Marmiduke

Yes! A Secret of Mana mix that isn't new age or filled to the brim with tubular bells. And what's more, it's energetic, bright and expertly made. It's actually one of the most confident sounding mixes I've heard on the site; things are so strong on all fronts. Genre-bending is one thing, but pulling it off so satisfyingly is quite another. The result is something that sounds both effortless and laborious at the same time. It's a great achievement, and a really inventive variation from usual Kikuta fare.

There's a hell of a lot crammed into this mix. And a prime example of how to deliver a repetitive source in an exciting way. And even though something like this wouldn't seem out of place in an actual game soundtrack from last-gen, it's a great standalone track because of its variation and energy. Synths are pleasant and safe, as per pretzel usual, and it has one of those amazing dithering solos that I adore. It's one of those awesome mixes which has no valleys; its all buildup and tearing downhill, which makes it a blast to listen to. Take note: this is how you DO it!

Jesus, the amount of times I've listened to this. I wish I hadn't messed around with hard-drives and media players throughout the years because I would love to know the playcount for this one. Funnily enough, it was only recently that I realised I played a lot of Shinobi as a kid, but back then I thought it was a Spiderman clone with weird Marilyn Munroe licensing. So I would have been familiar with this tune, if only on a subconscious level. There isn't all that much to say about the mix itself. It does sound dated, but not in a bland way. More of a charming way. It ages gracefully, like something in a museum. The older it is, the more interesting it is, and I don't think OCRemixes get much older than this one. A grand beginning of an era, indeed.

Well I for one love this. It presents its 3 acts very well, it keeps things interesting the whole way through, and it does something very extraordinary by giving a Chrono Trigger mix a FRESH feel. I think of Chrono Trigger as the game whose soundtrack I've heard quite a few too many times, so when 'Ruined Landscape' started playing, I was pretty surprised to learn it was in fact CT. That's hard to do. The staple element is the synth that starts about mid-way through. I think that's pretty much the energy of the piece; the core, if you will. Without it, things would seem a little more desolate. I'm glad this mix exists, and just because this isn't Beatdrop's defining moment, it should still garner some serious appreciation for what it is and what it does.

This mix sounds a lot like the OST for Zack & Wiki (but maybe that's because I've spent the past month playing it). There's some really impressive samples in here that work especially well considering the structure of the piece. To pull of the melodic complexity like this, you need those sounds to be a couple steps above bland. The level of variation is also terrific, my interest was sustained for the entire duration, but it never felt so unclear that I had no idea where it was leading. I like that Russell Cox makes qualms for his unabashed orchestral style that strives for the sweeping crests and bombastic climaxes. And that's what's delivered here; no excuses, no regrets. Just a good old-fashioned, big-sounding overture.

I'm going to defend this one. This is such an overlooked gem for a couple of reasons. About a hundred people played this game outside of Japan, so practically noone is familiar with the tune, combined with less than ambitious mixing makes a mix that is not quite as palatable as possible. But I hear some really awesome stuff amongst all the debris, and interesting is much more preferable than boring. The F-Zero style is represented in spades here; a feeling of true fandom is everywhere in this mix. Wailing guitar, crazy drums... it's so F-Zero it's ridiculous. It is quiet though. And continues to get even duller in sound as it progresses for some reason. The mixing is dirty; too dirty to be considered an artistic decision. But what the mix lacks in cleanliness it makes up for in character. This is one of the more likable 'black sheep' mixes on the site for me. And we always need more obscure, uncovered games.

From the first notes of this, I thought this was a Mazedude track. That was blasted away once those intricate synth solos started. By this stage, (5th mix?) AnSo was pretty much cemented as a remix prodigy. This is actually one of my favourites of his, because it brings in a lot of signature elements that I love from other mixes and blends it with a killer uncovered melody from an under-represented game. The wild, erratic synth explosions are well worth the download, but it is the expected AnSo polish should be reason enough not to delete after you are done. A mix worthy of many dozens of future listens.

Verrrrrry nice Cabbage shreddage. Varied, frenetic, thrashy. A real good time while it lasts. The ending is bound to leave people tilting their heads mid-thrash, thinking "Wtf? Who turned the music off?", and for that reason I find it humorous. But for the intent of the music, it just concludes the mix with a big resounding "meh". It's a shame, because as I said, the insanity of it is very entertaining and fulfilling. There is plenty of attention given to the hardcore elements of this mix, like the arrangement and the performance, but not enough given to the basics. Still, this is an impressive debut, especially since it was required to hold its own during a flood of FF7 mixes. Glad to see it's still as strong as ever.

Game Over hemorrhage pure awesomeness. That's all there is to it. The amount of love for metal and for Mega Man 3 that they show off here would almost be sickening, if it weren't so goddamn fantastic. Flawless arrangement of various Mega Man themes, classic metal vocals, solos to write home about... this mix has it all. Game Over may always be the artist to beat in the continuous quest for that perfect professional sound. I am a HUGE fan of this.

A simple concept made very classily and arranged quite beautifully. To me, this is the 'Snake realises that the world is a terrible, violent place where innocence is a myth and war is inevitable...' theme. Guitar performance was right where it needed to be, beautifully manipulative and very nicely played. I thought the meshing of the Sons of Liberty melody was terrific and pretty seamless. In fact, in terms of arrangement, this mix shines. This is my kind of music; easy-listening but intelligently written. A job well done.

I haven't really heard anything by Rammstein save for 'Du Hast', which I gotta say sounded absolutely nothing like this mix. Certainly, Rammstein's reputation isn't for Mazedude-ish synth style rocking. Which is a shame, because the world can never get enough. A very well produced hardcore track here. Has that new Mazedude smell to it, which all good Mazedude mixes (and all those mythical bad ones) possess. And I say 'new', but in truth, I was pretty surprised by how old this actually is. It's not like the samples are amazing; I think it has more to do with the fact that Mazedude has stayed consistant throughout his OCR career and never got stuck on doing the one genre/sound. Therefore, I had trouble pinpointing when this mix was actually concieved, which is nice because it means longevity. *sigh* And since I've literally been typing all day, I think that's about all I have to say on the matter. Great mix, great game, great mixer. I'm out.

Very cool, very dark meditative beats. Nice atmospheric texture to the whole thing. In fact, for quite a while we seem to be traversing Doom territory, that is until that unmistakable Nobuo-ness comes in at around 0:56. This mix reveals its hand quite early, and suffers a bit in pacing because of it, but that doesn't detract from some serious production with some real foreboding elements that stay true to the source. Awesome.

I have very little to say that can actually convey the concentrate amounts of awesome that flow in the veins of this beast, so I'll simply say this: When a mix utterly owns me on Audiosurf, I get happy. Real happy.

Always nice to get a breather from the synth-screams and infernal shreddage that is so commonplace here on the site. Emotive stuff is downplayed somewhat, but I find that it's the kind of music I listen to most. Probably because it's mood adaptive. Which I think is a great description of this piece (if I do say so myself). This can act as the soundtrack to a first born entering the family, reminiscing back to childhood, or recovering from a breakup. It's not that it is ambiguous, but covers all the bases so that you don't have to. Most of the success of this mix is the performance, which is so stellar, there really is a sense of anticipation on every pick of the string. The arrangement is a giant plus as well. Very solid stuff. Perhaps even more than solid. Perhaps transcendant of physicality itself. I'll be listening to this for a long while to come.

I had trouble enjoying this mix, for the simple reason that it just wasn't strong enough. It has no gravity to it, and I didn't feel any sort of pull. OCR is flooded with trance, and this is by no means the worst trance I've ever heard, but it did come across sub-par for me. For starters, the softness, whether intentional or unintentional, is counterproductive to whatever the mix is trying to convey. The elements that count are obscured by senseless fog, and things a presented very dull as a result. Secondly, the strength of the main melody is a little hit and miss throughout. There are some very rich sections that have some interesting arranging and creative stuff in here, but there was a lack of cohesion between all the seperate areas for me. Everything seems very spaced out and lacking in relationship with another; the opposite of what trance should be about. This mix does hint at promise and inventive music, but it gets bogged down by a case of flat delivery, sadly. I'm a big fan of JigginJonT, although you probably wouldn't know it from what I've just been rambling about. Needless to say, I think he has improved leaps and bounds from this mix, and continues to do so.

If this was made to loop successfully, you could have convinced me this was a track from Smash Bros. Brawl I haven't unlocked yet. The quality of arrangement is as professional as you can get. And like a lot of tracks from Brawl, it's taken something quite simple yet iconic and turned it into something that holds a crystal clear memory of the music it is covering, while also building some damn fine new musical memories for the future. A prime example on how to handle a remix of a track known and loved for its simplicity. Not an easy thing to tamper with, but the payoff is brilliant.

I've always liked this one because of its nice instrumentation and layered melody approach. I'm a critic of the transition into the second theme; not because I don't think it should be there, but because I think the way it is introduced works against the mood of the piece. Most of the mix flows in a nice, natural way but is interrupted by the too deliberate effort to include another melody. Like I said, the melody ends up fitting, but it is dropped in quite awkwardly. Perhaps a more subtle push would have been suffice. Other than that, everything sounds extremely pleasing. It's fleeting, mellow, FF6 desert folk. Which is a winning combo, and a really kickass genre I just made up.

Wow, these guys are VOLATILE when combined. It must have been daunting to even fathom a follow up the energy-busting 'Waste Water Wipeout', but it seems to have had no effect on quality. These big electro rock pieces have a way of turning mere listening into a sonic ride, causing you to stop whatever you are doing and just simply experience the rush. tefnek and zircon have crafted that sound, that sense of unstoppableness. Where even if you were to press pause, the music would just burst right through it and keep on its path. Awesome. I don't really need to talk production, it's tefnek and zircon. Aint no chinks in their chains; a pointless exercise trying to find any. Only listen for some fine andrenalised electronic rocking. Well worth it.

The Star Fox sound is perhaps unsurprising, seeings as this was released a week after 'Clan McLoud', which shares many of the same instruments djpretzel was using at the time. That being said, the theme really is space adventure-ish, so... identity crisis definately does ensue. For what this is, I really enjoy it. It's a good melody, done with some style. It's got a nice, powerful rhythm which I dig. There are signs of early-itis around the edges, but at its core, it's pretty solid. Good proof of the quality that exists even in the original batch of mixes.

Simple approach, but effective. The Xenogears soundtrack lends itself very well to the small chamber music sound; almost sounding written specifically for it. String samples have held up, despite being quite ancient by OCR standards, and piano is nice too. Not much else to say about this one. It's a more than adequate recital of a fairly emotive piece of music from one of the greatest game OSTs of all. Well-suited, nicely presented. Other than more of an arrangement, there's not really much more you can ask for.

Great spin on an immortal piece of videogame music. A lighter treatment to something that was a bit deeper, but still very enjoyable. The song sounds downright irrestistable to sing. There's a very cool twisting vocal melody that sounds very fun to master, and that sense of fun comes through in the vocal. Quality-wise, the instrumental portions of the mix were much stronger than the vocal, but that's not to say the mix would benefit with their removal. The singing, even with the various flaws, is fundamental. Besides, with today's society focusing so much on the quest for perfection, it's refreshing to recieve a reminder that perfection is a myth, average-to-good voices can work just as well as trained voices, and that there is no shame in digtal alteration if quality is the primary incentive. I believe this mix encapsulates all of this; and how could it not, it's djpretzel. Any mistakes he makes, he makes on purpose. He's just that good.

Despite the fact that this music sounds like it belongs on a Pause screen or something, I find myself really getting into it. It's got a lot of style, a lot of substance, maybe not enough Street Fighter but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. I disagree with the people saying this is difficult to relisten to extensively. It's consistent enough to be something to tune out to and acknowledge at the same time. The interesting approach to instrumentation must be noted. Everything sounds and gels very successfully for my tastes. The mix is basic, yes. Reserved, possibly. And that fade-out at the end is horrible to my pretty, little, fade-out sensitive ears. But overall I think this is yet another stellar work from McVaffe and his continued infatuation with the cast of Street Fighter.

Some very tasty trance. I find that trance usually takes advantage of melodies in a way that doesn't really represent the source much at all, but this mix definately keeps that DKC feel. It's faithful, yet more high octane and ballsier than the original ever was. There's plenty of hills and valleys spread throughout, so the otherwise derivitive beat wasn't a bother for me. Likewise, the partially hidden melody wasn't a drawback either; in fact, I thought it added a lot. The mix seems richer for it. This is up there as one of my favourite solo bLiNd mixes to date, and reaffirms my appreciation of good trance. Awesome indeed.

This is awesome, awesome electro-funk. It sounds very djpretzel-ish; there would never be any mistake he was behind the keyboard on this one. For me it seems like a return to his roots. I definately hear a culmination of past tracks and genres present here. Expectedly amazing production with highest possible grade arranging. It's a very nice ride to be on. Sometimes kicking, sometimes smooth. Always enjoyable.

This music is basically what I think is going on inside the brain of a hyperactive child who just took a big hit of post-mix cordial. It bursts with sound and colour. A massive sugar rush; not sacchrine, but brimming with crazy energy (and carbs). The source is classic Kondo, which gives me immense joy. Couple that with this superfun take on it, and it results in one of my favourite mixes. I've listened to this many a time, and still find the urge to punish my ears again and again. My eardrums are completely caloused thanks to this mix. Thanks pretzel. Here's to premature deafness.