ReMix:Seiken Densetsu 3 "This Heart" 3:54

By Destiny

Arranging the music of one song...

"Delicate Affection"

Primary Game: Seiken Densetsu 3 (Square , 1995, SNES), music by Hiroki Kikuta

Posted 2004-05-07, evaluated by djpretzel


In a word: beautiful. Helen Trevillion's latest is a James Horner-esque arrangement from SD3 that would be indistinguishable from other tracks on an official, commercial arranged album, and is at once ethereal and moving. The ReMixer writes:

"It's a remix of 'Delicate Affection' from Seiken Densetsu 3, entitled 'This Heart'. It's a soft, delicate, emotional Celtic-ish mix, mostly instrumental. A lot of people have said it sounds like the Titanic theme, although that wasn't intentional... but neh."

I can hear the similarity in terms of instrumentation, to be sure, but I'm certainly glad as hell Celine Dion didn't find her way into the mix. There's a great, atmospheric, wordless vocal/choral timbre that DOES add a lot to the mix, especially the beginning, which starts out with ebbing and flowing piano and builds with a Celtic flute, minimal percussion and lush strings to the melody at 0'58" - make no mistake, Kikuta's original is kickass and one of the more memorable, cinematic, and downright gorgeous core motifs in rpgdom, but Helen's taken it to the next level and really created a knock-down ReMix. When things come on stronger at 2'22" it's the epitome of "purty" and everything clicks on an emotional level. From the Cello lead to the inflections on the flute, attention is paid to capitalizing on the strength of the melody while varying it enough to keep a forward momentum. It's not the most complicated thing in the world, but it doesn't have to be when all the elements come together like this in a such a singular fashion. Right now Helen's batting average is rock solid, and this is a piece everyone should experience. More polished and memorable than a good percentage of similarly styled motion picture soundtracks coming out of Hollywood these days, this is great work. Highly recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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goldfish
on 2010-08-14 23:04:41

Something about This Heart is just, well, different. The song feels more like a HUG than a SONG, if that makes any sense... like something good came through my speakers and gave me a great big hug. It's a wonderful feeling and I'm just happy this sort of thing exists in the world.

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a_d
on 2010-07-01 00:58:48

This is an amazing song. I agree that it HAS to have a second take with a real cello. Someone needs to hook up Destiny with a cello player

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42
on 2009-12-30 23:44:42

Now this is sweet and emotional but without being excessive or over the top. It's juuuuuuuuust right. :

Texturally, this song isn't too complex and is primarily melody driven with the whistle carrying the melody. Still, this is a really relaxing song to listen to. This is definitely worth listening to.

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OA
on 2009-11-19 17:31:11

Super beautiful, and one of the best mixes i've heard in awhile. The only way this could be better is if the cello was live. Completely amazing work on this one, i'm really impressed. The arrangement really fits the source song as well, but definitely improves upon it.

Highly recommended.

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Arwen
on 2007-04-02 14:46:47

This is breathtaking. This piece evokes a sense of circular motion--that at the end, we come back to the beginning, yet it's different because we can look back on that beginning with greater wisdom. I think this is because of the constant crescendo and decrescendo of the piano, but I also see this reflected in the overall structure of the piece. The quieter times in which the piano shines through like sun through clouds are my favorite parts. This piece is tentative and delicate and reminds me of so many things that seem fragile but have an undercurrent of strength. I could listen to it all day. Beautiful job.

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Bummer
on 2005-09-11 08:32:51

Touching, beautiful, gentle...

This mix was delicious earcandy,

who wants me to listen to it again and again...

...and again. Anyway, this was the music

when you had cleared the game, so it´s

good that someone made a remix so that

you can remember that moment once again

...and again.

And by the way, the instruments may sound

like Titanic, but the song itself sounds

very much like Jurassic Park, but I don´t

care, I just listen.

It´s your destiny to remix, I can hear it.

Keep on!

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fcsultima
on 2005-02-27 21:53:10

For some reason it minds me of titanic a little bit, but touching remix.

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frashpikass
on 2005-02-27 11:14:09

:o

-no comment-

Sweeter than a lovely kiss...

So good... Whoah... I'm impressed!

Well done!

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BlueMage
on 2005-02-16 21:43:42

So....yeah, this mix....not too many tracks of any description that inspire emotion in me like this one....I think Zeal Love is the only other one to do so thus far...

This track is moving - I downloaded the original RSN after hearing this to compare them....and there is no comparison. This Heart Delecate Affection.

As with Zeal Love, if you're the emotional type, keep some tissues handy.

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jordex
on 2005-02-10 23:03:35

Why does every SD3 song here make me cry?

That's really all I can say to describe this wonderful song..

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LionR
on 2004-05-23 08:15:49

One of the best remixes if not the best. It does NOT sound like "my heart will go on", it uses some of the same instruments but the meoldy is all new and infinitely better.

very very good.

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Nigel Simmons
on 2004-05-18 00:42:12

More like "This Heart Will Go On." ;). This is a good mix, but nothing really outstanding about it. It's got some good points, however. The voice is very nice, and some of the flute parts are nice, as well, but I think it's overused. A different instrument should have taken over for part of the song, I think. But, considering the samples you've got to work with, this is very nice!

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ella guro
on 2004-05-14 20:13:31

The samples aren't the greatest of quality - the strings in general aren't that great, especially the cello at around :57. The production is also very new-age muzak, which isn't my thing, but that's not really the point.

But all in all, this is a pretty good arrangement - both the piano and flute are well sequenced and the strings serve their purpose. I wouldn't say it's an overwhelming arrangement (it doesn't expand on the original overwhelmingly but that's not exactly a necessity given how much of the original there is), and it certainly could sound better with some more convincing samples, but it's fairly well done as is.

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Darangen
on 2004-05-11 16:26:43

Simply Amazing.

I actually went through and replayed Seiken Densetsu 3 because of this mix.

You rock in stereo Helen :P

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Tragic Poet
on 2004-05-10 20:59:50

I was in pensive thought after listening to this masterpiece when all of a sudden I read this...

Good thinking. How's this for a standing ovulation!

... and I burst out laughing. Pardon my underdeveloped highschool brain. Ahehehehe.... ^_^;

Anyway, this is one of those songs that really makes you think. As I stated, I was in deep pensive thought over how grand this beauty was. (It actually helped bump me out of my writers block so I could write a story for my Creative Writing class. Thanks! ^.^) The samples and arrangement were divine. It truly was beautiful. I look forward to your next submission.

Bravo. *Applauds* ^o^

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Seiken Densetsu 3 (Square , 1995, SNES)
Music by Hiroki Kikuta
Songs:
"Delicate Affection"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Piano,Singing,Strings,Vocals: Female,Woodwinds
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Slow

File Information


Name:
Seiken_Densetsu_3_This_Heart_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,759,886 bytes
MD5:
48909e7c96c81cba23eb1d8b6e41c3dc
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
3:54

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