OCR04425 - *YES* Super Mario Bros. "Super Star"

[Emunator]

ReMixer name: Neon X
EMail: 
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV8NwzoUa9I9HD1YXRIXp3g
UserID: 37046

Name of game: Super Mario Bros.
Name of arrangement: Super Star
Name of song: Main theme/overworld theme & Star theme
Original composer: Koji Kondo
Link to original song

 

[MindWanderer]

It may be called "Super Star," but the meat of this remix is the SMB1 main theme in a minor key.  I can't say I've ever heard an upbeat key-changed take like this.  Some classic EDM that just works.

It's a one-trick pony, really, but it's a really good trick, and it's explored to the fullest.  You clearly had a vision in mind, and absolutely realized that vision.  I do have some criticisms.  Basically the entire second half of the arrangement is the ending, and it would have been nice to do some more exploration of the theme before jumping into the climax.  The star theme in particular wasn't really utilized.  The fade-out ending is fine in this case, I guess, but it does emphasize the feeling that you ran out of ideas halfway through.  The soundscape isn't quite as full as it could be; bass is a little light, and everything but the lead is smushed into the mids — not so much that you can't hear every part, but enough that they're not as clear as they could be, especially the harmony line.

Still, no dealbreaking issues here, and it's a lot of fun.

YES

[Chimpazilla]

Wow, what a unique take on some really old and well-known (and remixed to death) themes.  I agree totally with MW on his comments.  The changed harmonic structure of this mix from the original is really super cool.  I also really like the dead-stops with one simple sfx as the bridge to the next section.  The mixing is very full and the master is way too loud giving the soundscape almost no dynamics which is a shame, and MW is right that the low-end is light and everything is smooshed into the mids.  The mixing could really be improved by carefully EQing all lows out of everything that's not kick or bass, and doing some extensive sidechaining on pretty much every element (lightly and in varying amounts) to allow the kick to breathe (it's really quiet and buried as is) and all the other elements to be more distinct.  My ears are getting fatigued upon repeat listens because the mixing is so dense.  And the fadeout ending is... arg, why... I hate fadeouts but I can't reject this mix on a fadeout.  I'm really torn on sending this back for some mixing adjustments but ultimately what's here works well enough.  The arrangement is so creative and I think people are going to really like this one.

YES (borderline due to fatiguing mix/master)

[DarkSim]

I was wondering how you'd get a whole track from a 4-second source after I read the title, but then the SMB1 main theme takes over and does most of the heavy lifting. The star theme is used extensively in the backing with some plucks, but it's fairly subtle until the break at 1:42. I love the transition with the pause SFX, that's a great touch, and well handled. The power-up SFX later is OK, but you've already used that trick once with the pause, so the impact is less at the climax of the track - the point where you want maximum impact. It still works, it's just missing that "aha!" moment that the first one had.

It gets a bit iffy towards the end, where the mixing definitely does start to grate on the ears, and some of the jazzier notes in the SMB theme sound a bit odd in this style. The theme is so recognisable that it's not a problem, but if you'd never heard this melody before, it might raise a few eyebrows at the way it's presented here.

The fadeout ending is a bit of a cop-out, but again it's not a dealbreaker.

It's a fun track that doesn't outstay its welcome. Reminds me of Ben Briggs' Fleeting Ecstasy remix of the Wing Cap theme.

YES

[Gario]

This is a remix that stands on the strength of the arrangement, and the good news is that the arrangement is quite strong. The source harmonies were just a suggestion for this track, so it has a lot of fun exploring just how many ways you can harmonize the super star theme, particularly by evolving it into a texture for the SMB overworld theme. It's clever, and as Mindwanderer states it's pretty much that one idea fully explored into a song.

The overall arrangement is quite static, unfortunately. The mixing has some nitpicks at best (lead could pop some more in the mix), but the biggest issue with this is that there's little room for the listener to relax their ears in the arrangement. In fact, without that break on the ears at 0:58 I probably would've rejected this on this alone, but fortunately there are moments of reprieve throughout the first half that break up the arrangement. Perhaps not enough for my tastes, but enough to consider this merely a flaw rather than a dealbreaker. The second half of the track has absolutely no breaks in texture, which is really pushing it for me but at the same time it's not a very long song so while the textures overstay their welcome the song isn't long enough to matter as much.

Could've use the ending to change the soundscape one more time and ended it proper rather than fade out the ending, too, but everyone else mentioned the fadeout so I won't dwell on it here.

Otherwise, it has very competent production values, and it explores an arrangement idea quite thoroughly. Had the arrangement been weaker I probably would've rejected this for being too static, but gosh darn it the idea is too cool to hold back on the panel. Do take these critiques to heart, though; change the soundscape and density of the arrangement up more, as it can be very tiring to listen to something this consistently dense more than once. I do recommend everyone listen to it at least once, though, since it's a pretty cool arrangement.

YES

Edited September 29, 2022 by Gario

[Liontamer]

Maybe groove bias??

YES

Kidding, but people'll say it, so I'LL say it!