OCR04763 - *YES* Final Fantasy 10 "They Say Lightning Never Strikes 200 Times"

[Liontamer]

Artist Name: minusworld

Yet another Dwelling of Duels (DoD) entry, from PS2 month in May 2023. At that time, I'd been itching to do a proggy entry and ended up with this. A funny tidbit, I mistakenly thought that "Calm Before the Storm" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNBNqpLkzTc) was the song that played during Thunder Plains and was planning to progify that. Then I looked up the actual Thunder Plains tune and this arrangement immediately started taking shape in my head instead! Memory is a funny thing. :)

The two main influences for this track are Plini and The Contortionist, particularly the album Clairvoyant, though the latter's influences may be more subtle.

The Thunder Plains source has three sections, ABAC, and I felt like I needed one more section to make for a nice flow. My arrangement first pulls out the quarter note ascending/descending line and string swells from the A section for the intro, second goes into an original section (with a melody definitely, absolutely not aped from Plini's "Electric Sunrise" 🫣), third has versions of the source sections ABABC with proggy chords and riffing underneath, fourth revisits the original section, and finally outros with a short variation of the ascending/descending line used in the intro.

The title is a reference to a minigame in FFX in which the player is given rewards for dodging consecutive lightning strikes on Thunder Plains. The final reward is given at 200 dodges, hence the title. :)

Enjoy! (I hope!)

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Games & Sources

Final Fantasy X - Thunder Plains - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG279JYg3H4
 

[prophetik music]

completely forgot about the C part of the original. i don't know if i ever spent enough time in a row in the game without getting into a fight to hear it, i guess.

starts with clock sfx and some guitar elements alongside some schmears of synthy string color. 0:34 is where the band comes in and it's immediately reminiscent of american math rock like Plini. first break comes at 1:02 and there's a ton of space, which is fun given that it's the theme for a plain in the game. 1:33 is the first time getting to the B section from the original, and it's more of a broad feel than then more angular starting section. 

there's some ensemble stuff at 1:50 and then some of the wider rhythmic elements that are again Plini-adjacent right after at like 2:10. the C section right after this at 2:19 is pretty guitar-heavy, and it's hard to hear anything under the guitar sustains. this wasn't as noticeable before but here the combination of the crash and the rhythm guitars are really loud. 2:48 is a bit of setpiece that's a little out of place just because it's not really prepared super cleanly, and then 3:03 is the last big blow. this kind of soaring sustained strumming line is so iconic and sounds awesome in here. 3:32 is the outro, back to the clock rhythm pattern, and it's done.

short and sweet. there's some times it's uneven in the mix, but overall the arrangement is solid and the lead parts shine through as expected. nice job.

 

 

YES

[Liontamer]

Oooh, I'm super-familiar with this track from looping it a ton in college. The arrangement here's cramped in spots, but I can make out things well. Loved the ticking of the original utilized so well here in keeping time yet sounding impactful and combining well with your amped up version of things. Solid textural and occasional rhythmic changes throughout to keep things engaging and interesting, I'm a big fan of your approach, which was full of life. Things felt stilted from 2:47-2:53, due to the keyboard, but it was very brief. Great original section at 3:02 to nearly close things prior to the final changeup at 3:32; the original writing fit very comfortably with the energy of the arranged sections before it. Ending was relatively abrupt, but I was alright with it. Very good source tune choice, and this interpretation stood apart very distinctly from it with a thrill ride of a creative direction. Nice work! :-)

YES

[Hemophiliac]

One could equate the time changes in this to the unpredictability of lightning strikes. I think they fit really well despite catching me flat-footed every time they come about. That's the real strength of this arrangement, the masterful handling of time in a proggy manner.

Good job of letting the piano cut through despite it being a rather full mix. That could easily get buried and overpowered.

Melody gets attenuated at 2:20 behind other elements and the backing elements feel much louder here. Losing some of the melodic focus until 2:53. I can live with the unclarity for a short while as it is over quickly. That's my only gripe. The excellence here is the arrangement, the less than perfect production can be overlooked. Nice work!

YES