ReMix: Shining in the Darkness 'Down in the Dungeon Just Creatures and Me'

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Well, it seems to be the season for inspired guitar mixes from first-time ReMixers, as now we've got yet another, again from previously un-ReMixed territory. Oh yeah, before I forget, Jared Hudson recently did a really cool interview with indianapolismusic.net - definitely worth checking out, very interesting read. Right then - many great things have come from Finland, and this mix from newcomer Taika, who hails from its northern reaches, is no exception. The ReMixer writes:

"Shining In The Darkness is a very nostalgic game for me, one of the first Sega games I had. Not the best game ever but when you're 10 years old anything goes. I decided to go for the dungeon theme, which gets looped well, around 100 000 times during the game. Instead of marching in the darkness, like the original, my version is more like trampling, leaping and bleeding in and out of the endless corridors of the dungeon (inspired by the near death freezing temperatures here in the northern Finland)."

Having briefly played this initial entry into the Shining Universe, I have to say that I do think they greatly refined and improved the series with the first Shining Force game, but nevertheless, this was one of the earlier 16-bit RPGs gamers had available to them, and a decent one at that. I remember finding the box art a bit goofy, because it tried to cram an insane number of characters and action into a small amount of space, in an endearing but ultimately cheese-o-rama cartoon style that I'm sure represented some unspeakable butchery of the original Japanese box art. Taika starts off with a soft filtered guitar riff with a radio effect to it that's replaced by the beefed up real deal at 0'10" in a cool transition. Cool break at 0'22" and then an electric lead comes in on the catchy, memorable melody which has a nice, adventurous, RPG feel to it. Performance on the lead is spot-on, and only gets better as the mix progresses, with a solo-of-death-and-destruction at 1'19" that's mean in all the right ways and probably kills a soft, fuzzy kitten somewhere every time it's listened to. An almost serene organ break follows, showing great variety for a guitar-driven mix, and the build and pinnacle at 2'28" are a perfect conclusion, including one of the most tasteful instances of the cut-to-original homage fadeout ending that comes to mind. zyko leverages his guitar background:

"the guitar playing is very nice - the performance is loose and yet accurate... a sign of good things as far as i'm concerned. the intensity is great. when you play the phrases like around the 1 minute mark, the intensity speaks for itself. your style is very reminiscent of dave mustaine - i'm almost willing to bet you listen to a sizeable amount of megadeth because its all over this arrangement. the lead is very early-thrash and the rhythm playing is totally megadeth"

I'm just as stoked on this one as the panel, perhaps moreso, as I think the length, production, instrumentation, concept, arrangement, and performance are all impressive, for a total package that takes a great (Sega!) source melody that really deserved some attention and sheds some light on it, so to speak.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.

Lead tone was a bit thin, and there were some rough spots, but it was pretty fun and I do think that the suggestion of extreme volume and copious amounts of beer would make this sound pretty awesome.
Solo was more just a straight-up guitar wank rather than a nicely composed lead, but I think it works on a gut level. It's intense at least.
Good source selection, I dig it; not a perfect mix, but it's charming and fun, and would be good for a post-sporting event party.

- OA on September 18, 2008

This is an excellent rock remix! I love how it picks up and then jumps into the song. This song doesn't have a nostalgic effect, but it's just as rockin'.

- BlackPhantom on February 16, 2005

Not great, EXCELLENT!
Sweet guitar, awesome solo
The beginning jumps too quickly into the guitar though.
That's my only complaint
The rest is just amazing

- jordex on February 6, 2005

Great song. Now can we get a guitar tab for it?

- iq++ on February 6, 2005

Thanks for the replies everyone!
Listening to my song couple months after recording it, the drums usually stick out in a bad way (but hey, it's casio drums, feel free enlighten my way to suberb drumkits) and there's also some other issues.
However, the flaws become very minor using one listening instruction.
PLAY IT LOUD!!
LOUD!!
If your neighbors can't hear the intro,
IT'S NOT LOUD ENOUGH!
Using this advice keeps you too busy headbangin' to get all technical (beer helps too)
Yeah, and title is infact from the Queen song, which I thought I quoted correctly (which I didn't)
-Taika

- Taika on January 25, 2005

00:00 - 00:23 - Good solid intro that gets fleshed out well.
00:23 Main Melody kicks in. There's enough variation in the playing to keep the listener jamming well.
1:00 The second phrase, the rhythem guitar takes over and the drums come up. Well driven. Waiting for the expected return of the lead guitar.
1:21 TRAIN WRECK!!!! Van Halen crawls out of the overdriven amplifier and screams out a hyped out solo. Not a bad solo, but it kind of shocks the listener.
1:43 - Church organ?
2:03 - Fades into main melody with coda into a march beat played on the open hi-hat?
Not bad when listened on the whole. A good piece that was well engineered. The heavy metal influence is definately in effect.
85/100

- Blue_Drac on January 19, 2005

yea i rocked out hard in my basement to this one

- sabre on January 19, 2005

Aside from some ridiculous compression on the occasionally lacerating, repetitive drums and overall muddiness on the low-end, this works well. The guitar playing is solid, with a great solo in the middle, and there's a lot of little cool ideas like the organ break and key change at the end that give this more momentum. Not a phenomenal mix overall, but the little touches and all-around solid arrangement make it a more pleasing listen. The last ten seconds is cool too...

- Adhesive_Boy on January 19, 2005

8O 8O 8O
wow...
so much ass kickage from a so short song...
Awesome. :D
This song will be the first song I'll put on my mp3 player when I get one.
I love the organ part at 1:43. :D

- 'ReaktorZ0 on January 18, 2005

Man, this is awesome. You know when your only real gripe is that it's too short and you want more that it's probably pretty good. But this sucker REALLY delivers.
The initial break into the heavy stuff at 0:11 is also a little awkward, but is easily overlooked because the rest is so good. The bass is particularly inspired, the solo in the middle would make goat blush, and the organs at 1:43 are a very fitting touch. The oldschool ending was a nice contrast to the rest of the song; this is a mix that really shows off the mixer's skill.
I played this game all the way through three or four times and maxed out my guys to level 99 the last time around... and you can beat it on like level 40 or so. So, needless to say I LOVE this and am so fucking glad somebody (other than GMF, kudos to him) finally did a remix from SitD. Thanks, Taika.

- richter on January 17, 2005

I love the guitar, though I must admit I only downloaded it to begin with because (am I wrong to assume this?) the title is from a Queen song and made me laugh. Down in the dungeon just peaches and me? But I am growing quite attached to it already.

- leena fighter on January 17, 2005

Wow. This is awesome. It just keeps throwing stuff at you. Just when you think it cant get any more out of control (in a good way of course) it pummels you with that crazy solo. One of the best guitar OC Remixes, in my opinion.

- Ichitootah on January 17, 2005

argh i hate it. you ruined one of my favorite game's music. not everything is cut out to be a thrashy mix.
blah.

- jorgandar on January 17, 2005

This is lovely stuff. Good job.

- vert1 on January 16, 2005

For some reason, it has an anime-ish sound to it, especially the last bit. Great stuff :nicework:

- Amayirot Akago on January 16, 2005

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