ReMix: Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar 'OMAKE 8 (Type-R)'

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Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar

From newcomer Rukunetsu comes our first ReMix of Lightening Force - more commonly known as Thunder Force IV - in over a decade. Not a lot of SHMUP love lately in general, so great to see that, and of course these Genesis shooters had some rockin' tunage that deserves more attention. Sweet phased electric piano intro gains bass & bells and a nice sliced transition into a heavy late-80s/early-90s dance groove; OA writes:

"The arrangement here is a cool shift in sound, giving it a sortof nostalgic vibe with the epiano and sampled bits. I don't feel the structure or a lot of other things were really altered, though there are some distinct transitions and such that were added. The beats are good and varied, and the sound is balanced, but i feel there is a lot of needless repetition and identical sections...The upsides are pretty apparent though, it has a very 'official arrange' feel to it, and the song is engaging despite the repetition."

Deia adds:

"This is a fun adaption of the original. There's a lot of nice textures here, and the approach overall is nicely personalized. I agree with Andrew that things do feel a bit repetitious overall, but I also agree that it's not to a point where it dips below the bar."

The original source has a lot of delayed elements and feels a bit floatier, whereas I think Rukunetsu's done a good job of making something a little more anchored & accessible, while maintaining the overall vibe. There's room for improvement on mixing/EQ, as WillRock noted the lows are mostly coming from the drums and things could be opened up a bit more, but it's a solid debut that takes a lesser-known source and creatively makes it more approachable, so props there, and hope to hear more in the future!

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
I'm coming back from the dead to say this was a great mix, and I want to hear way, WAY more mixes of the Thunder Force series, because that was my first VG music love.

- Gaffeizil on March 5, 2013
Wait wait wait, Ruku got posted? Over a MONTH ago?!
DUDE! This totally went over my head, my sincerest apologies! D:
Rukunetsu, man! Congratulations on not only making one awesome tune here but for getting your Remixer status! Welcome aboard, son!
I am so pleased for you! XD

- DiGi Valentine on February 21, 2013
Ooooh, now this very groovey! Totally fits the smooth feeling I've been having all day. Sounds crisp and clear. This is "cruising down the road at night" music.

- Crulex on February 6, 2013
congrats on this man!
edit: this mix is fire!!

- melody on January 20, 2013
I KNEW it was just a matter of time for you to get posted Ruku. You has slick tricks :D Great job dude, keep it up!

- DaMonz on January 18, 2013
Great mix by Ruku, as expected.

- DetectiveTuesday on January 17, 2013
Yes, Ruku made it on here! I've been liking his laid back dance grooves since I first found him on the forums. This pretty much on point with his other stuff.

- CC Ricers on January 17, 2013
These kind of beats make me want to find the damned charger for my music-player already and hit the town for a nice wind-down night-drive under the City's lights. Keep the Groovin'!

- WesternZypher on January 17, 2013
This is an absolutely sweet mix.
I hope to hear more from Rukunetsu in the near future.

- Igami on January 16, 2013
Smooth groove, sick beats, laser-precision leads, clever sampling and solid production. An awesome tribute to shmup-legend Thunder Force IV. :nicework:
Glad you made it Ruku, and congrats on the mixpost. Here's to a ton more mixes of yours hitting OCR's front page. :)

- Dj Mokram on January 16, 2013
Glad this has finally been posted, it's a great tune.

- BONKERS on January 16, 2013
I've been watching Rukunetsu with anticipation of his first posting since I first came across him in the WIP board, so congrats go out to him on finally getting to the front page. :nicework: As is typical of his stuff, he's got a good groove going on here, and while I can agree it's a touch on the repetitious side, there's enough new ideas and changes being brought in throughout to keep the attention pretty well. Solid debut piece!

- Melbu Frahma on January 16, 2013
I knew I was adding an amazing musician to the GH project by adding your name to the tracklist, but I had no idea I was adding yet another posted ReMixer. Grats. :)
Excellent stuff here. I definitely agree with OA about the "official arrange" feel that it has. This would sound completely in-place in a game.
Looking forward to hearing more from you. :D

- DusK on January 16, 2013
Ruku! Great stuff! Really happy to see your mix got posted! Hopefully more are on the way!

- ambient on January 16, 2013
Lovely. Hope to see more in the future.

- bluefall on January 16, 2013