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Music Favorite Sonic soundtrack

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by The Joebro64, Aug 14, 2020.

  1. The Joebro64

    The Joebro64

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    I think we can all agree that for a franchise as inconsistent as Sonic, the most consistent thing in it is that the music is almost guaranteed to be great. So which Sonic soundtrack is your favorite? I think (almost) every Sonic soundtrack is great, so it'd be a neat topic to have.

    For me it's a three-way tie between Sonic 3 & Knuckles (the second-best 16-bit soundtrack after DKC2's), Sonic Rush (I love how groovy it is, and it really stands out in comparison to the rest of the franchise), and Unleashed (beats out Colors IMO because of the nighttime themes and the final boss music).
     
  2. Palas

    Palas

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    Japanese Sonic CD, definitely. 8-bit Sonic 1 is a not-so-close second (Yuzo Koshiro is a magician). S3&K comes in third.
     
  3. SuperSnoopy

    SuperSnoopy

    I like Sonic Advance Member
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    Slice of life visual novel, coming soon...?
    I honestly can't choose a favorite, but I really like the latest 2 soundtracks we got (Forces and Mania).
    They're both amazing in their own ways.
     
  4. Swifthom

    Swifthom

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    For me its the Sonic Adventure games (1 and 2 are both great, can't decide which one I prefer but they do have very different strengths)....

    The entire Mega Drive Trilogy I'd give high marks to, and... well, I have the soundtrack to every game on a playlist in the speakers in my house. But the Adventure games had such great spark to them, the wailing guitars are cheesy as hell but they suited the franchise so well and I fell in love instantly.

    Anything past 06 - I like, but... I haven't had that instant connection with a soundtrack since then.
    Mania gets high marks - it Is a 10/10 remix album, but I'm discounting as I loved the originals.
    Forces music is fine but.... Just like the gameplay I feel it treads it safe.
     
  5. My favorite soundtrack goes do CD, Adventure, Unleashed, Black Knight, Generations and Lost World.

    Especially Sonic Unleashed. I just fucking love how much variety the soundtrack of this game got. Lost World comes close to that too.
     
  6. Linkabel

    Linkabel

    Member
    The original/Japanese Sonic CD soundtrack. To me that's just the definitive way Sonic games should sound.

    I was actually not surprised to find out that Ohshima was really strict when it came to the soundtrack, but because of it we got one of the best soundtracks in the series.

    Sonic Adventure comes close, it was a nice blend of still having some of the charm of the Classic era but with a new twist.
     
  7. Sid Starkiller

    Sid Starkiller

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    There's no goddamn way I could pick. Too many great ones.
     
  8. Dek Rollins

    Dek Rollins

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    Sonic 2, followed closely by Sonic 1 and Japanese CD. Honorable mention to Sonic Adventure.
     
  9. Xiao Hayes

    Xiao Hayes

    Classic Eggman art Member
    Sonic music is quite a complex thing to talk about, there are many variables to rate that you wouldn't tell but are there. Overall, I prefer the music from the 90s games, 16 and 8 bit ones alike (and Chaotix); more modern games have great soundtracks but don't say "Sonic" to me or say it in a very boilerplate sense. There are exceptions, though. For example:

    - Saturn version of S3D has some great tracks but it does sound generic most of the time, I prefer Diamond Dust in 16-bit by large because it sounds really unexpected for a snowy level, while Saturn version has the most generic sound for that (Christmas) you could expect.

    - Sonic Adventure 2 isn't my favourite soundtrack, but it sounds great as a soundtrack by having each character a distinct music style and managing to adapt all those styles to each level so they blend well with the level's action and aesthetics.

    - Sonic Rush, as mentioned above, its the single time such a unique artist like Naganuma has made a modern Sonic soundtrack. I don't find all the tracks fitting to their levels, but the soundtrack itself is great and gives identity to the game.

    - I love the soundtrack for Sonic Boom games, they may not be very original as a soundtrack, but they make those game sound quite immersive and epic. Shame they're still Sonic Boom games.

    My favourite? Hard to tell, given what I said above, and especially now that I also have many fanworks in mind. I don't get the success of Forces soundtrack around here, though, at least not with those singers and the autotune around. For example, I can't stand the singers of Infinite's theme, but there's a metal cover of it that I can't stop listening to (link to it in the "What are you listening to now?" thread).
     
  10. Gestalt

    Gestalt

    Sphinx in Chains Member

    That one's good.

    From a "technical" standpoint I'd say Sonic Heroes has the best music, from a dramaturgical perspective, though, I'd pick Sonic Adventure 2. SA2 would be nothing without its catchy soundtrack. The moment when the Biolizard's theme kicks in still gives me goosebumps after all these years.

    Runners-up are Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. There's no such thing as a definitive favourite tho. They all rule.
     
  11. Naean

    Naean

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    While I'm not fond of hardly any music tracks from Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric (as I.M.O. they're almost all too generic and samey-sounding, lacking distinct identities and memorable rhythms), I do firmly believe that Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal and particularly Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice contain quite a number of underrated/underappreciated bangers.

    My top favourite tracks from each game:





    Additionally, very honourable mentions to this and this. :)
     
  12. Beamer the Meep

    Beamer the Meep

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    Why must you people make me choose between my children...

    Honestly, it's hard for me to choose any one soundtrack, but some of my favorites in no particular order would be, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic Mania, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic Adventure 2. Really though, it's hard not to like all of it.
     
  13. James Smith

    James Smith

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    My favorite Sonic Soundtracks are CD (JP&US), SA1, SA2, 06, Rush and Unleashed
     
  14. Antheraea

    Antheraea

    Bug Hunter Member
    (deep breath) daaamn that's hard for me. I'm extremely fond of the JP Sonic CD OST but also Sonic 06's, Rush's and Adventure's. Asking me to pick one is like asking me to pick a favorite child tho...
     
  15. Rudie Radio Waves

    Rudie Radio Waves

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    Many a game.
    My favourite soundtracks are Sonic CD JP, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, SA1, and Rush.

    Mania's OST is really good, but I don't listen to it as much. Same goes for many vocal themes or specific songs (es. For True Story, What I'm Made Of)
     
  16. DigitalDuck

    DigitalDuck

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    Favourite is Sonic CD (JP/EU), by far. Nails everything 100%, sounds and feels exactly like it should, with the added bonus of getting three amazing remixes of every track too. Give me Quartz Quadrant and Stardust Speedway all day, every day.

    Runners up (in no particular order):
    - Chaotix (similar vibe to Sonic CD, and all of the stage themes are great)
    - Sonic Heroes (has a fairly unique sound that fits the aesthetic of the game, and the music doesn't get old even when the levels do)
    - Sonic Colours (every map, stage, and boss theme is incredible and fits the scenario in question)

    Also honourable mention to Sonic Unleashed, which would probably be an easy second place were it not for the fact that you don't actually hear the music in-game. I have playlists of all the stage music, split into day music that I use for getting stuff done (this also has Sonic CD music in it), and night music that I use for chilling out. It's great to listen to outside of the game, and if it wasn't being constantly filtered out or interrupted by Werehog battle music it'd be great to listen to in the game too.
     
  17. RetroJordan91

    RetroJordan91

    The REAL Blue Sphere Guy Member
    If I had to pick just one, then Sonic Mania takes the cake because Tee Lopes just knocked it out of the park with that sound (Hydro City Act 2 still gives me chills to this day, Studiopolis (both acts) is just fantastic and Press Garden Act 2= heaven).

    Rounding out my top 3 are Sonic CD (JP) and Sonic 3&K (with the prototype versions of the final 3 zones from S3, there I said it lol)
     
  18. Nova

    Nova

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    I like different soundtracks for very different reasons. I'll list a few and try and group them up as to why I like them.

    Sonic 1 and 2 - I like these two because, well, they were my first two video games ever. I'm always going to have a special attachment to them and even now, listening to them, I'm amazed at how layered and complex these songs are for Mega Drive titles. It shows that an actual, professional pop music artist composed these.

    Sonic CD, Sonic R and Knuckles Chaotix - I feel these three take the music in a very defined direction, slightly refined from the sound of Sonic 1 and more in keeping with the feeling and style Oshima was trying to nail down for the aesthetics. R may be arguable, but take the vocals off and I genuinely think it fits in with these other two.

    Sonic 3 & Knuckles - It's my favourite game of all time and the music elevates it - I can't even describe like the others why I like it so much, I just think it sounds more punchy and 'cool' which fits the overhaul in visual style we saw with Sonic 3. Who knows? It has Flying Battery and that's enough for me alone.

    Sonic Adventure, SA2 and Heroes - I was hitting my teenage years around the time Modern Sonic was firmly establishing himself and the Crush 40 buttrock vibes came in at just the right point for me. I was getting into lots of nu-metal and rock at the time, so hearing it in Sonic felt like a natural step forward for the series to me. Looking back, it may not have been as natural as I initially thought but it will still always hold a special place in my heart.

    Sonic Unleashed & Sonic Colours - I like these because it feels like in all regards, this was Sonic Team trying to bring the franchise back to what people loved about it growing up. Gameplay, visuals, sound design - all of it felt like it was trying to wipe the slate of the last 10 years clean and take us back to what Sonic could have always been and while they both take it in slightly different directions, I can appreciate both. Unleashed feels ridiculously, unashamedly happy and vibrant and mixes the rock vibes of the Adventure era well with the more distinct Pop sounds of the classics, while also theming each track extremely well to it's level, which ended up being a huge strength for the game as a whole. Colours went with this weird electro-pop chill vibe and I absolutely adore it. To me, it seemed to fit Sonic of the time really well and while I may be more wary of going back to that now, I can respect what it tried to do.

    Sonic Forces - The Modern levels are hype as fucking hell. I don't care.
     
  19. Bryn2k

    Bryn2k

    Still a thing. Oldbie
    Sonic 1 and 2 on Mega Drive really showed what the hardware could do when most games were still doing Mega Drive Twang. Compare Sonic 1's soundtrack to Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle for example... no contest. S3&K built on it but just because of what I grew up with S1 and S2 get more nostalgia feels for me.

    The point being that Sonic games have nearly always got banging choonz, and one thing people who even dislike Sonic gameplay will often agree on is that the music is excellent and perhaps the USP of the entire series.

    I can't pick a favourite game music wise, but Mania's soundtrack definitely is one of the best out there now.
     
  20. Koutoni

    Koutoni

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    Pretty much perfectly agreeable really. Scrap Brain Zone on the Master System version (PAL tempo/octave) is amazing ❤️❤️

    As for favourite tracks, Tidal Tempest, Quartz Quadrant Present and Stardust Speedway “G” Mix. (I also really like the US version of Stardust Speedway Present however, in fact the US soundtrack deserves more love even if it doesn’t really always suit the game well... one of the Collision Chaos future songs I really like too, more than the JP one even)