ReMix:The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past "A Link to the Future" 4:11

Gradius meets Zelda!!

DDRKirby(ISQ) contributed this super-fun, chippy Zelda arrangement for Mirror Image: A Link to the Past ReMixed, and totally nailed what Link & co. would sound like if they were flying around in a Konami SHMUP from that era:

"I guess I am becoming known as "that guy" who you run to when you are running out of time for your remix album project and need another track done. I'm starting to lose count of how many times I've stepped in as a pinch hitter in the 11th hour...

Anyways, this remix is part of the "Mirror Image" Link to the Past album project that WillRock and DaMonz put together. Due to a snafu of sorts, they needed someone to fill in and remix the first ending theme real fast. I wasn't real familiar with the source (just how often do you expect me to have gone through the full ending to LttP??), but, fortunately, I had about two weeks to work on it, which was more than enough time.

So, there I was trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do with the source, when somehow out of nowhere I realized that the main melody was somehow reaaaallly similar to the Cosmo Plant music from the SNES Gradius 3 OST. I started thinking about that idea more and more, envisioning the beginning fanfare as a sort of alternate "Catapult into space" theme, and I knew I was onto something. I was super excited to try it out -- Gradius 3 music is just plain awesome!

So, heavily referencing the classic "Departure for Space" track in all its glorious major key synth action, I tried as much as possible to replicate the same style with my remix, as if it came straight out of the Gradius 3 OST. My initial attempt actually used primarily instruments ripped directly out of the SNES soundtrack itself, though I later ended up swapping them out for a more "hi-bit"/9-bit feel. Once I had the first chorus down, I was basically 100% sold on the idea and just needed to continue onward to the rest of the track. There were some challenges involved in trying to translate the triplet-based melodies in the source into something that worked in 4/4 time, but I always believe that that sort of forced problem solving breeds creativity and this case turned out to be no exception. I also put in a brief callout to the LttP title theme (2:28) and even managed to sneak in a quick callout to Mario at the 1:15 mark as part of the fun solo.

As the song goes on, I made some departures from Gradius style so that I'd have a little more variation. I remember having a pretty hard time deciding what to do at the 2:38 mark, but in the end figured out that heading into a triplet feel would both be a good changeup as well as allow me to better cover some of the melodies from the source which were harder to translate into straight meter. I go into one last triplet rendition of the chorus after that, at which point I felt like I was really channeling my inner WillRock with the synth solo -- I actually briefly referenced his DuckTales remix when trying to decide how to work out ending. I actually am usually no good with melodically conclusive endings, so I'm happy that I was able to pull this one off.

All in all, the track actually ended up taking more time than I expected (while still coming in on time -- hooray!), but was a real blast to make!"

I think the swing/triplet transition might have been difficult with different instrumentation or in a different genre; chiptune-ish stuff tends to lend itself really well to that kind of fun. I love the concept, here, and while the games themselves could hardly be less alike, their soundtracks have a shared strain of epic, grand adventure that makes the treatment feel very natural. MindWanderer writes:

"I never played Gradius III, but I definitely got the feel of the original Gradius (and not a little bit of Timothy's "There's Nothing Like Flying"). I don't have any real criticism here - this is a fantastic and completely original take on the source that absolutely deserves the front page treatment."

DragonAvenger adds:

"Yeah, totally unexpected, and pretty awesome. Love the energy overall and the Gradius influence is solid. I agree with Gario that the synth gets a little stale towards the end, but that's a tiny nitpick. Rock on in SPAAAACCCEEEE, Link!"

Indeed! It's DDRKirby(ISQ), so you KNOW it's gonna be on a certain level & enjoyable, but this particular approach yielded something unique among his own efforts and quite a bit of fun, applying one game's aesthetic to legendary melodies from another and ending up with something completely new; great stuff!