ReMix:Shadow of the Ninja "Two Shadows Appear" 3:59

By BrainCells

rock electric-guitar synth aggressive

Arranging the music of 2 songs...

"The Final Fortress", "The Underground Sewers"

Primary Game: Shadow of the Ninja (Natsume , 1990, NES), music by Iku Mizutani

Posted 2006-01-10, evaluated by the judges panel

If memory serves, Natsume was founded by employees that left Konami (maybe some from Capcom, too), which might explain why Shadow of the Ninja's soundtrack bears a marked resemblance to Club Kukeiha's compositional style, specifically Castlevania. We've gone awhile without BrainCells, and we're glad to have them (him) back, as Marcos' initial Super C submission almost exactly a year ago was some hot stuff. This time it's gone from shootin' skillz to ninja skillz, though the weapon of choice is still balls-to-the-walls metal, apparent immediately from the crunchy, rolling intro. After some tradeoff guitar shrieks, the nicely harmonized melody comes in at 0'38", and at 2'01" you get a slick rising synth line that's straight out of the songbooks of Simon Belmont. There's even pipe organ later to seal the resemblance, but I ain't complaining, as it's not a ripoff of the CV series so much as it is music that happens to resemble it, but stand on its own two legs at the same time. Plus, if you're gonna sound like something to any extent, pick something good, right? The ReMixer writes:

"I always loved Shadow of the Ninja. The fast paced and so full of energy songs always were in my "arrange it" list. I had this arrangement almost ready when my studio was robbed a few months ago, so I had to redo everything from scratch when I put my equipment to work in a small room at the place I'm living right now. I chose to post this song on OCR rather than some of my previous material exactly because it's a very under represented game. I think it would be a good opportunity for the users around to go back and check this real hidden treasure for the NES!

This is a heavy, guitar based arrangement, with some slow and some fast paced sections. Some synth leads were added to bring some variation to the mix (OMG the Dream Theater influence everywhere), and I even ended up doing a guitar/synth lead duet in the end that is my favorite section."

Huge bummer about the studio being robbed and what not; major kudos to Marcos for going back and reconstructing this track, as it definitely deserves some attention, and should gain some new fans for the game as well. Larry said it best:

"Good expansive cover-style arrangement with tons of personal flair and expansion. I'm generally pretty short on words with Marcos's stuff, because he never leaves any doubt as to whether there's creativity and interpretation brought to the table. Great power, great energy."

If you've never played the game, don't worry at all - if you're into rock/metal mixes, particularly of the variety that Konami soundtracks tend to facilitate, then this will be very familiar and highly energizing territory, guaranteed.

― djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Daemos
on 2012-10-10 09:57:41

This remix is awesome.

I never heard the source, and thought it was a Castlevania remix at first.

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LuketheXjesse
on 2009-07-07 01:40:27

How is BrainCells' guitar tone THIS GOOD!? BrainCells has the best production out of all the metal remixers around, and that's REALLY saying something.

One hell of a remix, and Luke highly recommends it :D

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yosefu
on 2009-06-08 09:45:14

MY GOD this mix packs a punch. The guitar work is just brilliant.

Great work

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OA
on 2008-05-27 12:26:54

Holy shit that is a powerful rhythm guitar tone. \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/

P O W E R F U L

Excellent playing all around, some great synths, and a tight, concise arrangement. I am completely baffled how something this rocking could be ignored for over 2 years. Oh wait, obscure game. The only percieved weakness in this is that the ending wasn't as strong as the rest of the track, and could have used about 2 measures of an ascending riff added to where it sortof stops.

This completely slays. Highly recommended for anyone with a affinity for all things rock.

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DJ Magotrox Brazil
on 2006-05-03 00:23:46

The remixer caught the atmosphere of the game and made a remix that fits perfectly to the game action. Well arranged. Effects used wisely. My special point goes to the guittars. Quick rhythm in the right parts... Really good stuff here. If you din't hear it yet, it's time. Satisfaction guarantee! Approved by a "Shadow of the Ninja in NES time player".

I wanna see more of this guy. Keep it up, man!

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camelchild
on 2006-04-12 16:23:17

This song blows my mind away...

Kinda reminds me of Nobuo Uematsu and his works on the FFVII: AC OST, especially the solos in One Winged Angel.

Don't stop the urge if you ever desire to make another!

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Streets of Rage bum
on 2006-04-12 00:48:15

yeaaaaaaah!

this mix rocks!

Can't believe somebody actually chose this game, total props to YOU Braincells. Shadow of the Ninja was/is an awesome game for the ol'NES, a game that got overshadowed by the Ninja Gaiden series. Seems appropriate that Natsume and Tecmo combined to make NinjaGaiden for gameboy which combined the best of the 2 games inluding the music. Will a S.C.A.T. remix be far behind??? :D

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Beeperfect
on 2006-02-17 19:11:41

Sweet remix of one of my fav co-op all time games. Sounds is clear and on point you notice it in the first 2 secs everything is tite on this song two thumbs up.

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Lakanman
on 2006-02-14 21:45:14

Nice.. going to my I:\Game Music\Mp3\My Favorites of OC Remixes :D

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Speed Demon
on 2006-02-14 18:24:22

Yeah, "Holy shit", you name it - those are the words I was looking for :lol:

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MrBogus
on 2006-02-14 16:22:33

This is pure balls to the wall metal. The intro is completely badass. And the synth dropoff at 1:19 combined with those crunchy, menacing guitars? Holy shit.

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Speed Demon
on 2006-01-19 12:10:14

What the...?

THREE thumbs up!!!

One, if not the best game remix I have ever heard.

I'm a big fan of the Revenge Shinobi and Shinobi III score, so I just love this similar composition and of course what the remixer did with it.

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Martin Penwald
on 2006-01-16 10:02:27

Great ReMix. The intro has a lot of power, and the guitars sound simply fantastic. One of the best Rock ReMixes ever.

And I don't know why, but it reminds me somehow of the Castlevania 2 - Bloody Hell Mix.

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Txai
on 2006-01-11 16:37:26
Acho que os synths são uma adição fantástica, por favor explore mais esse seu lado eletrônico!!!=D

Yeah. This is really great. Faça isso mais vezes.

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EvilHorde
on 2006-01-11 15:15:00

HELL YEAH.

My favorite NES soundtrack ever. And this version is just so absolutely FREAKING fabulous! Definetly one of my favorites in OCR ever.

For years I´ve been planning to remix tunes from this game, but now, like a shuriken to my eye, BrainCells makes all my material look so embarassing.

Everything here is just top notch. The sounds are excellent, and the synths are truly heavenly. This really pays tribute to the original and sounds very much alike. And to me thats only a good thing. The guitar sounds and the synths are so freaking Nintendo (and I mean this in a good..., no, in THE BEST way). I couldn´t ask for more. BEAUUUTIFUL.

This is just.. WHOAAAaaa...

Its about time OCR got this game covered..

AMAZING.

Sources Arranged (2 Songs)


Primary Game:
Shadow of the Ninja (Natsume , 1990, NES)
Music by Iku Mizutani
Songs:
"The Final Fortress"
"The Underground Sewers"

Tags (4)


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

File Information


Name:
Shadow_of_the_Ninja_Two_Shadows_Appear_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
5,817,755 bytes
MD5:
ccf92b2ca0e35b752ebb2a4795ed41b7
Bitrate:
192Kbps
Duration:
3:59

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