Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

http://www.zophar.net/gbs/sml1.zip - Track 3 The scream SFX at :49 was a decent idea, but felt a little out of place. I liked the echo effect though. You kind of learn to put up with it after a while; probably just personal taste. Too bad those beats brought in at :49 were so flimsy, because everything else seemed pretty solid. Fairly straightforward but good bassline writing which probably should have been boosted up during the fuller parts so it wasn't lost in the shuffle. Synth guitar at 1:22 was a bit grating, but was working surprisingly well. Dunno how Vig would feel about it. They weren't OMG, but I was still surprised that it was sequenced this strongly. Nice delay effects were in place throughout the song to help fill things out; production was fairly sharp. The arrangement and sounds possess a lot of the charm of OCR's older material. I wish the synth guitar had some support or something so it didn't feel like it was practically on its own in the soundfield. Good ideas at from 2:29-3:00 on that level with some belltone-type stuff and pads to flesh out the soundfield more. Arrangement was pretty good, but the flimsy beats didn't quite fit and made the track seem like it was missing some meat. Too bad, for example, that there weren't any lyrics/vocals in here. The beat pattern was cool, especially the off-beats, but the variation on them was ultimately lacking and made things drag a little. No problems with a borderline pass from the panel here, but I need beats that vary and sound a little less simplistic/straightforward, plus some more support for the electric guitar synth so that it doesn't practically feel like it's the only thing in play from 1:22-2:27. The source files are kaput? Damn. :'-( We need another SML mix. If you can do anything to obtain a backup or whatnot, work on this further. Good luck with the rest of the vote, Pat. NO (refine/resubmit)

One Must Fall 2097 - 03 "Main Menu" Simple but cool pad-based intro to open things up. Some beats came in at :41 while the source melody was referenced. Source melody came in at :56 pretty conservatively, going so far as to use the same synth lead as the original at 1:09. Mixed feelings about that, but we'll see where the rest of the track goes. The supporting material initially wasn't filling up the space well; some hard beats to anchor the track would have helped. 1:26 somewhat fixed that with thicker drums being brought in, but the beats and tambourine were too timekeeping, repetitive, and uncreative. I don't think they ever changed up once they were introduced. You could click at any point after 1:26 and the track basically sounded the same as a result. 2:36 starts arranging the source material with some really interpretive stuff only to bring in the verbatim source progression on top at 2:51. Still not liking the melodic material being so close to the original at times. There's some interpretation via new sounds and rhythms being built around the melody, but I felt the verbatim parts of the melody being used so many times for long periods of time were a hinderance. I'd like to see the melody reworked so that half of it doesn't sound like it was taken wholesale from the original's sound. The other half sounds like a simple instrument swap. All the arrangement goodness here seems to be found outside of the lead instrumentation. Also, the percussion patterns need variation and the tone should gel better with the other sounds. You have a good base so far; work on things further. NO (rework/resubmit)

http://www.zophar.net/usf/sm64usf.rar - 15 "Piranha Plant's Lullaby" I agree with Vigilante that it's cool to hear someone actually try to arrange this piece. I don't believe I've ever seen anyone in the community express any interest in the original before. The rendered performance sounds thin, even MIDIish at times; more could be done to get the piano sample to sound richer. Performance also felt a little sluggish from 2:34-3:07, not simply on account of the tempo but because the timing felt rigid. Note progression at 3:47 sounded odd; 3:50-4:07 arguably didn't quite seem to fit the prior mood of the piece, but I see how you were trying to move toward the finish. Yeah, some decent ideas so far, but the arrangement was fairly simplistic/straightforward. It's simply up to you to go for something more complicated (and thereby interpretive) than what you have in place now. NO

It's not a bad track all things considered. Needs more polish, but a promising track for a first sub as far as the execution. Hate to be glib, but NO Override. This approach doesn't justify it as a ReMix. A ReMix has to be a video game music arrangement specifically derived from in-game music, not an original piece inspired by a concept from a video game. The Submission Instructions & Standards elaborate on that further. Submit an actual game music arrangement next time.

http://www.exotica.org.uk/tunes/archive/Authors/Game/Freitas_Jean-Francois/Another_World.lha - Another World end (Anothw2.mod) Interesting intro. Some bass and groove bias beetz came in at :17, somewhat exposing the low quality of the encoding, as I heard some fuzz/artifacts, though they were drowned out a bit once the strings kicked in at :35. Some (ultra fakey) plucked strings faded in around :49, while a modulating synth joined in around :57. Though the groove bias is there, it's certainly good to here the track possess some build. Decent dropoff at 1:10 focusing on the modulating synth before bringing in arpeggiated-style (I take a wild guess!) stuff at 1:28. Bowed and (ultra fakey) plucked string synth joined back in at 2:03. Sloppy transition at 2:20 to finally change the mood here, but it didn't work very well. Same with 3:48 to go back to the more upbeat style. Everything has decent buildups and dropoffs, but the grooves here just carry on and on without actually exploring the source tune enough. Based on the sub letter, this "open minded renovation" seemed to be a liberal arrangement of the ending theme, but this certainly doesn't sound much like it. Doesn't sound like the intro theme either (apparently the only other track in the game). In case I'm mistaken, I'll be more than glad to reevaluate this. The construction is promising; a couple of the sounds are used in a beginner-ish way and the production could be more polished, but the overall result is ok to listen to. Good grooves and fairly chill, but too far off from any of the game's music. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/kidicar.zip - Tracks 1, 2, 3 & 10 The track is slightly over the size limit [6MB (6,291,456 bytes)], and sounds fairly lossy regardless. Encode it in VBR to get more bang for the the buck (or I guess more mojo for the meg...or something). I'm certainly glad to see James back in the community again after not hearing from him in a long while, basically since I started getting serious about the community. This definitely sounds better than the WIP version, which was really thin, though the reverb is over the top and makes everything sound too muddy. I feel it can be more tastefully done, as this affects most of the track. Can't help but feel that the stereo in the intro felt too imbalanced toward the left channel, since the support work was much quieter on the right side; nothing major. Keeping in mind that the reverb/processing here really needs to be redone... Good transition to a subtler approach at :38 taking on another section of the first source. The transition at 1:42 was jumpy and non-existent; definitely a poor way to segue to the next movement. It sounded like the instrumentation simply skipped in at full volume. The tone of the drums at 2:07 sounded completely out of place, IMO. Transition at 2:24 was also strange in that the mood changed without much buildup or connection to the prior stuff. The drums at 2:54 again felt completely out of place in this setting, not to mention mechanically sequenced. 3:18's transition worked better, I felt. The sounds for the 3:18-3:47 section didn't quite capture the intense energy of the writing. The transition at 3:52, on the other hand, felt like you didn't know how to move from the previous section to the next with that horn letting out some sort of death squawk, then just pausing and moving to the new section. There are so many points where the transitions either aren't smooth or simply don't connect the sections effectively, creating that medleyitis I was talking about in the WIP thread, i.e. making a larger arrangement simply by covering several themes in a row with little to no connections between the themes. That wasn't the case the whole way through here. The last few minutes were alright (even though the final note cut off). The small orchestra work here is decent. You had some fairly good ideas for covering the original material, but then expanding the instrumentation/parts to give things some additional depth. Nonetheless you need to more judiciously use reverb and figure out how to flesh out the soundfield without swamping it, you need to build better transitions that don't make the tone change in such jarring ways, and also need to change most of the percussion sounds (i.e. that drumkit) to something that gels with the orchestration. You certainly have a good base in place; keep at it on this one, bro (and go for a more creative title for the arrangement). NO (rework/resubmit)

Why'd you keep saying "Ah-bey" for Abe's Oddyssey? NOT EVERYTHING'S IN JAPANESE, GIRL!!!! HAI!

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 201 "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII", 301 "Cosmo Canyon", some others Instrumentation was indeed loud and harsh, and rigid in the performance. Coupled with the roboticness of the timing, the construction was relatively sparse leaving the track feeling empty and devoid of emotion most of the way. The arrangement isn't developed in any meaningful sense; the sub letter's misleading in that there's medleyitis going on. Nothing more to say other than to learn more and subsequently do more for future subs. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/metroid.zip - Track 1 I see the Busta Rhymes/C64 analogies thrown in here, certainly. But Vigilante sums it up short and sweet. The first half was creative at the very beginning, but then didn't develop the melodies into anything more. Beyond 1:36, I also didn't hear anything remotely connected to the source. Track also sounded pretty empty, for example during the section at 1:52. Really could use a pad or something in the background to fill things out. You show potential, but yes, the construction was interesting but ultimately sparse, and the arrangement was way too liberal of an approach. NO

http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=dkc - "Aquatic Ambiance" (dkc-08.spc) Rather needlessly loud, so I wouldn't have minded it being toned down a bit. I don't really think the encoding was the primary thing holding this back on the production side, as everything sounds too swamped to begin with. The ideas for the intro were alright but not particularly engaging. But the song was already more than halfway and it didn't feel like anything substantial had happened. The fadeout at 2:54 was way too fast. The whole thing felt like an intro to a much longer, more potentially evolving piece. Certainly some melodic interpretation here, but the track was short and aimless. Where's the beef? NO

How about no?

Danke.

http://project2612.org/download.php?id=36 - "Green Hill Zone" Yeah, the melody is off-key at points. z & D basically called this out for what it was, so I've got nothing to add. Gotta agree with the other Js and wrap it up. Cold blooded, I knowz. NO

This is from a Japanese 1996 Taito arcade game, so I can't find the source from my usual places. Can't believe that the title is right though, yeesh. You've got a good groove going, but where was the rest? I'd like to say more, but you didn't really give us more to work with. Variation and creativity are your friends. Develop and personalize the material more. NO

http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff6 - "Tina" (ff6-201.spc) Not exactly the most creative name for this track. Cool intro. Hahaha! The volume is definitely up there. Percussion sounds pretty loose. The piano sample sounds very artificial. The sound balance is pretty poor the whole way through; arguably, nothing is positioned in the soundfield where it should be. About 1:00-in, and I'm not feeling that any workable texture with the instrumentation or cohesive direction with the writing. It's sounds too haphazard and random. The track barely sounds like Terra until some slight connection are (finally) made from 1:41-1:54. 1:54 finally brings in the melody, but the same issues from before are here. Some decent arrangement ideas, certainly. Section at 3:47 sounds decidedly lo-fi, with audible hiss and just a generally low-quality recording. If this was cohesively performed with more sensible post-production, this could be really cool. NO

http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff6 - "The Decisive Battle" (ff6-124.spc) 2:05-long? I must say, this decision is almost over before it's started, but we'll still see where this goes. Short and sweet, the atmosphere indeed sounds messed up at times. The arrangement was somewhat personalized, but short and repetitive. Basically 2 playthroughs of the melody, then...over. You've got to offer more than this. Listen to zircon's tips. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff1.zip - Track 1 Final Fantasy Vocal Collections I: Pray - (01) "The Prelude" Should encode this thing in VBR to get a better sound. Heh, that is an interesting opening. The vocals are directly sampled from the Risa Ooki track from the FF: Pray arrange album which to me is no good, but it at least wasn't used like a crutch. Too bad you didn't make those vocals yourself. Changes up at 1:56. Oh, wow, the quality just dropped SEVERELY. Wow. It's just, you had some decent textures going on in the intro, then you stopped and went into some really thinly-textured and generic-sounding trance. Everything sounds very unprocessed, the instrumentation choices are too generic, bland, corny, etc., and the track just sounds really empty until 2:48. 2:48 brings in the familiar Prelude melody on faux-plucked strings while a very robotically sequenced ethnic woodwind instrument doubles it. Another changeup at 3:34, with some decidedly more creative sound choices, but the soundfield still feels very empty. You need some pads or something to fill out the soundfield adequately so things don't sound so barren. Whatever you brought in at 4:23 in the background playing the source's supporting chords wasn't doing it. 4:44 starts fading in the sampled arrange album vocals for a decent touch. 5:09 goes back to the melody, but, much like before the writing, beatwork, and overall construction are too simplistic. Basically continued like that until the end. For a 7:17-long mix, the arrangement substance wasn't there, and everything was put together in a fairly beginner-ish way. Work on creating more complex and varied arrangement ideas along with more complex and varied textures; the basics. Obtain some feedback from the community first before you submit in the future. NO

Hahaha! I miss the classic Vig Overrides. So glib, so right. Like he said, we don't want a MIDI rip + beats. Anyway, since the submitter had NO clue about the standards, I link to them and quote a portion for his benefit. Read the whole thing before you try to submit again.

Well, that's certainly true, but it's also about what one can do with their existing stuff. Anyone else have an opinion on how well these particular sounds can be used?

It's abrupt in the sense that the bell fades out too quickly/unnaturally at 6:52, and should be fixed. Otherwise, it seems fine.

I dunno. I think I'm sticking with instrumental. It's better if the stages are all that way. It would be weird to have only 2 like that. You've never played Marvel vs. Capcom 2 or the Capcom vs. SNK series? Lyrics have been in fighting game stages for a while. The trick in this case would be to have them at a low enough level so that they didn't run over the character voices and making extending the track with some instrumental portions so that it doesn't get too repetitive.

Change it to JustChris. That'll be my new handle. CC Ricers is better.

Uhhhhhhh....

It's certainly there. You just have to be able to find it.

Here ya go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_on_the_Asphalt