CHz

I just wanted to stop by and let you know that you're a greater man than I can ever hope to be, in this life or any other. Ninja Gaiden good god

The intro is really excessive. Cool take on the source once it actually hits, but the preceding stuff is way too loosely connected. Also, I get that the source is disjointed like that, but that's no excuse for the intro and ending of this being disjointed too. And yeah, this is pretty hot. I didn't really feel that this suffered too much from it, but I'd welcome improvement. NO (resubmit)

Yeah, the recording is a bit muffled. Not terrible, but it could definitely be cleaner. And those spasms Palpable mentioned are really odd. They sound more like mistakes than intentional rhythms. Some of the notes at 3:09-3:11 sound a bit off too. The arrangement style is pretty similar to the original, but there some nice departures in the writing. I'm personally okay with the thirty or so seconds of Peer Gynt, but if that's no good, cutting it half by only going through the melody once might work. I'm really on the fence with this, but even disregarding the Grieg issue, I feel like there's a bit too much to be cleaned up to pass this just yet. NO (resubmit)

The weird piano stuff in the intro, I feel like I should like it, but the way it's executed just feels awkward. The perc balance is a bigger issue, that can definitely be dropped down. The balancing is a little iffy in general, with things getting a little crowded in the busier sections like 1:40-1:50. Also, that ultrafake violin at the very end leaves a really bad impression as things are winding down. Cool arrangement. I like where you went with this, but there are too many issues at the moment. NO (resubmit)

Chill as hell, great approach. A nice solo or two would definitely have hit the spot, but arrangement-wise this is fine. That bass is wow huge though, it's really distracting. Drums could be punched up a bit too, but that bass definitely needs to be pushed back. YES (conditional on bass)

Pretty coverish, and being more interpretive with that one source section would definitely be welcome, but there are some good sections like the one starting at 1:56 and the original stuff is good. The mixing again though is by far the biggest issue. Really weakens the track from the crotch-blazer it ought to be. See if you can rework the production for maximum rockitude. NO

Nothing much to add here, but I'm in agreement with the nays. Nothing really locks until halfway through. The arrangement besides that is alright, could be more creative and varied as zircon said but it's passable. Orch production in the intro is also not great. I was digging the slow shred approach, but there are some big issues to clean up. NO

I am so up for C64 glam rock right now. Let me grab my mullet wig. The intro is pretty long, but the bassline adds some source usage in there. 0:42 oh yes, here we go. The volume could be brought up a bit, since it's a little soft, but not too bad. The guitars and synth are a bit buried in the chorus; I'm still rocking out to this, but not as much as I'd like to be. WHOOAA-OH Okay, you faked me out at 2:41. And there's the solo, finally. With the buildup to it, I was hoping it would be a little bit longer. Good job starting with the source in it before switching to original material. Alright, bringing things home. Nice accompaniment drop at 3:37. Pretty abrupt ending there, both when the vocals end and then when the ambient arcade noises just drop out without a fade or anything. Pretty good work! YES

You guys are missing out. I am definitely not passing up a chance to NO zircon. NO (for real though I guess I have to YES this on account of it being so smoooove, the source is definitely shoved out of the spotlight during the verses by the prominent original vocals, but the choruses are hotness, and so smooooooooooove)

The expansive approach worked well here. It did feel a little loose at times, but that bell melody is modified again and again with generally good results, and that main flute melody is hinted at a few times too to keep things grounded. I agree that things did occasionally get a little murky, like 1:33-1:43 or so, but even then everything's still audible. Overall the sequencing and production are good. Arrange more stuff and send them our way! YES

Here I was just sneaking onto the forums on someone else's computer while my machine is finally back in the shop for additional repairs, and now I see it's your birthday or something. What does that make you now, 16? Kids grow up so fast :sniff:

Fairly nice arrangement. The short usage of the main theme starting at 0:36 stuck out a bit to me, since the happy lilt of the melody is a odd contrast to the darkness and intensity of the rest of the track. That's a relatively minor nitpick, and the rest of the writing is spot on. I especially liked the second half, starting at about 3:07 or so, when it stops following Running Hell's structure and mixes things up. The sequencing is definitely this mix's soft spot, especially those string articulations, but I've heard a lot worse. Otherwise, a job well done. Let's see if this gets posted before 2011! YES

This is certainly a big ol' dance track. The arrangement was pretty good through the first two and a half minutes, but I thought it got a bit lazy after that point, rehashing earlier stuff. There is some melodic and rhythmic variation, especially the extended solo starting at 4:05, but I thought there was plenty of room in there for a bit less repetition and a bit more interpretation. The arrangement is good enough for a pass overall, though, and the production is untz-tastic. YES

You did a good job fusing the melodies, and the subtle original writing keeps things interesting. The sequencing is pretty good, aside from that brass. I thought the balancing could use some work. The melody at 0:21 is a bit soft, which really stands out since the melody is super prominent in the rest of the track. The background writing gets a bit indistinct at times, like the acoustic guitar (especially the countermelodic stuff from 3:26 to the end). Nothing really glaringly bad. Solid work. I endorse this mix. YES

You're old.

The arrangement of Old Oddities is pretty close to the original, but the setting is new and the melodic variation is nice. I do also kind of feel that the transition to the second source was a bit weak, and then that section just kind of ends. Production is pretty crisp. Some more synth processing would definitely help, but texturally I think this is fine so far (I'm in the pro camp re. the voices). A punchier bass would help a bit. I agree that this sounds a bit like a work in progress. There's nothing really overly wrong, but the whole package isn't quite there. Do resub, because Mattias' ego could definitely use some stroking with a remix (also because this is pretty good). NO (resubmit)

I dig the arrangement a lot. I get the piano writing complaints, and it could be a bit more interesting, but there are enough breaks, and it's fine as a base. There's definite distortion on the right side from the piano. It's very noticeable at 1:33, but it pops up in a bunch of other places (0:28, 1:42, etc.). Like Palp, I feel like the weak sounds detract from the smaller, ensemble feel of the mix. That combined with the distortion are too much for me to sign off on this as is, but I want to see this back pronto if it doesn't pass. NO (resubmit)

The source tune is really not used all that interestingly in this. There's the slow quotation starting at 0:27, the section from 1:35 to 2:04 playing a modified version, a long, conservative block starting at 3:05 to 4:40, and then another short quote in the end at 5:12. Aside from the long block, this doesn't feel like it's developing the source at all, but rather just sticking it into a lot of original material. It especially feels meandering at 1:53, where that turn in the melody throws the atmosphere off. The production is fairly decent for the atmosphere of the track, although the sequencing of a few things is pretty mechanical, like that flute. The arrangement is the killer issue. NO

Like Palp, I feel like some of the production choices are making this a bit flatter than it could be. The compression particularly hurts the builds at 1:00-1:46 and 3:14-3:50, making them less impactful than they could be. The drums are also pretty punchless, which is fairly noticeable in that final segment starting at 3:14. There's a bit of crowding in the really busy parts, but it's not too bad and the leads are pronounced enough. The writing is generally pretty good. It starts off pretty close to the original for the first minute, but after that the melody goes though a lot of twists and turns. The production issues combine to be a bit too much, though. Solid work so far. NO (resubmit)

I remember liking the original Liquid Corridor Clean Mix back in the day, although I'm sure that's more because The Guardian Legend rules than anything else. This is definitely a big step up from that mix, but it doesn't quite meet the current standards. It's a fine dance track, but not really anything beyond that. Plain sounds, some balance issues here and there (the worst is 1:32-1:50), and a not too inspiring arrangement (although the original stuff from 1:32 on is very welcome). Sorry. NO

Pretty good arrangement. I do agree that it's a bit meandering, but overall I was enjoying the fleshing out of the source. The lack of humanization is the biggest problem, although increasing the dynamic contrast and cleaning up the low end a bit would help as well. A little more refinement would turn this into a winner. NO (resubmit)

Nice nice nice arrangement. This thing is massive. The ending is fine conceptually, but it lasts for a very long time without doing a whole lot. Production is definitely my biggest concern. The sequencing of the strings isn't great, which shows the most at 2:27. The balancing is rough all around; the track sound muffled early on (0:52-1:10 especially) and cluttered later (2:08-2:27 and 3:29-3:58 especially). I like the arrangement a lot, but there's a bit too much holding this up on the production side. NO (resubmit)

A lot of really talented demoscene guys found themselves composing for Game Boy games, so there are a ton of hidden gems with great music. Project S-11, by Jonne Valtonen and Aleksi Eeben, is one of the most technically ridiculous GB soundtracks ever. Absolutely insane sound chip manipulation from start to finish. The , is my favorite track of the lot. I love the aggressive, driving tone; it's impossible to listen to it and not feel like you're flying at 500 miles per hour and blowing everything out of the sky. And hearing the melodic climax is like getting socked in the face by a professional boxer every single time.

According to the VGMdb entry for the album, those two tracks are miscredited as being from SF64. They're actually two of the three arranged tracks from the Star Fox soundtrack, arranged by Kisho Yamanaka (Norimasa Yamanaka, he's done some anime work).

NESing this thread up. (NOTE: my grasp of this stuff is pretty flimsy, so when I say 7/4, I may actually mean 7/8, and so on.) Dragon Warrior IV - Battle for the Glory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVpLmv2r1p4 Mostly 4/4, but the climax does this 9/8 + 9/8 + 13/8 + 7/8 + 7/8 thing that rules. DuckTales - The Moon: The intro is a few measures of 15/8, I always thought this was kind of sly. Final Fantasy - Dungeon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RGYqIFUfrA First half is 7/4, second half is 4/4. Just Breed - some town theme: http://akumunsf.good-evil.net/J/Just%20Breed%20(MMC5).nsf There are no videos so I'm linking to the NSF, track 6 is the track in question. It's mostly 7/4, though right before it loops at the end are two measures of 6/4. Rollergames - Dangerous Approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbj8qjH3s10#t=2m10s Mostly 7/4, though near the end it goes into 15 (4 + 3 + 4 + 4) and then straight 4. *** BONUS TRACK *** Contra - Aliens' Lair: This is ridiculous, what does this do: 6/4 to 11/8 to 5/8 to 6/8 to 7/8? This is actually just a conversion of the final stage theme from the arcade version, but I'm throwing it in anyway because what the hell.