Sir_NutS

Just noting that I've only heard the "v2" version.
Arrangement-wise, the RR4 source was adapted nicely for more of a disco approach, and the usage was straightforward enough through the vocals and synth lines where I didn't need to timestamp. The OutRun reference felt a little tacked on, but was integrated reasonably well enough, and pushed the source usage to a point where I could quit stopwatching.
I thought the vocal mixing wasn't great. Not sure Jesse's vocals/tone are the right fit here; giving it an even more arier/ethereal sound to mask some of the pitch issues would have been best. That said, I also don't want to put him in a corner based on his tremendous FF6 crooning. In this mix, his vocals aren't entirely dry, and I hear the effects on them, but I felt like they were relatively too dry & upfront and didn't blend into the instrumental enough. They could be produced/processed in a way that sits better in the music.
Right now, when there are (minor) pitch issues, it's way too exposed and obvious; it's nothing where you're like "Oh my God, oof", but there's some correction/smoothing out needed. The choruses sound the best in terms of smooth delivery from Jesse, so now it's just a matter of having those vocal sitting correctly in the overall soundscape.
I also agreed strongly with Gario that the vocoded vocals should have been more understandable. Perhaps it's an "I know it when I hear it" subjective criticism, but I didn't think they had enough of an aesthetic where it was unimportant that they be intelligible.
On a more important note, the mechanical string articulations first used from 1:23-1:37 & 3:46-4:05 strained credibility. And I know it's a disco track, but didn't think they sounded good in spite of that stylistic choice because the strings sounded too dry and weren't masked by anything else.
Anyway, I've gone through the litany of issues I had with it. I'm not mega-enthusiastic about a YES because of the production, but we don't make the perfect the enemy of the good. I've given this 9 or 10 listens. What you have here is a reasonably good -- but not great -- execution of a very creative arrangement concept. While I wish the track had more clarity/sharpness and better vocal mixing, the arrangement carries it with good enough production execution. Ideally, I'd love for Jorrith to take another pass at the production if this version passed.

YES (borderline)

My issue with this mix in my previous vote was mainly the static nature of the structure, and that has been addressed, so I don't really have much to add that I didn't say in my previous vote.  I'll agree with Larry that the mix feels a bit vanilla and the balance isn't perfect, and I think that not only the vocals but the initial instruments introduced in the intro felt a bit dry and separated, but overall, this is solid and if you compare it to the previous version it really improved a lot, so kudos for going the extra mile, I think it was worth it.

YES

Not Sombra. Ana.
Gameplay trailer here: https://esports.yahoo.com/character-trailer-debuts-ana-showcases-165959928.html
Origin Story trailer here: http://www.polygon.com/2016/7/12/12157248/overwatch-new-dlc-hero-ana-blizzard-entertainment
Looks incredible.

She's not.

Looking forwards to sombra, too.  I hope they will be releasing another character alongside her, but I doubt it since they said they will take it very slow with character releases.

During one of OCR's staff meetings Larry and I figured out some really great tools that YouTube has for creating playlists. In addition to game-specific playlists, we've started putting together some themed playlists with the help of some other staff members. Check 'em out.
Hit the Gym, Bro: ReMixes for Working Out Don't Sleep on This: ReMixes from Obscure Games Rock Out with Your Clock Out: Rock and Metal ReMixes Take it Easy: Relaxing ReMixes YouTube allows us to deputize people so that they can add videos to playlists we create; if anyone wants the collab link to add OCR videos to these playlists, post here to request access. Once you get access, you can start adding videos. Remember, OCR channel videos only! We know that we don't have all of our albums up on YouTube yet; we're working out a solution to that, so please don't add non-posted album tracks uploaded to other YouTube channels.
If you have an idea for a themed playlist that you'd like to create for OCR's YouTube channel, post here with your idea and I can hook it up for you.

Larry, you're an out of touch old man, but that's beside the point.
Overall, the track doesn't seem to have very much focus. It follows the source, sure, but since the general dynamic and texture is very similar throughout there's really no build up, climax, etc., that gives the listener any sense of direction. It's just all... the same-ish. I'll acknowledge 2:20 as really dropping down and changing it up, but it's not enough to mitigate the overall lack of diversity throughout the track.
The drum pattern really drives this issue home, though - it's pretty close to four-to-the-floor throughout the entire song, but instead of driving the track forward (like that style often does), the slow pacing of this makes it sound plodding and uninteresting. While the production is clean, at 1:36 the theme is held in a light, quiet pad, while everything else is mixed closer to the front, making that part sound odd.
The background arpeggio at the moments mentioned by Chimp indeed have notes that are sour. At 0:58, 1:21 and 1:36 the arpeggio part in the background plays notes that directly conflict with the chord being outlined by the melody and pads. Those notes need to be corrected.
Overall, the mix feels like it's lacking both in the low end and high end of the EQ spectrum, which gives the entire track a dull, suppressed feel. For the most part, it's simply that the instruments used primarily take up the midrange, so the far ends of the spectrum is just missing from the arrangement, altogether.
Yeah, I'm with Chimp and Larry on this, it does feel like a lot of things are off. Hopefully some of the things we're saying here is helpful, though.
NO

Bump.  Someone help me here.  Thanks.

There's something so unique and mystical about your style, Rebecca!  Your songs just keep getting better and more interesting.  You really capture the vibe in the remixes you're doing, with all the bells and mysterious plucks and stuff.  I like it.
I would have liked some kind of original intro before the main motif dropped, even just some sfx to slowly set the mood, but this is just an opinion.  I love the way these timbres have been used, the soundscape is similar to the original but with more bells and details going on.  The instruments have been humanized very well and I like how the melodies have been sort of haphazardly tossed one on top of the other, it feels very relaxed and natural and it works well for this source.  
The mix has a ton of reverb which works for this soundscape.  It doesn't sound too muddled to me.  The track appears not to have been mastered though, coming in at -4.5db peak and -19.4db RMS, some more volume would have been nice, it doesn't have to be super loud but a little louder would be good.
Ultimately though, I'm not sold on this particular arrangement for OCR.  The motif is played pretty conservatively five times, and the writing in between is very loose and noodley.  I think this arrangement is perfect for a "let's play" or similar on Youtube, but I don't find it to be a workable arrangement for a standalone OCR track.  I feel like one or two of the motif sections could be replaced with something original that has a little more structure, maybe in a different key or something, to break things up.  That said, I am really enjoying this track.
NO 

I'm having issues understanding the direction of this remix,  it seems like you're trying to go for a melancholic, but sort of odd/off left field sounding lo-fi guitar infused arrangement, but the approach feels like it clashes with the arrangement.  I was thinking this before listening to the original and after I did it made more sense.  The original is a very tropical sounding/relaxing arrangement.  I think that, because you kept the original cues pretty much intact for the most part, it's not working well with this different approach and would require to do some changes in the structure of the original arrangement to make it fit.  

Regardless of this feeling of clashing visions I'm getting, which is honestly borderline subjective, I feel the arrangement is very static and I hear your attempts at keeping it interesting by adding several different variations and embellishments on top, but the core of the arrangement remains pretty static throughout, and even makes the song feel longer than it really is.  It's a very short arrangement but due to its static and repetitive nature it feels like it meanders about for too long.

Regarding the production, it's good, the lo-fi elements are handled well and the mix is clean,  I was not very fond of some of the choices regarding the sound palette such as the short synth used in places such as 0:27.  The drums are well sequenced.

Not a fan of the ending, pretty uneventful and sudden.

I think Gario also has some points but I think we mostly agree with the issues here.

NO

Ok here we go.
I like this because Magical Sound Shower.  Also Sax.

Ok here we go.
I like this because Magical Sound Shower.  Also Sax.

Ok here we go.
I like this because Magical Sound Shower.  Also Sax.

Gonna straight up agree with the gentlemen above. The arrangement is lovely, and I do hear some subtle personalization in the backing parts, but it does remain pretty close to the original structurally and methodically. I think this is very close in regards to arrangement, and if the production were spot-on I'd be pretty tempted to go YES. The strings are definitely the offender here, though the flute has a couple of moments that sounds a little stiff and could be touched up. 
Overall I think this is very close, and I really hope you take another look on this. The track is pretty lovely, and i think maybe expanding out the arrangement a little could go a long way here. Getting a little more humanization will also put you over the tipping point. Good luck!
NO (resubmit, please)

I feel the konami jingle at the start, while cute, is unnecesary to the whole arrangement, as it doesn't segue into the rest of the song and there's a very long pause between it and the intro of the song.  I think you're doing a good job so far with the sources, and I specially enjoyed the first section, but I think you could do a better job with the transitions, we encourage natural arrangements instead of medleys that tie songs together.  If you try and marry all your sources together, cross-referencing them and transitioning between them in a way that it feels like a whole arrangement and not a collection, I think it will fare better with the panel.  So far the instruments are being humanized pretty decently and the mix seems ok, but humanization can certainly be improved, even though what you have is alright, and the busier sections could be a bit cleaner. 
Overall I like where you're going wtih this, keep it up.

hey i'd be interested.. maybe a collab with someone. is there a deadline for claiming tracks?

This would be the first time I've posted here. I never did get around to finding out about projects BEFORE they happen. I actually thought these were just grabbed from already created music on the site. Nice to know there is a system, and I"ll be looking into this one!

TBH I wasn't that interested when this first dropped. But now that I've watched the trailer and read up on the features, this looks pretty good. @zircon thanks a lot for the affordable-ish price tag and Player Compatibility. I am seriously considering buying this if my creativity ever gets out of the desert,

Yes sir, works in the free Kontakt Player. Just check that v5.5.2 (latest) works on your computer. I believe they dropped compatibility for XP and some old OSX versions.
 

There should be an album proposal in the appropriate inbox somewhere with all the details, but the plan wasn't to release the full album on June 23rd since there's quite a few tracks in progress that we'd like to see completed. We had some ideas for a teaser to announce the upcoming album tho
I'll check things with Black_Doom to make sure, the project isn't dead but we just need to pick a new date for it (we already brainstormed some ideas).

I'll do Funny Love -- it's one of my favorite songs in the universe.

Just curious as to status on this... June 23rd is, well.... quite soon!

You've got a good ear if you can hear clipping, Gario!  I went over this with Sir_Nuts this afternoon, and he helped me decide to take the clipper out of my mastering chain and just rely on the limiter (I was using both).  The clipper was giving the track a clean digital sound but at the expense of clipping (not going over 0db, but clipping the peaks).  Mike and I both agree it sounds better and more natural now.  Thanks to Mike and Gario, this continues to be a terrific production exercise!  

Stop being a dummy.

I'm also on the fence, but I'll probably bite the bullet as soon as I am in need of retro/chipsounds again.
Oh, on vi-control I read somebody suggested recording MSX soundchips (in stead of Atari). If you guys are interested in that, hit me up. I've got 2 MSX computers (MSX2 and turbo R) and nearly all sound chips available for it. I think the Konami SCC chip would be an interesting and unique addition (and an insta-buy for me).

Got like 15 of dem babies here on the shelf right here  Instant nostalgia hit for me!