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That's a really nice way to look at composition and I can totally see it in the music now you've pointed that out!

The opener really grabbed me! There's something wonderfully off-kilter about it. Definitely helped by that warbley organ sound, but it's also in the rhythmic feel. Really interesting compositional style, I dig it a lot.

The bass on Lousy Ol Town is goin' for it! Super fun to listen to. Your use of different time signatures is really enjoyable, especially feeling that on track 3. I agree with someone else in the comments that I got some Crash Bandicoot vibes from this and that's certainly no bad thing! The synthy bass sound that comes in towards the end of that track really pulls it together too.

The bonus track is a nice change of pace, but the style still fits the soundtrack. Honestly, I would've probably kept that in and maybe made it track 3 (and track 3 would become track 4). Could easily be some music for a different area that is slightly more foreboding. Would add to the story! The bouncy melodic bit over the top feels like it keeps it close enough in tone to the rest.

Really enjoyed this even though it's quite short! I agree that there could be some touching up with the mix and maybe some added expression or variation ok play style with some of the instruments, but the ideas and rhythms and feel are all super engaging to me. Very enjoyable.

The opener really grabbed me! There's something wonderfully off-kilter about it. Definitely helped by that warbley organ sound, but it's also in the rhythmic feel. Really interesting compositional style, I dig it a lot.

The bass on Lousy Ol Town is goin' for it! Super fun to listen to. Your use of different time signatures is really enjoyable, especially feeling that on track 3. I agree with someone else in the comments that I got some Crash Bandicoot vibes from this and that's certainly no bad thing! The synthy bass sound that comes in towards the end of that track really pulls it together too.

The bonus track is a nice change of pace, but the style still fits the soundtrack. Honestly, I would've probably kept that in maybe made it track 3 (and track 3 would become track 4). Could easily be some music for a different area that is slightly more foreboding. Would add to the story! The bouncy melodic bit over the top feels like it keeps it close enough in tone to the rest.

Really enjoyed this even though it's quite short! I agree that there could be some touching up with the mix and maybe some added expression or variation ok play style with some of the instruments, but the ideas and rhythms and feel are all super engaging to me. Very enjoyable.

Thank you so much for listening! And for the kind words. 

You've pointed out some tracks both of us were individually more responsible for writing so, we're feeling very happy at that recognition. :D

Enjoying the vibes and feel here!

I have seen some comments about how the melodies maybe feel a little aimless and, while there's some truth to that, I also think that it does work for the out on the ocean scene you wanted to go for with this. It has an endless wavey kind of feel and I appreciated that. I also enjoyed the business of the tracks for that reason as well.

I do agree that there is a flatness to the production and the way the instruments are playing. I think more use of dynamics in each instrument would go a long way. Maybe some other instruments too. And I do think it would help to have the songs evolve and change a bit more throughout or yo just have some other tracks with different tones and feels, but I still very much enjoyed what you got down.

Also, I love the story idea you have and how well it fits the theme! Some other tracks that put forth some different feels would really help tell that story, I think. Nice work though!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm really glad that the more vague and open descriptions for each song were appreciated. We definitely wanted to leave a lot to the listener so that the focus was the overall journey and the music that gets you there.

I think we falter some in the second half as I wish we'd had time for one more happy, bouncy platforming tune to balance out the feel, but we're still real proud of what we managed to get done.

I think a few other people have commented on the general sound of the instruments and production and how that could be improved so I'll just focus on the stuff I liked...which was a lot!

I will say that the simplistic feel of the instruments themselves and the production does actually give it a slight PSOne sample-based JRPG soundtrack feel to me, which I really enjoy. There were definitely some moments in track 1 where I could feel that energy and excitement coming through, almost like battle music.

Track 2 has more of a lengthy build to it and there's a lot to like about your composition style. Also really liked the background sound design on this one too.

Really nice work, especially considering you have not done this before. I feel like you've got an ear for it so would love to hear more as you keep honing your style!

Thanks very much for saying so! Really appreciate the listen.

Was really impressed your entry so, feels good to read. :D

Lovely feel to the piano opening this soundtrack and I was very into it once the bass started up. The use of slightly unnatural choral sounds is something I love too. The pumping chords in the background of Hearth and Stars are great and the chippy sounding melody sits really well over the top.

The juxtaposition of the pretty intense drumbeat behind the floaty, kindly melodies on Guided by the Fireflies really worked for me, kind of wanted it to go on a bit longer! Even if it just repeated. The opening of the melody on Humid Hex is super cool (as is the rest of it), can absolutely imagine weaving in and out of hundreds of tiny shots as this plays.

Love the driving beat behind The Fever Breaks! Also the return of some previous melodic ideas and sounds is really well done. The tracks are short on this soundtrack, but they pack a lot of interest in! Something I could stand to learn from. Also love the way each track moves onto the next. Very well done.

Dueling melodies on Her Summer Resolve go hard and I like how much we slow down for the last track. That way that piano roll cuts in right at the end surprised me too! Very cool.

I think my only criticisms would be that a few of the tracks were maybe too short. I imagine they'd be fine looping in a game context, but I found myself just wanting to hear a little bit more when each musical idea moved onto the next. I also thought there were a couple of parts where the production was a tiny bit mushy. Only very mildly. It's really not bad at all and generally the sound is very high quality, I just felt it at a few points throughout. Super great stuff, overall! Very nice and breezy to sit through while definitely having plenty going on and conveying a great little musical story.

Great idea for the theme, fits really well and is an opening for a lot of emotion. First track is a lovely way to start, nice composition on the guitar and the melodies throughout are comfortable and cosy, but also wistful and a bit sad.

Like the bass writing a lot on Boardwalk Halo (great name). Punches through and gives it a unique feel, in my opinion. That melody really pulls me along with the song too. Fair of Yesteryear is a nice bit of fun and fits the scene you were going for. Same with Beach Games. The bouncy guitar chords and flighty melody work very well together.

Twilight's Farewell absolutely nails being a more nighttime feeling counterpart to Boardwalk Halo. Reusing the melody in a different way and weaving some other things around it really pushes that musical story you're telling along. The last track felt nice and poignant while also evoking the fairground/Ferris wheel music that you were going for. Really nice.

I think I would echo some of the other critiques in that some of the really good songwriting is a little bit hamstrung by the simplicity of the VSTs used. It can sometimes be a little expressionless and rigid, but the quality of the composition still shines through and I really liked the heartfelt sound of the whole thing.

Considering how positively I felt about your entry it's wild and wonderful to come back and read your lovely comments about ours!

Thank you so much! I had many of the same feelings about yours, especially on how cohesive it felt.

Really appreciate the listen and the comments.

Thanks very much for the comments!

I definitely agree somewhat that we somewhat went for an overall quantity and story and maybe sacrificed some individual song quality, at least in terms of each piece not having much evolution in the musical ideas before they end.

We were trying to go for some fairly simple loops that could play in the background of some platformy levels, but I think next time we'll try to maybe do fewer tracks, but add a bit more musical complexity and evolution to each one.

Very much enjoy the false sense of security this opens with. It sounds uncomfortably simple in some of the instrumentation, with the kind of overly intense piano sounds, but that feels deliberate as it gets more complex and then the piece kind of degrades and falls apart (in a good way).

Absolutely adore the break-beating my ears took in track 2, though I have to say, I really didn't like the baby crying. I think it's a good bit of sound design to use and it tells a good bit of story, but the wailing goes on a bit too long in my opinion. Just gets a bit annoying after a while. Luckily those sick beats made up for it.

Track 3's wobbly, windy madness is probably my fave. It's a really cool vibe and I've not heard anything else like it in the Jam. Track 4's unsettling melancholy caps off the soundtrack really nicely. Love the music box melodies and the sound design of the creaking in the background works well.

Really enjoyed the overall story and the places this one went musically! Very impressive. I would maybe say a couple of the sounds used are a little too simple sounding, or abrasive in the wrong ways (and I could do with 20 - 30 seconds less baby mewling), but it never loses its cohesion and there's a clear story being told. Rad.

First of all, the interpretation of the theme and the story you've gone with for this soundtrack is great. It works really well for the theme and is perfect for the soundtrack you've written. The opening track is super relaxing and intriguing, absolutely love the subtle complexities in the drum track like the fast hits on that ride cymbal. Familiar Faces is pretty great as a homely village kinda song, big Animal Crossing vibes. Lovely guitar composition.

That organ on A Lively Catch is so smoov. It all sounds really professional, just some excellent songwriting. Like the way the guitar turns back with some intricate picking at the end of some phrases gets me GOIN'. Really cool. The switch up to the creepy tones of Run It Back feels right here as well. Great little soundscape on this one.

Then we have some very effective electronics on the next track, that crescendo in the bassy synth rules...as does the descending chords sequence towards the end (love that this kind of thing comes back throughout the soundtrack too). Then acid bass on Of all the Buttons to Press?! This is going places...extremely well produced. I legit can't imagine doing all this in 10 days.

The underwater, spacey spookiness of There's Nothing in the Water works great, love the panning of the hats and other percussive elements. The way this one then leads into A Really Big Shadow is kinda masterful as well...I think this is my fave soundtrack that I've listened to in this Jam. It all just sounds great and the songwriting is at a very high level. A lot going on, but never too much and, while the genres keep switching it up, there's a consistency that I can't quite articulate that seems to keep it all together. It's weirdly cohesive considering how different it all is and I can feel a story playing out through the music even without the (highly entertaining) story you've come up with.

Holy wow, the drums on The Benthic Hour. Such a cool climax. Especially once the piano melodies weave their way in closing out back to the pastoral feeling of the acoustic guitar. Great stuff.

I've been trying to put little bits of constructive criticism in all the reviews I've done so far, but I genuinely can't think of much to say here. At a stretch there were maybe a couple of times where I thought an instrument sounded a little bit "stock" or rigid, but, it's extremely rare and, considering the breadth of ideas and genres here put together over just 10 days, not exactly surprising. Oh, the one other tiny thing I didn't personally love was the way the acoustic guitar faded out at the end. I think it should've played a bit longer before fading or maybe played out a nice little final melody to really bring it home, but that's just me (this is also an extremely tiny critique).

The whole thing is really just awesome. My highest rating for sure.

Really like this interpretation of the theme. A meteor shower feels very much like "a summer night" kind of thing to base a game around. It's such a good idea for the theme that I kind of wish there was more to hear!

Enjoying the relaxing, mysterious qualities of it all very much, the warm backing chords of the track Perseids are lovely. There's something I really, really like about the sort of repeating melodic rhythms in the background of Milky-Way. Just hits right.

Criticisms would just be that it's very short so there isn't much storytelling that can be done, or much variety, but the vibes you do go for work great.

Very enjoyable, cinematic feeling sound design on first track, the big bassy hits especially. The rest of the soundtrack could've had more of this soundtrack design stuff, honestly, it was effective. Really enjoyed the slightly off-kilter, but still melancholic melodies as well. The vibes on display on all the tracks are very much my kind of thing.

The intense beat on track 3 cuts through all the other kinda spooky, melancholic stuff in a cool way, very much enjoyed that. The last part of the track gets pretty epic and feels like escaping from something.

It all ends with a nice, creepy little thing as well, rounds it out well. Effective sounds on the instruments for sure.

If I was to critique much, I think it'd just be that I'm struggling a little to see how it fits with the theme, mostly because that's not really mentioned in the description. There wasn't much that felt very "summer" about it and it didn't really evoke the image for me. I also think telling a full, rounded musical story in such a short time is tough, but that does come across somewhat still.

Overall, I really liked it though. I'm a sucker for that kind of horror and it was generally evocative of that so, great job!

Really enjoyable and charming. Has an off-kilter feel to the instrumentation and music that does evoke the weirder soundtracks from old SNES games like Earthbound. The tracks are short, but there's a lot of good musical progression in them that generally keeps the attention. Just a lot of fun and charm in the melodies. Fits the tongue in cheek tone of the idea for the game, especially with all the mini game type stuff (I actually really like the sound of this game and would love to play something like it).

My criticisms are a little irrelevant because the musical style feels like it's supposed to evoke the lo-fi sampling style of the SNES, but I will say that the instruments are quite simple and unchanging. Not a lot of expressiveness or anything like that. I also think the bass is a bit overpowering on some of the tracks, but these are minor points.

The musical references are fun, especially love the very direct use of Pac-Man music (don't worry, I won't tell Namco), feel like a game that could reference other games so directly in its soundtrack like this would be really fun. Also love the shifts in tone from track to track without losing the overall vibe you're going for. Felt good for the theme of the Jam too! Really fun.

Really understated composition to open with and in general, a lot of really nice subtlety and I love hearing that acoustic guitar. Love the weirder sounding chords being used as well.

The acoustic nature of much of this soundtrack feels great. There's a lot of tempo changes and it all feels very naturalistic. This also makes Blurred feel more impactful as those powerful chordy synth arps start playing. Probably my fave track to listen to even though I appreciated the live-playing feel of the other tracks more overall.

The motifs and vibes coming back throughout are really well done as well. It's not a super long soundtrack, but what's there gets across a little journey for sure. The songwriting in general is just excellent here and also feels very different to anything else I've listened to so far. Very impressive!

Viiiiiiiiibes! My kind of music for sure. Loving the added sound design elements as well. The passing cars etc. do add to it, I think. Love it when the chords get kind of epic towards the end of Cruze as well.

Challenger is great too, love the main theme on this one, just gets you GOIN'. I think my only criticisms of this soundtrack would be there is a (very) slight mushiness to some of it. Nothing major, just some instruments feel like they aren't punching out of the mix as hard as they feel like they want to.

Really enjoyed the two tracks though. Tough to fully tell much of a story or anything with only a couple of tracks, but I think the extra sound effects do go some way to make up for that.

Opener has some great progression to it, feels like a journey for sure. I love the creativity in some of the piano melody throughout.

Track 2 is awesome. Really feels like a prog rock track, but without the need for any guitars. It did evoke the ocean for me a bit too, which is cool. I especially love the sound of the drums on it...that snare goes hard and the drums stay interesting throughout.

I guess my criticisms would be that it's only the two tracks so it's a bit hard to fully get a story across, but each track does go places so, it's not like it's totally lacking in that area or anything. There are also a couple of transitions that were slightly too abrasive for me, but I'm really nitpicking.

Enjoyed it a lot! Especially track 2.

The scoring is wonderful, really using the instruments to their strengths. Parts gave me real PSOne JRPG vibes. Show of Strength really feeling like some battle music for something like that. So much energy and so much fun musicality to latch onto on every track. Would be able to listen to them over and over.

Mild criticisms would be that the artificialness of the instruments sometimes spoils a bit of the overall feel of the music. The main issue there is usually the piano, I think. It doesn't sound very expressive. I get a sense that that is partly deliberate to evoke the more sample based soundtracks of that era, but I still think it occasionally does feel a bit too artificial.

It doesn't really matter though, as the quality of the composition comes through really well. All the melodies and progressions are really well done and often very beautiful. Has a very inspirational, intriguing and exciting feel throughout. I think there are parts that get across both the "summer" part and the "night" part of the theme. Excellent stuff!

Beautiful chord progressions and melodies, the piano really gives the whole thing an air of summery melancholy, but also some distinct hopefulness. Really impressive songwriting. "escape into the night" really has that driving, urgent feel needed for a good platforming level, while still feeling contemplative and hopeful.

The breakbeaty style of the drums on "it doesn't end like this" really take that one to a higher level as well, it gives it an aggressive confidence that goes really well with the growing optimism of the chords and melodies...like finding the drive to fight back.

It all ends on a nice poignant feeling note as well which brings it kinda full circle from the first track. Kinda feels like a sunrise right at the end too.

Only real criticism is that I didn't love all the sounds used for every track, particularly a couple on lana's place, but that's really just a personal preference thing. Thought it was all great. Very cohesive.

Very enjoyable soundtrack overall! Beautiful opening, really progresses and feels like it goes somewhere. Great instrumentation too, in my opinion.

Love the use of choral voices throughout and the authentic sounding instruments along with it. Different time of day versions of the Town Bazaar theme are great. Can definitely imagine those ones in context.

The whole thing does have a good variety of feels and imagery while sticking to quite medieval sounding instruments and songwriting styles. My only main criticism, I guess, would be that there is some predictability in the vibe and songwriting of some of the tracks because of this, but this isn't really a critique since it also means it's all very solidly evocative of the style you were going for. Loved it!

Really loving hearing some different instruments on this one compared to most I've listened to so far (including my own hah). The compositions do generally feel like they play to the strengths of those instruments too. Feels very summer and very nighttime which I really appreciate. Probably the soundtrack most evocative of the actual theme of the Jam that I've listened to so far.

I think my main criticisms would be that some of the instruments feel a little artificial at times and there are some slight audio balancing issues. I think it's that sometimes some of the instruments sound too clean? If that makes sense. The wind atmos sound on Hozuki Village is a good idea for the track, but it's a little too overpowering, I think. Love the birdsong here though.

Quite like the driving drums in Shattered Silence (maybe a little too overpowering? Though this can often be the case in this genre so that might be on me) and really like the weird vocal sound used in the middle. Also really like the celebratory feel of When the Summer Fades. Nicely ties everything together. Also very much enjoyed any part during the soundtrack where the shamisen gets to shred haha. Some of the faster playing on that instrument sounds really great here and is very well written. Overall really impressive!