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OCRA-0006 - Chrono Trigger: Chrono Symphonic


Claado Shou
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The idea is nice, to make a movie score, but it falls down when listened to for the sake of music. For instance, Lord of the Rings had great music and it did a masterful job of conveying emotions to the audience, but the soundtrack falls down when it comes to sitting at my computer and listening to it. Since the intended purpose was to make a movie score, then I can see why you and others made their songs the way they did, but it seems to me that this project would have had the worst of both worlds if it would have had more music like yours (this sounds bad, but let me finish).

A movie score with no movie is missing the part that makes the music make any sense. With no movie I don't get to watch any characters' mono/dialogues, and I don't get to see facial expressions or other body language.

A movie score with no movie doesn't give me 'stand-alone' songs that convey emotion and tell a story without words. It's like a soul with no body, almost lifeless. EDIT: Actually, there is one exception. Musicals do give stand-alone music :) Maybe the Chrono Symphonic movie is a musical?

Look for the

Bear necessities...

In fact, a movie score doesn't even try to tell a story, only convey the emotion of the setting or the characters in the story. Most of the time the music in movies is in the background, giving subtle hints to the audience about what is going on.

So in fact the criticism of your song(s) isn't so much a criticism of them but of the basic premise of this project. You might have done a spectacular job of making a movie score, but I'll never know with no movie :?

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I noticed that none of the files in the torrent contain track numbers in the tags (MP3s or FLACs). Any particular reason for this? I was going to request that they include the track numbers when they release the "Special Edition" when I remembered that it would only be released in ISO format, and track numbers in the tags aren't really going to work in that regard... So, I was just wondering if some clarification on that could be provieded.

As for the album itself, I think it turned out great! Thanks a lot. Definatly "professional release" (like you'd see in a store and such) quality. However, an "Extended Mix Edition" would be awesome! Forget the restraints on track time made by the script! Remake (or extend, or whatever) the tracks to the length that the ReMixer feels is appropriate for the song. Of course, stick to the general idea of the whole project, but give each individual track the time/attention it deserves.

In saying that, what I mean is that I think the album turned out great. I'd just like to see some of the songs and themes expanded on, sort of like what has been mentioned in some of the earlier reviews.

Again, thanks for the great music. And, thanks in advance for clarification on the track numbers instance. Mouser X over and out.

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Hey ho! Just thought I'd say I love the project... and I don't mind the soundtrack thing, 'cause I listen to movie soundtracks all the time. This makes really good music for doing homework while listening. Hehe, the singing caught me off guard though...

I love all the tracks on this, unlike in other past projects where I've just picked out the best songs. I'm not even that familiar with Chrono Trigger, but this is a great project. (Although I can't wait for project chaos either...)

Rockin' Awesome.

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I registered on OCRemix just to encourage the makers of this projects and tell them that they did a great job. I enjoy the soundtrack very much and I have been following it for a couple months now, very excited about it.

I believe that all of the songs in this collection do justice to the CT songs that are remixed, and all proivide a range of interpretations from different mixers.

Although I enjoyed every track on this collection, I stand by some criticisms that some tracks are too short. Confronting the Mystic is one of my favorite tracks on this album, but it's short length makes the enjoyment quick and over with. A pseudo correction for this is to just put it twice in a row on my tracklist, ;). I highly encourage the mixers to do stand-alone versions of their songs. They sound great together and in the "movie" context, but some enhanced versions surely couldn't hurt.

Finally I must say that I absolutely loved the last song, To Far Away Times. Pixietricks has such a great voice and the piano arrangement is stunning. I don't know if it is allowed or not, but I would love to have a copy of the sheet music for the piano in that song. I cannot stop listening to it, you guys did an awesome job.

Congratulations to all the remixers and everyone involved, you all worked very hard and it is evident in the quality of the final product. Good Job!

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I wish I were more musically inclined, I'd give a review that'd do the project some justice, but alas, film is more my passion and focus. Therefore, as a hopeful filmmaker who has always wanted to adapt CT into a movie, constantly dreaming of how the themes and music and images will all come together, let me say that this finished product is everything I'd ever hoped it would be and then some. I was afraid I'd be distracted by artistic liberties and synth-that-doesn't-sound-like-orchestra, but thank God, neither happened.

I purposely listened without reading the script or looking at track names, just hit "select all" and "enter." I can say the whole thing flows quite well- anyone who is familliar with Chrono Trigger can see the story unfolding as they listen, even with some of the rearrangements Claado made to the story (dude, having Magus finish Zeal- I can't believe I didn't think of that when trying to come up with my own version for a movie. ;) brilliance). Fantastic stuff. Heck, I joined OCR for the sole purpose of patting everyone on the back.

Big thanks to all who contributed and worked. SO much that is part of my life was influenced by other people, but Chrono Trigger and the love of its story, characters, and music has always been one of the few things that was entirely me. CT means a lot to me, and I may go as far as to say this was as much a realization of a dream to me as it was to y'all. I'll be listening to this for a very, very long time.

BTW, to Reuben Kee and pixietricks- "To Far Away Times" made me cry. Made me feel like I was saying goodbye to a best friend. Hope you're happy, you two. ;)

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Why is there written "Well, it's my turn to go on a journey!" at the bottom right hand corner of the album art?

Hah, someone found it. I didn't expect too many people to examine it that closely. Just a little bit of trivia for the project. You can't see it at all on a printed copy - or at least I couldn't...

You put that there? That's awesome!

See, in the "speedy" ending, you get to meet all the developers. When you talk to Yasunori Mitsuda, who looks like Toma, that's what he says. Then he walks out the door and disappears.

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Why is there written "Well, it's my turn to go on a journey!" at the bottom right hand corner of the album art?

Hah, someone found it. I didn't expect too many people to examine it that closely. Just a little bit of trivia for the project. You can't see it at all on a printed copy - or at least I couldn't...

You put that there? That's awesome!

See, in the "speedy" ending, you get to meet all the developers. When you talk to Yasunori Mitsuda, who looks like Toma, that's what he says. Then he walks out the door and disappears.

Yeah, more of a tribute to Mitsuda than anything else. Not like the album already isn't...

Looking at it now, it's pretty easy to spot... should have made it dimmer.

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I was here from the early beginnings of this project, I just chose not to post around the forums...I must say it's a great accomplishment. Beautiful pieces are in this project. Bravo to all of the remixers who took part in it. :D

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Well... leave it be, Zeality. Leave it be. It'll get on there eventually... As did the Doom project. We have a Wiki, we were posted on Digg.com, some other random torrent trackers, hell even on joystix. What else do you want?

I noticed that none of the files in the torrent contain track numbers in the tags (MP3s or FLACs). Any particular reason for this? I was going to request that they include the track numbers when they release the "Special Edition" when I remembered that it would only be released in ISO format, and track numbers in the tags aren't really going to work in that regard... So, I was just wondering if some clarification on that could be provieded.

Any reason why I should have inserted tracknumbers? Arent't the tags already enough? I tagged those files (mp3) with a tool called UltraTracker. If I had done this by hand, it would have taken me hours. The FLACs were done with FLAC frontend and tagged by hand in Winamp. Took me a while already.

And I don't see the "need" for using tracknumbers if the filenames already have this already, too.

As for the album itself, I think it turned out great! Thanks a lot. Definatly "professional release" (like you'd see in a store and such) quality. However, an "Extended Mix Edition" would be awesome! Forget the restraints on track time made by the script! Remake (or extend, or whatever) the tracks to the length that the ReMixer feels is appropriate for the song. Of course, stick to the general idea of the whole project, but give each individual track the time/attention it deserves.

There won't be "extended tracks" of this album. The music was written over a year ago and doing something like this would take another half year to push out a "Special Edition". Sorry to say that.

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The idea is nice, to make a movie score, but it falls down when listened to for the sake of music. For instance, Lord of the Rings had great music and it did a masterful job of conveying emotions to the audience, but the soundtrack falls down when it comes to sitting at my computer and listening to it. Since the intended purpose was to make a movie score, then I can see why you and others made their songs the way they did, but it seems to me that this project would have had the worst of both worlds if it would have had more music like yours (this sounds bad, but let me finish).

A movie score with no movie is missing the part that makes the music make any sense. With no movie I don't get to watch any characters' mono/dialogues, and I don't get to see facial expressions or other body language.

A movie score with no movie doesn't give me 'stand-alone' songs that convey emotion and tell a story without words. It's like a soul with no body, almost lifeless. EDIT: Actually, there is one exception. Musicals do give stand-alone music :) Maybe the Chrono Symphonic movie is a musical?

Look for the

Bear necessities...

In fact, a movie score doesn't even try to tell a story, only convey the emotion of the setting or the characters in the story. Most of the time the music in movies is in the background, giving subtle hints to the audience about what is going on.

So in fact the criticism of your song(s) isn't so much a criticism of them but of the basic premise of this project. You might have done a spectacular job of making a movie score, but I'll never know with no movie :?

OCReMix has an enormous Chrono Trigger section. Well over 60 tracks have been composed remixing the music from this game (and there's a lot of quality music to be found in there, let me assure you). This project has a more defined purpose than to just "make 25 more remixes but all orchestral." The "film score" organization and arrangment of this album is what makes it so unique.

And you don't have to see the movie to appreciate the dynamics of this album. Listen to it all the way through. If you know the game's story, you can follow the storyline placement just by hearing the music. The dynamics of the album as a whole reflect the dynamics of the Chrono Trigger story itself. So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.

Chrono Symphonic is a single united composition, not just a collection of many tracks. This is reflected in Claado's script and in Compy's hard production work to make each individual track flow together. This was the goal from the very beginning.

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OCReMix has an enormous Chrono Trigger section. Well over 60 tracks have been composed remixing the music from this game (and there's a lot of quality music to be found in there, let me assure you). This project has a more defined purpose than to just "make 25 more remixes but all orchestral." The "film score" organization and arrangment of this album is what makes it so unique.

And you don't have to see the movie to appreciate the dynamics of this album. Listen to it all the way through. If you know the game's story, you can follow the storyline placement just by hearing the music. The dynamics of the album as a whole reflect the dynamics of the Chrono Trigger story itself. So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.

Chrono Symphonic is a single united composition, not just a collection of many tracks. This is reflected in Claado's script and in Compy's hard production work to make each individual track flow together. This was the goal from the very beginning.

I played through Chrono Trigger a few times and can remember much of the storyline, and I would agree that the music in this album does flow well. Thanks to the stand-alone remixes.

I liked The Rising and think it had a distinctly different feel compared to Crono's Dream. If this were a 'true' movie soundtrack than I imagine that the album would be rather boring, with only a handful of 'stand-alone' songs to grab my attention. The rest would be background music like Crono's Dream. Same with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.

This is important. If there were less 'stand-alone' songs in this album and people didn't have a game to visualize the story, then I imagine this album would have gotten fewer positive reviews. People don't mind background music (I certainly don't), but it certainly doesn't get the kind of attention 'foreground' music gets. And background music certainly can't tell a story.

I beg to differ on your point about Chrono Symphonic not being 'just a collection of many tracks'. I find that many of the songs could easily stand alone and get good reviews by themselves. How many of the songs weren't made specifically for this album? I can pick out at least 3 that I know of. Two weren't all the different from the originals. I'd dare to describe Chrono Symphonic as a collection of very well done, stand-alone songs that also flow well together to form a story, with some background music as lead-ins to other stand-alone songs. I'd say that Relics of the Chozo more closely follows your description of CS (but not completely) in being a single united composition, even if artificially in some parts, by the fade-in to each successive track in the album. Sure, RotC also had its share of background music as well, but I enjoyed (some of) it as well.

I'd say that a truely single united composition would have had one source of sound fonts/samples and more coordination between the composers to plan volume levels, bass levels, etc. to truely unite the album (and subsequently make Compy Fox's life a bit easier). For instance, you would have agreed to a set amount of violinists, pianists, trumpet players, etc. and utilised them accordingly in a more united fashion. I suppose this is a bit anal retentive, but it would be quite united.

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I'd say that a truely single united composition would have had one source of sound fonts/samples and more coordination between the composers to plan volume levels, bass levels, etc. to truely unite the album (and subsequently make Compy Fox's life a bit easier). For instance, you would have agreed to a set amount of violinists, pianists, trumpet players, etc. and utilised them accordingly in a more united fashion. I suppose this is a bit anal retentive, but it would be quite united.

I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted. I am still confused about Unknowns use of guitar in his track, I think that might have been overboard or something.

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I played through Chrono Trigger a few times and can remember much of the storyline, and I would agree that the music in this album does flow well. Thanks to the stand-alone remixes.

I liked The Rising and think it had a distinctly different feel compared to Crono's Dream. If this were a 'true' movie soundtrack than I imagine that the album would be rather boring, with only a handful of 'stand-alone' songs to grab my attention. The rest would be background music like Crono's Dream. Same with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

So long as you know the game, you can follow the soundtrack.

This is important. If there were less 'stand-alone' songs in this album and people didn't have a game to visualize the story, then I imagine this album would have gotten fewer positive reviews. People don't mind background music (I certainly don't), but it certainly doesn't get the kind of attention 'foreground' music gets. And background music certainly can't tell a story.

I beg to differ on your point about Chrono Symphonic not being 'just a collection of many tracks'. I find that many of the songs could easily stand alone and get good reviews by themselves. How many of the songs weren't made specifically for this album? I can pick out at least 3 that I know of. Two weren't all the different from the originals. I'd dare to describe Chrono Symphonic as a collection of very well done, stand-alone songs that also flow well together to form a story, with some background music as lead-ins to other stand-alone songs. I'd say that Relics of the Chozo more closely follows your description of CS (but not completely) in being a single united composition, even if artificially in some parts, by the fade-in to each successive track in the album. Sure, RotC also had its share of background music as well, but I enjoyed (some of) it as well.

I'm not saying that the tracks can't stand alone independent from the whole. That's obviously untrue. As you said, several of the tracks were composed before the project began. I'm saying that Chrono Symphonic (by design) meshes into a single composition in a way that no other project has until now (though others come very close).

I'd say that a truely single united composition would have had one source of sound fonts/samples and more coordination between the composers to plan volume levels, bass levels, etc. to truely unite the album (and subsequently make Compy Fox's life a bit easier). For instance, you would have agreed to a set amount of violinists, pianists, trumpet players, etc. and utilised them accordingly in a more united fashion. I suppose this is a bit anal retentive, but it would be quite united.

I agree with that. However, with everyone using different software and resources, it would be incredibly difficult to have EVERYONE use the same samples/etc and master settings without resorting to freeware. Granted, Unknown has proven that free stuff can work wonders, but not all of us have mastered this technique. There are lots of other ways that such unity and coordination could have been accomplished, but most of them would have involved money or an incredible sacrifice of time to achieve. I think things were organized efficiently given our resources.

Also, the entertainment value of film soundtracks is rather objective. I've been listening to the soundtracks from "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Island" ever since I bought them without succumbing to boredom. Film soundtracks don't necessarily have to limit themselves to simple "background music."

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Great job! I bet everyone's said this so many times, but I wanted to say it too. :P

I have been going to this site ever since 6 years ago when I accidently discovered it. Luckily, I finally remembered the name of the site and found it again.

I was so awed when I heard the Symphonic music because everyone's styles are so diverse yet they made this orchestra-like. I felt the same intensity as Lord of the Rings music made me feel and the unpredictable heart-stopping emotions I got from playing Clock Tower for the first time (since I am the typical girl and stopped playing after 5 minutes of it ^^).

Overall, the music highly surpasses the average Square RPG. I wish this CD was used as the music of FF Advent Children.

Well, I'll stop babbling now! Thanks for great compositions and broadening my music horizon~ :D

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I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted.

Yeah. I envy those guys' ability in that area. They take the free stuff and work miracles. I have the ability to consistently make Reason's decent orkester library sound like crap spewing from a marching band tuba at haltime. :lol:

Unknown needs to create a tutorial or something explaining how he does that. I'd pay money. Seriously.

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The idea is nice, to make a movie score, but it falls down when listened to for the sake of music. For instance, Lord of the Rings had great music and it did a masterful job of conveying emotions to the audience, but the soundtrack falls down when it comes to sitting at my computer and listening to it. Since the intended purpose was to make a movie score, then I can see why you and others made their songs the way they did, but it seems to me that this project would have had the worst of both worlds if it would have had more music like yours (this sounds bad, but let me finish).

A movie score with no movie is missing the part that makes the music make any sense. With no movie I don't get to watch any characters' mono/dialogues, and I don't get to see facial expressions or other body language.

A movie score with no movie doesn't give me 'stand-alone' songs that convey emotion and tell a story without words. It's like a soul with no body, almost lifeless. EDIT: Actually, there is one exception. Musicals do give stand-alone music :) Maybe the Chrono Symphonic movie is a musical?

Look for the

Bear necessities...

In fact, a movie score doesn't even try to tell a story, only convey the emotion of the setting or the characters in the story. Most of the time the music in movies is in the background, giving subtle hints to the audience about what is going on.

So in fact the criticism of your song(s) isn't so much a criticism of them but of the basic premise of this project. You might have done a spectacular job of making a movie score, but I'll never know with no movie :?

You can't imagine what the movie would be like by reading the script? I think doing that acheives an even greater level to CS since while there is a basic plot, you can think of the details as you listen, and make it fit your style. Basically, you can make the movie perfect for you.

I actually have yet to read the script, but I can still feel the ideas for the scenes and how they would play out.

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I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted.

Yeah. I envy those guys' ability in that area. They take the free stuff and work miracles. I have the ability to consistently make Reason's decent orkester library sound like crap spewing from a marching band tuba at haltime. :lol:

Unknown needs to create a tutorial or something explaining how he does that. I'd pay money. Seriously.

It's not that difficult; just use the right amounts of reverb and stereo separation, and pay attention to velocities. Write realistic rhythms, and know the limitations of your sounds. You need to treat a violin sample as a violin sample, not a real violin, and understand its limitations. That's how I approach sequencing any 'real' instrument, and it's what I did when I wrote my tracks for this project.

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I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted.

Yeah. I envy those guys' ability in that area. They take the free stuff and work miracles. I have the ability to consistently make Reason's decent orkester library sound like crap spewing from a marching band tuba at haltime. :lol:

Unknown needs to create a tutorial or something explaining how he does that. I'd pay money. Seriously.

It's not that difficult; just use the right amounts of reverb and stereo separation, and pay attention to velocities. Write realistic rhythms, and know the limitations of your sounds. You need to treat a violin sample as a violin sample, not a real violin, and understand its limitations. That's how I approach sequencing any 'real' instrument, and it's what I did when I wrote my tracks for this project.

That makes sense. I'll keep that approach in mind for the future.

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I believe at first we were being limited to using the same free soundfonts like squidfont, cadenzza, etc. Then we all realized that only Bliz and Unknown can make free orchestral soundfonts sound like the shit. So we got to use whatever OMG$$$ samples we wanted.

Yeah. I envy those guys' ability in that area. They take the free stuff and work miracles. I have the ability to consistently make Reason's decent orkester library sound like crap spewing from a marching band tuba at haltime. :lol:

As far as I'm concerned.... <_< *hides* >_> ...everything I used was free :roll: But then again I guess my stuff isn't the shit lol... I wish I had some of the samples some of you guys used. That would've greatly reduced my limitations, I don't know how many times I told myself "damnit I can't get the right sound!" :oops: I say we all should've used only Edirol Orchestral because that's the only thing I used ;););););););) jk

Overall, the music highly surpasses the average Square RPG. I wish this CD was used as the music of FF Advent Children.

I thought the music in FF Advent Children was great(well at least the last battle song, that had me in tears how incredibly cool it was)!

...and to the people suggesting we should've taken off the time restrictions to the music because there's no actual movie, I already tried this argument about a year ago (it's somewhere in this thread) and I was brought down horribly by a counter argument :roll: (something along the lines of making it funner because it was more of a challenge to make those restrictions). Now that I look back, I think it's better this way anyway; I don't think I'd want to listen to 4 CD's of really long orchestral arrangements... just my opinion :wink: The only downside is that some of the content feels too short now. :(

I like smiley's. It says so in my sig.

ps:

Unknown needs to create a tutorial or something explaining how he does that. I'd pay money. Seriously.
u maen rych ppl gib mee moneh soo i ken goh bai beter sampels nau~ :roll: jk

...or maybe i need a job :P

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