*NO* Mega Man X 'Zero Light'

[Liontamer]

Remixer name: Prince of Darkness

Real name: Tony Dickinson

E-mail Address: Basstony4813@yahoo.com

Website: www.tonydickinson.net

User Id: 24705

Remix song name: Zero Light

Game: Mega Man X

Songs: (In order) (Spark Mandrill, Boomer Kuwanger, Storm Eagle, Chill Penguin, Sting Chameleon, Armored Armadillo, Launch Octopus, Flame Mammoth, Maverick Encounter, Sigma Fortress Stage #1, Sigma Hench-Reploid Battle, Second Battle with Sigma, Revelation of Second Sigma)

System: SNES

Notes: This is actually the very first video game remix I made public. First entered it in DoD back in March. However, I completely re-recorded it so the production doesn't suck, like the first version.

www.tonydickinson.net

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Tough call. I know I asked Tony to give it a shot and sub this, since I liked it and felt it could get some support, but it's a tough call as a mega-medley. LuIzA's FF series medley "Fire Cross" is a great example of a medley executed very effectively.

http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=mmx - A bunch of 'em

This is definitely a lot quieter than expected. Do what you can to raise the overall levels and add some highs to it.

The effort was made to smooth some the transitions, however, 1:23, 3:37 & 5:47 in particular were weak, abrupt transitions. Within the usage of each theme, everything was expanded and personalized, and 4:28-onwards was the arrangement at its most creative and interpretive. But I could just as easily see this getting NOed for the medley-itis structure of "do one theme, move quickly to the next" that didn't leave much breathing room for development of several of the themes.

This is definitely an improvement over the DoD version on the production side, and I definitely like this, but it's just nagging on me that the way the themes are pieced together just isn't as cohesive as it should be. And so I've gotta vote honestly that it's a NO (resubmit).

[Palpable]

I have nothing against medleys except when they are used in lieu of arranging the material. Like when the song is pretty much just a sound upgrade, which gets obfuscated by the medley structure. I didn't have that problem here at all. Each song was handled creatively, and some of them were handled REALLY creatively. In every one of these sections there is some prominent new element distinguishing it from the original, and the different sections have different ways of approaching the material too. The writing in this is nothing short of awesome. And damn, for a song that could have 12 awkward transitions, I only thought two of them (3:37 and 5:47) weren't smooth. And not to single out "Rockabilly ~ Dark Gears ~ Surfing Gear" (which I liked a lot - don't hate me, guys!), but that song had rougher transitions than either of the two I listed in this song. I guess rough transitions don't bother me much if the song is strong enough and there are only a few.

So yeah. Definitely call me a YES.

YES

[Vig]

Larry's right; the mix is really dark. Mixers should really start using reference mixes when they mix their own tracks so they can A-B what their mix sounds like with what they want it to sound like. this is really muted.

As for the arragement...this isn't the worst case of medlytits I've ever heard, but it's definitely in the red zone. I think palp is mistaking able performance and composition with creative arrangement. There really isn't a ton of creative arrangement. There's no overall dynamic curve. this sounds like a bunch of melodies tacked together on the same tune. You'd do much better focusing on one or two and actually developing some ideas.

NO

[DarkeSword]

Agreeing with the NO voters. It's certainly a competent performance, but it could stand to sound a little brighter and more focused as an arrangement.

Sounds like a great starting point for a MMX rock album or something. You should consider taking what you have and expanding the ideas into fully developed pieces. This piece screams "medley" and while there's nothing wrong with that, it's not really what we look for here at OCR. I personally think it's disappointing when I'm listening to this piece and getting really into like, the Boomer Kuwanger section, but then it switches gears really quickly to something else.

NO, but I hope to hear more stuff from you

[CHz]

Performance is good, and aside from the mutedness, the production's decent. Nice upgrade to the original DoD entry.

Decent medley. Fairly straightforward covers of the MMX tracks, though there is definitely some personalization, and the transitions are generally effective. I'm with DS, this sounds like a crossfade demo for a full MMX arrangement album. Nothing is really developed, and overall it's just here's-one-thing-okay-now-here's-another. That Top Gear mix's transitions were worse, but I thought the overall shape and development worked out. Here, not so much.

NO

[anosou]

Talked to Tony, he's not up for re-doing arrangement.. only production. Just letting you know!

[OceansAndrew]

Excellent track, totally deserving of it's 1st place win at DoD, even over some stellar competition.

I'd say it's a well played and decently produced medley, with some good personalization in spots, but there are way too many sources for me to feel that it's a properly developed piece. Sections come, do their thing, and then are gone. Some of the transitions feel really natural, but others are weak (specifically 5:46).

A super great medley, but not quite what OCR is looking for.

no