DragonAvenger

Some nice work on the arrangement of this. Everything is still recognizable, but has it's own flair, and it even still fits the original characters in it's own way. I liked that you used the second half of the source which isn't used on the theme in the later games. I agree with Vinnie that the balance isn't as good as it can be. The leads are very strong, but the backing feels a little too distant. I'd like to see that get fixed before this hits the front page. I'll also echo the sentiment of the snare not having the bite that it can in this. Hit up those couple things and you'll be good to go. YES (conditional) 5/21-The balance is improved, although as Vinnie said it would have nice if it could have been nailed down with the project file. As it stands, I think it squeaks by. YES

I'm on the same page as TO here. The mix is a lot of fun to listen to, but right now it needs some refining before I think it's ready. Overall a lot of the sounds would benefit from being thicker (especially the slap bass, which I noticed the second I read TO's vote). The brass samples need to go, no other way to put it. Either find a live player, or find something else that works. It will sound ten times better if you even just took that one step. This is a small thing, but the claps sound like they are in a huge room, where none of the other instruments do. Breaks up the continuity a bit. I think the arrangement is solid, but the production and sample choices need to be cleaned up/replaced. NO (resubmit) 3/24/10:I think I can just quote OA's recent post here. Certainly a lot better with the brass, but overall a little quiet. Sometimes the organ could be brought up a tad as well. Everything else is sounding good. YES

Love the overall sound this has. There is some great personalization in this to give it that laid-back feel. It almost has a jazzy vibe to it, which is unexpected and pleasant. Also, no problem recognizing the source. Not much else to ask for. YES

Bit of a broken record here; the backing right now is really pulling into the forefront, and the melodies and other aspects you have going on are suffering for it. Along with that, Vinnie mentioned the mechanical sequencing in the leads. I'd extend that to some other background aspects like the strings at times. I feel like overall that the arrangement feels a little thin. It feels at times like this was almost meant to be the background to some vocals/rap over this. Beefing up the volume will help this feel a little more solid, and maybe some backing pads. Also, this might be just me, but the organ synth really isn't cutting it in my opinion. Something about it just gets to me. I'm going further echo Andrew about arrangement getting a bit static. The balance might actually take care of this, but it might not hurt to have an idea or two that's new to keep up the interest level. I think it's on the right track, keep at it. NO

Every 20(?) steps you take earns a watt on the pokewalker. You can use watts for three different things: 10w will use the pokeradar which is a super simplified battle thing that you can possibly catch a pokemon with. You can catch up to 3 pokemon per walk. 3w will use the item finder which gives you a 2/6 chance of getting an item. You can hold 3 or 5 items (not sure which). When you return from the walk all the extra watts are returned to your game, and at set intervals you open up new areas to walk in. As you are walking occassionally your pokemon will find something, so you have to periodically check. So far my pokemon has only found watts (usually 10, but I got 50 once), so I don't know if you get anything better. It seems, that every time you go for a walk your pokemon will gain 1 level. I don't know if this is because I've only gone about 3000-5000 steps per walk, or if it's a set amount. If anyone has any more info, please enlighten us!

That is a great idea, although my cats don't wear collars (they are indoor cats, and are ID chipped). I wore mine to work today and have accumulated 2600 steps so far. I love that I am having the students practice marching.

I take that as a personal accomplishment. On another note, this track also has a cameo of MomAvenger. <3 u Mom!

I was worried at first when things started off like an orchestral cover of Magus' theme, but once the Cathedral set in things got much better. The writing in that section to the end showed a lot more variety and arrangement as well as some counter melodies that added a nice touch. I wish the opening 2 minutes had done the same. The transition at 3:12 was a bit rough around the edges, especially given the smoother lead back to Magus' theme only a few seconds before. I will agree with Vinnie that around 3:34 all the sounds are clustered a bit too close together and some of the clarity is lost. Look for ways to help keep things more balanced so that the sounds that need to be heard the most are clear. For the most part the mix has a nice balance, and there is good coverage in the soundscape. The writing on the orchestration is believable as well, which lends itself to the mix feeling more natural. What's hurting this mix the most is the samples overall. There are issues, like the slower string and chorus attacks, that are distracting from the overall arrangement, which is unfortunate. This would be quite a different piece if it were live, but who has an orchestra in their back pocket? Not everyone has access to great samples, and it's all in how you use them, which is what Jesse brought up. Despite that, however, I think this is an enjoyable mix, and I am willing to look past the sounds themselves. I'd say this is a close call, though, and I wish you luck on the rest of the voting. YES (borderline)

Listening to this on the album I had mixed feelings. It's certainly a lot of fun, but such a different mood from the (most) of the rest of the album that it stuck out, and not in the best of ways. It probably took about ten listens before it began to grow on me, and now I grin every time I hear it. While the melody remains mostly the same throughout the mix, the various moods with each run-through and the "GUITAR SOLO!!" at the end provide enough embellishment/arrangement to push this over the bar. The thing that bothered me the most about the soundscape was the use of the synths. They just didn't feel like they fit in with the style, and the way they sit on top bothers me a bit. It's not bad enough to really pull things down, but I would have preferred something else in lieu of them. Also, Lil' Wolfie makes this mix. YES

The genre adaption is natural, and the you made a nice smooth transition into it with this mix. Everything works pretty well together, and overall it's an enjoyable piece to listen to. It's a bit of a tough call on the actual arrangement side of things, since a lot of the mix stays very conservative to the original melodies. There's little doubt that you have the ability to make a fuller arrangement; your solo and the additional backing stuff I'm hearing has some nice writing. Your next mix better show off more of that skill! Production is pretty good as well as the balance. The track is clear, and there isn't anything difficult to make out, but the volume of the entire mix is a little low (which cuts out a little bit of energy), and could use a bit of a boost. Also, I'm going to agree with OA on the panning. Right now every instrument is sitting dead center, and you could really open up the soundscape with some panning. This is a really close call, but I think the arrangement squeaks by and the production is there. The track is enjoyable to listen to as is, and it's nice to see that you really stuck with the track after such a long time. YES (borderline)

My copy of FFVII has scratches on disk 2, and after beating Diamond WEAPON will freeze in the cutscene right after. The first time it happened was a definite crap moment, and after about 5 times I thought I wouldn't be able to get any further than that. I think it finally pushed through somehow, but it was scary for a while. Secondly, I was playing through Tactics Ogre, which has a flaw in it that saving/loading fails like 80% of the time. I probably got like 10 hours in when finally it stopped working at all, and would freeze every time I tried to load the game. Not exactly an Aw s#*! moment, but dissapointing none-the-less.

Not much new I can add to the votes. When things get going, you have a pretty good mix going on. I'm especially enjoying the breakdown sections that offer the most variety in interpretation and melody. However, there are some elements (which aren't too difficult to fix!) that right now are holding this back from passing. The most noticeable is the untz offbeat, which is overtaking the mix at times. Balance that out a little more with the rest of the track and I bet this will immediately sound a lot better. The next aspect Vinnie is absolutely right about; the intro and outtro. They really need to be a little shorter or less repetitive. A couple thing I noticed, though a bit nitpicky, is the very opening which transitions to the synth fading in. I felt that was awkward, as the two don't overlap in any way, which leads to the "chimes":space:fade-in. I'd experiment with the timing on that to get a smoother lead-in. Secondly, the panning on the piano at 1:58 is a bit strange. Having every other note switch back in forth doesn't feel natural (in that you wouldn't have two people on opposite sides of the room trading off). Get this polished out, and I'll look forward to hearing it again. NO (resubmit)

Not much else to say, Vinnie nailed it. You've got a nice mood going on, but the sounds are a bit bland overall, and without much expansion on the source there's not much else to say. Start experimenting with different ideas you can add or embellish on the melodies and background, and work on the drums to add some flavor to the mix. NO

The Black Dream track has always been underrated, so I'm glad to see some people stepping forward to give it some attention. I can tell that you spent a lot of time working on this to get it to match up with the original. While this is always a good exercise to be able to write out melodies you've listened to, this mix is pretty much a cover of the source. That isn't to say there isn't some original work in here. The drums are changed up, as is some of the soundscape, and there are some original or changed up sections. As a whole, however, it's far to similar to the source as an arrangement. I would suggest listening to some of the recently posted mixes and comparing them carefully to their sources to see how other artists approach arranging a piece for OC ReMix. You mentioned getting into DnB, but a lot of this track is using the same drum loop. There are so many things you can do here, I want to hear more variation. Some stuff you have going on that works in the drums is at 2:35, when the drums are really working to support the melody and aren't on autopilot. Look for more ways to have the drums work with the track. There are a few good things going on with the production. There is some attention to panning that is nice, and while the first lead is a little too far back, overall the balance of the track is good. I'm not really crazy about the sounds that are being used. Right now the track feels like it's a Playstation upgrade to the original with the sounds you are using. Added on top of that, everything is mechanical sounding. It would be a good idea to look into was to add a more human touch to the sounds. You have the start of some ideas here, but the track needs some work to get it to the level it needs to be for us. Please check out our WIP section to get some good feedback from other artists. NO

I can see OA's enthusiasm on the arrangement, but I think there are a few things aside from the transitions I'd like to see tweaked. I'd like a stronger connection in the first minute to the source, and there are some times (like 3:45) where the source get's a bit lost under everything else going on. However, as it stands, I'm still impressed, and I think this is above our standards for passing arrangement-wise. The glitched guitar is pretty awesome. I'm going to have to agree with OA on the production. The leads need a little push to be more prominent. On the same lines, I feel like most of the time the instruments are being pushed so hard that it is losing a bit of the more concentrated energy that would really make this shine. When everything is so close to clipping there's no where else to go, and some energy is lost. I think this is close, and it has the potential to be really good if this was polished up. NO (resubmit)

I like that this is immediately recognizable to the source, but really has it's own flavor to it. Speeding things up and some good drum change-ups add a lot of energy to this. Not a lot of melodic variation, as you mentioned, but that was intentional, and it's not entirely needed with all the other additions to the soundscape going on. Nice use of moving the melodies around to keep things moving; I never felt like things were getting repetitive. While the piano is certainly mechanical, I'm alright with it as it is. I'm taking it as more of a throwback towards the chiptune genre. Whether or not that is a good choice is probably going to be up to the individual listener, but I could go either with with it. YES

Happy birthday!

There are a lot of really nice ideas in here, and the ethnic percussion really helps add some flavor to this mix. The arrangement of the source works in a lot of aspects, especially in the more retrospective sections. Hitting off of what Andrew said, things get a bit cliché when you go from the big opening, to the quieter section, back to a big section, back to a quieter section, back to a...(you get the point). I think you can achieve a greater sense of emotion if you were to cut out some of those changes. While each big section isn't exactly the same, I think it's similar enough that it feels like we're retreading ground after a while. Each section is nice, but they overlap a bit too much. I'd like to see you focus more on the production in this. A lot of the instruments don't feel natural the way they are. Take some care to get this a bit more humanized and the emotion will come out a lot more. Some very pretty moments in here, and overall a nice arrangement. Look over your arrangement and take a look at that sequencing, please! NO (resubmit)

Right away the first thing that hit me is how long it takes for a melodic instrument to hit this mix. I'm fine with long intros, but there should be something that's building up to the opening, and that doesn't happen here until almost 30 seconds in. The entire arrangement overall feels a bit like it's lacking the power and energy that I'm getting from the drums. I think this is related to Vinnie's issue that there are lead instruments that are generally more suited for background motifs, and they can't carry the weight when their up front as well as I'd like. Along with that some of the sections are stretched pretty long, and that further decreases the energy at times. I'd experiment around to see if you can find the right combo to really pull the energy up in some sections. Going to agree with the gentlemen above about some things not meshing. Check through carefully that your different melodies and chords are matching up better. This will help out with the energy level, too. You're on the right track here, just need to go that extra to pull this one up more. NO (resubmit)

This definitely adds a lot more depth to the original. There are a lot more layers going on, and the arranging on the drums stands out. I felt like things got a little stagnant what with the same groups of instruments remaining in the same roles throughout the track. A little more sonic variety would help keep add more interest level overall. The other dudes are right about the blocky sequencing. Everything is pretty mechanical, which is alright in this style, but a little humanization wouldn't hurt. I also agree about the drums, they've got some awesome patterns, but they aren't holding up in the track. Arrangement is pretty good, especially on the drums, but add a little human touch and I'd like to see this one again. NO (resubmit)

I was expecting this to stay as an orchestral mix throughout, but once things kicked in I was pleasantly surprised. The pacing overall worked just right; the changes of instrumentation/style came at just the right time to make me want to keep listening. I will have to agree with Vinnie that the biggest drawback on the arrangement is the larger sections that remain very conservative. I would have loved to have more changes with the backing/melody, especially seeing what was done with original sections. Production is for the most part really good, except for those couple of orchestral instruments that placed a little too far back. The samples at 0:17 and 1:23 can be just a bit more prominent. Conservative at times, but a good style change and nice production. YES

I like the concept that you have going on here, and overall the writing itself is doing pretty well. Combining the FF9 themes with Wild Arms worked surprisingly well, especially the work towards the end. To me it takes a little long to establish each theme individually before they combine, maybe having the two themes start to bleed together a little earlier (the WA theme comes in at ~2 out of less than 4 total), or something else to keep the interest level could spice things up a bit. The production is your weakpoint, unfortunately. The samples are generally thin or mechanical sounding; combine that with a generally sparser texture like you have here and it becomes even more apparent. Take some time to hone up on how to get these sounds more humanized and maybe beef up the structure a little to get a better blend and more enjoyable sound out of everything. If you can get a live player, that would also help things out. Good concept, I'd like to see this one again after some work, especially in the production aspects. NO (resubmit)

I think the style change works pretty well here. While this remains on the simpler side as far as arrangements and playing level go there is a lot of subtlety in the changes of chords and (obviously) the overall mood. I am going to have to agree with the other guys about the muddiness of some of the chords when things are placed closer together. I'd experiment around with opening up some of the chords and seeing how that changes the textures. Along with that I'd enjoy seeing what you can do to add a bit more to your left hand playing. The simple half note chords sound nice, but when they keep coming back things start to feel a bit repetitious. I'm a bit iffy on the intro and transition into the theme. The connection between the two is a little tenuous to me, and after 5 or 6 listens I still am not expecting the theme to come in when it does, which makes things feel a little awkward overall. I'd like a more solid lead-in to really establish the opening. I think this is within reach with a bit of work. Work on the left hand especially to open things up a bit and add a little more texture. No (resubmit)

This'll be me repeating what everyone's already said. Performance is great, and the arrangement is quite good. The synth isn't bothering me too much, but I've probably been listening to OA's stuff too much lately. I'm also a bit of a sucker for the nostalgic factor. Overall, the mix is a bit low volume-wise, but the drums are a bit loud in comparison. I'd love to see that fixed up, but it's not to a point where I feel like it absolutely must be changed before this is released. Yes

I am looking forward to losing all of my free time, being hated by all, and showing Larry that I'm working on that 'being a lady' thing. Also, I plan to do my best for OC ReMix. Thanks for everyone's comments!