My Latest Adventure with Zelda

Considering it was such a big part of my growing up (and a big influence on my musical style), I decided to actually write a few things about my latest outing as a character in a green tunic. I did finish the main quest, but there were tons of sidequests that I didn’t complete for lack of time that hopefully I will at some point get into. In any case, a few random thoughts on Skyward Sword:

The design – especially the coloring and textures – is absolutely gorgeous. The last game that impressed me this much with such a varied yet completely cohesive color palette was Okami (which was in turn heavily influenced by the Zelda series). The organic textures, and the way that background objects seem to turn to pointillist dabs of color as they recede into the distance are not only effective, but mesmerizing and beautiful. With everyone else developing on more advanced hardware, it’s nice to see the Wii is being used to create visuals that are living paintings better than anyone else out there. The mind boggles at what they can accomplish with some real hardware power.

Control-wise, it would be hard for me to go back to something that isn’t this deep again. While I can’t say that the motion was always precise, the necessary variety in the combat made most of the enemy encounters strategic and fun. Whether or not future Zelda games require waving a wand and a nunchuck in front of you, I don’t think we can go back to one or two button attacks any more than we could restrict Mario’s movement through a game solely from left to right. The combat gameplay has certainly matured in this title, and it’s hard to imagine going back to pre- Skyward control schemes.

As for the music, I absolutely loved a lot of the soundtrack. The orchestral arrangements of new and old themes were at points spine chilling, and I’d legitimately pick up the album as soon as given the chance. The dungeon songs were more texture and percussion based than in previous titles, but some of the level and character themes were just magic. Fi’s theme, simplistic and flute- heavy, was one of the prettiest melodies the series has seen in way too long. It’s heartening to know that Nintendo still places a heavy emphasis on the musical and visual presentation in Zelda titles and seems to be striving for a perfect blend between the contemporary and the classic – the latter of which they certainly had no small part in establishing during the past 25 years. Here’s hoping for more harps, ocarinas, and any other instruments they might want to throw in future Zelda titles to ensure at least a minimal thematic focus on the series’ almost legendary musical history.

And the last thing I’d like to talk about with this title is something a little less specific but arguably most important. It’s what I’d call the Zelda “magic.” It’s not a theme song or a graphical trick, but it’s how well the world is conceived and how the places, the sounds, the creatures and the characters all come together to create this world that is your playground. I’m hearing and reading almost universal praise for Skyrim, which I hope to play later this year. And I’ve seen enough of the game to be impressed with the technical design, the detail, and the realism that the universe in the game conveys. But something about that world hasn’t grabbed me yet. Maybe it will when I sit down to play it, and maybe I’ll love it. But to me it has more of the feel of a film than a storybook. It’s more Lord of the Rings, while Zelda is more Neverending Story (or Miyazaki, for those of you who aren’t ’80′s kids).

I guess both have their place, but my heart has always been with not the high fantasy but with the storybook, almost Disney version of fantasy. I’ve always been drawn to bright, expressive worlds with environments that don’t scare you with their realism, but invite you with their beauty and intrigue. And while this type of world is being presented more and more rarely these days, I’m glad that Zelda still continues to retain a sense of magic and wonder found in increasingly fewer games lately. The small charm of the Kikiwis, along with the massive, looming presence of the flying whale deity provide an awe I hope that the series never loses. Perhaps even more than the impressive puzzles and fun gameplay, the ability to live in these worlds with these characters – is why I chose to spend my free time in Skyloft for the past few weeks.

And when it’s over, hearing the epic swell of the ending theme as the credits roll and you’re treated to sights of places you’ve seen throughout your journey in the game, you’re really reminded of how strong that Zelda magic is. Maybe I’m just a nostalgic Nintendo fanboy, but I’m loving it. And I’m hoping a lot of people dust off their Wii systems and give Skyward a spin. Who knows, you might just love it too…

Apologies for ridiculous spamming

I’ve had this site for about two years now and I’ve never had quite as much spamming as in the past few weeks. I’m going to revisit all my privacy and posting settings to try and fix this issue. Apologies to people who come to this site to find posts about being sold pharmaceutical products and the like.

In other news, the summer has increased my day job workload and somewhat slowed music work, but I’m working on the second of Jade’s tracks for the Wild Arms project. Should be cool! Stay tuned.

Thanks everyone!

E3 came and went…

Before anyone gets the wrong idea – no, I wasn’t at E3. I did go to one E3 back in ’98 which was somewhat a magical experience for me, but I haven’t gone since then. I remember seeing MGS and Zelda OOT in person for the first time that year and damn what a great year for gaming it was…

Anyway, I’m not usually one to speak at length about my tastes and opinions pertaining to games but since I absolutely love games and have been playing a ton of them for over 25 years now (and since this is a BLOG after all) – why the hell not, right?

As someone who doesn’t play online a whole lot, Microsoft is becoming more and more disappointing lately. Where are the damn exclusives? Where’s this generation’s equivalent of stuff like Crimson Skies, Advent Rising, or even Otogi? C’mon Microsoft! 360 is battling my Wii for most dusty controller these days…

Uncharted 3 is a must buy of course. Tomb Raider and Arkham city are certainly shaping up to be as well. I think Bioshock Infinite has probably blown my mind more than any other game I’ve seen in quite some time but it’s so far off I hate being so friggin’ excited for it. The tech in that game seems almost beyond what the 360 and PS3 are capable of, but I think Bioshock looked similarly impressive back when it was released in ’07.

I already pre-ordered my Vita jist because I know that the second I actually see one I’ll have to get it. I may hardly ever use it, and I really have no practical use for a portable system since I drive everywhere and don’t travel all that much. Who knows, the screen might be so gorgeous I might just have to start taking trips to the city just to get an hour of train time to play this thing… Can’t say I’m particularly excited for any one single title on the system but I’m definitely looking forward to the tech and to gorgeous portable games. I’m also excited about the media format on the Vita, which will hopefully eliminate what I would consider my personal biggest drawback of the PSP – the loading times. Ugh – excessive loading is absolutely unforgivable in portable gaming, and I’m hopeful it’ll soon become completely a thing of the past.

As for Wii… ummm… Skyward Sword looked nice. Actually, it looked pretty amazing. Ever since Wind Waker I was looking forward to a cel-shaded Zelda that had a bit more edge and maturity to it, and the art style in Skyward seems just gorgeous. I’ll have to be sold on the gameplay when I actually get my hands on it but so far the concept and the bird flying mechanic look interesting enough, and I’m loving the presentation. I don’t know enough about the game to really be as excited as I’d like to be for it, but so far I’m intrigued and pretty excited for what may indeed be my last major Wii purchase. I can’t believe I just typed that, it feels like I just got my Wii last year (it was, in fact, purchased at launch).

And speaking about being intrigued and cautiously excited, Wii U seems to evoke that same sentiment as well. To be honest I was expecting a bit more software reveal this year but I completely see their strategy about how they’re showing this stuff off. I’m somewhat excited about the hardware. I’m sure I’ll end up picking it up because it’s Nintendo and it’s actually different in some respects, I just don’t know exactly what to expect from it yet (besides MarioKart and Zelda and Mario, etc etc). I’d love a new Metroid – particularly a side-scrolling one. A new Starfox that brings the game back to its roots is also certainly long overdue. Earthbound would be nice too.

More importantly though, I want something new. Unlike all these unrealistic fanboys on the internet who want to see a darker, grittier, more mature Nintendo, I don’t particularly need that. I’m fine with the family friendly stuff, just make something new. F-Zero was new at some point. Starfox was new in 1993. Those are absolutely family friendly titles but they weren’t just for kids, and they showed a Nintendo that tried out new ideas and wasn’t afraid to actually put out a franchise that didn’t have Mario or Link in it. Give me a new character or series to be excited about sequels for for a change guys!!

Aside from that, looking forward to the new (well – somewhat new) DS stuff. LOVE the fact that you can download and preview videos to the actual 3DS and see them in 3D. The new, incredibly retro Mario 3DS looks adorable and fun. Mariokart looks addictive, and Starfox looks great for a re-skin. 3DS also desperately needs some new stuff. But since it’s a portable, it gets a bit of a pass, at least to me.

To me those were if not the standouts, the games that appeal most directly to me. The plethora of shooting games shown looked great but these days they almost ALWAYS look great so it’s just a matter of them coming out, me picking them up on sale and then playing through them thinking “well, there’s another nice looking, relatively entertaining shooter, just like all the other ones out there.” I’ll eventually play Gears and COD and all that crap, I just can’t get excited for that any more than I can a new episode of the Simpsons these days.

All in all, it looks like I’ll continue being a poor, poor boy surrounded with lovely technology for the forseeable future. Yay!

The Super Spring Mini-Update

Hey Y’all! I haven’t decided to go into a period of hibernation again. In fact, I’ve been fairly busy with things, but just haven’t had anything to exactly show or post recently.

I’m wrapping up work on the song I promised for Jade’s Wild Arms project. Due to completely logistical reasons I ended up putting the entire song together using only Apple Logic, and the included loops / sounds / synths etc. It was pretty drastically different from the tools I’m used to working with but after about 3 weeks of tinkering, it’s sounding pretty good. Just trying to put some final polish on that one and I think I’ll call it a day. After that, back to more learning and small remixes I plan to start posting again.

In gaming news, I’ve run through the delectable Portal 2 (single player only so far) – and absolutely loved it. As much as I enjoy playing FPS shooters, I’m never that great at them. And as far removed as Portal 2 is from a typical FPS type game, it’s definitely more my style of experience. I LOVE Glados and her snarky, evil remarks will always have a place deep in my soul.

Also have been playing Mortal Kombat casually for the past month or so and must say as a pretty consistent MK fan it’s the best I’ve seen the series since the mind-blowingly awesome MK2. The series has had it’s ups and downs (well – really low downs) but this one is definitively quality stuff. It took them a while to come back around but I’m glad they finally did. And those fatalities… they’re so brutal and nasty I almost feel bad performing them on my opponents. Good stuff…

Well that about wraps it up for now. Didn’t want it to sound like I disappeared. Still here, just a bit busy. Or jumping through portals. Or ripping people in half.

Final Fantasy VI – The Savage Dance

Ahhhh, what’s that sound? Oh, it’s the sound of the Springtime. Woefully late but none the less glorious. And what better way to celebrate our beloved season of renewal than with an FFVI remix? None I say!

And sooo, here you are. Yet another contained Logic project, this time of the “Veltd” theme “Wild Wild West” from Final Fantasy VI. I absolutely loved this song, and enjoyed grinding with Gau in tow specifically because of this song (and because of all the rages you can find there)

This version is pretty close to the original, but I incorporated some modulations which definitely make the song flow better to me. I worked on the drum programming, as well as the incorporation of synths and ethnic sampled instruments. I keep noticing that Logic’s packaged sounds aren’t necessarily the best, but if you choose the right ones and put them together the right way, you can definitely pull off some decent sounding material.

Enjoy!

Yet another remix test: Sonic 3 ending / credits theme

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For my 3rd Logic test remix I was trying to see what I could do with the built-in instrument samples. And after playing around with them, my experience is that they’re great for pack-in samples, but I don’t think I’d use them over some of the EW stuff I have, or some of the stuff packed in with Kontakt or the rest of the NI bundles (which I have yet to use).

They’re certainly serviceable, and in a non-realistic application they might even be pretty awesome with the proper effects. But I doubt anyone hearing this remix is mistaking these instruments for a recorded version of the real thing. And while the samples themselves might have been a bit on the “meh” side, I did like the direction the song was going in. I would eventually like to revisit this song with a guitarist who could record the parts individually, and maybe add a nice guitar solo over the melancholy chords of the song. I’d definitely rework that submit it to OCR at some point. Any interested guitarists, just say the word!!

Otherwise, the progress is continuing. I have a few more smaller mixes I have in mind to get me used to some of the synthesizers built in with Logic. But I think soon I will be branching out into VSTs and trying to get some results with NI synths and samples. I’ve had the KOMPLETE suite for a while, but have done very little with it over the years. From what I’ve read and heard, their stuff is pretty stellar, so I can’t wait to start toying around with it.

For now, thanks for listening as always, and enjoy!

New Remix – Earthbound “Bound by Fate”

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Well, my car’s stuck at the shop this weekend and I’ve been stranded indoors while it pours outside but today did present me with the perfect opportunity for me to work on and complete my second Logic remix. I played Earthbound the summer it came out on Super NES, and while I don’t remember much from the game itself, I still remember the scratch and sniff cards that came with the strategy guide (which was actually packaged with the game itself). The scratch and sniff cards had a bunch of putrid scents to them, which gave you a taste – or more literally, a whiff – of the humor and playfulness which was to come once you pressed start.

This remix is the second of my Logic mixes, which I’m working on to familiarize myself with the software and built in sounds. I’m going to work on a few of these songs using only Logic’s internal sounds and effects before branching into external VSTs and such. I figure limiting myself like this is a way to focus my attention on one thing at a time instead of taking on numerous new apps and not getting enough out of them.

As for the song itself, it’s one of the most playful ones I’ve done in awhile. It has a bunch of transitions and instrumentation which doesn’t exactly make sense, but I guess that’s one of my stylistic quirks. The bass line in particular was something I really tried to wing, and for the most part I don’t think it came out half bad. All in all, I spent more time on this remix than I originally intended to, but it was a ton of fun and I did get a lot of practice using the editing interface. The only thing that’s killing me now is doing everything on my 15″ MacBook screen! You don’t realize how big a 21″+ screen is until you go back to how small screens used to be. How did we ever deal with 800×600 resolution (or smaller??)

In any case, I hope this one gets those toes tapping and reminds everyone of those golden days of SNES RPG’s. Hopefully Earthbound gets released on VC soon, I’d love to play it again soon.

Enjoy!!

Tomb Raider – Lady Croft’s Adventure

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OK, I tweeted that this my first official unofficial remix using Logic and I would say that’s about right. It’s not very interpretive of the original, but I still like some of the synths and the built in loops I used for it. Also, it’s my first remix ever using just software and no hardware whatsoever.

I will say I had fun using Logic and it was great working on a song I was so familiar with back in the day. I loved the original Tomb Raider and I remember the sweet oboe sound that greeted you in the title screen.

I’m hoping to keep these practice remixes coming at a fairly regular rate so look forward to the next one in the not too distant future. As always, thanks for listening, and enjoy!

MvC3 is eating my time like Pac-Man eats dots!!

I’m not that great at fighting games. So, to keep myself from the frustration and humiliation of crushing defeat, I generally do NOT play these games online. And since I don’t have a lot of friends locally that are really into fighters, that means that I typically play against the CPU when I play these games, which loses its charm quickly.

However, MvC3, is so damn addictive I just can’t stay away. I can’t say I was ever great at – or a huge fan of – the original McV games but this one has got me hooked. And my goodness, after seeing the classic Hsien-Ko and Felicia in 3D, I’m frothing for another Darkstalkers game. Hear that Capcom? You know which characters are more interesting and fun to play with than the Tekken characters? YOUR OWN!! MAKE THE DAMN GAME! Thanks =)

Back to business, I did have enough time between work and tag team fighting to start putting together my first remix using Logic. It’s going to be very straightforward and simple, somewhat like my old remixes. I’m not making this remix to post on OCR – but more to get used to the workflow of Logic and Mac OS. I find that putting together remixes is a great way to really focus on learning about technique since you don’t have the pressure of actually having to create a song yourself. The song is already there, you just need to use the tools to rearrange it.

So use the tools I shall. And rearrange I will. And I’ll probably post the results up on here or on my YouTube account, since I’ve had some positive feedback on some of my older remixes on there and it’d be nice to throw some old school style stuff up there even if it isn’t something I spend forever perfecting for days. I already have a few songs and remixes in mind for this type of practice work, and I’m sure it’ll get me back into the flow of things again. Till I have my bigger rig moved in a few months, this setup will have to do.

Aside from that, working on ideas for some original work again. Nothing as grand as The Three Realms project I was never able to properly finish, but certainly more focused and manageable. And from my own experience, that makes a great deal of difference.

Anyway guys, stuff is happening. Hope to give you something to listen to soon.

New Song! SoundCloud! Stuffed Belly!

OMG so much news! OK maybe not, but a lot for me. I set up a Soundcloud account so that I can set up this sexy player for y’all. I know you like those waveforms don’t ya? I signed up for the free account because – well – I don’t really trust paying for anything that’s not explained to me in $$$, so we’ll see exactly how much use I get out of the service, but so far it’s nifty.

As for the song, it’s not really a completed song per se, but it’s my first test/foray into the world of Logic. Took me a little while to get the hang of things as my hands invariably kept on trying to use the default Cakewalk shortcuts, but eventually I came up with this.

I have quite a ways to go with the program. This definitely reeks of a song made by just throwing random patches and effects together but I thought it had a certain n00bish charm to it, which I’m sure I’ll laugh at awhile from now. As for the post effects, they were indeed accomplished with the help of BT’s plugin – which is at the same time insanely fun and overwhelming to use. All those effects are just presets thrown in.

Anyway, here’s just something I threw on here so you guys can hear my very first entirely Logic / Softsynth piece. I’ll hopefully update this as I work on some more tests throughout the week. They’ll sound like crap for awhile, but I’m still super – excited to be working on this stuff again! =)