In addition to directly showcasing original video game music, I’d like to occasionally give a nod to some of the awesome work done by the good folks over at OC ReMix. They do an awesome job at presenting their own unique interpretations of a large variety of video game music, and come up with some pretty fantastic stuff. Today’s example is one of my favorites: Sunken Suite, a “remix” of Dire Dire Docks from Super Mario 64 (which I’m also posting for comparison).

The original Dire Dire Docks is a very calm, peaceful song. The level itself is defined by water, and the song seems to adhere to the kind of serenity that water can represent. This isn’t tumultuous, violent water- there are no waves or currents thrashing about. It’s very still, and the general tone of the song is as well. Alternatively, Dire Dire Docks is in many ways a devious level. There are plenty of subtle dangers ready to impede your progress, and navigating it’s obstacles can be surprisingly tricky. The song seems to recognize this as well, as it picks up in pace ever so slightly (about halfway through the above version). This leads to a combination of peacefulness and action that appeals to me a lot, and works really well in Dire Dire Docks.

Sunken Suite more or less takes that idea a few steps further. Something I love about the best Mario games is how they seem to be able to find that balance between being peaceful and action oriented, which can lend them a whimsical nature. The first half of Sunken Suite and its instrumentation is very calm, but it also has this feeling of looking ahead with anticipation. It’s almost like it’s ready to explode with excitement, and it more or less does when it layers in the drums and ramps up both the pace and volume for the second half. It then becomes a forward moving, action oriented piece that somehow maintains a substantial amount of its original peacefulness. The result strikes me as something majestic, simultaneously showcasing the wonder and adventure that defines the very best Mario experiences. That Sunken Suite can do that while also being a fun song to listen to is just awesome, and is a testament to the quality of both the original Dire Dire Docks as well as OC ReMix’s work.

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