SwordBreaker

Gotta agree, it's a pretty weird re-interpretation of Areith's Theme. We'll see how it goes once I listen to the full version, though. Regardless, the meldey's a VERY cool teaser. I'm especially digging those previews of LuIzA's "Pizza" part and that remix of "Crazy Motorcycle". The variety's of genres really shows the strength of this project.

I really enjoyed those previews...especially the one with Jill (Breathing in You)...I'm kind of addicted to the preview version now...it reminds me of one of those cool trance songs with female vocals, like Above and Beyond's "Can't Sleep". Jill's voice sounds kind of different from her OCR stuff, too...I can't exactly put my finger on it... Nice work, man. Hopefully this album sells well. It's possible that I buy it just out of curiousity...

The game itself was an FF7 rip-off. It was clearly made to capitalize on the success of FF7. I remember the battle system to be unique, though...had this Super Mario RPG-like timed button presses, yet it was A LOT more frustrating because you have to get the timing JUST right. Yeah...I remember some of the music to be quite awesome. Even though I haven't played the game in YEARS, I remember the "battle music", "menu music", and "victory theme" quite well. Overall, there was this cool blend of techno, rock (keyboards), and ambient orchestrations.

Yeah...I've noticed that some people "Gameripped" it, yet I would REALLY love the official soundtrack to be released, too. Nothing beats CD quality! My theory of why it's taking so long is because there are going to be some "bonus tracks" in there. I recall Kondo REALLY wanting the soundtrack to be orchestrated, yet he couldn't do so due to time constraints. So maybe we'll get a couple of live orchestrated versions of some TP tracks alongside the official soundtrack. I really dig that "Western Movie" remix of the main theme which plays in the Hidden Village.

Wow...never heard of the game or the track, but the awesomeness of this ReMix made me REALLY curious. I need to play this game sometime. Anyway, again...wow...the playing and the recording quality are flawless to my ears...as DJP said it really feels like four individual people are playing Violins, not one. This ReMix actually reminds me of the "Zora's Domain" cover in the Ocarina of Time "Hyrule Symphony" album. Awesome stuff.

One of my favorite vocal ReMixes ever. I really like the vibe of this remix. All the elements blend well with one another. Zircon's work blends well with Taucer's guitar. I also love the "chemistry" between Pixie and Samurai. Both have nice voices, and the somewhat cheesy lyrics works well. I won't comment on Pixie's voice since I've done that several times, but Samurai's voice...well his range isn't as high as Pixie's, yet I really dig it because it has that whole pop-rock vibe to it which suits the track well. It's like both vocalists are actually replying to each other in the song. The voices don't need any "work" or effects done of them because I feel that it'll ruin the concept of this track. I did hear that extra production work was done on the voices from Zircon, though...since Pixie recorded it via a small mic. So the quality achieved from that is quite impressive. I prefer D-Lux's part to be sung instead of the whole "monotone rap" part...it would've been even cooler if Pixie's/Samurai's voices were layered upon that part or something...yet being different is good. Electric guitar solo kicks ass.

Like everyone else, I also loved that guitar chopping. Very moody trip-hop like remix. Excellent work.

LOL @ 3-4's boss. I'll have to play that multiple times to see the various replies. Yeah...that space chapter is also annoying the hell out of me...still at 4-1.

Your first game-related gig, eh Jill? This must be a dream come true. You must be nervous and excited in the same time. Huge congrats, dudet! Be sure to fill us in on the recording process. Also, if you can, take lots of pictures. When are you going to record, anyhow? Also, how did you land this gig? Did they find you or vise-versa?

Man...I just entered 3-4. I have a feeling that it'll make me laugh like a fish out of water. The whole chapter is so freggin' hilarious. Man...that showdown with Bowser. Classic, priceless, and REALLY funny!!! "I'm AAA final boss material!" LOL

I got an advanced copy from Nintendo of America a week ago since I'm part of their Sage program. I was surprised to get a title as big as this, actually. They usually send out typical handheld titles. Thank God for Nintendo! Anyway, I've gotten into playing it recently. Guys, if you've been avoiding the Paper Mario series because it's RPG-based, then this is the game for you! Also, despite the radical change from an RPG to a platformer/puzzler/'lite' RPG, Paper Mario fans will still dig this game. Dialogue's hilarious as usual. Lots of references and jabs at Nintendo and the hardcore internet community in general, you could say it seems like 'nerd-related' humor. I noticed a really funny Zelda II reference to "I AM ERROR". Gameplay is so freakin' unique. I've never played a game like this before. Basically, it has a 2D platformer backbone. However, you get to switch to 3D point of view and man...you'll realize how smart the puzzles are once you see the 2D-to-3D switch in action. The RPG elements feel weird in a 2D platformer, but it works nonetheless. It almost feels like a real-time battle system integrated into a 2D perspective. Stomp on a Goomba, deal MASSIVE damage, gain EXP, status alignments, etc. Most of the stuff you know is there. This game is so worth your money. Plus, it serves as a nice wait for Super Mario Galaxy.

Talk about dark. Not my cup of tea, but very well-produced. Love the concept of the vocals.

As some people must've noted, I was also immediately reminded of Green Day's "Time of Your Life" when I first listened to this remix. While DJP voice isn't as good as Pixietricks, that doesn't make him a bad singer by any means. The singing really compliments the feel of this remix and the meaning behind the lyrics becuase I can almost feel the emotion behind DJP's voice. The pain of being away from your hometown and yearning to get back...it's actually conveyed through the singing. The guitars are also very organic and well-played. Ultimately, this is a very relaxing, simple, short and sweet remix that doesn't need any synths or effects to sound great. That's what we need more of in OCR.

I really hope round 3 starts sometime this month...I got medical finals in May and I won't be free until June 9, which means that I'll be unable to participate.

Well...the original Final Fantasy Tactics introduced me to the world of Stratagy RPGs, so I'm sure I'm going to get this one once it gets released in English. Hopefully, the somewhat questionable localization of the original gets improved in the PSP port. I remember getting REALLY confused with the dialogue at times. I'm all for new characters and stuff, but in the same time I fear that Balthier and that FFTA dude will screw up the original storyline and the Ivalice timeline continuity. I hear that Balthier has a major role in FFT's story so I'm kind of curious of how Square-Enix is approaching his addition. I mean...Cloud's addition was pretty cool and it didn't screw up anything whatsoever since his backstory was explained via time travel. But as for Balthier, we all know that he's actually from Ivalice of a different time or dimension. Same thing with the FFTA guy. The FFTA series takes place in a difference universe according to the creators.

Nice pics. I especially LOVE that spiral staircase one. Whoever organized that pic ROCKS. Glad you people enjoyed that meet-up.

Exactly. A rock-oriented remix would literally...rock!

It's nice to see that there are going to be sweet plans for the One Winged Angel choir. I wonder if it'll be in Latin or another language. If you need a real additional vocalist on that, I can contribute. I did a choir part before for LuIzA. Keep in mind that I know Arabic and English, not Latin.

I've always wanted to make a cappella piece similar to this. After reading the judges' decisions, I'm now a bit afraid to step up since I'm also thinking of putting no background instrumentation whatsoever, unlike this piece. After all, it is called cappella for a reason, eh? In the same time, however, this piece inspired me that anything is possible. Very haunting and ambient stuff here. Love it. You have some nice pipes on you, too. Sure, people critisize the flaws here and there, but to me they're being too picky since the great stuff in this track overpower the minor "sloppy vocal execution" parts. Also, the instrumentation is more than enough for a genre like this. If Neil put in more instruments, the haunting voice would've been hidden in the background, thus eliminating the purpose of this remix. Very nice work, Niel. I'm hoping that my upcoming ReMix has the same quality of this one.

So now the big question is: when is round three? lol...I know I'm nagging, but this was an exciting experience for me. I got a few other ideas regarding what track we can use next. How about one of OCR's recently-released stuff? One which really can use singing/lyrics or something like that? It doesn't need one which already has lyrics... Another idea is to "borrow" a finished track from one of the upcoming OCR projects. You never know, lyrics may even add more creativity...

Just read my feeback on Magical Kingdom. Very useful, guys. I'm so glad most of you liked what was going on with the lyrics, as I thought they would sound mostly cheesy. A Cookie for anyone who can find out the "reference to a fantasy novel" in the chrous...coughgooglecough.... Now as for the singing and production issues, I think the latter suffered more than the former. I understood from you guys that there were swollowed words, strange effects, and strange sounds. See, it's my first time actually producing sound via Sony's "Sound Forge" so I'm happy that I was able to pull off a clean mix without ant clipping and whatnot. The stange sounds mostly result from experimentation on echo and reverb...there are some default choices I can pick from, which I did...but I wanted to be more in control via manual settings. The swollowed sounds result from not exactly mastering the art of compression. I did a 3:1 compression, but I'm not sure if it turned out well. There's also the matter of volume of the singing compared to the mix itself; I tried as much as possible to make them blend, didn't turn out as well as I thought. Now as for the singing, I'll try to be more "confident" next time as you guys suggested. There's this thing with the "record" button which makes you think that you're actually singing in front of people. Talk about stage fright, eh? Man...this is REALLY harder than I originally thought... Hmm...ideas for next round....maybe first place can pick a game soundtrack or a particular track to be remixed? I'll try to come up with more stuff...

Thanks, DA. Glad you enjoyed listening. Indeed, Hale-Bopp's entry was awesome. Nice work with yours, too...that 'funny part' you referred to in one of your posts was actually enjoyable to listen to. I'm glad I'm not the only one who used a different language...if only you had a better mic, Broken. Anyway, this competition taught me that production isn't as easy as I expected. Tough stuff. I started noticing some issues after I sent my final version. Still though, it's nice to simply gain the experience of doing everything on your own.

Congrats to you both. I had fun listening to your entries and being a part of this. 8 votes, though? Come on...I expected more than that. Oh well, can't win 'em all. On to round 3!

Yay. I'm excited, too. I wonder how many people voted?

Aww...that sucks, man. Was looking forward to hearing more of your work. Seriously, man. Movin' is very enjoyable. Listening to it frequently. Do you have anything posted in OCR, 2P?