OCR02953 - *YES* Final Fantasy Mystic Quest 'Mystical Mist'

[DragonAvenger]

Contact Information

Your ReMixer name = RJ remixes

Your real name = Jonathan Lemethy & Richard Földhazi

Your website = https://soundcloud.com/rjremixes

Your userid = 51359

"

Submission Information

Name of game(s) arranged = Final Fantasy Mystic quest

Name of arrangement = Ffmqbossbattle

Name of individual song(s) arranged = Final Fantasy Mystic quest Boss Battle

Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) = Super Nintendo, Ryuji Sasai is the original Composer

Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) =

Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. = We think that the original deserves a good dance remix. So we aimed for a good techno track. Inspiration from the Game. Mastered and ready to go We hope you enjoy!

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Edited April 20, 2014 by Liontamer

[OceansAndrew]

Great to hear some love for this source; it's a great one.

There are some good filter effects and the risers in the transitions are nice; The beat feels really generic, and some of the synths are also pretty standard fare. It does have an oldchool demoscene sound to it, with a pretty basic subdivision in the beat and while the breakdown was a mixed bag for me (i loved the choir patch and the expansive soundscape, I thought the dubsteppish modulation was a bit underwhelming in the low end), The filtered bridge right after was cool. A lot of the lead sequencing felt pretty stiff to me as well, where every note was equally emphasized, and it lacked a good deal of melodic character due to this. I think this is the biggest issue for the song.

There is a lot of attention to detail in adding parts and layering sounds effectively, as well as transitions and structure, but the beat feels plodding and is so devoid of syncopation it feels pretty cheesy. There is some nice rhythmic comping in the synth though for some texture, so it's not too blocky, but it is leaving me a bit underwhelmed. This has a feel of really classic OCR songs from the early 2000's, which is pretty cool, but I think it needs to evolve a bit further for me. This feels too simplistic, though other judges may disagree.

No, please resubmit

[Chimpazilla]

There is so much to like in this mix. Dat kick, first off! The sweeps, risers and filter effects are great. Production is fantastic overall.

Andrew is right, a few more drum patterns would be great. He's also right about the dubstep bass parts, it would be better if they had more low end presence, but I think they work well enough in this context, especially when paired with the super low kick.

A lot of the synth sounds here are indeed quite generic, the worst offender for me is the saw beginning at 1:32, it has very little character imo. Many of the same synths appear repeatedly throughout the mix, making the arrangement and textures feel unnecessarily repetitive.

The ending is really abrupt, but not a dealbreaker.

I feel like this is close. A few more drum variations and a few lead synth timbre changeups would make it feel less repetitive, especially since the lead writing is so similar all the way through. But I think in the grand scheme, the track is over the bar, and I personally enjoyed it.

YES

Edited January 10, 2014 by Chimpazilla

[WillRock]

NO

Sorry, you gotta spend more than 2 seconds on a remix title

Ok seriously:

Lots to like here!

Awesome source first off. The first thing that strikes me about this track is the production. Its punchy, clean, and sounds great. No complaints there.

The lead sequencing as the others said is a little stiff. There is a little automation thrown on synths when looking for it tho.

I'm not sure I like the breakdown with the vocal lead. There are some weird note choices, but I think it just about gets by.

For the most part the sounds are a bit generic, but they all sound great to me.

The arrangement is also good, it repeats itself a bit but never gets boring, despite the plodding beat.

Yes, this track does have minor issues. However, I think there are a lot of little issues that bring down a generally very strong track. I am going to go with the yes vote, since I don't think the issues bring it below the bar.

YES

Edited January 21, 2014 by WillRock

[Palpable]

Aaah this one is so close to the bar for me, but lacks that extra little bit to push it over. Like everyone has said, great source choice. You didn't do anything drastic to it, but your arrangement still shows a good deal of creativity and taste. I particularly liked the hi-hat and percussive synth work, it was really spot-on.

Here's what could have been improved, in order of importance for me - most of it has been touched on already. One, the lead instrument has almost no automation or motion to it. It's a big deal because it's used a lot in the song, and it needed to have more character, whether through glides, filtering, or some other automation. Two, the vocal instrument was not a great choice. The lack of automation also hurts here, and combined with the cheesy quality makes it unsuitable as a lead. Three, the beat does tend to drag after a while and could have used some additional fills or something small to spice it up. Four, the dubstep section was a tad underwhelming. It's a small thing, but it didn't sound uh... annoying enough.

Very very close for me. Like OA said, this would have been eaten up back in the early days of the site. Nowadays it takes a little more to get posted.

NO (resubmit)

[Nutritious]

Lead synth is a little heavy on the brights - I'd recommend rolling off some of the 12khz-ish and above frequencies.

Dubstep section was pretty unimpressive because the dub elements basically took a back seat to the soft parts already playing. You could try to bring it more in-your-face and develop it further, but honestly, I'm not sure if this section really adds anything to the track. You may wanna consider cutting it.

2:15 feels imbalanced with the loud, widely panned pluck synth and harsh guitar-ish sounding lead with no supporting instrumentation (like bass) underneath.

The main melody sections sounded the strongest of the track to me.

Palp has some really good, specific advice to improve on the leads. Personally, I think this is really close, just needs some TLC.

NO resubmit, please

[DarkeSword]

This is a pretty bumpin' track. It's got a really nice, clean, old-school sound. Straightforward sound design that works well for what it is. Nice balance between elements.

Thought the dubstep section was a little gratuitous. Not much of it, seemed out of place in what feels like more of classic dance track.

Nice arrangement. I'm not feeling any dealbreakers like other Js are. I'm good with it.

YES

[Vig]

I think I'm gonna give this track a little extra leeway because it does something right that every track I've heard today has failed to do: dynamic arrangement. Sure, this track isn't reinventing the wheel, and you could say it's a bit straightforward, but honestly it's way more listenable than a lot of stuff I've been hearing lately because you've got a good clean arrangement. The energy changes, parts come in, parts go out, stuff isn't fighting. There's a build, there are breaks, there are transitions, drops.

Hooray, you understand song structure!

YES

[Liontamer]

Man, the ReMixer name AND mix title are both... no effort. Why? Oh well, we'll see if a change on either is something they'll consider, if it passes.

The highs here were a bit piercing, but not enough to merit a strong complaint. Overall, the soundscape was clean and well-mixed.

Onto issues, the vox at 1:47 was definitely not rockin' it, but it was at least ethereal enough to not make the awkward articulations a big deal. The lil' plucky synths underneath it had some odd notes that stuck out sometimes until 2:16, but it wasn't a huge deal. At 2:31, it would have been nice to hear the beats be a little more progressive and fleshed out, but it wasn't a huge deal. It's just that you'd have moments where more elements dropped out, like from 3:00-3:22 and the beat felt plodding and barren when it was more exposed.

On the whole though, the textures were solid enough, and the arrangement had some good energy, even though the pace could have been more energetic and varied. This was a consistently good interpretation with the genre adaptation and new writing ideas while retaining the structure of the source. I'm not ZOMG, but it's ticking the boxes for me with a solid, well-rounded enough presentation. It could be spiced up, but I definitely heard no dealbreakers here.

YES

[DragonAvenger]

Listened to this and read through the decisions. I think I'm pretty much where Vinnie is in my decision. It's really close, and you've added some good personalization here, but it feels just shy of where it needs to be. I think this could just use that little bit of spit polish in improving the automation and maybe consider switching out the vocal lead. I felt a little underwhelmed with the the low-mid presence while listening to this on speakers, so that might be something to address as well.

Close!

NO (resubmit, please)

[Fishy]

I thought this was pretty enjoyable as is. Definitely not the most inventive synth design, and my electro naivete is probably shining here but it just seems to work well on it's own level despite this.

Bad tings:

- Terrible remix name.

- Dubstep section.

- Dat guitar sample? What even is that?

YES, borderline.

[djpretzel]

I thought this was pretty enjoyable as is. Definitely not the most inventive synth design, and my electro naivete is probably shining here but it just seems to work well on it's own level despite this.

Bad tings:

- Terrible remix name.

- Dubstep section.

- Dat guitar sample? What even is that?

YES, borderline.

I'd add the questionable "let's just stop things here, then, eh?" ending to that list.

The guitar sample didn't bother me because I've always felt like super fakey-guitar is its own sound and that verisimilitude or lack thereof is thus factored out.

Honestly, what I think the NO votes are expressing is some frustration with missed opportunities - some extra programming on the leads, for example, a twist or turn here or there, would have given this a bit more bite & attitude. There's more potential in the overall concept than is realized here. Nevertheless, I was tappin' my toes, it's a nice take on the source, and the overall work is coherent. I can't hold lost potential against it too awful much when the end result is STILL pretty solid.

I agree with a borderline

YES

However, we REALLY need a revised title from the artist, as the one provided is almost a standards violation in and of itself.

[Palpable]

New name is "Mystical Mist".