If a member reviewed 50 tracks in December, they would get a download code of "For Everlasting Peace: 25 Years of Mega Man." ...well, the post said "Mega Man 25th anniversary album" and I'm assuming this is the album. Anyway...
If a member reviewed 100 tracks in December, they would get a physical copy of Final Fantasy: Random Encounter.
If a member reviewed 200 tracks in December, they would get either a physical copy of Final Fantasy VI: Balance and Ruin OR a physical copy of Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream (I wanted the Final Fantasy VI album).
Very tempting...and those physical copies aren't easy to come by. So why not? I thought this would be an interesting challenge to discuss on the upcoming game music arrangement episode of the M Disk Playlist (more info once my guest and I set a date to record this). But I would also like to take the time to talk about the tracks I did review.
So, I joined Overclocked to take part of reviews month. As soon as I did, I learned of something that would make attempting 200+ reviews more interesting. I would go to the reviews thread, and make it so that the individual threads for each track would appear in order from least amount of replies to the most amount of replies (IE reviews). I thought this would be an excellent idea to not only support some neglected tracks, but to benefit my research as well, and to raise awareness of how there can be all these excellent tracks on Overclocked, but barely any reviews. Sure it may have a lot of downloads, but how will the artists themselves know if other people like it without any reviews?
Anyway, it took nearly the entire month, but I made it to 200 reviews. A few of the tracks were released on days I started downloading, so of course by default, they would be at the bottom of the reviews thread. I downloaded 50 tracks on one day, 50 on another, and then 100 more for the 200 reviews tier. And I thought I'd take this time to write about some of the highlights from doing these reviews. Clearly it would be impossible to talk about each and every single track and each and every single artist. If I didn't link a track or artist, it doesn't mean they weren't a highlight. In fact, out of the 200 I actually reviewed, I kept 136 of them. More than half of what I downloaded.
Among the 200 tracks I reviewed, I encountered every track from artist JD Harding. A few of his tracks were some of the first Overclocked tracks I ever listened to. Many of his tracks didn't age well IMO, but I did still enjoy listening to and reviewing his arrangement of Schala's Theme from Chrono Trigger, "Daughter of Evil." It's not perfect, but I really loved the synth string work in this track.
The artist who had the most tracks that I liked out of the 200 were from Brandon Strader. Dude has 83 remixes at Overclocked, and from the tracks I listened to and reviewed, he is definitely versatile in his craft. From death metal ("Atmospheric Evisceration") to beautiful ballads ("This Winding Road"), he is worth investing interest in for sure. Not just for the stuff he does by himself, but his collaborations with other artists as well.
I was very surprised to see Shovel Knight composer Jake Kaufman AKA "virt" at the bottom of the reviews forum, more than once. Even back in 2000/2001, he was ahead of his time. The first arrangement he submitted was a Contra medley called "Contravirt." I even wrote in my review of this track that this seemed like a foreshadowing of his involvement in the soundtrack for the Nintendo DS game Contra 4. I also really enjoyed his arrangement of Dr.Mario music called "Funky Pills" and his ToeJam and Earl arrangement, "Wake Up!"
But what about the games? What game would contain the most tracks out of the 200? Not Final Fantasy. Not Mega Man. But the game that had the most tracks of the 200 were from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble. Ten in total. And all ten of them were from Overclocked's DKC3 album, Double the Trouble! From the ten tracks that made it to my playlist from that album, I definitely want to download the album itself. It does an excellent job promoting a myriad of music styles and genres. For example, "Shenanigans Bananigans" sounds very reminiscent of what you would hear from an old Silly Symphony cartoon. Then there's beatboxing in the form of "Thump Brothers," 60s soul inspired in the form of "mojo gogo," dance jams totally suitable for raves like "Permafrost," and classic rock inspired in the form of "Unbearable." Just a very small example of what this album offers. I might have to do a full review of this album when I have the chance.
I also encountered some very creative and engaging remixing blending tracks from two different, and unrelated games to create one track. Like "Never Go Away" which is what you would get if you combined Metal Gear Solid and Assassin's Creed II together. Star Ocean: The Last Story plus Chrono Cross gives you the track "Serenity." Chrono Trigger plus Korean MMO TalesWeaver gives you the track "Weaving the Threads of Time." Two of the tracks mentioned in this paragraph were produced by artist Chris ~ Amaterasu.
Finally, I wanted to use this paragraph to highlight standouts that didn't fit in any specific category. "The World After Asterion" by some1namedjeff could very well be the best orchestrated track I have downloaded from this site. Everything just sounded so perfectly balanced and produced. And the track itself is wonderful too. There was more than one orchestrated arrangement in my 200 list, but this one just wow'ed me the most. "The Night King's Lament" by Sam Dillard is probably the strongest contender for my "better than the original version" shuffle list for the arrangement episode of the M Disk Playlist out of all the 200 tracks. It's based on the Dracula battle theme from Super Castlevania IV, and it is a cinematic masterpiece that evolves the already excellent track from the game. "Sword of Sand" by Hylian Lemon might be the prettiest sounding chiptune arrangement out of the 200 tracks reviewed. "Yours Truly, Satan" by Phonetic Hero might be the evilest, most disturbing arrangement out of the 200 tracks reviewed. But come on, it's inspired by the US version of the boss theme from Sonic CD, so of course it had to be more psychotic than the original!
I finished 200 reviews with less than a week to spare. So I took some advice from forum member TillyFun and reviewed some albums that did not receive any reviews at all. Those included Shuttle Rush: Shuttle Remix, Apex 2015: This is the Moment, and the first two volumes of the Vampire Variations trilogy (I reviewed volume 3 anyway cause it felt odd only reviewing volume 1 and 2).
Like I said, it would be tough to highlight every single artist and every single track. So I made a list of the initial 200 tracks I reviewed in the order I downloaded them in. Too lazy to link each and every single one of them, but they're easy to google if you add "OC Remix" before the title of the track.
My Monkey Drives a Maserati
Good NiGHT
Funky Pills
Funk Fusion
Ska Poppin’
Wake Up!
Choose Your Character
The End of Madness
Dark Cellar
Matsuri Madness
The Beginning of a Legacy
mojo gogo
Hero of Celceta
Free Fall
Conundrum
The White Rider
Proceed Without Caution
Hold Your Weapon
There in My Dreams
Running to the Beat
Fight for the Broken Spirit
Heavenly Horrors
Itsusu no Chikara
Bibamus Moriendum, Est
Cryomentus
The Third Dimension
Dark Puppetry
Static Discharge
Muted Skyline
Darkstar
Trippy Puppet Style
Daughter of Evil
Snowy Caps
Rocket
Through the Eyes of Tragedy
8-Bit Rox
The Best of the Best
Time to Choose
Intonation
Dream Racing
Tread a Little Heavier
The Observer
Audiophobe
Dash Cancel
Got My Mind on my Money Match
Edward Penelo’s Waltz
Playing in the Park
Adagio pour Mallow
To the End of the Sea and Sky
Girl from Another World
Aliens in My Waterfall
M-COR Rising
Blue Blur Your Brain
Kaikuluotain
Sword of Sand
The Champion
Never Go Away
Fire Still Burns in my Frozen Heart
Chasing Waterfalls
Drowning in Iron Oxide
A Blue-Green Color
A Mystic Lineage
Ragnarok
Because Eels
The Harbinger of Death
Dungeons to Explore
Embrace the Night
Kodoku
Secrets Abound
Sign of Fortune
Fire Move
I’m a Force of Nature
Wild Night
Requiem for a Dying World
Almost Frozen
Lone Star
99 Floors Underground
Memories of Blood & Bone
The Evolution of Flight
Don’t Hold My Breath
Kastle Rock
Thrill of the Chase
Tears in Rain
Permafrost
You Don’t Talk About Flight Club
Arichnophobia
Dreams of Heroism
The 6th Kingdom
Following Forgotten
Dark Blue Substance
Lightning Chaser
Be Aggressive!
Yours Truly, Satan
Paradise Paradox
Royal Blood, Fraternal Love
Square Zero
Tengen Toppa Dairantou: Part 1 - Game Set
Tengen Toppa Dairantou: Part 2 - Sudden Death
Sonic Boom (American Mix)
Al Bhed Ec Faent
Electro Termites
Two Futures
Copacabana Beach
Turtle in the Shredder’s Shadow
Star Turtles II: The Wrath of Mann
Dead Raggening
A Link to Zelda
Power Glove (It’s So Bad)
Go-Go Gadget Gonkulator
Rawk-It Night
Killing Hope
Loadout (Single-Player Edit)
Hey, Listen
Prog Mario
Wings to the Sky
Devastation’s Duel
Shenanigans Bananigans
Zenpyo!
Eau Charix
Reflex
Contravirt
It’s Raining Zen
Born from the Ashes
Forest Fire
Pizza in the Van
Ninja-Godteri
Heroes of Dawn
Castellum Infernum
Analog Freedom
It’s Okay, I Still Made Paid
Where’s the Wall Chicken At?
Serenity *Under Star Ocean: The Last Story*
Windmill Advisory
Birth Under a Blue Light
Late Night Lindblum
I Am Going to Stop Eventually
Ground Zero
To The Stars
Sailing on Lava
Ominous Waltz
Intercept
AY YO
Ushas’ Dark Gift
ADA
Battle Aboard the Galleon
Abandoned by God
Miljoonamiehen Muistelmat
Heart of Limestone
Whipped Into Shape
The Night Kings Lament
Passing Through History
2D Beat
Tibetan Tussle
Orbital Space Junk
Holy Mother!
The First Story
Rise of Kuros
Bubbling Adrenaline
Thump Brothers
Cliffside Clamber
Hylia’s Fear
Gurgling Desert Pond
The World After Asterion
Priority Nemesis
Earthrise
Liftoff (Get High)
Little Glockenspiel
This Winding Road
Derailed at Wily Temple
Abstract Bond
The Freak Winged Boy
The Crumbling Facade
Blowing Bubbles in Space
Atmospheric Evisceration
Water Warped
Bleets of Lightning
Beneath the Blaze
Runaway Faith
Halo of the Sun
Weaving the Threads of Time
13th Floor Demonstration
Reviere of the Broken Phoenix
Wet Dreams
Percussion Hijinx
Pursued by the Subordinate of Ignorant Sin
Hunger
Top This
Secretive Terrors
Undertow to Leatow
Unbearable
Stepping Out
Full Paragon
Mega Blocked
The Friendly Shadows
Experiments of a Fiend
Enemy Underworld
Lady in the Water
Warrior of the Galaxy
Optimist Prime
Wang. You Want?
I will be talking more about Overclocked and the amazing tracks/albums I reviewed in the last month on the next episode of the M Disk Playlist.
Anyway, I think that's all for now.
Ciao!
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