Rexy

Remix Title: A Full Moon Rises Over Nowhere Remixer: Somewareman AKA Ben Molulon Game Arranged: Mother 3 Songs Arranged: Mind of a Thief (Duster's Theme): http://earthbound.wikia.com/wiki/Mind_of_a_Thief?file=MOTHER_3-_Mind_of_a_Thief Going Alone: http://earthbound.wikia.com/wiki/Going_Alone?file=MOTHER_3-_Going_Alone Gentle Rain: http://earthbound.wikia.com/wiki/Gentle_Rain?file=MOTHER_3-_Gentle_Rain Now here's a little something I've been working on for a while. I've spent quite some time figuring out FL Studio, and now I might just have something of acceptable quality to submit. (fingers crossed!) Mother 3's always been a special game to me, and to a lot of people it seems. I actually heard a lot of the game's music before I was ever able to play it, and Duster's Theme was one of my absolute favorites. I kept pretty conservative with the remix. I wanted to keep the laid back, quaint, yet almost melancholy feel that a lot of Mother 3's music evokes while changing up the rhythm here and there so the track doesn't feel too stale. Mother 3 is a treasure trove of hundreds wonderful tunes. Impressive, considering it's for the Gameboy Advance. I wish it were more accessible to people so we could get more awesome remixes.

OC Remix I'll try my best to follow the instruction on th site for the submission, in case of any missing fields please contact me: Personal Information - ReMixer Name: DuplEx - Name: Leonardo - Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwzl8YLwMk3dP41oT-3Xhyw?view_as=subscriber Submission: - Game: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time - Name of the Arrangment: Cataclysm - Original name: Song of storms/ Windmill hut Hope to receive a reply soon, Farewell DuplEx

Contact Information: ReMixer name: soundyg Websites: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnHzXLbVzwdiOyVr0nE9aSg Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-67701778 Submission Information: Name of game arranged: F-Zero Name of arrangement: Brass City Name of individual song arranged: Mute City An arrangement of the theme originally composed by Yumiko Kanki Link to the OcRemix page for Mute City: https://ocremix.org/song/2/mute-city Produced in Cubase, please enjoy!

Name: Farce Deity Real Name: Bobby Wehner Email: Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT82toAA6qwAs0LIRPKOyFQ Game: Chrono Trigger Song Title: Secret of the Forest ("Stop It You Dog!" Mix) Original Song: Secret of the Forest

ReMixer name: Schtiffles UserID: 32762 Game: Tetris Original Arrangement: Korobeiniki Remix Title: T-Spin

RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Breath of the Wild Song Title: Legend of the Koroks Songs Remixed: Korok Forest Gamer of the Winds also performed this with me! He has given permission to submit it.

ReMixer name: Hanging Waters Real name: Withheld (please contact via email if needed for legal purposes) Email address: Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRlQGhP1jx50S59UV7JNn7Q Userid: 35742 Game arranged: DeltaRune (Chapter 1) Name of arrangement: Groove Buster Name of individual songs arranged: Rude Buster, Field of Hopes and Dreams Composer: Toby Fox Game Platform: PC Game Release: 2018 Comments: This electronic funk fusion re-imagining of the DeltaRune battle theme aims to maintain the spirit of the original while ramping up the adrenaline. The slapping bass, spaced out square and sawtooth leads, staccato horn synth, and heavily reverbed pads attempt to give the tune a new sense of atmosphere. After a brief venture into 7/8 and an extensive synth solo, we fade out into Field of Hopes and Dreams and reach a dramatic focal point, before climbing up to one final drop and then reminiscing with a transcription of Toby Fox's original Rude Buster solo.

Dear OCR Judges Panel, Skies of Arcadia remix coming up. I was told to submit it by the people responsible for the Arcadia Legends album. Contact Information: ReMixer name: Glejs Real name: Glenn Liljestrand Website: https://www.youtube.com/glejsmusic User ID: 34608 Submission Information: Name of game arranged: Skies of Arcadia Name of arrangement: Unknown Menace Name of individual song arranged: Zelos My own comments and info: Proud to be part of the "Arcadia Legends" OCR album. I came in to the project late, had only three songs to choose from. Zelos, the final boss tune, caught my ear. I was thinking, hmm drum'n bass hmm techno.. it took a wild turn to trance. The 90s kind of rave-y trance, with a little bit of breakbeats, orchestra hits and synth stabs. I sampled tons of FX, vocals and instruments straight from the actual game. In fact most of (or at least half of) the instruments you hear are from the game. I chose to remaster the song for this single release, because the master that was done for the OCR album didn't really sound the way I wanted it to. I talked to the mastering engineer about it, and he was completely ok with this. Hope you enjoy this one, I had a lot of fun composing it! All the best, Glejs (pronounced "Glaze")

ReMixer Name: COEURLAMARI Real Name: Sarah Arsenault Website: https://coeurlamari.bandcamp.com Userid: 34683 Name of game arranged: They Bleed Pixels Name of arrangement: CLAWSHANK REDEMPTION Name of song arranged: SCOURGE Additional information about the game: Developed and published by Spooky Squid Games Soundtrack composed by Shaun Hatton (aka megashaun or DJ FINISH HIM) Released on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux on August 29, 2012 OST in full is on Mr. Hatton's Bandcamp Comments: This is the first time in the ten years I've been making my own music that I've felt ready enough to submit something to OCR's evaluation process, but even if it doesn't make the cut, I'll be more than happy to take on critique so I can grow as an artist and do better next time. They Bleed Pixels is one of my favorite indie games, and has one of my favorite game soundtracks. I waited for years after playing the game before trying to remix my favorite track, SCOURGE-- I wanted to do it justice if I was going to tackle it, and hopefully I managed that much! Imagine for a second that you're a particularly discerning shambling horror-thing hitting the R'lyeh party scene on a Friday night; this is probably what you hear thudding out of the hottest discotheque in town when you roll up. Place is packed. Yog-Sothoth probably bought everyone a round of drinks in there. It's a pretty good time. That in a nutshell was the kind of vibe I was going for. I differentiated my track from the source material mostly by trying to abridge the longer-haul, more ambient arrangement of the original and give it a more dynamic dance tune kind of sound with clearer, brighter instruments and different, varying drum patterns and some quicker movement through the melodic sections it has, since SCOURGE kind of has that grungy, bitcrushed, dark 80's dance hall aesthetic to it that reflects in the whole OST. There's a background synth pad I used to kind of apply a flanging, panning "growl" tone to try and give it a bit of a dark undercurrent, a little Lovecraftian madness under all the fun. I made this remix in an iPad app called Auxy, using some of both the free and paid-for instrument packs it comes with - it's super useful for super impoverished musicians like me. Since it's designed to be very loop-based and drum-machiney, I did my best to bend the app's limitations, give my remix a lot of variety and avoid any lazy outs to keep it from becoming too repetitive. Source link

This is my submission for a remix I did from Final Fantasy XI : Rise of Zilart. ReMixer name: brink-of-time Forum userid: 3661 Name of game: Final Fantasy XI (more specifically, the Rise of Zilart Expansion) Name of arrangement: Grav'iton's Dream Name of song arranged: Grav'iton It's been a long time since I have submitted anything to OC Remix (over 10 years!). I don't dabble in music as much as I used to. But I still try to write or remix on occasion. This is a remix that I have been working on and off for about 6 or 7 years. I personally have never played FFXI, but I really like the soundtrack. This track in particular is very good. I had alot of fun remixing it in a more of synthwave sorta feel. I like it. I hope you all do too. -brink

I appreciate the cinematic palette here. The structure is merely one run-through of the theme and an ending, but the instrumentation and effects changed up the entire mood while maintaining the source's most melodic components. It's a more subtractive take, which I highly acknowledge for a track of this length. There are a few things that held me back, though. Firstly, the mixdown feels fine for the most part - great use of spacious reverb, the instruments are panned appropriately, and the components are mostly cleanly mixed. But I have to give a push to the staccato trumpets (starting at 0:32) and the string section (beginning at 0:46). In their respective segments, they're carrying a significant amount of source representation, yet they're too faint to identify them at first glance. The bell sequence at 0:32, albeit not holding source, also is way too far into the background. Try bringing their volume levels up - yet for the staccato brass, you ought to cross-check with the EQ on the tuba, so their frequencies don't bleed into one another. Additionally, the execution sounds painfully robotic. Don't get me wrong - your samples are beautiful and make the concept feel so much more vibrant. But when the velocities are constant across all instruments, the realism gets taken away. I'd like it if you can take some time to go over your notes' velocities, then decide which one you want to emphasize and which can be better off more subtle. No real-life performer would play all notes in a sequence the same way, so do take that into account. It's a respectable concept, but I don't think it's quite there yet. I can respect the brevity of the arrangement, but when mechanical writing and some quiet instruments become concerns, it's ended up as a hard sell. It'll be nice to hear a version that addresses the production flaws, so I hope you get a chance to return to this. NO (resubmit)

Compared to the previous submission, this is a substantial improvement. The aesthetic is still there, the source remained dominant, and the instruments remain clean. The bass drop-out at 1:07 got reworked as a breather, and the revised groove and added source permutation at 1:32 added reasons to hold back. That second section alone added more meat to the framework for sure. Not only was it different enough from the first variation, but the groove's progression felt different. There's the vocal sampling, the stutters, the non-static presentation for the percussion, and that pitch shift at 2:00 that threw me into a loop. The only thing I feel that's missing is a hi-hat sequence, but when brought into a lo-fi direction, they would've been hard to hear anyway. Much like prophetik, I still don't quite see it as vaporwave as the second half went into more experimental pacing territory and emphasized the glitched effects. If anything, it quickly turned into the musical equivalent of a shitpost - which is fine, as the arrangement and presentation values have set out to meet a clear goal. Based on this, I believe the track can get onto the front page in its current form - a mix that emphasizes creative drive, but it won't be a popular one based on style alone. Michael, if you are to get a debut, let this track be it! YES

Link Original Decision ReMixer name: bsolmaz13 Name of game: Mega Man 4 Name of arrangement: Cossack Skies² Name of song arranged: Dr. Cossack Stage 2

I'm not sure how you did it, but you made the track source dominant without using any part of the main melody. With source use stripped back to the arpeggio in section A, I can see why you opted to go for the "evolving soundscape" route - and with the way the track paced itself, it makes for a calming listen in a vacuum. However, it's how the arpeggio got used that counts - and all I heard was the same 8-bar formation, with 4 bars of the original scale and 4 bars of it transposed down two semitones. Even with the pleasant subtractive writing, the source's use doesn't develop throughout and remains static. While it can be possible to change up the pacing of the arpeggio, these open spaces are ideal for you to fit in whatever parts of the main melody you see fit. The production sounds serviceable, but two further issues stuck out: First of all, the track distorts whenever the kick pedal shows up. As you have a big sub-bass tone, the two instruments as they are have left the mix prone to clipping. Since both of them are slow-moving, I can see a side-chain on the bass taking the edge off. An EQ cut could be possible if you don't want to side-chain, but it'll also be riskier to execute. The Rhodes piano carries the source, thus it shouldn't sound shrill and bone-dry. In an ambient setting, leads are expected to feel just as aired as the accompaniment around it. Additionally, the shrillness is present because the resonance is overpowering, especially during the intro and at the breakdown at 1:47. To address the first part, consider adding some subtle reverb; and for the second part, see if making a high EQ cut can ease it off. As it stands, I can't accept the track in its current state. The source use is underdeveloped, and the harsh sounding kick and Rhodes piano didn't do any favors either. It'll be nice to hear another version with more arrangement content and the two problematic instruments fixed. With ten years of production-related passion behind you, I hope you get the chance to contribute to the community as well as return to the inbox in the future. NO (resubmit)

I'm seconding Sir Nuts here. I knew that Stephen had a great voice utilized in more of his original work than remixes, but I never thought he'd take it to a cinematic level like this! The source's brevity didn't stop him from expanding on the structure, separating the B section voices at 0:33 and reprising the A section at 1:12. It does make the arrangement brief as well; however, there's plenty of time to let the vocals preserve the BGM's presence, and the added cinematic instruments carry a complementary subtractive backing. Even the production sounds tight - the vocals are well layered, enthusiastically performed, and felt cleanly processed to the point that I hear an all-male Malcos choir. The backing instruments are also well mixed, with the orchestrated elements having careful attention to articulation. I do have a nitpick regarding the acoustic drums - it's a great tone, but I feel the compression settings are a touch too tight. It doesn't sink the entire track, so consider it a minor observation. As it is, it's a fun exploration of a minimal source, with clean production values as well as an enthusiastic vocal performance. With how everything tied together, I'm happy to see this old-school legend back in the spotlight. YES

Since I took the track out of the inbox, I'll start. Honestly, I like the idea of turning a track like this into a French House inspired arrangement. The use of jazz-like chords and instrument palette served as an enticing backbone for the source, and that's despite how little of it got used. It also paced well, used that familiar B section for the hook, and is source dominant overall. But regarding said source use, this is what I detected: 0:00-0:26 - B section hook 1. Deduct 10 seconds of blank space. 0:30-1:00 - Straight-up sampling of the opening 5 seconds. 1:00-1:26 - B section hook 2, plus a reference to the 'hey' vocal in the source. Deduct 6 seconds of blank space. 2:00-2:30 - Straight-up sampling like before. 2:30-2:56 - B section hook 3, now filled with source, but 10 seconds of it sampled the intro again. 2:56-3:15 - Straight up sampling once more, only this time, it's at its most intrusive. I appreciate the idea of wanting to reference the vocal SFX here, but when they're more dominant than any non-sampled arranging, that becomes a problem. It's possible to keep the samples as they are, but increase the amount of non-sampled arrangement in its place. The A and C sections went unused, so consider adding or playing around with them in any blank spaces. I also feel a high-pass EQ on the sample would be useful as well, if only to filter out the drums and bass. As for the production, it feels heavy on the high-mids. It works for the acoustic guitar as you'd want to hear the string noises, but the closed hi-hat is too overpowering. Lowering its volume is one thing, but it also sounds lossy in its exposed state, so consider making a mid-high EQ cut on it as well. On the flip side, you have instruments like your clavinet at 2:00 sounding too quiet, even with the kick drum and bass taking a breather. I can see that getting fixed with simply bumping up its volume, though do try either cutting some lower-mids on the acoustic guitar or even boosting the clavinet's lowest frequencies. They sound like risky ideas, but it's worth thinking about taking advantage of this groove break. To sum it up, it boiled down to not enough non-sampled VGM, as well as needing another pass on the mixdown. I didn't mind the loops on your backing instruments as they served a purpose appropriate to the genre, and all in all, it was a fun idea to explore. I hope you get a chance to revise it, so keep at it. NO (resubmit)

Once again, Joey, your vocals are sick! The delivery is as enthusiastic as I expect from you, the lyrics delivered on their promise, and they've been well-mixed to the point that I can hear every word. The other accompanying VSTs also sound well mixed, with the saxophone and flute licks having a surprising amount of articulation for their brief appearances - not to mention great use of sweeps and low-pass effects to pace the arrangement. Talking of which, it's an expected direction from you - short and sweet, with those aforementioned subtractive changes and a decision to double up on the source material's A section (0:38, 1:35). I want to say that it works, but the problem that I have is the presence of the source audio itself. I didn't mind it for the 19-second intro, but it became more upfront when the B section got in play (0:57, 1:55) - and even when the A section got reprised during the fade-out, I could still identify the source audio underneath the VSTs. It's more intrusive than I anticipated, which is a shame because the rest of the groove complimented your vocals. Due to this, the track had put me in a corner. In a vacuum, it's a powerful rap adaptation of one of Yuzo Koshiro's lesser-known tunes and a fun album opener for your Video Game Rapper album. However, I'll need some time to reflect on whether the amount of source audio present makes it acceptable as it is for the front page. There have been mixposts with sampled game audio before, but not at this level. Hence, it's left me unsure about where to see the line. [EDIT 11/25: After much contemplation, I too feel the sampling is too much for OCR. It’s a shame, Joey, because I enjoy the concept a lot - so if you decide to rework it, it’s best you remove the audio and rework with your VSTs when appropriate. Keep going and don’t lose heart.] NO

This submission feels peculiar - you aimed for a four-on-the-floor dance direction, but the decision to use 10 bars of 4/4 before leading into another section gives it a pinch of prog. Before understanding this figure, I found it difficult to follow the groove - mostly in part to the deep arpeggio and piano providing the bass. It's a slow and straightforward progression, but the occasional presence on upbeats threw my anticipation off-course. I would suggest sticking to 8 bars of 4/4 per section, as it's an EDM standard, and it would make the track much simpler to follow. Talking of the piano, it provided the bass riff for the source throughout, so you got the source dominance part set. You also sprinkled the key arpeggio in various places, as well as the actual melody at 2:16 - an interesting choice that favors original writing for the core motif (0:53, 1:53, 2:46). But when combined with the previously mentioned quirky section length and the 6/8 source slapped onto 4/4 with its backbone stripped away, it makes the arrangement feel less overt. I get the idea that it's the first time you've made something like this, so it's best advised to bring the source melody away from a bridge and take center stage - both as a hook and as something to play around. Similarly, the production couldn't hold up well either. I appreciate the use of sequenced gates on some of your synths, though applying it to the source melody at 2:16 is an odd choice. Regardless, the soundscape feels empty. You've got bass instruments, percussion, and some mid-high melody lines, but you have nothing occupying the mid-section of the EQ spread. Consider adding a new rhythm section like gated synth chords or a more subtle pad to fill in that frequency space. On top of that, the four-on-the-floor drums can also get a refresher. For sections that don't have the core hook, try playing around with them by changing the kick sequence, swapping the hi-hat to a ride cymbal, throwing in other percussion parts like a tambourine or shakers, or any different idea not mentioned here. I also would feel some judges versed in FL Studio would give some advice to bring the best out of what I presume are default instruments - nothing wrong with that as we've had mix posts with default FL sounds before. Still, it's a more difficult task to polish them up than it is to find nicer organic VSTs for free. Regardless, I had a lot of critiques here. A structure without direction, rough application of VGM, and an empty soundscape are my primary reasons as to why I can't accept it. It would be difficult to bring it into a more acceptable state, but not impossible - which is why I suggest a more accessible option to practice EDM writing with more straightforward 4/4 source material. You've grasped the idea of what makes a VGM arrangement, so I hope you'll learn more with continued experience. NO

First of all, I have no problems with the production. All instruments are balanced and mixed in cleanly, the sound palette choice is appropriate for this ambient DnB direction, and the selection of envelopes here have made your synths feel more engaging. But I honestly wished I could say the same for the arrangement. The source is present, so that's a non-issue - but aside from the genre adaptation and placement of sections to accommodate for structure, there are no further modifications. In fact, from 1:36-4:35, the source is just covered outright. Instead of putting in a second loop at 3:19, I'd like to hear a section that develops the BGM - in other words, a chance to play around with it. Another thing I'd like to hear more development is your percussion. Upon entry at 0:44, I felt the groove initially sounded neat with the added effects in the background and occasional acoustic kit breakdown. However, you've continuously repeated this 8-bar loop, and it outstayed its welcome too quickly. It is possible to make more noticeable adjustments as the track goes on. You could change the pattern of the hi-hats/effects, alter the notation for the acoustic drum fill, substitute the closed hi-hat for a ride cymbal - the possibilities are endless. I'm sorry, Sandro, but repetition and an underdeveloped arrangement are dealbreakers, and I can't accept the track in its current state. It's a shame because the production chops are tight - and I do hope you're able to do another pass and bring the arrangement over the bar as well. NO (resubmit)

ReMixer Name: funkyzukin Game Arranged: Sonic CD [JP] Name Of Arrangement: Stardust à la mode Song Arranged: Stardust Speedway --- For this, I was inspired by the sounds of more modern Sonic games (Such as Unleashed,) as well as the sounds of french house. I guess there's not too much to say about it other than I made it on a whim and I had lots of fun making it. I hope you enjoy it!

Oh man, this is a trip back in time - so much that only Larry and Darke were in the previous decision. I thought the arrangement was neat and serviceable even back then, but I do understand your desire to give it a considerable production overhaul. Arrangement-wise, there are indeed some similarities between this and the 2005 original - the breakbeat style, Sadorf's treatment of the source melodies, and the structure more or less. I did notice some subtle tweaks here: The intro brought in more source The 7/8 [edit: oops, I meant 7/4 - thanks prophetik] part at 2:07 caught my attention as a fun breakdown The 2:45 section deviated in style and went full contemporary EDM And the ending at 3:28 also did well with combining the C section's melody and the A section's chord structure. Once again, I see it as a knack for demonstrating not only your arrangement improvements over the years but also respecting another person's ideas - in this case, your collaborator. It's obvious to say that the difference production-wise between the two is like night and day. The soundscape now feels vivid when the original lacked in low-end frequencies. The instruments are all clear to pick out and layered well, and the percussion has plenty of punch. Even the piano - an otherwise organic instrument - has a strong reverb that complements the breakbeat origins. I am, however, with Mindwander regarding the piano getting buried under the synths, but it's no dealbreaker at all - just a well-noted observation. All in all, this blast-from-the-past is refurbished in every possible way - hence, I can see it being front-page material. I say this can also be inspirational for anyone else who got their work rejected years ago! YES

I was involved in the previous decision, and even then, the arrangement worked initially. Compared with the original submission, I wasn't expecting a change of chord sequence for the main melody repetitions and additional countermelodies. I was okay with the breakdown at 2:00 last time, though I can get behind the idea of transforming the source's B section. The part beyond it leading towards the ending is more or less similar to what it was last time - using only two core components of the theme and relying on the adaptation to carry it forward. It remains a different take on Jenova, so I'm cool with where it went. My issues last time were with the mixdown, and in this case, I feel much happier with it. The dynamics aren't as squashed anymore, the limiter isn't getting in the way, and I can identify your parts. The change of drum kit to a lo-fi setup now contrasts the rest of the soundscape rather than blending in. I know Sir Nuts mentioned something about there being a wet mix, but weirdly enough, I don't think the cymbals feel wet enough - it's as if whenever they get hit, the tail gets cut short. Nitpicks aside, I got behind the arrangement last time and wanted the production to reach the same level - and it has. I believe it's ready for primetime, and I hope the process of working on this track has given you experience for your next project. YES

It's a bold move packing 11 different sources in the space of 4 and a half minutes. For the most part, they link together seamlessly, got played around when entering the big picture, and follows the dreamy soundscape that you put together. Of all of these sources, I only sensed Ballad of the Windfish getting a reprisal, which makes the most sense given the track's direction. That doesn't necessarily mean hearing more of the others, as long as VGM is dominant. Two things stick out for me, though. Firstly, I sensed two transitions that sounded off. The switch to "Gerudo Palace" at 2:25 sounds jarring and sudden, so it would be nice to soften the change from "Deku Palace" before it. I can say the same for the move to "Dragon Roost Island" at 2:50 - it's a sudden change from not only your moods but the key as well. Secondly, I also like how you decided to overlap "Song of Storms" on top of "Song of Time" at 1:40. It's a reliable technique that reduces the impact of medley-itis, and it's something I would've liked to have heard in other places throughout the track. Going towards the production, I'm impressed with the shaping of dynamics and articulations on your instrumentation, so you've made a positive start there. Yet, I find it interesting that it remains pleasantly minimalist for most of the track, and there's clarity going on between parts, but there's an emphasis on sub-bass frequencies for its duration. They're meant to act as a companion to bass instrumentation, so this is something I feel a high-pass on 50Hz in the master chain can soften. Also, the panning here sounds harsh, with most of the leads placed far to the right. Narrowing down the stereo field can help with this, as is the possibility of moving some of the more important sounds like the piano closer to the center. It's a pleasant direction for a multi-source track, but I don't feel it's quite there yet. I'd like to hear a revision with fixes on the sub-bass and panning, with the transition tweaks also being desirable. It still isn't bad for your first remix, Jérôme. Whatever you decide to do next, I hope to see you submit to the inbox again in the future. NO (resubmit)

Wow, listening to this in a vacuum, I felt the orchestration sounded fantastic! The instruments sound clear, the brass is well articulated, and there's some excellent care to dynamics and stereo placement for the other parts. The crazy chord writing and moments where it changed to 6/8 time signature breakdowns gave me those Phantasy Star Online vibes brought up in the comments, and combined with the more melodic parts of the original sections, it felt like a fun ride from start to finish. But there is a problem with this, unfortunately, and that is source use. Here's what I picked out: 0:06-0:15, 0:18-0:24 - transformed version of the arpeggiated piano (section A of Other Promise) 0:32-0:59 - melody as heard in Roxas's theme 1:40-2:07 - melody as heard in Roxas's theme 3:20-3:55 - melody as heard in Roxas's theme, then goes straight into the C section of Other Promise. 4:14-4:25 - Intro of both sources After crunching numbers, I sensed only 40% of the track with source present. I'm afraid in its current state I can't accept it based on that alone. I do have some ideas on how to remedy it. You can go over the original sections and figure out ways to add elements from the theme(s) in the background. You can cut the original parts short, allowing for more emphasis on the source. Or you could look at adding different Kingdom Hearts BGM as references into the original writing in a similar way to my first suggestion. You don't need to take all of these ideas all at once, but I'll be very grateful if you do decide to revise it. Honestly, production-wise, I admire the lengths taken to create something mesmerizing and powerful. I hope you'll be able to revise it with more source content - it's one I'd love to see on the front page if you make those changes. [EDIT: 2020/07/24 - After seeing Larry's timestamps, I compared them with my own. First of all, wow - I am a complete tosspot for not catching the theme C section at 2:21. Secondly, the main reason why I didn't count notes trailing off during the Roxas melody sections is that the notes in the original were 1/4 notes and were treated as such in the arrangement. Thirdly, I couldn't hear the first soundalike section, but caught on to the third. It's brought my stopwatching to over the 45% mark, which is already clutch territory as it is. Thankfully, the production values and overall framework have supported the ideas, and I now feel barely confident in seeing it on the page. Jamaal, this will definitely be a noteworthy debut - but I hope for future submissions, you should watch out for how the source spread goes.] YES (borderline)

I honestly don't mind the reverb on the lead. The track aimed for a chill and more minimalist direction, and a wet melody felt ideal for filling in space where other instruments are absent. The parts are mixed cleanly with no overlap, and they all have their place across the stereo field. The arrangement feels more borderline with two run-throughs of the theme, a subtle subtractive change-up with the arpeggio in the second one and a peculiar decision to swap backing chords for bars 5-8 and 9-12 in the main melody. It took me a while to get used to it, but it stayed in key and differed from the source material's character. I do have two nitpicks regarding the production. Firstly, there's a peculiar mixture of wet and dry synths that drive the direction forward. The piano has some clean reverb throughout, plus a concentrated delay in the ending. They not only let the piano absorb more of the sonic space but also add more of a sense of intrigue to the setup. However, I'm not too sure why some of the backing parts felt dry as a bone - particularly your arpeggios. A touch of room verb would've let them fit in the soundscape more, but I do appreciate the light echoed delay and respect the choice as an artist's decision. Secondly, I sensed an emphasis on treble and higher frequencies. The main contributor is the constant sweep, which zooms up and down on the frequency spectrum at erratic times. It has a surprising amount of power and occasionally gets heard over any other instrument that isn't the melody, bass, or drums. This critique isn't a dealbreaker, either. But I advise you for future submissions to keep the volume on higher-frequency sounds low for health and safety. With everything weighing up, the track barely passed the bar for me. The arrangement doesn't feel too exciting, and the production has an emphasis on a timbre lesser explored. Still, it's clean and serves as an example of simplicity applied well. I hope that after the decision gets done, you can learn something from this process for future submissions too. YES (borderline)