Worst Sonic soundtrack?

[Rexeljet]

I'm not going to include soundtracks like Sonic Chronicles, Sonic Jam game.com or Sonic Genesis here because

 

a.) everyone knows they're rubbish and why, and

b.) they hardly count as music.

 

A personal least favourite of mine is Sonic CD (USA). I hear a lot of people say that it sounds more like video game music, and suits the game better than the Japanese version, but I don't really see where they're coming from. I've tried listening to the American soundtrack, and I feel that a lot of the tracks suffer from being too slow, devoid of melody (or the melody is just buried under everything else), or unsuited to the environment (For example, Collision Chaos' track lacks the liveliness that you'd expect from a pinball level). I feel that the Japanese soundtrack, with its fast pacing and catchier, more memorable themes, is better suited to a Sonic game. The American soundtrack has some good tracks, but I feel that it particularly excels at the jingles, such as speed shoes, invincibility, etc. Most of the level music seems a bit bland in comparison.

 

Another one I don't particularly like is Shadow the Hedgehog's soundtrack. I find it to be very forgettable. As I've said in the pet-peeves thread, Sky Troops' music is pretty much the only one I can like or remember. However, this may just be due to me not playing the game enough times for any of the tracks to really stick with me. Perhaps if the game itself was more fun to play, I'd like the soundtrack better.

 

Sonic 06's soundtrack is also a bit meh. There are some great tracks on there, but those are few and far between. Most of the level tracks in the game are nothing special, and the hub word tracks are bland and grating, making the hub worlds themselves even more- you guessed it- bland and grating.

 

As for Sonic R, the main thing I don't like about the soundtrack is the vocals/lyrics. Turning the vocals off makes the soundtrack much more listenable for me, and I really liked the remixes of the tracks from All Stars Racing Transformed, even if they were paired with remixes of other tunes.

Edited August 18, 2013 by Old Freddy

[holeymoley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOK3gZtFH0

 

What even is this? I can't get into a groove at all.

[Tara]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COOK3gZtFH0

 

What even is this? I can't get into a groove at all.

Jeez, I went in expecting fond memories of the game.  I didn't expect it to be so ear-shatteringly discordant.  That's another matter of the composition being good while the actual implementation is not, though.

[Harley Quinn]

Good God, Sonic Chronicles. An ear-shattering piece of shit mixed in with some extra remixed shit, with a sprinkle of absolute utter horrible quality to top it off.

[Chaos Incarnate]

Wow, I really can't answer this one, to be honest! I don't go out of my way to listen to sh!t like Chronicles or Sonic Genesis, but from what I've heard of them, they're both terrible: Chronicles for sounding incredibly sloppy and using crappy instruments, and Sonic Genesis for raping Sonic 1's amazing soundtrack. How the hell did they mess that up so bad, the sound font is REALLY off! In terms of the main and handheld games I've played or at least heard enough, I wouldn't call any of them bad by any means. A lot of the music in Sonic Heroes isn't very memorable IMO, but the vocal tracks kick so much ass it's not even funny, and I also thank it for giving us Seaside Hill, Grand Metropolis, and the stage select theme. I feel like I'm not judging it fairly since I never played the game and don't listen to the OST much. I also never bothered listening to Shadow the Hedgehog's soundtrack aside from the enjoyable vocal themes, so I'm not going to judge it until I finally listen to the stage themes, one way or another.

[GOAT]

Sonic Chronicles sounds like garbage, there is no lie about that.

 

I noticed people were hating on Sonic 4. I actually thought the soundtrack was good. Its cliche to say but I loved Splash Hill.

[Neon The Hedgehog]

Sonic Chronicles sounds like garbage, there is no lie about that.

 

I noticed people were hating on Sonic 4. I actually thought the soundtrack was good. Its cliche to say but I loved Splash Hill.

           Is it true that people don't like the Sonic 4 soundtrack? Wow, that surprises me. I mean, splash hill act three was really catchy (so catchy that it is on my mp3 player to this day), plus the casino level music was nice as well. The music for 4 has the same formula for good sonic music that the other albums have. Its not like it has poor melody structure like chronicles had. 

           I think people might dislike it because some fans tend to lump sonic games they dont like to the music. When in actuality less popular sonic games like Sonic unleashed and Sonic 06 have good songs on their soundtracks. Like jungle joyride and kingdom valley. If fans separate the music from the sonic games they dislike, they could see the value in these sonic soundtracks. Sega always puts their all in the music for each sonic game, even for the less popular ones.

           (I know Sonic 06 is a touchy subject. I am not claiming to be a fan of it. I am more a fan of the music for it)

Edited September 6, 2013 by Neon The Hedgehog

[Mr Loopone]

Worst soundtrack. Hmmm... It is hard since I actually like a lot of Sonic soundtracks.

 

I think I would have to go to the majority with this one out of well known Sonic games and say Sonic Chronicles. What makes it even worse was that it advertised as having music by Richard Jacques and he only did about 4 songs (the battle themes that from what I remember were the best songs in the soundtrack), the rest were MIDI conversions of various Sonic 3/3D songs by someone and did a poor conversion. From what I remember, they sounded very basic compared to the capabilites of the DS. The person involved seems to be an audio designer for BioWare, not a composer so I don't know what happened. Was there going to have a proper soundtrack and had to have the remixes last minute or were the remixes meant to be a placeholder like some games? I only listened to this once and then deleted it which is unusual because most of the Sonic series has from decent to excellent music. Even ones that are marmitey such as Sonic Rush (helps if you like Jet Set Radio), Sonic Spinball, Sonic CD or the the 8-bit games. Sonic Blast sounds a bit bland but not what I call a worst soundtrack, just an average one.

 

However I would also include the soundtrack to Sonic Eraser and by technically putting it lower than Sonic Chronicles (even though the irony I like this one but then again I am tone deaf) due to the instruments. Even though there are only 3 tracks in the entire game, the main theme has a grating guitar and lots of gongs that to sensitive ears might hurt them. Even then the You Win jingle/Credits Theme is catchy even though it is 4 seconds long that loops though.

 

Yes, programming music for the Mega Drive is very hard work but there are some that sound really good (SMPS e.g. most Sega of Japan stuff, Matt Furniss, Jesper Kyd, Hitoshi Sakamoto), sound bland due to the sound driver (basically most American made games using the GEMS sound engine excluding a few good ones) and others can hurt your ears (this one even though it is using a good driver, games that use the 1st version of the Sound Images driver such as Shadow of the Beast or the EA Steven Hayes sound driver such as Marble Madness).

 

           Is it true that people don't like the Sonic 4 soundtrack? Wow, that surprises me. I mean, splash hill act three was really catchy (so catchy that it is on my mp3 player to this day), plus the casino level music was nice as well. The music for 4 has the same formula for good sonic music that the other albums have. Its not like it has poor melody structure like chronicles had. 

           I think people might dislike it because some fans tend to lump sonic games they dont like to the music. When in actuality less popular sonic games like Sonic unleashed and Sonic 06 have good songs on their soundtracks. Like jungle joyride and kingdom valley. If fans separate the music from the sonic games they dislike, they could see the value in these sonic soundtracks. Sega always puts their all in the music for each sonic game, even for the less popular ones.

           (I know Sonic 06 is a touchy subject. I am not claiming to be a fan of it. I am more a fan of the music for it)

People don't like the Sonic 4 soundtrack cause many people were expecting something like a Genesis chiptune and instead got something cheesy that sounds like something from the 1980s only missing a female singer. The ones who don't like it compare the instruments to dying cats (Splash Hill) and dying ducks (Oil Desert). I think if the instruments were different and maybe the songs are a bit longer then it wouldn't have gotten as many complaints, after all there are many remixes of these songs and plently for Splash Hill Act 1 alone. To be honest, I actually like this soundtrack due to the cheesy syntherizers and that is an unpopular opinion.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Yawackhary

[Chaos Incarnate]

I noticed people were hating on Sonic 4. I actually thought the soundtrack was good. Its cliche to say but I loved Splash Hill.

Lol, I knew I was forgetting a game for worst soundtrack, probably because Sonic 4's soundtrack is so forgettable.

 

That's my main problem with Sonic 4's soundtrack: it isn't memorable at all. It's trying way too hard to sound Genesis like, and while I applaud Jun Senoue for the effort, that doesn't really matter when the sound font he picked sounds like dying cats. I know that sounds harsh, but the music in Sonic 4 just sounds too scratchy and high pitched. There are a couple of enjoyable tracks in the game here in there, like the title theme, invincibility, Splash Hill Act 2, Casino Street act 1( mainly because it's a remix of Spring Stadium 16 bit,  I'm one of the few people to actually like it), and a little bit of Sylvania Castle and Act 2 of White Park. A lot of songs in that game are really loopy, it gets tiring really fast. Still, if you like Sonic 4's soundtrack, then more power to you. At least Sonic Genesis GBA and Sonic Chronicles are worse from what I've heard of them.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Chaos Incarnate

[Shadrow]

I think Old Freddy summarised my opinions perfectly. Everyone agrees on Dark Brotherhood and Genesis already, and while Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06's soundtracks weren't necessarily bad, they certainly didn't have many memorable tracks in them. I do, however, disagree about Sonic R. Sure, it doesn't even remotely fit for the type of game being played, but for some reason that never bothered me. As for Sonic 4, it had some good ideas in there but it was mostly hampered down by the synths used to make the music.

 

And am I the only one who didn't particularly care for the Black Knight soundtrack? Sure, the vocal tracks were freaking awesome, but a lot of the level music kinda flew by for me. The only one that ever really stuck with me was Dragon's Lair while the rest, albeit fitting, never really stuck out as catchy or memorable to me. Except for the menu music, that stuff is soooothing.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Shadrow

[Chaos Incarnate]

And am I the only one who didn't particularly care for the Black Knight soundtrack? Sure, the vocal tracks were freaking awesome, but a lot of the level music kinda flew by for me. The only one that ever really stuck with me was Dragon's Lair while the rest, albeit fitting, never really stuck out as catchy or memorable to me. Except for the menu music, that stuff is soooothing.

You know, I'm actually going to agree with you. Black Knight's soundtrack is indeed competently made, but aside from Misty Lake, and all of the vocal tracks, I wouldn't really call any of the other songs catchy by any means. 

[Uraraka]

The most annoying songs in my opinion are these two:

 back to back : Extremely repetitive! (but at the same time, I kinda like it... weird right?)

sonic and the secret rings: Seven rings in hand.

Honestly, if you can get past the overly long intro to the song, it may be cool, but I find it annoying to hear . It really just isn't my style song. I like most Sonic music, but these songs just drive me up the wall!.

[Neon The Hedgehog]

       What I am about to say is my personal opinion. I am not claiming that those who disagree with me are wrong and I dont mean to offend anyone who feels differently. These are just my feelings towards a certain soundtrack. A friendly critique if you will. 

       I am so glad a couple of you guys have noticed that the Black Knight album has some issues. Its actually my least favorite Sonic soundtrack. Its sort of been something I have been afraid to mention because I was unsure as to how others felt about it.

                  Now the vocal tracks for the album is amazing. However, the non vocal tracks are kind of forgettable to me. I think my problem with them is that each song sounds the same and its a repetivive melody that I didn't like in the first place. How should I explain it... To me, each sonic level song has a unique sound to it. You hear a song from the sonic series and instantly say "Oh thats song for the green hill zone" or "Thats the city escape song" because you remember the ambience it creates for that level. Each Sonic song has something unique in it that stands out from the other songs in order to have this effect. But with the non vocal Black Knight songs there is none of this. Each song is dull and the same thing over and over.

                       Even though Sonic rush has some weird moments, at least each song from its soundtrack actually has a unique melody and is rememberable. Which is why I like it more than black knight. Whereas no matter how many times I try to sit through black knight (which is not often), none of its music sticks with me. This to me is a shame because there was so much potential for a medieval sonic soundtrack. The only non vocal track I appreciated was the violin version of "It doesn't matter". BUT that song barely lasts thirty seconds when I wish it would be longer. So even that to me is an epic fail on Sonic and the Black Knight's part. 

Edited September 12, 2013 by Neon The Hedgehog

[a mystery]

Yeah I know I said I was gonna stay out but I'm really sorry I just want to talk about this.

 

I am so glad a couple of you guys have noticed that the Black Knight album has some issues.

 

Are you seriously implying that you're of enough musical prowess to criticize and analyze these stuff?! I mean, sure, I have no problems with someone disliking something I like, but if someone calls it bad without a valid complaint with well thought-out points based in heavy musical background, that's where I draw the line.

 

As far as I know about music, Black Knight's music is GOOD. So is 06. SO IS LOST FREAKING WORLD. They're (mostly) very well-written pieces that I (for the most part) probably won't top for a very long while.

 

Do I like them? No. Still, I acknowledge their high quality. When it comes to things like Windy Hill, I honestly think, having written using the same chord progression, as well as *cough* written an arguably possibly more catchy (and this is coming from a person who is at most only mildly proud of his music) melody, that I am valid enough to make SOME amount of criticism, but something like Dessert Ruins or Sky Hive? No, I just admit that they're well-written, as much as I dislike them.

 

Seriously. Just because you didn't like it is no reason to say that something is bad. It's an especially common opinion when it comes to music, I've noticed, which I find very sad, as music really tends to be all about tastes - I, for example, dislike pop and dubstep, but I don't say that those kinds of music is BAD in general - there can be good and bad in all sorts of music, and quite frankly, many a time I choose not to judge and criticize.

 

So... well, I try not to show off or criticize... I'm just livin' by my own feeli- *shot*

 

...OKAY BYE I'LL TRY IGNORE THIS TOPIC FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE NOW

Edited September 13, 2013 by Sonic of Nothing

[Shadrow]

Yeah I know I said I was gonna stay out but I'm really sorry I just want to talk about this.

 

 

Are you seriously implying that you're of enough musical prowess to criticize and analyze these stuff?! I mean, sure, I have no problems with someone disliking something I like, but if someone calls it bad without a valid complaint with well thought-out points based in heavy musical background, that's where I draw the line.

 

As far as I know about music, Black Knight's music is GOOD. So is 06. SO IS LOST FREAKING WORLD. They're (mostly) very well-written pieces that I (for the most part) probably won't top for a very long while.

 

Do I like them? No. Still, I acknowledge their high quality. When it comes to things like Windy Hill, I honestly think, having written using the same chord progression, as well as *cough* written an arguably possibly more catchy (and this is coming from a person who is at most only mildly proud of his music) melody, that I am valid enough to make SOME amount of criticism, but something like Dessert Ruins or Sky Hive? No, I just admit that they're well-written, as much as I dislike them.

 

Seriously. Just because you didn't like it is no reason to say that something is bad. It's an especially common opinion when it comes to music, I've noticed, which I find very sad, as music really tends to be all about tastes - I, for example, dislike pop and dubstep, but I don't say that those kinds of music is BAD in general - there can be good and bad in all sorts of music, and quite frankly, many a time I choose not to judge and criticize.

 

So... well, I try not to show off or criticize... I'm just livin' by my own feeli- *shot*

 

...OKAY BYE I'LL TRY IGNORE THIS TOPIC FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE NOW

 

Well here's an overreaction if I've ever seen one. None of us said there was anything objectively wrong with the Black Knight soundtrack or its quality. We just think (subjectively, I might add) that overall the soundtrack wasn't as catchy as other soundtracks, considering the majority of it is orchestral pieces with more focus on the overall piece instead of the melody, unlike most other Sonic soundtracks that put much more focus on the rhythm and the melody. That's not to say it doesn't have any memorable songs; just that most of them aren't that memorable to us as individuals.

 

Plus I feel a bit insulted that you assume none of us have any musical talent or knowledge.

[Stritix]

Most Sonic games have good soundtracks, but Sonic Chronicles has a terrible soundtrack in my opinion. The music is horribly produced.

[NiGHTS]

I replayed Sonic Shuffle...my god was the soundtrack bad. I gotta say the bad gameplay was better then that soundtrack. Thats not saying much....

[SnipSnap]

Sonic CD US game over music. 'Nuff said.

[Tara]

Sonic CD US game over music. 'Nuff said.

But the topic title is worst Sonic soundtrack. >=/

 

But seriously, I love that creepy, atonal "welcome to Hell" nightmare fuel.  Not something you normally expect from the games, which makes it all the more interesting.

[SnipSnap]

But the topic title is worst Sonic soundtrack. >=/

 

But seriously, I love that creepy, atonal "welcome to Hell" nightmare fuel.  Not something you normally expect from the games, which makes it all the more interesting.

No, the creepiness is what makes it bad. I think it's the worst because think of it this way:

 

An 8-year-old plays Sonic CD, because he likes the game and is also a Sonic fan. When a level starts up, he immediately takes a bathroom break without even moving Sonic yet. By coincidence, when he just gets out of the bathroom and before he picks up the controller, Sonic says "I'm outta here", then commits suicide (at leasts that's what it looks like). Then the music starts. Childhood ruined before he even grew up into an adult. Also nightmares.

Edited September 20, 2013 by speedyblue334

[Tara]

No, the creepiness is what makes it bad. I think it's the worst because think of it this way:

 

An 8-year-old plays Sonic CD, because he likes the game and is also a Sonic fan. When a level starts up, he immediately takes a bathroom break without even moving Sonic yet. By coincidence, when he just gets out of the bathroom and before he picks up the controller, Sonic says "I'm outta here", then commits suicide (at leasts that's what it looks like). Then the music starts. Childhood ruined before he even grew up into an adult. Also nightmares.

Um... what?

 

But uh, yeah, I think it's a good track.  But then, I like creepy music, so that's probably why.  But you're more than welcome to not like it.

Edited September 20, 2013 by Akito

[a mystery]

*sigh*

Something you dislike might not be bad-- *shot*

 

I like the Sonic CD Game Over music as music. It's just really interesting and I don't really get it even to this day. Creepy, yes, but very fascinating.

As a theme for a game aimed for children? It's very potentially scary and could frighten children, true... But really, is it worthy of being called BAD by any means?

[Tailikku]

The 8-bit Sonic Spinball is possibly the worst soundtrack for the series, even worse than Chronicles, which was still made competently, albiet with a bad choice of instruments

[Neon The Hedgehog]

Well here's an overreaction if I've ever seen one. None of us said there was anything objectively wrong with the Black Knight soundtrack or its quality. We just think (subjectively, I might add) that overall the soundtrack wasn't as catchy as other soundtracks, considering the majority of it is orchestral pieces with more focus on the overall piece instead of the melody, unlike most other Sonic soundtracks that put much more focus on the rhythm and the melody. That's not to say it doesn't have any memorable songs; just that most of them aren't that memorable to us as individuals.

 

Plus I feel a bit insulted that you assume none of us have any musical talent or knowledge.

           I agree with Shadrow.  To add to this I said in my PERSONAL opinion I did not like black knight. Meaning that if someone else liked it I was not insulting them or saying that their opinion is wrong. Or that my opinion was better. Everyone has the right to voice their opinions even if they are not the same. So sorry for the confusion. I meant no disrespect to those who liked black knight.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Neon The Hedgehog

[Chaos Incarnate]

           I agree with Shadrow.  To add to this I said in my PERSONAL opinion I did not like black knight. Meaning that if someone else liked it I was not insulting them or saying that their opinion is wrong. Or that my opinion was better. Everyone has the right to voice their opinions even if they are not the same. So sorry for the confusion. I meant no disrespect to those who liked black knight.

Don't worry about it, Neon. People are just biased and can take things personally when something they like is not held in high regard in others. You clearly stated it was your opinion, and never said it wasn't badly made, that you didn't like Black Knight's soundtrack.

 

In terms of the vocal department, although this may not count, I think I've found my personal pick for the worst Sonic soundtrack.

 

 

It's really weird. That's what can describe these songs for me, they're just really odd. Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata composed this album, best known for composing a soundtrack that gets a well deserved amount of praise, Sonic CD's Japanese soundtrack. But what the hell happened here? The non vocal songs are quite good, but when I first heard lyrics such as "Toot Toot Sonic Hedgehog", I immediately deleted the songs off my Ipod. I enjoy the vocal tracks they helped compose in CD, but not so much here.