ReMix:Pac-Man "Rave in the Mirror Maze" 2:27

By Franz Keller

Arranging the music of one song...

"Start Music"

Primary Game: Pac-Man (Namco , 1980, ARC), music by Toshio Kai

Posted 2000-11-02, evaluated by djpretzel


Hey, hey - bring it on! One of the hardest things about ReMixing really old games like frogger and pacman is that the 'music' was really only a few notes played at the beginning of each stage. In other words, there ain't much to work with as far as putting together a substantial ReMix goes. Yet that's just what Franz Keller has done with this great techno-rave take on that brief-but-famous Pacman intro theme. A lot of delay effects, some analogue-type 'chirpy' sounds, and excellent ambience and attention to processing make this one a definite keeper. Notice how he alters certain notes of the major-scale theme to minor to give it that 'rave' feel. Very well done, and not an easy 'song' to take on.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2014-08-24 11:40:52

Well, the age does show (which is understandable), and the melody repeats quite a bit, but truthfully, with the source as short as it is, it's hard to do much with it beyond the arrangement. It has lots of energy and enough fun samples to make it worth the listen, but other than that, there's not much else to say.

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MechaFone
on 2010-12-19 16:07:19

While the sound samples and the instrumentation could use some updating, I found that I enjoyed this remix. Nice job!

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Mini-Mal
on 2010-01-07 13:03:16

While showing its age , music-wise , it was a good rendition of something simple and repetitive. The first few minutes or so seemed a tad dark for a pac-man game , almost sounded like something that should have been in Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Much like being able to build a shelter from scraps of nothing , this song does deliver considering what it is based from.

I'm one of those people who don't mind a song created for nostalgia's sake or for "up to your interpretation" so this song doesn't bother me. While simple , I did enjoy the choir-like background during it all. Added to the creepy ghost-hunting , pellet chomping theme of it all.

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Bahamut
on 2010-01-07 12:27:55

Considering what source material is worked with here, this is pretty cool - wish the production was more up to date, but eh, this is an old song.

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tweex
on 2009-10-13 13:44:21

If there was such a thing as "gentle" four on the floor, this would be the embodiment of that style. The arrangement is simple, yet it has a lot of layers behind it. Nothing stands out, but nothing is too quiet. It's got a nice balance to it and it's easy on the ears! The repetitive nature of the track gets a little grating, but on the whole, it's a nice piece. Again, for something done 9 years ago, it blows anything I could have done back then out of the water!

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metalsnakejuice
on 2009-04-19 23:56:36

This really is a crazy remix that has lots of things going on which i liked and the sound effects were great but did get up my nose by the end.

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-12-07 21:40:55

I'm impressed what was done to the very short melody of the original. Not crazy about the mix itself, but it's cool to see what was done to really expand the source. Weird, kind of annoying, but interpretive.

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OA
on 2007-04-18 10:53:39

For a Pac Man remix this is pretty interprative and it makes it a lot more interesting to listen to. Some of the sound effects got a bit annoying by the end of the mix, but everything else works well enough. The production seems a little crowded, and could have been given a little more space, but the idea is sound.

This rave style music is perfect for a game where you run around in the dark chomping down pills.

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Bummer
on 2006-01-07 08:18:25

Nice arrangement for being a remix of Pacman, Keller has pulled all of his strings to make something like this, but although it mentions rave in the title, it could have been more of it. It's still a very decent remix since it has good variation between synths and beats, and the occational moments of less commotion contributes quite well. However, the bright synth began to bug after a while, so it didn't work for me. Nevertheless, it's a good remix, and I found the idea of having screams in the arrangement funny.:D Nice work FK.

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Lord Veovis
on 2004-04-04 21:40:34

I think this strayed a little too far from the original. It just seems a little too... dark for Pac-Man. Still the music isn't that bad. 6/10

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Benjamin Briggs
on 2003-02-08 20:44:01

This Mix is a little too active for my liking. The 4 or 5 melodies from the game really shouldnt be overlayed like that. And as always, repetivity is a problem. However, I think that is hard to avoid, so kudos on making a mix of this game at all. I couldn't do it.

-chth

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endblink
on 2002-08-28 16:01:14

Sounds like a less chaotic (and thankfully shorter) version of Aphex Twin's 'Pacman Powerpill'.

I like. Two thumbs up.

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MB
on 2002-08-28 15:17:32

hey, folks, the name of the game is fun. granted, i can't sit here and just sorta listen to it, i gotta get drunk and dance. that's fun.

so instead of harping on it, i say enjoy it as camp. i bet franz keller submitted this song just to be zany anyway. fun.

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Eccles
on 2002-07-14 15:19:09

I noticed a couple o sounds that appear in other remixes.

There just seemed to be too much going on for pretty much the whole of the remix. Still, a fair attempt for a song consisting of about 10 notes.

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skawttieboy
on 2002-06-22 19:06:55

I'm gonna have to go with the fact that this mix kinda made me laugh...just the intro sounded soooo silly, I just kinda chuckled to myself when I heard it. Nevertheless, I like it....I don't see anything really wrong with the Pac Man theme...although if you listen to it over and over for days, you do get to the point of throwing something...or someone...:D

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Pac-Man (Namco , 1980, ARC)
Music by Toshio Kai
Songs:
"Start Music"

Tags (9)


Genre:
Dance
Mood:
Happy
Instrumentation:
Breakbeats,Synth
Additional:
Effects > Distortion
Effects > Lo-Fi
Time > Duration: Short
Time > Tempo: Fast
Usage > Workout

File Information


Name:
Pac-Man_Rave_in_the_Mirror_Maze_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
2,445,847 bytes
MD5:
cf27342294ab3e0b95fc336bc0365f91
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
2:27

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