OCR03167 - Final Fantasy 12, 6, 9, 5 & 7 'Final Fantasy Forest Medley'

[Chimpazilla]

RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game(s): Final Fantasy 5, 6, 7, 9 and 12
Name of Arrangement: Final Fantasy Forest Medley
Individual Tracks in the Arrangement: "Legend of the Deep Forest" (FF5), "Phantom Forest" (FF6), "Chasing The Black Caped Man" (FF7), "Evil Forest" (FF9) and "Eruyt Village" (FF12)
Comments: This is an original orchestral arrangement of five different forest themes from the Final Fantasy series. I've attached the file, but here is a link for you to listen to it at:

This song is my pride and joy. I've remixed almost every forest theme from every game I've ever played, some of them more than once, but there are few that I feel really captured the essence of some of the gorgeous video game forest environments out there. Some of my favorite video game forests are the Phantom Forest from FF6 (the theme from this is in my medley), The Shadow Forest and Gaia's Navel from Chrono Cross, The Moore Forest from FF5 (also in this track even though I just did an "As I Feel You Feel" remix the other day), the Macalania Forest from FF10, the Lost Woods from Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past, Guardia Forest from Chrono Trigger, The Forest of Illusions from Super Mario World, Faron Woods from Twilight Princess, The Ancient Forest from FF7 (that song also made its way into this remix), the Salikawood, Feywood and other forests in FF12 (Eruyt Village is actually the basis of this orchestral cover) and many many more. Uncharted, Elder Scrolls, Donkey Kong, Far Cry and Goldeneye had some great forest levels worth mentioning as well! Anyway, my favorite video game forest of all time is the Evil Forest from FF9. That theme song is also in this track. As with all my remixes and covers, I used samples of real instruments to create the sound, and I composed the entire thing from scratch.

Here is a list of the tracks included in this medley:

Eryut Vullage (FF12)
Phantom Forest/Mystic Forest (FF6)
Evil Forest/Awakened Forest/Stirring of the Forest (FF9)
Legend of a Deep Forest/Forest of Moore (FF5)
Chasing the Black Caped Man (FF7)

FF5:

FF6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-iC0JdpDzE
FF7:

FF9:

FF12:

Edited June 25, 2015 by djpretzel

[Chimpazilla]

Thanks for that source breakdown, Larry, appreciated. This track really does flow together quite seamlessly, almost too seamlessly, but it ends up sounding very dreamy and I can picture it in a movie about forests and fairies. It is very relaxing. The samples are indeed used well.

I have one big gripe though, the chime sound is overused, it is the same chime over and over, on every (or every other) one-count, for a good part of the track. The arrangement works, it isn't quite my cup of tea because it lacks much in the way of dynamics and it drones for me after awhile, but overall it does achieve the dreamy atmo that it sets out to impart. I think I just have to throw it back at you to remove or replace some of the relentless chimes, it is just too many of the same sound and it takes me out of the mood unfortunately.

NO (resubmit)

Edited April 21, 2015 by Chimpazilla

[Liontamer]

FF12 - :00-:42, 1:57-2:22, 3:03.75-3:27, 5:06-6:31.5

FF6 - :36-1:57, 5:47-5:55

FF9 - 2:21-3:03

FF5 - 3:27.5-3:57

FF7 - 4:09-4:50

I'm sure I didn't ID all of the connections, but I recognized enough that the source usage being dominant in the arrangement isn't in question.

Other Js with better ears may have some production advice or minor criticisms of the samples; I thought the sample quality was solid and Rebecca used them well.

The piece essentially has one relaxed gear, but there were a lot of subtle dynamic changes throughout, with regular theme switches and interplays, as well as never-ending instrument additions and subtractions that kept the texture constantly evolving. The structure can definitely sound meandering or aimless, even if you're actively listening. Having done my best to break down the usage of the source tunes, I understand there's actually more direction than might be apparent from the first listen. The constant subtle shifting of what was in play was pulled off in a surprisingly effective way.

We just need:

1) a higher-quality encoding, either 192kbps or VBR1; and

2) a version that doesn't cut off abruptly.

Nice work, Rebecca, and welcome aboard!

YES

[Emunator]

I actually found myself very impressed by this arrangement after coming into this with some reservations based on Larry/Kristina's comments, but I found myself engaged and interested with your arrangement all the way throughout. True, everything sounds tonally similar and utilizes mostly the same instrumentation throughout, there are some significant changeups such as the introduction of some light percussion around the 2 minute mark, or the transition into "Chasing The Black Caped Man." To me, when you consider how many different sources were pieced together across multiple different soundtracks, the fluid arrangement and consistent mood you were able to achieve is actually even more impressive.

Your sample set is decently strong, thankfully the harp sound that you've built much of the arrangement around is a strong, emotive sample. The flute is a little bit less convincing but it's not bad... everything else is more than enough to get the job done No real complaints there or on the production front whatsoever, you did a very nice job there.

I really want to YES this track, and this might be an instance where Larry yells at me for "making perfect the enemy of the good" () but once you pick up on the chimes, it's really distracting. Like, enough to push it to dealbreaker status for me, and I hate to do that on such an otherwise-strong track, but it's debilitating to a point that I really think this needs to be sent back to deal with the constant chime hits. It's definitely overdone here and it does impact my ability to enjoy this remix fully.

Regardless of how the rest of the vote goes, what you got right here was done very well and I have to give you major props on that Good luck!

NO (resubmit!)

[Liontamer]

I'll be honest, I didn't notice the constant chime hits on that one beat throughout the track until y'all pointed it out. That said:

1) in the first portion of the track, it's subtle but more audible, then it later takes on an even quieter role

2) there's a LOT of other accenting chromatic percussion going on to where it's not like the one chime at that specific interval is the only chromatic percussion occuring

3) I dunno how that part earwormed for you, but I was expecting something downright invasive when it was pointed out, when IMO, it was it mixed in a way that didn't stand out.

In short, that chime's just not a problem for me, and it blended into the background. If that chime sinks this submission, I'll laugh, but it's not actually going to be that funny.

[Palpable]

Great arrangement. I heard one of Rebecca's other subs and this one was more solidly produced and written. The medley structure is not a problem because the track flows extremely well and is of one piece. I almost wish I hadn't read the comments about the chimes because I don't think I would have noticed if it weren't pointed out. For one-shot instruments, it can be helpful to have a few different sounds to round robin with, or at least alter the volume as the dynamics of the track dictate. That said, it was a minor annoyance, not a dealbreaker. There are some things that could be done to make this track even better - add some larger dynamics, fix the chimes, improve string articulations so it's not so blocky, add some reverb to the dry percussion - but I think this was good enough to pass.

 

YES

[DragonAvenger]

I'm with Vinnie on this one. I really enjoyed how subtly you went from one source to another. I found the samples overall to be pretty solid, though some of the uses feel a bit mechanical occasionally. Just enough to notice, but not enough to really make it annoying. I will nitpick the transition at 4:10, which felt pretty awkward with the tempo change. Aside from that, I really enjoyed listening to this, and the strength of the arrangement really shines here.

 

YES

[Jivemaster]

Very nice calming mix with a lot of seamless transitions between the sources. The instrumentation is very humanised and of a fairly high quality, with some nice clear mixing. Volume levels of each element feel pretty solid, and there is nice use of stereo space.

 

When listening to this mix, I was so drawn to the leads and various other melodic elements that I didn't really notice the chimes all that much until reaching the middle of the track when it felt like they became more frequent (or at least more audible), which prompted me to check the other judges comments to see if they noticed this too. Indeed that running chime sample over and over did feel fairly repetitive after a while, and detracted a little from the enjoyment of the track. I think when you have a mix of this quality, things that detract from the mix stand out a lot more than normal.

 

Overall I'm going to Yes this because although the chimes are overused, the arrangement and production quality are very strong. There is a lot of attention to detail in this mix. If the artist wants to revise the track slightly and pull back on chime usage due to the judges comments, I'm ok with that - and while I think that would be an improvement, this is too good to No.

 

YES

[Nutritious]

Really liking the arrangement and how you handled theme transitions.  I've always been a sucker for FF6 forest.  Good use of various percussion elements.

 

I felt like the balance could use a little tightening up in places.  Sometimes the harp sounds overly loud or a lead will suddenly push its way to to the front a bit too far.  Instrumentation is pretty solid, though there were times the leads were stretching the realism factor.  For example, the flute around :20 gets pretty exposed on the long sustained notes with the heavy, robotic vibrato.

 

I agree that there were percussion elements that were overused - even beyond the chime.  It didn't strike me as a big enough issue to be a deal breaker, though.  Overall, this is good stuff and a great arrangement.

 

YES