ReMix:Seiken Densetsu 3 "Moonlight Dance" 5:06

Newcomer Batistella (Bruno Batistella Favretto) resubmitted this epic house/trance ReMix of Seiken Densetsu 3 - a game you'll be seeing a lot more of, soon ;) - and made some edits based on judge feedback, and I'm sure glad he did, because the result is an EDM banger that blends staples of both genres into a very addictive jam:

"This is a resubmission of "Moonlight Dance," a trance/house-styled remix of the song "Powell" from the game Seiken Densetsu 3. This game marked my childhood, specifically the area in which the original song plays in (Moonlight Forest). I felt the original song's style went nicely as a house rhythm combined with the melodic fundamentals of the trance genre, so I was inspired to remix the track!

I've updated the track, following your feedback after it was initially rejected by the judges panel. Now, the problematic parts should be gone. As you suggested, I've cleaned up the mix so instruments at 2:00 don't fight for your attention and gave more presence to the lead at 4:00.

Hopefully, it's all good now! Thanks for listening!"

That drop at 3'01", and the preceding, rather Latin/South American drum fill right before it = FUN. There's a good deal of melodic repetition that kinda goes with the territory, but Bruno's done a great job teasing out a structure, layering parts, building things up, & letting them rip. His original submission was muddier and judges felt like some parts were fighting each other, but Gario sums up the reaction to this revised & clearer version:

"Oh, hell to the yes; I'm damn glad we sent this back to you the first time - the improvement to it is substantial. The sound is so much cleaner, which makes the meaty drums sound that much more distinct, and the minor issue I had toward the end actually became a highlight of the track when you put the lead up front and center. You absolutely nailed it on this one, which makes me pleased as punch considering it's from one of my favorite soundtracks from that generation.

I have zero issue with source usage on this one, even in the beginning; the chords are definitely from the source, and there are themes that are added in a heavily subtracted state to keep it loosely connected to the source. It's a great way to keep it connected without beating it over your head in the beginning, and it's very clearly based on the source throughout the rest of the track. Nothin' but praise from me, here."

It's fun stuff, and it definitely grew on me as it progressed; at first I thought the blend of styles might be very subtle or on the other end of the spectrum end up gimmicky/overdone, but it's both noticeable AND effective, which becomes more apparent as Bruno develops the groove. A phenomenal soundtrack by Hiroki Kikuta, and a fun, energetic, & passionate EDM tribute and OCR debut from Batistella!