Usa

Hmm, I don't hear anything really bad in this. SoundCloud's quality limits it a bit and garbles the high end, but in a proper WAV format this should sounds alright.

Gario, I think you are absolutely right about the A - A' - B thing, and it's what I called a "predictable structure" earlier. It's something that creates the illusion that you "know the theme" in advance, even if you're listening to it for the first time. It's something that gives the listener the ability to hum along because they already have heard the first part, and the second part is a variation of this. I've been guilty doing this in some town themes I wrote myself, like this one here, or this one which is more festive, and even did it - to some extent - in a not so peaceful haunted town theme recently. All of them feature the basic structure you wrote about, and totally fit the stereotype, with the exception of the last one being in more minor keys and having a bit more of a mysterious undertone for obvious reasons. So maybe I helped answer your "why" question on this a bit

It's funny that you chose this one as an example of a typical town theme, especially since it contains some elements like synthesized drum beats that usually are not found in town themes in JRPGs. Especially the beginning part gives me more of a "Save Screen" vibe than a town. Later on, the peaceful melody and selection of harmonies and melodic lines clearly is more "peaceful town", but still I think for example Kakariko Village from Zelda: A Link to the Past is a better example of stereotypical "town themes". I think the main aspect of JRPG town themes is that there is no sense of threat audible in the music. The songs are usually downtempo, have some beautiful melodies played on serene, soothing instruments. They often have some kind of strings/pads for the chords to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere, and the chords are predominantly major ones. When there are too many minor chords in there it mutates more into a love/sadness theme, so the major chords play a major role here (no pun intended Instrumentation is also a very important aspect, as town themes usually have little to no percussion in them. If anything, it's some light stuff like shakers or tambourines. There are of course examples like Secret of Mana's town theme, but that one also has a very happy vibe to it because of its jumpy melody and cute instrumentation. Generally the instruments are non-threatening in nature. Harsh sounds like electric guitars, heavy drums or deep basses/brass are usually left out to create a more natural, soft mood that doesn't feel too dramatic. The song structure is also usually more predictable, so the player gets the feeling they know the place and there will be no surprises, and they can feel right at home without fearing any threatening dangers or battles. I think those are the main ingredients to create a typical JRPG town theme that fits into all those classic games.

Usa Beautiful Bloody Bats (Dark Necrobat in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) We are Many, We are One (Boomer Kuwanger in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) You Know The Game (Gravity Beetle in Gate's Laboratory [X6]) Vintage Reploid Squad

Hmm, don't we get some extra points for voting? I'm pretty sure I voted in round 1, but we didn't get any team bonus?

Alright, my mix is now subbed — I had little time and some creative block because of lack of sleep too, but Sir_NutS helped me a bit with the arrangement and gave some helpful advice to make a bit more of this entry. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Usa Time's Up, Sigma! (Commander Yammark in Observatory Hall [X]) Go Ahead And Jump (Vanishing Gungaroo in Observatory Hall [X]) Flight of the Peacock (Cyber Peacock in Observatory Hall [X]) Vintage Reploid Squad

Thanks for taking your time to give feedback on all our tracks! I can give you a bit feedback about the feedback, as there are some things many people seemed to complain about with my track, especially the volume. I did this on purpose because most of the tracks in these compose are metal/dubstep/techno, and I didn't want my track to be like 10dB quieter. I's still not really loud with an average of -13dB, but of course since this is a long very dynamic track this is relative as some parts are pretty loud already. In addition, I also forgot the -0.1 dB when mastering, so the WAV got clipped during the MP3 encode. It was fine as WAV, but the encode caused several thousand clippings which also add to the perceived loudness. Something to consider when I do my next round mix. And for all the automation, I really didn't have enough time this round, so I threw this together rather quickly, I only had like 2-3 days in total. But yeah, I guess for that it was decent. I also only halfway optimized the reverb for this piece because I ran out of time. Not to defend my sloppy work, just saying I know i's sloppy and can be better when I have more time to invest Glad you enjoyed it as it is though! Thanks for your appreciation and the nice reviews for all of us!

You mean caffeine, right?

Usa Cyberfunk (Splash Warfly in Cyber Maze Core [X5]) Jumpstyle Flamethrower (Flame Mammoth in Cyber Maze Core [X5]) Descend to Madness (Magna Centipede in Cyber Maze Core [X5]) Vintage Reploid Squad

Actually, it already starts around 0:33, and the harp arpeggio starting at 0:11 was also borrowed from it. But since the source was mostly chord backings and not much melody, I guess it was easier to miss

Thanks for the log, Ivan Hakštok! …and sorry to those who found my mix a bit loud, it got clipped quite a bit during the MP3 encode because I forgot to add the -0.1dB margin when mastering it, so the MP3 version sounds a bit rough in comparison to the original WAV file.

Usa Leap of Faith (Vanishing Gungaroo in Sigma Palace [X8]) Palace Of The Beast (Slash Beast in Sigma Palace [X8]) Subtle Haystack Tibulation (Frost Walrus in Sigma Palace [X8]) Vintage Reploid Squad

Still says "Round 5" in the OP. But whatever, you can just correct it when you release the songs from round 5.

Subbed and voted!

Usa Celestial Bodies (Sting Chameleon in Final Weapon [X4]) Vector Point Engineering Sigma Fortress (Blizzard Buffalo in Final Weapon [X4]) Sword of the Scavalier (Ground Scaravich in Final Weapon [X4]) Vintage Reploid Squad

Alright, it's my turn this round! I just started with my mix, and it'll be …interesting

Usa - Vintage Reploid Squad X's Demise (Spark Mandrill in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2]) Cloud Hopping (Spiral Pegacion in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2]) Caffeine Shoveling Hunter Turtloids (Rainy Turtloid in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2])

To me layering multiple basses just cancels out too much stuff to make it sound better or "fatter". Unless you mean layering 24 oscillators of a hardware analog synth, then I'm all for it

Well, in your situation I would just take the uninspiring theme, and isolate a single melody from it, and try to put that to use, maybe use some different chords on it that make it inspire you more, or changing the rhythmic feel around a bit until you like it, most often that helps.

Well, "Caffeine Shoveling Hunter Turtloids" also sounds like a nice team name!

X4 is also my favorite game from the series, and it also has lots of my favorite music too.

Usa - Vintage Reploid Squad MMMDop (Slash Beast in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) Beetle Dopplerganger (Ground Scaravich in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) Tropical Relaxation Method (Cyber Peacock in Doppler Stage 1 [X3])

Just submitted my entry for round 3! I collabed with Sir_NutS on this one, and he returned the favor and played a solo on my track this time around

Usa - Vintage Reploid Squad Electric Moves & Cephalopod Grooves (Volt Kraken in Palace Ground [X]) Bounce Too High (Vanishing Gungaroo in Palace Ground [X]) Magma Flow (Magma Dragoon in Palace Ground [X])