Very very good composition
I especially like the lead line at the beginning and towards the end how you have it coming on the beat and then on the up beat.
You have alot of layers going on here and it really does add a nice 8 bit epicness to it.
I even hear those little add ins you put in to accent where the notes go in the scale by jumping 1 or 2 octaves higher. at the end i was hearing an 8 bit bass with a high frequency tossed in? it was barely audible and only one long note on the upbeat 4 times in a row. Im sorry if none of that makes sense. its hard to explain an 8 bit piece and let the reader know which synth you are referring to. i love that tiny little keychange you made at around :37. totally reminded of ending a level in a space game
Even though this is a very short piece you definitely composed it in a way that would add urgency and give the game player something nice to listen to. Music for an 8 bit game should be catchy and the more it loops the more you notice the layers involved.
As a game loop this is awesome.
the reason for the 8 is because i had to take 2 points away.
1 - for its lack of percussion. You did have some 8 bit synth laser vibrations in there but i was still longing for the static-y impacts and explosions that would accompany the percussion in a piece like this.
2 - Not necessarily the3 length of this piece was the problem but i do believe that you could have added some more song structure to it. once the 55 seconds was over i was left hoping there would be some subtlety about to happen. drop off a few synths and bring out a lead line nice and bright with very very soft simple undertones and build that back into the main theme THEN have it loop.
All in all i really enjoyed this and i think it would be great for an "invade the space station" type game. Hop off your ship with laser in hand battling robots and station crew to find the secret space coordinates to find the evil dude and make it out with your ship after you plant a time bomb.
good stuff