Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

Yep, there's an actual Piano Collections arrangement, so I took the link prophetik gave and put it into the first post. I do appreciate the Distant Worlds arranged version also being referenced starting around 2:27. It's entirely possible to have an arrangement of an arranged album version make it on OCR, so this just happened not to be the case here. Co-signed with proph, this version's just way too close to the structure of the Piano Collections version to start. It's a great performance by Josh, however, IMO, this presentation doesn't stand enough apart from these arranged versions to pass our arrangement standards. From what I can tell, this premise, which is of course a lovely performance, just happens to be something that's not quite interpretive enough when contrasted with the pair of arranged versions being referenced. I hope we hear more from you though, Josh; your piano talents are right up our alley, so we'd love to feature something else from your VGM repetoire that carries more of your personality and arrangement approach in it. NO

The main melody kicked in at :31 and I love how sweeping the sounds are; arguably too loud, but I'm OK with what's there. I appreciated how it took until 2:33 to reference the very beginning of the source. Cool soundscape and an enjoyable treatment of the theme; there's elements of sadness, quirkiness, solitude, and loss for me. It feels like whatever feeling you want to find in it can be found. YES

It's a meaningful improvement in terms of adding some more interpretive arrangement ideas, so that's a nice step forward, Adrián. You certainly put some work into having this feel less repetitive. Unfortunately, the stiff timing of nearly everything is still a dealbreaker and will continue to be. The percussion changes up more often, but the track needs further padding to help mitigate the blocky feeling of this rigid timing. When you listen to the source tune, it doesn't sound anywhere near this stilted. The laughing/growling SFX at 3:21 sounds too clean and exposed; it needs some effects on it to have a more ominous sound and also not feel so stapled on top and out of place with the rest of the soundscape. The track also ended abruptly after the laughing, so there's no real resolution. IMO, humanizing the timing of the instrumentation would be the main hurdle. If there's any way you can do that, this would have a much better shot of passing. NO (resubmit)

Stamp of rubber. YES

Never heard Gary Moore's "The Loner" at all before, but I totally see how the backing synth chords have that VGM vibe. The whole track sounds like something that could have come out of a 90s Japanese arrangement album inspired by the 80s, and I'm on board. Hearing lots of light popping sounds all over this WAV, so I'm not sure if something got messed up in what we hosted or if Will's render was jacked up. Hopefully this can be fixed, because it's pervasive enough where I'm going to call this a conditional YES. Nice mileage out of this source! Arrangement-wise, it sounds awesome, and I hear the Gary Moore influence across the track. The guitar wails, I dig it. Classy extended fadeout as well. Would have loved to have heard a quick cameo of vocals like in "The Loner" to get the full effect; don't leave 'em hangin' like that! EDIT (1/24/24): Will says the pops are intentional, like a vinyl effect. There's no inherent problem with adding in crackling/popping SFX to create a more lo-fi aesthetic (see the intro of https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01312 which is 100x more overt). IMO, it just wasn't done properly here. They don't sound like any vinyl effect I've ever heard and don't sound good, they just sound like a big rendering error; potentially not noticeable on speakers/monitors, but hurting this on headphones. I'm a NO (resubmit) then, and if this passes as is, that's cool. EDIT (1/26/24): Wack crackles eliminated makes Larry a happy man. YES

Opens up sounding super basic/vanilla with these synths, but there's at least some good power. Melody comes in at :17, and this soundscape's flooded. Way too loud and mixed in a muddy way. The arrangement's not bad, but about a minute in we get to the Comic Bakery portion, and this was feeling like too much of a paint-by-number adaptation. It's got power behind it, but I'm wanting to hear more personality. At 2:11, we get to the Comic Bakery portion again, and it's just the same stuff being repeated with some very minor textural differences in the background. Right now, Bryan, it's just 3 playthroughs of a good-sounding sound upgrade, but after 1:45, you've effectively heard all of the track's ideas and all that's happening from then on is repetition. Any further attention given to varying up the instrumentation, melodies, rhythms, tempo, dynamics, etc. would help push this closer toward a YES. You've done it before with your DKC arrangement, so see what other arrangement techniques you can present here to more meaningfully develop this. NO (resubmit)

Opens up pretty loud. IMO, too loud so the levels should be pulled back, but I'll live. This overly loud presentation's part of why MW felt it had no dynamics; I don't agree with that but I see where he's coming from. He's also not wrong about the vinyl/crackling SFX being too loud, everpresent, and repetitive in a way that's distracting and detracting rather than spicing up the soundscape. To me, the track's still undercooked, but it's well in the right direction. Much like Alexis's previous sub, Super Mario RPG "Geno Hop", more variation in the backing instrumentation, more time to develop, and fashioning a real ending would help put this over the top, IMO. Good base here! NO (resubmit)

Heh. Not the most melodious take on the opening, yet I like how tense the build sounds. Heard an off note that was more a scrape at :54, but it was quickly forgotten. More ominous than the original, and good drive and momentum here during the densest parts thanks to Andrew's spirited playing. Dug the change into the more open and understated texture at 1:58. The tension didn't click for me 100%, but let's say it was 90%, and that's firmly on solid ground, IMO. Cool concept! YES

Dragon Warrior, something we don't get enough of 'round these parts. To me, the arrangement's solid, but the mixing's lossy-sounding or at least not sharp enough. There's a noticable quality disparity with the live parts vs. the sequenced elctric guitar in particular, starting at 1:45. MW said this sounded disjointed in terms of the genres; to me, it was just a progressive style, and I didn't mind that it moved around. The overworld melody was there in spades, but the presentation throughout was different enough to me due to the different instrumentation and textures. Nothing wrong with being ambitious if the musicianship and production are there, so I think MW's calibration is off. The flaws here were notable, and other more proficient Js can pull out way more, but I'm not hearing dealbreaker arrangement issues. Call me old fashioned, but I don't see a universe where this concept doesn't pass as is; if it doesn't, our bar is out of whack. YES

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It's definitely not on OC ReMix, but it's a fun piece!

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I recognize how the line from :41-:55 was changing the "Terra" melody with a different rhythm and notes, but it doesn't sound anything whatsoever like it, so I'm not counting any of that. The track was 5:04-long, so I needed to make out the source theme for at least 152 seconds to consider the source usage dominant. :03-:13 - "Terra" (chord from intro) 1:12-1:26 - "Terra" 1:26-1:32 - "Under Her Control" 1:39-2:06.5 (then 2:06.5-2:17 very quietly) - "Under Her Control" 2:17-2:24, 2:27-2:38 - "Terra" with "Under Her Control" at the end 2:49-3:01 - "Under Her Control" 3:29.5-3:57 - "Terra" (with brief pieces of "Under Her Control") 3:57-3:59 - "Terra" 4:03.5-4:05 - "Terra" 4:07.75-4:37 - "Terra" 147.75+10.5 quiet (let's call that half credit, it's barely audible) = 153 seconds or 50.32% overt source usage Rubber stamp time. Nice job, Matt! YES

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Contact Information: Your ReMixer name: Bryan EL Your real name: Bryan EL Your email address: Your website(s): www.bryanel.com Your userid: 34748 Submission Information: Link to remix: Name of game arranged: Jurassic Park Name of arrangement: Apex Predator Name of song arranged: Level 1 Original composer: Jonathan Dunn (Game Boy / NES) Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywRGNGRmRws Comments: Thought this one deserved a little remix after 30 years since release. Just needed a little extra punch...

Nice understated jazzy vibe applied to the source. The bass and woodwinds were my personal highlights in the live lineup. Classy job, gentlemen! YES

Cool Xmas vibes to start with the sleigh bells, though that of course fits with EarthBound not just Christmas. Interesting to switch "Snowman" to 4/4 and simplify the melodies; it's referenced throughout for most of it, so no need for me to even timestamp it. If you want lovely vocals, give Earth Kid a call, for sure. Mixing should be clearer, IMO. I feel like the drums are more of a thud without some high-end sharpness. More of a lo-fi approach to the mixing than what I personally felt this needed, but nothing I can't look beyond re: personal bias. Good stuff from Trevor and EK, I hope they collab again! YES

Cool approach with the percussion in particular. It definitely branched out more creatively as it went on, which, from an interpretive arrangement frame, was a satisfying arc. Evolves beautifully, and I had no issue with the mixing, even though I didn't disagree with the critiques. YES

Nice energy throughout! I also enjoyed the more “inspired by” aspects of the piece during 2:22-3:47. I’m in strong contrast to prophetik about the opening; works well for me and there’s a good reason José referenced it as the opening of the album trailer. I never heard the first sub, even though I was on the panel back then, so while I didn’t contribute to Greg’s heartburn back then, I’m happy to pat him on the back for this strong stuff for the album! Hard to go wrong with “The Man with the Machine Gun” (and the “Succession of Witches” inclusion was subtle yet seamless)! YES

Was a YES before, so I’m still on board now!

We maaaaaay need further help with this.

It'll sound like I'm saying I hate the sax; Lucas's sax performance is still pretty honky and lacks strong control (e.g. small examples, 1:18-1:23, 2:51-3:00), so while it's got some issues on display, it's capable enough to get by and, importantly, is surrounded by the rest of the quartet. Arrangement's fun with some good dynamics. Like butter, baby. YES