Thanks so much, I appreciate the kind words! Writing the 2026 version was made a little easier by already having the 1996 version as a blueprint but there was a nerve-wracking stretch of time of slow progress. Fortunately, I had a burst of inspiration towards the end of the jam haha.
Luca Nix
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Thanks! I used The Black Kit in BFD 3 for most of the drums but with some different cymbals and hat swapped in. I also used Slate Trigger to beef up the kick and snare a little. I actually did create another melody but it felt like the piece lost focus, so I kept it the same throughout. It could be the result of listening to both though, as you said.
Really cool and fits well as a battle theme! Great choice in sounds. My only critiques really are regarding the mix. The balance seems to favour the high end too much causing the piece to sound thin and airy. The arrangement deserves more weight than the mix is providing. If you do another mix, check the frequency distribution and see what you can change in order to achieve more punch and depth.
This is cool. Lots of nice textures. Perhaps too many elements fighting for space at once, making the track murky and overcrowded. Personally, I'd reduce the amount of reverb, get a bit more liberal with the EQ, and push the drums forward in the mix a little to act as an anchor. It would give the piece more weight and focus.
I like this a lot for an ice type battle theme. The piano with delay sounds lovely. Good work. I do agree with ForsakenSounds555 here in that the snare and hihat are a bit to harsh for the rest of the music. Either pulling the levels back or rolling off the high end would help blend it in better, I think.
Very good and definitely gives me the impression of a snow/ice area. A more percussive sound might have been better for the arpeggio to more accurately give the impression of falling snow, I think. A subtle introduction of another instrument later in the song could give more variation without detracting from that calm and reflective feel you're going for.
This is nice. Very seaside. The chords remind me of the kind of thing Nintendo like to use for their consoles. Introducing some instrumental variation for colour would be good. In the upbeat section, the lead over the third chord feels a little dissonant and a slight change in melody there would definitely improve it.
Very bold and emotional. It definitely communicates your theme well! I think adding another instrument by either introducing a call and response, or by swapping from the trumpets or horn in a certain section would add some colour and variation to the piece, but that's probably just personal taste as it sounds great as it is.
This is great. Very Pokemon! You said what you needed to in less than 2 minutes. The transition between the first two parts felt like a bit of a stumble and could probably be reworked in order for it to become SUPER EFFECTIVE, and I feel like more time could be spent on instrument placement and levelling. But honestly, as it stands, it's already excellent work.
Very cool. I like that you've imagined a specific scenario rather than a area, battle, etc. It certainly communicates the scene well. It might have been better to allow the low synth to breath a bit with some rests and movement and I wasn't sure about some notes you used but this is great work regardless.
Far more sci-fi than I would have anticipated but I haven't played every single Pokemon game, so that could be spot on for all I know! It's very energetic and colourful and certainly puts me in mind of a boss battle. There are a few elements here that would have been great to develop as separate pieces, or perhaps extended into boss battle phases. As it is, it may contain a little too much in the short play time. Great work regardless. A suggestion to make a piece longer isn't bad, as criticisms go!
This captures the vibe of the scenarios and gaming platform you're going for excellently. SoundFonts were a good choice. I had forgotten they were a thing. I think the Starter Town section is stronger than the Battle section, as I feel it more accurately captures the scene. The Battle theme is good but is missing a bit of excitement and tension, despite some great choices in harmonic modulation. This is probably due to the sounds themselves rather than any compositional choices. The whole piece certainly took me to that old school RPG place though, so you nailed it!
I reckon if Frank Zappa had lived for another 20 years, there's a high chance he would have made a piece that sounds like this (and I consider that a complement.) There are some great ideas here and I'm loving the key changes, but it's perhaps a little too chaotic for a town soundtrack. It might have been better to have taken two or three of the most interesting ideas from this and focussed on them for development. Areas in games like Pokemon tend to have assertive musical themes that become inextricably linked to them in the player's mind, just like NPCs or colour schemes. I think if you broke this piece down, you could absolutely make two or three strong area soundtracks from it!
I'm an experienced composer, sound designer and audio engineer hoping to get into the gaming industry. Because games. If your a dev/artist/team who needs a sound-based person, get in touch. I'll have submitted for two music jams by the time this kicks off, so I'll have that to show you but I also have two EPs of electronic music here: https://lucanix.bandcamp.com plus an album of more orchestral/eclectic music coming out on the 20th March that I can send you tracks from.


