Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption (Part 1)

What’s the saying? Better (8 days) late than never?

Well then, hot on the heels of Overclocked Remix’s last arranged album is Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption – an album dedicated to the music of the game of Final Fantasy IV. I must admit, I never really have played Final Fantasy IV much past the beginning, so I’m not too familiar with the original source material and, thus, I can’t really “review” but one or two of these tracks. Nonetheless, I’ll still list my favorites (though I appreciate the great care each remixer has given each remix and all are a joy to listen to).

1 – 01 – Full of Courage (Remix of The Red Wings) by Nutritious

Oh yes! Just like the Summoning of Spirits album, this one starts on the ground running with this beautifully epic orchestral arrangement of The Red Wings theme.

I remember first listening to one of Nutritious’ earlier works, and, now, anything from Nutritious goes straight to my playlist without question. If you enjoy this remix, like I do, I’d also recommend Step into the Light and Fighting for Tomorrow just a bit further down.

1 – 02 – The Might of Baron (Remix of Kingdom of Baron) by Audio Fidelity

From my short time playing Final Fantasy IV, I’ll never forget the awesome theme of the Kingdom of Baron. So, how do you make an unforgettable theme even better? Well, one way is to totally rock it out as Audio Fidelity has done here! One of my absolute favorites thus far, it is.

1 – 05 – Ana(pro)logue (Remix of Prologue) by Another Soundscape / 1 – 07 – Read the Sine (Remix of Welcome to our Town!) by Mazedude

Now here’s two remixes that should be filed under the “quirky and very cool” category! I especially dig the names of the remixes themselves. Two must downloads.

1 – 08 – Emerald Beauty (Remix of Rydia) by Cyril the Wolf / 1 – 13 – Edward’s Dream Quartet (Remix of Edward’s Harp) by Abadoss and James George

Looking for something a bit slower? Check out these two absolutely gorgeous mixes.

2 – 02 – Metal Mage (Remix of Palom and Porom) by Cyril the Wolf and OA

I love this short but sweet mix. I had a smile the whole time while listening to this. Definitely check it out. 🙂

2 – 06 – Rhymes with Elixir (Remix of Chocobo Chocobo) by The Scuba Divers featuring Liontamer

Oh man, now here’s a remix that defies categorization. I wasn’t expecting a “Team Gato” in this album! A must download, that it is!

Naturally, I’ve heard nothing but amazing music thus far and I continue to be amazed with all the talent these artists display time and again. Definitely check out all of these arrangments and listen to them one by one as they are well worth a spot on your playlist and have loop power levels of over 9,000. I look forward to downloading and listening to more awesomeness – I’m on track 17 of Act 2 – dang dial-up 😦

Thanks Overclocked Remix!

Remixed music loopage for the week

Hey there.

This is a list of music I’ve downloaded that has been vying for attention on my repeat button on my media player. 🙂

Well, this list is basically all from OC ReMix, this week. Some of these songs were submitted and approved over a month ago, but I’ve been a bit off on my video game music downloading and listening. 😦 *puts up giant flame shield*

Ok! On to my string of useless words, which I’d like to call “reviews”, that completely do not do justice to the remixes they are next to.

Final Fantasy VI: ‘Vision of Celes’ by Gorgonian

* An orchestral mix by Gorgonian of Celes from Final Fantasy VI (one of my most favorite games of all time). So – Orchestral + Final Fantasy VI + Gorgonian = For The Win.

Phantasy Star Online: ‘Ragol Weather’ by zircon

* Oh wow. This is an awesome to the ‘ness fusion piece here. I’ve been developing a love for the sound of fusion lately, and this song only reinforces it. Definitely check it out. On one hand, this song reminds me of the map theme of Grandia III in a strange way. On the other hand, I really hope zircon works with this genre some more. 🙂

Final Fantasy IX: ‘The Rose General’ by katethegreat19

* A. gorgeous. vocal. masterpiece. Wow. This is a vocal remix of Rose of May (Loss of Me) from Final Fantasy IX. Beautiful vocals. Gorgeous song. Final Fantasy. Download now. 🙂

Final Fantasy VII: ‘The Shinra Shuffle’ by The Runaway Five

* Oh. Em. Gee. Love jazz? This is live, kick axe stuff right here. Absolutely amazing! Definitely download this, and check out the band’s website!

Little Nemo: The Dream Master: ‘Sunshine Through My Window’ by metaphist

* I remember playing this wonderful gem of a game when I was a little kid. Now that I’m a bigger kid, I don’t play my (half-not-working) NES, but I still have fond memories of Little Nemo, so it’s great to see this game get remixing love like this very sweet mix from metaphist. This mix is definitely one to go to sleep by, and I mean that in a good way.

Neverwinter Nights: ‘Kara-Turian Nights’ by Ceracryst

* Asian-style orchestra meets Neverwinter Nights. I admit, I haven’t played this game much at all, but I fully appreciate this beautiful mix. Definitely a download and keep, even if you haven’t played the game itself.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: ‘Sacred Flute’ by Blue.Nocturne

* Remember the flute boy you meet initially in the Light World in Link to the Past? The song he plays lasts but seconds. Blue.Nocturne’s mix greatly expands upon that very limited material that’s available and does a spectacular job on creating  a full-fledged mix out of it.

Chrono Trigger: ‘Corridor of Time (Time Warp Mix)’ by The Vagrance

* Corridor of Time (the theme of the Kingdom of Zeal in Chrono Trigger) has received a lot of remix love, so it’s always a treat to see a different rendition of a heavily remixed tune. This mix fades the main theme into the background while expanding upon it with a breakbeat-ish (I think) piece in the forefront. Corridor of Time’s one of my favorite Chrono Trigger songs, so even if there’s 5,000+ remixes, that’s 5,000 mixes to enjoy, plus one more – this one. Awesome mix.

Anyway, that’s some of the music I’m into. I’m always willing to talk about favorite songs or what have you. Hit me up via e-mail if you want to chat about your favorite songs, remixes, or complain about the “things” I call reviews. 🙂

Hilarious videogame reaction chart

Hey there.

I was surfing the “interwebz” as usual and came across this hilarious image from GameSpy. It certainly does describe the usual reactions, in my view. Numbers 2 and 6 made me laugh out loud. 🙂

A humorous videogame message board reaction chart from GameSpy

As for PC gamers, I do believe all of the reactions would be “LOL @ All”.

And here’s a link to the original picture:
Videogame Message Board Reaction Chart

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Computer Player Humor

It’s been 1 year and, now, 4 days since Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released in the U.S.A. for the Wii, and the game is still one of the most addictively fun games for the Wii – you get to beat up Nintendo characters with other Nintendo characters, what’s not fun about that? 🙂 You can prove that Mario is the best video game character of all time (which, in my completely unbiased and ever so humble opinion, he is), or that Sonic absolutely rules – it’s all there.

From time to time, however, it’s also equally fun to watch the computer face off against itself, and this is where some unintended hilarity can ensue. So, I thought I’d share some of the funniest things I’ve watched the computer do whilst observing it in various matches. I’ll list if it was a normal brawl or a special brawl (and what specific options I selected). One more thing, unless otherwise specified, the difficulty level of the computer was set to 9.

– Wario “Waft Out”

The Wario Waft is amazingly powerful and just down right funny to behold. However, sometimes it can also be a guaranteed knock-out if used in certain places or conditions. Set up a Special Brawl with 4 Warios with the size set on mini and set the gravity to light. Once that is done, set this match to take place on a stage like Battlefield. Now, just wait and watch – eventually, after Wario has “held it in” long enough, he’ll use his waft … and away he’ll go – even if he uses on the ground, he’ll still K.O. himself! It’s even funnier when he’s Wario-Man. 🙂

– “The Landmaster Down Under”

For this particular gem, you’ll want to set either Fox, Falco, or Wolf to the difficulty level of 1. It’s even better if they are on your team. Now, select any stage (it’s funnier with a stage in the sky, like Skyworld or even Final Destination), and let Fox (or Falco or Wolf) get the Smash Ball and call down the Landmaster. They’ll come down in the Landmaster… and “roll over” the other computer players just once and ride off the stage! This is especially hilarious with Falco. For some reason, though, I haven’t seen Wolf do this as much…

– “PK Down Thunder”

Now this one is the most random of all. It seems to happen quite equally from as low as level 1 to as high as level 9. I’ve noted that PictoChat or New Pork City seem to be the most likely stages for this to happen on. For this, you’ll let a computer player play as Lucas or Ness. For some reason, sometimes they’ll aim their PK Thunder in down-right direction instead of an up-right or even straight right direction, miss the ledge and just fall straight down. I suppose the computer somehow hopes the stage will “tilt” a bit like the Lylat Cruise stage does if PK Thunder hits the edge perhaps? 😛

– Sonic’s “Up, Up, and Away!”

I’ve yet to see a computer do this, but I admit I have done it once. Naturally, this humorous event involves Sonic’s Up Special Move. Kind of like how if Wario jumps high enough and uses his Wario Waft he’ll be knocked out is how this works as well – jump up high and use Sonic’s Up Special Move, and you’ll spring right out of the stage! Quite hilarious, actually.

As for matches that I’m in with the computers, there’s one particular thing I love doing. In a 2 versus 2 where Jigglypuff uses its Final Smash, wait for just the right moment (around when Jigglypuff says “Jiggly!”) and throw the other team’s partner up there and watch him or her get knocked out. Everytime I play a match with computers, the opposing team always has Jigglypuff as a team member. 🙂

Hope you enjoyed some of those or will try them out later on (if you haven’t seen them yet). If you have some other humorous things that the Super Smash Bros. Brawl computer players do, please let me know!

Semi-live listen and review of Summoning of Spirits Part 2

Hey all.

Well I’ve gotten the chance to download even more arrangements from Overclocked Remix’s Summoning of Spirits album. As before, I’m just picking out my personal favorites.

– The Unholy Wars (Remix of “Fighting of the Spirit” from Tales of Phantasia by Dhsu, and Sixto Sounds)

Oh yes! This song thoroughly kicks axe! I remember first hearing S.S.H’s arrangement of this song (still awesome to this day) and instantly wanted to hear more arrangements that could give this song the total ‘rockin’ out’ that it deserved – this arrangement delivers just that. Very highly recommended.

– Chaotic Heart (Remix of “Raine” from Tales of Symphonia by Sixto Sounds)

This piece was a surprise remix just like Usa’s. I’m amazed at just how good Raine’s theme sounds when given just a little tender lovin’ rock ‘n roll treatment. Wow.

– Airborne (Remix of “Aviator” from Tales of Phantasia by Dhsu)

Dhsu brings his superb skills with the piano to the Aviator track from Tales of Phantasia. I’ve always loved listening to the piano – with its magnificent diversity, and Dhsu keeps taking it to the next level each time I listen to one of his mixes. I absolutely love the buildup at around 1:38 and onward. Beautiful and very highly recommended.

– Chronometrical (Remix of “Stream of Time” from Tales of Phantasia by The Joker)

Starting off with but the ticking of a clock, The Joker then brings in some incredible sounding bass, synth, and a bit of techno in this wonderful arrangement. I’d truly love to hear this in the original game. And in the latter part of this, I can’t help but think of Chrono Trigger (the scene and music where Crono first went back in time) – guess it’s just me (and the “Chrono” part of the name). 🙂 Highly recommended.

– This Fate (Remix of “Kratos” from Tales of Symphonia by Christian Pacaud)

From the arrangement of the Wind Scene from Chrono Trigger, to Antegenesis (Christian’s awesome arrangement of Beat the Angel from this same game), and to This Fate, Christian Pacaud displays a wide array of musical talent and This Fate is no exception – and it happens to be in a favorite genre of mine: orchestral. This Fate is a song and a story of Kratos skillfully woven into one. Highly recommended.

– The Koan of Drums (Remix of “Desolate Road” from Tales of Phantasia by djpretzel)

I must admit, I always breezed right past where this music played, but from the man that needs no introduction comes this superb arrangement and interpretation. If this had been the original song from the game, I would’ve had one save dedicated to just sitting there listening to this. Absolutely beautiful mix that takes the original, transforms it into an awesome dance-like track, and also outdoes it in every way.

– as time goes on (Remix of “As Time Goes On” from Tales of Phantasia by the prophet of mephisto)

– and –

– No Better Time Than Now (Remix of “This Isn’t The Time” from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World by Nutritious, and poolgirl)

Two amazing vocal mixes that do incredible justice to the original source material and are well worth the download. Both of these arrangements add enormously to the original song, and draw you in. Very highly recommended.

Every remix keeps getting better as I download them, and I can’t really rank them on a 1 to … scale – they’re all well worth the download and listen and are exquisite forms of art – each of them tells a part of the story in their own way. As with last time, I’m certainly looking forward to the rest!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my media player’s on the…(no idea)…time through all of these arrangements. 🙂

Semi-live listen and review of Summoning of Spirits

Hey there.

I’ve been able to download a few tracks from the Summoning of Spirits arrangement by remixers from Overclocked Remix.

From the tracks I’ve listened to, which are all very good, I just wanted to highlight some of them that are my personal favorites at the moment. I know very little about music; these are just the thoughts of “yet another blogger” on some very cool music. 🙂

So, here goes…

– Beyond Absentminded (Remix of “Be Absentminded” from Tales of Phantasia by Hale-Bopp)

This piece is a vocal piece whereas the in-game piece was all instrumental.  Hale-Bopp makes this song even better and more emotional with excellent lyrics. Absolutely amazing.

– Desert Nights (Remix of “Desert Flower” from Tales of Symphonia by Usa)

This one has surprised me the most thus far. Who knew that Triet could be remixed as a disco song? Extremely catchy. Here is yet another must listen to song. Well done on this one.

– Apogee (Remix of “Last Battle ~ Decision ~” from Tales of Symphonia by Andy Jayne, The Joker, and Fishy)

This is my favorite song from Tales of Symphonia, and I’ve always wanted to hear a mix of it just like this. An excellent rock remix this is.

– Summoned Without Reason (Remix of “The Second Act” from Tales of Phantasia by Sixto Sounds)

My favorite map music from Tales of Phantasia. This song was practically begging for a rock remix and Sixto Sounds delivers that and more with this mix.

Once again, a big thanks to all the remixers for an awesome tribute to the “Tales of” games in Summoning of Spirits!

I certainly look forward to listening to more of these excellent remixes tomorrow.

Overclocked Remix Summoning of Spirits

Now on its 13th (!) album, the awesome to the ‘ness remixers of the community of Overclocked Remix have released Summoning of Spirits – an album that features remixes of some of the most memorable music from the Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia, and also some tracks from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. I’ve only been able to listen to a couple of tracks thus far, but, from my listening thus far, this album is a beautiful fusion of a vast array of genres and very exceptional talent – there’s bound to be a song here for everyone.

The remixers at Overclocked Remix once again prove that video game music is indeed an art form of its own – a diverse, imaginative, and majestic one at that.  Thank you Overclocked Remix for yet another awesome album.

You can download it here. If even that’s not enough, you can find some bonus and alternate versions of some of the tracks here! Happy listening!

A Boy and His Blob!

Quite a few interesting games are scheduled for the Wii and the DS this quarter, however, a developer known as WayForward is developing a Wii version of a real gem from the NES era – A Boy and His Blob.

A Boy and His Blob was an adventure and puzzle game where you used your good blob friend to overcome any obstacles in your path by feeding him jellybeans designed to transform him into various things (like a trampoline or an anvil). 🙂 The idea was quite simple, but it was addictively fun. WayForward is going to bring that very idea into the Wii iteration.

Some screens of this game have been released already, and they look gorgeous.

Check out the screenshots below – from the old to the new:

The old…

The new…

The absolutely beautiful hand-drawn background

The game looks absolutely beautiful, and I, for one, cannot wait to play it. There’s also some video footage of the gameplay from IGN as well – check it out!

As for the release date, it’s apparently scheduled to hit retailers sometime this fall.

We can see that publishers and developers are giving older games a chance to shine again and it’s proving to be quite a formidable strategy – I eagerly await this title’s release!

Screenshots from http://www.vgmuseum.com/nes.htm and http://nintendo.joystiq.com/tag/@wii.