ReMix:Mouryou Senki Madara "To Madara and Back" 2:54

By EgM

Posted 2003-04-27, evaluated by djpretzel


I have to confess, I've never played nor had I even heard of Madara until Eric, alias EgM, submitted this lovely medley. I decided to listen to the orignal NSF first to get a good feel for it, and indeed it had much of the allure of the majority of Konami's NES soundtracks from the late 80's and early 90's - variety, a decent amount of complexity, and some memorable melodies. This is from awhile back, I believe, but Eric's been pumping out game arrangement smoothness for a long time now, so don't let the shelflife fool you - this is a good orchestral/march piece with harp, oboe, especially nice usage of bells, strings, various orchestral percussion, and nice chromatic lines. Eric seems to favor duets over solos, or at least gives either device equal footing, as often there are call-and-answer or counter melody phrases that enhance the overall arrangement. Good stuff - check out the original soundtrack as well, because as one might put it in PHP: $obscure != "bad";

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Polo
on 2009-08-23 01:51:52

With NSF tracks 36, 22, and 1 woven into an ornate orchestral setting, each source's underlying emotions are amplified and respected. Transitions (both major and micro) are handled like expert surgery, and every instrument is measured via duration, support, and emotive response to not feel out of place. The result is a leisurely and adventurous quasi-narrative: the peace of a flower garden, swift samurai strife, and a homecoming rife with loss. The end feels full of questions the listener must answer on their own, concluding with a tone of "to be continued...?"

Classic stuff. Mix delivers.

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Marmiduke
on 2009-06-25 08:29:01

The faster portion of this mix sounds like it would fit in perfectly to Motoi's Golden Sun series, which happen to be some of my favourite game soundtracks. So naturally, I adore this.

Powerful, sentimental, highly infectious melody work and once it gets going, it moves at an incredibly satisfying rate. The consistency takes me by surprise every time.

Never heard of the game itself, but if the music is half as good as this mix, then I may have to track it down in some form. What an unspoken gem. People really need to discover this mix, I'm sure it would win a sturdy fanbase if it was given more of a chance.

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OA
on 2007-08-08 11:36:09

Wow, this one totally slipped by me; and by slipped I mean I think I was on the wrong continent when I first heard this.

There's a really nice feeling to this one, and a good sense of motion and progression. It does have a vague east-meets-west feel to it, without dipping into the obvious eastern style instruments that you would normally hear. The arrangement istself is very colorful and evocative; You can almost imagine a small group of warriors headed towards a battle, and the music sets the tone of their time travelling. Heroic with a undercurrent of tension, but with purpose.

The comparisons to Suikoden music are pretty accurate, I wonder if the same composer at konami worked on these both.

I really don't think the ending serves this mix well; it's too abrupt and somthing with this kind of unspoken power really deserves a more epic climax, but overall this is a fantastic mix, and there is no way in hell it belongs at the very bottom of the reviews page.

Highly recommended.

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DukeNukem007
on 2004-12-12 20:42:05

Another soundtrack that was beautiful in the original VRC6 form (the Japanese version of Castlevania 3 and Esper Dream 2 also used this Konami mapper chip, and incidentally Lagrange Point used a "VRC7" that was step ahead and sounded like PC Adlib.) Translated into MP3 it sounds great, too, especially the part around 2:00+ that's based on the 1st track of the .nsf (although it could've been a little more forceful and emotional here.)

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Khift
on 2004-11-08 16:59:05

Straight up absolutely awesome stuff. SGX said it sounds like a song from Suikoden, and he's right. It has the same appeal and the same tone.

Probably why I like it so damn much.

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thediabeticknight
on 2003-06-02 13:52:21

Gotta love this song! It's very fluid and smooth and very relaxing in the beginning! But then it starts to pick up speed into a racing battle anthem! I can't get enough of it! pure pure genius. And it sounds much like something out of the Lunar series. :D And I love the Lunar soundtracks!

I can't wait to hear more music like this!

-The Diabetic Knight

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DestatiX
on 2003-05-01 19:05:44

Very nice take on this song! It sounds like an epic adventure. Somehow, it reminds me of Breath of Fire 2's music merged with some of Dragon Warriors' music.

Commenting on the original, it does sound like the NES's Dragon Warriors... (Maybe it's just me, though. =P)

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gasto
on 2003-05-01 18:40:58

asddfasdfasdf

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Proffessor_Scissors
on 2003-04-30 00:34:26

Inspiring! It sounds really familiar, despite being from a game I've never even heard of. I like!

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spacepony
on 2003-04-29 21:17:02

I’ve been a fan of your original works for quite some time now, Eric. This is excellent work, also. I’m glad you turned your attentions to remixing game music as well. Looking forward to more from you, Sir.

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Kamikaze Noodle
on 2003-04-28 21:55:04

It's a good mix. Doesn't make me wanna get outta my seat and praise the high heavens for it, but a good listen nonetheless. It only seems to get good for me around the two minute mark.

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sgx
on 2003-04-28 20:32:42

This is very nice. The beginning really reminds me of the Suikoden OSTs with the instrumentation. The rest is quality and has a good melody. Good work mixin the obscure stuff!

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Vagus
on 2003-04-28 12:50:50

As light and sweet as a creampuff, EgM pulls out a really enjoyable song out of a game no-one has ever heard of. Good job.

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finalfunk
on 2003-04-28 02:21:58

$obscure != "bad";

Indeed. Does anyone else think DJP's been doing a bit to much back-end coding of late? Ah well. What he expresses is true anyway. I've never heard of such a game and yet there seems to be inspirational enough music on board to ... inspire EgM.

It is a touch to short, but what's there is definately pleasant. A nice easy-listenening mix for the most part with a motivating thrust of emotion midway through.

Definately respectable.

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The Xyco
on 2003-04-27 22:46:47

I realyl liked this mix, a bit on the short side, but very good to listen to. I really lieksd the marching military drums and gong in this track, one thing i could say is that sometimes it lacks power, not raw power like bass, but it just sorta sounds like its in midi format....

uh... hang on a sec.....

*takes earplugs out of ears*

oooooohhhh....... nevermind, definately powerful.

Very nice track, has that oriental cultural feel to it, also has that heroic touch to it. good piece, VERY good piece. Kudos to EgM for a powerful, heroic track.

Sources Arranged (3 Songs)


Primary Game:
Mouryou Senki Madara (Konami , 1990, NES)
Music by Konami Kukeiha Club,PANDA
Songs:
"Maou!! Prophecy of Revival (Hoshi BGM)"
"Prologue (Opening)"
"Soldier's Start (Main Map 1 BGM)"

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File Information


Name:
Mouryou_Senki_Madara_To_Madara_and_Back_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
3,568,467 bytes
MD5:
bd36955801cd9b25875446da5f9618ba
Bitrate:
160Kbps
Duration:
2:54

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