mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Twin Cities Under Blue Sky]

The track is very good, but imo a bit too deep and aggressive for the piece of art you chose. I'd have associated a more uplifting and melodic piece, just a personal point however.

CryNN responds:

Hahaha. This is the mildest i could work with :D thanks for your opinion!

[Abyss Walk]

Both mesmerizing and uplifting. Not bad!

Cubenssi responds:

Thanks

[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!

[Time Machine Adventure]

Very nice piece. 0:32 is 👌🏽

johnfn responds:

Thank you, Mr. Mutty99!

[AIM - distance]

Wo :o
Nice job, both of you!

Troisnyx responds:

Ah, that's kind of you. ❤️ Cheers. I wanna remake this, and redo the voices, at some point — I'm just glad you enjoyed what you heard.

[Vessel Full of Dreams]

Spoilers incoming.

Congrats for winning NGADM 2020! :D

Phonometrologist responds:

Thank you. Feeling a little bit of NGADM survivor's guilt because it's just about happenstance to create something within 2 weeks that the judges will find to be profound enough to win. So many great artists took part and I feel honored to come to this point.

[A Stroll Down St Pancras]

Layton, Persona 5 and Ace Attorney in a single piece; that final impact as well... Great job!

Troisnyx responds:

Ah thank you~ Don't forget Ar tonelico — Signpost of Memories and A Strange Play from the third game's OST were influences.