[Music] Does this even belong here?

 Realizing that most of the music on this site is in MIDI format, I can't be entirely certain that these pieces will fit in, so to speak. Still, if you guys feel so inclined to have a listen and see whether or not these are any good (I suspect many of them are not), I would greatly appreciate it. The reason I signed up for these forums is because it seems that many (or all) of you lack the "everything that you make is awesome" syndrome, which, for an artist of any medium, is not only quite frustrating but also extremely useless. And so, to begin, I will only put three- one from each genre that I have. And if, for whatever ungodly reason, you feel they aren't terrible, then I can always post more later.
  I now feel obliged to point out that I only recently found out about all of these RPG makers, and I do fully intend to try and learn how to properly utilize them. I'm certain that with all of your expert advice, I can hopefully put together something enjoyable, and I eagerly look forward to any suggestions you all might have!
 On to the music:
 None of these are really suitable "Battle Themes". In so many words, I would hesitate to even call them "Event Pieces". Perhaps the best way to describe them would be to say that they are "Set Pieces", in that they serve only to evoke certain moods. While I do believe battle themes are an extremely important part of gameplay, since I am a stranger to these forums, I thought it might be prudent to start off with a few of my more mellow songs.

Last one.

 I should probably change these so that they only cycle through once, in order to reduce file size...

I'll give you a very in-depth review if you post these as, say, mp3s.
Downloading a single piece of music as a .rar file is seems like an unnecessary complication.


edited for typos

 They have been changed...

I have to say that the "City Lights" piece was quite good.
But I would prefer upbeat pieces though.

You chose good names for these.

I like how each one has its own sound, but they keep the same feel. There are times when I didn't totally agree with the transitions. But altogether, they were really good. (and complete, I haven't written a complete song in a long time :x )
 
One thing I'd like to hear is some dissonance. If done wrong it sounds, well, dissonant. But if done correctly, it sounds really cool.

I have to say that the "City Lights" piece was quite good.
But I would prefer upbeat pieces though.

 Forgive me, but very few of the things that I make are genuinely "upbeat". A few humorous things, perhaps...but thank you for pointing out the absence. I should probably do something about that.
 In meantime, could you have been referring to something like this? I think it and a scant few others are the only "upbeat" songs that I have.
 

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One thing I'd like to hear is some dissonance. If done wrong it sounds, well, dissonant. But if done correctly, it sounds really cool.

 By dissonance, are you referring to the strict musical definition, or are you using it in broader terms? If I understand correctly (and please forgive me if I'm wrong), you're referring to sound that is slightly grating, no? I have experimented with that in the past, but I usually tend to rely more on subtlety, since I'm arguably better at that. I'll leave you with two and hope that I don't utterly fail with both of them (in the sense of being dissonant).

Dungeon Crawl

Very atmospheric, certainly suited to a dungeon.
Early on, doubts arose as to whether or not I would enjoy the song, solely because it seemed as if that one single string part would carry on for the entire for minutes, but soon enough, the second string part came in over the first, and not long after that came the drums and the chromatic percussion, the saviours of the music.
The use of the chimes was a pleasant surprise, as well as being very effective.
The production is a bit... murky, but only in the clarity or certain tracks. For instance, the drums (save for the fill with the toms that pan from left to right) are particularly subdued, to such an extent that, at times, even the snare (normally the most "crisp" sound in a conventional drum beat) is barely distinguishable through the collective sound of the other instruments. I noted that, other than the toms, the hi-hat was the most clear sound in the beat, and even it sounded like it was drowning. Were each of the beat components on separate tracks?
There was a brief moment of static at the beginning of the song, so I would suggest either making it so that the music starts immediately, or applying a delicately handled noise gate to the first string part.
I could envision this song as an epic, minimalist-ambient track, or, preferably, a dynamic neo-symphonic piece with more defined, and perhaps more aggressive drums. 
It is, however, quite nice in its present state.

Next up: City Lights

Well, I'll preface any critique I have by saying I am not a musician, and so really the most that can be taken from anything I say is that I either like it or dislike it, so keep that in mind. In short, I am not actually qualified in any way to critique, I just like reading my own posts, but I hope that it helps in some way.

That being said, I liked what I've listened to already (City Lights, Ending, Asylum).

I think that City Lights has a nice sound to it, but if it is intended for an RPG, it is hard to see where it would fit, if you know what I mean. All in all though, I did like the fact that it uses some atypical sounds but still manages to make everything go together and create a nice song.

I liked Ending a lot. I thought it was very good, but the transition at 1:56 was a bit unexpected. I haven't decided whether it's a good thing that it was so unexpected, but I definitely liked where the song went after that.

I liked Asylum. I have no idea why, but it reminds me of Sonic nighttime city stages. Anyway, I thought it was good.

Anyway, I think that your music is well put together. Hopefully, somebody else will have something more constructive to say - I'm more like a cheerleader.

 Let me first say how much I appreciate everyone's input. To Mr. MAII, I say that whether you understand music or not makes little difference with whether or not it's good. I imagine that most people who play games are not musicians, but that doesn't mean their opinion matters any less. Obviously you can't cater to everyone's musical tastes, but being able to make something that a person enjoys listening to (even if it's only once or twice) is the paramount goal.
 And no, City Lights was never intended to be put in a strict RPG. It was, rather, something for a side-scrolling fighting/action kind of thing. Unfortunately, the director didn't think the song fit the scene well enough, so it's pretty much a flop (although I tend to disagree with him on that matter). I think our impressions of what "fits" vary greatly in that regard, so now I will posit a question: in some instances, I would agree that the music is the most important aspect in a game; however, when taken in conjunction with explosive sound and rapid screen movement to help drive the action, slower songs can still "fit the bill" so to speak. Any thoughts on that?

 And Mr. Dertt...you certainly weren't joking when you said you'd give an in depth review. Many thanks. Yes, many of the drum bits are on their own track, so I'm certain a little mastering here and there wouldn't do any harm. I had no idea there was static at the beginning, though- did you have the volume turned all the way up or something? In any case, I'm glad you liked this one, since I really need to get back to that style. Most of my newer stuff isn't really traditional RPG (unless  you count PS1 Valkyrie Profile as an RPG...), despite the fact that I would love nothing more than to compose for one. Unfortunately, all of the projects I've worked on so far are anything but, so there was never really any urgent need to experiment. But if, as you say, this song is agreeable, then I can rest assured that I at least have my foot in the door.

 Finally, I'd feel a little silly going back to review songs that have already been posted and commented on for six months or so, but if anyone has a song (new or old) that they'd like me to listen to, I'd be more than happy to oblige. 

Wow, I am actually quite impressed with these; Ending and Dungeon Crawl are my favourites. Your style has a subtle feel to it, which works great as BGMs. Very atmospheric and moody. Dungeon crawl also reminds me of Diablo II's music, heheh. Probably due to its drum use with an otherwisely orchestral piece, which was a nice touch. I did not enjoy City Lights as much as the other two, but I think that's mainly due to my genre preference. It seems to be quite fitting of its supposed scenary, though. I suppose one thing I would suggest would be to have just a bit more melodic things in some parts of it, as sometimes it feels a little empty.

But all in all, excellent pieces and very appropriate BGMs. I enjoyed them very much. What sound library do you use, by the way?

 I don't actually have a sound library, Reives. Well, I mean, I suppose I technically have a sound library...I use a Roland XP-30 with a few expansion packs in it. I do have quite a few drum loops (from SoundMaster or something like that- I can't recall exactly where they come from), but I'm not against making my own drum track if I can't find something that I like.
 I think the only problem with this is that I can't get that genuine video game sound that I like, which is a little disappointing. After playing through your game, I'm all the more convinced that I need to learn how to properly utilize midi; however, as I mentioned, I don't really have any midi sound libraries. Are there any that you would recommend, personally?
 And also, were you responsible only for the ending theme in your game, or are you one of the three composers listed?