ReMix: The Revenge of Shinobi 'Eternal Tears'

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Game: The Revenge of Shinobi (Sega, 1989, GEN)
ReMixer(s): Dj Mystix
Composer(s): Yuzo Koshiro
Song(s): 'My Lover', 'Parting Forever'
Posted: 2011-02-14, evaluated by the judges

When I think of Valentine's Day and hearts and cupids and romance and chocolates, my mind instantly turns to thoughts of... Shinobi?

Maybe not, unless you've got a secret fictional crush on Joe Musashi or something, BUT one of the two sources of this great arrangement from newcomer Dj Mystix is titled 'My Lover', so there's some contextual relevance there, at least. The other source is from Lost Odyssey, and the way Mystix, aka Mansoor Nazar, combines the two themes is really what makes this mix special. Production is competent, downbeat electronica with some grittier, hip-hop/r&b aesthetics, and many of the sounds employed have a specific, nostalgic feel that almost reminds me of the way Tarantino used existing tunes for the Kill Bills; there's a depth & resonance that jives perfectly with the arrangement. I'd hesitate to call it minimalism, but every component feels very comfortable and there's nothing extraneous. The artist writes:

"This is the second time I am revisiting this song (last time was 10 years ago). It's one of my favorite video game songs. The mix starts with a piano riff taken from Lost Odyssey - Parting Forever. Since the source is very short, I merged it one of my own songs I wrote some 10 years ago. Hope you'll like it."

I certainly did; I'm a sweet tooth for Revenge of Shinobi, I'll admit, since I consider it one of the finest game soundtracks made, but this arrangement requires no Shinobi-bias to fully appreciate. Even though they're from totally different games, platforms, and composers, these two themes work amazingly well together, and it took a good ear just to realize that in the first place, and then some solid, foundational skills to turn that realization into a classy, textured, melancholy ReMix with distance & depth. Shariq writes:

"Aw yeah. So smoove. I love that big string sound. Despite being laid-back, it's got a serious 80s/90s sci-fi anime feel, like with some giant robots in space and a love story or something. You know what I'm saying. I like the quiet, gated synth in the background; it really adds a nice pulse to the track. Very full sound, good balance."

Definitely feeling the anime vibe, too, though perhaps more 70s/80s than 80s/90s. At any rate, great, unique ReMix from Dj Mystix; newcomers are definitely rocking 2011 so far, hope the trend continues!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

Very nice. You really nailed a feeling of sadness with this ReMix and it's funny how well this can be put into the context of a love story like Darkesword mentions. Great work with the acoustic guitar and the piano. Chill and kinda distant, a nice way to rearrangement some Shinobi stuff. Well done.

- Crulex on September 28, 2012

Such a beautiful track. This is an emotive and fantastic mix. The soundscape is just gorgeous and the leads ooze with feeling and expression. One of the first mixes I heard was of Mystix's Sunset Riders remix. Such a characteristic style that is just so absorbing and easy to listen to. I fully agree with DJP here, regardless as to whether you're familiar with the Shinobi soundtrack, this is really enjoyable.

- Magellanic on December 11, 2011

Certainly not what I expected when I read Shinobi; considering that the games tend to attract more "aggressive" remixes, this laid-back piece came as a surprise.
Guitar around 2:30 is very nice; I wish there was more of it.
Good stuff.

- Martin Penwald on April 20, 2011

AkumajoBelmont;758338 wrote: This track needs more love.
Mr Mystix, I still have your original version of Eternal Tears from all those years ago, hahaha! :D
I adore this track, and I've told you that before. It's so awesome to see you up on OC ReMix dude... I couldn't be happier. Congrats on debut mix man, and awesome, awesome track... one of my favourites!!!

haha! I'm glad you liked the original.
Thanks man! Your highly motivational guidance all those years has been one of the reasons I kept trying again and again.

[b]NegimaSonic[/b]I was not disappointed, great job man. Especially considering how hard you worked getting this on site!

Thanks! But all those rejections were different mixes. I'm too lazy to go back to a "no, resub" mix :) Although someday, I'll re-do them from scratch.

- DjMystix on March 3, 2011

This track needs more love.
Mr Mystix, I still have your original version of Eternal Tears from all those years ago, hahaha! :D
I adore this track, and I've told you that before. It's so awesome to see you up on OC ReMix dude... I couldn't be happier. Congrats on debut mix man, and awesome, awesome track... one of my favourites!!!

- AkumajoBelmont on March 2, 2011

Ooo nice chill breakbeat remix. Love the sound of this. *thumbs up*

- BlackPanther on February 24, 2011

haha. Finally made it over here from twitter. I was not disappointed, great job man. Especially considering how hard you worked getting this on site!

- NegimaSonic on February 16, 2011

Many thanks for the awesome comments! All you people at OCR greatly helped me improving my skills in all these years. I'm glad I managed to finally live up to OCR's standard and will do my best to continue the trend.

morrigan666;754527 wrote: You wanna know the creepy thing. I broke up with girl for 5 months and emotionally I'm still a mess, and your remix made me remember a lot our good things spent together.

Wow! There can't be a better feeling than making other people smile/happy (in your case, remember great stuff from the past). I'm totally flattered! and also wish you get out of the "mess" soon (I can totally understand this feeling btw ;)). Best of luck dude!

- DjMystix on February 16, 2011

You wanna know the creepy thing. I broke up with girl for 5 months and emotionally I'm still a mess, and your remix made me remember a lot our good things spent together.
I give 5 stars for this song. It really is one if my favorite remixes on ocremix comunity. :)

- morrigan666 on February 16, 2011

I highly recommend this..it's like a salve for the wounded hearts of those who have not yet found their significant other-ninjas. :-(

- WesternZypher on February 15, 2011

beautiful!! well done

- FlashX on February 14, 2011

I litterally played and beat this game before i even came online and noticed this remix so the game was fresh in my memory (having only beaten it mere seconds before hand) and to be honest this was a great remix to remind me of how if you fail you lose the love of Joe's life Naoko (which i didn't i saved her) and i did love this game even tho mines a late pal version where only Spider-man remains from the original, so man ocremix was totally reading my mind today, anyway this is amazing remix for a newcomer truly a great start as a new remixer, can't wait to hear more from you Dj Mystix. This will be going on my mp3, and hey ocr if i play streets of rage tomorrow will you upload the 2 from the Heroes v.s Villans album? >.><.<

- psychowolf on February 14, 2011

This song is really good! It has a very mystical feel to it (no wonder, the remixer's name is [URL="http://ocremix.org/forums/../artist/10222/dj-mystix"]Dj Mystix[/URL]) and is very relaxing. I'm really glad you revisited this song again because this is really great!
Good job!

- J.L.Condon on February 14, 2011

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

- djpretzel on February 14, 2011