Poga

I had been waiting for a remix from this game (more than any other) on OCR for a decade, and considered it an unlikely event. Seeing this posted here today was quite a surprise. It was an unexpected, and rather nice, way to start the new year. Thanks.

As a long-time fan of video games, I'm always glad when I see efforts to preserve them for future generations. I'm similarly a fan of Wikipedia, and have been very impressed for a couple of years now with a guy named Evan-Amos, who has contributed an impressively extensive amount of video game hardware photography to it. I was a bit surprised to see that he recently began a Kickstarter project, to help further his work in this area. I was happy to see it, and think it's a worthwhile effort to help document the history of video games, and preserve that history for the future. I'm not connected to the project, but just became a backer, and thought I would pass the project along to those who might share that interest here. Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1699256938/the-vanamo-online-game-museum Wikimedia page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Evan-Amos/VideoGames

It has come to my attention that I had misheard a part of the song's vocals and, as such, the lyrics that I posted here awhile back contain an error. The last line should not read "Sonic, Sonic, oooh" but, rather, "Sonic's our herooo".

I too was reminded of Diablo's music for Tristram when I first started listening to this. And just as I have a fondness for that piece, despite having never played the game, I also find this remix to be an enjoyable one, despite having never played Seiken Densetsu 3. The instrument that sounds like panpipes (or perhaps more like a Native American flute—especially during the trills and pitch-bends) does have a bit too much of a MIDI-ish quality for my tastes, but other than that I don't have any major qualms with this. The piece has a lonely, almost fading, atmosphere to it. Nice work.

Great remix. True to the original, with a very nice overall upgrade in arrangement, texture, and atmosphere. The structure is great, the instruments and effects used are all very appropriate, and it has a nice flow throughout. The top-notch production is well balanced, and it's some of the more subtle touches that really make the piece come together wonderfully. The most predominant aspect that really makes the remix stand out to me, though, is the way you took the song 'through the level' by transition from land, to underwater, and back to land at the end. Very creative, and executed perfectly. The section from 1:41 to 2:39 is my personal favorite. Very pretty.

I can certainly appreciate Audity's desire to preserve the integrity of the work he enjoys and cares about. From a personal standpoint, I share much of his mentality. My stance is quite an impractical one, but (as the result of a combination of philosophical reasons and minor OCD) I prefer files (or at least ones that I value) that have not undergone compression, unnecessary or proprietary encoding, and are not left with remnants distinguishable from the original work itself. Additionally, a lack of compression and such irreversible alterations would allow one to 'future-proof' artistic works as much as reasonably possible in the current state of digital media and their associated limitations. On the other hand, audiophiles (of which, in most senses, I am not one) are frequently victims of their own self-induced placebo effect—often claiming to detect sonically trivial differences that are likely only the result of psychological suggestion. You have people who will spend thousands of dollars on platinum wiring, and spend exponentially more than that trying to build an acoustically 'perfect' room sensitive enough to detect fluctuations in the astral plane. Sometimes people end up focusing too much on their equipment and forgetting that their ears have limits (and possibly even damage and/or hearing loss), no matter how 'trained' or sensitive they may be. If preserving auditory quality is their objective, most of these people would be better off saving their money from being spent on that $5 million studio and instead buying some $5 salmon oil and gingko biloba supplements. But to each his own, I suppose. All of this being said, Audity's idea could be put to use and still maintain its practicality. Simply offering files with better compression rates in formats such as MP3, however, would defeat much of its purpose. I'd suggest sticking with a lossless format if archival integrity is your goal. Then again, in the end it's up to you. Perhaps you should invent a 'gainy' format and use that. It'd be like lossless—but better! It actually adds tons of unnecessary data to the files, just for the purpose of taking up more space and being hardcore. Afterall, Why worry about breaking even when you can Gain?™

I'm not sure if I've jumped to conclusions, or perhaps missed some crucial announcement or discussion recently, but I was somewhat saddened when I heard that Harmony was withdrawing from the judges panel due to time-constraints. I hope it doesn't mean that we've heard the last from him remix-wise. But, if so, he has already given many (me certainly included) three wonderful remixes to enjoy. As for this remix, I haven't been to one of these in ages. …Ahem. But all contextual kidding aside, this one might not have the trickling instrumental textures of his first, or the scale and production of the third, but I still think it's his best. Its biggest strength, I think, is its creativity and interpretation. Though it arguably doesn't switch genres from the original "Spring Yard Zone" tune and, retrospectively, it seems like that track was screaming for this very sort of arrangement all along, it certainly brings a great deal of life and atmosphere to it. The way in which this remix was done results in what I think is one of the most fitting and unique video game music arrangements available so far. The little ambient touches with the audience were pulled off well, and seem both comical and serious at the same time. Rather than merely sounding cliché and unconvincing (as such approaches are often prone to), they are largely responsible for imparting much of the aforementioned atmosphere, as if we are all being treated to the performance. The opening cleverly incorporates the "SEGA" soundbite most of us are so familiar with, and the subsequent lounge vocals are nearly perfect. The lyrics, which some might denounce as corny, are (in my opinion) very appropriate and tie the remix more closely in with the game in a serious yet light-hearted way. The instrumental voicing is soft and nicely laid-back. The drums would be better served if they were actually played live and not just sampled (which I imagine is an obvious and unreasonable criticism given the assumed limited resources of Mr. Bush in this case), but the programming is still done well. (I especially like some of the semi-subtle flourishes, like the ride cymbal bell on the off-beats from 3:51 to 3:54.) The vibraphone has a similarly MIDI-ish sound, but I actually kind of like it in this piece. It works. The jazz guitar playing is simple but great, and reminds me of Pat Metheny in many parts. Fortunately, with all of these strengths, the structure and pacing of the arrangement brings it all wonderfully together. Blending some of the prototypical techniques of smooth jazz with Harmony's unique take on the source track, it stays fresh and maintains an easy forward drive from beginning to end. It keeps a cohesive groove and consistent style, all while wandering about with pretty melodic lines and textures, and at the same time not taking itself too seriously. My minor gripes are ultimately not really even gripes at all. Creative and stylistic. Excellent. … … … By the way, I didn't see the lyrics posted anywhere (I apologize if I overlooked them), so I went ahead and had a quick couple of listens and jotted them down myself. Most of it was pretty straightforward, but the scatting was pretty tricky to discern accurately. I think I got it down fairly true-to-form, though: SEGA! (Oooowaahoooo) (Oooooooooooo) (Oooowaahoooo) (Oooooooooooo) Oh let's go, Sonic Dr. Robotnik, nooo C'mon let's go, Sonic Don't let Robotnik go-oooh [vibraphone solo] (daht-dow, zaht-dow) Oh let's go, Sonic Dr. Robotnik, nooo Oh let's go, Sonic Don't let Robotnik go-oooh [guitar and piano break] (yaah-daht-dow, yaah-daht-dow, yaah-daht-dow) (yaah-daht-dow, yaah-daht-dow) Oh let's go, Sonic Dr. Robotnik, nooo C'mon let's go, Sonic Don't let Robotnik go-oooh (yaah-daht-dah-daht-dah-daht-dah-daht-dow) (naah, naah, naah) (daah, daah, daah) (naah, naah, naah) (naah, naah, naah) [break section] (shoobwah-doo-bwah-doo-doo-zwah-daht-dah-dow) (shibbity-bop-boo-doo-zwhee-daht-doo-doo-daht-doo) (zooboobity-bop-bah-doo-doo-doo-dit-doo-doo) Come on, Sonic, gooo [drum fill outro] Sonic, Sonic, oooh

"Entering the Cryptic Woods" (circa August 2002) was never released. Interestingly, the light tribal percussive effect that forms the bulk of his Cryptic Woods rendition can be heard in Forest Bircussion faintly echoing in places like 1:22-1:23, 1:45, etc.

I've had this remix since it was first released on that 'other' site. It's not a beautiful piece, not epic, the production isn't top-notch, but it has great charm in its eccentrically groovin' feel throughout. Great work. Agreed. But it's not a xylophone. Everyone uses 'xylophone' as if it were some generic term. Marimba, ballophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel/orchestra bells, crotales, gamelan, chimes/tubular bells, whatever—they're not xylophones.

I first heard this long ago, and have liked it since. (And the newly added seconds of silence at the end really add to its minimalistic feel—you can't get much more minimalistic than that, I suppose…) I remember having the file sent to me and listening to it without paying attention to the source material. I commented that it sounded strikingly similar to the PAC-MAN theme. Of course I was then informed that perhaps that was because it's a PAC-MAN remix. I guess that goes to show that Israfel stayed true to the source material while still offering a new flavor to things. I'd agree that it drags on a bit, but on the other hand that's kind of inherent in this genre of music—and part of the point. Though the string sound leaves something to be desired, the marimba sample is really great. Overall, I think the tune is a very creative and well-done take on what is ironically challenging source material.