Mega Man: The Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet 2011

[Zerothemaster]

I've never been a fan of carnival music, thus, I don't like the themes of Magic Man or Clown Man. At all.

As far as MM1-8 go:

MM3

MM8

MM2

MM6

MM7

MM5

MM4

MM

for a bunch of soundtracks

MM10

MM9

MMV

MM3

MM8

MMII (dont shoot me)

MM2

MM6

MM7

MM5

MM4

MM&B

MM

And my favorite RMs

Galaxy

Bubble

Sheep

Frost

Pump

Neptune

Mercury

Freeze

Air (MMII)

Search

these are all IMO BTW

[Rexy]

Train of thought moving for most of the day, right from waking up:

Me: "Well, it's End of Wily Round day, Brandon still has a massive lead, let's hope we win the round."

(Checks votes, finds out that Benjamin Briggs caught up and is now tied)

Me: "Awww CRAP! This is dangerous, I really hope Brandon gets more votes and soon, this isn't looking good x__X"

(30 minutes left to go - Ben overtook completely)

Me: "Nooo, we lost first!! Please, praying for more votes, don't let this long lead end in vain now..."

(...voting phase over)

Me:

So, yeah, major disappointment from the Bad Guy Robots (as always). I kind of smell suspicion with everyone deciding to vote right in the last minute; maybe Flexstyle's right in saying that the voters ARE weird.

But Brandon did a good song, put up a brave fight, and should have us geared up for round 10. Mad props, hermano.

[SectorZ]

Vote tally 1 minute after voting was closed, minus DarkeSword's vote.

And Rexy, I've noticed this happen a few times (the early leader is overtaken by the end). I can't speak for everyone else, but I can tell you that my votes change throughout the week, which is why I wait until the end to vote.

[Rexy]

Well, I know that some people do change their minds throughout the week and wait til the last minute, which is understandable. But I thought it was strange to be well over 10 points ahead by last night and lose it all at the blink of an eye. But I'll put up with it, however possible.

Also, you left out the Concrete Men on the tally

[EDIT: Nope, found them. My eyes failed me again.]

[WillRock]

Well, I know that some people do change their minds throughout the week and wait til the last minute, which is understandable. But I thought it was strange to be well over 10 points ahead by last night and lose it all at the blink of an eye. But I'll put up with it, however possible.

Also, you left out the Concrete Men on the tally

[EDIT: Nope, found them. My eyes failed me again.]

One thing to note is never assume you've won or lost based on voting before its finished. So many times i've seen things happen in these compos that defies what you'd expect based on what happened in the first few days. In the original GRMRB I got a ten vote lead against gecko, which was a hell of a lot. I lost by 6 votes.

[SectorZ]

Well, I know that some people do change their minds throughout the week and wait til the last minute, which is understandable. But I thought it was strange to be well over 10 points ahead by last night and lose it all at the blink of an eye. But I'll put up with it, however possible.

Also, you left out the Concrete Men on the tally

[EDIT: Nope, found them. My eyes failed me again.]

I expanded the size of the graph so it isn't so hard to see

[Lemonectric]

I hadn't even listened to everything until yesterday.

[SectorZ]

One thing to note is never assume you've won or lost based on voting before its finished. So many times i've seen things happen in these compos that defies what you'd expect based on what happened in the first few days. In the original GRMRB I got a ten vote lead against gecko, which was a hell of a lot. I lost by 6 votes.

That was the round Treasure Hunter was your mix, right?

[Nabeel Ansari]

That was the round Treasure Hunter was your mix, right?

That was Will's best remix IMO

[ectogemia]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

Or you could, you know, not go on the internet during MAGFest. You're kind of wasting time and money doing that.

[SectorZ]

Okay, so I'm kind of sick of not knowing where the teams stand as of now, so I decided to calculate the rankings as of Round 9. Obviously these can change when DarkeSword votes, but it will at least give us some idea of where everyone is.

Round 6

The Hard Men - 10

The Skull Men - 7

Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 5

Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man - 4

The Concrete Men - 3

The Gentlemaster's Club - 2

The Beat Busters - 1

Energy Tank - 1

Block Rockmen Beats - 1

The Mega Ballers - 1

Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion - 0

Cold Steel - 0

Round 7

The Mega Ballers - 10

The Gentlemaster's Club - 7

The Hard Men - 5

Cold Steel - 4

The Beat Busters - 3

Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man - 3

The Concrete Men - 2

Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 1

The Skull Men - 1

Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion - 1

Energy Tank - 1

Block Rockmen Beats - Silver Surfer'd

Round 8

Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 10

Block Rockmen Beats - 7

The Gentlemaster's Club - 5

Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man - 4

The Mega Ballers - 3

The Hard Men - 2

The Concrete Men - 1

Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion - 1

The Skull Men - 1

Energy Tank - 1

Cold Steel - 1

The Beat Busters - 0

Round 9

The Hard Men - 10

Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man - 7

Block Rockmen Beats - 5

Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 4

The Mega Ballers - 3

The Concrete Men - 2

Energy Tank - 1

Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion - 1

The Gentlemaster's Club - 1

The Skull Men - 0

The Beat Busters - 0

Cold Steel - 0

So, here are the tentative standings pre-DarkeSword's vote...

Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man - 42

Block Rockmen Beats - 48

Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 36

Cold Steel - 13

Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion - 8

Energy Tank - 8

The Beat Busters - 16

The Concrete Men - 42

The Gentlemaster's Club - 34

The Hard Men - 46

The Mega Ballers - 23

The Skull Men - 12

And here are the actual rankings:

1. Block Rockmen Beats - 48

2. The Hard Men - 46

3. Bad Guy Robots from Mega Man <TIE> - 42

3. The Concrete Men <TIE> - 42

5. Blue Bomber Brotherhood - 36

6. The Gentlemaster's Club - 34

7. The Mega Ballers - 23

8. The Beat Busters - 16

9. Cold Steel - 13

10. The Skull Men - 12

11. Dr. Light's Luminosity Legion <TIE> - 8

11. Energy Tank <TIE> - 8

Everyone's free to double check my math.

[AkumajoBelmont]

Shit, I think I missed the vote - voted before I fell asleep after I got home from work, but didn't post!

Ahh well, just posted it, but if it's not counted, meh.

Great round guys!

[orlouge82]

Wow, hell of a meteoric rise for The Hard Men.

And, just so I get this straight, The Hard Men had a Raging Reptile that won Round 9?

EDIT: Okay, so halc's team and Ben Briggs's team are essentially neck-and-neck going into Round 10? Will this rivalry spell the end of Insert Rupee? <cue dramatic music>

[Phonetic Hero]

Oops, I accidentally an hour too late, like Akumajo

[Helios42]

BAH. I was literally almost done with my review, and then I hit the back button >.< It was a good one, too. I'm gonna go eat and then try to replicate it.

Usually when I do something stupid like that it will still keep it. Don't know why it didn't this time. Oh well, it was only and hour and a half of typing down the drain. I can do it again!

[Flexstyle]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

I hope you're being facetious, because that seems kinda rude. Just sayin'.

[Mirby]

BAH. I was literally almost done with my review, and then I hit the back button >.< It was a good one, too. I'm gonna go eat and then try to replicate it.

Usually when I do something stupid like that it will still keep it. Don't know why it didn't this time. Oh well, it was only and hour and a half of typing down the drain. I can do it again!

Might I suggest typing reviews in Notepad or a similar program beforehand?

That's what I do with all my articles; that way, they're safe offline and I can just copypaste if I accidentally hit back or something.

Then again, the problem with the articles is all the links; I click back, I have to add them ALL over again. ;~;

[MindWanderer]

Since we're sharing opinions about soundtracks, I'll chime in.

I actually really liked MM5 and 6. Gravity Man, Charge Man, Napalm Man, Stone Man, Plant Man, Blizzard Man, Knight Man, Centaur Man, Yamato Man, Tomahawk Man, and Flame Man are all personal favorites, not to mention Dark Man, Wily 5, the final battle in 5, and Mr. X. I never liked any of the themes done in more than 8 bits, except Shade Man and Slash Man, until they were done in these compos. I still don't care for 10, and 1 is hit-or-miss.

But yeah, more love for MM4. There isn't a theme in there I don't like. I also wish The Wily Wars was a legal source, there's some amazing stuff there (despite being 16-bit).

Edit: LOL, just realized I listed almost everyone from MM6. Poor Wind Man.

[Lucavi00]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

I should slap the lightning bolts off your head.

[Doulifée]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

don't derail the thread. thanks. i just hope you were drunk when posting. no need to rent like that.

[Helios42]

Yeah, I'd do it in Word for the autosave feature, but I never think ahead for that and I'm usually really good about not messing it up. I just did something really really dumb this time, so yeah, just shouldn't have happened. Basically it came down to me clicking on my iTunes window, forgetting it was on half screen, then going to where the previous track button was...

Anyways, needless to say this is not going to be quite as in detail as usual. Because I just don't have the energy. I'll cover most everything again, but I won't be as eloquent. Probably a good thing for me to practice.

REVIEWZORS TIEM 2.0 (Again in the random order I listened to them in)

Disconnect - I really loved the content of the lyrics this time around (got me reeling inSIIIIIII-ide!). I think the production on this one is really high, perhaps the highest of your entries in this gauntlet. However, in terms of my favorites, I think it would probably go The Fall > Far From Home > Disconnect. The lyrics just didn't didn't feel quite as catchy this time around. I didn't get as many "It all feels wrong when the trust is gone" moments (I mention that one, because I get it stuck in my head all the time and love it each time it does). They're good, very good, but don't flow quite as epically. Also, I think a little more could have been done with the source, and perhaps a little more instrumentation. The Cold man source was good, esp. how it got woven into lyrics. But I feel like there was more creativity with the Wily source in some of the other entries this round. Great song, though

Mega Breeze - I liked the nice, cold, somewhat distant start that then revs up. The piano really completes that soundscape, sometimes in the forfront, sometimes in the background. The breakdown from 1:19 - 2:13 obviously makes the piece. The section from 1:53 - 2:13 is especilly creative. It really comes to a close after that breakdown, though, and a few other entries this round really cover much more of the Wily source. A solid piece, despite that.

Night Train to the Deep Jungle - Certainly very creative. It keeps pretty close to the source, but does it with a fairly unique sound. 1:34 - 1:44 in particular worked very well, and I did end up liking how it sounded. 2:02 - 2:20 was an interesting change of pace, but the production of it could use work. The wubs at 2:24 worked pretty darn well, and I like how the piece was broght together from 2:46 - 3:07. That really did wonders for cohesiveness. The ending could be fleshed out. Overall, I think there needed to be more creativity with the source melody and more mixing of the sources. However, it does a good job with the basics.

Flames of Youth - I love the soundscape for this one and the reverb is really well done for it. Reminds me of the Silent Realms in Skyward Sword. I liked how the themes were combined here, it's very interesting. Production is spot on, too. There were some areas of source that were either not there or not very prevalent. For both Dust and Wily there are parts that hardly recieve any attention. The parts that are focused on, however, are very well fleshed out and explored.

In terms of source usage, I would have really liked to have seen one thing in particular that was missed. Because we may not have the same exact OST source, I hesitate to refer to time stamps for them, but I think in this case it is clear. One area in particular that was lacking from Dust Man was 0:28 - 0:40. That part of the source would have made a great climax, which was something Flames of Youth also lacked. This section seems like it would combine very well with Wily 9-2 from about 1:11 - 1:23. This was another part of the source that was absent. I mention these because I think it would culminate Flames of Youth really well, while still keeping the soundscape. That quiet, distant soundscape was amazingly true to the source, and was done really well. However, I think that the sources offer up a climax that maintains that. I would really love to see the magic the prophetic mixing touch on those parts of the themes. I think it would be incredibly beneficial to the remix, both in terms of source coverage and in remix enjoyability.

However, I tried vey hard not to vote on that particular issue. Though I see a missed oppertunity, what's more important to the vote is what the remixer did, since there are so many different ways to go. Thus, there were some missing points on source coverage, but Flames of Youth had some amazing usage of source, great mixing, and spot on production. It was a hard (and rushed) decision between this and Raging Reptile, because they both had some lacking areas, but in very different ways. More on that later.

Splash Damage - Loved the acoustic guitar and various woodwinds. Great instrumentation!!! The production with them was very tight. Any spot where it seems a little unexact gives that down-to-earth feeling achievable only with real playing. Perfect touch. 1:27 - 2:02 had some epic creativity with source. Source coverage was great. 2:05 - 2:19 was some amazing mixing too. Good ending. A clear choice for my vote.

Raging Reptile - I really enjoyed the start, though 0:13 - 0:42 is really fuzzy. It's clearly intentional, and I understand why it's there. I do think, however, it could use some work to make it sound more polished while still doing what it's there for. But the source coverage is great. 0:56 - 1:24 is really catchy, some very creative stuff with Wily there. This section is followed up with an amazing transition to snake man. The mixing was really well done, and I love how much of both sources you cover. And the ending worked out really well.

Megaman to the Knee - Fantastic start to this guy, just like your other entry. There's some really creative Fire Man source throughout this. The Wily source is also good, esp. from 0:38 - 0:51. I loved how fluid this remix was. 1:42 - 2:01 is amazing as an ending; it's very creative with both sources and sounds epic. However, I would have liked to see more done with that part. I think it could be fleshed out and it has a lot of potential creativity wise. That, and some more source coverage (esp WIly) would really make an outstanding remix.

Derailed at Wily Temple - Really gripping start! This builds up to 0:47 - 1:01, which was really intense. Then a fascinating change in style for the Wily source, which worked well. 1:26 - 1:38 was really epic and leads to a very nice buildup and meshing section. Of that, 1:50 - 2:02 really does a great job covering source. Great use of effects to follow this up from 2:04 - 2:15. Overall, this piece was very well rounded. Amazing coverage of source, tight production, creative, varied, yet cohesive, and interesting. This and Splash Damage rise to the top for their amazing Wily 9-2 source coverage. Deciding between the two was a little hard, but that's for later.

Final Stand in the Castle - Excellent mixing right off the bat. 0:42 - 0:54 follows that up, and captures a lot of cool Knight man source, very quickly too. There's some epic mixing of themes after that. And dat breakdown!!! Very creative. However, though some others seemed to have disagreed, I think that the shortness was a limiting factor for this piece. They WIly 9-2 source is vast. Though this covers a lot of ground for it's 2 minutes, I feel like there could have been more of the Wily source. The mixing however was great, and clear!

One thing I noted about this round was that everyone touched on the main part of Wily 9-2 very well. That was awesome. However, most remixes were limited to that part, at least to any major degree. pH and Brandon do an amazing job covering not just the main melody, but also other sections of the source that are really awesome. Those two rose to the top quickly, and got my #1 and 2. Between them, Derailed at Wily Temple earns its spot because of some really fantastic transitions, a slight edge on creativity, and for perhaps covering a bit more of the wily source. Both it and Splash Damage were fantastic though.

Raging Reptile also does a great job of source coverage, so it was a potential for my 3rd place vote. Flames of Youth, though not covering all of either its sources, is also really enjoyable, mixes themes amazingly, and has more production polish. Deciding between the two was rushed for me, and happened before I had really put my finger on what parts of source Flames of Youth was low on. I keep toying back and forth whether I made the right decision, but I can't change it. Both were enjoyable, covered sources interestingly and creatively, and had good production and energy. I sided with Flames of Youth, because it does pick the best parts of source for the soundscape it created and really explored them. Without covering it all, it still did a great job of coverage of those parts. The production and soundscape ended up winning me over for that 3rd place vote. But I'd love to see it have those culminating source bits explored too!

Well, I'm fairly satisfied with how that turned out. Isn't everything it was, but is more in some places and is perhaps a bit clearer than it was. Only took an hour and a half for the second time

[WillRock]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

For future reference, this is the internet, if you don't want your statements be taken seriously, YOU MUST USE SMILEYS!!

If you are in fact serious, then how dare you interrupt this thread with your rude and thoughtless posting. Shut the hell up please, get out of the internet, go on back to magfest and play games and drink loads of beer The rest of us are getting on fine without you party hearty magfest people

[Helios42]

Rexy, how dare you interrupt my MAGFest with incessant bitching.

Shut the hell up, please.

For future reference, this is the internet, if you don't want your statements be taken seriously, YOU MUST USE SMILEYS!!

If you are in fact serious, then how dare you interrupt this thread with your rude and thoughtless posting. Shut the hell up please, get out of the internet, go on back to magfest and play games and drink loads of beer The rest of us are getting on fine without you party hearty magfest people

I agree with Willrock's analysys.

However, I would like to point out that rude as ectonegma may have been, he does raise a point I would like to bring up. Rexy, I understand that you are dissatisfied with the results. You have bemoaned the voting every round you have been involved in, and this does you no credit. I understand that you think highly of your entries, as is only right. I am in awe of them, they were all very good (I ended up giving a vote to all of them,). But there were many, many spectacular entries.

Since you made the mixes, you are fundamentally more attached to them AND aware of their intricacies.

Do not bash the voters. I ended up voting for all of your pieces, but in each case it was VERY CLOSE. That has been the case for all my votes. I can understand where the other votes are coming from, because there were many many good pieces. Complaining about how you thought all your works clearly deserved to do better seems to not consider the fact that other remixes can be amazing too. If you thought it was better (which is only right of course, but is influenced by the fact that you made it), then that is your vote, so to say. That's perfectly valid and fair. And you CAN indeed comment on why you think that. It's fine when you do that.

But when you assume that it must be due to naive voters and discredit our ability to consider other remixes as better, it's disheartening to us.

I mean all this in the best way possible. I honestly think you're fine, but clearly for others you're bordering on the edge of an elitest view of your piece. It was a hard competition, and I know on my end the votes were hard. Your pieces were AMAZING, Rexy, but they were not the only amazing ones. Votes will happen as they will, and each voter has their own reasons. Sometimes they explain them, sometimes they don't. But they usually makes sense to that voter.

[Rexy]

I'm not bitter for something that happened in the past. I may have been feeling that way with the voters in general, but let me say that I ultimately didn't have the intention to come off that way. In fact, I'm happy that I managed to come here and improve my skills as they may help me considerably for fuure endeavours.

And I'm certainly not bitter for Brandon either - a little disappointed, naturally, that he didn't win when he was in the lead for most of the week, but I am happy that he did so well and proud he represented the team so well.

Now please, let's just be happy and face round 10