ZeroJanitor
Kirbys Dream Land 2 - Dark Castle [VRC6; 8-bit]
updated
This all started a few days ago with Pepsi announcing they were changing their branding, and well, one thing led to another.
Made in OpenMPT.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
MPTM: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1087818693758701629/Never_Gonna_Give_You_Up.mptm
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
MPTM: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1085342436349456505/Volcano_Valley.mptm
Background footage by Retro Game Spacko from LongplayArchive: youtube.com/watch?v=Ob49Qq2GLhQ
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=7001
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1082651800198459392/KA-MMX.nsf
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This may seem like a random pick for a cover, but I've always thought this song was really good. I did a 2A03 cover of it a long time ago, but I've been wanting to make a new cover with more complex instrumentation.
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=7000
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1077106897393569884/Reptar_Raceway_VRC6.nsf
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
You can think of this as a sort of pseudo-sequel to my Hard Man cover from last year: it uses a lot of the same arrangement techniques and PCM samples.
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6990
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Kicking off 2023 by covering a Follin Bros. song, which I've somehow never done one before.
Also I recently released my 2022 compilation, featuring everything I released last year (plus some things that weren't on YouTube): zerojanitor.bandcamp.com/album/2022-releases
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
You can think of this as a sort of spiritual successor to Leaves On The Sidewalk in a way, as I used some similar arrangement techniques here, and is also made to be evocative of seasonal weather.
Background photo edited from: pexels.com/photo/photo-of-trees-and-snow-covered-ground-during-night-time-3801463
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6989
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor3
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Background footage by KaiTales: youtube.com/watch?v=OCO06tNdDxg
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6987
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I tried to expand on that idea here with lots of echos and chords, to give it more of a hazy vibe.
The ROM hack used in the video is Roll-chan 6 by Zynk Oxhyde: romhacking.net/hacks/2692
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6976
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1044321054312636416/Centaur_Man_VRC6.nsf
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This was quite possibly the most difficult and convoluted song I've ever covered. Jake Kaufman really does go unhinged mode when writing these tracks.
Gameplay footage courtesy of FCPlaythroughs: youtube.com/watch?v=ZPW-GcIvRKE
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I've got a cover all ready for Halloween, but... well, it's not Halloween yet. So once again I decided to cover something quick and easy just to have something to tide myself over. Plus, this is a song I've been wanting to do anyway, so it all worked out.
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6971
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
#paneldepon #tetrisattack #8bit
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Yeah, it gets a lot of use. Though personally I associate it the most with Tick Tock Clock.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
That didn't stop me from taking 3 days to finish it though. -_-
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I actually really like the treasure-hunting stages in SA2, though I wouldn't call Mad Space one of my favorites. The localized gravity mechanic is pretty neat though, almost like a precursor to Super Mario Galaxy.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This was a fun one to cover, though more difficult than I was expecting. I tried to arrange it in a similar manner to my 8-bit Stickerbush Symphony cover, though I ended up diverging from that style somewhat, as this song has a greater emphasis on melodic percussion and deep bass tones.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Nah, but I'm just giving you a hard time. The last cover I did made me remember how much fun it is to work with DPCM. And of course you can never go wrong with duty cycling!
The ROM hack you see in the background is Roll-chan 3 Improvement: romhacking.net/hacks/2799
#8bit #famitracker #megaman3
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I wanted to do something in a 2A03 style without DPCM for a change, and this song felt like a good fit.
Check out DynamiteManEXE's channel if you wanna hear more awesome 8-bit renditions from the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie soundtrack: youtube.com/watch?v=KHe8bJDhvdM
#mightymorphinpowerrangers #8bit #famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Gameplay taken from: youtube.com/watch?v=EW7im7O1EXc
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Kinda surprised I haven't done anything with just MMC5 since 2017. I definitely learned a lot about extracting samples from Genesis games. For example: it's weirdly difficult!
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/976028492615528478/Ring_Rink.nsf
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This was a challenging remix with all the tempo changes and complex layering, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Also put it in a new key, just because.
Fun fact: The original song, despite claiming to be in G, is actually in C. I guess you could argue that they meant G mixolydian, but that seems like a stretch tbh.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Wanted to use some SNES samples that I don't use very often, since I felt I was relying too much on the tried-and-true sample bases lately. I've also been wanting to find something interesting to do with Hornet Man's theme, and Super Mario Kart seemed like a good fit.
And because someone always asks: this was made with OpenMPT, which is the tracker you see on the screen.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Would you believe that I've had the Sunsoft bass samples for 11 years and this is the first time I've actually done anything with them?
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1006004476387266651/Grab_Bag.nsf
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Ever since the Workshop Pack dropped last month, I've been getting back into Rivals big-time (Pomme is such a fun character!), and it's really made me want to cover another song from the game.
Fire's Last Hope seemed like a good fit for an 8-bit rendition. Certain little things in the song were difficult to extrapolate, but I tried to at least fudge it in a way that sounds natural.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I wrote this one with absolutely no sort of plan, which is why it shifts gears halfway through the song. Some inspiration was taken from Vikare during that section.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I'm calling this one "Bleeding Heart"!
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Enjoy my substandard Mario Kart 64 gameplay!
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I'm covering a shorter song this time, but I've got some ideas brewing already for the next thing...
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Mostly I'm curious why they gave him a different theme at all?
Also be sure to check out my 2021 compilation album if you haven't already, it's got downloads to everything I released on YouTube/Soundcloud last year: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com/album/2021-releases
#MegaMan8 #8bit #Famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This is a song I have a lot of nostalgia for, but not because of Final Fantasy 4, or even SMRPG. No, my first exposure to this song was as a MIDI in the background of a sprite comic. I figured out how to dig into the HTML of the webpage and save it to my computer, and I've ended up taking it with me across several different generations of computers. Still have it, in fact.
Nothing much to say about the arrangement itself except that this time I used Follin-esque arps that modulate down instead of up. Also liberal use of hardware sweeps because they're underrated imo.
Background footage by syxx573: youtube.com/watch?v=ozEzyKJh7do
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
For those who may not know: This is the prototype version of Carnival Night Zone's music from a prerelease build of the game before the Jackson/Buxer tunes we know from the final game were implemented. This version of the song (as well as the ones for Ice Cap and Launch Base) was used in the Sonic & Knuckles PC Collection, but it wasn't until relatively recently that it was discovered these songs were originally planned for the Genesis version all along.
(On another note, I finally got a new computer which is much more robust at recording video, so enjoy the 60fps!)
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I made this song with the idea of walking down the sidewalk on a breezy day while all the orange leaves are blowing off the trees. The bouncy rhythm and melancholy chord progression really capture the spirit of the season for me for whatever reason.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I tried to remix the classic theme from the Halloween movie franchise in the style of a final boss theme and I'm very happy with how it came out. It makes a good counterpart to the Friday the 13th remix I did last year.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I took inspiration from Manfred Linzner's style on the GBC for the rhythm guitar, as well as David Warhol's signature echo-fadeout.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
MP3: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/889518515596460102/Big_Shot_VRC6.mp3
0CC: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/889518418548629554/BIG_SHOT.0cc
#Deltarune #8bit #Spamton
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This was one of the few times where the lower pitch limit of the 2A03 pulse channels really got in my way (I did of course work around it).
#8bit #SuperMetroid #Famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Doing something different here and covering an old Mega Man fan song that I really liked back in the day.
The arrangement is largely the same as blkjock81's original version, just with some additional harmonies and transitions.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
The mixing was also really hard to get right because volume works a little differently with VRC7 compared to 2A03, but I was able to use one of the FM channels to make some decent percussion, which I'm happy about.
#MegaManX2 #Famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Based on the "happy" variation, which seems to be the default.
NiGHTS's sprite by Ashura (edited to fit the NES palette): spriters-resource.com/custom_edited/nightscustoms/sheet/16642
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Decided to do something a little different, so I recorded some actual gameplay footage to have in the background. I'm very out of practice, especially in Wily Wars, so don't expect epic gamer strats.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Very excited to show off a collaborative effort with friend and fellow musician ArcanaXIX! We both did an arrangement of the Shiver City theme from Paper Mario and arranged them medley-style.
My section was done in 0CC-Famitracker and their section was done in MuseScore. He also provided the image used for the thumbnail.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
So I felt like making a new version of the song, one that's my own arrangement and designed to better fit the Mega Man X style.
The head of Time Man's sprite is from Mega Man Maker, edited onto X's frame.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Mostly pretty faithful to the original, but I added some noise in some of the quieter parts to simulate wind blowing through the leaves.
For some reason, the recording came out kinda choppy and washed out. Don't know why, but I didn't feel like re-recording it.
NSF: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/167417478299910144/1076275201991524392/SecretOfTheForestVRC6.nsf
0CC: http://2a03.free.fr/dl.php?file=6682
#ChronoTrigger #8bit #Famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I recently played through Diddy Kong Racing using just Pipsy. She has the lowest top speed in the game, making some of the boss races difficult (Bluey 2 was especially brutal), however her superior traction and handling were quite the boon for silver coin races. Very fun character overall.
#DiddyKongRacing #8bit #Famitracker
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I got this idea after listening to someone hum the Clock Town theme. And since I recently replayed DKC2, it's been on my mind.
I haven't done a Zelda cover since 2016, and I don't think I've done a Majora's Mask cover specifically since 2013, so I feel this was long overdue.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
This song was actually much simpler than I thought it would be going into it; it's fairly short and tends to repeat a lot of phrases. That said, these are very atmospheric tracks, so I think the instrumentation is what really makes it come alive. To that end, I've added some percussion to give it a little more of that classic Donkey Kong Country flavor.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
I'm fairly happy with how it came out, maybe some things could be improved with regards to transitions, but overall not bad.
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com
Today is the 10th anniversary of the very first song I made in Famitracker! And since I was feeling a little self-indulgent, I decided to celebrate 10 years of Famitracking by remaking that very song!
I no longer have the original file, but it was easy enough to recreate since I know I only used the bottom row of keys when making it. I didn't have a great grasp on how to make music sound good at this point, so in the remade version, I altered the backing to be more harmonic while still feeling like the same song, as well as some flourishes to help remedy the hard transitions and repetition.
Overall, I think this is a great indicator of how far I've come in the last 10 years. I'm very proud of my progress, and I'm grateful for every one of you who's been along for the ride. :)
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Twitter: twitter.com/ZeroJanitor
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/zerojanitor2
Bandcamp: zerojanitor.bandcamp.com