OCR04204 - *YES* Final Fantasy 7, 5 & 6 "Let the Decisive Battle on the Big Bridge Begin!"

[Rexy]

Remixers: Ivan Hakštok, Sixto Sounds

Games arranged: Final Fantasy 5, Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7

Name of arrangement: Let The Decisive Battle On The Big Bridge Begin!

Names of songs arranged: Clash On The Big Bridge (FF5), Decisive Battle (FF6), Let The Battles Begin (FF7)

 

This song was an entry for the April 2020 Free Month on Dwelling of Duels where it placed 4th among some pretty tough competition.

 

After getting stuck for way too long on the pull-up minigame in the FF7 remake and hearing Let The Battles Begin over and over and finally beating it at like 1am, this arrangement came to me in a dream, so as soon as I woke up in the morning I recorded a rough sketch of the first 2 and a half minutes before I went to work. During the next few days I recorded the rest of my stuff and recruited Sixto to do the Decisive Battle leads and the guitar solo at 3:07.

 

I think the sources are well known and easy to spot, also there's lot of intermingling going on, so I'm gonna give just a rough source breakdown:

 

0:00 - 0:51 = intro based on several section from the FF7 and FF5 sources

0:52 - 1:27 = FF5 with a few bars of FF7 in the middle and at the end

1:28 - 2:36 = FF7 + FF6 going into straightforward FF6, closing it with FF7 again

2:37 - 3:06 = my guitar solo, background is FF7

3:07 - 3:46 = Sixto's guitar solo, background is FF7 going into FF5 intro chords with some FF7 phrases

3:47 - 3:59 = based on FF7

4:00 - 4:14 = FF5 into FF7 with some guitar wanking on top

 

[Emunator]

This track met my (admittedly high, given the artists involved) expectations on all fronts. This is a balls-to-the-wall arrangement that seamlessly fuses three thematically-related sources into a totally cohesive end result! The guitar performances - obviously the focal point of the arrangement - were quite strong across the board. By now, I can spot a Sixto guitar solo from a mile away and it will NEVER get old for me. Overall, I'm loving what you guys did here!

I will admit, I was a little bit scared by the waveform but was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was cleanly mixed, none of the leads were buried, and the overall master was pristine and punchy without hurting my ears. Ending was pretty abrupt, and the synth patches did feel somewhat lifeless compared to the really strong guitar tones, but nothing that's a dealbreaker by any stretch. 

Nice work gents!

YES

[Rexy]

Oh, that arrangement is definitely on point!  Naturally, its strength is how the sources weave in and out from each other while keeping a singular cohesion.  It's so prog it doesn't use the same idea twice - a suitable foundation for all performances and assigned permutations.  Energy-wise, it doesn't drop down once, though luckily, there's enough variation in the rhythm section and drum writing to keep the momentum stable.  This approach made me love it on the first listen!

Like with Wes, I had a close look at the waveform and noticed a loud mix - and by that, I mean -10dB RMS loud!  Thankfully, the mixdown sounds precise and balanced, and all guitar recordings are as clean as detergent.  As expected from both you and Juan, the performances are tight, with nothing out of place.  I'm also used to hearing your vanilla-sounding synths and was hoping for them to be as expressive as your guitars, but at the same time, they also provide sturdy support in the background, so they don't sound like a problem.

Everything adds up to a cool mixpost that ties three themes into a cohesive whole, has an energetic presentation, plus some fun performances to secure everything together.  Ivan, you and Juan did great - excellent job!

YES

[Jivemaster]

Good clean intro with solid tone. The backing synths that occasionally appear in this first section don’t add a lot to the overall mix amongst the guitars and probably could’ve been omitted. Conversely the synths at 1:25 worked in fine. The combination of rhythm and lead work well across the piece, with several layers of exchange in each section. The solo 2:35 was quite nice, with some interesting melodic and harmony interplay. There are some parts near the end of the solo past 3:16 where tightness/cohesion get momentarily lost as things pick up, but nothing major. The intro is short and sweet. Production is well done, parts are audible and clean, something others may wish to aspire to in their own guitar heavy productions. The problems here are minor, given the skills of you both there isn’t much to question here. Well done and nice mashup.

YES

Edited November 3, 2020 by Jivemaster

[prophetik music]

oh man, this track is boss! fantastic work.

mastering is clean and on-point. performance is just what i expected seeing the names on the submission. the transitions were well-handled though i did find them a bit abrupt sometimes - that is, it's obvious this is a medley rather than a fully cohesive track, but what's here is good enough that i don't mind it.

superb job.

 

 

YES