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https://youtu.be/Lyli7Ld4AYE I finally decided to go through with Balrog's theme from Street Fighter! This is such a good tune, I love the original for its easy form and potential to experiment with. I went towards an 80s disco style and had to go through with a key signature transposition to get the result I wanted, a bit tricky but it went well. The original has a nice groove I tried to stay close to, and the melodies are so easy to remember that they stay in your head long after the song has ended. I had so many ideas for this one, I just hope I chose one worthy and exciting! As I mentioned I went towards an 80s disco style, I really got the vibes from a late friday night out with the boys, drunk on life (and alcohol) just dancing that last dance before an unknown after party emerges. And during the after party, this groove goes on until early morning. Maybe you hooked up with a pretty girl (or boy) lying on a grass hill, holding hands and watching the starry sky getting more and more illuminated by the first morning sunrays. Cheers for a new day and for that old days we remember so dearly! And may there be peace once again. /Neon X

https://youtu.be/VK50lMp9bEM I am finally taking on something from EarthBound! A really cool and unique RPG from the SNES console which is the sequel to the Japan release Mother on NES from 1989. I think the rest of the world gained access to this as late as 2015 through Wii U Vitrual Console but by the name of EarthBound Beginnings. As I mentioned in my teaser post, I feel the similarity between this and the Netflix show Stranger Things are not a coincidence, but who knows. Starting with the intention of just working on the Onett theme and the chill casual feels, I was kind of surprised when the Home Sweet Home theme kept coming to my mind. I thought I should try to combine them both in one song which in my opinion actually worked very well. Also a nice variation from the Onett theme that's originally not very long. 0:00 - Onett's theme 1:08 - Home, Sweet Home 1:58 - Onett's theme (reprise) So did I play this game? Yeah I did, but far from complete. I think I have played it to beat the first boss, but not more than that, which is kind of lame. But it falls into my To-Play-Some-Day list without any doubt. Please tell me your stories about this game and the memories you have connected to it! What do you feel and think of when you listen to this? Thanks for listening and reading!

https://youtu.be/CKcqx6JwrkM Since I'm almost a pure Nintendo player, the Sega world is kind of new, except for Sonic of course. But I never really played anything else from Sonic than the very first game, so Sonic 2 is new in every way for me. I was very surprised by the soundtrack, every song has so much potential! And there were some songs I just couldn't let go of, Chemical Plant was one of them. And I will grab more for sure! I would say this one goes under blues, funk, maybe fusion of some kind, and I really took advantage of those genres by tweaking my synthesizers to sound like instruments used regurarly in those genres. Dry, fast, max attack, not much effects except for the lead with some delay, and the bass with a heavy chorus effect (just like some of the 80s synth basses which I love). I wanted the remix to be very recognizeable from the original in many parts, but with some enhanced harmonies and fills from new composed lines. And then a completely new section - I'm not sure how I came up with it, it often just starts with one chord off from the original and then my head is spinning loose with countless ideas of which I just grab one and write down. For some reason I took some inspiration from Dream Theater starting at 1:22 - I think I would refer to it as an John Petrucci part where all things calms down, the tempo goes down to half and there are these extended tones from his singing guitar playing a beautiful melodic solo, maybe along in harmony with Jordan Rudess' wizard like keyboard play. The chords kind of follows how Petrucci would have wrote them too. Overall I just loved working on this song, the original is so catchy and fun. Really love this style and tried to extend it as much as I could without trashing the original too much. I already got suggestions on other Sonic themes, but would love to have some more. And if you know any more songs in this particular style I would be very interested in hearing them. /Neon X

https://youtu.be/HZ9iIudnJOQ I really didn't plan to grab this theme right now, but for some reason I kept on listening to it a lot and couldn't resist. It's really great, and there are some clear similarities between this and the MK8 Rainbow Road theme. Due to the already complicated harmonies and theme melodies I didn't want to bring that much of my own composition into this one, I kept close to the original with some restyling. And wow, it does happen a lot in this one, such a great original composition. At some points I thought "do these chords really work together?", and when I listened to it after finish writing that particular line it really sounded great! I had many wow moments and I'm happy I chosed this song. Fun story related to Mario Kart Wii: At my bachelor party back in May 2014, my brother, some cousins and close friends made my day a Mario Kart day. First off was the gokart racing with real gokarts on a real course (I sucked by the way), and damn was that fun! I had to dress up like Mario with that red/blue plumber outfit, a mario hat and fake moustache. Afterwards we had a BBQ party at a friend's house followed by a Mario Kart Wii tournament, paralleled by a Track & Field (NES) tournament. During the video game tournaments we had a lot of shots and good drinks, and you can imagine how good we were at Mario Kart after a couple of hours. When we were done video gaming we went out on a club meeting up with the bachelorette party for my wife (!!!) which was the perfect timing and ending of that night. Maybe the best day of my life! I dedicate this wonderful song to that night, and all the people that made it happen. Thank you!

https://youtu.be/O4oWq4ockIQ I have been really scared of remixing/covering this classic and timeless song. It's so easy to ruin it that any changes could be devastating. I'm still afraid I have broke it, but I hope not! First of all the soundscape that the original has is so fragile, and by having that in mind I made sure to keep my sounds very close to that, but with much higher bitrate of course since it's SNES we're talking about. However, the sound quality in DKC is unbelievably high for a SNES game. I just took my standard synthesizer setup and started modify and tweak them to make all instruments sound quite close to the original. Except the piano, I changed it for a pluck sound from my Obsession synth. About my composition of this. As you can hear I kept really close to the original to begin with, adding some small changes. For example, I added a "real" beat and all melodies are playing with my signature lead synth. What was more interesting in composing this was how I could leave the original completely and take on another path. So I laborated with a splash sound to represent me diving from the original into my own composition, then immediately adding a bubbling underwater effect to continue with an introduction to a Mega Man-ish melody with the pluck synth. Dashing into a double time beat and the Mega Man melody I hold the intensity steady and then release it into a psychedelic synthwave groove, a bit like the groove I use at the end of my Bloody Tears remix. If you listen more carefully I use the original arpeggio in the background (the first you hear in this song) in this last section but change it over the chord's harmony. When I listen to this remix, I feel I can make so many more variations of it. Some day I might do an Aquatic Ambience suite or something.

https://youtu.be/JSjXXrYRHHk My first sub 2 minute remix, but still contains so many elements and variations. This could also be the most fun song I ever took under my wings. With the original reggae style I could easily add jazz and some blues elements, and spice it up with a pinch of synthwave. SMB3 was (and still is I think) my favourite Super Mario game so far. But then I haven't even played any Super Mario from the 21st century except New Super Mario Bros for Wii U. SMB3 on NES and on SNES All Stars was so much joy and they hold so many memories from those days. The soundtrack is timeless and simple yet so memorable and fresh, I could imagine me remixing the whole SMB3 OST some day. Some of the "easter eggs" in this remix: After the solos the SMB3 Underwater theme intro is used but restyled - 1:32 And at the end of the Underwater theme the SMB3 "Enter level" sound is played with a lot of reverb, but pitched down a whole tone to fit the key signature - 1:34 I used african skin percussive together with GameBoy drums on several parts I hope you enjoy listen to this, I really enjoyed creating it. And if it goes well I definitely will do more of this kind. There are many Super Mario themes that could apply for this style. /Neon X

https://youtu.be/idzdVGPMlBs It's not too often I decide to make a remix/cover of songs from video games I never played. Trials of Mana is one of them, however I have been playing it like 10 minutes on a SNES emulator which I really don't count as legit playing. What I have been doing though, is listening to the soundtrack of it, which is truly amazing! Powell is a song that has a lot of potential for a great synthwave track, I used some of it, but to make it justice I probably would have to do 5 more versions. And man, does it make me wanna play the remake of Trials of Mana! Before I started the work with Powell I watched a lot of gameplay from both the old Seiken Densetsu 3 as well as the remake Trials of Mana. It's easier to create music if you've got some initial story or a moment to focus your mind on. What I'm looking for is to get feelings, emotions, vibes and link those to an existing memory, or in this case rediscover long gone memories. This song actually took me back to a completely different game when I had the long summer breaks as a kid. We had this attic dedicated to storage for seasonal clothing (winter clothes, summer clothes, you name it), but we also had an old CRT TV, large, and really old (1980-85 ish), but color screen and perfect for connecting your SNES console to it. I think it was the summer break between 5th and 6th grade when I played the RPG Terranigma a lot. And I remembered just how I felt sitting up there solo, trying to pave way further into the fantastic story of that game. That feeling of freedom, just diving into the story of your game, no worries of taking too much time playing, your friends just a phone call away. The exact same feelings bubbles up while listening to Powell, it's really amazing actually, how music can drag long gone memories and feelings of specific moments to the surface once again no matter how far away in time they was made. This is remix is dedicated to all those memories, just waiting to be dragged out of your brain beam making you feel good and rediscover memories you maybe didn't know you had in storage. /Neon X

https://youtu.be/r7gipPg4R9c This is my proper thanks to you all, my listeners, my fans, my fellow remixers and the rest of you who somehow have supported me to this very day when the YouTube subscriptions passed 2000. I chose this song since it already has much nostalgia and melancholy of a passed time in it, filled with memories and emotions brought forth by its harmonies and atmopsphere. Perhaps the reason for some of you is because you managed to complete Mario Kart 64 and got this wonderful music as a reward while watching the camera fly through tunnels and caves, over fields and hills, over railways and roads. I get very nostalgic to this music, though I didn't hear this song that many times, it manage to drag some long gone memories from deep inside, making me really emotional. I hope you feel the same! I wanted to keep relatively close to the original, only spicing it up a bit. It goes for two rounds with a bonus section at each end (which I think you will recognize from the Rainbow Road theme in Mario Kart 64) , and a middle section that kind of takes you down to a lower frequency adding more chords to get some exta feel. The intro is very inspired by the typical 80s music and modern retrowave music, slowly building up with soft pads, topped by a high tuned pluck, and then accompanied by a gentle bass before the main sections kick in. I just came to think of that I've only used Mario Kart remixes for my anniversaries, and that I unconsciously did it again. Ooops, I did it again, right. But nothing wrong with that I guess! However I think it will be a longer delay until my next anniversary arrives, since I've decided it will be whenever, or if I ever reach 5000 (!!) subscribers. By then I will have another poll with suggestions for the anniversary remix. Well, the rest of this song's details I'll leave to you to discover for yourselves. There are plenty of small things happening! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME AND KEEP LISTENING TO MY REMIXES AND COVERS, it means the world to me! This is my absolute favourite thing to do while having a little time over after the rest of my family goes to sleep. Hey, you very good! See you next time! /Neon X

https://youtu.be/_DRPmlVpfck First thing, I really can't describe how emotional it was to do this theme. I was brought to tears several times (as I've mentioned in my teaser post for this). And since I started doing it, I haven't got the will to stop listen to it. This is one of the most beautiful pieces ever made, video game or not. Nobuo Uematsu is pure genius and out-of-this-world musical. If I had only 1/1000th of his musical mind I would be famous long ago lol. By now you've probably heard this was very much like the original, only with the differences of my synthesizers, and some arrangement differences. I did not have heart to put a beat and a fitting bass line to this, I wanted it to be as soft as possible. I hope you can appreciate what I've done with it and bear to listen through the whole remix. There is so much love and emotion for each second, and the emotions I went through is inexplicable. I'm a real soft guy haha, cries in every movie and game I experience. I used my latest alternate lead synth here, but had to set up the equalizer and soundwaves of it with multiple settings not to get it to sharp at high notes and to "bassy" at lower notes. Tricky, but worth the time.

https://youtu.be/N3jCsGeEf_k Hello folks! I'm not sure why I started creating this remix, I just felt such an eager to focus some love on one of the best games ever made. And the intro is really something, I remebered the jaw dropping when I saw it the first time back in 1998. I had one good friend who owned a PS and I'm so happy I got the opportunity to be introduced to this masterpiece when it was somehow new. I have to confess, this is the most difficult remix so far. Not only because of the grand composition by master Nobuo Uematsu, but also because of the original style is aligned to the orchestra/symphonic genre which is far away from my ordinary synthwave/retrowave. I tried to mix both styles in this one piece. 0:00 - Opening One of the best introductions to any video game in my opinion. The atmosphere and visual impression are spot on to what kind of place Mako City is. I wanted to modernize and absorb the theme into my synth style, and I hope I succeeded with that without too much loss of the original. 1:17 - Bombing Mission This theme is so cool, and so fitting to the intensity of the mission before you. I couldn't stray too far off the original's boundaries without losing too much brilliance from it (I tried a couple of variations) so I kept it as it is, mostly. I added some chords here and there, and of course a drum beat. The lead synths used here are multiple variations from my signature lead, tweaked to sound a bit more like brass which the original composition is all about. I'm not sure why I keep transcribing everything by ear, it's really hard sometimes which showed clearly while writing this remix. All the things happening in this theme was hard to keep track of from time to time, and it took me forever to just finish the transcription xD I guess it's kind of more freedom to just transcribe any song you want, instead of searching for MIDI files or sheet music. But enough about that! Thanks for listening!

https://youtu.be/OyzUjhCxkwA A song with many variations and genres! I took advantage of all original sections in this one and experimented with different genres, the result is kind of a cinematic remix, like a song from a movie spiced with my ordinary synthwave style. I wanted the remix to feel like a story told only with atmosphere, melodies and beats. What the story goes like is up to the listener, naturally affected by the story in MM3 of course. I hope this song brings back memories for you guys, it sure did for me! You know, writing these remixes is not totally emotionless or mechanic, it's a process of emotions, feelings and memories. And I can never imagine what memories it brings back, old or new. Since the original is very naked (no drums or percussions), only played with 3-4 instruments, this really is a heavily arranged version of it, I think I used 13 instruments (including drums and percussion) and 1 FX.

https://youtu.be/YvjoqAdVXh4 This is the winner from my 1k sub special remix poll which won with a whopping 50% among 4 other remixes. I thought this would be an easy theme to just remix and go with flow as I sat there transcribing and arranging it - but no. There are many "empty" sections in the original that I believe weighs up by actually driving this course so I had to come up with something more interesting. I'm not sure I succeeded, but I added some extras at the end of all melody lines, put different chords and some lesser FX between melodies with the help of the same synth that's playing the solo at 1:44. The solo and chord progression behind it is very inspired by the music of Pat Metheny which I listened a lot to back in the days. I thought a more melodic jazz section would fit nice to this song. I also wanted the beat to just go in this remix, never stop, only keep that pace to maintain groove and race feel. The intro was made with a sampled sound of someone sitting in a car accelerating with an automatic transmission (I think). Then I made the first line of music sounding like it would play in a bad car stereo. The brake FX is sampled from Mario Kart 64 along with all voices you can hear of Toad throughout the remix. I only pitch his scream a couple of times. After the solo section at 2:12 I put some different chords on the melody sections which gives them a more interesting approach, I also slightly adjusted the original melodies. The end is meant to represent the culminating last sprint right before the finish line in a race. Other than that, this is probably my top 2 favourite song from Mario Kart 64, along with the Rainbow Road theme. Really love the atmosphere and feeling of free drive when actually playing this course. There is certainly a special feeling when driving by night, it makes me think of synthwave, neon lights and really chill music.

https://youtu.be/7tmfVg5Z1NQ Recently a dear relative passed away. As I write this the funeral is just a couple of days away, and the mood and feelings in me have begun to adjust for it. I think it's an important thing to know when listening to this remix since music I write is strongly affected by my current feelings, mood and energy. There is a sad mood and atmosphere over this remix (duh), the original is more distonal and a bit horrifying, but in the first place I wanted to create a more harmonically beautiful piece to keep some distance to the original, the sadness came with my loss. Almost all melodies in my remix are original compositions which makes this quite unique and almost completely my own. The only thing I actually reused exactly as it is from the original is the tones of the bass, however the chords are totally new. There is two layers of pluck synths which plays near the chords harmony and kind of never stops, it gives the remix a special atmosphere. The drums is my ordinary drum synth together with a couple of GameBoy drums, straight and clean beat. I felt like changing the video background after I finished the remix, I thought this is one was a better match to the mood and atmosphere, and it also kind of made me feel better because of the color scheme!

https://youtu.be/oG0EW0X1UBw The first time I heard the original I thought it had such potential for a really fat refrain (section 2 starting at 0:27). I tried to apply some fat drums and a deep straight on bass to that section. I also tripled the melody voicing at 0:40 from a doubled one. Overall I always thought this is a cool song, I always like a bass playing the same note where the chords change above it. At 0:52 I did a completely new section where a couple of plucks playing different shapes together with an ever rising chord progression and bass. Then it takes off at 1:07 with a very much MegaMan inspired groove from an octaved unison lead synth over a half tempo groove followed by a solo starting off at 1:20 where I put a massive amount of delay on the lead synth. Next up is a variation of the main theme (section 1) where I occassionally change the drum beat time signature to 3/4 from 1:48, but the rest still plays in 4/4 which gives a confusing but yet progressive and controlled groove. Finishing up with another fat refrain where I pitch up the melody voicings an octave to get a peak, and then pull it all down to minimum level of intensity at 2:52 with a single bass tone under some changing chords. I tried to get an unpleasant atmosphere in those chords together with a similar feeling of when you're listening to James Bond themes. On top of that there is a xylophone playing one repetitive tone in this last section, and also in section 1 (from the beginning and at 1:36).

https://youtu.be/raS81bYxK2g I went straight into this knowing I wanted it to be styled just like my Gemini Man remix. I think that synthwave jazz style is very adaptable to this song. My favourite part of this remix is 1:19 to 1:26 which is half way through a solo when my alternate lead synth plays unison with a piano and making some unexpected rhythm and melodies before a short silenced pause. Feels so groovy and jazzy. I made some alternate chord progressions in some sections of this song, for example at 0:32 to 0:45 where the key changes slightly in a way you probably heard in many progressive styled songs. I played that kind of chord progressions a lot when I went to a music high school at the age of 17-19 years old, and also after that. It's something you can apply to many styles and get a really beautiful sound and atmosphere from. If you noticed in this song, the bass almost plays the same note at all times, but with a nice groove to it. This also gives a very special harmony to the chords, when the bass note stays the same and the chords are moving underneath it. An example for you who is interested in music theory, the refrain (from 0:32) goes like: DbAdd11, Abm7/Db, A6#11/Db, Gb6sus9/Db where the third chord, A6#11/Db, gives that key change effect that I think is so beautiful, despite the bass staying at Db. Another cool thing about the refrain is right after these chords it goes up a couple of keys from Db to E which I just love in the original as well. In its entirety I think this theme is so good and remixing/cover it was true pleasure and joy. I hope you can chill with it or just dig it as much as I do. About the background, I tried to create some kind of widescreen monitoring the first part of the stage itself. MegaMan is watching carefully as he needs to go in there and infiltrate Wily's fortress. I hope you all like this! Thanks for reading and listening.

https://youtu.be/GIbvLsBuWTU This remix is quite straight forward my ordinary style, many enhancements from the original song and a couple of new sections I composed. I was so hungry for a metallic hit (also used in my remix of "The Man With The Machine Gun", and another unreleased remix). I put it in a half tempo section at 1:09 to get that headbanger vibe and a stronger impact to the listener, I hope you like it of course! My new composed section at 0:35 and 1:24 has the intention of providing a stream of hope during hard times or hard battles. It is based on the standard drum and bass beat of this theme with a nice chord progression over it.

https://youtu.be/1PlLWMABKpg During the creation of this I remade it several times. First when I got the refrain as that funky groove I decided to go all in on that funk lane. Having my mind on a futuristic weapon manufacturing process and that art of Mega Man when he has cables connected to him I was inspired to a more funky/synthy piece than usual. Combining that thought with vibes from classic 80s TV commercial songs I knew exactly what I was looking for. After a bit tweaking with rhythmic details and variations I was finally happy with how the remix sounded. I hope you can groove along until the end! There is small unique details throughout this whole piece. Let the machinery begin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcKELb0KsMc Before I started producing this I read about Dracula and wanted to base the atmosphere and content of this song on that. I know Bloody Tears often is referred to totally different scenarios in the games but... Well, this is my way right now. I pictured his castle (the one in the background art), intimidating and terrifying (represented by the fearsome laugh at 0:29), I can't imagine the feeling if I should stand outside its gates and hear that laugh. I also pictured how lonely Dracula must be, and that he for almost an eternity has been a resident of that vast castle. Dracula himself says a lot about love and life of men in books and movies, how he envy the simple life of mankind and the short lifespan (Dracula has kind of eternal life) while he struggles against time and, most of all, against his own sanity. I sampled a sound (at 2:01) of night crickets, humming monks and finally a church bell sequently to create a feeling of nightly calm, spiritualty and Dracula's nocturnal life which I think plays a part in Dracula's nature connected to his sanity. The arrangement of this song has ups and downs, just like the sanity I picture within Dracula. It has hope and despair - what if Dracula just try to live among us, with us and create a "normal" life, seek love and dedicates himself to whomever he loves. Oh, but he can't, the eternal life that he has been given just don't fit among us. And his knowledge of the past comes with deep prejudices and certain ways of how one should treat and behave. Can he adapt to the present? It has anxiety and harmony - who can he love? Will he be forced to curse his loved ones with eternal life to commit to love and dedication? What if his life is a gift just as it is? The extraordinary abilities, eternal life and knowledge absorbed from ages ago until today. They are with no doubt useful. Can he make himself available to mankind without consequences or misuse? It has denial and acceptance - Dracula always had two choices, he could shield himself off from the rest of the world, or he could accept who he is, and fight for himself to be a part of the world of mankind. But will mankind ever accept such a terrifying creature, so dangerous, but yet so polite and mature. His purpose and actions must be very clarified and transparent, but can he be trusted despite that? To get more serious: On top of that, Dracula wants a Halloween party - every year, which my straight 4/4 beats in this song represents. The end of the song which is in half tempo represents how Dracula, despite all invitations sent, ends up dancing by himself in laserbeams, smoke and lit up candlelabras, high on drugs and wine, just floating through time within the walls of his castle in large halls.

https://youtu.be/tD0_QIBfSjc

https://youtu.be/TuTqBZ7sYGA A very cool original theme even if it is a short one. I tried to stick close to the original and apply my style to it. You will also hear some new parts in my remix which just came to me pretty natural when transcribing the original. The vibes and flow in this theme is so good in my opinion, I think I might have captured that just a bit in my remix. I could listen to this on repeat for a very long time and jamming with my guitar to it. I wasn't sure what art to use for this so I took a snapshot of the actual select screen and only kept the boss portraits (along with Rock Light of course, which is his real name)

https://youtu.be/LWQjiH46RK4

https://youtu.be/i-4KK9ILTYE

https://youtu.be/vLl6pAb9fUA

https://youtu.be/zJaHAXSAZCM

https://youtu.be/6p9ughfqYoE