Cave Story Arranged

DM DOKURO PRESENTS:
CAVE STORY ARRANGED

It's about time there was a thread for this.
For those of you that haven't heard of Cave Story Arranged, let me fill you in.
Omar Carlo, better known as DM Dokuro made this album in celebration for Cave Story's 10th anniversary, spending over a year taking the time to remix every song in the soundtrack and add in a couple bonuses.

The mixes incorporate a lot of elements of hardcore punk, breakbeat, drum and bass, dubstep, trance, synth rock, and electronic, with new emphasis on bass and rhythm, so if that's not your preference for music, I can't guarantee you'll get the most out of this album, but it's worth a try anyway.

Every single track, as the title of the album would suggest, has been completely rearranged, allowing for some fresh takes on old tunes, incorporating bits and pieces both completely original (tracks like Moonsong and Running Hell have newly added guitar solos, which work magnificently) and inspired by other renditions (Cave Story wiiware's soundtrack comes to mind, and that's not a bad thing). The new arrangements are pretty great, and there were actually a multitude of arrangements I found to sound better than in the original game.

Atmospheric immersion isn't necessarily the focus of all the tracks, but they'd still certainly help to add to any given environment or situation in the game. Rather, the tracks are made to stand on their own as individual pieces of music, not needing the company of gameplay to enhance their effect.

As from the creator on the bandicamp page:
"Two words can only describe this album in the best summary: Thank You. This platoon of arrangements is a tribute and gesture of thanks to Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, who has created the gargantuan freeware game we know today as Cave Story, which will celebrate 10 years of an explosive and widespread existence on December 2014. Please sit back, relax, and enjoy my renditions of the unforgettable music of Cave Story."

You can download the whole album here for free, or, since it's Bandicamp, you could show support and pay for the album.

 

It mixes the feel of all the main ports of Cave Story's OST. You can feel the main orchestral and bass tracks from Cave Story 3d . A few side tracks from the original and wiiware. It's simply a Cave Story Remix project, On a much more nostalgic level. Bass boosted headphones make it much better.

==============Edit==============

This was only the first track...

 

there were actually a multitude of arrangements I found to sound better than in the original game.

It's not just that, in my opinion, but the arrangements themselves sound like they were ripped from the original game. They gave me that feel of having heard those arrangements before while playing the game, even though this is my first time hearing them right now.

 

This is a great remix, and has great quality. Now to put it into CS+...

 

These are pretty good.

I really like the more serene ones he does (Quiet, Moonsong, Breaking Down).

 

All together, a good collection. I notice that some of the intro's are a bit unnecessary/leave a bad impression of what the song will turn into/end with. My personal favorites were mainly the main areas. (Egg Corridor, Grasslands, etc.)

 

If there's one track I have to recommend above all others, it's the Ballos Mix of Last Battle.
Some might find the intro drawn out, but just like the in the Wiiware version it really helps to build tension, starting out huge, intimidating, speeding up as it progresses until it reaches the climax, followed straight by the melody (Complete with tubular bells).
The mix also integrates bits and pieces from other boss themes in the Ballos battle, starting out with Eyes of Flame transitioning later into Gravity, and for some odd reason even Gestation, despite it not being a boss theme or even relevant to the Ballos battle.
It's a wonderful mix, and while it adds in a lot of things (maybe too much in some eyes), it still keeps the frantic and fierce feel of the original.
Last Battle was already my favorite song in the song, and this mix couldn't help bring that point accross more.