Chimpazilla Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Whoo!!Game Boy album song, but the album will be out before this gets to you!Game: Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors (Game Boy Color, 2002 Infogrames)Composer: Katsunari Kitajima, Hiroshi Taniguchi, Katsuzo Sugihashi, Yosuke KinoshitaSources: Prologue, Solemn Moment, Game Over1. 2. 3. Title: Super Sand Legend0:00 - 1:24 = Prologue1:37 - 2:16 = Game Over2:18 - 2:35 = Prologue (1:23 in source, loose, source is mess)2:39 - 3:23 = Game Over3:28 - End = Solemn MomentI remember when I was a kid, I'd always get off the school bus, run to the TV and flip on Toonami so I could catch the latest episode of someone powering up. Will he ever power up? Find out next time! As for me, I feel like I powered up a lil' on this one, at least during the middle heavy part. The nice acoustic parts were more like a power down! Whooo! Well, the acoustic parts are like the Kaio-ken and the heavy bit is full-on Super Saiyan. I loved writing and performing this one, especially dat ending. It was a very fulfilling experience, would do again. The great thing about this song, and Super Chai Tea Latte, is that I recorded them with totally fresh strings... not the usual dead strings used out of laziness or lack of inventory. I definitely think using fresh strings improves the sound quality. I've never actually played this game, but when I was growing up, I lived Dragon Ball Z, so I just HAD to tackle this. Not to mention I had claimed it years ago when The_Damned and Willrock were running this dern album.I could have sworn I used that ending riff in an original song, but I couldn't figure out which one, so maybe I didn't. But I thought I was copying the original song the whole time I "wrote" that acoustic guitar part. Dear goodness..... And now I don't think I can use the riff.... can I? I mean, I JUST used it, but I mean in an original song. That kinda blows my mind, to be honest.Prologue: Game Over: Solemn Moment: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 I'm paneling this mainly because I'm not familiar with these sources and I'm struggling just a bit in hearing the sources in the mix. A little extra J help is appreciated. This is a well crafted mix as per usual from Brandon. I think the synth lead at 1:37 might be the weakest aspect in the mix, it fits in the least with the other instrumentation (there are no other synth instruments in the whole mix), and it sounds a little thin against the heavy rhythm guitars. I'd love more synth accents, but that's just an opinion. This isn't my favorite mix from Brandon, it feels a bit "by the numbers" if I'm totally honest. It is well done but plays it safe in many ways. Still, quite a nice track, performances are solid. As long as source use checks out, I'm a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Definitely enough source usage going on in this. At first, I didn't realize that Game Over has a melody line because it's so buried by the arpeggios, but Brandon uses it a bit during the Game Over sections, as well as the arpeggios later on. Actually, the source usage is pretty straightforward if you know what to listen for. I thought the arrangement was solid and well-executed, as I expect from Brandon nowadays. The soft and hard sections are both performed very well, and the arrangement segues between the two very comfortably (something many remixers struggle with). It's true that this isn't new territory for Brandon, but I hope that doesn't undersell it; Brandon is really good at rock arrangements like this. This one shines. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 I definitely encouraged Chimpa to panel this due to her wanting extra help with the source verification, so, Brandon, don't bug the judges about being paneled. Sometimes more obscure game themes aren't as catchy/memorable, so we'll panel stuff to prove due diligence on a source check. Trust but verify. We'll get through this. Like Palpable, I DEFINITELY don't notice that melodic line in the Game Over source because it's so buried, and I'd also argue the Prologue portion from 1:23 of the source referenced around 2:18 in the mix was also something that was easy to miss due to the balance of the source. Anyway, for a 4:36-long piece, I needed at least 138 seconds of overt source usage for it to be dominant in the arrangement. :00-1:07, 1:37-2:08, 2:56-3:02.75, 3:04.75-3:10, 3:44-4:17.75 = 143.75 seconds or 52% overt source usage I thought that some of Brandon's treatment of the sources was more "inspired by" than following the melodies, but that was more during leadups to the main melodies of each of the 3 themes, so I'm sure there's more source usage than what I ID'ed here. That said, I agreed with Palp that when you are able to hear what parts of themes are being used, the overall source usage is certainly dominant. As far as the piece in a vacuum, I loved the transitions and changes in the dynamics and instrumentation; typical Brandon excellence with his rock pieces, full of great instruments. Anytime he goes with both acoustic and electric guitar, he nails it and weaves together something that flows very naturally. Nice touches with the woodwinds and mallet percussion for the final "Solemn Moment" section, with the mallet percussion coming full circle with the intro. The final portion at 3:27 was great. Pretty progressive yet mellow structure for the 4 1/2 minutes, and an awesome contribution to Legacy. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 i've come to expect nothing less from a strader track arrangement is intelligent, stays fresh and expressive. as an ocremix track, it is pushing the boundaries a bit with his interpretation of the sources, it's actually quite loose at points. it still is clearly an arrangement of the said sources, though, and as such is good enough by me. everything else is great. the guitar playing is emotive and strong; i love your acoustic chops, especially in the final minute as you lead us out the track. it's a great way to end the track this is standard strader fanfare. which means its strong. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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