Smooth McGroove is not just a man, but a one man army that transports me through time and space to various times in my childhood.
That moment of wonder, when I was finally allowed to own a Sega Genesis, and began to see more than the first few levels of a Sonic game when I played at a friend's house? Done.
Owning a game-boy, and playing a game so engrossing it got me over my phobia of flying on a 1/2 dozen trips? Done.
Hours, and hours, and HOURS of frustration, yet thrilling moments of victory and determination? Nailed it.
When I realized games could not only be fun, but also touching and poignant? Got that too.
I'm seriously impressed with his skill as a reverse composer, and I can't imagine the amount of mixing and editing that must be done for his videos and the sound files themselves to merge them just right. He's a seriously good artist.
Wait, artist? Yeah, this man and his works give me another indication that video games are, slowly but surely, on their way to becoming part of mainstream culture, and therefore, closer to being considered art to the majority who know what a video game is. How he is able to "recompose" soundbytes into an Acapella Composition where there is many versions of himself playing as individual insturments demonstrates how complex it really can be, and the emotional reactions that people have to his work (which a quick scroll through his comments section proves actually does happen) elucidates that people don't always see a video game as a one dimensional "win and forget" genre.
I won't be ashamed in stating I've lost hours in going through his Youtube videos, just savoring where his soundbytes take me. I'm also looking forward to more - I wouldn't complain with some more Chrono Trigger, and I'm not above begging in order to see one of my childhood favorites, Ristar, one day get a track up on his queue.
-Wyatt
Extra note - Sorry for the long delay in posts in the last few weeks, but we have a few big doozy projects starting for the fall and winter coming up. In addition, the "Something Shiny" series is going to be something we hope to keep promoting - whenever we find someone else saying something incredibly poignant, or someone else like us that really deserves to get some more credit here on the internet, we'll post about it here. Have suggestions? Leave them in the comments!
