Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Last Chieftess]

Man, that description really sets the melancholy tone of the rest of the piece. It's as if the "rightful place" of the last chieftess is her grave, like a ghost being put to rest. Yet, despite the hopelessness of many parts of this piece, there are moments where hope still creeps in.

The fantasy-like feel of the song comes through really clearly.

The mixing could be louder. I recommend a light amount of compression or normalization, just enough to increase the volume but not enough to affect the dynamics; the dynamics are one of the best parts of this piece.

What a journey of a song. I love this! :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

dkDigital responds:

Glad to hear that you liked it! I was indeed trying to tell a sad yet hopeful story and the fact that you refer to it as a journey is exactly what I want to hear! ^.^

As for the compression, it is compressed. I didn't want to normalize as I needed the contrast between the softer and the harder parts. And I can't amplify it farther without it clipping... due in part to one sample I was using. I tried taking the sample out, but the song lost so much of it's power, and I don't currently have a suitable alternative.

[No Choice]

I think it's incredible that you did this in the space of about in hour. :D

It definitely feels like a throwback to Sega Genesis/SNES days, like a car chase or an action sequence of some kind.

The mixing is a little quiet; you may want to try using compression to boost the volume. That way the listener doesn't have to change the volume specifically for this song.

I'm curious to see what kind of game you make with this. Good luck! :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Barzoom responds:

Thank you for the kind words buddy! Honestly speaking I didn't bother with mixing at all it just sort of fell into place like this so I didn't want to touch anything :X.

(The game will be some sort of quirky RPG probably, not entirely sure yet.)

[Vista Sounds - Long Way]

As far as EDM goes, this isn't bad. Personally, I'd qualify house as a subset of EDM.

I think, given the genre, the mix isn't bad, although in some parts of the song there is very noticeable distortion with the instruments. It's unclear if you meant it that way or not, but I think that distortion could make the piece tiring to listen to multiple times in a row.

What's the story behind the name? It's hard to make sense of it.

Still, it's pretty good, all things considered. I hope you find this feedback helpful for your future works. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Vista-Sound13 responds:

I really like your review, Thanks. I called it 'Long Way' because the melody (piano) to me sounds that happy and hopeful.

[Baka is a creep!]

This seems tongue-in-cheek, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. IMO The music sounds unfinished.

Who is Baka? What's the story behind that name?

The mixing isn't great. It's a little heavy on the compression and some of the instruments get muddy and lost in the mix because of it.

I said it seemed tongue-in-cheek, but the reality is your intent is unclear. If you provide your intent and thought process in the description it could influence my rating and review. As it is, I don't know what you are trying to do in creating and releasing this piece so I have to score it based on how much I like it rather than how effective I think your intent comes across in your music.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

biyaonibakasan responds:

I really appreciate the feedback. and yes, it is sounds unfinished and insufficient with extended context on this track. Your Guidelines has a awesome Standard to make the artist feel more impulsive and more motivated to make better content for those creators like me. It may come in handy through my end. Thanks!

[Skerp - Staying Alive]

There's a certain pessimism to this piece. I'm not sure if this is your intent, but the repetition, although annoying if played on loop, makes me feel like doing the same thing every day just to stay alive in times like now, with the virus and all, is a real struggle. IMO the sparse instrumentation highlights the bore of having nothing to do.

Mixing wise, the song is pretty good, although I think the volume could be louder via compression.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Skerpp responds:

Thank you for the feedback I appriciate it very much, If you really dig deep in this beat and just play it over its a simple beat and makes you think its the same thing, what are we doing now what are we going through are we going through a loop hole right now through processes of life as everyone lives through one of these pandemics, history repeats itself, this track is what you take of it and what you think of it.

Thank you for the comment, I do think i could make the track louder as it is a tiny bit quite, thank you for the compliments as i appriciate it very very much and thank you so much for the feedback, stay safe and have a good week!!

- Skerp

[untitled boss theme]

I love this! :D It has a Mario & Luigi feel to it.

The panning and the way it's mixed is cool too. Definitely a breath of fresh air compared to some of the other chiptune songs I've heard.

Not sure about the skeleton guitar. Are you talking about that melodic synth from about half-way through? It's cool sounding. I do think that as a song the ending is abrupt. I wish it was posted as a loop. I'm looping right now and it sounds great! Although, the aesthetic of the song gradually gets busier towards the end, so hearing it looped in its entirety is a bit jarring every time it restarts.

Still, nice work!

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

zami responds:

ah, thank u for your review! the skeleton guitar is just a joke, it's the overdriven guitar from earthbound's soundfont, and it was used in megalovania.

[SHAPE ZONE (Song #6)]

Nice work, although I'd say the ducking would be a distraction if I was wearing headphones while playing, though. My suggestion would be to make the song's mixing a bit less aggressive so I can focus on the game rather than the music.

Apart from that, the feel of a puzzle game background music is there, though. The writing fits, just not the mix.

I hope you find this helpful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

DIMENSIONLORD responds:

Thanks for the review! You make it sound like you've already played the game! Well you will get your chance very very soon. There will be an option to mute the music -- if you feel like playing other music while playing the game.

*EDIT: I made adjustments to the mix and I think it sounds a LOT better now.

[Chrythm - Legends]

It sounds very pretty. What's the story behind the name?

I think it may help if you use compression/limiting plugins, or at least some volume normalization, to increase the volume. The reason behind this is so the listener doesn't have to change their volume to listen to this one track.

I kind of wish there was more to this piece it than what is here so far.

The song's general vibe comes across to me as serious, but not epic. It's certainly unique, though. Not sure what you are trying to convey, but again, it sounds nice overall.

I hope my feedback helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Chrythm responds:

The name is mostly just a reference to epic storytelling, I felt it was appropriate for a song like this. The reason this might be quiet is my headset volume, I usually work with it really low. I will pay more attention to it from now on.
Thanks for the review!

[Sky High Clouds]

That's pretty fun sounding. It feels like train travel in a hypothetical urban SNES Pokemon game.

That said, I don't think the name matches the vibe. You may want to consider changing the name to fit the feel of the song better.

I think the mixing is too quiet. If you have any, I think you should use compression/limiting plugins and/or normalize the track so it is as loud as other songs you may hear. It's inconvenient for the listener to have to raise the volume for this one song and lower it again when they go back to listening to other music.

If you are intending this piece as a song rather than a loop, I recommend resolving the song with an ending rather than an abrupt full stop, unless you were specifically going for that.

The only other thing is I wish there was more to it.

Other than that, you did a great job. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

gamerjaym responds:

thanks dunno how to change it so ill leave it as is