ReMix: Cheetahmen II 'Livin' Large!'

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Ahh, Cheetahmen II. A classic. Revered in the world of gaming and mentioned in the same breath as Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and Sonic as a title that adults and children alike can enjoy, with amazing depth, tight gameplay, cutting-edge visuals, and a jaw-dropping score.

Or not. Well, that last bit happens be at least a little true, as the game's main theme has been championed and repurposed, ala Zero Wing. Larry blogged about the phenomenon over on VGF, Kotaku investigated the trend, and the Japanese doujin scene have even released an entire album dedicated to the furry foursome. Clearly plushies, a next-gen revival, and a feature film are only a matter of time! For the full, sad, long, optimistic story of Active Enterprises and their misunderstood Cheetahmen, check out Cheetahmen Corner. And so, egged on by Larry and carried forward by the inevitable threads of fate that make men do the bold, often tremendously silly things that we do, AnSo has provided OCR with a CM2 mix that's up to our standards, and this seems a fitting day to unveil it. Mattias writes:

"I started by laying down the intro strings and bubbly synth texture for a straight electronic remix but as always, it got out of hand. While browsing potential sounds I took a trip through the AMAZING Electro Mechanical ReFill (free for registered owners of Reason 3+) and started jamming with a Clav. My hands went like crazy and I had to do this funk-style. So it was late and I recorded a LOT of licks. Took the best ones and started re-recording. Improvised an organ solo and started to touch everything up. I was actually amazed what I did in two days and honestly, I don't think I could've done this any better. :) Everything in this remix is played by me on the keyboard except the tam, the shaker and some ghost-note programming. Everything was done in Reason 4.

A big thanks goes out to Larry for really sticking by me with this, providing constant feedback and helpful tips. He actually recorded himself sining a part he thought I should use as outro, which I did. Also I'd like to give JJT some creds, he gave me some great feedback and helped me with some minor issues. Much love guys."

With Leisure Suit Larry and now this, AnSo's got a reputation not just for bringing the funk, but bringing it quickly. Synths intro, but when the clav drops, that's really all she wrote. Funky acoustic kit on drums, some bells, calliope, synth string pads, and even a funny lil xylophone bit all flesh the piece out, but the element that keeps it fresh, tight, and moving is definitely the clav. Not all the judges were lovin' on the original Cheetahmen II theme, which is an opinion punishable by death in at least eight countries, but thankfully 'lli stepped in with some CheetahLove and a good analysis:

"Very fun track. Excellent personal take on the awesome source (that's right), funkifizing the drive from the original into some sweet groove.

The main melody is all over the mix, but you've got all sorts of twists on it throughout to keep it fresh, as well as additional supporting writing, like the organ in the chorus repeat at 1:15-1:28 and mallets in that repeat and the one at 2:23-2:37. Even during the original organ solo at 1:01-1:14, the bassline is arranged from the very beginning of the source, so you've still got the original in there. I don't think I ever would've realized that you snuck in some FF9 at 1:29-1:56 if you hadn't said anything in your e-mail. The melody just fits in with the rest of the material perfectly. Great overall arrangement."

Pretty much; OC ReMix might be a little late to the Cheetahmen II party, but with this ReMix AnSo's ensured we at least got here in style. Livin' Large!

― djpretzel