ReMix:U.N. Squadron "Forest Fire" 3:17

By Dan Studnicky

Arranging the music of one song...

"Forest Stronghold"

Primary Game: U.N. Squadron (Capcom , 1991, SNES), music by Manami Matsumae, Mari Yamaguchi, Takashi Tateishi

Posted 2002-09-07, evaluated by djpretzel


U.N. Squadron was an anime before it became a sleeper hit video game in the form of a horizontal-scrolling shooter from Capcom for the SNES. I actually remember renting this game back when it came out - makes me feel old. Ack. Newcomer Dan Studnicky sends us an upbeat synthified mix with great analog synth effects, fun, sorta 80's-ish percussion, and basically lots o' synth. Good variety too - starting at about 1'32", we get an extended solo section that is distinct from the rest of the piece and leads right back into the chorus very smoothly and naturally. Could have used slightly better mixing - things tend to be top and bottom heavy with a thinner midrange - and some better / more effects would have helped, but the core of what's here is solid, the solo section keeps things interesting, and some of the belchy analog fx are quite tasty. A good start from Dan - with some polish, I hope to see great things in the future.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Unununium
on 2012-10-31 11:41:21

This song has been stuck in my head all week. I welcome it.

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Bahamut
on 2009-10-01 00:28:37

So this is unexpectedly kinda cool.

My only comment is that after a few listens, it seemed kinda repetitive, but this is fairly catchy - it reminds me of the PS1 Mega Man X games for some reason with its synth driven energetic pace that isn't too fast paced.

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Dafydd
on 2008-12-23 16:11:15

This is horribly midi, while also feeling like the theme from some 80's tv show (which is kinda nice, though). But the arrangement is nice. There should be more mixes of this game, there are some really nice tunes in it...

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-10-21 21:30:30

The main theme is really catchy. I'd keep the remix just for that, but the fact that it's pretty good is a really nice bonus. I could really imagine some cheesey 80's vocals to this (must resist urge).

The synth solo really works well, I found that to be another highlight.

Not crazy about the fade-out. It fits the style, but it comes to early, I think.

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IndyCovaHart
on 2008-03-18 20:54:17

Hell yeah.

Nostalgia rules. I remember this song amping me up while playing this part of U.N. Squadron. Much of the music from this game really dates the era as we were still not quite out of that driving arena rock style, yet.

Top Gun-ish, if you will.

Thanks for this, dude.

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Kizyr
on 2007-12-09 21:03:39

This song is really catchy. It's probably one of my favorites from a game I never even heard of.

I normally don't care for percussion that much, but it's done noticeably well here. I think my main complaint is really with clarity, not quality--the bass line for instance could be clearer. Like was mentioned before, though, that appears to be really encoding or EQ issues, so no faults there.

Overall, a great mix and a very catchy song. I hope folks don't overlook it on account of unfamiliarity with the original game. KF

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OA
on 2006-12-26 16:25:23

The is definitely a gem that I missed during my initial torrent downloading of the entire site.

While the track starts out normally enough, it evolves into a great catchy melody, and about halfway through an uber sick breakdown hits, filled with delicious and nutritious funky bass and what sounds like a synthy steel drum counterpoint. A synth solo is the dessert of the mix, before going back to the main melody.

Num num; this is tasty!

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Cheese Soda
on 2004-10-28 12:42:08

Whaa.

I simply loved the song. But yeah, listened to better.

well, becosue of this song, I found this game at the adic! Got big urge to play it.

hehe. Thx for reminding me about it. And for the cool mix. ^^;;

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Dstudnicky
on 2002-09-09 18:02:28

Hello,

I am the arranger of this piece. I appreciate the reviews so far. Criticism is the only way I can grow. However, I wish you could all listen to the original WAV of this. It's so much warmer and full sounding. The hi-hat doesn't sound so harsh, the bass is more defined, etc. I encoded this into MP3 with various programs. MusicMatch, Cakewalk 9.0, SoundForge, Audiocatalyst...all of them gave me the same file that's on Remix OC.

I used OGG and it sounded much more like my original WAV. WMA had mixed results too, but still sounded better than the MP3. Even encoding in a High VBR bitrate in MP3 didn't solve the problem.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. I will eventually make more and hopefully better arrangements.

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provoker
on 2002-09-09 13:25:32

Well, it sure is a bit thin but that´s easily fixed.

Not one of my faves but give it a go. Its UN Squadron dammit!

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Beatdrop
on 2002-09-08 21:27:55

Pretty cool sounding!

I will have to agree that it sounds sort of thin (easily fixable, but still a necessity) to help make it sound more full. Other than that, a really good U.N. Squadron remix!

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orkybash
on 2002-09-07 21:30:20

U.N. Squadron 'Forest Fire'

Well, I thought this could have been better, though synthpop like this really isn't my thing (hey! I wasn't even in school when the 80's ended! :)) Like djpretzel said, it could have used a little EQ work to bring out the mid range. Other than that, it's a nice, though straightforward, arrangement.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
U.N. Squadron (Capcom , 1991, SNES)
Music by Manami Matsumae,Mari Yamaguchi,Takashi Tateishi
Songs:
"Forest Stronghold"

Tags (4)


Genre:
EDM
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
UN_Squadron_Forest_Fire_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,032,201 bytes
MD5:
e1bbaf9aeec580dfbbb87c4d21c3661d
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
3:17

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