ReMix: Secret of Mana 'Sea/Sky'

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Game: Secret of Mana (Square, 1993, SNES)
ReMixer(s): Ziwtra
Composer(s): Hiroki Kikuta
Song(s): 'Into the Thick of It', 'The Legend'
Posted: 2009-12-11, evaluated by the judges

In 2008, we made history with Capcom, providing the first completely fan-made soundtrack to a major commercial game for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix...

...and man, did that EVER kick ass. Seriously, I really can't convey in print the sheer awesomeness of firing up my 360 or PS3 (yes, I bought it for both), loading HDR, and hearing OUR music. WE did that. Huge thanks to Shael & Malcos for their work on Asphalt, which made it all possible. I really hope we can repeat that experience again and involve more artists sometime in the future - the sooner the better! We also released Radical Dreamers: Thieves of Fate and Doom II: Delta-Q-Delta and posted 129 ReMixes. Pretty great year.

Youngjin had a great year right here in 2009, playing a huge role in the Xenogears project with some great music; this Secret of Mana ReMix continues that trend. The artist writes:

"I've always wanted to remix the overworld track of Secret of Mana. I think it's quite hard to reconcept the track well because Kikuta's original leaves such a strong impression on the player. The mix started just as an arrangement of "The Legend" but it ended up pointing me in a direction that I think opened up possibilities for the overworld theme."

This is a bit funkier than Ziwtra's usual, shimmering arrangements, and while the string texture used is a little high on the EQ, the blend of beats, grooving bass, and rising/falling arpeggio motifs fits Kikuta's source material like a glove. Vinnie writes:

"Another solid arrangement from Ziwtra. I love that funk guitar that comes in about halfway, absolutely selling how funky that beat is. This song manages to be delicate and airy while persistent and sharp - a nice feat. Oh, and awesome how these two songs get melded together, Frankenstein style..."

Well said; the strength of this piece is how it manages to be both groovy and ethereal at the same time. It's great to see the funkier side of Youngjin, but still get the same solid arrangement and production that makes each of his mixes a gem.

Thus concludes our ten-mix, ten-year anniversary retrospective of OC ReMix...

What about 2009, you ask? Well, we'll do that when it's actually over, and we'll also talk more at that time about what's in store for 2010. We're planning on celebrating our ten-year anniversary all year long next year, so you're in for some surprises. In the meantime, enjoy the mixes - there's more where this came from!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

Coolness. On the first listening it was a nice experience to just feel the Secret of Mana vibe rather than hearing overt themes. Second go though, I really enjoyed the creative ReMixing of the themes. Nice work.

- Harmony on September 14, 2010

Another interesting intro from Mr. Hahn. I wasn't feeling the GM intro samples being so exposed. They worked a bit better with the other instrumentation though. I can't really my finger on the sound here, but I have to say that I don't feel this one meshing as well as some of the others that we've heard from Youngjin. However, the middle section with the jazz flute and the funk guitar brought this back around for me. Loving the fell of this part; I could've listened to that all the way through. Laying low on the GM synths felt better after in the opening section. Even though they build backup after the breakdown section, it feels a bit more natural this time around. The piano is probably my favorite color instrument. After listening, I think I know what bothers me about the GM and it's the high legato strings. The sound is just too grating in comparison to the smooth nature of this track. Outside of that, I definitely found this one grooving.

- tweek on September 13, 2010

Much more accessible than some of Ziwtra's other remixes IMO. Very laid back groove with a lot of attention to detail. The first 5 or so seconds remind me of Zelda:ALttP for some reason.
Good stuff; been listening to it a lot in past few days.

- Martin Penwald on January 6, 2010

Nicely done. I have to say that the first minuteish seems to be lacking (in my opinion anyway) as it is just setting up the beat, but that is a minor issue.
I love the overall groove of this piece! Great work, hope to hear more like this from you :)

- jintoreedwine on December 28, 2009

Whoa - this is pretty unique stuff compared to Ziwtra's other songs on OCR, but then again, all of his stuff is unique. I guess I don't really expect a plodding laid back mix from him when compared to some of his prior work.
What I find impressive about this song though is the stuff going on in the background - it's pretty obvious that a lot of attention to detail was made with all that is going on. Great job!

- Bahamut on December 22, 2009

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. I love it. A + Must listen

- ChaosPlayer on December 17, 2009

Really nice stuff- chill but engaging. The textures were interesting, and it really does remind me of Secret of Mana +.
Good stuff from Ziwtra.

- OA on December 16, 2009

Sweetness comes in all packages and this one comes in sonic form! Always glad to see some SoM love on the site! Interesting combo of sources but the end result works for a laid piece with plenty of forward motion to keep the song moving. Thanks Young making this one and don't ever stop!

- avaris on December 15, 2009

I really enjoyed this, great work!

- abg on December 15, 2009

Lots of details in this one that are really cool. I love the super low bass near the beginning, and the section from 4:20 to nearly the end is pretty cool. I agree with OA's judging about this sounding like Secret of Mana +.
Overall, really nice work here, I'm liking htis one a lot.

- DragonAvenger on December 13, 2009

Great source choice, I misread it at first and then when I realized what song it was it was one of those... "oh snap!" moments. Great chillout type atmosphere at times with a low key groove but a lot of changes to keep it interesting, as usual the piano is one of my favorite parts.
Untapped Secret of Mana source material, easy winner, but in all seriousness, this mix is great.

- ZealPath on December 13, 2009

Soft groove. Reverse stuff. The chord rhythm brings Palpable's Fly to mind. Filtered piano. A sense of radio effects (as mentioned by previous reviewers). Mana music. What's not to like? :D

- Rozovian on December 13, 2009

Excellent. Love it.

- Geoffrey Taucer on December 13, 2009

Astounding remix, truly one of a kind.

- Lynx on December 12, 2009

Emunator;622087 wrote: I can't lie, the really fake strings did bother me a bit :? Once you got into the thick of the mix and they were a bit more covered up it felt okay, but even if you weren't going for realism that part of the song didn't jive with me.

I didn't get the impression that they were supposed to sound real at all. If anything, they sounded a lot like the actual SNES strings from the Secret of Mana game. Everything but the drums has that chilled out synthetic feel too it. Even the guitar, which is obviously real, had enough effects to fit the electronic aesthetic.
I don't know why, but I really like the drums in this song. They've got a simple organic vibe to them, and the just kinda keep chugging along... especially in the first half of the song... kinda gives a 70s disco feel to the whole thing.

- Sinewav on December 11, 2009