SwordBreaker
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I feel like we've already had this discussion back when the FF6 Kickstarter was in full swing...
There's nothing inherently wrong with artists and the site getting compensated for their work, nor is there something wrong with a game company contracting OCR for songs (it already happened with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD ReMix). That's just the company realizing the talent present on the site and giving props in a more meaningful way than
However, there is also nothing inherently wrong with having a fully licensed commercial album from the site either. It isn't a matter of selling out nor of betraying its core values, nothing sinister at all. It's just an album that just so happens to be $10 and from OCR.
Absolutely agree with this. As long as the albums in question are properly licensed or discussed with the copyright holders to commercially distribute, I see no reason why artists and remixers should not get compensated for that, even if it's under the OCR umbrella. So this experiment with Mega Man is a nice venture for the artists involved an OCR in general. If other companies contact OCR to make music for a game or certain arrangements and are interested in commercial distribution, it would be great to have these on the side of the free music that's always there.
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Congrats on your first commercial release! Sweet milestone. It's too bad that this release only on the US iTunes and Amazon though. Hopefully CDbaby is universal.
I just gave a first-round listen to the previews at SoundCloud. Obviously since the album is paid, I'll have to pick and choose my favorites since some stuff are my cup of tea and some are not. Surprisingly, I find the spin-off side of the album (involving ZX, Legends, Battle Network, and Starforce) a lot stronger than the mainline MM, X and Zero series. Perhaps it's because I'm not familiar with the spin-off side as much as the mainline games so I tend to be more critical of the main ones.
Nothing really caught my ear from the mainline ones except Sixto and Jeff's take on Spark Mandrill. That is my favorite track of the album. Absolutely awesome stuff there. Really, really good.
Phonetic's interpretation of Boomer Kewanger rubs me off the wrong way. I love the original track so much, and I see what he was trying to do with that jungle mix, but it's still sounds very 'empty' to me in comparison to the fast-paced techno-y nature of the original. There's nothing much going on in the remix aside from the drums. I like how authentic it may seem to sounding jungle-like, but it's a disappointing direction that ultimately doesn't do the original one justice.
Again, I find myself surprised as I'm drawn to tracks from ZX, Legends, Battle Network and Star Force...because to be perfectly honest aside from ZX, I really don't find that the latter three series having great music (I'm sure someone will defend those and point out examples of otherwise). Theory of N, Rexy, Nutritious, Level 99, halc, and Morse/Cannon's tracks are very interesting and catchy.
By no means I'm saying that the rest of the tracks suck, but they haven't drawn me as much during my first listen.
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In the late 90s/early 2000s, I suddenly had a huge interest in listening to game music outside of the games themselves, i.e. having mp3s of them or something. As with most people, I'll shamefully say that I did so via share programs like Kazzaa and iMesh. Admittedly, however, back then I never realized that they actually released official game music albums, and by the time I did realize, it turns out that most of them were sold in Japan and I had no ability to import whatsoever. Poor excuses, I know, but that's how I got my fix. I like to believe that I've been compensating for my thievery during last couple of years as importing and downloading official OSTs digitally are easier than ever today thanks to the power of the internet.
I remember some of the first stuff I looked for in these share programs were Mario music, Zelda music, Final Fantasy, and Valkyrie Profile...the latter of which had been an obsession of mine because it started a bug in how cool and dynamic game music can sound (kick-ass samples). I stumbled upon some mixes and mash-ups along the way of course, the most infamous one was the erroneously tagged Rabbit Joint arrangement of the Zelda theme (tagged as System of a Down's cover). Little did I realize that this would lead me to OCR. I then started searching for game mp3s and remixes via search engines like Yahoo and Altivista, and stumbled upon this site around 2004.
As soon as I discovered what OCR's all about, I began a download and search frenzy. Some of the earliest OC ReMix I recall listening to were Dale North's incredible take on Rena's Theme and The Ken Song. My growing obsession with Motoi Sakuraba and Dale's memorizing remix caused an explosion of feelings. Needless to say, I was in for the long run. Eventually (2 years later), I started participating in the forums. I'm sure some remix I heard was so good it made me want to review it badly.
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Did what I could to help at the time, sadly I'm not in a position to do so anymore. However, I'm glad you didn't gave up on that project, for it has a lot of potential ...I mean, come on people, it's Motoi-freaking-Sakuraba we're talking about here!
However, you're gonna need to move mountains to get this show on the road. As I previously told you, it wouldn't hurt to gain the assistance of someone experienced to co-direct this beast. It's really a matter of getting the ball rolling and not dropping it halfway through, if possible. Lastly, and even though the play on words is justified in this case, you might wanna consider changing the album title, in light of some of the negative connotations that it carries. Your call though.
Good luck with this project SwordBreaker.
You helped a ton, man! Thanks so much for re-writing the main project concept and making those banners. I understand that there are so many projects going on here and so man veterans busy with things, so I guess this will have to stay on the backburner for awhile until we build up more interest and more people are free to contribute. As for the album title, if I think of a better one, we can definitely change it.
Are you just trying to contact people on here? Cause you may need to go to other places to get people to help.Initially, I started off here...but then I started contacting people in Dwelling of Duels and YouTube. I actually got one guy from DoD who signed up but I haven't heard from him in awhile. I'll keep hunting around in other places though.
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Congrats on the launch! I browsed around and noticed that you actually put a testimonial quote by me in your pudding page. I feel so honored! It's the last one under music testimonials in which you listed me as an OCR fan.
If I ever have a music-related project down the line for some reason or another, you would definitely be one of the first in my list to contact.
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I didn't realize you were taking claims and stuff, letting people pick whatever they want is a good idea. I didn't look close enough to see the claims list x_X. It's being somewhat overshadowed. as for recruiting, you have to ask people personally, but make sure the first post is organized in a really confident and easy-to-read way
Yeah I've been PMing left and right. Some take a long time to respond.
I think that the first post is as clear as crystal if you look at it. I made it very simplified and basic. All I need is a suitable banner as the one I have now is somewhat outdated.
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Can we get a Star Ocean 1 / First Departure album going into production?
Then if it works out we can move on to 2, or just.... just focus on 1
What do you think we should do Brandon? I'm honestly surprised by the lack of interest even though the initial surge was incredible and overwhelming. I changed the project twice based on the suggestions of the forum goers here and still I'm having difficulty recruiting people let alone managing this. Even the ones who signed up have fallen off the radar despite contacting them several times.
I figure that the easiest thing to do is to open up the project to everything that's Tri-Ace and composed by Motoi, giving goers the freedom to choose whatever track they please, but for some reason that didn't work, too.
I fear that changing the direction of the album again will make things worse, but at this point I'm open to any suggestions that will make interest start up again.
So in essence, you think that going Star Ocean is a good idea? Just the first game? Not a compilation of the best of the Star Ocean series (20 track limit)? Because I don't think a lot of guys here in OCR are huge Star Ocean 1 fans due to the lack of interest.
I'm also thinking of deleting and restarting the whole thread because everyone had a bad taste due to the confusing direction.
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Man, awesome listening party. Awesome songs. Really, really good entries. While I won't be submitting mine anytime soon (it's not that good, very rushed and unfinished) I had a lot of fun making it and being part of history. I discovered Dwelling of Duels through OCR, very soon after I started participating here. Ever since I heard virt's Blood of Ganon arrangement (a classic), I was hooked. Perfect way to celebrate 10 years. You guys should go vote and listen to those entries.
Examples of ones which blew me away (thanks to strefig for uploading these to YT):
Pikmin 3 -
Super Spy Hunter -
Super Metroid -
F-Zero -
Castlevania 1, 2 -
Final Fantasy VII, Shantae, Pinball -
Wizards & Warriors -
Chrono Trigger -
To The Moon -
Stunts, Indianapolis, Test Drive -
That's not even the half of it! I personally lean towards these as the mind blowers but almost all of the entries are really good stuff. Can't highlight them all.
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I posted a request years back of a remix of this track, made in this style. I never thought it would be fulfilled. Sadly, Yoshi's Island OST is truly underrated. Only a few mixes exist and most of them are for Athletic.
The original theme of the final boss is one of the most badass (no pun intended) themes out there and one of Kondo's most unique tracks in my opinion. This remix does it a lot of justice with the in-your-face electric guitars. Excellent playing. My only complaint is that it ends too soon. It really could've went on longer in my opinion. Maybe it's because the intro is a bit too long.
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Giving Unknown from MC a run for its money, eh?
I love it. Old school rap at its finest and obviously fits the Sonicverse of music quite well. All of the rappers are great on the mic and the lyrics are well-written. In addition to all the neat little Sonic references in the lyrics, as a wrestling fan that Y2J Break the Walls bit is great! Also, DIGI's British accent adds a certain flair to his part that I don't usually hear in rap music.
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SoS was just Symphonia and Phantasia
there's more Tales of than just those two
Yeah, you're right...but they arguably picked the most popular two Tales games. As I said, I'm trying to go for a certain theme with this album by having Tri-Ace and Tri-Crescendo games since they truly contain great and under-appreciated music. Besides, I don't want to cut in if there's a Summoning of Spirits sequel in the works.
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What, no golden sun!?! I see the title of the thread, and i get really excited, b\c he did the music for golden sun, one of my all time fav games... doesnt get much love lately, not after unleash never took off. Anyways,im not trying to be too critical, but why are you limiting the games? Is it to keep the album focused, because I can respect that.
Edit: tales of symphonia too, man, youre killing me...
Yeah, I'm basically limiting the games to keep the project focused and give it a certain theme. Tales games in particular are definitely a no-no since OCR has already done an excellent job in covering them with Summoning of Spirits. As for Golden Sun, who knows? I do see Golden Sun project threads around but they don't fit the theme of this concept. Maybe if we get it done, we can do a Volume 2 of sorts and include Golden Sun then.
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Any progress on this album? I'd love to join the project, I'd like to claim. Also, is this project now solely focusing on Baten Kaitos?
Hey, man. Welcome aboard! House of Cards it is. Excellent choice btw.
Regarding the project itself, there has been a lot of internal and external discussion on its direction, so sorry for the confusion. The first page has everything revised and up to date so please read up on that. To answer your question though; no, it's not just Baten Kaitos. I welcome any game composed by Sakuraba and developed by Tri-Ace and Tri-Cresendo, but we're limiting the album to 20 tracks or so in order to have focus.
Progress will begin once more recruits join in and claim stuff. So if you know anyone from you end, feel free to invite him/her.
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[21:04] <Bahamut> kristi posted this earlier btw: Nobuo Uematsu on Jake's arrangement: "I was shocked! I have to buy a glass of beer for this guy!"
[21:04] <Bahamut> on fb
[21:05] <@Liontamer> yeah, Don Kotowski from SEMO shared it with Uematsu, and that was his reaction to Impresario
Hilarious reaction. Hope it happens for the hell of it.
What's more to say that hasn't been said already? One of the album's biggest highlights. Quality work from Jake as usual. The brilliance is meshing original lyrics with the in-game ones and turning what's essentially an opera-inspired track into a rock musical. It sounds like a terrible idea on paper, a recipe for disaster even...but the execution is absolutely awesome. This transformation has Moulin Rouge written all over it in my opinion. The vocals are excellent. The guitars, piano, and drums are played really well and sound great. If any of his previous work was an indication, this track alone should be the reason why any game company should hire Jake as a composer or arranger. I've been a fan since I heard his "Blood of Ganon" Zelda medley on DoD many years ago. I know I may sound corny by saying this, but I felt that at that time, he was something special.
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This would be a nice thing to be a part of, but I'm not sure if I'm as good as the people already involved. If you need a sample or something, let me know.
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20 minutes in thus far. Cool stuff. Liking those stories, particularly the zircon being a punk one.
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I'm still going through my first listen of the album towards the end of disc 4 and I'm really liking what I'm hearing so far. Got a lot of good picks for multiple listens, which is unusual with an album this big.
I'll have to say though, the breakout star of this album is XPRTNovice, who is ironically not a novice. I usually skim some of the tracks I like during my first listen, but this dude always demanded my attention with his remixes. Each one of them is just excellent, particularly the Spanish take on Mt. Koltz. That's the first track in the album that made me go WOW...honestly an unexpected and brilliant take on the theme. Flawlessly executed. I thought he was a newcomer on OCR, but when I clicked on his past remixes, I realized that he wasn't. Incidentally, that FF7 debut track he made awhile back is one of my favorite works for the site recently. I'm not surprised by the quality of his work here after I realized his past remix.
Other than that, virt's track is currently my favorite thus far next to Mt. Koltz's remix. The last thing I expected from a Maria & Draco remix is to be a pop-rock theatrical one, with original vocals mixed in with the classic ones from the game. I've always knew that virt was a good singer, even before Double Dragon Neon. He has an obscure track for DoD which was a remix from Rock Band. Anyway, if anyone would've told me that Maria & Draco's remix would be a theatrical rock version, I would've been upset because this idea sounds like disaster on paper. In reality, however, it's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Little by little I'm heading towards one of my most anticipated remixes, Dancing Mad.
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Moody. Love it.
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Here's the double edge sword in Anita's videos about damsels in distress; it's great that she's pointing out the similarities in games by highlighting the use of this motif...maybe developers will try to approach characters and plots more uniquely moving forward. However, when it's all said and done; it's a motif. It's been around for centuries. It doesn't exist to discriminate females or feed male's egos. It's built upon the natural characteristics of men and women. Each gender has elements that define one over another. Men are naturally more strong physically and women tend to be gentle. Both are positives for each gender. The damsel in distress motif simply exploits said characteristics to make entertaining stories, which may be based on how civilization operated then. Today, lines are blurred and it may not always be the case, but the characteristics that make each gender special remains the same.
Having said that, her first video rubbed me the wrong way because she was too nitpicky on classic games which used the motif. She overanalyzed way too much, going out of her way to demonize them. Back then, there wasn't any hidden messages behind classic games. Her second video, however, is really an eye-opener and well-articulated...probably due to games being more modern and cinematic, the laziness and exploitation are more obvious. She also does tread back and doesn't call developers and game creators out as being sexist and whatnot. It's just the common trend of modern games using the same motif over and over again is improper and lazy.
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Welcome Samereye to the family. He's going to be tackling Fallen Leaves from Star Ocean 3. Actually, this track is already done as it has been featured on DoD years ago. But he's going to revamp it for this project.
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Guys, as soon as you're able to fly, go on top of the hills next to the Temple of Trials and tame that Dino familiar. He's freakin' insane and made the game much easier for me. He's a natural tank and his attack power is insane! He's harder to level up though.
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The most unique factor about this mix is the cool intro/outro with the awesome guitars and minimalistic approach. Very well done with those. While the bulk of the electronica is well constructed in combining both Wily and Flash Man's themes, it does delve into "been there, done that" territory. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to very similar styles of mixes to both Wily and Flash Man so I'm kind of meh about the electronica here. Nonetheless, the mix doesn't overstay its welcome and makes the statement it wants to make. I just wish that the feel of the intro/outro remained throughout the whole track.
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I can't believe that you guys only practiced and hour or two before. Watched Sonic Gargles and Walk on Water, two remixes I'm really fond of, and the performance was top-notch! Keep it up. OCU needs some competition!
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I couldn't find a specific thread about the game so I thought I'd make one. I just finished the Old Smokey volcano stage and I'm having the time of my life with it. It's like a perfect combination between old school and new school JRPG ideas. Imagine if you will, a combination of Dragon Quest 8, DQ9, Final Fantasy 12 and Pokemon. That's how I'd describe the game in a nutshell.
The art and graphical presenation are really, really good...particularly for Ghilbi fans. It's amazing how a six-year old console can produce such a beautiful game in this day and age...even with the superior PC games, Ni No Kuni still looks great. Nothing like it in the market right now. Very charming presenation and plot. And don't get me started on the orchestrated soundtrack...shades of Dragon Quest 8 here.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Discuss away! Your liked/dislikes. Favorite mechanics. Favorite familiars, characters, etc. I'm quite fond of Drippy's dialog quirks and scottish accent. Tidy!
Project M: Version 3.0 Releases Dec. 9th!
in General Discussion
Posted
I got around to giving this a whirl today, and man I really wish my friends were remotely interested in Brawl so we can get back in the groove...because Project M is quite excellent. I gave a couple of characters a spin against the AI, and I'm really feeling that Melee vibe. It feels fast, tight, balanced, and competitive. Even though we really loved Brawl, it was sort of treated as a party game with my friends, wheras Melee was a more serious fighter for us.
The intricate adjustments are great! For some reason though, I can't find anyone in Wi-Fi even though I have the Wi-Fi safe one enabled. Do I have to exchange friend codes or is the "With Anyone" mode supposedly working? I went into spectate mode just to be sure, and I do get results immediately. However, upon watching the matches, there's apparently some de-syncing as I constantly see characters falling to their deaths intentionally.