3 tracks at once! - Duke Nukem II, Castlevania: Bloodlines and Batman

[Fernito]

Hey there guys.

First off, I must say that I'm very happy about finding this site. I have always loved videogame's music, and this is like my dreams came true!

Well, being this my first videogame music thread I'll post 3 videogame tracks I've made. Anyway, I guess they don't qualify as remixes, since I made them very similar to the original ones. BTW, no scores or MIDIs were used in the arranging of any of these tracks, so if there are some mistakes in them is just because my ear didn't work very well haha.

The first track is the music from Episode 1, level 7 of Duke Nukem II. This one was arranged by me and played by my band, Izkemia.

Here's the link to the track: http://www.mediafire.com/?ym4iymklmkn

And here's a link to the original track, in case you haven't listened at it:

The second one is the track "The sinking old sanctuary" from Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis console.

Here's the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?lnimyud2it2

And here's the link to the original track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAwbk_UJNSQ

The third one is I just made it by request of a friend of mine, who wanted it to sound as faithful as possible to the original version. It's the music for stage 4 of Batman for the NES console.

Here's the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?myotiwwwj0r

And here's the link to the original track:

Of course, any feedback is welcome and appreciated

[Swann]

Haha man I'm loving the Batman track. Lots of nostalgia there.

[Gollgagh]

oh god the Duke II track now that brings back some memories

[Fernito]

Thanks for commenting guys!

Anyway, I kinda missed some comments like either "hey, I liked the tracks because of a, b and c" or "hey, I didn't like the tracks because of d, c and e" .

[TheHands]

CASTLEVANIA: BLOODLINES TRACK

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION

[x] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source

[ ] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing)

[ ] Too much direct sampling from original game audio

[ ] Borrows heavily from non-source material (eg. a theme from a movie)

PRODUCTION

[ ] Too loud

[ ] Too quiet

[ ] Low-quality samples

[ ] Unrealistic sequencing

[ ] Generic/cliche sound choices

[ ] Drums have no energy

[ ] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics)

[ ] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range)

PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts)

[ ] Timing not tight enough

[ ] Wrong notes, general sloppiness

[ ] Poorly recorded

[ ] Bad intonation

STRUCTURE

[ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow")

[x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough)

[ ] Pace too plodding

[x] Too repetitive

[x] Too short

[ ] Abrupt ending

PERSONAL COMMENTS

Song is very relaxing. It just doesn't feel like it's doing very much. I know you didn't intend them as "remixes" per say, but I kind of see this song as something that can do so much more. It's lacking some of the energy that Castlevania music tends to have. The keyboard melody is keeping some there, but for the most part it seems somewhat sapped. What did you use to record?

My internet's acting up, I can't listen to the other two yet. I'll post later about them as well. By the way, welcome to OCR

[Fernito]

Thanks a lot for the welcome and for taking the time to listen at the track and commenting about it

As for the track, wow, you destroyed it! Seriously talking, you didn't wrote anything good about it Is it that bad?

What can I say in my defence? xD

Well, as for the points "too conservative", "too repetitive" and "too short", don't know if I said it, but I intended to make this version as faithful as possible to the original track, and the original is repetitive AND short, so I couldn't help it

Now, what do you mean with "this song can do much more"? It means like there's a lot of room for new arrangements? Well, I also think the same, and I actually thought of making some original arrangements, but then I said "hey, I better don't add to much new things to it, or it won't sound like the original one". As I said, I wanted to make it as similar to the original as possible. Maybe someday I'll make a remix for this track.

As for lacking of energy, I'm aware of that, but I guess I can't do better with the instruments I chose. For example, I replaced the original bass with cellos. The original bass is very... errr... "funky", so to speak (LOL), so I chose the bowing technique that sounded more "energical" in my sample library, but even with this it doesn't seem to sound strong enough. Any recommendations?

As said earlier, thank for commenting on the track, and I'll be looking forward to your comments on the other 2 tracks. But, I warn you: they are VERY close to the original themes haha.

PS: I used FL Studio and a symphonic orchestra sample library.

[LC]

The batman track is a great update to the original, the instruments sound really good!

that being said, I agree with TheHands on these songs, they sound like more of an update than a remix. It's nearly identical to the original in terms of melody and lacks variation. Mix it up a bit and don't be afraid to play with the melodies...the Batman track desperately needs an awesome solo of some kind, but that's just my opinion

[Fernito]

Thanks for the feedback LC!

As for your comments, yes, I actually said that these aren't remixes, but the same original tracks with better sound I'm working on a Kirby's Adventure remix right now, maybe after that I'll work on a remix for one of these.

Anyway, are these tracks of mine good as "updates", as you called them?

[purplecowadoom]

I think the Duke Nukem II track stands perfectly fine as a remix here. I remember getting it off youtube though.

[Josh Whelchel]

I LOVE the Duke Nukem II track - if you're going to try to submit it you'll have to cut the sampled intro, but I personally like it very much as it is. Great work.

[Esker]

The two first track are equally amazing, each one in its style.

The Duke Nukem track is very energetic, the Castlevania track is more relaxing and ambience.

The third file is missing. Try to fix it.

By the way be welcome to the site. It is always good to have a remixer around.

[Fernito]

Thanks for your kind comments guys I don't know, maybe I'll submit the Duke Nukem II track. I must talk with the band guys first

@Esker: fixed the link of the Batman track. I wonder why the track got deleted from my Mediafire account.

[epilis]

Can you re-upload the Castlevania Bloodlines track?

[Fernito]

Can you re-upload the Castlevania Bloodlines track?

Well, this is odd. I wonder why these files are getting deleted from my account. Here's the new link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymmlmg2ymmz

[Gario]

I'm very late on the ball, here (Woa, 4 months ago?), but I'll echo the comments on the Castlevania track - too repetitive & short. HOWEVER, that's really only a problem if you wanted this to be submitted on OCR.

The music being static, though, is a universal problem - the textures need to change up a little bit, there, even if it is a faithful recreation of the original. People don't like listening to the same soundscapes for too long, since it wears on the ears.

That being said, I frankly loved it, overall - the instruments were clean and the original track was amazing enough to where it didn't matter if you didn't ReMix is. Now if you could rearrange it it would be amazing.

[Fernito]

I'm very late on the ball, here (Woa, 4 months ago?), but I'll echo the comments on the Castlevania track - too repetitive & short. HOWEVER, that's really only a problem if you wanted this to be submitted on OCR.

The music being static, though, is a universal problem - the textures need to change up a little bit, there, even if it is a faithful recreation of the original. People don't like listening to the same soundscapes for too long, since it wears on the ears.

That being said, I frankly loved it, overall - the instruments were clean and the original track was amazing enough to where it didn't matter if you didn't ReMix is. Now if you could rearrange it it would be amazing.

Thanks for commenting!

I'd like to ask you for a 'fool-proof' explanation of what I "bolded" there in the quote. I mean, it's difficult for me to understand some things because my english is very limited, and I really want to understand what you tried to say there, since it could help me to improve

[Gario]

No problem.

When someone mentions that the soundscape of a song / sound of the music is too static, it means that there isn't enough change to the texture of the music. For example, in the Castlevania track you have posted, the piano texture is exactly the same throughout, the flute functions the same throughout, the strings play that pleasant waltz-like theme for a considerable amount of time, etc.. Yes, the soundscape sort of changes with the section changes, but everything continues to function the same, texturally, thus giving the sound a very 'unchanging' feeling, which will wear on the listener's ears, over time.

To correct it, taking out some parts helps (the strings may not play the waltz thingy in one part, for example), changing what instruments play the texture give some variety (Woodwinds play the piano texture for a section), and changing some textures entirely keeps the older textures fresh, when they come back (That piano texture could have at least some variation, even in a faithful rendition - it would take some of the repetitive bite out of the track, for sure). Those are a couple of ways to correct that problem.

Hope that helps (can't say it's foolproof, but hey - music isn't a simple thing ).

[Fernito]

That was a very good explanation indeed. It's all clear now, thanks a lot for the advice

[epilis]

Ahhh Level 2 of Bloodlines, great choice!! It's a song I'd like to cover some time in the future myself. Good job! I'm the type that doesn't matter if it sounds too much like the original, I like it that way.

Oh btw, I believe Mediafire prolly deletes links after awhile, but you say you have an account? Not sure then.

[Fernito]

I'm the type that doesn't matter if it sounds too much like the original, I like it that way

haha, I guess I'm one of those too.

As for MediaFire, yes, I've got an account. It's very odd, I've got several files deleted for no reason.