ReMix:Mega Man X2 "X-Hunted" 5:11

By Dominic Ninmark, StrangeJam

Arranging the music of one song...

"X-Hunter Stage 1"

Primary Game: Mega Man X2 (Capcom , 1994, SNES), music by Yuki Iwai

Posted 2012-03-19, evaluated by djpretzel


Following Washudoll's impressive debut comes another great newcomer track off of Maverick Rising, this time from Dominic Ninmark, who writes:

"A powerful, energetic metal remix of the first X-Hunters stage theme from X2!"

And so it is; truth in advertising! I love the fade-intro of a single repeating guitar riff that builds & trades off to synth at 0'15" with a divebomb transition, and then BAM - are those some orchestra-hit runs at 0'29" or WHAT? Intense; we don't see the orchestra hit 'round these parts as much lately, but with this single ReMix they've resurfaced en masse. It works since the style is an over-the-top, almost uniquely Japanese sort of metal (J-Metal??) where orch hits are still allowed to run free and play with the other kids. Dominic's actually got several hot tracks on the album, but Wes C. singled this one out:

"Disregarding that Counter Hunter Stage 1 from Mega Man X2 is one of my favorite Mega Man X series game sources, this is still one of my favorite songs from the album because it is energetic and does a great job at building up and unleashing that energy upon you. It also manages to accomplish all of this without getting too repetitive, which is a feat considering how the song uses the same refrain a lot. Dominic instantly convinced me here."

Of the mixes posted thus far, this probably comes the closest to resembling a comprehensive upgrade to the instrumentation while maintaining the overall style; not too much deviation, in that regard, but as Wes says the impressive part is the execution. This is potent, active, electrified stuff, produced with a confident ability to jam a lot of movement & layers into a high-velocity structure without things feeling sloppy or rushed. Great work from Dominic, who certainly made his mark on Maverick Rising and will hopefully continue contributing to future projects!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 13 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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phillbato
on 2019-01-18 19:15:45

This track is amazing and easily in my top 5 remixes. Makes me want a remake of X2 featuring a soundtrack entirely mixed by these two :D

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Necrox
on 2014-06-09 03:42:25

I'm gonna get this just for that orch hit run. That aside, this is good synth metal.

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Phonetic Hero
on 2013-04-14 14:45:15

I was loving it.... then I heard the Gross Beat just before 4:00 and I almost shit myself with joy. Ninmark can do no wrong, imo

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Magellanic
on 2012-03-25 10:25:36

This is just brilliant. Crazilly energetic but not over the top. The complexity of all the intertwining parts its just fantastic. It really makes this track shine. The opening motif is used really REALLY well throughout and acts as the backbone yet doesn't become repetetive. The breakdown is vast, expansive and seemlessly leads back to the opening sections. About 4.20 onwards for me is just beautifully done. Epic, emotional and passionate. I really think this is my favourite track of the album. Lets hope to hear more from Dominic in the future.

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moosegg3
on 2012-03-21 22:29:28

I don't tend to go for metal all that much, though I make it a point to listen to all the new songs that come out regardless of the type though, and this one was superb. I think this is going to join my play list.

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Crulex
on 2012-03-21 12:44:39

So much raw energy.....its like a MMX showstopper right here. It's so cool to hear such wicked guitar work with orchestra hits in the same ReMix! The sheer attitude of this ReMix just fills in what the original left out and gives it the complete update that it's been needing for so long, and I love every bit of it. This is what I was hoping for when I heard about this album, and I'm not disappointed. Gotta add that the piano was a genius breakdown move. Damn good work.

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Shake
on 2012-03-20 09:27:11

This was genius; the original song was a minute or so long, and this expanded upon it while retaining its originality. It did it through layering, if I can play music critic for a bit. Layering on top with deviations. Or something.

This was honestly the track I was looking forward to the most. well done.

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Cyril the Wolf
on 2012-03-20 09:01:29

WOO! Glad this got posted! I mastered the sucker so it's nice to see :) :)

The best arrangement of my favorite MMX tune.

LOVE over the top. But yea!

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Bahamut
on 2012-03-19 23:31:42
Yeah, that's right. The last levels of X3 are called Doppler Stages, X4 has The Space Dock/ The Final Weapon Stages, X5 has Zero Stages, and I think X6 has Nightmare stages or something.

Anyways, I love this mix. I've loved the X Hunter Stage 1/2 theme since I was five, and this mix really does it justice. This, along with Dominc Ninmark's other tracks were some of the best on the album in my opinion.

X6 had the Gate Laboratory stages. X7 had Red's Palace, and I didn't make it far enough into X8 to comment about that.

I absolutely loved this track when I heard the first WIP from Dom. As quoted in the writeup, it is one of my favorite Mega Man X sources, and to see it done with such justice is incredible. As amusing it is to some, loved the orchestral hits. The piano was a nice touch too. Just a solid Japanese-like arrangement in general.

Also this song was made at the ripe age of 17!

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Duo
on 2012-03-19 22:50:28

This has been my favorite track on Maverick Rising so far (and there's a lot of greatness to choose from). There's just so much POWER and ENERGY. It's wonderfully made, and made me appreciate the source material about a hundred times more. I'll be watching you in the future, Dominic. Work like this could put you among my favorite remixers fast.

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Servbot#36
on 2012-03-19 22:06:32
I've never played MegaMan X2, but have a distant memory of my stepbrother playing it. Let me see if I have one thing straight: The Sigma stages are the 9th through 12th levels in MegaMan X 1, while the X-Hunter stages are the 9th through 12th in MegaMan X2. Is this right?

Yeah, that's right. The last levels of X3 are called Doppler Stages, X4 has The Space Dock/ The Final Weapon Stages, X5 has Zero Stages, and I think X6 has Nightmare stages or something.

Anyways, I love this mix. I've loved the X Hunter Stage 1/2 theme since I was five, and this mix really does it justice. This, along with Dominc Ninmark's other tracks were some of the best on the album in my opinion.

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GTAHater836
on 2012-03-19 20:27:18

I've never played MegaMan X2, but have a distant memory of my stepbrother playing it. Let me see if I have one thing straight: The Sigma stages are the 9th through 12th levels in MegaMan X 1, while the X-Hunter stages are the 9th through 12th in MegaMan X2. Is this right?

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djpretzel
on 2012-03-19 20:11:36

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

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Mega Man X2 (Capcom , 1994, SNES)
Music by Yuki Iwai
Songs:
"X-Hunter Stage 1"

Tags (6)


Genre:
Metal,Rock
Mood:
Aggressive
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Fast

File Information


Name:
Mega_Man_X2_X-Hunted_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
8,932,258 bytes
MD5:
49a8209c387c29da55542d4cf983c3ed
Bitrate:
227Kbps
Duration:
5:11

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