Magnum Octopus

This is correct. It's called an Oxford comma. In a few cases, adding the comma after the 2nd-to-last item can make it clearer, but in other cases, the extra comma doesn't help at all, or even confuses things further. My personal preference is only using it when totally necessary. In any case, it's not needed here as far as I can tell. it was a reference to this meme if anyone missed it. This is probably relevant. Anyway, back on topic, I'd be interested in doing the bio for Layton, but I've only beaten the first game. I'd assume these bios aren't too spoiler-heavy, but you might want someone with a bit more knowledge of the series or at least willing to spoil the other games for themselves. The bio for Knuckles should just be a link to the lyrics page of Bronx Rican's "Unknown from M.C". I'm sure I can get people to agree with me on this.

I second that. Whether you've heard the source or not, this is a gorgeous rendition of it.

That glissando at the very beginning was the perfect intro to a beautiful arrangement. Palpable mentioned the staccato section already, but that's just one example of the attention to detail on this track.

When the tempo kicks up at 0:27 and that sweet bassline kicks in, it really reminds me of the main battle theme from Chrono Trigger. I like it. The Dearly Beloved breakdown at 2:24 that OA mentioned is executed well. (also it reminds me of Chrono Trigger again, but I probably just have the first track from The Brink of Time ingrained in my head) I enjoyed how expressive the violin is, I think that adds a lot of character to the piece. Nice work from all four musicians. (Didn't notice this the first listen, but there's this total disco moment at 4:31. The bassline is all over the place on this song, great stuff.)

Watched some gameplay on YouTube, and apparently, there's something of a short musical riff when you score a touchdown or begin a half. Those could possibly be used as melodic source material. As far as having an 8-bit sound, does the first song have to be pure 8-bit, or is some combination of 8-bit and other sounds a possibility? (shoutout to halc) Also, if you have to stick to pure 8-bit, the NES's PCM channel is capable of some really impressive stuff. (check the FamiTracker forums for some good examples) I guess it might be something of an anachronism to use the NES sound hardware in ways that weren't really utilized until past well the end of the console's lifespan, but that's a pretty moot point considering it's 2014. (Anyway, this album is basically celebrating the fact that the NES itself is an anachronism. A console released in 1985 shouldn't have had that much success, that great of a game library, that impressive hardware for its time, or that much phenomenal music, but the NES did.)

Yeah, that makes sense. I figured it was at least worth asking about. Clu Clu Land, Kirby's Adventure, Dragon Warrior I-IV, River City Ransom, Tecmo Bowl, Blaster Master, River City Ransom, Donkey Kong 1-3, Wrecking Crew, and Rygar were all released in the US and are all fairly iconic, just to throw some more ideas out there. (Clu Clu Land, Dragon Warrior II, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, and Wrecking Crew have exactly zero ReMixes between them. Someone should totally get on that.)

Can I do Wood Man's theme from Mega Man II? Granted, it already has a few great ReMixes, but afaik all of them are electronica. I'm thinking chiptune-flavored indie rock/grunge. ...Also, I know they're technically Famicom games, not NES games, but I really hope someone does a track from Mother or Shin Onigashima.

Could you change my name to Magnum Octopus? Much obliged. (hey, I should actually get involved instead of just lurking)

I second that.

This is the point where I normally start saying stuff like "The only problem with this is that it should be longer." I already have at least a half-dozen Frog remixes, and this one is still an excellent rendition of the theme. I really did like the buildup from 0:18 turning into the extra-epic section by 0:34-35.

Yeah, I remember playing countless hours of this. Good times. (Still a Puyo Pop ripoff, but a Puyo Pop ripoff with a catchy soundtrack, so it's all good.) I do agree that the mix could use a bit more depth, maybe adding some different harmonies to tie the drums into everything else a little more. It's a great start, though.

That sounds like a really good idea, actually. If I ever get the equipment, the time and the initiative, I'd like to do some interpretation of "Rush Hour" or "Economical Shoppers". Seriously, it's like every song in the entire soundtrack is brilliant.

I've been listening to mixes off OCR for a few years now, and there's a lot of great music on here, but strangely enough, nothing from The World Ends With You, or very many DS remixes in general. Anyone want to try? (Turning "Slam Brothers/Slash&Slash" into something longer than a 30-second loop is a good place to start. "Twister" mixes are always great as well.)