ReMix: Final Fantasy IV 'Crazy Old Betty'
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- Game: Final Fantasy IV (Square, 1991, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Sergiu Muresan
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Into the Darkness'
- Posted: 2010-12-07, evaluated by the judges
What!? A Final Fantasy IV ReMix that's NOT from Echoes?? Yes, and a humdinger at that, from newcomer & Transylvanian/Romanian composer Sergiu Muresan, who writes:
"The track is inspired by the image of an old woman in an asylum...Betty, alone in her room at night, turns on her old radio and images of her glory days pass through her troubled mind. I used Cubase 3, Gigastudio with assorted gig files, Atmosphere and Wavelab 5."
Very psychological - I definitely dig it. Before I continue, some general notices:
- We've switched IRC networks - come chat w/ us!
- December is Reviews Month - give the gift of feedback to the many talented artists who've contributed free VGM arrangements over the years! The more reviews the better, even if you're just saying "Hey, I dig this, thanks for making it!"
- AFAIK, Larry still watches grown, sweaty, half-clothed men wrestle one another on television.
Now, I do need to make the gratuitous comment that it would be awesome to have Sergiu do a Castlevania ReMix of any kind, not only because I think he'd nail the dark atmosphere based on this mix, but also because he actually lives *in* Castlevania! Okay not really, but the next closest thing. This FF4 debut is nice & dark, and the described tinny radio entry serves as a maudlin, crackly introduction to playful, dark, choral orchestral arrangement that has elements of jazz & swing, isn't afraid to bust out the solo winds, modulate from minor to major, or rock some castanets. And how about that ending... so minimalist, so unorthodox. At two minutes, I wanted more, but what's here leaves a lasting impression. Most recently, PR's Touhou mix comes to mind as bearing some similarity, but this is less Elfman and almost more Sinatra at times, and definitely distinct. Vinnie writes:
"I would've liked this to sound a little bigger and deviate from the structure more, maybe adding an original section, but this is great stuff. The little carnival additions that come and go in an instant, the neat chord changes (I love what you did at 0:45) - arrangement and production both rock. Your concept works too. This is quite short and probably close to the lower time limit of an effective arrangement, but you did a lot in the short span."
You can say next to nothing in a seven-minute boilerplate trance mix, and you can say quite a bit in a two minute arrangement like this, that oozes with character, creeps with style, and has an absolute confidence of execution and attitude. As Flight of the Conchords say, two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven, and whether this is heaven, hell, or purgatory, Sergiu's crafted a slick, stylish mix that uses the source perfectly. Excellent, can't wait to hear more!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the Then came the transition. Literally got the chills. It was awesome.
I've always found the very beginning of the source material to be suitably mysterious and potentially frightening, but felt it was a bit too fast to be properly discomfiting. This piece didn't slow it down but still fixed that issue, and made it absolutely creepy.
I'm not a huge jazz fan, either; it has to be pretty light for me to not notice/not care/actually like it. But what was here really worked, and the swing bits were a good inclusion. I guess what I'm saying is that nothing overwhelmed anything else except where it was needed to give the sense of someone who's a little disconnected and whose memory isn't as reliable as one would hope.
Very well done.
~LS
- Lady Shinigami on February 6, 2013
I love this so much that I can't even use my words.
- Mythezza on December 11, 2012
- meccaneer on May 16, 2012
- Crulex on May 3, 2012
EmpyClaw;736205 wrote: It's very dark and creepy, but it has a beauty and elegance about it
This.
Furthermore, I agree with what has been said about the radio framing; nice idea.
Good stuff, hope to hear more from you.
- Martin Penwald on December 28, 2010
Chernabogue;736974 wrote: Its sounds like it was Danny Elfman who made it.
This ^
Oh wow, I love the radio framing design.
That plus the subtly, broken, "you just know something is wrong here" tone makes for a really delicious mix. Also, the swing elements are distinctive and feel welcome. Truly, this is a cool take on Into the Darkness.
- 42 on December 13, 2010
- Chernabogue on December 11, 2010
- datin on December 10, 2010
- FenixDown on December 8, 2010
- DragonAvenger on December 8, 2010
Thanks for sharing this one.
- luhny on December 8, 2010
Speaking of the atmosphere, that's totally what makes this mix, and I really dig it, if it's creepy, it's not in a scary way, just in kind of a weird way. I've been playing a lot of Machinarium lately and I couldn't help but be reminded of the speechless way the characters interact in that game while listening to this. Of course, the original concept is a lot of fun to imagine too, I sort of get the sense of a character telling a story with flashbacks to all of the crazy things that must have happened in their life.
The radio switch on/off is a very nice touch as well, amazing how good even a 2 minute mix can be when it manages to nail an atmosphere like this.
- ZealPath on December 7, 2010
Just the right length to portray a fleeting memory.
- Old Man Pac on December 7, 2010
