Dwelling of Duels: Mega Man Redux Month

For those unfamiliar with Dwelling of Duels (“DoD” for short), perhaps it’s important to first provide context. DoD, is an anonymous monthly competition of video game covers and arrangements. In it, contestants must produce a piece of music based on each month’s theme, which usually revolves around specific franchises, composers, consoles, or anything related to the games themselves. The main instrument used for each piece of music must be played live, as per their rules. Both covers and votes are submitted under strict anonymity, ensuring as much objectivity as technology and common sense allows.

After more than 20 years, the DoD website has amassed an outstanding library of covers from a multitude of games, artists and genres. And in spite of the implicit time constraints and the educational nature of the community’s feedback, the quality of the arrangements isn’t as low as you would expect. True professionals have cut their teeth in this competition, and many tend to go back and participate from time to time.

It is a proving ground, yes. But it’s also a treasure trove for any and all VGM lovers out there. Not only are the best ranked covers worth a listen, but many of the less favored entries will also blow your mind. The reality is that not everyone can get first place, and with so many talented musicians, a lot of gems are usually relegated to the top 10 (or even top 20) spots in the monthly rankings.

I’ve been listening to covers from DoD for quite some time, but it was only last year that I decided to start using Discord and I gravitated towards their community for some reason. At first, I was eager to interact with artists I recognized, from YouTube or other platforms. Some I had been listening to since I was a teenager, thanks to their work published in OverClocked Remix.

However, with the passing months, I started noticing new artists and listening to their amazing music. My podcast Mega Mixtape has been a testament to that, since I try to talk about the entries I like the most. Heck, if you go and listen to the first seasons of the podcast (from all the way back to 2020), you’ll probably hear a few covers from DoD here and there.

So, when their theme for May 2024 was announced as “Mega Man Redux“, I had no choice but to get involved in a new but much overdue way: providing reviews for their covers of my all-time favorite video game franchise. Reviews are often posted in DoD‘s discord sever by other musicians and members of their community, often times while voting is still ongoing and anonymity is still enforced. I encourage everyone to go listen to all entries and vote, since I believe their contest would greatly benefit from more feedback from a listener’s perspective. In fact, you can listen to all of the entries in a row, with the handy YouTube video they post each month:

Anyway, excuse the long winded introduction. Here are my honest reviews, based solely on personal preference:

Mega Man 10, Mega Man 11 – Mega Man sucks and takes no skill to play

The artist (or “anon”, as collectively referred as in DoD) probably doesn’t like Mega Man that much! Nevertheless, they offer a medley with a several djent segments, interlaced with more identifiable parts. Towards the end, the guitar shines through with an encore of the main theme. I am, however, not that familiar with the source material and was perhaps unable to fully enjoy it. I wasn’t a big fan of the drumming either, specially during the less saturated parts.

Mega Man 2, Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse – Megalovania

VGM covers and puns go hand in hand, and so do mashups. And while I commend the concept behind this Flash Man / Mad Forest (can’t believe no one has done it before!), with some actual Megalovania sprinkled at the end for good measure, I can’t say I’m a fan of the production values here. The sound isn’t as crisp as it could be, in my opinion.

Mega Man 2, Mega Man 3 – Consult Your Doctor For Medleys Lasting Longer Than 4 Hours

Long Mega Man medleys are way more common than they should, I’ll grant you that. I personally think it’s best to let each piece shine on its own, or only mash them together when it serves a purpose. However, besides the length, title and satire via computer generated voices, this cover doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the bunch. It sounds a bit rushed, both in its performance and production.

Mega Man 2 – Bubble Man Has A Really Good Day

As the first “feel good” track of many, this was a very pleasant surprise. Simple isn’t always a bad thing, and this cover accomplishes a concise objetive without feeling over-produced. Loved the little Quick Man quote in there! I have a pretty good idea of who’s behind this, and while it certainly isn’t their best work, I’d say it’s a decent entry.

Mega Man 2 – Flash and Destroy

There seems to be the notion that classic DoD is synonym with garage metal style covers, and this is one of those entries that reinforces the point. It’s not up my alley, since I believe live and unadulterated recordings are only a stepping stone towards great music. There is indeed some post-processing, as far as I can tell, since the sound quality is actually pretty good. But still, not original enough for yet another Flash Man cover. “Biggoron” Tuck, a member of the community, was kind enough to explain to me that this is in fact a Metallica mashup. Never been a fan, and I’m not familiar with much of their repertoire, so the reference had gone completely over my head.

Mega Man 2 – Goggled Menace

We’ll hear a lot of “bubbles” in this month’s entries! This was a particularly hard core take on an otherwise easy-going theme. More DoD-style metal, if you will. On a second listen, I think I should have rated this better than I did. But unfortunately, metal covers have pretty much run their course for me, specially when it comes to classic Mega Man. My initial reaction is always less enthusiastic unless it’s something really out of the ordinary.

Mega Man 2 – sLightly Improved Mega Man 2

And now, to completely contradict myself, here’s an insanely long metal playthrough of the full Mega Man 2 soundtrack that I did enjoy. As I said during the listening party held on DoD‘s Twitch channel, this would have been perfect for a live speedrun of the game (much akin to Bit Brigade‘s work, albeit with somewhat better production values). So the “sLightly improved” part is definitely evident, as it goes to interesting places with some of the sources. However, as I already mentioned, the nature of medleys like this prevent me from fully enjoying those creative arrangement choices, since each track passes by far too quickly.

Mega Man 2 – Wily’s Dream Land

Excellent concept! I loved this mashup: Dr. Wily‘s theme in Kirby‘s music style. Even if the idea doesn’t take the cover quite above the line of Wily Theme cover standards set by so many great artists before it. It’s a quirky little cover! Again, I’m pretty sure of who’s behind this.

Mega Man 3 – Cybernetic Skullstorm

This was the first big surprise of the batch, and it fully deserves one of the top spots. If I’m not mistaken, the anon behind it is a newcomer to DoD, although they already have a lot of work published in other communities. It was an extremely pleasant surprise, and it took a second listen to recognize their style. And while I usually think they produce more electronic covers, this was probably a collaboration with other DoD regulars (namely, the guitarist). It helps that it covers one of the most epic Wily battle themes, and adds a touch of voice samples here and there. I’m torn between highlighting it in May’s “The Mix”, or something else I’ve preparing for June or July.

Mega Man 3 – Dawn of Hardman

It starts as a pretty chill out Hard Man cover, adding to the list of laid back entries we had this month. But on the second half, it does a more upbeat encore and ends somewhat abruptly. Nothing out of the ordinary, and would have probably liked it better if it went to more places with the chill out idea.

Mega Man 3 – In The Year 198X…

We keep on chilling with another outstanding Wily cover! This takes one of the best fortress themes in a completely unexpected direction. It reminds me of Mega Man X4‘s ending theme somewhat. Loved the arrangement overall and the subtle vocals. Despite being a long track, it’s so chill I could probably listen to it for hours on end.

Mega Man 3 – Sssssnake Man

Now this is right up my alley! Acoustic folk covers with obscure instruments and this kind of production values will always blow my mind. It goes beyond being a novelty and really shines through with the arrangement, performance and production. It also helps that they picked one of the most catchy tracks in the soundtrack. In my opinion, it deserves one of the top spots this month. Let’s see how far it gets!

Mega Man 4 – Goodbye, Blue Bomber

A pretty melancholic take on an ending theme that’s already charged with feels. The music box effect and chords really push it to the next level of sadness. I was expecting more upbeat Mega Man 4 covers, but this was a pleasant surprise as well.

Mega Man 4 – Self Contained Underwater Banger Automaton

A great take on Dive Man‘s theme! Loved the guitar and synth solos, as well as all the percussion. The clapping really sets it apart from other Mega Man covers (let alone Dive Man covers, which there aren’t that many to begin with). My only complaint is that it’s a tad short, and I would have loved the improv segments to last a little longer.

Mega Man 6, Mega Man 10 – Spring Rain

Hearing a Plant Man cover was quite a surprise! I’m not too sure of what the source was for the second half of this entry, which comes in and also ends quite abruptly. I think both covers would have worked better on their own, rather than a medley, but I still enjoyed this.

Mega Man 6 – Burnout

It’s always great to see Mega Man 6 get some love! This one has a laid back and enjoyable performance, but I would say nothing out of the ordinary. The second half gets a bit more interesting though, as far as Flame Man covers go, with a more bluesy take on the theme and some improv.

Mega Man 6 – Half Man, Half Horse, All Robot

This gets extra points from the title alone, but I love me some acoustic Centaur Man covers! Great performance, even if the arrangement feels a bit conservative or straightforward.

Mega Man 6 – Hot Master

Another Flame Man cover? Hell yes! I really liked this one. All instrument choices and effects go really well with the piece. Maybe if it had taken some more liberties with the arrangement, or lasted a bit longer with more solos maybe, I would have rated it higher. But it’s a great cover nonetheless.

Mega Man 7 – Ruined Streets(Full Throttle Remix)

Here’s some metal I can definitely get behind, even if it’s somewhat… “compressed”, I believe is the right term? Excuse my lack of audio production knowledge. I’ve been following this particular anon for quite a while, so I can’t be completely impartial towards this cover. Loved his take on an already awesome source.

Mega Man 7 – Shades of Arthur

Thank you for a great Shade Man cover, anon! We definitely need more of those. The fact that they decided to also include the Ghouls n’ Ghosts theme, only adds to the experience. However, all of that is ruined by the ending, which starts to cover the battle theme, but gets cut far too abruptly. Perhaps anon lacked the time to properly finish it.

Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel/Team Protoman – Hope You Brought Your Airshoes

Beginning with this track, I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea about the source of the next few entries. This one however had very good production values, and enough twists and turns to keep me interested throughout the whole piece. I figure it’s gonna get a decent spot in the rankings. Also, unexpected harp and strings! This was undoubtedly a team effort.

Mega Man II (Game Boy) – The End of Mega Man II à la Minibosses

The live cover band aesthetic is there, and I completely get the importance of pioneers like the Minibosses. It’s awesome punk rock VGM, and for that I give this homage some credit. But I still can’t help to feel it’s a dated approach, by the scene’s current standards.

Mega Man Network Transmission – For That Special Someone

I think that familiarity with the source material would have definitely helped me enjoy this a lot more, since I suspect it’s leaning on very specific tropes. Still, in terms of sound quality, it’s quite an entry. Loved the synths and funny vocals, specially towards the end. Sounded like a retro anime outro.

Mega Man Network Transmission – Star Studded Search Engine

The “Battle Network sound” is a lot more present here, right from the start. The main synth is quite evidently played live, it sounds like it improvised quite a bit, and it’s not bad. But the accompaniment is somewhat lacking. This one includes a Flash Man quote, by the way.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars – 1024 water dot S

The loud bass was an interesting surprise at first, but then it feels like it goes away and never comes back. I liked the guitar performance and solo, though. Production-wise, I think this still has a ways to go (but again, I’m no expert, this is just my perception).

Mega Man X – Factory Stage – Flame Mammoth’s Stage

I gotta admit, I expected more from the vanilla X segment. This one isn’t bad, but takes very few liberties with the arrangement. In terms of production, the guitar sounds quite subdued, in my opinion.

Mega Man X – The opening stage, but it’s slow because I thought it sounded cooler that way and definitely not because I needed to fill up at least 2 minutes of time to make this a main

Maybe it comes as a surprise to some, but this is not the first attempt at a more slowed down “Opening Stage“. The source actually lends itself to quite melancholic rearrangements. Still, the guitar tone is an interesting choice, that I think I would have enjoyed more if the piece had gone full surf, with some more instruments and better accompaniment added to the mix.

Mega Man X2 – A Tale from 21XX

Here comes the absolutely amazing X2 block, in contrast to the previous one. This entry is full of proper shredding, and it’s one medley I can get behind. I originally thought it had a long winded voice sample from a source I wasn’t familiar with, since it’s barely audible at the beginning, under the guitars and drums. But they turned out to be original vocals, which is evident once the “singing” starts. And they are not half bad! Besides, you can hardly go wrong with Flame Stag and the X2 battle theme if death metal is your thing.

Mega Man X2 – Battle against a Sponge

The title here is misleading, since the most identifiable source for this is the X2 battle theme (at least for me). However, seeing as it’s this particular anon’s tendency to “prog” things up, sources become unrecognizable sometimes. So maybe the Wire Sponge theme is hidden in there somewhere? In any case, this is yet another excellent cover from this anon. Loved all the solos, easily deserves a spot in the top 10.

Mega Man X2 – Bubble Crab Core

One of the most epic and iconic themes in the X franchise, gets taken to the next level with this anon’s awesome synths. It includes top notch improvisation, and of course, a Bubble Man quote. The organ break at the 3’22 mark came out of left field, but was a very pleasant surprise indeed. That makes two amazing and proggy entries in a row, but this definitely hits harder for me personally.

Mega Man X2 – Bubbly Crablos

Still high on bubbles, but with a complete change of pace, we get this eccentric take on the Crab. Not quite the Wendy Carlos homage I was expecting from the title, but rather somewhat of a surf, cumbia or even reggaeton cover. Including some lovely percussions to go along! It’s definitely up there as one of the most original versions of this track I’ve heard.

Mega Man Zero 2 – NWOBOM

What an appropriate way to represent the Zero series! I gotta admit, I’m not quite sure how faithful of an arrangement this is. However, it manages to keep me interested with amazing guitars, drums and production overall. One of the best metal entries this month, no doubt.

Mega Man 2 – 1837

A typo prevented this entry from joining the rest of the Mega Man 2 tracks at the beginning of the list, so you could say this a fugitive or an outlaw. And so, the wild west acoustic style fits like a glove. It’s an interesting take on yeah, you guessed it… Flash Man. But seriously, my only complaint is about the quality of some of the instruments, which I guess comes from sub-optimal recording methods.

Rockman & Forte – Some Light Reading

And finally, the list ends with a cover from my favorite game in the classic Mega Man series! And what a sendoff it is! Another laid back entry, and one of my favorites for this month. It actually reminds me of Disasterpeace‘s work for FEZ. Which is a huge compliment, as far as I’m concerned. The funky synths however, set it apart. As well as the background sound effects of someone typing on a keyboard, that I only noticed when listening with headphones. I’m sure it was Dr. Light typing away at the old Robot Master database.