DanTheClam

I'll second that. I went through the entire extra dungeon, got all its absurd items, decimated the boss, beat the extra boss in the trumpet, and assumed Indalecio++ would be easy. He destroyed me.

I registered for the forums months ago, and I've heard a lot of remixes that I thought about reviewing for my first post. However, nothing ever quite pushed me hard enough to review until Chrono Symphonic, so it earns that dubious honor. First of all, to all the remixers, you guys did an amazing job. I've listened through 3 times and am on my 4th time through now, and all of this music is simply wonderful. Also, major props go to Claado Shou, Compyfox, StarZander, eon_blue, and any others I missed who worked on the project aspect. Thanks to all of you who worked so hard on this. I'll go into a bit of detail on my favorite pieces so far: "Blue Skies Over Guardia" - Darkesword. I got this track from OCR months ago and loved it from first hearing it. It's already an old favorite, so I guess it's got an unfair advantage on the others. Parts of it have a very un-orchestral sound (particularly the clapping-like sound, which sounds more like Darkesword's more conventional mixes), but actually I think this gives the track a lot of its energy. The bell is a nice way to introduce the track, and the strings develop it well. The brass carries the melody nicely, and the string and piano doing harmony fit very well. I especially like the solo piano (well, solo piano + bell and later solo piano + strings) parts. "Manifest Destiny" - SirRus. I love the pizzicato strings (though I'm not such a big fan of the xylophone [i guess that's what that sound is?] that accompanies the pizzicato strings). They make a good substitution for the original instrumentation, something I was a little worried about before hearing the mix; it's a little unusual music to put into orchestral format. Also, there's great variation from the simple background line every now and then; some of the variations on the original arpeggio that the pizz strings play just sound really good. Also, the solo string instrument (sounds more like a viola than a violin, but doesn't really matter) is well-used and has a great tone quality to it. Great arrangement. "Darkest Omen" - mv. The Black Omen music was my favorite part of the CT Soundtrack, and this arrangement definitely does it justice. I especially like the low brass throughout, and the strings during the bridge. The percussion is also very nicely done throughout. The brief choir hits are a cool touch. "The New Beginning" - Sleepy Emp. Doesn't really catch my attention at the beginning, but about a minute in, it really picks up. The variations on the melody are extremely well done, and the instrumentation is great. Who doesn't love a little wind chimes every now and then? "To Far Away Times" - Reuben Kee and pixietricks. Beautiful piano, beautiful voice, pretty arrangement. What more is there to say? I'm going to be listening to this music for a long, long time. Thanks to everybody who worked on this for giving us a lasting gift.