ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time "Fragments of a Legend" 2:53

By WillRock

Arranging the music of 5 songs from 2 games ( view all )...

"Inside a House", "Ocarina "Epona's Song"", "Ocarina "Song of Time"", "Windmill Hut", "Zelda's Theme"

Primary Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo , 1998, N64), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2013-02-11, evaluated by the judges panel


WillRock goes orchestral with this gorgeous Zelda franchise arrangement that also employs solo piano and choral elements; he writes:

"I've not been doing as many remixes for Hyrule's sword-wielding hero of time as I used to (Mega Man took over), but I have now remedied this wrong. However, this remix isn't rock. Its not electronic. Its not chiptune. Hell, it's not even 80's. What it is, is a tribute to some of Hyrule's most beloved tunes in Zelda fandom, and I've thrown a links awakening tune in for good measure, because that game has a special place in my gaming history.

This is a very complicated Remix that utilizes a total of five different sources, being Song of Time, Zelda's Lullaby, Links Awakening House Theme, Song of Storms, and Lon Lon Ranch. This is a remix for the fans basically, a thank you for the support I've had over the years, particularly OCR, without which I wouldn't be half as good as I am right now. With all that manliness aside, on to the remix! Enjoy folks!"

REALLY creative & emotive arrangement - some of the ideas here, particularly the tonal modifications to 'Lon Lon' & 'Song of Storms', and the overlaying that this facilitates, are spectacular. In less than three minutes, the ground covered and the ingenuity shown in weaving these sources into a meaningful, narrative fabric are really impressive. From a purely compositional perspective, I'm loving everything about this, and while the production side of things doesn't quite match up, it's ultimately not prohibitive. Emunator concurs, and OA copied Wes's vote verbatim so I guess he does too ;)

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush here, this judgment basically boils down to whether or not the unrealistic sequencing/instruments (which I've discussed at great length with Will during the development and he knows my feelings on it, even if we disagree in the end) is enough to counteract a friggin STELLAR arrangement. The violin in particular is the most noticeable offender, when it makes those fast glissandos (?) in the last section, but at the same time you can tell that Will's put a lot of time into tweaking his articulations so they at least sound pleasant to the ears, even if anyone could tell it's not a real violin.

Arrangement is where this really shines for me. I can see how some might cry medley-itis here, but personally I think the clever melding of multiple sources into the one section works wonders. The way you take versatile chord progressions and modify various memorable Zelda tunes to fit them is indicative of some great writing ability on your part, Will."

The makeshift violin glissandi did stand out to me, and so did some spatial disparities in terms of the harp sounding so intimate and close, with less verb than piano or strings, but I'll also say that this isn't Will's primary genre, and while he should be DAMN proud of the arrangement, I think this is ALSO an admirably produced orchestral mix, with nothing truly objectionable. Great stuff, very brave & successful departure from the ReMixer's usual work, and a wonderful tribute to some classic Zelda themes!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 7 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2013-04-20 15:55:22

Awesome to hear Willrock take on these themes in an orchestral way, and doing a decent job of it. I must have bad musical ears or something, because the violin doesn't really bother me as much as it seems to others. Meh, honestly, if the violins sound fake here, then I'll take fake violin over the scratchy annoying real things any day. Nice work, Willrock.

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genius11433
on 2013-02-26 20:01:35

Wonderful work. Maybe it's because I'm only a trumpet player, but those violin glissandos didn't come across as fake to me; the player would just have to be very skilled to do them.

Either way, wonderful work, and a good addition to my collection.

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LazarCotoron
on 2013-02-13 15:21:59

Awesome mix up. So it's a little medleysome. ;p

I gotta say though. Normally, I read the judges talking about how samples could be better, and then I listen to the track and just figure that oh, this is because these guys are surrounded by sample libraries day in and day out, and they just know the samples so well they could tell ANYWAYS.

...yeah, not this time. Bad string sample is sad face.

But hey to focus on the good parts? I really like how you've utilized the Song of Storms in this piece as sort of the 'binding glue' if you will. It keeps everything in place and pulls it all together.

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timaeus222
on 2013-02-12 19:31:53

Great deviation from the usual, Will! Yes, the violin sounded kinda fake, but it had some really nice attention to the articulations, so it wasn't all that bad. Fantastic interweaving of sources! :D

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wvlfpvp
on 2013-02-11 20:51:02

Simply fantastic arrange, this. I love the way the melodies surprise you with they way they blend together. Who cares about sample quality when the arrangment is this amazing?

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derako
on 2013-02-11 18:59:54

I think the arrangement is good. The orchestration needs work though. I give credit to the producer, he made a below average violin sound about average which is hard in sequencing. Even though you can tell it's not "real" I still like it. Not bad

-Derek

avatar
djpretzel
on 2013-02-11 15:25:20

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (5 Songs, 2 Games)


Primary Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo , 1998, N64)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Ocarina "Epona's Song""
"Ocarina "Song of Time""
"Windmill Hut"
"Zelda's Theme"
Additional Game:
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Nintendo , 1993, GB)
Music by Kozue Ishikawa,Minako Hamano
Songs:
"Inside a House"

Tags (7)


Genre:
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Choir,Harp,Orchestral,Piano,Strings
Additional:
Arrangement > Medley

File Information


Name:
Legend_of_Zelda_Ocarina_of_Time_Fragments_of_a_Legend_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,246,823 bytes
MD5:
ec553c0ae3a1b3b7c3f2501e3d170a1c
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
2:53

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