ReMix:Final Fantasy IV "Leap into the Darkness" 3:32

The main thing IMO is the transitions. Despite some clear sample issues, I feel like the most potential is inn smoothing things up. For example, the chiptune, while nice, was out of nowhere.

Cloudy in most sections, empty in a few others. Production is definately not this mix's selling point.

Overall, I liked what I heard in arrangement. I don't know if I dig the middle, quiet section too much, as I find my mind wanders a little by that stage. And the transition out of it is extremely jarring. But the sections at the beginning and end, though noisy, are quite nice and energetic. There's definately some good writing stuffed in there, and it doesn't take much to hear it.

It's probably more for a niche audience; it does sound pretty archaic and there's an unsettling imbalance in sound levels. But looking past that can bring some special rewards. Definately worth checking out to see what you can get from it.

Gotta give Tom credit though, I mean he was like 13 when he wrote this. On a side note, when you gonna try to remix again DC13 eh?

Even though I love FF4, i'm sortof finding it difficult to focus on this one. THe transitions between the different themes are really abrupt, especially going into Long Way to Go. It just suddenly happened.

THere are some nice parts of the mix, like the solid drum writing, and the chiptune section was decently thought out, though it had a bit of a piercing sound to it, and not much in the way of transitions, either in or out.

So the pros are that the source tracks are great, and there are some creative flourishes and good drum writing, and the cons are weak transitions, and poor sound quality. Personally, i'll pass, but people should check it out and decide for themselves.

Good choice of source tunes, but on the whole it didn't feel like a cohesive piece, nor was the production that great. I liked that chiptune bit, though, the crystal keyboards / drumming combo sounded pretty good after that. The writing after Fight 2 on the lone electric piano was good (original I assume? correct me). The marching percussion with the crystal keyboards sounds pretty good, although the sound idea could be produced better. So, there was quite a bit of good things in this piece, but it didn't really work as a whole to me.

--Eino

DarkCecil, the boss over the bosses is back with a mix for bosses. Did I just confuse myself?

A cool orcestral together with some techno, that must be my favorite genre I think. DC13 sure made it sound awesome anyway, so kudos to him. I got a little off guard, and then that MIDI-part at 0:42 stroke me, didn´t expect something like that in this one, but different to use some MIDI samples to improve the listening experience, has that happened before?

And then came the beautiful and calm part, a mix of "the lunarians" or the moon theme, sweet anyways.

And then it went back to the tempopumping techno/orchestral style again to finish off with a renewed "Long way to go" track. Mmmyesss, this is pure quality and a good deal of quantity in this mix.

Thanks DarkCecil13.

I really enjoyed the fight music, it took me way back and it makes me imagine the drama behind the music. Being a drama queen and having several enemies in my life, nobody will truly appreciate the final fantasy like I do.

Culex was actually NOT in Final Fantasy 4, just placed in SMRPG by Square. The music is from FF4, also stuck into SMRPG by Square, probably because it's the most recognizable boss theme.

Still remains one of my all time faves. Too too good to have anything bad to say.

Culex was a boss from FF4(j), he made a cameo in SMRPG as the strongest enemy but not the end boss, much like diamond(?maybe it was one of the others) weapon in FF7. They used the FF4 boss music for that reason(as well as the FF victory theme and crystal theme afterward).

btw, since you apparently haven't played FF4...go find a rom of it or something you missed out.

I can't believe people are actually UNHAPPY with the chiptune part, at 0:43, that was, in my opinion, the best part of the song. For those who have played it, don't you remember hearing this song, and just thinking "WOW", because this was before the days of Chrono Trigger. I don't normally post here, I just download the mixes and read the forums, but when I saw that this song wasn't being done justice, I had to jump in and say something. There are plenty of good remixes on this site, but this is definitely my favorite.

!?! Uhhh...This isn't Final Fantasy? Or...Is it!?

Go play Super Mario RPG, Then Fight the monster, Culex. This is his Boss Music also. Wow....That's frickin' cool. Final Fantasy 4 and SM:RPG have the same Boss Music? Well, Culex was an original boss on SM:RPG. Nice job on this mix though, all in all.

Sorry guys, but I had to chip in with my two cents again. The music you're thinking of from SM:RPG is actually there, but it was a camio from FF2/4, You remember the crystals from FF4, right? The ones you had to get to stop the end of the world? Yeah, in SM:RPG, you fight against them, as well as a monster which appears to be from outer space, and in FF4, you went to the moon......

Sorry, just had to say somethin.

~Lysander

Freaking awesome yo! I love the drums. Soo freaking good. My favorite part is around 0:43 thou. When i first heard it, I literally said "OMG..this is freaking good." LOL

Really great work as others have said. My favorite part is the intro, when the drums kick in. It reminds me of really, really good jpop/anime music. Of course the drumwork is sweet throughout. Lovely work DC13.

well seeing as how SMRPG came out after FFIV, that means that SMRPG got it from FFIV, if you've ever played FFIV with sound , you'll notice during I think the final boss fight maybe that this is the music played

!?! Uhhh...This isn't Final Fantasy? Or...Is it!?

Go play Super Mario RPG, Then Fight the monster, Culex. This is his Boss Music also. Wow....That's frickin' cool. Final Fantasy 4 and SM:RPG have the same Boss Music? Well, Culex was an original boss on SM:RPG. Nice job on this mix though, all in all.

Yea, since Square did SMRPG, they decided to throw a tribute to final fantasy of sorts in there for good measure. Great song I say.

As for the Remix, pretty good work all around, the standard for me is really high because FF4 boss music is probably one of my top 3 favorite vg themes, (the other 2 are final fantasy boss themes too...hrmm...). but DC13 has done a good job overall.

The intro ambience could have been....cleaner.....but conveys a great feeling anyway. The drum sequencing I have no beef with (actually pretty impressive), but it seems like he 'verbed the whole drum set, and that, for me at least, is a huge no-no. Verb the snare, maybe toms and cymbals LIGHTLY, NEVER the bass drum, but verbing a whole drumset to me makes it sound synthetic no matter how good the samples are (which they are great samples, btw). Again, if the whole set is not verbed and I am wrong, sorry.

I personally dug the chiptune interlude, especially because it isn't "authentic", per se. It has reverb, and is really clear, unlike actual nintendo music. So it's kind of like, an updated chiptune. while the transition into it isn't perfectly smooth, the outro back into the regular song is done very well.

Now personally, I wish he would have stuck with the one song, but his transition into another song (the name eludes me presently) is a decent addon to a great tune. Overall, transitions weren't on par with the rest of the mix, and some mastering/fx issues got in the way of a real saucy sound. But great work overall, and it does the original justice.

This one's a keeper.

-SM