ReMix: Seiken Densetsu 3 'Aurora Borealis'

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Game: Seiken Densetsu 3 (Square, 1995, SNES)
ReMixer(s): Rozovian
Composer(s): Hiroki Kikuta
Song(s): 'Another Winter'
Posted: 2010-07-01, evaluated by djpretzel

It's Xmas in July!! This SD3 ReMix from Rozo was originally released as part of Dyne's An OverClocked Christmas v.3 free community-collab album. No one got too excited about my own marching-band geek-out rendition of 'Little Drummer Boy,' which made me a bit sadly, but it was still fun contributing. For his track, Rozovian took the opportunity to stick w/ VGM, thus enabling eligibility for posting here as well - two birds with one merry, holiday-infused stone. He writes:

"Made a remix of SD3's "Another Winter" (1-09) before joining the project... back when. It was fairly conservative, unlike some of my recent subs. For the Xmas album, I picked up the old arrangement, added some drums and some bass, wrote some new stuff, updated the sounds... the usual when picking up something old and actually making something out of it. This is the result... Might not be the most Xmas-y, but it's a winter track and that's close enough for me.

Also, it has a bass drum. :P"

And a good one, too! That's probably alluding, at least in part, to my comment on OCR01950; for a while Ad was rocking the sans-kick sound, but for the record I do think branching out has been a good thing. Kikuta's work on the Seikens is rife with repeating patterns, rising & falling arpeggios, with a sort of metric, timekeeping quality that tends to work well w/ faster BPM arrangements, esp. electronica. Rozo flips between regular and double-time with agility, using a d'n'bish drum style to play off of the aforementioned patterns & motifs. I dig the triplet breaks here and there, and there's a good incorporation of orchestral bits to keep the synths company. Not particularly Xmassy in anything other than source context, but a very solid mix that latches on to the best elements of the original and embellishes them thoughtfully.

As a cool sidenote, we're gonna be returning to Otakon this year, and Hiroki Kikuta is actually composing the music for the convention's opening animation! Pretty awesome, eh? Enjoyable, crisp stuff from Rozovian, arranging an unmixed source from a classic OST!

― djpretzel

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

Great mix, love how it rises urgently and descends peacefully.

- WesternZypher on April 18, 2013

Very Wintery ReMix. Perfect for when all you can see outside is white. This is the kind of song that may not scream Christmas, but gives that cold, northern lighted sky feeling. Loved that bass drum and the synths here. A little long, but it's great to drive to. If there was a spirit of winter, this song would have it. Sweet stuff Rozo.

- Crulex on September 5, 2012

Hell I thought this was from Mass Effect at first. Suddenly I recognized everything, oh what a joy! :)

- NinjaFlute on August 22, 2011

Very nice track, not a super favourite but well executed regardless. Rozo has his own style, clarity and synths being the central features. His sound is recognizable.
The drums in this one are very Kikuta-like in my opinion! My nitpick for this piece is that the strings sometimes feel like they drag a little bit behind. They could have perhaps been shifted a little bit forwards to compensate for the attack.
--Eino

- evktalo on October 25, 2010

This is my favorite Rozovian song too, and winter is absolutely captured in this. diotrans and I drove up to NY last winter for the holidays, listening to the OverClocked Christmas album. Even though this song is not that Christmas-y, it perfectly fit the drive. Maybe a little long, but it's one of those tracks where he keeps a good thing going and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

- Palpable on October 25, 2010

As Rozovian himself said in the submission email, this doesn't sound very Xmas-y, but the wintery feel is definitely there. Nice choice of instruments; the synths stand out especially.
I agree with OA on the length. though. For a track this long, it could've used a little more variation, particularly in the second half of the song. I'd like to see Rozovian try something more daring, something that takes a step away from the part1-breakdown-part2 formula.
Diggin' the outro, btw.

- Martin Penwald on July 20, 2010

Easily my favorite track Rozo has done.
I love the drum and synth combination, and the feeling this creates is extraordinary. At 6 minutes it feels a little long, but I have no problem endlessly looping this one. Great work!

- OA on July 15, 2010

It sounded awesome back in Winter, and it still sounds awesome now. Rozo knows how to work his sounds to their maximum potential. The result is nearly always mixes that sound complexly layered, even when they really aren't. This one is more complex than I've usually heard (unless my ears are playing tricks on me), with a mesh of pads and high bell chimey sounds supported stable strings and some killer dancey drums. Definitely a wintery feeling throughout. Love how the progression doesn't change up that often but it never gets too stale for me, as there's always parts changing, coming in and out.

I dig the Rozo sound. His force is mighty.

- Level 99 on July 9, 2010

Thanks everyone. I'm gone for half a week and this is what I see when I come back. :D
I had a feeling this track was gonna get posted soon, juxtaposed with the current season. It's a winter track, and I don't think djp would wait until winter to post it, so... :D
Again, a big breakdown in the middle of the track. Yeah, ppl love it, which is awesome :D, but am I becoming predictable?
(I miss the judges' comments. must make crappier music, or heavily interpreted stuff they must panel just to sort out source use... and then they ask me anyway.)
Hey maybe this mix can get ppl excited about the sd3 project :D and FINISHING THEIR MIXES FOR IT!! :P

- Rozovian on July 6, 2010

Originality: 5/5
Old School: 5/5
Instrumental: 5/5
Ambience's play through: 5/5
Over laps a little but still bearable.
Brings back great memories of the original sound track.
(I myself played this game too :puppyeyes: )
Grade: A+ must listen.

- ChaosPlayer on July 6, 2010

I think Rozo executed this track very well - I like this a lot. Good job, Rozo...as always. :)

- JaDE ARaN HaRuNo on July 4, 2010

Ah, THIS song. I got to say, here, that I've played through that game about... 9 times, so every track in it sticks in my memory like crazy. Great game, great track.
Anyhow, It's a pretty chill mix going down, here. Of course, the original was chill, on it's own, so it's sort of like an enhancement of that original sound.
Great track there, buddy - can't wait for the album of this game you're working on (and if it doesn't come out by next year I'll try to participate, I swear :tomatoface:).

- Gario on July 3, 2010

The percussion seems a bit robotic/loud so it kind of intrudes in on the piece. Like, it's disproportionally intense compared to the other instruments. I also feel like the arrangement could have been compressed a bit - it dragged on a little. However, the synths were very beautiful and atmospheric. I would say this piece is an even split for me.

- windkirby on July 2, 2010

love the quiet part around 2:15 that has the bells (or synth bells?) in the background

- a_d on July 2, 2010

Never heard the original track, but now I'm inspired to go give it a try. :-) Great remix altogether - definitely going on a few playlists.

- Melbu Frahma on July 1, 2010