ReMix:BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger "Tao Is Taokaka" 2:35

Daisuke Ishiwatari is one of the more-or-less "modern" Japanese game composers who's been making some distinct, awesome game music for awhile now; of course, calling him a game composer is only part of the picture, since he's also the creator of the Guilty Gear series, designed the characters for it and BlazBlue, and even voiced Sol Badguy. So, basically, he kicks your ass. If you feel discomfort and look behind you, he may in fact be kicking your ass RIGHT NOW. It's also misleading to suggest that he ONLY does metal - while he certainly favors the genre and excels at it, the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue soundtracks have enough stylistic variety to keep them quite interesting. In the world of 2D fighters, Capcom and SNK reigned for so long and each established their own aesthetics such that anyone trying to do their own thing really needed to have a unique approach, or end up being categorized as a clone. I think Arc did that with the Guilty Gear series, and Mr. Ishiwatari deserves a lion's share of the credit. So kudos to the many game composers out there who also wear other game development hats, be they programmers, voice actors, illustrators, or all three, or more...

And with that little introduction, I'm happy to be posting our first BlazBlue ReMix, from newcomer 3R2, aka Kevin Shih. I'm awful at BlazBlue and have only played it a dozen or so times, but Taokaka was the character I gravitated to, for one reason or another, so I'm happy our first BB mix is of her theme. Kevin's taken it and made it a pretty straightforward, upbeat electronica joint, not completely inappropriate for DDR style gesticulations. The source melody is catchy, j-poppish anime fare, and works really intuitively with this treatment; it's almost more like this is the original, and the in-game version is the arrangement. At 2'40", it's pretty brief, but 3R2 works in some breakdowns and changeups, and at this duration it doesn't outstay its welcome and instead functions as a sweet melodic treat. All of the judges wished for a little more expansion/development after the first iteration of the chorus; quoth OA:

"The arrangement is pretty effective, and the production seems pretty solid, but beyond the genre adaption, and the keychange, there really isn't a ton of expansion to this. Near there end, there seems to be a bit, which is cool, but overall things are played pretty straight. It's a fun track, and though very borderline on arrangement, there is interpretation and it's pretty solidly handled."

Shariq was the most positive:

"Man I love BlazBlue music. Wow this sounds like something out of a Sonic Adventure game, like Twinkle Park or something. Piano is kind of mechanical, but it's not so bad that it kills the mix. Pretty straightforward genre-adaptation, but it's got a good sound and decent development. Nice key change. xD"

Good call on the SA comparison. Not every mix needs to be a magnum opus, filled to the brim with expansive arrangement - sometimes just a good genre shift and competent execution can seal the deal. I think Kevin could have done a bit more work on permutations/alterations to the melody on second and third repetition, and it would have been more interesting, but at 2'40", for a debut mix, it's a fun take on a catchy theme that's easy to like and should satisfy the melodic sweet-tooths out there, of which I proudly count myself a member. Looking forward to more from 3R2, and hopefully more mixes from BlazBlue!