Sonic CD is widely considered to be the best Sonic game of all-time. Personally, I think the honor belongs to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but I still view Sonic CD as a magnificent entry in the Sonic series.Sonic CD is noteworthy for a number of reasons. It was the introduction of fan favorite Metal Sonic, Sonic's sinister metallic counter part, and in my humble opinion, the most memorable of all the machine Sonics. This game also introduced Amy Rose, who would go on to be a regular in the 3D Sonic titles. There's also the time travel aspect of the game, which allows you to visit the past and future versions of each zone. Even with all that stuff the game brought to the table, Sonic CD is probably remebered most for the biggest difference between the USA and Japanese version of a game: the soundtrack. Both the American and Japanese versions of Sonic CD have different soundtracks and this has caused quiet a stir among fans over the years.
The Japanese version of Sonic CD's music was composed by Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata. The two vocal tracks, "Cosmic Eternity - Believe in Yourself" and "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" were written/performed by Keiko Utoku. The Japanese soundtrack actually sounds pretty American from my point of view. Both vocal songs are sung in English and are very catchy. The background music that plays in the zones is unlike anything you've heard in a 2D Sonic game both before and after Sonic CD's release. I actually didn't hear Sonic CD's Japanese soundtrack until almost two years ago, but I was ware of the controversery sourrounding the USA Sonic CD's music.
Sonic CD's USA score was handled by Spencer Nilsen (he also worked on the music for some of the Ecco: The Dolphin games). With the exception of all the "Past" themes, every song in the American version of Sonic CD is different from the Japanese version. GameFan, a well-loved, now defunct game magazine scored the Japanese verison of Sonic CD a 100%, but gave the USA version a score somewhere in the 70% range and it was very obvious that the score was based on the music and not the gameplay itself. A staff member of GameFan went as far as to label the USA Sonic CD tunes as "elevator music." Ouch. That's pretty harsh. Really, it's not like the American version of Sonic CD got a bum rap. We got "Sonic Boom," performed by Pastiche, for crying out loud. Sonic Boom, people! I actually find it pointless to debate between which version of Sonic CD has better music. Both soundtracks are spectacular and very few games get TWO sweet musicl scores. Rather and whine and moan about it, just enjoy both soundtracks.
What really surprises me is that there was never an official soundtrack release for either the Japanese or USA versions of Sonic CD. Even more than 15 years after Sonic CD's release, Sega has not come out with an OST for the game. Though you can easily find rips of both versions on the web.
EDIT: As of November 23, 2011, Wave Master released a 20th anniversary soundtrack for Sonic CD. It mostly contains the Japanese audio from the game with Sonic Boom as a bonus track. Also, there was a limited edition music CD called Sonic the Hedgehog Boom, which contained some extended versions of the USA's score. Finding a copy, however, will cost you.
12 comments:
I've got Sonic Boom when getting some Smash Bros. Brawl tracks, but haven't checked out the full soundtracks yet.
One of my favorite songs is from 3-D Blast, Panic Puppet Zone.
I first heard it in the Newgrounds Smash Bros. X video of Mario vs Sonic, which was made when Smash Bros. Melee was coming out.
Oh that video is hilarious!
That was a great article and i agree with everything you said about both soundtracks. It is ridiculous that one of the staff members of Game Fan actually called the US soundtrack 'Elevator music' which is not even close to sounding like it. I also do find it pointless that people are still arguing which soundtrack is better..both came out over 10 years ago! They both have good quality of music so there is no point of arguing! Well anyways nice article and that's a very cool picture of Sonic CD you posted.
Thanks, Nesplayer. I always thought the GameFan staff disliked the USA version of Sonic CD's music just because it wasn't what they played in the Japanese version.
Yeah they played the Japanese version for over 2 months, before the game hit the shelves in the US. I would be a bit disappointed if they did change a soundtrack that you are already use to, i don't blame them on that part. What really pisses me off though is that they gave the JP 100% perfect and the US one around a 70%, 30% less than the Japanese just because of the soundtrack which i think is too much. I was also outraged that they called the US soundtrack 'elevator music'.
Sonic CD IS the official soundtrack. It's a CD, you know, so put it into an audio player and it'll play the soundtrack for you.
BTW, the Japanese soundtrack is better in my opinion.
Well, JAP Soundtrack is OBVIOUSLY better and those who say that's not true it's just because they familiarized with USA Soundrack before listening the original.
Which means... that only americans like it better...
As nobody could tell any fact explaining why USA OST was better, aside from "I just like it better", I'll give you three of mine.. From least to most important
1º) It's the Original Soundtrack. The fact of being the OST the game was made for it's important and make it win some points.
2º) JAP Soundtrack it's closer to Sonic Music than USA. It's upbeat and catchy. And it's easy to know if you're listening to a Bad or Good Future or even a Present. Just by listening to USA OST you would never know what time are you in.
3º) And the most important. How could ANYBODY change the present and future songs and totally forget about past ones??! That's absurd. The idea was to remix the same music patterns to make it sound like past, present or future. If you change the present and future but leave past untouched.. the OST loses EVERY meaning. You will listen to a complete different song when in past like if it was a complete different level.
Sure, Spencer Nilsen.... You may be considered one of the bests videogame compositors of the world. But you will stay a week or two in purgatory when you die for doing this.
Well, I'm american and I like the japanese theme way better than the american theme. Therefore not all americans like the american sound track. :)
Wow, what moxie on this board. Actually, there was an Offical Sonic CD soundtrack that SEGA released called SONIC Boom. (Go here to check details: http://vgmdb.net/album/2292) If I remember correctly, the cd was free if you pre-purchased Sonic 3 from Toys R US. It basically was arranged versions of the American soundtrack and a few extended mixes of Sonic Spinball. I really liked the Japanese soundtrack WAY better than the American, but it was jaded to score the game 30 points less than the original obviously for taste in music. Most of the American soundtrack, IMO, was forgettable, but quality work from Spencer Nilsen & Pastiche. I REALLY thought it was harsh to label the american soundtrack "elevator music". (Wow...) Just my input...
The US version is better by far. The Japanese version sucks. The guys who say the Japanese soundtrack is better are just nerds who automatically say anything from Japan is better than the US.
I'll admit that the Japanese tracks sound like more effort went into production, but that's about it. The tracks themselves don't remotely fit the game and get obnoxious after about 1 minute. The US tracks are freakin' great. Some better than others, but this rumor should have been "the Japanese soundtrack sucks", because that's a lot closer to the truth.
I Think that the Japanese versión is better, but that´s my own opinion, the music is cool.
Sam, You really don´t know nothing about the Japanese soundtrack, or you never listen to it. US Version it´s OK, but I prefer Japanese version. Do you have any problem with that?
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