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Another MkVaff banger that still holds up. Maybe because I'm not a traditional trance fan, but this is just so good. The layers, instruments, and progression throughout the remix are damnnn impressive at 24. ALMOST nails the ending too, but the fade out needed at least another 5 - 10 seconds to not sound abrupt to me. Minor issue overall though, stellar track.

I had just posted a new video game remix on OCRemix after a few years (in the “Post Your Game ReMixes!” forum) and wanted to take the opportunity to update the old tags for the remix, which were still there. But somehow you don't seem to have access to them anymore - or is the tagging function just a bit hidden now? I was a bit confused, as you can still search for tags in the search function on the site. ... The second thing is this. Years ago, when you posted a video game remix, you could indicate the current status or progress of the remix. According to my memory, you could indicate things like “work in progress”, “ready for review” or “submitted” etc.. Has this also been rationalized away at some point - or is it just related to the restructuring of the site some time ago and will return at some point? ... It would be really nice if someone could give me a short answer and explain the changes I apparently missed. ))

Now, about 8 years later and with much more sophisticated composition, mixing and sound design skills in my musical repertoire, I have radically reworked the entire remix and would now like to present to you the results of my ambitions. I think one of the main reasons that inspired me to get back into this remix project these days was the release of the Playstation 4 remake of the game called “Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion”, which I mainly played in 2024 together with a good friend and enjoyed the really good story to the fullest once again. I had also set myself the goal of perfecting and demonstrating my continuously evolving dynamic mixing concept called “Life Force”. To do this, I primarily wanted to use my beloved Yamaha MSP3 studio monitors and finally mix my second larger and this time somewhat more epic soundtrack on them, whereby I ultimately decided on my Crisis Core remix. I hope you, and especially the fans of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, like it. )) Here are the links for the new remix version 1.3: >>> or >>> https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm44603368 >>> https://soundcloud.com/master-mi/crisis-core-final-fantasy-7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This soundtrack is the newest (and maybe even the final) version of my remix for the original song "The Price Of Freedom" from the PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, which was originally composed by Takeharu Ishimoto. I haven't uploaded any new soundtrack or remix content of mine in the last two years because I've been particularly dedicated to developing my mixing concept, which I call "Life Force", to be able to present my compositions and remixes at a much higher level of quality. This mixing concept, which I have developed over the last years, is primarily aimed at bringing much more clarity, a more natural, organic sound, much better dynamics, more atmosphere and spatiality back into the mix through sophisticated depth gradation and unique mixing techniques. In order to achieve this, I mix all my soundtracks and remixes in accordance with the loudness standards of the European Broadcasting Union, which are set out in the EBU R 128 recommendation with a target loudness level of -23 LUFS (or -23 dB in the context of the full scale), a loudness level at which the level peaks and transients can run out completely relaxed and naturally without the need to use compressors or limiters, which are prohibited in my mixing concept anyway. This is roughly at the loudness level of many soundtracks from the early 80s and about half as loud as most soundtracks produced according to the rather unfavorable trends of today's music industry. My aim with my mixing concept "Life Force" is to bring back or even surpass the very good sound quality and high dynamics of the soundtracks from the early 80s and to breathe a little more "life" back into the music, regardless of the music genre. … But I have also developed my compositional skills over the last few years, which I wanted to show in this heartfelt remix project. Not only did I make the dynamics and playing style of the existing instruments much more lively, natural and artistically elevated, I also recorded numerous new instruments and composed completely new passages to deepen the atmosphere of the remix even further and steer it in more specific directions. The early musical part with harp, strings and bells is primarily intended to emphasize the heaviness, sadness and tragedy of the approaching death of the main character Zack Fair, while his girlfriend Aerith apparently also suspects this at this moment or has been told this by the planet itself. This part becomes a little more powerful a little later with the introduction of the acoustic guitar and a slightly more intense way of playing the instruments. The section with the brass instruments such as trumpets in combination with an almost fanfare-like solo trumpet, followed by powerful French horns, is intended above all to emphasize the heroic side of Zack's self-sacrificing final battle against a veritable superior force of hostile Shinra troops, which presumably saved the life of his friend and companion Cloud, who was still incapacitated at the time, suffering from severe Mako poisoning. A slight musical change then takes place with the new electric guitar part, which transforms the previous orchestral part of the remix into an increasingly intensifying power ballad, which, in addition to driving power chords, also contains very beautiful melodic electric guitar leads, piano arpeggios as well as a Spanish guitar, all of which together are intended to illustrate once again the extremely liberating feeling that the main character Zack might have felt at the end of his hero's journey. For the soundscape and the mixing of the electric guitars, I drew a little inspiration from the really atmospheric electric guitar sounds in the song "Everytime We Touch", sung by Maggie Reilly. And for the final part of the remix, I composed an additional harp section to symbolize the path of the inner heaven that Zack has obviously taken, because he has always pursued his big dream of becoming a real hero with his heart in the right place, without forgetting the high value of honour, friendship, helpfulness and humanity. … In this sense, the title of my remix "Wings Of Freedom" does not stand for any small-minded, money-focused libertarian ideas or for one-sided freedom without justice, but rather for the freedom of the heart within the power of the unleashed soul, which allows some people in difficult situations and hard times to take not always the easiest but the right path, which fully convinces them, literally flows through them and gives them wings. Perhaps this is also part of the mysterious gift of the goddess. ))

I'm a sucker for a haunting piano melody, but I agree that the guitar is what elevates the piece to STILL reside on my playlist. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the ending, it feels too abrupt in those last few seconds before the fade out. Doesn't ruin the remix or anything though, give it a listen!

Our Official Track List Sortie One - Corridor Mode 01 - Theme of the Star Fox - Tim Hellmann (Star Fox) - 3:42 02 - Sweeping Elipse - Rockos (Star Fox) - 4:43 03 - Venom Pulse - bLiNd (Star Fox) - 4:11 04 - Fighting Storms in Titania - Rotten Eggplant (Star Fox) - 4:23 05 - Initiate Code Blue - Treyt (Star Fox 64) - 4:18 06 - Playing Crazy (with the 6th Blockade) - The Vodoú Queen (Star Fox 64) - 4:45 07 - Cries from Crystal Eyes - mo.oorgan (Star Fox Adventures) - 6:54 08 - Arwing Dreams - bLiNd (Star Fox) - 4:55 09 - The Hardest Path - Pixels & Paradiddles (Star Fox 64) - 5:44 10 - Dark Star - Xaleph (Star Fox) - 5:17 11 - Dunes of the Lost - GlacialSpoon (Star Fox 2) - 3:44 12 - Spectre - Treyt (Star Fox Adventures) - 3:44 13 - Meteoric Slipstream - Xaleph (Star Fox) - 6:05 14 - Fortuna Protocol - Xaleph (Star Fox Zero) - 3:25 15 - V.I.R.U.L.E.N.T. - The Vodoú Queen (Star Fox 64) - 5:07 Sortie Two - All-Range Mode 01 - A Hollowed Day - Zack Parrish (Star Fox Adventures) - 5:07 02 - Space Shine - Austin "APZX" Simons (Star Fox) - 3:24 03 - The Perfect Aparoid Dinner - Xaleph (Star Fox Assault) - 3:49 04 - The Death of Fox McCloud - Lucas Guimaraes (Star Fox 64) - 4:40 05 - Wing Men - Hemophiliac (Star Fox) - 3:09 06 - Now Boarding Flight 6 to Venom Lucas Guimaraes (Star Fox 64) - 3:02 07 - Weapon Warp Punk - Flake (Star Fox 64) - 3:46 08 - Free as a Bird - The Vodoú Queen (Star Fox 64) - 5:34 09 - Boundless Skies - Zack Parrish (Star Fox) - 4:30 10 - Bazooka Polace - Rockos (Star Fox Adventures) - 5:45 11 - Ballast - Ridley Snipes (Star Fox 64) - 3:44 12 - Rock and Ice - Rockos/gravitygauntlet (Star Fox Adventures) - 4:59 13 - Sands of Titania - Xaleph (Star Fox) - 4:54 14 - Eyes of Obsidian - Emunator (Star Fox Adventures) - 3:58 15 - Hollow Nights - Emunator (Star Fox Adventures) - 4:57

Thanks. I'll have to work that out. I decided I like the original chord progression (with the Bb minor chord instead of dominant/altered) better so I updated. Easier to keep the melody intact which I think is necessary since the style is so whacky. It's more moody with the minor as well. I'll work on arranging/humanizing.

Cool instrumentation choices. If you can get it sounding more fluid/humanized, the concept has legs. :-)

Still enjoying this atmospheric energetic remix. Never played the game, but if just the music inspired this track then I must've missed out. I'm a fan of the chirp, although the usage can hit the borderline if you start to focus on it. Not really an issue when I'm just listening to my playlist though. That additional layer definitely adds to the lovely depth of the piece.

EDIT: Forgot the most important part... record scratch. Updated wip below. Katamari Stars 2025-06-24 2253.mp3 Source:

Still a delightfully chilled groove that matches the title perfectly from the first moment to the last. I've never played the game, but so glad I took the time with this remix. Give the artist's other stuff a listen too!

Enhanced sound experiment with mono/stereo signal sources and mono/stereo reverb effects ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've probably taken my time with this, although this undesirable lobbyist government in my country is also producing a lot of problems these days (to cut a long story short: neoliberal bullshit politics >>> approval of a really hefty 500 billion euros primarily for arms companies, the military and war >>> in return, massive austerity measures for public and municipal budgets as well as a considerable reduction in public contracts mostly for critical infrastructure and the most existentially necessary things >>> mass redundancies at companies, including mine, which had primarily specialized in public construction, planting and vegetation maintenance contracts >>> I was also laid off after no major construction contracts had been recorded since the beginning of the year and my company had only been able to pay wages in chunks for the last few months >>> yeah, it radically sucks... once again). But apart from the not entirely voluntary job search, I can at least take all my remaining vacation these days and, after creating 4 different versions of my Crisis Core remix and doing the final checks of the audio samples on various audio playback systems, I was also able to complete my long-announced sound experiment and present it to you now. … With this sound experiment, I wanted to investigate the extent to which mono and stereo signal sources as well as mono and stereo reverb effects can be used in different combinations in order to primarily improve the clarity and spatiality in the mix and thus further increase the mixing quality. I have examined four main variants and compared them in detail: 1) A mix of stereo and mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends 2) Mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends 3) Mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends 4) A mix of stereo and mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends I tried to reproduce the four versions as faithfully as possible, taking particular care to ensure that the positioning of the signal sources (i.e. the instruments in this case) and aux reverb effects in the panorama were all correct and that the loudness ratios between the signal sources and the aux reverb effects were maintained without significant changes. This was quite time-consuming precision work with extremely fine, often multiple loudness measurements for each track within each of these four versions. The final listening tests of the audio samples (four full-length soundtrack versions + the soundtrack excerpts presented here, as well as further mono compatibility checks of the four complete soundtrack versions + mono compatibility checks of the four soundtrack excerpts) on a variety of tested audio playback systems (Yamaha MSP3 studio monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro studio headphones, Presonus Eris E4.5 studio monitors, a somewhat larger stereo system as well as a somewhat smaller, kitchen-radio-like stereo system or my HD MP3 player, for example) also really took a lot of time. But these detailed comparisons, for which I also made a few notes on clarity and spatiality in the mix as well as on special things with regard to the overall sound impression, have provided me with some really important insights that I will take into account in the future application of my dynamic mixing concept “Life Force” and which have given me further certainty that I am probably on the right path in this respect. … And so let's start right away with the first version: 1) A mix of stereo and mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The track mainly contains signal sources or instruments in the stereo version (playing only on the outermost sides without further center participation in the panorama). I reduced a few signal sources (electric bass and kick drum) to centered mono signal sources to further improve clarity in the mix, while some other signal sources (all other drum elements) are present with a stereo width reduced to approx. 50% (playing between the outermost sides and the center in the stereo panorama, so to speak). All aux reverb effects are stereo in this version (but they only play on the outer sides without center participation). In the following audio sample, you can also hear the third and final electric guitar track for the previously mentioned part for the first time, which I wanted to compose in addition as part of my prior considerations (new electric guitar begins around minute 0:39 and plays on the left side in the stereo panorama) and which has really enhanced the electric guitar part and the overall sound ambience at this point: CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Stereo And Mono Source Signals + Stereo Reverb Version.mp3 As I had already used an electric lead guitar and a clean electric guitar for the big guitar part, I also wanted to use another individual setting for the third electric guitar. I decided on a crunch setting, for which I first experimented a little with a “Funk Frog” wah-wah effect. However, as this sounded far too playful in the context of the serious background of the soundtrack, I later deactivated this effect and instead used some really nice chorus and flanger effects in combination with the crunch setting, which made this electric guitar sound a bit more out of this world and also blended in really well with the soundscape of the other electric guitars. Here is a screenshot of this new electric guitar setting in my Vandal guitar amp plugin: After careful consideration, I also decided to use this first version of my mix as the new version for my remix, as I still find it to be the best overall package in terms of clarity, spatiality and the general sound quality of the mix, even after my extensive listening tests on various audio playback systems. Nevertheless, the following versions also have a few outstanding features that could be useful in certain mixing situations. 2) Mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this version, I used only mono signal sources (with a comparable positioning in the panorama as the previous stereo signal sources) and added an individual stereo reverb to each of them via aux sends in order to achieve a corresponding spatial effect, while at the same time trying to significantly increase the clarity of the mix: CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Source Signals + Stereo Reverb Version.mp3 When listening on some audio playback systems, I actually had the feeling that this mixing approach was able to slightly increase the clarity in the mix in comparison to the first version. But on the other hand, this seemed to be at the expense of the spatial effect in the mix, whereby the connection between the playing instruments also seemed to get lost a little. 3) Mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the seemingly minor improvements in clarity to the detriment of the spatial effect in the mix with the previous mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb send version, I naturally wanted to find out whether the clarity in the mix could be increased even further if you combine the existing mono signal sources with mono aux reverb instead of stereo aux reverb sends: CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Source Signals + Mono Reverb Version.mp3 And indeed, I had the impression that at some points in the remix (especially in the large part with the three electric guitars) this increased the clarity in the mix a little bit and you could hear the individual instruments even more clearly. But on the flip side, the whole thing seemed to worsen the spatial effect of the mix even further, while the individual instruments seemed even more detached from each other and somehow disjointed. On some audio playback systems, the spatiality and reverb in the mix even seemed downright strange. I sometimes even had the impression that this mixing approach tore some holes in the stereo panorama and that the mix sounded very thin at some points (especially at the beginning of the audio sample, when there weren't quite as many instruments playing). Nevertheless, such a mixing approach with well-placed mono signal sources and mono aux effects could perhaps come into play if you are confronted with such a complex and extremely extensive mix, whose stereo panorama is already fully utilized or even radically overstuffed, for example in such a remix here, in which a large number of instruments and other signal sources play simultaneously at various points in the soundtrack: 4) A mix of stereo and mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the sake of completeness, I still wanted to find out how the mix behaves if I simply combine stereo and mono signal sources with mono aux reverb sends, which then sounds like this: CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Stereo And Mono Source Signals + Mono Reverb Version.mp3 This doesn't sound bad either, but here too the spatial effect seems to suffer considerable losses, while the reverb also seems to sound somehow strange and to be downright dominated and drowned out in the interplay with the predominant stereo signal sources of the instruments. … So much for that. However, as promised, I also wanted to carry out a further mono compatibility check for these four different mixing versions as part of a more detailed examination. This can be done quite easily with a DAW by simply switching the master track (this contains all the individual tracks in the music project) to mono in the mixer view at the touch of a button in this master track, of course only temporarily for control purposes. This not only sets all tracks in the mix to mono sources, they are also centered in the stereo panorama, which means that a stereo width is non-existent, so to say. And this also means that all signal sources and effects are virtually superimposed and squashed in a centered point in the panorama. On the one hand, some sound engineers do this test to get a vague idea of how well the mix translates or reproduces on a mono audio playback device. On the other hand, by centering all available signal sources and tracks with the master track mono button, you can find out whether there are any gross frequency overlaps between the various signal sources and effects (can be fixed by the precise use of EQ plug-ins, for example) or even serious phase cancellations (which can cause some sound elements to literally drown out in the mix). But let's start right away with the mono compatibility control tests of the four tracks. M1) Mono compatibility check - a mix of stereo and mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Compatibility Check - Stereo And Mono Source Signals + Stereo Reverb Version.mp3 M2) Mono compatibility check - mono signal sources + stereo aux reverb sends ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Compatibility Check - Mono Source Signals + Stereo Reverb Version.mp3 M3) Mono compatibility check - mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Compatibility Check - Mono Source Signals + Mono Reverb Version.mp3 M4) Mono compatibility check - a mix of stereo and mono signal sources + mono aux reverb sends ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 Remix (Excerpt) - Mono Compatibility Check - Stereo And Mono Source Signals + Mono Reverb Version.mp3 … To summarize, I would say that even in the mono compatibility checks of the 4 versions, the first version with the well thought-out mix of stereo and mono signal sources and the stereo reverb aux sends performs best as an overall package. The first version not only convinces with a really good clarity and perceptibility of all instruments and effects in the mix, but also with a really good representation of the spatial depth and the spatial coherence of the sound sources. Once again, the second version with the mono signal sources and stereo aux reverb sends as well as the third version with the mono signal sources and mono aux reverb sends seem to perform slightly better in terms of clarity in the mix. Nevertheless, the instruments in these versions sound a little more static, a little less spatial and less coherent than in the first version, while the reverb also sounds a little strange in some places or even seems to overlay and dominate some instruments. The fourth version with the combined stereo and mono signal sources and mono reverb aux sends comes off worst here in my opinion, because this somehow strange and sometimes stalled-sounding reverb does least justice to my actual intention as a composer and sound designer. … Certainly, the differences between the four versions here are more in the range of nuances, since I was able to achieve the far more resounding improvements in the mix with some of the previous mixing approaches and sound experiments. But I believe that with this second major stereo and mono sound experiment and with the previous first stereo width sound experiment from December 20, 2024 (with the title: "Using specific stereo widths for instrument and direct signal tracks for more clarity and assertiveness in the mix and for a more impressive representation of panorama and spatiality in the soundtrack"), I was able to demonstrate quite well that you can not only clean up a mix in terms of frequency. You can also clean up a mix by making more efficient use of the panorama or by using different stereo widths for signal sources and aux effect sends in the mix, whether you turn critical stereo sources completely into mono sources or simply reduce the stereo width of some stereo sources so that other signal sources have more space in the stereo panorama in order to be better perceived in the mix. … But I'm still curious to hear your opinions on the subject and very interested to hear your listening impressions of the four different mixing approaches. )) … In my next and possibly last post on this topic within this thread for now (I want to throw myself back into the passion of composing), I will show you the full version of my new Crisis Core remix and, as a comparison, upload the previous version of this remix from about 8 years ago as an audio streaming file. Because that was about the time when I started to deal much more profoundly with the topics of composition, mixing and sound design in many smaller and larger steps, while about 12 years ago (around 2013), through a few lucky coincidences (one of which was the OCRemix community) and without any previous musical knowledge, I stumbled into the topic of DAWs & remixes and some time later took the first awkward but joyful and curious steps in this direction with my first version of a DAW. ))

Update wip w/ new ending. All that's is drum variation/better fills? Zora's Domain 2025-06-24 1520.mp3

Gonna bow out here. I want to take this track a different direction. Good luck y'all!

I've never heard the previous two versions, so I'm visiting this sub with fresh ears. I also voted on the revised version Seth included in his comments after he said he noticed the mixing was wrong. Opens up with a rise in volume of a pad, followed by some basic synths and claps at :13. The theme arrives at :25 and there's some decent density to start. The theme's there, but this is texturally scant despite all this volume. Volume doesn't equal fullness in terms of the writing; right now, the beats sound really barebones. Hits the chorus at :55 and there's countermelodic supporting writing until 1:22 that sounds off-key, though it's relatively quiet. The melody's quietly brought in from 1:36-1:47 in a way that also sounds sluggish and off-key, like it's being chorused or delayed; not sure what's going on there. Once it hit the chorus from :54-1:22, the interpretation of the source melody itself felt very minimal and straightforward. This combination of sounds doesn't make sense when the percussion, beats, and bass are so minimalist and basic, yet it's surrounded by this busy-sounding yet off-key ornamentation underneath the melody. 1:49 transitions into what's seemingly an all-original composition section where the volume's loud while the texture feels very basic. More off-key supporting writing underneath the melody from 2:18-2:46 that sounds pretty bad on headphones but might not stand out as much on monitors; this writing sounds like it's meant to be doubling the lead, but it sounds clashing the whole way through. I grew up on this theme, but I'm sorry if I'm not recognizing something taken directly from the theme from 1:49-2:18; I couldn't make out any connection. From 2:18-on, I don't recognize that stuff from the source tune either, but it's possible it's taken from some sort of quitter supporting writing in the source or I'm just ignorant in recognizing some sort of interpretation. The source melody could bear more interpretation and/or variation, the beat-writing is too simplistic, the beats do have some weight to the sound, yet they don't fill the soundscape enough to not let the overall track seem thin, and the densest section are filled with off-key writing adding noise instead of substance. The less dense sections work better on account of the lack of clashing background writing and are, arguably, the track's best feature, yet those sections *still* feel texturally empty, so it's a tough approach to get this to a place where it could rise above the bar here. (I see you in the community, so the links are more for posterity and for others who may see this feedback and want to take part). That said, Seth, Audiomancer tried 10 separate times with one track before his debut mixpost, so if you have the sticktuitiveness to regularly use the community resources on the Workshop forums and on the Discord server for more feedback and guidance, maybe you can be another success story. NO

Done on a very early version of fruity loops, iirc:)

haha well i did just find sgtrama on one of these p2p networks, sent him a message to see if he has other stuff saved that he isn't actively hosting. i'll let you know what comes of it! edit: while we're at it, why not tag him to see if he notices here? @Ramaniscence

more like all of them so far. but alas, i already had almost all of them i think. doulifee's site wasn't nearly as popular as that one. and the thasauce site sadly doesn't have all the old entries from 2004+. so i think i can only hope for douli's old hard drive, or any other freak that mightve made a backup of those 20 year old tunes :D edit dammit bitcr12 and splunka were mixes i actually dont have and they are 404. FUCK MY LUCK

looks like about half of your tracks from this site got archived! https://web.archive.org/web/20100510031128/http://8bitcollective.com/members/skoshu/

🦸‍♂️

yeah that is from 8bitmusic or however it's called. i don't have that either. good call! you have it?!

so far i'm looking to see what i can find on p2p networks does a track entitled "PC Speaker's Sorrow" sound familiar? it's attributed to skoshu and does sound a bit like something you'd have made!

it was mostly "nasenmann" or sometimes "skoshu". the 3 tunes that still work on wayback machine are "psymon", "mushrooms on the rails", and "gathering of the ancient noses". all from PRC, and from remixcompetition.doulifee.com. there were 22 tunes from me on there. doulifee did send me a message back! he told me he'd be looking through some old hard drive from his attic. thanks douli! if you manage to dig anything else up shadow, i'd be delighted. i'm looking through early backups of the compo thasauce page on waybackmachine atm. maybe there's more from me. might be under the name "nase" by then, but that's the newer stuff. like 2008+ :P

Oh, nice, I don't know how I missed this project, but I love the idea! I just love creepy stuff (how creepy that sounds like! haha) Maybe a bit late, but I have a very rough WIP for a track that I think it'd fit this album pretty well. It's a dark/horror/creepy/whatever arrangement of the boss theme from Terranigma, highly inspired by that annoying boss, Bloody Mary. Terranigma's anniversary is in October too and I'd love to make a video with it once it's finnished, so the plan is just ideal. So far it's 100% MIDI but the structure has plenty of progress. I'm pretty confident with my arranging skills and ideas but everyone in the VGM scene seems to hate my mixing haha, so since this project seems not to be that nitpicky it'd probably be just fine. Still accepting help from performers or even in mixing/mastering if anyone is interested, tho. I can share the latest WIP as reference if that's needed.

i voted on this way back in 2022, and primarily had issues with a bunch of notes that were crunchy. tbh i don't remember it much. opens with some stutter synths and pads, and we get some percs to help it build in. the bass hits at 0:27, and i agree with joe - it sounds nice. the smooth lead is a fun feel, and there's a quirky repeated note in the background that's doing fun stuff. i wouldn't mind if the bass tone was a bit more sustained. the snare at 0:55 is indeed a bit big, but tbh i think it actually needs more reverb, not less (and make it quieter, yes) so it feels more sustained alongside all these other verby synths. the melodic material there is the first that we've heard, and it's fairly straightforward. there's a continued reliance on viio chords as outlined in the ascending skip section of the melody, and it still doesn't sound right. this is something i called out in my last review of the track - i'll try and spell it out more carefully here. the chord at 0:58.5 is a G# fully diminished (G# B D F, also called G#o or vii o in this key), and the bass playing something that sounds like an E. the detuning on the bass might be causing this, but overall, the real issue is that you're putting an E in the bass next to an F in the chord. you should probably just make this an E7 (E in bass, and E G# B D above it), and let the F in the melody be a passing tone (or move it around so it fits). this is an issue every time it comes around. after the melodic section, we get some ascending patterns around 1:22 in the lead. this is a lot of the same lead tone in a row, and may have been better served with a different tone here. and then, at 1:36, you use the same lead tone to do some fanfares (but lower than the other ascending line). this is nearly impossible to distinguish and just sounds overlapping and confusing. the following section at 1:50 is, in contrast, a nice change due to the new lead and feel there. i think you could have moved away from the echoed, gated, chippy backing synth as well, to help reinforce the difference. there's a fun little break, and at 2:18 we're into a new feel. again, the issue of the G# dim is back, and it's worse here. every time that chord comes around, it sounds like there's obvious dissonance. that needs to be fixed before anything could be posted. there's a short outro section in ep, and it's done. it's a little sudden, and maybe could have been prepped or fleshed out a bit more. this is a fun track, and i like the feel. the dissonance is still an issue and this cannot pass with it in there. i'd be happy to help you identify and fix it if you'd like - i suspect it's an easy thing to find. beyond that, the layering at 1:36 needs to be shifted around so it's able to be differentiated - probably by moving one of the parts to a different instrument. i think that snare could use some love too - i didn't mind it near as much as joe, but it does need a more natural reverb tail on it (and to be turned down) so it fits into the instrumentation better. i don't think there's an issue with the 808, as that's endemic to the style. i do agree with joe that the arrangement overall is fun and enjoyable, we just need to fix a few things and then it's ready for primetime. NO

This is super fun! Probably illegal in many jurisdictions though. Might get a space cop after you.