zachaction

I'll jump in with a couple of thoughts about the flute: I think it is a little too far forward, and it also sounds unnaturally wide...? It needs to be more focused in the middle of the soundstage. Also, the truncated staccato notes in the melody are a little distracting, not just because they're not in the style of the original, but they're too stark of a contrast with the flowing legato feel of the whole piece. The arrangement as a whole is very nice!

Very nice! I like how upbeat it is... very energetic. I actually submitted a Serpent Trench remix to OCR a couple weeks ago... it has a slight vocal element as well, so wanted to point that out in case it is accepted, so you don't think I copied you!

Eight years since its debut, and no comments in the last five years... I thought I had commented here back when but I'm not seeing it, so better late than never. I was in Myrtle Beach for a week-long job when Balance and Ruin was released. I burned it all to CD to listen to on the four hour drive home. I was loving every second of the album, and then The Impresario hit. I think my mouth was agape through the entire track as I was completely enraptured. After the final note sounded, I reached for the power button on the radio and turned it off. I sat in silence. I could not process what I had just heard. For five miles I mindlessly drove while my brain and my heart tried to reconnect. It's one of those moments I'll always remember. With each listen, I am transported back to that first time. It's an incredible track that perfectly captures both the spirit of the FFVI original soundtrack and especially the spirit of this site. Long live The Impresario.

I guess everyone does their commenting on youtube now, but I just wanna say here that I think this is absolutely fantastic. Love the harmonies and the alternate melodies and the overall sound is killer. I'd love to play B-type Level 9 Speed 5 with this in the background! Well done.

Okay, sure, I'll give you some feedback! Overall, it's good, and I think with a few simple changes, you'll be on the right track. First, I think the biggest problem is the EQ of the whole track. It sounds like there's a blanket over it. On the mp3 I've attached, I've made the EQ changes you can see on the attached picture. This "smile" EQ curve is pretty basic and goes a long way to improving your track's clarity. I also compressed the heck out of it, trying to give some life to the whole track, but the drums in particular. The programming of the drums is fine, but the sound itself is kind of chintzy, especially the snare. I don't know what VSTs you have for drums, but this particular set sounds kinda weak. The compression helps a lot, but I'd still like to hear what some different snares sound like instead. I like the "background" sounds and would bring them forward (and maybe vary their panning a little), like the piano throughout and the synth in the last third. They're what make the track interesting, so I'd showcase them a little more. The hard-panned rhythm guitars are a little bland. I'd like to hear less whole notes out of them, and more rhythmic chugging to help give the track some energy. It's a good medley, it's solid guitar work, and it's got a lot of good pieces! SFIIUSA-Z.mp3

Love this game and its sequel (well, I love-hate them), and just now seeing what you've done. It's great! Truly a labor of love and it's appreciated. Good job and thanks for sharing! Is there a place to download other than a soundcloud downloader?

Absolutely lovely! Really really great. I have one suggestion which should be an easy fix... for some reason, the mix is left-heavy, like the instruments are being played 30 degrees off-center to the left. It's kind of disorienting. Beautiful work and sound!

Love it! I know they are sticklers for the % of source material, but no matter what, very cool what you did here. Sounds great!

Thanks for the kind words! While recording ambient works isn't really "my thing," I will certainly try and find some other game songs to try and arrange in the genre, as it was quite fun to do and a welcome change of pace from my usual rock-based work. Glad everyone is enjoying!

Gario, I appreciate your very constructive criticism of my submission. I agree that the velocities would need a ton of work. As I said, I just did the FFL2 soundtrack in this style purely as a personal labor of love a couple years ago. The "two handed" limitation of the piano is something I'm aware of, but I was never going for realism-- just wanted something cool to listen to in the car! But I did want to thank you for your review and suggestions, and the same goes to hoboka and Zorrakh. Long live this beautiful underrated soundtrack!

I was unaware of RushJet1 before this. I promptly headed to his bandcamp page, donated, and downloaded his entire catalog.

Wow, I'd say both the arrangement and the mix are fantastic! Has a really great energy and vibe and the musicianship is flawless. Love the room sound of the mix as well. If I was absolutely pressed to give one piece of constructive criticism, it's that the piano is a little wide across the stereo spectrum for me in a mix like this as opposed to a solo piano piece. But I'm not all that familiar with jazz and that may very well be a common mic'ing and mixing technique in the genre. At any rate, you should be really proud of this and it's nice to hear something so polished from a game that doesn't get much treatment. Thanks for sharing!

I've always loved this theme and its Brian Eno-ish vibe. I did this rendition just for myself but thought the community here may enjoy it. It's not much more than a simple instrument-replacement and I'm not pretending otherwise. But just a nice track to put on while you're working. Hope it finds some listeners! http://tindeck.com/listen/vovku

Hello all, I recently completed a conversion of the OST of Final Fantasy Legend II for the Gameboy (Sa・Ga2: Hihō Densetsu) into piano tracks. I won't pretend that I did any sort of complex arrangement or anything of the sort; I took midi dumps of both FFL2 and the DS remake (Goddess of Destiny) and tried to make them as musically realistic as possible. They sound great but are more of a "piano roll"-type sound, that is, something that couldn't really be played with just two hands (with some exceptions). At any rate, this game had some phenomenal music and I think you'll find that these piano versions do it justice. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF02JESKmeTyWi7gOK5YSLlHUESJWhpCU

Like I said about "Endless Stair," this is the best possible version of the source material. A+.

This is one of my favorite tracks from B&R. The whole album is great obviously, but to me, the best tracks are the ones that make THE BEST POSSIBLE-SOUNDING VERSION of the original. "The Endless Stair" is the absolute best that the Tower of Fanatics theme can be. The mood is flawless and the buildup is impeccable. I applaud Argle for his contribution and point to the fact that I finally registered in this forum just to post this.