[OCRA-0025 - Sonic the Hedgehog: The Sound of Speed]

-sighs with contentment-

I've listened to this album for the 3rd time today and while I know that you know my long and wordy review is sure to come, I just wanted to express my appreciation of, once again, allowing me to bask in memories from the past once more. My wish for the Sonic OC Remix Trilogy to become reality has finally come true.

-fangirls lazily while listening to "Shifting Islands"-

[OCRA-0022 - Heroes vs. Villains (OC ReMix vs. The Bad Dudes)]

[Part Two Here:]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & T.M.N.T. IV: Turtles in Time

• The Turtles: Go Ninja, Go - Oh. My. God. bLiNd has done it again! As an avid listener of OC Remix from its start back in nearly ten years ago (or is it eleven years now?), I have not been disappointed with any of bLiNd's work when I first stumbled across him. This time is no exception. I am completely amazed from start to finish of this song just how incredible this piece is. NES T.M.N.T. pissed me off so bad because the game was so freaking hard, especially for a girl who hadn't even made it past the 1st grade yet. But that's neither here nor there. At age six to sixteen, this game is still a nightmare for some of us gamers and this song made me forget just how badly it whooped my ass. The rhythm has a "cruise" sort of feel - like something you would just blast in your car, windows down and your car set on cruise control for the long stretch of highway. But of course, bLiNd is known for his unpredictability in his music and not even a minute into the song, he's changed gears on us. Still going with the feel of just racing down the street, I feel like the splash of the Turtles theme with heavy guitar and in a "challenging" way suited this perfectly. Then, just shy of 2 minutes, we've transitioned back into that lazy highway feel. Enjoying the "starry" sounds that envelope my ears, I try not to allow myself to get too comfortable in the sound because bLiNd won't let me fall into that lazy sync. No, he's going to make my ears work to enjoy this piece and that's exactly what happened again. But oh no, what is this? 3:00 ... is the song over? I think not! Changing it up once again, the song has gone a completely different direction with a heavier tone and even heavier bass line - the skips and glitch reminscent of finally settling into something - the last bits fading out with a nice feel. bLiNd, you never cease to amaze me and you certainly hit home with this one. I commend you!
  
• Shredder: Enter The Shredder - Now when one thinks of "Shredder" in the musical sense, we think of some sick and killer guitar sounds. Danimal delivered flawlessly and on a theme from a classic game. God, Turtles in Time ... definitely an all time favorite for me - well, next to T.M.N.T. II. That one was always a bit closer to my heart than the others. Two minutes into the song, Danimal's changed up gears and added sound bits from the original game that go in perfectly with the song. In a way, it almost reminds me of a dirty mix. Add a sultry female voice saying "Enter the Shredder" and we'll all want to be flashing our Shredder Fanclub Membership cards. -laughs- The song goes on relatively in the same directed pace of heavy on the guitar and smooth on the percussion until we get toward the end of the song when things don't start syncing up anymore ... and then it sounds like a skippy CD to where, for once, I don'w want to freak out and whip out the CD cleaner to get the damn thing to play right. Danimal Cannon, great job, and I look forward to hearing more of your stuff.
  

The Legend of Zelda

• Link: He Ain't a G - -laughs- The titles of some of these songs are amazing and José the Bronx Rican's is no different. I always enjoy his rhymes in songs and was actually first exposed to his work directly when he did a remix of Vega's theme for the "Blood on the Asphalt" OC Remix album collaboration. This is definitely the best of the best of some of his work. And the fact that the classic "Overworld" theme is used for the main beat of the battle rap. I can't help but feel like this scenario is like the Battle from "8 Mile" with B. Rabbit and Free World. O.O Is that zyko I hear? Wow, again I'm amazed. Staying true to the "battle" mentality, Link is throwing hits left and right at poor poor Ganon (and when I mean poor, I say this in the sense of sarcasm - I hated that guy). Even was he tries to come back, he is ultimately stomped down by Link (as it should be) and well - guess that's all she wrote. Great job again, José.
  
• Ganon: Bladwalker - Oh Ganon, leave it to you to just well ... not do what needs to be done. The skit was amazing in the beginning, setting the stage up for Ganon's evil and cruel ways. Is he intimidating? Just a tad. But that's okay, because the rhymes he spits to battle back against Link may not be too terrible in dissing our hero, but they definitely have you worrying for the future. Stroking his ego to the max is probably what suits a villain best so zyko definitely played up and delivered that as well as it needed to. Great idea on the part of this being a "rap battle" and I think the feel was successful. I enjoyed this mix and though I would have to say that Link has won the battle once again, this is certainly something that I felt was different in flavor from zyko and a piece I thoroughly enjoyed. Again, well done!
  

Street Fighter

• Ryu: Satsui no Koto - Now then, seeing as how I'm not only half Asian, but a pretty avid listener of traditional Asian music, the fact that "Koto" was in this song automatically got me excited. zircon is definitely one of my favorite OC Remix artists on the site and, like with bLiNd, I am never disappointed with any of the mixes that he comes up with. So, of course, I was excited about this piece for various reasons. That and he has already done the Street Fighter genre for "Blood on the Asphalt" (Fei Long's theme was incredible, zircon), so I knew that I was going to be getting gold. Gold was definitely what I received. Joining hands with Joshua Morse, zircon was able to create a fantastic mesh of traditional instruments, jazz flavor with a modern accent on the bass/percussion beats. I have heard so many renditions of Ryu's theme that it's not even funny and while RyuInterpretation by ReMixer Malcos is still my favorite, I will have to say that zircon's new mix is now a close second in that category. Again, great job and the piece ended just as beautifully as it opened up. Kudos to you, zircon and Joshua.
  
• Sagat: Coconut Milk - Sagat? Are you getting ready to fight, or are you getting ready to offer Ryu some cool beverages near that expensive beach house you're showing off to everyone? -laughs- I enjoyed just how different this piece was in contrast to what I believed it to be. I mean, big and muscled up Sagat with such a pleasant, "Cheers" sort of theme feel? I admit, I was definitely caught off guard. Then again, what can I expect when the title is called "Coconut Milk", yes? I enjoyed the different instruments introduced in this song and my favorite part would have to be the xylophone (maybe?) solo followed by a deep bass transition that ultimately slowed the piece down. It soon picked up with the guitar, bass and upbeat of the percussion with the rim shots. Again, fantastic way to go about his theme and the change back down to piano with solid, reverb and tones to fill my ear drums was definitely an excellent bit. I do feel like the ending was a bit sudden, but the song in its entirety more than makes up for this. Applauds go to you posu yan and Joshua Morse.
  

Kirby

• Kirby: The Life and Death of Kirby - The fact that the 8-bit is actually in the hero transition was definitely a nice change of pace. Tack that on with the fact that it's freaking KIRBY and we have to assume that this will be made of greatness. The hashed sound effects similar to what would be thrown into a dirty mix had me bobbing my head back and forth as if I was watching Kirby doing his thing - eating his way through this that and the other. However, despite it being a dirty mix that made me bounce my head here and there, it was nothing close to it being all "oh yay I'm Kirby and I'm a cute pink gumball," but more along the lines of "I'm Kirby bitch and I'm gonna knock you out." The sound was much darker on the edges than normal Kirby themes usually go. I was able to see that this truly stuck with the "Heroes vs Villains" aspect since he is, technically, battling it out with his nemesis. Wonderful all around and I enjoyed hearing Kirby finally kick some ass, Insert Rupee. Thank you for that.
  
• King Dedede: Hot Air Penguin - Piano is a monster in this. Beastly and tied in great with the beats in the background - but don't get too excited. The sound mellows out with heavy percussion muffled in the back to give you the feel that yes, I'm taking a breather, but I'm coming back swinging hard. We hear the classic 8-bit (or similar) thrown into the mix and it's a nice little reminder that yes, the King has come a long way. Add that in with some jazzy drunken brass and I say we have something pretty fancy brewing here. Add to the fact that all of this sounds like one jumbled up mess and it just makes me happy. I wasn't upset or confused with the ... confusion. In fact, it just brought back old memories. Thank you, Mazedude, for another job well done.
  

Castlevania

• Simon Belmont: The Prodigal son Returns - Yes, we all know the story. Could have it been told in a better fashion? I think not. I always imagined Belmont's sound being very ... noble, almost regal. But none of that stupid "trumpets sounding" and "war drums banging" sort of deal. After all, darkness is where some of his origins hail so why not have a very gut guitar and bass heavy theme with the softness of piano added into that. Throw in some classical church bell chimes and the infamous whip cracks and I say we have another well created reMix on our hands. Still holding true to the hero element of the theme presented, this is certainly a fantastic way to have our heroes end their share of the battle - Belmont cracking his whip one good time to signal that if he's going down, he's not going down without a fight and whip crack to your face! Mr. M, switching sides are you? Well you certainly played your part well and ended the fight for the Heroes in a noble, fiery finish. Great job!
  
• Dracula: A Walk With Death - I daresay that the Villains will take this betrayal lightly and Ailsean is known for his sick guitar bits and seemingly haunting melodies. This is no exception and the fan in me of Ailsean wishes to cry out that this is easily a victory for the Villains in this battle. The stage has been set up and the ship has now docked (it is a ship, right? XD I fear my hearing is not picking up sound effects like they used to). Death is knocking on the doors of those foolish enough to open it and invite him in. Ailsean's dark, rumbling sound mixed with the guitar solos and chords are a welcome and expected sound for Dracula, the Lord of Darkness. Mixing that with the feel of, again, another Western scenario and I say that he will certainly be giving Belmont a run for his money. It just goes to show that Ailsean did not take this turn coating business as lightly as some would have hoped. Nice job, Ailsean!
  

Overall, as an album, this was another project well done. I am excited to see future collaborations between these two groups and am expecting great things (since all I have ever heard are great things at this point). This album shall surely be synced to my mp3 player as soon as I get done posting this review for you guys. Keep up the hard work! It's great and it's always a pleasure to know that this kind of thing - the things that you all love doing - are still available for free to the public for those of us too poor to be able to buy your albums ... at least right now. Though I may not post as fervently on the boards as I would like, know that I do support everything that you do at OC Remix and that what you all have given to the VGM community, we, as fans, will do our best to give back someday.

[OCRA-0022 - Heroes vs. Villains (OC ReMix vs. The Bad Dudes)]

I know that this album has been out for a while and I'm probably late with my review (life has been a pain in the ass). I have been diligent in checking the site as often as I can and looking at all the new stuff. Sorry guys, though I'm just a run of the mill member I feel like my opinion doesn't matter sometimes. XD

Okay, I don't know how I would go about splitting this up so I guess I'll go by sections? Oh, and the album art/poster? Holy frackin' shit, it was amazing to look at and I stared at it for half an hour like the horrible fangirl I am. -laughs-

Metroid:

• Samus Aran: The Bounty of a Brain - This was simply amazing. The haunting intro plus the digitized clicks really were a great way to start this song off. In all honest to goodness, I felt like I was playing Metroid Prime all over again. Samus has always been one of my favorite heroines in a video game since, well, I dunno ... she's so hardcore in her own silence? If that even makes any sense. But yes, the build up was incredible and when the main melody finally came into play, I was astounded. Percussion beat was well timed and guitar solo equates to phenomenal. The transition from hardcore to more mellowed out over halfway through the song was also great and I enjoyed it. It certainly gave it a more "Hero"esque feel for Samus, the conclusion closing out her theme perfectly for the following transition for Mother Brain's theme. Excellent job, Big Giant Circles - I shall make it a point to look forward to more of your works.
  
• Mother Brain: Dieselbrainage - Perhaps this is the gamer in me subconsciously trying to rise to the surface and express my deep hatred for this villain ... but I love to hate this song. But in the same sense, I hate to love this song. The tone is dark, sinister, and almost menacing ... then the infamous 8-bit pops up and I am left slack-jawed for all of two seconds before hearing psychotic maniacal laughter in my ears (Btw, was that laughter track taken from Michael Jackson's "Thriller"? -applauds- Bravo). Yes, I am blinking in astonishment at this point. If that wasn't a serious blast from the past, I don't know what else it could have been. Great job, again, for reminding how much I completely hated this boss fight with a passion. -smirks- Again, I say this all in a positive light - very well done Mazedude.
  

Monkey Island

• Guybrush Threepwood: Pirate Shout - I will admit, the beginning of this song had me thinking I was set up for a traditional "Pirate's Life For Me" sort of sound. Seconds end I come to find out that, again, I am mistaken and taken for a different spin. Heavy guitar and the actual shouts of a group of pirates was definitely a nice touch. I had to resist the urge to swing my arms in sync with the rhythm of their chorus ("Drink up me hearties, yo ho!" ^^) and opted for just bobbing my head instead. This is definitely a rich symphony of sounds using more guitar and metal influences. I enjoyed this piece greatly. Excellent job audio fidelity, Eric Griffin, Derek Meler, & Marcus Affeldt!
  
• LeChuck: Voodoo, Roots 'n Grog - This was certainly a stark compliment to "Pirate Shout" simply because it was so bouncy, uplifting and made a grin break out on my face. I was suddenly wondering who was the bad guy and who was the good guy, but then I'm reminded, of course, of The Jungle Book and how "King Louis" was technically supposed to be the "baddie" in that particular scene. But "yoo hoo hoo, I wanna be like you" is certainly a song that we all recognize as fun, catchy, and something you woudln't expect an antagonist character to have. The gut guitar and groove beats remind me of Leo's theme when he was disguising himself as "Mystere" in Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. Also, is the 8-bit throw in going to be a reoccurring theme for the Villains in games of old because if so, I certainly am getting more excited as I listen and I'm only four tracks in! Conclusion of the song was timed well, ending Monkey Island and allowing us to enter into the next videogame series. Great job Digi Dis & Alex Jones.
  

God of War

• Kratos: Born of Ashes, Baptized in Blood - From start to finish, this song fits Kratos perfectly and sets an overall tone of what the game's atmosphere is supposed to be like. I am impressed and do not think for one second that any of this does not fit his character in general. The deep and almost soulful guitar melody is flawless and again, suits Kratos's character. The seemingly soft transition to a more somber sound also makes me, the listener, feel like Kratos is taking a pause from his tumultuous atmosphere to enjoy the effects his chaos has reaped ... in a way. -laughs- Perhaps that is just the weirdo in me, who knows? Fantastic job, Brandon Strader.
  
• Zeus: Wrath Industrial - Now just by looking at the title, I should have know that there was going to be some New Age influence in this - or at least some bits of electronica. However, seeing as this is Zeus, I expected more classic instruments. Again, I was not given what I was expected which, of course, is always a good thing. I enjoy surprises. The combination of orchestral sounds plus the digital effects were a welcome change of pace and I enjoyed the overall sound this gave the piece. Kunal Majmudar, I commend you.
  

Streets of Rage

• Axel: Bare Knuckl Blitz - From 0:01 all the way to the end, this screamed "I am a hero dammit! Hear me roar!" I loved it! Willrock delivered the feel that was needed for this classic game and I felt that it truly brought out Axel's character. It's uplifting, powerful and gives the listener energy. Perfect fight scene music for those of us who cling to music for literary inspiration. Even though 8-bit was not introduced into this track, the tight syncopated beat was enough to give the illusion that it was there. All the sounds that play out 1:27 to 1:48 was enough to blow my mind. Everything had a different beat, sound and flavor but none of it was terrible to listen. In fact, it was exciting! Truly something worth listening to again and yes, I have repeated the track at least three times while trying to write out my little reivew here. Percussion is spectacular and the build up a minute and change before the end of the song was leaving me wanting more and Willrock granted my wish, even though he didn't even realize it. Excellent job!
  
• Mr. X: Mr. Z - zyko, zyko, zyko ... he never ceases to amaze me. The menacing intro and the original sound bytes from the game are an excellent way to introduce this piece. Add that to the feel of it being a modernized/post-apocalyptic spaghetti western feel was enough to have me hooked. Add that to the guitar and steady tempo of the percussion beats had me already fearing for SoR's hero, Axel. But where there is a will, there is certainly a way ... but enough about our Hero. Let's get back to our villain. 1:04 to 1:20 inroduces us to what can only be assumed as a sick succession of guitar sound and sure enough, at 1:27, the guitar picks up with a taste of off-beat sounds to throw our senses a little off kilter but coming back to end it wonderfully with a hint of a build up at just shy of 2 minutes. We return to the rise in sound at about half past two and it is at this point that I am bobbing my head to the beat (the organ was a nice touch, zyko, by the way). Throw that in with a sparcity of different digital sound effects and we have ourselves a mixture of every kind of flavor you could possibly imagine (oh, and 3:52? -nods head in approval- Very nice job; a great way to pick the piece back up until its finish). Close it off with great guitar riffs and the "battle ensuing" and we've got ourselves another masterpiece. Again, zyko, bravo.
  

Mega Man II & IV

• Mega Man: Screw Wily, I'm Taking a Vacation - Okay, the title to this just made me laugh. My friend and I (who, btw, claims that Mega Man is/will be her husband someday) thought these were very amusing. The laid back feel to this theme had me feeling like Mega Man just has no idea of the shit he's going to be having to deal with through out all the Mega Man series. He's wanting a vacation at II? What's he gonna need when he finally hits IV? A Sabbatical? But again, this had a very laid back, jazzy feel almost in sync with "Costa del Sol" from Final Fantasy VII. I could imagine Mega Man soaking up some sun, drinking a cocktail and putting on those infamous "goggles that do nothing." The percussion was tasteful, as was the bass and piano bits that were included. There are probably a few instruments in here that I'm missing, (did I mention electric piano? I probably failed to and for that apologize) but overall I was pleased with this piece. Including the well known jazz stinger at the end. Well done, Mattias Häggström Gerdt!
  
• Dr. Wily: Screw Mega Man, I'm Taking Over the World - Again, title, love it. Also, the fact that the titles have anything to do with what kind of feel this piece will have just had me excited. After all, if I heard a jazzy laid back beat for Mega Man, can I expect a similar flow for this piece since the titles are so close in wording? I was not disappointed, not in the least. A mixture of groove, jazz and some funk just made this song exciting and upbeat. Fitting for Dr. Wily, though I wish that my dear Mega Man had not taken a vacation and showed us what his blue suited self was made of. Overall, I was pleased with the sound, especially piano and high points around 2:25 and onward. The fadeout was nice in transition to the stinger on Mega Man's piece. My only disappointment? ... I felt like this song ended sooner than I would have wished. But my love for it is still the same. Fantastic job, Joshua Morse! Oh, and do I hear Wily's Theme from Mega Man II scattered in here as well? -nods- Very well done.
  

[Part Two is to Follow]

[OCRA-0015 - Xenogears: Humans + Gears]

Okay, first and foremost, I would just like to thank you guys for another great project. Amazing job and I look forward to all other projects you have in the future. I've been keeping tabs with OC Remix since it first opened up in '99 (and yes, I mean back when the download slots were between midnight and 6 in the morning - I can not BEGIN to tell you how many nights I stayed up with my crappy, dial up connection, trying to get these songs back then and it was still a decent size then) and I'm really impressed with how far everyone has come along.

Okay, so now with the review right? Xenogears is still, by far, one of my favorite RPG's of all time (definitely in my top 10). So when I came onto the website and saw that this was the new album project up for download, I immediately torrented it, went to class, came home and opened up both albums, listening straight through each one.

Humans: Oh...my...goodness. So, the instrumental pieces in this work were absolutely amazing. No disrespect to Mitsuda-san, but when I was listening through all of these tracks, part of me wished that these were the originals and not the actual ones themselves. I mean...damn. I was completely taken away with how everyone was able to keep the original score of the songs, not bothering to taint or change the main melody...but instead, transformed it into an original creation of their own. The vocals in this section were amazing as well. DragonAvenger has come a long way and I will admit, for the past few years, I have been an avid pixietricks fan and tend to be more bias towards her as a female vocalist. But after hearing DA's performance in both Thieves of Fate and the Humans portion of this Xenogears collaboration, I must say that those feelings must be thrown out the window. Vampire Hunter Dan's mix Ship of Emotion and Song was my favorite off of this section of the album and I enjoy how no part of the song was chopped up and obvious in its flow between one song and the next. I also agree that Pocketman's Take Flight could have been longer. But overall, great section of the album and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gears: So, as stated before, I came straight home from school and listened to this. Which meant that I combined both albums, slapped them into my winamp playlist, and let it rip. I also didn't get a chance to watch the youtube trailer you guys made for the album, so I didn't quite understand the meaning behind splitting the album in half. Or at least I didn't understand the style difference you were insinuating when doing this. I figured it was just a random split like in Chrono Symphonic and didn't pay it much heed. However, when The Vagrance's Smooth Criminal popped up, that's when my eyebrows started to raise and the differences between Humans and Gears became quite evident. Invasion is probably one of my favorite "sewer/dungeon crawl" type songs ever written in that time frame of games, even to this day. So when I heard the glitch at the beginning of the song with the main melody, I immediately took a liking to it. The following track, Sleeper Dreamer by Siamey completely blew my mind. I mean, come on. Take a :30 second something track and transform it into a house technogasming experience? I commend you. However, R3FORGED's Omen (R3 Mix) is still my absolute favorite track on this entire album and it's well deserved considering he's been revamping this mix for years. The electronic, programming style that this was hoping to show definitely came through.

Overall, this album truly impressed me. It took a little getting used to and I probably should have watched the trailer video first. But then again, if I had, I don't think I would have really been able to appreciate the obvious differences you all, the remixers, attempted to make when creating Humans + Gears. A lot of hard work was put into this and I'm so happy you all did wonderful work for a game I felt has been long overdue for its just reward. I have yet to have been disappointed with any of the remix projects you all have created in the past, so I wasn't about to start doubting you guys now.

I look forward to the next remixing project. Your dedication and monstrous changes and improvements over the years have been well worth the drive to continue supporting and following you after all this time. You've never ceased to amaze me, even after 10 years.

And for that, I thank you.

[OCR01920 - Xenogears "Omen (R3 Mix)"]

I can't begin to express just how amazing this song is. I've had it on repeat for the past hour since I was able to download "Humans + Gears" and, needless to say, this is one of the most haunting songs, to me, in the entire game soundtrack. When I first heard it playing the game, I was overtaken with a sort of nostalgic emotion that I didn't understand. All I know is that my heart rate sped up and I could hardly tear my eyes away from the TV screen.

The same goes for this song. I'm listening to this and it instantly reminds me of the somber edge the original track had. The glitches, scratches, and hard hitting bass beats of the song really brought a new sound to this track. The piano and echoes, along with the different melodies overlapping each other, truly bring out the best in this piece. As stated, it has an intense crescendo effect and the heart thumping at the end of the track left me breathless.

Since Nano Wrimo is coming up, I can honestly say that this is one of MANY tracks from my OC Remix collection that will be going into my writing playlist. Excellent job R3FORGED! I look forward to hearing more of your material in the future.