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jnWake got a reaction from swansdown in December is Reviews Month
I did like 20. Not much, but hope it helps haha.
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jnWake got a reaction from timaeus222 in December is Reviews Month
I did like 20. Not much, but hope it helps haha.
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jnWake got a reaction from T- Ape in Chrono Cross - Another Termina
Ah this sounds great! There's a few tiny mistakes in the guitar sections, but who cares it sounds lovely as it is.
Regarding the mixing, it sounds a bit crowded in the first sections since everything is playing similar octaves. I'm not very good at mixing TBH but maybe it'd help to cut more frequencies of the acoustic guitar. You should leave the higher frequencies to make it sound clear and noticeable while removing some of the mid since that is often very crowded with acoustic guitars. You shouldn't remove that much though since it could sound very empty otherwise (especially since the guitar is driving all the chords and base of the song).
Panning also helps a lot. I'm not sure how you're doing it here but you could have acoustic guitar tracks panned hard left/right and leave the melodies at the center. You could also experiment and do the exact opposite to simulate more of a live experience. Like, imagine where each musician would sit and pan accordingly!
Comparing to the source material, the main difference is the lack of a bass. If you listen to how the original is mixed, the rhytm guitars are much less present and it has more percussive instruments to drive the rhytms.
In any case, I feel this sounds great. Performances are pretty good!
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jnWake got a reaction from Smooth4lyfe1987 in Nintendo Wii Shop (Hip Hop Remix)
I'll echo T-Ape's sentiments a bit. Intro sounds empty since none of the instruments takes the "lead" and it feels like everything is floating without a solid base. The flute is clearly playing similar notes to the source, but the lack of the harmonies present in the source makes it sound thin. The strings is also playing loose notes so it sounds thin too. Finally, the bass is playing some pretty random notes, even going off-key at 0:18 and a few other moments.
The mix gets noticeable better at 0:28 when the percussion and different synth kicks in. It's now much easier to follow what the song is supposed to be! Since the bass loops is repeated here you can still listen to some off-key notes.
Overall, this is a pretty true to the source mix (which is a great source by the way!). I honestly feel the flute doesn't work currently since it's simply too thin to carry such a sparse soundscape. Besides, the melodies it plays don't feel very focused and almost seem like random notes. I feel you could add to this by having the string synths do more noticeable chords or something to guide the listener. Besides, having some chords there could help it make more unique when compared to the source.
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jnWake got a reaction from timaeus222 in OCR03269 - Super Smash Bros. Melee & Brawl "Choose Your Character!"
Nice rock remix. I like how the drums aren't stuck to a typical beat and instead switch between different rhytms in the different riffs of the song. However, I feel the drum sequencing is very mechanical (very notice-able in the section where the drums play like orchestral percussion). The bass also felt mechanical in the 2:00 section. Regarding the arrangement, I like the idea of symphonic rock, suits the sources well. I did feel you were lacking some instruments playing higher notes though, since it felt that everything was in the middle.
Overall, this is a rather nice rock remix. I'm disappointed you didn't use the "Character Select" theme from Smash 64 though haha.
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jnWake got a reaction from classic_gamer_76 in OCR Secret Santa 2015
This looks so cool.
There should be a OCR Secret Santa Remix edition where people ask for remixes or something like that. That way people like me from countries far away could participate
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jnWake got a reaction from timaeus222 in OCR03273 - Dungeonmans "Tibetan Tussle"
Solid intro here. Nice pads, percussions, voice samples and synths used to create the eastern feeling. The bass that enters at 0:45 has a cool saw effect but sounds a bit thin, like if it lacked more bass. Not sure if I have much else to say, the samples are nice, production is clean and the arrangement is fun, even if it doesn't have many catchy melodies. You really nail this heavier electronic sound which is quite zircon-ish. Maybe, even too zircon-ish! That's a compliment of course, but I'd be interested in having you branch out a bit more sometimes.
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jnWake reacted to melody in OCR03277 - Chrono Trigger "stratification"
man, i want to hop in here and say how much i appreciate the kind words coming from everyone in this thread. thanks for giving me your ears, your time, and your thoughts; they're humbling gifts to receive. and thanks to dave and all of the ocr staff for toiling over this site, to give video game music the platform it truly deserves, as well as the constructive criticism and undue praise you all have given to me over the years.
much love everyone, and hope you all have a merry Christmas.
- peter/melody
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jnWake got a reaction from melody in OCR03277 - Chrono Trigger "stratification"
Everyone said it already but this is pretty good. A somewhat straightforward approach to the song with cool solo-ing on top. I like how the focus seems to be more on the chord progression of the original rather than on the opening notes, it makes it sound refreshing. Guitar playing, as pointed out by everybody above me, is spot on and damn good. If I had to offer some nitpicking, I felt the snare sounded a bit stale sometimes, like if the velocity didn't change much.
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jnWake got a reaction from wildfire in OCR Secret Santa 2015
This looks so cool.
There should be a OCR Secret Santa Remix edition where people ask for remixes or something like that. That way people like me from countries far away could participate
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jnWake got a reaction from Koriantor in OCR Secret Santa 2015
This looks so cool.
There should be a OCR Secret Santa Remix edition where people ask for remixes or something like that. That way people like me from countries far away could participate
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jnWake got a reaction from Necrox in December is Reviews Month
I think I'll do some reviews. Probably not gonna reach a high number but every bit helps!
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jnWake got a reaction from Garpocalypse in OCR Secret Santa 2015
This looks so cool.
There should be a OCR Secret Santa Remix edition where people ask for remixes or something like that. That way people like me from countries far away could participate
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jnWake got a reaction from Coaltergeist in Golden Sun - Unleash the Alchemy (December 10th WIPs)
That is awesome! GS has an incredible soundtrack so those MIDIs are definitely interesting.
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jnWake reacted to Coaltergeist in Golden Sun - Unleash the Alchemy (December 10th WIPs)
Yeah I'll fix it asap.
EDIT: new link (for just a zip): https://www.dropbox.com/s/olx8kkvrfxk6jdl/GS%20MIDIs.rar?dl=0
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jnWake reacted to timaeus222 in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
No problem! I just attempted to do it by ear. (don't worry, didn't take 3 hours)
https://app.box.com/s/8gtdgtmcn16zz392wqq7fwsyldqskc4y
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jnWake got a reaction from Mirby in Super Mario Maker
Expert isn't that hard but it's pretty boring. You have to skip many stages after being killed by a sucky trap. There are some good stages too but the amount of horrible ones makes it very boring to me.
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jnWake got a reaction from timaeus222 in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
I realized very early in the compo I had made a terrible choice with my Maverick. It's a cool theme but it has no melodies so making it recognizable was tough. At least, the cool chords progressions were put to good use!
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jnWake got a reaction from Jorito in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Yeah, it was fun. I couldn't really pay much attention to it in the last 3 round set sadly because work and other stuff, but I really enjoyed the other weeks. Plenty of awesome tracks and rickrolls.
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jnWake got a reaction from Tuberz McGee in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Yeah, it was fun. I couldn't really pay much attention to it in the last 3 round set sadly because work and other stuff, but I really enjoyed the other weeks. Plenty of awesome tracks and rickrolls.
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jnWake got a reaction from Cam3leon in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Quick impressions! Had to travel this week so I haven't had much time to listen to stuff.
Es-cop-pay - Nice mood! Production values are good and the voice sounds super clear. If I'm getting the source usage right it's pretty creative. Arrangement feels very repetitive though.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maverick - Nice intro, some of the samples seem of slightly low quality but I dig the vibe. Neon Tiger with the wah lead sounds cool. I like that you used most of the X8 theme in different parts of the arrangement. A tad short though. With more development I'd have definitely voted for this one.
Subtle Haystack Tibulation - What the hell is this title haha. I like the use of guitars to give the source a rocking style. I think they could sound more powerful though. The rhytm in 1:21 is weird, seems like the drums and guitars are in different time measures and it sounds odd. In the 2:14 section I feel it gets way too crowded and notes start clashing way too much... Overall it has creative ideas but it seems you tried to cram way too much stuff in here. The moody Never Gonna Give You Up in the ending is amazing haha.
Straight Outta RAGE - Not feeling the RAGE in the intro haha, but I dig the relaxing mood. E. Piano sounds sweet. Very creative use of the sources and definitely one of my faves so far. One thing I didn't enjoy that much were the crushing or whatever effects in the drums. They were nice at first but they get tiring fast. Awesome change to the piano break. Second half drags on a bit but the song is very good overall.
Palace of the Beast - Nice! Feels like I'm playing a PS1 RPG here haha. Guitar kind of breaks that feeling a bit but the menacing mood is cool. Great use of Slash Beast with the brass, I like that you actually changed the melody to fit the chords (something that many people forget to do and end up with clashing notes). The song then continues with similar but awesome ideas. My favourite of the round probably, very creative use of both sources and great production. If forced to nitpick I feel the drums have too much reverb for the style you aimed for.
Chiral - As usual, bringing the funk! The leads sound awesome. Production is clean and the arrangement is fun. However, and as much as I dig the song, I felt other entries used the sources better (maybe just by being longer songs haha), so this isn't getting one of my votes.
Beached Whale in Miami - Nice staccato synths. Sadly, this is ridiculously short... I guess it could be a pretty cool song if finished.
Requiem for a Reploid - Someone had to make a dramatic song eventually! At 0:23 I almost thought you were going to use Metal Gear Solid's theme haha. Orchestra sounds very nice and chords are very interesting. Mixing Shield Sheldon into such a dramatic mood is a bit hard though since that song is so happy sounding. It fits sometimes but other times it doesn't fit that much sadly. I really like how this sounds, production is clean and instrument selection is great. The usage of Sheldon's theme around 2:20 is very very nice. It reminds me of the PS1 Rayman game (the first one). For the outro I thought you'd go with a super crescendo using that last Sheldon melody so I was a bit disappointed with the calm finish haha.
Victory at the Palace of Rejects - For some reasons all your songs sound very similar haha. Production is clean but the arrangement lacks some exciting. To put it bluntly I feel the percussion is very lacking and even boring. Actually I believe this is what usually puts me off about your songs. Leads are fine and have some interesting ideas but drums and bass tend to be slow and without much variation. You should experiment more with that to give your songs a more exciting edge.
Leap of Faith - Bass is surprisingly low for your songs Brostock! Awesome rocking mood as always. Your lead playing has been getting better and better lately, especially your vibrattos. The intro riff and it's repetitions are very cool, maybe my favourite riff of the round haha. Overall this is classic Hakstock, nice guitars, cool bass, rocking mood and fun leads! I have to say production seems worse than in your other entry haha. The drums, to be specific, sound less powerful than I'd expect.
Rise of the Sigma - Another dramatic song! Some nice chords here. Probably my fault but I barely hear Spark Mandrill. which is weird since it has some pretty recognizable melodies. I like how this sounds but I feel it's lacking in the source usage area.
As usual, voting was rough.
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jnWake got a reaction from timaeus222 in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Quick impressions! Had to travel this week so I haven't had much time to listen to stuff.
Es-cop-pay - Nice mood! Production values are good and the voice sounds super clear. If I'm getting the source usage right it's pretty creative. Arrangement feels very repetitive though.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maverick - Nice intro, some of the samples seem of slightly low quality but I dig the vibe. Neon Tiger with the wah lead sounds cool. I like that you used most of the X8 theme in different parts of the arrangement. A tad short though. With more development I'd have definitely voted for this one.
Subtle Haystack Tibulation - What the hell is this title haha. I like the use of guitars to give the source a rocking style. I think they could sound more powerful though. The rhytm in 1:21 is weird, seems like the drums and guitars are in different time measures and it sounds odd. In the 2:14 section I feel it gets way too crowded and notes start clashing way too much... Overall it has creative ideas but it seems you tried to cram way too much stuff in here. The moody Never Gonna Give You Up in the ending is amazing haha.
Straight Outta RAGE - Not feeling the RAGE in the intro haha, but I dig the relaxing mood. E. Piano sounds sweet. Very creative use of the sources and definitely one of my faves so far. One thing I didn't enjoy that much were the crushing or whatever effects in the drums. They were nice at first but they get tiring fast. Awesome change to the piano break. Second half drags on a bit but the song is very good overall.
Palace of the Beast - Nice! Feels like I'm playing a PS1 RPG here haha. Guitar kind of breaks that feeling a bit but the menacing mood is cool. Great use of Slash Beast with the brass, I like that you actually changed the melody to fit the chords (something that many people forget to do and end up with clashing notes). The song then continues with similar but awesome ideas. My favourite of the round probably, very creative use of both sources and great production. If forced to nitpick I feel the drums have too much reverb for the style you aimed for.
Chiral - As usual, bringing the funk! The leads sound awesome. Production is clean and the arrangement is fun. However, and as much as I dig the song, I felt other entries used the sources better (maybe just by being longer songs haha), so this isn't getting one of my votes.
Beached Whale in Miami - Nice staccato synths. Sadly, this is ridiculously short... I guess it could be a pretty cool song if finished.
Requiem for a Reploid - Someone had to make a dramatic song eventually! At 0:23 I almost thought you were going to use Metal Gear Solid's theme haha. Orchestra sounds very nice and chords are very interesting. Mixing Shield Sheldon into such a dramatic mood is a bit hard though since that song is so happy sounding. It fits sometimes but other times it doesn't fit that much sadly. I really like how this sounds, production is clean and instrument selection is great. The usage of Sheldon's theme around 2:20 is very very nice. It reminds me of the PS1 Rayman game (the first one). For the outro I thought you'd go with a super crescendo using that last Sheldon melody so I was a bit disappointed with the calm finish haha.
Victory at the Palace of Rejects - For some reasons all your songs sound very similar haha. Production is clean but the arrangement lacks some exciting. To put it bluntly I feel the percussion is very lacking and even boring. Actually I believe this is what usually puts me off about your songs. Leads are fine and have some interesting ideas but drums and bass tend to be slow and without much variation. You should experiment more with that to give your songs a more exciting edge.
Leap of Faith - Bass is surprisingly low for your songs Brostock! Awesome rocking mood as always. Your lead playing has been getting better and better lately, especially your vibrattos. The intro riff and it's repetitions are very cool, maybe my favourite riff of the round haha. Overall this is classic Hakstock, nice guitars, cool bass, rocking mood and fun leads! I have to say production seems worse than in your other entry haha. The drums, to be specific, sound less powerful than I'd expect.
Rise of the Sigma - Another dramatic song! Some nice chords here. Probably my fault but I barely hear Spark Mandrill. which is weird since it has some pretty recognizable melodies. I like how this sounds but I feel it's lacking in the source usage area.
As usual, voting was rough.
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jnWake got a reaction from Pavos in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Quick impressions! Had to travel this week so I haven't had much time to listen to stuff.
Es-cop-pay - Nice mood! Production values are good and the voice sounds super clear. If I'm getting the source usage right it's pretty creative. Arrangement feels very repetitive though.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maverick - Nice intro, some of the samples seem of slightly low quality but I dig the vibe. Neon Tiger with the wah lead sounds cool. I like that you used most of the X8 theme in different parts of the arrangement. A tad short though. With more development I'd have definitely voted for this one.
Subtle Haystack Tibulation - What the hell is this title haha. I like the use of guitars to give the source a rocking style. I think they could sound more powerful though. The rhytm in 1:21 is weird, seems like the drums and guitars are in different time measures and it sounds odd. In the 2:14 section I feel it gets way too crowded and notes start clashing way too much... Overall it has creative ideas but it seems you tried to cram way too much stuff in here. The moody Never Gonna Give You Up in the ending is amazing haha.
Straight Outta RAGE - Not feeling the RAGE in the intro haha, but I dig the relaxing mood. E. Piano sounds sweet. Very creative use of the sources and definitely one of my faves so far. One thing I didn't enjoy that much were the crushing or whatever effects in the drums. They were nice at first but they get tiring fast. Awesome change to the piano break. Second half drags on a bit but the song is very good overall.
Palace of the Beast - Nice! Feels like I'm playing a PS1 RPG here haha. Guitar kind of breaks that feeling a bit but the menacing mood is cool. Great use of Slash Beast with the brass, I like that you actually changed the melody to fit the chords (something that many people forget to do and end up with clashing notes). The song then continues with similar but awesome ideas. My favourite of the round probably, very creative use of both sources and great production. If forced to nitpick I feel the drums have too much reverb for the style you aimed for.
Chiral - As usual, bringing the funk! The leads sound awesome. Production is clean and the arrangement is fun. However, and as much as I dig the song, I felt other entries used the sources better (maybe just by being longer songs haha), so this isn't getting one of my votes.
Beached Whale in Miami - Nice staccato synths. Sadly, this is ridiculously short... I guess it could be a pretty cool song if finished.
Requiem for a Reploid - Someone had to make a dramatic song eventually! At 0:23 I almost thought you were going to use Metal Gear Solid's theme haha. Orchestra sounds very nice and chords are very interesting. Mixing Shield Sheldon into such a dramatic mood is a bit hard though since that song is so happy sounding. It fits sometimes but other times it doesn't fit that much sadly. I really like how this sounds, production is clean and instrument selection is great. The usage of Sheldon's theme around 2:20 is very very nice. It reminds me of the PS1 Rayman game (the first one). For the outro I thought you'd go with a super crescendo using that last Sheldon melody so I was a bit disappointed with the calm finish haha.
Victory at the Palace of Rejects - For some reasons all your songs sound very similar haha. Production is clean but the arrangement lacks some exciting. To put it bluntly I feel the percussion is very lacking and even boring. Actually I believe this is what usually puts me off about your songs. Leads are fine and have some interesting ideas but drums and bass tend to be slow and without much variation. You should experiment more with that to give your songs a more exciting edge.
Leap of Faith - Bass is surprisingly low for your songs Brostock! Awesome rocking mood as always. Your lead playing has been getting better and better lately, especially your vibrattos. The intro riff and it's repetitions are very cool, maybe my favourite riff of the round haha. Overall this is classic Hakstock, nice guitars, cool bass, rocking mood and fun leads! I have to say production seems worse than in your other entry haha. The drums, to be specific, sound less powerful than I'd expect.
Rise of the Sigma - Another dramatic song! Some nice chords here. Probably my fault but I barely hear Spark Mandrill. which is weird since it has some pretty recognizable melodies. I like how this sounds but I feel it's lacking in the source usage area.
As usual, voting was rough.
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jnWake got a reaction from WillRock in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Quick impressions! Had to travel this week so I haven't had much time to listen to stuff.
Es-cop-pay - Nice mood! Production values are good and the voice sounds super clear. If I'm getting the source usage right it's pretty creative. Arrangement feels very repetitive though.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maverick - Nice intro, some of the samples seem of slightly low quality but I dig the vibe. Neon Tiger with the wah lead sounds cool. I like that you used most of the X8 theme in different parts of the arrangement. A tad short though. With more development I'd have definitely voted for this one.
Subtle Haystack Tibulation - What the hell is this title haha. I like the use of guitars to give the source a rocking style. I think they could sound more powerful though. The rhytm in 1:21 is weird, seems like the drums and guitars are in different time measures and it sounds odd. In the 2:14 section I feel it gets way too crowded and notes start clashing way too much... Overall it has creative ideas but it seems you tried to cram way too much stuff in here. The moody Never Gonna Give You Up in the ending is amazing haha.
Straight Outta RAGE - Not feeling the RAGE in the intro haha, but I dig the relaxing mood. E. Piano sounds sweet. Very creative use of the sources and definitely one of my faves so far. One thing I didn't enjoy that much were the crushing or whatever effects in the drums. They were nice at first but they get tiring fast. Awesome change to the piano break. Second half drags on a bit but the song is very good overall.
Palace of the Beast - Nice! Feels like I'm playing a PS1 RPG here haha. Guitar kind of breaks that feeling a bit but the menacing mood is cool. Great use of Slash Beast with the brass, I like that you actually changed the melody to fit the chords (something that many people forget to do and end up with clashing notes). The song then continues with similar but awesome ideas. My favourite of the round probably, very creative use of both sources and great production. If forced to nitpick I feel the drums have too much reverb for the style you aimed for.
Chiral - As usual, bringing the funk! The leads sound awesome. Production is clean and the arrangement is fun. However, and as much as I dig the song, I felt other entries used the sources better (maybe just by being longer songs haha), so this isn't getting one of my votes.
Beached Whale in Miami - Nice staccato synths. Sadly, this is ridiculously short... I guess it could be a pretty cool song if finished.
Requiem for a Reploid - Someone had to make a dramatic song eventually! At 0:23 I almost thought you were going to use Metal Gear Solid's theme haha. Orchestra sounds very nice and chords are very interesting. Mixing Shield Sheldon into such a dramatic mood is a bit hard though since that song is so happy sounding. It fits sometimes but other times it doesn't fit that much sadly. I really like how this sounds, production is clean and instrument selection is great. The usage of Sheldon's theme around 2:20 is very very nice. It reminds me of the PS1 Rayman game (the first one). For the outro I thought you'd go with a super crescendo using that last Sheldon melody so I was a bit disappointed with the calm finish haha.
Victory at the Palace of Rejects - For some reasons all your songs sound very similar haha. Production is clean but the arrangement lacks some exciting. To put it bluntly I feel the percussion is very lacking and even boring. Actually I believe this is what usually puts me off about your songs. Leads are fine and have some interesting ideas but drums and bass tend to be slow and without much variation. You should experiment more with that to give your songs a more exciting edge.
Leap of Faith - Bass is surprisingly low for your songs Brostock! Awesome rocking mood as always. Your lead playing has been getting better and better lately, especially your vibrattos. The intro riff and it's repetitions are very cool, maybe my favourite riff of the round haha. Overall this is classic Hakstock, nice guitars, cool bass, rocking mood and fun leads! I have to say production seems worse than in your other entry haha. The drums, to be specific, sound less powerful than I'd expect.
Rise of the Sigma - Another dramatic song! Some nice chords here. Probably my fault but I barely hear Spark Mandrill. which is weird since it has some pretty recognizable melodies. I like how this sounds but I feel it's lacking in the source usage area.
As usual, voting was rough.
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jnWake got a reaction from Jorito in Mega Man X: The Sigma Fortress Remix Gauntlet 2015
Quick impressions! Had to travel this week so I haven't had much time to listen to stuff.
Es-cop-pay - Nice mood! Production values are good and the voice sounds super clear. If I'm getting the source usage right it's pretty creative. Arrangement feels very repetitive though.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Maverick - Nice intro, some of the samples seem of slightly low quality but I dig the vibe. Neon Tiger with the wah lead sounds cool. I like that you used most of the X8 theme in different parts of the arrangement. A tad short though. With more development I'd have definitely voted for this one.
Subtle Haystack Tibulation - What the hell is this title haha. I like the use of guitars to give the source a rocking style. I think they could sound more powerful though. The rhytm in 1:21 is weird, seems like the drums and guitars are in different time measures and it sounds odd. In the 2:14 section I feel it gets way too crowded and notes start clashing way too much... Overall it has creative ideas but it seems you tried to cram way too much stuff in here. The moody Never Gonna Give You Up in the ending is amazing haha.
Straight Outta RAGE - Not feeling the RAGE in the intro haha, but I dig the relaxing mood. E. Piano sounds sweet. Very creative use of the sources and definitely one of my faves so far. One thing I didn't enjoy that much were the crushing or whatever effects in the drums. They were nice at first but they get tiring fast. Awesome change to the piano break. Second half drags on a bit but the song is very good overall.
Palace of the Beast - Nice! Feels like I'm playing a PS1 RPG here haha. Guitar kind of breaks that feeling a bit but the menacing mood is cool. Great use of Slash Beast with the brass, I like that you actually changed the melody to fit the chords (something that many people forget to do and end up with clashing notes). The song then continues with similar but awesome ideas. My favourite of the round probably, very creative use of both sources and great production. If forced to nitpick I feel the drums have too much reverb for the style you aimed for.
Chiral - As usual, bringing the funk! The leads sound awesome. Production is clean and the arrangement is fun. However, and as much as I dig the song, I felt other entries used the sources better (maybe just by being longer songs haha), so this isn't getting one of my votes.
Beached Whale in Miami - Nice staccato synths. Sadly, this is ridiculously short... I guess it could be a pretty cool song if finished.
Requiem for a Reploid - Someone had to make a dramatic song eventually! At 0:23 I almost thought you were going to use Metal Gear Solid's theme haha. Orchestra sounds very nice and chords are very interesting. Mixing Shield Sheldon into such a dramatic mood is a bit hard though since that song is so happy sounding. It fits sometimes but other times it doesn't fit that much sadly. I really like how this sounds, production is clean and instrument selection is great. The usage of Sheldon's theme around 2:20 is very very nice. It reminds me of the PS1 Rayman game (the first one). For the outro I thought you'd go with a super crescendo using that last Sheldon melody so I was a bit disappointed with the calm finish haha.
Victory at the Palace of Rejects - For some reasons all your songs sound very similar haha. Production is clean but the arrangement lacks some exciting. To put it bluntly I feel the percussion is very lacking and even boring. Actually I believe this is what usually puts me off about your songs. Leads are fine and have some interesting ideas but drums and bass tend to be slow and without much variation. You should experiment more with that to give your songs a more exciting edge.
Leap of Faith - Bass is surprisingly low for your songs Brostock! Awesome rocking mood as always. Your lead playing has been getting better and better lately, especially your vibrattos. The intro riff and it's repetitions are very cool, maybe my favourite riff of the round haha. Overall this is classic Hakstock, nice guitars, cool bass, rocking mood and fun leads! I have to say production seems worse than in your other entry haha. The drums, to be specific, sound less powerful than I'd expect.
Rise of the Sigma - Another dramatic song! Some nice chords here. Probably my fault but I barely hear Spark Mandrill. which is weird since it has some pretty recognizable melodies. I like how this sounds but I feel it's lacking in the source usage area.
As usual, voting was rough.