OCR01830 - Gradius III "Declaration of War"

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Love the synths, love the feel of the arrangement, good tone on the rythm guitars.

Lead guitars feel a bit thin; would have really benefited from a delay, or something else that could liven up the sound. Nevertheless, it's a relatively minor complaint, and they are well-played.

The organ is an excellent touch; subtle, but beautiful, and really adds a lot to the mix.

[Eino Keskitalo]

Contrary to Taucer, I seriously dislike the rhythm guitar tone. To me it feels like something is absent in the mix (at least on headphones). [edit: not hearing it anymore, see later post] Otherwise I enjoy the mix. It feels like there's a lot of little things going on in the background, synths glurping, organ playing. Maaaybe those could have been brought a bit more to the front, but no worries. Overall this a happy, energetic piece and a lot of fun to listen to. Good job!

--Eino

[DragonAvenger]

This song was entirely too energetic for me to review last night around midnight, so now that I've had a full night's rest I can dive in.

Love the energy (now that I'm awake). This just shouts how very happy the world is and that we should go out with huge grins on our faces. I like how it never loses that energy too, nice work on that. Kind of odd that it's named "Declaration of War" though. What's up with that?

I personally would have never noticed that this was a collab, the way things fit together so well. Nice combination of instruments. Scaredism rocks the guitars, and OA has his super fast synth solos. Nice work together, you two.

[Ferret]

It's titled "Declaration of War", I think, because it's the stage theme for the area where you've finally breached into the enemy's stronghold.

It doesn't sound all that bad, actually. I really like the usage of the thematic elements without being so close to the original that it's a direct cover.

[Vitor Machado]

Pretty nice ReMix! Very upbeat and cheers you up.

You know, I think Gradius III's got some nice songs, like this one, "Mechanical Base", "In the Wind", and "Boss 3" is cool but short... The game should receive a bit more love.

[KyleJCrb]

Oh man, I know I'm saying this about a number of remixes lately, but this track has great energy! The original is awesome stuff, from a series sadly overlooked at OCR. I'm a sucker for melodic songs and wanky synth leads, and this remix delivers them both in spades. "Delcaration of War" is a strange title outside of the game context, but regardless, Andrew and Simon totally rocked it. Definitely the perfect song to pilot a starfighter and blow shit up to. My only complaint is that even at almost 4 minutes, it just feels like it's over too fast; but hey, that's what the Loop button is for. Nice work dudes.

[Ferret]

I meant to say this earlier but

HELL YEAH, GRADIUS 3 REMIX! ABOUT TIME!

[metalsnakejuice]

The choice of instruments was great, this remix to me really reminds me of back in the day of playing this. Great job

[audio fidelity]

just wanted to say this mix is excellent - the synth lead just sits perfect

keep it up guys

[relyanCe]

gnarly mix, loving the synth. Reminds me of Star Ocean 3's soundtrack. Great work!

[UchihaVilu]

Pwn'd my panties.

Been waiting for a Gradius 3 remix. Definitely full of win here.

[Eino Keskitalo]

Heh, I'm listening to NGI#114, don't know what's different, but the guitar tone doesn't bother me at all now. I'm still not loving it, but it's definitely not that "absence" thing I was talking about earlier. Those "little things" are more clear as well.. I probably listened on some bad headphone setup over at the university last time. Verdict recalled, sounding great. Sounded really uplifting in the show, too! A cool moment.

--Eino

[jintoreedwine]

I absolutely love this mix. I have been listening to it for the past week and am a huge fan of the Gradius soundtrack in general. The piano solo in the opening and guitar solo at the end are killer touches.

Great work!

[Mtlbro]

That piano intro got me all in the mood for something mellow, and then BAM!!!! I still don't know exactly what hit me, but it's good

[OceansAndrew]

Thanks for the very nice reviews everyone! Simon and I are collaborating on another song, and this time we'll make it easier on the judges.

[Martin Penwald]

Absolutely wonderful. The synth really gives this mix that nice 90s feeling, and the guitar adds an extra layer of delicious cheese to it.

The "chorus" (e.g. 1:08 onwards) is amazing. So much energy and fun.

Good work, guys.

[breravin]

Oh how I wish this song could be on Rock Band!!!

[Dj Mokram]

Always a pleasure to hear some Gradius arrangement.

While this actually sounds more like a peace treaty than a declaration of war, this is a solid re-interpretation.

The song is a dangerous yet addictive cocktail of distinctive adrenaline pumping guitar/rythmic parts, coupled to a nostalgic and driving synth sound, and some enticing melodic piano breaks.

The alchemy works very well in this case, reaching some key moments from 1:08 to 1:30 and from 2:44 to 3:05, where you can really picture the 'shmup' craziness:

flying your little ship through dozens of enemies, with projectiles coming from all directions, wating desperately for a power-up while trying to avoid crashing on obstacles...

I thought the part from 3:07 to 3:30 seemed a bit rushed and/or lacking compared to the rest of the song, which again is pretty solid.

But that's only a minor subjective bias, which doesn't reflect on my apreciation of the whole remix.

Definitely great fun, and a great listen.

[WillRock]

Well this is pretty dang awesome... lots of energy, very clean sounding 80's influenced stuff, altho I think the rather simple lead synth gives this a game arrangement flavor.

My problem with this mix tho is the leveling personally... that lead synth is too loud and the lead guitars are too quiet, it undermines the harmonization. also, the hithats get a little too loud at points. Still this is a great mix, worth the download if you like melodic rock with synths, which I do ^-^. Rock on guys

[Sir_Downunder]

Seems a little weird that you'd called such a bright and happy song 'Declaration of War', but that's just me, this track still kicks ass.

Great work Scare and OA!

[LoneSword]

THANK YOU!! It's about damn time someone made a Gradius III remix! I've been posting on the request boards hoping someone would finally make one. >_<

But aside from that, this is an awesome track, and really brings back age-old memories of blasting apart gigantic space plants. Great job!

[Emunator]

This one's really good for car rides... it's uplifting and borderline cheesy but I enjoyed all aspects of the mix. It didn't feel repetitive, the soloing was at an appropriate level of craziness for the nature of the song, and all the sounds were cohesive. You've got absolutely no qualms from me, I've grown to like this one a lot! If there is any style that OA can pull off with unquestionable levels of skill, it's pop-rock like this

I love it!

[Crulex]

The piano intro was a good intro to a great rock ReMix. Everything sounded awesome and clear, and while the arrangement got pretty close in certain areas, it still manages to pull off a cool anthem-like sound. Oh, man, that soloing near the ending was freaking amazing. And I enjoyed how it came to an almost heroic finish with it slowing down slightly. Very strong finish and a sweet collab ReMix.

[swansdown]

Yes, what a light, airy song for "Declaration of War" Fantastic sense of action and flight. There's a definite sense of panic there too, but mostly victory and triumph.

A wonderful listen!