Rocket Knight Adventures - Stage 1-2 (The Moat a Mile Wide)

[DoctorDisaster]

Here's the source -- from the oft-overlooked Rocket Knight Adventures, for the Genesis. Great game, great soundtrack. Pick up a ROM if you've never played it.

Here's my version. Unlike with the last mix, I started by carefully transcribing the original, so I think I may have gotten a little too enamored with the original arrangement. I'm posting this very, very unfinished version hoping that you guys can point me in a few good directions for departures.

Thanks!

[ncocs]

Ok, so this is an alright mix from the start.

I'm gonna start at the beginning.

Is it supposed to sound so low quality?

Is it supposed to be so clippy?

The panning feels weird. It's behind you to the extreme on either side, and it feels awkward.

By the way, it's clippy for the entire thing.

When the synths come in is what I'm gonna harp about next.

I like how you can hear them on either side chipping in before they really start.

Those drums, they work, but for some reason they feel like to me that they have too much noise in them. I think you were trying to go for a Genesis era percussion, but they're just too much.

Overall, it sticks very close to the source, which I like in a remix. Maybe a new section that you compose might add to it? Yeah. Just go with your gut--people will either hate or love this mix. I love it.

[Rozovian]

Gonna be lazy and just proof-read ncocs' crits.

Slow attack on the lead synth combined with a simple bass waveform and some other retro sounds gives it a nice retro feel, but some of those choices could be tweaked for a better sound. Bass, btw, is too loud.

Not hearing clipping, but it sounds a bit squashed. I guess that's the bass' doing. Could also use some more highs for clarity and air.

Listening on semi-quality speakers, hard to tell stereo separation on them, but the snare sounds like there's filtered noise added separately to both channels. If they were shorter they'd sound more like an artistic choice rather than a happy accident you're afraid to screw up. Overall, I can tell ncocs isn't wrong about the stereoscape, there seems toi be some weird stereo effect applied to half the tracks in there, like you inverted one channel or something.

Not gonna comment much on source, besides that I can clearly hear it's there, and don't think (after two quick listens to source and remix) that ocr would accept an arrangement like this. Not sure, too tired to really analyze it.

Any artistic choice should sound intentional. Your stereo thing, the percussion, the slow attack on the lead and the other issues here, they're all things that could be intentional, but they don't sound like they are. They sound more like accidents that happened and that you liked the sound of. Make it intentional or fix it.

[eliteharbinger]

I agree with ncocs, this mix definitely needs alot of work done to it, but i like where you're going with it. I havent heard a good mix from this game and this was one of my favorite games when i was little. So i encourage you to keep going with it and i hope you the best of luck and a good finished product so i can listen to it!