OceansAndrew

Great intro synth; I love that sort of fade in intro with a cool sound and a good pattern. The synth bass is pretty static though, but the beats are pretty hot, and the lead synth I am digging. Recently i've gotten way more into the synthetic side of things (mostly because my orchestra samples are jacked), so I can really appreciate some well balanced and good sounding synthwork. The track overall is a bit repetitive, but it's very enjoyable with some pretty good production, and a generally funky vibe. The ending third is the most creative and interesting, i'd say. The ending was somewhat weak, but overall this is a really nice track.

Interesting and ambient take on a track, with a few creative liberties taken. I generally like it, though I think the progression of the track is a bit slow; it meanders a bit, and the beats could definitely be mixed up a bit more frequently. 5/4 is pretty under-utilized, and you did a nice job with the percussion to make it sound good. Synthwise there's lots of cool stuff going on, with a pretty nice lead sound and some nice arpeggios as well. There is a bit of painful feedback about 3/4 through to the end though; i think some of the frequencies on that could have been tamed a bit. I think i'd have enjoyed this a bit more if there was a little more going on melodically; there is plenty going on, but it mostly just fleshes out the underlying chordal structure rather than adding any specific color.

+ = Good job guys. Way to ruin a thread in like 2 posts.

Percussion sounds way too occupied for a lot of this and it's pretty distracting. It's like at the beginning when the flutist isn't playing yet, they are messing around with the drummer; playing notes as well. Creative arrangement, and nice transition to the 1-2 theme, but overall I wasn't really feeling the flow. There was a lot of jarring sections where it wasn't really smooth. Pretty nice samples though, especially considering the age of the mix.

Very pretty style, and great interpretation of the theme. Being overly familiar with the song, I have to say the rhythmic change-ups on the melody were very refreshing and tasteful. Very nice filling out of the sound, and the only real (minor) weakness is some of the sequencing/sample defficiencies of the solo violin. I've actually had this on my playlist for years and years and it's always nice when it comes up. The piano and bells are great, and the mood it sets is beautiful. Nice work

Pretty smooth mix; It has some nice ideas, and great percussion and low low low bass throughout. The melodic content coming in so late is a pretty strange styleistic choice, in my opinion. It's like the first half of the track is the intro; I realize the need for setting up atmosphere in a track, but I think the amount of time used is a bit excessive. It's a pretty chill track overall, and the elements that are there throughout progress pretty well on their own; I guess in the grand scheme of things, it's good to go. I am convinced that a more concise intro would have been the way to take things. Panning ideas is pretty cool on some of the arpeggios once things get filled out a bit more, but I think ultimately, this is a background track for doing stuff. Very nice production on this.

I love the hell out of first 2 suikodens, played maybe 40 hours of the third (pretty much forcing myself to do it through the last 37 hours), and decided to call it a day on the series. Slow battle system, shitty story, no thanks. I wish they just had a Suikoden "build your castle" game. That is what I would like to play.

ok, ok, sorry for being offtopic. I agree that i'd prefer the majority of games to be quirky and more creative, but as it was mentioned in the video, with the Playstation came a whole new demographic of gamers; the Alpha Beta crowd, and with them, their money. Game companies see this new money and make a few games for the crowd, and find what sells well to them. It just so happens that this new demographic buys more games than the existing one, so of course they are going to be pandered to. Every time a new group of gamers enter the fold, the game businesses will clinically find the sweet spot for this target market, and make games that pander to their sensibilities. My wife is pretty new to the gaming scene, and loves Mario Party style games something fierce. You know, like all those minigame collections? Those games are aimed at her. Warioware, Rayman Rabbids, Carnival games? Loves them all. My sister and her boyfriend (previously non-gamers) play that type of game too. That and guitar hero/rockband. I'm certain that you or someone you know has bitched about these types of games as well. It's pretty common for people to dislike change. I know some people who rail on both the "macho" games as well as the "fluff" games, and they tend to be in the same boat as the guy in the video. Basically the video dude's point is, "Make more games that *I* would like. I am the only *real* gamer, and since i've been around longer, only my opinion is valid." I agree that i'm pretty sick of washed out colors and stubbly white dudes (shit, I *am* a stubbly white dude), as well as mini-game collections, but there are plenty of other options out there for me; and that's my point. There isn't just one type of gamer anymore, there are several. It just tends to be that the extra creative games (dare I say neo-classical?) aren't as profitable. I think if we are going to see more of these types of games, they are going to be lower budget, to further fit the number of sales they could be expected to create.

Wow, that's the first time I've seen the new bionic commando game in motion. It looks pretty sweet, brah. Video was decent and I generally agree, but i'm a cranky old gamer too and you whippersnappers had best get off my lawn before I OW MY HIP@!#@@#$%

Probably the only song I enjoyed from the FF9 soundtrack, this isn't too far removed arrangement-wise, but it does bring things down a little bit to be a bit more intimate of a setting. Piano sample could have been a bit more expressive, but otherwise it was very nice, and the source track is very strong. Total nitpick, but I was *so* expecting a little piano flourish at the end like all piano remixes seem to do, and when it didn't happen, I was disappointed. It just seemed like the ending clunked down without the flourish. Good stuff.

Pretty energetic stuff for a piano piece, I could imagine a tentacle from the game playing this. It sounds very aggressive and bold, but something sounds off about the piano sample. Maybe over-quantized? It just sounds super synthetic to me. It's well done, but for whatever reason I can't really get into this one. I'm not exactly sure why, but it just feels extra mechanical to me. Sorry dude.

The title is somewhat deceptive here, as I was expecting something a bit more upbeat and dancey, but I really like how this one turned out. I remember it being in the WIP thread and the artists expressing concern about it being a bit too similar to the original, Though it does start out very similar, there are some nice original flourishes and voicings, and the final 3rd of the track is pretty inspired expansion. The recording hiss is a bit much and should have been toned down slightly, and the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but overall this is a pretty solid mix. I'd have liked it to be slightly longer, with maybe one more rendition of the head, possibly with some improv on top, but i'll take it as is, easily.

I am totally digging the super crunchy drums, and the panning synths, and compared to the source, this is completely awesome. It does really feel like an expansion of the original rather than a vast re-imagining, but the additional parts are all really good, and make it listenable. Why you chose to remix the Red version of the theme instead of the Blue is kindof baffling, since the latte rversion was so much better. To each his own I guess. To sort of echo AnSo, I think the bass does get a bit repetitive, and the fadeout seems kind of weak, but otherwise it's a great track. Nice work.

Sorry haters, BGC nailed that intro. It has exactly the effect he described, of entering into a completely new world. Absolutely beautiful. His Bionic Commando track was the first one of his that I started to take notice of his mixes, and this was the first one that completely blew me away. Very creative work on a really good source song. Production was overall pretty strong, though some of the strings early on had too slow of an attack for my tastes, though some of the unnatural pitch bends are cool enough to give that section some flair. The varied soundscape and instrument changes, as well as nice panning effects and some exceptionally cool moving basslines keep the track interesting. The shimmering effects during the theme of Mana cameo are great, but it's the uplifiting section afterwards that really does it to me. Some of the sections get a little bit of mud, and start to feel slightly crowded,like the aforementioned slow strings beginning, and the choir-based crescendo part near the ending, but overall things are pretty clean. Overall this is probably my favorite mix by BGC, it has a very visual style to it, feeling like each section in the song is an individual town district, and that it is being traveled through. Highly recommended.

Very sweeping sound to this one; the strings sound very nice. I do think the transitions were a bit weak overall in terms of lines, and the stucatto brass section near the end I don't think worked at all, but otherwise I thought it was beautifully done, specifically your legato strings. I recently received this game (though I can't play it on my mac), so I am unable to compare it to the source, but if it's similar to this mix, I definitely want to check it out.

Probably one of the most fully-formed CotMM mixes i've heard. He has a great sense of adventure and experimenting on various mixes, but most I don't feel have quite the focus that this one does. Strangely enough (especially to me), my favorite part is the beginning third, where it is mostly just atmosphere and then the subtle chord progression. The song gradually builds, developing at it's own pace,and when it finally kicks into high gear, it's really nice. I think some of the production on the end part was a bit too lofi, with mushy percussion, but the strengths of the track far outweigh the weaknesses. This is an excellently structured song, with a clear purpose at all times, and pretty strong execution. Recommended.

A bit on the repetitive side, but it is a really nice chillin' mix. The sounds used fit well together and, and though the super wet claps are strange, they give the mix character. The melody threw me off at first because of the accidentals at the end, but after a few listens, i've grown to really like it. The pads are really nice, an d the textures are quirky but they work. I have to say that even though it's just the same melody with different backing, it somehow stays really fresh throughout. I'm still kind of baffled how you did it, but there you go. Nice remix.

QF Super massive edit of your post to state my opinion. I was going through the virtual console store last night, looking to buy a game (ended up being Actraiser, btw) and noticed that about 80% of the games listed were all fun. I could literally pick just about any game there and be guaranteed a good time. That is what I think gaming needs.

Harcore VS. Casual right here, folks. What I love about a lot of Sam's work is that you frequently need to listen a few times to even begin to figure out what is going on. Usually it's pretty rich in random visual imagery as well. Sometimes he has hooks in plain sight, and sometimes they are a bit more difficult to find, like in this track. Part of it may the underdeveloped transitions. The amount of interpretation here is great, and things never stay static, though I am not really a fan of the weak transitions, as they don't flow at all. It's like there was this huge rush to show off all the sections, and thus not enough time was spent on each. The sections come in fully-formed, and evolve later on in the track, but not in a linear way. The fact that the beat comes and goes is a bit baffling as well. This is more like a remix quilt than anything, which is pretty cool and unique, but really makes it a high barrier to get over to enjoy the music. The sounds used are pretty cool, super lofi synths and pretty nice orchestra samples give it a very unique duality. Sort of like like a planet with lots of spread out highly technological cities spread out, with organic wilderness separating them. Overall a cool and interesting track, but don't expect to like it at first. It's one that will take awhile to grow on you.

Hey guys, quit hating on Baby Daisy, I going to use her as my main.

I never was a huge fan of the KI music, but the recent Powerglove track made me appreciate it a bit more. I think the source is good, if a bit generic rockish, but what makes it a bit forgettable is the guitar sounds. The guitar sounds all around are super dated and the sequencing is a bit choppy, with a super thin lead sound. The percussion is interesting enough, but doesn't really change it up ever, and the fills are there but not terribly inspired. The best part of the track is actually the strings, which have some nice changeups and support things well. Overall a decent track, but not a favorite of mine.

Very intelligent and reserved sounding; There is a lot going on, but it all fits perfectly, and sounds very meticulous. There are some painful overtones in a few sections where it sounds like some sort of feedback loop. It just gets way , way, louder than anything else, and may be the reason why the rest of the track is so quiet. There were a few strange notes used in the synth solo; It sounded like a wrong note was played, and then hit a few more times to try to force it into the harmonic structure. Nothing that makes me hate the track, but considering how carefully everything else fit together it seems strange to me. Sadly, those overtones are too painful for me to listen to repeatedly, so I'm done with this track, but it's distinctly unique and pretty solid overall.

Samples are way dated in both the guitar and the "sax", and things feel pretty mechanical, but the source is strong with this one, and the themes do actually fit together really nicely. The percussion seemed to come and go as it pleased, and faded out before it could assist in transitions. Balance is nice, and the bells and supporting strings hold up decently well. It has a good nostalgic mood to it, and is a fun listen, but I can't help but imagine this completely redone by say, Taucer and Proph, with live instruments. Maybe I am just spoiled.

I agree with this statement. I didn't get into 64 at all.

Ever notice how DJ Pretzel could be changed to DR Pretzel with just one letter change? Coincidence? I think not... also! The conspiracy deepens...