Cody Wedel

Speaking of Friend Safaris, I just spent the bulk of my afternoon/night searching a ghost safari for a shiny Pumpkaboo/Lampent/Drifblim. I go take a break to get Lucky Eggs and run into a SECOND shiny Chansey almost instantly. At least it was somehow holding a Lucky Egg, so I got fairly lucky there! But still, I'm pretty bummed. I feel like I spent all those hours for no reason. That marks my 20-somethingth shiny of this game and 7th in the Friend Safari. On another note, anyone want an Adamant Speed Boost 31/31/31/x/31/31 male Torchic? I have an extra one who needs a good home.

I thought Sinnoh was fantastic with so much to do. There were so many side-sections and things to do post-game it's not even funny. In contrast, Johto felt like a chore, yeah. It was so linear and many of the newer Pokemon were few and far in between. Game would've been better if the old-to-new Pokemon ratio was reversed. Anyway, I'm enjoying Y. Is it me though or is there an absolute abundance of shinies? Klang, Floette, Bibarel, Eevee x2, Skrelp, Poliwhirl and Corsola x5 (the first 2 were on different days, and the second pair of Corsola were back-to-back pulls the next day. Today I found one in the Friend Safari. So weird).

Knowing I was into Nintendo, my older cousin suggested I listen to some of the game remixes over at "remix.overclocked.org". This happened in the summer of 2003. I was given a burnt CD mostly consisting of Mario, DK, F-Zero and Tetris remixes with a few one-hit wonders, such as a remix that I couldn't identify until I actively went searching for it a few years back (turned out it was from a game called Viewtiful Joe). I loved this CD; I listened to it constantly and I could even tell you the order of every track even though it's been a decade. It wasn't until 2005/2006 that I began branching onto internet forums, one of which included OC ReMix just because. I never really kept up with anything that wasn't Mario/Donkey Kong for whatever reason until maybe 2010; during that time, Emunator kind of convinced me to open my ears and listen to things from games I normally wouldn't care for. Now I'm strongly familiar with most of the musicians here, including ones that may have only one posted remix, and it's actually really refreshing. Now I pay more attention to newer remixers and their journey through OCR. I don't tend to get as excited as much when there's a new remix from a game I like; instead, I get excited when I see the remixers. It's really an odd feeling. As for my involvement with the DKC3 project, it basically involved me messaging Emunator on a whim early on in the project and getting really lucky, even if he says I was the best candidate for the job of co-director. 3 1/2 years later I still can't even believe things came together the way they did. Legend of the Snake was one of the first OC ReMixes from a game I've never played that I loved to pieces. It's really powerful and it's truly wonderful how Reuben Kee continues to make a difference in the lives of countless individuals.

Yeah, I logged on just to say the same thing...from his D/P/Pt Route 216 mix, to Meteor Falls and now Shoal Cave, I'm pretty impressed at AlmightyArceus' uncanny ability to adapt a relatively underappreciated / unmixed source tun to a pretty unique time signature. Above all, though, it's nice to see more remixes from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. I may be in the minority but I absolutely adored the soundtrack. In fact, I stand firmly by the notion that those three games had the best soundtrack of the series.

Looking at the tracklist is getting me all teary eyed... I <3 Mario RPG and so far it seems like the tracks are all going to be done sweet, sweet justice. You can't go wrong with Yoko Shimomura's work. From Inside the Earthen Pipe - Blue Magic <-- this is such an interesting combination that my mind's just EXPLODING with possible ideas as for how it sounds. I can't wait!!! (also, whoever claims Let's Go Down the Wine River will be blessed with my eternal love)

I'm only at 1-7 at the moment but HOOOOOOOOLY SSHHHHHHHIIIIIIIT I LOVE Mazedude's track! This is absolutely amazing!!! Probably my favorite Mazedude track to date and that's saying a lot! (I like the other tracks so far as well, but WOW, I didn't expect this!)

I agree, and this is coming from one of the most dear Yoshi Touch & Go fans. This mix speaks to me in so many ways <3

I LOVE IT!!! Yoshi Touch & Go has one of the most special places in my heart; I just adore the wonderful scenery and music. The synth solos especially feel like they just 'belong' and I *loved* that ode to the Rankings & High Scores theme. So beautiful. I think I've found a new favorite remix

Still trying to catch everything in the Pokédex... I've got about 4 boxes filled up and for the most part it's been loads of fun. I'm really enjoying it. For the most part, that is. I really hate those damn rippling water-only encounters. Not only is downright annoying to get rippling water to appear to begin with, but when you do it's usually something like Basculin that shouldn't be in EVERY body of water. The annoyance factor skyrockets when the designated Pokémon is extremely rare (hi 1% Dragonite) or moderately rare yet has something like Perish Song of all moves (hi 5% Politoed). Good thing I've got those Pokémon out of the way, though. Hopefully I only need a few more "fish/surf in rippling water" Pokés.

I'm stoked to hear the remix; Yoshi Touch & Go is one of my very favorites and its soundtrack is simply wonderful.

crypto_magnum's got it spot-on for the most part. This is good stuff and I say that to someone who's never heard the original. The "thinness" throughout the certain instances of the track is apparent, but I see this more as a stylistic tendency than a deliberate error. It *does* sound a bit thin at around 0:30, though... perhaps you should try adding in some synth strings to maybe give the track more of a flavor. I can imagine the result and it's sounding pretty cool in my head. If you'd like me to whip up an example, lemme know! Also, it may be just me, but the ending seems a bit anticlimatic and I feel another verse might fit right at home here. What do you think? In general, your usage of countermelodies and harmonization seems just right, to me. The part at 1:46 sounds great particularly

Oh yeah, definitely. Back in the day I EV trained a Piplup and I remember it taking a good chunk out of my day. But then again, Diamond/Pearl's battles were a Shuckle compared to the Weavile that is Gen V, so EV training Black/White/their sequels would ideally take someone considerably less time. I think Sandile took me 2 hours (and that's without Pokérus, Macho Brace, etc.). Anywho, I pretty much solo'd the Elite Four with Ampharos. Now that I'm essentially "done" with the game, I think it's time for me to go ahead and fill up my Pokédex with everything I can possibly catch... and per usual, I'll only use regular Poké Balls. Well, after beating the Elite Four, it only felt natural to hunt down Zekrom and then Kyurem before doing anything else. And, well, mission accomplished. I only had to use a total of 7 Poké Balls combined on the duo. I'm not even sure how I got so lucky I'm tremendously looking forward to filling up my boxes with every possible catchable Pokémon in the game <3

Huh, that's a great team. Sounds like a LOT of egg-hatching/IV checking/EV training was involved...! Also seems as if it was worth the trouble... that Ninjask in particular must be the annoying thing in the world given: 1. it's the fastest Pokémon in the series base stat-wise so it's guaranteed a Double Team 2. it's got that ability that gives it more speed for each turn it stays in battle 3. Agility gives it more speed 4. Baton Pass also passes on stat boosts That said, I put in a similar amount of hours into Pearl back in the day but that was mostly towards completing my Pearl Pokédex (the amount of hours ultimately included multiple R/S/E FR/LG playthroughs to Pal Park all the necessary guys). I think it was worth it: I have one of every Pokémon, in order, in the PC. I've also got 2 shinies I found in the process of completing my Pokédex as well as a shiny Charmander I hatched afterwards. I'm pretty much in love with that Pearl and I know for sure I'll never restart the file/get rid of it. I more than got my money's worth out of that game for sure. Also, I remember writing a few posts back that I decided to EV train a Jolly/Moxie Sandile I bred on a whim. Welp, EV training's done and I decided to check the Sandile's IVs... everything was above 25 except for Defense! Lucky me! Might not be perfect but still very usable for what I may use it for (mostly soloing the Elite Four to level up other dudes I may decide to EV train for fun in the future)

Indeed, but they also use many an X-Attack and such. (I got about halfway through a Wurmple-only run in Emerald before restarting the file, hah.) So I've been pretty addicted to Black 2 as of late. Bought it on a whim last month and didn't really put much into it 'til the other day. Despite some of the linearities (which I noticed more in this game than the others) I found there's a ton to appreciate. Right now, at 21 hours in, I'm Audino farming in Giant Chasm... I'm technically at that blonde dude in Plasma's ship thingy but I backtraced to get my team to level 70 beforehand. My team is as stands: Weed (Serpentime) - lv67 Mary (Ampharos) - lv67 Intoxica (Weezing) - lv61 Serena (Swanna) - lv51 Now what's interesting is that in Pokémon games, until I beat the Elite Four, I *only* catch what I'm going to use on my team. This unanimously includes starters and Pokémon that are given to you (lone exception is Castform in R/S/E, which I quite frankly couldn't care less about -- I always store it in the PC). My current team pretty much does the job I've found. Ampharos' Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Rock Gem and Strength (formerly Return which I miss ) make it a damn amazing Pokémon with tons of counters. Weezing's got Sludge Bomb and Attract (also Toxic when I get the TM). my starter's got Giga Drain and Leaf Blade whereas Swanna has water/flying moves. I'm pretty sure this'll be my team until the very end (unless I find a shiny or something) and I'm 100% content with that. Now after I beat the Elite Four I'll go around filling up the Pokédex. I honestly can't wait.

I gotta try this some day. I probably won't succeed though. I *love* Mario 64 (I really do think it's the epitome of charming and it's always a joyous experience collecting all 120 stars) but I don't think I could do it in 8 hours. Not that the game's difficult, but it's just too strenuous doing things in one go. I find the game really great in small doses but pretty annoying as a whole. When I play through the game, I try to get certain stages over with. It's generally a success: I clear Lethal Lava Land in less than 7 minutes and other levels follow a similar timeframe (Wet-Dry World and Big Boo's Haunt are surefire runner-ups). My last playthrough was done in one go at a friend's and took way too much time. I'm not sure if it was my controller or what but I didn't feel like Mario was doing what I wanted him to. An example is Rainbow Ride's 100-coin star... I died FOUR times at 90+ coins and at other parts due to stupid reasons (such as Mario slipping somehow and falling off the cliff, or a longjump magically turning into a "shortjump"). That 100-coin star alone took me an hour's worth of attempts and it wasn't even really that fun, honestly. Thankfully it was the last star I needed (aside of Bowser in the Sky 8 red coins)

Rhythm Heaven came to mind instantly. I hadn't even heard of the series until my buddy Juan let me borrow the DS one. Over the next few weeks he'd consistently remind me to "PLAY RHYTHM HEAVEN" because I would "really enjoy it," but to be honest I wasn't in the mood to play some rhythm game that was probably mediocre at best (that's pretty much how I felt about the "rhythm game" genre, which I deeply regret). So one night he, once again, asked me to play Rhythm Heaven. I finally gave in and made him a deal: "ok, if you play through Mother 3, I'll play through Rhythm Heaven." Told me it's a deal and I handed him the EZ-Flash IV (GBA flash cart). ... at first Rhythm Heaven was awkward and I just wasn't feeling it at all. In fact, I actually somewhat disliked it. But it got better, and I kinda didn't want to admit it.... but I did. I got about halfway through before giving it back to my buddy: I just *knew* I had to own the game before beating it. So I bought a new copy on Amazon for cheap. That same day, I went into Best Buy and noticed two copies of Rhythm Heaven just chillin' near the front of the store by a few GBA titles that nobody bought (like Uno). I asked a sales rep if he could check the price of the Rhythm Heavens and he told me they were $3.99. Each. Bought BOTH and I don't regret it in the slightest. I cancelled my Amazon order before it was too late. Mission accomplished. After beating Rhythm Heaven fully, my buddy let me borrow Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii. I didn't get too far before apathetically discarding the game (just wasn't feeling it, sadly). I just didn't care for it at all. So shortly after, I ended up starting a playthough of Rhythm Tengoku (GBA Japan-only prequel) thanks to the GBA flash cart and, at first, felt the same way as I did with the other two games in the series... but I treaded through. Tengoku got better and I really enjoyed the experience. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I felt this intense desire to import the game. The cheapest auction on Amazon was "cartridge only in relatively ok condition" for $40 (ended up being around $50 with shipping)--I was fine with that price as I didn't care about having the box and such. A few weeks went by and I ended up receiving a medium-sized padded envelope. I assumed the cartridge was extra padded.... but when I opened up the envelope I found a great-conditioned Rhythm Tengoku box. In the box were the manual (and other Nintendo papers) in mint condition and the cartridge (also mint condition). So much for "cartridge only in relatively ok condition" huh? Not even a month later I got back into Rhythm Heaven Fever (thanks to high-quality YouTube videos of the perfect challenges) and ended up buying the game. Heck, I bought two copies (one of those I wanted to compliment the factory-sealed Rhythm Heaven I've had). Ended up liking Fever perhaps the most of the series after giving it a real chance. It's such a brilliant game with so much charm and I urge everyone to play it. And that is why all 3 games are the best video game-related investment I've ever made, hands down. Nothing even comes close except for... EarthBound! I had a big past with the original Super Smash Bros. back in the late 90s/early 2000s. Out of all the games represented that I'd never heard of (among them being Metroid and Kirby, if you'd believe that), the one that interested me the most was "EarthBound" -- I couldn't tell you how many times as a kid that I dreamed of EarthBound and how cool it must've been... "The little boy with psychic powers set out to save the world" is what really got to me, it sounded incredible. Of course, at the time I was a little boy and my SNES had broke years before, so I thought playing the game was a pipe dream. Eventually I forgot all about the game and when Melee came out, I mained Dr. Mario instead of Ness. Fast-forwarding to 2008... when Brawl was released in Japan, I downloaded its soundtrack rip as soon as I could and I swear I must've listened to all of it non-stop for at least 4 months. But out of all the music in Brawl, I absolutely LOVED the Mother music....it was to the point that I wanted MORE. So that June I somehow found download links to the Mother 1+2 instrumentals and Mother 3+/3i--they're all very high quality, well-produced versions of the games' soundtracks. These albums were pretty much foray into the series and were my regular listening material for about 2 months. August came around so I went ahead and bought myself an R4DS (flash cart). Loaded it with emulators because why not. For one reason or another I had EarthBound in my SNES ROM folder... started a file, didn't get far at all (I was roaming around Onett I know that) so I decided to say whatever and give the game a rest. I just wasn't feeling it and didn't expect to like it. But for one reason or another I picked it up again in October and found it midly enjoyable having gotten up to Twoson. It wasn't until the Peaceful Rest Valley & Happy-Happy Village that I was completely hooked. By Moonside it was official: EarthBound wasn't any old game... it was a beautiful work of art and a genuinely unforgettable experience. I finsihed the game 8 days after I started it. Now, games rarely leave me feeling emotional, but EarthBound really tugged at my heartstrings. I can barely explain why but an old Super Nintendo videogame really spoke to me on a deep level... even if its emulation was pretty horrible I still got the most of it. The rest of the year and subsequent months of 2009 had me basically obsessed with the game (and the BEAUTIFUL Mother 3), to say the least. December 2008 is what really made my love for the game truly complete, though. I was talking to my internet buddy via AIM and on a whim he asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I jokingly said "EarthBound!" (not even expecting him to have it, let alone want to send it if he did) and didn't receive a direct reply (I don't even think he did reply to that, actually). But a few days later a package came to my door, and I remember very vividly how I felt when I opened up the package to find FUCKING EARTHBOUND. Started a file on the actual console that night and THAT was an unforgettable experience to say the least. Man, this game's a masterpiece. Oh yeah, and I'd also like to say Pokémon Black. At first I didn't care for the game at all. I just wasn't feeling it like I did the other games of the series... but around Badge 3 the game got SO much better that I couldn't believe I was actually playing the same game I started off with. I know that if I didn't give the game another chance when I did, I wouldn't have clocked 100+ hours into it within the month it came out.

I'm fairly new to drum sequencing (I wouldn't say "beginnerish," but definitely not on par with most professionals). I've found that ghost notes (strikes that are very low velocity, almost inaudible) provide the drumline a nice, humanized sound if added in properly. Not all tracks benefit from such notes but the ones I've worked on do. From a listener's perspective, I wouldn't have imagined that just a few minor changes could enhance the quality of a drumline to such extremes. My main problem with sequencing drums is that I'll spend far too much time on making a drumline "perfect" (which involves listening to the track dozens of times while making changes in between each listen). Despite the results, I always get burnt out and I don't really want to work on the track anymore. I've stopped many a remix for this reason. Has this happened to anyone and if so, how was this issue remedied?

^ good to know it's never again. I spent a good portion of my night fishing for a Dragonite in Pokémon Black (1% chance appearance rate outside Dragonspiral Tower if you fish in those randomly-appearing rippling puddles). After what seemed like over 300 encounters (at the very least), I managed to finally land one and nab it in a regular Poké Ball. From now on I'm going to avoid fishing in rippling water like the plague.

Eh, I wouldn't say IV breeding is difficult... it's just extraordinarily time-consuming, and sadly it's just not for me. I couldn't realistically see myself hatch a buncha eggs and check their individual IVs even if both parents were 31/31/31/31/31/31 and the child was guaranteed the beneficial nature & 31/31/31/x/x/x. I'm not much of an EV guy either, but earlier tonight I fired up Black for the first time in almost a year for the sole purpose of hatching a good-natured Sandile to EV train. (I've been pretty bored game-wise and wanted to do something Pokémon related, and breeding a couple o' Krookodiles seemed like a good idea). It took over an hour to generate 30 eggs, and it took quite a bit longer than that hatch them all. I'll occasionally soft-reset to get a beneficial nature for a starter just to make my playthrough a little easier, but for the most part I just play the game to unwind and have fun. I don't battle competitively and I don't see the point in me pouring dozens upon dozens of hours to get the 'perfect' team. No offense at all to anyone who does spend the time, of course. That's actually a very commendable dedication. I'm REALLY proud of my Adamant-natured Totodile in HG--I had just picked it up from Elm's lab and had this funny feeling that I needed to EV train it. Ended up a Feraligatr before I battled a single trainer I checked its IVs when it was at a decently high level (around 60-something). For its stats being completely generated by chance, it ended up having pretty amazing IVs (if I recall, Attack and Speed were both 31s and everything else was above 25... I got super lucky). Made up for that shiny Pidgey I ran into yet couldn't catch due to not having any Poké Balls.

If I recall, Wise stated a while back in an interview that the game's soundtrack was added in near the end of development. I'll try to find the interview. ....aaand, here you go! http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/davidwise.shtml

One of the most rewarding experiences in gaming, hell, in my life in general even, was playing through the beautiful EarthBound for the first time. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced and I firmly believe the game definitively represents "nostalgia" in its most purest form. It certainly made me appreciate life more than I did previously. Moreover, nothing in life thus far has topped how genuinely happy I was when I first played through the game (I firmly believe that 4+ years later and having experienced quite a lot since then). That said, I may never download another EB mix again. I certainly don't want to try remixing anything from the game anymore.... because you, sir, PERFECTLY captured the homely, nostalgic vibe of EarthBound. You also completely expanded upon it in ways I didn't even know possible. djpretzel's Twoson Hits the Road was always my favorite EarthBound mix but this one I think took the spot. I *love* that Pollyanna cover at the end, it's so beautiful. I downloaded this mix and I'm gonna listen to it hundreds of times because I can (and want to). I almost feel like I let myself down since I didn't play through EarthBound at all in 2012 (usually I do at least twice a year)... but this mix makes me want to plug up my SNES right now and play through the game. Twice. I just can't get over how perfect this mix is.

I've got a good amount of progress on a nice, low-key two-year-old Gloomy Galleon WIP that I'll try to resurrect. I'll try to provide a solid WIP within a week or two.

Unfortunately not, since we didn't have WAV versions of those two tracks

^ that's really weird about the "Knautalis" spelling... I would've never noticed that. Thankfully the typo isn't on the actual disc art, though. That would've been all kinds of bad. Very interesting. I've always felt that people who criticize the soundtrack simply feel the tunes just don't fit in with their respective archetypes, which I totally accept with open arms... either that or they're pissed that the SNES soundtrack was replaced. I know I was one of the latter people back in 2005 when the game was released In general, I think the quality of a videogame soundtrack should correlate with how well it fits the game, and even I agree that many of DKC3 GBA's tracks don't really match their designated environments. As a soundtrack, it's OK at best. Out of context though? Not only does the soundtrack strike me as Wise's most brilliant work, but it consists of some of the most memorable compositions I've ever heard. I think tracks like Stilt Village, Mill Fever & Cavern Caprice are easily on par with the beloved Aquatic Ambience, Stickerbush Symphony & Forest Interlude. Thanks for the kind words I personally couldn't be more proud of the track, and I actually did legitimately shed a tear upon hearing the final version. The ending is just perfect.

I don't hear Stickerbush Symphony, but it did always seem like that acoustic guitar riff at 4:13 sounded was an ode to the Smash Bros. Brawl theme. Seems almost intentional given the name of this mix Edit: meant "acoustic," not "electric" -- no idea what caused me to make that typo