Arranging the music of one song...

"Beware the Forest's Mushrooms"

Primary Game: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Nintendo , 1996, SNES), music by Yoko Shimomura

Posted 2001-04-04, evaluated by djpretzel


Great stuff from Orkybash - this being his second Mario RPG ReMix. It's a marked improvement over his previous ReMixes, which themselves were good, only held back a little by the sounds used, which weren't as high quality as his arrangements deserved. Well, now he's using soundfonts, and damn if this doesn't sound FINE. To tell you the truth, the orchestration reminds me of some of the tracks off of the Sega CD version of LUNAR - which is a huge-ass compliment (I loved that soundtrack to death). Some great ambient 'woods' sounds start us off but fade gradually as dueling flutes are joined by a bassoon, some marcato and pizzicaton strings, a bell, and what sounds like a harpsichord or a dulcimer. Really well thought out, no dead spots, short but very sweet, great melody and harmony - I liked it quite a bit.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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MechaFone
on 2010-05-28 15:42:12

Short and sweet. Would've liked it to be longer. The seamless beginning and ending nature sounds are a nice touch :)

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Crulex
on 2010-04-03 11:43:09

Very cool verison of the Forest Maze theme. I would have loved for the "woody" sounds to go on for the whole song, but this is great. It's got a very natural feeling flow to it.

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Opterion
on 2009-01-19 01:31:25

Nice, bright woody mix. Really like the transition at 0:37. Great instrument arranging, from the Flute duet to the touch of harpsichord. I do agree, however, that the bassoon solo is drowned out around 1:07. Great work, keep it up!

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Marmiduke
on 2008-12-17 18:19:48

I like that this mix is short and compiled, so that you know that every section is crammed with goodness, rather than it being spread evenly throughout. Generally with pieces like this, I find if they overstay their welcome, they get a bit too sickly sweet and I just don't enjoy it anymore. That's definitely not the case here.

This mix really succeeds in making one of the catchiest gaming tunes ever even catchier, despite being dated somewhat production-wise. But you know, I still like listening to Gameboy chiptunes, so I'm definately not phased by dated production if the melody and nostalgia is done justice. As it is in 'GenosWoods'.

Awesome mix, and one of earliest standout tracks from the OCR catalog.

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OA
on 2008-02-06 15:15:43

Sample-wise a mixed bag, as is the execution; the harpsichord was nice, as was the bassoon, and the usage of both was smartly done, but the recorder was a bit too lacking in velocity variety, as were the pizzicato strings. The sustained strings were pretty nice, however.

The arrangement was really fun and playful, but a bit mechanical in several spots. It was especially apparent in the sections that were heavy with the pizzicato.

With such a short length, it feels more like a promising WIP than a finished work, but it's fun and contains a lot of variation despite it's brevity.

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Polo
on 2007-12-07 02:03:10

The bird chirping intro is very sweet, as is the autumnal walk-in-the-park feel of it, and it's got a smiles-all-around kind of beat. However, the MIDI-like buzzing and bleeding of the soundfonts irks me. An odd dichotomy, considering the arrangement's rather straightforward and djp exemplifies the soundfonts in the writeup. Still, solid for its time.

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psychophan7
on 2005-07-04 22:26:30

Short yet sweet. Awesome composure, despite a feel for MIDI in it. This makes me want to play the game again... Geno rocks!

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blunai
on 2005-06-22 03:33:48

Orkybash managed to make my favorite theme in Super Mario RPG even better. Very good job!

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jordex
on 2004-09-05 13:04:02

Great remix, love the instruments at the beginning. All the instruments go so well in this song, the triangle sound thing is cool and the and the Strings in the back are so well placed. Good Job Orkybash!

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Bass Clef Man
on 2003-09-01 12:12:55

Orkybash's made a great mix here. It does a great job of "remastering" the Woods theme, and I think that if the big N were to remake SMRPG (as they SHOULD, damnit!!), this would be what they'd use for the Woods... not only because it sounds great, but also because - and this will help the Corporal's length problem - It loops. The ambience at the end goes perfectly with the ambience at the beginning, and if you didn't know that and didn't have your Music Player in plain sight, you'd just think it was a break. Albeit similar to the break that happened a minute and a half ago.

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Corporal Eschebone
on 2003-07-15 02:09:46

He improved upon the original very nicely....Loved the flutes, but would have loved a mandolin to take over at around what is now the end.....

Oh, wait, that probably wouldn't work, would it?

....

It might, but only to about half the ppl that listen to it. :?

87.5%. Short, but enjoyable while it lasts.

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Deryck Khusial
on 2003-03-21 04:18:11

dude, you know my secret passion for medieval music. what i like about this is the steady progression, from the way the strings slide in around 0:25, to that grooving beat that enters around 0:40, to the tempo change at 0:57

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Kaleb.G
on 2002-12-20 16:00:54

I'll be the next person in line to say how this has a Medieval sound to it, which is a very good thing. :D

I liked how you managed to but good variation in the song in such a small amount of time.

But anywho, this is a very cheery and soothing mix. Reccomended.

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Jimmy the Lip
on 2002-12-19 23:53:07

The Forest Maze theme from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was an excellent theme, exemplifying the ambience, for want of a better word, of that game. The tune was adventurous with just a touch of forboding, as if some hidden fear lurked in the shadows of the trees as you ventured through the tangled forest... maybe a bit dramatic for a Mario game, but the theme did work. And "Geno's Woods" takes that adventurous, almost midieval theme and adds to it, creating a piece worthy of inclusion in a revamped SMRPG:LotSS for the GameCube or a later system. The woodwinds play a key role in this arrangement, dominating the melody and occasionally suplemented by strings in the background. The ambient sounds at the beginning of the piece are a nice touch, and the entire song flows very smoothly. It is really a shame that Orkybash couldn't have made this song a bit more lengthy, the piece's total time clocking in at one minute and forty-two seconds, as "Geno's Woods" really is a very fine ReMix worthy of recognition and recommended for downloading. At least in the humble opinion of this reviewer, though my opinion may not be held in high esteem in comparison when compared with many others that haunt this site. No matter - it's still a brilliant bit of work.

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PhantomMagi
on 2002-08-18 00:07:17

Great theme, loved the game.

Sounds sort of medieval. :D

Almost as if it were played by a band of traveling minstrels, prancing and dancing through the lonely woods playing muic and singing cheerfully...

uh...um...I'm sorry, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyway... Great mix. :D

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Nintendo , 1996, SNES)
Music by Yoko Shimomura
Songs:
"Beware the Forest's Mushrooms"

Tags (1)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Additional:
Time > Duration: Short

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_RPG_Geno's_Woods_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
1,715,603 bytes
MD5:
7c5a1d98d326d73c8ba2166cbacfed3a
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
1:42

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