ReMix: Romancing SaGa 3 'Romancing the Bossa'

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Game: Romancing SaGa 3 (Square, 1995, SNES)
ReMixer(s): Bladiator
Composer(s): Kenji Ito
Song(s): 'Battle 2'
Posted: 2010-01-01, evaluated by the judges

Happy New Year! Last night at MAG was a rather surreal experience that included all of the following:

Briefly singing (badly) the end of Music of My Groin on stage with the legend that is Shael Riley (and the Double Ice Backfire)
Meeting a lot of West-coasters for the first time, including Neko, Ash, Mono, and Adhesive
Geeking out with some dude about 8-bit games for at least ten minutes before I realized I was talking to Brental Floss
Using a Hilton soap dish to try and pry open a Sam Adams because we didn't have a can opener (classy!)
Being surrounded by DKC2 project folks and (literally) prodded to finish my tracks, which was made worse by Jake showing up and announcing he was done with his
Shaking hands and achieving relative unawkwardness around (former?) troublemaker Protricity
Having a general blast

Gotta get back to the convention so I'm in a bit of a rush, but I wanted to ensure we posted SOMETHING on the first of the year, to start things off right. Blad's just the man to do it - we chilled with him at Denny's during SGC "way back" in 2009, which was awesome. He writes:

"I wrote this piece for a Bad Dudes album based on boss battles. I found it via aimlessly searching the vgmusic.com page. The melody worked really nicely for me .. it was something that wasn't just shredder type boss music -- something I could enjoy humming. For the actual album, Mustin redid a lot of the samples as well as drums and some flute notes. Although I enjoyed what he did, I still like what I had originally a whole lot more.

I really like the energy I created with this one. I usually "like" my remixes, but this one just really gets me toe-tapping. Like many of my remixes, I start with a melancholy piano rendition of the theme and then lead into the rest, so I hope you're not tired of that stuff."

Not tired at all; our first ReMix from Romancing SaGa 3, this track is classic Blad: playful, musical, creative, and infectious. Many of you may have read the news that zircon has stepped down as a judge (for the time being, at least), so I'd like to openly thank him for his many years of making OCR a better place and selflessly providing feedback and great music, and also quote him:

"I love this track - I often try to play it by ear since it's just such an awesome take on the source! GREAT performance, great piano recording, great rhythms, excellent interpretation. My only complaint is that the flute sample doesn't sound so hot, and the transition to the fast section is definitely abrupt. However these issues aren't nearly enough to bring this below our bar. Awesome stuff, Blad!"

It's a tasty piano-driven latin jazz jam, it's a great arrangement, and it's a great way to get 2010 off and rolling!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

This mix just has pure heart and soul in it.

- yosefu on January 29, 2010

This is so epic. The piano is sooo good and the whole latin feel is just so perfect.
Good work:-P

- metalsnakejuice on January 29, 2010

I agree with what was said by the judges; the transition into the faster second part of the song does feel a little weird, and the flute doesn't sound particularly good, but neither of these two points really detract from my enjoyment of this song. It's fun, it's happy, it's jazzy and at the same time, it makes you wanna move.
Nice work.

- Martin Penwald on January 24, 2010

Ah, the convenience of being forced to listen to so many OCReMixes due to OCAD editing. This was a gorgeous piece that starts with a very emotive piano. The playing is exactly what the style calls for.
The main chunk of the first movement of the song, once the drums kick in, is awesome. Lots of layering and the lead being reinforced by the strings comes through without sounding cluttered. I wasn't a fan of the center-panned rim-tap, but that didn't stick around for too long and didn't greatly detract from the mix. It just stood out a little too much for me.
The second movement is great, once things pick up speed. It is here that the strings sound a little more fake-y, along with the flute. It still works for the song though, as it doesn't sound overly synthetic, and the accuracy of the rest of the instruments, especially the mixing and playing of the percussive instruments, more than compensates.
I'm not too familiar with the source tune, but coming at it from a song-solitary perspective, this is great. Well done!

- Level 99 on January 20, 2010

I don't even post on the forums or anything but I dusted off my ancient account just to come in and say this is AWSOME. I really wish people would do more Romancing Saga music, Kenji Ito's compositions are just awsome. I love the fiestiness that was added to this boss theme I can really get energetic and down with it, I find the original to be a little more morose. (Which is good too.) Keep up the graeat work and I hope to see more Romancing Saga remixes in the future.

- Drake Dracoli on January 15, 2010

Hm... for some reason I've had the Bad Dudes EP that this was featured on downloaded for quite some time, but never really checked it out. I don't know why, I typically love your piano arrangements and I think that this one might be even more enjoyable than most. Sometimes the percussion can get a little much, but the flute is nice and chill all around, accentuates the beautiful piano, and is definitely a treat for the ears! It definitely would have benefited a lot from being played live, but I won't hold that against you ;-)
Great mix, how this one escaped me before now is beyond me :-P

- Emunator on January 12, 2010

Ah hell! Pianos Pianos Pianos! I simply cannot get enough. The latino edge added into the piano work made me do a jig in my seat as I listened. Well arranged.
Repetitions where repetitions are needed. The drum roll to symbol slap was a nice added touch as well. Adored how it picked up around 1:55ish. Very well put together, fun, giddy, happy, dance music from a less than renown game. A+ material in my book.

- Mini-Mal on January 7, 2010

Love the mix! It combines two things I enjoy: 1) Piano work from Bladiator and 2) Jazz.
Basically, this was an instant win for me, nicely done :) .

- jintoreedwine on January 7, 2010

Sorry my vote on this one was so brief, but really it's seemingly such an obvious pass, that it didn't seem to be much to really touch on besides that it was awesome. I love all the little rhythmic piano touches throughout, and the textures and harmonies added are excellent.
Very strong stuff, and a great way to start off the new year. :-)

- OA on January 6, 2010

This is a pretty nifty song - love the latin flair.
This song fits for some reason for the new year, which has this dancing feel to it - for some reason I get that vibe with blad's tracks in general. Definitely is a creative take on the source material, pretty much love it!

- Bahamut on January 6, 2010

Bladiator is now my personal hero. I've been in love with the Romancing SaGa 3 soundtrack (as well as the game) for quite some time now. It was great to see someone actually do something with one of the songs from it, let alone one of my favorites! I love that it was different than typical generic rock doujins I've heard of it and more melodic. <3
<3<3<3

- Otakatt on January 1, 2010

This arrangement is HOT! Great source tune, too... I've always been a big fan of bladiator's work and this is no exception. Definitely a great way to start off the year!

- ProjectSpam on January 1, 2010

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on January 1, 2010