ReMix: Final Fantasy IV 'The Might of Baron'
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- Game: Final Fantasy IV (Square, 1991, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): audio fidelity
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Epilogue', 'Kingdom of Baron', 'Main Theme of FINAL FANTASY IV', 'The Airship', 'The Prelude'
- Posted: 2010-05-25, evaluated by the judges
- Album: Featured on Final Fantasy IV: Echoes of Betrayal, Light of Redemption
It took a long time to get a fixed encoding of this Echoes cut from audio fidelity - Jay writes:
"I never initially had the desire to remix Baron, but I felt compelled to contribute to the project; and I am extremely happy with the people I have met in the process and the things I learned along the way. This was the game that started it all for me when I was 5 or so. With Baron, I wanted to keep it faithful to the original and just have it blown it up into metal march of sorts with full orchestra and synths to fill out the texture. The SFX (stomps, airship noise, bombs, and reverse fx) came later, I know there is a fine line, but I think it really adds to what's going here. The Airship theme felt appropriate to mix in here because of the relationship to Baron. I also got in all of my favorite themes from the game in brief appearances throughout the mix. I hope you enjoy it!"
FF4 holds a rather dear place in a LOT of gamers' hearts, and I think that's why any album that attempted to cover it in its entirety was bound to have some detractors, but look here: THIS IS THE 18TH REMIX WE'VE POSTED FROM THE ALBUM. That's pretty awesome, because the judges are not warm-and-fuzzy folk, and the same standards are applied to album mixes. Each mix we've posted off Echoes deserves to be on the site in its own right, and I'm glad we've had so many opportunities to spotlight the variety AND quality that OA & company achieved. Cain writes:
"So this is epic. That has got to be the longest pick slide I've ever heard in the intro. I've just played and completed this game for the first time over the last week and its easily in my top 5 games ever, and this remix just filled me with many joyous/epic memories. Great arrangement, and i know mixing guitar with orchestral elements is very easy to get wrong production-wise, but this does an admirable job. Very inventive theme treatment, submit more remixes."
BGC adds:
"This is pretty epic across the board. This mix is also a great example of how to *properly* use non-HQ samples. Just goes to show you kids that you CAN make decent stuff without QLSO, if you do it right."
Actually, some of these samples sound pretty good to ME :) There's a LOT going on in this mix, and most of it is bombastic/epic/anthemic, so I was glad for the reprieve at 2'43" with softer dynamics and fewer cymbal crashes, as mallet runs accompany solo flute and bassoon into a nice ritardando - bonus points for appropriate tempo fluctuations, definitely stays organic and helps tell a story. Jay has a lot of ideas, in a lot of different genres, and with this mix manages to combine many of them into a cogent vision that's encompassing but still has enough scope to retain sufficient focus. Been a long time comin', but I'm glad we're finally posting this!
Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the - Algamest on August 20, 2011
- DimeTower on August 19, 2011
- Red88Rex on June 2, 2010
- JaDE ARaN HaRuNo on June 2, 2010
"It took a long time to get a fixed encoding" -djpretzel
I wonder what exactly is meant by this. Is this OCReMix somehow different than the track in the FF4 project album? Or was the original MP3 encoding broken in some subtle way?
That aside, awesome song. Soundscape could've used some dynamic relief at points, but it's a small gripe. :)
- Moguta on May 31, 2010
you guys make it more than worth it
- audio fidelity on May 29, 2010
Holy s***balls. This has some of the most amazing mixing of any epic orchestral tune I have heard. For realz, there's really cool subtleties going on with this.
I would also have to disagree with those who say the song drags. That ending is great, its like the denouement to the second climax. The sweeping, the subtle layering that bring it to its close. Its got a Appian Way ending for certain. Don't forget that the guitar scale is totally on point. ;)
Maybe Jay and I have similar tastes in music, or rather, I know we do. After all... I am Zeromus. ;)
Great work bro. Hope to see you next mag, and may we have more musical adventures!
- Cyril the Wolf on May 28, 2010
Not much to say. "Epic", while over-used, fits the description well. It's almost theatric in it's scale, as it could easily pass as movie production music. Awesome work.
*thumbs up*
- Level 99 on May 28, 2010
- Crulex on May 28, 2010
- Mirby on May 26, 2010
at this point i'm not even sure what "epic" means, ...but don't make me bust out an epic stopwatch. lol
- SoulinEther on May 26, 2010
After four minutes you haven't done anything new or interesting. 4:50 and you have a good place to end the track, even though it has drug on a bit more. What is going on for the last minute and 10? Just... more referencing? I made criticism to zircon's electrodispenser and bLiNd's Jade Catacombs (both tracks that I love and tend to put on repeat for a good half hour each - Jade Catacombs sometimes a bit more) but at least the disjointed ending portions are INTERESTING enough to warrant it, even if it breaks up track cohesion. In this track, unless I am listening for the individual sources and not treating the track as a singular musical work, it sounds like you didn't know how to end things and decided to just keep going... and going..... and going......
I honestly wonder how many people whose comments of "Epic" apply only to the first 3 or so minutes, which are balls tighteningly MELT-YOUR-FACE-OFF-LIKE-IN-RAIDERS-OF-THE-LOST-ARK epic, and then seem to gloss over the last portion.
Oh, and yes. I meant what I just typed out - the first few minutes are that good. I was introducing a friend to the project and used the first bit of this remix to convince them how awesome the project could be.
- Master_Yoshi on May 26, 2010
- avaris on May 25, 2010
Thanks, Jay. :-)
- OA on May 25, 2010
