ReMix:Pokémon Red Version "Abandoned Battlefield" 4:19

By Pavos

Arranging the music of one song...

"Pokémon Gym"

Primary Game: Pokémon Red Version (Nintendo , 1996, GB), music by Junichi Masuda

Posted 2011-09-04, evaluated by the judges panel


A hearty welcome & congrats to newcomer pu_freak, aka Pieter van Os, who brings us a PokeRed arrangement that was originally intended as a bonus track on Missingno. They ended up deciding not to do bonus tracks, but Pieter still has a regular track on that album PLUS this mix, which is an excellent blend of solo classical piano and some accompanying orchestral and cinematic instrumentation. It's dramatic, at times beautiful, and I like the way piano remains the focus but certain elements move in and out of the soundscape. pu_freak lays down the rather interesting concept:

"I really wanted this theme to be on the album, because it's been in nearly every Pokémon game and everybody knows this theme. The theme just before you challenge the gym leader, wondering if you're strong enough to be able to defeat the gym leader or perhaps if you should've trained some more. When you're challenged by all of the gym's 'normal' trainers when you can already see the gym leader standing in the distance. But, instead of trying to create an epic, heroic version of the theme, I wanted to create an empty, creepy version of it. Like you came back to the gym twenty years later, only discovering that it has been abandoned for several years. It's all in decay now, you see (and hear) things you seem to recognize, but it's all more distorted than it was in your memory.

I tried to use this by having a very empty lead most of the time, backed up by choirs and strings and of course, by using mainly minor chords instead of the usual major ones. At the end, I give a small hint of the original theme with a music box, but then end with a minor chord."

Judges struggled with this one a bit because the production basically isn't up to par with the (lovely) arrangement - levels are low in general, and there's some muddiness to the piano that makes the overall EQ a little drowsy. While there's no question Pieter has some work to do on EQ & production in general, the presiding sentiment was that arrangement was strong enough to compensate, and I think I agree. Were this a more upbeat & energetic genre, the lack of highs and edge on the piano would have hurt it a lot more. Given that it's a creepy, deliberate, nostalgic, and slower orchestral/instrumental piece, the impact is more or less mitigated. Vinnie sums it up:

"Excellent arrangement. This has a perfect balance of source and original material, sadness and sprightliness, minimalism and weight. If this arrangement wasn't so good, I'd be pushing for another version because the low-end is a little crowded, the piano could be brighter, and the overall volume should be bumped. As is, none of these are major issues that really stop the emotion from getting across. I'm cool with this going up on the front page."

Ditto. Here's hoping pu_freak takes the feedback & runs with it, because I definitely want to hear more arrangements like this in the future, done further justice by improved execution!

djpretzel

Discussion

Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
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Crulex
on 2012-11-08 10:20:56

I REALLY wasn't expecting this kind of ReMix when I saw that it was of the Gym theme (didn't read the write-up until it started playing. Title should have been a clue though), which is really cool because it's a nice example of the many ways a mix can take a source. It's almost what would be played if Team Rocket did more than hold one building in every town hostage and actually destroyed the place, Gym included. Good lord, the arrangement is so dark and empty and kinda sorrowful, that it pretty much blew me away. The production issues everyone else brought up was the only real negative here, and it doesn't even bother me that much honestly. Piano was great and I really dig the music box bit at the end as well. Damn good Pokemon Remix, fella.

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pu_freak
on 2011-12-09 16:33:06
I'm confused, pu_freak has been around for over 2 years and has at least 9 mixes under his belt. How is he a newcomer??

This is my first official OC remix, so I'm a newcomer as OC ReMixer. All of the other mixes were on projects, but weren't good enough to be posted as solo mixes.

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sirociper
on 2011-12-09 15:20:41

I'm confused, pu_freak has been around for over 2 years and has at least 9 mixes under his belt. How is he a newcomer??

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Bahamut
on 2011-12-07 20:55:53

This mix is a little on the quiet side for me. It has a brooding feel to it, making good use of an interesting combination of a small portion of orchestration to compliment a primarily piano dominant song. The concept is certainly executed pretty well here, so a congrats on a first mix to pu_freak! Bout time you broke through!

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Martin Penwald
on 2011-11-01 15:42:04

Nice arrangement, but I have to say that I think a "No, resub" might have helped this to be even better. Things like the low volume etc really do hurt the remix IMO.

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atomicthumbs
on 2011-09-08 00:31:41

All the Pokemon are dead. This song is the music that plays.

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Riku Masamune
on 2011-09-06 14:00:48

I really enjoyed this piece. Maybe on the next Pokemon album, if there is one, it might be on it. You have my vote. I really liked the piano parts. It was very sad tune indeed.

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The Damned
on 2011-09-05 23:57:20

I'm glad this got to see the light of day. I regretted it not being able to go on the album, but we felt it was for the best due to time constraints.

But now it is out, and it's good! Great even. Nicely done, pu_freak.

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chubas
on 2011-09-05 23:20:55
finishing off with the "sad reflection of the happy memories" (shift at 3:58)!!! excellent work

It's more like - your last pokemon is poisoned, and no matter what, it'll faint the next turn. Your opponent is almost at full HP. You beg for a crit - which doesn't come. Nice try, but you KNOW the game is over. The ending gives some sense of impotence...

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Kuolema
on 2011-09-05 11:57:27
Excellent piece pu_freak. I would say that the tone of the piece does not match the title of the piece. When I think of Abandoned, the sound of the wind's howl in the desert comes to mind. This is a pleasent piece indeed, but I don't feel a sense of abandonment coming from it. Then again, that's just me :smile:

I disagree, I think the title fits perfectly! This is a really nice, emotional piece of music.

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aeolus
on 2011-09-05 01:43:07

It sounds like some horrible event took place in a town, all the pokemon gone or dead. and a trainer is walking round the ruins of a gym, maybe where he won his first badge, maybe his last, maybe the one he was heading to before whatever the tragic event took place. I can see him walking up to different places, like a shattered boulder where maybe his raichu got thrown against with such a force it broke, or a crater where his sandslash dug under his enemy and got a 1 hit KO, bringing the match back to a tie. Then when the kalimba comes in, I can see the trainer coming across one of his own pokeballs in the dust, opened and empty, nothing left of his friend that used to be kept inside, then leaving it while the "camera" remains on the pokeball, gleaming in the last light of the sun.

I'm not too excited by the intro, seems a little out of place, but it doesn't ruin the piece in any way for me. The arrangement is beautiful, and it creates a story, makes you remember all those moments with the pokemon you spent so much time raising, the things the game stands for. And what I like best about this arrangement, and what I look for most in ANY arrangement, is that it takes a familiar piece of music and makes you think of it in a completely new way. The next time I enter a gym in a pokemon game I will remember this track.

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Nonamer
on 2011-09-04 19:52:39

I wasn't too comfortable in the beginning, but everything else eroded any doubts that this was an amazing remix! GREAT JOB!

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BlackRazgriz
on 2011-09-04 19:08:06

Excellent piece pu_freak. I would say that the tone of the piece does not match the title of the piece. When I think of Abandoned, the sound of the wind's howl in the desert comes to mind. This is a pleasent piece indeed, but I don't feel a sense of abandonment coming from it. Then again, that's just me :smile:

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champ the hippie
on 2011-09-04 19:05:06

i love it!! i absolutely adore the transitions in emotion, from the "entering the abandoned gym" (0:00) to the "realization at what you're looking at" (crescendo at 1:02) to the "dejection at what's past" (around 2:30) an finishing off with the "sad reflection of the happy memories" (shift at 3:58)!!! excellent work

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Nearly
on 2011-09-04 18:27:41

*Rapturous Applause*

The arrangement here really is spot on. It's so very departed from the heroic, self-satisfied gym theme. It's just brilliantly done.

Sources Arranged (1 Song)


Primary Game:
Pokémon Red Version (Nintendo , 1996, GB)
Music by Junichi Masuda
Songs:
"Pokémon Gym"

Tags (5)


Genre:
Mood:
Dark
Instrumentation:
Orchestral,Piano,Strings
Additional:
Time > Tempo: Slow

File Information


Name:
Pokemon_Red_Version_Abandoned_Battlefield_OC_ReMix.mp3
Size:
4,240,836 bytes
MD5:
fc1ff967d3f60f201502454ba00c9230
Bitrate:
128Kbps
Duration:
4:19

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