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*NO* Ufouria 'Above the Clouds'


OceansAndrew
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Hi,

Long time listener, first time submitter. This song is a loose, mainly-piano interpretation of parts of the main level theme + the credits theme of Hebereke / Ufouria, a cute NES platformer made by Sunsoft. It starts off with the source material then kind of flows from there, with phrases from Hebereke's music mixed in and expanded upon throughout. There's a short phrase from the title screen at the very end as well. It's supposed to evoke kind of a floaty feeling of being above the clouds (hence the title), and simple as it may be, I think it accomplishes that nicely.

Here's a source breakdown:

Starts off with the main level theme (0:06 of NSF track 1) in a different key, then flows from there

1:01 - 1:32 (comes from 0:19-0:31 of the main level theme NSF track 1)

1:33 (flowing from main level theme again)

2:33 - 3:23 (0:29-0:55 of track 11 of NSF - "credits")

3:00 - 3:23 (0:40-0:53 of track 5 of NSF - "title screen")

Zophar's Domain link to NSF source

http://www.zophar.net/music/nsf/hebereke.html

And the requisite information:

Your ReMixer name: Drakken

Your real name: Josh Freund

Your email addres: jfreund1@gmail.com

Your userid: http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=26449 User ID: 26449

Name of game(s) arranged: released as Hebereke in Japan and Ufouria in Europe; finally released for the Virtual Console in America as Ufouria in 2010

Name of individual song(s) arranged: Main Level Theme/Credits/Title Screen

System: NES

Composer: Nobuyuki Hara, Shinichi Seya, Naoki Kodaka (per VGMDB)

Fwiw, the "official" titles from the VGMDB page are "Hebereke" for the title screen, "Hebe Adventure" for the main level theme, and "Glorious Hebe" for the credits

Thanks for your consideration and for running such an awesome website!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nice dreamy and spacious piano sound here, it suits the melody well.

This is a very personalized take on the source, and the adjusted tempo and minor changes to the melody are immediately apparent. It's interesting how the source music reminds me of kid icarus, and the remix is more like something i'd hear in a final fantasy game, but it's a good fit for the material.

I think the pads are a touch on the loud side, but they do give a warm, enveloping feeling to the song, and while the flute sample isn't the best, it gets the job done.

Pretty good use of the different source themes, and blending them together with original materiel.

Yes

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  • 1 month later...

If I didn't listen to the sources beforehand, I would not know that there were different sources in here. They are melded together very well, and overall the arrangement is really nice and personalized.

Pads might be a touch loud as Andrew mentioned, but I personally didn't have much of an issue with them. Overall the soundscape is very nice, and I liked the subtle use of dynamics and rubato.

Kinda want to take a nap now,

YES

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Great source, I'd never heard it before. Sunsoft's music team was on a roll in the NES days.

I was confused by this at first, because the simplicity and heavy reverb of the piano made me think more instruments were going to come in. Only after a minute, I realized this was mostly piano. For a piano-led song, I think the piano has to sound more fluid and varied than this. The left-hand keeps playing the same way almost the entire time at the same velocities. To me, that's way too simplistic given that the piano is the lead instrument (sometimes only instrument). There was also a stiffness to both hands that didn't suit the piece. Pads were also a little loud and in the way, but compared to the piano, weren't major. Please take another look at humanizing the piano and maybe bringing it out of the reverb a little so that it doesn't sound quite as background-y.

NO (resubmit)

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  • 1 month later...

nice adaptation here, you blended these sources seamlessly. I agree with Palp though; the piano writing was kinda sparse despite being the main and only instrument for half of the song, and could use some more humanization, esp. in the note velocities. I also agree that the pad was a little too forward, and I think I hear some light distortion being caused by the piano and it's thick reverb. pretty easy fixes, I'd say.

NO(resub)

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I was confused by this at first, because the simplicity and heavy reverb of the piano made me think more instruments were going to come in. Only after a minute, I realized this was mostly piano. For a piano-led song, I think the piano has to sound more fluid and varied than this. The left-hand keeps playing the same way almost the entire time at the same velocities. To me, that's way too simplistic given that the piano is the lead instrument (sometimes only instrument). There was also a stiffness to both hands that didn't suit the piece. Pads were also a little loud and in the way, but compared to the piano, weren't major. Please take another look at humanizing the piano and maybe bringing it out of the reverb a little so that it doesn't sound quite as background-y.

Man, I know I'm going back to some older subs here that he voted on a while ago, but Vinnie's POVs are on fire. No hate on anyone else, but among our group, he's my MVP. I can't help but agree with his insight all the way yet again. Everyone needs to get ears like his and join Team Brown Heat with us!

Yeah, right off the bat, the piano timing was too mechanical, and the soundscape was pretty murky. I was waiting for things to possibly get cleaner to show off some sort of purposeful contrast with the intro, but it never came. The pad at 1:32 was too loud and upfront and was covering up the piano & winds.

The dilemma I'm seeing is that if the mixing were cleaned up some, the rigidness of the piano would be further exposed. Well, I'm glad it's your problem and not mine. :lol: But seriously, Vinnie broke the production issues down the best. The arrangement is already solid, so aside from breaking up the monotony of the left-hand writing, the rest of the work needed is on the production front. Take another pass at the production, Josh, and use the Game ReMixes feedback & Music Production forums here for advice if you have to.

Please don't be discouraged. We'd love a Uforia mix here and you've got a great base here. This is a great arrangement that just needs to have its potential fully realized with stronger production work. Hope to hear this piece again on the panel. Resubmit it and we'll get to re-evaluating it much quicker, since we can have it bypass the usual waiting time.

NO

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Mentioned this back when I Mod Reviewed this on the feedback forums, but the piano writing is too much on the rigid/simplistic side - mainly on the left hand repeating parts.

Good advice already mentioned to get the pads pushed back (they sounded like synth brass to me initially and they still kinda do) and see what you can do about cleaning up the general soundscape.

Very pretty song, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing this one come back again.

No, resubmit please

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