OCR04474 - *YES* Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap "Dark Waters"

[Emunator]

Hi.

 

I released the first version of this remix back in 2011 on my YouTube-channel. But for the OC Remix-submission I reworked parts of it and tried to optimise the production. The source song is one of the best dungeon-themes in all Zelda games. It creates an dark oppressive atmosphere from the beginning and sets the tone for the dungeon. In my remix I tried to emphasise the feeling of constantly water dropping and the vastness of the music of the original.

 

You could listen to it here:

 

Contact Information

Your ReMixer name: Gaspode

Your real name: Peter Köller

Your email address: 

Your website: –

Your userid: 26608

 

Submission Information

Name of game(s) arranged:

»The Legend Of Zelda – The Minish Cap«

 

Name of arrangement:

Dark Waters

 

Name of individual song(s) arranged:

»Temple Of Droplets« from »The Legend Of Zelda – The Minish Cap«

 

Additional information:

The Legend Of Zelda – The Minish Cap, Game Boy Advanced, Music by Mitsuhiko Takano

 

Link to the original soundtracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVK4LkLbUYs

 

Bye, Peter

 

 

[Liontamer]

I’ll say that this could evolve more, so I could see someone else feeling that the track was ultimately too repetitive or at least droning. That said, I dug it. It’s indeed a great source tune, and Peter’s treatment was very lush with subtle textural changes, and a crystalline sound that demands your attention. It’s a great piece to veg out to.

YES

[MindWanderer]

This indeed quite a long piece with some repetitive motifs, especially the xylophone arp, which takes only one break (2:00-2:20). This definitely would have been a more engaging piece if the xylophinist wasn't going for 4:23 of a 5:23 piece. I definitely disagree that it "demands your attention;" lt lost my attention very quickly!

However, there isn't much in the way of copy-pasta otherwise. It feels repetitive, but without actually repeating. The soundscape is indeed rich and deep. If the idea is to just chill out and steep yourself in the sounds, it does a good job of letting you do that.  It works.

YES

[prophetik music]

the initial burbling sfx are really arresting. the intro's muted vibe is perfect based on what you were going for. the hit at 0:40 of everything together is just great, and subsequently at 1:00 is just as beautiful. there's a ton of verb on everything, so it's almost too lush, but it's a very relaxing and chill vibe. 

2:00 feels like a significant shift, if only for the break from the glock/crotales/glasses/whatever that is. the chromatic nature of the theme causes some mess with the long tails of the sustained instruments through this entire section through 3:20. later on you change the theme's mode so it's not causing a bite on that sharped 4 in the melodic line, and i think that came too late - i'd suggest you do it right away. it takes away a bit of the uniqueness of the theme without it being in lydian, but it fits your backing parts far better.

3:20's definitely the high-point of the piece dynamically. your long-tail strings here are a bit exposed - i'd have preferred a faster attack so it wasn't so delayed, but that's my only real pick about this part outside the continuing use of the arpeggiated glass instrument being overused. after this section ends around 4:40, the song slowly works down to an ending.

from a mastering perspective, a freq analysis confirms what my ears are hearing - there's little to nothing over 3khz, which is why it sounds so intentionally dull and muted. there's also some notable spikes at overtone intervals over around 260hz which i think is the glass arp instrument's overtones sharply poking through the mix. it's noticeable and probably will be a turn-off for some. aside from that, the dynamics of the piece form a nice shape, and the track sounds good. there's some light clipping in the biggest section from 3:20 through maybe 4:00 (particularly right at 3:24), but it's barely noticeable.

this is a great arrangement with some beautiful choices made in the instrumentation. i think it's probably too over-lush in a few spots, overuses the glass arp, and has some crunch from the melody's #4 next to the rest of the chords, but overall it's a great listen.

 

 

YES

[Chimpazilla]

This arrangement is lush and lovely, although quite repetitive.  There is a ton of reverb, but also some low-mid mud in the instruments (which is also getting reverbed), making the master too loud.  Some of the delicate detail is lost under this wall of mid-lows.  Ironically, I don't hear a lot of actual lows in the track, other than the odd swell (such as at 3:23).  I also see on SPAN that there isn't a whole lot happening above 5KHz.  This mix could sound much fuller by using EQ to make sure unwanted lows are removed from elements that aren't meant to play in the lows (typically kick and bass and similar).  Plucks, piano, strings, pads, choirs etc. often have useless low-end content that should be removed, which will allow for a cleaner/fuller master.  Also, the correlation meter is bouncing back and forth indicating that some elements are going in and out of phase which can cause issues with the mix and master, and sometimes with mono playback (iPhone speakers etc.).

Regardless, this arrangement is lovely and engaging and full of feels.  Very nicely crafted track, a delightful listen.

YES