ReMix:Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War "Lovers' Quarrel" 3:06

Happy to have another ReMix representing this Japan-exclusive entry in the Fire Emblem series to follow up on about:blank's great arrangement that we posted last year. This one from 227 (Je Christian) ended up splitting the panel in its own VGM-lovers' quarrel, but only due to concerns on the level of source tune usage, with enough on the panel feeling the close call was on solid ground. 227's sophomore ReMix is a dark synthwave rendition of one of the "Lover" themes from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, so let's hear how he aimed to turn this theme sideways:

"The original track is kind of relaxing and romantic, so I wanted to murder all of that with a hatchet and inject a boatload of drama. First stop was changing the time signature from 4/4 to 6/8 and establishing a general vibe. Everything up to :36 is original material (so 1:14 to 1:31 also doesn't have any of the original song in it, either), so that's where the original's melody starts to come in. I changed the chords behind the melody when everything builds up at :56 and 2:08 for the sake of extra drama. Finally, I added pitch bends, which are the most ~dramatic~ way to play with pitch.

Hopefully all of this makes you want to scream at someone in the rain and throw a shoe at their face."

Fire Emblem: Three Houses' own Joe "XPRTNovice" Zieja was on board with the presentation style, saying "Damn this is like...lo-fi synthwave and I am here for it. Very cool choices made on the genre and direction of this piece." Changing the energy of a track is a staple for interpretive arrangement, so walking across the tightrope of the thin line between love and hate sounds good to us! Fellow judge Rexy noted how Je's sound design tactics effectively translated into his desired imagery:

"Okay, this has some stylistic twists in the soundscape, for sure. The pulsating synthwave base, textured bell pads, pitch shifting, and roomy leads - clearly, you put a lot of care towards the soundscape to make it truly feel like a relationship had gotten incredibly dicey, and I love that a lot."

The ramp-ups into the synth-heavy sections :55 & 2:07 do have a more chaotic energy that contrasts well with the other segments, and the flow of the piece does work in terms of a couple's ups and downs. Given that 227's pair of ReMixes have leaned into the instrumentation choices as critical components, I'm glad that DarkSim gave a strong play-by-play of several highlights:

"I love the direction you've gone with this. The pulsating bass is a trademark opening for a dark synthwave track, but the 6/8 spin you've put on it adds a freshness and a level of intrigue once the percussion arrives at 0:18. The rhythmic patterns formed between the kick and bass sound great, and I appreciate the attention to detail with the velocity automation on both samples. It helps the backing flow very smoothly.

There's another nice pairing in here too, not just the kick and bass. The melody is countered by the intense-sounding chord progression underneath, which hints at the source, but is something entirely transformed with those new chords.

The sound design is on-point here throughout, but my favourite patch is the downright apocalyptic FX pad during the choruses at 1:00 and 2:08 that's straight out of the Upside Down. Tying the whole thing together is a very cohesive timbre between all the patches and instruments, that's a difficult thing to achieve. Nice job there!"

Some Js felt the ending was too sudden and wanted a more pronounced resolution, but who says you need one? I sure don't. Do most doomed relationships "end properly", as it were? Who are we kidding. :-D You need not have gone through the emotional wringer to resonate with this piece, but it helps!