Sonic Superstars: A New 2D Sonic Game (Fall 2023)

That's what they did for Forces. All of that game's classic style tracks were created using actual Genesis hardware, contrary to popular belief.

Interview source

 

Ohtani did mention using the Genesis' FM synthesizer for certain sounds at least, accordidng to Forces' track commentary:

https://tailschannel.com/features/sonic-forces-a-hero-will-rise/

 

This is the only track I'll sample as I don't want to spoil much, but I like what I hear. It's very cute.

 

Hmm... that's interesting. Reading other blurbs, I get the sense that a lot more care went into making the music hardware-accurate than I thought. I even saw a Hybrid Front shoutout from Hataya in there, which is cool because that game's OST is one of my favorites from him. In fact, it's actually surprising how much Ghost Town sounds like a Hybrid Front track.

Full disclosure: I skipped Forces when it came out, so I've never listened to the classic tracks before. On my first listen, I recognized a lot of FM patches and sampled drums from other games. In Casino Forest, the drums and bass are from Sonic 2, and I'm pretty sure the guitar is from Spinball. The snare drum in Chemical Plant is definitely from a Matt Furniss game (Wolfchild, maybe?), which would be funny if it turns out to be true because Sega doesn't own the rights to that game! There are other sounds that I know are from other specific games, but I can't remember which ones.

I don't think that any Sega composers are recording from a real Genesis these days. The classic tracks from Forces don't have the high end filtered off like what happens on real hardware (here's the best comparison I could find on short notice). My best guess is that Ohtani/Senoue are using one of the YM2612 emulator VST's available - something like FMDrive. This is a lot more plausible to me, because it would let the composers integrate a decent Genesis approximation into their usual workflow. EDIT: I didn't see charcoal's edit that shows that a real Genesis was used.

While the music may be period-accurate... I don't really know that that's a good thing? I sincerely appreciate the effort, but it seems especially wasted on Superstars. Not every track is held to the same limitations, resulting in a soundtrack that, so far, feels incongruent. If they went all-in on it, it could be really cool, but it seems like they're not going to do that. And looking back at Forces, the lifting of sounds wholesale from other games just seems... a little on-the-nose? It sounds less like a new game for the Genesis and more like the main menu theme for a Genesis 'greatest hits' collection. In fact, that's why I'm not 100% confident that they used a VST, because the result sounds indistinguishable from a soundfont that just compiled a bunch of sounds from other games. (What I'm trying to say is that the Sonic 2 drumkit needs to be retired.)

 

They didn't use exactly the same synth but the drums, the drums.

That being said I'm not totally convinced this track comes from Sonic Superstars either (and it's too short for a level theme so it barely matters), but it's presumably still new-ish. Something's getting Sonic 4-style music.

 

Sounds like some invincibility or Super theme (but it could be absolutely anything anyway, because we haven't heard anything from this game that isn't happy-peppy-samey major key sludge). And God, is it annoying.

 

I like this track and I like the prototype music. People are hyper sensitive over this kinda stuff. Music is entirely purely completely subjective.
What even is sonic music anyways? Is it Nakamura songs? He only wrote for 2 games using a japan pop style. Is it Senoue? He's always had this kind of simplistic bouncy sound even in 3D blast believe it or not. Is it Ohtani? He mostly makes music for the modern games ranging from electronica to atmospheric orchestra and now metalcore.
I will agree though, the instrumentation is a bit messy. I dislike having classic genesis synths clashing with modern replications. I wish that they would once and for all pick one and stick with it.

 

It's following in the steps of Sonic 3

 

Everything about this game is giving me strong 7/10 vibes. The graphics, aesthetic, creativity and level design. It'll be a fun game but not close to the level of Mania.

Music is the same so far and I'm not really surprised. Fits the rest of the game's quality.

If you compare this game to Mario Wonder, for example, it's clearly not on the highest calibre, but it'll be fun for what it is.

 

I don't mind the retro track. That's what everyone seems to be discussing. It'sserviceable. My only issue is that when Senou does a song in an attempt to replicate a Genesis "sound", he just sticks to the same synth set. Like I mentioned before, Mystic Cave doesn't sound like Emerald, or Hill, or Casino. There's variety among those tracks. The latest offerings don't offer that level depth even without having any of the hardware restrictions to bind them. Even Forces got that right when Hataya and Ohtani were helming the FM tracks.

 

I agree that Forces' Classic songs definitely had it better in making the individual levels have a more distinct style.

 

Those tracks are likely older versions, or intentionally different from the game's. Just comparing the Bridge Island theme to this one:

The difference seems pretty significant to me, with the not-lego one sounding better. I think I'll just hold my judgment for the soundtrack for when it's actually released.

 

Oh my, do you think it is essentially an official release of demos?? it is wonderful to have both

 

It uses the same drums because those are "the Sonic drums" taken from Sonic 1. Even going back to Generations' Classic remixes abusing them to death. I'm tired of them too, but this isn't exclusive to Sonic 4.

In addition, this track is quite literally NOT Sonic 4-styled. Sonic 4 did not use the Genesis sound chip, it just used synth-y instruments that tried to "emulate" the Genesis sound. This track uses very distinct FM patches used commonly in Sonic 1 and 2. I wouldn't be surprised if this actually was made with a real YM2612 chip, considering they used it for Forces. Saying it's "Sonic-4 style" feels inaccurate, and the difference is pretty noticeable when you listen to the examples you gave and compare the way they sound.

 

I LOVE Bridge Island Zone Act 1 but am ambivalent to the rest of the music I've heard so far besides the music in the nintendo direct trailer, which is the best music from this game so far

 

Am I going nuts or does Bridge Island sound like something that would've fit in with the 2010's era of Sonic fangames, even almost the sort of music someone would contribute to a LakeFeperd project or a Robo Blast 2 custom map? That means it's doing its job and feels like it fits, but there's something strangely nostalgic about it despite the modern sound, and I'm not just talking Tee Lopes' probable influence.

 

All Lego tracks are mono files and appear to be suffering from phase cancelling (so basically all centered elements from the mix disappeared). Maybe the files were converted incorrectly for the game?

 

It definitely reminds me of the Adventure era in the best way possible, specifically that Adventure 1/Advance vibe. 3D Blast even, considering a few tracks from that game wound up in Adventure.

 

Yeah, it has huge Jun Senoue 3D Blast & SA1 vibes all around. Honestly, I'm really excited to hear more from the game!

 

Yeah... none of those three songs really has me excited.

Bridge Island 1 just kinds fine, and I agree it kinda has 2007-2014 fangame soundtrack vibes, which is cool... It sounds good, but it doesn't excite me.

The only song from this game that has me hyped is the one from the Nintendo Direct, which I believe is going to be for Speed Jungle. That song rules. Can't wait for a clean rip.

...And I do not have issues with the songs because they're new. I think a decent number of Classic songs from Forces are actually pretty top-notch. (Ghost Town & Egg Dragoon Mk II in-particular.)

...I also liked some of the S3 Proto songs before we knew they were proto songs, but I did grow up playing the S3K PC port. That being said, the proto tracks have better arrangements than the PC versions did, which I think is a great contributer to why so many people flipped their opinions on those tracks.

Either way... looking forward to hearing more. Maybe this game has a few more Speed Jungles in there somewhere.