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OCR00134 - Castlevania: The Adventure "Tempest Mix"


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Castlevania: The Adventure 'Tempest Mix'

Ok, sliced thunderstorm ambiance starts this mix off. Quite clever actually - it acts as the beat at the start until it's phased out (but comes back later on). Cool. Ring mod drums make an appearance (which reminds me of BT's stuff for some reason), with a few synths in either ear to keep you going throughout the song, and lots of rapid changing of sounds to keep it sounding new. McVaffe must have had a lot of fun doing this one I think, I can see him right now at his synths turning all his little knobs with an evil grin :). This is definitely a quarter-pounder with extra cheese.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 8 months later...

Like the last one, this tune is a nice mix of retro gameboy chips sounds mixed in with techno-esque beats and a gothic flavoring behind the harmonies. but this one goes a step further by adding in a good sounding chorus later in the song. Like the first one, I would have liked to have heard it have an ending rather than a fade, but it's minor.

Another cool tune :D

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  • 3 months later...

The thing I find interesting about this mix is its use of the original gameboy synths for the main melody- to it's advantage rather than it's detriment. I've heard a lot of songs that used either original 4-8 bit synths for the lead (or sometimes just synths so bad they sound like NES or MIDI music) and usually it's just brings the whole mix down. In this mix, it provides a simple, but pure and catchy instrument for the main line that really makes the peice. Of course, this is made possible by the high-quality instrumentation of all the other components of the song, creating a layered atmosphere where almost any instrument can join in and it will still work.

To tell you the truth though, somtimes I wonder if had he put in an electric guitar in for the main line instead of the GB synth, would it have sounded even better?

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Definitly some of McV's best work, in my opinion. The rain as percussion thing (along with the panning) is creative, and sounds cool. While I usually don't like original synths being used- something that McVaffe seems to like quite a bit- I think in this case, they were used well. The percussion is great, as is the middle part with what sounds like explosions as percusison. Two thumbs up!

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  • 1 month later...

Holy crap! This song rules-- it has a great combination of chip tones and more conventional techno synths. Gives me a great old school vibe. The drum work is just awesome. Love the way McV puts those ambient rain sounds to work, too. I just wish I'd downloaded this track sooner :(.

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  • 10 months later...

Out of all the mixes McVaffe has done for the Castlevania games, this one is my favorite. The way he mixed the rain sound effects at the beginning is pure genius, and it just gets better from there!

What's really nice about this arrangement is the fact that it has the ability to appeal to fans of the original tune as well as to those who prefer a more polished version.

All worshipping aside, if you don't have this mix yet, go download it now! :D

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There are a ton of fantastic surprises in this mix! Though the chopped and panned rain at the bottom gets most of the credit, the creative processing of synths throughout, filtered beats, and overall sheen are equally worthy of praise. The breakdown and buildup is especially effective, and though I am not a huge fan of the 8bit sounds, they work very well in the context of the mix.

Very inspiring. :)

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  • 1 year later...

I played Castlevania Adventure maybe twice, and I think they poorly adapted the Castlevania franchise to the small, black and white (green-gray pre-Pocket i guess) screen. And the music wasn't all that great IMO.

That is, until McVaffe got his hands on it. The rain? Awesome. Even if it still sounds Gameboy-ish, there's more than enough going on to sate you.

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Ah. If only I had the motivation to create a retrospective on the use of rain effects in remixes, this one would be the granddaddy of them all. Not only does it actually use it as an instrument and not just atmos, but there's a totally standalone badass mix in there as well. The whole thing is just a whirlwind of bells, whistles and rain, from a time back when McVaffe was poised to explode onto the OCR scene. A classic.

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  • 8 months later...
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This one is very playful with layers of meta; it recognizes that this is an arrangement and takes the atmospheric storm samples and chunkily and tongue in cheekily blends them into the mix. This is an incredibly fun song to listen to because it takes so many liberties with the sound samples plus its got a nicely groove a happening. The only thing though is that it feels too short, though. :razz:

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  • 4 years later...

Really liked the effects used in the mix, between the storm and the clock bell tower chimes. The way the synths were manipulated and used was awesome and the overall effect of the mix is great. Definitely one of the better old-school OCR gems.

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  • Liontamer changed the title to OCR00134 - Castlevania: The Adventure "Tempest Mix"

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