Kizyr

No problem. Though, check this thread for a more comprehensive list of songs with vocals in them (most have lyrics as well, though some are just ambient vocals). KF

Seeing as this came up in another thread, thought I'd update this one again: Streets of Rage - Elevation [groovepump mix] KF

My input won't be worth as much as judges', of course. But I do tend to have a bias towards vocal remixes. My thought is that you should start by figuring out the purpose or mood of the song, and the lyrics should fit that. If it's serious, dark, etc., then the lyrics should go along with that tone--perhaps more subtle references might work in that case (e.g., Kindred, Invertebrate Retreat, and Dragon Song come to mind). If it's lighthearted, then you might have more flexibility with the lyrics, and you could work in more overt or direct references to the game (Da Black Market comes to mind for that). Also, different genres have a different focus on lyrics. So, if you're gonna do rap, then it's probably more important to make sure the lyrics are coherent first before worrying about how much they relate to the game--you could have no game references (cf Memories Frozen in Time), subtle references (cf Keep Out the Veldt), or really direct ones (cf Niggaz for Life). I'm afraid this might not answer your question directly. But, I think it'd be a better strategy to let your lyrics work with the song, than try to work your song around the lyrics. Game references won't directly affect the quality of the song. But I can say that if your lyrics sound arbitrarily inserted (like adding references just for the sake of references), that can kill it. KF

I've studied Japanese for somewhere around 8 years. That includes the first two years of self-study, four years of college courses, and about half a year or so of studying abroad. Unfortunately, I don't have time to dedicate to help you out specifically, but I can recommend a few things based on my own experience. Interestingly enough, the first thing I was going to recommend was to purchase a few of the small handbooks under the Power Japanese series. I have the second book you mentioned there, and there are a lot of others that are pretty good at "filling in the gaps" if you're finding something tough to understand. Another thing is the Power Japanese CD-ROM by Transparent Language (not affiliated with the book series--the name is coincidental). You can order it from Amazon.com; but, it works funny on newer systems (I used it back when it was designed for Win95 and 3.11). It's especially good at teaching basic sentence structure and hiragana/katakana. I would not recommend Japanese news. It's something that I still have difficulty following. It would be more worth your while to watch variety shows (the most common kind of program on Japanese television): the dialogue is a lot closer to daily conversation, and there're frequent captions emphasizing what people are saying. Dramas also work to an extent. Lastly, there's Mixi (http://mixi.jp/), a social networking site that a lot of folks I know studying Japanese use to converse with others. It's not the same as spoken conversation, of course, and it might be difficult to navigate if you're still at a beginning level. But you might find it useful. Otherwise, try to find other resources at your school. Maybe there's a language lab, or some other resources the Japanese department has to connect you with more senior students or native speakers. KF

To me, the opening theme to Snatcher would be the best one to remix. I think it'd lend itself to jazz really well. But there's plenty of stuff that's great about that game. KF

You're not thinking of Fortuna Favors the Funk, are you? There's also Oil Ocean WT-40 Mix. KF

Two suggestions... First, the Russian Remix Roulette (or, just torrent all 1700+ songs and hit Random All). If you haven't listened to the vast majority of remixes, changes are that you're more likely to find new stuff you enjoy by listening to everything in random order. Second, check the Recent Albums (top-right of the main page). If I want a CD-length compilation, I tend to prefer compilations that were designed to be CD-length. Depending on how long you've been away, there're likely several albums that've been released since then. KF

I'm a lousy singer. But, I will say that when studying Chinese, I always practiced tones/pronunciations in the car. Also, a car is much better than the shower, since the acoustics of a shower can make you think you sound a lot better than you really do. (At least, I think... I mean I'm basing that off of my roommate in college knocking on the door and asking me to stop.) KF

Nice.... It's a testament to Nintendo, too, that my NES controllers still work after 20 years. I have something similar for PS1 controllers (including DDR pads). I still prefer the regular gamepad I have, though--mostly since it's modeled off of the dual-shock PS1/PS2 controllers. KF

I figured that comment was just the result of poor writing. Regardless, something sound-related definitely came up on the screen. And right now that character is still possessed by Peter. So, it's got my curiosity piqued a bit. My initials. Something I got into the habit of way back.... and I can't get out of. KF

Using a controller takes away most of that feeling (I only play emulated games using one; I can't get used to a keyboard anymore). Plus, you can re-map button functions pretty easily. Even then, you'd probably notice a little lag or something funny about the way it controls. Like I said before, it's really noticeable in action games and platformers. It's still great, but there is definitely a little something missing. Since most of what I play are RPGs, this insufficiency doesn't bother me much. KF

This is a game that's being designed as a game from the start, and not based on an existing movie, right? If so, then yeah, I'd say there's good reason to get your hopes up. KF

Really catchy song, I can definitely get into it--though I always appreciate more good vocal mixes. Also, I think this might be the best vocal work from DA yet. I'll have to give it a few more listens-through before really coming to a conclusion, but so far it sounds great. I wouldn't've thought that any of the SoR tracks lent themselves to vocals until this mix, by the way. Great work from both ambient and DA. KF

I'd go, definitely. Not much "representing" I could do, but I'm interested. KF

I lost interest around halfway through Season 2. But I'm glad I'm giving it another chance; Season 3 so far is looking really interesting. More people need to really die, though. Not this whole "Oh I'm dead, but NOT REALLY!" thing that keeps happening. Though, the circumstances of Linderman's "reappearance" wasn't all that surprising. By the way, I go between really liking and not liking Mohinder. I always like it when there's a South Asian character who can actually kick ass in a show (which is why the Street Fighter movie irritated me--'nother topic). But back in Season 2 he just irritated me with going on the wrong side so often. Right now, I'm not sure... "Let me inject myself with this thing to give me superpowers. What could possibly go wrong?!" And he's supposed to be a scientist? Lastly, anyone notice the listed superpower for the "you don't wanna know" guy? Something like "Sound Manipulation". That should be fun. KF

The only ones I still regularly use are my Saturn and PS1, and there aren't any decent emulators for the former anyhow. The NES, SNES, Genesis, and Sega CD (and 32X) that I grew up playing are all still working, but I left those at my mother's place when I moved to DC years ago. Basically, I didn't bother bringing anything that I could just emulate. Although now that I'm having trouble getting Gens+ to recognize my CD drive in Vista (didn't have that problem in XP), I might end up retrieving my Sega CD or finding a CDX on eBay. Also... especially for action games, playing it on the actual console works out much better. The controls always feel a little off on emulators. I can't do any of the tricks I used to do on Super Mario World or Mariokart, for instance. A less insane handicap (although perhaps not as fun) is to play the entire game holding down the right button. You can still run/walk and jump, but you can't turn back. I forget how far I can get there before it seems impossible. KF

I've always used AdriPSX. I remember Tales of Phantasia working really well on it. But I haven't used it in ages. I'm not so good with configuring emulators, but I managed to get it working. So, I'd imagine it should be relatively easy. KF

I'm nearly done with Trials and Tribulations. Looking forward to getting my hands on Apollo Justice right after this. After I'm through with all the Phoenix Wright games out so far, I'm not sure what I'll turn to next... I still have a large backlog of older (SNES, Genesis, and Saturn era) games to work through. Oh, right... Civilization Revolution. KF

Dammit! I always celebrate TLAP day, every year. But I was so busy yesterday it completely slipped me mind... Usually every IM, forum post, news update, etc., I use pirate-speak that day. Eh, there's always next year. KF

I don't think the thread's devolved so much yet. But yeah, that's exactly what I gathered from the first post. When I think of my favorite games, replayability is part of it, but not the main factor. Just so happens that many of the games I love are also very replayable. There're a few I can think of that I really like, but don't replay so much--like Tales of Phantasia, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, etc. Meanwhile, there're others that I'd rank below those games, but I still replay more often--like Tokimeki Memorial. The Civilization/Alpha Centauri series is also top of the list in terms of how often I play or replay it, but second if you just asked what my favorite games were (after the Lunar series). Reading the responses of folks who elaborated a bit also gives a good indication on how much of a factor replayability is in terms of how much you like a game. KF

Just took a listen to those samples. Man, Psychesphere does well in bringing out the tabla samples. You can almost feel your palms hitting the drum. I think it shows in the quality. True and very understandable. Most of the music I grew up listening used a lot of the harmonium and tabla, so when I think of South Asian music, those two are the first ones that come to mind--maybe followed by the sitar and dhol. KF

...it looks like a generic FPS, set in Vietnam. With a "twist". My guess is the twist is either going to be aliens, zombies, or zombie aliens. ...like Contra, 'cept this doesn't look all that fun. KF

I haven't found anyone yet who still plays and re-plays old Saturn games to the same extent as I do. I've gotten more mileage out of that system over the last 12-13 years than all my other consoles combined. Tokimeki Memorial has a lot of replay value. I still occasionally play through that now and then. All the games in the Lunar series I've played through multiple times, both English and Japanese versions (with the exception of Dragon Song, unless you count English and Japanese versions as the same, and Magic School, which I spent enough time writing a walkthrough for that I don't feel like playing it again for a while). Super Mario World never gets old. I'm sure other ones will come to mind eventually. EDIT: How could I forget? Civilization 4, Civilization 4 Beyond the Sword, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Civilization 3, and Civilization 2. No telling how many hours altogether I've spent on those games. KF

I'm usually not much of a fan of DJ mixes (prefer to just hit Random All on my playlist), but I listened to this a few times through. And, I gotta say I really like it. There're only two things that sounded a bit odd to me... First, the transition around the 13:00 mark felt abrupt (going into the Metal Gear Solid track). Second, the first 30 seconds or so after the Sonic 2 theme comes in (24:20~50, give or take), sounded kind of cluttered. (EDIT: not cluttered so much as repetitive with a quick change of rhythm from the previous song, come to think of it) Then again, this isn't what I normally listen to, so I don't have as much of a feeling of what works and what doesn't. Nonetheless I thought the track was great all-around, and those two minor things didn't detract from it noticeably. KF

....I may actually have immediate use for this. Particularly the tabla samples. One question... does this include any samples of the harmonium? It's a real common instrument, but I don't think it's as well-recognized outside the subcontinent. KF