Rastamun21's Reviews

[TOME Episode 01]

Solid start to what looks like a fine reboot

With the last episode of TTA being almost 4 years old, it is really cool to see a series (which may not have aged well by today's standards) that was big in that day get a reboot. TTA, in my opinion, was one of the largest and most ambitious flash projects of its time. I can think of few other series that have stretched near it's length. While this flash is'n perfect (some of the music doesn't quite fit, and some voices are a little off when put side by side with the main cast) i am enjoying seeing the main issues of TTA being addressed. First thing is first, the animation is fantastic, the way in which you have presented the flash has kept most of the charm of TTA while giving the rest of it a nice upgrade. In particular I enjoyed the fact that you brought the two character conversations back when you could have just as easily done without thim. This is a small stylistic choice, but it keeps TOME feeling like TTA reather than just a new series with the same characters. I also enjoy the fact that each character has their own font. The other big thing I enjoyed was the rate at which you are clipping through the story. It is no secret that TTA was long (this was both its greatest strength, and its biggest weakness) and trimming some of the fat and filer was the right choice. I'm just as game for side-story filler as any other person, but TTA did get a bit bogged down, even in the early parts of the series, and I hope TOME can avoid this. Now that we've covered some of the good, let's look at some parts that could use a little touching up. The big thing is background voices, as of right now they need improvement. One of TTA's biggest charming qualities was the background characters, they were just as fun to see evolve and grow as the rest of the cast, and you really need to get some voices that can carry those small (but very important) roles. The support voices are the difference between what could be a good reboot, and getting the series the real attention it deserves. Overall I am excited to see what becomes of this reboot, no matter how far behind schedule it gets.

[Demigods]

Better than average

Not gonna lie, overall this is a fairly good flash and will get many fives and tens in the future. But I'm not hear to write a 3 word review and give you a 10 to buff the average score. So with that out of the way let's talk about what needs work. The first thing that comes to mind is the the intro. A quick rule of thumb here, don't get a voice actor for a good flash unless they are really good. It is just kind of jarring to the whole product if the voice actor is not quite up to the task, and this is a case when he obviously was not up to the task. Besides that the intro in general was kind of stupid and superfluous, the whole flash would have been better without it, we do not need to know who is fighting who to enjoy the fight. For the most part the main bulk of the flash was fine, song was kind of generic but I wont hold that against you. If I had to give one complaint it would be that some of the actions just look silly (i.e. ripping the mecca dragon's jaw off), and took me out of the whole thing a bit. But besides that it was a solid well made flash. Keep on working and I am sure you will come out with something even better next time.

[Best School Day Ever]

Great Animation Start to Finish.

The animation you've done here is something quite special, while it may not be total air on TV pro quality, it is still leaps and bounds better than the average newground video. The only real issue with the video is the audio, the first half of the animation is virtually silent. I get that you were trying to make an impact when your main song came in, but a simple ambient upbeat tune in the background would have made the opening a lot more enjoyable. The fact is that you've got a lot of dead air in your intro, "hums" and "huhs" don't fill it that well. The dead air is the only real issue with the video, that and your song of choice was a little to metal for my tastes, but hey you can't always get what you want. Keep up the good work, and just try to fix some of those small issues so your future flashes can win the weekly first instead of just the daily.

[Applebucking Season]

Nice start, but needs improvement.

I'll get this out up front, I have played far worse versions of this game. It doesn't glitch, and in general it works well. However just because I've played worse does not mean you'll get off easy, there are some problems. First off games like this should not be controlled with the mouse, it's just far to easy, a simple arrow key or "a d" set up would work better, this way you could set the maximum speed at which the player can more. Besides improving effecting the gameplay, a arrow key set up would allow for an animated sprite instead of just a static picture of AJ. You should have also tweaked how the apples are caught, because being able to catch one with any part of my sprite is kind of stupid. Finally, add some variation in the speed of the falling apples a bit more, this would just help mix things up and add an extra layer of skill. Like I've said, you could have done worse, but I think with a few tweaks here and there you could come out with a much better product.

[The Mind Bender]

Good idea, but it has one problem.

The controls are far to slick, it feels like you have to force everything, it's way to easy to overshoot a jump, and when you try to componsate, you end up undershooting it.

[Super Clock Ribbon ^_^]

Bravo! A great game! No flaws.

I think this is the first game to pass both the techical rating ,and persanal rating systems. I am impressed. Also on a side note I liked grapes music where is it from. Alos I would like to see a sequel of some sort. This is a high quality game and is worthy of praise not hate (even though it is the CC) and i think it could be the best made game of this type.

In closing it is a great game with great music ant the controls respond well.

- Rastamun21

[We Walk On Fire]

Very, VERY, solid.

Just to start things off I would like to say how nice it is to hear something with a real, legit, mix here on the audio portal. I do eventually get sick of everyone recording their guitars through shitty compressed mics, while recording vocals at the same time. This is a song with some real production, and the effort you put into your sound has really paid off. With that out of the way let's get into your song.
The thing that is most striking about this song is really the verse motif you've got going on. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but the verses have a very distinct country flavor. It's only a small touch, but it really goes far in giving the song more of a personality rather than just being a generic 5 minutes of rock. That country motif is also what kind of holds the song back from getting a real 5/5. While it is by far the best portion of the song, it really sticks out like a sore thumb. The fact is that all that cool southern flavor goes away the moment you hit your chorus. It goes from being really cool and unique to just being kind of "ehh", and the lackluster harmonies (and vocal trading) really don't help anything. The chorus is supposed to be the biggest best part of the song, and for it to fall flat on it's face like this is a little out of place in a song of this quality.
Back on the positive, your guitar sound (while a little genaric) really fits the song well. It really shines on your Zeppelin-esque intro riff. It even gets the job done on the guitar solo, which few people here actually pull off, though it could have stood to have even more power. All in all this is a song that I really did enjoy despite its flaws. Keep on doing what your doing and I'll keep listening.

[Shattered]

Ultimately sub par.
Before delve into my list of critiques for this song, I would like to say that you do in, fact, have the components of a good song in here. However I can't whole-heartedly say that this song is above average, or even on par with what constitutes quality music, because unfortunately it is not. There are a myriad of issues with this song, but for the most part they all boil down to they way you present your sounds. The mix is awful, the lead guitar overpowers everything, and the bass and drums aren't fully support your song all the way through. Even the vocals weren't safe from the guitar's wrath, which for a blues song is a little more than unfortunate. I didn't look at the lyrics the first time I listened to this, and I couldn't make out what you were saying, in part it was because your voice itself could have used a little more "power" rather than just volume, and the poor mix doesn't help anyone. You also need to be a little more sensitive with pitch, as your blue-notes tend to go a little sharp and sound a little strange. The lyrics also are not perfect, and could use some work. Not the content of them, no matter how cheesy they are, but the actual spacing. Lines like: "When it does it's you begging for another fling" just don't fit into one measure and you end up having to rush the phrase. On the bright side most of these issues could be fixed by spending a little more time on the mix, and getting some better sounds. like I said at the top, the core isn't bad, but everything else just feels kind of cheep. Look forward to hearing your stuff down the road.

DragonX016 responds:

This is exactly why i submit here before I go and share it with all of my expecting facebook friends. You guys are fucking brutally honest.
This submission is my first in ages- and all I've got to work with is my mexican Strat, modded accordingly to attempt a shot at making even with the American version. That and Garage Band, my macbook's mic, a Yamaha bass that I got for free, a MIDI keyboard I picked up for 20 bucks on a whim, a horribly broken heart, and (as of now) one last Keystone Ice 16 ouncer. This was a direct attack on my lady that wronged me and it does need work. Duly noted. But all in all, I feel better now that i shat some music out and have a good enough idea to not use use an entire package of toilet paper cleaning up the mess. I think I can clean it up and then some.

For the record-I'll take a guitar over a synthesizer any day. Thanks for being honest.

[Ride Under the Storm]

To long for what it is

You've got a few good riffs in here, but the problem is that this song is just to long for what it is. Don't get me wrong your main riff is damn catchy, you just need more to support it. You could go one of two roads with this song. First you could pair it down to a shorter length to give the individual riffs more punch and meaning. Less is more would be a great strategy for this song, if it aint broke don't fix it. The other more indulgent option would to be to add a lead guitar track. Some real full guitar solos would fill out the song great, and let it fill up not only this space, but an even larger one if you have enough ideas. This one of those songs that I would like to see get some more work, or at least another similar song, because you really do have some great ideas in this.

BERSERKYD responds:

Great thanks for these tips ! Kinda hard to make a perfect song ! And yeah Its been maybe my 40e song.. I dont really rework them I prefer make new one with better structure and riff. For the lead I know I could get one over the top, but Ì always expect vocal to replace the emptyness that you kinda feel. I mean a 4min song without lyrics and power solo can be annoying sometime, but what ever, I'll keep in mind your review and try to make something better next time. Thanks for the support !