Peach's Game Music

In 2007, years before I ever became involved in the OverClocked ReMix community, I was assessing the theme that played in the deserted town of Old Kasuto. It's a town that was overrun with monsters and brought to ruin, with lingering invisible ghost eyes called Moas. Considering all of this, I felt that the slightly restrained take on the Indoors theme just didn't quite fit the atmosphere. I imagined something darker and more sombre. That started the initial inspiration involving a minor key version of the source that I recorded from my now-retired Yamaha Motif ES8 in pure piano. I would later incorporate this into the final composition as its intro. Sometime between its inception and the recent return to the project, I developed a new chord progression that kept the same looping phrase from the Indoors Theme, recording this only in the past few years from my Roland Fantom FA. It included what later would become the arrangement's ending.

After plans went into motion to complete seasonal arrangements that were shelved previously, I timed this one to be finished by Halloween rather than the end of autumn. Various ideas blossomed when thinking about the project again, including making the composition more orchestral and transforming the Town Theme into a more melancholic part. I started adopting these concepts into the remix after transcribing previous material into Cakewalk Sonar, making use of the superior samples on my Yamaha Genos2.

In the process of creating new content, I determined that the Town Theme melody could be presented in two different ways, with one being in C minor and the other in the original C major. However, the latter would use new chords that sound grave but hopeful because of how refugees found haven in the hidden town of New Kasuto. There was potential for percussion, which manifested as mysterious subtleties with tambourine and triangle, as well as the snare rhythms of a funeral march. Even the more exotic duduk—an Armenian woodwind instrument—sparked creativity when experimenting with it, providing the piece with a bit of flair with harmonic minor scales. And like many other remixes, I included the soundscape of an abandoned settlement with creaking nailed wood and raven calls to increase the sense of immersion.

The end of this musical adventure resulted in a classical, solemn piece, containing dirge, requiem, and even mystic elements, with Zelda music influences from various generations. It's a somewhat haunting theme that seemed just right for Spooky Month—err, I mean Halloween. Please enjoy this labour of love!

Disclaimer:

Royalty-free sound effects sources:

➤ https://freesound.org

➤ branch and wind in wood 1.wav by uair01 -- https://freesound.org/s/91443/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

➤ Raven - 2025-08-30 - STEREO by chelan -- https://freesound.org/s/824184/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

Presentation artwork consists of converted scenes from Zelda II Enhanced (Zelda Again: Link is Adventuresome), an improvement of the NES title by HoverBat. Each screenshot was generated meticulously by SolidBear47, with a Photoshop filter applied afterward.

➤ https://github.com/ZA-LiA/ZALiA

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is copyright of Nintendo.

The successor to my Enhanced Game MIDIs series is here! My Remixed Game MIDI collection consists of transcriptions of game music, all leading into arrangements that contain new layers, much like the arranged entries of the previous series, but with even more potential for creativity. This time, all instruments come from my Yamaha Genos2 keyboard, using the best samples it has to offer, including those featuring Super Articulation 2 technology to humanise the content when suitable. The staff view was played with Cakewalk Sonar and the presentation was recorded with OBS Studio. To follow the notes in the sequence, you must watch the YouTube upload on my channel instead.

My transcription of Swift Twist from Final Fantasy III started as far back as 1998, and it was planned to be an Enhanced Game MIDIs entry. However, I realised it would be ideal to use as a proof of concept for this new series. A jam session with alto saxophone over the piano source started things off. I then tried playing with overdriven guitar before experimenting with the percussion and bass, especially the rhythmic flow. Some guitar backing was added, and then noticed it could use a little more padding. With some thought, I realised the arrangement could benefit from vocals. Doo-wop singing had the potential to give the piece more personality, and so I opted for the voice with 'Shoo-Bee-Doo-Bah' phonetics. Much like I did with the previous series, I wanted to include other official versions of the source, so I transcribed both the DS and Pixel Remaster arrangements, but I wasn't sure what to do with them at first. It wasn't long before I remembered that the piano was missing entirely from the DS arrangement, which I easily rectified for the additional layers. But the biggest eureka moment was when I thought about how a sudden group jam session may actually play out in the world of Final Fantasy III.

I began exploring the idea of a new sound to go with the latest official arrangement of the piece by considering other potential instruments from the adventure This quickly brought Noah's Lute to mind. And then there's the Harp played by the Bard class, and the Bell wielded by Geomancers. Okay, great, now we put together a band. But it was lacking in the percussion department. That led to imagining the patrons of the pub getting up and clapping their hands while dancing, even stomping the ground and shouting, as if this were a party. Even the bartender would get in on the action by playing the spoons and banging on other barware. And, naturally, they would cheer over the performance like they did since the Famicom days. After such a complex process, I'm pleased to present this as the debut entry for this new series.

The next Remixed Game MIDIs entry will be up to those in my community to suggest and vote on. If you're 18 or over, you're welcome to join by clicking the link below. The age limit is for protective measures only, as the server does not feature NSFW content.

Track Details:

1: Upright Piano (Right Hand)

2: Upright Piano (Left Hand)

3: Alto Sax / Harmonica / Whistling

4: Lead Guitar / Noah's Lute

5: Rhythm Guitar / Bard's Harp

6: Doo-Wop Vocals / Geomancer's Bell

7: Electric Bass / Crowd

8: Drums / Barware

Discord Invite:

https://discord.gg/9wrjprJzx2

Disclaimer:

Final Fantasy III is copyright of Square-Enix.

When I heard the official 8-bit arrangement of Voices of the Temple that features in the temple stages of Donkey Kong Land, I imagined that David Wise or Graeme Norgate intended a Spanish flamenco rock version of the original they dubbed "Ancient Beaver Bop" that Eveline Novakovic (née Fischer) wrote for Donkey Kong Country. I could practically hear the acoustic nylon guitar in the new material presented in the B section, and I just had to bring that to life. It almost was called Voces del Templo, Spanish for Voices of the Temple, but the name would change when the scope of the project widened.

And so, in June 2014, I started transcribing that piece using my Roland Fantom X6, a keyboard that has since been retired. After years of shelving the project, I brought it back as my big video game arrangement for Summer 2026, using my Yamaha Genos2 for its superior samples. And since I envisioned this to include realistic Spanish guitar, I just had to reach out to my cousin John Guastaferro for his expertise. He's been known not just for albums of original guitar music, but also as a world-class illusionist, for books about performance magic, and as an inspirational speaker.

Prior to active collaboration, I needed to determine how to write the rest of the composition. Instead of just playing the Temple source in different ways, I explored other source material from Kremlantis, the second world of the game. The most obvious was the Submerged Ruins. Realising that the last part of that theme would be a good fit for guitar helped me to decide on its inclusion. This is also when Kongquistadors of Kremlantis became the official name of the arrangement. The final iconic melody considered is the most famous: Aquatic Ambiance. A chiptune recreation was made for a couple of the underwater stages, and I became convinced that it had high potential of both listener interest and creativity. When experimenting revealed that the Temple and Aquatic Ambience sources could play simultaneously, the direction of the remixed medley was finalised. To give it an extra layer of immersion, I included soundscape elements that reflect the tropical setting.

John's contribution includes a few different guitars that replaced those I used when writing the piece. His performances followed my direction, with the intro being similar to what I had written, but it became a bi more personalised to his style, including the reverb and delay approach he uses for his original compositions. I'm proud and grateful of what his work has added to the arrangement.

The final result is my biggest arrangement of the year and the first collaboration on a single composition (rather than an album) I have worked on. Its timing is uncanny, too, since Donkey Kong Land fan remake by kasquez released this same month and inspired the perfect way to present visuals for this project. Please enjoy this labour of love!

Check out John Guastaferro's content!

➤ Official Website: https://www.magicjohng.com

➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnGmagic

➤ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/john-guastaferro

➤ Bandcamp: https://johnguastaferro.bandcamp.com

➤ Twitter/X: https://x.com/johngmagic

Royalty-free sound effects sources:

➤ https://freesound.org

➤ Morning at Kõruse beach by jrosin -- https://freesound.org/s/861623/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

➤ Jungle Meets Ocean - Pulau Seram, Indonesia by RTB45 -- https://freesound.org/s/257822/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Presentation artwork consists of modified screenshots from a fan-made recreation of Donkey Kong Land by kasquez:

➤ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-i34Ftxyp0

Donkey Kong Land is copyright of Nintendo.

During the first peak of my involvement with the OverClocked ReMix community, I was brought on board June 2012 for Theophany's unreleased collaborative album for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For my contribution, I was assigned the Hyrule Castle Courtyard theme. This led to the inspiration of emphasise sneaking into the courtyard through the castle gardens in a slightly more playful take on the piece with some immersive soundscape.

My initial work started on the Roland Fantom X6, presenting triangle in a swung note style like the iconic Pink Panther Theme over the sounds of birds and running water. The intro phrase containing the oboe and pizzicato string bass were designed to further highlight the mischievous nature of the arrangement. A marching snare rhythm came to mind to represent the patrolling guards, which I had change style to straight rhythm. It's at this section that I had the idea a little later to include muted trumpet for an even more whimsical effect. Completely original piano content based on the comical spirit of the piece was imagined and recorded early on, but it wasn't until years later that I would incorporate the its notation into the full composition.

Fast forward to 2025, when acquiring the Yamaha Genos2 was all but assured. This waiting period was used to connect the original piano content to the remix with minimal transition. And then in March 2026, I began converting everything to the new keyboard, adding articulations along the way. For the piano section, I pictured a castle guard slacking on the job by taking a moment to rest on the ground before getting back up to resume his patrol, indicated by sound effects. More content was added beyond the piano section in April, introducing the first part of Zelda's Lullaby, which was not in the plans to include prior to that point. A variation of Hyrule Castle Courtyard's A section was written to accompany it. The idea to end the remix with a take on the fanfare heard at the start of Princess Zelda's Rescue from A Link to the Past came soon afterward to symbolise reaching the courtyard successfully. I noticed that the duration of the arrangement was a little on the short side, so I started experimenting with a new chord progression to house the B section of Zelda's Lullaby, followed by modifying the B section of Hyrule Castle Courtyard to fit the altered chords. Trombone was one of the latest additions. Finally, I updated the sound effects by adding footfalls accompanied by the tinkling of armour pieces and even using my own voice for the resting guard.

The final result is a standalone remix portraying a fun, risky venture to sneak past the guards and meet the princess, using more than one source of inspiration, original content, and soundscape to accomplish this illusion. It almost was named "Sneak 'n' Meet" to denote the humour, but I opted for the final name as a cheeky nod to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", which also is silly but still elegant. Please enjoy this labour of love!

Disclaimer:

Royalty-free sound effects sources:

https://freesound.org

2009-07-23_1730_Serralves, Fountain recorded between the fountains.wav by digitopia -- https://freesound.org/s/76563/ -- License: Sampling+

Presentation artwork is from a playthrough of cryGENx's Unreal 5 remake of parts of Ocarina of Time by TheRealLink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwGm3IbcVhU

cryGENx on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@cryzenx.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past are copyright of Nintendo.

Undertale Purple a fan project headed up by Miracle_Captors714, who was inspired by the original Undertale and emboldened by the success of Undertale Yellow, an unrelated fan-made game. It tells the story of the purple SOUL of Perseverance, possessed by a human named Audrey who travels the Underground to research the mysteries of the world of monsters—both friendly and hostile.

The in-game story behind this music and the process in creating it may be considered mild spoilers, so please read on only if you don't mind the identity and motivations of this final boss.

@@@ MILD SPOILERS START @@@

This music is heard during the second phase of the final showdown against Sir Durin V. Neufchâtel. After draining his health, he calls upon ancient power and transfigures into a greater, bushy-tailed form that resembles Ratatoskr, the messenger squirrel that resides within the World Tree—Yggdrasil—in Norse mythology. The composition reflects these details, evoking the sound of war on the endless Asgardian battlefield.

@@@ MILD SPOILERS END @@@

This theme starts with approaching war drums and choir in the distance, followed by the sounding of horns. The original melody then comes in on high saw. Following a minimalistic, classical strings bridge is a more sombre piano synth ballad that references Unbounded Lockjaw from this game. There's more of the cultural, symphonic flavour after, which leads to the part of Scylla's Theme that was used in Phase 1 of this Final Battle. The tempo soon ramps up to a synth rock with original overdriven guitar lead. This part includes inspirations from other titles: arpeggios similar to those in Retribution from Undertale Yellow combined with the bass heard in Perseverence from the original Undertale. More original content follows, focused on synth drums and timpani before the final section blends the electronica and orchestral sounds, hitting a climax that transitions to the atmosphere of the intro for a smooth loop back to the initial melody. I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. Please enjoy this track, and consider supporting Undertale Purple!

Official Site for Undertale Purple:

https://gamejolt.com/games/Undertale_Purple/888638

Official OST for Undertale Purple:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXUb8eu-CE0QWQp6b1jD0xzEEZlzpmjIU

Unbounded Lockjaw by simpleshadow72 (https://www.youtube.com/@simpleshadow72)

Scylla's Theme by salad9990 (https://soundcloud.com/slade9990)

Retribution by Figburn (https://figburn.bandcamp.com/)

Perseverence by Toby Fox (https://toby.fangamer.com/)

Art by Bililies (https://www.deviantart.com/bililies)

Undertale Purple, a fan project, is managed by Miracle_Captors714 and Frabbone (Tenna).

Undertale is copyright of Royal Sciences, LLC.

The music represented here is a sample of a game soundtrack I was composing with the KORG M01D software for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.

"Other Sky", a concept by Studio Ravenheart, is an idea for upcoming title for iOS and Android devices. Taking place in the protagonist's mind, the player flies through various stages reflecting the hero's emotions. It is a spiritual journey filled with elegantly abstract visuals and empowering metamorphosis.

This is a prospective promotional track, serving as bonus material and the base for the official track for level 1, called Provenance. It's very different from the vibes of the soundtrack, being inspired a bit by music from the Gradius series, mixing in some exotic elements with the grandiose electronica music. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Other Sky logo, soundtrack, and all other game material are property of Studio Ravenheart. All Rights Reserved.

Not long after the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii in 2010, I realised that Ice Cave Chant from the Donkey Kong Country stage 'Slipslide Ride' in Gorilla Glacier never appeared as an enhanced arrangement in the game, while many others from the Super NES title did. And so, I saw this as an opportunity to create my own version while Returns was popular. In 2011, I started by familiarising myself with the source written by Eveline Novakovic (Eveline Fischer), but it wasn't until January 2015 that I would transcribe the source material in full as part of my Enhanced Game MIDIs, which you can hear on my channel also. From there, I was considering remixing using the series' Yamaha Motif ES8 workstation keyboard as I did for Mido Harbour recently. It became a seasonal project, but many winters passed with too many other projects and responsibilities taking priority over the years. However, with life changes in 2025, the arrangement had its grand RETURN using my newly acquired Yamaha Genos2, finally completing it over a decade after the initial idea was conceived, releasing it on my channel and submitting it in Winter 2026.

To accomplish the Donkey Kong Country Returns style, I made sure to keep faithful to the source by using the transcription I made before as the base. From there, I added some new instrument layers, such as the flute, transform pad, and various percussion, while changing some other instruments to include a bit of synth. Meanwhile, new chord progressions were built, implemented closer to the end of the piece as an extension to the source material. These ideas followed cues from the arrangements that Kenji wrote in examples like Tree Top Rock Returns and Palm Tree Groove. Since this was meant to be like the endless music from the games, I looped back to the A section, fading it out. To best suit the requirements of OverClocked ReMix, I gave a proper conclusion to the track by fading in an icy crystal cavern soundscape for a full, atmospheric experience. Please enjoy this labour of love!

Disclaimer:

Royalty-free sound effects source:

Ice Cavern (Looped) by igroglaz -- https://freesound.org/s/633223/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Presentation artwork for the album art was generated by Bando do Gato:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R-rra2OZcY

Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country Returns are copyright of Nintendo.

This arrangement of Gruntilda's Lair from Banjo-Kazooie is the most ambitious piece of music I've ever tackled. I was assigned the track for a bigger project in 2011, but it was made to stand alone also as a medley that takes a tour through the lair and every world entry, akin to Disney's "It's a Small World". As such, it's a dynamic composition with movements that reflect over a dozen different musical genres, complete with melody cameos from every world, original content, and even soundscape elements. This grand mixture is what inspired the use of the French word 'mélange'.

Beginning on the Roland Fantom X6, each part eventually was transferred over to the Roland FA-06. However, many instruments were not up to par even then, so several live performers were going to be brought on board to strengthen the presentation. However, just this year, I procured a Yamaha Genos2. Its superior samples replaced many of the weaker instruments, but not all of them. And so, even in terms of tools of the trade, this arrangement is a mixture. I'm pleased to have finished what I started over 14 years ago. Please enjoy this labour of love!

I highly recommend watching the related video for full context:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcV3n9bYJcE

Disclaimer:

Royalty-free sound effects sources:

https://www.freesound.org

https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/

https://soundbible.com

Images were provided by the Banjo-Kazooie Wiki.

Banjo-Kazooie styled text customised from the "Lithograph" font.

Banjo-Kazooie is copyright of Microsoft RARE, Ltd. under Microsoft Corporation.

Gruntilda ("Grunty") is a trademark of RARE, Ltd. under Microsoft Corporation.

In 2010, a Zelda role-playing environment was being developed in Second Life. The setting was Termina, 100 years after the events of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. According to the backstory, Clock Town flourished and grew over the century and became the capital city of the land.

I was assigned to write this arrangement for the future Clock Town, which started on the Roland Fantom 06 workstation keyboard. However, a sim (region) could not be procured. And because the future Termina concept was scrapped, this remix became an independent project. A teaser was released on my channel in February 2012. After procuring the Roland FA-06 in 2015, I decided to optimise the project for that keyboard and utilise its revised samples, such as the gut guitar. But priority projects at the time pushed Clock Capital into storage for years, with only minor updates made on and off.

2025 marks the revival of the arrangement, fuelled by the recently acquired Yamaha Genos2 workstation keyboard with its superior samples and articulations. The final result is a remix with Celtic and baroque elements that remains faithful to the source, entirely new content, a relaxing section inspired by Kakariko Village, and even soundscape elements. Please enjoy this labour of love!

Disclaimer:

Royalty-free sound effects sources:

https://www.freesound.org

https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/

Presentation artwork is from the Unreal 5 remake of Clock Town by Benoit Bourgerie:

https://benoitbourgerie.artstation.com/projects/wrd9qV

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is copyright of Nintendo.

Know Your Enemy was a introspective series on GameXplain focusing individual baddies in various video games. Only five episodes released, with the last concluding in 2015. Before the series clearly slipped into indefinite hiatus, I started writing a theme in 2016 with hopes that it would be used in future episodes. It was first shown to the team at E3 2016, where I autistically blasted it from my handheld speaker while hanging out with them in the west lobby.

From the very start, it was a playful jazz noir, reflecting the idea of a detective gathering information for a file on a suspect. This naturally was inspired by the imagery of the record on the enemy of focus. The composition started with the whole Pink Panther vibe with the acoustic bass and triangle, which evolved as a separate loop into a richer groove with moody saxophone, arpeggiated square waves, piano, acoustic bass, and brush kit. Square lead and vibraphone layers was tested soon after, and they since have been applied officially. Nine years later, I decided to complete this unfinished piece, even though the series is unlikely to return. In the finished piece, I included mute trumpet, a transition from the minimalist approach to the more complex concept, concluding it with new content that ends on a minor major ninth chord, a variation of the Hitchcock chord or James Bond chord. While this may forever remain unused, I hope you enjoy the piece that is a look into GameXplain's past and my own.

Visit GameXplain's channel on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/GameXplain

Disclaimer:

All graphics and audio represented here are copyright of GameXplain.

Know Your Enemy art assets were created by Tom Arnold. (https://x.com/RaginTombo)