Game Music Cover Challenge - Closed

December 18th 2013 a new challenge was launched. The music player in the right side bar is filled with loads of remakes of MSX game musics which are made by game music fanatics. The idea was to have these (and more) people compete against each other and gain new musical creations for all to hear. And man, a success it was!

At first the deadline was a little steep. Extending it to Februari 28th 23:59 proved to be a good choice as a lot of entries were submitted in this extra month. The busiest day for the MRC staff turned out to be the day of the deadline, and this time it wasn't even by Wolf's doing as he was pointed to the judge's seat.

As the deadline has passed now, it's time for the inevitable overview:

MRC would like to thank all the contestants for their hard work bringing no less then twenty gems of game covers to the world. We received more entries, from more people, with more diversity than we could ever expect!
At this point the fate of the contestants lies in the hands of a three headed jury of musically well skilled people namely Wolf_, Dandan and Oscar Centelles.
Since the jury will have a hard (and therefore long) time to come up with a verdict, tell us in the replies which cover you liked most.

Relevant link: Game Music Cover Challenge - downloads

Comments (24)

By Grauw

Ascended (10902)

01-03-2014, 01:19

I’m very impressed to see 20 songs!

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1842)

01-03-2014, 01:24

Great job everyone! The amount of entries and the diversity are definately beyond anything I expected beforehand, so I'm very happy with the way this challenge turned out

As for a personal favorite of all the covers I can't name my own versions of course And there's too many to choose from, and each of them has something going for it too.

Hmm... I think the Undeadline intro is my favorite. even though it sticks closely to the original, it has this very nice vibe to it that I really like!

By ericb59

Paragon (1130)

01-03-2014, 08:05

all,make great job. but I think a lot of contestants are glue to the original track, and don't bring some creativity to their track. I think the treasure of usas ending by the mystery studio is the most creative... This is my winner !

By Latok

msx guru (3998)

01-03-2014, 10:41

My top 3:

1. Nemesis 2 - Opening by Gryzor 87

Subtle arrangement, amazing song. Entirely made on MSX. Winner!

2. Vampire Killer - Number of the Beats by Jorito

Bold and fresh arrangement. Almost winner

3. Illusion City by Destroy the Core!

Like ericb59 said, many arrangements are too safe for my liking as well, this one I enjoyed a lot though!

Salamander/Starquake - Lizard Star by Omega won the fourth place battle with Xak II - Opening Sequence by Meits

By Latok

msx guru (3998)

01-03-2014, 11:20

Bart beat me at a pinball game last year, so I choose to ignore him

By ro

Scribe (5200)

01-03-2014, 11:48

impressive list, impressive tracks. A great compo with stunning entries indeed. Concrats to MRC for this idea and props to all composers.

The Rune Master comp is one of my fave, great work Jorito!

By Edwin

Paragon (1182)

01-03-2014, 13:58

Since there is an integrated music player, would it be possible to include that with a playlist for these entries? Or would that violate the needs of the stats whores?

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1842)

01-03-2014, 14:14

Edwin wrote:

Since there is an integrated music player, would it be possible to include that with a playlist for these entries? Or would that violate the needs of the stats whores?

Alas, the music player only supports a single playlist, and that one contains all mp3s (including the ones from the challenge). But maybe we could rename the songs (prefix them with GMC and a number) so that you can just usr the search option to filter out and play these songs.

By Sander

Founder (1876)

01-03-2014, 15:14

I like all the tracks. Luckily I'm not part of the jury.

By Low_Profile

Champion (426)

02-03-2014, 00:31

lol Latok

A good enough reason to ignore anybody, that !#$@ was unforgivable!
Gotta do it again sometime in the fall though (if Dennis has time to organize/host it that is)

I found my passion for remakes again with this challenge, and was surprised to see how many composers are still actively involved on msx.org! Hopefully a steady stream of new remakes has been unlocked

By Oscar

Guardian (587)

02-03-2014, 11:09

Woa! Lot of quality entries! This is going to be difficult to judge Thank you everybody for creating all these great music arragements.

By Pac

Scribe (7250)

02-03-2014, 18:45

Difficult to judge... Rune Master 3 is my favourite anyway I'm impressed about the quality and quantity. Thank you everybody for your great work!

By anonymous

incognito ergo sum (116)

02-03-2014, 21:39

Very impressive.Thank you all.

My best favourites are Rune Master III, Golvellius and Ys.

By shaiwa

Champion (392)

02-03-2014, 23:28

Well, ... goodluck to the members of the jury.
The entries are all great (At the moment listening to Space Manbow and again its awesome, looping the 20 entries )

By freddy.hajas

Supporter (3)

03-03-2014, 03:46

Wow! Nice contest! I did one remake back in 1996 with poor quality gears that I had on the time...

Dungeon Master - Main Theme
http://www.hajas.org/mp3/Hajas-Dungeon_Master.mp3

Now I need to find time to listen all 20... :D

Enjoy! :D

By konamiman

Paragon (1227)

04-03-2014, 09:39

Congrats to all the contestants for very a great work, but my vote goes without any doubt for the number 7: Golvellius 2 Medley by Bart Roijmans.

By nerlaska

Master (166)

13-03-2014, 10:46

Golvellius2 is great .. but .. I love Nemesis - Roz in Space Mix!
Congrats to all the MSX musicians for your work!

By Bart

Paragon (1422)

22-03-2014, 13:31

Wow, these are just great songs! Excellent work everybody! My personal favorite would be the Golvellius 2 medley. I just love it!

By syn

Prophet (2158)

23-03-2014, 02:33

I've decided to do a quick comments/review round for the entries so I sat down and took some time to listen to the entries. Some I have already heard a lot since they are on my mp3 playlist but others I have never paid any attention to.

Xak II - Opening Sequence by Meits
- First part sounds good, instruments sound a bit dry. I feel the lead instrument used in the second part (after about 4:10) is aweful. It doesnt really go well with the the rest of the instruments which is a shame. The final part (around 8:00 ish) sounds great, but maybe im biased because I love that part in the original msx version so much.

The Treasure of Usas - Ending by TheMysteryStudios
- To be honest, I don't know the original version Don't know much to say about this one, arrangement is pretty good I guess, clear mastering as well. Could use some effects I think in parts?

Space Manbow - Beyond the Battleship by Jorito
- I love this one. Great full sounds, overal good mastering/production. Awesome guitar solo as well. Top notch rendition of an all time classic tune.

F-1 Spirit - Hot Summer Riding by yzi
- Good sounding rearrangement of this track. It sounds modern yet retro at the same time.

Illusion City by Destroy the Core!
- I feel the chosen synthesizer instruments sounds great in this one. The song starts off a bit slow , obviously trying to build up the tention, and picks up the pace as you move further into the tune. Overall I like it because it is not just a standard "same notes with high quality sounds" recreation but instead aims to add a personal twist to a well-known theme. I especially like the fact that it has a nice 80's-90's scifi-flick feel to it.

Nemesis - Roz in Space Mix by Roz
- A mixed bag really, some parts are better than others. Although production-wise its good with a good use of synths and effects and overal decent mastering, I felt there was something that was lacking to keep me drawn to the song.

Golvellius 2 Medley by Bart Roijmans
- Great piano intro, Great buildup overal. Good entry

Chicago’s 30 by FranSX
- Hard to judge this one, I dont know the original. Not bad I suppose, could use some effects because some sounds sound a bit "dry".

Rune Master 3 - Journey to the Three Kingdoms by Jorito
I loved the original version since I played a lot of rune master as a kid, so it is nice to hear an semi-orchestral rendition of the music.

Desperado by FranSX
- Great entry! I love the use of that gunshot sound effects in the song and that "whistle".

Nemesis 2 - Opening by Gryzor 87
- My absolute favorite scc song as a kid, thus I like this one. Overal it is a very nice variation of the theme, although I think it has a more rushing/chaotic atmosphere compared to the original's creepy tension-building feel and therefore prefer the original.

Sweet Acorn - Not so sweet by ewsnatcher
I felt this track is a bit boring, and I think some parts sound louder compare to other parts, so the volume balance needs to be looked at. Otherwise it is an okay effort.

Vampire Killer - Number of the Beats by Jorito
-Top-notch mastering/production, overal a crisp and clear sound. Unfortunately I feel the song is a let down by the relatively small, tiny sounding lead instruments compared to the bombastic beats and thumping bassline, especially in the beginning. The nice guitar parts make up for this though. I felt the vocal speech was unnessary, but to each their own.

La Corona Encantada - Main Theme by FranSX
- I don't know the original. I think the mix of psg and more real-sounding instruments work well in this one.

Cobra's Arc - Main Theme by FranSX
- Nice arabic drums, otherwise not really my cup of tea, this kind of music.

Roadfighter - From Start to Finish by Duren
Not bad, sounds a bit monotonious. Bonus points for using fasttracker I suppose

Wanderers from Ys - Feena's Premonition by Jorito and Meits
- Not bad, nothing much to say. Feels like a generic piano cover.

Wells & Fargo - Main Theme by FranSX
- I love the guitar intro. I think FranSX actually got better and better with each entry and I think this one is is best. Good job!

Salamander/Starquake - Lizard Star (Omega)
- Not bad. Balance between the different channels/instruments could use some work I think, sometimes bassline is too soft. I don't know enough about opl4/moonblaster to say more useful things about this entry

Undeadline - Opening Theme by Bart Roijmans
- I love this one one. Great production quality, good variation of instruments and overal a decent cover of one of my favorite tunes.

My personal top 3 winners

Illusion City by Destroy the Core!
Nemesis 2 - Opening by Gryzor 87
Space Manbow - Beyond the Battleship by Jorito

By Jorito

Mr. Ambassadors (1842)

23-03-2014, 00:12

Thanks for posting all these mini reviews, really liked them! Too bad I only ended third

By syn

Prophet (2158)

23-03-2014, 16:56

You're welcome. If anyone has questions feel free to ask (like if they disagree with what I wrote about their entry or just want more info) and ill try add additional comments.

By mesiasmsx

Prophet (3464)