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Though there are certainly excellent examples of music on the Genesis, on the whole I feel that it often has more of a tinny sound to it than the SNES era. The mix often feels rather thin and sometimes it's piercing enough to irritate my ears. That being said, the tones are clear, particularly in the higher registers and it's great for melodic lines and/or creepy ambience. The SNES was when I first felt really wowed by sound in the 16-bit generation though. Playing games like Actraiser or Final Fantasy IV with their multi-track pseudo-symphonic compositions just really made you feel like you were playing with a much more advanced machine than we had seen in the 8-bit era before.

I found this nice little article about FM synthesis that's pretty basic, but enjoyable for those interested. It hits on differences between the Genesis and the SNES: http://gamesareevil.com/2010/11/rich-to ... synthesis/

PresidentLeever wrote:^There's a lot of crap for both, just like the majority of games on any console are usually crap. Double Dragon 3 is particularly bad, I'd be hard pressed to find 30+ more MD games that poor sounding out of the 700+ library.

Wizard of Oz - SNES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj_EK2ZEcsk

But let's not turn this into a SNES vs GEN topic.

No way I agree with this. I could easily find 30 more horrible sounding Genesis games. On the other hand, I would have a hard time finding 30 horrible sounding SNES games. I could probably easily find 30 completely average, uninspired sounding SNES games, but not horrible sounding ones so easily.

The Genesis is a great 16-bit system, but let's face it, it's one major weakness was the sound chip. Of course there's exceptions, as there is with anything. But comparing entire libraries for each console, soundwise, and it's not even a competition.

J T wrote:Playing games like Actraiser or Final Fantasy IV with their multi-track pseudo-symphonic compositions just really made you feel like you were playing with a much more advanced machine than we had seen in the 8-bit era before.

I easily have more SNES soundtracks, including my favorite FFIV. Lots of games bring up great memories, but FFIV was a real work of art.

The SNES had a much better, clearer sounding sound chip. It has much greater potential than the Genesis sound card. That having been said, I think Genesis developers tended to make better music. They did a better job using the Genesis sound chip to it's full potential. I've played many games for both systems, and usually when I'm impressed with the music being played, it's in a Genesis game.

Niode wrote:The Yamaha YM2612 is a very versatile cheap. I am currently in the process of making my own synthesiser that uses the best of the 8bit and 16-bit sound processing chips. It will be the ultimate chip-tune synth, and I can't wait for it to be finished.

I can't even imagine how you'd go about building your own synthesizer but it sounds awesome. This thread in general makes me wish I knew .000001% of all there is to know about music so I could make some. There needs to be a band like anamanaguchi who uses a genesis instead of an nes.

Balasubbie wrote:So.........how's being wrong working for ya'?

How appropriate. You fight like a cow.

Seriously though, it bothers me in the SNES version of Sewer Surfin' that notes sound like they're being chopping off. There are these jarring bits of silence that sound like stuttering in places where I'm expecting some sustain. It doesn't sound deliberate or stylistic, either. I find it distracting.

I gotta say I'm surprised by the comments that the Genesis sounds "tinny." I always felt it was bassier, more thicker-sounding than the SNES. I certainly love some of the music tracks on the SNES, but to my ears the machine can sound like a bland MIDI soundcard sometimes, regardless of how much I love the composition being rendered through it. "Forever Rachel" from FFVI, for instance, is a beautiful song, but with all those strings up in the treble range and that loud (and in my opinion, unpleasant) flute on top of them for the majority of the song... it just doesn't balance well in my ears. For me the character of that piece is derived totally from the sheet music, not the playback.

That said, I can tell Uematsu was specifically going for a flute and a string section, and that does say something for the SNES's clarity. The SNES can imitate real instruments better than the Genesis for sure, and is impressive at it. The issue is that I am moved more by the Genesis' signature sounds than by any synth -- any -- making a recognizably harp-, snare-, or piano-esque sound. Same goes for the personalities of the NES and Game Boy; I just love their voices, period.

I agree with PresidentLeever when he says the Genesis shines with electronic styles. Its character comes out when it's not constrained or judged by what "real" instruments should sound like. Actually, now that I think about it, the chiptune pieces I love most are the ones that sound least like real instrumentation. So I guess I learned something about myself today.

EDIT: ...so basically BoringSupreez summed up everything I wanted to say before I even knew I wanted to say it.

I read through this entire thread and not a single mention of STI's amazing music.

Comix Zone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOvGTULHw2Y

The Ooze: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxgL1UGF4A

Also not by STI, but Ristar has some amazing music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hs57xhj ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVhMHggu ... re=related

Relevant, not many people know that the Genesis was capable of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG1H_88V ... re=related


EDIT:

Looks like someone posted a better demonstration already.

I have more fond memories of genesis music, but the SNES definitely sounded clearer and sharper.

like others have already mentioned, i thought the soundtracks to the streets of rage and sonic games were fantastic. i can't think of any SNES games that had tunes that were as catchy as those. but to be fair to the snes, its actual sound effects (punching and kicking, etc) were usually much clearer than its genesis counterparts.

frankdux wrote:I have more fond memories of genesis music, but the SNES definitely sounded clearer and sharper.

like others have already mentioned, i thought the soundtracks to the streets of rage and sonic games were fantastic. i can't think of any SNES games that had tunes that were as catchy as those. but to be fair to the snes, its actual sound effects (punching and kicking, etc) were usually much clearer than its genesis counterparts.

The SNES has always sounded muffled to me. I'm astounded by the people saying it sounded clear and sharp.