Posted 2015-06-25, evaluated by the judges panel


Mesmerizing!! RebeccaETripp makes her OC ReMix debut with a completely transporting orchestral/new age medley, arranging forest themes from five different Final Fantasy games & taking you on a unified trip to other woods in other worlds. She writes:

"This is an original orchestral arrangement of five different forest themes from the Final Fantasy series. Here is a list of the tracks included in this medley:

"Eruyt Village" (FF12)
"Phantom Forest/Mystic Forest" (FF6)
"Evil Forest/Awakened Forest/Stirring of the Forest" (FF9)
"Legend of a Deep Forest/Forest of Moore" (FF5)
"Chasing the Black Caped Man" (FF7)

This song is my pride and joy. I've remixed almost every forest theme from every game I've ever played, some of them more than once, but there are few that I feel really captured the essence of some of the gorgeous video game forest environments out there. Some of my favorite video game forests are the Phantom Forest from FF6 (the theme from this is in my medley), the Shadow Forest and Gaia's Navel from Chrono Cross, the Moore Forest from FF5 (also in this track, even though I just did an "As I Feel, You Feel" remix the other day), the Macalania Forest from FF10, the Lost Woods from Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past, Guardia Forest from Chrono Trigger, the Forest of Illusion from Super Mario World, Faron Woods from Twilight Princess, the Ancient Forest from FF7 (that song also made its way into this remix), the Salikawood, Feywood and other forests in FF12 (Eruyt Village is actually the basis of this orchestral cover) and many many more. Uncharted, Elder Scrolls, Donkey Kong, Far Cry and GoldenEye had some great forest levels worth mentioning as well! Anyway, my favorite video game forest of all time is the Evil Forest from FF9. That theme song is also in this track. As with all my remixes and covers, I used samples of real instruments to create the sound, and I composed the entire thing from scratch."

Very cool concept/theme for a medley; because forest themes often share certain melodic & rhythmic similarities, there's perhaps more of a coherent flow than if the medley were simply comprised of pieces from a single game's OST. Seems that way to me, at least! Rebecca's done a good job combining arrangements of these works into a larger structure that, while it might briefly meander a bit at times, ultimately pulls off the overall, ambitious task with grace and style. Larry articulated this point nicely:

"The piece essentially has one relaxed gear, but there were a lot of subtle dynamic changes throughout, with regular theme switches and interplays, as well as never-ending instrument additions and subtractions that kept the texture constantly evolving. The structure can definitely sound meandering or aimless, even if you're actively listening. Having done my best to break down the usage of the source tunes, I understand there's actually more direction than might be apparent from the first listen. The constant subtle shifting of what was in play was pulled off in a surprisingly effective way."

Jivemaster adds:

"Very nice calming mix with a lot of seamless transitions between the sources. The instrumentation is very humanised and of a fairly high quality, with some nice clear mixing. Volume levels of each element feel pretty solid, and there is nice use of stereo space."

Ditto that on the stereo field; very immersive, exaggerated separation on the elements makes it seem like you're "among" the parts rather than observing them - not unlike being surrounded by noises in a forest. Great debut mix from Rebecca that has both grand scope & intimate ambiance; these are woods you'll enjoy getting lost in.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 9 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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timaeus222
on 2016-08-09 18:37:20

I actually didn't find this that meandering; I thought it struck a pretty good balance between spontaneous writing, a continuous flow, and a mesmerizing atmosphere. Stayed in one gear, pretty much, but managed well, I thought. Definitely something you should hear at night when you want to relax.

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Chernabogue
on 2015-12-14 12:38:42

A lovely first remix (with a very unoriginal title LOL) The orchestration is excellent and the quality of the samples is great. The overall atmosphere is charming and relaxing, and the arrangement switches between sources with no problem. I really liked it. :)

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Crulex
on 2015-07-17 11:28:44

Wow, Rebecca, this is gorgeous and truly impressive work! For being a medley of many different themes, you've got them hooked together cohesively and it never stumbles between sources. That's awesome. Picturing all the different forests as the mix goes on is wonderful and calming, and if the only nitpick is the chime use, then there's really nothing to nitpick on this one. Amazing OCR debut piece, Rebecca. This is a hot ReMix.

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RebeccaETripp
on 2015-07-01 06:07:36

Very transportive. I was skeptical of a medley, but this piece wove the different sources together well. I agree with the judges that some of the percussion elements were overused (particularly the chimes), but overall a solid piece. Looking forward to the next one!

I have a lot of other medleys, in case anyone is interested. Here is a list of them: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhsnNwoLVWWNj7e7PqxLh8zCjsHw19F3i

I just completed a Chrono Trigger one. :)

I actually agree that the chimes are overused- but this is an old piece. I've done over 100 remixes since then, and have learned a lot.

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DimeTower
on 2015-06-30 01:24:14

WOW. This is a debut piece?!? This sounds like the remixer has been living in this kind of arrangement forever! What a beautiful piece. There are plenty of nice sections and touches - the harmonies at 1:20, the dancing touches of bells over the gorgeous flute work around 2:15, - but the real joy of this piece is how seamlessly the pieces meld together. The best way to experience this piece is just to immerse yourself in it, instead of trying to constantly follow the melody; the piece will continually reward you with the way it floats in and out and around you. Wonderful and flowing, this is truly a slow, beautiful walk through a lost, sun-dappled forest with a sense of wonder and a hint of magic on the breeze.

As a side note, the Ice Forest from Secret of Mana was always a favorite forest theme of mine. :)

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Another Word Awaits
on 2015-06-30 00:55:16

Very transportive. I was skeptical of a medley, but this piece wove the different sources together well. I agree with the judges that some of the percussion elements were overused (particularly the chimes), but overall a solid piece. Looking forward to the next one!

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avaris
on 2015-06-25 18:05:48

Holy balls this remix is amazing. Just feels like something that carries the soul of the original but improves on it. This is a medley that actually works. Great mixing btw!

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Sam Dillard
on 2015-06-25 17:55:09

Woohoo, finally made it on here, congrats Kee! ^_^

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Liontamer
on 2015-06-25 03:18:45

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

Sources Arranged (5 Songs, 5 Games)


Primary Game:
Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix , 2006, PS2)
Music by Hayato Matsuo,Hitoshi Sakimoto,Masaharu Iwata,Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Eruyt Village"
Additional Game:
Final Fantasy IX (Square , 2000, PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Rustling Forest"
Additional Game:
Final Fantasy V (Square , 1992, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Legend of the Great Forest"
Additional Game:
Final Fantasy VI (Square , 1994, SNES)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"Phantom Train"
Additional Game:
Final Fantasy VII (Sony , 1997, PS1)
Music by Nobuo Uematsu
Songs:
"In Search of the Man in Black"

Tags (10)


Genre:
New Age,Symphonic
Mood:
Mellow
Instrumentation:
Chromatic Percussion,Hand Drums,Harp,Orchestral,Woodwinds
Additional:
Arrangement > Medley
Time > Duration: Long

File Information


Name:
Final_Fantasy_12_Final_Fantasy_Forest_Medley_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
10,842,716 bytes
MD5:
de773306cf6a1aa1de16b38e7e1cb40e
Bitrate:
215Kbps
Duration:
6:38

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