ReMix:Final Fantasy Mystic Quest "Mystical Mist" 4:11

Newcomer RJ remixes (Jonathan Lemethy & Richard Földhazi) provide our first FFMQ ReMix in a long while with a fun, staple-heavy dance/EDM arrangement that's easy to get into & solidly-constructed:

"The game received middling reviews and sales in North America and Japan, citing its simplified gameplay and lack of depth in the game's story. Over time, the game has kept the reputation for being a "beginner's Final Fantasy," but has been praised for its music. We think that the original deserves a good dance remix. So we aimed for a good techno track. Inspiration from the game. Mastered and ready to go. :) We hope you enjoy!"

While this mix intros more like an old-school, 2002-era dance ReMix from OCR days of yore, Jonathan & Richard work in a few electro/dub elements here and there, and the overall piece does a good job capitalizing on the source hook, which is catchy as all get-out and lends itself to the treatment. The judges panel was split on this mix, with some feeling that there were several missed opportunities, and while I agree that there are some more vanilla/pedestrian components and that more nuanced modulation and production would have made this shine more, the result is still competently-produced and creatively-arranged, placing it above my own personal borderline for submissions. Larry sort of summarized the general consensus with his vote in the affirmitive:

"The highs here were a bit piercing, but not enough to merit a strong complaint. Overall, the soundscape was clean and well-mixed. Onto issues, the vox at 1:47 was definitely not rockin' it, but it was at least ethereal enough to not make the awkward articulations a big deal. The lil' plucky synths underneath it had some odd notes that stuck out sometimes until 2:16, but it wasn't a huge deal. At 2:31, it would have been nice to hear the beats be a little more progressive and fleshed out, but it wasn't a huge deal. It's just that you'd have moments where more elements dropped out, like from 3:00-3:22 and the beat felt plodding and barren when it was more exposed.

On the whole though, the textures were solid enough, and the arrangement had some good energy, even though the pace could have been more energetic and varied. This was a consistently good interpretation with the genre adaptation and new writing ideas while retaining the structure of the source. I'm not ZOMG, but it's ticking the boxes for me with a solid, well-rounded enough presentation. It could be spiced up, but I definitely heard no dealbreakers here."

I got a chance to swoop in with the tiebreaking vote on this one, so I'm ALSO gonna quote.... myself:

"The guitar sample didn't bother me because I've always felt like super fakey-guitar is its own sound and that verisimilitude or lack thereof is thus factored out. Honestly, what I think the NO votes are expressing is some frustration with missed opportunities - some extra programming on the leads, for example, a twist or turn here or there, would have given this a bit more bite & attitude. There's more potential in the overall concept than is realized here. Nevertheless, I was tappin' my toes, it's a nice take on the source, and the overall work is coherent. I can't hold lost potential against it too awful much when the end result is STILL pretty solid."

Everyone agreed that the ending is a little... underwhelming... but I think most people will hear that hook and start bobbing their heads and forget about almost everything else, and that's a testament to the concept AND to a lesser extent the execution. Room for improvement, to be sure, but RJ remixes offer up a solid, interpretive, and most importantly FUN take on FFMQ, using DAT HOOK for a catchy chorus that makes it easier to look past some nicks & dents. I hope to see more, and I hope panel feedback plays a part in future submissions!