OCR04657 - *YES* Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon "Photogenic Ghosts"

[Emunator]

Primary Artist: jnWake

Collab artist: Jabo, on guitars.

Yet another tune from DoD! This one was my submission to 32 bit month on December 2023. I've always loved the music in Goemon games so I took the opportunity to remix one of them. Source I picked is more of a funky tune (dat bass) so I went for a funky approach rather than my usual metal one. Original track is actually 4 different tracks on the game, each one layering some extra stuff to the main sections of the song. 

Anyway, similar to my last submission this started as synth only but I eventually decided to add guitars so I contacted Jabo, who did an awesome job. The track ended up placing 2nd on this particular DoD contest so I think it ended up fine!

K, so a little about the source before the breakdown. It basically consists of 2 sections, first a bass riff on E minor (with some G# and C# for funkiness), which lasts from around 0:00 to 0:17 in the video I linked and, second, a part that alters between E minor and C# minor chords (0:18 to 0:35 on the video). Repetitions of each section add new melodies like a synth melody on the second repetition of section 1 (between 0:36 and 0:53), a very pentatonic melody on the third repetition of section 1 (1:09 to 1:27) and a synth melody on the third repetition of section 2 (1:44 to 2:02). I use all of these in the remix!

Now, I didn't use that many of the parts without modifying them so I hope this doesn't run into source usage problems... Anyway, here's a breakdown:

0:00 - 0:20: Bass riff based on the main one from the source, synths are somewhat similar to some from the source.
0:20 - 0:40: Synth lead based on the synth melody of section 1.
0:40 - 0:56: Based on section 2, somewhat straightforward but in 6/4.
0:56 - 1:17: Melody on synths is taken from part of the synth melody in section 1.
1:17 - 1:26: Bass riff returns!
1:26 - 1:47: More bass riff + the pentatonic riff on synths,
1:47 - 2:17: Same pentatonic riff but now played on straight 8ths. Lead guitar plays the same melody from 0:56.
2:17 - 2:36: Return of the chords from section 2, followed by a transition.
2:36 - 3:07: Synth solo! Bass riff uses many ideas from the main bass riff of the source... there's also a tempo bump.
3:07 - 3:24: Riff based on parts of the melody from section 1.
3:24 - 3:53: Repeat of the 0:56 - 1:16 section but with lead on guitar now (and higher tempo).
3:53 - end: Bass riff from synth solo repeats for the ending.

Hope you enjoy! I had a ton of fun building the arrangement and playing the keyboard solo!

[prophetik music]

intro riff is appropriately funky. at 0:11 it takes a second for everything to mesh together. there's a bit of a mix of swings - the hats have a harder swing than the synth lines do, which makes it a bit jumbly initially - but it still sounds neat and i especially like the lead's tone. this quickly transitions to a much broader section featuring a time sig change and some broad synth pads. the funk comes back at like 1:25 and the groove is still a little disjointed, but the space in the overall track here helps balance it a bit.

we get a sustain in the guitars that quickly goes Plini-ish at 1:51 and then takes off. i love this upbeat section. it's short, but the soaring guitars are so good. it comes back down (still feels like Plini) and then we get a significant tempo change and some soloing. the melodic material is back at 3:07 with the ascending lick that's then harmonized, and then some great guitar work. there's some bass riffs and it's done.

what a fun take! there's a lot of exploration of what's honestly a pretty basic original, given that it's just a bass riff and some synth flourishes. this really branches out and does a great job.

 

 

YES

[MindWanderer]

Real classic FM bass to start off with. Still very basic FM midi stuff, surprisingly so, until the guitar kicks in over a minute in. Even though there's generally something in low-mid-high unless it's a subtractive section, the soundscape feels a little light to me.

The arrangement is certainly fun, though I find some of the transitions a little abrupt, especially 2:36. It kind of comes out of nowhere, plus it's a little weird to have this elaborate solo on synthesizer when you have a guitarist. The ending is a little abrupt, too.

The sound design doesn't wow me, but I'm not seeing anything here that's a dealbreaker. It's fun and does the job.

YES

[Liontamer]

I do wish the timing was more fluid, because this has some live ToeJam & Earl-level groove potential that's not realized. I'm tilted more to the arrangement side of this, but this timing's gonna nag me, so I was glad some rapidity was added into the picture around 1:56 and especially after 2:36 to mitigate those flow issues. Alright, good stuff in that latter portion to seal the deal; strong arrangement!

YES

[DarkSim]

Initial groove could be better; the hats sound a bit stiff. Sound design is fairly basic, but it's fitting for the source material, and it allows the guitar to be more of a highlight, as it's played superbly. The time signature change is cool at 0:40, and there are plenty of new ideas throughout the arrangement to keep things fresh.

The standout section is most definitely the guitar solo from about 1:52. It works really nicely with the lead synth. I enjoyed the synth solo as well, even if the transition into it was a bit clunky. Great handoff to the guitar at 3:08, then some layering with the synth for the final chorus and big finish.

No major complaints with this one. It doesn't quite bring the funk as much as I'd like, but there's more than enough to enjoy here, and it's a brilliant expansion on the source.

YES