Otakatt

I used to listen to this quite a bit back in the day, but unfortunately it just got put on the sidelines in my storage folder and forgotten. :\ What's different about this is I'm not familiar with the source tune or the source *at all*. And usually when that's the case, I don't listen to a remix. There's a lot on OCR so I generally stick to what I know. I dunno what prompted me to listen to this back in the day, but I remember liking it a lot. Listening to it now? I still like it. Deim0s does that ambient thing here and they do it well. The strings and the piano at the beginning goes together really well and helps set up the somber, and dare I say, gloomy mood of this piece. I like the choir-y voices that come in later too. Overall it comes together very well and makes a beautiful piece. Given the heavy mood, it's not something I feel I can listen to all the time (it's raining here now so it's really meshing with me now) but once in a while? Oh yeses. People who dig ambiance should definitely check this one out.

I loves me some Ys music. Particularly Feena's theme, one of my favorites from the first. <3 I can't really say anything that others haven't already said. The beginning is fabu. I love it. After that, it gets more safe and straight forward. That's not terrible or anything, but it would have been nice to at least have a hook at the end since the beginning had one. Throughout a lot of this song, the strings in the background didn't really feel like background to me. They were kinda loud and prominent, so they really took away from the main melody. And even though it's a short song, it has the feel of being a little repetitive in a spot or two. Not too much, but it's there. Then it ends. Just like that. :\ In spite of my complaints, it still works overall. It's a pleasant little arrangement of an iconic Ys theme that deserves at least a chance.

I've always liked this song from PS3. The title has always made me laugh... Generations of Doom. It just doesn't fit with the happy tune at all. XD I find this piece to be mostly straightforward, without too much deviation going on, which would have been nice to hear. Overall, it's a pretty uplifting song and I enjoyed it. Though... I'd likely have enjoyed it more without the strings, or at least with a different sample. The very beginning with the strings is just... grating. I don't really have a problem with anything else but the strings though, as everything else is rather pleasant. I can tell DJP has definitely improved since this so I'm willing to bet if he tackled this nowadays it'd be phenomenal. But PS3 arrangements are a rare treat, so this deserves a chance for sure.

Wicked Child is probably my favorite old school Castlevania song. I mean, I like Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears and whatnot, but Wicked Child was just way too catchy. To be honest, I'm not terribly impressed with the guitar in this song. Something about it just sounds... muffled to me? Muddied? Just something about it isn't very clean, and it doesn't stand out to me. It gets better about halfway in, but I'd have liked to have heard that throughout the entire song. The arrangement itself isn't too inspired either. Seems kind of straight forward to me. It's not bad overall, and definitely worth checking out to at least give it a chance, but it's not my favorite rendition of Wicked Child.

In a word? Epic. As I've said before, I feel this is one of the strongest pieces on the FF4: EoBLoR album. The samples are excellent and don't sound overtly fake at all. It's also somewhat lengthy but it doesn't get repetitive or drag on. It switches it up every now and then and *really* explores the Lunar Whale theme. If FF4 were ever made into an actual factual movie, I could easily see this being part of the score. In songs like this, what really amazes me is there's parts where there's a lot going on, but it doesn't *sound* like there's a lot going on. It's not like it's always booming and powerful and emotional, but there's a lot of subtlety going on. A chime here, a note there, but it's not at all out of place and really adds to it even if you don't pick it up the first or second time you listen to the song. I definitely recommend for everyone to check this one out.

Reading the other reviews of this song made me want to review it even more. I actually liked CotMM's take on Cid's theme, and this is currently in my FF music folder. Granted that, no, this isn't what I feel is his best work, but I don't view it as his worst either. What I think is probably the most neat thing about it, is that you listen to the original and it's kind of this... uplifting, inspiring theme, and CotMM took that same song and just shifted the mood entirely. There's elements to it that are uplifting, imo, given the nature of this song, but overall it's more somber, I'd say. There are some issues, of course. Like I do agree with what was said about the drums. For me, they don't really fit 100%. But I still think this is worth a listen and shouldn't be written off entirely for being an older piece from CotMM.

Not only does someone cover Saga Frontier, a rather underrated game with underrated music, but they cover one of my favorite pieces from Saga Frontier... win! I love the buildup throughout the entire song. Even that pause at the beginning, it just adds more to the mood of the piece. And it just keeps building up and building up until it sounds, dare I say, epic. The only problem is.. I start to really dig it and its epic-ness, particularly during those final thirty seconds, and then? It ends. ...really? This could have had another minute at least tacked on it, easily. And imo, it *should* have had at least another minute tacked on. It just ended entirely too early and abruptly for me, without any real resolution to the ending. What's there is still pretty great though, and I definitely recommend people give it a chance.

I have to agree with Bahamut regarding the samples. This is something I used to listen to a bit years ago, but it just hasn't aged that well. I think I would have liked to hear this stretched out. As in... it wouldn't have hurt this mix to be longer. If it was longer there'd be more room for Iasombra to explore more ideas and such. As is, it sort of feels cramped up together. It'll start to get good, but them bam, it moves on to something else. I can't help but wonder what it'd sound like if the artist worked on it today. It has so much potential. This isn't a bad song by any means, but compared with OCR songs of today with the upped standards it sort of pales. Still, worth a listen if you dig FF4 music.

Hrm.. I'm sorry but I'm just not a fan of this one. The NES/chip sound at the beginning didn't seem to fit at all, and then right after that it just dives on in. Overall this just sounds rough because of the samples used, the drums are kind of grating and boring to me, and there's just not a lot of artistic interpretation going on. When the harpsichord hit, I kinda perked because, 'Hey, different!' but it didn't last long at all, and that's what I wanted to hear more of. Not just another drums and generic rawk version of the FF1 battle theme. This song is pretty short too, which is good in this case as I can't imagine it dragging on longer... I see nothing else by ViolentRage so I can't comment there, however if you're looking for something from mp I'd recommend looking elsewhere. He's improved quite a bit since this song, and his other stuff is more quality imo.

The first time I ever heard this was as a song on a Stepmania (think DDR) songpack I downloaded. I wasn't familiar with the game or the source tune at all, but after going through the various songs that particular pack had, I found myself repeating the 'stage' with this music again and again and again... Then later I found the proper source. Yay! This whole song is just so *upbeat*. Right from the get go! I don't really dig any of the voice parts, but the beat is just awesome. I can't help but move or sway in some way whenever I listen to this. At some parts it *kinda* has a feel of repetitiveness, but not so much that it drags down the song as a whole. As energetic as this song is, the fadeout ending is kind of disappointing. I would have liked to have heard it wrap up in a more effective manner than that. It's not the best techno this site has to offer, but it's not at all shabby and one of the most upbeat songs, for sure. XD

I downloaded this song a long time ago, loved it, then it just kind of got lost in the vastness of my music collection. Eek. I'm not sure how I let that happen, as A) Dale North is awesome and Theme of Rena is my favorite song from Mr. Sakuraba. Well, at least the version it plays in the forest in Arlia... still! The samples.. the production.. all of it just works very well together. It's a pretty straight forward arrangement of Rena's theme, but it deviates enough that it's not ho hum. It's very beautiful, in fact. I love the soft, quiet beginning that builds up to the point about a minute and a half in. I love the end that fades out with the piano. I love that overall it reeks of emotion. I love it all. But admittedly, I'm biased - it's Rena's theme! >> This is a must have for Motoi and/or North fans, and even if you're unfamiliar with either? Give it a listen!

I've had this arrangement on my computer for quite a long time now. At one point I had tucked it away into a storage folder, then rediscovered it and now it's back in my main Final Fantasy music folder. What can I say about this? I absolutely love it, and just can't fault it. This probably comes from my bias towards Final Fantasy music and well done ambient music. It explores Matoya's Theme in a way one wouldn't really expect. It turns something that was somewhat upbeat into something more somber and moody. I don't find it repetitive in spite of the length either. It explores enough ideas to keep it interesting, without being over the top. So it's not something you play if you want to groove or rock or anything like that. I find it's good chill music, or good music to draw or write to. Or just something in the background if you don't want anything overwhelming, but don't like absolute quiet.

Sometimes it's harder for me to review tracks that are top notch as opposed to having things I can point out and say "I don't like this." or "I don't like that." It just doesn't feel right to me to just be like "Man this totally rawked! ^o^" even if that is the case. XD I like that this doesn't jump immediately into the battle theme and that OA does some creative music-y stuff at the beginning and a little past the midway point. It gives the mix a nice lead up to the main parts I think. And I really liked the piano-y parts. It was a nice, subtle way to add some softness to the piece without overwhelming it, but still smoothly transitioned back to the rawk. I think Lufia fans will love this and even if you've not heard of Lufia or the music this is still a great piece of music.

Hm, I'm not too sure what to say about this one. I don't *hate* it, and it's certainly not the worst arrangement I've heard, but I can't say that I dug what was being attempted here. The song felt like it was jumping all over the place and didn't really flow in any sort of cohesive manner, imo. While not my thing, I still recommend people who like NES-type sounds/music at least give it a chance.

The tune thing at the beginning didn't really bother me that much, as it did for other people. I dunno why... Maybe it just helps to set up the mood in my mind? That and the applause at the end gives it sort of the feel of a live performance. The samples then go and ruin this. I mean, I don't think they're *zomgzhorribad*, but they do sound really fake, even to me. Just not at all authentic. It makes the arpeggio sound almost.. stiff. There's nothing nuanced about it. The arrangement itself is pretty straightforward, but I can't complain about that because honestly? I love the prelude and the simplicity of it. This is something I would love to hear with better samples and a little more TLC. It was uploaded so long ago so I can't help but wonder, "Wow, what if they tackled this one *now*?"

I had a love/hate relationship with Blaster Master growing up, but I always loved the music - especially Area 5. Even if that is where I Game Over'd a lot. Stupid giant crab... This is very upbeat, I like that. I also really like the organ bits in here, and the way they're being used. Beginning was a touch repetitive imo, but aside from that this is pretty original stuff. It's easy to listen to and it's easy to find yourself moving to it and bobbing your head without even realizing it. Fade out endings don't bother me that much, but I found this fade out to be a little too long and drawn out. Still, that's a pretty minor nitpick and it's not like it kills the song. I hope more people check this one out and give it more love.

What I liked about this was the overall 'happy' sound of it. The world can definitely use more music that puts a smile on people's faces. However, I felt this was also rather repetitive, particularly the beginning. It could just be the nature of the genre or what Showroom was going for, I'm not too sure, but in that case I can't really fault them or the song. I just know that it didn't really do it for me. The ending kind of confused me as well. I'd still recommend people giving it a listen before writing it off. Looking at what other people say about this song, one can easily see that it's mostly well received.

Catchy~! I'm happy to hear some Super Mario Land love in this, first of all. The Main BGM theme from that game is just as iconicly Mario to me as some of the old school stuff, but I always get the feeling people pass over that game and the music. I'm just as happy with the brass parts of this mix as well. I usually hate trumpets and the like in stuff because it doesn't sound authentic or it sounds too... tinny or just outright bad. I can't vouch for complete authenticity, but it sounds legit and pleasant enough to me to be enjoyable. This mix also strikes me as being decidedly *not* repetitive. Nowhere did I feel a sense of deja vu, and before it started to recycle old ideas, the song was over. So I found myself listening to it a couple more times. It's interesting and has a high replay value. Mario fans will love this, I believe. Especially if they dig jazz.

No replies? I downloaded this and loved it. You can't really lose since it's free, and it doesn't take long to listen to at all. (Very short album, hoping the next is longer Nario!) My favorite track is probably 'Hallucinogenic Ethics', although most of these tracks are just really catchy to me. I also really liked 'Frozen on Contact'. Oh! And 'Wandering in Circles, All is Uncertain' is pretty nifty too. XD I could easily envision most of these tracks being in a video game. Which is good since you said they were game inspired!

If you ever need to go back and check you can go to your profile and view all the posts you've made. It's a little inconvenient though, so keeping track in wordpad or notepad or something as you go along probably wouldn't hurt. S'what I'm doing.

I always feel weird reviewing since I'm music stupid and can never really articulate how I feel about music properly, but I shall try as well!

If there's one thing I had to pick out about the Phantasy Star series I loved most it would have to be the music. 'End of the Millenium' is one of my favorites from PS4, and the overall series. Even before playing any of the games, I had the theme on cassette and would listen to it. As was stated by zircon, loud. That's my biggest complaint about the song. My speakers aren't turned up high at all, but the music came blaring out. The music blaring out, at least, isn't grating as the volume levels. XD The beginning is very trippy and quiet, then bam, the song is all kinds of groovy. I can't help but bob my head to this as I listen to it. There are points where this song runs the risk of being too repetitive, but I think Mr. Pretzel did a good job of throwing in just enough variation to keep it from getting boring, without deviating overly much from the original, which wasn't exactly driven by melody anyhow. This is really catchy and upbeat and I recommend it, especially to those who love their Phantasy Star.

I can't believe I haven't given this a listen yet. >>; I can definitely see why people have pointed out the chosen instruments. It's not something I would have expected, especially for a Castlevania song. But I like that it somehow *works*. I really enjoyed the beginning of this piece - the organs are fabu. The first half of this is definitely my favorite half, while the second half, particularly the last third or so, just kinda drags on for me. I feel the whole mood of it just shifted to being a little *too* 'chill'. The beginning was interesting while the ending felt boring, and the very end of the song didn't make sense to me at all. I would have liked if some of the energy from the beginning carried on for a bit longer than it did. As is, it sort of makes this piece ho-hum for me. While not for me, people who are into music of the chill out kind may very well dig this. And anyone who is looking for unique takes on classic Castlevania tunes should definitely give it a chance.

I only briefly played OOT, years ago. But the one thing I remember about it? The Gerudo Valley theme. It's just so catchy! So I've gone out of my way to listen to many a versions of the Gerudo Valley theme, which I feel is just about on the level of Terra or Schala or Ice Cap or Time Circuits when it comes to how many people take it on. Which means a lot of what people have done... has already been done. *yawn* But! This piece is different, so props there. I'm also very happy that the beginning from the original wasn't cut out. I've heard various arrangements that cut it out completely to dive into the main melody, and while I love the main melody, I feel you gotta lead up to it. In this piece, there's certainly a lead, however... I felt it a little repetitive, but I think that might not necessarily be a fault of the piece, but moreso that I'm not one of those people who are really into percussion. Personally I would have liked to have heard the main melody in this a little more, but that's just me. I can at least give credit that the percussion sounds good, and it's interesting. In any song, when the percussion is bad or overly repetitive, I just can't listen... I did not care for the brass part about 2:15 into the song. I'm not sure why. It just sounded a little too.. muffled, I think? I think for people who like music that emphasizes the percussion and beats, they'd really like this. But if you're looking for a more melodic version of Gerudo Valley, this isn't it.

I remember when this came out I was confused. It was right before the release of the FF4 album, but it wasn't affiliated with it. But it was still a very pleasant surprise, being from trickwaters, and being of one of my favorite FF4 tunes. I had to break out my headphones to listen to this one, because it was just so *quiet*. Admittedly I should listen to more music with headphones, especially for reviewing purposes, but I don't have a great setup for that kind of thing. In this case I'm glad I did though, because with the headphones I'm picking up a lot of stuff I missed initially. Some of the strings and flutework in the background, for instance. And it's all done well, in that the instruments don't sound too fake to me. In pieces like this, authenticity is important. (Then again it could be real instruments for all I know.. I'm not too good at telling the difference XD) The overall mood of this piece is really reminiscent of the original for me. Haunting, but still beautiful. My one complaint is something I'm torn about. The quiet beginning sets up the mood of this really well, but at the same time my instinct is to cut up the volume so I can hear it. Then later it gets loud! So the volume must come down, and the having to cut it up and down makes this.. not the best candidate for easy listening or just having something on the mp3 player to chill to. But that's me just being anal and nitpicky, I'll admit. Overall, this is really worth a listen if you love orchestral stuff, and moreso if you're into the FF4 soundtrack!