ReMix: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 'Nothing But a Pile of Dance Moves!'

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SOTN, baby! I recently downloaded the Xbox Live incarnation of the classic PSX platformer, a definite high point for the series, so NoppZ' groovetastic dance mix of one of the score's more memorable tracks is perfectly timed. For those not in the know, the mix title alludes to a fairly AYBABTU quote from one of the game's scintillating dialog sequences. Some translator dudes at Konami scripted the following for the big D man himself, Mr. Count Dracula:

"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!"

How true that is. While the head honcho of all things vampiric can wax existential all he wants, Filip's cooked up a pile of beats that have started to move. This is far less 19th century Romanian Vlad and far more 20th century Studio 54 John Travolta, rocking a solid disco/dance vibe, complete with a kick/snare combo that drip with polyester. There's a fade-in intro, but it gets out of the way pronto so SOTN can start working its magic. There's some interesting breakdown material in the middle, with a sweet doubled organ motif, and then Super Castlevania IV decides to show up and take over the discotheque altogether, splitting the arrangement effectively in half. The downbeat alternates and the tempo is faster, providing a good amount of contrast with the previous section, even if the instrumentation remains largely the same. If you were dancing to it, which would seem appropriate, you'd certainly have to change your style mid-song though... otherwise you'd look like you were having a slow-motion disco seizure. The initial submission had some production problems, with sizzling highs and somewhat anemic lows, but Filip got back to us with an edit that addressed these concerns. Of this revision, Sir Oji writes:

"Philip got back to me with a newly mastered version that got rid of the production concerns I had. The treble's toned down so it isn't so sizzly and the bass is way phatter. Stuff like the strings are way more audible during the fuller parts as well. It's a lot easier to hear how everything works together, and the end result is a lot stronger. Thanks a lot for your patience, NoppZ. It was worth the wait, bro."

It was also worth the wait for NoppZ' return in general, as he's come back not intermittently but with a steady line of inventive AND fun ReMixes that are just as awesome on the dance floor as off. It's all about the Belmonts, baby.

― djpretzel