ReMix:Illusion of Gaia "Will's Journey" 3:31

By Wintermute

Arranging the music of one song...

"Map"

Primary Game: Illusion of Gaia (Nintendo , 1994, SNES), music by Yasuhiro Kawasaki

Posted 2003-01-03, evaluated by djpretzel


Took awhile, but Wintermute gives us our first Illusion of Gaia ReMix. I admittedly never played this SNES RPG from Enix beyond the very early stages, for one reason or another, but it was fairly big at the time. Nintendo sorta "borrowed" it from Enix as I remember and hyped it themselves to a great degree. From the outset, you know this mix is going to be a bit different - clean electric guitar to the left and gamelan off center start things off, with a groovy stereo breakbeat rhythm fading in to get things going. The flute that comes in is a bit marginal and unprocessed, but well-articulated and joined soon after by a very deep, stacked lead synth that's quite beefy in da mix. Then we get some meaty, distorted shred guitar work, then some cool string arpeggios over stripped-down percussion. Things change quite often in this arrangement, but the overall flow is maintained. There's skillful blending of both more traditional and "exotic" acoustic instruments with some very respectable synth textures and electric guitar to boot - Wintermute's got a lot on the table, soundwise, and this variety helps, esp. when everything's integrated well. There could have been an extended, kickass solo somewhere in here to fill it out a bit more and reinforce the last iteration of the chorus, but other than that, I'm diggin' it. The use of gamelan (or tibetan bells-ish) chromatic percussion alone makes it a standout, along with a great fretless bass and a dozen other goodstuffs to please your ears. Definite strongsauce from Wintermute, and a great introduction to the Gaia soundtrack. Recommended.

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
avatar
WesternZypher
on 2010-12-25 17:40:17

This has a fresh, hopeful sound, perfect for mornings. A perennial favorite in all seasons.

avatar
yosefu
on 2009-12-15 00:42:11

Cool mix but what killed it for me was that the flute sound could of been better. However i still enjoyed this so great stuff.

avatar
Polo
on 2009-04-05 06:51:25

A very colorful mix. I imagine it playing at an archaeological site as diggers unearth pots, jewels, jeweled pottery, and musical instruments used by the ancients.

The bells are rich, sounding like they once adorned a dancer's clothes for animation AND acoustics. I think the flute adds a sweetness that suggests Will's cool-headed optimism on his travels. Blazing guitar shredding and toned-down percussion during the following ear break are also pluses in variety (2:39 kinda sounds like a steady horse gallop; nifty).

And then there's my favorite element of Will's Journey: the synth that debuts at 1:27. That is a bold, rad, exotic synth. It bends, twists, and speaks in all different tongues. And the way it ends the mix... *sweet finger kiss gesture* Wild.

avatar
OA
on 2009-01-08 11:03:19

Textures are pretty good, but the balance is a bit off. The melody is buried in a few sections, and though the groove is kept going, it lacks punch.

I really like the source though, so nice work choosing it. :-D

avatar
DragonAvenger
on 2008-09-17 15:48:47
shee jigga this thing is so fine i got it on my mind yos! i bent my beastwhistle listening to this fine piece of magical audio bliss. man this thing will tear off your head and reverse it, leaving ou with a hole in your head! c'mon foos! let's get it on wit my beastwhistle yo... becasue it has fur surrounding it. illusion of gaia is sw33t g@me yo and anybody who no like it sux0rs mwahahaha

I think this review says it all. :?

But anyways. Nice mix, I've had this on my playlist for a while. I really had to go back to the source to remember what I should be listening for. After that I didn't have much of a problem identifying the source, but I feel like it's placed a little too much into the background. It seems like it's almost an afterthought for most of the mix. Aside from that I like it.

avatar
Liontamer
on 2008-02-05 14:08:42

The flute lead was definitely on the flat side and the thick synth that came in later had timing issues that, purposeful or not, dragged the execution down. Despite that, the textures were generally working. Could use more oomph overall, so this shows its age, but the end result was still interesting stuff.

avatar
Flare4War
on 2007-12-04 06:44:46

This remix has just been growing on me over the past few months. I'd toss it on a playlist every now and then just to mix things up and ever time it would come I'd think to myself.. Wow this is a good arrangement, why don't I listen to it more?

So now I do. Great work!

avatar
GreyMage
on 2007-11-16 23:54:03

IOG for the win! Above all else, this game is my number one favorite. I've played it since before i could remember, and the deep storyline along with everything else just makes me love this game so much.

This mix here brings back a lot of memories, especially when you see Will and the gang on the world map, even if its just for a short time. I've also began thinking of my own version of South Cape with Will and Lance to go along with the guitar solo.

Nothing beats out a timeless classic :) We rarely get fresh new classics nowadays...

avatar
Keiseth
on 2006-02-18 15:48:20

Ooh, this is cool. I haven't played Illusion of Gaia in several years, so this brings back a lot of memories. Calm and collected... Very good indeed. Quite catchy too, I might add. I've heard it in my head all day. Well done! Makes me want to telekinetically move boxes to solve puzzles, and such. =)

avatar
Zipp
on 2005-11-27 17:14:29

Review #3 on my "review all" list. Well, I really don't hear much of the original at all, besides some basic chords, and that lowers it a bit in my opinion, especially as I really liked the overworld music in the first place. Otherwise, it's an okay mix, but it doesn't really go anywhere. It feels more like background music than a song in its own right, and that doesn't add to the replay value.

I'm really torn on this one. I think I'd give it a 3/5 for good quality, but personally, I rate it 2/5 because it doesn't interest me that much and I wanted more of the original in there.

avatar
RimFrost the Tourianist
on 2004-07-20 23:10:03

IoG or Illusion of Time , as it's called in Europe is a true snes classic (i've played through it a few times) ..this remix although very different is a total reminder of the greatness of the game :P

Will is so cool for teaching kids how to jump down from rooftops 8) (i used to do the same)

avatar
seizuiroleplayer
on 2004-05-24 23:01:50

I have to say that I love it. I could tell that this was the map scene at the beginning of the game and when you travel off. I loved listening to it and I always do.

avatar
JM_Zen
on 2004-01-20 16:36:35

I never actually played this game, but if it can inspire music like this, then maybe I should check it out. Great work - very different. We could use some more of that around here. :)

avatar
Atomic Dog
on 2003-04-10 16:20:22

Yea, I saved this one.

The whole thing is just pleasant through and through. For some reason, I'm having a hard time remembering the game, and where the song came from in it, so I can't give you a review (YET!) about how well I think it captures the games' spirit, but I've got it on emulator, so I'll go play a little later today and post again.

avatar
sparkydaman
on 2003-04-10 15:48:26

shee jigga this thing is so fine i got it on my mind yos! i bent my beastwhistle listening to this fine piece of magical audio bliss. man this thing will tear off your head and reverse it, leaving ou with a hole in your head! c'mon foos! let's get it on wit my beastwhistle yo... becasue it has fur surrounding it. illusion of gaia is sw33t g@me yo and anybody who no like it sux0rs mwahahaha

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Illusion of Gaia (Nintendo , 1994, SNES)
Music by Yasuhiro Kawasaki
Songs:
"Map"

Tags (0)


Genre:
Mood:
Instrumentation:
Additional:

File Information


Name:
Illusion_of_Gaia_Will's_Journey_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,456,320 bytes
MD5:
784ca1f79d0d93bfcf609f10cc974d24
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
3:31

Promotion

8-bit Jazz Heroes - Press Start
View All

Latest Albums

View All

Latest ReMixes