S&K OST + New Drossin Stuff

What happened with the beginning of that Mushroom Hill track?

 

Where the hell did he get this from? We already know Howard Drossin had absolutely fuck-all to do with putting the actual tracks in game—that was done by Masaru Setsumaru. Secondly, as far as I'm aware, all Akiyama did were those specific versions of those songs present on the Sonic & Knuckles "OST" (which isn't really an OST as much as a cover album).

Actually, who the hell is Akiyama? I don't recall that name anywhere in the credits for either Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles. I severely doubt there's any correlation between that album's credits and the music in Sonic 3 & Knuckles itself—there's nothing solid that really suggests it.

 

Awesome to see this is getting somewhere. Do you happen to have a copy of the exact credits for the S&K OST album?

(On a sidenote, I can't possibly imagine composing something and ever forgetting I did)

 

I'm with Tweaker here. The information in that topic description seems to be incorrect; there is apparently some misinformation in this regard.

"This...IS NOT A REMIX" is particularly notable because everywhere I've seen it's referred to as a Remix CD.


Gamefaqs says that Akiyama is the guy who programmed Mega Collection: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/data/561899.html
The only other hits that name gets are for various research papers.

The wiki says that the composer is Akinori Minami, as do several other internet sites. This is the only thing he is credited for -- the remix CD itself. Guitars were also done by Takaho Sano and Toshiaki Saitoh according to this: http://vgmdb.net/album/176 I guess they mean like guitar-synth rather than actual guitars used in the recordings as that's what it all sounded like to me.

Either the guy is bullshitting or only went to a site that was. Of course, I stopped taking it seriously anyway after I read "Sonicfags".

 

So it was a remix? Gah. I thought it was the original because pretty much only the beginning is really different. I didn't even check the video description =|

 

It's possible that if the remix CD has a decent set of credits, there might be individual credits for the original S&K songs. Or is that just wishful thinking?

 

I have a feeling the case for the CD is just a sleeve, similar to what those old AOL CDs or magazine pack-ins came in, especially given that the tracklist is on that front label. I doubt it has any additional information to it.

 

In that case, maybe someone can ask Jun Senoue if he knows anyone else who worked on the music on his fan website- he comes there every so often with news and answers questions. I'd do it myself, but my account there seems to have disappeared.

 

I always thought something was up with Sandopolis; it fits PERFECTLY with the level, which is unusual for the rest of the game (for instance, IceCap doesn't sound like an ice cap). Furthermore, in the August 2008 interview, Drossin said he didn't have any knowledge of the levels's names, so a specific style was either made by luck (my original idea) or not made by him at all (your idea). I'd like to see (hear?) proof for both of these though (I did ask on IRC for the latter, though I don't remember what was told).

I also suggested (on IRC) giving Drossin the links to the OSV pages for Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles from the Wiki. Perhaps if he heard it, it would jog his memory. Someone did send him, during the interview, the Sonic 3 credits and he said he did not compose it.

Which reminds me, why didn't anyone send him the OSV links during said interview? The OSV pages were there long before the interview (and long before Retro, if I read right).

If you don't like bullshit, stop reading. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Now for some random bullshit. New conspiracy theory: the real composers used Michael Jackson's teammates's names to hide their identities, possibly to get revenge on the nervous legal team who advised Sonic Team to kick Jackson out.

 

Drossin is always really busy. This is from yonks ago.
On Mar 24, 2006, at 10:55 AM, Jordan Grodecki wrote:

Hey Howard, here is the first set of questions.

1. What are your general reccolections of Sega Technical Institute?

I have mostly fond memories of working there; however, I didn't like living in San Francisco.

2. Did you do anything else, other than compose while at Sega?

Yes, I composed additional music for several movies.

3. How did you end up as a musician,

I have always been fascinated with music as far back as I can remember.

and who were the authors that you feel to have the most influence on your style?

Too many to mention - everything that is good I would say.

4. How did you end up at Sega Technical Institute?

Roger Hector hired me.

What games you worked on while being there, including any canceled ones?

Hard to remember all of them. Some that come to mind are Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles,
The Ooze, Comix Zone, Dynamite Cop, Segapede, Spinny and Spike, and another Sonic game which was not completed.

5. How did you compose your music back then? Did you first make the "real" music and then convert it to work with the consoles sound chip, or were they all designed with on the soundchip to start with?

Both ways; though the limitations of consoles were always in the back of my mind.

6. How much freedom did you have when creating the music tracks?

I had complete freedom.

7. Were the tracks from the album "Virtual Sonic" meant to be used in any games? (awesome set of tracks there by the way, took me ages to hunt down a non-copied version!)

No, those were either full interpretations of game music I had previously written, or stand-a-lone tracks.

8. How do you feel about people making remixes of the music you created?

I love it.

9. What were your favorite tracks you composed at the time?

I enjoyed working on the music for Comix Zone the most.

10. Which was your favorite game you worked on at STI?

Again, Comix Zone. It was the only game I could actually play for a few minutes without getting killed.

 

"Sonic game which was not completed"? Might he be referring to Sonic X-Treme, or something else entirely?

 

Anther interview with Chris Senn? *killed*

An idea floated in my head this morning as I awoke: maybe we interpreted the credits screens wrong. For instance, here is the Sonic 3 credits, the music remixed by someone else: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB69S1HhnVM. At 1:28 you see the Music Composers screen, and another at 1:33, and another at 1:37. But then, at 1:41, the "Sega Sound Team" screen appears, and a few more, until 1:55. Then something happens. Jun Senoue ("Get Blue Spheres" music) appears under another "Sega Sound Team" card. My idea is that perhaps this is a subsection of the Music Composers screen, but Naka or whoever programmed the credits didn't make that apparent.

Oh, and at 1:58, we see Hisaki Nimiya, the Sound Project Coordinator for Sonic 3. Perhaps we should contact him/her (?) next?

For Sonic & Knuckles: Unfortunately, the only way I can get my hands on the credits on YouTube (and not just the music with the game cover shown) is if I link to a full game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh9xszolYe8...feature=related. Credits begin at 57:54. At 59:30 the text "Music Composers: Howard Drossin" appears, indicating Drossin is the only composer. But wait! Does it say "Composers?" Yes! That means there must be more than one, or they didn't proofread right! Let's see... Ah, here we go. At 59:36 we once again see "Sega Sound Team." Are these the other composers? Well, is Jun's name back? Yes, at 59:39!

I don't see a Sound Project Coordinator.

 

Okay, that's all you had to say. You know, without the condescending tone.

I'm under the impression that we've never heard any of Drossin's work for X-Treme, correct? I remember all of the tracks that Senn did that hxc released back in 2006, but none of Drossin's stuff was in there, right? I'm not doubting Senn's compositional ability at all, but I'm betting an X-Treme soundtrack done by Howard Drossin would have been infinitely better than Senn's; it'd be very neat to give it a listen.