== I wasn't your judge for the NGAUC but then you send me a PM asking me to review this track so I figured that sounded like an acceptable thing to do ==

First things first. You gotta get better instruments. Consider this your official commandment to learn sound design, or at least find some good presets. Honestly, when I do sound design, 80% is finding a close preset, and 20% is tweaking that preset to get what I want. So you could get 80% of the way there with practically no effort, hehe.

The sounds that you're using currently have 100% maximum cheese factor to them. That can work... sometimes... usually if your song is really sad. This song is not sad. Not in the slightest. :P

I would normally point you in the direction of some similar songs here, so that you have a direction to go in, but in this case I'm not really sure of any super happy upbeat techno. Well, there's obviously chiptune, so you could do something like https://soundcloud.com/ko0x/never-alone or https://soundcloud.com/jayster6721/foreign-grove But I assume that you don't always want to write chiptune (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU).

There's also the interesting case of the melody at 1:33. It's actually a pretty good melody in that the way that you end it by going downwards is well done. And yet it doesn't captivate me as much as it should, which is weird. What a mystery! And it's not just related to that melody. In fact, I think that all melodies are being dragged down a little bit, for some mysterious reason. What could it be, detective johnfn? Well, I'd say that the #1 suspect is...

THE CHORD PROGRESSION. (In the midrange with a tonic.)

Behold the following mathematical chart based in 100% mathematical reality and following mathematical laws (which I actually dreamed up the other day, not even having heard this song):

Sad Chords + Sad Melody = Sad Song
Sad Chords + Happy Melody = Dancy/Edgy song (my song Light Up is a good example)
Happy Chords + Sad Melody = Wistful song
Happy chords + Happy Melody = DANGER: CHEESY ZONE

(To be 100% accurate, happy + happy doesn't always equal cheese, but it's pretty darn hard to avoid until you get really good.)

Your song has the happiest chord progression ever, and then you put the happiest melody on top... it's too much happiness! (That, and the sound design.) I'm just imagining if you did your progression now, but every other bar you did iii -> IV -> V -> I instead, I think that would add a bit of variation and make the song better. And if you varied up your progression even more, it could be EVEN BETTER.

The melody is not bad. But if you tweaked the progression to be more moody, then the melody would really shine. As it is, I can't really get into it because it's too happy. Also, it gets repeated a little too often, but that could be helped with a different progression, too.

Other assorted nit-picks: I think that I hear some clipping around 1:09.

Also, the song needs a little more bass. You have a bass instrument, but it's not as low as I'd hope.

Hypothetical overall score: 7 or 7.5 depending on how generous I was feeling, hehe. I see that every other judge gave you a 7.5 so who am I to disagree? :P

Hypothetical mini-scores
* Mixing: 3+/4
* Composition: 3/4
* Arrangement: 4/4

Them melodies! They're wonderful.

To begin with, I diagree with TaintedLogic about the high-pitched/harsh-soundingness at 0:14. I'm usually the first to notice if something is irritating to the ears (I easily get headaches), and I'd say that the sound design you used is actually pretty smooth. That said, it's not a super unique combination of instruments. The rhythm is very pleasant to listen to. The name really is perfect.

I don't mind the breakdown early in the piece from a structural standpoint. Actually, I think it's good taht you're breaking the normal formula, at least to some extent. I'm sure you just tried to develop the piece into something new there, which you did. The breakdown itself though, feels almost unnecessarily empty to me. There the white-noisy sounding crash (we both know I don't know the name of things), and some low pads. Not every section needs to have every frequency range in it, but to me there's something missing here, probably something a bit lower than 0:47, but higher than the pads, if that makes sense. Just a personal opinion though.
Something like that does enter at 0:53 though, so I guess you're forgiven this time (and what was missing was not necessarily anything melodic either).
The melodies that come next are simply brilliant, especially as they really start at 1:20. I know some people might not like the kind of lead you chose, but I love it! I really love the dual action at 1:40!!!

As you already know, the main melody sounds to me like it hints at the overworld theme from Mario, although just a little bit.
I don't know if this is necessarily too repetitive, even though some people have said that. As johnfn has said, a good melody deserves to be repeated. Usually people complain that I am not repetitive enough, and now people think this is too repetitive, even though you've got tons of variations in the similar parts, like different percussions or sub-melodies.
I'm especially surprised that TaintedLogic found this to be repetitive, as I know he is a fan of House music, and is always complaining that I repeat too little XD
Oh well.

To me, the mix sounds very solid, and I enjoyed all the melodies, including the section that starts at 02:27.

If you wonder why I gave this a solid 5/5, it is because even despite the criticism, this made me really happy, and I would have nothing to complain about if I didn't try analyze the piece (except for the weird emptiness in the first breakdown). And I'm a sucker for good melodies.
If I were a judge, I'd be a bit harsher, of course.

Just one question though! WHEN WILL YOU MAKE A "DOWNSINKER"? Hmmm?
I've been promised one, and I will not give up.

Either way, splendid job overall. Them percussions are really cool. Keep it up ;)
(Also, remember the medley of my tracks you promised to make hehhe? I sure am making sure you have unnecessary tasks, don't I? At least you shouldn't get bored [P.S. You don't have to do any of those things, but it'd be cool]).

Favorited ;)

I'm going to be tougher on you than I usually am, because, well...this is for a competition. I liked the warm pads at the beginning, but the brass at :07 seemed a bit punchy by comparison. The synth at :14 is a little high-pitched and harsh-sounding, and I think you could've gone in a lot of different directions with it melodically. I was a little confused when :41 offered an almost breakdown-like section because I expected there to be a notable climax before any sort of re-intro. I liked the melodies at around :56, and the progression by around 1:20 is rather pleasant. I love all of the melodic development you offer by the end of this piece, but I'm not sure you needed much of the first 40 seconds. It's, overall, very smooth-flowing and structurally sound. I think you could've done a bit more with dynamic contrast (even though there are clear structural ups-and-downs to the piece). I think the harmonies around 3:22 are my favorites of the piece. The ending is a bit sudden, though, and I think it gets a bit repetitive by the end. Still, I love the upbeat mood and melodic content. The mixing is also rather good. I suppose one big drawback for me was that it didn't seem very unique. I've reviewed a LOT of upbeat techno/trance/house songs for this contest already, and while the melodies are memorable and the production solid, perhaps doing something more original with the sound design or adding some interesting effects would be a better way of distinguishing yourself from the other competitors. Still, this is a cool piece. Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

7.5/10

Makes me want to barf happiness, and that is not a bad thing.

The kick sounded very familiar, did you use just one sample or did you use multiple?

Would be better if it had a rock violin.

...

On a more serious note, this song is bright and catchy but 3repetitive5me.

I suggest more dank memes.