Disco Dan Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 Guardian Legend 'Naju Overture' ... what djp said ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Hudson Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 Russell, this is by far your best work.....also with the help of those sexy french horns. So those were the ones you bought for $99? Not bad. The whole mix kept me on my toes and the quality is superb. A definite keeper in my playlist and hope you buy MORE samples. (hopefully that will make up for the...ahem......not so legal stuff you have), but who gives a shit. I'm soon to be a hypocrite and you're making good music...right? Excellent work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerLichtman Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 This is the first Guardian Legend mix on the site I've really liked. Of course, it does come from Russel Cox. I remember back when RPGamer.com was his main scene and he went by Trptcox. I was sending him e-mails about how good his work was and how he should submit stuff to OCR. Well, his work has only been getting better since then, and I mean much better. He's improved as arranging skills and taken greater liberties or at least more original takes on old themes and this is one of his best examples yet. An excellent piece, just excellent. Instant classic. This has been a great week for OCR. 5 Stars Per's OCR Star System: 5-One of my favorites. 4- I'll listen to it a fair amount but it lacks that extra "something" to be great. 3- Above average but not enough so to get much playtime in my list. 2- Average 1- Lacking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan8bit Posted October 15, 2002 Share Posted October 15, 2002 This song is definitely great. I don't think I need to say much more than Russell knows what he's doing when it comes to these orchestral pieces. Now if only he'd go baroque Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignis Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 Yet another orchestral master piece from the great Mr. Cox. Keep 'em rolling. It will be interesting to see how Mr. Cox handles his next choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alslipp Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 In general, I've liked Russell's arrangements very much, and his more recent submissions to OCR have only gotten better and better. This one didn't sit as well with me, likely because I haven't actually played the game that the music comes from. I think this overture was a little too busy for my taste; I would have appreciated a slower more lyric passage to break up the faster themes. That said, the horns were very convincing, and I'm looking forward to hearing what else Russell can do with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicaeopolis Posted October 19, 2002 Share Posted October 19, 2002 I love you Russell Cox... Now do a Star Fox remix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narvick Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 I was always a big fan of the opening theme to the Guardian Legend. This symphonic tribute was a well deserved one. Thank you, Russell. I hope to see this on a "The best of amateur symphonic suite" soundtrack someday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beatdrop Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 What the hell?! I thought I already reviewed this one, but apparently, I haven't. Awesome. Great great orchestral work. My favorite of Russell's. Take his mad orchestral skillz and combine that with the awesome Guardian Legend soundtrack and WHA-BAM! You get this piece of perfection. One of the few remixes that I actually STILL HAVE ON MY HARD DRIVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronyn Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Wow, I remember this as one of my favorite games; this brought back so many good memories. First off, these brass sounds kick ass! My goodness if I could only get my hands on such a lush sound I would eat my own underwear! Russel's style of writing is very evocative, I love it. The brass balance is superb. The lower strings at around 23 seconds seem a bit out of sync. It gets covered up with the clarinets come back in but still...I felt it disrupted the flow a bit. At 40 seconds with the upper strings it becomes most obvious. I can't tell if maybe I have a bad recording or not, but I'm hearing a blip at 39 seconds. It's possible that quick note change is doing it, that could be cleaned up. (Assuming it's not just me) 46-58 seconds, what a beautiful transition! The brass countermelody gives me chills. 1:08-1:20 That horn is the BEST orchestral sample I've ever heard. I gotsta get one of those. The piece is pretty straightforward till 2:30; some nice changes of color and rhythmic variety add to the fun, adventurous march feel. I felt the snare line was a bit stagnant, and could have used a bit more ad lib rolls or maybe some light perc. accompaniment. Nice ending A creative take on an almost all too cliched build. I wish I could say the same for myself (cough icarus cough). Well dammit Russell how's it possible that I can worship you and hate you at the same time, lol. All kidding aside, you're going to be a great composer writing very important works some day. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipt Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 This is my favorite mix on ocremix and I'm by far a techno/synth freak Excellent job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMage Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Utterly superb. If John Williams (or whoever it was that did the score for the Star Wars films) ever did a rendition of the Corridor Victory and Naju Approach themes with a full orchestra, I imagine it would sound very much like this. That said, it also wouldn't sound too out of place in Robotech or Macross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OchreJelly Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Dang, that sweeping strings and brass part at 1:08 makes me get all goosebumpy. Are these the Project SAM Horns at work here? What I'd give to have the money to buy all the SAM brass collections. *drooldrooldrool* Not to mention the solo ones too. *moredroolingmoredrooling* Anyway, this is probably my favorite from you by far, Mr. Cox, though I've never heard the original. Sweeping melodies, lush harmonies, I could go on. I'm...a bit confused at how the snare seems to be panned pretty far left with no reverb, though. Admittedly, not everything needs 'verb on it and sometimes a song is better served to try and take advantage of the electronic aspect of music composing and not be forced into following every orchestral "rule." All-in-all, my fave from yo so far, just above the Ninja Gaiden piece. Great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipp Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 That theme reminds me always of the Zelda two world theme. It has some similar aspects to it. Anyways, this piece is great. I was reading Atlas Shrugged when it first came out, and now it will always be ingrained in my mind as that famous musical piece they are always talking about in the book. Beautiful build up here, nice sounds, my only compaint is that it's not long enough. You really could've done more with this than you did. Your Actraiser piece was superior because of this. A solid 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taran Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Indeed, another wonderful arrangement by Mr. Cox. If I remember correctly, he also covered Morrowind, did he not? I would personally love to hear him cover some songs from either Chrono Cross, Romancing Saga 3, Xenogears, Baulder's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and DEFINITELY Suikoden II. In my opinion, some of his orchestral arrangements remind me a lot of some work done by the lead composer to the Suikoden series, so it would be wonderful to hear what Mr. Cox could do for some of those pieces as well. As always, looking forward to the next piece. Well done, Mr. Cox, well done. Taran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gecko443 Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 This has got to be one of my favorite remixes on OCR. Words cannot describe how much i enjoy listening to this. Keep up the good work!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Hidden gem alert!! When there are so few reviews, but all of them are completely falling over themselves, you know what that means! Fantastic brass sound even 5 years later, that is knowing how to use your tools well. Some of the sequencing seem a bit mechanical, but the strings and brass are beautiful, and the theme is well represented with a lot of excellent counterpoint ideas. Fantastic work here, you make it sound so effortless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmiduke Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 This mix sounds a lot like the OST for Zack & Wiki (but maybe that's because I've spent the past month playing it). There's some really impressive samples in here that work especially well considering the structure of the piece. To pull of the melodic complexity like this, you need those sounds to be a couple steps above bland. The level of variation is also terrific, my interest was sustained for the entire duration, but it never felt so unclear that I had no idea where it was leading. I like that Russell Cox makes qualms for his unabashed orchestral style that strives for the sweeping crests and bombastic climaxes. And that's what's delivered here; no excuses, no regrets. Just a good old-fashioned, big-sounding overture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The brass articulations from :32-:52 don't hold up too well, but the overall presentation was excellent, and the brass part at 1:05 still holds up beautifully today. I wish the overall sound was a bit fuller, but in no way does it take away from this being a great old-school arrangement. Russell always succeeded in demonstrating the potential of VGM for orchestration, and this makes me want to here more of the Guardian Legend soundtrack orchestrated with today's standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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