Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

The opening soundscape sounds crunchy from :49-on when it's just meant to sound crystalline. The bowed strings until 2:04 actually felt like they were needlessly crowding the soundscape, so I was glad when they dropped out. 2:26 shifted into an awkward chippy lead, and texture felt too lopsided toward that, feeling pretty empty until 2:54. I'm getting a lot of high-end sizzle, but not clarity and sharpness with these textures. The phasing lines from 3:39 were crowding out other stuff, and the soundscape genuinely felt very messy until around 5:24. I get how it's tied into the track's title and gimmick; it was initially unpleasent listening to the "Compression of Time" melody de-sync for such an extended period of time with the countermelody until 4:10, but I got used to it and appreciate that part of the gimmick. Something about how this is piece is mixed causing the parts to sound abrasive, competing with each other to be heard, and lacking synergy instead of gluing together, and it's apparent for me as early as :54. Very awkward, abrupt addition of beefy kicks & claps at 5:05 that I'm assuming was intentional while feeling like a sloppy mistake. I listened to the reference tracks, but I'm admittedly not understanding where this all connects stylistically. The ending section at 6:07 was a beautiful, extended winddown where you could really bask in the sound design; opening the soundscape back up was a help, and the strings were a highlight there. The loop point was also a nice idea. Obviously, Wes knows how to make good music, and I like the arrangement in a vacuum, so it'll feel like I'm not giving him grace on some stylistic choices. Production-wise, this had some similar mixing issues with his recent DKC submission that he later ended up revising; the levels during the most intense areas were too hot and need to be pulled back, and the overall mixing is actually undermining the writing and textures, IMO. I apologize at my inability to isolate and describe the issues. It may take someone more knowledgeable to articulate what can be done about this in a way that Wes can work with. No matter what, I'm a stickler. Until we receive a more balanced mixing of this that lets the parts breathe and interact with synergy, I be a stickler. [sic] NO (resubmit) EDIT (11/9): Being right can be a curse sometimes. ;-D If I can be a dad or judgevet for a minute, if you can be honest with yourself, it's easier to then be honest with other people. Even though Wes is my friend and colleague, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of being anything less than honest and forthcoming with my critiques. Mixing's on point now, so let's go! YES

The opening beats that faded in sounded on the weaker side, but I did immediately like the overall energy behind this. I'm not sure what about this mixing isn't working; right now, the clubby beats are so much louder over the melody, though it can be a stylistic thing. The quick transition at 1:38 was kind of awkward, but still OK in my opinion. I didn't mind the downward key change at all. Nice extended SFX from 1:39-1:59, though I wish you didn't use it verbatim again at 2:49, as that was a great spot to present that same kind of warbling sound effects idea with some differences. By 2:18 though, I'm thinking you've got to vary up these 90's style club beats, they're dragging out with their writing being so repetitive during all of the verses, which was undermining the dyanmic contrast you were otherwise attempting with your textures and SFX. The club approach is very cool, Karim, and well in the right direction of handling this source tune with personalized interpretation. However, as the other judges have said, you need more variation in the writing and textures; I'm confident you can do it, my friend! NO (resubmit)

Wow. Opens up way too loud, compressed, and distorted. 20 seconds in, this is unfortunately already a guaranteed NO on production, which is a shame. Lots of shrill, piercing synths, and then even a moment from 1:22-1:24 of exposed beats and claps that feels like General MIDI stuff. When I say this, it'll sound like I hated the track or that I think you have no shot at future success; I'm merely evaluating what I hear now rather than your future potential. This has loads of energy, just 0 effort given to mix or balance this, and I'm channeling Gordon Ramsey when I say the way it's currently produced sounds absolutely dreadful. It's clear this wasn't listened to on any headphones before submitting this. Even with such a high encoding (274kbps), this sounds like a 64kbps encoding. I appreciate prophetik being able to drill down on the arrangement. It's not often that MindWanderer and I BOTH appear to be in the dismissive camp; it's difficult to even begin to closely analyze the writing, when the way this is mixed is so difficult to listen to. Not much to be done here, Max, even with a potential overhaul, but prophetik's advice can be applied to future tracks, and there's still value in this as a learning experience, especially one that you can look back on down the line to appreciate your progression. If you're not using our Post Your Game ReMixes forum and/or #workshop channel in our Discord for feedback, you're doing yourself a disservice. Please avail yourself of those resources, dust yourself off, and keep at it! NO

Opens with some decent heft, although the lead synth sounds kind of flimsy, then gradually gets steamrolled by the rising volume of the beat from :24 until :36. Machine-gun beats from :51-:53 didn't sound good. After the transition at :55, the countermelody sounds off-key for every 3rd and 4th bar per measure until changing the writing at 1:43 (and not from 1:22-1:26). Slight slowdown leading into 1:58 transitioning back to the source's intro. From 1:11-1:43, the more sustained string-like synth leads sound somewhat shrill and locked to grid, which undermined the flow of the piece. Yipes, that sweep from 2:05-2:20 started off so abrasive; save my old man ears! Aw man, back to the off-key countermelodic writing from 2:29-3:01; this stuff is relatively minor, but it's there enough that it becomes a dealbreaker because of how often it's there. proph and MW are saying the piece isn't transformative enough. I don't mind what's here being melodically conservative as long as there are enough aspects of interpretive arrangement involved. To me, this is going well in the right direction with beefed up textures and additive writing compared to the 8-bit original. To me, this is a reasonable sound upgrade with some additional ideas, but just needs further development and variation (along with rewriting the clashing countermelody mentioned before). Good potential here on this one as well, Karim. Once again (same as your Tetris piece), keep developing this, and don't submit it again until after you get feedback from either the Post Your Game ReMixes forum or the #workshop channel in the OCR Discord server. This one is also a strong foundation, Karim; I would hope that you're not discouraged by this rejection as much as enthused by the positive comments. NO (resubmit)

Not that often that I'd just quote and concur, but prophetik's summarized this very well; this is too repetitive and plodding, and would need to do more to stand apart from the original track. We do have plenty of more melodically conservative arrangements [e.g. https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04414 and all the other OC ReMixes linked in the writeup's second (non-quote) paragraph], but their sounds are more personalized and varied than this arrangement's approach. At 2:40, Adrian, you've essentially heard it all, and the first 2:40 was essentially a close cover adapted for this soundset, but without much further development or interpretation. I'd definitely recommend comparing recent OC ReMixes of themes that you're familiar with to get a sense of the aspects of interpretation we're looking for. NO

I never heard the first version, so I'm hearing this fresh for the first time. Some sort of audio artifact going on right at the start, I guess some SFX that was taken from your YouTube video version. Very odd mixing here, where the brass and strings were way softer and more distant than the electro synths, but the soundscape thankfully clears up after the transition at :30. The beats and countermelodic synths at :38 were a pretty basic sound. 1:08-1:23's chorus section was more interesting, but again had strange mixing. Seemed like the panning was focused on the right ear for no real reason as well. I did like the bouncing chippy line in that segment though, that was a nice touch. 1:23 went back to the same verse idea, then 1:53's chorus section had some different textures, then a transition into more orchestration until 2:23. The thumping beats at 2:24 were still too basic and plodding. I liked the garbled robotic vocals at 2:23; it wasn't important what they were saying. The "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" used from 2:40-3:03 & 3:15-3:25 could be cool, but it's the same exact shout at the same intensity looped over and over again; I'd recommend using different types of effects on the "Hey" shouts to give them an evolving sound that doesn't sound so repetitive. The gradual tempo acceleration was a nice touch though, followed by the deceleration. The boom-tss-boom-tss cadence of most of the beat writing got too plodding after a while; keep thinking of ways to naturally and fluidly vary up the beat patterns without feeling the need to make it too busy. Keep developing this, and don't submit it again until after you get feedback from either the Post Your Game ReMixes forum or the #workshop channel in the OCR Discord server. This is a strong foundation, Karim; I would hope that you're not as discouraged by another rejection as much as enthused by the positive comments from all of us on how this is a meaningful improvement from the prior version. NO (resubmit)

This source tune actually doesn't sound very melodious, though I chock that up to this instrument set. Not a bad jazzy cover here. Pretty fakey instrumentation (really, all of the extra dry DarkeSax), but still a legitimate sound upgrade over the original, and the bassline even cuts through more. At a lower volume, you can't tell the drums are distorting, but at a full volume, you hear it. I don't mind the drumkit as much, just the way it distorts, as the writing's awesome. The gliding line first heard at :11 didn't have quite the right tone, or at least the presense, for example when it was handling the chorus at :55 and trading off with the guitar. 1:08 felt like it was repreating :14's section, and really the track felt like it was going through 2 1/2 iterations of theme with minor textural changes, but the overall level of interpretation and personalization was substantive enough that I was still OK with the treatment of the theme. The writing is strong and energetic throughout. prophetik music gave much more granular critique on what could stand to be touched up. To me, if you can just give the sampled saxophone a less exposed, more sophisticated sound, then this would have my vote. Would love to ensure the drums didn't distort, but that would be more of a nice-to-have. Enjoyable base here, Sean! NO (resubmit)

I'd argue the core beat from 1:48-2:58 & 3:27-3:57 was too repetitive, with the core snare shot almost always at the exact same intensity, which exposed the sample. I thought the tone of the rigidly-timed guitar synth (e.g. 3:19) was off-putting and that the flimsy orch stabs (e.g. 3:35-3:42) made the track sound cheap. The texture from 3:44-4:20 felt too simplistic because the drumming left so much empty space in the background. Then distortion city from 4:45-5:18; too noisy, too crunchy, too unpleasant to listen to, especially for the finish. I understand how it was meant to sound overdriven, but it doesn't work. I like much of the arrangement approach. However, I'm farther away from approving this than the other Js, because I didn't feel this was a close call, even though I agree this has potential. Though I like many of the electrosynths used, some of the previously mentioned instrumentation needs further sophistication, and the mixing for the closing section in particular was a mess. It's obviously you've put in a significant amount of time into learning arrangement, Tachy, and the level of interpretation's certainly well in the right direction. I just mentioned this for another submission; if you're not getting feedback from the #workshop channel in the community Discord or the Post Your Game ReMixes forum, please gather more feedback and advice to help refine your future work. NO (resubmit)

Nice sound upgrade to this to start, but then the switch to the drumkit and bass guitar at :18 doesn't have synergy with the synths. By :45, I was wondering when we'd hit a different part of the source theme. At :55, there's another textural change, but these instruments don't gel together. At 1:12, the bass guitar's playing too low (and the combination with the fading pad makes it sound off-key) and the clap groove sounds super default-y. OK, briefly back to the nicer sounding groove at 1:35, and then the drumkit from :18 coming back again at 1:44, and this is definitely underdeveloped. prophetik broke down how this drumkit sound doesn't fit, and, to me, most of these textures don't even click. Once you get to 1:35, Troy, you've essentially heard all the substance there is. Unfortunately, nothing here yet is beyond a work-in-progress level of development or cohesiveness. If you're not getting feedback from the #workshop channel in the community Discord or Post Your Game ReMixes forum, please gather more feedback and advice to help refine your future work. I really liked the very start, but this needs a lot more arrangement substance, textural cohesion, and mixing polish. Good source tune choice, with some areas that sounded nice here, but this would need a significant revision to adequately develop this. NO

https://ocremix.org/torrents - says the FF4 album torrent has 35 seeders. It sounds like you had no luck using the torrent link from that page?

Full of energy; just a big sound and a driving tempo for some effective urgency. Nice job, Jari! YES

Short and sweet, not a big fan of this source theme because of how formless it feels, even though it's a straightforward melody, so I really appreciate how Zack & co.'s version has more of an overt direction! Great instrumentation and performances, awesome soundscapes. YES

Alright, from 1:08-1:49, it's just too loud, that's wild that the volume would spike that high. Yeezus. Alright, so the volume's making me go back to the all-important question: If the source files were lost, and the track couldn't be revised, would I still turn this down. The answer's no, so I'd YES if the arrangement side was on point. 1:56 repeats :13's section with a cut-and-paste; I didn't even mind it that much, but the the build-up to the chorus at 2:37 was still a wholesale repeat, it made the track feel underdeveloped. There were at least some differences with the SFX from 3:05-3:18. Great base here, Jordan! Loads of strong, punchy sound design, even if my old man ears got battered. Love the interpretation and personalization of the theme, but after 1:56, there's almost no further development. More variation of any sort in the second half to move it up from being a 95% rinse-and-repeat will seal the deal! NO (resubmit) EDIT (10/10): More could still be done to have the second iteration of the verse stand apart from the first, but I'm on board with the edits and the sum total of what's there given the expansive treatment. YES

Your ReMixer name: ThePlasmas Your real name: Mauricio Castro Your email address: Your website(s): https://linktr.ee/theplasmasvgm Your userid: 30081 Name of game(s) arranged: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Name of arrangement: Catacumbas Subterraneas Name of individual song(s) arranged: In The Catacombs Additional information about the game: Darren Mitchell, N64. Link to the original soundtrack: https://darrenmitchell.bandcamp.com/album/turok-the-dinosaur-hunter-original-n64-soundtrack Your own comments about the mix: I spent too much time playing this in my childhood, so that's why I needed to record a version of this song, in my style, adding melodies, powerful guitars and trying to keep the atmosphere the fifth level had. This song was recorded to participate in the "Summer of 64" event produced by GameGrooves, available here: https://theplasmasvgm.bandcamp.com/album/64-ways-to-die

Original Decision Hello everyone, Hello Larry, I would like to send back my tetris remix which was refused on February 20. I reworked the song, the dynamics, the compression and its duration. Thanks for the second chance. Link to my resubmission : Re Mixer : Onirik Dreamer real name : Karim Ajroud email : website : https://onirikdreamer.com Link of vidéoclip : user id : 38210 Name of game arranged : Tetris (Gameboy) Name of original track : theme A (Alexei pajitnov/arranger Hirokazu Tanaka) Name of my track : Crazy Tetrominos Additional information about game : 1989 Link to the original soundtrack : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whBg7IF5JUg Your own comments about the mix : I wanted to make a more energetic and electronic version of this legendary theme while keeping the general atmosphere of the original track.

Aww yeah, The MM3 Intro! Wav: Contact Information Your ReMixer name - PsyNES Your real name - Jari Your email address - Your website - https://soundcloud.com/psynes Your userid - 20309 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged - Mega Man 3 Name of arrangement - The Blue Bomber Name of individual song(s) arranged - Mega Man 3 Intro Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. This time I have a Mega Man 3 intro remix for you all, in the usual style of PsyNES, which is PsyTrance, NES chiptune stuff and sometimes some Hard NRG/Freeform mixed together. Mega Man 3 is one of my first games I ever played and probably completed as well, it is also my favorite Mega Man game, so it has a special place in my heart. The soundtrack is awesome too, which has inspired me to try remixing all the songs in it, so hopefully more are coming soon. I can't say for sure when I first started doing this remix, since I lost my old versions when my HDD died. First version that I thought was good enough to share with everyone seems to be January 2015 when I uploaded it to my SoundCloud. I did have a video version of this on my Youtube too, but I unlisted it because I want an updated and better version of this in there. Like always, this is made with Renoise and a bunch of VSTs and NES samples etc.

(with more variations added) Greetings! I've always wanted to remix Kraid's theme from Metroid. It's mega-spooky in its composition and just reeks of genius. Watch for the drop, it's pretty wicked. Jordan bLiNd

Remix is attached below. Thanks as always for listening! Contact Information Username: H36T UserID:37144 Website: https://www.youtube.com/@H36TRemasters Submission Information Arrangement Games: Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VIII Name of Arrangement: Into the Horizon Song Being Arranged: To the North Mountain, Fisherman's Horizon This was a song that came from the FF mashup competition. I wish I had some more substantive to say but this really was mostly a creation off the top of my head without any deep thought. The most I can say creation wise is I tried to make the two sources play nicely with each other and I ended up with something that I didn't expect hahaha. I've had people say it sounds like a game intro. I can't say I was going for that...but then again, I wasn't really going for anything in particular! I just hope people enjoy it and that's good enough for me! Go forth, little song. Into the horizon!

Hi. Since I played the indie-title VVVVVV I wanted to remix the great chip-tune »Passion for Exploring«,but for a long time I wasn’t sure about the style. After trying different ideas I stumbled across an old Logic-project were I tried to make an original trance-song in 7/8, which was never finished. I took the main chords from it, changed them to 4/4 and they fitted the melody of »Passion for Exploring« quite well. These chords ended up in the buildup at the middle of the remix and defined the basis for a really powerful and energetic remix. You could listen to it here: Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Gaspode Your real name: Peter Köller Your email address: Your website: – Your userid: 26608 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: »VVVVVV« Name of arrangement: Vigorous Pace Name of individual song(s) arranged: »Passion for Exploring« Additional information: VVVVVV, Adobe Flash, Music by Magnus Pålsson, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VVVVVV Links to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acjjp3CzzYU Bye, Peter

ReMixer name: Treyt Name: Trevor Tuls Email: Websites: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6e8Tgh_0AZ9ixt7BPTWkA Userid: 38283 Game: Pokemon Pinball Arrangement Name: Pocket Arcade Songs Arranged: Pokemon Pinball Title Theme Composer: Go Ichinose System: Gameboy Color Original Soundtrack(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plgPjtwiQxg My own comments about the mix:Did I overdo it lol? This remix is for chapter 2 of the Impact of Iwata collaborative album, which is headed up by TSori and Lucas. This is a personal master, and not the final album master.

Main ReMixer name: TheManPF (User ID: 35318) Additional artists: BadHairlineProductions; Ian Martyn; Daniel Romberger (dannymusic) Submission: Game: Cuphead Name of arrangement: La Danza Macabra del Tren de los Muertos Songs arranged: Railroad Wrath (https://youtu.be/e_G_sGaJFpQ) Original composer: Kristofer Maddigan System: Windows; Xbox One; MacOS; Nintendo Switch; Playstation 4 Year: 2017 Comments: "The Danse Macabre of the Train of the Dead" is an arrangement I've done for the Pixel Mixers album "The Great Tale of the Little Ones Vol.3", a collaborative album with several remixes of indie videogames. I've always wanted to do a Cuphead cover, and especially Railroad Wrath (which used to be my favorite track from the game before the DLC came along) which I always envisioned as a dark, creepy, sort of melancholic but also heavy as fuck song, representing the passing of the train of the dead. It also ended up being quite bouncy (as commented by the project lead: "makes me want to dance and headbang at the same time"). BadHairlineProductions did the bass this time, and he actually recorded THREE basses: the bass through most of the song is double-tracked (!) with two different bass tones, while a third one was used for a fantastic bass solo (!!!). Ian Martyn was responsible for all the piano parts, including all the accompaniment and also a killer improvised piano solo in the first half. Daniel Romberger is what you would call the "guest musician" on the track, you'll probably know him best as the Trombonist for The Game Brass, however, this time he has joined me for an improvised Theremin solo! I did all the arrangement, sequencing, mixing, and guitar playing. Lastly, even though they're not part of the specific submission (I mastered this version myself), I want to credit the team behind the album where this was included: - Production: Hashel (https://open.spotify.com/artist/3S3WG...) - Mastering: Erika Richards (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xxdfWO4IdAGOzjTWLpB8g) - Artwork: Troisnyx (https://www.troisnyx.co.uk/) Link to the full album: https://fanlink.to/TheLittleOnes

Remixer: LXE Name: Alexis Gelinas Email: Website: instagram.com/lexadex_yo 38753 -- Donkey Kong Country Rhythm of the Waves Aquatic Ambience I was inspired by the Djole drum song, and senegalese drumming in general. I used west african instruments like the kora and marimba and kalimba to flesh out the melody and a synth pad to give everything body. I really wanted to give this arrangement a different treatment than the styles I usually hear and I felt like these instruments would bring a new life to it. -- Alexis Gelinas

Arrangement Link (WAV): 16 BIts, 44,1 KHz Contact Information Your ReMixer name: VGMasters Your real name: Dark Hunter Your email address: Your website(s): https://www.instagram.com/darkhunterc7/ Your userid: 37166-dark-hunter Submission Information: Name of game(s) arranged: Donkey Kong Country Name of arrangement: Oil Drum Madness Name of individual song(s) arranged: Fear factory Original Composer: David Wise System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfoEVgp-RmM "Oil Drum Madness" is a re-arrangement performed by the band VGMasters. It is Dark Hunter's very first aggressive remix of a VGMusic back in 2011, now with the band providing extra interpretation! Thank you very much for the comments on the "Black Belt Destruction" remix! We'll continue to improve as long as there were VGMusic to remix! Here's a link showing the band performing Oil Drum Madness (The wav one got a remaster to submit into Ocremix):

It's an OGG. Can reach out for a WAV or different encoding if necessary. -LT ReMixer: janet-wallace Name: Janet Wallace Email: User id: 38384 Game: Final Fantasy IX (Square, 2000) Arrangement: Dragon's Crest Song Arranged: Freya's Theme Composer: Nobuo Uematsu Game system: Playstation 1 Game genre: RPG DAW used: LMMS Original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaGz7rkPd54 About the remix: I am very fond of ambient music. Inspired by Robert Fripp and Brian Eno's works on tape looping, I decided to make a rendition of Freya's Theme that transcends the realms of music, a song that goes through the listener's ears and brings him upon a floating cloud of noise.The instruments blend with the song as the track goes on and becomes one with the universe's essence. The track is named after a Freya move in the game, called Dragon's Crest. It is a very powerful attack and only the most skilled and dedicated players can learn how to achieve it. Speaking of Freya, she is one of my favorite characters from the FF series, her story is tragic yet with a glimpse of hope, and I also like her music theme and I thought to myself "why not make a remix of that cool track?" I hope you enjoy it, and have a nice day!

Hi there! I have been a long time fan of ocremix.org and would be honoured to have this VGM remix of mine considered: Submission Information: Name of games arranged: Dynamite Headdy Name of arrangement: Mushy Metal Aura Headd Name of individual songs arranged: Hustle Maruyama (parts 1 & 2) I made this as a Christmas present for my fiance last year (but ended up spending the last 9 months trying to get the mix to sound better haha). I think Hustle Maruyama is listed as 1 song on ocremix but sometimes it's listed as a two part song. My goal with this song was to arrange it in my own style but still be very recognisable. The style I have been working with in the last few years mixes chiptune and VGM influences with IDM, breakcore, prog rock and power metal. I hope you enjoy it Contact info: ReMixer name: Dane Jacobs Real name: Dane Jacobs Email: Websites: https://www.instagram.com/danemjacobs/ https://danejacobs.newgrounds.com/ https://soundcloud.com/dane-m-jacobs https://www.youtube.com/RhubarbZoo Kind regards, Dane Jacobs