Mystic Invasion

February 28, 2021

Mystic Invasion is a light rock remix of Whisper and Mantra that only lasts a half minute. What is present is mainly in the form of low strings that give the player the sense of a nightmare, exemplified by the deep B minor chord at :22. In contrast to the Water Palace, these are deep labyrinths that have been corrupted by Mavolia. Even with the shadowy tone of this track, Kikuta encourages our quest by reminding us of the palace bestiaries—a rapid fire kick drum cameos to keep the onscreen pulse moving, and we press ahead through the perilous environment. The percussion is in the foreground while the strings are sonically separated, distantly reverberating against the vaulted ceilings and stained glass of the mana palaces. The piece is mostly in common time, but switches to triple time for a few measures at the beginning.

PoulpyBlast on the French site gameblog has an outstanding reminiscence of this track (translation mine). Note the observation about Kikuta’s superhuman use of percussion:

Plusieurs musiciens ont essayé, sans succès probant, de reprendre ces morceaux, voire simplement de les comprendre, et ont eu le mal de tête de leur vie. Et pour cause : ce morceau est basé entièrement sur des quartes, créant des accords plutôt compliqués à comprendre. Et ce, d'après Kikuta, dans un but bien précis : exprimer le mystère. Car le mystère, c'est beau. Mais le mystère, c'est dur à comprendre pour la plupart des gens, aussi. Aussi, la partie batterie / rythmique de "Mystic Invasion" est remarquable car elle est particulièrement difficile à jouer sur un vrai instrument, étant en même temps calme, groovy et rapide, et adoptant des signatures très étranges, laissant entendre que le mystère, c'est aussi l'imprévisibilité. Le pari est un succès, et "Mystic Invasion" est inoubliable.

Many musicians have tried, but none have succeeded in reproducing [Whisper and Mantra and Mystic Invasion], or even understanding them. [And as a result], they have the headache of a lifetime. It's not hard to understand why: this piece is based entirely in fourths, creating [sounds] that are difficult to understand. And with this, according to Kikuta, ([who had] a very precise goal), [we have] an expression of mystery. As mystery goes, it's beautiful. But the mystery [itself]; it's difficult for most to understand. Additionally, Mystic Invasion's drums and rhythm are remarkable as they are particularly difficult to play on their "real life" instrument, but are also calm, groovy, and fast, adopting very strange time signatures [which suggest] mystery, but also impossibility. It's a gamble that pays off: Mystic Invasion is unforgettable.  

The 2018 remake loses the subdued nature of the original with a much noisier, but also more energetic approach. A harsh sound palette plays the line with no shortage of invasive percussion. This is in contrast to the original which was enough to fade into the background and let the gameplay take over. A subtler second section is added at 1:03 and is followed by a snazzy third which reminds me of mid-tempo New Age tracks of the 90s (according to YouTuber Anicca, this is very similar to “Ancient Dolphin” from Seiken Densetsu 3, so that’s no surprise). This is a strong effort that bests the original, but I miss the latter’s darker qualities.