Slimy

You might find these websites interesting/useful: https://donjon.bin.sh/ http://chaoticshiny.com/ http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index.php http://www.gozzys.com/ https://www.cartographersguild.com/content.php https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding https://www.reddit.com/r/battlemaps

Well, I think the environments and worldbuilding in general was sub-par, but that's off topic. I can link to the topic this was derived from, if you want an explanation. Did you read my other posts? I had specific complaints.

I agree, and understand. The chior samples probably wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't on the Gameboy Advance, but was it a good decision to even use the choir? My beef with the Metroid: Zero Mission soundtrack is that most of the remixes from the original Metroid, (the game MZM is supposed to be improving upon,) lack the atmosphere and mood that they originally had. It's about the arrangements, not just the sound quality. I do really like a few of the original songs in the MZM soundtrack, like "Ridley aboard the Space Pirate Mothership, VS. King Worm", and "VS. Kiru Giru Larva." I also like "VS. Kraid," which I didn't mention before because it's a Super Metroid remix. I think the new bassline conveys really well how big Kraid is, and I like the changes and additions made to the section just before the loop. That section sounds like you're solving a very urgent puzzle, which you sort of are.

I think he's talking about emulators on the XBox and Wii.

First-time? Well this blows any of my first-times out of the water.

Keyword here is "most." Imagine getting this for your kids like it's 1985 again.

It's a good gift for people who haven't already played more NES games than are included. (Now, if the games were stored as roms on an ssd card so that I could add to it... That's doubtful though.)

After listening some more, you're right. It's not bad. But it seems less subtle in a way that I don't like. The bassline in the intro seems too big, the timpani isn't really needed, and the choir is once more unwelcome. The original Norfair theme had a bouncy bassline that is absent in the beginning of the MZM remix. It was dissonant with the melody. I think that the dissonance, and the staccato "bouncyness" made it feel less "epic lava area" and more "spelunking in a weird alien environment." Even at ~0:32-35? Gah, way to ruin a great climax. I suppose I really prefer the stark sounds of the original, and dislike the way the choir clutters the soundscape. (But was the original style objectively better, or it it just what I grew up listening to?) I don't think I would dislike the choir in the remix so much if the song gradually led into it. Also, I find the extended section rather boring. I'm not against the concept of extending these songs for the remake, but, with the exception of the Ridley's lair remix, I don't find them interesting. What song from Super Metroid? Are you talking about the staccato choir accents from the Red Brinstar theme? The quality of those sounds weren't the best, but they were used sparingly and appropriately.

May I ask when and why did you make a remake of the Meeting and Parting song from Pokemon? In response to the OP, most DAWs have audio editing tools. For general audio editing outside of a DAW, I'd recommend Audacity. There is a website called vgmusic.com where someone may have done the work for you, but there's no guarantee that those will be 100% accurate.

I don't think the soundscape is empty, but when listening, the melody is the only thing that really stands out to me. Perhaps because everything under it is more broken up and abstract, or because you used a lot of square waves, it's sort of blending together until only the melody stands out? As well written as it might all actually be, my brain only really hears the Beginning theme rendered with an unappealing sounding square wave. Sorry, I guess this one just isn't for me.

I posted this originally on the AM2R forums, but because it relates to video game music, I though I'd post a topic here. I think that MZM, although very fun mechanically, completely drops the ball when it comes to worldbuilding and atmosphere. (Which is egregious since it's a remake of what I consider to be an atmospheric game.) But that's a whole can of worms on it's own. Right now I'm specifically talking about it's soundtrack. Although I can't deny that behind the scenes they did try to stay true to the original style, I don't think they succeeded. For example: The title theme doesn't have any of the harshness that was in the beginning of the original, and seems to be missing the warmth of the next section. Perhaps because the chords are too thick and the choir sample is too harsh/airy? The Brinstar theme sounds even more bombastic, energetic, and heroic, in direct disproportion to it's appropriateness. This item room song tries to sound like it belongs in Metroid Prime - and completely looses the eeriness the quiet original one had. Norfair in MZM sounds dramatic and serious, while in the original it had more of an "oh boy we're spelunking even deeper" sound to it, if that makes any sense. Kraid's Lair might actually sound okay if it just had a counter melody instead of that horrible garbled choir. Actually, the choir sound terrible pretty much whenever it appears. I like how the original escape theme waits a bit before getting particularly bassy - like it's waiting for the player's reaction to sink in. The MZM remix doesn't do this of course. I do like the Tourian, Mother Brain, and Ridley's Lair remixes though. Ridley's Lair in particular is atmospheric in a way the original wasn't capable of, and actually subtle, unlike some of the remixes I'm less fond of. Of course, I admit that I've lost my ability to be objective about Metroid a long time ago.

Watermelons are blue on the inside until observed by humans. It's true because you can't prove me wrong.

The melody sound pretty loud compared to everything around it, especially the bass. Is it just me? I suppose the arps wouldn't sound good at all if they were too loud, but in that case, maybe you could add some supporting chords?

After combining everything into one track out of curiosity, it seems that I'm actually quite terrible at the thing you complemented me on. Oh and the track's submitted now, in case anyone was wondering.

What are the judges opinion of a remix submitted in 2 parts? Specifically, 2 separate submissions for 2 songs, but both are designed to go together, and share themes and motifs between them.

I would think so, since it's being incorporated into your original music, you're legally being "transformative" with it.

Small update. Increased the volume of the guitar a bit. Lowered the pitches of some of the notes of the plucked instruments at 2:25. It sounded off and it was bothering me. Added a gong at 3:34. I used a quiet tambourine sample. Tough I might have tried a finger cymbal with a real orchestra. Anyways, I'm going to try getting a mod review on this before I submit.

As long as you're not profiting, won't any "bootlegged" vocal samples count as fair use?

Personally, when I think of "D&D opening titles," I think of the Two Mandolins song from Stronghold playing while a camera pans over a dimly-lit table with dice and maps and character sheets. Probably because I like the juxtaposition of the simple, setting-appropriate music against the more serious storylines D&D tries to do a lot. Some other music I tend to think of as "D&D Soundtrack" is the Dwarf Fortress Soundsense Tracks by Simon Swerwer. The modern guitar probably isn't so setting-appropriate, but I really like the atmosphere. Especially with song like Kobold March, The Tankard Basher, and Spelunker.

"Minor differences between bit and frame rate." Haha! You have no right to call anyone patronizing.

A song from a Gameboy game that was only released in Japan. There was a Super Smash Bros remix:

The beginning of the original song sticks out to me as something that could be orchestral. Your version doesn't really have the same kind of of energy though - partially because the melody at the beginning is an octave lower, and partially because all the instruments sound muffled. Your percussion is extremely quiet, I can barely hear snare drum, and if the timpani were any quieter, I wouldn't know it was there at all. (In fact, I'm half expecting you to say that there were no timpani.) And the cymbals are too quiet to contribute anything except some soft white-noise. The "rhythm notes" at 0:12 sound repetitive and midi-like. If you don't have any round robin samples, you could still alternate velocities to improve the sound. There is a strange metallic sound at 0:40... you may have been intending for that to be part of the percussion, but it's so quiet, it sounds like a mistake. I do like the crescendoing trombones at 0:53. I think it's a decent example on it's own of how you could be more liberal with the orchestra to add some nice personal touches.

It suddenly occurred to me, some of you history pedants might enjoy watching lindybeige's videos. He's made a few about roleplaying games.

I have no idea what I'm doing. Originals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1QzW9hS1oo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMvkkqxs8m0

Update. I gave the bass a low EQ boost, and added some variations now that it's more noticeable. The flutes are now brighter in certain parts. I didn't get a actual guitar player, but I did try using some better guitar sounds at 2:12. Changed the instruments at 2:48 slightly again. Added more percussion at 3:00 - 3:24, continued the guitar at 3:12 and added violins as a pad. Added a flute at 3:26, and more chimes. Basically I tried to make it more interesting and add some high frequency stuff.