The GHZ Forum

I just finished Sonic CD for the gajillion time in my life, but the first on Sonic Gems Collection. I've gotta say it's a lot better to see the animations on full screen and DVD quality than those 15mb avis of the PC version. But I was somehow disappointed for I thought I would be able to change between the US and JAP soundtracks. Toot toot sonic warrior and all. Is there any way to do it?

Import the Japanese version. You won't have the US soundtrack, though, but if you own the US <i>Gems</i>, you have that covered.

Otherwise no.

Why the hell does everyone love the Japanese Soundtrack so much? When I first heard that Toot Toot Sonic Warrior thing, it gave me the jibblies. I'll take Sonic Boom on any day of the week.

Heads up, Jake! It's Sonic Boom!

Rob-Bert wrote:Why the hell does everyone love the Japanese Soundtrack so much? When I first heard that Toot Toot Sonic Warrior thing, it gave me the jibblies. I'll take Sonic Boom on any day of the week.

That isn't the only tune you listened to, is it? Toot Toot Sonic Warrior is the lowest common denominator of the soundtrack, the actual in-game music is where things start getting sensual.

I'd have to agree with Rob. Toot Toot Sonic Warrior may be the 'real' theme to the game, but Sonic Boom is just nicer on the ears, and fits the intro better. Not to say Toot Toot is a bad song, I just prefer Sonic Boom.

Rob-Bert wrote:Why the hell does everyone love the Japanese Soundtrack so much?

It's not a matter of loving it. I played Sonic CD with the US soundtrack like a thousand times and I really like it. I like Sonic Boom and it's slower version in the end. But I never played it with the jap soundtrack.

I'm playing the PS2 version, so I understand there's some region thing there, like, playing Gems on a japanese PS2 makes the game be in JAP, but playing it in an US/EU PS2 makes the game in English.

It's also worth mentioning that the American intro animation was retooled to synch up with sonic boom. It's a nice idea but the result is horribly clunky and has unnatural pacing. If you have only watched the US animation then it makes no difference. However if ever you've seen the fluidity of the Japanese original, it truly is a horrendous down grade.

I recall hearing something about switching the lamguage setting of your PS2 to switch the soundtracks. I have the GC version (Japanese though), so I've never tested it.

Count me on the side of those that prefer Sonic Boom over Toot Toot. Other than that, though, I prefer the Japanese soundtrack. I'm not knocking the American version, it's still good, but the Japanese soundtrack is just more... fun, for lack of a better term.

Radrappy wrote:However if ever you've seen the fluidity of the Japanese original, it truly is a horrendous down grade.

I know what you mean. But after spending 10 years watching that tiny video from the PC version, the one on Gems feels like IMAX.

G.Silver wrote:I recall hearing something about switching the lamguage setting of your PS2 to switch the soundtracks. I have the GC version (Japanese though), so I've never tested it.

Yeah... I have no idea how to switch the language setting to Japanese, I'd love to know that.

IIRC, only Japanese PS2s can do it. But then, I never owned a PS2, so I'm not intimate with its technicalities.

I like both soundtracks, however it would have been nice for North Americans such as myself to have the option to play the game using the Mega CD soundtracks without resorting to import and having a modded system.

Also, I like You Can Do Anything better than Sonic Boom since it does sync-up with the full opening animation more.

The problem with the Sonic CD soundtrack is it isn't very Sonic-y at all. Although when it comes to picking favorites, I have to go US because of their Stardust Speedways, and the present Tidal Tempest. And yeah, I'm in the Sonic Boom camp. It's just such a cheesy example of how early 90's pop was just an overflow of the late 80's. But hang a catchy hook on it, and it just wins you over.

I happened to prefer Toot Toot Sonic Warrior over Sonic Boom. I used to hate Toot Toot, but it grew on me and I think it's quite catchy.

Now Cosmic Eternity - Believe in Yourself never grew on me and I think it's the worst of the three songs.

I happen to prefer the US soundtrack over the Japanese soundtrack in terms of stage music. Whenever I went to the past in US Sonic CD, I was like "What the hell is wrong with this music?!" and try to spend as little time there as possible.

The Japanese soundtrack sounds much for Sonic-y than the US soundtrack, but I don't really like it anyway.

It's almost a case of Sonic 3D Blast Saturn and Genesis versions. Even though I love the Saturn soundtrack, I have to say I prefer the Genesis soundtrack when it comes to Sonic-ish sounding stage music.

For me "You can do Anything" fits the best with the animation and has more of the retro Sonic spirit. Sonic Boom is just tired for me, and just the fact it was made for legal issues gives the game a sense of...different.

"Cosmic Eternity" is one of my favorites too, the Japanese track just sounds so Sonic-like and up beat since obviously it is the original track the Japanese Sonic Team back then wanted, Oshima ect....

The Sonic CD port on Gems blows. Besides the already mentioned part where they butcher the framerates to match the english songs, it's also missing certain graphical effects (transparent water, for example) and does not contain the credits sequence at all. (In it's place is the ending montage stretched to full screen at 5fps in order to last the entire duration of Sonic Boom)

They really half-assed it, I think. Makes the already... shall we say "eclectic" (some would call it frustrating or random) design pacing of Sonic CD feel all the more messy.

The thing I hated the most was, No Bad future music when you raced Metal in the Good Future.

I've got the Japanese version of Gems, dont know if the US sega cd version was always like that.

Also, the game has no credits which was an insult! I didnt like that.

I've always like "Sonic Boom" over "Toot Toot Sonic Warrior", but I did find it cool that TTSW was basically a remix of Sonic 2 GG's Green Hill bgm.

I don't really prefer one soundtrack over the other. I have my favorites on both ends, but in the end I think they're both pretty well done and bring different things to the table. If there's ever a port of Sonic CD that has both soundtracks, I hope that they have the option to mix and match the songs you want to play.

Also, am I the only one that thought he heard an obscenity in the U.S. version's Game Over? To this day, I register the last two words as Eggman saying "Fucking ha!"

Was the movie in Sonic Jam a good representation of the Japanese intro? I remember watching that a lot in my youth.

Dasher wrote:The thing I hated the most was, No Bad future music when you raced Metal in the Good Future.

I've got the Japanese version of Gems, dont know if the US sega cd version was always like that.

It was. Though the US good future is better racing music than the bad.

Sonic CD is the most overrated Sonic game anyway, second only to how overrated Sonic Adventure 2 is.

Bo wrote:Was the movie in Sonic Jam a good representation of the Japanese intro? I remember watching that a lot in my youth.

Those were the original Japanese versions yeah. They also had their original songs attached to them, not Sonic Boom. The movies segment in Sonic Jam was not changed at all from the japanese version. Hence the japanese commercials, Japanese ad for Sonic the Movie and japanese versions of the sonic CD endings.

Does anyone know where it is possible to download the soundtrack (mp3) from this game?

Bo wrote:Was the movie in Sonic Jam a good representation of the Japanese intro? I remember watching that a lot in my youth.

Here's how the opening was seen in the Mega CD version.

The framerate seems to be lowered, and it is missing some scenes that were present in the Sonic Jam/SGC which I assume due to the lack of power that system had.