ReMix:Mega Man 2 "Flash Man and the Sorcerer's Stone Man" 5:12

By Deedubs

Arranging the music of 2 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Flash Man Stage", "Stone Man Stage"

Primary Game: Mega Man 2 (Capcom , 1988, NES), music by Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi

Posted 2015-04-30, evaluated by djpretzel


MEGA POTTER!! ...or perhaps... HARRY MAN?!? Yeah, I like that better. From newcomer Deedubs (Mike DeWeese) comes a truly inspired orchestral/cinematic arrangement of "Flash Man" from Mega Man 2 & "Stone Man" from Mega Man 5 in the style of - you guessed it - John Williams' superlative score to the Harry Potter films!

I love it when a plan comes together, and Mike's concept to arrange these two themes in this specific style is really executed to the nines. When the first HP film came out and that simple celeste motif played, I remember thinking that while it reminded me of the impercial march from Empire Strikes Back a bit, it still represented yet ANOTHER memorable, stirring melody from a modern genius, and with each film more new ideas & pieces popped up that confirmed JW's continued mastery. Deedubs done did a delicious job of exploring the familiar "Flash Man" theme & less familiar "Stone Man" while working squarely in the atmosphere Williams created:

"Hedwig's Theme" from the soundtrack of the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone movie is my favorite track from the music of the series. A few months ago, while listening to the Mega Man 2 soundtrack, I got the idea to arrange the "Flash Man Stage" theme in the style of "Hedwig's Theme." It wasn't too difficult to change the original 4/4 meter into 3/4. However, "Hedwig's Theme" has three distinct sections: a main melody in 3/4 time, a second melody in 4/4 time, and then an outro recalling the 3/4 theme. What proved to be difficult was finding another Mega Man track to arrange for that second section that could fit well with the 3/4 Flash Man theme, yet still have a Harry Potter feel to it. Coincidentally, the music from Stone Man's stage from Mega Man 5 proved to be a nice fit, albeit more upbeat than the Harry Potter music I was attempting to imitate. I close out the arrangement with an intense return of the Flash Man theme. I used several sample libraries from Cinesamples, Cinematic Strings, and EastWest when making this track."

Levels are a little low so you'll wanna turn it up a bit, but keep in mind that Mike delivers on a finale that does escalate & elevate the "epic" factor. Hallmark celeste enters and right off the bat, if you're like me, your brain will be hearing BOTH Mega Man and Harry Potter simultaneously. It's like... magic. Seriously, really works quite well; some of that is the inherent strength of the concept, but a lot of it is in the execution, and DURN does the artist have fun with runs! So many runs! RAD STRING/WIND RUNS! I like the blend of ensemble and solo part-writing; clarinet & horn, among others, poke out of the fray at just the right points, and when that full ensemble horn section hits towards the end, it's just classic Williams. Chimpazilla writes:

"I'm pretty impressed with this, it really feels like Harry Potter while being very true to the source tunes. Flash Man is very easy to recognize, Stone Man is a little trickier but it's still there, with some bits of original material stringing everything together. Terrific use of the samples! The glock has a bit of resonance here and there but I'm over it. I'm transported away to Hogwart's!"

There's always a certain novelty of hearing "X" familiar theme arranged in the style of "Y" other familiar theme - it's an accessible way to get attention on YouTube & other venues that tend to reward almost any such recombination - but in my mind the merit of such pieces boils down to whether they deliver on the full potential of the concept & also whether the two themes (in this case three) actually lend themselves to the process. I did this myself, recently, with hopefully some degree of success... Any two pieces of music will allow such an approach, but when it's truly facilitated ("meant to be") AND the arranger can take that opportunity to its fullest extent? That's when you get some awesomeness happening, and that's what I think Deedubs delivers, here. Great debut that channels the best of both worlds; definitely a ReMix I'll be coming back to often & one that has me looking forward to any future submissions!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 11 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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WillRock
on 2016-07-29 20:58:22

You're a wizard flash man

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-21 02:34:04

New review: this is really excellent, because it blends very well the original theme with John William's Harry Potter Main Theme. Some samples could use an upgrade to sound a little better, but man, the arrangement is so incredible, and the build-up is great. Awesome work, man, more please! :)

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VileOrc
on 2015-05-28 13:41:32

The perfect blend of Mega Man Harry Potter! Keep up the great work!!

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Genoism
on 2015-05-04 21:42:38

There are no words to describe the awesomeness of this piece...I hope there is more to come from deedubs in the future!

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A-RoN
on 2015-05-02 08:59:46

The concept pretty much rang familiar to me after sitting through a Harry Potter movie marathon with my wife and sister-in-law. I'm indifferent when it comes to JK Rowling's stories, but still dug the score John Williams wrote in the original as well as this interpretation of Stone and Flashman's themes. I also got a vibe that a remix like this would be something The Royal Family would use for fanfare in some areas. Very well put together. I'll have this on repeat as I close my eyes and think of England! May this remix save the Queen at some point in history if needed. :D

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DimeTower
on 2015-05-01 22:06:06

I can barely believe what I'm listening to. Talk about having a difficult concept to pull off, and then CRUSHING that. Wow. Just wow. A must listen.

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Crulex
on 2015-05-01 10:32:56

Fantastic. This is a genius idea and it really does sound like a few Mega Man themes being ran through a Harry Potter soundtrack machine. Usually when someone tries to emulate a score style, it's either Elfman or epic adventure, so hearing the whimsical Potter take of Flash and Stone Man is sweet. Very nice.

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Melody of Light
on 2015-05-01 09:39:44

Very impressive! I hate to echo comments that have already been made, but it's true that it's like hearing both the Flash Man theme and Harry Potter music at the exact same time. I also couldn't hear the Stone Man theme particularly well, but to be fair, I've heard the Flash Man theme remixed much more throughout the years, so it's more fresh in my mind. Very nicely done for the creation of a most interesting listening experience!

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Subz1987
on 2015-04-30 15:23:37

I liked the original, British title of this song better. "Flash Man and the Philosopher's Stone Man" :tomatoface:

But yeah, this song is awesome. It sounds like Harry Potter, but the Mega Man themes fit in here perfectly.

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avaris
on 2015-04-30 15:17:19

Really cool! Sounds like a mix between old anime music and harry potter.

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djpretzel
on 2015-04-30 15:13:42

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

Sources Arranged (2 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
Mega Man 2 (Capcom , 1988, NES)
Music by Manami Matsumae,Takashi Tateishi
Songs:
"Flash Man Stage"
Additional Game:
Mega Man 5 (Capcom , 1992, NES)
Music by Mari Yamaguchi
Songs:
"Stone Man Stage"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Cinematic,Symphonic
Mood:
Dark,Epic
Instrumentation:
Bells,Brass,Orchestral,Strings,Woodwinds
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Mega_Man_2_Flash_Man_and_the_Sorcerer's_Stone_Man_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
7,569,343 bytes
MD5:
661ae24c48f2daf88f64948b3a80a129
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
5:12

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