ShockSlayer MM

FREE download from OC ReMix: https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04570

Source Tunes:
Artazon & Zapapico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za6Flel9nI4
Time Gear Theme (PMD2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afo8lPbvobc
Intro (PMD1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWE5WAz8fW4

I really liked the theme from the towns of Artazon & Zapapico. The original had a travel-friendly vibe, but seemed to quickly move on from certain musical ideas, despite having some surprising chord progressions that I would have liked to have a proper treatment. (Although now that I think about it, I guess it's appropriate for the game as a result to achieve that travel-friendly vibe.) 

I wanted to expand on the melodies I heard, really fleshing them out into fuller ideas. It became a 5/4-6/4 tropical/highland arrangement featuring some sounds such as Impact Soundworks's Highland Harps and Modern Harpejji, my own bell sounds from u-he's Zebra2, and Spectrasonics Omnisphere's pads. Initial inspiration came during a shower and I just found myself humming the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon 1 intro theme on top of what I already had written, because I felt it gave the piece direction and paired surprisingly well with the atmosphere I was going for.

But what was really cool is I had found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoyxorZd6vc), which analyzed the various leitmotifs in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers series and how they were repurposed in multiple themes throughout the game. Even though I was already aware of such a strategy in that series' music, I found that video particularly inspiring, and I actually went back to this ReMix after "finishing" it, and I reworked the breakdown section in the middle to incorporate the Time Gear motif.

It was about 11 hours of total worktime from mid-Nov 2022 into mid-Jan 2023 to finish this, so I'd say I finished it faster than on average! It's also quite a change from my usual arrangements because this time my idea of a breakdown section was a lot more delicateness instead of fanciness, and I've kept harmonic complexity instead of production antics at the forefront. 

Anyways, I think I've rambled on enough, I hope you enjoy what came of this experience!

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Extra Info:

For those interested, here is the way I used the songs this ReMix was based on:

Source Breakdown:
0:00.00 - 0:16.26 = Artazon & Zapapico (0:00.00 - 0:08.26, 0:12.38 - 0:16.49 in 5/4)
0:16.26 - 0:32.48 = Artazon & Zapapico (melody [0:08.26 - 0:16.49] + backing [0:00.00 - 0:08.26] in 5/4)
0:32.48 - 0:42.20 = Artazon & Zapapico (0:16.49 - 0:24.78, 0:33.00 - 0:41.25) [harmony + expansion on original melody]
0:47.09 - 1:11.42 = Artazon & Zapapico (0:16.49 - 0:24.78, 0:33.00 - 0:41.25) [harmony + expansion on original melody]
1:11.42 - 1:25.99 = Artazon & Zapapico (0:41.25 - 0:59.26) [harmony + expansion on original melody]
1:30.84 - 2:00.07 = PMD2 Time Gear (0:00 - 1:05, slightly-modded 2nd phrase for 3rd bar)
2:00.07 - 2:16.26 = Artazon & Zapapico (0:00.00 - 0:08.26, 0:12.38 - 0:16.49 in 5/4) [key change]
2:16.26 - 2:32.48 = Artazon & Zapapico (melody [0:08.26 - 0:16.49] + backing [0:00.00 - 0:08.26] in 5/4)
2:32.48 - 2:48.73 = Prev 16 secs of Artazon (0:00.00 - 0:08.26, 0:12.38 - 0:16.49) + PMD1 Intro Theme (0:08 - 0:12/0:34 - 0:37) in 5/4
2:48.73 - 3:33.63 = PMD1 Intro Theme (0:19 - 0:34)

16.26 + 16.22 + 9.72 + 24.33 + 14.57 + 29.23 + 16.19 + 16.22 + 16.25 + 44.90
= 203.89 secs
203.89/219.95 ~= 92.70% source overall

Artazon & Zapapico (A/Z):
113.51/219.95 = 51.61% A/Z

PMD1 Intro Theme (P1IT):
61.15/219.95 = 27.80% P1IT

PMD2 Time Gear (P2TG):
29.23/219.96 = 13.29% P2TG

Pokémon Violet - ReMix ~ 'The Art of Zoning Out' [Medley (Violet, PMD1, PMD2)] by Timaeus

WIP cover for an up-coming cover album featuring tracks from Ocarina of Time.

Great Deku Tree

https://paste.ee/p/144se

 - Note: This is the first track I ever made with GB Note. It has some pitch bending on the 3rd track which is unsupported in pokecrystal, and therefore doesn't work outside of GB Note.

Megaman Zero 4 - Falling Down (8-Bit)

Megaman Battle Network 2 - Virus Busting (8-Bit)

Megaman Battle Network 5 - Virus Victory (8-Bit)

Megaman Zero 3 - Curse Of Weil (8-Bit)

The way this track is handled in CC is interesting - it was designed to be 2/3 separate tracks, instead of just one long one - this means that if you want it as it is here, you'll have to stitch them together.

Introduction: (this is basically a standalone track)
https://paste.ee/p/P6G6r

Main track: 
(You can call either Music_MMTitle for the rest, or Music_MMTitleShort to skip to the loop point)
https://paste.ee/p/94yTd

Megaman 3 Intro/Title Theme (GBC 8-Bit)

This track feature dynamic tempo changes during the introduction - this was not easy to pull off. You cannot change the tempo in the middle of a note, so each note on each track has to be complete before you can switch, otherwise the track will desync.

https://paste.ee/p/MTaqQ

Megaman Battle Network 4 - Boss Battle (8-Bit)

I had this music on my list for such a long time and for a good reason: the original uses taiko drums for its percussion, which I knew I had to emulate to make it feel authentic. Problem is, I didn't know how the noise channel worked. And now that have messed with it for hours... well... I believe it is nearly impossible to make something decent. I tried, and it sounds alright, but not really that close to the original.

The song is otherwise very simple so I think it turned out great. It uses instrumentation from the DS version instead of the original GBA, but I arranged the GBA tracks for simplicity. It's a nice compromise IMO.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project and FroggestSpirit's MIDI to GSC tool for making this possible.

The Steel Samurai ~Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo~ (PW:AA) | GBC 8-bit Demix

Well, I tried my best, but that beginning still sounds a bit rough, I know. Reuploaded to fix a thing.
 
Thanks to everyone involved with the pokecrystal project for making this possible.

Ace Attorney - Court Begins (PW:AA) | GBC 8-bit Demix [Reupload]

The hardest part of this one was, to no one's surprise, the main flute. I did my best and I think it sounds ok, but maybe requires some more work.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project for making this possible.

Jake Marshall ~ Vagabond Detective From The Wild West (PW:AA) | GBC 8-bit Demix

Source code for hacks:
https://pastebin.com/UikDn8qP
Upload of an old song from February 2018 that was missing on this channel.

Lugia's Song (GBC 8-bit)

I played Doom 2016. It wasn't really my thing. But this song rocks, and it was quite easy to do :). Enjoy.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project for making this possible.

At Doom's Gate / E1M1 (DOOM) | GBC 8-bit Demix

This song was surprisingly difficult to do. Mainly because it has a weird time signature and my program doesn't like that too much. A lot of time was spent trying to make everything line up correctly.

I think the final result is quite decent, though I thought it would be slightly better when I started. I had to leave the wave channel for the bass because it's quite low in this song, which didn't help with the variety. But overall, it was a fun project. Also, I decided to cut the percussion intro from Colosseum because it didn't sound as good in chiptune. So this technically is closer to the XD version.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project for making this possible.

Pyrite Town (Pokémon Colosseum / XD) | GBC 8-bit Demix

I thought this one was going to be a piece of cake.

AHAHAH, nope.

It took a while getting things in sync, and trying to make it sound the best I could took even longer. I'm still unsure about a few parts - turns out this song isn't that simple after all. Still, that beginning is excellent at least.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project for making this possible.

Corneria (Star Fox) | GBC 8-bit Demix

I've resisted covering this song for a long time since there are already so many amazing versions by other Gameboy arrangers. However, I decided I could give it my own spin and especially try to add in stereo in a natural way, to make it feel much more like the other Gen 2 songs. Also, some people kept asking me to cover it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

At first I wanted to have the Wave channel covering the melody(making a parallel with Route 26, which has the same feeling as this song for me), but that quickly proved to be a bad idea for multiple reasons. So I caved in and had the Wave doing the bass.

I'll admit, right now, that I cheated a bit with this one; I had to make a custom wave. It's exactly the same as #6 (for the uninitiated, the one used in Cherrygrove City among others) but about 75% lower in volume. It just didn't sound right using the full volume or 50% for the whole song. If I really, really had to stick to the original Gen 2 waves, I'd use #5 instead(that's used in Goldenrod City for example), but I really prefer the sound of #6 for this song.

Other than that, I really had fun with the stereo with this one. I think it sounds really natural and adds something to the music that the GBSounds version doesn't have. Overall, it was a fun project that gave me a newfound appreciation for the song.

Thanks to the pokecrystal disassembly project for making this possible.

Megaman Zero 3 - Curse Of Weil (8-Bit)

ShockSlayer

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