MindWanderer

A tricky source to work with, not a whole lot there.  And this arrangement is definitely on the repetitive side as a result.  But it never quite repeats exactly, with different, creative accompaniment each time, and there's lots of extra padding to break up the repetitions.  I definitely think Rebecca could have erred more on the side of originality here, transforming the lead more and doing more with the other parts of the source, but I think it's adequate as it is.  Production is up to her usual standards, so I'm good giving this a
YES

If your experience is with 6, 7, and 9, 8 is the most similar to those in terms of battle mechanics and story.  It's much maligned for some of the tedious aspects of the advancement system and the discouragement to actually use magic, and the last third of the story is bizarre, but it's still a solid game.  If all you've seen of 7 is speedruns, though, it's well worth playing fully--although I recommend having someone give you hints about picking up the optional characters before you miss them.
10 is my favorite, but its strict turn-based combat makes it a somewhat different beast.  The story is my favorite of the whole series, though, I enjoyed the voice acting, and the graphics are excellent even if you're not playing the HD remake.  It's a weird but enjoyable advancement mechanic, too, especially if you can use the alternate sphere grid in the HD remake.  X-2 obviously assumes you've played 10 first, so don't start there.
I personally wasn't a huge fan of 12, and it's a very different kind of game, much more like the Mana series (or like soloing an MMO).  But it has its fans.

Castlevania: Cacophony of Incarnation (CCoI)
A Remix Competition Presented by the OverClocked ReMix Forums
Introduction
After being defeated by Simon Belmont, the spirit of Dracula floated in the void beyond time.  After an unmeasurable age, he found himself returned to his body, but in a strange place.  Reaching out, he found himself cut off from his seat of power, the eternal Castlevania!  He soon discovered that, once again, fragments of the castle and the surrounding Wallachian countryside had been thrown together, along with some of his old minions--but only a handful of the monsters that once served him remained loyal, while the rest stood between him and his new enemy, the usurper of his domain.  But he also found new allies!  The heroes who had proved his bane time and time again have also been sucked through time and, sensing a greater foe than any they had ever faced before, now stand beside the former Prince of Chaos to defeat this mysterious enemy and restore Castlevania to its normal order!
Current News
Signups are now taking place.  Anyone who wants to participate should post the names of their two teammates and their top 5 character selections, in order.  Some characters have more than one source associated with them.  If you choose one of those characters, also specify which of their sources you would like to use.  You may choose only one source per character, and each character will be represented by only one remixer.
Signups are still open, but the competition won't start until late January.  More details forthcoming.
Format
This competition uses Darkesword's "gauntlet" format.  Teams of 3 remixers will take turns remixing their character's theme with the shared theme of the week.  The competition will be 12 weeks long.  The main event will consist of 3 blocks of 3 rounds each, one announced per week but with a two-week remixing period, so that they overlap.  This will be followed by a 1-week break and a 3-week final boss round.  In each block, each remixer on a team will be that team's remixer for one week.  The teams do not need to select a remixer ahead of time, as long as each member submits only one remix per 3-week block (which means that the third remixer of each block will be determined by default).
The other remixers on a team are allowed to help with production and ideas, but the chosen remixer for a round must be the primary artist/arranger.  Remixers can make use of other performers to play instruments, sing, etc., even those not involved with the competition, but these may not help in any other way.
Submissions and File Names
Entries must be sent to me by PM on the forums.  Please include your team name and the round number in the subject line of the message.  Please do not use a file-sharing service that includes ads or that changes the filename.  Dropbox, Google Drive, and Soundcloud work well.  If you use Soundcloud, please double-check to make sure you have set your remix to be downloadable.
I will specify the filename for each round depending on the theme.  Please read and follow the directions carefully when they are announced.
Voting Rules and Guidelines
After each week, I will create a voting thread in the public voting forum.  Voters will rank their top three choices.  A #1 vote is worth 3 point, a #2 vote is worth 2 points, and a #3 vote is worth 1 point.  Competition members who vote will also earn their team 1 point just for voting.  Team members may not vote for their own teams.
This is primarily an arrangement competition.  A creative arrangement that blends the two sources seamlessly, but with mediocre instrumentation and production, should be ranked more highly than an uninspired medley with flawless sound quality.
Everyone must adhere to the Competitions Code of Conduct.
Sources
Participants can choose from the following characters and associated themes when signing up.  They should choose their top 5 choices.  If there are multiple picks for the same character, I will randomly determine who gets which pick.  To prevent attempts to game the system, I will be be breaking 5th-place ties first and going backwards up the list.
Dracula: Dance of Illusions Death: Evil's Symphonic Poem or Heart of Fire The Creature: Den of Worship or Walking on the Edge Golem: The Tower of Dolls or Stone King Golem Doppelganger: Riddle or Resonance of Malevolent Souls Isaac: Young Nobleman of Madness Joachim Armster: Melancholy Joachim Walter Bernhard: Dark Night Toccata Brauner: Esquisse of Violence Albus: Sorrow's Distortion Medusa: Cross Your Heart a.k.a. Crucifix Held Close or Stalker Akmodan II: Wicked Child or In Search of the Secret Spell Carmilla: Repose of Souls or Carmilla Elizabeth Bartley: Calling from Heaven Celia Fortner: Evil Invitation Stella and Loretta Lecarde: Dance of Sadness Simon Belmont: Theme of Simon Belmont Alucard: Dracula's Castle or The Tragic Prince Trevor Belmont: Beginning Grant Danasty: Clockwork Christopher Belmont: Battle of the Holy Richter Belmont: Divine Bloodlines Eric Lecarde: Iron-Blue Intention Nathan Graves: Awake Leon Belmont: Lament of Innocence Hector: The Curse of Darkness Soma Cruz: Castle Corridor Julius Belmont: Don't Wait Until Night a.k.a. Can't Wait Until the Night Sypha Belnades: Mad Forest Maria Renard: Slash Charlotte Aulin: The Hidden Curse Jonathan Morris: Invitation of a Crazed Moon John Morris: Reincarnated Soul Shanoa: An Empty Tome Teams
Participants pick their own teams when signing up.  They must also choose a Castlevania-themed team name, but they can wait until after their characters have been determined to do so.  Please do not pick excessively long team names.
Helping Out
I'll also need artwork (album art and signatures).  If that's up your alley, please let me know.  I can cobble something together myself, but it won't be the prettiest, so if you can help out before the first round, that would be great!

Per the rules, you both won.  Simon got the "bad ending."  Which is why Dracula is back again so soon!

Castlevania: Cacophony of Incarnation (CCoI)
A Remix Competition Presented by the OverClocked ReMix Forums
Introduction
After being defeated by Simon Belmont, the spirit of Dracula floated in the void beyond time.  After an unmeasurable age, he found himself returned to his body, but in a strange place.  Reaching out, he found himself cut off from his seat of power, the eternal Castlevania!  He soon discovered that, once again, fragments of the castle and the surrounding Wallachian countryside had been thrown together, along with some of his old minions--but only a handful of the monsters that once served him remained loyal, while the rest stood between him and his new enemy, the usurper of his domain.  But he also found new allies!  The heroes who had proved his bane time and time again have also been sucked through time and, sensing a greater foe than any they had ever faced before, now stand beside the former Prince of Chaos to defeat this mysterious enemy and restore Castlevania to its normal order!
Current News
Signups are now taking place.  Anyone who wants to participate should post the names of their two teammates and their top 5 character selections, in order.  Some characters have more than one source associated with them.  If you choose one of those characters, also specify which of their sources you would like to use.  You may choose only one source per character, and each character will be represented by only one remixer.
Signups are still open, but the competition won't start until late January.  More details forthcoming.
Format
This competition uses Darkesword's "gauntlet" format.  Teams of 3 remixers will take turns remixing their character's theme with the shared theme of the week.  The competition will be 12 weeks long.  The main event will consist of 3 blocks of 3 rounds each, one announced per week but with a two-week remixing period, so that they overlap.  This will be followed by a 1-week break and a 3-week final boss round.  In each block, each remixer on a team will be that team's remixer for one week.  The teams do not need to select a remixer ahead of time, as long as each member submits only one remix per 3-week block (which means that the third remixer of each block will be determined by default).
The other remixers on a team are allowed to help with production and ideas, but the chosen remixer for a round must be the primary artist/arranger.  Remixers can make use of other performers to play instruments, sing, etc., even those not involved with the competition, but these may not help in any other way.
Submissions and File Names
Entries must be sent to me by PM on the forums.  Please include your team name and the round number in the subject line of the message.  Please do not use a file-sharing service that includes ads or that changes the filename.  Dropbox, Google Drive, and Soundcloud work well.  If you use Soundcloud, please double-check to make sure you have set your remix to be downloadable.
I will specify the filename for each round depending on the theme.  Please read and follow the directions carefully when they are announced.
Voting Rules and Guidelines
After each week, I will create a voting thread in the public voting forum.  Voters will rank their top three choices.  A #1 vote is worth 3 point, a #2 vote is worth 2 points, and a #3 vote is worth 1 point.  Competition members who vote will also earn their team 1 point just for voting.  Team members may not vote for their own teams.
This is primarily an arrangement competition.  A creative arrangement that blends the two sources seamlessly, but with mediocre instrumentation and production, should be ranked more highly than an uninspired medley with flawless sound quality.
Everyone must adhere to the Competitions Code of Conduct.
Sources
Participants can choose from the following characters and associated themes when signing up.  They should choose their top 5 choices.  If there are multiple picks for the same character, I will randomly determine who gets which pick.  To prevent attempts to game the system, I will be be breaking 5th-place ties first and going backwards up the list.
Dracula: Dance of Illusions Death: Evil's Symphonic Poem or Heart of Fire The Creature: Den of Worship or Walking on the Edge Golem: The Tower of Dolls or Stone King Golem Doppelganger: Riddle or Resonance of Malevolent Souls Isaac: Young Nobleman of Madness Joachim Armster: Melancholy Joachim Walter Bernhard: Dark Night Toccata Brauner: Esquisse of Violence Albus: Sorrow's Distortion Medusa: Cross Your Heart a.k.a. Crucifix Held Close or Stalker Akmodan II: Wicked Child or In Search of the Secret Spell Carmilla: Repose of Souls or Carmilla Elizabeth Bartley: Calling from Heaven Celia Fortner: Evil Invitation Stella and Loretta Lecarde: Dance of Sadness Simon Belmont: Theme of Simon Belmont Alucard: Dracula's Castle or The Tragic Prince Trevor Belmont: Beginning Grant Danasty: Clockwork Christopher Belmont: Battle of the Holy Richter Belmont: Divine Bloodlines Eric Lecarde: Iron-Blue Intention Nathan Graves: Awake Leon Belmont: Lament of Innocence Hector: The Curse of Darkness Soma Cruz: Castle Corridor Julius Belmont: Don't Wait Until Night a.k.a. Can't Wait Until the Night Sypha Belnades: Mad Forest Maria Renard: Slash Charlotte Aulin: The Hidden Curse Jonathan Morris: Invitation of a Crazed Moon John Morris: Reincarnated Soul Shanoa: An Empty Tome Teams
Participants pick their own teams when signing up.  They must also choose a Castlevania-themed team name, but they can wait until after their characters have been determined to do so.  Please do not pick excessively long team names.
Helping Out
I'll also need artwork (album art and signatures).  If that's up your alley, please let me know.  I can cobble something together myself, but it won't be the prettiest, so if you can help out before the first round, that would be great!

Castlevania: Cacophony of Incarnation (CCoI)
A Remix Competition Presented by the OverClocked ReMix Forums
Introduction
After being defeated by Simon Belmont, the spirit of Dracula floated in the void beyond time.  After an unmeasurable age, he found himself returned to his body, but in a strange place.  Reaching out, he found himself cut off from his seat of power, the eternal Castlevania!  He soon discovered that, once again, fragments of the castle and the surrounding Wallachian countryside had been thrown together, along with some of his old minions--but only a handful of the monsters that once served him remained loyal, while the rest stood between him and his new enemy, the usurper of his domain.  But he also found new allies!  The heroes who had proved his bane time and time again have also been sucked through time and, sensing a greater foe than any they had ever faced before, now stand beside the former Prince of Chaos to defeat this mysterious enemy and restore Castlevania to its normal order!
Current News
Signups are now taking place.  Anyone who wants to participate should post the names of their two teammates and their top 5 character selections, in order.  Some characters have more than one source associated with them.  If you choose one of those characters, also specify which of their sources you would like to use.  You may choose only one source per character, and each character will be represented by only one remixer.
Signups are still open, but the competition won't start until late January.  More details forthcoming.
Format
This competition uses Darkesword's "gauntlet" format.  Teams of 3 remixers will take turns remixing their character's theme with the shared theme of the week.  The competition will be 12 weeks long.  The main event will consist of 3 blocks of 3 rounds each, one announced per week but with a two-week remixing period, so that they overlap.  This will be followed by a 1-week break and a 3-week final boss round.  In each block, each remixer on a team will be that team's remixer for one week.  The teams do not need to select a remixer ahead of time, as long as each member submits only one remix per 3-week block (which means that the third remixer of each block will be determined by default).
The other remixers on a team are allowed to help with production and ideas, but the chosen remixer for a round must be the primary artist/arranger.  Remixers can make use of other performers to play instruments, sing, etc., even those not involved with the competition, but these may not help in any other way.
Submissions and File Names
Entries must be sent to me by PM on the forums.  Please include your team name and the round number in the subject line of the message.  Please do not use a file-sharing service that includes ads or that changes the filename.  Dropbox, Google Drive, and Soundcloud work well.  If you use Soundcloud, please double-check to make sure you have set your remix to be downloadable.
I will specify the filename for each round depending on the theme.  Please read and follow the directions carefully when they are announced.
Voting Rules and Guidelines
After each week, I will create a voting thread in the public voting forum.  Voters will rank their top three choices.  A #1 vote is worth 3 point, a #2 vote is worth 2 points, and a #3 vote is worth 1 point.  Competition members who vote will also earn their team 1 point just for voting.  Team members may not vote for their own teams.
This is primarily an arrangement competition.  A creative arrangement that blends the two sources seamlessly, but with mediocre instrumentation and production, should be ranked more highly than an uninspired medley with flawless sound quality.
Everyone must adhere to the Competitions Code of Conduct.
Sources
Participants can choose from the following characters and associated themes when signing up.  They should choose their top 5 choices.  If there are multiple picks for the same character, I will randomly determine who gets which pick.  To prevent attempts to game the system, I will be be breaking 5th-place ties first and going backwards up the list.
Dracula: Dance of Illusions Death: Evil's Symphonic Poem or Heart of Fire The Creature: Den of Worship or Walking on the Edge Golem: The Tower of Dolls or Stone King Golem Doppelganger: Riddle or Resonance of Malevolent Souls Isaac: Young Nobleman of Madness Joachim Armster: Melancholy Joachim Walter Bernhard: Dark Night Toccata Brauner: Esquisse of Violence Albus: Sorrow's Distortion Medusa: Cross Your Heart a.k.a. Crucifix Held Close or Stalker Akmodan II: Wicked Child or In Search of the Secret Spell Carmilla: Repose of Souls or Carmilla Elizabeth Bartley: Calling from Heaven Celia Fortner: Evil Invitation Stella and Loretta Lecarde: Dance of Sadness Simon Belmont: Theme of Simon Belmont Alucard: Dracula's Castle or The Tragic Prince Trevor Belmont: Beginning Grant Danasty: Clockwork Christopher Belmont: Battle of the Holy Richter Belmont: Divine Bloodlines Eric Lecarde: Iron-Blue Intention Nathan Graves: Awake Leon Belmont: Lament of Innocence Hector: The Curse of Darkness Soma Cruz: Castle Corridor Julius Belmont: Don't Wait Until Night a.k.a. Can't Wait Until the Night Sypha Belnades: Mad Forest Maria Renard: Slash Charlotte Aulin: The Hidden Curse Jonathan Morris: Invitation of a Crazed Moon John Morris: Reincarnated Soul Shanoa: An Empty Tome Teams
Participants pick their own teams when signing up.  They must also choose a Castlevania-themed team name, but they can wait until after their characters have been determined to do so.  Please do not pick excessively long team names.
Helping Out
I'll also need artwork (album art and signatures).  If that's up your alley, please let me know.  I can cobble something together myself, but it won't be the prettiest, so if you can help out before the first round, that would be great!

I'm not sold on the dirty, garage-band style here.  Several of the instruments come with background static, and in the busier sections it builds up to quite a bit.  The low-fi synths add to the dirty quality of it.  I know it's a deliberate stylistic approach, but I find it unpleasant, and it makes it harder to listen to the complex layers that are going on.  The cymbals in particular seem to come with an unnecessary amount of grit.
It also feels fairly repetitive.  The direct repetition is very slight, but the limited variety of synths make even variations sound similar to each other.  I keep thinking I've heard what I'm hearing before, even though I can't go back and find it exactly.  The fade-out ending also exacerbates the feeling, since it's a loop too.  The lack of presence in the bass synths also meant that variations in the bass line didn't help me hear things as different.
Sorry, but while there's a lot of fun stuff in the backbone of this arrangement, I think it's being significantly held back by the synth choices.  I think swapping the sounds out would help with a lot of my concerns all at once, though.
NO

I already checked this out for the project, and this is an improved version.  The low pass that was on the last version has been lightened up quite a bit, adding some life without changing the melancholy mood.  It could probably stand to be tweaked further in the same direction, but I don't think it's enough of an issue to hold this back.  It's a creative interpretation that stands on its own, more great work from Eino.
YES

I'm still not sure how much I'll be there, but I live in the area so I'll be potentially up for meetups.  Won't be much help, though.

I'm a bit more in favor of this than Larry was--there's a lot going on here that I think works really well, and I actually thought your use of the samples as instruments was pretty effective.  However, it's also definitely true that the organ and the orchestra hits were really thin and not effective as lead instruments.  The MIDI electric guitar wasn't much better.  And the arrangement also does feel repetitive by the time you get to about the halfway mark, due to a general lack of variation in instrumentation, style, and melody.
I definitely think this is worth pursuing, but for me, the leads need some attention and the arrangement modified to be more dynamic.
NO (resubmit)

On the plus side, the composer's name is Trevor Morris.  If that was supposed to be a sneaky Castlevania-themed pseudonym, it couldn't have been better.

On the plus side, the composer's name is Trevor Morris.  If that was supposed to be a sneaky Castlevania-themed pseudonym, it couldn't have been better.

Not quite cornered.  There's a strong jazz presence and some "orchestral lite" (~4-8 live instrumentalists and/or vocalists).  But for 100% live instruments, rock/metal is definitely the most popular supergenre.

I definitely concur that a minority of tracks include even one live instrument--most are 100% synths and/or samples.  But a substantial minority do include at least one live instrument, as well.  That number goes up if you include vocals.
I will add that we come down pretty hard on sequenced instruments when they lack humanization.  You can go through old judges' decisions to see for yourself: when an instrument is lead or exposed, it's much more likely to get rejected when it sounds obviously fake.  Being able to play lead violin and electric guitar yourself is a huge boon if you'd like to use those instruments--I think that as leads, those two instruments tend to trip up mixes the most when sampled.

Not quite cornered.  There's a strong jazz presence and some "orchestral lite" (~4-8 live instrumentalists and/or vocalists).  But for 100% live instruments, rock/metal is definitely the most popular supergenre.

I definitely concur that a minority of tracks include even one live instrument--most are 100% synths and/or samples.  But a substantial minority do include at least one live instrument, as well.  That number goes up if you include vocals.
I will add that we come down pretty hard on sequenced instruments when they lack humanization.  You can go through old judges' decisions to see for yourself: when an instrument is lead or exposed, it's much more likely to get rejected when it sounds obviously fake.  Being able to play lead violin and electric guitar yourself is a huge boon if you'd like to use those instruments--I think that as leads, those two instruments tend to trip up mixes the most when sampled.

Clearly you have never played any games that had to be loaded from cassette tape.

*Raises hand*
The second one was much, much easier than the first.  I never did beat the first game, although I did get to the end, because a friend of mine showed me how he did it: use Jump & Slash on the third-to-last boss, die, repeat the whole last world to bring Jump & Slash to the second-to-last boss, repeat.  I never played the third, but apparently the two different localizations are vastly different in difficulty, with one being the easiest of the three games and the other being on par with the first one.

I definitely have to agree that the strings and woodwinds sound fake and mechanical in most places, and as up-front as they are, it's a pretty strong detractor.  I felt the choir was passable.
The section that starts at 3:54 gets very busy; to me it sounds like a guitar, drums, and then a bunch of indecipherable noise.  It's a short section, though, and I can live with it.
Gario's right about that one off note, of course.  And to my ears, the choir at 3:42 hits a super low note that doesn't sound human--a human could hit that note, but this is like reverse-chipmunk effect.
Overall, this really is an amazing, exciting arrangement, and the musicianship on the guitars takes this to a totally different level.  I loved the Wicked Child cameo, and the interesting harmony work throughout.  The late additions of the choir and synth took me by surprise at first, and I didn't feel like they belonged, but they grew on me.  It's really just those strings, both the ensemble and the solo violin, that give me significant pause in passing this.  They're really not the worst strings, though, and there's just so much good going on here.  I wouldn't mind at all if this got sent back for tweaks, but for my part I'm OK giving this a
YES (borderline)

The only reason I didn't list Battletoads is because there's no one near-impossible part.  The hoverbike section was hard but not insanely hard, whether you went for the warp or not.  I did beat the snake level, it was bad but not the worst, you just have to memorize the pattern.  The wall-riding unicycle thing was the part I never did get past, although I also tried using cheat codes to start at the last level and could never beat that either.

The April 15 check-in date has passed.  Thanks everyone who submitted a WIP, and thanks also to the new signups!  There's definitely been enough work to keep this project going.  In fact, if all the WIPs get finished, that's probably enough for an EP quantity-wise; I'd just look for a few more to fill out the wrestling roster to make sure everyone has an opponent.
Unfortunately, @WillRock and @DarkDjinn are MIA, so Death and The Creature are now available to claim.
I've set the next check-in date as 3 months from now, July 15.  At that time, I'd like everyone who recently signed up and hasn't given me a WIP yet (@HoboKa, @That Headband Guy, and @elenaiwilliams) to send me at least an early WIP, and everyone who's given me an early WIP (@Sbeast, Moire Effect, @ibeginwiththeendinmind, and @JonnyAtma) to send me some additional work.
Thanks again to everyone!  This is starting to look pretty good!

Dang it, this would have been perfect for the CastleMania album.  Wish I'd known this was in the pipeline.  Oh well.

The April 15 check-in date has passed.  Thanks everyone who submitted a WIP, and thanks also to the new signups!  There's definitely been enough work to keep this project going.  In fact, if all the WIPs get finished, that's probably enough for an EP quantity-wise; I'd just look for a few more to fill out the wrestling roster to make sure everyone has an opponent.
Unfortunately, @WillRock and @DarkDjinn are MIA, so Death and The Creature are now available to claim.
I've set the next check-in date as 3 months from now, July 15.  At that time, I'd like everyone who recently signed up and hasn't given me a WIP yet (@HoboKa, @That Headband Guy, and @elenaiwilliams) to send me at least an early WIP, and everyone who's given me an early WIP (@Sbeast, Moire Effect, @ibeginwiththeendinmind, and @JonnyAtma) to send me some additional work.
Thanks again to everyone!  This is starting to look pretty good!

Back in the voting thread, I made the exact same comment on the layered sections being too crowded, although I cited a different standout example (2:18-2:47).  It's still true.  I'll also repeat my comment that the arrangement is busy in a serial manner as well as a parallel one: sometimes it's so eager to move on that it doesn't fully flesh out what it's doing, such as when 0:24-0:36 and 2:12-2:23 aren't repeated.
So... yeah.  In some ways this is too much of a good thing.  Either do a lot of aggressive EQ work, or swap some layering for some call-and-return, or just simplify in general. I wouldn't hold it back on the other issue--it's more my preference than anything else--but if you're going to spend more time on this anyway, you can at least take a look.
NO (resubmit)

I have a job and a kid and you'll pry my video games out of my cold dead hands.  It might just be an hour or two a week, sometimes not even that, and a few minutes of Sentinels of the Multiverse or ALttP Randomizer on my phone, but if that's what I get, then I'll take it.  My backlog of games I want to play before I die is probably long enough to last the rest of my life, even though I get more and more judicious about what I add to it.