Choose two tracks from the Sonic series that you thought were the best

Springyard was always fun for me. I guess Super Sonic racing is the 2nd track I enjoyed the most.

 

My first reaction to this thread?

Two songs? FUCK YOU!

But then I sat and thought about it. And thought.

It was tricky since Sonic's music is almost universally great, but I eventually settled on two tracks that are both highlights of less-than-spectacular games.

Sonic Spinball - Lava Powerhouse
With an underlying bassline that chugs like steam-powered machinery, this tune is perfect for the intended setting of the level, and the opening chords resonate with that kind of comedy-dastardliness that one would only ever get in a cartoon; great, since this game was partially based on the SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog. But beneath it all there's that unmistakable sound of a PSG arpeggio chiming along, so unashamedly lo-tech. This is a videogame cartoon, no mistake about it. A tune that is so perfectly unashamed of what it is, and catchy to boot.

Sonic '06 - White Acropolis (Snowy Peak)
Kicks in with a rave synth that echoes the Sonic CD (JP) bad future tunes, this game was indeed a dark moment in the Sonic franchise, but with a typically catchy soundtrack -- the techno beats are all present and correct here, this is unashamedly a track in the vein of all the best Sonic tunes; and that same old lo-fi sound kicks in with the echoey main refrain. Seriously, this tune is a gem in an otherwise rotten field of old fecal matter.

Seriously, I fucking LOVE these two tracks.

 

Well, the obvious choice for me is Chemical Plant Zone. It was the first song in a video game I really noticed, and the choice of voices in this track really defines what Genesis music was all about. The intense electronic funk sound combined with the assault of ring sounds, speed boost noises, and exploding inherent in the fast level is always what I think of when someone mentions Sonic.

I also love the SA1 version of It Doesn't Matter, but that's probably for more sentimental reasons.

 

Knuckles Chaotix: Door Into Summer

This says to me "I'm going on a kick ass adventure and its all good!" This is one of the best tracks I have heard from the Sonic series. Upbeat, bouncy, and the dips and dives in the song say there will be bumps and hills, but its gonna be all right!

Sonic 3: Endless Mine Zone

This song just takes me back to when I was playing this on my Genesis, and to a simpler time. It almost always makes me shed a tear of happiness. So soothing, gentle, and yet still Sonic!

 

My favorites change every so often. Currently, my two favorite Sonic songs are...

1) Apotos Windmill Day (Sonic Unleashed)- Exemplary for future Sonic titles and the direction to take the music. It's an excellent blend of classical and modern instrumentation, up with the Genesis tunes in the whole "catchy" factor, but also a song with lasting appeal.

2) Captain Whiskers and Johnny Boss Fight (Sonic Rush Adventure)- Fantastic. Instrumentation is different from what is usually heard in a Sonic game, but it was a good risk to take. If only the fight in that game was harder so the music would fit perfectly.

 

1. Sonic CD - Quartz Quadrant Present/Good Future (JP) - It had to be a tie. I wanted room on my list for something that isn't from SCD, but I couldn't leave either out.
2. Tails Adventure - Water sequence

 

Hm, can't say I was super fond of that one. Probably because it brought back memories of Blue Marine Zone.

 

Hmm. It tends to vary based on my mood, but two I'm especially fond of, almost fanatically so:

Egg Fleet - Heroes was the second Sonic game I was really around for (my first was SA2's remake, and I of course bought some of the other remakes/compilations to catch up), and by then I had become really intrigued by the concepts of the final stages in Sonic games, starting my affection with the cliché. While SA1 had the Egg Carrier, Heroes was the first time the airships were the major threat in and of themselves. Their appearance in the opening alluded to the eventual attack on them, and the stage proper began with Eggman's challenge... before a camera sweep downward to reveal the heroes ready to attack, guitars blazing. I was so enamored by this track that when I joined osu!, a Ouendan/EBA simulator community, the first map I made was Egg Fleet. It took me about 6 months to finally work my skill level up for it to be approved (and to be noticed for its relative obscurity), but I think the result turned out well.

Sonic CD Invincibility US - I remember hearing about Sonic CD a while before I got into the Sonic franchise (and thinking it was a PC-exclusive game, because, "The Genesis doesn't have a CD drive!". I browsed VGMusic.com one day to find some MIDIs done for the soundtrack, and I found this little gem. Though its tinny four-channel nature wasn't top of the line by any means, the song was catchy in a way that I found very surprising and very edgy, against the usual Sonic image I had recalled from the games. It felt more like the character I saw on the TV shows, for better or worse. Upon hearing the real version in the Gems Collection trailer, I knew I had to get the game solely for that song. To this day, it's still a very empowering piece of music, and probably my favorite Sonic jingle.

Notable runners-up would be Live & Learn (and especially all of the menu mixes), mostly because it was my first Sonic game and had such attitude, as well as Chemical Plant Zone.

 

From the classic era, it's....

Chemical Plant Zone! Love that track, the sheer contrast between EHZ on one side and ARZ on the other is awesome, as the track itself.

And I chose Adventure 2's Metal Harbo(u)r for the modern choice. I just love that song. Upbeat, it harks back to the music, and games, we love so much.