mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[magical girls ~ vs. the unthinkable!]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

As the linked thread says, this submission is a giant mash of 3 tracks. I'll analyze them separately, to then make a summary consideration. I like the idea that each sub-track has a lore of its own, pretty clever.
Now, let's get started.

1. Reunion
While not being a fan of the panned piano at the beginning, I found the melody uplifting but not too cheesy: happiness and suspense at the same time make a nice contrast when pictured together properly. I particularly enjoyed the depth you gave to the strings, very smooth and clean. Overall, solid introduction.

2. Stand
Here we go into a Touhou-Undertalish like type of music. The instrumentation is very diversified, and gives very nice action vibes, not too intense as well, which is a good sign; paying attention to balance is always an effective course of action. Those clock ticks at 5:25 too, I like them a lot, they help shaping the atmosphere.

3. Unthinkable
First, mad respect for the brilliant use of Kirby 64 Final Boss' soundfont: this is my favourite part of the track, its climax you could say. I like the fact that is also divided into two sections, to give maybe that segment where a reflection about the feelings of the two protagonists is appropriate.

This submission is hella long, yet you managed to make it interesting, and that's already a big achievement to begin with. I read about your thoughts on the ending: I think your thought is well considered, yet a tiny bit of ending/staff roll would have been the cherry on top. Maybe for another track? Who knows? ;)
You proved yourself to not only follow my prompt properly, but also to portray it from your own point of view; I could even learn new perspectives from this track as well! Awesome job.

Thanks for participating!

[Dimensional Escape]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

I'm... mindblowed. This submission is like no other I've heard.
Concept is a straight 10 for me: the voice acting is very well done, and makes the whole experience much better. You could write down the script in the description maybe, so that it would be easier to keep track of what the characters are saying, but still, pretty neat.

3:21 lacks a tad bit of action, but it's still a solid part of the composition, and merges well with the previous orchestral section. Everything sounds like a giant crossover of inspirations: Interstellar (and other references to Zimmer), KH, Just Shapes and Beats, everything with that personal touch which holds everything together.

You did great. The prompt is all there, and the sensations I wanted to experience came across as well. Keep on going like this outside of this event, props!

Thanks for participating!

[Friday Night Funkin' Remix - Bopeebo]

It finally happened; Kamex joined NG, so hyped!

[WarBeatBox]

Uh..... D:

[longing (or, wedding song to a broken soul)]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

500TH Audio Review!

I was looking forward to the take you'd take on this prompt, and golly, the wait paid off!
First of all, I'm a big fan of ambient beginnings; wind at the beginning, instruments starting to play in the background, feels everywhere. That kind of setting, practically; nice start.

The piano pattern you chose in the first minute is a bit strange on its own without the lower notes that come later on to back it up, but it's still a well-concepted "structural" melody which captures the listener's attention in a good way.

I love 1:48 - 2:14. Outstanding build-up, for me the section that has the strongest connection to what I was looking for when I wrote the script for the challenge: the feelings are all there, and the section passed by leaving a smile on me :)

Lyrics are built carefully as well, since they resonate with the piece pretty well; did you take some inspirational drive by Dearly Beloved? Because I can sense some emotional resemblance here and there. Either way, very solid structure.
The context behind them, as well... Only respect for your man, nothing else to say.

If someone is concerned about the lack of "battling" and action in this track: Virtual Bond can be interpreted in more ways than one. Not all bonds are built equal; there may have been a struggle not described by this piece, or there may have not. Only the composer can tell, me and you listeners can only build our own image of this experience.

This is by far the track that has come the closest to my original challenge idea: being treated as a credits theme helps to better understand the concept of this submission, too.
Spot on!

Thanks for participating!

Troisnyx responds:

Thank you so much for that outpouring! 😮💖 That is so kind of you.

In response to your question regarding the lyrics, I didn't think about Dearly Beloved to be honest. When I came up with the melody nearly half my life ago I came up with the first line of the chorus back then, and so my thoughts uniquely focused on how to make a memorable song that stays in the heart and gets people singing.

The second set of lyrics was the full chorus, and I think I was driven by the sight of a relationship depicted in an indie game in development.

The final set was directly influenced by any emotional, mental and humanitarian turmoil we're currently undergoing. I feel that any influence taken from Dearly Beloved may have been subconscious, if at all there — after all, it's one of those soundtracks that shaped my understanding of VGM in general, as I heard it plenty during my formative years.

[No Further Shore]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

If this is a WIP, i can't imagine how the final product looks like!
The instrumentation is stunning, and the style reminds me of Dash from Arkanoid DS.
0:47 and 3:25 gave me goosebumps, and you centered the concept perfectly; i like also the idea of writing some sort of context in the description.
Apart from the technical assessments, this track resonates within me quite a bit; there is a particular anime called Vandread, centered around a crew of female space fighters who loathe men and formed a society without needing them. I always imagined how their captain would interact with an android that behaves like a man, but has a different heart from everyone else, and as they overcome their struggles, they reach the climax clash, and thrust head on together.

This piece, even if unfinished, was a truly enjoyable experience; very well done.

Thanks for participating!

MetalRenard responds:

Hey mutty99, thanks for the review, I finally finished the mix after leaving it to rest for a while (I was fed up with the technical issues). I appreciate the kind words, thank you.

[Waltz of the electric primates]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

Pretty short piece, i must say: probably you couldn't finish it on time, but that won't influence my opinion very much.
The track itself reminds me of Cave Story, and it has a nice flow, with a clever instruments choice; however, i have trouble finding some sort of context inside it for my prompt unfortunately.
Virtual Bond's about a couple overcoming their struggles together in a significant event; this is indeed a piece that could relate about a romantic situation, but there is no energy, no suspense at all. I can't picture my prompt inside this piece, no matter how much i try; this is more of a "lounge/relaxing" type of music, very similar to the menu music of many Zelda titles, like OOT or TP.

Now, to clarify: your piece is not bad, i never said that. It is, however, a bit off-topic, and i'm sorry the piece couldn't come out the way you wanted it to be.
Still, your efforts are not to be wasted: you have potential, and you can make this sort of WIP grow into something even bigger. You have all it takes to extend it and make it even better.

Thanks for participating!

splitprune responds:

Man, thanks a lot for the in-depth feedback. I did have a lot of ideas for this one, and I worked on it really hard for a couple of days, but then I just sort of fucked off and dropped it forever. Bad habit you know.

I really appreciate your response, thanks a million!

[Field of Roses]

Newgrounds VGM Challenge - Virtual Bond: Review

The instruments you chose for this track remind me of Dimrain and Nighthawk; very clever choice, since their pieces are a good inspiration for my challenge.
Even if the first few seconds are quite strange, 0:28 manages to build up the pace effectively; good interpretation of a moment of tension and harsh heroes-monster clash, which keeps going for the first 2 minutes and a half or so.
What the first part lacks the most is atmosphere, it feels very dry; however, 2:43 and 3:17 fix that downside greatly. Strings are top notch, and they relate the most with what i was looking for. The piece evolves properly as well, to the point that i can picture the scene i had described in the prompt's introduction.
The only big downfall of this piece is the FL Slayer vst; a sequenced arpeggio could have worked better or, if you wanted to keep the guitar, you could have put a sidechain on it, so it wouldn't cover too much the other instruments.

Even if this track is, in my opinion, a bit too long and repetitive, and with some downsides here and there, it's a good piece, and it respects my prompt in a very good way.

Thanks for participating!

[-Octagon Force-]

Back in time with good ol' Waterflame.
Great job! =)

[Perestroika]

Congrats, lucky fellow artist!