Yea, sorry. They are as similar as Wackey Workbench is to Michael Jackson's Jam: http://www.logotypes.se/sonic/6Ajam.wma (lol, I couldn't synch MJ perfectly) Close style, but not the same.
I don't know if this has been brought up before but there is a sample in this tune that was in one of the levels of Sonic CD. Can't remember which one though. I think it's Wacky Workbench.
People need to notice what is and isn't a "sample", this is just a synth sound that numerous house/rave/whatever music uses. A sample is a direct rip of something from a source. This is as much a sample as saying that a singer samples their own voice for each of their songs heh. Also, this one song alone can't be used to say it's the reason for a "ravey psychedelic ambiance" throughout the game. Heck, it's the whole game's soundtrack, which of course is influenced by all the house and dance and what have you of that time period.
They may not be exactly the same as each other, but this is indeed an effected, and somewhat low quality, sample used in the Sonic CD soundtrack. Listen carefully to the pitch shifting...
A sample is a recorded or otherwise captured sound, not necessarily a raw, unedited rip, like some here seem to be trying to say. When I make music, I create and use many different samples from my collection of tapes, but it seems that some here would quickly label these sounds as 'synths' apparently...
A synth creates sound through oscillators or through algorithmic means. The sound does not exist, so to speak, until the synthesizer is used to make it. Synth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7
