ReMix: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Snowboardin' Sonic'
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- Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega, 1994, GEN)
- ReMixer(s): WillRock
- Composer(s): Bobby Brooks, Brad Buxer, Darryl Ross, Doug Grigsby III, Geoff Grace, Jun Senoue, Michael Jackson, Scirocco, Tatsuyuki Maeda, Tomonori Sawada
- Song(s): 'IceCap Zone: Act 1'
- Posted: 2009-08-05, evaluated by the judges
No sooner do I mention 'IceCap' in the preceding writeup than slam, bam, thank you mam... it's a new Sonic 3 mix of same. As Rozovian's F-Zero GX mix was a follow-up to his own first mix, so too is this Willrock's successor to his excellent Link's Awakening debut. Nice to see the "new guys" getting some regular action going on! Mr. Harby writes:
"This was the first mix I made using newly discovered production techniques. I subbed it, it was rejected, and I have subbed it again having made adjustments to my remix. Special thanks goes to the people that helped me at the WIP Board, and the judges for the feedback I received when it was originally rejected, without which, this piece would not be as good."
"Newly discovered production techniques" sounds a little unnecessarily vague, like "Ancient Chinese Secret!" or "Special Sauce," but the important thing is that Will's getting better, and you can hear it. This has 80's written all over it, from the synth bass to the flagrantly synthetic rock kit drums, but the synths are definitely timeless; Willrock's tightened up his sound, and the soloing here is made all the better by excellent patches that modulate in all the right ways. Like you want... like you need. The arrangement was a little pedestrian up until 0'38", where Will breaks off of the all-too-familiar melodic riff and segues seamlessly into solo territory. It's a very additive arrangement style, taking the original and filling in the gaps between recitations of the chorus, so the key is how it all meshes together, and in this case the answer is "quite well." Mr. Butterfield writes:
"Rather sparse stuff, and the same basic synths are used from start to finish, but the synthy textures are nice and the effects keep things interesting. Writing is good, loving the solos and synth interaction. Mixing could be a bit more balanced, because I'd like to hear that bass more, but it's alright here."
Shariq adds:
"Yeah, I can dig this. Love the sequencing and sounds. Great texture, really rockin' synth stuff. Solos are awesome."
I appreciate the overall aesthetic here as being dated, but I'd still like to see Will experiment with more modern drum samples and programming; a more aggressive snare and edgier sounds overall would have made this more contemporary without losing anything in the process. Or, if it's gonna stay firmly planted in the 80's, I'd suggest some more elaborate fills (toms ftw) to spice things up a bit; see 'Mia Fey' for a good example. Regardless, and especially with regards to synth/lead work, this is a good mix that takes a straightforward arrangement and executes it with excellence; Willrock doesrock, and I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes next.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the [Edit]: DOH! On double checking, it sounds nothing like Perion's music. But it reminded me so much of Maplestory, but I can't remember where.
- StreetFlare on January 30, 2012
This is pretty good; it has that WillRock flair. A very enjoyable listen; way to go Will! :D
- Mirby on December 25, 2011
- Locke on December 3, 2011
- Crulex on July 18, 2011
I'm not entirely sure where the style for this mix came from - All I know is that when I joined ocr and got a very decidedly negative critique on my first subbed remix to the site, I set out get a mix posted to prove to myself I could do it, and this was the first mix that I attempted this with. Originally, I wasn't successful - The original mix is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpCl3wFkGM
However, if you fail, you should try again, and try again I did. Inspiration musically wasn't really important to me here I don't think, I was driven by a different desire, which was to be posted on OCR.
Thankfully I succeeded, and altho this mix quite rightly hasn't been without its share of criticisms, i'm happy that I was able to make a remix that people have enjoyed regardless.
- WillRock on December 22, 2010
- Giga Bowser on March 19, 2010
The foundation for the song is pretty generic but the lead writing is what makes this one of my favorite Willrock mixes. Very enjoyable mix, but you've only improved since this! :-D
- Emunator on December 21, 2009
It's absolutely awesome. Even more kudos that you made it so well since by now people get pretty weary of Ice Cap mixes.
- YellowYoshi1 on October 5, 2009
Hollidayrain;576396 wrote: The ONLY things I'm not completely feelin' about this piece are the kick and snare. They just don't work for me (neither the samples nor the patterns).
That being said, EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THIS IS SIICKKKK!!!!!!!
Concur'd'ed'd'ed'd!
- richter on September 10, 2009
GeckoYamori;578053 wrote: It's got a distinct euro/demoscene style to it.
This.
Much like most other reviewers, I agree that the drums are the weak point, while the arrangement and solos are good.
- Martin Penwald on August 25, 2009
I agree that the drums are the weak point here, there's no velocity shifts at all.
The good news is that the synths sound pretty good. There's a few clarity issues, but things are clear enough to hear what's going on.
Good stuff, I enjoyed it. :-)
- OA on August 15, 2009
- PROTO·DOME on August 14, 2009
