SwordBreaker

Just sent the first wave of invites.

Okay, I've updated the first post and taken a preemptive strike; we are now recruiting for Volume 1 - Baten Kaitos Series! It had a full play-list done awhile back so I figured that we're not in a rush to complete the track-listing of the other series since we're not going to be working on them in the near future, but suggestions are always welcome. Check the first post for more details and start claiming those awesome tracks, remixers. Make me proud.

YES! Where is CarboHydroM?! Post that ....NOW!!!

I remember listening to about half of it at the time of its DoD release and really digging it. I didn't complete my listen due to time constraints and laziness, but I will soon. Promise. From what I've listen to though, it's PoD at his best! Must-download. I'm so happy with the re-evaluation of OCR submission standards. That means we can finally get classics such as CarboHydroM's EPIC A Link to the Past Medley "Unsealed". This needs to be posted in OCR!!!

Noob question, I don't see any integrated tools for formatting while posting in the OCR forums. Is there any way to access them or will I have to code everything manually? Is there a legend some place so that I know how to bold and link 'cause I kind of suck at those. EDIT: NEVER MIND. Found it. Noted for both tracks.

Updated the first post with my initial track listing for the Star Ocean series with links to sources on YouTube. It's still doesn't contain my complete and finalized picks. I'm pretty much satisfied with my Star Ocean 4 picks but have not completed the rest of the series. Again, feel free to suggest your favorites but what I'm really looking for is help with Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time. I only know of one awesome track but in general I'm just not familiar with the OST at all since it's the only installment I haven't played. Once that's out of the way, we can start the recruitment phase...but as we've been discussing and mentioned in the first post, it looks like we're going for releasing this project in volumes like OCR's Final Fantasy V. The question is, which series do we start with first in terms of production phase? I'm all ears, but leaning towards Baten Kaitos first since it has the most underrated and under-remixed music...and that's what I'd like to push out to be remixed first. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Will do, Bahamut!

Congrats to POD! Huge fan of your work in DoD and OCR so it's awesome that you've actually won this! Keep us updated with your work with Uematsu and EBP! I would love to hear behind the scenes stuff.

Yup. As I mentioned in my reply to Brandon, I'm totally down with that! It's a very practical idea for a project in a grand scale such as this. I just updated the first post with this idea.

Bonkers, that's exactly what I'm doing. I wish you would read the first post, man. Everything you said here are my exact intentions. I'm not doing a 9 disc album. My idea is the following: the best of a.k.a. selected tracks from three game series: Star Ocean, Valkyrie Profile and Baten Kaitos. I'm not including all tracks composed by Sakuraba...only the ones in games by Tri-Ace and Tri-Crescendo. And if you see from the first post, I'm selecting specific tracks to arrange, not all tracks. So this concept may end up fitting 4 discs only. Also, I want selected tracks to feel true to the original feel. Yes, no town themes turned into heavy metal. Not that extreme of a jump. Again, I'm not doing 9 discs literally. But I know what you're getting at from a figurative point of view. While I agree with your concerns, as I explained many times before, I want this album to have a theme in addition to be a Motoi Sakuraba tribute. And that theme is that it must be a series he worked on which has been developed by Tri-Ace and Tri-Crescendo. That's why I'm restricting the content. I want to have a set track-list and a theme going on. After all, it is in the official rules of making an OCR album. Have a theme going on. Have a tracklist with no disjointed ideas or picks. I'm just following the site's rules. That being said, I love your idea of following the vein of OCR's Final Fantasy V. Dividing up this big concept into separate mini-albums is something that I'm totally down with. For example, going by the theme of this album, we can divide it up into three releases: a Valkyrie Profile album, a Baten Kaitos album, and Star Ocean album. And again, if there's enough interest in this project, we can make a fourth bonus mini-album with the miscellaneous stuff not under my rules, including games such as Eternal Sonata, Resonance of Fate, Radiata Stories, Wolf Team games, etc. But let's get the main series out of the way before we jump the gun. I'm really sorry for not being around for the past few week or so. Been really busy with work. Since I haven't gotten any further suggestions from Valkyrie Profile, I'll open up the Star Ocean part right now for suggestions. I'll update the track-list soon, but for now, feel free to suggest your favorites. I'm particularly interested in suggestions from Star Ocean 3 since that's the only one I'm not familiar with at all. I only know of one track that I love from that game: Fallen Leaves.

Already listened to this through DoD. Is it me or does it sound cleaner from the DoD version? Either way, excellent stuff from house as usual. Zelda II's music is so underrated...I guess that's because Kondo didn't compose it. But it truly has some of the catchiest tunes in the series, and you managed to do it a lot to justice with those guitars. Glad you kept it simple. Drums would've killed the mood.

Well, I'm not exactly an accomplished OC ReMixer myself (all I did was be part of a choir in one track), but I'm suggesting this project anyway because I'm obsessed with the idea. As long as it can generate interest from the community, the big guys may be attracted, too. Yami and Gar23, I'm not limiting this project to accomplished remixers so what do you have to lose if you try out on a track?

First post updated with my suggestions to the Valkyrie Profile part. Open to other suggestions from remixers and forums dwellers! Thanks to Kuolema for his suggestions and links. I'll keep this open for a couple of days or so then get to the hardest and longest part: Star Ocean series.

The only game I'm familiar with is Saga Frontier II. Really underrated indeed. Very good job with that, OA. My personal favorites of my first listen are: The Village of Decay for String Quartet (Ghouls'n Ghosts): absolutely beautiful violin playing. Hymn of the Eternal Empire [suikoden]: the vocals are excellent! Organ is really good, too.

Very good point, Kuolema. Haven't thought of that, actually. I've been too used to using the word disc in a digital sense rather than physical.

Well, it's just my opinion of things, particularly if we're talking about his modern games. Most of his PS1 era tracks are phenomenal, with very little filler in between. But Baten Kaitos and after contain a lot more music than the PS1 games, so there are tracks that I listen to that aren't up to par with others in terms of catchiness...or ones that feel too familiar. Again, I know this is all rather subjective, but I can't help but feel this way. Besides, it's not like I'm going to outright decline tracks that are outside of these playlists. Like I said, if a remixer feels really passionate about a certain track I didn't include, then we'll go for it. It's just that if I keep it open from the start, I fear that the tracks I want to prioritize would be overlooked. I'd rather see two different takes on one of the tracks I've mentioned than two remixes of tracks I don't feel as passionate about. If the tracks I've suggested get no claims at all, then so be it...we'll come up with alternatives.

I agree with the VP1 picks. All of those tracks are just so cool. I'm not as familiar with the VP2 OST, but we'll get to that bridge soon. For now though, thoughts on my current tracklist from the Baten Kaitos games?

. I really want this album to have a certain focus on his best tracks from me and the community collectively, not any and all tracks from these franchises. There are exceptions if the remixer is so passionate about a track I didn't include, but that's about it. Because to be honest, even though Motoi is a great composer, not every track he makes is special. There's a lot of filler in his stuff which I don't want to focus on. Also, I prefer to keep the concept of focusing on the tri-ace and tri-crescendo games, and thus all the Tales games are out of the question. OCR pretty much covered those quite well so re-doing them again here is completely unnecessary.

You're right. Not much difference between the two. First Evolution is basically a sound upgrade of the original. I think we can put each of these tracks depending on where they debuted first. I'm pretty sure Mission to Deep Space first appeared in Star Ocean 2. The other two came up first in Valkyrie Profile, right? But yeah, we'll definitely have these three up as they're common tracks in tri-Ace's games. I particularly enjoy Mission to Deep Space the most.

Well since you started suggesting tracks first, I think it would be good if we start brainstorming on finalizing the Baten Kaitos tracks first. We're pretty much on the same wavelength when it comes to the coolest tracks of the game. I particularly love To the End of the Journey of Glittering Stars. Such an awesome work of art. As for Eternal Sonata, yeah that completely skipped my mind for some reason. As I said though, let's finish up the main game series first. And if there's enough attention, that bonus disc could happen! Yes, that's exactly right. One disc to each game series, with a possible 4th disc for the one-hit wonders from the tri developers. And yes, that fanfare is cool, but since it's short I'm sure it'll have to be included as part of another and longer track, a medley of sorts. It would be nice to have you, but I'm still not sure of the best process to manage this project. The usual trend is to have people audition and show their past work before determining to let them join...but I'm not ultra-technical like OC ReMixers or OCR Judges so my picks are purely based on experience of listening to many remixes and criticizing/reviewing them. I love that battle music. I only just listened to the original though. I'm more attached to the First Evolution (PSP remake) versions of the original Star Ocean tracks since that's the one I'm exposed to.

Tri-Fecta ~ a Motoi Sakuraba tribute album Concept This album aims to pay tribute to an underrated yet extremely talented video game composer: Motoi Sakuraba. Some of his best work was created under the guise of developers Tri-Ace and Tri-Crescendo, and the focus of this project will be exclusively on the games developed by them. The goal is to produce a ~20-tracks album, which may grow larger depending on interest. The schedule is TBD after the initial claims/WIPs roll in. Guidelines Everyone is welcome, whether you're a posted ReMixer or a newcomer. Select any of the Tri-Ace/Tri-Crescendo game scored by Sakuraba from the list below, and pick a source to remix. Some tracks from Eternal Sonata and Resonance of Fate are exceptions, but everything else applies. Game List & OST Playlists Star Ocean (SNES)/First Departure (PSP): Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (GBC) Star Ocean: The Second Story (PSX): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJXR4r3PwMvvO3PSqjV6yU6mNtEiau-Yh Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2): Star Ocean: The Last Hope (XB360): Valkyrie Profile (PSX): Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (NDS) Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (GC): Baten Kaitos Origins (GC): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAED704C56FEEF08B Infinite Undiscovery (XB360) Resonance of Fate (XB360) Eternal Sonata (XB360/PS3): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5A4B72E7D3160EBE Beyond the Labyrinth (3DS) Tracklist & Claims (Baten Kaitos) [Claimed by Garpocalypse] (Baten Kaitos) [Claimed by Devastus] (Baten Kaitos) [Claimed by Kuolema]Mission to Deep Space (Inspired by Star Ocean 3 version) [Claimed by Light_Of_Aether] & Medley (Baten Kaitos) [Claimed by Ergosonic]All is Twilight (Valkyrie Profile) [Claimed by LemonLime] [Claimed by TheSamereye] [Claimed by Cash]Help Wanted -I'm looking for a co-director, ideally an experienced ReMixer, to help with quality assurance of tracks. -Instrument players: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, violin, and male and female vocals. These are the most important ones that fit within the album's scope, but other instrument players are more than welcome to lend their talents. Past Updates: [October 5 2012]: doing a little housekeeping. Pulled some playlists off YouTube for the soundtracks of each of the games. It's not complete yet, but I found more than half of the games and will update them soon. I've been sending invites left and right and starting to get some replies. Ergosonic just joined in and hoping for more people soon. [August 31 2012]: You guys are going to kill me for this, but I'm forced to change the direction of the project (again) due to low interest. Thought long and hard and decided that this is the best course of action. I tried following the OCR guidelines in having a project concept, but certain limitations turn off a lot of people. So instead, I'm keeping the tracklist open to choices by the remixer within one unified concept: games composed by Motoi Sakuraba under the guise of Tri-Ace and Tri-Crescendo. That's all you need to do; pick and chose from the many tracks under this banner. [July 9th 2012]: been busy with life and work lately so I haven't been around to check in much. Progress is slow and steady. Replies to PMs have been slow as well but they're coming in. Updated the track list with the new claims. It's business as usual. [March 31st 2012]: progress is going slowly but surely, with some nice interest building up in the thread and outside. So far, we have Devastus and Light of Aether agreeing to whip up some tracks for us, with hopefully many more on the way. [March 14th 2012]: Tri-fecta: Baten Kaitos refocus: thanks to the suggestions of Dj Mokram, we're going to refocus this album concept and finish what matters first: Baten Kaitos! I'm sending a couple of invites slowly but surely. Any suggestions of certain artists who are free and want to work on this album? I'll keep sending invites, but I'd appreciate direction from you guys.

Can't believe I didn't comment before. Love the garage rock vibe this mix gives out. Very gritty and scratchy guitars...just the way I like 'em. It escalates a simple melody to new heights with the interpretation, too.

Well this is totally unexpected. Came out of left field indeed. So far, so good. Listening to the first few tracks and I'm liking what I'm hearing. Great timing as we celebrate Skyward Sword and the franchise's 25th Anniversary.

Absolutely beautiful and tear-jerking. It's very interesting to hear different piano interpretations of the Lost Woods track, particularly when comparing this piece to the recently-posted Dancing Leaves by Doc Nano, another really good piano arrangement. Both tracks are similar yet very different. Laura's is more somber and better mixed, yet Nano's is a lot more creative and fast-paced. Don't even make me choose which is better. Both are amazing.

Excellent stuff, though I can't help but hear a lot of similarities to this fan performance: Perhaps you guys were inspired by this video? There are a lot of structural similarities, particularly the use of some instruments and vocals. Comes with the territory I guess. Good stuff either way.