Emunator Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) RebeccaETripp Rebecca Tripp http://www.crystalechosound.com/ ID: 48262 Game(s): Seiken Densetsu sys Final Fantasy Adventure Song Title: Mysterious Mazes Songs Remixed: Dungeon 3 Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqDfGrOoRPc This is my cover of “Dungeon 3” from the original Seiken Densetsu, aka Final Fantasy Adventure. This track, composed by Kenji Ito, is one of my favourite songs in the game, and I’ve always found it incredibly beautiful. It is also, unfortunately, somewhat difficult for me to listen to! I composed this track as part of a series of arrangements based on VGM compositions that tend to make me sad. My goal is to recontextualize the feeling of the track slightly, in order to allow myself to access the uncomfortable emotions associated with the original. Edited January 22, 2023 by Emunator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 I'm not feeling it. The orchestration is perfectly serviceable, and for once the volume levels are acceptable, but the instruments are mechanical, especially the tremolo strings. The overall structure isn't much of a departure from the source material. There's no ending whatsoever. Sorry, but I feel like this falls short. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 3:42 PM, MindWanderer said: The overall structure isn't much of a departure from the source material. There are a lot more ways to interpret a source tune besides melodically. Melodically conservative doesn't discount the other arrangement techniques going on here. Nice original writing to introduce things until the source tune arrived at :23. This is definitely a creative instrumentation of the theme. As always, well-executed instrumentation tradeoffs that prevent the piece from feeling repetitive, as well as beautiful accenting parts that add that signature shimmering quality to Rebecca's pieces. Some of the samples aren't the greatest, but they generally get the job done, including the tremolo strings. As far as MindWanderer's criticism of the arrangement not being interpretive enough, there's more to interpretive arrangements than melodic variation. Hmm, whatever's playing from 1:15-1:29 had a lot of buzziness to it; same from 1:38-1:45, that stuff should not be going on at all. If we couldn't get that addressed, I wouldn't say that should hold back this piece, but I've love to see some touchups there. I could understand something that exposed the samples this badly and created a quality disparity by sounding so poor causing some NOs or conditional YESs. Not much to the ending; I've heard worse endings, but I'd just call this one unsatisfying. A extended fadeout from 3:05 until the very end could have worked well for a structure like this; it would have seemed a lot less abrupt. If the buzzy weirdness wasn't going on, it wouldn't be a close vote despite the flaws. That said, on balance, much more works there than doesn't, so count me in! YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 personally i always disliked these original game boy tracks with fake delay. it always confused my ear. the theme of this one is really simple and nice and reminds me of the FF Legend soundtracks, but i don't care for the implementation. intro strings feel stilted. there's a really nice moment at 0:25 though that feels much more organic. the winds at 0:33 are a bit more aggressive than i'd expect. that bassoon sample is just so strange with no vibrato...unlike anything i'd ever expect to hear live. the following tremelo usage as a melodic instrument doesn't sound particularly strong either. i really didn't care for it at all. at 1:15 the bassoon comes back, and is even more exposed with no vibrato here. i love classical bassoon but this is a poor example of the instrument. handing it off to the bass clarinet is a fun choice since they do tend to be playing similar stuff, but going right back to the bassoon smacks of "i have to go somewhere with this" rather than an intentional choice. the pause before 1:50 is a nice callback to the ritardando in the original. a slightly different tempo after it would have been nice, but the harp's still mechanically plucking at those arpeggios. adding the glock later is a nice adjustment. at this point, though, the melody being handed off every 4 or 8 bars is apparent, and it's starting to sound like a summer band arrangement of a pop tune with the constant shifts. i've said this before in my votes, but you really, really need to be more intentional with your choice of melodic vehicle, and when you change it. i like that you're moving it around, but it honestly sounds like you're picking the instruments it's going to at random. where's the traditional instrumentation for that? solo cello, flute, clarinet, or horn would all be excellent methods to carry a melody of this shape, and would fit into the scoring much smoother. the oboe at the end was a nice shift and i really liked that it wasn't a square 4/8 bar section it had. there's some very light touches applied to the ending with a lot of tempo shift. i like the attentiveness here. there's some great stuff here, particularly the times when you get hands-on with the tempo instead of copy-pasting the arpeggio part from one instrument to another. i really struggled with the tone of the bassoon every time it was used, and i found the constant movement of the melodic line to be troublesome especially with how mechanical it felt. i think what's going on behind the melody was nice overall, although there wasn't a ton of that. i think that your melodic usage especially needs to be more intentional, and that probably requires more time than a conditional would take. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPRTNovice Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 There is a lot of great stuff in here - I acually love the interpretation of the source. It's a repetitive source, but you managed to make it feel more like a journey through the woods, and less like a jog on a treadmill, which the original did for me. That little break at 2:45 and 2:55 were lovely, I love the use of silence. I have a couple of critiques, though. The bassoon (and occasionally bass clarinet) is really jarring. It sticks out, comes off flat with no vibrato or any real dynamic adjustments within lines. I don't hear any place in the piece where I thought the bassoon blended well, and it throws you out of the magic of it. Some of the releases, particularly in the strings in the beginning and the ending, and the oboe in the beginning as well, need some work. To me they sound cutoff and stilted. This is the same with the tremolos in the low strings just before 1:00. The way they end and come back in, rather than sounding smooth, almost gives the idea of a sidechain compression effect, which I don't think works for this piece. This is a really beautiful piece with a wonderful atmosphere, but it needs some attention to detail on a couple of the instruments before I'd give it a pass. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Well I love this. I'm a YES here and not even borderline or conditional. I find this arrangement of a relatively simple source to be full and transformative, full of a range of dynamics and emotions. The overall levels here are much better than usual. Peak max is still -3db but that is better than -8db or -10db on some other mixes. I share Larry's thoughts on the buzzy bassoon, that is unfortunate and could probably be EQd to remove the offending buzz (or, replace the sample with a buzzless bassoon), but it doesn't bother me enough to reject. I'm not the biggest fan of hard-panning things left and right, as the harp and bells/glock are here, but not a dealbreaker by any means. The more I listen to this, the more I am transported to a mystical forest in which I'm not sure if I will find friend or foe! Super lovely feels in this arrangement, love it, gotta go with it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Almost there for me, but sounds unfinished (literally - where's the ending?), and the usual details are missing: ADSR on the strings, attention to panning, tremolo/vibrato, and the biggest offender here is the instrument at 1:38-1:45. That note at 1:42 sounds downright comical with the buzziness of it! Arrangement is beautiful though, and has a lot of potential. Add a better ending and humanise the instruments some more, and I'll be happy. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share Posted January 22, 2023 I find myself agreeing pretty firmly with the NO votes here, unfortunately. This feels like a really well-done first draft but without the polish and cohesion that a finished product requires. The low winds are too buzzy and don't always transition cleanly between notes in a realistic manner. The lack of an ending also feels unpolished. Arrangement is great, but this isn't ready for primetime. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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