Sonic Advetnure vs Sonic Adventure 2

[EvilRyu2099]

I think that's what was the weirdest to me about the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack. Lyrics during the cut scenes seems natural enough, but during the BGM for the levels it feels out of place, no matter what style it's in.
The lyrics certainly weren't gangsta rappish, but the tone seemed to think so... It sounded like hardcore NYC or West Coast rap and it seemed out of place..

I guess is you compare it to some gangsta stuff like Dr. Dre, it's got a similar vibe. When I think of "gangsta" nowadays, I immediately think of the growled vocal style of performers like DMX. My mistake, and I'll concede the point.

I still don't think it was any more out of place than the punk-pop tunes they gave Sonic.

I think it was a little more out of place... You hear those kind of pop tunes in a lot of games from Japan if they are trying to be mainstream... I totally agree with your point that songs with lyrics regardless of genre is out of place in video games, especially during gameplay.... I just thought some of the rap songs were absurd for a Sonic video game, and the Pumpkin Hill theme is proof of that..

[flamepanther]

I think it was a little more out of place... You hear those kind of pop tunes in a lot of games from Japan if they are trying to be mainstream... I totally agree with your point that songs with lyrics regardless of genre is out of place in video games, especially during gameplay.... I just thought some of the rap songs were absurd for a Sonic video game, and the Pumpkin Hill theme is proof of that..

I dunno. The City Escape song was really bad. That and Pumpkin Hill would probably both have been fine without the vocals. Besides, like I said, the entire Pumpkin Hill stage was bad and out of place for a Sonic game. In a sense, the crappy song pretty much fit the crappy level.

Back to SA1 vs SA2, I think Sonic's theme song "It Doesn't Matter" was much better in the sort-of-metal style they used in SA1 than in the pseudo-punk style of SA2.

[Reprise]

God I hated the Pumkin Hill level. What a horrendous level. It actually puts me off playing SA2 for ages every time I play through. The first time I got the game, I think I put it down for nearly 2 weeks as soon as i reached that stage.

[ZeroAX]

I loved city escape. Also Live and Learn, why won't anyone comment on how awesome that song really is.


Also pumkin hill was horrible and

I ain't gonna let it get to me, I'm just gonna creep,
Down in Pumpkin Hill I gots to find my lost piece.
I know that it's here, I can sense it in my feet,
The great Emerald's power allows me to feel.

btw am I the only one who liked the eggman theme song from sa2?

The story begins, with who's gonna win,
Knowing the danger lies within.
Aboard the ARK, a genius at heart,
Wanting to unlock the mysteries of life.

I am the Eggman, that's what I am,
I am the Eggman, I got the master plan.
I am the Eggman, that's what I am,
I am the Eggman, with the master plan.

[Original_Name]

Honestly, I think the ska-pop-punk thing that Sonic Adventure 2 had going sounded great except for the vocals -- not by virtue of them having vocals (the Jet Set Radio and Daytona USA soundtracks are favorites of mine, afterall), just because they're too... smooth and clean for the genre. Anyway, in the Japanese version there are no vocals and it sounds much better. I really love the poppy jazz-fusion/sometimes techno vibe of the original games, but it's not like the new music didn't fit -- they were supposed to be on Earth in the Adventure games, afterall.

[Hatta]

If you liked that, you should check out Sonic Rush. The music is done by the same guy who scored Jet Set Radio.

[Original_Name]

If you liked that, you should check out Sonic Rush. The music is done by the same guy who scored Jet Set Radio.

Man, the first time I played that game I couldn't believe how great the soundtrack was, and now I know why! Thank you for that piece of information!

[flamepanther]

-- they were supposed to be on Earth in the Adventure games, afterall.

Depending on what version of the story you accept, they were supposed to be on Earth in the original games too. Besides, how are jazz/fusion, techno, or pop not from Earth? It's more a difference of when the games were made than what the setting was supposed to be.

The SA 1 and 2 soundtracks were great, and I don't mind them trying to stay with the times, but I'd still prefer a bit more continuity in the musical styles used. I think the music in SA1 fit better with the vibe of the series as a whole than SA2 did--but that's true of everything about both games, not just the music.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

-- they were supposed to be on Earth in the Adventure games, afterall.

Depending on what version of the story you accept, they were supposed to be on Earth in the original games too. Besides, how are jazz/fusion, techno, or pop not from Earth? It's more a difference of when the games were made than what the setting was supposed to be.

Actually they're on Mobius the whole time. The Sonic comics explain all of it.

[Original_Name]

-- they were supposed to be on Earth in the Adventure games, afterall.

Depending on what version of the story you accept, they were supposed to be on Earth in the original games too. Besides, how are jazz/fusion, techno, or pop not from Earth? It's more a difference of when the games were made than what the setting was supposed to be.

The SA 1 and 2 soundtracks were great, and I don't mind them trying to stay with the times, but I'd still prefer a bit more continuity in the musical styles used. I think the music in SA1 fit better with the vibe of the series as a whole than SA2 did--but that's true of everything about both games, not just the music.

Yeah, now that you mention it I'm realizing that both the ties and divisions between the setting of the Death Egg Sonics and the Adventure Sonics are largely superficial. Anyway, hypothetically speaking, if the worlds actually were explicitly different, my line of thinking was that even though the themes from the original games drew on popular musical genres, arrangements thereof such as Flying Battery Zone and Lava Reef Zone were an amalgamation of enough unique elements that even if they'd been composed using more modern technology, they wouldn't sound like something you'd just turn on the radio and hear like Sonic Adventure 2's tracks. They were their own thing -- it wasn't normal, "real-world" music, it was Sonic music, if that makes sense.

Your points are completely valid, though. There’s really not as much of a conscious division between the environments as I thought.