Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

The submission link: Your ReMixer name Kyaku Your real name Richard Westbrook Your email address Your website(s) N/A Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile 38541-kyaku Name of game(s) arranged Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII Name of arrangement Memories of a Green Shinra Name of individual song(s) arranged Chrono Trigger: Memories of Green and Final Fantasy VII: Shinra Corporation Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) Both are popular songs for remixes so I imagine I can’t add much more here, though please let me know if I need to. Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) Chrono Trigger: https://youtu.be/2EIyCAzmAso Final Fantasy VII: https://youtu.be/CPiA0Mm45_I Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, how the source material was referenced in the arrangement, etc. I attempted another mash up, though this one is much less 50/50 split content between the two songs, with the most of the Chrono Trigger track left on the cutting room floor. I always loved the perceived key changes in the original Shinra song, it felt so dramatic and fatalistic. I’ve been on a retro vapor wavy kick recently so it’s probably leaked into this track too. Moar gated reverb snares! Vangelis was on my mind certainly when I started out, though these things have a way of running their own course by the end. Only my second submission so any and all feedback good and bad is of course appreciated!

I'll add in an extra vote, just to throw in my timestamps of what I could quickly recognize. The track was 5:22-long, so I needed to identify at least 161 seconds of overt source usage to consider it dominant in the arrangement: :23-:36, :48-:57, 1:50-2:00, 2:04-2:20, 2:48-2:59, 3:03-3:08.75, 3:59-4:16, 4:27.5-4:35 = 89.25 seconds The original writing that's not arranging the source fits well, and it's possible we're short-changing you on other areas where you're directly referencing the source, so I'm happy to get more timestamps from you, Rebecca, and be corrected if we're not properly recognizing and acknowledging the arranged segments. For a track that's so brief, it's surprisngly abstract to try to do something with it. The safest best would be to stay melodically conversative, and invoke the melodic fragments more, which could be done in a number of ways. What's here sounds nice, it's just appearing to be light on invoking the source tune. That may mean tweaking it would compromise the vision; though this theme is so brief, I actually think the flexibility is there to use it enough to ensure it meets the arrangement standards here. Lovely regardless! NO (resubmit)

The music started at :19 and stopped at 9:41.5, so the music was 9:22.5-long. In that case, I needed to identify the source material invoked for at least 281.25 seconds for the source material to dominate the arrangement. :26.75-:58, :59.5-1:02, 1:03.75-1:07.5, 1:08.5-1:11.5, 1:13.5-1:19, 1:38-2:09, 2:14.75-3:04.5, 3:34-4:12, 4:16-4:39, 5:56.5-6:02.75, 6:42-6:59, 7:45.5-8:05, 8:32.5-8:42.75, 8:53-9:15, 9:19.5-9:41.5 = 284.75 seconds There was a lot of usage I didn't timestamp here; I was just doing a cursory check of what I could most easily identify, and I found enough just through that first pass. Arrangement-wise, it's just a wonderfully varied presentation. Muddy at times, but nothing where I couldn't make out the part-writing. The rap section towards the end was too muffled, so that could have been tweaked. Other than that mixing ding, I dug this. YES

The source was used from 1:27.75-3:38 = 130.25 seconds, then 3:38-4:31 was based on the original, but changing the notes into dissonance instead of melodiousness, so the level of source usage was fine. Intro was OK in a vacuum, albeit disconnected from the source; fun little audio exercise there though. 1:11-1:20 though, the plucked strings weren't melodious, only meandering. OK, here it finally is, "Blizzard Buffalo" at 1:27. Hearing lots of residual hiss/white noise on the woodwind lead, and the soundscape's not sounding clean. I liked the cello line though, that added some nice body to the piece. Clock SFX at 1:55 was lossy-sounding. At 2:04, I actually like that washed out technique in principle (see: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00347), but everything ALSO sounds too far away here, and there's also some crunchiness (2:29-2:31 had some light crackling/distortion come through). The attacks and bow movements from the strings brought in at 2:35 sounded super mechanical and exposed, and that lasted a while until 3:38. The sustains didn't sound good, and you had jerky note changes like in the chorus (e.g. 3:22-3:33) that sound so blocky and completely take you out of immersing into the track. Meanwhile the drums first brought in at 2:41-3:33 sound so muffled. Whoa, from 3:38-4:31, what's going on there? We're told it's supposed to sound "happy" and "elated", but it doesn't sound melodious at all, which makes it come off as a terrible resolution section. Whatever transposition was attempted wasn't working, full stop. The mood & tone of this is fine, but these notes aren't. This needs to stay melodious with the theme treatment, and don't be afraid to get some other ears on this if melodiousness is gonna be a question. Then there's a super thin lead at 4:21 noodling around, while some (thunder?) noise quietly but very abruptly entered in; smooth this out. Then loads of louder hiss briefly appear from 4:31-4:36, I guess as part of the wind-up SFX, so this sounds sloppy twice in a matter of seconds with noise/hiss akwardly dropping in. The final music box type stuff from 4:36 also felt disconnected from the rest of the piece, but it was brief and the SFX bookends with the beginning; there's no inherent problem with it, but the shift into it would have flowed a lot better had the prior minute of dissonance not cut the legs out of the rest of the arrangement. It'll come off like I hate this track because I felt lots of things weren't cohesive; it'll sound like I feel you're bad at taking creative risks. It's a good arrangement concept, but a number of things were undermining it. The portions of incoherent dissonance, poor articulations, indistinct mixing, and audible hiss were needlessly tripping this up, in that specific, descending order. If the dissonance and articulations can't be improved, I can't roll with this. While I don't believe rehabbing this is impossible, these issues felt very obvious in the first place, yet VQ's alarm bells surprisingly didn't go off when they should have. It's a creative arrangement and a good base to work with, Angélique. It may make sense to put this one on ice for a bit and come back to it after some distance. NO (resubmit)

I'll just throw on a quick co-sign. I disagree completely with the arrangement feeling meandering; I'm 100% fine with the structure here. The arrangement isn't the problem; the artificial-sounding articulations of the sampled piano are the main thing holding this back, and it leaves the performance, which had its own issues articulated by the others, not sounding full or expressive; rather, it sounds thin and mechanical. This was a big problem I had with Rexy's early stuff in the community, so maybe you could ask her what she modified with her setup; I'm certainly open for a revised version with a more realistic piano sample. We actually don't need uber-realistic piano to pass the panel, but it generally can't get my vote, because it falls below where I perceive the quality bar for production. NO (resubmit)

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: Celeste Name of arrangement: Al Otro Lado Del Espejo Name of individual song(s) arranged: In The Mirror Additional information about game: Lena Raine, PC and Consoles. Link to the original soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/album/1ZfETfec0U02KrKNI8w3Gf?autoplay=true Your own comments about the mix: Celeste is a very beautiful and challenging game, I love the art style, the music and the story. That make it one of my all time favorites, the idea of covering that song came from GameGrooves, and it's available on the album "Over The Summit" (https://lnk.to/overthesummit). I decided to transform a non metal song into a very dark one, adding riffs, harmonies and a straight-to-the-face bass/drum sound. Mastered by James C. Hoffman: https://x.com/JCHoffmanMusic --------------------------------------------- Mauricio Castro Bobadilla Profesor de Matemática Licenciado en Educación theplasmasvgm.bandcamp.com

Hi there! Here is my submission link: artist details: My remixer name: Bustello My real name: Forrest Messerman Email address: My websites: https://www.distanttiderecords.com/ https://bustelo.bandcamp.com/album/sr387 OcRemix user ID: 38731 Submission details: Game arranged: Super Metroid Arrangment name: Fires of Zebes Song arranged: Lower Norfair (Ridley’s Lair)/Nofair Ancient Ruins Area From Super Nintendo, composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano About my mix: When I create arrangements I usually take only the melody of the original track and create my own musical ideas around that. With this piece I did just that I used a few of the original bass lines but other than that almost everything from the drum beat to bass line is original. For me that is the most satisfying part about creating remixes or arrangements. I recorded and produced this in Reason Studios. Thank you for the consideration!

I can see what MW’s saying about monotony, even though it didn’t bother me. Nice and relaxing vibes, with a good amount of subtle textural changes and the occasional simple original sections that provided low-key yet meaningful variations throughout. Original writing from 2:03-2:24 was noodly, IMO, but no big deal. Smoove stuff from Juliano! YES

It's not a major thing, but you do catch some of the quality disparity of the sampled piano vs. the live instrumentation in the intro. From 1:48-2:28, it felt like the textures should have been fuller; there was a lot of empty space that wasn't properly padded/filled, IMO. The performances are solid, but there's post-production glue missing to make everything sound like it's performed all together in the same place, a relative spareness that's always there. That said, the arrangement's on point, and the performances and production are above our bar. Always love to hear renditions of this theme, and this is a very inspired, jazzy version pulled together by jnWake! YES

From :15-1:10, the choir felt like it was flooding the soundscape and the orchestration didn't cut through as much as it should have, IMO. That said, those are minor things for what's ultimately a tour de force rock epic. The three sources themes combined seamlessly and Ivan's definitely crafted a grandiose interpretation per his objective, rather than just a straightforward medley like he was trying to avoid. Definitely a well-deserved trip to the top of the DoD podium this month. Just paneling this to share the love. Awesome stuff! I'm floored. The fandom will ALL be floored. YES

Hello, I know I haven't submitted anything in a while but here I am again. Link to the song: Remixer: Ivan Hakštok Game arranged: Chrono Trigger Name of arrangement: Find the Frozen Flame Names of songs arranged: - Lavos' Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4umiefkLgk) - World Revolution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsObDi2uk) - The Final Battle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqC_3Sm7PXg) This was the winning entry in July 2023 Silent Protagonist Month on Dwelling of Duels. I have to be honest, I've listened to a ton of metal remixes of Chrono Trigger's final boss gauntlet, but none of them really clicked for me, either because they were straightforward medleys, had bad production, didn't add anything to the original, or because they went too metal with it. I've been thinking of doing my own take on World Revolution for years now, but I didn't have a clear vision of what to do, that was until I played FF16 and heard a small part in Find the Flame which immediately reminded me of World Revolution. I got inspired and I wanted to mix that style with some hard rock/metal. I think the sources are recognizable, but here's a rough breakdown: - Intro is Lavos' Theme, background synth that enters at 00:15 plays the synth lick from Final Battle (this lick is played throughout the song on various instruments). - After that it's pretty much just World Revolution, with some changes to the time signature after the first "chorus". - At 2:50, it's the second half of Final Battle, but in 7/4. - Then it transitions back into Lavos' Theme/World Revolution, with some bass soloing. - The mellow part is just the "chorus" section from World Revolution, with the chords changed a bit when the choirs enter. - The ending is World Revolution once again.

Contact Information Username: H36T UserID:37144 Website: https://www.youtube.com/@H36TRemasters Submission Information Arrangement Game: Final Fantasy VII Name of Arrangement: Dreams; Nightmares Song Being Arranged: The Nightmare begins "How often have you turned through the night. Each turn of your body turns a new page in your dream. The doors to the Dreamworld make no sense and the rooms even less. You can't find your footing though there is something beautiful to it all, something deep, maybe even precious . As the night grows old however things become more...blurry and muffled. Tainted with confusion, your dreams twist and bend. They rot into a vile, distorted mess. The nightmare...begins." Qualitatively, that is what the song means to me and was its inspiration. From a more critical standpoint, I've had a lot of feedback back and forth concerning stylistic choices and some of the writing. Especially concerning balance between instruments, usage choice, and the like. Perhaps the biggest controversy was this song originally ended abruptly and later I attached a free sample of a guy waking up (as if waking up from a dream). However, it seemed hit or miss. I always wanted to do something like Dream Theater did with "Pull Me Under" or as I've heard in a few other songs (Utada Hikaru maybe?). Well, for this submission I decided I'll just compromise and fade out instead. Other than that...I think YMMV on the percussion at the end as well. Anywho, hope you enjoy my take on The Nightmare begins.

Remixer name: VintageModernRemixes Real name: Douglas R. Bell Email: Website: http://vintagemodernremixes.com Userid: 38721 Game arranged: Deus Ex GOTY (2000) Name of arrangement: VersaLife (Nanotech Upgrade Remix) Name of song arranged: VersaLife (Main Ambient Theme) Composer: Alexander Brandon You can listen to my submission via file attachment or hear my submission via this YouTube video: Thanks!

The source usage breakdown was very helpful, so thanks for that! Dunno what I heard, but I dig it. Loved the female vocal snippets used in the intro and was glad they were so involved for the first couple of minutes; there's a ton of other creative sound design here to bask in and enjoy, and you never know where you're going to end up, but you know it'll be interesting and intriguing along the way. Nice work, Angélique & crew! YES

The string lead at :11 has the right sense of somber, foreboding sadness before things shift to rock. Great stuff. The direct reference to TSO's track (the piano lead at 1:40 of that piece, the 8-note "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" melody) is around from 1:31-2:14, and is in tandem with arranging "The Landing". I've always been a big fan of this theme, so it's great to hear how ever-present it is in the arrangement. I didn't pick up on the minor panning critiques MW had mentioned, although I felt the final swelling section from 3:43-3:57 was muddy and lacked sharpness, just not poorly enough that it would cause any concerns with the vote. Wonderful concept in arranging "The Landing" this way by Zack, with Chromatic Apparatus, Zack's better half Pearl Pixel, Cyril the Wolf, and Masikus all breathing tons of life into it! YES

It wasn't slowed down to a point where I had any trouble recognizing it, so I'm not sure where prophetik was coming from there. The "Tears in Rain" style homage was apparent, yet without seeming slavish or uninspired, so I'm down. I'm actually disappointed that this arrangement's title isn't "Tears in Motion" , "Silence in Rain", or some other way to combine & acknowledge the two inspirations together. Oh well, still good stuff, Zack! YES

The piano from 2:44-3:25 was my personal highlight, so I'm really glad that soft touch was there to change up the energy of the track and prevent it from feeling too similar over time. Solid dance transformation with some more tricks beneath the surface. YES

The track was 4:03-long, so I needed to hear the source tune invoked for at least 121.5 seconds. 1:40.75-3:18.75 = 98 seconds or 40.32% overt source usage There's not much to the original theme, so I could see approaching it this way, similar to the melodically conservatively yet instrumentally expansive approach of your FF8 arrangement. I don't inherently mind the track being an original/arrangement/original structure either. But MW's right that we need more VGM used throughout the arrangement to ensure the source usage dominates the arrangement. Good concept here. There's got to be some subtle ways to reference it in the beginning and/or ending sections, so see what you can do. As MW also said, if there's another Silent Hill theme involved that wasn't cited or something we're overlooking, let us know, and we can revisit this for sure. NO (resubmit) EDIT (8/13): Alright, I listened again with H36T's additional comments in mind re: the beginning connection. It's liberal, but I hear that 3-note rhythm from :07-:10 of the source in several places via the strings, then a last usage with the choir vox in the transition to the more straightforward rendition of the theme. :14.5-:20.5 (3-note pattern plays twice), :56.75-1:12 (plays several times, slower at the end), 1:25.5-1:28, 1:38.5-1:40.75 (choir vox actually lasted until 1:50, same rhythm, just slowed down; overlapped the start of the straightfoward arrangement) That added another 26 seconds for me, which pushes it to 124 seconds or 51.02% overt source use. This was an instance where, IMO, the invoking of the source in this way isn't obvious at all, so it feels disconnected, but it's there. I'm on board. YES

Wow, this source theme isn't catchy at all, so I'm certainly intrigued to discover how it got its hooks into Chris. What an impressive concept in terms of adapting this for the instrumentation and mood of "Full Sail" (including the crucial shakuhachi). I'm just floored at how much more melodious this rendition was, with great beats and textures surrounding this slowing down of the theme. This track's not sharp at all, yet it's so vibrant. Amazing stuff from a true master! YES

Interesting treatment of the theme, and I liked the "Water World" usage brought in at 3:06 as well. Marissa's violin performance added a dimension to the source that I'm surprised I'd never heard before. It'll come across as not trusting Wes and Kris's ears; this was too loud for my tastes though; I had to put on a control track to ensure I wasn't just being nitpicky. It's piercing and crowded for a ton of the second half and shouldn't be (e.g. 2:52, 3:20, 3:36-4:18, 4:33-5:25). If that's toned down, I'm down; if it's not, I'm a NO. YES (conditional) EDIT (8/18): The new master fixes everything. Perfection! YES

Lovely arrangement, conservatively structured with an expansive instrumentation approach, including the vocals. Anything reminiscent of a Yoko Kanno/Ghost in the Shell style is all good with me. I could see how the glitching would make someone feel it wasn't necessary, but to me it's a minor and fleeting element, and you can hear the music maintain its integrity while it's happening, so I'm surprised MW would reject it for that. Glitch away, chief! YES

You can still vote on it.

The track was 5:15-long, so I needed to identify the theme for at least 157.5 seconds for the source material to be considered dominant in the arrangement. :14.25-:32.5, :34-1:00.5, 1:02-1:25.5, 2:15-3:03.75, 3:29.5-3:40.5, 4:27-4:59, 5:03.5-5:05, 5:09.5-5:14 The timestamping was way over for me, so no qualms there. prophetik mentioned leaning on the soloing to invoke the source; I don’t mind how referencing the source is done as long as it’s observable and dominant. Something about the drums felt plain; I liked the kicks having a meatier sound, but they were too loud compared to everything else, which probably made them sound a bit plainer than intended. Sounds like all the high-end sharpness was gone, and the performance sounds distant. That said, the performances are otherwise very expressive, the arrangement’s very interpretive and personalized, and the mixing's still solid in that I can make out the parts fairly cleanly, so I'm down. Hell of a party here! YES

Thanks for the arrangement breakdown, Guillaume. How elegant! YES

Extra vote, but wanted to throw my stamp of approval on it. The sampled vocals added a nice level of complexity to the arranged theme, and was a nice way to also personalize an otherwise conservative arrangement approach, certainly a valid technique here. You could argue the vocals were noodling around, yet the combination worked well. 1:50 got a little more expansive with the strings brightening up and more ornamentation being brought in before taking a darker turn at 2:15. I do wish the bass writing and the source melody would have cut through more from 2:15-on, but both parts did at least quietly register, and then cut through better starting around 3:15. Feels very much like an approach HoboKa could have taken with this theme, a nice example on how to effectively retain the structure of a source tune and personalize the soundscape with new instrumentation and vocal additions. Maybe H36T didn't bring the literally heat, because this isn't some super intense take, but they've got the pensive game down! YES