In his first contribution since December of last year, Dale North makes a magnificent return to OCR with a stellar, lush orchestral arrangement, our first from Star Ocean 2. Both Dale and Mustin have been uber-busy coordinating the Squaredance project and other related initiatives - expect great things from both of them, and to hear more about those in the future. But in the meantime, if you've a love of Hisaishi or Kanno-style lush orchestral arrangement with a special touch for emotive and dynamic string swells and intimate, articulate solos, you can't afford to miss this deliberate + dramatic piece from Mr. North. Beginning very basically with deep pizzicato bass and delicate chromatic percussion, a fantastic and believable solo clarinet enters with a solitary and lonely refrain, until lovely ensemble strings and oh-so-perfect french horn (key to almost any epic/dramatic symphonic work, though overused by John Williams from time to time) enter and a sequence of swells that remind one of the Mononoke or Escaflowne soundtracks commence. There's then some delicate and spacious solo piano work, seguing back into swells and then back to solo piano for the ending. One of the points Dale, myself and others like to emphasize with regards to these types of arrangements is that, even with the best sound libraries available, the key is still the arrangement, and how those libraries are used. Having Garritan or Miroslav strings alone is far from guaranteeing a result like this ReMix. However, the converse of that is that even the best arranger will be challenged to produce too dramatic a result from sounds that are entirely lackluster and lack basic velocity-switching, etc. When you team someone that knows what they're doing with great sounds, you're playing with fire, and this mix falls under that category. Highly recommended, without hesitation.
― djpretzel
As far as mixes that captivate and actually cause you to feel the
emotion and the imagery of the piece, this has to be one of the
most effective on the entire site. Motoi's original composition has
a lot to do with it, of course. It's an emotionally manipulative
melody, to be sure. But Dale's arrangment and production really
nets the goods and brings it straight to you.
The quiet, more fragile troughs throughout the song are nice; the
clarinet and the strings are excellent choices to build to the big,
sweeping moments. I like that this is never bombastic or never too
much going on behind the sounds, which can ruin orchestral pieces
that are meant to have a quaint feeling to them. The feeling to
this remains powerful but contained; we get that the sadness is
personal and interior.
Incredibly orchestral work, it really does sound like it could be
part of a professional modern soundtrack. Great to reflect to.
- Marmiduke on June 27, 2009
I just recently rediscovered this song after hearing it a long time
ago. All I can say is that the beauty is in the simplicity. And its
Wonderful!
- []Diracy on August 10, 2008
my god.. i simply agree with you all.
The story of the game is just so emotional.. it made me feel happy
and sad and surprised and much more.. SO OFTEN.. and it contains
soooo cute characters.
actually im pissed off because square-enix doesnt mention star
ocean 2 on their homepage or i just couldnt found it...
well... maybe back to this song?
@theowne: youre right. how can something like this happen? almost 2
years long no further comment on this MASTERPIECE!
you really have to play this game to the end and then listen to
this song again. if you can connect this song with the storyline,
it seems just more emotional.. AND -HELL(maybe heaven in this
case)- SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL!
:cry: :cry: :cry:
but, of course, this song is still a masterpiece if u didnt play
the game...
(hope i didnt tooo many mistakes... because english isnt my
"mother-language" and im not the best at speaking english..)
- The Kuschely on March 27, 2006
I was utterly amazed when I heard this peace. I am a huge lover of
Star Ocean, mainly the Second Story. It gives me great joy to hear
Rena's theme in all it's wonderful glory. This is done so
beautifully, I litteraly got intense chills listening to it, as
many other listeners did. The piano in the middle was especially
captivating. This song took me into the skies and brought me down
again when it ended. Excellent work, Dale...
- ShadowFire on March 15, 2006
This is far from forgotten. I loved the original song very dearly.
I'm dead serious too, as the original can be found on close to 5 of
my 7 CD library of burned CD's. I wasn't really optomistic when I
downloaded this new one because I didn't see how it could've been
improved upon. Man was I wrong. The lightly introduced clarinet
hits the mood perfectly. The orchestral swells... my god the
swells... they bring tears to my eyes. I want to cry from happiness
and amazement at the amount of feeling that can be felt in this
song. I just... i can't go on. This song is beautiful beyond
compare. 11/10.
- MasamuneX on March 13, 2006
Why is this so forgotten? The last comment is from 04? Come on
people! This is amazing!
- Theowne on March 13, 2006
This one awesome orchestral piece. Words definately cannot describe
how lovely this remix is. I listened to this song over and over
again, and it's still beautiful. I love this! :D
Well Mr. North, can I have ur autograph?
- ShiningLight on December 12, 2004
Let me reiterate how amazingly awesome Dale is. I met him recently
and he is probably one of the nicest people I have met in a long
time. Coincidentally, we discussed this mix for a short time and I
expressed my love for it. It truly is one of the best remixes out
there today, and it really does convey the emotions of the
game.
What less can one expect from Dale North?
- myf on November 29, 2004
I'll have to do that, and perhaps toss him the ideas for song
remakes.
- Sun_Quan on November 29, 2004
Yeah, I know Dale in real life. Stayed at his house several times
even. And you could just ask him yourself on the music he has
planned. I know he's working on a lot of personal projects, but
just come on over to the
OUS site sometime and ask him on the message
board.
- Flik on November 29, 2004
Flik, if you know Dale in real life then you're lucky, I sincerely
think he should package his remakes onto a CD or something, perhaps
do some remaking of more Star Ocean the 2nd Story songs, if he's
not done "Shower of Blossoms" (Cross and Lacour town theme) yet, he
should do so. I can imagine what it'd sound like, what with the
fantastic job that he did with Rena Lanford of Arlia Village. I
mean shoot, he made an already amazing song sound even more
amazing. I'd like to see what else he could do with the electric
guitar too, as there are a ton of Star Ocean Till the End of Time
songs that scream "remake" all over them. **laughs** Anyway, lemme
know if he's got any more remakes planned. Best of wishes.
- Sun_Quan on November 29, 2004
Dale IS amazing. Just watching him play totally changes the mood.
And you'll meet him someday for sure. He's a great guy, and fun to
be around.
And this mix amazed me a long time ago, and still does any time I
listen to it.
- Flik on November 29, 2004
I would like to meet this Dale North and thank this man in person
for composing such a remix of an already emotional song. This was
always one of my favorite songs on Star Ocean the 2nd Story, along
with Shower of Blossoms, and the Final Boss Battle theme and many
more as well. This man is an honest to God talent, and should be
recognized worldwide. Powerful song, and even more emotionally
moving than the original. I say this deserves an encore!
- Sun_Quan on November 27, 2004
Yes. This song is just so emotional no words can express it.
I'm probably going to listen to this song almost always when im on
my PC.
- Cyril86 on October 16, 2004
.... I love you. Seriously, I cannot EXPRESS the raw emotion you
can feel in this piece.... Its just to good for words.
We love you. ;_;
- Arc Impulse on February 16, 2004
Download MP3
- Size: 5,206,594 bytes
- MD5 Checksum: 0ee22e2a1b81f8fc69e567d50375d9d1
Help us save bandwidth - using our torrents saves us bandwidth and lets you download
multiple mixes as a single download. Use the tracker below and scroll for more information, or visit http://bt.ocremix.org directly, and please don't forget to
help us seed!!
Chiptunes, as well as sample-based formats like RSN/SPC for the SNES, allow you to replay the original soundtracks to many of your favorite games. The resources below will help you get started downloading and listening to chiptunes.
No Chiptune Available
No chiptune is available on OverClocked ReMix for this game. This could be for several reasons:
- No chiptune has yet been created/released.
- The chiptune for this game is over six megabytes and is thus not hosted here due to bandwidth concerns.
- The game's system does not yet have a chiptune format, or uses redbook audio.
- The chiptune for this game has not yet been added to our database.
If the chiptune is too large or has simply not been added to our site yet, you might be able to find it on one of the links below.
Play chiptunes in 40+ formats with the free Chipamp Plugin Bundle, available at www.chipamp.org. The combination of Winamp and Chipamp is one of the easiest ways to get up and running, playing chiptunes and other game audio formats in no time at all.
Download Chipamp today, and don't worry about tracking down the right plugin - we did the work for you.
Content Policy
(Submission
Agreement and Terms of Use)
Page generated Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:05:51 -0400 in 0.0366 seconds
All compositions, arrangements, images, and trademarks are copyright their respective owners. Original content is
copyright OverClocked ReMix, LLC. For information on RSS and JavaScript news feeds, linking to us, etc. please refer to resources for webmasters. Please refer to the Info section of
the site and the FAQ available there for information about the site's
history, features, and policies. Contact David W. Lloyd (djpretzel), webmaster, with
feedback or questions not answered there.
top of page
Support OCR!
Quick Search
Games
Music
People
Community
Projects
Download MP3
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the 
