OCR02113 - Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil "Devil's Advocate"

[djpretzel]

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

[MechaFone]

This actually reminded me a bit of Kingdom Hearts at :40-:43 or so. I wasn't getting much of an Elfman vibe until around 1:50, where I recognized the typical Elfman style that I would recognize in playful, dark themes.

Anyway, all that aside, I found this remix to be very enjoyable!

[TenchuX]

Flat out loved it. Definitely gearing up for Halloween.

[RECKENEFIN]

I'm gonna have to agree with MechaFone; the Elfman didn't really kick in until later. I felt like I was listening to trailer music at the beginning. There were a couple parts that actually reminded me a little of James Newton Howard's score for "The Last Airbender" (that's not a bad thing, by the way), but I definitely could feel the Elfman emanating from the piece.

The vocals at the very beginning did seem a little off to me, but it did create an eerie, "something's not right" vibe. By the end of the mix though, I didn't care. All in all, it was a very good mix in my opinion.

[BlackPhantom]

This is the first serious remix I've heard of this song; the other ones involved Ronald McDonald or something like that. Very well done though, an excellent job.

[MstrSwrd]

This is the first serious remix I've heard of this song; the other ones involved Ronald McDonald or something like that. Very well done though, an excellent job.

With all due respect, you aren't looking hard enough. Trust me, over just the past week, I've heard at least 250 Touhou mixes (to be fair, Touhou Kouroumu 6 did just occur, so there's a severe influx of arranges (new Xi-on. Hell yeah!) right now).

Anyway, now that I've succeeded in making myself look like a complete Touhoufag (which I won't deny being...) yes, I would like to say that this is a very good mix of the song.

Also, remember, she's not just a Psychotic girl who can kill you will looking like a 12 year old, she a Psychotic Vampire with wings of iron and crystal with the wand/sword of a Norse God. She can also make you explode by making a fist... and she looks like she's 12. Oy vay.

This site needs more Touhou mixes. Remixers! Make it happen (I would if I had any musical talent to speak of. I don't, so I'm reliant upon others for the awesome).

Oh, and djpretzel, when you get a chance, go play the Touhou games. Chances are, we won't hear from you for several months.

Edited October 22, 2010 by MstrSwrd
Forgot to say something/ Second edit was for a few other errors.

[EC2151]

I'd like some more Lufia 3 mixes before we get another Touhou mix. ;p

This is a pretty good mix, and probably one of the better remixes of the song, mainly because it does try to be different yet still is recognizable, unlike a lot of the vocal-arrange whatnots which either sound completely different or not different enough.

Touhou may not be my cup of tea (despite trying to beat several of the games), but the music is pretty catchy and nice to see it get that loving OCR touch.

And dj, you're right. The titles of these games are pretty fucking ridiculous. It's to the point where I am sure they don't even mean anything in Japanese either- ZUN just throws cool-sounding words together.

Mark my words- Touhou 13 will be something like Thunder Tears of the Wind-Ribbon Cloud Princess Annuity.

[BlackPanther]

Dude this sounds so absolutely scary and creepy to me, but in a beautiful way. I feel the emotion pouring out of this song, this sounds like this could be in some animated movie where there's some epic battle scene Tim Burton style. Never played the game but to me, it sounds like you did the original some mad justice.

Bust out more of these orchestral pieces man, your electronic music is the shit but I want to see the more emotional side of your remixes through orchestration.

[TGON]

I'm pretty suprised PR went with an orchestral ReMix.

When I read the name 'PrototypeRaptor' in the remixers spot I was like:"OMG OMG OMG EPIC U.N. OWEN WAS HER ELECTRONICA!!"... But when i heard all the orchestra going on i was a bit dissapointed...Until the first 30 seconds.

This marks as one of my tops in my list of orchestral arrangements in OCR(Also Counting the 2 Cannatas For Dancing).

[Schwaltzvald]

Well done as I was quite impressed~!

A job very well done~!

[Coyote-Trickster]

Epic Win

Rawr

likely one of the best versions I heard of this song

Great aura of darkness to it

~<3

Edited October 22, 2010 by Coyote-Trickster

[Kadosho]

Although I have never heard of this series before.

This "battle" theme is quite unique, almost has that armada feel.

Very few orchestral covers, this one however is a delight to listen to.

[luhny]

I have heard so many midi rips, covers, remixes, etc. of UN Owen that I cannot even begin to count. And while I still enjoy the tune itself I grew tired of all those remixes... most of them stand out as much as a grain of sand in the desert...

...except this one. Thanks for getting my attention back to a tune that I abandoned in relation with the word "remix" quite a long time ago. Thank you!

[Souliarc]

Absolutely stunning my friend. Who would've known your monster ghetto dub music style (which I am formidably a fan of) could be finessed into such a piece of fine orchestral ass. Meant in a good way... of course.

The suspense building up to the main melody is perfect and leads me right up to it in an excellent balance of dynamics. Articulations are used so well.

Phenom!

[acidtreat101]

I am really biased towards liking anything Touhou related, but this is one of my favorite OCRemixes to come out in a long time. If I had to guess, I've probably listened to about...oh, maybe 1500-2000 different Touhou songs in my life, but this has a pretty unique sound for one. It really does have that Elfman type sound. I can just see machinery smashing around and stuff. What I like is that although the sound isn't like a Touhou song, the theme is still clearly recognizable. Excellent work. We really do need more Touhou remixes. By the way, have you all heard about the Touhou anime that is soon to be announced? Produced by the same studio who made the Kara no Kyoukai anime movies. I can't wait.

[K.B.]

Fantastic.

It's not every day one gets to review a mix of a game in which one is currently enveloped, so this is a veritable treat for me. Please forgive the rambling, as this requires a bit of background for full expression.

A novice to shmups, I finally took the longstanding recommendation and started EoSD about three weeks ago. Many, many deaths - and no 1ccs - later, this remix was posted. This was a sign. I had to touhou up and beat the game. I had to experience the source vgm in its original glory so I could fully appreciate the remix.

I still cheated and read the reviews first; so, when I had finally heard the source (in-game) and then this remix, all I heard was Elfman. While that, in itself, was a brilliant and spot-on realization of a section of the source, that's hardly an adequate descriptor for the entire piece. Elfman does touhou? No sir, that will not do. Not that anyone has painted it solely as such, but it bears clarifying that there is far more going on here than such a first-blush likeness. Taking some time apart from the remix, and many more rounds spent trying to defeat the dirty little secret herself, I have since seen it in an entirely new light.

The ominous, restrained chaos... insanity... is manifest throughout. The Elfman-esque sections are playful - dementedly playful - while the remainder are menacing. From a psychological perspective, the portrayal is accurate. And terrifying. The chills at 0:40, for instance: they... the voices. I double the volume in masochistic horror. And that's not the only instance thereof. But, perhaps best of all, is how powerful the piece remains. At first, I was hesitant on this point. The original is driving and unforgiving, and it would be impossible for a subdued remix to match this. After repeated listens however, this has as much, if not more power than the source itself. It is not as consistently direct, no; but it is brooding, and it has its fair share of fury. Then, at the end, it is a culmination of... everything.

Then again, I might be biased, as I believe that nothing is capable of kicking as much ass as a well-arranged orchestra. Therefore, I will simply posit that PR has done more than justice to the original, and even if one (however unimaginably so) does not care for the given styles, one can surely appreciate the utilization thereof and the full realization of the undercurrents of the source.

Thank you, Mr Paulsen, for haunting my dreams.

Edited January 27, 2011 by K.B.

[Martin Penwald]

I was rather surprised when I read that PrototypeRaptor had made an orchestral remix. Listening to it (repeatedly), I have to say that it is a very pleasant surprise.

This is hands down my favourite orchestral remix on the site. It's playful, it's creepy, it's powerful, it's just about everything. Parts like ~2:30 send chills down my spine.

Great. Simply great. I hope to hear more from PR in this style.

[Master_Yoshi]

This is powerful stuff, and surprisingly powerful. Wow, I am just so taken in by this, I'm not really sure where to begin.

So I won't. Sorry, short review this time. I'm just kind of speechless from how awesome this is. Well done.

[Snow Taradien]

I found this mix to be really quite well done, that said I'm a bit of a sucker for Touhou music.

I'd always disliked Embodiment of Scarlet Devil as far as the music went, but every now and then somebody like you comes along and proves to me that it CAN be really good.

[Acolyte]

This is on par in composition I feel with some of my Elfman favorites.

I have never heard the source material, but with no memory or nostalgia tied to this, i still love it. "Perfect in all that it is" is how i describe a piece like this.

Like I said I am not familiar with the source but as its own piece, to me this was just really something else.

[Level 99]

Oh, hey, Mr. Elfman. What you doing round this neck of the woods in OCR territory? You've come to remix video game music? And you're not Danny Elfman? Well, shit, coulda fooled me.

I will say this about PR: he's versatile across genres and knows how to achieve the style through instrumentation, arrangement, AND production. Many artists struggle to achieve the same consistency across genres, but PR makes it look effortless. Really, I could have been fooled that this was indeed unused music from a movie Elfman scored were it not for my familiarity with the source because of

.

I'm finding it very hard to level any criticism against this, because it really is that good. Maybe the random female vocalist that sometimes comes in is a bit over the top, but it fits. I got nothing else besides that.

Friggin' awesome.

[OceansAndrew]

really nice rendition of a pretty solid theme. I liked the sequencing a lot, and the flow was excellent. Nice work!

[Crulex]

Oh epic hell. Joy and happiness abound, this is awesome! Freaking UN Owen, one of the best, if not the best Touhou song there is, is here ReMixed in a orchestral Elfman style that combines darkness and the zany spookiness that this style is know for? PrototypeRaptor, you win. You just fucking win. I really can't say it any other way. A cool treat for Halloween, even if this review is about a month and a half behind. Oh well, maybe this will help open the flood gates so we can get more Touhou goodness on the site.

[Moguta]

Holy carp, this is definitely up there with the most creative symphonic pieces on the site. I don't think there's anything else on OCR quite like it.

The intro piano simply gives me shivers. I can just envision the pianists' fingers dancing wildly over the ivories. The whole piece has a very motion-inducing rhythm, helped no doubt by the quick bursts of short notes flying here & there in loopy patterns. And Prototype even emphasizes the dynamics, with instrument swells that breathe vivid life into the work... Color me enthralled.

Edited December 11, 2010 by Moguta

[Emunator]

The thing about PrototypeRaptor is that he's an incredibly diverse remixer, but he ALWAYS gives it 110% and pretty much goes all out in whatever genre he chooses. This is no exception, it's one of the fullest and most intense orchestral arrangements I've heard, and to think that it was adapted from such a quirky and upbeat source... pretty mindblowing all-around.