Best soundtracks on the Genesis.

Zweihander · Post by **Zweihander** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 6:57 am

Ecco: The Tides of Time
Sonic 2
Sonic & Knuckles

on a related note, the Genesis port of the Stargate movie game (on SNES; good game, with an excellent soundtrack) sounded like absolute shit. :/ really bad port... sounded worse than R-Type 3's GBA port. >_<

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:53 pm

from what I remember..

Ranger X
Sonic 2
Rocket Knight Adventures

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:46 pm

zinger wrote:From what I remember AC and MD Strider soundtracks are basically identical

Actually the Genesis/Megadrive version is better, since it has a kickass new tune for the last level - the arcade just repeated a tune from some other part of the game. Also, the ending is much cooler and the controls are far more responsive.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:53 pm

dave4shmups wrote: Same with microprocessors-both the Genesis and the Sharp X68000 used the Motorola X68000, and yet the Sharp X68000 had far superior graphics to the Genesis.

As does the Neo-Geo. Yet each one runs at a different clock-speed. However, the CPU doesn't govern the graphics.. the GPU does. The MD/Genesis has a completely different video graphics processor to the Sharp X68000.

In fact, don't all three of these consoles use the Zilog 80 for a sound processor?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:54 pm

Stormwatch wrote:
zinger wrote:From what I remember AC and MD Strider soundtracks are basically identical
Actually the Genesis/Megadrive version is better, since it has a kickass new tune for the last level - the arcade just repeated a tune from some other part of the game. Also, the ending is much cooler and the controls are far more responsive.

Not to mention that a ton of collision detection glitches were fixed in the MD rev.

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:20 pm

Bastards, every last one of you for not mentioning Viewpoint. I may hate that port because of the slowdown, but Sammy really pushed the hardware to the max with the graphics and sound (voices and awesome music).

Also, I played arcade Strider a few weeks ago for the first time, and was sad to see that the PS1 version was not arcade perfect. Not at all

After playing that, I began to believe the PS1 port was just a port/mere upgrade of the Genesis port.

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:21 am

I was just playing Sonic Spinball and I must say it contains one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 2:47 pm

Langrisser II has my fave soundtrack. In fact, I think the tunes are far better than the ones in the SS Langrissers.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:15 pm

zinger wrote:Bah, it's really a great chip. Far more capable than say, the SFC/SNES chip. A real synth is always better than sample/General Midi crap.
The japanese developers seem to like the YM2612, and know how to use it.

Perspectives. I assure you that from the average Amiga user pov, the Genesis is an almost insulting downgrade. It takes some musical wizard to overcome its weaknesses. In the end it all comes down to the composer, so MD was a lucky console to host many talented musicians, most notably Koshiro, which imho is the one who turned the "grating" MD sound into a positive feature.

About the Snes... I really don't know. You may be right, in that the average Snes game usually sounds bad. But, when you consider:

Final Fantasy VI
Super Castlevania IV
Actraiser
Seiken Densetsu 2
Chrono Trigger
Super Turrican 2
Dracula XX

You see the Snes is clearly a winner. Seiken Densetsu 2 music were originally intended for cd media (the original playstation project) and it shows. Dracula XX even manages to sound better, in some tracks, than its cd-rom predecessor.

I don't have many games on each platform to make direct comparisons, but I can tell you that Bitmap Brother's Gods sounds a lot better on snes than on MD.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:20 pm

zinger wrote:Well in my book, real synthesizers are always better (especially FM synthesis, which is what MD uses) than the life-less reverb effect, General MIDI-instruments and crappy samples the SNES soundchip brought us. I don't care how much that chip cost to make.

I may agree on the above on a pure teorethical standpoint. But the fact remains that the average genesis game sounds really bad. Still, it's true, some of the Snes samples are really annoying.

zinger wrote:I'm just saying that it's one damn capable chip (emulates arcade soundtracks well too, since most of those use Yamaha FM chips too). Guess that's a matter of taste though. Can't help being a soundsnob.

And oh, what's wrong with the GG sounchip? PSG rules.

I definitely agree, it's capable, in capable hands. Btw, did you like Harmony of Dissonance music? I found it to be awesome.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 5:53 pm

This article has an interesting take on what we were discussing here:

"But perhaps the Super NES' most impressive feature was its DSP sound chip, which allowed for audio quality that represented a massive leap over the FM synthesis and wavetable noise of previous consoles. Even now, the Super NES sound chip remains the gold standard for cartridge-based consoles."

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:18 pm

Turrican wrote: "But perhaps the Super NES' most impressive feature was its DSP sound chip, which allowed for audio quality that represented a massive leap over the FM synthesis and wavetable noise of previous consoles. Even now, the Super NES sound chip remains the gold standard for cartridge-based consoles."

"Massive leap," well that settles it!

Gydocker45 · Post by **Gydocker45** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:27 pm

Check out this comparison between the Arcade, Genesis, and SNES version of the Alleycat Blues track:
Arcade
Genesis
SNES

The Genesis sounds closes to the Arcade version, while the instruments in the SNES version sound a bit off. This is also the case with SNES and Genesis ports of Fatal Fury 2 -- check out Mai's stage theme. The Genesis version sounds a heck of a lot better than the SNES version.

Icecap Veiwin · Post by **Icecap Veiwin** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:37 pm

Truxton
Ristar
Streets of Rage 2
SUPER HANG-ON

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 10:57 pm

Gydocker45 wrote:Check out this comparison between the Arcade, Genesis, and SNES version of the Alleycat Blues track:
Arcade
Genesis
SNES

The Genesis sounds closes to the Arcade version, while the instruments in the SNES version sound a bit off. This is also the case with SNES and Genesis ports of Fatal Fury 2 -- check out Mai's stage theme. The Genesis version sounds a heck of a lot better than the SNES version.

Ah, Alleycat Blues! One of my favorite songs, I love that game. But, to my ears, the Snes version sounds better

Perhaps only 'cause I'm more accustomed to it.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 12:30 am

In most cases, the music produced by the SPC700 on the SNES, is immensely superior to the Yamaha FM music on the Genesis.

One example:
The 1st level track of Sparkster (SNES) VS (Genesis).

Some of my favourite Genesis Tracks:

Genesis

Battletoads and Double Dragon
Devil Crash (Great Pinball game with an awesome soundtrack. Also for the PCE but those PSG tracks aren’t as good)
Ecco 1 & 2
El Viento
Fire Shark
Gaiares
Gynoug - Wings of Wor
Jewel Master
Jim Power
Kujaku-Oh 2 - Peacock King / Mystic Defender
Lost Vikings
Mickey Mouse - Castle of Illusion
Mickey Mouse - Fantasia
Mega Turrican (Very close to the Superior Turrican 3 Amiga tracks)
Raiden Trad
Revenge of Shinobi
Shinobi 3
Sonic 1 & 2 (Especially part 2. Most memorable music till today!)
Sparkster
Strider
Streets of Rage 1 & 2
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
Tiny Toons - Buster's Hidden Treasure
Truxton
Valis Series (Some of the best Kick-Ass tracks on the Genesis & PCE DUO! Especially the 1st level track of Valis is awesome)
Zero Wing

SEGA CD

Ecco 1 & 2
Jaguar XJ220 9AMIGA version sounds better imo)
Keio Flying Squadron
Lords of Thunder (PCE Duo version sounds better though)
Silpheed
Sol Feace

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:19 am

ST Dragon wrote:In most cases, the music produced by the SPC700 on the SNES, is immensely superior to the Yamaha FM music on the Genesis.

"Immensely superior," well that settles it! It's like rock, paper, scissors and the Genesis keeps losing.

One example:
The 1st level track of Sparkster (SNES) VS (Genesis).

Of all the games that are more or less the same on these systems, you pick two games that are in fact not the same.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:55 am

The music track is the same & that's what we are comparing if I'm not mistakened...

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:16 am

No, it's not even the same. It's one of the few songs with a similar thematic core, but the tone is completely different, in accordance with the differing visual/general style. The Genesis version is trying to be more "serious"/xtreme while the SNES version is Mickey Mouse. The Genesis theme has a menacing tone like a long journey has just begun while the SNES version's is triumphant, which sounds kind of ridiculous for a stage 1 track. But as in most SNES games, the faux-symphonics are overdone just because they could.

Samudra · Post by **Samudra** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:48 pm

An original soundtrack made for any specific soundchip will sound bad (or at least different) if tried to imitate on another. The Chrono Trigger soundtrack will sound off on a Genesis and likewise Streets of Rage 2 will sound funny on a SNES.

Anyone who owns an older PC and some different soundcards (SB, GUS, &c) can listen to the differences in various games which support many different cards from Roland MT-32 to Adlib (Doom for example). Wavetable is very dependent of the quality of the samples and it is a system which works better for some instruments than others (percussion is very nice, electric guitars not so nice). This back in the day of the GUS at least, I don't know if it still holds. On the other hand FM can produce a nice gritty electric guitar sound while drums don't have that punch to it.

Why does the one have to be better than the other? If you ask me the whole direction this has taken shows the menacing underlying fanboy spirit.

"Fuck systems. I play games." ~ sethsez. Why not stretch the meaning of Pacrappa's sig to all parts of the system and not just the brand?

Back on topic however: Golden Axe II, wow! I can't believe I missed out on that soundtrack. Great stuff.
Langrisser II also is amazing. I'll think I'll buy a copier to play the translation on my system.

zinger · Post by **zinger** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 12:46 pm

Turrican wrote:I definitely agree, it's capable, in capable hands. Btw, did you like Harmony of Dissonance music? I found it to be awesome.

Harmony of Dissonance, the GBA game? Never played it.

Samudra · Post by **Samudra** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 5:31 pm

ST Dragon wrote: Genesis

Jim Power

The only version of Jim Power I can find only has one audio track. Was this game even released on cart?

It is a nice track though.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:15 pm

Jim Power was initially released for the AMIGA (2-Disks), followed up on the Genesis (Cart), SNES (Cart) & PCE DUO Super CD-ROM2 system.

Most memorable tracks are the title theme & Level 1 theme by Chris Huelsbeck.

Best tracks quality-wise performance: PCE DUO (CD-Audio) > AMIGA (MOD) > SNES (SPC700 smc) > Genesis.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:57 pm

ST Dragon, I won't believe Jim Power on Genesis exist until someone provides me photo of cart, manual, box.

there's a working rom out there, but it has several glitches.

It's the same case as Universal Soldier for Snes: apparently a version was being made, but I won't believe it was actually published until I see one with my own eyes.

Zinger, try downloading some HoD tunes, you might like what you hear.

ST Dragon · Post by **ST Dragon** » Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:55 pm

I just fired up the Rom...
Apparently you're right; it does look like a demo.
When I 1st tried it, (2-3 years ago) I only played it for a couple of minutes & didn't notice all those glitches.

It looks as if it’s based on the SNES version but with less colours & parallax & uses some of the sound effects & MEGA Bomb sprites from the AMIGA.

It's interesting that when I cycled through all the levels (Start + A+B Buttons) I noticed that 70% of the game consists of Horizontal Shoot em up levels... And apparently some, pretty nicely designed ones too.

The PCE DUO version graphically is on par with the AMIGA version (Uses the same sprites) but with more colours & less parallax scrolling.

Also the guys at Genesis Collective, seem to question the existence of the Genesis cart.
http://www.genesiscollective.com/ShowPa ... meLink=897

It's a good thing that you pointed that out!
Thanks.

Now for another query…

I was wondering if you knew, whether Mega Turrican on the Genesis was released before Turrican 3 for the AMIGA or was it the other way around?
Legend has it, that it was it originally developed for the Genesis & that the AMIGA version is actually a stripped down port of the Genesis version.
Some other Rumors say, that in order to fit it into 1 disk (Traditionally the previous 2 consisted of only one disk) they reduced the graphics of the AMIGA port, which explains why the AMIGA version actually looks worse, with less background planes & colours...
Others say that simply the Genesis is the better system in the graphics department, but I say that’s unplaced, as no Genesis platform game that I know of, can compare to Lion Heart in the graphics department.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 12:28 am

I can say with 100% certainty that Mega Turrican came after Turrican 3 since the game was always referred to as a port of the Amiga Turrican 3 in magazines those days.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 1:06 am

Ganelon wrote:I can say with 100% certainty that Mega Turrican came after Turrican 3 since the game was always referred to as a port of the Amiga Turrican 3 in magazines those days.

They reviewed T3 earlier here too. However, it may be an innacurate statement: the reviewer of the amiga version admits he was reviewing a beta version for press. And Mega Turrican release might have been slided some months away from the US release.

Anyway, these are the reviews I got:

Turrican 3 amiga:

The Games Machine 57 October 1993, 92%

Super Turrican Snes:

Game Power 21 October 1993, 85%

Mega Turrican MD:

Consolemania 30 may 1994, 94%

Game Power 28 may 1994, 90%

Or perhaps it's just that Mega was completed some months before but due to complicated console market, published later - I'm sure somewhere in SETA this is well explained. Anyway, T3 is the port. Rest Sure.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:24 am

Hmm, I guess this isn't so certain after all. But why is it so likely that the Amiga version came after the MD version?

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 2:50 am

Gydocker45 wrote:Check out this comparison between the Arcade, Genesis, and SNES version of the Alleycat Blues track:
Arcade
Genesis
SNES

The Genesis sounds closes to the Arcade version, while the instruments in the SNES version sound a bit off. This is also the case with SNES and Genesis ports of Fatal Fury 2 -- check out Mai's stage theme. The Genesis version sounds a heck of a lot better than the SNES version.

I think the SNES version of Alleycat Blues sounds just fine. It seems like Konami just altered the songs slightly to take advantage of different sound hardware. Both the SNES version and the Genesis version sound slightly different from the arcade one, but I love both takes. Mickey Mouse? They just changed the song slightly to take advantage of the SNES hardware. It doesn't sound "kiddie" or like the Mickey Mouse Club theme song to me.

Turrican · Post by **Turrican** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 3:05 am

Ganelon wrote:Hmm, I guess this isn't so certain after all. But why is it so likely that the Amiga version came after the MD version?

Well, I did read about it on the SETA, and that guy had direct contact with Factor 5 team. He used to have some email and interviews translated in english, but I was able to locate only the German originals.

http://www.nemmelheim.de/turrican/files ... diary.html