China Levels Up, Opens New Job “VG Remixer”

I’m actually really excited about this one. Viva Team, a China-based doujin group, has released an arrangement project titled Vivacissimo that pays tribute to the music of Konami. I could be wrong, but as far as a I know, this is one of the biggest and most significant doujin projects to come out of China. To quote Konami’s own Psycho Mantis: “You like… Suikoden? …I see you like Castlevania?” They are both featured here alongside many other Konami classics.

Check out the full track-listing, impressions, and information on where to get this album after the jump.

First of all, Vivacissimo features a broad range of styles including thumping electronic beats, sweet orchestral suites, and hard rock. Arranger 10th Mystery provides the opening tracks, starting with the “Waterfall [Hardstyle mix]” from Contra. The synchronized synth notes and explosive blasts of percussion start the album with a lot of energy. “Free Flyer [Trance mix]” follows suit, providing a tasteful amount of reverb on the synths to give a spacey feel. These are a couple of the strongest offerings on the album.

So… you like Castlevania? So do I, and two of the arrangers here attempt vocal tracks and actually pull it off. Cantusky and vocalist hopechong tackle “Nocturne” with a soft solo piano and sweet vocals in English. Quite beautiful. Arranger Larse (V.S.S) cooks up a rockin’ track titled “Destiny of blood” featuring vocals by Mokona.  It’s the final track on the album, combining two different songs including the awesome “Dracula’s Castle” from Symphony of the Night… and yeah, the vocals work really well.

“Metal Gear Solid [Acid Mix]” is an arrangement of the MGS main theme, starting with a cool 80s-esque synthesizer sequence with groovin’ percussion and bass. Next, Cuttlefish, who is also credited as the mixer on the album, provides “Code K:Prologue” from the Contra series, expertly mixing minimalistic pads with various envionmental ambient samples including clangs, footsteps, and heartbeats. A heavy metal arrangement of the first stage doesn’t come in until the last minute, which is a pretty interesting approach.

Despite my love for the Genso Suikoden series (the original being my favorite game of all time), I didn’t really dig these arrangements. The same can be said for the Silent Hill tracks and others that come off as perhaps a bit amateurish in comparison to what the remixing scenes have become both in the United States and Japan. This is definitely an excellent effort out of China, however, and I’m already looking forward to what the Viva Team does in the future.

While I think the album is on sale in China, if you hit up this thread over at the Gaming Force Audio forums, Shylph, the project director, says he’s feeling generous and will share the download link with you. So, why didn’t China jump on the VGM remixing train earlier? What do you think of the V-team?

Tracklisting:

1 Code V:Vivacissimo [original by the Nights]
2 Waterfall [Hardstyle mix] [from Contra by 10th Mystery]
3 Free Flyer [Trance mix] [from Gradius by 10th Mystery]
4 Bloody Strand [from Castlevania by bbn]
5 Meditation [from Beatmania IIDX 12 by bbn]
6 Theme of Laura (nver remix) [from Silent Hill 2 by NAKi]
7 Welcome To SILENT HILL [from Silent Hill by Dacula]
8 Metal Gear Solid [Acid Mix] [from Metal Gear Solid by 4one]
9 Code K:Prologue [from Contra by Cuttlefish]
10 Sphinx [from Genso Suikoden III by Thomash]
11 Metempsychosis [from Gradius V by Thomash]
12 Destination [original by Hourglass]
13 Nocturne [from Symphony of the Night by Cantusky and hopechong]
14 Winter vocation theme [from Tokimeki Memorial by Ghost Cat]
15 Future theme [from Hono no tori by Ghost Cat]
16 In home [from Lost in Blue 2 by Caganz]
17 Meet & Leave [from Tokimeki Memorial by Caganz]
18 Seal of Sea [image from Genso Suikoden by Darkpig]
19 Destiny of Blood [from Castlevania by Larse(V.S.S.) and Mokona]