OCR01682 - Final Fantasy VII "Jenova Returns"

[djpretzel]

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

[Robotaki]

wow, fuck you for your skills. this kicks ASS. the ending section totally reminds me of batman.

[Moguta]

This is definitely a sweet orchestral arrangement. The few that managed to pop up on the project were all stunning. And this take on Jenova's theme was no exception. I especially love the emphasis on dynamics, and the varied flow that this arrangement employs so naturally.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, this is a medley (or more like a delicious interweaving) of both J-E-N-O-V-A and Jenova Absolute, whereas the mix's page only lists the former source tune.

Good work Spekkosaur-- I mean Steffan Andrews. Wish we got to hear more of your work, it's always classic.

[Liontamer]

Just some super high-quality business over here. Impeccably good stuff.

[anosou]

One of the best arrangements of video game music I've ever heard. Playful, dramatic and as good as perfect.

Never stop making music!

[OceansAndrew]

As far as sample usage go, this is nearly flawless. Completely stunning.

The arrangement is gorgeous and expansive, with several points of interest occurring at once throughout. Obviously there are some homages to Elfman, but dare I say that this transcends the aforementioned's work? Yeah, I dare.

I could go on and on about how great this mix is, but I have no desire for Professor Andrews to file a restraining order on me, so instead, I made him a little gold medal. Awesome work.

[Hyperion5182]

Hard to argue with this one thats for damned sure.

[Evan Arnett]

Colorful orchestration, excellent composition and treatment of the themes, and expert handling of the samples make this easily one of the best OCRemixes I've ever heard.

[derako]

well well I have to say I was impressed with this. It sounds like it was made with either ewql silver xp pro or gold xp pro. The orchestration was perfect in everyway. The one downfall though was the brass. Low was fine but the trumpet (except for the end) and the french horn were very odd sounding. I'm not saying it was bad but you could definitely tell it was synthed. Now all that being said, I don't think it takes away from the enjoyment of the piece. I find myself listening to this alot. I have it on my flash drive and I always seem to be playing it. Very awesome accomplishment. We should team up and do a colaboration piece or something

-Derek-

[kwansoo87]

I've been listening to remixes on this site here for a while, but I never got around to registering an account and writing any reviews. This remix was so good that I decided to register just so I could post a comment.

This is definitely a colorful and exciting piece. It definitely strays the course of many other Jenova remixes, for instance like the heavier techno, rock, or dark orchestral remixes. Really refreshing piece.

As soon as it opened, I instantly got this feeling of nostalgia. Not just for FFVII, but for something else because of the feel of this piece. It felt something of a cartoon-ish John Williams Fantasy and Flight sort of thing out of Star Wars. After about 20 minutes and relistening to this remix, I realized that the feel of the piece reminded me of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

Great piece.

[oakthielbar]

Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just ingested.

EDIT: This was incredibly mean-spirited of me. I'm really sorry.

Edited June 28, 2019 by oakthielbar
I was an asshole

[Evan Arnett]

Pardon me while I go vomit from all of the cheese my ears just ingested.

Okay, I can't let this comment pass. You are completely wrong and just absurd. Because I know for a fact that it is impossible to vomit from putting too much cheese in your ears. Tried it last week. Seriously.

[athecheat]

This was beautiful! I love Jenova

[Peconomusman]

Whole thing is great. I just recently finished playing FFXII and this remix reminds me of a few of the tunes on there. Probably just due to the orchestration, but that is a compliment.

Also agree on the batman ending, lol

[Dectilon]

This is excellent work. If the composer who did the music for FFXII remixed this track, this is what would come out.

Personally though, I don't like the new music style. It lacks personality somewhat, and bite. That's just my personal preference for games though, your work is in itself flawless.

[medomai]

I was really hearing the Spiderman flying through the city theme in this, but he did such a good job - it's one of my top favorites in VotL.

[KitsuneFury]

I must confess... When I first listened to this song, I was like 'eh, too jaunty' and skipped track after about 10 seconds... A little later I decided to give it a second look and instantly fell in love with the entire track.

The Danny Elfman homage is utterly clear and doesn't even try to hide itself, and for that, I love it. It seems to skip at first from something akin to Nightmare Before Christmas (which I love anyway despite my initial misgivings), before showing shades of Batman (which to be fair should have been honest given the title of the song. ).

I really could see Gotham City in a snowstorm, throughout the first half.

The whole thing sense shivers running up my spine and Stefan was right. The last 60 seconds are the best, and simultaneously the worst. Why the worst as well? Because the track is ENDING by then.

Either way, the whole song builds in crashing waves, building up, sinking back again for a moment, before sudenly coming back up again even greater than before, finally reaching that dramatic crescendo, and yet still leaves me wanting more because of how incredible it is.

One of the finest remixes I have EVER heard.

[Lucentas]

This is definitely an epic mix, and really the only way I can picture the source any more (in my book, it's always a good thing for a piece to be able to oust its source). Also love the tiny bit of the battle theme thrown in, it fits perfectly and everything just sounds like it was made to come together in this piece. Beautiful work.

[Valerius]

I'm a major fan of this song. The first time I really listened to it, though, I had to do a double-take...

When I got to the end, I could've sworn I was listening to one of the Spider-Man openings!

Good thing I'm a fan of those too, eh? ~(^.=.^)~

[SoulinEther]

This song is awesome. Unlike some other remixes, this does not just reiterate a theme over and over again. This takes a theme, plays around with it, makes it expressive (yes there's the quirkiness but there's also some fear there too), and includes extremely fitting sections that make this a highly enjoyable orchestral rendition and very interesting independent work.

[metalsnakejuice]

l love that sound scape created in this it has a cinematic feel that adds drama to this.

Great choice of instruments too.

[Marmiduke]

This is one of the best homages to contemporary film composers that exists today, on or off OCR.

Like everyone has pointed out, Elfman is hugely represented. I hear a lot of influence from Ang Lee's Hulk, which admittedly is not classic Elfman, but still his best work in my opinion. It then becomes more John Williams-esque, specifically from his Spielberg collaborations, and then it definately becomes more ambiguous, but I can hear the Batman Begins sound that people have talked about.

The orchestration is super rich, richer than I've come to expect and richer than I really think I deserve as a listener of free music. It's exceptionally fine, so much so that even when the odd unnatural sample makes an appearance, I tend not to care all too much. It's like it instantly gets lost in the excess of quality here.

Definately on my list of favourites, both in the area of arrangement and production. This is so good is scares the hell out of me.

[tweex]

Danny Elfman strikes again.....er...Steffan Andrews strikes again! Once again, this mix is jsut another example of how Steffan has grown as a programmer, arranger, and composer in the 5 year hiatus he took from OCR. It is seriously night and day! The arrangement for JENOVA here is fantastic. The addition of the battle theme is a wonderful addition. Great work there. The production quality is fantastic. The programming is spot on! This could be straight out of an Elfman movie (MIB comes to mind first). The ending is wonderous. I agree, it is very Batman esque. Excellent work all around mate. Come back and give OCR more of this orchestral goodness. Steffan is truly becoming a master of his craft!

[L1ght5h0w]

Please take what I am about to say as a compliment (as that is what it is).

This makes me think of harry potter getting slaughtered by J.E.N.O.V.A.

=D

[shadow3121]

To be completely honest, my first thoughts on this, upon reading the description, was that this guy knew how to explain his music. his reference to danny elfman aside, i honestly believed i had somehow downloaded a nightmare before christmas song instead of the JENOVA remix i wanted. I was definately impressed by the orchestral take on the song, and it is indeed going into my OCR collection.