Video game tunes that don't get the remixes they deserve

Zennistrad

This is a thread where we bitch about how certain video game songs don't get the kind of awesome remixes they deserve:

Why the hell aren't there more mixes of this, for starters. It's quite possibly my favorite tune in the whole Castlevania series.

glennmagusharvey

That track is pretty awesome, but it (1) hasn't been around very long and (2) doesn't lend itself easily to remixing.

One key factor that contributes to ease of remixing is simplicity of the original.  This track is rather complex itself and doesn't have a very notable melody, for one thing.

 

Want more tracks that deserve more attention?  Here's another one.

Blueeyedrat

Pretty much every track from Kirby Super Star has reappeared in later games, but not this one. What gives?

Zennistrad

"Doesn't have a very notable melody."

I disagree, I've memorized the tune. I'd say that makes it a very notable melody. The vast majority of game tracks are ones that have complex arrangements I could never hope to memorize. "Gears go Awry" has many layers, but they all add together to a rather simple melody that is very easy to learn by ear.

Bee

Yeah, Gears Go Awry follows a lot of fairly obvious classical motifs that will fall into place for anyone who's listened to much piano/organ music.

As for other music that has fallen by the wayside, most of the Neutopia soundtrack doesn't last for more than 45 seconds, but they're really fun seconds.

Wait about 10 seconds for the boss to show up here:

Zennistrad

Also, La-Mulana has a freakin' awesome soundtrack:

 

 

Here's hoping the upcoming Wiiware/PC remake will spread awareness of the game and lead to some awesome remixes. Cave Story's been hogging the indie remix spotlight for too long!

MrW

This whole song lends itself pretty well to getting remixes.

707ruz

^^ It technically can't.

That song has copyright issues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flspAofUIIQ

glennmagusharvey

I disagree, I've memorized the tune. I'd say that makes it a very notable melody. The vast majority of game tracks are ones that have complex arrangements I could never hope to memorize. "Gears go Awry" has many layers, but they all add together to a rather simple melody that is very easy to learn by ear.

Oh, it is catchy, but not very remixable.

I've mostly arranged it for piano, in fact.  I like it a lot.  It's just not very remix-friendly, since it's not got an iconic representation.

It's like how it's easier to make a meme out of, say, a guy yelling cusswords at his cats than it is to make a meme out of Ron Paul ranting about a gold standard.

Zennistrad

^^ No problem, there's already a version without copyright issues:

 

 

Besides, what does it matter if the original song has some copyrighted parts? I just want to see a good remix of that song on Youtube or something, not necessarily on an OCRemix album or something.

glennmagusharvey

Has any videogame music rights holder ever objected to the creation of a remix?

Bee

Yes.  One of the remixers I was tracking traded off between goofy KK Slider mixes and "if composed by ZUN" ones, and he got shut down by Sony.

Which extra sucks because he did an absolutely amazing Touhou version of Fighting of the Spirit.

glennmagusharvey

...wait, actually shut down by Sony or just copyright-trolled on Youtube by someone alleging (but unconfirmed) to be Sony?

Because KK Slider is a Nintendo IP and ZUN is his own IP holder I think.

Saigyouji

^ I assume some of the songs were remixes from Sony properties.

Bee

Could have been a copyright troll, but yeah, some of the songs were related to Sony, however distantly in the tree of parent companies.