SuperiorX

A dirty, gritty dupstep version of Magus' theme from Chrono Trigger would be pretty epic (and badass). Just sayin'.

I got one: "BadAss 2: When Good Ass Goes Bad". And then you could focus on themes of characters who were traitors and betrayed the good guys lol

NINJA UPDATE! Same link, just adjusted a few volume levels and re-wrote (again) the electric piano part in the solo section (1:38 - 2:10).

Ok so here's an update: Smoother Operator v2 The update is on the alternate ending version since everyone seems to prefer that one. I changed: Fixed all those dissonant notes Monobrow spoke ok. Basically that rhodes part only plays in the intro and outro now for that jazzy effect. I replaced the other electric piano sample, this one has a bit more pizzazz. It also plays some more accompaniment parts throughout the song along with some F# minor chords that fit in with the Needle Man theme. The background synth (that is first heard in the intro) that is normally always moving, plays some hold notes now when other instruments are to reinforce the chord structure and to avoid unnecessary counterpoint. Lowered some of the harsh cymbal hits. Let me know what you guys think. I didn't too much about the static instrumentation that Gario & Lidawg mentioned because I'm having trouble figuring what, if anything, I want to do. Thanks!

This is some sexy badassery right here. I love the overall sound design and instrumentation choices. A cool, fresh direction on a well-known source. Great job!

how did I go from having 3 points last round to 1 now? EDIT: nvm I think I see how...

No, you see Ben had just agreed to give us all of his points to help us out

Hint: his weakness is Bubble Lead

Polka? Disco? ? Sounds moist.

Mmmmmmm ice cream beard: It is amazing what google will find you if you only search for it.

Now we need to have this whole discussion of how many rounds there are. All. Over. Again.

Actually we're just going to keep going until we've covered every Wily theme. If we're lucky we can switch our robot masters at the halfway point

I think the better question will be, how many completed mixes will we actually get that week?

I know this is off-topic, but is there a timeline for said site redesign? Or pictures of it's supposed hotness, or is that only for the privileged?

Thanks to both of you! Monobrow - yeah I wrote that jazzy rhodes bit for the intro and then just kind of forgot about it. I got so focused on the other parts of the song that I couldn't hear the dissonance it was causing. Thanks for bringing it up tho, I'm going to to revisit that bit. And, no, you don't sound harsh, it's a big help! Thanks!

I see a lot of us are thinking the same thing, with posting our compo mixes in the WIP forums (shameless plug ). This version does sound a lot cleaner than your compo entry. Good job! I enjoyed the track then, but this version is even more rockin'. I'd be careful with the 1:44 - 1:50 section. That two synths seems to be getting lost in one another. I'd bet they're occupying similar EQ ranges, so maybe try some separation on those two synths so it doesn't sound like they are overplaying each other. Other than that, good stuff!

Is having too many quality VGM mixes really a problem? I can't really think of a fair way to promote album vs. non-album mixes, but if the goal is to merely differentiate non-album mixposts from album mixposts, you could do something where you just shade the background box a different color. I know Rozo suggested adding a little icon or something to the post in the "latest remixes" column, but if we want to avoid making it look too busy, we could just shade the box a different color. They are all gray boxes right now, but we could do something like album posts have a light blue color and non-album posts have a light red (or just stick with the light gray). Something like that would be subtle and help differentiate the mixposts. Like this:

Track impressions for this week! This was a really high quality and eclectic batch of mixes this round. I am thoroughly impressed, great job everyone! Hornet of Legend: Wow, score some originality points here! I love the instrumentation variety here. Nice piano, flute, glockenspiel (I think?). This does sound awfully Zelda-esque but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Nice job mixing up styles for us! Blast Counter: I love the intro atmosphere. It sounds like a missile launch counter going down (which is why the song is probably titled Blast Counter ), but it does a good job setting the style of the song. Napalm Man's theme is so damn catchy too (I keep thinking of all the great Napalm Man mixes Main Finger made in the GRMRB). Cool little effects going on at the 1:30 area, and I love the 'call and reply' between the Wily theme and Napalm theme. But, wait, what is this... NO WILLROCK SOLO? 'Team Willrock Solos' doesn't have a Willrock solo? WHATEVER WILL WE DO?!?!?!?! Haha, anyway, I think the Nutritious solo at the end is just fine! If there weren't so many other damn good tracks this round this would've made it into my top 3. Dr. Wiwwy Polarized: Holy sound design batman! The intro synth is absolutely delicious Gario! I love the blending of the two themes, particularly the Magnet Man shenanigans at 1:10. The entire soundscape just fits perfectly. Great sound design, production, everything. Yeah you just created one of my favorite mixes of the compo easily. This will be in my top 3 somewhere. Proud Warrior of a Forgotten Kingdom: I do love piano solos. It sounds like you didn't have to finish this one up tho. The soundscape is pretty empty, even after the other instruments come in. It would be cool to see this fleshed out with some orchestral elements, or toned back to just being a piano solo. I think either direction would have some promise. Bring the Heat: Oh, more piano... and more unfinished remixes The violin is a nice touch though. This sounds very similar to Geoffio's track right before this, which is kind of ironic cause they are back-to-back in the playlist. Maybe you guys should just combine your songs. Either way, this shows some promise too, it would've been nice to here it fleshed out and the soundscape filled out. Tower Power Boogie: Lol nice. Xarnax42 must be getting tired after 3 weeks of straight mixing. This reminds me of the old timey music you'd here in a silent film or as an interlude. In fact, in this playlist I think it does that great. It's a fun little interlude piece between the first and second half of the mixes. I like how things start to get derailed at the end (timing issues, etc.), it feels like that was purposeful and not by accident. I like it. Shining Groove: Nice bass work dude (AMT?). The drums sound muddy (particularly the snare could be snappier). The track does seem to meander a lot in the middle too. I like the overall sound of the song though, some of the sweeping synth choices are cool. It feels like a very quick 3:44. The Fall: Oooh more Akumajo. Cool isolated vocal intro (nice layering effects too!). I love the driving groove here. Very very catchy. Fun instrumental breakdown section in the middle too. Really not much to complain about here, I really enjoyed this song! Robot Lounge: Ooooh yeeeeeah. Sexy stuff here. Shadow Man sounds perfect in this style. You nailed the 'lounge' sound perfect here. Great bass & piano. I love the little syncopations in the melody too. Very groovy stuff. Then the trumpet comes in to keep things interesting. I'm a sucker for the trumpet. That sealed the deal for me here. Nice performance C7! Again, nothing to complain about here. This is definitely one of my favorite mixes of the compo. Wily's Bubble Bath: Thename brings up a gross visual of a hairy old man in a bathtub. But I'll forgive you cause this song is so groovy. The Hard Men lucked out that TGH could step in for Emu! Your mixes never fail to impress sir. I love the chill vibe coming from the piano and the introduction of the synth fits in with the style perfectly (nice sound design). Bubble Man's theme sounds fresh in this mix (even after hearing numerous other Bubble mixes from you). Nice! Planes, Trains, & Auto 'n' Beat: Damn hell that name is hard to type. I shall forever call it PT&AnB. Charge Man in a minor key really makes the theme sound a lot darker and not happy go luckily like it normally does. I love how it fits in here with the Wily theme. Cool sound design, nice orchestral elements, and cool glitchy effects throughout. Nice piano too! Great job Pete! Combustive Implosion: It is nice to see that another Skull Man does indeed exist! This song has a really cool atmosphere to it. Cool bass & piano throughout. It makes me think of like a stealth game or something... like a robot master is sneaking into Wily's castle or something I guess . It feels like it ends kind of awkwardly though, like you weren't sure if you were finished or not. Either way, I dig it. I wish I had more votes cause this barely missed the cut. So I know I'm going to vote for "Robot Lounge", "Wily's Bubble Bath", and "Dr. Wiwwy Polarized", but I'm not quite sure the order. I'll let the mixes settle over the week and decide. Either way, great job everyone. I pretty much really enjoyed every mix this week!

That made me lol pretty hard

Oh solo piano, how I love thee. Great job here Squint! Amazing performance and great arrangement!

I love this song Gario. It is indeed funky. The muffled intro makes me think I'm walking into an old school arcade or something. Yeah about the only thing that bothers me is that the drums do sound kind of weak. Particularly the snare sounds kind of fuzzy and I think it would sound better being a bit snappier. The song is a little short overall, but I don't think it matters too much cause it's so upbeat. The timing on the ending echo sounds off to me too. It sounds like the delay time should be a bit shorter. Other than that, good stuff!

Yeah, by default, Mr. Rozovian is the mixer for The Mega Ballers this round.

Oh yeah I figured, I was more disappointed with the lack of feedback, but it is a compo and not the WIP forums, which is why I threw it up here now . And thanks, I'm glad you think it's sexy I'm at a little bit of a loss here. What do you suggest? That's what I tried to do by varying up the lead, the guitar-ish synth handles the Needle Man theme mostly, while the mellow square synth has the Wily theme. Do you mean I should vary the instruments more, or work more on textures/layering and dynamics? ROFL. Updated. I actually honestly forgot that was still down there. But before the GRMRB 2011 and this compo, that actually was the last thing I had made. I've been away for nearly 2 years. And in other news... I've actually got plans to bring back the ol' Dive Man. That's kind of my sentiment too. Sweet. Thanks man.

*Subbed Version (1/31)* Smooth Operator Final *UPDATE (12/6)* Smoother Operator v4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey everybody, this track was my Round 4 entry for the Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet. It is an arrangement of Needle Man's theme from Mega Man 3 and the Mr. X Fortress theme from Mega Man 6. It features my teammate, Phonetic Hero, on the drum sequencing! I'm pretty proud of this mix, I feel like it's the best produced & arranged mix I've created. Unfortunately it didn't garner too many votes in the compo, but I'm not sure if that's cause no one liked it, or I was just up against some tough competition. Regardless, I'm really interested in any and all feedback because I'd really like to sub this to the panel! I've got two versions to compare too. The first version is virtually identical to the compo version except I cleaned up some of the low frequencies (the bass and kick felt like they were getting distorted a bit), lowered the reverse cymbal volume, and adjusted the limiter I was using on the master track. Smooth Operator - Compo version (with minor production tweaks) The second version I re-arranged the end section a bit. I kind of felt like the arrangement got a little stale in the second half of the song (although that could've just been because I heard this thing non-stop for a week), so I mixed things up a bit. The song is identical to the above version until the Wily theme climax section (2:26 - 2:41), which has a few note & rhythm changes. The 2:42 - 3:09 section replaces the Wily A section from the original mix, with the Needle Man A section on the lead synth (which is a little more energetic than the mellow square synth that was playing the Wily A melody). Smoother Operator - Alternate Arrangement Let me know which version you guys prefer. I'm really at a loss, I like both. General comments, production crits, whatever you guys hear, let me know! I appreciate it! I plan on opening this up for mod review after I hear some comments. Thanks!

I just downloaded the mixes this round and I've only listened to one so far... but I just want to say ROBOT LOUNGE OMG! This is kinda the style I've been going for with my mixes and you guys nailed it. I love the live trumpet from C7 too. Great great great job guys