*NO* Bubble Bobble 'Waterdrop Ending (Storybook Version)'

Contact Information

Remixer Name: Jennerstein

Real Name: Jared Ong

Website: www.jongmusic.com

Userid: 24986

Submission Inforrmation

Name of Mp3 submission: Waterdrop Ending (Storybook Version)

Name of Game Arranged: Bubble Bobble (NES Version)

Name of Individual Song Arranged from Game: Happy Ending

(Note. The song is not specifically named on the OC Remix Bubble Bobble page, but can be found in the chiptunes as track 11. http://www.ocremix.org/game/bubble-bobble-nes/chiptunes/ VGM Music identifies track 11 as "Happy Ending". More specifically, I'm arranging the music that plays over the credits. )

Comments:

After what seemed like months of trying to beat Bubble Bobble with my siblings, we finally defeated the humongous boss and watched the credits roll. I remember hearing music play over the credit and thinking that the prettiness of the melody was masked by the limitations of the NES' sound capabilities.

Many years later, that thought surfaced again and I decided to see if I couldn't come up with a remix to do the music justice. I truly believe that video games should have a good payoff with memorable end game music.

The piece has ambient, new age, and dance influences. One of the major changes I've introduced is an extended "chorus section." The original piece of music had a chorus section that seemed to end a bit abruptly. To remedy that, I use a deceptive cadence (i.e. V -> VI) in order to extend the passage for a few more measures. I think this makes the melody flow better.

I really enjoyed playing with different patches within Omnisphere (a soft synth) to try and recreate the essence of Bubble Bobble. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you,

Jared

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http://www.zophar.net/download_file/13475 - Track 31

I really like this arrangement idea, the gentle new age take on it. It's a little bit conservative with only some rhythm and emphasis changes until the deceptive cadence section you mentioned, but that little addition was cool. I'd say it's different enough from the original.

The low and high frequencies of the track felt empty and overall the soundscape sounded a little quirky. I'd like the piano to sound more upfront, the kick to sound more pushed back, the shaker and hats less panned and more incorporated into the soundscape. Some use of airy pads to fill the high frequencies would have been nice, and bringing out more of the highs of the piano. Overall, I think this aspect of the track is dragging it down and needs to be fixed. The rest of it sounds great and I encourage you to send us another version. IMO this is not far from a pass.

EDIT (10/13): Jared sent another version more recently that improves the production slightly. The balance is better and I wouldn't say it sounds empty in the highs or lows anymore. The other problems are still there and I noticed that the string articulations are unnatural sometimes, usually the attacks. That is something that should be fixed too.

NO (resubmit)

What, what a beautiful track- The deceptive cadence you've added is brilliant, and the arrangement overall is excellent. It reminds me of some of my favorite Yuki Kajiura songs, with all of the details surrounding a beautiful melody. This is what i like to hear in a remix, where there is a lot of original, but a distinct twist that enhances and improves upon the source.

Production in some areas is pretty weak though, specifically some of the string articulations when they are in the forefront, and some of the reverbs.

The marcato strings have too similar of an attack, the upstrokes shouldn't be quite as pronounced, and the legato note has too slow of an attack. They also seem a bit harshly EQ'ed. They cut enough, but they seem a little brittle. An easy, but crucial fix.

Reverb-wise, I think too many elements have too much reverb on them, specifically percussion. The hi-hat shaker bleeds a little too much in some of the frequencies, but it's contained to the left side, but when the kick comes in, it's a little too muddy to fit. I think the sound works, but a little EQ cutting in your mid and low mids on just the reverb would help it out a lot. Toning down the decay would help too. The cymbal crashes are also a little too sizzling, and could stand to brought down a little.

This is seriously one of my favorite tracks i've heard all year, OCR or no, and I would be personally devastated if you didn't fix this up, because I want a lot of people to hear this track. ;_;

no, please please please resub

Nice track! Don't think I really had any gripes with the arrangement itself, but the execution and production left a good amount to be addressed.

Try to make good use of the WIP forums because I think getting a lot of feedback about specific things you can and should improve will definitely help you out. Without taking all evening, some very quick pointers I can give is that the piano sounds a little too spacious and muffled--like it was recorded with a too-far-away mic, and that doesn't really mix well with the other instruments that sound a little closer and more dry. It's like I'm listening to the remix in the lobby of the concert hall.

The cymbals are too loud and don't really blend with the rest of the soundscape. The high hat abruptly stops at 1:56 in a weird way, doesn't really sound like a natural spot to kill them.

Definitely lots of room for improvement. A good foundation as far as the melodic arrangement goes but the overall execution is pretty novice. Keep at it!

NO