Liontamer

I remember this one from way back. It was one of the first newly posted tracks that I DLed after I was introduced to OCR. I was still in my "download stuff only from games I know phase" before I wised up many months later. I definitelyt played this on the radio several times, because I remember the bass distorting through the radio station's soundboard and having to compensate for it with Winamp's EQ settings. One subtle detail I never noticed with the electric guitar synth until just now was the really cool effect of trails of previous notes overlapping with new notes, something you don't catch until the sample is exposed from 3:17-3:39. I loved the arrangement's slow burn approach. Spent many days just sitting back and letting this one loop. There's been nothing else like it on OCR. Especially being from a popular game like SMB2, this is criminally under-reviewed.

Wasn't a fan of the changeup at 2:46 at all. I would have settled for further development of the previous ideas. Wish this was cleaner-sounding, but that was some really impressive dNb. Nothing too complex, but very driving in terms of the energy.

During Lockdown 2, I gotta say, I was hardpressed to make all the connections to the source material here. Sounded pretty liberal to me. AFAIK, I was satisfied enough with what I heard to let it go. As for the track itself, it's got a positive vibe without seeming saccharine sweet or syrupy, which I really enjoyed. Really excellent composition & sounds, as well as very tight production. Benedikt is a consumate musician.

I should have commented specifically on the track years ago when I mentioned Chris's passing, because this one was also one of my favorites when it was posted. Final Fantasy 3 "Winds of Eternity" was also a classic favorite of mine. The opening bassline was incredibly sexy, and I loved the warping effect on it from :38-:47 as a transition into the source melody. The string work afterward was also really beautiful, and the overall atmosphere is something analogous to mv's material. I wouldn't have disagreed if someone has told me it was a collab between the two. It's unfortunate that Chris passed away, as I would have loved to have heard more material from him and follow his musical development. He mostly phased out of the community years before the car accident that took his life, but what you have here in his final OC ReMix were all the hallmarks of a sophisticated, creative arranger.

The sounds are pretty dated, unlike stuff like "Forest Birdcussion," and Ari would be able to come up with more fleshed out textures nowadays. But the arrangement is pretty good, even though I'm not a fan of the original at all. Really awesome rock stuff from 2:51-3:41 with some awesome synth soloing. Everything from that point on carried the track home strong and sounded a lot more cohesive than the first half.

Short, and way too underdeveloped & uninterpretive, but the guitar tone is really nice.

Absolutely loved this one back when it first came out. It solidified Quinn as one I'd watch after I first heard Phantasy Star Online "Lobby Static." A really engaging, laid-back, beautiful mix, it really does a lot to take the original and make it more melodic and palatable to the ear. Definitely an overlooked gem if you want something chill.

Yeah, this was an awesome mix back in the day, plus it completely holds up now. It's a drastically different take on the original that I enjoy for its sheer interpretiveness. It's got a great groove and really unique textures. I do wish the track had a bit more overt melodic focus, but that's only because I think it would appeal to others more that way. I personally love it as is. Looking at when it was posted (October 2002), I get nostalgic about including this one back on my radio show, even before it became VG Frequency. Really well-polished, this was indicative of OCR's quality and professional quality as well, even if it was less consistent at the time.

They definitely were. It's a really cool mix for its time, but the interpretation, in light of the source material, is really low. I did like the thick drum work in particular though. It really drives the track along well.

Lovely piano adaptation. That's the short of it. Greg always does a goob job with results that have a wide appeal.

Doesn't hold a candle to its conceptual successor, Final Fantasy 5's "ROBOVoice." Lyrics here aren't intelligible enough and are too loud. Arrangement's pretty by-the-numbers as well. Definitely not one that aged well.

I didn't like that chiptuneish lead very much; didn't mesh well with the other instrumentation IMO. Transition to the piano at 1:38 was very nice though; I could have used more of that. The beatwork changing up more often also would have been a nice touch. Melodically though, I liked the direction this went in.

CONTACT INFO Remixer Name- (Adventus} Real Name- Scott Schwaab Email address- Herrschwaby@hotmail.com Website- www.myspace.com/ddrschwaby User ID- http://www.ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=20553 REMIX INFO Name of Game Remixed- Final Fantasy VII Individual song- Those Who Fight Additional Info- Composer (Nobuo Uematsu) Name of ReMix- Those Who Dance Harder How it was made- Around April, me and my friends were listening to the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack, and I suddenly wanted to make a Trance Remix of the Battle Theme. This would be my first official ReMix. I hope that you guys enjoy it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 110 "Fighting" Honestly, if the sound quality itself had been poor, this would have been instantly rejected. Having a clean sound is the only reason it's up here. The sounds are extremely cookie cutter and the textures have little complexity to them. Even the original's textures are more sophisticated in comparison. The buildup is entirely too long for such a relatively short track. For a trance mix that isn't even 4 minutes long, this is a vastly undeveloped arrangement. Beyond the genre adaptation to trance, the arrangement's very uninterpretive, sticking to the melodic structure of the original pretty wholesale. You've got a base, but this is very far from fleshed out. A first effort that shows you grasp some basics of music construction, you simply need to continue learning in order to fashion more creative sounds & textures and more involved, developed interpretation of your source tune. Use the ReMixing and Works-in-Progress forums to learn more about making electronic music and obtain feedback before submitting in the future. NO

Ah come on, what the hell is this doing on the last page of Reviews? This is some straight up gold. It's also the last mix posted before I joined the panel, just to put it in some time-related context. Having seen Sam become one of the more popular arrangers within the community in the last few years, I'm just surprised his first mix around here doesn't get more attention. So back in the day when I'd never heard of Sam, this mix definitely came out of left field. If I recall right, Prot bitched about the piece not being developed enough. Maybe when you first hear it, sure. What I liked about this, however, was that Sam was so effective in varying the style of each verse that the track felt like a much longer, much more fleshed out piece of music. It actually says a lot in a short amount of time.

One of the interesting things about being a judge is what happens after voting NO and having a submission still end up passing. It's always nice to chill and listen to something after the fact of voting, no longer having to be analytical about it. With all but a very few exceptions, I end up appreciating the track being a part of OCR regardless. Once it has that "OC ReMix" label on it, it quickly feels like it belongs with the rest. That doesn't mean I question my vote, far from it; it just means the "Judge" mentality isn't in full effect anymore. I'm definitely still of the "needs better dynamics" crowd, and agreed with the ones who felt some sort of development in the second half would have made this that much stronger. But I'd be a liar if I didn't admit this had me grooving a hell of a lot. [A precious sub of GSlice's [sic] from Jazz Jackrabbit also had me groove-biased in much the same way (I still have it).] I was just thinking, this mix would fit in really well with some of today's fighting game soundtracks. It's got a really nice energy to it that reminds me of a lot of Capcom and Tecmo's stuff. Good stuff.

Wow. I definitely didn't remember this one at all, but the groove here is really excellent. The production was really clean, and I loved all of the sound choices here. That bass is definitely nice and phat, and as always, Alex is the man when it comes to creating sophisticated and engaging textures. We could sure use Alex's uniqueness, creativity, and penchant for mixing underappreciated games nowadays. It's been all Zelda/Chrono/FF these past few days.

Yeah, I'm in the "pretty bad" camp as well, but that's mainly because this was mixed so poorly, as well as the percussion writing being bleh. Ha, the changeup at 1:00 ALSO had me anticipating something cool, then it ended. Everyone around here should know though, that Norrin has a really badass Street Fighter II Guile mix at OCR as well. Wish I saw him more around Dwelling of Duels, as he's clearly come a long way from this initial mix. He should submit something else here just to emphasize how far he's come with his skills.

Definitely carried by the arrangement here, as most of the samples were really rigidly sequenced and exposed. It all significantly limits the very tangible emotion of the writing. Chris could get this one sounding twice as good nowadays, and I don't even mean just by having a real guitar. Just based off this one though, I can't wait to see goat eventually tackle more from the Ninja Gaiden series.

Back in summer '02 when I listened to all the mixes from A-Z, this ActRaiser mix was one of the very first ones to gain my attention. It helps that the source material was excellent, but djp's old school style was really standout at the time versus OCR's other artists. While managing to have a writing style and range of sounds where you could pretty much tell when a track was his, he usually had some ultra-funky results that ended up not sounding too similar. This one in particular was excellent.

Wouldn't have minded something a bit more dynamic overall, but this was nice and chill.

That's just crazy. A crazy idea, and even crazier result. Some of the levels (and sound choices ) made things too abrasive, but this one is definitely a winner. Just gotta make sure my ears are ok afterward! ("Broke 'em when you joined the panel," I hear someone say.)

Conservative arrangement, too conservative in the big scheme of things in terms of being a slave to the original's structure, but definitely well personalized for the time. I was always a big fan of the original, and Dan did a nice job spicing it up.

Man, this one's been the shit for so many years. Honestly can't believe it hasn't gotten more props. Fire this track up. Great, personalized arrangement with some awesome development & dynamics. Just when you think the track's said all it can say, you get a sweet changeup at 3:56 into another part of the source. Neostorm, now there's someone I wish came out with 25 more mixes...

Might need more detail than that. Dumb it down. Step by step, what's happening?

Hey .. Track name : Still in your Marble Zone Game : Sonic The Hedgehog Enjoy .. --------------------------------------------------------------- http://project2612.org/download.php?id=36 - Marble Zone Piano sounded rigid to start, but once more elements joined in at :38 the piano sounded less exposed. Good piano stuff at :55, brass at 1:01 was pretty flimsy but only there for a cameo. Snare pattern felt boring/droning, but the percussion writing was otherwise good. I wish more was done to interpret the main verse of the source, but the freestylish arrangement of the chorus was good. Just as I was done typing, a new iteration of the source melody came in at 2:21 with some new instrumentation with a subtle, laid back feel that killed off that criticism entirely. Wouldn't have minded the 2:21 section's melody a little louder, but Frank set a nice mood and some good contrast compared to the first section. Nice piano work handling the chorus again, closing the track out. Last lil' drum roll and piano chord at 3:09 was trite, like "Nah, you didn't need to do that," but no big deal. Felt like the track could have been beefed up with maybe one more part in the background to further flesh it out, but what's here is bueno bueno! YES