ReMix: Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo 'Homage to Amida Buddha'

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I love this ReMix. Evil Horde, who actually has a mix from all the way back in 2000 and previously gave us some memorable Mega Man mixes, submits this mix from the Commodore 64 game Usagi Yojimbo, based off the rabbit samurai of the same name. The mix title indicates an homage, and that's probably accurate in more ways than one; for me, this ReMix reminds me of some of the better ReMixes from OCR in the early days - it's good in the same way certain mixes from way back were - not overly polished but definitely on the level, creative, nostalgic, and fun. Well, we still see a lot of that today, actually, but for some reason this makes me think of some of the better older ReMixes. With a Kill Bill-style homage to martial arts music, there's a brief orchestral intro, then in drops a lo-fi drum beat that's a bit faster than the original, with nice strummed koto or whatzzit, a little flute pattern, and a deep synth bass. Some of the elements here would seem to be intentionally lower quality to evoke the right atmosphere, but there's some nice wah-processed synth and later on a very slick guitar that does some pretty damn groovy soloing. The mix doesn't dramatically change the essential beat or arrangement of those portions of the original it uses, but it cleans up certain instruments, dirties others, and adds just the right new ingredients to extend things into a fuller length and scope - which is great because it's quite a catchy little song. No doubt were it from Mega Man we'd already have a dozen mixes of it :) Honestly, this is great stuff; you owe it to yourself to check it out - when things bust out into the chorus, then follow up with the guitar solo, everything's just working. Well. Great little gem of a mix from a song I'd probably never have heard were it not for Evil Horde. Recommended.

― djpretzel