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Video Game Project 5 - Revival of Heroes! is now up!
It's my birthday today, but I have a present for you guys! I'm finally proud to present...

Awesome art by chico_chan
See the original piece here at her deviantart page! :D


amv.org download
Direct download from RDS

Plus here are the 3 main tracks I did...

Track 12 - Saiyan of the Colossus
Track 23 - Snatcher
Track 36 - Trauma Center 2: Under the Anime

The full version of the project is much different than the version that showed at AWA. Here are the list of changes..

- All commercials restored
- 3 Extra tracks

Adding an additional 12 minutes not seen in the 1 hour AWA showing!

This is the final part of the VG Project saga. I'm sorry to announce that this is the end and I apologize to everyone who wanted a part 6, but I need to finally let it go so I can pursue my own film work. It's been a fun 6 years of running the VG Projects, but now it's finally time to move on. Thanks for all the memories and to all the editors and fans who made the projects possible!

If you haven't seen the previous 4 projects and want to catch up, I've recently re-encoded all of them as high quality mp4 files! Even fixing problems that were in the original xvid encodes.

NES Project 2003
Retro Video Game Project 2004
Video Game Project 3
Video Game Project IV: Rebirth

With all the projects done, I have quite alot to say about my experiences editing and managing them throughout the years..


My 3 favorite videos from each of the 5 projects and my all time favorite VG Project video

If anyone wanted to know which are my 3 favorite videos (that I didn't make) from each of the 5 projects, here they are...

NES Project 2003

3) Track 38 - Super Mario Bros. 3 "The Starman" by Zarxrax
It was difficult choosing between this and Zarx's Bomberman track, but I would have to say this track is slightly better. Not only is it a very fun track to watch, it also incorporates a small, but fun story (Mario vs. The girl in a cosplay battle). Everyone also agrees that the multiple screen thing at the end is amazing :o

2) Track 36 - Mega Man "Mega Miku" by Fluxmeister
I remember seeing this track in it's beta stages and am still amazed by it today. It's amazing how Fluxy made a great video out of such a TERRIBLE anime. After seeing this video, I went out and rented the show only to realize how horrible it actually was, but that made me appreciate the work on this video even more. This video had incredible sync, perfect placement of sprites and game footage (Megaman running on top of the Miku footage = AMAZING), and even some good parallels between the anime and game. One of the absolute best tracks in the entire 5 project run and one of Flux's best videos.

1) Track 18 - Mike Tyson's Punch Out! "Little Ippo" by mexicanjunior
Kind of an obvious favorite, but for good reasons. There's a good mesh of game footage and sprites overlayed at the beginning, but when the action starts, the game footage barely dominates and actually lets the anime and song carry the entire video. My favorite part is the "Join the nintendo fun club" part before the climax. Not having seen Ippo prior to this video, I was still amazed by it. After I finally saw all of Ippo, I appreciated this video even more.


Retro Video Game Project 2004

3) Track 10 - Street Fighter II "QCF + P " by VegettoEX
I was really estatic when Mike finally decided to join the project and even more excited when he decided to do a Street Fighter II track. A perfect blending of the game, anime, and an awesome remix to boot made this a favorite among alot of the fans of the project. My only gripe which isn't Mike's fault (not the lifebar thing :P), is that Ryu's design in SFIIV looks too much like Teen Gohan with the spiky hair and seeing him next to his game sprite counterpart (with different hair) seemed a bit jarring. I remember literally getting up at 6 in the morning when the final MPEG2 of this track was uploaded so I could watch it before breakfast and class. Good times. :up:

2) Track 34 - Tetris "Surfing on the Blocks" by Zarxrax
Surprisingly, *not* my favorite track of the project, but it was the favorite of pretty much everyone else. There's not much else I can really say about it other than recommending that you watch it RIGHT NOW. I was actually surprised that Zarx went with the ending he did, but that was his full intention from the start. :P

3) Track 6 - Starfox "Meteorave" by BigDude
My absolute favorite track in the RVG Project, even more than Zarx's Tetris track. Pefect blending of the game and anime, even going as far as having the main character from the anime battle it out with Fox. The video had an incredible remix and editing that really matched the atmosphere of both the game and anime. I was literally blown away watching the launch part at the beginning of the video. I was a little surprised that Flux and MJ wanted this track to play early on the tracklist, but it definitely fits it's place and sets the mood for the rest of the project.


Video Game Project 3

3) Track 14 - Mega Man 2 "Hurricane Blitz" by AluminumStudios (not downloadable)
I remember after meeting Will at AWA 2004 and contacting him to join VG3, he was really excited and started on his track right away. I still remember seeing the track in it's beta stages through it's completion and was amazed with every beta. I remember at the AWA 2005 showing, the crowd cheered immediately upon seeing "AluminumStudios" in the mtv titles :P What I really like about this track is that the animation of the game footage/sprites seemed much more lifelike than most of the other videos for some reason. Almost like the sprites weren't overlayed and were actually part of the anime. Sadly this was the final video that Will made, but it was one of the best he's done and it was an honor to have him on the project.

2) Track 23 - Mega Man X3 "House Hornet" by teknoboy
I actually wanted this track for RVG and was going to set it to FLCL, but I decided to do my Ninja Gaiden track instead. I was really happy that Tekno picked it up and even did a BETTER idea than my FLCL one. I also remember constantly giving Tekno feedback on how to improve it and I think he did an excellent job with the final product. Although I heard MD Geist was a terrible anime, Tekno did a good job finding alot of good parallels to use and came out with a good video. My favorite part is probably the parallel footage of X getting his armor along with the main character of MD Geist getting his armor, although X's was more flashy. Another great example of how a terrible show can still be edited to make a good video.

1) Track 11 - Raiden Trad "Gods of the Sky" by DannyWilson
My favorite track in the entire VG3 project. Kind of an odd choice in comparison to alot of the other tracks, but I have my reasons. I remember Danny wanted to do this track for RVG, but couldn't get it done in time, but he decided to finish it for VG3. While I'm not a big Raiden fan, I thought the mix was awesome and I would have taken it if Danny decided to drop. Danny did an excellent job setting the entire mood of the song in sync with the video. What's even more amazing is that Danny didn't rely alot of intense beat sync and let the video flow on it's own. There is a little inserted comedy with the Game Genie near the end, but it sorta fits the nature of the project, even though the video is mostly serious. One of the most memorable things about this video is one time I was watching VG3 betas during a party at my place and everyone in my room gathered around my desk to see them. I remember them saying that this track was "pretty badass" and I definitely agreed with them. I also remember Danny screaming "YEEEAAH" after the track played at AWA 2005. Good times. All in all, a very simple, yet effective track using an obscure game. Sadly, this was one of the last videos Danny made and he hasn't done any videos since, but hopefully he'll come back one day.


Video Game Project IV: Rebirth

3) Track 40 - Startropics "Test of Island Courage" by Haunter103
I've always wanted to have a StarTropics video in the projects and Haunter was finally able to make my wishes come true. I admit that I dislike Excel Saga and I especially dislike Excel herself as a character, but Haunter was able to edit the track in a way where I found myself actually cheering for her, regardless of what happens to her at the end of the video :P. Another example of good parallels between the game/anime and especially the ending if you understood the frustration of having to play StarTropics without the manual.

2) Track 4 - Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders "Mindbent" by jbone
Prior to VG4, I had never played Zak McKracken, but I was always aware of it since I loved the Lucasarts adventure games. After watching this video, I immediately went out and downloaded Zak and finished it on ScummVM (The FM Towns version, not the commodore 64 version in the video). While Evangelion might seem like a weird choice to go with Zak McKracken, jbone did a good job finding some parallels between the game/anime and my absolute favorite part is Kaoru hovering with the fake sunglasses/mustache/nose mask (which I even used as an avatar a while back). I always enjoyed jbone's work for being a derivative from the amv norm and it really shined in this video.

1) Track 2 - Kung Fu "Sound Test" by Tsunami Jones (not downloadable)
Kung Fu "Sound Test" was a track that everyone wanted in the projects since the NES days. I remember Flux wanting to use it in RVG, but decided not to. I was really happy when TJ picked up the track and even decided to use Arrested Development (which I haven't seen prior to VG4). While Arrested Development doesn't have alot of fighting scenes, TJ used whatever was available from the series and created a funny video even though some of the scenes weren't Kung Fu related. After watching all of Arrested Development, I understood all of the jokes in the video even more. Although it's easy to understand the video without watching the series. I didn't put TJ and jbone's videos at the start of VG4 because they were my favorites, but because I felt they would set the fun and quirky mood for the entire VG4 project.


Video Game Project 5: Revival of Heroes!

3) Track 29 - No More Heroes "We are finally cowboys" by The Wired Knight
I have to admit that I actually haven't finished No More Heroes (which I REALLY need to get around to...) and was afraid that this video would spoil alot of things for me. Sadly there were quite a few spoilers, but that didn't detract my enjoyment from the video. I do admit that the music is a bit repetitive at first, but Sean was able to make the video interesting through the editing, especially in the 2nd half. My favorite part is when Travis is constantly shaking his beam saber in a hilarious manner (if you've played the game, the beam saber runs out of battery alot and you recharge it by shaking it). I was a little skeptical that Sean decided not to use any anime at first, but was able to make a good video with the game footage alone. I do feel kinda sad that the end of the video says "To be continued" with VG5 being the last project :(

3) Track 34 - Friday the 13th "BGM Mix" by drewaconclusion
I remember when I got the completed and uncensored version on the ftp for the first time. I enjoyed it, but found it kind of bland. Knowing that I HAD to get it censored to show at AWA, I asked drew to censor all of the really violent parts and that really improved the video since I found the censored version MUCH funnier. I'm also glad that drew used several different songs from the game since the majority of the music is actually quite annoying. I haven't seen Friday the 13th in YEARS and only remember it briefly, but you don't need to have seen the movie to enjoy the video.

1) Track 21 - Command and Conquer Red Alert "Hell March" by Cenit
Cenit was one of the newcomers for VG5 and was really excited to be part of the project. For a newcomer, he literally nailed everything in his video without me giving much guidance. I remember seeing the video since it's conception all the way to it's completion and it only got better with each beta. He was also one of the editors who constantly kept me informed of his progress each month. The editing is extremely top notch without having to resort to insane beat sync and the game/anime are an incredibly perfect match (although C&C:RA doesn't use mechs from what I remember). While I'm not a fan of "military anime", it was the editing, mood, and atmosphere of the video that hooked me in, making this my favorite video in VG5.


Favorite tracks from each project:

NES: Track 18 - Mike Tyson's Punch Out! "Little Ippo" by mexicanjunior
RVG: Track 6 - Starfox "Meteorave" by BigDude
VG3: Track 11 - Raiden Trad "Gods of the Sky" by DannyWilson
VG4: Track 2 - Kung Fu "Sound Test" by Tsunami Jones
VG5: Track 21 - Command and Conquer Red Alert "Hell March" by Cenit

Out of all the tracks, my favorite in the entire 5 project run is....











































NES: Track 18 - Mike Tyson's Punch Out! "Little Ippo" by mexicanjunior

Besides everything I mentioned above, this track is my all time favorite video from all 5 of the projects. I'm not saying this because MJ's my friend and that he's the creator of the projects, but because I feel the video is just that good and is the best example of what the projects are about. Combining old and new while making it feel nostalgic with a new experience at the same time. While the NES Project was meant to be more fun/dance, this video had a little bit of everything in it. Drama, action, and comedy all perfectly blended together in one video. Even though MJ hasn't made a video for a long time, this is one of videos I'll always remember as one of his best and my all time favorite track from the VG Projects.



Memories from coordinating and editing the projects plus my personal thoughts on each one

NES Project 2003
Contrary to popluar belief, I did not help run the NES Project. After finishing The Haunted Ship, I felt burned out and was considering retiring from amvs. I even felt like dropping my NES track because I didn't exactly get my first choice (River City Ramstein which EVERYONE wanted) and was stuck with a crappy Megaman 2 Crashman track. However, that all changed when Flux im'ed me and asked for progress on my track. I was kind of nervous to let him know I was thinking of dropping, so I quickly decided to choose a better track which was available (although Rozard had claim to it), and Flux let me change my track. I started working on it right away and really enjoyed working on it enough that I was able to finish it within 14 hours. It felt really refreshing working with NES sprites, although my sprite work wasn't perfect. That 14 hour track was my Megaman 2/Yu Yu Hakusho video. Later in the summer of 2003, Flux let some editors do a 2nd track and within 6 days before AX2003, I finished Super Mario Bros. 3 - Battle Rocks where my sprite work actually improved, but still not perfect. I recall that the project was actually finished on time with a July deadline and I nabbed as many videos/mpeg2s from the ftp as I could. When the NES Project finally premiered at AWA9, I calculated the time it would actually be showing and made a playlist of the videos to watch at the same time. As soon as it ended, I called up MJ to see how it went and he said it went over really well. Sadly, I never got to see the project on the big screen until AX2004, where I had to cut it down to an hour and they even stopped it after Machine's Castlevania track for the Chibi Masquerade (grr!!). Regardless, people enjoyed the showing and even asked me about the "Rockman" anime afterwards.

I'll admit that NES has the largest amount of weak videos. Mostly due to it being the first project and quite a few editors didn't know how to work with sprites and game footage yet. I remember when I got the DVD for the first time, I would literally watch it once a week. NES still remains as a fun and lighthearted project and a great beginning to the VG Project saga.


Retro Video Game Project 2004
RVG is my personal favorite of the the projects. The 16 bit era was my absolute favorite era in gaming and I was really excited that RVG had reached that point. However, RVG was the 2nd most difficult project to run. We started it after the huge effects boom in 2003 and many editors were feeling burned out or retiring. Sadly, the editor drought in 2004 made things worse as editors were constantly dropping out of the project. Flux was even convinced that we wouldn't be able to do a VG3 in the following year. However, I kept my hopes up high and had my sights set on getting the project done. I became a coordinator on the project after offering to rally up all of the previous NES editors. The first track I edited was Terra in Black. I really, really, really wanted this track, but Flux and MJ were a bit hesitant because it wasn't really "dancey" like tracks in the NES Project. Luckily they agreed to give it to me and it's one of my personal favorite videos I've ever edited. As more editors were dropping out of the project, Flux gave me the good to go to do another track. I asked if I could do my Megaman X3 House Hornet/FLCL video or the Devil's Mask Ninja Gaiden track and Flux gave me approval for Ninja Gaiden Devil's Mask. I had a really fun time working on it and I'm really glad that teknoboy took the House Hornet track in VG3.

It really sucked after I finished Ninja Gaiden Devil's Mask in the spring, we literally didn't get any new videos until July/August. Our hopes of even reaching half an hour were beginning to become an unreachable dream. However, we were very lucky that AWA gave us an extension up to Sept 10 which turned the tides in our favor and we were able to get the project up to 59 minutes. I remember Flux and I waiting by our computers 24/7 on the weekend of the "deathline" for RVG. Seeing on the big screen at AWA 2004 was one of the most amazing things ever and was the highlight of my trip. Thanks to the remaining editors pulling through at the last minute, Flux was happy to start VG3. I felt that the RVG Project was much stronger than NES in terms of editing, mood, and really captured what I felt was best about the 16-bit era. A maturity of gaming through drama and story. I also felt that I made my best VG videos for RVG in comparison to the rest of the projects.


Video Game Project 3
Thanks to the massive success of RVG and the new inclusion of the MEP forum at the .org, we had ALOT more people interested in VG3. We had a few small dropouts, but nothing too major like RVG. After AWA 2004 ended, I started on Azumario Daioh - The Animation since we were lacking Mario videos in RVG. I actually wanted it to be the starting video of the project, but after Zarx finished his Duck Hunt track, it didn't feel like "the ending track" which Zarx usually did. Flux and MJ decided that Azumario would be the finishing track instead. Midway through the project, I did a Resident Evil 2/Hellsing track in the same vein as my RVG tracks. It was fun to work on, even though it was painful to sit through Hellsing again... Last, but not least, I did a Super C/Dead Leaves video since Beo and Wonka weren't going to finish a track. I tried my best to emulate their style from their past Contra tracks.

The AWA 2005 showing went really well and the room was packed to full capacity (mostly because we preceded AMV HELL 3). I was sad that MJ and Flux wanted to end the projects here, but I couldn't let it go... I felt that VG3 took the best of NES and RVG into one big package. Not too serious like RVG and a little more fun like NES. I would say that VG3 had the best quality videos of all 5 projects.


Video Game Project IV: Rebirth
After AWA 2006, MJ missed having a project on the big screen and said that we should start a VG4. I immediately got excited and Flux and MJ decided to give me total control of the project, making it my first solo effort. VG4 was the hardest project to run for several reasons. I started it around the time when the MEP scene was getting incredibly oversaturated to the point where a new MEP project was being posted on the .org forums every day. There was alot of initial interest, but as the project went on, alot of people dropped out, including great former project editors like Zarxrax, MJ, and badmartialarts. Flux was already burned out on project videos (according to his AMV autobiography), so he never joined. It was really difficult to manage the projects without Flux and MJ's advice. Plus, like some other people at the time, I was going through an "amvs are meh" stage and the only thing I was serious about was VG4. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to hit an hour and didn't get the last track until 2 days before AWA. However, it was worth it in the end.

The first track I did was my Phoenix Wright - Anime Attorney video. I had recently gone through a Phoenix Wright obsession and I HAD to do a track to it. I was very lucky that Court Records had all of the sprites ripped and even hosted some remixes of the game, one which was a remix of my favorite song in the game that I used. In order to make the video, I HAD to use Premiere Pro because I didn't want to switch from Premiere 6.5 to AE just to scroll images larger than 720 x 480. I was able to finish the video within 2 and a half months, even though I wish I did the mouth movements better. The next track I edited was Doom - Iron Cathedral. This was originally my track for the dead Doom Project. Since teknoboy was nice enough to mail me a copy of the SiN DVD a while back, I was able to finish the video within 3 days. Since the project was only a little over 30 minutes in the summer, I decided to work on a Castlevania Symphony of the Night Parody track. This was originally going to be the opening to a Castlevania Symphony of the night MEP I wanted to run after the NES Project, but I dropped it in favor of managing RVG. The last track I did was a Double Dragon 2/Rush Hour track (not downloadable) as a contingency video. Kind of funny how it brought the project over an hour after thinking it wouldn't get to an hour. :P

While the majority of the videos were quite good, there were a few weaker ones due to the fact that I got alot of them late and had little to no time to critique them. The AWA showing went kinda well for the most part, except for the fact that ngsilver's video cut off to fast which was my fault for re-encoding it after it didn't play correctly for me :(. I think the major problem was that it was scheduled after AMV HELL 4 and and the majority of the room left since VG4 started late at 10pm. I would say that a little over half the room was filled and the people who stayed really enjoyed it. The project wasn't too bad for my first solo effort, but I wish a few things were done a little better..


Video Game Project 5: Revival of Heroes!
I was initially hesitant to run VG5 for a few reasons. I had just graduated college and was struggling to look for a job which really hurt my motivation. However, coincidently when I was going to make the announcement whether to stop or continue the projects around the end of Sept 2008, I landed my first job editing a feature film and that motivated me to start the project. Despite the oversaturation of the MEP scene, VG5 was met with alot of interest and for some reason, I felt that it was going to surpass VG4 in every way possible, and I was right. :)

I already covered my thoughts on managing the project in an earlier post. The first video I did was my Trauma Center 2 track. I was deciding between this or a Warcraft/Berserk track, but I wanted to do something more challenging and I really loved the music of Trauma Center 2 after finishing it over the summer. I was very lucky that DS emulators (mostly no$gba) have gotten to the point where they were playable and that helped big time in making the video. I started it a little past halfway during my feature film editing job which made it hard to manage the time to edit it. When that was over, I was able to finish the video by January 2009. The next video I did was my Snatcher track. I had just finally got around to playing and beating Snatcher on a Sega CD emulator and played it again to record the footage. The video took so long to make because of Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5. x_x... A video that should have only taken a month to finish took about 3. The last track I edited was Saiyan of the Colossus. I originally wanted to make it for VG4, but I didn't have the time. It was a simple video to edit for the most part and I got it done within 3 days.

The project took itself much more seriously than VG4 did, but still remained alot of fun and almost felt like VG3 Jr. Although I would have to say that VG3 only slightly beats out VG5 in terms of quality since I still think VG3 had more "solid and serious" concepts where VG5 had mostly "fun" concepts. The only gripe I had managing VG5 was AWA forcing me to reduce the project to 1 hour and when watching the 1 hour version, it never really felt complete. When I finally compiled the full version, it finally felt like a complete project. Regardless, the AWA showing was fantastic and it literally filled over 80% of the room. Not as huge as VG3, but I felt that the crowd was more genuine since they didn't come for AMV HELL afterwards like the VG3 showing.

The main theme of VG5 is about moving on and letting the new generation take over. I admit I did vent alot of my personal frustrations through the project, especially the oversaturation of the MEP scene and being forgotten. But I tried not to portray those things too negatively and I really hope the project shows those things in more positive light. I made the decision to end the projects after 5 because I'm going to be busy with film work, writing, directing, and editing my own films, so I will no longer have time to work on any VG Projects. However, VG5 turned out even better than I could possibly imagine and it was a great way to finally end the saga.



Final words

I love all the projects, but if I had to rank them from personal favorite to least favorite, it would go like this...

RVG
VG3
VG5
NES
VG4

If I had to rate them based on the quality of the projects as a whole without my personal preferences and which ones had the most amount of strongest videos...

VG3
VG5
RVG
VG4
NES

The 6 years spent editing and managing the VG Projects have been some of the best years of my life. The whole concept of taking 2 things I love (video games and anime) and editing them together was a huge joy and totally revitalized my desire to edit after I initially felt burned out. Probably the most important things I learned from the projects were not only new editing techniques, but learning how to work with others and being able to manage time and coordination of something big. Even though I wasn't face to face with the editors, I learned a bit of directing which will definitely help me in my future film career. There were alot of struggles in getting each of the projects done, but seeing the projects on the big screen in the end always felt like a huge victory proving that the struggles were worth it. I was able to meet alot of new people, made alot of new friends, and even improved my editing skills through the projects.

I couldn't let it go after VG3, but now I can finally let it go for real this time. It's been a fun 6 years and while I'm sad that the projects are over, I hope new generations of fans will still be able to enjoy them. Even when the PS9, Super Wii 3000, and Xbox 3600 come out in the distant future. I give a heartfelt thanks to all the editors who made the projects possible.

It's hard to believe one man's drunken rant led to the creation of the projects :)

"You better be on board the Nintendo Project dog!"


And for a bonus, here is my Old School TV Project - TMNT "Red Sky" Opening Track which I have shelved since 2006.

Enjoy the videos!