jnWake   Judges ⚖️

I can't believe I haven't posted here yet! Anyway, trailers have been pretty cool so I'm hyped for the final release

I think this song has like no high notes. Extremely heavy and interesting rhytm, I like it!

Sounding much better now! This is just my opinion, but I feel that if you managed to get a guitar tone like then this mix would be ridiculously awesome. Your distortion could be a bit more agressive.

To me, part of the negative press comes from the fact that most people that visit gaming sites are "hardcore gamers that hate Nintendo". Then, the press can gain a nice amount of clicks by bashing anything possible! Not to say the console is perfect, since there are some real problems (slow OS and that freezing thing), but I laughed when one reviewer complained about the placement of the buttons on the Gamepad.

One last off-topic commentary: Do you guys use quantization when you record with MIDI keyboards? Isn't that kind of killing the point of humanization?

Mostly because it is easy to listen to. People usually view music as background instead of main entertainment. I mean, how many people (not musicians) just listen to music while doing nothing else? Also, most of those music styles either have a catchy melody or a catchy rhytm.

Amazing song! Singer sounds a lot like John Mitchell (british prog guitarist, sings for It Bites and has sang for Kino, Frost and other bands), which is awesome. The song has a bit of a Frost vibe in the vocal armonies too. Beautiful piano, drums and nice production.

Nice song! I like the piano at the beggining of the song. Guitars entering at 0:18 should be louder. It sounds like bass + a bit of distortion. Drums are kind of weak too, the snare doesn't really fit a metal song, way too wet. I like how you add the classic organ section at the 1:10 mark, nicely done! Like quintin3625 mentioned, the string sample is very weak, sounds like directly taken from FFVII or Legend of Dragoon. For the 1:39 section, I can't really suggest samples, but you should go with Orchesta Hits (like Children of Bodom!). The piano sample also sounds a bit bad here, like a bit too weak, maybe lower it one octave. 1:50 section is very cool too, I like the drums. Piano at 2:05 feels a bit weak too, maybe you used too much reverb or something? Choir sample at 2:30 is bad, but I think it really fits, I hope you can get a better sample for that section. Transition at 2:43 is fun, reminds me of (very) early Symphony X. The Clean Guitar needs to be louder, and maybe try to let less notes ringing, since it sounds a bit messy. Delay is a bit strong on the following lead. The choir sample at the 3:10 section reminds me of Symphony X again! This time you could easily change it for a pad (look for DSK's ChoirZ sample, it's free and could be useful here). Piano has a bit too much reverb again I think in the following section. Low quality samples with too much reverb sound bad (like, really fake echo sounds). Flute is a bit low on this section. Nice solo at 4:50. You got out of tune a few times though (4:58 and another short bend later). Choir could be changed for a pad sample here too. Following sections are similar to what I've already commented, same strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I really like the arrangement you created, not something I hear often here on OCRemix. Main criticism is that you used too much reverb (you noted that too). The string sample is weak, I believe DSK has better ones than the one you used (but they aren't very good either). Choir can be replaced by pads on the slower sections, I think it doesn't sound that bad in the other sections. Also, raise the volume on the rhytm guitar! They are really low, feeling like a small complement to the bass (it should be the other way around!).

Yeah, I also find writing MIDI in Guitar Pro effective. Downside is that it's slightly slow. I've been trying to combine recording MIDI in a DAW and then exporting to Guitar Pro, but it's a bit tricky. I've always wondered how most remixers approach MIDI writing.

I usually just improvise on my keyboard but end up doing Progressive Rock/Metal or just Rock/Metal. I try to add stuff from other genres (like Pop, Jazz, etc) to my songs to make them more unique though. I don't really use any specific software, besides from Guitar Pro to write the MIDI files. Most samples (piano, pads, strings and leads) come from my keyboard, while I use mostly free stuff for Guitar, Bass and Drums (EZDrummer, the basic pack for this one).

You could always randomize the choice Or go for lesser known games, since that usually means that mxies from those games got less reviews.

Sounds interesting. I don't know that much about musical theory and/or production but I'd like to participate in this. It's always interesting to know the different techniques people use.

I think I'm going to enter this time, I composed an arrangement, so now I have to write it! If anybody that plays electric guitar wants to collab or something, it'd be cool too

That's interesting, since I used that fanfare thing a lot on my round 2 entry too! Anyway, good luck to everyone for this last rounds!

Blizzard month is a very nice theme... A shame months aren't longer, but I guess I can say (like all months lol) that I'll try to do something for this one. EDIT: For people interested: Starcraft 2 OST: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE54BB0FA74140C2A . Starcraft OST: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL93E3273601342EE0 .

It isn't the same as the DS, and that should be pretty clear just by looking at the launch games. First, the Wii U has the multiplayer element that the DS doesn't have. I believe that is has been called "revolutionary" by the press, not the fact there are 2 screens. Second, since the two screens are completely independent, you can create puzzles with them (like the scanner on ZombiU). You can also the gamepad's motion features, which is obviously impossible on the DS. I believe it is pretty clear that the Wii U allows for a lot more stuff than the DS, and not only because of better hardware. Other thing I find funny is the criticism of NSMB series. Sure, they are very traditional games, but that is exactly what they are supposed to be. I understand the criticism of the art style, because I hate it too, but the gameplay is just what it's supposed to be: 2d platforming. I don't think people despise the Donkey Kong Country games for being the same thing one after the other, or the NES Super Mario Bros trilogy, or other series that are mainly iterations of a formula.

Neat mix, the beggining is very misleading! It is a tad medley-ish but it doesn't matter because it's awesome anyway. Nice guitars and some sections have a lovely pirate/middle age sound.

How I wish to download this in 15 minutes u.u Anyway, GTAHater (funny name), if you are paranoid about viruses and stuff, shouldn't you have an antivirus to protect you against the harmless OCRemix torrents?

This is very cool, downloading! I hope I'll manage to get some remixes of myself included in the next batches!

I'll be the guy that scares children when they come to my house asking for candy.

Been playing through BoF I lately and some tracks are cool! I noticed no one has claimed "Strong Fortress" (castle theme), so I may try my hand at it sometime!

This game made no sense. The best part was the trial section... I mean, those answers lol.

Using wrong notes to make your arrangement feel different to the original is definitely not what OCR tries to encourage. Collins is right, there are some off-key moments in this arrangement. At first I listen, I caught these: - 0:00 : It's pretty clear. Everything clashes with the piano. I believe the first sample is off-key, and the strings sound a bit odd too. - 0:11 : A quiet instrument (sounds a bit piano-ish) plays something off key. - 0:28 : Strings again (actually, they sound odd most of the time). Maybe the sample is slightly detuned. - The timpani like percussion usually sounds a bit detuned too. - 1:21 : This should be clear too, the guitar and other thing are playing very dissonant tunes. - 1:42 : Lead thing is off-key. The same issues are repeated a few times after 1:42. I think you should check some midi files and compare them with your transcriptions. Besides that, the arrangement is a bit conservative, main innovation being the sample switching and a slightly faster tempo. If you want to make a cover this is fine, but if you want to make a more distinct remix, try experimenting! I don't know if you play instruments, but if you do, play the sections yourself and try to improvise. Change notes, change tempos, change chord structures and you can maybe create something!

I know the games don't look the same, but that is mainly because Mario Galaxy is completely 3D and in space I was only making reference to the models of the characters, which are very similar. EDIT: And what makes it sadder is that the Galaxy games where more creative than NSMB with the Toad designs, even when Toad is playable in the latter. Oh well, NSMB is still fun.

Well, NSMBU isn't out yet, so we don't know if it has at least some gameplay tweaks or stuff. I doubt it though. I do agree that the graphics in Mario games are too similar, and that is sad. I mean, both Mario Galaxies, all NSMB games AND Super Mario 3D Land all use like the same 3D models for Mario, Peach, Bowser and most enemies. NSMB would be better with a different art direction (like the Zelda handheld games). Despite that, I found all the hate against NSMB2 pretty exaggerated. Even Assassin's Creed has released looooooooots of games since it started, so it seems to be pretty normal to milk franchises now.