ReMix: Chrono Trigger 'Fight for Our Future!'

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Chrono Trigger

Neko writes:

"It may be hard to believe, but I have never been a fan of Chrono Trigger the game. I remember playing it the day it came out (a friend of mine had been following it throughout the old days of magazines, and tried to get me interested), and a few times after that, but not really enjoying it much. Fast forward to well over a decade later and lo and behold, I still don't really like the game. The soundtrack, is a far different story. One of the most amazing soundtracks ever put down for a videogame -- probably the best of its era -- and it has always been near the top in my favorites list.

A year ago I did a very brief cover of the Battle theme for the May 2007 gamesarefun.com podcast, and left it at that. Ever since then I've had the urge to revisit it, and finally I did. Heavy guitars and a lead tone that I'm actually finally happy with; this is easily one of my favorites. It was recorded with my custom Ibanez RG7621 7 string guitar -- so yes if you try to learn to play it you will discover that you either need to tune down to B standard or buy a 7 string :)"

Neko's one of those peeps who spent a long time on our forums being a tad bit goofy before actually submitting, and it was actually a little surprising to see him show up all the sudden with some pretty badass tracks. He brings the heat yet again with this straight-up, no frills rock CT mix. It passed the panel conditionally first time 'round, then Justin sent us an edit that responded to some comments about volume/drums. Vinnie writes:

"Awesome arrangement, Justin. Much as I love CT's soundtrack, I was always thought the battle theme was kind of dorky. This was a really crunchy, high-energy take on the theme that really did it justice. The cameos were worked in well and they provided good contrast to the main theme. The ending was abrupt (actually, the beginning too) but that's very minor."

Andy adds:

"I'm really impressed with Nekofrog's stuff - considering he's relatively new to remixing, I think he has a solid handle on what makes a good remix. Before I go into some of my critiques, I think that overall the interpretation here is very good. CT battle remixes are uncommon so it's nice to hear that done, and done well. Nice mix of source material, variation and original stuff."

Not much else for me to add - battle theme's not necessarily one of the killa cuts off the OST, but the whole damn score was awesome, and it's good to see someone giving the un-Schalas of the collection some love. This track doesn't really have any huge surprises or tricks up its sleeve, it's just solid, well-arranged, butt-kicking rock. Sometimes that's all you want, and in this case, that's what you get; more good stuff from NF.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
As a fan of the game, the source material and of course being the game that started me on roleplaying titles, this song has struck me harder than other covers. There's something professional about the sound - from the driving beat to the fretwork, it all feels as if it's in place and that it's the right track for a showdown where it's life and death.

- alrubedo on October 5, 2012
This clearly rocks. It's a brilliant expansion on the original track, not only in arrangement but also in tone. It takes the sparseness of the original and gives it fuller, classic rock production that, while it could have been fuller, brings out strengths in the composition that I never knew were there. Finally, the theme's true potency has been activated, and it only took some awesome Neko guitar work to do it.
I enjoyed the hell out of this; it's got a professional sound, it's technically stellar, it's fast and it's loud. Definitely not just another Chrono Trigger mix.

- Marmiduke on May 23, 2012
Aw yeah!-- This [U]is[/U] justice. Back when I played it, both as a little kid to a few years ago, I really tried to enjoy this battle theme. It always stood out in my mind because I used to be extremely bad at navigating myself in RPGs. And I mean Goldfish Memory Syndrome bad. Which gave me plenty of time to listen closely to every single facet of that theme, while I floundered about inside 600AD's cathedral dungeon.
Anyway, it always sounded completely lame, somehow. Now that it's properly remixed, it is so awesome, yet recognizable that I wish I could somehow patch my Chrono Trigger ROM (already patched with non-Woolsey translations) so that it plays this instead.

- TheCorty on October 1, 2010
Ohman, I've always hated the main Battle Theme to the point that sometimes I avoided battles just so I could continue to enjoy better music like Tyran Castle. But this, THIS...this brings the song to justice. Incredible work from all angles, a virtually flawless remix, you certainly turned a lusterless, forgettable track into something infinitely memorable. Great work!

- LoneSword on September 27, 2010
Ok, right out of the gate, you can hear a VAST difference in the tone of the drums and the guitar from Justin's first solo remix, and the change is fabulous! The backing pads are very Halo esque and do a great job in bringing all the parts together and filling the empty frequency spaces. The lead guitar tone is crisp and clear. The performance is top notch, but that has never been an issue for Nekofrog. The drums feel a little sequenced and shot-gunned here and there, but that's more the beat pattern. With a little more variation in the sequencing, this would have felt a bit better. It's interesting that Justin used more acoustic sounding drums when he was programming a very DnB esque beat. It would have been interesting to hear how this would have sounded with synthetic drum samples, but I digress. The production quality of this piece is definitely better than his first, not to say that his first was bad, but he certainly brought something new to the table with one. Great job Justin!

- tweex on August 9, 2010
I absolutely hate hate HATE the battle theme from Chrono Trigger. It's awful. Now that I've heard this particular piece, it's not the tune itself that makes me angry, it's just the way it was presented. This remix rocks, and is a joy to listen to. Maybe I'll give the source another listen.
*five minutes later* Nope, still garbage. You sold your soul to pull off this remix so well.

- Bip on August 11, 2009
I love CT music, and i thoroughly enjoyed this mix. It kind of reminds me a little bit of Dynasty Warriors lol. Good Job!!!

- lostpropht on May 9, 2009
I haven't really listened to a CT remix for a while, but I don't remember many of them being this awesome. I like the background guitar work, and the occasional melodies from different themes. All very badass, I like it!

- MechaFone on April 28, 2009
OA;529032 wrote: ..., and I even though i'm so over Schala, this way of presenting it was well done and fresh.

Same here.
I like the "red alert"-kinda opening, though the transition into the rocking guitar part could've been smoother. The guitar work is insane and makes this one of the most energetic remixes I've listened to lately.
Loving the short breakdown at ~3:10. 3:45 onwards is my favourite part of the song; I just can't get it out of my head.
Great stuff. Keep rocking.

- Martin Penwald on April 25, 2009
Until I heard this remix I actually couldn't even remember how the battle theme went. This remix has brought much justice to it, however. The guitar work sounds very well done, and I especially like the section from 3:04 to 3:25 .
Swell job!

- jintoreedwine on April 15, 2009
Thank you sirs.

- Nekofrog on April 15, 2009
Oh hell yes. This remix rocks. Hard.
And what's up with the hating of Battle 1? From here on I declare it only appropriate when done in deference to this remix.
Had I made this (and had I the talent and dedication to do so), I would have done a few things differently. Most glaringly, I would increased the dynamic range and extended the breakdown starting at 3:08 (incorporating guitar at 3:14), giving a comparative pause to the piece and allowing for an extended buildup to an even louder climax. HOWEVER, now that I've listened to this a hundred times or so (it rocks so hard that winamp has sustained mostly this remix on repeat for the past few days), I've come to see the merit in what Nekofrog obviously had in mind. This is get-the-lead-out, 100% energy, 100% of the time. No silly, gratuitous ups and downs. Even the supposed breakdown isn't a rest. It's nonstop adrenaline. If this were to become the battle theme for the next remake of ct, I think I would be wiped out from playing it in less than an hour.
The layering is awesome (especially when there are three hot damn) and sync-ed spot-on, the picking/riffing is clean, and the chugging is downright nasty. I love every bit of that guitar work. I know I'm not qualified to comment, but I still love it.
And those bits of Schala. How did you think to incorporate...? Nevermind. It works perfectly.
Man, that's it I'm done. F-ing rock on, Neko.

- K.B. on April 15, 2009
Umm... Wow. There's only a few remixes of this genre that I like. This is officially one of them. The guitar work is very well structured. Love the turn it takes at 3:15.
I like finding good songs/remixes like this and putting them on for sound rather than the game sound, while I troll through Ninja Gaiden II killing all. This is perfect for that. Yep, I could definitely slay fiends to this.
In fact, I think I shall. Great job Neko.
Edit: p.s. I agree with Vinnie in regards to the battle theme. I always thought it was a little under bar my self when held up against the rest of the CT soundtrack. Even, more kudos to Neko for that because his translation of the battle theme is stupendous.

- Flare4War on April 14, 2009
That guitar solo, especially at 2:40, is FREAKIN COOL!

- Mtlbro on April 12, 2009
When SquareEnix finally runs out of Handheld Consoles to re-release Chrono Trigger on and we're onto 17th Generation console graphics and they finally decide to do a full remake of Chrono Trigger.
This should be the battle theme.

- MojoHamster on April 10, 2009