Phronemophobia's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[80's Surreal Feel]

It's an excellent song (it's why I bought it), especially from 1:00 onward. I don't genuinely feel any sort of eighties vibe from it... song's fantastic so I don't care, but the first eighteen seconds reminds me of Goldeneye 64 and listening to this now has me wanting to spend money on N64 games again.

HoboKa responds:

1:22 the arp is an 80's thing to me. But i guess the aesthetic is a little too 90's. Oh well. Glad you digged it. And thanks for supporting me. It feels great to have a dedicated fan :)

[Song of Worlds | 2020]

It made my headache go away for roughly two minutes. It's back now, of course, but the respite was appreciated nonetheless.

Bertn1991 responds:

I appreciate your appreciation. I'm so appreciatory that I had to leave my room and go into the appreciatorium to best appreciate this momentous moment.

Sorry your head's not feeling great, friend. Get well now <3

[Neanderthals | 2021]

Not sure about whether or not this would specifically relate with a Neanderthal, but it definitely creates the image of dwelling in or exploring a cold, icy cave.

Bertn1991 responds:

That's good to hear. The original title was "Ice Age" but I sorta wanted to distance myself from, er, a certain franchise.

[Cydonia | Sleepycat - 2019]

There's something oddly familiar about it, but I can't think of why. It reminds me of music from one of those games that get labeled as "horror" but it's not really meant to be scary or even unsettling, kind of like Zombies Ate My Neighbor's Lunch, Abundant Vegetation vs. The Living Impaired, or the Festivus DLC for Power Man Blue.

Bertn1991 responds:

Zombies Ate My Neighbor's Lunch is a true classic. It's up there with I Have No Mouth and I Can't Breathe.

[Our Queen (V.2) | 2021]

At first, I thought, "I recognize this! ...it's a slower version of the Great Fairy Fountain song, right?" Then, I went back to the original Our Queen song and noticed I had already rated it five stars years ago. Apparently, I recognized this because I still vaguely remembered the original, even though I never added it to my favorites on Newgrounds, nor to my Bertn playlist on itunes. Bertn's music is memorable, whether I love it or not.

Bertn1991 responds:

It wasn't my attention, but it does sound a bit like Great Fairy Fountain, especially the beginning. I appreciate the kind words as always. It's truly an honor to be part of an iTune's playlist. Heckin' thanks ^.^

[Deep Deep (2017)]

I love how this brings up thoughts of Mario Sunshine and Starshine Beach from Mario Galaxy 2 while still retaining its own calming identity. I wish this was looped once more on its own (doubled in length), since the player always has that brief pause interrupting the tune. <3

Bertn1991 responds:

Both of those games are super dear to me, so big thanks! The loop is always a little rough here. I think it's because uploads have to be MP3s and I find when I render MP3s there's always this tiny bit a dead space at the beginning and end of a track. I don't know, maybe it's just me ^.^'

[Roadway Renegade | 2021]

Roadway indeed! I'm imagining a fight similar to that of the Mute City or Big Blue stages of Smash. Engaging in battle on plain ol' solid ground would be an injustice to this tune. Gotta learn to "roll with the punches" in more ways than one.

Bertn1991 responds:

Many thanks. All the thanks! Comparisons to F-Zero is high praise in my book. As a kid playing Melee I felt like the only one who liked Big Blue. I mean, it's got the rockin' tunes, going a million miles an our, what's not to like?

Anyways, thanks again. I hope the day has an awesome you~

[Electric Jazz Theater | 2021]

Within the first thirty seconds, it felt like a Bertn song. It's a wonder how well you naturally brand your sound, even when you're not recycling certain tunes. "Supernatural Intervention" stands out partially because it's similar to the title theme of a certain NES game. "What We're Fighting For" is absolutely perfect. Couldn't have imagined it any better. I love the funk of "The Guardians." Not sure how to picture the guardians themselves, but this segment is the best bop in the piece, so I am assuming one to be rockin' shades. "Into the Unknown" and "An Illusion" pair nicely to really stir up the imagination for adventure, while "Rebirth" and "A Little Help" beautifully reflect that calm before the storm effect. Every part from "Into Hell" up through "A Hero's Death" is so precisely representative of their titles that I'm both impressed with how well you convey the rest of this musical journey and slightly disappointed that it's not more whimsical... charmingly bizarre in the approach. Then again, sometimes it's better to stand out by doing something simple flawlessly, rather than always aiming to be unique.

Never forget that you and your music are treasures on the Audio Portal, Bertn. Thank you.

Bertn1991 responds:

Your commentary always makes my heart happy. I'm definitely not the most popular, but I have some of the best fans around. Big thank you!

Hmm, I wonder what said certain NES game this is.

I don't know who the guardians truly are, but I know they like to funk. Shades are indeed recommended when in their presence.

Supreme thank you once again, sir. You are simply the best <3

[[Phantasy Star 2] "Hot Cocoa in the Ice Rover"]

I would never knock the composers for all the effort put into workarounds for hardware limitations back when these songs were created, because the creative use of simplicity is what really makes them so memorable to begin with, but it's because of remixes like this one that I sometimes wonder what could have been if they were provided with today's resources. I mention all of this because you've managed to provide a more eighties-sounding track than one that was literally created in the eighties.

HoboKa responds:

Well, it's because they had to down-sample to 24 kbs...when songs these days are at minimum 128...320 loss-less rate. That said, a lot of legacy music kicks MY ASS when it comes to automating things like vibrato and pitch tricks. I got a lot to learn too. Thanks for the thoughtful comment :D