Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Thank you both so much for the very nice words. It really means a lot to me just that you checked it out and liked it. I know I can't play for crap, but I love these old songs so much I can't resist it.

You know, Aeroprism, I don't think people realize just how difficult it is to compose and arrange music electronically. I've always been a fan of electronic music (which video games do so well), but I have never been able to sit down and work out a song electronically. It takes a heck of a lot of musical knowledge and you almost have to be an engineer to align everything properly and make it work. My best friend notates all of his stuff in Anvil Studio, and I've just never been able to do it, even something like that. You've almost got to be able to see the parts in your mind simultaneously, and I can't do it! That's why I love your work, because it's seamless, and it all works.

augmentedfourth, I was definitely looking for that contrast of moods in this piece. The original seems to play the dynamics a little more smoothly, but I was feeling that sense of urgency in the higher part. Probably because I found it the hardest to play, and kept rushing it! But yeah, I really like that almost polymetric feel in the middle part of the song. It's one of the things that really caught my eye when I was learning the piece. I'm huge into King Crimson and stuff like that, with all the crazy polymeter and polyrhythms, and I used to be in a band that tried to play that kind of music. The guitarist and I couldn't play for crap, but we could more or less sync up in random time signatures!

But yeah, I cannot read music to save my soul. I wish I could. I only know what I learned in Fine Arts class in high school, and that just barely. I just try to figure it out by ear, and since I can't notate music it makes it really interesting when I try to write it down and remember it. Half the time I can't make out my own handwriting.

Hey! Your playing isn't crap!

There are pros and cons to both being able to read music and relying solely on your ear. I have a strong music theory background, so it doesn't take me much time to sit down and write out the music for my arrangements, but the flip side of that is I've never really been the type of person who can just sit down and play something more complex than melody + chords at the drop of a hat. It also made me a little self-conscious when it came to improvising in my jazz gig days (though the beer we got paid in helped a little as the nights progressed ). I've known some extremely talented musicians who really struggled with reading the actual notes.

Probably because I found it the hardest to play, and kept rushing it!

I couldn't help but smile at this. One of my conducting professors in college flat-out told us that younger people want to rush and restraint comes with age. We really had to make a conscious effort not to do it. (It was a little easier when I was conducting middle school students and if I went too fast, it would sound like a trainwreck....) I thought I'd gotten better with that (at the ripe old age of 28!), but even with the two quick PS pieces I posted, it's obvious that I haven't and I'm still rushing. Oh well! We can work on that together!

BRAGATYR : I didn't know that it was YOU on the keyboard ! Great news And I agree with augmentedfourth (even if I'm far to be a specialist !!) : your play isn't crap ! Far from it.

I can't go into lots of detail here, because I'm about as musically inclined as a brick, but I've enjoyed these Shadowgate covers you've posted. It brings a lot of memories of the ol' NES back. I don't think I ever completed that game, but I vividly remember one or two parts to this day. I doubt any game since has had so many things that were so well hidden in it.

Thoul! Thank you, man, and yeah, I've been on an NES kick here recently. It just happens to have some of the best music ever. I actually just recently beat Shadowgate, man. I was stuck on this one part for years, I won't say exactly where, to avoid spoilers, but I finally broke down and looked at a walkthrough for that one part just so I could beat the game. Funny thing is, I later talked to a friend who was stuck in the exact same spot, so I didn't feel quite as bad. I agree, that game was just nightmarish about the item usage and, well, just about every puzzle.

I actually really wanna track down Deja Vu and Uninvited, the two other puzzle games made by the same company. Uninvited's kind of hard to come by, though, but I hope to at least find Deja Vu pretty soon.

I've tested Shadowgate a while ago but I was blocked...in the first room !
Because I was just testing it, I haven't got any further but that was a great beginning so .. I think I'll try it again later when I'll have more time on my hands

I think using a guide might be the only way to complete NES Shadowgate. It just had so many different things you could miss without any clear indication of their location. Games today definitely don't try to have that type of difficulty. As I recall, one of the old Nintendo Power issues from the time had a partial guide that I used to get through some problem spots.

You're right : without any clear indication of their location, the game is very difficult !!!

Now with Internet, you can find a lot of walkthrough (Gamefaqs for exemple !) and that is far more better for persons like me, who don't really like difficult games (e lot of people knows this about me !) ; and now I'm not shamful when I use them anymore