ReMix:Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island "Crystalline Caverns" 4:58

By MkVaff

Arranging the music of one song...

"Underground BGM"

Primary Game: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Nintendo , 1995, SNES), music by Koji Kondo

Posted 2002-11-30, evaluated by djpretzel


Beautiful, and an imaginative and thorough overhaul of the caverns theme from Yoshi's Island. As a fan of McVaffe, trip-hoppish downbeat, piano-driven pieces, and Yoshi's Island, this ReMix is obviously partial to me on several levels. I loved the theme in question back when I was playing YI, sometimes referred to SMW2 - minimal, but neverending and cavernous . . . as a cavern theme should be, no? McVaffe takes the essence of that and imbues it with a life and character all his own, layering fantastic, organic processed drums, subtle pads, atmospheric synths and some nice slice fx circa 2'20". But the anchor and meat of the melodic portion of the track is a very strong acoustic piano. This must have taken some restraint for McVaffe - at least it would have for me - as the piano never really belts out into a full-blown solo, but is instead consistently strong throughout, with variance and ornamentation to avoid straight repetition. I have to confess that I do consider this a missed opportunity for what could have been a bitchin' two-fisted piano solo, Billy Joel-style, forming a clear climax to the work. But I have my style and McVaffe has his, this is a very good thing, and I respect and admire the restraint. This is a shimmering work that creates a complete audio universe, and represents some of McVaffe's best beat work (esp. in the 'intriguing percussive textures' category) to date. It's also quite different in style and execution from most mixes of the Mario series at large, adding something new to the compendium of Kondo creations. Highly recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Black_Doom
on 2017-01-03 14:36:26

Wow, this is definitely some majestic stuff right here. I would never say that this track is back from 2002! The piano work is so mesmerizing - very good work :)

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BLAHMASTER
on 2016-02-17 16:54:24

Great remix! I think this one probably shines a bit extra if you're familiar with the source. I'm definitely going to listen to this a bunch more times...

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8-Beat
on 2013-04-24 15:56:51

This track is more than phenomenal one of my favorite songs in the game! Awesome job to you Ms.McVaffe.

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WesternZypher
on 2010-12-28 12:40:01

This piece moves me to tears. Manly tears.

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OA
on 2010-08-16 14:43:11

Pretty nice, if a bit unremarkable. It fills a solid role as thought provoking background music, but never really steps into the forefront. Part of the luxury afforded by doing so many ReMixes is that you can definitely try some new things, and as a whole, this track is good, but I definitely prefer more melody-centric works.

Great for doing homework or staring out the window on a rainy day though. :-)

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Crulex
on 2010-04-21 10:11:11
And, now that I think about it, it kinda reminds me of Linkin Park. Like a mix of Yoshi's Island music and Linkin Park's "My December".

Huh. I listened to that after you said it, and it does kinda sound like it. Of course, McVaffe's is better anyway. I was not fond of the caverns theme at all in SMW2 when I first heard it, but this is a masterpiece. I'd expect nothing less from McVaffe

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urdailywater
on 2010-03-28 00:03:23

Man, reading through the comments made me nostalgic for CD's for some reason.

Either way this is a damn amazing mix. Basically, this mix takes my 3 of my favorite instruments, and then combines them all into one glorious mix of an already glorious source. Probably my favorite from McVaffe, but then again I don't think I've heard all his stuff yet. I'm over half way there, though.

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letterONE
on 2010-03-23 17:59:27

Hey, I'm sorta new here so I may be a little... bad at doing reviewing and whatnot. Anyways, I REALLY love this one. One of my favs on this site. Everything in it just fits so well together. And, now that I think about it, it kinda reminds me of Linkin Park. Like a mix of Yoshi's Island music and Linkin Park's "My December". Yup. Umm... nothing much else to say, so, umm... later?

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Yoshiboy
on 2009-11-25 12:37:32

I really like Yoshi's island a lot when it came out and I still do. Making this remix makes it an actual cavern board for the game.

Awesome. :D

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TheKrow
on 2009-03-06 22:20:29

This is one of my favorites of McVaffe. Thankfully justice has been served.

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elegantend
on 2009-03-06 20:23:53

Ha, thats pretty funny. Btw the guy removed the song from newgrounds, he sent me a message saying he was gonna remove the part that wasn't his. Then he said he was just gonna get rid of the whole thing.

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evktalo
on 2009-03-06 07:01:33

Well, thanks to that controversy, I got to hear this tune. :) Is good.

--Eino

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elegantend
on 2009-03-06 00:54:21

What was a good song was ruined when he put that awkward synth over it. I didn't listen to more than a few seconds of it, but being a huge fan of McVaffe's stuff I knew what it was. Are you the one who also gave him a 0 on newgrounds?

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DCT
on 2009-03-05 18:10:18
Thought I'd let you know that some guy added a crappy Zelda tune overtop of this and is hosting it on Newgrounds claiming it to be his work. People are giving it 10's because of the great original track (yours), and he is replying acting like he did all the work. Really burnt my toast if you know what I mean. Here is the link http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/172297 Kick his ass seabass

I dunno what's worse, the fact that this guy did that, or the fact that people liked it...

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elegantend
on 2009-03-05 17:46:17

Thought I'd let you know that some guy added a crappy Zelda tune overtop of this and is hosting it on Newgrounds claiming it to be his work. People are giving it 10's because of the great original track (yours), and he is replying acting like he did all the work. Really burnt my toast if you know what I mean. Here is the link http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/172297 Kick his ass seabass

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Nintendo , 1995, SNES)
Music by Koji Kondo
Songs:
"Underground BGM"

Tags (4)


Genre:
Mood:
Chill
Instrumentation:
Piano,Synth
Additional:
Time > 4/4 Time Signature

File Information


Name:
Super_Mario_World_2_Yoshi's_Island_Crystalline_Caverns_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,854,836 bytes
MD5:
0d75d2553433f2bd8661c042b7b138c0
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
4:58

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