Posted 2001-04-28, evaluated by djpretzel


Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom . . . now THERE'S a title for a game. I bet the designers sat around in a committee for daystrying to think of a name until one of them jumped out of his chair and yelled "I've got it! Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom!" and they were all too tired and stressed out to disagree. But I jest. I've never played the game, but had heard of it at least. Something of a sleeper hit - it's a good thing Jazzflight made this ReMix, as I don't think anyone else was going to :) Things start out simple, but build nicely - there's a very clean kick, a very low synth bassline that is VERY understated and cool, and then the main 'chorus' enters with a mucho-delayed pattern that is melodically interesting because it doesn't resolve how one might expect. Also note that the delay / echo here appears to be in the composition instead of DSP, as it only affects certain notes. The whole thing is hypnotic in a way that's hard to explain, and the breathy-filtered lead synth that enters at 0' 46" is nifty. Unique game, unique Remix. Good first submission from Jazzflight.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 14 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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TheCD1
on 2024-07-01 17:27:21

Yesssss. Great NES adventure game for its time. Unique setting (if you couldn't tell from the title), creative and interesting game play (again, for its time). As for the remix, the quirkiness definitely matches the source. As with the game, it may not appeal to everyone, but count me as a fan that still appreciates this mix when it comes up on the playlist.

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Ruki
on 2010-12-19 04:06:31

Much love for this mix.

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Steven McFly Jr
on 2010-04-17 01:03:38

The Salad Bar Liveth On!

This game was the cheesiest CHEAPEST cart I found when I bought my first NES back in the early 90's. My mom us were quite poor for a bit, so we got our first NES late. :-P

Game was a "cutesy" family-styled game but it was nonetheless a good game by Hudson. So this song fits in nicely.

Alas, the NES hardware wouldn't support this but if they ever would have ported it to the SNES, we'd be set!

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Bahamut
on 2009-09-28 13:05:09

I'm not really familiar with the original source so I'm not sure how much is borrowed from that. There isn't much of a changeup from the main progression though, which really just makes this sound static in just droning on.

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justinj212
on 2009-01-17 16:15:00

had no idea what to expect, but the synths were very funky and refreshing will definitely come back to this mix again. good job!

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42
on 2008-12-13 23:58:04

I'm not familiar with the game at all, but with a name like "Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom", I wouldn't really expect such a deep/dark remix. It's not as dark as say the Doom II remixes, but all things being relative, I'd say it's pretty dark/intense.

Very quirky, and I'm not much of a fan of the echoing guitars.

It's definitely a weird mix no matter how you size it up.

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-09-14 13:30:26

I feel like there's more going on in this mix thatn I'm seeing at first. Oddly enough, I have to say I like what's going on here. It's quirky, and the delay is strange, but it all just works out for me. Very strange, strangely cool.

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Kizyr
on 2007-12-09 21:19:42

I was mostly surprised that someone did a remix of any song from this game. It was one of my favorites around that time, and the first menu-based game I ever played.

Anyway, as for the song... The main down-side is that the quality isn't that great; it's not really different from your average MIDI. It also doesn't seem to really go anywhere near the end, and so it ends rather abruptly. But, the song itself is good, and the arrangement reflects the quirkiness of the original game. KF

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OA
on 2007-01-02 12:23:41

This really needs a sound upgrade, because underneath the midi sounds, there is something that is substantial. For the first few listens, the song seems to just be a random collection of motifs, but after awhile, you start to hear how everything is connected.

The ending is a bit strange and abrupt, but it doesn't detract from the quirky feel of the song as a whole.

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Mustin
on 2006-12-16 20:20:19

When people talk about having high standards for tracks, I always think about this one. It's... pretty bad. I mean, there's nothing to it. But I think the reason I like it is because the source music is so good.

It kinda makes me laugh, actually. I dunno why. But I just really like it. I implore you to give it a download and check it out. You'll see what I'm talking about in the "bad" sense. Nothing is inherently "bad," per se, but with this, you'll see it almost sounds like random wackiness attacking your skull. But for me, with this track, it works. That goofy, doubled-delayed guitar part really gets me, and with that off-the-cuff synth sound... I dunno.

It's hard to put emotion into words sometimes. And that's why we have music ;)

So something about this represents a messed up portion of my head where, when I hear this, all is right with the world.

Check it out!

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Bummer
on 2006-01-24 09:47:15

I just searched through the list of remixes and just had to review this one, I have never heard of this game but only the name of it fascinates me.

Sadly, I cannot say likewise about the remix. I get the jazzy feeling that this song extrudes, but the quality of the instruments might cut some joy from it. It's a decent track, but it sounds like if it has been brought directly out a SNES game. Not a bad thing, but I felt that this remix could've been better, that's all. Good points about it is as I said the feeling with it. Not only jazzy, but also some sort of underwater prescense.

Solid remix, maybe I'll check out JazzFlight's other remix too. Nice stuff. 8)

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Nineko
on 2005-11-20 10:05:58

hearing to these 64-192/256 pannings, and according to the song structure, this seems like a 4-channel MODule file, that could be made in a very old tracker, or even on an Amiga.

even my remixes are more complex (at least I use a newer tracker and once I used even 12 channels (OMG))

:yes: (because I approve everyone who uses a tracker)

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Starblaze
on 2003-01-02 21:27:46

I agree with Saunders, although there are good thoughts here. The author apparently had potential, because "Good night little nemo" rocks. :)

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Saunders
on 2002-05-16 00:15:01

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom 'Tomato Juice'

Not much to this mix really. Seems kinda empty to me really. There should be more instruments and such going on.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (Hudson Soft , 1988, NES)
Music by Tomotsune Maeno
Songs:
"Celery Forest / Spinach Heights"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Experimental
Mood:
Dark,Quirky
Instrumentation:
Acoustic Guitar,Synth
Additional:
Time > Duration: Short
Time > Tempo: Moderate

File Information


Name:
Princess_Tomato_in_the_Salad_Kingdom_Tomato_Juice_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
2,833,278 bytes
MD5:
60b68bdb19cbe1722757ac53716fa120
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
2:17

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