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*NO* Guardian Legend 'Miria's Legacy'


Liontamer
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Contat info:

Remixer name: Being Jayadev
Real Name: Jeff Jarjoura
Website: www.facebook.com/beingjayadev
UserID: 34583

Submission Info:

Game Arranged: The Guardian Legend
Name of Arrangement: Miria's Legacy
Songs Arranged:
1: The Guardian Legend (title theme)
2: Message Room
3: Area 0/ Naju Gateway
4: Taking Off
5: Corridors 7, 8 17 & 18/ Alien Sector Flight
6: Areas 6 & 9/ Crystal Sector
7: Bonus!
8: Corridors 9, 10, 19 and 20
9: Boss Theme 1
10: Corridor 21/ Final Flight
11: Ending/ Staff Roll
12: Game Over

Commentary:

Here's my first submission.  I've been a fan of this site since the early days.  I've been playing with music production as a hobby since 2012 and I'm proud to present what is likely the best thing I have produced thus far.  The Guardian Legend came into my life through a very special friend during the classic NES years and I was always floored by the music.  Through the years, I became very fond of innovative progressive rock through bands like Dream Theater, Blind Guardian and the genius producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen.  I have arranged 12 select tracks from TGL in a prog rock themed anthem that I hope tickles your eardrums.  I would have liked to include more of the original soundtrack, all of the music is incredible.  I considered every single track for part of the compilation. In the end, a stream-of-consciousness approach revealed a very natural progression in their original keys.  I hope you enjoy it!

Namaste!
Being Jayadev

I have included the file as an attachment, but here is a link to a shared Google drive folder with the same file:

 

LT's note: open the video in it's own tab and view the video's comments, which you click timestamps for the original songs.

 

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Having played this one a bit as a kid and also researched the soundtrack for names, I'm really familiar with this game's music and was excited to see a medley in the queue.

The robotic & blocky-sounding timing of the electric guitar synth was the dealbreaker here; it doesn't have the tone of a real guitar and just sounds very exposed and unrealistic. Look into something like Impact Soundworks' Shreddage series.

As far as the other instrumentation, a lot of the proggy jazz-style drumwork didn't have any synergy with the electric guitar.

Mixing-wise, I thought the drums should have been pulled back some to start, but then at :30 you had the title theme's main melody start up and the textures immediately felt empty; it doesn't mean you add in part-writing for the sake of, but a musician judge can speak more to what you can do here to properly fill out your textures. Right now, the textures felt half-filled for many sections despite the volume of the piece. 4:00's section was also a victim of this relative emptiness and lack of synergy with the drumkit, really starting at 4:07.

Many of the transitions were OK, but some of the transitions like 1:47 to "Labyrinth: Area 0" were just abrupt and broke the flow of the track. It's OK to submit medleys, and having some jumpy transitions isn't an automatic DQ, but keep in mind that the piece should flow like one cohesive idea overall. DaMonz's Kirby Super Star "Fluffball Rampage" is a good example of this in a similar progressive vein to your track, and I want to be clear that I'm not saying that none of your theme transitions were good.

Meanwhile, the bass writing here almost didn't even register in my ear until 1:48, and I'm wearing headphones. And then after 1:48 the bass was booming -- problem was, it's all super low-end thumping yet no clarity to the sound.

2:54's transition to "Labyrinth: Area 6, 9" wasn't horrible, but also wasn't smooth. At 3:00, the chip elements were too loud and bright/clean compared to the guitar, which sounded pushed back and muddy. That said, I liked the writing of the section, with the original chip writing sounding really energetic and combining your own ideas with the VGM.

The quick but smoother transition from "Master Monster A" to "Dungeon: Corridor 21" theme at 4:41 was given some thought to the flow. The complete drop before 5:13 starting was a genuine transition into the "Mission Complete" ending theme; a little abrupt due the instrumentation change, but at least thought out. I liked the way that theme then smoothly shifted to the "Game Over" jingle at 6:12; good finish, though it probably didn't need the SFX in there right at the end.

I'm looking forward to the other votes on this, but I'd put the issues in this order:

1. The guitar synth timing has to be humanized or this is DOA.
2. Fill out the emptier sections with some sort of padding.
3. Make sure your instrumental textures are cohesive; some of your instruments need to be changed.
4. Smooth out some of the more jarring transitions.
5. Clean up/re-balance the mixing.

This is an ambitious piece that's not well-executed yet and doesn't fully flow, but it shows off good potential, Jeff. Hopefully the musician judges can better speak to how you can improve this and I hope we hear more from you.

NO (resubmit)

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Larry has some really solid points here, and honestly there isn't too much to add beyond bringing up a couple other sections that could be improved in the transitions or filling out. 1:25 is one of those, it's essentially melody, drums, and bass that's really hard to hear, and the section feels empty. The chip section at 3:00 are good, though I think they are just a little overpowering to the melody. The 4:00 transition is awkward, it feels like the track stumbled into a new area. 

There is some really fun writing here, and the energy of the track is pretty solid. That being said, there is still a lot of work to be done, partly due to how ambitious the track is overall. If it feels like it's a bit too much to chew, consider breaking out a few tracks and expanding them into their own separate mixes. Good luck!

NO (resubmit)

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  • 2 weeks later...

wew, Larry really went into detail for this one.  Sadly I've never played the game more than just a few minutes so I can't say I'm very familiar with the soundtrack, but Larry seems to be very familiar with it hence the very detailed evaluation.  For the most part I agree with the issues he raises, the guitar mainly feels very blocky.  Most of the transitions worked for me with some exceptions such as 1:40.  The mix feels muffled throughout, with the guitars feeling very far back and the drums taking too much prominence.  The bass lacks definition, and the only element that I thought was getting proper level and eqing was the chip lead, even properly going into the background at 3:32, but the guitar is just not taking over properly due to the muffled mix. 

Now for the good stuff I find the chip lead works really well, and really, the soloing here is very good throughout.  The drum sequencing here is just amazing, tons of detail and pacing changes that sound natural and fit each sections.  Even though this is a medley, this could work with just a few transitions adjustments.

I feel you have the arrangement chops but gotta step up the production.  The mix needs brightness and definition in everything but the chip lead, and I really recommend to join us on our workshop on the forums or on discord and look for a guitarist.  We usually have people interested in collaborating specially with well-done arrangements.  

BTW, I checked your Serendipitous Synchronicity track and it was amazing.  This one though needs another pass.

NO (resubmit)

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  • Sir_NutS changed the title to *NO* Guardian Legend 'Miria's Legacy'
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