ReMix:Final Fantasy Adventure "Chocobo!" 3:12

By Big Giant Circles

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Birth of Chocobo", "Theme of Chocobo"

Primary Game: Final Fantasy Adventure (Square , 1991, GB), music by Kenji Ito

Posted 2006-09-10, evaluated by the judges panel


I'll be totally honest: I often find the Chocobo theme to be, quite frankly, Chocobnoxious. It certainly seems to have a time and a place, and if you're not feeling chipper and perhaps a bit whimsical, it can have the approximate effect of combining extensive dental work with a migraine headache. That being said, I approach Chocobo ReMixes with a cautious optimism, as many artists to date have been able to do some pretty cool stuffs with Big Bird's little ditty. The latest to join the ranks of yellow avian musicality is BGC, whose acronymized moniker could easily be misconstrued as "Big Giant Chocobos". Jimmy writes:

"...I have a few of these FFA remixes that have been growing stagnant for the past year, so I thought I would go ahead and share the Kenji-Ito-love. This is a well-known tune that has earned it's keep in the FF series. Source is tracks 9 & 10 of the .gbs file, I present the Chocobo theme(s), the hatching and the riding music. This mix is fairly short and sweet. Not a whole lot of deviation as far as arrangement goes, but enough that it's not just simply an upgrade in sound quality."

Speaking of .gbs files and chiptunes in general, we've been working on getting more of them directly available here on OCR; there's a dozen new RSNs for SNES games, we've switched our Genesis files from RGM (rar'd GYM) to zipped VGM, and we've added zipped VGMs for Sega Master System titles as well, where available. All of these formats are playable with Chipamp and other players as well. Good stuff. Jimmy does them chiptunes sweet helpings of aural justice with an electronica arrangement that doesn't make the mistake of taking the theme too seriously and incorporates some fun hits and underlying patterns as the mix progresses. That's key, as this is one theme that essentially any mix is going to end up repeating several times, making monotony a deadlier pitfall than usual. BGC's Pitfall Harry swings deftly over this and other risky substances without landing on scorpion, retrieving diamond in the process. Jon jigged:

"holy crap, you actually had me unconciously tapping my foot about a minute into this. very creative, very unique. you should be proud of this."

Jon's foot rarely puts out without a lot of coaxing and quality time, so clearly said pride is warranted. The arrangement doesn't have lofty aspirations of turning the Chocobo theme into a new anthem for our generation, nor does the artist mistakenly operate under the belief that the success he's had with a three minute track could have been extended to a six-minute opus. This is a short, sweet, but most importantly fun take on a well-known melody, and Jimmy's jam-packed it with a variety of cross-panned, filtered, and otherwise lovingly modulated tidbits.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Rozovian
on 2009-12-13 09:50:29

Definitely a fun remix, but what else can you do with a source like this? Great percussion writing here, there's some really cool rhythms in there. Awesome bass writing. Only criticism I can think of would be the transitions between A and B parts, but that's not a big deal. Especially with all the other stuff that's happening here. Typical BGC stuff, a lot of stuff going on, and everything has its own space.

Ends a bit suddenly, but you gotta love that chirp with delay. :D

edit 12-22-09:

What, I reviewed this a few weeks ago and didn't then realize this is my new single favorite mix? Crazy fun stuff, despite the painful chirps (on headphones at least). Love the bass and rhythms. Awesome stuff. :D

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OA
on 2008-02-13 15:24:19

It takes a ton of work to keep this over-mixed relic fresh, and I have to say that this is a pretty creative remix. I'll focus on what great about the new, since the source is so familiar.

Strong counterpoint changes that tie into a new section all work really well together with a energetic bassline and an entire kitchen sink full of percussion. Of course the Hoo hoos get most of the attention, but where is even a samba whistle and a multitude of toms.

I can understand many people being sick to death of the theme, but give this one a listen, it's about as good as the chocobo theme is going to sound. :-)

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avaris
on 2006-12-29 10:36:32

WTF is this haha. As i've recently come to realize it takes a certain type of person to remix this source tune. I think BGC fits the bill...

Listening to this on headphones I see all the friggin panning, nice job. As usual tons of good composition goin on all over the place.

If i had to think of something this song reminded me of it would def be the Robin Williams movie 'The Bird Cage.' If anyone has ever seen that movie you'll catch my drift...

Kudos on takin one crazy source and making it listenable and something to enjoy.

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Audity
on 2006-09-15 19:46:43

Starts off really bad, reminiscent of the old OCR days' "bad music". But once it picks up the beginning has more meaning. It's all really experimental sounding, in terms of the combination of instruments/samples. I can't really notice anything technically wrong, except that the buildup is kind of long. Wait, that's not technical, but it should be! Anyway, it doesn't really bother me anymore, but I have my doubts of how many people would like what they're hearing at first.

The chirping at the beginning has too much treble. The log drum sample is the first sound that sounds really authentic. All of it should have been longer and more arranged. The background is really arranged, in almost an appropriate way to give a new style to a well-known, now-tired source tune. But the melody is still there, too much the same. The ending is good, the best part, except for the lead-out (rephrases the part that's been played the same, throughout the whole), but maybe one more original section in the middle would have sealed the deal to perfection. It makes me wish the whole song had the ending's energy. I love me some energetic music, but I'll have my doubts with future listens of this. But not until I give it some more chance! Just like how the song's given all the select semi-juxtaposed samples a chance to sing in harmony while they're neglected in other people's songs =(

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JT673
on 2006-09-13 23:40:15

This has a "hyperactive" feeling with it. What this song lacks with repetitiveness, it makes it up with the exotic assortment of instruments and happiness. 9.5/10 YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS!!!

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A-RoN
on 2006-09-12 18:08:42

Wicked! It's got that happy latin electronica feel. I especially loved the snaping fingers at 2:24.

10/10

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Frictional Antidote
on 2006-09-12 10:45:30

Very enjoyable mix. One thing that I really enjoyed is at the beginning the melody is being played with a harmony set at a fifth. I was expecting this to be the same at the end when the theme restated itself, but instead it was replaced by a much more prominent (string?) sound with no harmonization. Very skillfully executed. Thank you for submitting it.

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CC Ricers
on 2006-09-11 22:19:54

Very energetic and light-hearted. It's kind of a break from all the recent epic and/or operatic stuff we've been getting. This certainly uses a lot of interesting sounds and ethnic instruments which makes me think it won't sound too out of place on one of those Korg workstation music demos. :lol:

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big giant circles
on 2006-09-11 11:22:47
The hoo hoo's! YESSSS!

lmao, say that to a Tongan and see what happens :lol:

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Fraggy
on 2006-09-11 10:41:27

Wow, this remix is so exciting. I liked the snare roll you threw in at the beggining. I was like "OMG, what will ever happen next?". I LOVE the rainforest drum vibe going on. This is such a nice remix. It's got Chocobo written all over it. Wark!

9 out of 10

Yeah, I am that famous. I know.

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Jillian Aversa
on 2006-09-11 01:25:29

The hoo hoo's! YESSSS!

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moogleboy64
on 2006-09-10 14:52:36

Everyone has more complicated things to say about all these remixes than I do. All I know is I like what I hear. Woo.

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Bummer
on 2006-09-10 13:58:32

Ah, to go back in history to the place where the first chocobo originated, quite the historical moment for us FF lovers. Although that there is plenty of chocobo remixes on this site, it can never hurt to listen to one more.

When it comes down to this one, it took its time to build up enough energy to start. When the conga drums began to make their move at 0:30, it caught my interest immediately, which made me want to listen to the rest. I'm glad that I did.

I don't know what kind of instruments it is, I believe it's pan flutes, but no matter what the case, it sounds awesome with the other african samples. I like it how the instruments are being added one by one, it starts with just a lonely synth and a small drumroll, and then ends with something that could resemblance a brazilian football game.

I like it alot, ya?

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spineshark
on 2006-09-10 13:15:57

Whoo, my computer's speakers are again expressing distaste for the music I listen to.

I have to agree that the Chocobo theme is quite inane. Great intro, but this track still too repetitive to me (I did like Bionic Electronica tho now that I think about it, and that was really repetitive). I want to like this more, because percussion heavy tracks always rule.

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John Revoredo
on 2006-09-10 11:23:35

7/10. Crazy stuff. Is nicely done, though i'm not a fan of the source tune. In 0:48 enters some kind of bass which I disliked.

Nice arrangement of the theme with steel drums.

Is not the kind of music I'm used to hear, but a nice work anyway. You've done an outstanding remix if we compare to the source tune.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy Adventure (Square , 1991, GB)
Music by Kenji Ito
Songs:
"Birth of Chocobo"
"Theme of Chocobo"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Pop
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electronic,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_Adventure_Chocobo_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,161,837 bytes
MD5:
ea5bb714d90ddbcf986a0592125ede6b
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
3:12

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