[strugglepoo]

Mega Man X3 in general was a huge turn off for me. Some of the bosses were too difficult resulting in having to replay super bland/empty stages and relisten to boring, repetitive (Neon Tiger, Tunnel Rhino, Doppler Final Stage) and grating tunes (Blast Hornet, Volt Catfish, Boss Battle, Vile's Stage). Gravity Beetle & Blizzard Buffalo are great. Toxic Seahorse is perfect. Crush Crawfish is whatever. Doppler Stage is pretty catchy, but maybe it would sound better with different samples other than guitars. The miscellaneous tracks aren't anything exciting. Capsule is awful. Doppler Battle is pretty great and reminiscent of the previous two games Sigma Battle. The other two final battle themes are anticlimactic. Ending & Credits themes are alright; has that nostalgic SNES vibe going for me.

The arrangements are pretty bland as you pointed out (lack of vibrato, bends, slides, delay, echo, etc.). Detuned samples, volume issues, snare, bass: definitely agree with all of that. I think a big problem is the "harmonizing" of two separate power chord guitar samples. Often times they are creating suspended 2nds AND suspended 4ths resulting in clashing notes. Other times they are harmonized worse than that, such as the verse in Blast Hornet (E5 + C5 resulting in that B to C minor 2nd interval). If you want to hear an example of harmonizing two power chord samples perfectly then take a listen to Stage Select from X2. Another huge flag for me is when the power chord sample is used at too high of an octave. It just sounds awful.

Overall, there are a few standout compositions, but on the whole this soundtrack leaves a lot to be desired, especially in comparison to the previous two entries.

It would be an interesting exercise to see what I can come up with in making an X3 track sound better with SNES samples. Of course in this day and age I have ease of access and tools that Yamashita did not have the luxury of, but.. it would still be fun.