You have NO IDEA what you’ve done. You’ve officially OPENED THE FLOODGATES. There’s so much good Sonic music throughout the ENTIRE franchise that requests will never end now. There’s a phrase often thrown around the Sonic fanbase “regardless of how you feel about the game, the soundtrack will still be REALLY good”.
The only exception to the rule is Sonic Boom, but that game really did have no redeeming qualities. Sonic 06 at least had a banger OST and a decent plot.
@@alexandercorbett1147 Honestly the only redeeming quality about sonic boom has to be. 1. It took the title of worst sonic game away from 06. 2. The show was good. Bonus fact for those that don’t know: Sonic boom actually had 3 games.
"I am a gamer of 30 years and I have never played a sonic game nor listened to its music" I don't believe you "I have never associated sonic music with playfulness before" I now believe you
I was thinking noob personaly at first since I'm older and I've been playing since 85. But I also agree with the sentiment. I've found video game music very noticeable since Super Mario Bros. 1 came out. Edit: I was in middle school when I started playing Sonic in 94 and I loved the music right away.
Escape From the City being described as "elegant" but in a "HELL YEAH LET'S GO" way is the perfect description. A lot of the songs in Sonic Adventure 2 are directly coming from the player characters' thoughts, and Escape From the City is a song playing right after Sonic escapes from governenment custody. He's a character with a strong sense of justice and joy, but he's not going to sit down just because things like "the law" tell him to stop.
Sonic is indeed a very playful character. He lives for the moment and thrills of life but also has a good heart and help and guide those who are troubled along the way. Sonic is just that guy!
Sonic Colors Ultimate, the remaster, has mixed reviews because it’s a remaster that leaves the games in a rough but playable state compared to the original Wii release. Colors as a game is still a good time to play and the Ultimate remaster is def made to help ease newcomers into modern Sonic gameplay.
Catch Me If You isn’t a theme song for Sonic but rather for the main rival in the Riders trilogy, Jet the Hawk whose a proficient racer of Extreme Gear hoverboards his ancestors created eons ago. Who starts by mocking Sonic at the beginning but over the games, grew to respect him even so far to be the one of the few, if not only, character that always refers to him by his full name, Sonic the Hedgehog.
I love "It Doesn't Matter" because it perfectly captures that about sonic, his main driving force is he's just a guy that has fun and does what he thinks is right, no matter what others say or do.
sonic music is an absolute rabbithole to go into. as a sonic fan, i cant explain how happy i am that people are STILL discovering how amazing sonic music is.
3:28 if a sonic song doesn't give off "HELL YEAH LET'S GO!" vibes it's not a good sonic song (except the unleashed night songs but that's an exception bc the werehog gameplay is so different)
I'd also like to add, Vandalize doesn't really portray that, so much as it portrays "I may be hurt, but I'll still keep fighting." It still does protray what you say, just not as much as others.
Glad to see more people giving this series a shot, even if it's just the music. You could call Sonic playful. Sonic is a delinquent punk teenager. He's impatient, and isn't afraid to let you know it. He's kind of a thrill junkie, the opening to Sonic Adventure 2 has him wisecracking about the lack of in flight food and movies on a military helicopter he's been arrested on, before kicking the door off its hinges, jumping onto the wing, ripping a piece of sheet metal off and using it to snowboard down the streets of San Francisco (or the Sonic equivalent of San Francisco). In some ways, he's like an action Bugs Bunny, though that's a really reductive comparison. His roots as a character, his personality and motivations, are in anime. In Dragonball, and Lupin III. I've seen a pretty compelling comparison of Sonic to Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho. You don't need to be familiar with all these series' to understand Sonic though, it just helps. A passing familiarity with Goku will get you a good amount of the way there. He's the type of character to use his super speed to jump on the cockpit of the antagonist's ship, lay down, and pretend to take a nap to irritate and antagonize him. He's playful in that sense, but not like Mario's playful. Often (usually), the music, at least from the early to late 2000s, was specifically made with the game's characters and story in mind. City Escape is literally about Sonic escaping a city as he's being pursued. They started adding vocals in the transition from 2D to 3D, though it took until 1998 with Sonic Adventure's release before we started getting stuff based on specific characters, their motivations, and other story elements. Also, the absolute RESTRAINT whoever compiled these songs had not to put in more of the most iconic songs. Most of these aren't known as "the good ones" in the Sonic community, though they are well loved. This is a good list, a real sample of what Sonic music is and has to offer...It also barely scratches the surface, Sonic music is extremely varied, with tracks in tons of disparate genres and tones.
The final fantasy sountrack is rediculously broad as well if you're interested :) and both are incredibly special to me. 14 in particular, i think, has something for everyone.
@@Hugo-yz1vb I mean, smash bros takes the cake for being a crossover Where else are you going to see Live and Learn, MEGALOVANIA, One Winged Angel, Zelda's theme song, Bloody Tears and other iconic tracks in one game
One thing is clear: Marco MUST listen to the Sonic: Unleashed OST in its entirety! There are so many crazy big band/jazz compositions that he'd lose his meatballs!
I've never seen your videos before, but got recommended this one, and wow... This was so much fun! Seeing someone who's never heard music from this series not only LOVE it, but also understand it on a fundamental music theory level, but especially an emotional level, without even having context of where it plays in its respective game, was just a joy. Growing up with all these games, I've always adored these tracks, but seeing someone's first time with them gave me appreciation for them all anew. Thank you for this, and I'm so glad you enjoyed! :)
Whoever chose these tracks knows what they’re doing. They didn’t just pick all of the iconic and well known tracks like most people would, they picked a few lesser known ones as well. They either did a ton of research, or are a massive Sonic fan. Either way, it was a shame not to hear Adventure, ‘06, or Frontiers in here, so hopefully you get to hear tracks from those games soon as well.
Oh man I was about to make a fool out of myself, I skipped over "they picked a FEW lesser known songs" I was about to grill you for calling studiopolis, Escape from the city, can you feel the sunshine and the sonic and the black knight one obscure Sonic songs
I'm glad too, so sick of it always ONLY being Escape from the City, Live and Learn, Windmill Isle Day, Rooftop Run Day, Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, Studiopolis Act 1.
@@Neo-Metal17 Yeah some of my main favs are Mystic Cave, most of the night stage tracks from unleashed, The save select screen from sonic mania + (not the normal one) and many more.
lemme just list a few here: - Reach for the stars - Fight the knight - All hail shadow - Rooftop run - What im made of - Open your heart - One way dream - Im here / im here (revisited) - Endless possibility - Werehog battle theme - break through it all - tropical resort - windy hill - Honeycomb Highway - Knight of the wind - super sonic racing - His world - Live & Learn - Windmill Isle - Undefeatable - Find your flame 😅
Marco finding out that Sega for the past 20 years has put 80% of their annual/bi-annual sonic game budget into the music and the remaining 20% into the actual games:
As soon as I saw this video, I had to click and watch it. I grew up playing Sonic games, and he was honestly my childhood idol. You nailed the playful, carefree attitude Sonic has, and you can really feel it in his music. You get the vibe that even when things are at their worst, there is still hope and positivity. You’ll find a lot of conflicting opinions on what games are good, but one thing almost everyone agrees on, is Sonic music rocks!! Every game has great music, and I look forward to seeing you react to more of it.
I like the fact that the music included wasn't just all the super popular lyrical songs, there's some less iconic stuff in here too, makes it more varied. also super happy to see an unleashed night theme in here. I'm very surprised none of frontier's lyrical songs made it in though.
7:40 I've never heard Can you Feel the Sunshine, and I love it. I've had such a stressful and depressing week, and hearing it with you for the first time was such a joyful and relieving experience legitimately made me tear up.
I'd honestly recommend the entire Sonic R soundtrack. All of the music for the race tracks, the main theme, and the credits theme are sung by TJ Davis, and they're all great. Back in Time is probably my personal favorite.
Hearing you sing along to Can You Feel The Sunshine put the biggest smile on my face. Sonic music in general is in my top 5 favorite game soundtracks. I really hope you listen to more Sonic soon!!
First song City Escape; I’m really really hoping it’s not just vocal themes, fingers crossed for ‘Super Sonic vs Perfect Dark Gaia’, in my opinion the greatest song the franchise ever put out. Time to watch!
19:00 - in case nobody has pointed this out: FUN FACT: The guitarist who played the guitar solo for "With Me" is the one-and-only Marty Friedman - Megadeth's ex-lead guitarist!
"Cello? What the hell, there's every genre in Sonic." Exactly this. Sonic shaped my musical tastes, and I can say that I appreciate (nearly) every Genre of music the world over.
Two things: 1: I am SO glad you're finally doing this. This franchise is a treasure trove of excellent music of many different genres that I would love to see a proper analysis to. 2: I am also elated that whoever made this list for you included Jungle Joyride Night. It's easily my favourite piece in the entire franchise, and you pretty much described my reasons why in the video! It's just gorgeous, and the seamless switch from a dark and foreboding tone to a hopeful one while backing choirs play across the entire piece gives it an ethereal feeling that is, in my personal opinion, yet to be beaten.
This came from comments on a community post, I'm glad mine got on here, expected a lot of modern stuff so I suggested Mystic Cave Zone, to try to add some variety.
AAAHH i love sonic music so much thank you marco for checking it out!! In december im going to the sonic symphony so hearing orchestral renditions live is going to be very cool. They have a sonic symphony online that i reccomend.
Sonic has a long history of having Pop music influences since its inception that has carried on to the modern day. The first composer during the 2D classic era was someone who wrote for a J-Pop band initially and had no prior experience composing for a video game. Later on, there was even a time Michael Jackson almost came onto working on Sonic 3 until his scandal happened. Then when they made the shift from 2D to 3D in games, they got a rock band called Crush40 to do songs for the series for a long time. I think having this foundation has lead them to always include very modern inspired music in each game, especially lyrically, as it became an identity for the franchise. Many people have heard Crush 40's songs, Bowling for Soup's single, and most recently Kellin Quinn's work for the franchise, even though they may not have played a Sonic game before. After Ohtani became the music director for Sonic, I think the series got even more versatile in soundscape and styles. Probably more than any other game I've come across. I think it's commendable how creative the music team is for this franchise.
actually micheal jackson did compose for sonic 3 but went uncredited because of the scandal , he composed ice cap and some other songs. this was confirmed by yuji naka
@@Nii... Ice Cap is the one Team MJ song that we know for sure Jackson was not personally involved in making. It's a rearranged version of "Hard Times" by The Jetzons, a band which Brad Buxer (MJ's musical director at the time) had been a member of. The song was originally composed in 1981 but remained unreleased until 2008.
It ended up being sort of mutual. MJ was unhappy with the sound quality of the Genesis, and Sega was worried about bad PR from the molestation allegations hurting sales. As someone noted, some members of MJ's band and team DID end up contributing material (Ice Cap/Hard Times is my all time favorite Sonic track), but Jackson himself ended up not.
i considered nominating jungle joyride (night) cuz i was praying you wouldn't just get high energy vocal songs, so im glad someone else stepped up. easily one of the best and most underrated sonic songs.
Me too, you have no idea how happy I was seeing it on the list. I love the energetic music ofc, but Unleashed brought a whole lot to the table having the guts to invest music that wasn't just about the thrills and yet still great with their composition.
His World, I Am... All Of Me, Endless Possibility, Spring Yard Zone, I'm Here, Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, and many, many, MANY more. Sonic has always had great music!!
Crisis City, Kingdom Valley, Planet Wisp Act 2, Windmill Isle - Night, Infinite, Reach for the Stars, Knight of the Wind, Live Life, Never Turn Back, any of Sonic Frontiers tracks at all, all of Mephiles' themes from Sonic 06, etc.
Always makes me smile when people enjoy Can You Feel the Sunshine or any Sonic R song given how many years the soundtrack was seen as terrible to the point the composer said he would never make another vocal song. Nowadays, the soundtrack is well loved by the community. The composer and singer even made a guest appearance at the Sonic Syphony Concert in London to do a special medley and a HIGHLY recommend looking it up to see a room of pure joy.
@@jordancooney6817 It was actually the dominant opinion in the fanbase for a long time, if you can believe it! I think a lot of it was just people on the internet in the 2000s/2010s feeling Too Cool to engage with vocal music in Sonic that wasn't rock-based. The culture has become ever so slightly less Edgy and self-conscious since then, and people realized they can just let themselves enjoy fun songs even if they are arguably a bit silly
@@olivia7782 My only exposure to Sonic R music was the Tails doll creepypasta back in the early 2010s when I was a kid, I didn't know people disliked it that MUCH, wtf?? That's crazy considering the theme of music for Sonic during the earlier games, like in CD, Sonic 3 and Knuckles for example. They had usually been so cheery, and bright when they had wanted to be.
oh boy, there's a lot of bangers Sonic 2006 - Wave Ocean (The Inlet) Sonic 2006 - Dream of Absolution Sonic Unleashed - Rooftop Run Day Sonic Unleashed - Cool Edge Night Sonic Adventure - Lazy Days Sonic Adventure - Tricky Maze (Lost World) Sonic Adventure 2 - Aquatic Mine Sonic Adventure 2 - Mission Street Sonic Frontiers - Undefeatable Sonic Frontiers - Cyber Space 2-7: Floating in the Blue Sonic Mania - Press Garden Act 2 Sonic Mania - Mirage Saloon Act 2 Knuckles Chaotix - Door Into Summer Sonic Generations - Door Into Summer Sonic CD - Palmtree Panic (Present) Japanese Version Sonic CD - Stardust Speedway (Bad Future) Japanese Version
One of my favorites from Sonic Adventure is "Be Cool, Be Wild, Be Groovy", and I hear almost nobody talk about it. Also, the full OST version of "Azure Blue World (Emerald Coast)" is crazy good.
So fun little facts: Jun Senoue, who has been composing music for Sonic since the days of the Genesis, was the lead guitarist for Crush 40 (the band that did the Adventure music and many theme songs after), so the consistency is pretty easy to pick out in his music. On that same note, Richard Jacques also has done tons of Sonic and SEGA music over the years and he was the one who composed Sonic R with TJ Davis on vocals. Meanwhile Brad Buxer was a composer on contract with SEGA while he was simultaneously still doing instrumentals and producing with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and several other New Jack and 90s Rock groups. And the unreleased tracks that weren’t used he often recycled into level music for Sonic. Across the board, SonicTeam has always had powerhouses of “cool” behind the music.
The Sonic Unleashed night themes are so great, and you barely get to hear them, because the night stages are combat focused and there's a song that plays instead every time you're fighting an enemy. The battle theme is good and all, but it's very bombastic and dissonant compared to the super chill level themes that it would be nice to get more time with.
Something I'd love to see is the comparisons between the character themes songs between the 2 Adventure Games. Each game's version of the character themes feature the same lyrical ideas but done in completely different styles. Especially It Doesn't Matter for Sonic, Believe in Myself for Tails and Unknown from M.E. for Knuckles. It really showcases just how wildly different even the same concepts can be
Sonic Boom(USA) is one of my most favorite Sonic songs both the opening and the closing. And Open your Heart along with being an awesome banger was my intro to Crush 40
No matter how bad the games may turn out, there is always one thing consistent with all sonic games and their music, and that thing is they are always an absolute jam to listen to Would love to see you cover even more songs, doesn't matter which since you are very hard pressed to find any that fail in what they are trying to convey both thematically and rhythmically
I know I’m a few days late but I wanted to throw in something I really like about a certain song you went over that really characterizes Sonic in a way that not many other games have. Sonic is the Villain of Black Knight. The lyrics of “With Me” are from HIS perspective. The antagonist of the game wants to use her magic to make the world last forever (also endangering a lot of things along the way but her end goal is the eternal preservation of the world). this is evident from the very beginning of the game “Why do Flowers Bloom, knowing they are Destined to Wither?” Sonic’s morals and ideology clashes against this. His moral code is freedom above all else. To quote Sonic Directly in that game, “Every world has its end. I know that’s kinda sad, but that’s why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have. At least, that’s what I figure.” By a lot of people’s standards, Sonic is wrong, but he doesn’t care. He believes true freedom can only be accomplished with an understanding that everything will eventually end. This is without a doubt my favorite characterization of Sonic out of all the games, and I’m so glad you covered it.
I could not believe Live and Learn wasn’t included in this video! City Escape and Live and Learn go together! It’s like asking a question and walking away before you hear the answer!
For City Escape: Sonic was always marketed as a bit of an edgier "more hip" counter to Mario games, he has a flair of cockiness and playful attitude as you said. Sonic Adventure 2 had an ambitious story that introduced a much "edgier and broody" character named Shadow. City Escape is the first level of the game and it makes a very strong impression of Sonic's personality as the hero character in contrast to the music for Shadow's levels. Each character in Sonic Adventure 2 has a specific musical style that colors their levels with motifs and personality, if you look over the entire soundtrack you'll see a lot of deliberate intent in the musical choices, it's a very interesting game to analyze.
@@Buiko15Personally I prefer the hub world soundtracks. I used to sit in the Apotos hub Day and Night and the Shamar hub at Night and just bask in the vibes.
Unleashed's soundtrack genuinely has broken my brain, the ost has so much variety in music and passion within it. It's one of the best osts in my franchise in my opinion.
Thank you so much for looking at some Sonic Colors music. That game has had such a huge impact on my own music creation and I hold that soundtrack very close to my heart.
Sonic has had his ups and downs, especially in the game factor. But it still blows my mind how most of, if not all of Sonic’s songs & soundtracks are all hits. I haven’t heard a single bad thing about any of the songs from anyone, they’re just that good. Sega really knows what their doing when it comes to music, I could never get tired of it
26:10 I like to think that the reason there are so many soundtracks have so many different genres is because Sonic as a character travels a lot, so he encounters a vast variety of different cultures and situations, so the soundtrack reflects that.
3:52 This almost made me spit out my cereal lol. A lot of Sonic songs are great but in terms of a list of favorites across all video games it's tough depending on what others games you've played.
Planet Wisp Act 1 is one of my favorite songs in the franchise simply because it is the perfect blend of nature (the piano, played softer and in longer phrases) and technology (the electronic bass and synths played with a lot of energy and with a lot of syncopation). It really shows in just one track how (spoilers) Eggman is slowly taking over the natural beauty of the planet with his tech.
I love your enthusiasm, man! I think the reason a lot of people don't like 'react' channels is because they often seem somewhat fake, but you always have a genuine enjoyment of good music you hear, which is awesome I haven't played much of the sonic games, but I love the music in them, and have listened to them a lot while working. Like other people said, there are a lot of solid sonic tracks, so this could easily be a 2 or 3 parter. A lot of range too, like you mentioned. Most are pretty happy sounding, but there are some darker ones like This Machine, which has a killer chorus IMO. Cheers!
I wasn't expecting this! The selection were really good indeed! But there is a thing a gotta say... Sonic Unleash - Windmill Isle (day) my beloved! I was not this time that you were featured in this channel 😢
When you said that these were viewer-submitted, I just imagined it would be an overview of the main themes (majorly lyrical rock pieces, thanks Crush 40). Instead it seems these pieces were more tailored to you (the intent was to try, at the very least), which was really nice. Looking forward to any future sonic videos 👀 P.S. These main themes usually get turned into these resounding orchestral tracks for the final battle, big fan of those. I think you should check out the Sonic Symphony sometime---the very first performance is officially recorded on YT.
Actually, finishing the video, you didn't get a single main theme! I'm impressed? Shocked? Well, at least those reactions on their own will better serve as spotlights for the algorithm/search bar.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS MARCO YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'VE WANTED THIS FOR I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS I LOVE YOUR REACTIONS I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL I'LL NEVER GET BORED AAAAAAAAH
I'll never understand how 'Can You Feel The Sunshine' came to have a reputation for being creepy or unsettling. Like, yeah, it was used in the old creepypasta, but there's nothing weird about the song itself, it just coincidentally happened to be used in a spooky story. It's an incredibly beautiful and uplifting song, with a little touch of bittersweetness in its positivity, and that slower sort of upbeat vibe that's perfect for lifting your mood gently and warmly. Admittedly, it is a little bit out of place in the game it's in, but regardless of that, it's a wonderful track that's not unsettling at all. It was a brilliant choice to include in the lineup.
Dude this was an absolute joy of a video to watch!!! I was screaming at every song pick like YES LETS GO and then tl hear your genuine joy the songs brought you man the energy was contagious thanks for brighting my day! Hope you do a billion of these XD
My bro as a musician Sonic music was FORMATIVE for me growing up. Sonic 2 - Chemical Plant Zone Sonic 3 - Hydrocity Zone Sonic 3 - Ice Cap Zone S&K - Flying Battery Zone S&K - Lava Reef Zone Sonic Mania - Stardust Speedway Zone Sonic Mania - Press Garden Zone From Sonic 3 onwards both Acts are needed for full effect! And honestly... Mania may be worth a reaction playthrough man Also, if you ever got Tee Lopes in for an interview (started as a youtube remixer and remixed/created Mania's soundtrack among other things!) I would be in heaven!
Sonic music had been so diverse over the years that this small selection barely scratched the surface of what Sonic music has to offer That said, I'd like to see the reaction to the personal theme songs of individual Sonic characters
the entire SA2 soundtrack is one of my GOATs in terms of characterization and storytelling through music, but if you're intrigued by the concept of "metal sonic music" i think the boss themes from sonic frontiers will definitely be of interest to you 😤👍 fun reactions and great analysis as always! love the insights you bring to the discussion.
The Sonic franchise has such a wide range in musical composition styles, from the incredible melodic compositions in Unleashed and Colors, to awesome rocking bangers in the Adventures games courtesy of Crush 40, there's just so much material to love! Since the only Sonic game I have ever played was Sonic Unleashed for PS3, my perspective is biased and limited, but I highly recommend Endless Possibilities and Savannah Citadel and Arid Sands from Unleashed, obviously all boss tracks from Frontiers are great, the Sonic Rush (OST by Hideki Naganuma of Jet Set Radio) soundtrack is also a great time, Live Life and I Am All are some of my favorite songs by Crush 40. Just get lost in the Sonic music and become one of us. ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Oooo yes! I would love him react to the OST of all of the Pokemon Movies. I'm personally biased on Pokemon movie 5, Rise of Darkrai, Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea to name a few. 😊❤
Most modern Sonic(And by modern Sonic I mean after SA2, not sure if they had any in SA1) songs are all done by one band called Crush 40. So much so that the two are intrinsically linked. One of my fav tracks by them is I Am... All Of Me from the Shadow The Hedgehog game it's just so good. Though E.G.G.M.A.N. by Jun Senoue and Paul Shortino is damn amazing too. Yes, Sonic is very playful in his modern iteration, he barely ever takes anything seriously. Sometimes he acts a bit too cocky and sure of himself but most of the times he's just playful Also when it comes to old Sonic, my favorite track will always be Chemical Plant Zone Sonic R has such an underrated OST.
@@Ashurman666 no not really i think the last song they made was for a racing game. They appear alot in sonic concerts today and even sing other songs not made by them in the concerts. i think because sonics tone changed alot in 2010's so it doesnt make sense to have crush 40 in the games. now the newer games are bringing the edge back so i think crush 40 could show up in a future game.
That's the best part about the Sonic franchise and its music. It's not just the vocal/finale songs that are memorable, but so many normal stage themes as well. I will forever remember Prison Lane and Pyramid Cave, and gods help Marco if he listens to Crisis City eventually.
I'm so glad that Planet Wisp Act 1 made it into the video! You're right, there is absolutely a delicacy to the piece - and that's for a very important thematic reason, if you'll allow me to dump some context for a bit. While it's not my favorite set of stage themes in the franchise (that honor goes to the pair of masterpieces that are Flame Core: Volcano and Flame Core: Cavern from Sonic '06), Planet Wisp's three acts have my favorite thematic progression through musical storytelling. That delicacy and vibrant nature you saw in Act 1 was just that - meant to represent the beauty of, well, nature! In the game, Planet Wisp is the lush, green home of the cute little companion aliens - aptly called Wisps - that is being actively corrupted and industrialized by Dr. Eggman's bright-orange factories and machines by the time Sonic arrives there. To me, Act 1 is meant to represent the beauty of nature thriving, but in the rhythm you can hear the looming threat of technology and industry approaching. But of course, that's just the first act to this story. If you listen to Act 2, it's a much more desperate song. Industry is here, and it's destroying nature. Fast. The piece sounds like nature's last cry for help, still using the repeated motif you commented on - but it's incomplete, fading, and starting to get drowned out by the march of the drums and the heavy sounds of machinery. This is a battle that is hopeless for nature. Of course, Act 3 brings the conclusion we all knew would come - even though it's still using all the same instruments as before (piano, violins, snare drum, electric bass guitar, etc), it feels a lot more mechanical. The original motif from Act 1 is now played on plucked violin strings, the piano takes on a new role in a backing progression that feels very disconnected and frantic, and the drums are still working away. Technology has completed its corruption of the natural landscape of Planet Wisp, but now it's the industry and urbanization that's thriving. The overall tone is still happy and upbeat for that reason, but knowing what had to happen to get there, the piece takes on an entirely new meaning. I would highly recommend listening to Acts 2 and 3 on your own time if you ever get the chance. The remixes that are new to the remaster (Colors Ultimate) are also good, in my opinion, but I just love the progression of the originals too much to say I prefer the remixes. I hope you'll listen to more Sonic music in the future! I also loved hearing Jungle Joyride Night again.
Thank u for taking a look at Sonic, Marco! This series is very near and dear to many of our hearts, and the music has always been a major part of why it’s so beloved! Its extremely difficult to find a Sonic game with a bad soundtrack- they’re almost all masterpieces- so I hope you’ll take a look at more music from the series in the future! ❤
OOOOH I HAVE SOME COOL SONIC MUSIC INFO FOR YOU! so in sonic cd theres this unsued level for sonic cd simply called "r2" and not only did some fans message one of the game devs and found out it was gonna be called "dubious depths" they also found 3 tracks for the song, the games "little planet" song used for the games d.a garden feature which was actually the present song, the 1990s album "sonic the hedgehog remix" has a song called "sonic techno power remix" which has clips of all the bad future songs remixed including r2, and on the same album there's a song called "sonic stream" which possibly has clips from the level's good future song
I like the fact that whoever selected these songs chose the less heard ones (maybe except Escape from the City). Some more popular ones that I can suggest are: Live and Learn (Sonic Adventure 2) His World (Sonic 06) Any of the boss themes from Sonic Frontiers (Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, I'm Here (Revisited)) Back In Time (Sonic R)
Sonic R was my first proper Sonic game and Can You Feel the Sunshine pretty much sold me on the franchise and set me on a path of fanart which has turned into my current freelancing art job. I'm so happy to finally see someone appreciate it as thoroughly AND joyfully as you!
From a music-analysis angle, I think you'd get a LOT to sink your teeth into from the Sonic Generations soundtrack - every level has two of its BGM, one with more modern music and one with a more retro style to it, and the similarities and differences are fun to tease apart. But other comments have made it as clear as it can be: there are very, very few Sonic tracks - across 35 years of the franchise - that AREN'T total bangers.
You are actually the first youtuber that reacts to a song and understands it, and when it's time to give their opinion, actually knows what to say and what is saying, also is clear when speaking to his crowd! Loved the video, keep going, you gained a subscriber!! Love from Portugal 🇵🇹♥️
hey there are some nice deep cuts of the sonic soundtracks, loved to see the selection, you've managed to put some of my favorites in there, hell, my all-time favorite, which is jungle joyride night is in there, i'm so happy :)
Studopolis - While Sonic as a franchise is no stranger to casino levels, Studopolis is a film and television industry themed level. Also, yeah, varied is a very good description of Sonic's music. Often within a single game, rather than needing to jump around to get that variety.
He’s gotta Listen to “BIG ARM” from the 3ds version of Sonic Generations. Someone decided to make one of the SICKEST most blood pumping pieces but you only hear the first quarter of the song cause of how short the boss fight is
Please listen to the entire Sonic Unleashed soundtrack. Yes, the entire thing. Yes, it's worth it. Jungle joyride, which you listened to in this video, is part of it and every single song on there, including the transition songs, are just as musically complex, interesting and soulful, not to mention that literally every genre, culture and style of music is used and the profuse use of leitmotifs. Just incredible
I appreciate you playing the whole song before picking out bits. Barely any music critics of TH-cam play the whole thing, then say what they think, so thank you so much for that.
I've been waiting for this video ever since the Community Post was made, and I'm absolutely not disappointed in the slightest! I'm especially happy to see some more underrated tracks being picked - the "big hitters" (Escape from the City, Studiopolis, Planet Wisp) were pretty much expected, but freaking Jungle Joyride and especially With Me (which features one of the former guitarists from Megadeth, of all things) making it in? Hell yeah. With Me is a song that means so, so much to me - and despite the game having a lot of flaws, Black Knight has a really great and moving story. Probably one of the best depictions of Sonic as a character in the entire series, in fact. I am very much not weighing my words when I say that my love for music was single-handedly caused by Sonic. It's what got me into music when I was a kid, it's what got me into singing, and I'll forever be grateful for it. I'll always remember booting Sonic Adventure DX in 2003 for the first time and being absolutely swept away by the originality, the sheer variety of genres, how emotional and honest the songs were. How they fit every single level, every single cutscene to a T. Sonic has had a rough history in terms of games in the mid 2000s, but even if a game is bad, there will always be absolutely outstanding music to thrive off of. Aside from some really obscure spinoffs wayyyy back in the day having really eh stuff, Sonic music always ranges from "good" to "absolutely insane". And to be fair, the variety makes sense! Sonic's always running around different landscapes, atmospheres, regions: of course the music would follow. Unleashed is essentially a world tour, and to me it's still one of the best soundtracks they've ever made in the series. As for your perception of Sonic - you're not too far off! He's playful, cool and a bit brazen sometimes, but more than that, he's a free heart with a strong sense of justice. He values his freedom above everything else, and will always be there to help someone in trouble. Glad to see you slowly tilting to the dark side, and I hope you'll do a round 2 one of these days, because this is far from being everything Sonic has to offer musically speaking! I'd recommend giving "Live Life" from Sonic and the Black Knight a try, as it's essentially an answer song to With Me; and "Fly in the Freedom" from Sonic Adventure 2. As for non-vocal themes, I'm gonna go with "High and Broken" from Sonic and the Secret Rings. It's one of my favorite tracks in the entire series full stop, and I think you might enjoy its atmosphere!
What I love about “With Me” is that you can tell what both Merlina (The Dark Queen) and Sonic (Knight of the Wind) are both feeling in that exact moment of the fight just from the lyrics themselves
It seems like it's well established by now that Sonic has great music. Even people who outright dislike Sonic games still admit that the soundtracks slap. What this video helped me to appreciate is just how diverse the soundtracks have been over the years. Pop, House, Electronic, Rock, Metal, Hip-hop, Rap, Eurobeat, Orchestral, EDM, all over 30+ years of games. And yet, they all have that energy of forward momentum tying them together to Sonic.
First silent hill now sonic? My childhood is healing! You found some true underrated Gems in this video! I never hear people talk about Jungle Joyride -Night or Sonic R as a whole!Some suggestions: Supporting Me from Sonic Adventure 2, The White of Sky from Sonic and The Secret Rings, Cyber Space 1-2 from Sonic Frontiers, as well as the various Island movements from the same game (I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions for the titan themes). Honestly the rule about sonic has always been that no matter how bad the game is, the music ALWAYS slaps, so there’s a well spring of tracks to listen to.
![ลองสุ่มไอโฟน 990 โกงมั้ย? [ โกงมั้ยครับ ep.101 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfsWe0j492k/mqdefault.jpg)
what sonic songs should I listen to next?!
All of them.
you should 100% listen to sonic lost worlds soundtrack is soooo good
Yes
The premiere isn’t done yet but if glyphic canyon isn’t here I would do that one
Listen to Press Garden Act 2
“What the hell why is every genre in sonic music”
UH, YEAH DUDE THATS WHAT WE’RE SAYING 😂
I know right sonic music never gets old
You have NO IDEA what you’ve done. You’ve officially OPENED THE FLOODGATES. There’s so much good Sonic music throughout the ENTIRE franchise that requests will never end now. There’s a phrase often thrown around the Sonic fanbase “regardless of how you feel about the game, the soundtrack will still be REALLY good”.
The only exception to the rule is Sonic Boom, but that game really did have no redeeming qualities. Sonic 06 at least had a banger OST and a decent plot.
@@alexandercorbett1147 And Chronicles too
And this guy ain't kidding
@@alexandercorbett1147
Honestly the only redeeming quality about sonic boom has to be.
1. It took the title of worst sonic game away from 06.
2. The show was good.
Bonus fact for those that don’t know: Sonic boom actually had 3 games.
And it wasnt sonic chronicles lol @oOSonicexeOo
"I am a gamer of 30 years and I have never played a sonic game nor listened to its music"
I don't believe you
"I have never associated sonic music with playfulness before"
I now believe you
My exact thought process at the start of the video 😂
I was thinking noob personaly at first since I'm older and I've been playing since 85.
But I also agree with the sentiment. I've found video game music very noticeable since
Super Mario Bros. 1 came out.
Edit: I was in middle school when I started playing Sonic in 94 and I loved the music right away.
Escape From the City being described as "elegant" but in a "HELL YEAH LET'S GO" way is the perfect description. A lot of the songs in Sonic Adventure 2 are directly coming from the player characters' thoughts, and Escape From the City is a song playing right after Sonic escapes from governenment custody. He's a character with a strong sense of justice and joy, but he's not going to sit down just because things like "the law" tell him to stop.
"No copyright law in the universe is going to stop me!" - Sonic.
Not just a sense of justice and joy…but freedom.
God, this HAS to be a series. We will not let you rest until you've heard every song from every soundtrack from the last 30 years.
YES PLEASE MAKE THIS A SERIES!!!
Every song, from every game.
"Music can never lie to you."
Someone has never listened to SiivaGunner.
Music doesn't. Title cards do
@@gamanzhiydanil Never listened to a Blueballs Rip then.
@@SuperSonic68 YOO HOW ARE YOU DUDE. DIDN'T EXPECT TO YOU HERE :D
Lol
@@Bu11et_Hel Hee hoo. Pretty coo.
Sonic is indeed a very playful character. He lives for the moment and thrills of life but also has a good heart and help and guide those who are troubled along the way. Sonic is just that guy!
If you loved Jungle Joyride Night, I think Sea Bottom Segue from Sonic Lost World would be another somber track that would be something you’d like!
Sonic Colors Ultimate, the remaster, has mixed reviews because it’s a remaster that leaves the games in a rough but playable state compared to the original Wii release. Colors as a game is still a good time to play and the Ultimate remaster is def made to help ease newcomers into modern Sonic gameplay.
Catch Me If You isn’t a theme song for Sonic but rather for the main rival in the Riders trilogy, Jet the Hawk whose a proficient racer of Extreme Gear hoverboards his ancestors created eons ago. Who starts by mocking Sonic at the beginning but over the games, grew to respect him even so far to be the one of the few, if not only, character that always refers to him by his full name, Sonic the Hedgehog.
That he is. Especially in the classic cartoon. Loved that show.
I love "It Doesn't Matter" because it perfectly captures that about sonic, his main driving force is he's just a guy that has fun and does what he thinks is right, no matter what others say or do.
sonic music is an absolute rabbithole to go into. as a sonic fan, i cant explain how happy i am that people are STILL discovering how amazing sonic music is.
Same
I showed my dad some sonic songs, and he used to be a dj, and he thinks they’re gooood, so coming from a dj, you know the music gotta be good
@@im_.a-bear5996 yeah my father used to work as a personal producer
So I showed him 7 rings in hand and he was absolutely blown away
3:28 if a sonic song doesn't give off "HELL YEAH LET'S GO!" vibes it's not a good sonic song (except the unleashed night songs but that's an exception bc the werehog gameplay is so different)
That’s an excellent way to put it!
I'd also like to add, Vandalize doesn't really portray that, so much as it portrays "I may be hurt, but I'll still keep fighting." It still does protray what you say, just not as much as others.
@@Omnifity fair enough
Glad to see more people giving this series a shot, even if it's just the music.
You could call Sonic playful. Sonic is a delinquent punk teenager. He's impatient, and isn't afraid to let you know it. He's kind of a thrill junkie, the opening to Sonic Adventure 2 has him wisecracking about the lack of in flight food and movies on a military helicopter he's been arrested on, before kicking the door off its hinges, jumping onto the wing, ripping a piece of sheet metal off and using it to snowboard down the streets of San Francisco (or the Sonic equivalent of San Francisco). In some ways, he's like an action Bugs Bunny, though that's a really reductive comparison. His roots as a character, his personality and motivations, are in anime. In Dragonball, and Lupin III. I've seen a pretty compelling comparison of Sonic to Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho. You don't need to be familiar with all these series' to understand Sonic though, it just helps. A passing familiarity with Goku will get you a good amount of the way there. He's the type of character to use his super speed to jump on the cockpit of the antagonist's ship, lay down, and pretend to take a nap to irritate and antagonize him. He's playful in that sense, but not like Mario's playful.
Often (usually), the music, at least from the early to late 2000s, was specifically made with the game's characters and story in mind. City Escape is literally about Sonic escaping a city as he's being pursued. They started adding vocals in the transition from 2D to 3D, though it took until 1998 with Sonic Adventure's release before we started getting stuff based on specific characters, their motivations, and other story elements.
Also, the absolute RESTRAINT whoever compiled these songs had not to put in more of the most iconic songs. Most of these aren't known as "the good ones" in the Sonic community, though they are well loved. This is a good list, a real sample of what Sonic music is and has to offer...It also barely scratches the surface, Sonic music is extremely varied, with tracks in tons of disparate genres and tones.
I compiled them from comments actually! So I’ll take your compliment LOL
"i have not heard, ever in my life a metal sonic song"
WE NEED TO MAKE HIM LISTEN TO THE SONIC FRONTIERS BOSS THEMES, RIGHT.NOW
Also, because of the way he said it, the themes of Metal Sonic
He's gotta hear I'm Here and (Revisited)
please get him in on One Way Dream as well,
it's the only way I can forgive no sonic 06 representation here (where's flame core ); )
Absolutely.
I CHOCKED when he said that there's SO MUCH METAL
The Sonic series has OBJECTIVELY the most diverse soundtrack in the gaming scene
I have never seen a franchise covering so many genres before
The final fantasy sountrack is rediculously broad as well if you're interested :) and both are incredibly special to me. 14 in particular, i think, has something for everyone.
@@starofaetherius I have been a hardcore FF fan since elementary so I know what you're talking about
Persona has a widly diverse soundtrack as well.
Only Nintendo franchises that even manage to get to this level of diversity are Splatoon and Smash, and it's still a big goddamn gap
@@Hugo-yz1vb I mean, smash bros takes the cake for being a crossover
Where else are you going to see Live and Learn, MEGALOVANIA, One Winged Angel, Zelda's theme song, Bloody Tears and other iconic tracks in one game
One thing is clear: Marco MUST listen to the Sonic: Unleashed OST in its entirety! There are so many crazy big band/jazz compositions that he'd lose his meatballs!
Gens and CD got good ones too.
Oh wait, not jazz ones.
"I sure hope there are no jazz bands waiting around here." - Dan Avidan
@@BROXBasherDAH DAH DAH DAH DAAAAAAAA
seriously, Planetary Pieces is my favorite ost, its literally my pfp
I've never seen your videos before, but got recommended this one, and wow... This was so much fun! Seeing someone who's never heard music from this series not only LOVE it, but also understand it on a fundamental music theory level, but especially an emotional level, without even having context of where it plays in its respective game, was just a joy. Growing up with all these games, I've always adored these tracks, but seeing someone's first time with them gave me appreciation for them all anew. Thank you for this, and I'm so glad you enjoyed! :)
Hi! That’s the whole channel! Welcome! Please stay for more if you like!
Bro welcome to the sonic side of TH-cam, also you need to do a part 2 cause there’s a loooooot more crazy music for sonic you have to listen to
Whoever chose these tracks knows what they’re doing. They didn’t just pick all of the iconic and well known tracks like most people would, they picked a few lesser known ones as well. They either did a ton of research, or are a massive Sonic fan. Either way, it was a shame not to hear Adventure, ‘06, or Frontiers in here, so hopefully you get to hear tracks from those games soon as well.
Oh man I was about to make a fool out of myself, I skipped over "they picked a FEW lesser known songs" I was about to grill you for calling studiopolis,
Escape from the city, can you feel the sunshine and the sonic and the black knight one obscure Sonic songs
@@matiaspereyra9392you gotta chill out bruh
@@MischieviousJirachi I mean it was a light grilling, more like "ahh yes, so obscure" I wasn't going to break their knees over it
I'm glad too, so sick of it always ONLY being Escape from the City, Live and Learn, Windmill Isle Day, Rooftop Run Day, Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, Studiopolis Act 1.
@@Neo-Metal17 Yeah some of my main favs are Mystic Cave, most of the night stage tracks from unleashed, The save select screen from sonic mania + (not the normal one) and many more.
lemme just list a few here:
- Reach for the stars
- Fight the knight
- All hail shadow
- Rooftop run
- What im made of
- Open your heart
- One way dream
- Im here / im here (revisited)
- Endless possibility
- Werehog battle theme
- break through it all
- tropical resort
- windy hill
- Honeycomb Highway
- Knight of the wind
- super sonic racing
- His world
- Live & Learn
- Windmill Isle
- Undefeatable
- Find your flame
😅
That’s not a few for sonic
It needs MORE 🔥🔥🔥🔥
@@best_mate456Yea.
I would add Never turn back to that list
Hey, you dropped this: My Sweet Passion.
Bro listed the best ones. 😭
The entire Sonic R ost is so good that it single-handedly carries the entire game's reputation. The menu theme literally slaps.
Sonic R's OST automatically puts it in the top 3 Sonic games of all time and that's no joke
Marco finding out that Sega for the past 20 years has put 80% of their annual/bi-annual sonic game budget into the music and the remaining 20% into the actual games:
You're so right though. Playing the games? Ehhhh, there's like 2 I'd recommend. Listening to the soundtracks? Best life decision ever.
As soon as I saw this video, I had to click and watch it. I grew up playing Sonic games, and he was honestly my childhood idol. You nailed the playful, carefree attitude Sonic has, and you can really feel it in his music. You get the vibe that even when things are at their worst, there is still hope and positivity. You’ll find a lot of conflicting opinions on what games are good, but one thing almost everyone agrees on, is Sonic music rocks!! Every game has great music, and I look forward to seeing you react to more of it.
🙏🙏
I like the fact that the music included wasn't just all the super popular lyrical songs, there's some less iconic stuff in here too, makes it more varied. also super happy to see an unleashed night theme in here. I'm very surprised none of frontier's lyrical songs made it in though.
I need to see him listen to skyscraper scamper night
"You know how long ive been waiting for this" - Gambit
"WooImabouttomakeanameformyselfhere" - Gambit
"Come on, mon ami" - Gambit
"Jusmakeshooautellpeepowahappenheeahdaday" - Gambit
I've been waiting for this- Akihiko.
7:40 I've never heard Can you Feel the Sunshine, and I love it. I've had such a stressful and depressing week, and hearing it with you for the first time was such a joyful and relieving experience legitimately made me tear up.
Sonic R soundtrack is always pretty uplifting and fun. I recommend their songs if you ever feel a little down. I hope your days get better
listen to back in time from the same game, also a really great song
I'd honestly recommend the entire Sonic R soundtrack. All of the music for the race tracks, the main theme, and the credits theme are sung by TJ Davis, and they're all great. Back in Time is probably my personal favorite.
Listen to the entire Sonic R soundtrack.
Hope you’re doing better a near week later!
I'm SO glad you loved the track from Sonic R, it's my absolute favorite Sonic soundtrack and I've found most people don't even know about it. :D
It's so good!
@@MarcoMeatballplease do sonic cd jp ost like how you did with undertale
A full stream plss
Hearing you sing along to Can You Feel The Sunshine put the biggest smile on my face. Sonic music in general is in my top 5 favorite game soundtracks. I really hope you listen to more Sonic soon!!
As always, props to the editor, whoever that is always cracks me up.
FINALLY
MY GOD, FINALLY
YOU ARE IN FOR SO MUCH INCREDIBLE MUSIC
First song City Escape; I’m really really hoping it’s not just vocal themes, fingers crossed for ‘Super Sonic vs Perfect Dark Gaia’, in my opinion the greatest song the franchise ever put out. Time to watch!
Facts!
Yo logs lol
@@p0p525 WAAAAAAA FRIEND HI
This man has summoned another fandom with just the first song
19:00 - in case nobody has pointed this out: FUN FACT: The guitarist who played the guitar solo for "With Me" is the one-and-only Marty Friedman - Megadeth's ex-lead guitarist!
No wonder it smacks so hard then
"Cello? What the hell, there's every genre in Sonic."
Exactly this. Sonic shaped my musical tastes, and I can say that I appreciate (nearly) every Genre of music the world over.
Same. It was because of Sonic that I discovered certain music genres like Industrial Rock and Metalcore.
Two things:
1: I am SO glad you're finally doing this. This franchise is a treasure trove of excellent music of many different genres that I would love to see a proper analysis to.
2: I am also elated that whoever made this list for you included Jungle Joyride Night. It's easily my favourite piece in the entire franchise, and you pretty much described my reasons why in the video! It's just gorgeous, and the seamless switch from a dark and foreboding tone to a hopeful one while backing choirs play across the entire piece gives it an ethereal feeling that is, in my personal opinion, yet to be beaten.
This came from comments on a community post, I'm glad mine got on here, expected a lot of modern stuff so I suggested Mystic Cave Zone, to try to add some variety.
AAAHH i love sonic music so much thank you marco for checking it out!!
In december im going to the sonic symphony so hearing orchestral renditions live is going to be very cool.
They have a sonic symphony online that i reccomend.
Have fun!!
Sonic has a long history of having Pop music influences since its inception that has carried on to the modern day. The first composer during the 2D classic era was someone who wrote for a J-Pop band initially and had no prior experience composing for a video game. Later on, there was even a time Michael Jackson almost came onto working on Sonic 3 until his scandal happened. Then when they made the shift from 2D to 3D in games, they got a rock band called Crush40 to do songs for the series for a long time.
I think having this foundation has lead them to always include very modern inspired music in each game, especially lyrically, as it became an identity for the franchise. Many people have heard Crush 40's songs, Bowling for Soup's single, and most recently Kellin Quinn's work for the franchise, even though they may not have played a Sonic game before.
After Ohtani became the music director for Sonic, I think the series got even more versatile in soundscape and styles. Probably more than any other game I've come across. I think it's commendable how creative the music team is for this franchise.
actually micheal jackson did compose for sonic 3 but went uncredited because of the scandal , he composed ice cap and some other songs. this was confirmed by yuji naka
@@Nii...
Ice Cap is the one Team MJ song that we know for sure Jackson was not personally involved in making.
It's a rearranged version of "Hard Times" by The Jetzons, a band which Brad Buxer (MJ's musical director at the time) had been a member of. The song was originally composed in 1981 but remained unreleased until 2008.
@@launched_ oh i see
It ended up being sort of mutual. MJ was unhappy with the sound quality of the Genesis, and Sega was worried about bad PR from the molestation allegations hurting sales. As someone noted, some members of MJ's band and team DID end up contributing material (Ice Cap/Hard Times is my all time favorite Sonic track), but Jackson himself ended up not.
@@Chetverikov yes he did according to yuji naka
i considered nominating jungle joyride (night) cuz i was praying you wouldn't just get high energy vocal songs, so im glad someone else stepped up. easily one of the best and most underrated sonic songs.
Too bad you get interrupted constantly by that fucking battle song, jumpscared by jazz band
Me too, you have no idea how happy I was seeing it on the list. I love the energetic music ofc, but Unleashed brought a whole lot to the table having the guts to invest music that wasn't just about the thrills and yet still great with their composition.
His World, I Am... All Of Me, Endless Possibility, Spring Yard Zone, I'm Here, Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, and many, many, MANY more. Sonic has always had great music!!
Crisis City, Kingdom Valley, Planet Wisp Act 2, Windmill Isle - Night, Infinite, Reach for the Stars, Knight of the Wind, Live Life, Never Turn Back, any of Sonic Frontiers tracks at all, all of Mephiles' themes from Sonic 06, etc.
Always makes me smile when people enjoy Can You Feel the Sunshine or any Sonic R song given how many years the soundtrack was seen as terrible to the point the composer said he would never make another vocal song.
Nowadays, the soundtrack is well loved by the community. The composer and singer even made a guest appearance at the Sonic Syphony Concert in London to do a special medley and a HIGHLY recommend looking it up to see a room of pure joy.
Who ever said they were terrible?!?!
@@jordancooney6817 It was actually the dominant opinion in the fanbase for a long time, if you can believe it! I think a lot of it was just people on the internet in the 2000s/2010s feeling Too Cool to engage with vocal music in Sonic that wasn't rock-based. The culture has become ever so slightly less Edgy and self-conscious since then, and people realized they can just let themselves enjoy fun songs even if they are arguably a bit silly
@@olivia7782 My only exposure to Sonic R music was the Tails doll creepypasta back in the early 2010s when I was a kid, I didn't know people disliked it that MUCH, wtf?? That's crazy considering the theme of music for Sonic during the earlier games, like in CD, Sonic 3 and Knuckles for example. They had usually been so cheery, and bright when they had wanted to be.
oh boy, there's a lot of bangers
Sonic 2006 - Wave Ocean (The Inlet)
Sonic 2006 - Dream of Absolution
Sonic Unleashed - Rooftop Run Day
Sonic Unleashed - Cool Edge Night
Sonic Adventure - Lazy Days
Sonic Adventure - Tricky Maze (Lost World)
Sonic Adventure 2 - Aquatic Mine
Sonic Adventure 2 - Mission Street
Sonic Frontiers - Undefeatable
Sonic Frontiers - Cyber Space 2-7: Floating in the Blue
Sonic Mania - Press Garden Act 2
Sonic Mania - Mirage Saloon Act 2
Knuckles Chaotix - Door Into Summer
Sonic Generations - Door Into Summer
Sonic CD - Palmtree Panic (Present) Japanese Version
Sonic CD - Stardust Speedway (Bad Future) Japanese Version
One of my favorites from Sonic Adventure is "Be Cool, Be Wild, Be Groovy", and I hear almost nobody talk about it. Also, the full OST version of "Azure Blue World (Emerald Coast)" is crazy good.
Respect for putting aquatic mine 👌👍
Sonic 3 - Hydrocity Act 2
Sonic 2006 - Kingdom Valley
Sonic Generations - Crisis City Act 2
the inlet instead of the waters edge? really lmfao
I can't help but notice there is no Sonic Rush in this list
So fun little facts: Jun Senoue, who has been composing music for Sonic since the days of the Genesis, was the lead guitarist for Crush 40 (the band that did the Adventure music and many theme songs after), so the consistency is pretty easy to pick out in his music.
On that same note, Richard Jacques also has done tons of Sonic and SEGA music over the years and he was the one who composed Sonic R with TJ Davis on vocals.
Meanwhile Brad Buxer was a composer on contract with SEGA while he was simultaneously still doing instrumentals and producing with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and several other New Jack and 90s Rock groups. And the unreleased tracks that weren’t used he often recycled into level music for Sonic.
Across the board, SonicTeam has always had powerhouses of “cool” behind the music.
im so happy you listened to WITH ME, this has been my favorite sonic vocal track to this day
The Sonic Unleashed night themes are so great, and you barely get to hear them, because the night stages are combat focused and there's a song that plays instead every time you're fighting an enemy. The battle theme is good and all, but it's very bombastic and dissonant compared to the super chill level themes that it would be nice to get more time with.
With Me from The Black Knight ties in with the story and the climax. It's very narratively spoken.
Sonic CD's - "Sonic Boom" (USA) opening and closing.
And Sonic Adventure's "Open Your Heart"
Us soundtrash
Sonic Boom is such a good one with that positive vibe and sense of adventure!
@@LinkedToReality overrated ash imo
I'm glad they picked cosmic eternity instead of freaking sonic boom
Something I'd love to see is the comparisons between the character themes songs between the 2 Adventure Games. Each game's version of the character themes feature the same lyrical ideas but done in completely different styles. Especially It Doesn't Matter for Sonic, Believe in Myself for Tails and Unknown from M.E. for Knuckles. It really showcases just how wildly different even the same concepts can be
Sonic Boom(USA) is one of my most favorite Sonic songs both the opening and the closing. And Open your Heart along with being an awesome banger was my intro to Crush 40
No matter how bad the games may turn out, there is always one thing consistent with all sonic games and their music, and that thing is they are always an absolute jam to listen to
Would love to see you cover even more songs, doesn't matter which since you are very hard pressed to find any that fail in what they are trying to convey both thematically and rhythmically
I’ll just do them all
@@MarcoMeatball Hell yeah!
I know I’m a few days late but I wanted to throw in something I really like about a certain song you went over that really characterizes Sonic in a way that not many other games have.
Sonic is the Villain of Black Knight. The lyrics of “With Me” are from HIS perspective. The antagonist of the game wants to use her magic to make the world last forever (also endangering a lot of things along the way but her end goal is the eternal preservation of the world). this is evident from the very beginning of the game “Why do Flowers Bloom, knowing they are Destined to Wither?” Sonic’s morals and ideology clashes against this. His moral code is freedom above all else. To quote Sonic Directly in that game, “Every world has its end. I know that’s kinda sad, but that’s why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have. At least, that’s what I figure.” By a lot of people’s standards, Sonic is wrong, but he doesn’t care. He believes true freedom can only be accomplished with an understanding that everything will eventually end.
This is without a doubt my favorite characterization of Sonic out of all the games, and I’m so glad you covered it.
Now you should listen to all of the Titans themes in Sonic frontiers
Seconded. Also I'm Here (revisited, in my opinion).
AND the overworld
@@AnastasioBonhnumI'm pretty sure he's heard at least I'm Here on stream but I don't remember if he's heard any of the others
Imo he should listen to the final horizon character themes first
Dont lie, you all sang along to city escape when it came on. Welcome to Sonic btw Marco :) hope you enjoy the ride!
I could not believe Live and Learn wasn’t included in this video! City Escape and Live and Learn go together! It’s like asking a question and walking away before you hear the answer!
For City Escape:
Sonic was always marketed as a bit of an edgier "more hip" counter to Mario games, he has a flair of cockiness and playful attitude as you said. Sonic Adventure 2 had an ambitious story that introduced a much "edgier and broody" character named Shadow. City Escape is the first level of the game and it makes a very strong impression of Sonic's personality as the hero character in contrast to the music for Shadow's levels. Each character in Sonic Adventure 2 has a specific musical style that colors their levels with motifs and personality, if you look over the entire soundtrack you'll see a lot of deliberate intent in the musical choices, it's a very interesting game to analyze.
"hell yeah lets go!!" is literally the perfect description of sonic. (3:30)
21:29 Don't mind me... just putting a timestamp for Studiopolis Act 1.
God, Sonic Unleashed OST still to this day goes the hardest of all Sonic music.
That whole soundtrack was pure magic.
Yess Apotos Day is still one of my favourites from Sonic games
@@Buiko15Personally I prefer the hub world soundtracks. I used to sit in the Apotos hub Day and Night and the Shamar hub at Night and just bask in the vibes.
Unleashed's soundtrack genuinely has broken my brain, the ost has so much variety in music and passion within it. It's one of the best osts in my franchise in my opinion.
Thank you so much for looking at some Sonic Colors music. That game has had such a huge impact on my own music creation and I hold that soundtrack very close to my heart.
Oh he finally stumbled upon Sonic music. He'll never come back from this musical paradise.
Sonic has had his ups and downs, especially in the game factor. But it still blows my mind how most of, if not all of Sonic’s songs & soundtracks are all hits. I haven’t heard a single bad thing about any of the songs from anyone, they’re just that good. Sega really knows what their doing when it comes to music, I could never get tired of it
sonic eraser ? (if my memory is right the whole soundtravk was made in one week because of copyright issues)
26:10 I like to think that the reason there are so many soundtracks have so many different genres is because Sonic as a character travels a lot, so he encounters a vast variety of different cultures and situations, so the soundtrack reflects that.
3:52 This almost made me spit out my cereal lol. A lot of Sonic songs are great but in terms of a list of favorites across all video games it's tough depending on what others games you've played.
Planet Wisp Act 1 is one of my favorite songs in the franchise simply because it is the perfect blend of nature (the piano, played softer and in longer phrases) and technology (the electronic bass and synths played with a lot of energy and with a lot of syncopation). It really shows in just one track how (spoilers) Eggman is slowly taking over the natural beauty of the planet with his tech.
For Planet Wisp being "Charmingly Simple", that comment lines up well with the designs of the wisps themselves.
"With me" is so fucking good im so glad it got covered here(also "can you feel the sunshine" that one is also a banger above bangers).
I love your enthusiasm, man! I think the reason a lot of people don't like 'react' channels is because they often seem somewhat fake, but you always have a genuine enjoyment of good music you hear, which is awesome
I haven't played much of the sonic games, but I love the music in them, and have listened to them a lot while working. Like other people said, there are a lot of solid sonic tracks, so this could easily be a 2 or 3 parter. A lot of range too, like you mentioned. Most are pretty happy sounding, but there are some darker ones like This Machine, which has a killer chorus IMO. Cheers!
Thank you!!!!
@@MarcoMeatball You're welcome! Keep up the good work 👍
I wasn't expecting this! The selection were really good indeed! But there is a thing a gotta say...
Sonic Unleash - Windmill Isle (day) my beloved!
I was not this time that you were featured in this channel 😢
When you said that these were viewer-submitted, I just imagined it would be an overview of the main themes (majorly lyrical rock pieces, thanks Crush 40). Instead it seems these pieces were more tailored to you (the intent was to try, at the very least), which was really nice. Looking forward to any future sonic videos 👀
P.S. These main themes usually get turned into these resounding orchestral tracks for the final battle, big fan of those. I think you should check out the Sonic Symphony sometime---the very first performance is officially recorded on YT.
Actually, finishing the video, you didn't get a single main theme! I'm impressed? Shocked? Well, at least those reactions on their own will better serve as spotlights for the algorithm/search bar.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS MARCO YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'VE WANTED THIS FOR
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS I LOVE YOUR REACTIONS I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL I'LL NEVER GET BORED AAAAAAAAH
I'll never understand how 'Can You Feel The Sunshine' came to have a reputation for being creepy or unsettling. Like, yeah, it was used in the old creepypasta, but there's nothing weird about the song itself, it just coincidentally happened to be used in a spooky story. It's an incredibly beautiful and uplifting song, with a little touch of bittersweetness in its positivity, and that slower sort of upbeat vibe that's perfect for lifting your mood gently and warmly. Admittedly, it is a little bit out of place in the game it's in, but regardless of that, it's a wonderful track that's not unsettling at all. It was a brilliant choice to include in the lineup.
Nothing unsettling about that unbridled banger
@@MarcoMeatball unless you listen to the acid ver.
Dude this was an absolute joy of a video to watch!!! I was screaming at every song pick like YES LETS GO and then tl hear your genuine joy the songs brought you man the energy was contagious thanks for brighting my day! Hope you do a billion of these XD
Glad you enjoyed!
The Sonic R soundtrack SLAPS and I will die on that hill
You're going to die on that hill out of loneliness. Ain't nobody fighting you for such a cold take.
Yeah I kinda thought everyone loved that song, I've literally never heard of someone who didn't like it, just people who haven't heard it yet
Brother, no one's fighting you
You've died on the right hill
Bro is gonna stay alive on this hill
What I like about Sonic music is that whatever genre you're into Sonic has it like the range of its music is impeccable to say the least !
My bro as a musician Sonic music was FORMATIVE for me growing up.
Sonic 2 - Chemical Plant Zone
Sonic 3 - Hydrocity Zone
Sonic 3 - Ice Cap Zone
S&K - Flying Battery Zone
S&K - Lava Reef Zone
Sonic Mania - Stardust Speedway Zone
Sonic Mania - Press Garden Zone
From Sonic 3 onwards both Acts are needed for full effect! And honestly... Mania may be worth a reaction playthrough man
Also, if you ever got Tee Lopes in for an interview (started as a youtube remixer and remixed/created Mania's soundtrack among other things!) I would be in heaven!
Sonic mania: You meant both acts or any in specific? Tracks in this game REALLY differentiate from eachother between the acts
@@NeclirGo Ideally both if I had it my way
Sonic music had been so diverse over the years that this small selection barely scratched the surface of what Sonic music has to offer
That said, I'd like to see the reaction to the personal theme songs of individual Sonic characters
the entire SA2 soundtrack is one of my GOATs in terms of characterization and storytelling through music, but if you're intrigued by the concept of "metal sonic music" i think the boss themes from sonic frontiers will definitely be of interest to you 😤👍
fun reactions and great analysis as always! love the insights you bring to the discussion.
The Sonic franchise has such a wide range in musical composition styles, from the incredible melodic compositions in Unleashed and Colors, to awesome rocking bangers in the Adventures games courtesy of Crush 40, there's just so much material to love!
Since the only Sonic game I have ever played was Sonic Unleashed for PS3, my perspective is biased and limited, but I highly recommend Endless Possibilities and Savannah Citadel and Arid Sands from Unleashed, obviously all boss tracks from Frontiers are great, the Sonic Rush (OST by Hideki Naganuma of Jet Set Radio) soundtrack is also a great time, Live Life and I Am All are some of my favorite songs by Crush 40.
Just get lost in the Sonic music and become one of us. ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
Full agree, but the song is Endless Posibilities, not Infinite Posibilities.
@@screeno42oh shit, you're right
Marco you have no idea how long I've waited for this. Even the Pokemon music, one day one day 😂
One day he'll listen to perfection that is Area Zero and so on
@@1nfamousprince Gen 5 music too
@@itsnotpan.It's over when he hears Gen 4 and 5 music.
Oooo yes! I would love him react to the OST of all of the Pokemon Movies. I'm personally biased on Pokemon movie 5, Rise of Darkrai, Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea to name a few. 😊❤
Most modern Sonic(And by modern Sonic I mean after SA2, not sure if they had any in SA1) songs are all done by one band called Crush 40. So much so that the two are intrinsically linked. One of my fav tracks by them is I Am... All Of Me from the Shadow The Hedgehog game it's just so good. Though E.G.G.M.A.N. by Jun Senoue and Paul Shortino is damn amazing too.
Yes, Sonic is very playful in his modern iteration, he barely ever takes anything seriously. Sometimes he acts a bit too cocky and sure of himself but most of the times he's just playful
Also when it comes to old Sonic, my favorite track will always be Chemical Plant Zone
Sonic R has such an underrated OST.
Sonic Adventure 1 had "Open Your Heart" which was done by crush 40
Open your heart for sa1 was crush 40’s first song for sonic
@@starzy9119 Are they still used in current Sonic games? I've stopped playing Sonic a while ago
Close! Jun Senoue (Guitarist and Writer for Crush 40) was the lead music director for SA1, SA2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic '06
@@Ashurman666 no not really i think the last song they made was for a racing game. They appear alot in sonic concerts today and even sing other songs not made by them in the concerts. i think because sonics tone changed alot in 2010's so it doesnt make sense to have crush 40 in the games. now the newer games are bringing the edge back so i think crush 40 could show up in a future game.
That's the best part about the Sonic franchise and its music. It's not just the vocal/finale songs that are memorable, but so many normal stage themes as well. I will forever remember Prison Lane and Pyramid Cave, and gods help Marco if he listens to Crisis City eventually.
I'm so glad that Planet Wisp Act 1 made it into the video! You're right, there is absolutely a delicacy to the piece - and that's for a very important thematic reason, if you'll allow me to dump some context for a bit.
While it's not my favorite set of stage themes in the franchise (that honor goes to the pair of masterpieces that are Flame Core: Volcano and Flame Core: Cavern from Sonic '06), Planet Wisp's three acts have my favorite thematic progression through musical storytelling. That delicacy and vibrant nature you saw in Act 1 was just that - meant to represent the beauty of, well, nature! In the game, Planet Wisp is the lush, green home of the cute little companion aliens - aptly called Wisps - that is being actively corrupted and industrialized by Dr. Eggman's bright-orange factories and machines by the time Sonic arrives there. To me, Act 1 is meant to represent the beauty of nature thriving, but in the rhythm you can hear the looming threat of technology and industry approaching. But of course, that's just the first act to this story.
If you listen to Act 2, it's a much more desperate song. Industry is here, and it's destroying nature. Fast. The piece sounds like nature's last cry for help, still using the repeated motif you commented on - but it's incomplete, fading, and starting to get drowned out by the march of the drums and the heavy sounds of machinery. This is a battle that is hopeless for nature.
Of course, Act 3 brings the conclusion we all knew would come - even though it's still using all the same instruments as before (piano, violins, snare drum, electric bass guitar, etc), it feels a lot more mechanical. The original motif from Act 1 is now played on plucked violin strings, the piano takes on a new role in a backing progression that feels very disconnected and frantic, and the drums are still working away. Technology has completed its corruption of the natural landscape of Planet Wisp, but now it's the industry and urbanization that's thriving. The overall tone is still happy and upbeat for that reason, but knowing what had to happen to get there, the piece takes on an entirely new meaning.
I would highly recommend listening to Acts 2 and 3 on your own time if you ever get the chance. The remixes that are new to the remaster (Colors Ultimate) are also good, in my opinion, but I just love the progression of the originals too much to say I prefer the remixes. I hope you'll listen to more Sonic music in the future! I also loved hearing Jungle Joyride Night again.
Thank u for taking a look at Sonic, Marco! This series is very near and dear to many of our hearts, and the music has always been a major part of why it’s so beloved! Its extremely difficult to find a Sonic game with a bad soundtrack- they’re almost all masterpieces- so I hope you’ll take a look at more music from the series in the future! ❤
OOOOH I HAVE SOME COOL SONIC MUSIC INFO FOR YOU! so in sonic cd theres this unsued level for sonic cd simply called "r2" and not only did some fans message one of the game devs and found out it was gonna be called "dubious depths" they also found 3 tracks for the song, the games "little planet" song used for the games d.a garden feature which was actually the present song, the 1990s album "sonic the hedgehog remix" has a song called "sonic techno power remix" which has clips of all the bad future songs remixed including r2, and on the same album there's a song called "sonic stream" which possibly has clips from the level's good future song
Marco you gotta peep the Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 soundtrack, almost all of it consists of pure bangers
I like the fact that whoever selected these songs chose the less heard ones (maybe except Escape from the City). Some more popular ones that I can suggest are:
Live and Learn (Sonic Adventure 2)
His World (Sonic 06)
Any of the boss themes from Sonic Frontiers (Undefeatable, Break Through It All, Find Your Flame, I'm Here (Revisited))
Back In Time (Sonic R)
Sonic R was my first proper Sonic game and Can You Feel the Sunshine pretty much sold me on the franchise and set me on a path of fanart which has turned into my current freelancing art job.
I'm so happy to finally see someone appreciate it as thoroughly AND joyfully as you!
From a music-analysis angle, I think you'd get a LOT to sink your teeth into from the Sonic Generations soundtrack - every level has two of its BGM, one with more modern music and one with a more retro style to it, and the similarities and differences are fun to tease apart. But other comments have made it as clear as it can be: there are very, very few Sonic tracks - across 35 years of the franchise - that AREN'T total bangers.
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SINCE YOU FIRST STARTED UPLOADING, CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT TIME!
16:37
It's also worth adding that Marty Friedman himself plays guitar here.
What the fuck, I knew that guitar solo was absolute baller, now I know why
You are actually the first youtuber that reacts to a song and understands it, and when it's time to give their opinion, actually knows what to say and what is saying, also is clear when speaking to his crowd! Loved the video, keep going, you gained a subscriber!!
Love from Portugal 🇵🇹♥️
hey there are some nice deep cuts of the sonic soundtracks, loved to see the selection, you've managed to put some of my favorites in there, hell, my all-time favorite, which is jungle joyride night is in there, i'm so happy :)
Nice!!!
You've effortlessly put to words things I've only felt for years. This was such a fun watch man.
Aw man that’s awesome
Studopolis - While Sonic as a franchise is no stranger to casino levels, Studopolis is a film and television industry themed level.
Also, yeah, varied is a very good description of Sonic's music. Often within a single game, rather than needing to jump around to get that variety.
6:25 I also thought of Entrance of the Gladiators when I played this zone in Sonic 2. Then I heard Carnival Night Zone from Sonic 3...
He’s gotta Listen to “BIG ARM” from the 3ds version of Sonic Generations. Someone decided to make one of the SICKEST most blood pumping pieces but you only hear the first quarter of the song cause of how short the boss fight is
Please listen to the entire Sonic Unleashed soundtrack. Yes, the entire thing. Yes, it's worth it. Jungle joyride, which you listened to in this video, is part of it and every single song on there, including the transition songs, are just as musically complex, interesting and soulful, not to mention that literally every genre, culture and style of music is used and the profuse use of leitmotifs. Just incredible
I second this!!!!
IVE BEEN WAITING SO LOONG FOR THIS
"YOU HAVE WAITED MUCH TO LONG!" -crush 40
I'm so sorry
@@TheFallenStar64 "AND I, I WILL BE YOUR SHINING STAR!"
you don't KNOW HOW MUCH I WANTED THIS VIDEO
THERE'S SO MUCH FOR YOU TO DISCOVER
I appreciate you playing the whole song before picking out bits. Barely any music critics of TH-cam play the whole thing, then say what they think, so thank you so much for that.
That Can You Feel the Sunshine reaction really gave me Darwinian reacting to Saria’s Song vibes hahaha
I've been waiting for this video ever since the Community Post was made, and I'm absolutely not disappointed in the slightest! I'm especially happy to see some more underrated tracks being picked - the "big hitters" (Escape from the City, Studiopolis, Planet Wisp) were pretty much expected, but freaking Jungle Joyride and especially With Me (which features one of the former guitarists from Megadeth, of all things) making it in? Hell yeah. With Me is a song that means so, so much to me - and despite the game having a lot of flaws, Black Knight has a really great and moving story. Probably one of the best depictions of Sonic as a character in the entire series, in fact.
I am very much not weighing my words when I say that my love for music was single-handedly caused by Sonic. It's what got me into music when I was a kid, it's what got me into singing, and I'll forever be grateful for it. I'll always remember booting Sonic Adventure DX in 2003 for the first time and being absolutely swept away by the originality, the sheer variety of genres, how emotional and honest the songs were. How they fit every single level, every single cutscene to a T. Sonic has had a rough history in terms of games in the mid 2000s, but even if a game is bad, there will always be absolutely outstanding music to thrive off of. Aside from some really obscure spinoffs wayyyy back in the day having really eh stuff, Sonic music always ranges from "good" to "absolutely insane".
And to be fair, the variety makes sense! Sonic's always running around different landscapes, atmospheres, regions: of course the music would follow. Unleashed is essentially a world tour, and to me it's still one of the best soundtracks they've ever made in the series.
As for your perception of Sonic - you're not too far off! He's playful, cool and a bit brazen sometimes, but more than that, he's a free heart with a strong sense of justice. He values his freedom above everything else, and will always be there to help someone in trouble.
Glad to see you slowly tilting to the dark side, and I hope you'll do a round 2 one of these days, because this is far from being everything Sonic has to offer musically speaking! I'd recommend giving "Live Life" from Sonic and the Black Knight a try, as it's essentially an answer song to With Me; and "Fly in the Freedom" from Sonic Adventure 2. As for non-vocal themes, I'm gonna go with "High and Broken" from Sonic and the Secret Rings. It's one of my favorite tracks in the entire series full stop, and I think you might enjoy its atmosphere!
"Hell yeah, let's go."
That's exactly what Sonic sounds like
Man, you gotta listen to Sonic Rush songs as well!
What I love about “With Me” is that you can tell what both Merlina (The Dark Queen) and Sonic (Knight of the Wind) are both feeling in that exact moment of the fight just from the lyrics themselves
It seems like it's well established by now that Sonic has great music. Even people who outright dislike Sonic games still admit that the soundtracks slap. What this video helped me to appreciate is just how diverse the soundtracks have been over the years. Pop, House, Electronic, Rock, Metal, Hip-hop, Rap, Eurobeat, Orchestral, EDM, all over 30+ years of games. And yet, they all have that energy of forward momentum tying them together to Sonic.
First silent hill now sonic? My childhood is healing! You found some true underrated Gems in this video! I never hear people talk about Jungle Joyride -Night or Sonic R as a whole!Some suggestions: Supporting Me from Sonic Adventure 2, The White of Sky from Sonic and The Secret Rings, Cyber Space 1-2 from Sonic Frontiers, as well as the various Island movements from the same game (I’m sure you’ll get plenty of suggestions for the titan themes). Honestly the rule about sonic has always been that no matter how bad the game is, the music ALWAYS slaps, so there’s a well spring of tracks to listen to.
31:57
You hit the nail on the head. That's what the Werehog is about in the game.