ReMix: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards 'Dark Matter'
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- Game: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo, 2000, N64)
- ReMixer(s): PrototypeRaptor
- Composer(s): Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa
- Song(s): 'Miracle Matter'
- Posted: 2009-10-11, evaluated by the judges
I've got a new niece! Friday night, 10/9/09, my sister Elizabeth gave birth to Lydia Rose - six pounds, fifteen ounces of baby! I don't talk much about my family here, but with my sisters especially there's musical relevance, for me, since we were all in high school band and all sing (to varying extents!) and play instruments. I'm sure there will be intense familial debate as to whether Lydia should play brass, woodwinds, or strings, long before she is even capable of talking, walking, etc. So... that's good news, but perhaps you came here looking for a ReMix as well? PrototypeRaptor can take care of that, as he delivers our first arrangement of Kirby 64. Mr. Paulsen writes:
"I'm kind of surprised that nobody has done this source yet; Kirby 64's "final" boss, Miracle Matter, had one of my most favorite fight themes ever. I always have wanted to do that crazy boss justice - so here I am. This is a pretty hardcore DnB tune influenced heavily by Prodigy, Crystal Method, Dieselboy, Noisia, etc etc. As such, it has obnoxiously loud drums, lotsa distortion, grating leads, glitching, evil laughing, and, most importantly, loud, ridiculous drops.
I wanted to capture the essence of Miracle Matter in this mix - he was a crazy, psychotic boss that switched between several forms so quickly that you were at the game over screen before you knew what happened. I picture poor kirby walking into the boss room expecting a nice, easy fight with Dedede and his useless hammer only to be confronted by the one and only Hannibal Lecter. With the ability to change shape. And superpowers. He never stood a chance.....:'("
Nice background; everything you'd want in a submission email, really, complete with an amusing Silence of the Lambs reference. But does the mix itself deliver? Well, Jonathan's three other mixes have all been great, and I'm happy to report that his fourth - while offering a somewhat different style - continues the trend. This is LOUD and FAST, expanding on and breaking down the source material while maintaining the frenetic tempo. Judges were unanimous; AnSo writes:
"That track ain't got much speaking for it but you squeezed it and used every little drop of source juice. I applaud you for that! Breakdowns were hot and drums were positively bad-ass. Production was scorching my ears. Then I checked it against the ChaosField-soundtrack (my go-to 'is this loud' source) and I'm cool with it. Distortion was a bit all over the place but it was never ruining the track. The "simpler" sounds used in the breakdowns were good pauses from the over-the-top sound design too, good balance."
The main motif here is absolutely in-your-face. Actually, it's beyond your face... it's somewhere in your nasal cavity. If you've got a splitting headache, this is NOT the track to queue up. Breaks and transitions take it down a notch for some breathing room, and are VERY well executed - Vinnie writes:
"Totally in your face half the time, and then the other half of the time, there's some great breakdown stuff going on. I'm not sure which breakdown I like more - the weird bee stuff at 2:13 or the piano and super distorted drums at 2:30. Great creepy plucked strings following that too."
The pizzicato clusters are indeed sick; the evil-laughing-slowdown ending might be a little overplayed, but it's well-executed and a fitting conclusion to this roller coaster of super-aggressive synths and beats. Powerful, unignorable work from Jonathan that grabs you by the aural jugular and never lets go.
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the This mix is straight up badass. This doesn't just kick the freakin' door, it blows it off with a friggen rocket launcher.
The evil-laugh at the end was overplayed, but who cares? It's the perfect way to end it. Props for putting in the little tune when Kirby looses a life. :nicework:
- Sir_Downunder on December 3, 2009
Great breakdown around 2:30. The sound effects around 2:53 sound like early X-Files.
Love the Vincent Price laughter in the end (that's a damn classic right there), but I love even more what you did with it in the very end, when it all suddenly turns blippy.
- Martin Penwald on October 31, 2009
PrototypeRaptor;605250 wrote:
Thanks everyone for all your comments and encouragements; for you kirby 64 fans keep an eye out - I've been working on one of the more requested tunes here for a while. It should be done next week or so...
until then, peace
That right there just made my entire crappy night of studying for mid-terms infinitely better. Can't wait, man! Can't...freakin'...wait.
- Sir_Snooze on October 20, 2009
I love this. The original theme was already enough to get my adrenaline racing, but you've taken it to 11. And I recognized the Vincent Price laughter at the end as well. So yes, if you've got more Kirby 64 in the works, then I can't wait to hear them. I've actually got a few ideas myself. I'd love to remix the Shiver Star levels 2 and 4 and Neo Star level 4.
Also, love the Kirby "game over" sample at the very VERY end. Cheers!
- Project R2K on October 20, 2009
Jakesnke17;604967 wrote: Is that Vincent Price I hear at 4:13 and on? :D
Haha, yes, I was wondering if someone would pick that up - it most certainly is the one and only Mr. Price on the evil laugh.
Thanks everyone for all your comments and encouragements; for you kirby 64 fans keep an eye out - I've been working on one of the more requested tunes here for a while. It should be done next week or so...
until then, peace
- PrototypeRaptor on October 19, 2009
I cannot believe how solidly this connects. My personal test for determine remix-y greatness is to play the game in question with the music. This passes that test fifty ways to Tuesday.
This is non-stop action - a pulse-pounding, no-holds-barred ReMix worthy of this (second-to) final boss. Everything fits - the strings, the synth solo...I imagine poor little Kirby comin' in, expecting a DeDeDe-esque fight...and, oh, dookie. It's freakin' Miracle Matter!
I have to agree with some of my fellow posters - this is a particularly music-heavy game, and I've always wondered why this game gets lost in the shuffle. Hopefully here, Prototype has opened the door for other ReMixers - a 02 ReMix with half the epicness of this would kerb-stomp.
- Sir_Snooze on October 19, 2009
- BomberKid on October 15, 2009
Now someone has to do O2 (real final battle), and we're set.
- MstrSwrd on October 14, 2009
That said, it's great to see Kirby 64 get some love out here - not only was one of the best games in the series IMO finally covered, but also one of my fave tracks from it, so I really gotta hand it to Prototype for getting the job done.
Yeah, I do admit that the genre selection is pretty obvious as someone else stated, but I still personally can't imagine this taken in any other direction, so I say this is nailed straight on the head here. That's just made the instant jump to my MP3 player :)
- Rexy on October 13, 2009
Here's to more from Kirby 64 in the future - you've set the bar high!
- Emunator on October 12, 2009
- MasterJace on October 12, 2009
