*NO* Thunder Force 3 'Phoenix Fire'

[Chimpazilla]

Contact Information

ReMixer name: Wave Beam
Real name: Timo Holopainen
Email address: 
Forum userid: 33003

Submission Information

Name of game(s) arranged: Thunder Force III
Name of arrangement: Phoenix Fire
Name of individual song(s) arranged: Venus Fire
Additional information about game:
        - System: Arcade, SNES (renamed as Thunder Spirits), Sega Genenis
        - Composers: Toshiharu Yamanishi, Tomomi Ootani, Naosuke Arai
Link to the original soundtrack: 

Comments

This is the first arrangement I'm submitting to OverClocked ReMix. I've made a couple of arrangements before, but this is one of the better ones that's decent enough. I tried to keep the overall sound as close as the original. The first versions of this song had multiple guitar and synth tracks, but I decided to reduce them to a single guitar and two synths to complement each other. I think the result is simpler but more effective.

Thunder Force games are highly rated shoot 'em ups for good reasons, and the third is my favorite. I decided to create a remix of Venus Fire (Gorgon stage music) as it is one of the most famous and iconic song in the series. Plus the stage itself is just plain awesome with its blazing flames in the background.

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

Right away the sampled guitar sounds very mechanically sequenced.  The arrangement sounds very much like the original, too close to meet our standards.  This is almost a midi-rip from what I hear, but I do hear some original soloing near the end, that's a step in the right direction.  You'll need to add some more personalization to the track, add more melody personalization, alter the chord progression somewhere in the track, change up the drum groove or vary the instrumentation or find other ways to set it further apart from the original (while still keeping it recognizable).  

As for production, every instrument is competing for frequency space so the soundscape sounds muddy.  The drums are weak and quiet and the drum groove is repetitive.  Synth timbres are dry and lifeless.  I recommend you post your track into our wip forums where you will get further advice on how to improve this.

NO

[Sir_NutS]

Agreed with Deia on all accounts.  The guitar instrument is very fake sounding, though the lack of humanization isn't helping much, and although there's nothing wrong with the synth used for the lead its constant use throughout the track tired me after the first 2 minutes.  The transition towards the break at 3:10 wasn't set up very well, and this section is a very stark contrast to the rest of the track, as when it comes up it feels really empty.  The drums aren't exactly disappearing in the mix, but they could have more presence.

This is also VERY close to the source, with very little original material and a lot of looping.  It doesn't help that the style is also very close to what the original sounds like.  You need to try to put your own spin on these arrangements, so it sounds less like a cover and more like a reinterpretation of the artist's vision.

NO
I'll leave my Kris-Deia mix-up as public punishment for my folly.   In my defense, I didn't get any coffee this morning.

[Jivemaster]

Great song choice. You have a few challenges here with your mix:

• Mix is very close to the original. We need more you in the arrangement.
  • The mix repeats itself fairly regularly, such as with the guitar riff and drums. This stems back to following the original source too closely.
  • Your track is mostly in the same gear for the duration. I enjoyed the breakdown at 3:10 but more needed to be done before that point to change things up.
• Instrumentation is quite basic and a little MIDI like at times, a lot of this has to do with the rigid nature of your sequencing.
  • Drum sounds were basic and the sequencing repetitive. Felt drums needed more body/power. Enjoyed the disco toms.
  • The sampled guitar in your mix is definitely stiff, however I did enjoy it somewhat, as to me it felt like you were going for that chopped up sampled vibe. It didn't help however that it was surrounded by a lot of rigidly sequenced parts.
• Lead synth is a bit generic, would've loved to hear some tweaks over time to accentuate different notes. Soloing near the end was reasonable.
• For me I felt there wasn't quite enough new material across the mix to justify the duration.
• Mixing wasn't too bad although use of stereo space could be improved.

With your foundation set here, you need to enhance the arrangement and work on the way you present your sounds. As it stands, it sounds more like modernisation of the original. Potentially shorten some sections and drop in new melodies, introduce changes more often, add some humanisation to the mix in places, tweak your leads. These will build up and give you a better chance here.

NO