OCR02126 - *YES* King Kong 2 (MSX) 'End of the Adventure'

[Palpable]

Hello Again!...

..., so much to tell:

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I'm Jorge Mira, alias commandcom, userid: 26178.

Original Track Name / Composer: 'Stage 1' / Motoaki Furukawa

ReMix Track Name: End of The Adventure

This is my third submission, so I will skip the personal details already stated in my first one, if you may.

This is the final "Push Space Key (A Konami Tribute) (EP)" track. I first made a list of 6, then cut it to 4, now closing it with this 3rd one. So I can 'close' the project and, maybe, with time, open a "Push...2".

Ok, the track, the game, and why this one:

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King Kong 2 on the MSX2 platform was an enigmatic game to me, as it was on Japanese by the time I played it and it was a sort of RPG. You played the son of Kong, trying to rescue your mum (not dad) who has been captured. The fact is that, as I couldn't (can't) read japanese, (same happened with 'SD Snatcher' and 'Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake' but (some) 'key words' were in english) so I didn't actually advance much in the game.

BUT I kept trying MAINLY because of THE MUSIC!!

And, those were the days of 'key codes' to save your game, so it was not the ideal scenario (japanese and kanji codes to save your progress...mmmm) so, the fact is that I was very exposed to the tune of the first stage over and over (as I didn't save that much), which, I think, is a killer one! (and kept me coming back to the game).

To me, it resounded like Adventure, Mystery and some Drama (basically, the three 'segments' of the song, in that order.)

Also, It has a chord progression wich I am also making tribute with this mix! (So it is a double tribute!) The chord progression of the 1st segment (the 'Adventure' one) is one of my all-time-favourite chord progression. You can find it in Salamander's Stage 5 ('Burn the wind') or in Galactic Attack's Stage 1 (Taito, Saturn, Arcade)

When I'm on a deadline (and that happens quite often) that chord progression is, for me, a winner. Be it a documentary or a short movie or anything, it always works!!

The remix:

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My first intention was to make it 'a la Indiana Jones', a simple March, as it leads to. Then, I changed my mind to a 'Western', kinda 'Sunset Raiders' which could also work. The trouble of both is that (at least for me) they were quite 'lineal and obvious' and won't have fun doing them.

SO I tried something else and stopped by 'Pirtates of the Caribbean'. THAT was fun!! (And it worked)

Then, the feeling of 'Adventure' came by an 'End Credits' arrangement in which you put the final touch to a big, enjoyable, adventure movie.

So, that was the idea!! Bring some pirates in, keep the Adventure feeling in an 'End' situation. So It can be straight to the point, and it can be elaborate and be as barroque as I wanted to!!

I focused on 2 of the 3 parts of the song: The 'Adventure' (1st) and the 'Drama' (3rd).

What did I use?

- Cubase 5

- EastWest Symphonic Orchestra

- StormDrum2

Arranged and mixed in C5, mastering in Ozone2 / Wavelab (light one, preserving dynamics)

Hope you enjoy it,

Jorge Mira

Diseñador de Sistemas | www.asvideo.net

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http://judges.vgdj.net/mp3s/sources/KingKong2 - Stage1.mp3

[DragonAvenger]

There are quite a few things that I like about this mix. The transition to the more epic feel is done very well, and overall the orchestration and parts used are just right. It's also very easy to hear the source in this, and there is some original spins put on to the themes. I think arrangement-wise things are looking really good.

Overall the samples are used well, despite being obviously fake. A couple instruments stood out to me particularly: the trumpet sounded a little thin when it came in at ~:45. It's also placed pretty far back and is a bit overpowered. The anvil sound in the percussion also sticks out to me as particularly fake. It sounds very tinny, which is a drawback to me. The balance on most of the other instruments sounded pretty good.

I like how you've treated the source. YES

[OceansAndrew]

It sounds like your basses are behind the beat ever so slightly at the beginning. Once the song picks up, it's matched much better.

Overall I really like the piano-centric take on the theme, and the percussion really does have a Pirates of the Caribbean feel to it. The trumpet is pushed back pretty far (and I actually didn't even hear it until the 4th listen through), but it's playing a supportive counterpoint part, so it's not as crucial.

The arrangement is a nice surprise, as i'd assume that the source would fit best into a rock or other straightforward arrangement, and this re-imagining is very clever.

My only real complaint with the arrangement is that i'd have preferred an epic ending, but this still does pretty well for itself.

I thought the anvil sounded fine, just like it was being hit on the horn. Clearly Deia hasn't had the amount of anvil-tappin experience I have had, or she would know this.

I like it a lot! Yes

[DarkeSword]

Really great arrangement. It does have a PotC feel to it. Samples are obviously fake but it's not really a detriment to the piece; they work well in context. Very nice work all around. Good development, nice intensity.

YES

[zircon]

Wow, I've never heard of this game at all, but the source tune is absolutely great! Also, I'm a huge fan of the soundtracks for the PotC trilogy, so now I really can't wait to hear what you've done.

I have to disagree with Darkesword that the samples are "obviously fake"... we've posted mixes with WAY more unrealistic sample usage. I think the samples are used very well here, especially because I own QLSO and I know how easy it is to make it sound bland and uninteresting. The rhythm section is solid as well, but maybe a little repetitive, with few changes to the rhythmic texture or the tempo/meter. I would have liked to hear some cool triplet fills for example.

Your orchestration is clean and smooth, with some nice doubling. Again, maybe not the most complex thing I've heard, with relatively few countermelodies or intricate harmonies/voicings, but it's definitely not bad at all, and accurately emulates the mood of PotC and other Zimmer scores (though not his latest ones!) My biggest criticism of the arrangement as a whole would just be that it would have been cool to do some slower, more dramatic sections with higher legato strings and no drums, sort of like "I Don't Think Now is the Best Time" from PotC3. Still, that doesn't put this below our bar.

Props on a convincing, enjoyable and technically well-executed orchestral mix.

YES

[Liontamer]

Strong stuff; more polished than your past subs.

The melodic source usage was obvious for sections like :00-17, :50-1:23 & 2:22-2:55. Meanwhile, the progression of the chorus was used from 1:25-1:41 & 2:57-3:20, making the source usage clearly more than enough, unlike your past mixes. Had no issues with the anvil, since that seemed to be worth bringing up.

Gotta agree with zircon in that this was a great source. Definitely a nice pirate/adventure feel to this one, Jorge. I just caught the remastered version in the inbox and had to shoot a comment here after taking a listen. Great work, keep them coming!

YES