Emunator

Well, there was never any "rule" with the project that stated that the entire original soundtrack had to be covered, so if nobody wanted to take certain sources then that's just how it worked out.

That's EXACTLY what I felt too. I was really excited to get a feel for the whole album so putting such a long track right at the beginning threw me off a bit, but on repeat listens it hasn't bothered me as much and in fact I'm pretty appreciative of the length now

Haha, good to see we've all got our priorities straight Quick question though... Aren't Prometheus and John Revoredo the same person? The DQD history thread seems to imply so, so I'm curious if they were just accidentally listed as 2 separate artists on the project, or if a completely different artist named Prometheus showed up and contributed a track, too Also, in case any updating will ever be done to the website, "Kira of Trance" should redirect to electric concerto's profile here on the OCR forums. I noticed he was one of the artists that didn't have any sort of link attached to his name, but should have.

Alright, my review is all finished. Thanks to all involved for contributing to this!! I'll have some other words tomorrow but I wanted to get that in before the night was up!

Just finished my impressions/mini-review of the first disc in my post on the first page. That was quite a ride!! I also wanted to say that I hate you all eternally for releasing this on the Sunday night that I was saving for a homework cramming night Way to keep me distracted!

That's an Irish Whistle... I think that's what you're talking about, anyway I really have no words for this mix other than what I posted in the album review thread. Absolutely stellar and the story behind the mix only makes it better. This takes a lot of the ideas from "Destined for Greatness"'s first sections and puts them center stage for a mix that's emotionally engaging and very personal.

Alright, I just started listening now! Let's get this party started! Thanks so much for all your effort guys, I'm glad this finally came to fruition. Especially thanks to you avaris for not letting this fail even when the leadership faltered in the early stages. I'm glad you took this under your wing and gave it the direction it needed! Ziwtra did the website, Brad. And yes, it is an AWESOME website! Track By Track analysis as long as I feel like keeping up, lol. Humans Disc Awakening Absolutely orgasmic guitar playing. One of the cleanest acoustic recordings I've ever heard, what a pleasant way to open up the album. Of Sea and Fire Great concept and well executed, complete with awesome soloing and great drums. However, I don't think it needed to be as long as it is, this is one of those rare instances where I think a song is too long. Still a very fun track though. Shattered Dreams Interesting harmonies with the harp, I really like the solo instruments that come in throughout the track, those sound PERFECT!! This one's a keeper, and is definitely one of my favorite orchestral arrangements I've heard in a long time. Gah, I'm effing giddy just listening to this whenever the solo instruments hit certain points. Sooooo good! Cybernetic Love Lots of fun, I love the interplay of instruments and the unconventional guitar riffs especially. This almost sounds like it would be a better fit on the Gears disc, but that's nothing against the track itself. Nice vocal sample at the end. When the Smoke Clears Emotive, longing, and just plain beautiful. Djp did a good job of describing this one as 'organic,' it definitely feels that way. It was great at first but when the ethnic instruments came in it was taken to a whole new level. This reminds me of "Destined for Greatness" but even more accessible. The writeup nearly brought me to tears, this might be the most personal mix I've heard on the project yet. Ship of Emotion and Song This one takes its sweet time going where it's gonna go at first, but damn does it go places! This is an epic on the level of VHD's Lunar Whale mix from FF4. After a few listens, I think I'm ready to agree that this is VHD's best mix yet! Take Flight Nice percussion in the intro, that's a high point for me! This far exceeds everything I've heard from you, Clay, and it's nice to finally see you get your work out to the masses! Thanks for doing justice to my favorite song off of the soundtrack!! The Last Fatima The intro, I'll admit, didn't grab me as much as some of the other orchestral arrangements I've heard so far, but once you got that ethnic flair going it was a good ride! Nice to see you treading new ground like this Shaun! Echoes Well, it's hard to live up to some of Fishy's best mixes, and honestly I don't think this one quite does it but with the age of the song taken into consideration, it's wonderful and very enjoyable to listen to. I love the soloing around 2:40-ish, especially. My Child I loved the description for this song on the website. The vocals feel kind of muffled at times and I can't always make out the lyrics, but this one feels special in its own way The Treasure That Must Be Seduced My other favorite song from the Xenogears soundtrack, this one touched on the parts of the melody that I liked more than "When the Smoke Clears" did, so it's nice to hear. This one sounds a lot better than what I remember hearing it on Dragon Army in terms of mixing, but that might just be hindsight bias taking place I especially love the guitar woven in with the orchestral elements, way to give this one your own touch! In Joy and Sorrow Well, listening to the source and hearing your usual style, I had NO clue what to expect from this mix. This is really weird, haha! Glad you got this one got finished in time for the project though; obvious production issues aside, the lyrics are pretty great and I like the guitar solo too. One of the most unique songs I've heard so far! New Day Well, I'm not gonna lie, the sample quality kind of impedes on my enjoyment of this mix at times. It's not too bad, but it's noticeable for the first half of the mix before the energy amps up. I love Ziwtra's drum work, as always, and it's a great followup to the mood set by Oinkness's track. Welcome to the Human Race I can definitely feel the same style that you used in "31 Seconds" showing through here (which I just discovered last night and have been in love with ever since, by the way!) and it's very good! This song doesn't waste any time going completely crazy and assaulting me with awesomeness! Nice job merging elements from "The Flying Machine" and "31 Seconds" and ultimately creating something completely new and original out of it! First Meeting - The Shadowed Forest This one's a lot more contemplative and paced than anything else I've heard so far, but it's got its own haunting charm. The moments of silence in between sections felt almost too long and it would have been nice to weave the pieces together a bit more coherently, but at the same time I can see how that might have been an intentional stylistic move. Lots of restraint and talent went into this mix and it shows through in the final product! Akkadia Rising (Solo Sax Edit) Something about the sax tone in the intro rubbed me the wrong way, it felt like it was too reverbed, perhaps... This was a nice addition to the project for its uniqueness, but I definitely prefer the other mix when I heard it on the radio preview. It just doesn't feel complete without the extra effects, I think. Very good playing, though, Brad! I'm definitely a fan of your work in general A Trace of Tears Very funky, this kind of style was DEFINITELY a good way to end off the album! Some of DA's best vocal work that I've heard yet, too! I think this could have been even cooler with a sax solo somewhere, but God... this is REALLY good as it is! Even at 4 minutes, though, this one felt like it missed an opportunity for some extra soloing after the guitar... This might be my favorite track off the first disc! Gears Disc Zeno Paradox This was a great way to introduce the Gears disc, it sounds very well produced and bursting at the seams with creative energy! I don't have many specific comments, but this one definitely is a highlight for me! Daijiru (Too Hot for Clothes) Lol, signature AnSo bells make an early appearance here. The sound effects are gonna make this one hard to listen to in polite company, but the rest of the song is funky and enjoyable! The style here is a great fit with the source. Kickass, guys! Crash/Restore The guitar is noticeably fake in the beginning but still fits well with the mix. The rest of the sounds are pretty nice and the arrangement is stellar! Great follow-up on the mood set by Too Hot for Clothes, I think this is my favorite Ziwtra mix off the album! I'm incredibly jealous of your solo-writing skills! Dreamscape While this technically isn't the first time I've heard Nutritious go this way with his music (that shooort K.K. Dirge WIP showed me your potential for writing D&B music like this) but it's great to hear that hidden ability really take flight like this! Moving, energetic, and cohesive, I think this is one of the most pleasant surprises on the album given what I normally expect from the remixer. The traditional orchestral sections that are sandwiched by the big beat segments really fit nicely, and I love your use of new instruments like the sax and guitar. Way to bring down the house, Justin! Please do more stuff like this! Wounded Soldier I'll admit I'm not as impressed with this one as some of the others in terms of complexity or uniqueness, but there's a lot to like about the simple groove and loud, grandiose style. It's nice to hear a debut from you, I look forward to hearing how you tackle Snow Mountain on the Super Mario 64 project, too! If it's anything like this I think I've got something to look forward too Smooth Criminals This is just weird as hell for the first half, but enjoyable in its own right. I like once you find a groove and build upon that, this definitely feels like your style of music. Nice ending, too, but I wish you'd made it go just a biiit faster. Sleeper Dreamer This many straightforward dance songs in a row kind of grated on my nerves, but this song isn't bad by any means, just a little textbook for my tastes. Omen (R3 Mix) The opening sounds crazy on headphones, great bass! Only 30 seconds in, the distortion is already kicking my ass to the ground, and it only improves from there! This definitely feels like one of the highlights of the Gears disc, especially when things pick up around 2:55... that's just crazy! Akkadia Rising I love how this track infuses a bit of a human touch into the Gears disc right when it needed it most. Very cool beats and bass, and Brad's sax definitely fits better with the backing instruments here. Beautiful, and one of the most original parts of the Gears disc! Devil Flare Nice guitar work, and I'm a huge fan of your use of strings in these upbeat arrangements, RoeTaKa! Loud, upbeat, and energetic - I like it!! Binary Chain A bit less intense than the rest of the Gears disc up to this point, but the bouncy synth seems appropriate for the source tune. It's a nice mellower (but still engaging and fun) followup to the ear-busting goodness that preceded it. October Rain Well, the intro leads me to believe that this should be on the Humans disc. As soon as the Phil Collins-style drums came in, I took a double-take to see if I was really hearing things right - that's the most powerful drumming I've ever heard in a remix, and it carries the rest of the song VERY well. Not what I was expecting at all from seeing the mixers involved, but it was a wonderful surprise nonetheless! This one is definitely greater than the sum of its parts! Of God and Man (or is it Lacan Divided? The site and MP3 files say two different things Some of the opening synth choices are a bit harsh on the ears, but they sound cool enough This has got a very distinct "final boss" feel to it, especially with the strange transitions and how every section of the song has a very distinct feel to it. Not to knock your previous work, but I personally think this one blows your FF4 mix out of the water in almost every way possible! Huge improvement! Dogma The dissonant opening felt really weird, and I'm not sure if I liked it, really. However, once the song got going I started to like it a bit more. The guitar (or is it a synth?) was a really cool touch and I like what you did with the track at that point especially. This is one of the stranger tracks on the Gears disc but for the most part, it works. Defective A lot of the leads sound muffled in the introduction. Cool percussion and synth, I like how you mixed that with a slightly organic mood throughout this song. This is definitely not what I expected to hear from either of you guys, but it still retains your own signature styles while taking them in new directions. Shit on Citan CHIPP, you are ridiculous. Friggin insane. I could criticize the flatness of the lead guitar, but I don't think it would matter - this mix is so badass it would just deflect the criticisms back and hit me in the face with them! When I was finished with this mix I was pretty much just sitting there with a dumb look on my face, like... what the hell just happened?

http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2819 It looks like there's a DKC3 mix of Water World (I'm assuming, anyway) in the judging queue, so maybe in the coming months it'll be posted?

I also just wanted to say that seeing Ziwtra's name on the tracklist so many times, as well as in the podcast, prompted me to check out his other material, since I'd never heard of him before. I've been listening to his music nonstop for 2 days now, thanks to this project That was a pretty sweet discovery for me, I can't wait to hear what he's contributed to the project!

This is a BRILLIANT piece of music, it's got the charm of the original but is way more emotive and airy. It really conveys a beautiful sense of flight and motion between the rapid drumbeat and the wonderful flute... gah, I'm in love with this. Have my babies

Woah, I woulda bet my life that that was a Level 99 guitar.

God, that was so epic with the music in the background. The whole interview felt like an amazing inspirational speech, hahaha. Seriously, though, you seem like an awesome guy, Shaun, and it was great getting to hear you talk about the project. I'm glad this all finally came through for you! I'm just about to listen to the preview tracks... Everything I've heard about this project from friends and acquaintances is that it's one of the best projects ever released, so I have really high hopes for this! Alright, so, I'm guessing it went in this order: Binary Chain, Quickening, and Akkadia Rising, right? All of those were great in their own respects (I especially like the percussion and the very unique beat going on in Akkadia Rising) but I have a feeling the most memorable tracks have yet to be heard. I am so psyched for this, best of luck getting this thing released already!

Yes, I love it. Neblix introduced me to it and practically hounds me daily to watch it with him like a rabid dog

Out of all the songs that McVaffe has made, I have no hesitation about declaring this one his best work by a mile! It's just... there's no words for this. It's too awesome. Also, I believe I heard this song in the Okamiden trailer, right? If so, that's a pretty sweet accomplishment!

Hah, this is a really sweet idea! Let's see... I am from the desert (Mamacitas in my Valley) grew up in the 90's (Traveling) love rain (One Girl in All the World) find inspiration in nature (Forest Birdcussion) am an aspiring pianist (Rainbow Snowland)

I'm just gonna leave this here...

You can't go wrong with this guy, either

This has to be my favorite Beatdrop mix. I used to pipe this song over the TV whenever I'd play Super Smash Bros. Melee because the intense beats would really put me in the mood to kick some serious ass! You really tore it up here, Beatdrop... fantastic stuff!

Well, despite the wonky volume levels and overall production being a bit below the bar, this mix has its redeeming merits. It's got a pretty neat mood and is the kind of thing you can drift off into daydreaming while listening to. The arrangement is unfocused which I can see turning a lot of people off, but for the most part this is pretty good. It's not a favorite of mine but when I'm in the right mood it's easy to get lost in this song. Socrates: Check over the Content Policy to see if that answers your question.

Melt-your-face-off awesomeness! Seriously, you did such an awesome job turning the source into something epic and expanding on the original feel... It feels a bit repetitive but on the whole you did a fantastic job! Here's to more from Kirby 64 in the future - you've set the bar high!

I'm hearing a lot of fuzziness throughout the mix when you get a lot of instruments going. I'd look into that. 2:36 is where it hit the hardest, but it's everywhere and it hurts the mix. Your flute/clarinet and piano feel very robotic, mess around with the sustain lengths and humanization a bit so that those instruments don't feel so fake. The samples are alright, but they definitely need the human touch to them. Your string work is pretty good though, that's a strong point in the song IMO. Keep working on this one, it's definitely got potential but I don't think it's ready for submission yet.

The song starts off a bit too abruptly, I'd lead into it with a solo instrument, or at least start everything off a bit quieter. It's at points like these where your instruments feel most exposed though, and the song suffers as a result of the amateur production. There's a few moments later in the song where this happens too; the parts where you don't have as many instruments playing to cover each others flaws need some extra attention, if you get what I mean. Still, I personally love the schizophrenic styles and the moving guitar... that really carries the mix through the upbeat parts well! Your arrangement is really quite stellar, and I don't want to beat a dead horse but you definitely need to throw some reverb and effects on this. Your samples are probably workable, but your production isn't. This whole mix feels very organic and it feels very humanized (with the exception of the strings and piano at times. Especially at 2:01-2:03, the strings sound way too fake) The instrument dynamics give the feeling of a live performance, but that kind of breaks the illusion. This one feels like it's almost there, though. This is a solid foundation and, although it feels pretty liberal, I think it would break the 50% benchmark that a lot of judges use. Just needs a bit of TLC on the production side

Oh god YES! This is so awesome, I'm glad you haven't forgotten about this! The source tune just works so perfectly with your musical style!