Ocarina of Time chant

[Tansunn]

Does anybody here know anything about the chant that was sampled for the original version of the Fire Temple music in Ocarina of Time (

)? I heard samples from the same chant in Parasite Eve 2 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDkXiR8AZsI ) and after doing some research I found it was used in Cruis'n World as well (

).

I'm interested in hearing the chant uncut and outside of game music if possible, but so far the only lead I have is that it's quoting from the Quran and I haven't been able to find anything that sounds like it's from the same person, let alone the same lines. Any information would be much appreciated.

It's entirely possible that the chant could be from some sample pack. I've heard some other vocal cues that pop up in various places, too, like the female vocal that can be heard in Xenosaga 1 - Song of Nephilim ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqjCT2yB3i8 ), Xenosaga 2 - Nephilim ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns23O8HpjFU ), and Uru's Trailer Music (

).

[XZero]

Here's a Gametrailers Pop Fiction special on it:

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-9-pop-fiction/710815

I don't know anything about where you can get it, but I have heard the chant in other stuff as well. I don't have a video link, but something very similar (possibly identical; I suspect a different part of the same chant) is used by New Age artist David Arkenstone in a song called "Sea of Time" on his album Troika II: Dream Palace. If you can find the song, it's about 55 seconds into it.

[SwordBreaker]

First off, the samples used in the tracks you've provided are definitely from the same pack. This is the first time I've known that Crusin' and Parasite Eve have those same samples as well. My knowledge was limited to Ocarina of Time.

Just to clarify, these are not chants per-se. They're actually special sayings or prayers us Muslims use in our daily lives. You'll notice in the videos I provided that the prayer "Bism Illah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem" (In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful) is used as the opening verses when reciting the Quran. That's just one method of usage. We usually say the prayer regularly before beginning any task for the intention of completing it successfully with the blessings of God.

The other sample used in the game tracks is "Allah Akbar", which translates to "God is Great". Again, this is not a chant or part of the Quran per-se. It has many applications including prayers, casual use, and repeated in many variations within the Quran itself. It's most popular application is its usage in "athan" before prayer times, like so:

Personally, its implementation in Ocarina of Time is the most faithful to the source material. Wasn't offensive to me at all as the composition was minimalistic and the focus was on the verses themselves, not the instruments. Crusin's usage, however, is sort of a no-no. Parasite Eve 2's is not bad as well.

EDIT: there's also part of the sample in Ocarina of Time which I have difficulty recognizing as the words are muffled at best. It definitely sounds like he's reading from the Holy Quran as you've seen in the first videos I've provided (similar methods of citation), but the verses or words themselves are unrecognizable.

[Tansunn]

@XZero - Thanks for the tip! That song definitely uses the same prayer samples. Quite relaxing to listen to as well.

I'd already seen the video before starting the thread. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around what kind of wonky cartridge manufacturing and release schedules allowed for three versions of the software to be created before the game's release. Clearly they thought the prayer and the red blood would cause controversy so they changed it, but then why would they continue releasing the uncensored versions? I can understand wanting to get the gold cartridges with 1.0 out on time to fulfill pre-orders, but beyond that I presume it's just sticking to schedule to make sure there's enough supply to go around? I'm kind of baffled by this.

@SwordBreaker - Very interesting information, thanks!

As for being offensive, some of the stuff I read said that its use in the song wasn't as offensive as how the song was used in the game. One person said that if the chanting had been used for the forest temple, it wouldn't have been as much of an issue, but it caused a stir since it was used in the fire temple which is rather hellish.

It would seem that its use in Parasite Eve 2 could also be offensive in this way since it's played in the Neo Ark, essentially a bio lab where people are basically playing god and making people artificially evolve into super-humans that adapt to their environments.

Also, I found another sighting of the prayer in Kakuto Chojin, apparently in a theme song for a Muslim character -

This one sounds like it'd fit in the same category as Cruis'n World's, since the prayer is used as kind of a filler element behind heavy techno beats.

[SwordBreaker]

@SwordBreaker - Very interesting information, thanks!

As for being offensive, some of the stuff I read said that its use in the song wasn't as offensive as how the song was used in the game.

Also, I found another sighting of the prayer in Kakuto Chojin, apparently in a theme song for a Muslim character -

This one sounds like it'd fit in the same category as Cruis'n World's, since the prayer is used as kind of a filler element behind heavy techno beats.

Good points...perhaps the context of usage is what people took offensively more than the method of usage.

It's really interesting seeing that Islamic sample pack popping everywhere like that. I only thought Ocarina of Time used it but apparently it's sort of popular.