Gario

Well, I'll say this first (before listening to what we've got) - if your style is to make something very conservative in the beginning, then expand on it later after establishing your material, I'm all for it, and so should the rest of the judges. Of course, pending on how much you expand on it, how long it remains on the very close source material, etc., counts toward whether it's stylishly different enough from the source for the panel, but that's what the eval process is all about. As for the rules for or against the sound effects, the only hard rule against them is that we can't take anything with Square-Enix sounds in it - everything else is all good. Another more obscure consensus is that SFX shouldn't alone constitute the source reference in an arrangement. Though rare, that issue does pop up periodically. Neither of these issues apply to this track, though, so no worries. That all being said, let's get this thing goin'! EVAL As far as production goes, this is quite good. The overall soundscape is clean, the mixing is solid, and there's no clipping/limiting artifacts/overcompression that I can spot. You've got some production chops that I can respect. As far as the arrangement goes, I do hear some differences coming in past the 1:30 mark (some nice counter-themes in the background - I think I hear some Zelda's lullaby there, even), and the addition of the pan flute was perfect. The material past 3:18 was particularly good, and blends with the original source quite nicely, to boot - wish there was more expansions like that in there. Aside from that, though, the similar instrumentation, the otherwise close adherence to the source and the similar pacing do still make this a pretty conservative arrangement. It's not a STRAIGHT cover, but it's still quite close throughout. It's a tough call, since there ARE some cool directions taken on this later in the track I think the combination of the same overall style and themes would still push this into the 'Too Conservative' category for OCR, as it stands. It's very close to what we'd be looking for, though - past the first iteration of the source (to keep with your mentioned style), if you integrated more of the Lon-Lon Ranch and Kakariko Village themes into the body of the arrangement, or added your own flourishes to the Lumpin' Pumpkin theme past that point that would push this past that conservative mark. It's still a great arrangement, and I'd argue it's close to being something you can submit, but it's still on the conservative side. Hope that helps!

EVAL Oh, never heard this source before (haven't played Skyward Sword)... That's a pretty cool, calming source. The direction you took with this is clever, and it fits very well. The production is very well done, and you've got the chops to match. A few points: at 2:06 the higher lead is a half step too high, clashing with the chord prior pretty hard. It's the same as the doubling at 1:56, but the harmonies cause it to clash. Not a deal breaker, but it's something that you'll likely get called out on. The end of the recording retains the release on your guitar, which sounds like an artifact. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but it'd sound cleaner if that part was edited out. Not too much else to say on this one - it's in pretty good shape otherwise. If you sub'd it now it'd likely pass, so by all means send it our way. Nice work on this one!

Er... I wanted to get this done, but I got a sudden job which took my whole weekend. What can I say other than I never saw it coming~! ... Also thought we had 'til NEXT week, so this is a bust on my end (Sorry!). Looking forward to the submissions to this one, though!

Yeah, while it's in the submission instructions as a part of the 'Arrangement' section, I could see how someone could miss that part about Square-Enix sampling being forbidden. Without going into TOO much history, it was enacted during the great FF6 album kickstarter debacle in 2012. Fun times, fun times... As far as recreating the samples, it IS technically possible to use that legal work-around by recreating the instruments from scratch in a synthesizer (one artist took another similar route in this remix, actually recording something that mimics that hollow bell sound from Chronotrigger's future area's theme), but utilizing a soundfont would be a no-go (since soundfonts generally sample from the source itself - no Square Enix SFX means NO Square Enix SFX). The level of work to recreate these synths, rewrite the parts AND convince everyone else (OCR and Square, most importantly) that these were created from scratch and were not directly sampled would be astronomical, for something this extensive. I love OCR and all, but I don't think they're worth that effort, lol.

EVAL Ooo, that's some deep bass, there. Again, as your last track was, this one is really slow-burning. I think think the use of sampling in this is quite tasteful - almost like a Pogo-Chrono Trigger arrangement, there. My headphones that are listening to this don't have the power to let through that much bass so all I'm hearing is the harmonics (which makes it sound very strange), but that's an issue on my end, not yours. I would suggest running that deep bass through one more low-pass filter to clean those harmonics regardless, considering most people don't have the kind of equipment to get the most outta that phat bass otherwise, but I wouldn't fault you if you didn't do that, either. I think this actually would be a candidate for the front page... except for one crushing issue. That tasteful sampling? It's sampling a Square-Enix game, which OCR legally can't post. I wish that weren't the case, since I would give this an easy pass otherwise. Right now, though, I'd be forced to shut it down in the inbox... It sucks when I have to deny otherwise great arrangements because of that rule, but there's nothing that can be done for it - blame Square-Enix for that one. Great job otherwise! It really does sound great, and I look forward to more from you. I just can't see this being altered in such a way where it could eventually get posted, considering how integral the SFX sampling is in this one.

Dude, are you kidding? This is legit one of the sources I was thinking of posting if I won that freebie round. Need some more arrangements of P5 on OCR, it's criminal how there's not an arrangement of it yet. Man, now I REALLY would like to produce something for this, but if I tell anyone about it then it wouldn't be a... last surprise.

Eh, submitting something that's not remotely finished deserves the spoon, that's for sure. Ah well, congrats to Jorito!

You walk into the wind to counter it directly, so if you need to be careful you can walk to the side (which with the wind will push you diagonal), and when you get close to the edge you can hold up to stop. Run up until you have a comfortable height and then walk to the side again. Rinse and repeat until that section is done. It's slower than just running through it, but if you're having trouble it's more sound. It's been forever since I've played so I don't remember if the wind is constant or if it's periodic, so adjust the strategy accordingly. Best of luck, there.

Texas? That's a strong maybe, on my end. Not the greatest state, but it's one hell of a lot closer than the east coast...

Sounds similar to some west coast meet-ups that are organized by a few OCR/former-OCR peeps (most often Las Vegas, oddly enough) except those tend to be hotel meetups and not rent-a-mansions - those turn out to be really fun experiences regardless. I'll keep a tentative ear out on this; if it's a classic East coast meetup I'll probably decline, though. Unfortunately it's very hard to justify that travel cost / lost work time due to travel (same issue as I have every year, when it comes to east coast meetups and conventions). I'll keep my ear out on this anyway, though - who knows, maybe it'll work out alright after all. On a tangentially related note, Vegas has some good hotel deals at about that time, and MAGWest had plenty of opportunities for more personal experiences (like open jamspaces and such) when I went a few months ago, if anyone is interested in that too... I may or may not be trying to swing this so that I'd certainly be able to attend, though, so make of my stealth suggestions as you will.

Well, I submit something. Not something that I'd say was finished, but what I had was pretty cool so I submit it anyway. Nice to hear Jorito sub something too, though.

Hmm... I do want to participate in one of these. It's been... shit, forever since I've done one (EDIT: looked it up - PRC199 is the last time shit that's too long!). It'd be healthy if I get my arranging chops moving again, so let's see if I can get y'all something done in a week. Let's do this thing.

New submission! Contact Information Your ReMixer name - Jarsk1e Your real name - Jari Your email address - Your website - https://soundcloud.com/Jarsk1e & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCagqtRw7xiJ52hIQ35eVO4g Your userid - 20309 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged - Mega Man 2 NES Name of arrangement - Party Crashers Name of individual song(s) arranged - Crash Man Stage Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) - none Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) - I think this is on your site already Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. I wanted to make ReMix from Crash Man stage and it turned to be a Drum & Bass ReMix this time! This ReMix is from 2016 and made with Renoise. Inspiration to this is drum&bass subgenre neurofunk, and at the time I made this I was into making neurofunk style tunes. It's always fun to try something new!

ReMixer Name: DS Real Name: David Sylvester Email: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/ds_music_official Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/DSMusic394 UserID: 34014 Game: Undertale Arrangement Title: Gaster's Legacy Link: Source: Gaster's Theme Comments: Just a fun little piano arrangement of this spooky theme, mashing it up with other themes such as the Mario Bros. Castle theme, Hopes and Dreams, and Megalovania to add some interesting story to the arrangement (Gaster is Sans? Game Theory was right for once?!)

So let's see, this thing has 29 sources, from my count, being: Song of Time (OoT) The Creation (OoT) Main Theme (LoZ) Intro (LoZ) Sunrise (OoT) Serenade of Water (OoT) Minuet of Forest (OoT) Requiem of Spirit (OoT) Nocturne of Shadow (OoT) Ballad of the Goddess (SS) The Sky (SS) Power of the Gods (LTTP) Gerudo Theme (OoT) Ganondorf's Theme (OoT) Hyrule Castle (LBW) Deku Tree (OoP) The Legendary Hero (WW) The Great Sea (WW) Main Theme (BotW) Lorule Castle (LBW) Ganondorf Appears (OoT) Zelda's Lullaby (OoT) Farore's Courage (SS) Song of the Hero (SS) The Great Fairy Fountain (OoT) Fi's Theme (SS) Hyrule Castle (LBW) Ganondorf Final Battle (TP) End Credits (LTTP) Nice timestamps - this will be VERY helpful in the future, I promise.

I like this - the whole track is just oozing smoothness throughout. The lowpassed piano at the beginning is a great way to get the listener ready for the jazzy styled drums that come in at 1:11, and those pads make for a great accompaniment to the piano when things pick up. That being said, this isn't without it's issues. The piano's lowpass is pretty cool in the beginning, but with the rest of the instruments in the track being as bottom heavy as they are it would serve the arrangement well to open up the EQ range of the piano, if only to better fill the space. It's likely a stylistic choice so I won't count it too much against the vote, but when everything comes together the EQ range is limited to the lower end, which make the whole arrangement sound dull. More importantly, once things get started at 1:10, the rest of the track goes into autopilot, repeating the same melody line twice with some additional material behind it to give some variety. It's not quite copy/paste, but the meat of the arrangement does sound static, with the drums doing the same thing throughout and the piano, pads & bassline doing the same thing as they've been doing before. Don't be afraid to drop instruments from time to time, vary their textures and layouts, etc., anything to keep the listener interested once you've finished introducing all of your ideas past the 1:11 mark. Again, I like this - what IS here is well done. However, with so many recycled elements the listener tires of what you're presenting long before you finish. Oversaturated low end aside, this needs some more attention to the arrangement so that it doesn't feel so static before we can pass this. Changing instruments from time to time, dropping parts (like at 2:29), switching up the drumline, altering the textures, etc.; there are many approaches one can take to fix this issue. Good work so far, but it's not quite there yet. NO

Hi! I'm Jaimy Kortenhoff, a aspiring music composer and I've made some projects over the years. Music and gaming are my biggest passions therefore the two often collide. I wanted to make a library of music for people who appreciate them, so i decided to do it on OCREMIX. Ive been a long time lurker here but its time to contribute! Contact information: Remixer name: See4urSelf Real name: Jaimy Kortenhoff Website: https://soundcloud.com/see4urself User ID on forums: http://ocremix.org/community/profile/34885-see4urself/ (i presume 34885) Submission information: Name of games arranged: Dota 2 Name of arrangement: Dota Intimacy - A Mage's Curiosity Additional information about game: Dota 2 is a ARTS that took the world by storm. Coming from a popular mod for Warcraft 3, Valve created and expanded on the world of DotA. Dota 2 is available for free on Steam (PC, Mac, Linux). Composer of the OST is Tim Larkin. Link to original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNaBUcSww1I&index=4&list=PLB856D5AAA4BC6A10 Own comments: Dota 2 has a incredible soundtrack. From bombastic classical war tunes to serene idle soundscapes. The idea behind this mix was to create the serenity on piano and build it up with some percussion. Something hopefully no one saw coming. Added lead lines rounds up the entire mix into something more complete. Hopefully this information is adequate! Hope to hear from you soon, With kind regards, Jaimy Kortenhoff

I'm glad to see this one was submitted - he was questioning whether he should based on the title of the arrangement (which used to be the name of the source), so I'm glad he found another title to work with (and it works pretty well, considering the lyrics). Overall, I think it's a really cool track: the rock ballade interpretation of that source is a solid one (even if it starts pretty conservatively with the piano and strings), and the vocals really add another layer to the track. The lyrics, while a bit down, actually hit on a pretty relateable topic, which I thought was quite well done. The sequencing of the other instruments (strings, piano), while not perfect work great as an accompaniment. Funny aside, that piano in the beginning almost sounds like the one used in the original source (I know it's not, no worries). Not a bad thing, just an interesting one. Stealing from my commentary on the WIP boards for a bit: when singing, be careful in your lower ranges. It sounds like you're straining in that range, which causes you to go a bit sharp and overshoot leaps. There are a few other spots where you over/undershoot leaps as well (like at 2:20), so it's something to keep an eye on. Also be mindful of your vibrato; while most of the time it's alright, it does get pretty extreme from time to time (like at 1:11), which causes it to get more out of tune than is stylistically appropriate. It's not terrible (most won't catch it on casual listening), but if you're looking for perfection it's something to watch out for next time. Most of the vocals line up well enough harmonically with the rest of the arrangement, though at 2:30 it clashes a little. Personally I think it sounds okay - it's not THAT bad of a clash, and in other contexts it would create a pretty interesting cluster chord, but in here it doesn't sound intentional. I'm not going to ding it much here because it's not THAT bad, but do be aware of the harmonies below when otherwise retreading melodic lines. The production of this is quite solid, with a pretty great mix to tie it all together. The vocals could use some improvement, but they're not quite a disqualifying element in my book, either. Watch those lower ranges and leaps next time, but this time I think it'd sound pretty good on our front pages. We'll see if the other judges agree - good luck on the rest of the vote! YES

Link to file: ReMixer name: Myrddin Triguel real name: Myrddin Journaux-James email address: website: http://myrddin.triguel.com userid: 35033 Name of game arranged: Secret of Mana Name of arrangement: Heavens Forgive Me Name of individual song arranged: Fear of the Heavens / Angel’s Fear (depending on the version of the game) Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: I always loved the music of the game so I got the idea to make an album with Secret of Mana music as “real” songs with vocals and a more diverse structure instead of just being looped BGM. I want to keep the order of the OST and I get inspirations for the lyrics from the original titles of the songs in the game. There is already a version of this song on YouTube but for this submission I removed the sample from the original game, changed the title to an individual one and also improved the sound of the piano. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making the song. ____________ Myrddin Triguel Music ℅ Myrddin Journaux-James Phone: Fax: Email: http://myrddin.triguel.com

Oh shit, time for one of my absolute favorite 'Final Battle' tracks in any RPG to get some remixing love. Yeah, I said it; Bowser's Inside Story has one of the best final boss tracks out there, and it shocks me as much as anyone else. Great game, glad to see a really good arrangement of it finally. There's some really cool stuff in this one - those solo instruments are sequenced quite well, and everything is sounding crisp in the production department. The arrangement has some really great expansions on the source material, to boot - that slower middle section has some absolutely great reharmonization that adds so much damn flavor. The mixing in this one is catching me off guard, though. While all of the instruments are easy enough to hear, there's a lack of sense of foreground, middleground or background. Mind you, the arrangement isn't cluttered or overly crowded, but the leads often blend into the rest of the track, level-wise. It's not a crushing issue (since overall one can still hear everything that's going on), but it does feel a little direction-less in the mixing. Being a little more nit-picky, that trumpet sample at 2:12 has a hint of lead-time on it that makes it sound like it's off the beat by just a bit, making that lead sound sluggish. Not a big deal, but something to pay attention to next time. Yeah, I really like this otherwise. Mixing complaints aside, this is a really cool arrangement of one of my favorites. Let's put it up on OCR. YES

ReMixer Name: ZackParrish Real Name: Zack Parrish Email: Site: ZackParrish.Com User ID: 29013 Name of Game arranged: "Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story" Name of arrangement: "All That Remains" Name of individual song arranged: "The Grand Finale" Track was originally produced for the album "Harmony of Heroes: Final Smash". Prior to working on this track I had never heard of the game or listened to the music, but I really enjoyed this theme.

Oh, you submit it. Cool - sorry I wasn't able to provide further feedback beforehand. I'll give you a bit of a mini-eval here anyway, though. Yeah, that piano sample sounds better than the one you used before. It oddly sounds like the piano from the source, but I know it's not, so no worries. If you're curious, I personally think that it'll do alright on the panel. The vocals wavering where I said they do on here will cause some issue, but I don't think it'll be enough to earn this a NO on the panel. One other point is that the vocals at 2:30 don't sound like they line up with the harmony. It's not a BIG deal as it doesn't clash that hard, but it does sound a little strange at that point. Don't want you to see too many surprises come up on the panel when it gets there. Otherwise, hope it does well!

HEY, Deia, how'd YOU know what I think 'bout this track? Anyway, as far as this goes the sound design, while basic works well enough. The arrangement is clever, and it does a nice job keeping things fresh throughout. I'm not sure I agree that the production on this is up to snuff - the leads often sound like they're pushing everything else down when they get loud (like at 1:21, for example), which makes the overall production quality suffer. Even worse is when everything is fighting for that space, like at 3:20 and 3:42; Bring the wubs out and suppress the leads if you want to give wub love, suppress the wubs if you want the leads to shine, but don't try to put both on center stage, there. I think I agree with the other upsides & downsides that Sir_nutS provided, but the less than stellar production pushes my vote just to the opposite side of his. Lots of great things in this, but I think the leads need to be better balanced against the rest of the arrangement so they don't pierce so much and squish the track, and I'll need some mixing adjustment at the busiest sections so the instruments don't fight one another so much before I can pass it. NO

Quick note before I give this my two cents: even if you don't get a solid evaluation here, if you're going to sit on it anyway there's nothing to lose by submitting it. Just sayin', there's always the off chance that we're wrong, and worst case they'll give their feedback in a few months when you're less burnt out - a win-win, if you ask me. Just don't tell any of the other judges that I said that... *Ahem* EVAL You've got one clean voice, there! It's just the right type of voice for something like this. The backing instruments are quiet (perhaps TOO quiet at the very beginning), but they give the star of the arrangement the center stage. Being that the vocals are the most important part of the arrangement they've got to be damn near perfect. While they're good, they're not perfect - there are quite a few moments when your voice falls flat (specifically, at 0:24, 0:43, 0:47, 1:06, etc.), and a mmoent or two where it goes sharp (like at 0:50, for example). If willing, a little autotune would mask the problematic parts in a way where it was nearly undetectable, though, so I think you could get away without doing any more recording on this (as I'm sure you'd be glad to hear!). As is, it's a close call, but I would bet the parts that fall out of tune would get you a few borderline YES votes and more resub NO votes. It has a shot, though, if you're really burned out and don't want to touch this at all, but with an hour or two of autotune on the vocals in the areas that go flat I think this would be a pretty clean pass. Up to you, though! (By the way, the vocals are far and away good enough for a live performance - you'd sound pretty cool on stage with this!)