I like the crisp drums at :14 and the rhythmic content. The gritty synth bass at the beginning sounds a bit unpolished for my tastes, but the mixing and balance of the piece is really strong, and the quirky elements of the sound design really help keep me engaged. The breakdown lead at 1:15 with the ping-pong echo effects is awesome. Harmonically, the piece could be a tad more creative - despite the unique sound design, the foregrounded content of the piece is mostly outlining the chord progression, as opposed to giving the piece a stronger sense of melodic direction. The melody at 1:43 helps break that pattern, but also seems to lack dynamism itself after a while. That said, the instrumentation, rich texture, and strong production quality still have me sold on this piece. Going forward, working on melody writing and “storytelling” will help you turn the 8.75 I’m giving you into a 9.75. Until then, keep it up, Ackai! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.75/10

very nice ravey big beat vibes. some of the synth leads are a little too kooky and the second synth theme coming in at 1:45 is annoying. i think a lot of the leads and synths are just too loud in a lot of parts and the BIG full kick and snare are used too sparingly in the second half, so that makes the structure drag a lot. i would go back and bring the synths and basses down under the kick and snares before hitting the master limiter, probably lower the overall level quite a bit, and also look at scooping the low mids out of a few elements. fun and unique entry overall

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text