E06 It's Boss Time/Dover/GREAT FEAR/Sketchy Megamix

Match 6 - Again: a match of 4 - Select one track relevant to your interest.

Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 072 - OCRemix - It's Boss Time
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 095 - Bakuretsu MIDI Contest - Dover
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 101 - Highspeed - GREAT FEAR
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: 185 Sketchy Megamix

072 - OCRemix - It's Boss Time
This is a solid track. While it isn't so creative, it has no apparent weaknesses either.

095 - Bakuretsu MIDI Contest - Dover
Some fun is going on here, but I am not too hot for the melody leading synth.

101 - Highspeed - GREAT FEAR
This one is ok, it has some real energy, but it's also very (unnessarily imo) loud sometimes.

185 Sketchy Megamix
A long track which has some moments. The overall density is not greater than the shorter ones.

"It's Boss Time" is basically the original, surrounded by some new sounds to enhance it, and some wholly original sections. More of a remix than an arrangement. Not a bad groove, with the NES original carrying it.

"Dover" is pretty nice for a MIDI, but you've really gotta be on your game for a MIDI not to sound too limited. The composition is good, but the sound quality is too bleh. Having this rendered with some good soundfonts would have been cool. Well, the handdrums were very nice, but the drumwork was only ok; didn't fill out the soundfield adequately.

The opening to "GREAT FEAR" definitely sounded really cool. The move into the hard stuff at :34 was on the weak side in terms of the string sequencing not sounding realistic, but I liked the energy of the track a lot regardless. The electric guitar synth didn't sound too bad here either, but it wasn't that hot; I've heard it a million times and it generally just makes you want a real guitar. Vocals at 2:16 were a cool concept, and I see what it was going for, but I would have rather it been more of a foreground player to really play up how eerie it was supposed to be. As is, it just kind of slimed over the instrumentation. :-D Good enough for the point though.

"Sketchy Megamix" had some cool MOD-like textures, but the lazy simplistic backing percussion sucked ass and didn't drive the track along at all. Percussion needs to effectively give a track pacing and momentum. When you don't put in the effort or don't have the aptitude for writing, you end up with something half-assed on support like this, which just pulled down the potential of the rest. The production quality was also pretty weak; no polish, no clarity, lots of balance and spareness issues.

: 095 - Bakuretsu MIDI Contest - Dover
: 185 Sketchy Megamix
: 101 - Highspeed - GREAT FEAR
: 072 - OCRemix - It's Boss Time

It's Boss Time has an okay groove to it, but the repetition and sound quality bog it down. Definitely get bored after a couple of minutes.

I wasn't expecting a whole lot from HIGHSPEED, but I was quite pleasantly surprised that the album was pretty solid rock from start to finish. GREAT FEAR is one of my least favorite songs from the album, sadly. Starts of well enough, but it never seems to quite figure out where it wants to go. First there's a repeat at 1:25, and then the break material is mixed in quality, and then there's another rehash that leads into a full repeat fade out.

Sketchy Megamix gets props solely because of song selection, because damn. Suikoden, Soul Blazer, and Ys, among others, what the hell. Definitely some sound quality issues that caused big problems with muddiness, making things sound not good at all.

Aww yeah, loving the MIDI honks in Dover. Nice melody, decent composition, and a fun track overall.

Megamix just has way to many references to not sway my nostalgia vote. Thing is though, I am certain I recognize many of the tunes, but it's going to drive me nuts placing where for some of these. Is that the Columns Name Entry theme I hear in there near the beginning and later in too? Or is that coincidental?

No Columns Name Entry in there as far as I am aware, but it does sound similar a bit. Those sections are the only original parts, by the way.

This megamix and I go way back. Sure, the quality and percussions could have been better, but the effort is commendable and the mix of a different number of good tracks and some of the transitions make up for it. Just something I like and seem to get lost into every time I listen to.

Here is the source breakdown:

00:52 - 01:12 :: Legend of Mana - Places of Soul
01:25 - 01:39 :: Legend of Mana - Places of Soul
02:18 - 03:23 :: Genso Suikoden 2 - Beautiful Morning
03:37 - 04:29 :: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Shrine of Light
04:30 - 05:22 :: Chrono Trigger - Crono and Marle/Far-Off Promise
05:26 - 06:05 :: Ys - Adol's Theme
06:32 - 07:24 :: Dragon Quest - Tantegel Castle
07:25 - 09:36 :: Soul Blazer - Koibito no Inaiyoru
09:53 - 10:45 :: Final Fantasy - Matoya's Cave
10:52 - 12:28 :: Genso Suikoden 2 - Heart-Softening BGM 1

072 - OCRemix - It's Boss Time
I want to like this one (the source track is a good choice), but it is just too repetitive. The execution is pretty good, and the ending is well done. With a about five to ten fewer loops of the main theme this would have been alot better. It just doesn't hold up with the rest.

095 - Bakuretsu MIDI Contest - Dover
A pleasant enough track, although the sequencing sounds a little clumsy in places.

101 - Highspeed - GREAT FEAR
This was pretty good. The guitar parts are done well, but the vocals toward the end get lost behind the mix. There are also few rough edges in the composition but its nothing major.

185 Sketchy Megamix

Al ot of themes are represented here, yet the transitions between them all flow together fairly well. The mixes themselves were mostly decent, but some just felt lazy. Although the Dragon Quest section sounded a bit better than the rest. Sadly, this is a case of quantity over quality, with the latter lacking significantly.

Lots of weak tracks here, but GREAT FEAR sounded the best.

072 It's Boss Time
I've been waiting for a terrific arrangement of this most excellent boss tune for some time. I'm still waiting--while it has its merits, this mix is pretty reliant on the original chiptune.

095 Dover
It took me a moment to place the source tune; then I realized that this is actually a remix of one of my favorite quirky Kenji Ito songs. The midi is a little tinny--actually considerably worse than the original synth--but the energy is terrific and I found myself enjoying it despite the rough edges.

101 GREAT FEAR
Another Ito mix, though I can't quite place the source. Good energy level and instrumental balance, but the vox that slice in midway thru kill the mood. The arrangement isn't even heavy enough to merit that kind of death metal grunting.

185 Sketchy Megamix
Competent if tinny mix; these huge medleys usually lose my interest about halfway through, and such was the case here.

I have to go with the flawed but fun Dover.

This poll has been extended to decide a tie for second place between 072 It's Boss Time and 095 Dover.

Please note that the other two tracks in the poll cannot be effected by additional votes at all.

Bosss it's time gets my vote. I think it's soothing and romantic all in oncr

OCRemix - It's Boss Time - This is Gux, right? I've had this track downloaded for quite a while. It's decent, as I'm a longtime Megaman fan. I've always felt that it could've worked just as well if cut by one-third. It becomes repetitive and wears on during the last minute or so.

Bakuretsu MIDI Contest - Dover - This is hard to judge. It sounds like an average RPG field theme to me, with little embellishment. However, the title suggests that the source was MIDI, which, if true, would make this a fairly impressive accomplishment. But even if it's MIDI, it comes off as analogous. I imagine that the original track sounds quite like this and that aside from the compositional limitations imposed by the medium, there's really not much innovation going on at all. It sounds nice, yes, but does it depart from the original in any truly profound way? I'm inclined to say no.

Despite being mildly repetitive, It's Boss Time has enough originality to carry it through to the next round.

The megamix is over 8 years old, before I even knew what production was (could also be argued I still don't ), so I'm not sure it has any business being here.

Super amazing props to Draconis for nailing all of the sources, I couldn't even remember the last one, I kept thinking it was Suikoden 1.