ALBUM PROJECT: Mario Party 'Dice of Destiny'

[JH Sounds]

http://i38.tinypic.com/33jtzrt.png
I've been conceptualizing this for a while, so I figured I'd make a thread. Anyways, I'm working on a remix album for the first Mario Party game. Since Yasunori Mitsuda did such an great job creating tunes with realistic arrangements, I decided to go electronic. I had been begging for remixes of the apparently unrecognized Mario Party soundtrack for years, so I'm taking it upon myself to get it done. :wink: Here's what's semi-complete at this point:

"Starter" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/aybs-Starter%20(v2).mp3) (Adventure Begins) ~ v2
"808 Stadium" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/putv-808%20Stadium%20(v2.1).mp3) (Mini-Game Stadium) ~ v2.1
"Instruction Manual" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/ssaq-Instruction%20Manual%20(v2.3).mp3) (Playing the Game) ~ v2.3
"Oldskool Jungles" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/zigu-Oldskool%20Jungles%20(v1.1).mp3) (DK's Jungle Adventure) ~ v1.1
"Connected Rainbows" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/umet-Connected%20Rainbows%20(v1.7).mp3) (Mario's Rainbow Castle) ~ v1.7
"Day of Mirth" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/bgoa-Day%20of%20Mirth%20(v2.2).mp3) (Peach's Birthday Cake) ~ v2.2
"Fog of Wario" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/idgx-Fog%20of%20Wario%20(v1).mp3) (Wario's Battle Canyon) ~ v1
"Reversed Engineering" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/uuzt-Reversed%20Engineering%20(v2.5).mp3) (Luigi's Engine Room) ~ v2.5
"Molten Havoc" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/xveh-Molten%20Havoc%20(v1.1).mp3) (Bowser's Magma Mountain) ~ v1.1
"Mushroom Interlude" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/iano-Mushroom%20Interlude%20(v1.1).mp3) (Mushroom Shop, Mushroom Bank) ~ v1.1
"The Loner" (http://www.tindeck.com/audio/file/zgqi-The%20Loner%20(v2).mp3) (Mini-Game Island) ~ v2

Source tune playlist at YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/6jxhmh)

Album art:
http://i34.tinypic.com/15300h4_th.png (http://i34.tinypic.com/15300h4.png)

More tracks will be added when I develop them more. In the meantime, any feedback would be appreciated. :grin:

[thegamefreak0134]

Its been too long since I played that game for me to recognize this particular source, piece, so I'm going to comment on the piece as a whole, without a nod to source.

ZOMG it needs percussion. I'm 100% certain that the entire tone/mood of the remix is going to change when you get percussion added in.

That being said, the main melody needs... improvement. Its just kind of there at the moment, there's nothing that makes me really want to listen to the melody on its own, it kind of serves as something to make you listen to the other parts of the mix.

This has potential, but it would need a lot of work to be accepted, I know that.

All in all though, I definitely hear the classic Mario party vibe in terms of the other non-melody parts.

-gamefreak

[JH Sounds]

Oh, and the source tune for Luigi's Engine Room:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVSlULjF4XI

[Sole Signal]

Wow, that source tune is very similar to Chrono Trigger's "Guardia Castle" theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qboy9lp9GRE

Checked out this mix cause' we need some more Mario Party love here. The sounds are a little generic and it sounds like you've got reverb awash over everything. Even though you're using different synths, they all sound the same. Get some variety in there! :) The melodies are kinda aimless, and this definitely needs some drumwork to pull the track along. Just keep working at it.

[JH Sounds]

Updates! I tweaked "Reversed Engineering" a bit and added "The Loner". Source tune for Mini-Game Island:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtpBLvqzKPw

[JH Sounds]

Tracks added! See first post.

[Salluz]

Very much interested, so I'll keep this posted.

[Berty200]

Wow, i'm pretty excited too.

[JH Sounds]

In that case, I added some more WIPs. :smile:

[JH Sounds]

Whoops, forgot to add the source tunes:

Adventure Begins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbekej4Ccxg)

Mini-Game Stadium (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goYN-EO-r_M)

DK's Jungle Adventure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1h11A9Twu8)

Bowser's Magma Mountain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNeiS6nfZQU)

[JH Sounds]

it's good you're tackling an underremixed game, though I'm not familiar with it.

Thanks. I appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

[blue.nocturne]

I hope you do Rainbow Castle, that was probably my favorite song out of the whole Mario Party series. MP1 definitely had the best music out of all of them, thanks to Yasunori Mitsuda of course.

[JH Sounds]

I hope you do Rainbow Castle, that was probably my favorite song out of the whole Mario Party series.

Poof! I added it to the first post. :wink:

[POCKETMAN]

Of Course!!!!!

I hope all projects are a success. I love this game. :-)

[prophetik]

if you feel like collaborating...

[JH Sounds]

if you feel like collaborating...

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

[Rozovian]

Instruction Manual. Yeah, source is there. And the track is funny. The slow bass notes are a bit too loud, and the whole track feels kind'a heavy on the lows and low mids. It's lacking in the high range. A ride or shaker could work.

Your lead sounds a bit too heavy on the cutoff, it needs them higher frequencies. Pick a weaker filter. It's kind'a sparse, so you might want to layer it a bit more, something in the high mids and highs, very soft, kind'a like what you've got at 1:11. See if you can toss in additional references to source in isntruments like that.

The heavy cutoff and lack of highs takes away from the enjoyability of the track. I like the pacing, but not the mixing.

We'll see when I'll get back to you on the other tracks. There's a lot of tracks.

Please take the time to answer the questions in this post (http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=17963#post442736).

[JH Sounds]

Thanks for the critique. It can be a powerful motivator. :grin:

[prophetik]

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/images/smilies/icon_eek.gif

is that a yes, or did i miss something?

[JH Sounds]

is that a yes, or did i miss something?

Um, I dunno. I guess that depends on how you wish to collab. :neutral:

[prophetik]

i play saxes, i sing, and i can help with arrangements.

[JH Sounds]

Yeah, sure we can collab. I'm not sure how we'd go about doing that, though. :-?

On a related note, I messed with "Instruction Manual" a smidgen and updated it at the first post. At the moment I can't quite figure out how to add more source without adversely affecting the mood, so I'll let that sit for a minute.

[JH Sounds]

Oh, and since it's my birthday I felt inspired to put up a WIP for Peach's Birthday Cake. :grin:

[Rozovian]

All right, here's my thoughts, with no regards to what version the tracks are. :D

Oldskool Jungles

Kick needs more bass, and the rhythm strings thing could use some more highs and a sharper attack. Source is used well, imo. Overall balance puts it at lacking some highs, but that's mostly because there's no hats/shaker and most of the instruments are cut off.

Middle section could use some change in texture, the backing shigh strings are kind'a annoying. Give them a slight slow phaser effect, move their cutoff, do something.

Drums, overall, are too soft, imo, and your lead doesn't cut through well enough. It's fine to have the cutoff like that during the softer build-up sections, but open it more when you want the lead to strike through the soundscape.

--

Reversed Engineering:

The sound choices here are pretty soft. the quack-like bass backing is the only one that I actually don't like, the rest are fine with me, altho soft. I was expecting something more industrial than this. :D

It gets kind'a repetitive, especially wit the quack, but the overall progression could use some changes in texture, if not writing. Change the backing, at least, or the key sig (which can change a tune drastically).

Nice ending. :D Anyway, the source wasn't very industrial either, so I suppose this is fine, albeit a little too soft for my taste.

--

Connected Rainbows:

Whoa, the source is just plain lovely. :D Yours doesn't start off on that note, tho, yours takes a good 30 seconds before there's a sound that I think is fitting for it. I'd go softer with the drums and maybe rewrite the intro, giving it a feel more suited the original earlier on. The first instrument could do well with shorter notes (and tweaked adsr), little plucks, giving it something of a music box sound.

The backing strings overlap a little too much to sound clean, you should probably shorten the notes a little. There's a high-range harpsichord-like synth here that's particularly annoying that I'd get rid of if I were you, replace it with something similar but less.. idunno, grating?

The latter half of the remix is a bit too repetitive for my liking. You could break into something more interpreted around 1:51, or just move to another part of the source to keep things from getting old.

--

Mushroom Interlude:

This starts off great, imo. Quite different from source, but I can clearly hear the source anyway. Good interpretation is what that means. :D

I like the bends around 1:25. Before then tho, the second iteration of the source could use some more interpretation. I suggest you start off the same, do something else, and finish it the same. This track could use a bit more variation, tho, perhaps a key sig step down instead of up would do it.

--

808 Stadium:

Pretty cool until the 0:52 synth comes in. The pulsating background is a little annoying, you might want to tone that down for part of the track at least, as are the sfx btw.

Going organ towards the end is... an interesting move. It's better than the 0:52 synth, but still feels a little weird.

--

Day of Mirth:

Ooh, the source has some very familiar elements to it. :D Your remix is quite different in feel. I'm not feeling the snare, tho, I'd replace it. Like the other tracks, this one gets a bit repetitive soon, you might want to change things up a little more.

Not sure what to say about the bass. I think there are better basses for this. Something smoother. The cutoff close that it does is fine, but its sound is a little... goofy.

I thinkt he track could be shorter, considering some of it is just indue repetition. Changing the repetition into something new and interesting would of course be better, but cutting is better than leaving, imo.

--

Starter:

Niiice. The intro is just plain perfect. Actually, the whole track is kind'a like an intro, and it's... close to perfect. gets a bit repetitive around the 1:30 mark. Not much to say about it. Oh, one thing, I didn't like how you ended the saw pad in the bg. You could have closed its cutoff completely instead of just ending the note, it would have been a smoother finish fot it.

--

Molten Havoc:

The woodwind-like synth could use some shorter release and some overtones/more open cutoff, it blends together a bit too much and doesn't stand out enough. Source is cool (ironically), and so's yours, but in a whole 'nother way.

It's a little low on highs, tho, but that's an easy EQ fix. Snare could use some variation in sound, perhaps in writing as well. The track goes by without any clear progression, which in some tracks is a good thing. I don't mind it, but if that's not what you want, considering giving the track a more clear structure.

--

The Loner:

Too abrupt change at 0:32, Flute-ish synths around the middle could use some resonance cuts, they're a little hard on the ears. btw, it sounds a bit Zelda-ish, its go to be the chords there. :D

At the end, the piano blends together with itself, you should probably clean up the release/EQ/resonance issues it's got. Might be that a reverbed piano, slightly softened and with a mid-range reverb (with the highs cut), would be better than what you've got now. I dunno, just guessing/suggesting.

--

That's it. Good luck with the project. It sounds like it's gonna be pretty enjoyable. :D

[JH Sounds]

Heh, I just about to mess around with my tracks when you posted. Excellent timing, bro. :smile:

[Chiwalker]

I say change 'Connected Rainbows' to 3/4 time

I think that Mario's Castle piece is by far the best piece in Mario Party, so I would suggest maybe keeping it a little closer to the original...(which is 3/4)

[JH Sounds]

I say change 'Connected Rainbows' to 3/4 time

Really? 'Cause I had the idea of doing a 4/4 hip hop piece in my head since 1999... :|

[SoulinEther]

Do you really plan on doing the whole project yourself? :O

Anyway, regarding Starter. At 1:12/1:13 (or 1:26) when that melody thing gets repeated again, if things spontaneously got... heavy...(starting with the drums/percussions) it would feel so right, like a killer electric guitar or an intense synth or something.. You could then take it back to mellow and intro-y and close it off as you did. Unless your goal was to leave me without a climax, in which case I think you've succeeded lol.

To me, this sounds like a better intro to the game than the original one, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...

too lazy (and sugar-loaded) to critique anything else, but this stuff is certainly interesting.

[JH Sounds]

Do you really plan on doing the whole project yourself? :O

I dunno... I'll probably end up doing somewhere around 20 tracks in total. The production aspect of the project is sorta bogging me down lately.

[Mr Azar]

Consider me a fan :mrgreen:.

[JasonP27]

You should try mixing in the little catchy tune just before you start a mini-game, when you read the instructions for the mini-game. I love that song, though it's only a short song so you'd have to integrate it into one of the other songs somehow.