ReMix: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 'Waking the Fish'

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The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Well, happy post-Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there, and happy... weekend? ... to everyone else. I rather like Thanksgiving... while the historical foundation/context may have involved a merely temporary collaboration between colonizing and indigenous peoples, the nature of which ultimately ended up going in a much different (tragic) direction, the abstract concept of taking some time to articulate what you're thankful for, and why, seems worthwhile. Plus: Turkey's good. So's Willrock's latest mix, which I was meaning to post yesterday, but got distracted while playing some BioShock & New Super Mario Bros. Wii w/ Vinnie. The artist writes:

"God knows where the inspiration for this came from :P All I know is that I decided to remix the ballad of the wind fish, one of my favorite game themes, in a style that I have never tried before (and one that you guys are tbh probably sick of) :P Needless to say, it has taken me a while, but I have done it, and I think it is a little better polished than my previous subs so far."

Wow... I'm not sick of this, or anything like it, at all - I've always loved the source, too, and this is my favorite arrangement of Willrock's to date. It's accessible, upbeat, and provides the best foundation yet for Will's soloing, which is par for course, i.e. awesome. The synth patch used for most of the solos reminds me of Daft Punk's 'Digital Love,' which Vinnie and I were just talking about yesterday as being particularly badass, and the overall structure is easy to get into while also making significant alterations to the melody that keep things recognizable but functionally unique. Palpable writes:

"I can always expect some great synth solos from Will at this point, but I also thought the new writing and chords for the simple Wind Fish song were very creative and worked like they were always meant to be written that way... This has a whole lot to like, and it's probably still my favorite arrangement Will has done."

Ditto. Most judges did point out that the drums could have been a bit more interesting, which I can see, but this was a very minor qualm with a supremely solid & soaring mix. Will just keeps getting better, and this piece proves it - awesome work that I, for one, will definitely keep coming back to!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
At first I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, it sounded alien and not as all as I wanted it to sound. However as the song started getting into it I started hearing what I can only describe as awesome. It might start out sounding nothing at all like Ballad of the Wind Fish but soon enough it turns into a great remix of a great song. It may not have been what I was looking for when I browsed over to one of my favourite portable games, but it definitely does do the song justice and will definitely make it into my Zelda playlist.

- Nareusm on December 27, 2009
Cooooool...
The techno here feels calming and smooth while being energizing.
This strikes a weird balance between being interesting to listen to and, well, not; there's some stretches where it feels very monotonous.
Other times it does have a very good groove going on, and those other times feel like a rest.
In the end, I have to admit that I do like it, but imo its about a minute too long.

- 42 on December 15, 2009
About time I caught up with reviewing your stuff, Will. Now you have to get more posted. :P
I remember this one from way back, and liked it then. I also remember commenting your your kick drum fills coming in at the wrong times and THEY STILL DO! :P At least some of them, in the intro.
Overall, this is as your stuff usually is, Great synth writing, retro sound. The use of strings and piano gives it a different vibe from your usual stuff, which the source naturally contributes to as well. Not a bad thing.

- Rozovian on December 13, 2009
I know already posted, but seriously this mix is awesome. Brings me back to mid-late 90s gaming.

- Dramon on December 11, 2009
I'm with DragonAvenger on this one. The first half doesn't do anything for me; it's so...vanilla. Production's good, but I just don't like the sound.
The breakdown and all the soloing that follows is much better; this is where the remix starts to shine.

- Martin Penwald on December 11, 2009
Willrock sure can rock da house. Good work:razz:

- metalsnakejuice on December 5, 2009
wow and i thought your tal tal hights remix was good... great job! I can see this being used for either a racing game like mario kart or as credits

- jcbq on December 3, 2009
Thanks for the positive reviews guys! ^-^ Reading these reviews has really brightened what has been a somewhat average week... keep em coming! :D

- Willrock on December 3, 2009
Dear gawd this is beautiful. :puppyeyes:

- Elex Synn on December 3, 2009
Thats really cool that you got Ronald Jenkees to collab on a track with you...
just sayin....
jk foreals though man, good work. love the synth work.

- Dramon on December 3, 2009
This remix absolutely blew my mind. Very impressive work.

- Lynx on December 2, 2009
This is some good stuff right here. That synth lead sounds awesome, the pitch bending you've done with it in particular is really top-notch.
Nice work, Will. :nicework:

- Sir_Downunder on December 2, 2009
This is really good, but the last minute has a few sour notes (3:48 and 4:02 in particular) that throw me off.

- Striker21 on December 2, 2009
Wow.. this mix really hits the mark. Good stuff! Keep 'em coming ^_^

- xtp183 on December 1, 2009
The original writing didn't sit well with me the first few times I heard it, but I've been able to step back a bit and appreciate the song on a new level now. The soloing is really tastefully done, most of my favorite parts were actually mixed pretty far back so that they were more support pieces instead of actual attention-grabbers. Great job on pitch-bending too, that sounds awesome!
I, too, have a bit of an issue with the piano/string sound, but it does capture the dreamy feel of the original and is still good enough to fit with the rest of the song.
At the end of the day, this is your typical Willrock song, it's hard to go wrong with it if you like strong lead synths and a good groove. This one isn't my personal favorite from him but I can definitely see why it's gotten such a good reception.

- Emunator on December 1, 2009