Dj Mokram

Sounds interesting. Definitely some Uematsu references in here. The song is slow paced and the approach fitting. While some instruments may not be top notch, the general direction sounds promising. This is still rough and soundscape is pretty empty atm. You definitely need to experiment with the melodic material and add some harmonies here and there too. You have a mean dissonance at 1:19 with the brass. Also, try adding some dry percussions and cymbals to add fullness to the sound. In the last part from 1:46, where the melody played by the brass is reminiscent of FF7 bombing mission, your militaristic percussions are too exposed. Seems like you're hesitating between an eloquent, slow paced composition, and a more dramatic, tense one. Try to find the right balance between both as you proceed further.

Since it's mostly a 'cosmetic' update, I'll focus on small subsiding problems. Part from 0:25 = discreet guitars can give the illusion to blend in more effectively. But dissonance subsists in a few instances with some notes (0:33 0:35 0:37). You have another small dissonance on one note at 2:32. Can be fixed quickly. I'm unsure as if you've enhanced the drumroll at 3:03. May I suggest you make it start half a measure earlier, with two sparse kick-hits on the 3:02 mark? Did you change something on the guitar part from 1:45? Somehow it sounds more pleasant to the ear now. I'm still advocating the implementation of reverse cymbals to help transition from loud and full parts to more quiet moments, where the sounscape is thiner. Namely on these marks: 1:59~2:00 - 2:47~2:48 - 4:07~4:08. Other than that, sounds pretty great IMO. The song flows quite well as is, so forget my comment on adding another break. A few minor tweaks here and there, and this one should be completed.

I kind of remember the bad relationship between Nintendo and Square that resulted into that game being made for Sony's PSX instead. It took quite a while (nearly 10 years) before the situation settled down (with Crystal Chronicle on Gamecube in 2003). Nowadays, Squeenix is developping quite a few game for Nintendo, and even though the FFVII licence is the property of Sony, I'm not sure it would be clever for them to pour oil on the fire once again with the original game. That being said, FFVII fans demands have been more than answered already. Advent Children, Advent Children Complete, Dirge of Cerberus, Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, the anime Last Mission. And that doesn't include the goodies (keychains, rings, earings, figurines), the soundtracks, the PSP packs, etc.etc. They've made quite a lot of money out of one episode... well, they had no choice after The Spirits Within fiasco. But my guess is they intend to do the same with the FFXIII universe as they did with the seventh chapter. Except this time, they won't have to wait years before realising what their fanbase want. Probably because FFXIII wasn't directed strictly at previous FF fans, but aimed to a broader audience in order to create a new fanbase. And so after FFXIII, there'll be Versus XIII, Agito XIII, and so on... Fabula Nova Crystalis, the modern equivalent to the Compilation of FFVII. Some might see behind the childhood memories and realize now that this isn't just a game anymore. It's a software upgrade which is part of a business plan. And with that in mind, try to picture Microsoft doing a remake of Windows 98. No matter how much people loved it (or hated it) back then, that's highly improbable.

UN-BE-LIE-VABLE! Running a project like that from scratch, while gathering so much support, all in such a short notice is highly commendable. I'm not sure how other people will feel about the whole 'fasttrack' thing though, but you definitely pulled off quite a number on this one. You strike me as a man who needs a co-director. Good thing you already got plenty of people qualified for the job onboard! Good luck guys. And, HURRY UP!

The intro is refreshing, and the harp that comes in from 0:07 makes it even better. Actually, that part reminds me a lot of Okami for some reason. The guitar from 0:25 co-habit strangely with the piano. Instruments seems to be stepping on each onther toes here. Can't pinpoint exactly if it comes from dissonant harmonies, chorus or dissident tone. Nice variation at 2:00, short but eloquent. Like how it slowly comes back to the main melody afterward. Part from 4:08 with the galloping percussions, I dig the progressive come back of the instruments and melodic material. 4:40 to the end is the high point of the song. Galloping percus mixing with regular drums, meanwhile the full soundscape is growing and the song is really coming to life. I'm gonna go and say that the galloping thing may be a reference to cowboys on their horses disappearing on the horizon with the sunset, thus Final Sunset? My only real gripe here, is that while the song flows nicely, the transitions between parts are a bit rough somehow. Imho, they would benefit from some reverse crash or subtle riff/mellow introduction. Also, the song could use a real break, slower with a more subtle atmosphere comprised of fewer instruments and softer guitar riffs. This one is quite different from some of your previous work. I enjoyed the calmness of the song, with its purely melodic parts, and its peaceful moments. Overall clean production, and your performance, while having its regular fierceness toned down due to the genre/pace, was still sharp as usual. A fitting piece to wrap up, say ...an album for exemple.

That's entirely up to you guys!

Now we're in serious business for some Songs of Night and Madness! ;D See ya crazy coordinator on may 8th 2010, for the aforementioned track update.

Thanks for the help Joe. This has been added to the project's ressources. Also, updated first post with additional info.

True. However, that didn't stop Hamauzu from scoring games with it either. But, yeah, even some big name libraries have some rather cheap sounding instruments that anyone would be pissed off having paid one thousand quid for.

Not even Metal Gear was spared by this plague.

UPDATE v8: check it on the first post! -Additional tweaking and tuning on the beginning and on the ending. -More bass presence and occurrences throughout the song, and also volume raise. -Complete overhaul of the middle part: dropped the guitars entirely, added some new instruments & segments, changed the drums. -Extended the track from 4:14 to to 5:36. Longest VG arrangement I've ever done... It's been almost a year since I've started working on this, and I feel like I've learned quite a bit during that time. A little more effort and I should be able to complete this ReMix soon. Feedback, as usual, is most welcome.

You guys own the friggin podcast factory or something?! Need a week off to keep up the pace. Stay sharp out there.

This is most excellent. Favorite track of mine from X3. Even though it's generally accepted that the snes had better audio, this litteraly makes the original track sound like (sea)horse shit. In the right hands, that Yamaha synth could do some damage in its time. Heck, we're twenty years later and it still does! Great work.

Welcome to the recruitment thread for: Secret Bonus Point - a Dynamite Headdy tribute album SBP release and discussion thread is HERE ~ Thanks everyone! All tracks are DONE and we're wrapping up the album. Can't disclose more info in here, as this is only a recruitment thread. But if you've been following this project (secretly or not), stay tuned. We're almost there... Release date: August 26th 2011 ~ Project supporter sigs: Support this project by using the sigs below and linking them to: http://dhsbp.kngi.org ~ Project history Dynamite Headdy is a sidescroller platforming game developped for the Sega Genesis in 1994 by Treasure (Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, Radiant Silvergun, Silhouette Mirage, Ikaruga). It's a fun, albeit challenging game, that often rewards you for thinking outside the box ...with Secret Bonus Points! Thanks to Nazo² Unit, who pushed the YM2612 to its limits, the soundtrack has a very distinct personality, driven by jazzy and classical influences, colorful grooves, and a healthy dose of craziness. Someone needed to make sure their prowesses wouldn't go unnoticed. This project started primarily as a fun way to experiment with some ideas and grow as an artist. A remix request posted by user Jaybell was left unanswered since 2007. After joining the community, I took upon myself to arrange some songs. Along the way, a few people volunteered to help or were recruited to join the effort. What was once a one-man job, turned into a collaborative tribute album. A preview was released to celebrate the game 16th anniversary and showcase progress. We've also been granted forums space courtesy of Nitro Game Injection host KyleJCrb. Interestingly enough, the original thread has since become the most viewed request thread of all time. Secret Bonus Point will contain around 20 arrangements from the game's soundtrack. ~ For various reasons, these tracks were not arranged: Carmen and Nutcracker (both classical pieces) Funny Angry I love Goldie Hawn Kejime 2 Maruyama appears North Town theme Tonight's a Jazzy Night Why Figgy ~

Thanks for the advice Joe. I'll try to add more bass freq overall. Will also redo the drums at some point and raise the volume a bit like you suggested. Hope I can get some additional feedback to know if there's anything else that need fixing, apart from what was mentioned. I'd like to complete this one at some point.

In recent news, we now have forums for the project. It's an opportunity I'm very thankful for, so let's not waste it. Also started a recruitment thread to gather more help in claiming remaining tracks and doing artwork. Attention - people with claimed tracks: You should have received a PM with all relevant info. For those who haven't responded already, get back to me before April 10th 2010. After that, I'm cleaning up the table, voiding all unanswered claims and starting over. I plan to have the album completed this year, even if that means having to remix 10 songs by myself.

Thing is, Final Fantasy is no longer the last hope at commercial success of Squaresoft it once was. It's now the emblematic bulldozer franchise emcompassing Squaresoft and Enix's universe and teams. Though they did a clever thing: instead of making 'Final Dragon Fantasy Quest', they took a smaller licence more fitting of the whole StarWars direction they were trying to take. If I say: Enix futuristic Sci-Fi-fantasy love-story with free roaming monsters and action RPG type combat, you can't help but think Star Ocean (especially the recent ones). And that's pretty noticeable in this last FF. Heck, it's alsmost like it was Enix that absorbed Square in the first place. So next, be prepared to see a fusion of the Seiken Densetsu (Secret of) serie with the Gaia Gensouki / Soulblader / Terranigma! ...that would rock actually. But in the meantime, I think we'll all relax and enjoy some Final Ocean Wars: The Last Hope of the Fantasy - episode XIII.

That, my friend, is the next project on my list right after Dynamite Headdy. Have a few tracks in the works already. Look forward to 2011.

The track is a little too atmospheric atm to allow critique on the realistic instrumentation standpoint. If you're looking for feedback on such area, try something more melody-based instead. That will force you to expose your individual technique on each instruments a bit more. I'd say there's a strong emphasis on highs, and the choir is a bit prominent, but I didn't find anything else bothering with the overall mixing. Though most of the sounds are of course really decent, what got my attention here is the flute. First thing that comes to mind is the anime 'Kino no Tabi', cause Ryo Sakai used the exact same instument in the music. Out of curiosity, is it from Ra?

If it's open to people who don't play 'real' instruments, i.e. are making music on a computer mostly, why not. Though my participation will be sporadic due to schedule, I'll be happy to contribute however and whenever possible.

Masashi Hamauzu - The Warpath Home (from FFXIII original soundtrack) If there is anything better than Hitoshi Sakimoto doing an FF soundtrack, it's Hamauzu emulating Sakimoto while doing an FF soundtrack.

The last time I did find spare time to play, I went through DeadSpace and Bionic Commando 2009 again, like 2 or 3 times each. So I guess I should add them to the list of games I play over and over... only from time to time.

I couldn't agree more on the fact that projects with huge scale (3 discs or so) and genre constraint aren't the easiest to complete. No matter how many willing and able musicians are around, you need to have both a strong direction and truly dedicated people to execute the concept flawlessly. But yeah, it seems that most recent projects have some kind of genre-specific focus. So much that in fact, the freedom allowed in this one sounded kinda fishy.

There isn't a word about the sound you're going for, or on genre considerations in the first post. Is that normal?

Seconded. Also, is there any update on the fate of the Rockman4 project, which's been locked-up for sometime now?