*NO* Sonic the Hedgehog 2 'Powerful Chemicals'

[Gario]

Artist Name: MiDO

Forum Username: middone

Game Arranged: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis)

Name of Arrangement: Powerful Chemicals

Songs Arranged: Chemical Plant Zone

Comments:

This is my first submission to OCRemix, and of all of the remixes I've done, I'm the proudest of this one. This remix borrows elements from Sonic Forces (namely the synths and saws). Please enjoy.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2019 by Liontamer
closed decision

[MindWanderer]

Well, this just jumps straight into the thick of it, doesn't it?  Great groove right off the bat.  Really fun stuff...

...but at 1:43, it loops back to 0:27, and then goes into a full minute of fade-out.  I'm afraid that's a dealbreaker for me; this comes across as incomplete.  Don't get me wrong, what is there is great, but it's over after the breakdown.  For something this short, it really needs a second verse and an ending, and a little bit more of an intro wouldn't be amiss either.

I do really enjoy this, and I badly want what I hear to get posted.  But without more meat to this arrangement I have to give it a

NO (please resubmit!)

[Sir_NutS]

Well, intros aren't necessary but the track really assaults the listener right from the get-go.  Really cool selection of sounds, I really super dig that bassy arpeggio you got going throughout the track, and your detuned stacked saws sound pretty clean and fat.  However the production needs some work here, in the busy sections most elements get ducked out in favor of the lead.  The lead takes way too much prominence and sounds pretty dry compared to everything else.  I'm not a big fan of some of the pitch bending on it, it isn't flowing naturally with the rest of the arrangement.  Also, almost halfway through you start fading out the song for about a minute or so.  That's a very odd decision, it makes this feel very incomplete.

The arrangement, while having some neat ideas such as playing with the original chords and chord progression, I don't feel like there was enough done here to really push this to feeling like a new arrangement.  The adaptation helps a bit, but I've heard this kind of adaptation to modern EDM done pretty well already with this same song in Sonic Generations.  Also the second half, which is constantly fading out, sounds very similar to the first half.

Not a bad first sub really, you made it to the queue after all, you just need to make the track more you.  Also, re-balancing your elements in the mix could help, and getting rid of the extremely long fade out ending.  You could use that time in the second half to expand on your ideas, then close out with a callback to the source, as an example.  Either way, I'll have to deny a pass to this one for now, but I'll be looking forward to what you have to show us next!.

NO

[Rexy]

I can identify that Sonic Forces inspiration for sure!  There's energy flying out of the gate, the Chemical Plant melody surprisingly fits well with the new chord structure, and the change-up of those chords in that breakdown (1:16-1:43) also adds to the strong foundation.

But here's the problem - at 1:43, it loops back to the melody at 0:27 and fades out achingly slowly.  What you have so far arrangement-wise is strong, so I suggest you discard everything past 1:43 and further develop the source.

I also have a quick tip if you want to end any future submissions on a fade-out - it's best not to let it go over 15 seconds.  Of course, the actual length is up to you, but the entire minute can handily get reduced to a less uncanny duration.

To summarize, the foundation is cool, but the arrangement itself needs a lot more substance.  Consider taking the track into the Workshop and get feedback on new ideas - then when this is more developed, you're more than ready to send it back to the panel.  This track isn't bad for your first submission though, so be proud you made it this far - and it'll be fantastic if you can make it one step further.

NO