The Nikanoru

Awesome! I especially like the new fill at 2:04 - but IMO the entire lead sound is missing something, like some dynamics or perhaps some sort of an effect. Something to consider. Other than that, I think this sounds good. Kudos on a great sounding track!

And for the Chanson de Caractere section. Specific notes: The lead (is that mandolin, dulcimer or some sort of guitar?) is a bit buzzy in places. Love the transition at 0:52 and the harmony that follows. Beautifully done. I hear SOUL! Weird cut-off on the lead at 1:45. Sounds clipped. I think the harp has a bad note or two at 1:58 Something else is needed within 2:04 and 2:30. There's a lot of space here that could be filled. I'm thinking something violin-ish, but your sound design may dictate otherwise. The lead taps a string at 3:49 as after the last note falls. Overall Notes: Very pretty overall. I like the choice of sounds, and I really like the tone and pace of this. I think the sound is a bit dry - playing with the reverb a bit should fix this. I'm hearing other mixing elements that are needed, but I am not the person to advise you on this. I could suggest more orchestra here too, as some wind and more strings would help to emphasize the soundscape, but I also like the sound of the two or three instrument progression. IMO, you do need some sort of added texture to the song though - the harp does a great job of carrying the song along, but there is a lot of empty space to work with still. It needs some sort of support. Notation is once again almost dead accurate. Again: awesome job, but watch for robot sequencing. This, IMO, is very nice. I enjoyed listening to this. I'll be watching for the next update to this and Curtain Call - and I hope the Finale is coming soon. Great work!

Alright, here goes. Specific notes: Piano sounds in the beginning and first movement have absolutely no depth. Needs reverb, possibly a little sustain for longer tones. Staccato violins have good reverb, but the oboe does not. Why are the strings and oboe panned left? I like the violin at Draco's lament @ 1:43, but is that a cello or viola you have playing the melody? I think you need more legato here. Really like the little piano bit at 2:55. Nice touch. Melody strings at 3:42 have (ironically) too much reverb, especially since harmony strings have very little reverb. I don't like the fade-out ending. Personal preference here, but I'd use a definite ending if you plan to link this track with Chanson de Caractere, Overall notes: Notation throughout the piece is almost dead accurate. Awesome job on the structure. Only thing: some folks might call it 'robotic' in some places, as it's almost too perfect. Some DAWs have a 'humanization' function to keep this from occurring, but my advice would be to play it out naturally. NEED MORE ORCHESTRA. I'm only hearing piano and strings here. The opera is meant to be played by a full symphony and this track seems to be following similar lines; there is a definite lack of brass, wind, and percussion to round this piece out. Needs more life. It sounds pretty straight and narrow right now. More instrumentation will help this. This is a great framework, but lots needed to make this a masterpiece. I hope some of these notes can help you get a little closer to what you're looking for. Chanson de Caractere next.

As you're not specifically inviting comments, I don't know whether this is a WIP you're looking for feedback on or whether you're just advertising your YouTube channel, but you imply that it isn't finished, so I'm going to assume you are looking for feedback. Here's my two bits: I think you have too much reverb on the piano compared to the cello in the intro. I think you have a bad note at 0:42 from the cello. The lead electric sounds very slightly out of tune. More apparent in the first movements, not as bad at the higher octave. I sure hope that doesn't mean fretwork or a bent neck on your guitar... The bass seems quiet. I can hear it, but it's really understated compared to the other volumes. I think the bass has a bad note at 3:47-3:49 As much as I like the arrangement and style you chose, this arrangement sticks pretty darn close to the original source. I'd like to hear a little more 'soul' in this - the snare breakdown you have at 2:55 would be a good spot for a little creativity. Just my thoughts and opinion. I really did enjoy listening to this - I hope to hear more of your work on here and I'll have to check out your YouTube channel at some point.

This is more of a remake then a remix, but it sure sounds good. I like the tone set by this. It's a little bottom-heavy on the EQ, but I don't think that's a problem in this case - I like that boomy drive and the lead with a tad more reverb and a tad less volume is quite effective, IMO. However, it's a loop and becomes repetitive quickly. I think what this is missing is a screamin' lead guitar solo at 1:34 and an epic ending of some sort...

Hmmm. This seems like it's more of a medley of Summer Lovin' and the Legend of Zelda theme more than it is a remix. It's simple and neat, but pretty basic. There needs to be more to this - Tell me more, tell me more! 'La celda gris' ('The Grey Cell'). What was your inspiration for this name? Just curious.

This is a pretty cool start. The style kind of makes me think of the Strokes. Be careful with notation when transitioning. You're trying to perform a song in a major key which was built in a minor key - I'm hearing conflict @ 0:43. Aside from that, I like what I hear. Waiting for the rest of it!

This is good. Sounds much cleaner, and I really like what you did with the SFX in the beginning. All it needs now... is more cowbell. Right @glasfen?

I have to say, with the new adjustments, it definitely sound like the piano stayed where it was and rest of the band moved to the back of the auditorium. I think more reverb on the piano will solve this.

My favorite piece across all FF games: The Fierce Battle, first heard when fighting the Atma Weapon in Final Fantasy VI. I have always enjoyed VGM, but boss themes have especially resonated with me, as they are usually very emotional pieces that really get you into that moment. This song captures it for me in a way I have seen/heard in only one other game. For those who are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Lr7nRjvEk Here is the story of my experience from the game: I first played FFVI (or FFIII on the SNES) when I was 14, and I remember distinctly having a lot of trouble, very suddenly, when I got onto the Floating Continent in the World of Balance. The enemies were suddenly dealing crazy amounts of damage, had lots of hit points, and often killed at least one of my party members before I could finish the battle. It was a hard slog trying to get to a level where I was confident enough to see what happened next, but when I did, I saved and stepped into the next screen to where a bluish, writhing sprite sat blocking my way. Just another mid-boss, right? Boy, was I wrong. It started with this absolutely epic piece of music unlike anything I had heard in the game so far, against the Atma Weapon, a boss unlike anything I had faced so far. I remember my shock very clearly, and saying 'oh shit' loud enough for my parents to hear. It started the battle by dropping a Flare on Shadow; I had forgotten to replenish my Phoenix Downs, so I was relying on Terra and Locke to keep up with Life spells; I swore again when it started hitting me with Rasp. Occasionally I could Throw with Shadow, but I swear that game's AI KNEW that I was relying on him to deal any sort of significant damage. It wasn't long before my MP was gone and Hi-Potions were not enough to recover from Flare. Once I had no way to revive, my doom was complete. Three rounds later, GAME OVER. I was so shaken up by that battle that I couldn't play any more that day, and of course it was a rental, so I had to take it back the next day before I could finish. It wasn't until I was allowed to rent the game again, almost a year later, that I finally managed to defeat the Atma Weapon. Every time I hear that theme, I remember that first encounter; the shock, the rush to get all my commands in order, the despair of not being able to keep up, and the humiliating defeat. Musically, this was an epic, dramatic symphony on par with Night on Bald Mountain. There's nothing out these in the world of boss music (sort of One-Winged Angel or Dancing Mad) I've found that gives me quite the same chill down my spine when I hear it. I would say this is definitely one of Nobuo Uematsu's greatest works.

Just wanted to say I really like this. I'm totally feelin' the bop and groove over here!

Jake Kaufman is virt, and although he is not actively involved in OCR anymore, he does have some tracks posted here. Not this one, though. You CAN find it on the Dwelling of Duels website, as this was part of their monthly album thing back in 2004. You can find it here: http://dwellingofduels.net/duels/04-07-zelda/

Once again, I am not a professional mixer or sound guy, so this is a subjective and intuitive opinion. Listen to the rhythm guitar in the first 17 seconds of version 4, then listen to it in version 5. Do you hear the difference in impact? The guitar is darker and quieter in version 5, even though other parts have become brighter and cleaner. Listen to v4 and v5 at the tempo change at 2:38-ish. Same thing. Now, listen to timaeus222's Shreddage track above. What I'm getting at here is that the rhythm guitar drive is the root of what give this song its energy; to change the tone of the rhythm guitar is, IMO, to change the entire feel of the song. Making the other parts of the song brighter and more distinct has really added to the track, but that rhythm guitar has been tamed a bit as well - this has taken a bit of the focus away from the guitar, which to me, has impacted the energy behind this track. To timaeus222's point of being 'medium metal,' if you can get the sound closer to what we hear in the Shreddage track - perhaps STARTING with EQ, to my point - this would really help define that drive I keep talking about. The lead guitars are obviously the same guitar, but have been set on the same EQ and suffer from the same loss of tone. The matched EQ is not in itself a bad thing ... but it may come closer to a more defined sound for each guitar if you give the main lead a bit more treble and the harmony lead a bit more mid. Maybe a tad more volume on the lead and less on the harmony when they play together, these sorts of things. As I'm not up on my definitions, I can't be much more specific than that, sorry - perhaps one of the other folks on this thread could give you better advice on this. My point in making the guitars more definition is to give each guitar part more sound distinction and give them a bit more focus in the track overall. I know my descriptions can be a bit fuzzy, but I hope this makes sense.

Not sure that matters, but I guess it depends on the buyer and what was negotiated from the get-go. When it comes to music, whether it be for commercial jingles or VGM, the buyer wants the music and most don't really care HOW it is made. The pay for any smart composer would have been negotiated before ANY tracks were made for the project (whether that be by-the-minute or a flat rate), so it shouldn't matter HOW the music was made, so long as the buyer likes what they hear and the composer has some guarantee of compensation. It's like any business equation: when you buy or sell a product or service, you're looking for the value from the end result of the transaction, not necessarily individual parts of the equation.

I can really hear the compression on the drums, definitely more distinct. I hear the volume dynamics, appropriate to the transitions and changes. I hear the cool bell. Only comment: The guitars need more definition. The volume changes are great for the arrangement, but it's that driving riff that gets me out of bed to hear this. It may be as simple as changing up the EQ a bit, but once again, advice on mixing I'll have to leave to someone else with more experience than I. Still my favorite WIP to listen to, Julien. Awesome work, keep it up!

You know, I really enjoyed the .hack series and there was some pretty gorgeous music in the OST. This track almost made me want to pick it up again ... before I remembered the 400+ hours I already clocked playing it through the first time. This is beautiful. I'm not quite sure how I missed this before, but this is really awesome stuff. The instrumentation and percussion you added just complement all the vocals and the sound created is ... well, speaking in metaphor, it's a rich, elegant tapestry with made with an asymmetrical design that seems to make more sense when you look at the whole thing instead of the individual parts. Fuzzy and vague, I know, but that it what it sounds like to me. I really don't have any suggestions to make this better that what I hear in the 'summer update.' Seriously, this is really a pleasure to listen to. Awesome work!

There's a lot of hate for this song on here. I can see why everyone seems to think this falls short of OCR standards, but guys, we were all there once and I'm sure we can all pick songs in the OCR library that we didn't think should make it that did. Either way, the decision was made at the time and here it is. I think, just like our own libraries, this shows how OCR has improved it's judging over the years. Without a few songs in the mix to show where standards may have fallen short, how would they know where to improve how the judges make decisions? Or, likewise, how could they prove how judging has improved over the years? For what it's worth, I liked this. Certainly not an OCR flagship remix, but still indicative of the raw creativity that I love coming to this site for. Good job, @ffmusic dj.

I wasn't sure where this was going when I first turned it on, but after hearing the whole thing, I like this a lot. As Starphoenix said, this is pretty chill. Your style reminds me of Jose the Bronx Rican, another ReMixer on this site. Got a chuckle out of me too for the Navi cameo. Not much to say that hasn't already been said. My main complaint is the length and the repetitiveness; however, I think the track's greatest asset is the drum style and your choice of instruments (aside from the off-key synth at the beginning). I like the panning of the sounds and I think the EQ and mixing is pretty good. My intuition tells me you need a breakdown or a bridge somewhere to break up that repetition, giving the track something or somewhere to build to. Great interpretation, not easy with a 15 second loop. Looking forward to what comes next.

Alright, since you asked, I'll lend an ear. I think you let the intro go on too long before you 'release the rest of the band.' I get the whole gradual build thing and the introduction of the chorus, but it think two complete circuits of the Prelude is too long to wait. Maybe see how it sounds if you start with piano and chorus? I like the arrangement, but aside from the solo violin and the end run of the FF Theme, there isn't much variation in the first three minutes of the track. I would suggest keeping that violin solo a little closer to the beginning and adding a shred or two from that heavy distortion rhythm guitar I hear. I think some mixing is in order too. I'm not very experienced at mixing, but I can tell you that the piano and violin seem very 'bright' sounds, the guitar very 'dark,' and the percussion is very 'far back' but the kick and cymbals seem 'close.' Violins seem okay to me. I disagree with the progressive fadeout ending. It leaves me hanging. My personal feeling is a big hair-metal-style rock out ending, but that would be difficult with the violins.... Sounds good so far. Hope to hear more.

Been a long time since I picked up an N64 controller, but memories of this game come through very clearly. Link was always my favorite, but few could defeat me with the 'Chu. I think glasfen has said pretty much everything I would say on this. The only thing I would add it that it doesn't sound mixed quite right - I want to say compression, but I don't know my terminology enough to advise you properly here. Perhaps someone like timaeus222 or Rozovian could give you better advice here. I always find it interesting when someone can take a short loop and turn it into a full remix. This sounds great!

Sounds really good. Intro issue solved, I can REALLY hear the bass now, and there is certainly a lot more to it now. Just a couple of notes: The bass is still muffled. It's creating a bit of an ambient rumble, which with the articulation sounds interesting, but I still think this needs to be clearer. I think the background synth has a sour note at 0:37-0:38 and again at 1:07-1:08 The bass and kick are working very well together, but I think it's kind of crowding the lead in terms of volume I think you've solved the emptiness issue that @Gario was referring to, but you're right, it's still missing something. IMO, you could expand that breakdown at 1:08, but into what, I have no idea. Perhaps Gario could suggest something better? Really like what I'm hearing. Keep up the good work!

You're right, I did - but that is a much more awesome idea. Wouldn't you need Vermillion City in there somewhere? I remember that you need 'Cut' to get to route 9... not that I want to push that potential remix into 10 min territiory... Oh, you ARE sneaky, Gario! LOL

There's a lot of feeling behind this one. It says one word to me - lament. .. like lamenting why they never continued this series.

If this is your very first remix, then I'd say you have a lot of talent. Pretty darn good for a beginner! The intro is REALLY quiet compared to the rest of the track. I think your percussion is fine, aside from sounding like it needs a little better EQ in comparison with all the other instruments involved - that kick is too heavy IMO. The bass is quite drowned out, and sounds really muffled when it comes through - perhaps the frequency is too low, but I don't know enough about the settings to advise you on that. Need to hear that more, because from what I can hear, you did some fun stuff with the bass. Musically, I like all the intricacy of the different parts - I really like the lead at 1:29 to the end - but it's a pretty straight forward beat and melody so far. Keep experimenting. I recommend listening to some of the other electronic or EDM artists on OCR like Sir_NutS or bLiNd to get more ideas on where to take it from hear. You might also give a listen to Washudoll's ReMix (Towering Revolutions) from the Maverick Rising OCR album to hear where it's been taken already. I really like the Boomer Kuwanger theme - it's always been my favorite from the MMX OST, aside from Sigma Stage 1 and Chill Penguin. Curious to see where you take it from here. Good work!

Hear hear!