Sonic The Hedgehog

[Spark Of Spirit]

New Mania zone revealed with Tails and Knuckles footage.

So hyped for this.

[gunswordfist]

This fangame looks pretty great.

This is what Sonic Adventure should have been. And is that the best remix ever or what?!

[Daikun]

TONS OF WATER

[Spark Of Spirit]

I cobbled a list together of top ten Sonic themes, but I wanted to make it interesting so I limited myself. There will only be one track per game, which means I'll have to list ten different Sonic games. Here we go.


10.

Spoiler

Red Mountain from Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure as a whole is probably one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks, but picking a song was pretty difficult. This track not only fits Adventure perfectly, but could slide in perfectly to just about any Sonic game with no problem. It's got both the speed and exploration factor down, and it's incredibly catchy. Only fault is that the saxophone part at the beginning never loops around.

[close]

9.

Spoiler

Holoska - Cool Edge (Day) from Sonic Unleashed

This might be considered heresy to Sonic fans, but this is actually my favorite ice stage theme from the Sonic series. It has the speed and intensity, and it has the wonder and cold feel you expect from an arctic level. This track is actually pretty overlooked, in my opinion. It's great stuff.

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8.

Spoiler

Metal Harbor from Sonic Adventure 2

I've never really liked Sonic Adventure 2 as much as the original, and the soundtrack I felt was an unquestionable step down from the original. However, there are a few great tracks. Metal Harbor is the best among them. A lot of Sonic music from this era is pretty bland rock, especially any track based on Shadow, but Metal Harbor has an easily identifiable melody, has shifting moods, varied instrumentation, and could slide into SA1's soundtrack without any issue. I'm surprised it isn't more popular, though I guess coming after City Escape made that inevitable.

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7.

Spoiler

Star Light Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog

Green Hill is the obvious pick for this game, but I've honestly always liked Emerald Hill better as far as first stage tracks. To me, the reigning champ of the original game's soundtrack is Star Light Zone. It has a good beat and sense of wonder for such a late game stage and fits as a break between Labyrinth and Scrap Brain before things get crazy again. That main melody never leaves your head either.

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6.

Spoiler

Bridge Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)

A random pick, but it's always been a favorite of mine since first playing this game on the Game Gear as a kid. It has the Green Hill feel of speed and chipper attitude with just a hint of seriousness, that has always made me detest the fact that Sega never reuses it in anything. No remixes or anything have come out of them. But still, it's got an excellent melody, and it remains a favorite for many fans like me.

[close]

5.

Spoiler

Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2

This was obvious. This was the stage no one argued with inclusion in Generations, and it was the music people wanted to see being remixed the most. For good reason. For a second stage, Chemical Plant feels and sounds like you're in the heart of the beast and about ready to beat the big bad already. The heavy industrial feel and thudding bass makes you want to zip through the level at top speed. It's a classic for a reason.

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4.

Spoiler

Planet Wisp (Act 1) from Sonic Colors

Sonic Colors has one of the best soundtracks in the series. Planet Wisp has the feel of a Sonic CD track modernized, but still keeps the post-Adventure adrenaline pumping. To me, this track signified a change in tone and execution for 3D Sonic. We hadn't gotten a theme this unabashedly poppy and old school in a while and not only is it gloriously catchy, but it slams against both the peaceful Planet Wisp feel and the industrial takeover violently and melds together into one excellent track. It was so good even the Generations' remixes couldn't quite reach it. It's also one of the few 3D tracks I could see sliding into a Classic Sonic game and still fitting perfectly. Planet Wisp is just all around excellent.

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3.

Spoiler

Lava Reef Zone (Act 1) from Sonic & Knuckles

In what is probably the most overlooked track in Sonic history, Lava Reef is the climax of the entire Sonic 3 & Knuckles story where things get intense. The music is dark and foreboding with a tiny sense of hope poking through the main melody as it drives Sonic (and Tails!) forward to their goal of a boss fight that literally ends in exploding magma and a flying death fortress escaping into the sky. Every time this music hits I get hyped. Few Sonic tracks hit intensity this well.

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2.

Spoiler

Quartz Quadrant Zone (Past) from Sonic the Hedgehog CD

So which version of Sonic CD am I gonna pick a track from? Well, I'm cheating because this track was on both soundtracks. In my opinion, this is probably the best low key Sonic track there is and ever will be. It has the feel of adventure and wistfulness of exploring a long forgotten past and still remains catchy as all Sonic music should. I've always considered Mario music as old style ragtime/classical influenced and Sonic music as its counterpart as based on pop music. This track emphasizes and fills the gap between them perfectly and shows just what makes Sonic music so great. I'm hoping Mania has a song as good as this one.

[close]

1.

Spoiler

Hydrocity Zone (Act 2) from Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Yes, this is the best Sonic track there ever was. It hits the whole spread: adventurous, wistful, wondrous, action packed, rocking, and a sense of speed. It also has the best hook in any Sonic track with a main riff that never stops drilling in your head. Act 1 is almost as good, and sets the tone perfectly with a more bouncy feel, but Act 2 kicks up the intensity and hits every mark perfectly. No Sonic track has ever come close.

[close]

That's my top 10. What's yours?

[gunswordfist]

11/10

I haven't played 10 Sonics so, in no order and off the top of my head: Doomsday, Mystic Cave, Green Hill, Final Fight Saturn, Stardust Speedway Bad Future JP, Death Egg Sonic 2, Final Boss Sonic 2, Sonic 2 Super Sonic and Bonus Stage.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Which reminds me, someone put together a mix of Mirage Saloon Act 2 based on the Polygon videos. I hear a real mix of Sonic CD and Sonic 3 elements in there. Tee Lopes was obviously the best person to pick for the soundtrack.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sega plays Sonic Mania.

The hype behind this game is real.

[Nel_Annette]

I thought it was awesome that Sega themselves were streaming for Extra Life, but I had no idea they streamed Mania. Very pleasant surprise.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Sonic Mania is on track to be GOTY.

The video doesn't include the remix of Green Hill Zone for whatever reason, but that doesn't matter. The game looks really, really fun.

There's also some old Sonic 1 prototype material in the art. Also, another very cool nod:



A Sonic 1 8-bit reference! Nice!


Also, the first boss was revealed. He's in Studiopolis and he's called Heavy Gunner, part of a group called the Hard-Boiled Heavies.




This game really can't come out soon enough.

[Spark Of Spirit]

A few things were confirmed. The first is that Sonic Mania is getting a physical release as well as potentially one for the soundtrack. It's also been delayed to Summer.

Oh, and Flying Battery Zone was revealed!

EDIT: Also, the new 3D Sonic game is called Sonic Forces and is basically Generations 2. There are 3 gameplay styles in this game, and that's pretty much all we know so far.

[Nel_Annette]

Hoping that third style is a refinement of the Adventure gameplay.

[Spark Of Spirit]

If we're going by hopes, I'd want it to basically be Sonic Utopia's gameplay.

Realistically, I think the third style will probably be whatever Sonic Team is going to use going forward. A mix of Classic and Modern would make sense.

[gunswordfist]

I got to play that Utopia demo.

[gunswordfist]

Watched the Sonic Forces trailer. Somewhat interesting. Looks like they have a lot more to work on on that level. Seems kind of hollow. Also, that was too much boosting/moving in a straight line/lack of control gameplay. That seems to be one of 3D Sonic gameplay's biggest flaws.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Classic gameplay revealed in Forces.

This is basically Generations 2.

Also, there's some good Mania footage in there, but no new info.