Liontamer

I'm surprised I haven't commented on "Willed Assault" yet, since I DLed it as soon as it was posted. Like djp was saying, there's a weird vibe about it, so the elements of this song were certainly not what I was used to hearing. This was one of those tracks for me that was somewhat borderline as a keeper on my first listen, but I always listen to the new stuff several times to really get familiar with it and appreciate the music, and Willed Assault certainly kicks my ass. The scraping/cutting effects that Young used are very tight, and this song's so upbeat that it kicks you in the face. This track along with Pr0t's "Savage Seduction" are both tracks that you really like more and more as you repeatedly listen to them and start picking up on more and more details and nuances within the music. This one's got a rich, full sound and heavy attention to detail. Hanging in the IRC chat, Ziwtra (frankly, I still don't know how to really pronounce that) let me check out an early WIP called "Wings" shortly before Willed Assault was posted, and it sounds awesome as well, so I'm certainly looking forward to it. Meanwhile, Willed Assault get some big approval and will certainly see some repeated play on my college/video game music radio show. :excellentwork:

In some portions of the mix, this one had a similar feel to Dan's MegaMan 6 mix (and IMC 6 winner) "Native Knight". [/blasphemy] Personally this wasn't my cup of tea, since I was never a fan of the Zelda theme [/blasphemy], but this is still a well-made track, which is pretty much a given with Disco D.

I've been a fan of this one since IMC 11. :excellentwork: as usual, Ty, and I'm glad to see this IMC winning track make its way to OCR!

On the contrary to some others, I really enjoyed DJ Chako's take on Frostman's stage. It took me a few listens for me to get a feel for it and decide to keep it, and I definitely felt this mix had an appropriate icy feel to it. The lack of bass does NOT effectively kill off "Frosty Delight," and, while not a merely a minimalist track, less does end up meaning more with this one. The main background effect (the one you hear from the very beginning) manages to make this mix fuller overall, and I'd recommend that you weather the criticisms and check it out. Ryu7x's "Synthetic Future" is a great mix as well, but this one is also quality.

I've also had Linoleum Stalactites since IMC-X, and for those that are familiar with the IronMix Challenges, IMC-X was supposed to be an advanced level remixing challenge, with a longer time limit and higher expectations on the level and quality of rearrangement. It's one thing that only Adhesive_Boy and Suzumebachi were willing and able to create submissions for IMC-X, but AB's finished results were VERY impressive now, and I'm glad that this track made it's way on OCR. Like DJP, Geoff and Sir Nuts all said, there's ton of variety here, and there's full, broad, professional sound. I'm not really able to articulate everything I liked about this track, since I'm no musician, but I definitely recommend you try this now, if you haven't already listened to it.

DAMN! [anticipates Star's ego] Goddammit, Star, STFU already! What "Big Shell West Bristol" does for trip-hop, this does for 80s synth-pop. Starblast pulled off a very authentic adaptation to the style. Fellow OC ReMixer Electron, who did an all-80s radio show (The Vault) at my college, would love this track. So how does someone apparently get to wait only a week to get a mix posted...? Because HE [points to Star] made THAT [points to "The Incredible Singing Robot"]!

I thought this was great when 'Maniac let me check it out as a WIP, and the finished product is even tighter, so congratulations on SysteManiac getting his second mix accepted and posted up. If it had been on the main page maybe 30 minutes earlier, around 2 AM as opposed to 2:30 AM, I could have congratulated 'Maniac right over the phone while he called into my radio show, but I hope this here's a close substitute. Dat's sum . In no time, "Belmont Lounge" should be on the horizon.

Can't say I thought this was too repetitive, since I didn't really want this one to end, and I thought that switching the order of the opening music and the chorus part from the original Level 1 theme was a great idea that carried over well in this mix. I heard this mix first and listened to the original GYM later, and I felt that Beatdrop swtiching those areas up made for a better song. Definitely techno with a lot of depth, with Beatdrop switching it up with a good amount of variation. This one's surprisingly danceable too.

I thought this was a keeper. For a lot of the older games on the Genesis, the sound production was pretty crappy. So while this mix doesn't particularly vary up the original melody, Joe's choice of instrumentalization here, and in his ReMix of Herzog Zwei's "A Breach Of Contract," makes the music sound the way it should have been intended to sound. Listening to the original GYMs, I think you can understand what I'm talking about. The use of synths here also sound fairly full as compared to more non-organic sounding synths, despite the reverb. Super Thunder Blade doesn't have many mixable themes, in my opinion, but I'm glad Joe came out and did the Level 4 music, since it is pretty good. It's a brief mix, but check it out.

I don't wanna sound like a n00b flamer, but I can't say I enjoyed the mix here, although it wasn't musical sacrilege like some other people were screaming. However, like some others said, the music was a good take here, but I wasn't feelin' DJ Crono's rapping at all. No offense, but it was just too white, and I'd be hard pressed to even say that the Icy Hot Stuntaz or Krill Be Ballaz sound that...well...white. Sorry for that type of criticism, but I really couldn't get beyond that aspect of it. Again, the mixing before the singing was pretty damn good, but I wasn't with the direction the mix took afterward.

This is definitely getting played on my radio show. The professionalism here is incredible. I'm not familiar with Portishead, but I will be giving them a look thanks to Kazaalite. On another angle, I felt the mix sounded very James Bond-ish, like one of the many movie opening themes, and I also thought it had similarities to Goldfrapp's "Pilots (Watching Stars)", if any of you would be interested in checking that out as well. I definitely felt it along those lines. Having listened to every mix on OCR, this one, in my opinion, definitely puts Cousins on another level, along with the more recent mixers, like Quinn Fox and Gecko Yamori, who consistently come out with high-quality stuff. I think Ben Cousins' stuff with Zelda has been good, though more minimalist. If he came out with more of these thorough types of mixes, it's obvious Cousins will getting more and more recognition. It's not to put OCR down when I say that a lot of tracks here are inaccessible to people who aren't familiar with video game music, because trip-hop stuff like this can fall on deaf ears to many people as well. But, honestly, this is one of the mixes on OCR that I would try introducing to people who otherwise have no idea about this site. It's really that good.

Other people have said it before me, and other people will say it after me, but in my opinion, this is hands down the best mix on this site. Hazama's remix as a straightforward interpretation is actually better than the original AND the string version tracks from Genso II. I agree with the "underwater"/ambient piano feel to this mix, and I could leave it on loop all day and not get tired of it. There are certainly other "tier 1" mixes on OCR, but nothing's touching "Reminiscence (Deep Sleep)" for a very long time.

The first time I downloaded "Peaperboyah" by The Dead Guys, I kinda said "WTF? I played Paperboy and I don't even recognize this." The deliberatly slower pace of this track made me have to listen to it several times in order to pluck the original theme and really get a feel for the track, but I certainly like how this mix turned out after I gave it a chance. I can't really put my finger on what exactly this is, but the sound is unique as far as OCR's concerned. If you liked slower stuff like DarK PurPLe's "The DarK Underground" (SMB2), you should DL "Peaperboyah", listen to it's trancyness a few times and make your decision after that. Mixes like this don't necessarily jump out at you from the first time you listen to them, but I think this one's a keeper.

One of the things I like about mixes from games I've never played is that I appreciate them on a higher level, since I don't know the original music. This mix was so great that I DLed the SPC tracks for the SNES game, and I'm blown away by how well the Level 1 and Level 1 Boss tracks were covered. Like DJP said, the mix is incredibly professional sounding throughout, it also keeps very faithfully to original music and manages to stand on its own as just some solid stuff throughout. I hope Midee, prozax & Jeremy Johnson make more mixes from other game themes, because you know they'd do an incredible job.

This is another great example of McVaffe keeping close to the original track, yet providing a unique-sounding take on the music with his "Ambient Gemini Mix" of Aquatic Ambiance. This one's always good for when you just want a song you can relax to. It's well worth the DL, especially if you're familiar with the original music from Donkey Kong Country 1. -LT

Gotta agree that Jivemaster recorded this too loud, plus as much as I love the Flying Battery Zone themes, as well as the main beat of this ReMix, they definitely didn't tie well enough together. It just didn't mesh at all for me. -LT

"Ice Capped" is simply an exceptional interpretation of the Ice Cap Zone music from Sonic 3, and soothes the whole way through. I think the bass is up way too much, but overall, what else can you say but to download it and keep it? The piano's great and McVaffe's a pretty sure thing around here. What's not to like? -LT

Dale North & Joshie's "Swingin' Porno Mix" is quick and dirty, just like the name implies. I don't think anyone's lookin' for a masterpiece here, but it's certainly amusing enough to DL. That's about it.

This mix is simply uber-UBER! You want it now. No, that's not very descriptive as a review, but I'm fine letting Malcos & Jivemaster's work do the talking. I think most people will find one or two areas of the ReMix they thoroughly enjoy, if not the majority of the mix. For example, the quick saxophone shot reminded me of Hideki Okugawa's "Jazzy NYC '99" theme from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which was a very nice connection. The Angel Island Zone never sounded so phat. Make "Dub Island (Bashment Riddim Edit)" yours now. Then give it to a friend. -LT

I don't mean to knock on the other Street Fighter 2 tracks or the remixers, including McVaffe, but out of the nine SF2 mixes up on OCR, "Retro Russian" was the only one I felt was a quality mix. This mix stays very true to the original theme (while I felt most of the other SF2 mixes strayed WAY too far the original music by trying to incorporate too many additional elements), yet the musical elements in "Retro Russian" clearly distinguish the ReMix from Zangief's old school theme simply with a great new sound. With the way the Capcom series of fighting games now use professional sounding music, "Retro Russian" easily fits in, and I think that says a lot about how well McVaffe kept the theme intact and along the same tempo of the original while still putting his unique touch on it. Other people will of course like this mix (as well as the other SF2 ReMixes) for other reasons, but I think most of us will fully agree when I say DL this one now, people. -LT

Enjoying both Disco Dan's and Electron's Bubbleman ReMixes, I gotta go with AE's "Soap and Water" as my favorite of the three. There's so much going on here, it's incredible. This definitely stands on its own two feet as simply great music. I preferred more of the rearrainging of the theme in the beginning rather than the simple sound effects that AE gets into around the 3-minute mark, but honestly, it's all good here, because "Soap and Water" delivers in a big way, both as a remix and a stand-alone track. -LT

This one takes a little while to build up and ends too soon (one cycle just isn't enough), but the music here is incredible. My main gripe would be that the track doesn't sound as clean as I think it could be, though I don't think it hurts how strong the Mix is overall. This may be Khalal's only submission, but I say you should DL it cuz it's kicking asses all the way around the corner and back. I never played FF6, let alone the FF series (just not my thing), but "Devil's Lab Acid" is interesting to contrast with McVaffe's "Devil's Lab." Admittedly, the way Khalal's Mix caught my ear made me give McVaffe's some extra consideration, and I think that's one big plus that tracks like those as well as all the Chrono Trigger Zeal themes have: allowing you to check out several different, quality intepretations of the same song. -LT

The wind noises hooked me in the beginning to listen through Avien's "Winds of Eternity", and I'm glad I did. If you're looking for something completely different from any of the ReMixes here (and I know because I've listened to all of them), this is certainly it. Absolutely DL it and give it a listen. -LT

Rimco's "Doomed E1L8 Boss" is a favorite of mine that simply has a wonderfully melodic, somber, and deliberate feel to it. The eerie style of the Mix made me listen longer and longer, and, like I always say, brought a uniqueness to the picture that was hard to ignore. While the track builds, it doesn't build too loudly, so this is one of those tracks you can put on if you feel like just having background music in your ears, like Hazama's "Reminiscence (Deep Sleep)" from Genso Suikoden 2. I never played Doom, but I certainly feel this track should be tried out by just about everyone.

My roommate downloaded this song from OCR, and once I heard it playing while I was sitting around, I had to know what it was. That track was Chris J. Hampton's "The New Zeal," and it's the first track I got from OCR that wasn't a mix of a song I already knew, which says a lot about how good it is to stand out on it's own. It got pretty frequent play on my radio show at Emory University last semester, and will definitely be there to listen to when I go back there in Spring 2003. This'll always be a favorite, if not my absolute favorite OCReMix. Pretty safe to say it's a must download.