Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman2.zip - Track 22 http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger (part 2)" (ct-1-02b.spc) I don't hate your constant beat, but it was definitely too repetitive. What the hell was goin' on with 1:19-1:53? The notes pattern was so odd here, I'm not sure what the funk you did. Ugh, you kept it as your background as the source melody returned at 1:53. Man, this just sounded bad. The beats were really obscuring everything else here in terms of the sounds, as well; that was a constant problem throughout the track. Heh, there's the Chrono Trigger reference at 2:26, and DS was totally right, it WAS the highlight of the mix. Don't list this as a medley-type mix in the submission letter though with just a brief cameo reference to CT in there. Some new pattern arrived at 2:41, and it wasn't too bad, but again these note patterns sounded really rough. The fact that you relied on the MM2 Ending theme as your melody really hurt the mix, as you didn't even play around with the source melody itself until 3:49, which was a welcome change of pace, but too little too late on experimenting with the actual source tune's composition. Lots of raw potential, but needs a lot of work. The sounds were really cluttered, but had some good energy. Another change up at 4:23 and the notes sounded weird yet again. Is it just me hearing these problems? The beats altered in an awkward, non sequitur way at 4:32 & 4:40, 4:49, etc leading towards the end. Really not sure what the hell the point was. Confusing choices here and a cop-out/fade-out ending. Needs work on sound balance, fixing awkward note patterns, and arrangement. Definitely move onto the next piece and call this one a day though. NO

I like Bryan's work a lot, and played this back on VGF45, but per the usual that I've seen with his submissions here, he simply follows the source tunes too closely and doesn't create enough rearrangement ideas on his own. This was absolutely reliant on the source tune's own structure & instrumentation in terms of its appeal, and got by here by reinstrumenting some of the elements. I like both the source tune and this mix a lot, but this mix wasn't necessarily an improvement over Akemi Kimura's "Commander Yammark Stage." Finally some original wind material played over the source tune's beats starting at 2:17. Goes on for quite a while. Heard a reference to some other theme I can't remember at 3:15. Original stuff kept going until 3:33. Wholly original work there, and very welcome there in terms of changing things up, but so far we've gotten verbatim arrangement followed by almost entirely original freestyle work. Going into 3:33, it was back to the same verbatim-style reinstrumentation of the original. I love the feel of the track a lot, and listen to it more often than you'd think, but I've gotta go NO. Finally some rearrangement on the winds at 4:55 until the end. WHERE WAS THAT BEFORE, BRO? [sigh] I liked when you DID branch out, Bryan, but otherwise this was just too conservative. "ReMix," not "remix." NO

God, ugh, that source tune is fucking awful. Chipmunk-esque horseshit. Wow, those pizzicato strings coming in at :21 suck really, really badly. I'm sorry, bro, that's just some terrible application of 'em right there. Different strings at :42 and they sound overly fake as well. Now some bass strings at :50; same problem. Piano at 1:02...sounds fake. Some new idea going on with the xylo-ish dealie coming in at 1:46. Arrangement isn't terrible. Good new ideas changing up the note patterns at 2:14 and then following it up with some sweet original work at 2:29. Very nice ideas all the way until 3:11. Xylophone sounds are a little too bright, but otherwise decent. Bah, crappy strings again at 3:11. Arrangement of the source tune had some stuff goin' on, but was incredibly plodding and unenergetic. The original section was the best part. For anyone that's gonna submit stuff titles like this, don't name anything "____ Symphony" if it sounds beginner-ish like this. Real symphonies sound awesome, so please bring the awesome with you. Same goes for the words "Suite," "Scherzo," "Movement," "Etude" & "Orchestra." Look for better free samples, bro. Decent ideas, but the execution is too amateur. Hit the WIP forum & ReMixing forum to improve yourself, DJ V. You've certainly got the potential to better realize your ideas. NO

http://www.zophar.net/gbs/btoads.zip - Track 14 DAYUM, that soundtrack has some catchy shit on there. Track 5 is sweet. You remixers, dammit, someone remix the stuff from here. Frankly, I thought this was pretty cool for what it was. Very minimalist, with a simple but catchy groove. Don't really see why Binnie was crapping on it. Too bad this was basically just a sound upgrade though. I heard the additional harmonies here, but overall the expansion was lacking and 100% of the fact that I like it is because the source tune KICKS ASS! I actually couldn't find the source tune in the GBS for a while, but listening to how this sounded the first few times, one could immediately tell this was gonna be very close to the original. Like both of my fellow Js have said, you need to provide more here. Beef up the percussion and let it mesh tighter with the track here. All the sounds need more texture, and the track needs background activity that adequately fills out the soundfield. What you have in place right now be funky 'n shit, but it's practically all lifted straight from the original and ultimately sparse nonetheless. Just because the source was like that doesn't mean you can't improve upon it substantially. That crazy bullshit at 2:58...nah, don't do that. It was a pretty jarring way to bring that synth into the picture. Ease its presence into the track, THEN go batshit with it. I'll be keeping the track, but you gotta be more. Most of this isn't even "yours" per se, as you haven't done anything meaningful with the source material. Aside from the added harmonies, this was coasting off the sweetness of the original. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, sure. But at the same token, don't BARELY upgrade it and then send it here. NO P.S. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=suppurate = ROFL

Sorry about that. Realism's not necessarily the right word to use, but I feel it's applicable on some level. I thought the percussion sounds used were really flimsy & tame and could have used some processing or different samples to beef it up. And yes, the guitar work sounding so synthetic hurt the performance in my opinion. Starting at 2:47, anything that could have been done to make the electric guitar, and later the synth guitar, more humanized would have bolstered the piece I felt. /DnB bias

Not to just shit on the track, but this really takes the original and just makes it worse. The piano/keyboard sample is absolutely awful. Strings sounded so unrealistic for what they were trying to sound like. The beats coming in at 1:09 were absolutely non sequitur; what purpose do they have in there??? Halfway through and this does nothing but add some rather minor support work under the repetitive melody in the form of the synth strings & percussion work, both of which also sound poor. The album version of the track is only 1:12. You have to realize that this repetitive stuff isn't gonna hold anyone's attention for 4 minutes. Just as I say that, you dropped some elements out at 3:32. Too little too late. And the lack of an ending, yeah that was bad too. Oy. NO

OMG NOW!!!!

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Xenogears_psf.rar - 111 "Dazil - City of Burning Sands" Echo. Nothing meaningful's been done to the piece at all in regards to the rearrangement standards. Nice remix, but not a ReMix by any stretch of the word. NO

Read. The. Rules. Ugh.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/yoshi.rsn - "Athletic BGM" (yi-13.spc) I'm familiar with the theme from the OneUp Mushrooms' take on it, "Donut Lifts". Not a bad effort here, certainly, though, though the pacing is a little bit plodding here (tik-tik-tik, tik-tik-tik, tik-tik-tik...etc). Be sure to not run with a good arrangement idea, but then barely change it up for the duration of the mix. Nearly 4 minutes of the same thing gets boring. Decent genre adaptation work along with some good ideas for instrumentation expansion. Samples are decently used, though the soundfonts definitely are at the low end of the quality spectrum. Piano & trumpet sound really fake, with no real humanization techniques employed. The bass really sounds terrible at 2:24, and the muted piano & trumpet during that section was a terrible idea, as it just sounds like a straight volume cut on those instruments rather than the "players" simply playing their instruments softly. Yep, hit the Work-in-Progress & ReMixing forums to improve your game. You've certainly got potential and a measure of creativity, so keep improving. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/smb1.zip - Track 4 ("Castle BGM") I heard the rearrangement apparent throughout the major majority of the mix, though a lot of the middle involved a very subtle bassline as well as dragging out the note pattern of the source with the slow-playing glassy-sounding notes. The samples were handled fairly well, but the sample quality itself was definitely not up to par here, as there was no realism in the sounds (the organ, vox, percussion or the guitars). For example, the synth guitar riffage at 3:24 was there in spirit but sounded really tacky. Also, the arrangement had no particular thematic direction. The changes in direction here came across as being there for the sake of being there. Learn how to get your samples sounding more realistic and focus the ideas of the arrangement more. Keep at it, bro. NO

Yeah, I remember Eric & I talking about the piece a couple of months ago to make sure this wouldn't run into any problems, like his previous Tombs & Treasure cover. I had played it on VGF45, but hadn't verified the level arrangement until I talked to EgM. Didn't save the conversation, but in my opinion things checked out. The performance was per Eric's usual quality offerings, and this time I had no problems on the arrangement front. Though still a conservative take on the material, the arrangement expanded upon the sounds of the original and provided adequate variation in the composition and instrumentation. The mix actually seems to go by faster than 3 minutes as you casually listen. Good job on this straightforward relaxation piece. May not be everyone's cup of tea, but I encourage y'all out there to check it out. YES

Heh. Trying to pull off a 45-second original into a 6+ minute piece? Best of luck. Opening reverbed piano work is directly from the source, but there's lot of time to develop. UGH. Hearing tons of little audio deformations all OVER the place, and the upper mid-range & high end are completely absent. Once more sounds come in, everything gets muddy and cluttered together. Finally some higher frequencies at 1:26, but you can see how top-heavy the EQ is with the lower frequencies. Aside from these beats you added in, the instrumentation is decidedly similar to the original only with reverb added. The melody from :26 of "Triage at Dawn" comes in at 2:02 and everything sounds like a mess. Man, the ending starting around 5:46 was such an incredible mess, I dunno why you couldn't hear how poorly that came across. EQing should be your friend. While this isn't a typical MIDI-rip + drums, adding some beats and barely changing the instrumentation along with some reverb and crappy production is never gonna get you here now. Some change in the beatwork at 3:33, but it's way too late for that. Get way more creative on the actual rearrangement of the piece and read up everything you can on production so you aren't rendering stuff like this ever again. Dunno how you can remove the static, but check out the ReMixing forum PLEASE. NO

Too loud for it's own good. The high-end needs to be scaled down, and there needs to be better sound balance. The drumkit and distortion are so loud that the melody loses something in the process. But yeah, like Binnie says, I listened to the "Intermezzo" from Doom, and this sounds nothing like it. Wouldn't make it on for those porduction reason, plus, though I hear change and development within the composition, the general groove gets monotonous. Sounds NOTHING LIKE THE SOURCE TUNE either. NO

http://www.zophar.net/usf/ge64usf.rar - 103 Runway Pretty chill. Not quite there yet, but loads of potential. Interesting opening with such an unassuming keyboard there. The very artificial sound of the string samples (incredibly exposed there at :24-:25) may be purposeful, but their lack of realism and warmth hurt the piece. I think the guitar synth (in at :34) could use a fuller tone, but, while not sounding particularly realistic, is decent enough to work within the big picture. Someone'll disagree there. The piano synth that joined in at :58 was a great touch but sounds pretty artifical as well. Sounds like the velocities on each note are the same throughout the track. The percussion work was a little heavy on the high end for my taste, but since the bassline was a bit subdued (punch it up a little), the percussion work had to fill out most of the space. A little plodding there, but it's actually pretty laid back and gave off a good vibe. Those little guitar strums at 2:27 were pretty sweet. Really liking the arrangement ideas here a hell of a lot. Mix isn't even over and I know I'll be keeping this. Keyboard stuff at 3:35 was a little too much of a minimalist breakdown there, especially with the sudden loud return of the strings and percussion at 3:46. Might wanna add something light in the background for that brief section so the contrast isn't so jarring. As things slowed down at 4:43 for the ending, the keyboard definitely got exposed quite a bit, along with the timing feeling just a bit off. It sounded pretty weak attempting to carry the finish. Really cool shit so far, Alex. I'm loving the arrangement, but the handling of the samples needs to be refined for more of a humanized touch as the velocities sound the same for most of the instruments in play. You're pretty close, IMO, and I absolutely want to see a resubmission. Check out the criticisms, think over whatever you feel would improve the piece for yourself, and get whatever help you can get. I hope this isn't the last I've heard of this one. NO (resubmit)

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/axelay.rsn - "Unkai" (axe-03.spc) http://www.ocremix.org/detailmix.php?mixid=OCR00717 - "Kick My Axe" It's been done and it's been done a lot better. That's the cold hard truth. Not that this would have any shot now, as is, but Midee, Prozax & Jeremy Johnson have already done this in the same style, only with a hell of a lot more polish. Sound balance/clarity needs work, and you can't just repeat the Unkai melody for 4 minutes. It's not THAT hot. Feel free to upload it to VGMix, Gonzo. I don't think anyone would crap on it, but they'll all point to "Kick My Axe" and tell you the same thing I'm telling you. Even if the performance was spot on, there's not even a remote chance I'd pass this. If you're gonna do the same idea, the burden's on you to significantly outdo the last guy. Perhaps you may enjoy the Dwelling of Duels. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/sd3.rsn - "Another Winter" (sd3-1-09.spc) Same rules apply today as they did a year or two ago. No mock-ups. We don't take reinstrumented MIDI/SPC rips. You certainly don't deserve to retitle this piece as if it's something unique, let alone put your own name on it. 4+ minutes, yet everything's STILL note-for-note. You should have read our rules two years ago. They're the same today: I hope you ejoyed the rigorous screening process. NO OVERRIDE

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman4.zip - Track 5 ("Pharaoh Man Stage") Definitely GM-ish strings here coming in at :14. Really kills the piece coming out of the gate, sounding so beginner-ish, as well as excessively quiet/distant. And this just boom-tss's for a little bit. Well, here come the claps at 1:04. Very generic sounds, but at least you have some semblance of an idea of going for rearrangement with the source theme. Well, that's certainly good. Oh MAN, cheesy voice sample at 1:43, and things are getting pretty repetitive on the arrangement front as I realize there's 3 minutes left. Some ambiance and claps keep things going along with bad vox samples. Finally something new on the composition side takes over at 2:41. Definitely overstayed its welcome until 3:38 when some new synth takes over. What the hell sound is that? and 11 seconds of silence at the end...Oy. Some glimmers of hope here, as some rearrangement ideas were present, but the sounds are awful, and the composition is repetitive in many places along with being terribly uncohesive in general. Anyway, you're all heart, Joe, but you gotta get out of the General MIDI stuff to make it here. Visit the ReMixing forum here and read up on further fundamentals religiously. Hopefully in a year, after you devote much more time and effort to this, you'll realize that this stuff right here really isn't that hot and that you're capable of much better. Keep at it. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman3.zip - Track 1 Same old, same old cover stuff until some slight variation comes in at 1:27 finally. Same old, same old cover stuff again at 1:57 until 2:33. Same old, same old cover stuff again at 2:57 until 3:46, but with a minimalist approach until 3:33. Retreads the intro with different sounds at 3:46. I bet you thought increasing the intensity at 4:33 was a great idea. [shrugs] Same old, same old Megaman techno coverage. No risks. No real interpretation. Boring. Couldn't get any "safer" on this coverage without actually ripping a MIDI. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/fls.rsn - Menu Screen (fls-03.spc) Gave y'all the SNES version of the music. Not the PC stuff, but j00 love it, so shaddap. Not much going on here. A respectable effort at beefing up the source tune with your own original additions to provide a more cinematic-type feel, but this was HUGELY underdeveloped. You had some decent ideas with the tense wind & percussion work that came in at :25, but by 1:00 it was gone and you left us with an repetitious, empty fade-out ending for the remainder of the 1:35. C'mon, bro. Out of the new crop of mixers, I've only heard Binster, Shnabubula & Bladiator present remixes that hovered just over 2 minutes yet still presented enough variation, development and satisfying resolution to pass. This ain't it. You gotta be more, homeboy. Be more. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/smw.rsn - "Overworld BGM" (smw-10a.spc) Pff. The arrangement is icy hot. Played it on VGF38, and, yea, it was good. I better not let my girlfriend hear this one, or she'll leave me for Karl with a K. Dunno why we even got this though, I'll be perfectly frank. On the brief side, but full of excellent rearrangement ideas and a truly spirited performance. Get this out of my sight and onto the front page. B-Unit! YES

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff1.zip - Track 10 (Matoya's Theme) A little bit too much tinnyness, or whatever you'd call it, going on with the hats. Pretty solid arrangement work to me though, with a fair amount of variation. I remember it from VGF45. Good expansionist ideas to support the melody, and I enjoyed the new rhythms and occasionally off-kilter feel of things here. Things started repeating a bit on the composition side at 2:18, though some small additions were around. By the time you hit 2:44 though, I felt like the arrangement went on cruise control. Luckily at 3:10 you went for a nice string-focused close. If the beats had simply kept going, I would have NOed, but I'm willing to accept this on the borderline. Would have rather heard some more variation/more new ideas in the last minute to really solidify a YES, but otherwise, this was reasonably well-executed. Could envision it snagging some NOs though. YES (borderline)

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff1.zip - Track 10 (Matoya's Theme) Kind of an awkward feel on things, I can't deny that. Some interesting applications of basic sounds, sure. But I have to say that if I had never heard of you, Nate, I'd be inclined to simply say you should get some stronger synth sounds. Certainly some cool ideas for expanding the theme a little bit with support work, but this was basically 5 or 6 iterations of Matoya's Theme without much creative rearrangement or interpretation beyond a plug-and-play assortment of instrument combinations. I like the track a lot and played it on VGF46, but to me I don't think Nate brings enough new/different compositional ideas to the table in the arrangement itself. I'm interested in what the other Js have to say regarding the purposeful use of these sounds. Maybe Israfel will have some good personal insight as to the strengths of this track. Hearing something attempt to run with such blatantly synthetic textures such as this makes me pipe dream about the possibilities of Fray collabbing with Israfel or Shnabubula. I think the latter two use more agreeable sounds than what was here, but in any case, I'd love to hear this idea continued by playing around with the source melody and actual changing that up a bit. If Nate doesn't wanna do that, I'll still enjoy the track. I'll always be interested in your work. NO

Decent though conservative ideas on the arrangement, though the intro almost felt like a MIDI rip + beats. Tempo and structure's a bit too similar as well, though you're at least pulling off a half-decent genre adaptation. Not much (if any) variation going into the second iteration of the arrangement starting at 1:31. Sounds are pretty beginner-ish, but check out the ReMixing forum for some ways in which you can improve your skills. Far from making the grade, but not bad for a first sub, and I hope you keep at it. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/ff1.zip - Track 16 Not a bad effort here. Samples need a bit more realism and depth to the sounds. Good vibe here and nice switch on the rhythm moving the time to 3/4, but a bit conservative on the arrangement as you just go through 3 runthroughs of the source melody with different instrumentation. Good expansionist ideas on the instrumentation, but get a bit more creative and rearrange things further. Lots of potential here. Look forward to hearing from you again here. NO