mv

hi there! Claado, i'm interested in tracks #8 (Guardia Castle) and #11 (The Masamune). Hope that'll be alright, i haven't read all posts so i don't know if someone asked for those yet. I'll also make a remastered version of Darkest Omen if possible. cheers, mv

sorry for being late but the latest days have been terrible for me. i will make sure to submit a consequent WIP to Darkesword soon.

damn, i always hear about those projects so late.. i might try something, but that'll be hard since i have so much music to make nowadays.

you kids are so cute

graylightning once again proves that he's a valuable asset to the small community of quality video game remixers. this new mix takes us someplace more orchestral instead of the usual new age trips, and the result does not disappoint in any aspect. being a huge fan of shining force and shining in the darkness (this track was first composed for and used in SITD) i was really enthusiastic to learn that gray was working on one. the final result is delicious and this is the best shining-related remix lying on the web as of today. tension, mood and execution were ingeniously applied; the audio production is more than respectable, and the remix also benefits from clever ideas/buildups/transitions. excellent job breaking the original track apart and organising the melodies differently to obtain a more soundtrack-oriented feel. the percussion job was also appreciated, with many different feels and some subtle elements as well. some drum rolls felt a bit mechanical, but for a sampled ensemble the overall drum work is most enjoyable. lovely instrumentation, nice choir hits and i also love the apparition of some more exotic oriented instruments in some parts. some really evasive nitpicks would concern some of the staccato lines here and there that could have been embellished/harmonised more instead of using single notes; those were the only aspects that reminded me of the "new age" gray to sum it up, a great great remix with a lot of contrast and nice concept, all that supported by good sound design and production. i really recommend everyone to check this one out. it's hands down the best shining force 1 remix i ever heard

thank you. this version i like a tad better than the one on vgmix though. it has some fixed areas and EQ, a quieter saz line during the schala part and more bass in the ending it's also encoded in 128kbps to fit the submission guidelines anyway i'm glad to see it posted, thanks djp and co.

really glad to see this posted here. unlike some people i know who snob jeremy soule's work, i've been enjoying the soundtrack to morrowind immensely and have liked some of the ideas in neverwinter nights', i had even contacted him about that, and am thinking of remixing some morrowind tracks by him, once i figure out how to make something that can really stand the comparison. i think this piece is a good mixture of elements from both of the soundtracks. it keeps a mysterious and enigmatic tone like a morrowind exploration tune while having some harsher, sudden punctuations like the action tracks in neverwinter nights. this arrangement of terra's theme takes a filmesque approach and succeeds in quite a grandiose way. most would curse the skies that another terra remix is out but mr. soule shows his talent by providing something much deeper and elaborate than a melody variation. cleverly planned and - as always - benefitting from a beautiful instrumentation and professional production, this remix comes highly recommended!

that would rather be extremely right specially if you're comfortable with logic, because reason's sequencer is a catastrophe. however, from what i heard you could only rewire 16 reason 'machines' into sonar, and much more in cubase, i do not know about logic though. it's ok anyway, since reason's reverb isn't so hot anyway.. you're better off treating your channels with VST reverbs or logic reverbs. thanks about the comments

thanks for all the comments. i've used reason for this mix, as i have before for my parasite eve, final fantasy 11 and silent hill 2 remixes (not on this site). for those wondering about the sax, those are fills and thrills i got from a refill called "260dB : the drum and bass interface", i've spent a consequent amount of time trying to have most fit in and not conflicting with the tune too much. protricity had me know that i should refrain from using such samples in the future so my other mixes won't likely have any sax in them, except if i buy a sax and actually learn how to play that (since saxophones are some of those intruments that are hardly emu-able on comps)

thanks for the mindblowing, elaborated criticism. i will work more on my tracks so that they don't sound "too... i dunno.. bad?". i will refrain to use the "sax sound, which is extremely annoying". however i can understand that it's not what you were looking for, but i'm not really gonna complain about that happy browsing. conflicting opinions here, now someone doesn't like the synth but likes the sax. i don't know what to tell you, but i'm glad this doesn't really affect the validity of the track. it's a matter of preference and samplekwak. thanks for commenting though, and i hope that my later remixes will convince you more.

something different and refreshing for OCR thanks to graylightning very soothing xenogears remix, nice instrumentation (some lovely patches in there) and a very keen sense of setting up the ambience. i particularly like that odd synth bass used loudly in spots to back up the builups. the second half of the mix is particularly enjoyable when more instruments interact with each other. my only gripes would once again be the percussion samples used, but that's because i prefer abstract sounds and beats when dealing with ambient, and a few spots in the first half that could have used more substance. those don't stop this mix from being very enjoyable though, and thus i definitely recommend it! thumbs up! now go make more!

i wasn't aware that this remix was on ocr as well! i kind of feel obliged to write a review for this remix as it is one of the best pieces the amateur remixing scene has ever produced! wonderful enhancement, production and attention to detail all over the place. this tune is fantastic and many of my friends who aren't even into video game remixes highly enjoyed this piece, that is saying much. could have easily been on a konami cd, as this piece is totally worthy of being labelled as 'professional'. fantastic planning by midee, and outstanding group effort and playing/mixing of live elements. two thumbs up!

this is one of many mixes that showcase why i think israfel/michael dover is one of the best video game remixers out there. original ideas, daring approaches, amazing sounds and addictive grooves. "lesser kerubic patchwork" is no exception. the new dramatic direction given to the piece, the beautiful ethnic sounds and perc, along with the catchy breakbeat (which, however, could have used some variation in spots) make this track an instant classic, and definitely a novelty among the many cliche remixes provided by most artists out there. this track is something nobody should miss, or bash grand stuff.

kamikaze noodle is right, rika muranaka made the original track and the singer is carla white. as for the remix itself, i have to agree with the others and praise it. however it's not even on the "arrangement" line anymore since it deviates from the original so much. so basically it's one of thsoe remixes that literally re-invent and compose the track.. but hell! i enjoy those too i don't know if djp was right comparing this track to portishead, but it has a similar vibe and feel in some spots. very nice sounds and ideas thrown in there, and decent production. however, i think that you've gone a bit nuts with most reverb levels, i sometimes wished the mix was "fatter". also, some of the cuts and percussion breaks/hits felt odd, i'm a fan of idm, trip-hop and experimental stuff but i thought the sudden breaks/hits didn't work so well in that track. very nice job as a whole though, nice trip-hop skills thumbs up.

original take on kefka's theme to say the least, the battle theme reference was nice as well.. that piece reminded me of 'carnaval de paris', but isn't quite as impressive or catchy. the piece lasts for over 3 minutes without really having distinct breakups or highly memorable spots, which could not be a problem for that kind of piece if it was produced flawlessly or had an unique feel or addictive trait to it. the constant piano lines and beat don't provide much variety or entertainment on the long run though, and the tune got old very fast for me in consequence. i don't think it can last a decent amount of listens, i found it quite repetitive, in the wrong way. however this was a daring track to do, and the production is respectable; i have to agree with dale about the reverb being subpar though, and the kick could stand out more, also some drum samples such as the clap sounded kind of weak. bonus points for the effort but not a keeper as far as i'm concerned. makes you wonder how some other daring, deeper pieces get rejected as of late