djpretzel Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Some cool concepts marred by scratchy production, imo - definitely needs the feedback, could hopefully be revised! - djp --- Remix submission Download page link: Direct MP3 link: ReMixer name: SifuF real name: Francis Godden email address: My website: www.sifuf.com userid: 54039 Name of game arranged: Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns Name of arrangement: Defeat The Master Name of individual songs arranged: Forbidden Forest and Main Title theme. Additional information about game: composer: Mark Tait (U.S. Gold). Also known as 'Strider II', 'Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns' was published by US Gold (under license from Capcom USA) and is a European-developed sequel to Capcom's arcade game 'Strider'. Released on several platforms in 1990, however this remix is for the Genesis/Mega Drive version. Although widely regarded as a poorer game than Capcom's later released 'Strider 2', 'Journey from Darkness: Strider Returns' had a great soundtrack with highly memorable sound effects and voice samples (The best of which of course made it into the mix!). The remix is sourced mainly from Stage 1 - Forbidden Forest but also a contains a section with the Main Title theme. Forbidden Forest (Stage 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryN1NPD0Bpw Main Title: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmeyEO2OECM Complete original OST: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=i24ya0aDmtE&list=PL2BF841B921D00BC2 Song breakdown: 00:00 to 00:14 Intro 00:15 to 00:30 SOURCE. Introduction of main riff 00:34 to 00:59 SOURCE. Main verse slightly simplified from source but main source baseline 01:00 to 01:06 Connecting riff 01:07 to 01:26 SOURCE. Chorus 01:27 to 01:34 SOURCE. Pre chorus 2 - Source baseline continues 01:35 to 01:51 Chorus 2 01:52 to 02:04 SOURCE. Breakdown - Main Title theme 02:05 to 02:31 SOURCE. Main verse 2 slightly simplified from source but main source baseline 02:32 to 03:05 Bridge 03:06 to 03:14 SOURCE. Chorus 03:15 to 03:24 Chorus variation 03:25 to 03:42 SOURCE. Main verse 3 variation from source but main source baseline 03:43 to 03:59 Outro Source usage: (15+25+19+7+12+26+8+17)/239 = 129/239 = 54% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 The mix here isn't straying far from the original style of the source, and that's not a bad thing. I think that there's a lot of good stuff going on here. Overall the samples are all pretty solid, and there are some little details here and there that add some personality. I do think that some of the parts could have some more variation, like the percussion and rhythm sections, which would help the track feel a bit more 'live.' Similarly, the lead guitar overall sounds pretty good, but a little more humanization could really go the distance here. I also felt that the synth and piano are a bit piercing and could be brought down a touch. Towards the end the track feels like it's a copy-paste of the earlier section, and adding some variation could definitely go a long way. Honestly I think it's close, but it's the little details that are adding up here. I'd like to hear this again. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Regarding the production side of things, there are some piercing resonances, more evident in the lead guitar and cymbal crashes. There's an excessive amount of mid-high content here that needs to be tamed, which if you manage to leash under control, will even allow you to raise up the sharpness over 7k hz. The overall loudness could be toned down as well, it's causing unpleasant saturation in the mix. The dynamic range of this song is almost nonexistent, and I'm reading around -10 db rms which is pretty hard even by EDM standards. The arrangement is conservative but the interpretation is there, I just wish there was more of it. The arrangement is peppered with some cool details here and there which help expand it a bit. The artist has a good grasp on structure so the song had a good flow from section to section. Overall the main problems with this song lay in the production realm. Very harsh resonances and an imbalanced mix, coupled with very hard compression. Fix the mixing issues and be more lax on the compression, and you'll be on the right track. This song has a lot of power and I liked the energetic guitar chugs which you managed to make them the spotlight of some sections without making it feel empty. I hope you work more on this to bring it nearer to the bar. NO (Resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Great choice of sources, love the twinkly intro. Straight away I'm hearing a number of piercing highs, which can be heard mainly in your crash cymbals and the guitar. This alone IMO is breaks the quality of your mix. There is also some over compression (mostly on the drums). Your mixing otherwise is fairly strong - most parts are audible and equally heard, which would've been difficult with a busy piece like this. Well done there. I appreciated the small original bits and pieces you've thrown into this arrangement. Like the other judges, I would've liked to hear a bit more you in this mix, but your main problem for me here is the highs. If you can sort them out with some EQ and/or low pass filters you'll be in a better place. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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