ReMix:Marble Madness "Vivid Orbs" 4:25

I've got nothing but fond personal memories of the first two stage themes for Marble Madness (including Palpable's debut ReMix), so it's a surprise that this is only our fourth MM arrangement on OCR. Cheers to Gaspode for his chill yet upbeat synthwave weaving together of Marble Madness levels 1 & 2! A European arranger, Gaspode was inspired to arrange this personal favorite game both by the original arcade version as well as the home computer port for the Commodore Amiga:

"Here's a new remix I did recently. »Vivid Orbs« is a remix of »Practice Race« & »Beginner Race« from one of my all-time favourite games, »Marble Madness«. Original score by Brad Fuller & Hal Canon. Back in 1986, I first played it in an arcade game park in France during a holiday with my family. The arcade version was pretty hard though, so I got no further than the third level. With the Amiga version, I could play it to the end. There are only six levels, but it's a lot of fun. Sadly, the successor »Marble Madness 2« was never released. :o(

I started the remix with a stomping beat and the widely known »Beginner Race« theme. But, after some time, I integrated the »Practice Race« music and it evolved to a kind of chorus. And the positive vibes of this theme took the helm and made the whole remix really energetic."

Judge Chimpazilla rolled the panel's unanimous YES vote over the finish line, particularly plucking out fun highlights from the opening buildup:

"Intro is nice, retro synthwave, but without sounding dated. That filtered drop at 0:38 gives me chills, I love it! The theme then filters in and by 0:57 the soundscape is gloriously full and lush. I love the tape stop at 1:15 and the syncopation starting at 1:17. I find this to be a full and fantastic arrangement of the two sources. [...] This is an interesting and varied arrangement, even with keeping the soundscape mostly the same all throughout the track."

I loved the rhythmic change at 1:16 the most, which provided a nice feeling of movement. And I'd be remiss to leave out fellow judge DarkSim, who's also European by way of the U.K., as he had the same childhood fondness for Marble Madness on the same exact platform:

"I loved Marble Madness on the Amiga as a kid. It was one of my favourite games, although the closest I got to completing it was bouncing off the goalpost on the Ultimate stage, and falling off the course with 2 seconds to spare. Gutted.

This remix is a magnificent homage to the music of the first 2 levels, beginning with tranquility, then moving into more intense territory as those black balls try and bounce you off the track, before soaring synth pads welcome you across the finish line.

It'd be right at home in one of those synthwave compilations that are all over YouTube. Indeed, the whole thing is fantastic, but my favourite part is the transition between themes beginning at 2:44 and ending at 3:03. Absolutely beautiful way to blend two sources together in a euphoric finale. No complaints here!"

Agreed, what a cohesive combination of the themes! I've heard it with so many arrangements in the community, but when the sound is so lush, it's not a surprise to think to yourself, "Dayum, this is almost too good for such a simple composition." However, a tight arrangement like Gaspode's underscores how catchy video game music can be and how much these wonderful & nostalgic songs merit fresh intepretations. Nothing's *too* good when it comes to the creative treatment VGM deserves. :-) Gaspode's music is typically rubber stamp good to me, so it's always exciting when he appears in our queue. He's got several great ReMixes in the hopper that we'll undoubtably roll, roll, roll out throughout this year, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!