ReMix:Zelda II: The Adventure of Link "Battle of the Hylian Hero" 5:19

I've been running OC ReMix for a good while now, and one of the things that's been important in the overall site moving forward has been setting goals and (eventually!) meeting them. Converting everything from static HTML to dynamic PHP/MySQL, changing domains, establishing a judges panel, releasing torrents, and a whole host of other site-related developments have required huge amounts of time and energy, but have resulted in OCR not only persisting over the years, but also improving. One of my longest-standing goals has finally been met, as you may have read on our homepage: we've removed all pop-up advertisements from the site. We've also enabled a new HTTP mirror for the MP3s. In both cases, what enabled us to make these changes was a combination of ad banner revenue and donations from individuals. I'd like to personally thank everyone who's donated - the money goes directly towards improving the site, and the removal of pop-ups is a very tangible way that you can clearly see the effect of your contribution. Hopefully this situation will continue - we've got numerous improvements in the works, there's some amazing site projects coming up, and in general I'm personally psyched about the site's future. It should be a busy summer.

Newcomer Random Hero gives us an excellent orchestral Zelda 2 arrangement; it's definitely a tad soft on the volume side, so you're going to want to bump things up or normalize, so as to hear the fluid dynamics, thoughtful instrumentation, and detail Ryan's thrown in. The ReMixer writes:

"This song took forever, going through several revisions and style changes. I even gave up on it for a period of about a month. It took hearing John Williams’ “Battle of the Heroes” to get the creative juices flowing again. (The inspired parts are only minor though, a bit at the beginning and end). I’m happy with the result. Hope you guys enjoy."

These are all familiar themes, many of which already have orchestral or hybrid orchestral ReMixes, but RH's take is unique, melding Williamsesque elements with some more Elfmanly string runs. Andy and Shariq did both have some issues not simply with the low levels, but the arrangement itself, citing a somewhat misplaced piano (which I can see, but doesn't overly bug me), dynamic emphasis being disproportionately placed on the strings (again, legit), and repetition. I didn't feel the piece was unacceptably repetitive; rather, the original itself is a piece that does sort of beat the listener about the head with the same pattern, so perhaps some of that fault lies with the source material. JJT acknowledges some of these issues, but writes:

"This mix definetly has its flaws, but overall I think the mixer showcases a great deal of musicality and a good ear for arranging. The piano sample stuck out to me as being pretty mechanical and lo-fi. The samples, though not spectacular, are not bad enough that they distract from the musical ideas being presented -- well this isn't true 100% of the time, but after i've finished listening, i don't find myself thinking "boy that was cheesy and synthetic," I find myself thinking "wow, that was pretty creative and well done."

I'm just jealous that Ryan knew it was 'Hylian' and not 'Hyrulian' - that was never too intuitive to me. Random Hero sends in a strong first mix that shows few weaknesses and much promise, and should please Zelda fans as they eagerly await Twilight Princess.