My Collectors Edition PC order juzt updated with an expected delivery date! ...for August 21st?! Cmon Amazon, I wanted to play this the day of release! Oh well, I was planning on double dippin for the Switch version anyway. Ill get that one on the day of I guess.
As you alluded to, a joke is a joke. I am an adult with a life, no matter how irrational my feelings may be in being a Sonic fan. But mofos can't just be out here saying whatever they please. I mean, are we really just gonna let--- I kid, I kid. I don't at all have a problem with using my backhand to address review probl--- Alright, I'm done.
Yeah. The only negative thing I noticed was the lack of a sing-alongable melody in some of the music. Still sounds great but will not stick in your head because there's not really a clear 'main tune'. Edit: To be honest it's not even as bad as I made it out right there. I think the SS music is really the only notable example of this. Edit 2, take it back. The soundtrack is perfect.
The best part of the track is towards the end...but at the same time you have to "work up to it" as you work up to catching that emerald. I don't think the Special Stages this time around are hap hazard to kick you out like it's possible in Sonic 1 or Sonic 3. Sonic Time Twisted had a pretty solid prediction on how the Main special stages would play, granted it's a little more refined in Mania as it should be! The crux/climax of the song gives the best "This is SEGA" vibe than anything else so far.
For me it comes down to how much you liked the Sonic CD soundtrack (JP) - if you liked that you will love the Mania soundtrack revealed so far, it is excellent. If however you are looking for an evolution of the Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack, this misses the mark a little bit. I'm hoping we get some really punchy, funky tracks similar to lava reef act 1 and hydrocity act 2. I feel so far stylistically the tracks released have all been very similar (the Sonic CD 90's style Japanese jazz/funk) - I like the tracks, just hope there is some more variety to come. Edit: I especially like the act 2 boss theme! When the main melody drops that feels a little more S3K to me (:
But this is why the approach and style contrast is so important. That special stage tune does make sense when you take into context that it is a progressive build to a climactic finish, in a fashion similar to the Sonic Heroes special stage. It doesn't "click" until the tail end of the song, because that's the moment where things begin to ramp up. You're so close to the finish, so of course the music will start to increase in intensity. The approach in this case, is done the right way. But it doesn't have that eurobeat sound that Heroes special stages do, which are built around simple arpeggiated rhythms and driving backing beats. The catchiness is practically gift wrapped based around the style of the song alone. But Tee Lopes' is a much more reserved synth pop track, where the real melodic meat of the song doesn't come in until the chorus bit. What precedes it is a very eccentric set of melodies that you're not really meant to follow. That's where Tee's signature comes in. Go listen to his other original work for PagodaWest, or his stuff on youtube, and you see stuff like that pop up all the time. These really elaborate very well put together melodies and bridges, that don't help drive the "tune" and work more as transitions from one piece to the next. I love that kind of stuff, but it's admittedly not the style that many would associate with Sonic. I think you're right in that all this new fangled music tech has made people go a bit wild with what they can do, as the style the original songs were written in was purely a factor of the limitations the musicians were dealt. But at the same time, it's hitting all the same beats a Sonic game should. Just doing it differently. I don't see any problem with that, especially since none of it sounds bad. It's preference at the end of the day I know, but you've got to admit it's very silly to claim that Tee Lopes doesn't know what he's doing. Well I do flip dangit!
I think Black Squirrel's post nailed why these tracks aren't doing anything for me. The right beats to make a catchy Sonic song are there, but they don't mesh well enough to form a melody. I kept listening to these tracks trying to find an overall tune and it just wasn't there. In the end, they just came off more as mindless parodies or imitations of classic era Sonic music (and game music in general) that real Sonic songs. His remixes, on the other hand, were based on actual melodies, so I rather enjoyed them. I loved the Japanese Sonic CD soundtrack and I can't say I'm really digging Mania's all new tracks.
Still no word on when I'm getting my CE. :\ I talked to support about it a few days ago, but they weren't really helpful. They just said I should be getting it the day of and that's it really. I think at this rate I won't be getting it until next month. :v:
Contacted Steam support again about Sonic Mania's release timing and received another non-answer: Thought it was a long shot to message them again but tried anyway. Looks like they either don't know or are genuinely not allowed to give out the release timing info just yet. Something tells me Sega might have their own release timing promo planned as we approach release early next week. Still holding out hope it's a midnight release on Steam like on PS4.
I think you really have to have eclectic tastes in electronic music to fully appreciate the depth of these songs. If you primarily listen to restrictive "safe" genres (DnB/House/Jungle) then you will probably not enjoy these tunes as much as you could, especially if all you have to compare them to is the series masterworks of yester-decades.
For me it's not so much about not appreciating them, I think they're great, they're just not what I'm personally looking for in a Sonic soundtrack. I prefer my S3&K to my SCD. It's hard to give a personal opinion without sounding like I am complaining. I'm more than happy with the music we have but like all people we each have our own tastes and I would've preferred a slightly different take. (We have only heard a small portion of the soundtrack so who knows what's to come!)
Sega, this game is huge, you can't just treat this release schedule like some kind of spin-off. People pre-ordered collectors editions for like $60. Even steam users are confused. What the fuck are you doing.
Even though I love every music track that has been revealed so far, I also think that it would have felt more "classic Sonic" if all of the intros were concise and to the point before the main melody kicks in, and that having a hummable melody is quite important as well. But I still love this soundtrack.
My opinion of Mania's soundtrack so far is that it's pretty forgettable. One minute listening to a song from the classic games was enough to get its melody stuck in your head for the rest of your life! Mania's songs don't sound bad by any means, but from what I've listened so far they lack that catchy melody you can hum along when playing (and long after you've stopped playing!). I'll give Mania the benefit of the doubt and see if my opinion changes as I play the game and listen to the songs more carefully and for longer periods of time, but I can't deny that the soundtrack is currently the thing I'm least excited about in this game.
I've been eating up the OST, but with my favorite Sonic soundtracks being CD, 3 and Adventure, I can certainly say I have a bias. I still feel like comparing them to the Genesis tracks isn't entirely fair to the game though, as it's really not trying to be them music-wise and should be looked on at its own merits. This all kinda reminds me of the timeless 3D Blast Genesis vs Saturn debate. And on it's own merits, I can hum and bop along to all of these songs just as I can the majority of the series' tracks. I don't really think it's a difference worth getting worked up over (which I am absolutely not saying some of you are). It's still very Sonic-esque, just a different kind of Sonic-esque. But hey I liked Cash Cash's songs so what the hell do I know about good music.
Personally, I can't think of anything I'd change for the mid-boss theme. Good tempo, clear melody, devilish yet jubilant tone you'd expect from a guy who'd build a carnival as a side project to a giant space weapon. Putting this back to back with the Sonic 3 mid-boss fits perfectly.
woo soundtrack discsussion! I'd probably reiterate what I said almost a year ago - keep in mind when comparing something like Studiopolis to the classic games in terms of catchy hooks, people have had 20+ years of familiarity with the classics, as opposed to a few days/weeks (or months now, I guess) with Studiopolis. I think this is one of the bigger differences in Tee's overall style in Mania. There's a lot more of a buildup before the hooks drop. This really has more to do with era than anything, especially considering the precedent with Genesis-era music being pretty concise and to the point. Most of the S1-3k music has a loop that's 40 seconds long. The longest 'intro' for anything out of the first game comes with GHZ, which runs for about 15 secs before the looping section comes in. Almost everything else has its hook come in almost immediately. I think I'm safe in saying (based on the reveals, anyway) that the individual acts in Mania are pretty long - a music loop that's a little too short in comparison to its gameplay context can have a negative impact on the experience if it repeats too often. For remixed classic stuff, you kinda get away with it since there's a precedent there and you essentially want to remain faithful to the original. Anything new, however, definitely is best done with that longer gameplay context in mind. That aside, all in all I do feel that there very much is a lot of throwback to the 1-3 soundtracks, from the MJ influences in the miniboss theme (which is why I'm a little surprised/amused that was the proverbial straw on the camel's back), to the music in GHZ Act 2's boss being a crazy mashup of concepts from previous classic boss themes, and Dimension Heist being stylistically close to Sonic 2's Special Stage music with a CD flavor. Opinions will be opinions but I think muting the game is a little bit of an overreaction. Yikes! kinda silly to judge in-game context before the game is out edit: Full-disclosure: Despite my previous works I've never had any real attachment to either CD soundtrack nor the majority of S3&K's music (feel free to send me hate mail) although I'm no stranger to them or why people like them.
