies in there..

--Eino

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Dectilon
on 2007-10-16 15:11:23

Somehow made me think of the Mega Man X series (which is a good thing in my book). Perhaps one of the final levels in some creepy virused-up world? : )

Basically, I'm wondering why this isn't in some game yet ^^

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OA
on 2007-10-12 13:21:46

Complete organized chaos; I love it.

The ending was a little too anticlimactic for me, but the rest was amazingly ornamented and busy without being cluttered. Super skills on display here, folks.

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Dr. Rod
on 2007-10-10 00:09:35

Chiptune's really aren't my personal style, and I tend to have a hard time getting into them. At least I did before I listened to this : )

Your effects are wild as hell, every time I felt like you were about to go overboard you brought it back into a constant groove. Sweet harmonies all throughout. Loved the call and response 1:26-1:33. The build up around 3:40 was particularly nice too. This is the first song I've liked enough to save to CD since TEEM.ROKIT sometime back. I definitely look forward to hearing more of your stuff in the future.

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Dave Harris
on 2007-10-08 18:27:15

Totally badass. Insane sound programming skill! I love hearing people go this far with attention to detail, it's always great fun to listen to and demonstrates nothing short of hard work.

I am unfamiliar with the source material, but I have a feeling I'd be let down by it anyway. This certainly does sound a lot like Shnabubula's stuff, with the trilltastic melodies, eclectic sound choices and aforementioned level of dexterity (infact he linked me to it.)

A diamond in the rough!

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Fishy
on 2007-10-06 08:22:30

If you ignore Yngwie, Sweden has produced some awesome grade-A nutter musicians. AeroZ just cannot be boring to listen to, he just can't. Theres ALWAYS something interesting happening. 10 seconds laters you'll be hearing totally different synths and patterns that still kick ass. Some of the sounds are a bit loud considering how raw they are, but they usually get filtered away in some way, so you don't notice it as much. I suppose it could get a bit overly-complicated, but that won't bother me for a good while.

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Jaybell
on 2007-10-05 13:17:48

Between this, Butz, Green Lane, and 2 H@WT 4 H33TM@N, AeroZ is quickly becoming one of my favorite remixers. Awesome remix!

PS: Screw Darkesword's request, I'd love to see what you could get out of the Dynamite Headdy soundtrack.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Cursed Place"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Chiptune,Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_5_Wicked_n'_Floating_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,966,430 bytes
MD5:
cf503a91ad94e2bff3543827a34a3ac0
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
4:54

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