OCR01514 - Mega Man 3 'Blue Balls'

[djpretzel]

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Mm... love those guitars. Very well done.

Hats seem a bit too hissy, but that doesn't seriously detract from the mix.

[Radiowar]

I don't think this had bad transitions, they sounded like authentic prog rock transitions. The drum samples are pretty bad though, especially those cymbals.

[Bummer]

Medleys aren't exactly my favorite style of music, he tracks doesn't get as much attention as they need.

But let's not have bad experiences stand in the way of this creation, I got a little worried if the time would be enough to contain all these themes at once, but 6 minutes and 59 seconds are fine.

The instruments are well played. It's messy at some points which makes it hard to listen to it, but if you listen to it one more time after that you'll notice that it's not so bad that you thought.

Favorite part: Shadow Man's theme. We don't have a remix of it, so I appreciate this contribution alot.

Overall kickass arrangement, and welcome to the fabulous world of remixing Sukotto42.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Very awesome remix. It had a bunch of my fav Megaman III items in it, so that was a plus. The transitions from one to another seemed kind of off at times, but the overall work done to each section is good enough to let it slide. Seriously, there was some TLC going on here. True, maybe it was short(to some), but it was a good mix of the more prevelant sections(or at the very least, most interesting to me) in each piece. Had a very programatic music feel to it, but that just added to the charm.

Overall, great job on this.

[BlueMage]

I seem to remember this from a DoD a while back. Enjoyed it then, enjoyed it now.

It really is guitar-driven, so if guitar isn't your thing, doubtful this will appeal. The transitions between tracks is a tad abrupt, but not enough to detract significantly from the remix.

All in all, a solid track, and one I'm glad got the nod for OCR.

EDIT: Can't seem to find where I got the first copy I had, but it's at 192-bit encoding.

[CE]

A pretty good, guitar-driven, high-powered remix. Fun to listen and fun to airguitar. Also has a great title. Would download again.

[Mr. Fox]

I agree with JJT on the cheesyness of the drums, but hell, I love it. Theres a lot of energy, loads of life and plenty of technique in this remix. I also agree with Vig on the transitions, but still, this is just damn fun music.

And everything after 5:18 is just absolutely sweet. Best section of the song.

[Ninja-san]

Fun and great mix. Hope to hear more from ya

[Dyne]

Personally, I'd love to hear what this sounds like at 192. This is pretty phenominal at 112. Awesome job, I love prog rock.

[Pink]

Hmm... even being a fan of rock, I don't much like the intro to this remix. It sounds unclean and messy. Probably could've used a bit more refinement.

I actually played Mega Man 3 on my long bus ride yesterday... so all these source tunes are fresh in my head. I must say the remixing of Shadow Man's stage is quite welcomed. Such a cool theme, but so neglected. Top Man's theme being another neglected one... but it's not in this mix.

The transition into Snake Man's theme was another slightly shakey spot for me, it probably could've been done in a better way, but it's still alright nontheless.

The remix does a good job of keeping a consistent style and energy level, constantly trying to keep the listener on their toes for any sudden changes.

The last thing I can think of that kinda bugged me was the very beginning of the credits music. There was this wah effect that simply sounded like a mess in comparison with the rest.

Despite a lot of shakiness though, the remix is quite above average, and although there's less arrangement than a lot of remixing out there, it is still a solid remix and deserves a listen. Two listens actually... I find the remix tends to get a bad impression on the first listen, and then is much more pleasing the second time around (probably because of the intro).

My recommendation on it... fans of rock, don't be too harsh the first listen, and give it a second listen just to make sure you can catch all the good stuff. People who aren't fans of rock... this remix is "slightly" different from most rock songs on this site, so it may be worth your attention.

[Fieari]

After reading the write up, I was expecting something a LOT more close to the original tracks; expecting something nearly note for note, for instance. This definitely isn't that. There's a lot of playing around with pauses, rhythms... there's some replaced notes here and there, and of course the harmony is a lot more indepth than the original, with quite a bit of ornementation.

A couple of the transitions were a little jarring to me, but mostly everything flowed. Pretty cool. I definitely enjoyed this... a little past the five minute mark, the musical rendition of the death sound was particularly interesting. I wouldn't have thought you could make that sound effect sound so good.

Not generally a rock listener here, so I can't really compare it to the genre, but over all, I give this a thumbs up. Not two thumbs up... it does start sounding a little homogenous after a while, and of course, I'm not really a medly fan either, but a solid thumbs up anyway.

[TheAmazingSPAMBoy]

Meh...I don't see anything interesting or progressive about this piece. A lot of people have a tendency to call a rock song over five minutes long with keyboards "prog rock," but progressive rock is about a lot more than keyboards and longer songs. This is just cheese rock.

I can't get into this song at all. It is neither dramatic and compelling nor fun and exciting. It's just there, like a grey blob. I can get past lousy samples, as I listen to videogame music and used to use Cakewalk Express all the time, but more attention needs to be paid to arranging the songs into something compelling and coherent instead of slapping them together, which is what this song sounds like to me.

[zircon]

To say this isn't "coherent", I think, would be incorrect. The songs aren't just pasted together. There is intelligent writing of harmony parts and transitions that were simply not there in the originals. We don't let cover songs or cover medleys pass, and this is no exception. We checked it compared to the originals and it had a lot material that they didn't.

To say it's not compelling or interesting is a different story, but the interpretation factor IS there.

[Mirai Gen]

I have to say I like this mix alot. Even though the background really is very, well, background, the transitions that were made reminded me of "SNES Battle Medly."

I found sticky fluid in my jeans at the transition into Boss Music, and when the main chords of Snake Man came in (one of my favorite Mega Man songs). That was stylish.

[MegamanX14]

Yeah, I was a HUGE fan of this remix. I believe it's one of my favorite remixes on the site. I love the transitions in the song.

Good job. Two thumbs up.

[Martin Penwald]

This just doesn't work for me. There is a lot of potential for great remixes in there, but the medley ruins it for me. Some of the transitions really bother me, and I think that it's simply too long.

It's really sad, considering that this could have been a bunch of awesome songs.

[DarkCecil13]

Contrary to what others say, transitions aren't really issue for me in this ReMix. Mind-blowing transitions are overrated in medleys.. The fact that Sukotto ReMixed the component originals effectively is really all that matters in the long run for overall enjoyment. Naturally, some of the samples could have been better. Drummer of 6 years, my only real beef with the drums is the cymbal crash sample used, as it is unusually white-noisy. All the other drum samples sound just fine. Nothing really out of the dorm for sequenced drums..

All the other instrumentation sounds more than great, and there's a plethora of creative deviations from the originals. Each original is given equal opportunity to strut their stuff.. I love medleys, and this one no less!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for Mega Man or prog-rock fans!

[MysteriousMrGlenn]

Well I'll start by saying i dont know anything about music on the technical level, but I do know games, and I have to say I really enjoy this remix. I find myself bumping it to the front of my music list quite often. Btw sneaking in Protoman's theme was a really great touch, nobody ever really gives that little tune enough credit (short tho it may be).

[Goten X]

A truly amazing remix. I enjoyed this chain of songs a lot, and how they meshed together really worked... Not much to say, really.

Oh, I would like to note that on my first listen through I missed the boss theme, but that could be due to me not hearing MM3's boss theme in a while.

|GX

[hellion0]

Had to reply to this one. Unlike some of the other posters, medleys are my favorite form of song.

It sounds a bit shaky in the beginning, and the drum sound is not the best (Not just the crash, the toms distort horribly as well), but the transitions somehow fall perfectly into place, and having Shadow Man's stage and the ending themes are a nice touch. Those two need to be ReMixed more often. This song is seriously made of win, even with its flaws.

[usmc2hard4u]

I dont post often. This was amazing, and quite possibly the best done Mega Man Mix I have heard. Thank you. Please, post more when you are able.

[meccaneer]

You got me, dude. I don't usually like rock or medleys or long songs. I must be in a good mood or I'm just a sucka for MM3. The guitars sound crisp and there's some nice use of the ever underused stereo soundfield. The drum programming is pretty impressive - there could be some more velocity variation in there, but the sequencing otherwise is solid. And, yeah, Shadowman needs some remixes.

[Duo]

When I was first introduced to OCR, I decided to look the game that got me interested in Video games and never let go, and still stands as one of my favorite games of all time - Mega Man III. I sifted through a couple intro theme remixes that seemed unastounding to me and then I saw "Blue Balls". Something about that told me to listen.

This song has got to be one of my favorite remixes if not one of my favorite songs of all time. The intro is slow at first but makes for a great lead in to the adrenaline rush that follows, and every listen after the first has me full of anticipation until it explodes at 35 seconds. Speaking of the 35 second mark, I love how you threw in a bunch of SFX from the game for a 2nd that are hard to catch at first.

Then that guitar breaks in and rips it up. I love the energy and performance here that remains consistent throughout the piece. If anything, the electric guitar is the sole best part of this piece bar none and the reason I seek out remixes with predominant electric guitar parts like this. Everything sets up great for the lead into Shadowmans theme, which also owns hard. I don't believe I've ever heard another remix of the song, but it doesn't need to be after hearing this. I especially love what you do with the guitar and keyboard from 1;50 until 2:00, and the part right after works great too.

The Protoman theme whistle and the lead into Snake's theme provides a nice cool down intermission kind of feel and though some complain about the transitions, I actually think this worked really well, especially when it kicks into high gear again at 3:18. The sudden stop and re-explosion (is that a word?) at 3:57 makes me gigglious. That just gives me a rush for some reason, almost as much as the utterly kickass leadin and performance of the Boss theme. I can't even begin to describe what part or why but the entire boss them is just so awesome and epic that it stands as my favorite part of the medley. MM3's boss theme has always been the best MM boss theme of any game in my mind and this does it justice for the feel I've wanted to get from it for years.

The "explosion" at the end and lead into the ending theme is nice, and the final song makes kind've a nice cool down for the rest of the song and wraps it all up very well. I appreciate how you picked some lesser-remixed songs and even a couple more common ones and brought it all together so nicely. It'd be great to hear more medleys of this style from you for this game or really any other. My jaw would hit the floor to hear you do this with some MM2 tracks.

Taking into consideration the criticism of drum samples, I will say they hold ground - but it's hardly noticeable when you get into the style of the song and let yourself get lost in it. The guitar also makes up for any lack in the drums by 100fold. I imagine this whole thing took a crapload of work so I appreciate that as well. I also dropped by your myspace and checked out the other tunes you've done - it's all really good stuff that suits my tastes very well. I wish you the best of luck in the music industry, I love what you're doing and I shall forever love this song.

[OceansAndrew]

Some of the playing is sloppy, especially the intro (I kindof raised an eyebrow, though I'm not able to raise just one physically, so it was both), but even as a medley it has plenty of original material in the form of counterpoint, harmony, or original sections, which make great segues in between other tracks. Tone is good once things get going, but overall production is lacking a little polish.

Good stuff, but not mind blowing.