Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of Donkey Kong Country's UK release, and so to celebrate, a musician and animator by the name of Bulby has decided to mark the occasion in style, releasing a new video featuring a Mega Man-style remix of one of the game's most famous tracks: Aquatic Ambience.
In case you're somehow unfamiliar, Aquatic Ambience is the underwater theme from the classic 1994 Super Nintendo title. It was composed by the Rare maestro Dave Wise and was introduced in the level Coral Capers, before being reused in later stages such as Clam City, Croctopus Chase, and Poison Pond.
The song is noted for its atmospheric and laidback sound and features a group of 8 waveforms forming a bassline at its heart before layering on various other instruments and effects. It has been sampled and remixed countless times in the past. However, Bulby's remix caught our attention thanks to just how flawlessly the musician has managed to capture the essence of the original Donkey Kong Country piece while borrowing several cues from Capcom's Mega Man titles for the NES.
The track, for instance, starts off quite similar to the original arrangement but gradually introduces a stronger percussive sound, reminiscent of the one heard across the 8-bit series, as well as some additional tempo changes that are introduced with a beautiful, sweeping melody on synth.
It's a fabulous rearrangement and one that is made even better thanks to the accompanying YouTube video that includes an equally stunning custom animation (made in collaboration with the custom sprite artist Ellian) that sees a version of Donkey Kong with Mega Man-like proportions travelling through a recreation of Coral Capers, complete with KONG collectibles, the animal friend Enguarde, and enemies like Bitesize, Croctopus, and Chomps.