jnWake

I agree I'll post comments soon, but most tracks are great!

I think that when you reach the point of "I can't imagine doing anything more", you're ready to either submit or take a break. If you don't feel ready to submit, then take a break of the song. Don't listen to it for a couple of days, then listen to it again. If you feel "this is a good song", submit it! Otherwise, identify what makes you unhappy and fix it. But don't become obsessed.

Source breakdown for my entry: 0:00 - 0:35: Chill Penguin's intro. There's a nod to Wire Sponge with the last sample. 0:35 - 0:49: Wire Sponge's "B theme" chord progression. 0:50 - 1:17: Chill Penguin's "A theme" over the same chord progression from Wire Sponge's theme. 1:18 - 1:47: The main synth plays a mix of Chill Penguin's "B theme" and Wire Sponge's "B theme". 1:48 - 2:31: Repeat of the 0:35 - 1:17 section. 2:32 - 2:47: Sponge's intro chord progression with variations over Chill Penguin's intro on the synth. 2:48 - 3:01: Piano plays melody from Chill Penguin (from the intro) and the icy sample plays a melody from Wire Sponge (A theme). 3:01 - 3:45: Synth plays a mix of Chill Penguin's "B theme" and Wire Sponge's "B theme". Icy samples repeat the melodies from 2:48-3:01. 3:46 - 4:14: Synth mixes Chill Penguin's "A theme" and Wire Sponge's "B theme". 4:14 - 4:53: Piano plays Chill Penguin's "B theme".

On first listen, Theory of N vs. Gario will be a tough battle. Very nice songs! My battle against Sir_Nuts will be weird, techno thing vs. rock thing. Your production is much better than mine

I managed to submit my entry. I didn't have much time to mix it (or to record everything properly), but it isn't that bad I believe. Hope you manage to send something Nuts!

Don't worry, I had no time to record today. This will be long...

Wow... I can't believe this works lol. It really needs a girl singing.

I wanted to participate but I didn't have time. And I just noticed I was also breaking the rule Rexy posted. Oh well...

Reverb is fine on the lead. I'm not a big fan of the sound you used though. I can't put my finger on it but it sounds like a "stretched" sound that never ends. Maybe attack is too long? There's some noise or something at 0:46 that doesn't sound good. Snare could use a bit more reverb or something. It is a bit too dry. The section starting at 1:28 is quite cool. I like the chords. Overall, I think it is a fine song. A tad short and lacks some variety between the different sounds (very noticeable in the 0:54 section with 2 'leads'). You could easily make it longer by incorporating more of Grizzly's theme. In particular I think you never use the melody that begins at 0:32 here.

Man, I wonder how you manage to make your waveforms look so pretty lol. I like the new fills between 0:30 and 1:00! The sample I criticized on a previous version now sounds better too. The flute solo is very similar to the piano-like sound solo before. Try to make them sound more like different solos. Your source breakdown helps me to identify the source now. It still seems a bit too liberal, but I guess it is fine. The song sounds amazing though and that's what matters!

I made this track for the first round of the GMRB and it got a good reception, so I want to polish it for an eventual submission! Link here: http://soundcloud.com/jnwake/forever-a-sponge-wire-sponge . Sources: - Wire Sponge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzqEEcrKItU . - Infinity Mijinion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5IVzmZYu1I . Source breakdown: - 0:00 - 0:30: Mijinion's intro with different backing chords. - 0:31 - 1:04: Sponge's A theme on the piano with Mijinion's A theme on the acoustic guitar. - 1:05 - 1:24: Sponge's B theme. - 1:25 - 1:48: Mijinion's B theme on the violin and Mijinion's intro chord progression. Ending of this section is taken from Sponge's A theme. - 1:49 - 2:20: Mijinion's solo guitar section. Sponge's A theme appears on the piano, and Sponge's B theme on the violin. - 2:21 - 2:53: Mijinion's A theme with Sponge's synth solo section backing chords. Synth solo is based on Sponge's song. - 2:54 - 3:05: Sponge's B theme with Mijinion's solo section chord progression. - 3:06 - 3:25: Mijinion's intro on the synth with different backing chords. Regarding the mix, I need to record some sections again (there are some slight mistakes on the synth solo). Also, Hakstock will record the guitar and bass sections sometime. Any feedback is appreciated! P.D. I'm looking for someone who wants to record the acoustic guitar sections.

Judges threads for accepted songs appear after the song is posted. Congrats btw! I agree with Emunator regarding the future of this project.

I haven't had much time either, but I'm somewhat happy with what I have. Some transitions are a bit bad, but whatever. I hope I can record most of the synths tomorrow and submit on Saturday.

I like this. You seem to be a fan of those weird low tuned rhytms! Mixing is a bit bad though. The drums are very underpowered, especially on the bass drum. I also miss a pad or something during most of the song. It is too guitar oriented and I feel it'd gain a lot with an atmospheric sound supporting the heavy riffing.

I loved this track when you posted it for the competition. I don't really have any cricitism but I agree with Magellanic on the bass. Drums and bass in general are a bit low. I think the song would sound really powerful if you raised the volume of both instruments. At 2:30, the cowbell-ish sample sounds a bit odd. I think that section is lacking bass support too, maybe you could have the bass doing the same than the synth. The transition at 2:40 could be shorter too. It is confusing.

We have seen like 3 Nintendo games from Wii U. Saying they aren't innovating anymore seems a bit exaggerated. And if they created even more Mario franchises (like Paper Mario), people would say they are "milking Mario", so people would complain anyway!

The mix is amazing anyway, regardless of the source usage. The voices and choirs are sampled? EDIT: After these comments I'm torn between Briggs' and Prophecy's mixes... Hard choice.

Yeah, that was it. But since the chord progression is shared by both tracks, it is still more Centipede than Catfish.

I love your mixes with that instrument. Beautiful.

PC specs can be better than consoles but that doesn't necessarily make them better for playing games. Consoles have all their hardware built to play games so specs aren't the most important thing. The launch line-up is fine. I mean, its not like you'll own your console for only 3 months. Games will come out for 5-6 years... Not having 100 amazing games out right now is natural and nobody plays that many games that fast (and if someone does... better get a new hobby!). The funny thing will be when Microsoft and Sony start using the tablet technology and all the people that bash the Wii U will love it.

I haven't posted reviews for this round, so here I go! Volt Catfish vs. Magna Centipede: - Benjamin Briggs: Nice use of Catfish's theme at the beggining. Use of Centipede is similar to your previous entry. I like the rhytm at 2:54, but the transition at 2:00 is a bit weak. - Prophecy: Nice intro, using Centipede's theme. Voice in the second riff is cool (chord progression is from Centipede?). Use of Catfish's intro theme is a bit tricky on the 1:30 section. The song is very good, but unless I'm missing something, seems very unbalanced in source usage. Blast Hornet vs. Frost Walrus: - Blackpanther: I'm not very familiar with the themes used here (Hornet is very forgettable, but you used it well), so I may miss some source references. Bass is very low... I like the mood of the mix, pretty chill. Very short though. Blizzard Wolfang vs. Shieldner Shieldon: - Mr. L: Song is a bit quiet. I like the happy version of Wolfang's theme at the beggining! Strings playing Shieldon's theme is a nice touch too. This song would fit on a castle or something very royal-esque. Nice use of both sources. You may have used too much reverb for the piano sound though. I feel the mix could use a bit more variation, since it drags a bit. Piano being the lead all the time becomes a bit tiring. - Phonetic Hero: The sample used at the beggining is very haunting, nice. Feels zerg-like. Funny how both of you used the same sections of both themes to begin your (very different) songs! The mix takes a nice turn at 1:20. Drums could have been more intense at 2:40. Overdrive Ostrich vs. Crystal Snail: - Cash and Change: Man, the dissonance kills me. I like how you moved to Snail's theme on 0:30, but there was still a dissonant feel there. I guess it is a matter of taste, but all that section annoyed me. Section beggining at 1:20 is a different thing. Pretty enjoyable. I'm not sure what source you were using there though lol. Overall, nice but really change the bass. I still have to decide my votes, but writing these reviews (or notes lol) really helped me!

We need more trashtalk. My mix is progressing nicely. It is similar in style to my previous entry, but it is longer and slower... I can't think of a name for it though

Just noticed the dates are wrong on the first post. Saturday is 29 and Sunday is 30, not 28 and 29... Hope nobody got confused by that.

Exactly... I'm trying to use the parts that I didn't highlight on my previous entry, but it's hard. Especially because Wire Sponge has like 2 real melodies in its song.

Okami Wii did have the straight line button so it isn't that terrible. The only time the controls sucked are in the fashion sidequest.