The GHZ Forum

Hm, looks like Maeda's responsible for every song that isn't shit. Besides the intro tune that was reused for SA.

Jacques' soundtrack is much better however.

CM August wrote:Jacques' soundtrack is much better however.

I strongly disagree on this. The Special Stage theme is good. Panic Puppet, Volcano Valley, and Gene Gadget are sort of okay, though Volcano Valley is kind of indistinct and sounds like something out of an uninspired anime soundtrack and the other two sound like generic 90s dance music (like Sonic CD's soundtrack only without the sheer energy and fun and variety that made it actually good). Most of the rest sounds either trite and twee (Rusty Ruins) or just plain bland. On the other hand the Mega Drive version has lots of really awesome tracks (Panic Puppet 1, Rusty Ruins, Volcano Valley, Diamond Dust) a few decent ones (Green Grove, Gene Gadget, boss themes), and maybe one or two stinkers (Spring Stadium, Final Fight).

I often feel like the only person in the world who prefers the Mega Drive soundtrack and I really don't get it. I just don't understand how people can like the music in the Saturn version so much. Like, I can understand liking a couple of tracks, but almost everybody seems to unanimously prefer the whole OST. This is an honest question: if you like it, what is it that you like about it? Because to me even the better tracks just sound generic.

I also feel Sonic R's soundtrack has little other than ironic value, for the record.

I often feel like the only person in the world who prefers the Mega Drive soundtrack and I really don't get it. I just don't understand how people can like the music in the Saturn version so much.

You're not alone, there.

...except you forgot to mention MD Volcano Valley act 1 sounds so epic not even the generic LOTR string buildup orgasm of a theme can outdo it (... and it appears to try, like, really hard).

I was just listening to some music from Sonic 3D Blast on YouTube... Forgive me for being so ignorant, but exactly how much SA music was taken from Sonic 3DB? Wow.

Just two, I think; Green Grove and Puppet Panic.

Yes, just those two.

Sonic Adventure even rips off one of 3D's cutscenes.

Both soundtracks have good tunes, but Rusty Ruins is FAR more fitting in the Saturn soundtrack than it is in the Genesis one. I swear, the Genesis one is pretty awful shit almost entirely devoid of a melody, while the somber piano melody of the Saturn tune sets the mood perfectly.

That being said, yes, Diamond Dust/Volcano Valley from the Genesis version are very kickass.

Shadow Hog wrote:Both soundtracks have good tunes, but Rusty Ruins is FAR more fitting in the Saturn soundtrack than it is in the Genesis one. I swear, the Genesis one is pretty awful shit almost entirely devoid of a melody, while the somber piano melody of the Saturn tune sets the mood perfectly.

See, this I don't understand. The melody in Rusty Ruins is right there! It's like, how can you not hear it? It has a perfectly distinctive melody line, a decent supporting rythm part, also doing some very nice scales/arpeggios or whatever in parts, and a good bassline, they're all audible and they all complement eachother aptly. If you somehow think it's not there then... I don't really know what to say. It also sounds far more atmospheric to me than the unbearably cheesy Saturn version.

I mean, take it out of the context of the game and the Saturn version sounds like the sort of awful 90s muzak you get when you're on your cable provider's channel selection page or something, like when you try to go to a channel you don't get (there's probably a term for it, but it's been a while since I watched TV so forgive my clumsy description). The Genesis version still just sounds like videogame music, which I'd say is a favourable comparison.

MD Rusty Ruin's got this Mesoamerican vibe which I really like (though it's got nothing on Lost World), but Saturn one does sound more traditionally medieval. Both fit nicely in there, though each sets its own mood. As for absence of melody...uh, I don't get it. It's a re-arrangement of Some Sunday Morning theme the game's soundtrack blatantly steals heavily borrows from ... like in almost every other stage - it may be difficult to hear, but it's very much there.

(By the way, back in the early 90s MTV would run this music video which featured slow beat, piano and random latin monk chants in the music and some monestary-dwelling robed figures in the video. Wish I could remember what the song was, then I could link to YouTube and hint to plagiarism/inspiration in this post even more, because it sounded really similar to Saturn Rusty Ruin...but honestly, I've got nothing, so I guess it's not happening. For now.)

The song you are thinking of is probably The Principles of Lust by Enigma, or something else by them. I also noticed the resemblance, though I'm sure it just took inspiration-from.

Crowbar wrote:

Shadow Hog wrote:Both soundtracks have good tunes, but Rusty Ruins is FAR more fitting in the Saturn soundtrack than it is in the Genesis one. I swear, the Genesis one is pretty awful shit almost entirely devoid of a melody, while the somber piano melody of the Saturn tune sets the mood perfectly.

See, this I don't understand. The melody in Rusty Ruins is right there! It's like, how can you not hear it? It has a perfectly distinctive melody line, a decent supporting rythm part, also doing some very nice scales/arpeggios or whatever in parts, and a good bassline, they're all audible and they all complement eachother aptly. If you somehow think it's not there then... I don't really know what to say. It also sounds far more atmospheric to me than the unbearably cheesy Saturn version.

I think this is a pointless argument. The two soundtracks are just about equal of overall quality and they both fit each stage quite nicely, so it's essentially going to boil down to preferring an individual track over the other.

Unlike Nilsen's Sonic CD soundtrack, which I think we can all agree that, without commenting on the quality of the tracks themselves, it simply does not fit the game at all.

Alright, I'll retract the lack of melody argument; it was honestly a really shitty one, yeah (although it is rather subdued in nature; not as badly as Genesis Spring Stadium, though, which was so bad I can barely remember it). But I like the "Meso-American" one brought up; the ruins honestly felt more medieval of nature, so it clashed. It's a good tune, but it doesn't fit THERE.

...that and I friggin' love the cheesy smooth Jazz-esque muzak in question, so of course I'm going to gravitate towards that version.

Neo wrote:Unlike Nilsen's Sonic CD soundtrack, which I think we can all agree that, without commenting on the quality of the tracks themselves, it simply does not fit the game at all.

I haven't played CD with the US soundtrack so I can't really comment on how well it fits the game, but funnily enough I do actually like some of the tracks by themselves, even though I do of course much prefer the Japanese soundtrack. I think it's overall more atmospheric, and some tracks like Metallic Madness Bad Future and Collision Chaos Present are pretty memorable in parts (though Collision Chaos seems totally inappropriate for the level, especially given how upbeat the Japanese tracks for it were).

I am prepared to agree to disagree on the 3D soundtracks now, though. I think there's just a fundamental difference in values there.

Funnily enough, I feel the same way about the Japanese soundtrack after first playing with the US one. Probably confirmation bias, at least on my part. It also helps that I'm somewhat open to SoA's "edgy" interpretation of the series from that time (SatAM, Spinball) and that I find the Invincibility theme to be the closest I've ever gotten to sex.

I should go back and play it with the original soundtrack, probably.

New Screens.

http://spindash.de/Galerie/Sonic-Colors ... shots-Wii/

Also, hell yeah:

http://spindash.de/Galerie/Sonic-Colors ... ml#ponyimg

Is the sheer awesomeness of Sonic running a loop inside a giant glazed doughnut with sprinkles what makes the second link a "hell yeah," or am I missing something?

The former. I did wonder whether they'd do this to be honest, it seemed an obvious way integrate donuts into the gameplay. However, this is Sega we're talking about here.

b_boult wrote:it seemed an obvious way integrate donuts into the gameplay

Let this sentence become legendary.

Neo wrote:

b_boult wrote:it seemed an obvious way integrate donuts into the gameplay

Let this sentence become legendary.

Holy infinitive...

It's no worse than the abortions of sentences I make on a regular basis.

There, I admit it.

Saw this on CAG just a moment ago, this is the preorder bonus that comes with both versions of the game.

I guess I'll deliberately not preorder, then?
I'm pretty good about doing my own thing and not worrying about others' opinions, but I think I'd be too embarrassed to even have that in my house.

That's hilarious. There is no way I'm not getting this.

I'm guessin' Sega saw Scribblenauts' success and figured it was because of the rooster cap.