One Thing I noticed about the Sonic games

[marcster1994]

The music! The music keeps on getting better and better!

In Sonic Riders Zero Gravity, I spent 30 minutes dancing to the menu music!

[BakingBluePotatoe]

WTFYOUTUBETIEM

*Youtubes it*

O_O

Where are the words!?

Me: Pretty catchy for menu music, huh.?

Dad: That's MENU music!? O_O

---

You are so right. That's one thing in these games that can stay solid. (just HOW many songs in this franchise have rabid fans?)

[Frozen Nitrogen]

I unlocked the Sonic and the Black Knight version of Seven Rings In Hand the other day. 'Twas awesome.

[Legendary Emerald]

The version IN SatBk is the Crush 40 version, so I'm assuming that's what you are talking about. And yes, that Song is aces.

Sonic music has been getting steadily better, but only as far as vocal music is concerned (imo). Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 had some great tracks (Open Your Heart, Live and Learn, Escape From the City, Throw It All Away, and both versions of Doesn't Matter) but there was quite a bit of crap (Lazy Days, Fly Into Freedom, Unknown from M.E., Amy's theme).

Meanwhile, I like every vocal song in Sonic Heroes (even the sappy ones) and Shadow the hedgehog has the best vocal soundtrack of every Sonic game ever. Sonic 2006 had some great songs too, but most of the best ones were only available on the vocal trax cd. SatBk's music is a bit overated, but "Live Life" and "With Me" are great.

So yeah, I like Sonic music. Far too much, apparently.

Edited August 23, 2009 by Legendary Emerald

[MobileChicaneX]

Yep sonic music is awesome, the only soundtrack that i hated in the sonic series was unleashed.....god...just....god.

Sonic 06 or Heroes had the best soundtrack (non-vocaly)

But SA2 defenatly wins in the vocal song catagory

[azoo]

I've never been a fan of the vocal songs (outside of being themes) in a Sonic game. It just, I don't know, doesn't feel right hearing this guy in the background squealing on about how "life is an adventure" when I'm trying to play a level. (That means you SA2. >=( )

However, I've always loved the non-vocal BGMs of Sonic games. Although it was a terrible game, Nextgen probably had the best soundtrack out of any 3D game soundtrack so far.

[-Mark-]

Say what you will about the Sonic series, but the one thing you can't really fault is its' overall musical integrity. Sonic games have a hell of a lot more effort put into their soundtracks than Mario games, if nothing else.

[JezMM]

Say what you will about the Sonic series, but the one thing you can't really fault is its' overall musical integrity. Sonic games have a hell of a lot more effort put into their soundtracks than Mario games, if nothing else.

In all fairness, what the Mario series lacks in production standards, it more than makes up for in melody. Mario tunes are so catchy and easy to hum.

I often wonder how the Sonic musicians feel. The games are so heavily criticised, and often the music is too. I find it amusing as well that Unleashed's soundtrack is hated by so many fans, yet reviews liked it. S'weird.

I can't think of a Sonic soundtrack I dislike really though. Love it all, and all the different styles they've gone through. It's usually the same people as well (that's right Unleashed haters, the people who made that soundtrack did a lot of music for Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 as well), they're so talented.

Stuff like Zebrahead as well though... I wonder how they feel about performing the theme song for one of the most hated Sonic games... It's a great song of course, but I wonder if it bothers them. Perhaps money is money though.

[-Mark-]

In all fairness, what the Mario series lacks in production standards, it more than makes up for in melody. Mario tunes are so catchy and easy to hum.

True, but even so it's not hard to tell that they hardly pull out all the stops for Mario soundtracks- each game usually has only a small handful of tunes that simply get remixed a few times to give the soundtrack some variety. Not that that's bad by any means, it's just you can't really argue that in comparison (and even in general), Sonic soundtracks reek of effort.

[batson]

I certainly wouldn't say that the music in Sonic games is getting better and better. The Mega Drive games had excelent music throughout, and so did the Adventure games, but since then, it has really been hit and miss for most games. Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic 06 and Unleashed have all been pretty "meh"; they had mostly good tunes, but also more than a couple extremly generic ones.

[Arrow]

I think SA2 is the best soundtrack, as in, all round soundtrack. I think it's a love or hate thing with SA2 though, especially the vocal tracks. I even like the songs in Knuckles' levels. I understand why people hate the vocal tracks, though, and they are far from my favourite particular songs.

I don't think any of the recent games have particularly great music though.

[Daisoku]

I like Fly in the Freedom... And Believe in Myself... ;.;

I agree with Arrow, SA2 is best for all-round music. They should do that again. Jazz/hip-hop mix ftw.

EDIT: Shadow needs moar Techno!

I heard that Death Chamber's lyrics after the first chorus was actually gonna be dialogue in game...

"Sonic, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were on a quest for the Master Emerald."

"You know me and you don't get along!"

"I don't think that's the point right now Knuckles. I know how much the Emerald means to you, and I wanna help get it back. Stop being stubborn and think!"

"Well, I guess you're right..."

"Yeah, Damn right, Knuckles. I know Eggman's secret station's here somewhere

All we have to do is find it. I know we'll need a key to get inside, that's our only way to find it, so let's go!"

Is this true? Can someone confirm?

It woulda been rather funny to see Sonic say 'damn' then 1 game later...

Shadow: DAAMMMNNNNN

Sonic: D:

Edited August 23, 2009 by Daisoku

[JezMM]

I have to say, if they ever have another game with multiple characters, I would love for them to use the genre-per-character music styles they used in SA2.

It really enhanced the feeling of playing as each character, unlike Adventure, Heroes and 2006 which had the same tunes making it feel even more like you were just playing the same level with a different character.

...I mean, obviously yeah, the SA2 stages WERE all unique, but you can't argue the world of difference of atmosphere between Radical Highway and Mission Street, or Meteor Herd and Mad Space, or Final Rush, Cosmic Wall and Final Chase - yet all of these groups of stages used the same textures and styles.

Edited August 23, 2009 by JezMM

[Scarlet2106]

Gonna agree on that.

Perhaps with a common theme with different genres for certain similar levels, though. Akin to Final Rush in SA2 and The Ark in Shadow.

[Arrow]

EDIT: Shadow needs moar Techno!

YES.

It really enhanced the feeling of playing as each character, unlike Adventure, Heroes and 2006 which had the same tunes making it feel even more like you were just playing the same level with a different character.

Absolutely. I hate Knuckles, but in SA2 he finally had a fucking personality. He was his own. And same with Tails. Christ. I hate the music for Tails stages the most, tbh, but it was all so unique. You can tell from music alone who's stage your playing, even for the first time. I think I love Eggman's stage music the most overall in SA2.

Okay, so it pigeon-holed characters into stereotypes, but I could not care less about that.

[SuperStingray]

I love music from Sonic games, end of story. In fact, the only songs I can say I dislike off the top of my head are The Wicked Wild and the Crush 40 take on Seven Rings. But I just find the music in Sonic games so diverse, melodious and strong. From the very beginning, Green Hill Zone carved a permanent place in our minds and it didn't stop with that. Considering the sheer overflow of remixes you see of Chemical Plant Zone or Ice Cap Zone, it's safe to assume that a lot of the early music had a universally enjoyable and addictive nature.

I can't say that songs from the later games have that same addictiveness (well, barring Rush at least), but their quality is no worse. Live and Learn has been a favorite since I first heard it and, well, a lot of the vocal songs have a certain passion to them I enjoy. Most of the theme music captures the philosophy of their respective characters exceptionally well, namely It Doesn't Matter. (I don't like the lyrics of His World, though. Where IDM makes out Sonic as a carefree, unaligned spirit, His World makes him out as a flawless Gary Stu. Good melody nonetheless.) I will agree with Azukara, though, that vocal BGM in levels feels kind of odd. If you ask me, I really think they should be used only as theme songs and occasionally boss music.

I don't mind people who dislike the vocal songs, but it does irk me though when they dismiss the games' entire soundtracks as "butt rock" or the like. The only games that actually use lyrics abundantly is Secret Rings (I'm not counting Sonic R because the lyrics can be toggled or Sonic Rush because it's hard to call those real "lyrics.") Not even SA2 or Shadow have an especially large ratio of lyriced to lyricless songs.

But the important thing is that not only are the songs good, they fit. In SA2 and Shadow, the music really seems more oriented toward the characters themselves rather than the stages, but excluding those, I could always feel the aura of the level and/or the game itself in the tone of the song.

But I find something in the variety of the music inspiring and endearing. Sonic music from every point of the timeline takes up about 90% of the used memory on my iPod and I have no shame in that. When I listen to it, I often think it would be awesome to see a Sonic rhythm-based platformer using music from throughout the series' history.

[Chaos Walker]

I don't care much for music. People are always talking about this or that band/song and i'm clueless. But when I got an SD card for my DSi, it wasn't long before I realized that a meager 2GB wan't going to hold all my favourite Sonic game's sound tracks. It was just the best thing since (insert life necesity) to be able to listen to Live and Learn any time anywhere.

[batson]

I think the quality of the melodies of the songs started slipping as early as SA2. The Mega Drive games and SA1 were filled to the brim with melodies that get stuck in your head and that you can easily remember and hum. SA2 had plenty of those as well, but it also had a lot of less melodic songs. Think about for instance Sonic's and Shadow's jungle stages (i can never remember which one is called "White Jungle" and which one is called... whatever it was. But that's beside the point anyway...). The, how you say "sound" of those stages (as in, the mixture of instruments and such) might be cool and inovative, but their actuall melodies are hardly memorable and catchy in the same way as, for instance, those of Flying Battery or Windy Valley, you know? I guess that might be because Jun and his pals blew all their best melodies on the first Adventure game though...

[Djawed]

I think the quality of the melodies of the songs started slipping as early as SA2. The Mega Drive games and SA1 were filled to the brim with melodies that get stuck in your head and that you can easily remember and hum. SA2 had plenty of those as well, but it also had a lot of less melodic songs. Think about for instance Sonic's and Shadow's jungle stages (i can never remember which one is called "White Jungle" and which one is called... whatever it was. But that's beside the point anyway...). The, how you say "sound" of those stages (as in, the mixture of instruments and such) might be cool and inovative, but their actuall melodies are hardly memorable and catchy in the same way as, for instance, those of Flying Battery or Windy Valley, you know? I guess that might be because Jun and his pals blew all their best melodies on the first Adventure game though...

Yea i also think the quality has gone downhill. Lately its too repetitive. For me it all just sounds the same.

You dont hear things as marble garden zone anymore. Or a Final egg.. final egg was awesome man the nostalgia

[Arrow]

I'm in the only fan of Sonic 3D (off topic, but my cartridge for the MD would bring up the level select if I nudged it. Anyone else get this?) and it's music? Because I feel like it. Rusty Ruin and Panic Puppet<3

In SA, other than the actual remixes, theres also a lot of similar sounding tunes to those in Sonic 3D. For example, the second part of Emerald Coast opens up in a similar way to the first boss.

(Skip to 1:30)

? Or maybe I'm looking for things that simply aren't there... But when I first played SA, I was like, I'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE.

Back to SA2. What I love most about it is how the similar sounding tracks evolve. There is flow between the levels of each character, as if it's all part of a continuous track. The music grows in seriousness towards the end, but the same riffs and sounds can be heard throughout, adapted to the enviroment of each level. It's fantastically put together.

This is one of my favourite tracks from SA2, despite saying how I hated Tails' music... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz-HNkKxiqw

Edited August 24, 2009 by Arrow

[JezMM]

This is why I don't understand the hatred of Unleashed's soundtrack. It had lots of melodies that were catchy and memorable. Can you guys honestly not hum Windmill Isle, Rooftop Run or Dragon Road off the top of your head?

I mean, I can hum every single one, but those three I'd say are the most memorable...

[Arrow]

I've not played that far through Unleashed (because it's awful... I have the PS2 version), but no, the music didn't stand out at all.

[Indigo Rush]

I absolutely loved Unleashed's music. I won the soundtrack in a contest, true, but I totally would've downloaded it if I hadn't. The hub music is peaceful and ambient as well as most of the night level music, I think the daytime levels are a perfect breed of Sonic-style rushing and a taste of music from around the world... I listen to Arid Sands day and say to myself "This is Sonic's theme when he's running through Egypt" or when I listen to Chun-nan, "Sonic's in China right now!" I just absolutely love the music!

I love how they got Bowling for Soup to do the theme song of the game, which shares the spotlight with a full-on symphony!

...and the occasional jazz tracks are enough to make me grab a book and drink some coffee alongside it. Maybe that's because I'm a college student. Not sure.

In short, I can't see how people could hate this music. If you hate the music, then you hate every style (except rap and metal) of music, which this game is offering to you on a silver platter. Just get the soundtrack, you don't have to play the game to hear it, you know.

Oh, and Arrow, I agree with your take on Sonic 3D. Awesome music. I also like the PC/Saturn soundtrack myself, I dunno about you. I also liked the US version of Sonic CD IN ADDITION TO the JP/EU one.

Sonic Chronicles has my least favorite music. Seriously, even Sonic Labyrinth sounded better. :c

Edited August 24, 2009 by Indigo Rush

[JD!]

The music in Sonic Rush is great, I play the game sometimes just to listen to the music. Is there anywhere you can download this stuff?

[MobileChicaneX]

This is why I don't understand the hatred of Unleashed's soundtrack. It had lots of melodies that were catchy and memorable. Can you guys honestly not hum Windmill Isle, Rooftop Run or Dragon Road off the top of your head?

I mean, I can hum every single one, but those three I'd say are the most memorable...

Sorry but those 3 songs are like the only memorable songs in the whole game.

None of the nightstages are memorable and the main reason i absolutly omfg hated the unleashed soundtrack was because in every fucking cutscene i heard the evil music of death 'Duh duh duh duh duh duuuuh' OMG that was absolutly terreble.

80% of unleashes' soundtrack had that same tune over and over and over and over again duh duh duh duh duh duuuuuh.

The music in Sonic Rush is great, I play the game sometimes just to listen to the music. Is there anywhere you can download this stuff?

Go to SOAH it has every sonic album/soundtrack there is.