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OCR00951 - Panzer Dragoon Orta "More Than a Weapon"


djpretzel
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Starts of with amazing piano work by MC, my favorite pianist in either OC/Vgmix. Then quickly moves to a more electronic flavor, with strings and groovy drum work. I love the melodic and harmonic expantion in this. That's saying a lot given how great the original is. SGX then adds vocal effects and phrases from the game in this, and all are handled very smoothly. No complaints at all. This is one of my favorites and one of the best game mixes I've heard. Smashing work!

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It seems to me the timing issue was intentional. djp said himself that this piece is narritive--well when that part came in, it gave me an offsetting feeling, as if something wasn't right. It was actually a nice method to portray such feelings, and it adds to the cinematic quality of the entire piece.

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Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I really surprised myself with how well this came out since it was only the second song I had done with Reason 2.0 at the time. It really couldn't have been completed without MC. Not just for the kickass pianos, but help in figuring out some of the more difficult chords and stuff like that. We're talking about doing another collab sometime though we don't know of what yet.

For the timing issue: I'm somewhat confused because I don't hear a timing issue. The piano that MC provided was sent to me via midi data and imported into Reason. Everything is lined up correctly. I think maybe the confusion may be in that this song is in 7/8 time. The piano in that section has some syncopated rhythms, and the drums at that part don't have much emphasis on the downbeat, but rather the and of the beats with the hi hats. If you count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,1,2,3,4,5,6,7..... as you listen it all works together. The section is just a bit harder to tap your foot to than the rest of the song I think. I suppose I could have made the beats at that section a bit more easy to follow or something.

Man, techno in 7/8 was fun as hell and really refreshing. I'm DEFINITELY gonna pursue some more odd meter stuff in my original work.

In case any one is curious as to what language is being spoken in the song, it's Panzerese. Haha. Yeah. The games have their own language.

Thanks to the people who helped out in my WIP thread for this song, the people who helped out in the "how do you make a kickass techno beat in 7/8 time?" thread (and a 'nyanya' to that one dude who said it wasn't possible 8) ), thanks to Sega for making kickass inspiring games, and huge thanks to Mr. MC. It was fun.

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It's a great mix, but the timing issues have nothing to do with it being in 7/8 time, which I can assure you I'm familiar with and which isn't really all that odd. At 2'56", for example, the main chords that lead into the key change are early. 7/8 is still really easy to tap along to; you just "skip" the last tap. If you're saying they line up, that's a bit odd, because other parts of the playing don't sound quantized, which is the way you'd know for sure if they were EXACTLY on a beat. Send me the file if you want, I don't mind & have Reason 2.0 as well.

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The first time I heard this piece at the WIP board, I was like "woha!". After it was finished I couldn't wait to see an official release, and here it is.

SuperGreenX and MC did a great job on "Ancient Weapon" from the "Panzer Dragoon: ORTA" OST. The feeling fits the original term and let you believe you're actually playing this game. The screams of the Dragon go through your head and won't go away that easily - not to mention Orta's shocking "Taskete!!!!" (which is japanese and means "HELP ME!!!"). The pannings and mixing are great too, I just miss a bit balance in the bass and mids (volume), but that doesn't really matter.

If there'll ever be a remix CD from PD:ORTA, I'd love to see this "rearrangement" on it. (but I guess this won't happen). The song had a side effect an me, too. After I heard the WIP I searched for more infos about "Panzer Dragoon: ORTA" and even reinstalled my old Sega Saturn to play "Panzer Dragoon ZWEI" again.

Resumé:

All I can say is "excellent work you two", perhaps we see more collaborations from you. ^_^

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Let me start by saying this, The Panzer Dragoon series is one of the most underrated series ever created, and underrated in every aspect- gameplay, graphics, music, story... the works. The games have done something that very few games nowadays do.. Have an atmosphere and feel distinctly their own. Few series have been able to retain that individuality- and Orta is one of those games

This remix is something that can't be taken lightly. Even small details could make or break this song. When I saw this posted in the W.I.P. board, I about cried- at first because someone was ACTUALLY giving the game some much deserved credit, then because I realized that the smallest mistake could simply ruin it, utterly.

Fortunately, my worries were for naught. SGX and MC really pulled out all the stops on this one, and it shows crystal clear. From beginning to end this piece has the Panzer Dragoon series literally oozing from it. The epic sweep, the voice samples... I can close my eyes and picture the Dragon taking flight- weaving in and out of enemy fire, and taking on the genetic weapons and massive Imperial warships that made the series so memorable. More Than A Weapon delivers superbly, mixing the fast paced techno while judiciously maintaining the atmosphere of Orta. The only real qualm I have with this song is that it seems to start rather suddenly- but this is a pittance when compared to how incredible the song is as a whole, an insignificant foible that is forgotten seconds after.

SGX... MC... You two are simply amazing! An impressive piece in any way, shape, or form. OCR is all the better for including it.

-Yagami Iori

aka Archangel Tavin

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I didn't know what DJP was talking about with the timing issues either. I've been listening to this for God knows how long now... I even burned it to a CD back when only the preliminary 112kb encoded version was up. Basically, I've said all I can about how awesome this mix is. So in short: :nicework:

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After hearding the WIP, I couldn't wait to see where he was going with this. However, I didn't expect him to turn it into a collab with MC. And the wings flapping and the dragon screaming were great, as were the samples from the game. I haven't played anything but a demo of PD:O, but I will when I get the money, definately.

mainva | aptigo | JTD out

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I've already mentioned elsewhere how I love this mix. No complaints from me. The flow felt right, I loved the samples used, and I almost like it more than the original song. I'm hoping to see more Panzer Dragoon remixes in the future, and this is an excellent mix. Good to see more people appreciate PD's music. Now someone make a mix of Zwei's "The Expected Enemy" and I'll die a happy man.

Side correction: The "Taskete!!!!" isn't Japanese in the game, and it's not Orta yelling it. It's Evren yelling "DIE!" (There's no "Help me" in the game's script anyway) There's no Japanese in the game's language, it's based mostly on ancient Greek and some Latin.

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THIS MIX KICKS MY ASS!!! :D There is absolutely NOTHING bad I can think of in this mix! It's sheer perfection! It's come such a long way since I heard it as a WIP so long ago. Oh, and that whole piano matching up part DJP says is off, well it sounds like it fits in to me. It's heavily syncopated, but I believe that's to give it a jarring feel. And while the dropping of a 16th note at 2:43, 2:51, 2:59. and 3:07 may be strange, it isn't "off". These drops are what cause you to think the main chords at 2:56 that lead into the key change sound "early". Really though, they are just syncopated oddly. Overall, one of the best mixes I've heard on this site.

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  • 1 month later...

I can't believe I forgot to put in my two cents on this remix. In all fairness, this one shouldn't be formally associated with me on OCR--as much as I'd like it to be--for this remix is the genius of SGX. I appreciate the credit for the help I lent but honestly, I owe SGX teh mad propz for letting me help him with this. You already know what's great about this mix, so I won't go on and reiterate. But I thought I would once again vouch for SGX's seemingly boundless creativity, especially as evinced by his latest Ecco remix. Well done! <sets off firecrackers>

MC

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Wow. 8O

This is more like a musical journey than a remix!

I really love how you melded the two styles here, putting all your orchestral samples together on top of the foundational techno bass and rhythm. Specific favorites are the breakdown at 3:17 into the drum and bassline, and then adding in the staccato piano in at 3:26 over the top of it.

One question, what is the sample you are using at the very beginning and end of the piece behind the piano solo (say at 5:10 or so)? Call me stupid, but I can't figure out whether its wings flapping or feet stomping or something completely different :roll:

Great job all around!

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  • 5 months later...

This is the most awesome ReMix I have ever heard. Really.

I'm not musically adept enough to be able to praise the actuall musical pieceparts...but as a longtime music listener, I CAN praise the emotional and 'creative' content. Frankly...this is a master work. Using no more than, maybe...ten musical elements, SuperGreen and MC created an awesome, transporting piece. I especially admire how the volume of the bass and drum tracks, plus the overlaying melodies, are manipulated to create different feels, and different perceptions of tempo.

My two cents.

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