ReMix:Final Fantasy VIII "Hunter's Landing" 3:16

Ivan Hakštok returns with a badass prog rock/metal & Celtic folk take on "Hunter's Chance" and "The Landing" (hence the title!) from FF9 & FF8:

"I figured I'd submit more of my Dwelling of Duels backlog to OC ReMix. This song placed 2nd in Nobuo Uematsu month (March 2019).

This originally started as just a prog version of "The Landing" from FF8, but for some reason I remembered a random comment I saw ages ago under a YouTube video for "Hunter's Chance" saying how it would work great combined with "The Landing," so I thought I might just combine the two. Since I wanted some flair instead of just guitar wankery, I added some Celtic instruments in there, and the song ended up being this prog-rock-folk combo thing.

My initial plan was for this song to be much longer, but I got too busy trying to beat Sekiro at the time and I had to cut the arrangement short so I can meet the DoD deadline. Since then, I've gotten some new gear and plugins, and going back to completing what I originally intended might require me to re-record/re-mix most of the song + record the new parts. I know I'm too lazy to do that, so I decided to just leave it as it is.

Here's the source usage breakdown:

• 0:00-0:39 = intro based on "Hunter's Chance" chords
• 0:39-1:14 = a straightforward take on "Hunter's Chance"
• 1:14-2:56 = "The Landing," with some guitar solos and a 6/4 section converted into 5/4
• 2:56-3:15 = "Hunter's Chance" again"

Great stuff! High energy, guitars really pop & take center stage, but the Celtic pieces of flair (whistle/flute, mostly) and the shifting time sigs are also highlights. Judges were unanimous but also consistent in their critique of some rough edges with regard to timing; Jivemaster writes:

"The accordion definitely feels like it missteps at the start. The flute sounds great. The lead at 0:59 is well done, with good tone, mixing. The lead at 1:43 feels like it’s rushing ahead a little bit compared to the other elements. Outro is tight and great. Overall, certainly not as tight of a performance as I expected - some parts mesh really well, others feel messy. Production is decent with an exceptional level of clarity - more than is typically found with a guitar heavy piece like this. Well done there. I think this hits a lot of the right spots, arrangement contains a decent amount of changes and the core theme is prominently presented."

So you can chalk it up to the "spontaneity" of the folk influence, or perhaps just some loose timing here & there, but either way, no one felt like it was a dealbreaker, including Liontamer:

"I get the problem with the accordion, but it's not a dealbreaker at all for me, and the presentation's cohesively rocked out. Let's go!"

I love how heavy this hits, and yet juxtaposes in the folksier bits for a nice contrast, and the blending of the two themes is seamless and very natural - thank you, random YouTube commenter ;) Great stuff from Ivan & another compelling argument for keeping on top of the magnificent musical goings-on at DoD!