OCR01265 - Double Dragon II "Mean Streak on Main Street"

[Streets of Rage bum]

so far nobody has mentioned that this is actually a DD2 medley consisting of (i think) 1st stage + Forest/Jungle stage + and Enemy base stage.

i really like the jumpy beat of the 1st stage, and unlike what others posted, it's far from a direct rip of the Nes tune, it's definitely got it's own spin on it. The jungle stage part is also catchy, brings back some good memories. My only complaint is that you didn't throw in the final ShawowBoss music which is THE strongest piece in the whole game! The part where yer fighting that crazy dude who teleports and does that crazy spinning punch move. Anyways, good job and props for taking on one of the overlooked classic games!

overall 8/10

[Distortions]

Blah blah blah; prot kicks ass, along with kong.

[benevolensaurus]

I would think even by some random newcomer this probably would have been accepted... it's some good stuff.

[playingtokrush]

This basically means that anything you didn't like about the piece is an issue of personal taste and does not reflect on the quality of the song itself.

Um, duh? That's how liking or disliking music (or anything) works.

[Raziellink]

My only complaint is that you didn't throw in the final ShawowBoss music which is THE strongest piece in the whole game! The part where yer fighting that crazy dude who teleports and does that crazy spinning punch move.

you're right about that! that song has GOT to be in the second remix!

[Sun_Quan]

That reminds me, I'd like to see Rize do a remix of this with the final boss battle, God I could just imagine how hard it would rock, I hope that the guitar, bass, and drums were all real in their songs.

[ProjectSpam]

I absolutely adore the first part of this mix, it just drowns me in nostalgia. Then it fades out and...

another part comes in. Ergh, sorry Prot, but I really don't like the last minute or so. Great piece overall though.

[blueblazer1224]

this remix is awesome. The way you accent the main melody by doing all the variations of it is GREAT! I listen to this song on a daily basis, brings back a ton of memories. Great job man. Keep the Double Dragon ones coming.

[Jooch]

@blueblazer

I totally agree, but the last two minutes are a lot weaker than the first minutes, apart from that this is a really well done remix.

Forgot to mention, that baseline is soooo addictive!!

[Koelsch1]

This sounds very electronic. Not the cool sounding electronic, but the fake sounding kind. The dynamic shifts are there, but are really lacking any power. Sometimes the melody is going to fast for the synthetic sounds to keep up, which makes it sound very odd. The synthetic sound clash a lot, as if they where not ment to go with each other. They just sound very awkward. Then there is the part at around 4 minutes when there is an awkward pause, as if you didnt know how to bridge the two parts together so you just left a space.

Overall ther is just way too much clash between the awkard sounds coming from the electronic instruemnts, which give the song an extreamly un-natural feel to it.

[jordex]

I agree completely... That you're an idiot

There's no clashing whatsoooever and that change around 4 minutes is sexy!

[Sinewav]

This sounds very electronic... the fake sounding kind... an extreamly un-natural feel to it....

That was the point.

[A-RoN]

This sounds very electronic... the fake sounding kind... an extreamly un-natural feel to it....

That was the point.

I have to agree that it does sound fake, but no matter what, it's very interesting. Really, I don't care if something sounds realistic, as long as there's been some good technical EQing to a point where my ears aren't bleeding, and as long as there's been some good,emotional, different or wacky things done in the arrangement. In other words, this is good in a fake different sort of way.

[Protricity]

So, anyone wanna explain how a square wave can sound 'not fake'? or is this really just baseless banter?

[Corporal Eschebone]

Actually, the fakeness of the "square wave" [as is apparently the technical term] is what I like most about this specific mix. Sounds a lot like music coming straight from an SPC700 chip, and I wouldn't be surprised if the SPC would've been able to play something very close to this.

Certainly, a catchy and memorable melody is essential to keeping the listener's interest with this kind of sound, and Prot pulls this off nicely. I can't get the segment from 2:01 - 4:10 out of my head. Very nice.

I personally didn't like the section from 4:20 on, but that's a personal opinion as it still continues the technical execution of the rest of the mix.

[Demko]

Great job!!!

[Burnov]

This remix sounds like it belongs right in the game. Just hearing it brings back a lot of memories. It's cheesy sounding but, it's just done so well it fits. It works. It's fun to listen to.

[Liontamer]

Sounds a lot like music coming straight from an SPC700 chip, and I wouldn't be surprised if the SPC would've been able to play something very close to this.

See? I told you, man.

Very nice 16-bit style vibe going on. I couldn't quite remember what game some of the sounds reminded me of when Ari was on the air for VGF talking about this, but if you people check out some of the stuff from The Follin Brothers Spider-Man & The X-Men: Arcade's Revenge soundtrack, you might see how something like the synth electric guitar in particular gave off that old-school SNES vibe.

Of course the NES-style sounds were solid as well, so this was a good hybrid of game music sound styles. The expansive work done in the arrangement was hot as well. Some stuff to bitch about in the judging decision on it, like dat slap bass goddammit, but I was just glad to see that someone else noticed that SNES/SPC similarities that I thought the mix had. Now, I must go back to having some sort of "personal agenda" against Ari, which basically consists of me shrugging my shoulders while Ari insists I have a "personal agenda" against him.

[Protricity]

Theres really no such thing as an 'spc700' chip sound. That is to say, incomparable to the uniqueness of the nes/sega/c64 chips.

As for '16-bit sound', every song on this site sounds 16-bit. Thats cause they all are 16-bit songs.

One could say, perhaps, that there is a 'low-fi' sound to the samples used as they are all indeed very small wave samples (some 8-bit), some under 20k, but thats about it. I guess, yea one could also make the claim that anything using a square wave sounds 'nes'. Well, whatever.

Its best to get the terminology right or people will just be confused in the end, or you'll just look silly.

My decision to use low quality samples pretty much comes from the manipulative nature of small samples. You can do so much through them, take them into realms of audiomation that simply can't be done with anything else. Beyond that, I also like to show how low quality samples are most certainly not any runner up to expensive, flashy, high fi librarys. All that matters in the end is the artist. Everything else is just makeup.

As for personal agendas, not sure what you're talking about, but keep it off the review forum.

[Frostmanblues]

Mmm,mmm,good. The guitar at the beginning really gave it a flavor that kept me hooked until it changed to another section of the Remix.

It may be my imagination, but I swear I heard that little sound effect the NES version uses whenever a Double Dragon character executes a knee strike. I noticed that the BGM of the first mission is "missing", I wonder if it could've changed the beat of the Remix if it was included.

However, I cannot whine about it being that I am happy to hear a Remix of a great,great videogame, I am pleased

EDIT: "First" mission, referring to the "Second Mission" from the Arcade version, remember that the NES version used the music from the second mission (arcade), in its first stage of the console adaptation.

[nardman]

The guitar at the beginning was excellent. The organ-like instrument is what kept me though. i give it a 7 out of ten

[Jaybell]

I never played DD2, so there's no real nostalgia for me =/. I will say that I love the last section, where it gets all funky-like. The meh samples weren't really an issue, although there's no denying that they are "meh", prot makes really good use of them here.

But overall, it doesn't really strike me as "amazing". Probably because I haven't heard the source? Heck, the only reason I listened to this was the title, which is the best title of any OC Remix, ever.

[Polo]

Detailing my two favorite qualities about this mix...

- Allowing different synths+notes to play in the same placeholders is really mood-satisfying. Crafty case in point: stage 2 is played first by the organ at 0:40 and then by the buzzy synth at 1:01. It revives the feeling of anticipation from atop a building, then carries it to a more relaxed, plan-in-the-works mindset, readying me for what comes next.

- It seems the boss music decided it was too tough for the initial flow, so it waits for it to settle down before emerging in an underground cage fighting circuit or similar badass setting. Here we're treated to lotsa blips, a heightened tempo, and a bass that says "you lookin' at me? You better watch your back!"

These factors make an already bouncy mix all the more groovalicious, so props to Propstricity.

[OceansAndrew]

The samples aren't amazing, but the arrangement is really nice and varied. The transition to the strutting second theme was pretty well handled, and when the synth bass comes in, it gets really good. Cool beats, a lot of great soloing, and some strong transitions make this a pretty solid track all the way through.

[timaeus222]

Bleh, the square lead is fine. The arps and solos were extremely creative. Maybe the bass is a little boomy, but otherwise the arrangement is off the charts.