Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

Maybe it's more apparent with headphones, but to me the beats were too overpowering compared to the other parts; until 1:30, there's so much clutter created by the bass and beats. And it's from :15-1:30 and especially 3:01-3:53 where the soundscape just sounds too cluttered, which undermined the attempted dynamics of the arrangement. Perhaps whatever's going on with the lead from 1:45-2:00 is an acquired taste, but to me it wasn't quite melodious there. That said, I liked how you constantly varied the lead sound as you played that source melody numerous times, and it clicked better for me with some of the other lead choices. At 2:00, a change for the instrumentation handling the countermelodic synth would have been nice; that part got overused, IMO. 3:30-3:52 did get repetitive by re-using :30's section, but it was a good, meaty sound; some sort of textural variation earlier there would help it sound more creative and less cut-and-paste-like compared to the beginning. This is a great start, but despite many of the textural changes going on, the overall groove felt too samey. Right now, the core beats and instrumentation were too repetitive. Some more varied beat-writing and swapping out the instrumentation for some of the parts would help keep this fresh. Along with cleaning up/re-EQing the soundscape so that your parts didn't clutter together, that's mainly what I'd work on. Nice work so far, Bo. This was very promising, and I hope you're willing to revisit this one to see how else you can improve the writing and production. NO (resubmit)

Arrangement-wise, this used the theme well in adapting it for a more upbeat genre. Interesting approach going for a kind of grade-up Secret of Mana-style instrumentation. The combination of 16-bit sounds with other instrumentation was good, but the muddy mixing and bland beat-writing ultimately dragged this down for me. The bowed strings at :50 didn't sound good IMO because the attacks sounded slightly behind, but maybe it's just an acquired taste, since the 16-bit tone was at least super-authentic. I didn't feel the buzzy synth in the opening section was as negative as Deia did, but I still agreed with her that it was too upfront and distracting; perhaps pulling it back some would work better. The beats/kicks at 1:17 had beef to 'em, but the writing was really vanilla, so I was waiting for something more interesting to happen with the perc writing. Then the perc writing shifted into something more boom-tss with the cymbals coming in at 1:45, but it's still a pretty basic, too-straightforward beat that ultimately dragged out. Plus, the mixing didn't make much sense, with the beats being nearly the same volume as the lead. When the bowed strings then came back at 2:12, the writing was good, but the part mostly added clutter to the soundscape because a lot of these parts occupied the same frequency range. 3:06's finish had some parts drop out, clearing up the soundscape some. I think the development of the track went well in the right direction, but more sophisticated and varied beat-writing and cleaner mixing would be enough to get this passed, IMO. Promising stuff so far, Jonas, so I really hope you're willing to revisit this again. Would love to have you finally get Legend of Mana up on the board here at OCR, and what's in place now is well along the way and just needs some additional refinements. NO (resubmit)

I've only heard this version, so I'm coming in with fresh ears. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. The core drum pattern just droned on and the arrangement -- which I was going to pass until I got to this section -- became very dynamically flat. Production-wise, I didn't have any major issues; the other Js are correct on what could still be addressed, but that would all be in the "nice-to-have" category. Vary up the stale, repetitive backing of the 2:17-3:16 section and you're in business. Nice work so far, Daniel, so definitely stay with this one! NO (resubmit)

In light of the strong arrangement and performance, the clutter in this track wasn't a dealbreaker, but it was a negative for sure (e.g. 1:38-2:08). The timing of the rock from 2:31-2:34 sounded slightly off, but it was brief. Some of the thumps on the acoustic sounded like they were distorted and too close to the mic, but that also wasn't a big deal. That said, I loved the piece, and this was a dense, rocked out treatment of one of the best themes from the Genesis version of this soundtrack. It's been a long time since I heard of Mauricio self-project of ThePlasmas "band", and Nitro Game Injection's KyleJCrb has been a great advocate of his and really put him on my radar as he developed into a stronger performer. It's awesome to finally have you on board with an official OC ReMix! Definitely send in some more of your work, Mauricio, and welcome aboard. YES

He also called you Chimpyzilla later on in his vote. [/shakes head]

I never heard the first version, so I'm coming in fresh. The track was 4:15-long, so I needed needed at least 127.5 seconds of overt source usage for the VGM to dominate the arrangement. I didn't count some of the chords Gario referenced, but maybe I'd understand them better if I listened to the source tune more; a moot point anyway, since there was no issue regarding source usage. :48-1:00, 1:13-2:35, 2:38-2:47 (Zelda NES), 2:50-4:14 - 186 seconds I actually would subtract some time with some of the gaps in the piano part playing the source, but it certainly wouldn't be anything that would make it a close call on the amount of source usage. Arrangement-wise, this was more of a rap instrumental in style, so there was some repetition, but the piece certainly evolved and developed over time, so I had no issues there. I could see why some would take issue with the numerous voice clips; I'd be down with some of them being cut out, but it's just a personal taste thing, IMO. I had 0 issue with how the clips were used and didn't feel they detracted from the piece at all; you get used to them over time, and they added variety to the sound, so I think the NOs should work on removing the Octoroks stuffed up their butts. I disagreed with Chimpa on the "heavy dissonance from 2:29-2:50"; nothing's off there. While I like strong basses, things could have been toned down here; that said, the clutter others pointed out wasn't a dealbreaker at all. Nice, chill work, Joe! Let's goooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! YES

Got 'em. Holler if & when you have more updates!

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As of today, I've completed this task. There may be some ReMixes with multiple source tunes or some theme cameos where those tracks haven't been noted in our database yet, so if anyone finds something like that, please let me know!

The version now hosted IS the version you're referring to, which was 192kbps.

That would be too bad, but we actually did what you're talking about. I did the torrent updates in 2012 and 2014, and we upgraded the encodings/bitrates of more than 500 ReMixes. Some of the stuff you linked to were artists creating new or expanded versions of their tracks, which we wouldn't replace the posted ReMixes with, but perhaps djp would be open to hosting alternate versions in a non-featured way. It's never a bad time to reach out to artists again, but I'll clarify that I already did do this work before from 2009-2014, through a mass email to all ReMixers, and a forum thread where some fans also provided better encodings that they'd saved.

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Thursday, September 28 to Sunday, October 1 Renaissance Waverly Hotel & Cobb Galleria, Atlanta, GA http://awa-con.com OCR returns to Atlanta for our second panel at Anime Weekend Atlanta! Held at the Cobb Galleria (right by the Cobb Energy Center where VGM concerts perform in ATL), AWA is the the southeast's largest anime convention! Spend time with several of OCR's Atlanta community members as we talk about the greatness of video game music! OC ReMix: Celebrating Video Game Music! Panel Date/Time: Sun, Oct. 1, 2PM Location: CGC 106 Panelists: Liontamer! nelward!

I never heard the first version, so I'm coming into this fresh. Production's definitely not an issue now; sometimes the supporting guitar was comparatively too loud behind the lead, but it was nothing dealbreaking or worth timestamping because everything sounded reasonably well-mixed and above bar there, IMO. Strange how I've never heard this source before. Can't say I enjoyed the source tune OR this version of it initially, but that's because it followed the structure of the original which already has some pretty odd writing that never clicked for me. It was a moot point by the 5th time I listened to this and got used to the flow of this arrangement, but I'm just getting my stream of consciousness out there on how I reacted to the source. Dynamically, I was disappointed by this one. Again, I'm always fine with pieces that have a narrower dynamic curve, as long as enough is going on within that curve. I don't mind this going for a laid-back, surf vibe, but it just came off as plodding as well as texturally empty in places, despite the obvious musicianship demonstrated in putting it all together. I'm not saying this needed more grandiose energy anywhere, but the organ line definitely dragged out over time, and the overall energy level felt pretty static. I think one cause for this compared to the original was that -- unlike the source -- your chorus sections (first at :47) kept the same instrumentation and energy level as the verses, so nothing in the composition introduced a real shift in the writing or sound. Not saying you have to slavishly follow the source tune's structure and change the instrumentation for that section, but that was just a way the original song was more dynamic. On the flip side, props for varying up the drumwork so nicely to not let that aspect get stale. That stuff was subtle enough though that it didn't create more overt dynamic contrast within the arrangement, but it was what it was. Boy, those dropoffs at 2:47-3:11 just didn't feel right either, even though that went in the right direction as far as varying the textures. Ultimately, it's seemingly more of the same writing, instrumentation and energy level only minus some parts. By the time the song picked back up at 3:11, the whole piece was dragging, IMO. To me, the instrumentation never changing combined with the flat dynamics ended up killing it for me. I'm unfortunately but initially a NO (resubmit), but I will certainly be listening more to this one, and am open to the possibility that I'm "old-manning" this and not getting it. I'll need to see more feedback from the other Js here, but I will be watching this discussion for anyone to make a compelling enough case for me to flip my vote. It's really difficult to be calling this a NO when the production was so solid, but the arrangement being so samey throughout is nagging me.

Production-wise, the low-end felt like it added some clutter, but it wasn't a huge deal, and the listen was relatively clean/clear overall. If the lead sound had been changed or varied at 2:05, I think that would have made things more interesting in that final minute. I also thought the core beat writing should have varied more as well, since I agree with all of the other Js that the writing of it definitely plodded after a while despite the subtle changes to the beat's tone every few measures. That said, the rhythmic variations to the source tune right from the get-go and the textural variations with the instrumentation over time were both crucial in providing substantial enough interpretation. Regardless of the name attached to it, this could have been more -- and all of us including MkVaff agree -- but IMO it does get it done. Keep 'em coming, Mike! YES (borderline)

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If the KS is small enough like what you've alluded to, it may fly under the legal radar, which we definitely don't advocate or recommend, but that's just the reality of how some of those efforts go. We can't talk about the specific talks with Squenix, but we never planned to do the FF6 Kickstarter in an unlicensed way, so there was never any intention to NOT obtain licensing. Now, it's one thing to get the contact information for SE's legal department, but I think the most difficult part would be gaining the attention/headspace of anyone there who'd subsequently be willing to work with you. For us, we had a large enough pot and demonstrated display of interest with the Kickstarter support, the project was a music project rather than a game (I've never seen an SE takedown of a game ever come back), and djp was thoughtful/patient/articulate enough to handle the difficult back-and-forth discussions involved, where it was worth SE's time to actually dialogue with OCR rather than just shut down the Kickstarter without entertaining a follow-up discussion. That said, if you did a KH-based arrangement album Kickstarter and it gained some traction, the licensing costs would chew up a significant part of the funding and may get scrutiny from SE's legal department if you haven't dealt directly with them. Licensing's required for any derivative work that doesn't fall under fair use, so yeah, you'd need to pay for those licenses. Loudr's job is supposed to be to get you a proper license for all of the derivative works, if licensing for the source tunes is in fact available. So as long as you used them, and they say the music can be licensed (and you wait another month for them to actually verify that after the fact, in case any of the source songs are in fact NOT licensable), you're OK there. I'm not sure if that kind of indirect licensing agreement would need to be in place before the KS launched if you go that route rather than deal directly with SE, but there's the possibility that you may need to pay the projected costs upfront for that once you project the full scope of the album (i.e. # of songs arranged, and [if any] # of physical copies).

The guitar performance of the "Tragic Prince" line from :02-:21 was off-key in spots (i.e. :09-:12, :19-:22) AND was buried under the vox and strings; can't say any of that mixing made sense, nor did the abrupt transition at :28 (which I can live with). Pretty rough synth string articulations starting at :35, though the part's under the guitar chugs and more like a synth sound than organic strings, so it's not awful, just not ideal. Gario's right about the off-key stuff at :56, though it was in and out quickly, so not a big deal. Pretty structurally conservative take on this theme as you hear it transition to the next section of the theme at 1:05, though it's certainly personalized some with this more intense instrumentation that includes some new additive writing (mostly from the drums). It nonetheless felt paint-by-numbers in how straightforward and similar the melody, tempo, and structure were. Vox stuff brought in at 1:36 added some good depth, although they were pretty muddy up until around 1:59; the vox placement, while still muddy, sounded more appropriately placed when it was quieter during the 2:22-2:36 section going to the finish. When the other Js mention overcompression, the vox suffered as a part of that, and you ended up having some extended sections within such a brief track where the soundscape's too cluttered. Small detail, but at 2:38 for the close, it's weird having the soundscape sound full and spacious, then all of a sudden all of the parts drop out, and you're left with just the guitar for a second sounding super duper dry and upfront; make sure your soundscape is consistent. Whereas just addressing the crowding/overcompression would swing the other NOs, I'd personally like to hear more melodic interpretation somewhere, because the melodic treatment was very straightforward; any variations or personalizations there besides the genre adaptation would help this stand apart more from the original, though the other aspects of arrangement did put this well in the right direction. Good stuff so far, Michael; if this doesn't make it as is, definitely don't be discouraged, as this has great potential. I'd love this on OCR in some form. NO (resubmit)

Pretty dry opening here. I like the instrumentation, and there's clearly effects on the synths, but something about this still feels empty. Later on, there was some crowding in terms of the production, yet emptiness as far as the textures/writing. By 1:10, I was already feeling like the backing writing was pretty static and plodding, but the dropoff at 1:28 helped out the dynamics there. At 1:43, the lead just felt pretty bare. At 2:13, the textures remained relatively thin; the track did get busier at 2:27 with some variations on the "Strike the Earth" melody. Onto "Of Devious Machinations" at 2:49, but the core kick pattern just plodded, IMO. I could see this passing, as the arrangement uses the themes well with some good tradeoffs, but something's obviously lacking with the dynamics. The beats plodded and the writing & textures felt skeletal despite the effects used to thicken the sound up. Very good base here, Jorrith, but I'm strongly with Gario that this needs another pass to get more sophisticated with the writing. NO (resubmit)

I like that pizz string opening; nice work. The whole intro was pretty cool, including the brass work and chiptune accents. The beat at :54 immediately struck me as tame and basic but fine for a build, so I was waiting for it to beef up at 1:16 and that didn't happen. It just feels simplistic, flimsy and repetitive as a backing, and at no point did it have any more power, so I was glad it was replaced by some breakbeats at 2:00 with a similar sound, but a more creative tone. Nice little "Hopes and Dreams" cameo from 2:11-2:22. Back to the weak beats at 2:22, though I liked the higher-pitched synth lead, which had nice contrast with the previous section. 2:52-2:55 & 3:04-3:06 had some brief rhythmic alterations to the beats; where was that creativity and variation before? That kind of stuff in heavier doses would have been great to keep the track interesting and dynamic. Nice dropoff at 4:12 then moving onto the piano with subtle but lushly chorused backing strings, making good use of those samples. I'm seeing complaints about the arp; though I wouldn't mind variation there with that sound, I didn't have any criticism of that part and it didn't cross my mind in my own evaluation. The core of the arrangement doesn't need to change at all, but the beats are what's sinking this, IMO. Right now, the dynamic curve is so flat due to coasting with this vanilla beat pattern. Beef up the tone of the beats for that pattern, and vary up the pattern as well. It doesn't need to go super crazy and complex, just not so plain and metronome-ish like it is now. IMO, this needs one more pass to make the beats more powerful and/or sophisticated in the writing. Good work so far, Erick. It certainly wouldn't take a lot more work to get it posted, so don't be discouraged if this doesn't make it as is. NO (resubmit)

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Sounded pretty lovely and engaging to start. Once the arrangement started at :20, the brass had a decent tone but wasn't fooling anyone, and I felt the drums were static during the verses (though there were some good changes as you continued on). The bassline should have sounded clearer, but was OK and adequately did its job filling the back out. Like I said, the instrumentation isn't realistic enough, so I'm with MindWanderer there, but this was otherwise produced solidly for a sequenced piece. Chris did a good job faithfully conveying the jazzy energy of the writing while not being held back by the samples. Would love to hear this one performed by a live band. Very fun and creative arrangement, Chris, welcome aboard! YES

I'm close to where MindWanderer is, i.e. a borderline pass, but definitely wanting this to be more cohesive. The string and vox releases definitely hurt this one by exposing the samples, and the timing of the woodwind at 2:11 in particular was too blocky as well, but the overall arrangement was strong. I could live with this as is, but if this was rejected for now, no issues here. To me, the arrangement was substantially developed to where that slightly/barely carries it, but this one's dancing on the line and could use some improvements so that that wasn't the case. Also, nice sneak of the Schala theme cameo at 3:06; we see you. YES (very borderline)