*NO* Bubble Bobble 'Storybook Waterfall Ending' *RESUB*

[Chimpazilla]

previous decision from 2009

Hello, my submission is below:

Contact Information:
Remixer Name: Jennerstein
Real Name: Jared Ong
E-mail Address:
Website: www.jongmusic.com
UserId: 24986

Submission Information:
Name of Game Arranged: Bubble Bobble (NES Version)
Name of Arrangement: Storybook Waterfall Ending
Name of Individual Song Arranged from Game: Happy Ending
(Note. The song is not specifically named on the OC Remix Bubble Bobble page, but can be found in the chiptunes as track 11. VGM Music identifies track 11 as "Happy Ending". More specifically, I'm arranging the music that plays over the credits.
Link to Original Soundtrack:

. )

Comments about the mix:
I originally submitted a version of this mix to the judges panel in 2009.

The original was rejected for a few reasons. The piano sounded too muddy and far away, the strings didn't sound realistic enough, and the cymbal crashes were out of place. In general though, the judges liked the track.

Five years later (hey, family life gets in the way ), I'm submitting a new version. In addition to fixing the problems cited by the judges, I rewrote a lot of parts (adding a few new counter melodies), remixed, and remastered.

The idea behind this remix was to capture the essence of the "Good Ending." For those of you who have played the game, to get the "Good Ending" you need to beat the final boss with both characters alive. After what seemed like months of trying to beat Bubble Bobble with my siblings, we finally defeated the humongous boss with both characters and watched the credits roll. I remember hearing the music play over the credit and thinking that the prettiness of the melody was masked by the limitations of the NES' sound capabilities.

Many years later, that thought surfaced again and I decided to see if I couldn't come up with a remix to do the music justice. I truly believe that video games should have a good payoff with memorable end game music. I also wanted to give those little dinosaurs a remix they deserved. After all, they worked so hard popping bubbles, eating fruit, and shooting lightning bolts from their butts.

This piece has ambient, new age, and dance influences. One of the major changes I’ve introduced is an extended “chorus section.” The original piece of music had a chorus section that seemed to end a bit abruptly. To remedy that, I use a deceptive cadence (i.e. V -> VI) in order to extend the passage for a few more measures. I then composed a tiny new melody to fit in after that deceptive cadence. This little bit off melody helps the arrangement flow better. Lastly, I organized the music in a pop-friendly format: intro, verse, verse, chorus, interlude, verse, chorus, outro.

The end product is a little bit of cheer-you-up new age/dance, my very own take on what a happy ending should be. I hope you enjoy.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

Wow, talk about a necro-resub! I am just about to resub something from 2011 and I thought that was old! Haha, but I digress.

Dat source tune HURTS, wow it is piercy. Nice writing but hard to listen to. The first few notes sound like the Emergency Broadcast System sound. Ouch.

On to the remix! What a lovely genre imrovement, you brought out the beauty of the original composition with none of the chippy piercy-ness. Lots of nice ideas adding to a totally new soundscape.

Is it just me or am I crazy here... the piano seems to be panned quite far right, and I also hear the bell timbre and some of the strings on the right. The wide saw is quite centered. The piano sounds more centered on headphones than on my speakers, on my speakers this panning is quite pronounced, and I don't like it. This may be down to personal opinion... please chime in on this other Js... but I don't care for noticeable panning, especially when it is unbalanced (without something playing on the other side). Ok watching the track play with SPAN confirms my panning observation, it's not my old ears. *whew*

I think the track isn't quite there mixing-wise. From 0:11-0:14 there is some distortion in the render. The piano sounds a bit too bright, and the bass is muddy and indistinct. The wide-panned saw is nice but much too bright above 8-10k Hz, and it has just enough of a slow attack that it feels slightly behind the beat. The wide panned saw is too loud. The drums aren't mixed well, the kick sounds ok though. When you get the bass working right, you might want to look into sidechaining your kick to your bass, it helps with mixing kick and bass and adds interest and groove as well.

The arrangement and writing are repetitive. At 2:08-3:05, the same writing from 0:55-1:55 begins again, but in a lower octave on the piano. Is this enough variation? I'm not sure that it is. There is an additional bell countermelody so that helps, although the bell timbre is too loud. You've used that same wide saw again at 2:38 in the exact same way as you did at 1:24, so that sounds too repetitive. I think the arrangement has merit overall, but the section of 2:08-3:05 needs to have some more writing and timbre variations to distinguish it as separate from 0:55-1:55, and some mixing cleanup is needed. And please, for me, adjust the panning so things are more centered, at least the piano.

NO (resubmit)

[Emunator]

First time hearing this one - you really did an incredible job expanding on the simple melody from the source and breathing new life into it with your unique chord changes and harmonies. I like this arrangement a lot. The repetition that Chimpazilla mentioned did not bother me, to be honest - in my opinion, there's enough sonic additions and development throughout the track that the arrangement doesn't really need to be touched.

Production feels lacking on several fronts, however. Most significantly, your piano tone is extraordinarily bright and tinny, which surprised me because I thought the piano sample used in your previous FF6 submission was quite full-bodied. It makes me think that the way you chose to mix and produce the sample in this remix just isn't working, and that it's not a sample quality issue. I understand that you don't want to use the same production treatment for a solo piano mix as you would for a more upbeat electronic track such as this. However, I think you went too far in EQing frequencies out of your piano sample and that you should shoot for a more full-bodied tone.

Kris nailed it with regards to the drums - your kick and the occasional cymbal crash are really one of the only audible percussion elements in the song, with pretty much everything else being drowned out. The beat and the bass aren't sitting where they need to be in the mix.

I think you would benefit from taking this to the Workshop forums for some more specific feedback. You've got a stellar arrangement but this still is not ready for primetime due to mixing issues.

NO (resubmit!)

[Jivemaster]

A peaceful remix of the original source tune, and you've done a great job at making the track listenable. The original source is borderline painful. There main issues for this mix have already been mentioned - the mixing is off, and the arrangement needs more variation.

 

Mixing wise there are some improvements to be made, overall things are quite muddy or thin. Although your kick is audible, it has a lot of thud to it and could do with some more mids so it's more easily heard. The piano is quite thin and panned fairly hard right, which makes the track feel a bit off balance. Adding some low end to the piano and changing the panning will help with this. Your other percussion sounds also need work, as they are not very audible throughout the track.

 

As far as the arrangement itself, it is quite repetitive. I would love to hear you take this track further. You have already implemented some nice ideas, but I feel like they're looped too much. Lets expand the mix more and take your ideas to the next level.

 

NO