Video Game Music/Remixes

I've been itching to create this topic for some time now, but attempted to patiently wait for the resurrection of Vgmix first. Since this rebirth could be anywhere from tomorrow to several months (no time frame has been given), I'll just go ahead and start it up now.

Right off the bat, as I'm somewhat ashamed to confess, understand that I've never been a follower of mainstream music. I just never took to it. It can be downright ackward when I am asked what type of music I listen to . . . anyway, that's not to say that I despise mainstream music. I'll admit that most mainstream music is probably of a much higher quality, along with being much more acceptable among, well, the mainstream. It's just that I've always found it sort of tame.

Video game music is different. It is rythmic, diverse, catchy, danceable, ambient, epic, and most importantly, fun! While non or casual gamers may find it difficult to "get it", this sort music always incites nostalgic feelings within me, in addition to instantly improving my mood without fail.

Now, I've always enjoyed video game music. A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a website called Vgmusic.com. Back then, it was the best thing since sliced bread. I was still relatively new at the internet, and the fact that I could listen to, for free, faithful recreations of my favorite game music astounded me.

My love of video game music exploded when I came upon Ocremix and VGmix. At first, the works found on these sites did not please me. I felt they strayed too far from the original track. Due to this stubborn, close-minded way of thinking, I convinced myself that I preferred the conservative, tame, and low quality MIDIs of Vgmusic. As time passed, however, I warmed up to the idea of liberal remixes, and the content on vgmusic began to pale in comparison to the other two--they were simply inferior; though, I'll still take a listen now and then. And Vgmusic also has phenominal selection . . . if you merely want to hear an old song from a game you played many years ago, vgmusic most likely has you covered.

Enough background information.

As you can probably guess, I tend to stick mostly to Nintendo music. My favorites on Ocremix include:

Braving Tal Tal Heights
Gerudo Interlude
River of Time
Prayer
Pachebel's Ganon
Darkness and the Light
Hippcordian
Temple Trance
Rabbit Joint Cover
Eutopia Pegasi
Ancient Hero
Pirates of Dragon Roost Isle
Crystalline Caverns
Green Hill Zone
Godspeed
Pearl Song
Liquid Mario
Swanky Vegas
All the World in One Girl
Mega Dance Mix 2002
One Girl in All the World
Zebesian Midnight
Just a Little More (Prime Edit)
Tear Drinker
Twason Hits the Road
Beneath the Surface
Fear Factory
Brambles in the Breeze
Final Exam
The Galaxy is at Peace

That may seem like a lot, but it is only the tip of the ice berg of what Ocremix offers. However, I believe I have sifted through a lot of crap and come out with the best of the best, at least on the Nintendo side of things. I have a few more great tracks, but they can only be found on Vgmix.

My favorite remixer is "The Wingless". His music is incredible. He deserves an award. Site owner, Djpretzel, is also magnificent. Other notables are Disco Dan, McVaffe, Ptrocity, Vigilante, AmIEvil, and Blind. Check out all music by them. Prophecy from Vgmix is awesome as well.

If you download only one song, make it The Wingless' "One Girl in All the World". Ptrocity's "Brambles in the Breeze, Djpretzel's "Pachebel's Ganon", or Vigilante's "Beneath the Surface" might be next in line. But I enjoy them all. I just wish they'd crank out the music faster and focus on some of the tracks that I'd like to see, but you can't mess with success.

Yeha, I listen to mainstream music, but I love most video game music more. On my i-Pod probably about 75% of the music is from a videogame. So when people ask to see what music I have I'm always a bit hesitant, since their reaction is usually,"What the hell kinda a music is this?" But it's great music, even better than most movie music i think. It's epic, catchy, emotional, easy to get into, etc.

Shiek, I could've copied that whole post without editing it and it would sum up how I feel. However, when I first found ocr I loved it instantly.

Here are a few of my favorites, besides a lot of those you listed.

Clash at the Mountains
Triforce Majeure
Unsealed
8 Worlds of Gloom
The Ice Beam Cometh
Metroid Metal site

Ocremix is a very good site. Sadly, I don't remember most of the names of the music I got from the site, but I highly enjoy them. I remember some of my favorites are:

Wicked Orchestra (Castlevania)
A Storm in the Desert (OoT)
Breath of Fire, Sad Melody

I'm pretty much the same when it comes to video game music. While I like many types of music, the video game kind has a certain unique quality to it. My favorites would be:
Zelda Music
Final Fantasy Music
Mario RPGs Music
Super Mario Music
Metroid Music

Comments? Anyone? I'll be frank and honest and say that this deserves more attention than it's getting . . .

Anywho.

One series that I wish would get more attention from remixers is Golden Sun. I realize the series isn't popular enough to warrant it, but in my personal case, the lack of GS music is a bit irratating. I could imagine some pretty awesome remixes of Venus Lighthouse, Sol Sanctum, various towns, the overworld theme, Jupiter/Mars Lighthouses, Aqua Rock, Caves, Dehkan Plateau, Battle theme, and Jenna Theme, among others.

Oh. And the Pokemon series. Not a single remix on Ocremix! Maybe I have poor taste, but I believe Pokemon R/B, at the very least, had some worthy tracks. If nothing else, would you not like a highly epic rendition of a Gym Leader battle? See, I realize that the majority of Pokemon music is ridiculously kiddy and probably not all that remixable, but, perhaps more than any other series, the music just makes me happy and incites nostalgia, for I probably spent more time with Pokemon than any other series. Even if they're not the greatest, do the following songs not bring back memories?
Celadon City, Cerulean City,Champion Battle, Cinnibar Island, Gym, Indigo Plateau, Mount Moon, Pallet Town, Routes 1, 10, 12, and 24, S.S. Anne, Trainer Battle, Vermillion City, and Wild Pokemon Battle.

And as far as Metroid goes . . . I LOVE The Wingless' "One Girl in all the World" and "All the World in One Girl", but in reality, only a close listen reveals that these are actually Metroid songs. Final Exam, a remix of the Brinstar theme from the original Metroid is great, as is a particular remix on Vgmix (which I shall link to when it comes back up), but the truth is, I'm not entirely pleased with the majority of Metroid remixes. I have yet to find a truly competent remix of Jungle Brinstar (one of greatest vg tracks ever, in my opinion--no one else seems to agree), Lower Norfair, or Crateria. The originals of these songs are all terrific, but remixers haven't seemed to take to them. I'm also a fan of the ever popular Kraid's Hideout.

The Zelda series gets plenty of attention. Quality all around. Still, if anyone could find a decent remix of the Darkworld from ALTTP (Darkness and the Light is good, but I'm looking for something faster paced) or Clocktown/Stone Tower Temple from MM, it'd be great if you could link me there.

Mario is tricky as well. The original content is superb in fitting the game, but remixes often fall short. Mario music does not seem to lend itself well to being remixed. Djpretzel's "Swanky Vegas" is about the best version of SMW overworld that I've heard. Dire Dire Docks is another popular song to remix. I would like to hear a decent remix of the underworld theme from SMB3, personally, but what I'm looking for does not seem to exist.

Finally, there is a specific track from DKC2 that I seek. The original track is called "Hot Head Bop" or something like that. It is the lava theme. It is an excellent song. Not a single person on Ocremix has touched it, and all of the remixes of it on Vgmix sucked anyway. If somebody knows where to find a good version of it, fill me. I wish that Protricity from Ocremix, who has done a fair share of DKC2 music, including the wonderful "Brambles in the Breeze", would undertake the project.

To get an idea of what the original track sounded like, go here.

Note: Vgmusic does not allow direct links. If you get a 403 forbidden when clicking on the links, don't worry. Just click where it says "download your file here".

Just as a reminder, if you like video game music, and Nintendo music in particular (which I assume describes many of you) be sure to check out the songs I linked to in the first post. If you're anything like me, you'll love 'em. Maybe you could even drop a comment, make a recommendation, or, God forbid, analyze things . . . just a little.

A Storm in the Desert (OoT)

I remember that being one of the first songs from Ocremix that I downloaded, since it had such a cool name and all. I never liked it for some reason. The beginning is too loud, and the taken as a whole, it seems to be a bit too tame.

Also, the fire emblem series (I've only played the first gba one to be honest) had some tunes that I personally think were up there with Zelda, but those don't get a look in on ocremix or vgmix. Probably becuase its a relatively little known series.

One game I wish they would do on Ocremix is Majora's Mask. I don't know about anyone else, but I think you could really get some good remixes off the songs in that game.

I'm not the hugest fan of video game remixes... most of them end up being kind of techno-ish, something I think sucks badly. I know there may be some good ones out there, but I just haven't bothered.

The biggest pleasant surpise I got was from the Mario and Zelda Big Band Live Concert. These guys make all the tunes so fun and lively, unlike many other orchestrated/live versions you might get out there. My faves out of this are the Mario 64 Introduction/First Level Theme, Athletic (Yoshi's Island), Wind Waker theme, Zelda Shop Theme, and some others I might have forgot. Definately worth a listen.

http://zeldapower.com/index.php?opti...d=41&Itemid=53

The music from the Orchestral Game Concert is pretty neat too... although not quite on par with Big Band Live.

Woo.

Legacy of the wizard has a brilliant "last level" song, it's very nostalgic and also fast paced, pure 80's.

The Kirby games IMO have brilliant music, along with the old sonic titles.

As far as remixes go, I'm really only a fan of metal remixes, metroid-metal was an old fan project, and I highley encourage anyone who likes metal, and likes metroid to check it out.

Originally Posted by Celticwolf

One game I wish they would do on Ocremix is Majora's Mask. I don't know about anyone else, but I think you could really get some good remixes off the songs in that game.

You could wait for Vgmix to get back up. They had some decent mixes to MM songs.

Originally Posted by OldBeane

I'm not the hugest fan of video game remixes... most of them end up being kind of techno-ish,

Vgmix had lots of orchestral (Zelda) stuff. Notably by composers, Unknown, Nixdorux, Standing man and others

Awakened Fears of the Gerudo is one of my favorites on OCRemix. It feels like the Gerudo Valley soundtrack taken directly from OoT, added clarity, and spiced up. It's better than the actual soundtrack, in my opinion, but it wasn't changed so much that anyone will dislike it.

Another great song is called "Dirty Mix" from Super Mario Bros. (made by "A Scholar & A Physician"). There's also a crazy music video for it - you may find it at albinoblacksheep.com...

I'm not the hugest fan of video game remixes... most of them end up being kind of techno-ish, something I think sucks badly. I know there may be some good ones out there, but I just haven't bothered.

The first thing I'd tell you is that techno is awesome. But it is fine if you don't think so. The second thing I'd tell you is that plenty of the music that I have linked to is not techno. At least not the type of techno that goes 100mph and is nothing more than a mess of random sounds.

If you like ambience/peaceful, I suggest:

-River of Time
-Prayer
-Pachebel's Ganon
-One Girl in All the World
-All the World in One Girl
-Pearl Song
-Tear Drinker
-Brambles in the Breeze
-Eutopia Pegasi
-Beaneath the Surface
-Final Exam

Some of those may feature some technoish elements, but probably not the type you're thinking of.

Avoid for sure:

-Braving Tal Tal Heights
-Temple Trance
-Gerudo Interlude
-Fear Factory
-Mega Dance Mix 2002
-Green Hill Zone

Among others.

Up until last year, the only music I was interested in was videogame soundtracks and remixes and certain movie soundtracks. I liked mostly orchestrated music, or simple midi tunes that I'd find on fansites like this one. I favored vgmix over ocremix because I hd little interest in techno music, which ocremix had a lot of.
I gradually came to enjoy more mainstream music over the past year. For one thing, my older sister controls the car radio when we drive to school. I despised the stuff she listened to at first, but it some of it grew on me. Though I still hate songs like "My Humps."
I also started watching Veronica Mars last year, and I liked a lot the music used on that TV show. I eventually found this webpage, and that got me to start hunting down most of those songs on iTunes.
As of now I have an iPod with a pretty wide range of music on it. I have my favorite videgame songs and remixes on it, along with a good amount of mainstream stuff. I also check out many of the top songs in the various sections on iTunes, like World music, so I have tons of pretty obscure songs.

The music I like the most tends to have some sort of surreal, otherworldly quality to it, though that quality is hard to pinpoint or describe. Some examples would be The Ballad of the Windfish, the Oath to Order, Ashes (by Embrace), Somewhere Over the Rainbow (by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), Long Time Coming (by Delays), or anything by O-zone.

I have a long list of Zelda remixes I like so I'll just mention a few of my favorites. Several are from vgmix, which is still down.

It's My Turn To Dream
Pachelbel's Ganon
Walking on the Stone Tower
Time's End
Hero
A Storm in the Desert

Well, I may be a fan of video game music, but I like other, better music choices such as old-school, NON-MAINSTREAM rap, rock, fusion jazz, jazz, strings, and some R&B. Video game music is good, but it has yet to reach the peak of true music culture.

Anyway, some songs from OC Remix I like to listen to(Mostly Final Fatansy 3/6):

Star Salzman ft. Jason Biggs- Shut The **** Up: This is a rap parody of the Final Fantasy 3/6 opening theme, really funny as hell. This remix did spark some conflict though. Some biased people hated the song because it was "gangsta" rap, which wasn't. The rap had many foul lanuage just as "ass" "b***h" "n***a" and other junk. Saddly, people couldn't understand the song was satire, so they got all pollticaly correct and wanted the song to be removed from O.C. Remix, and yeah, it got put down.

The song can be hear from the arist website: www.starblast.org

Star Salzman- Back In Time(Chrono Trigger 600 AD song parody)- This is another parody song, in which the artist sings that he wants to go back in time and solve his problems he wish he could had solved . Once again, the song can be found on the following link above.

JigginJonT- Anthem of Exile(Final Fantasy 6-Figaro twins theme) This is a jazz remake of Sabin and his brother's theme song. It gives you like an example in your head of Sabin self-exile from his kingdom(I think that how it is). Song can be found on vgmix.com

Disco Dan- Green Amnesia(Chrono Trigger, 1,000 AD overworld theme, I think) This is more of a soft jazz type of feel. The song open up with a saxophone playing jazzy. About 50 seconds after the sax intro, you hear a guitar playing softly and comes a piano. A very peaceful, beautiful remix found on OCremix.org.

New Japan Philharmonic- Fire Emblem(From Super Smash Bros. Melee- Smashing Live!) This isn't a remix, but more of an arrangement from the Fire Emblem 1/3 New Character Theme and the Fire Emblme theme song from Super Smash Bros 2. The songs opens up with strings(Mosty cello and bass) playing, and like ten seconds after that, the horns starts to play softly for three seconds. Drums starts beating, increassing volume within time. Horns starts to play the medoly as the strings plays the harmoly of the Fire Emblem 1/3 Recuitment Theme. Strings are plucking the harmoly of the Fire Emblem theme as a horn plays soft, playing the main theme of Fire Emblem. A very good live piece.

virt, Ailsean- Dancing Mad Once Again(Final Fanatsy 3/6 final boss theme) This is a heavy metal version of the final boss theme of FF3/6. Just image, the Tier Bosses themes in a heavy metal style of music, wih a chours in the background. A guitar solo plays the First Tier theme, while the chours/choir hums along.

Second Tier opens up with a xyophone(?!), a eletric organs plays the beat for the second tier, and *BOOM* the chours goes crazy with the guitars. Then, the guitar riffs, the chuch organ plays along with the guitar, the guitar goes solo, the the whole band plays.

Third tier opens with a drum beat, guitars playing, faster and faster with the song. Guitar once again riffing for about 30 seconds, and the remix is over. Whew!

DJ Crono- Final Fantasy 6 Eres Des Point(Eras of the Point)- A French rap remake of Tina/Terra's theme. Since I don't know what the rapper is saying, I can't really descirbe it for ya. The song opens up with a guitar sturmming, the rapper shouts "Terra!" and starts rapping. . . which I don't know the hell the rapprer is saying. In the background, synteiners are playing as the rapper raps. Another great OCremix song.

Ailsean- Terra in Black(Metal verson of Tina's theme from Final Fansty 6)

The song opens up with a crystal sounding insturment, strings plays along with the crystal. Horns enter in, the crystal music is still playing, the voulume of the music increasess. A guitar plays Terra's theme, metal stlye. Once the first guitar is finish with one bar of the music, another emulates the lead guitar. As the guitars emulate each others, an electronic isturment plays a bit silently.) The guita