In every positive way that's possible, The Vodoú Queen's entry for Lufia II: Of Gods and Men may be the wildest transformation of the bunch! VQ's "puzzling" experience with Lufia II when she was growing up ultimately led to her moving mountains:

"Lufia II was one of the first RPGs as a kid I had ever had the pleasure to play solo, and, to this very day, I remember renting it from Blockbuster for the first time -- ages past -- and thoroughly enjoying it. Great story, a colorful cast of quirky characters, and, to top it all off, mind-busting puzzles galore. I don't think I've ran into many games up to that point (or since) that utilized such a wide variety of puzzle mechanics, and skills related to each, that were almost seamlessly interwoven with the overall gameplay elements, and, at that young age, it blew me away and boggled me, for sure.

...Was probably the most fun, albeit aggravating bit of puzzle solving I've done in any game.

In this, I had an interesting time reliving the nostalgia (...perhaps more like PTSD) of hearing the theme to Dragon Mountain once more, and I am truly ecstatic and lucky that I had caught the ability to make a remix for the album when I did. I was aware it was in a hellscape limbo for the longest time of not getting released (almost two decades!!!), and I didn't think I had a shot... but I took the gambit, asked Gario what's the 4-1-1, and here we happily are. :)

For anyone wondering, the title is a bit of a tongue n' cheek inside joke about the wacky puzzles in Lufia II, in particular one infamously known by the nickname/moniker "The World's Most Difficult Trick" ("TWMDT"); this is in relation to the pretty damned tough sliding puzzle at the end of Dragon Mountain (that a *whole lot of people* cheated on using gamer magazines, GameFAQs, or RPGClassics websites to figure out how to do), and it held some of the best items/gear in the game for either the party or your dragon companion, Capsule Monster.

...And, OH BOY, do I remember it, and the puzzles before it (the weight puzzle, the ice blocks, the burning plants, etc.) ... And the *frequent* amount of random battles in between (hence the interlude with "Battle #1"!)

Truly, the greatest pro gamer move is just spamming the "RESET" spell like a mo-fo until you passed it. ;)"

VQ's combination of "Towering Mountain" and "Battle #1" otherwise defies conventional classifications, but rattling off her musical influences may help all of us wrap our minds around this:

"Jokes aside, I did not have a particular inspiration for this piece, but the closest to ones are probably artists like Savant, GameChops, Dj Cutman, Joshua Morse, and James Landino, and my approach was rather random AF. It came together and was built in a way more piecemeal fashion, oddly me working from the top (high-end synths) to the bottom (bass, drums, percs, and kicks) rather than the opposite way... as, this time, I tried to find the vibe within the source's lead material first and foremost, rather than via the source's bass or additional drum machine/samples. And it was a wild ride. People who had a glimpse at this track over the time I've been working on it and endlessly tweaking it can attest: it had grown and mutated and was thoroughly carved and fleshed out and embellished over a lengthy period... and I think the improvements are there and shine to a fine waxed polish. :) A lot of my focus here was on tightening technique and employing more interesting synth groupings, call and response, and chord stacks than I ever had before -- in pursuit of strengthening my hardcore EDM skills. I wanted a banger, I craved it, and, with Lufia II (being one of my fave RPGs from the SNES era), I'm glad it was the one I gave said treatment to.

...This may not have been the "world's most difficult [track]", but it certainly pushed the limits of my current arranging, mixing, and production knowledge and skills, and added an abundance more to my repertoire. :D Thanks again to those who gave me a lot of hints, tips, tricks, and critique on this piece (y'all know who you are!), and to Gario for helping me, encouraging me along the way, and allowing me to add some spice to the wonderful album stew. If it weren't for those comments and this opportunity, I do not think the song would have elevated to the heights I've managed to raise it to. [...]

Big shout out to all the judges and to ZackParrish.

The judges had given me the opportunity and encouragement to go back into the first mastered version of this remix and do it again, but better. Their critique and positive feedback not only gave me the focus and resources to re-balance and re-work all of the mixing and pre-mastering from the ground up, but made me feel proud and good about the track with such high praise for it, even though it still needed a little more TLC for a resubmission. I'm very glad and hopeful we've delivered on that, and learned more stuff for the toolbelt, to boot. I try to put my all into innovation, sound design, and storytelling, and come fighting with strong arrangements. Despite this piece taking about 6 months and over a dozen some-odd variations/iterations (from start to finish) to make... and I wanted to leap outta window by the end -- I'm glad the work and effort shines through. It's an (at times, very painful) journey and process, but, in the end, it was necessary to bring forth its full potential, as presented here.

And last, but certainly not least, big ups and hugs to my partner-in-crime Zack for coming in hot at the zero hour to consult with me on the bass mixture and assist with the final balancing act for the new unmastered and mastered renders. He's a hero in the truest sense. TYSM, buddy. <3"

Hard work pays off, because this is the coolest Lufia arrangement I've ever heard, flat out pro-grade Japanese official arrangement album energy. Extremely creative ideas and sound design from VQ, and Zack shines as always on the mastering side to help this sound its best. As album director Gario recommends, DON"T MAEK A MISTEAK [sic] by passing this (or the rest of the Lufia II: Of Gods and Men album) up:

"One of the most interesting arrangements on the album, it's nothing like you'd ever expect. Really has a lot of fun with the concept of resetting the "World's Most Difficult Trick" in-game, and the synthesized vocals add so much flavor to the track, to boot. Honestly, you'll hear nothing like it elsewhere, so don't skip this one!"