orkybash

Streets of Rage 2 'SID of Rage' Cool. I'm a sucker for C64-style arpeggios (even though that system pre-dates me =P ), and this mix has them going throughout almost the whole thing. Other aspects of the arrangement work just as well, and it all combines into a remix that, plain and simply, kicks ass. This has to be one of my favorite mixes of this theme.

Lufia II 'Time Preserved ~ April Showers' Everything about this mix is pretty damn near perfect, is I say so myself. The drums are just understated enough, the samples are high quality, the arrangement is done very well (especially the transition between the two songs), and the ambient rain effects add a lot of depth to the song. Kudos to Matt Pollard. Highly recommended.

Xenogears 'Chu Chu's Flight' This is pretty good. Aside from the intro and ending, it follows the Xenogears flight theme rather closely. I personally would liked to have heard a bit more variation from that oh-so-familiar theme. Pizzicato strings and choirs were a nice touch. And even though it may have been able to use a little more variation, it's always nice to have another version of my favorite airship theme .

Seiken Densetsu 3 'Hostile but Cuddly' Ooh, I was wondering when we'd hear a remix of this song! For a first effort, this is pretty good, though the samples weren't as... defined as I would have liked to hear. Also, the melody kind of gets lost under the saw waves during the 'hostile' section. Arrangement's pretty high quality, though. Nice mix all around, and one which I would definitely recommend.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter 'Messatsu Gou-Techno' Very nice. Tastefully placed voice samples (except *maybe* for the beginning), production values are obviously high. Arrangement maybe could have been a little less repetitive, but the instruments were varied enough that that wasn't a problem. Recommended.

Gunstar Heroes 'Deep Mine' This remix is technically very good, but something's not quite right about it. It sounds like it's either trying to build excitement or suspense, but it really doesn't pull off either. Regardless, it's a *very* enjoyable listen, it's just too bad Malcos didn't go the extra mile to make it really bring out emotion in the listener.

Super Thunder Blade 'Overdrive' Pretty solid techno from Beatdrop, though I felt like this went on about twice as long as it needed to get it's point across. Also, I could have done without some of the phasing (although for the most part it was used tastefully). Overall, this might kick ass if it wasn't so repetitive, but as it is this just plain drags.

Mega Man 2 'Wily Meets Flash Man' One nice thing about a non-techno artist doing techno is that you can get some good variations on the genre that you normally wouldn't get. While NoppZ's song may not be a complete revolution in the techno genre, it does offer a fresh sound that isn't heard much around here (although it did kind of remind me of djp's style). Nice variation, both within the remix and within the genre, as I've already mentioned. Recommended.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars 'Break the Beat in Half, Dr. Wily (Extra Pie Mix)' Well, this mix has an interesting title, but I guess that's to go along with the interesting sound. This definitely takes some getting used to - the first time through it sounded a bit too messy to my ears. It's grown on my, though, just as it will on you once you realize how creative Shael Riley can get even when his groin isn't involved. There's so much going on in this mix that I can't even begin to describe it, so I'll just say get it. Even if you don't end up liking it, it will be the most interesting (as in "different") mix you'll hear on this site in a while.

Mega Man 2 'Project X2 - Crash Man' LOVE the lo-fi sound here. In fact, I can't think of a single element here that doesn't work - it's well arranged and well produced, and quality is high all around. If after hearing this mix you don't run out and download the rest of X2, I don't know what will convince you.

Wizards & Warriors 'It's Knighttime' Well, I'll ignore the fact that the source music is pretty annoying. Overall this mix ain't bad, but it ain't that great either. Its very repetitive, and the brass sample is the worst I've heard in a long time, and the fact that there is a definite lack of reverb doesn't help much. The last part actually sounded decent - that and the drums were about the only parts of the mix I liked. If you download it, download it for those. But overall, unless you're a big W&W fan, I'd skip it.

Perfect Dark 'Dark Conflict' Not bad. Choir sample could use some work, and I didn't care for the organ either. But all sample complaints aside, this was arranged very well. I especially like the more suspenseful parts, which is something few remixes around here try.

Mega Man 2 'Wily's Mosh Pit' Heh... thanks for nat banging the hell out of the percussion like I was expecting from the beginning... I can't stand that kind of music! As it is, though, this is well-arranged and well-played, and probably one of my top Mega Man mixes right now. Nice work.

Tinhead 'Level 1 Theme (Brain Bucket Mix)' Not anything that special, but still a nice mix. I could have gone without the extended break in the middle (broke up the energy too much), but other than that it's well put together. So, this ain't anything too remarkable, but I'd say it's still worth a download.

Chrono Trigger 'Times of Distortion' I guarantee you'll never hear a version of Far Away Times that's this good (no, not even Master of Audio's version!) The beginning could be a viable remix its self, but it instead serves as the intro to something even more amazing. My only complaint is that I would have liked a just a little more energy - it's almost to the point of being one of those songs that makes you just want to shout "HELL YEEEAAAHHHHH!"... but not quite there. Still, it's extremely good. Highly recommended.

Breath of Fire 'Sad Melody' Can I really say anything bad about something FFmusic Dj did? Not really, especially when It's this high quality. It's everything you've come to expect from him - thumping beats, great synths, and an overall excellent remix. If I had to change one thing, I would make the piano in the beginning fade into the synths instead of the piano stopping and the synths starting, but that's really minor. Overall, I have no choice but to put a gun to your head and say "Download Now."

Metroid 'Secrets' Takes a long time (almost 1:20) to really get going, and even after that I can't say this mix was all that interesting. The same riff gets repeated over and over and over, sometimes by a beepy NES-type synth, sometimes by a low saw-wave synth, and sometimes by both. Then there's a drum loop that, though it drops out quite frequently, repeats the same thing the entire time it's going. All of these elements are combined in different ways throughout the mix, but Main Finger doesn't put forth the effort to change any of them up. So sorry, but this remix really ain't that special, or even very interesting.

Sonic 3D Blast (GEN) 'Blissful Eruption' Though this remix takes a little longer than it probably should to get going, once it 'breaks out' it's pretty cool. There are some parts where notes seem to clash, and that detracted from my enjoyment of it some, but other than that it all sounded good. I can't really say one single element of this mix is notable on its own, but as a whole I'd say it's well worth a download.

Mega Man X4 'Stage Select' There really ain't much to complain about (except for some clipping that I detected), but this isn't that remarkable of a remix either. Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable, but it doesn't stand out all that much. So listen and enjoy, but don't expect to remember it after the next song on your playlist rolls around.

Chrono Cross 'Dubbing the Body' Though I'm not a huge fan of the genre, I enjoyed this remix a lot. Great guitar solo - the Chef really knows how to play! The harmonica was good too, but sounded a bit strained for my tastes. But maybe that's just part of Dub. Highlight, as djp pointed out, was when the guitar started playing along with the harmonica. All in all, I would definitely recommend this.

Zillion 'Melodic Trance' This is smoother than U-ji's other mixes. To tell the truth I'm not sure I like it as much, but it's well executed regardless, so if you're into this kind of stuff than you should definitely enjoy this mix. The over-the-top section djp talked about didn't bother me at all - it was probably one of my favorite parts of the mix. Ah well, to each his own. I can't say I really recommend this myself, but some might like it.

Kirby Super Star 'Green Greens (Contagious Eye Infection)' Not anywhere near perfect, but this is a fun and catchy remix that everyone, especially Kirby fans, really ought to check out. High point is *definitely* the Kirby sample. My biggest complaints are that it repeats too much, and I noticed some wrong notes. So it may have it's share of problems, but get it just the same.

Zelda II 'Temple Trance' This, folks, is trance done right. Great sounds, great DSP, and high interest for most of the time (though it does start to drag near the end). Overall, a job well done, and a remix highly recommended.

Chrono Trigger 'Dream of Zeal' Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Is another Zeal remix really worth my time?" The answer here is a resounding yes. This is put together really well. And it isn't quite the same as any of the other Zeal mixes on OC, so it does have something new to offer in a song that's done almost as much as the FF Prelude. I would definitely recommend this.

Secret of Mana 'Aphrodite Oceanus' Well, I don't have much to say about this remix, because frankly it's damn near perfect. It would be easy to overdo a mix like this, but fortunately, it's understated just enough that it stays very tasteful, not to mention relaxing. Highly recommended.