ReMix:Eternal Champions "Immortal Souls" 3:39

By Scaredsim

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"Jetta's Theme", "Title"

Primary Game: Eternal Champions (Sega , 1993, GEN), music by Adrian Van Velsen, Andy Armor, Jeff Marsh, Joe Delia, John Hart

Posted 2008-01-04, evaluated by the judges panel


Our (by necessity) Annual "First New ReMixer of the Year" award goes to Simon Sternis, alias Scaredsim, who joins the previously lonely zircon as the second mixer to cover Sega's would-be SF2 killer Eternal Champions. At the time, Sega put quite a bit of PR into boasting how Eternal Champions was going to devour all your other fighting games and insult their respective mothers as it masticated, but - as with the rather ephemeral James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing - things didn't really pan out so well. It wasn't a bad game, though, and had some pleasing musics, which we're lucky to have yet more coverage of. Since Andy's been here himself, here's what he had to say:

"*Great concept, stylistically similar to doujin arrangers (e.g. S.S.H.)
* Creative instrumentation - loved the chip synths
* A little too much high end in the mix, and snare was a bit loud as well, but otherwise great production
* Well thought out structure and dynamic contour
* Excellent arrangement!

Kudos for remixing Eternal Champions, and good job overall."

The drums feel well-programmed but very clean and upfront to me - not a bad thing, but one which I as well equate with the doujin/Japanese scene. Actually, a lot of professionally arranged Japanese material has this quality, when I think about it. Well worth checking out S.S.H. if you haven't, btw: great stuff. At first this intros as if it's going to be a delicate new age flower, but guitar drops in and things get kickin' pretty promptly, with generous helpings of synth lead over shredding rhythm guitar underbelly. It's synth rock, basically, and doesn't have the types of meter changes or intonations that would push it over into the "progressive rock" territory, but things are very intricately sequenced, and there's a lot here to pay attention to that shows off the polish applied. Shariq adds:

"Nice integration of the percussion with what was going on in the song. Always nice to hear someone take the percussion out of that background timekeeper role effectively. Texture is great all around, I love the chip stuff with the guitars. Pads are appropriately quiet; any louder and it'd be messy."

Rock solid rock from newcomer Scaredsim, who definitely has both the arrangement and performance chops to come up with interesting ideas and execute them effectively. Judges focused on the volume of the snare, but I think a different snare sample entirely - specifically, a Bon Jovi-style arena rock variant - would have been a good switcheroo. However, as weed points out, any mix where the snare sample used is the salient criticism is doing far more things right than wrong. Great stuff from Simon, the first of hopefully many new artists to join us in '08!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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eggsngaming
on 2016-10-24 20:32:43

This mix has lots of good variation arrangement-wise. I love the simple but aggressive drive with the drums when they kick in. Things calm down a bit halfway through, but not too long, and the energy picks right back up. The source tune isn't one of my faves from the original OST (tough competition on that one), but it's perfect for a rock remix. All the elements are there. Also the key change is something I'm always in favor of, so well done.

Only thing I would've changed is maybe mix the piano a little louder, but that's it.

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TillyFun
on 2013-03-16 14:51:39

Definitely has a nostalgic feel to it, though on can't put my finger on just what exactly. Perhaps it's the start. :)

It follows a battle with interlude then epilogue, and-and that really doesn't do the mix justice. Great mix! Have a listen! ^_^

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WesternZypher
on 2010-11-13 23:23:59

If Eternal Champions' had an arena with fans or spectactors, this tune would be pumping through the speakers pre-fight, and they'd all be jamm-thrashing to it.

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Pachi Risu
on 2009-11-23 18:39:51

Nice job. Been a while since I played this game, but

I'm sure I'd like this track over the original any day.

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Marmiduke
on 2009-03-10 01:37:53

This is freaking fantastic, even without the knowledge that it is a debut mix. I really like how the melody wasn't just buried under a ton of effects synths and other instruments. It shines through in everything and runs with grain of the mix, which is all I ask for.

It's a fun one to listen to. It has that quality where you don't get sick of it. I can't imagine a point in time where I would not feel like listening to this, which is not to say I listen to this often. But now think I ought to.

Great remix and the birth of a great OCRemixer.

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Rozovian
on 2008-12-10 08:07:35

I like it. Synth rock at its finest, imo, with great synths and well mixed guitars. A few too many simple synths for my taste, but that's not detracting enough to outweigh the attitude of the track. Some rock tracks have an aggressive, dark sound, this has a far lighter sound, making it enjoyable in a more relaxing way. It doesn't get old, it just keeps going, with new parts, new material. Awesome.

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DragonAvenger
on 2008-11-24 20:43:36

I'll have to check out the update later, but what I'm hearing so far I like. Driving, epic feel, good energy. Nice transitions throughout to keep things fresh. Nice work, there should be more reviews on this one.

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Scaredsim
on 2008-07-01 16:53:06
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FlamingTP
on 2008-05-03 01:45:32

Review 14/1522

A solid Rockno remix, soft and smooth enough to listen to several times. quality.

Score 10/10 "winsauce"

-TP

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evktalo
on 2008-03-12 14:38:17

I dig the drive and energy this track has. Good stuff, very melodic. Each new part which kicks in carries the momentum forwards.

--Eino

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Martin Penwald
on 2008-01-29 16:05:37

The song wastes no time and starts energetic right from the beginning, which is something I like.

What really makes me appreciate this one is the quite skilful use of chiptunes. They fit in seamlessly, my favourite part being the one from 2:01 on.

Nice work.

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OA
on 2008-01-08 10:49:47

Nice and ear-catching intro, and it wastes no time getting into the rock.

Guitar is so cleanly done, I can't tell if it's synth or not. Very nice stuff either way.

Melodically, it has some nice change ups, and melds an old school vibe to a more modern rock sound, with a solid groove.

The leads are changed up frequently enough to keep things fresh, and the counterpoint is really nice as well.

Overall a great mix that has great direction and drive behind it.

Recommended.

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Nobbynob Littlun
on 2008-01-07 04:47:45

Nice use of chiptunes - they don't bother my ears at all, like most do. I'd have loved to see them transition out to another instrument, to give it some more movement. Possible instruments might be, hummm, electric guitar, bass flute, clarinet, castlevania-style organ, all of the above?

Xylophone would make an interesting counterpart to the guitar during synth portions, though without the synth it'd be too pronounced. Hummm, happy thoughts!

P.S. Fun song, goes straight into my playlists. Don't mind the talk of changing stuff, I always get these crazy ideas that I like to think are useful ^_^

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Fishy
on 2008-01-04 20:08:01

Heh, Simon was showing me this as it was in progress and didn't believe me it would be a safe pass. This is just a really fun energetic song to listen to. Arrangement is kickin, and the sounds come together really well. The snares not that out of place imo.

First time I heard of scaredsim, he had turned up on OCR just to join the lovely SM64 project, and just wait until your hear that mix. Keep your eye on this one, hes got the good stuff.

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anosou
on 2008-01-04 19:35:49

Well, isn't this something!

The intro could be the intro to any kind of remix so it's a pleasant surprise when the guitar and drums enter. The drums are really working to make this track energetic and succeeds. The lead synth meshes well with the guitar backing and brings a retro feel to the mix.

Nice chord change-ups at the end of what I presume is the chorus in this song. There are generally some really nice details in this arrangement, triplets, smooth pads, variations in both the melody and drumming. The melody is mostly legato, something I personally enjoy but can easily become a bit frustrating to listen to. Or so I've heard. ;)

The breakdown with the chimey sounds is very pretty but the chimes themselves are a bit too soft and synth-ish for my taste. They do work very well though. A fade out ending? Well I've been there. ;)

All in all this is a solid mix and VERY good for being a first post. Way to impress there.. Scaredsim was it? Cool.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Eternal Champions (Sega , 1993, GEN)
Music by Adrian Van Velsen,Andy Armor,Jeff Marsh,Joe Delia,John Hart
Songs:
"Jetta's Theme"
"Title"

Tags (3)


Genre:
Rock
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Electric Guitar,Synth
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Eternal_Champions_Immortal_Souls_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,352,296 bytes
MD5:
f5c3b20d2f67f62b0e4f8ef0d237b7dd
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:39

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