Board 8 > deo listens to Classic Sonic level themes for the first time and ranks them

(+) Yeah! (+)

I remember being so hyped for that fucking Sax

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5th: Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 93/100 (8.6), Sonic & Knuckles (2/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T7hdIh-gtw

fmMMMMMMMMMMMMM IN MMY BONES why is this song so BANGER. First case in point: that fucking bass. Hot mama in a skillet that bass is just tasty as funk. It's licking at me with its sharp FM tongue and giving me the tingles constantly and I love it. Second case in point: this song is a fucking earworm. Every part of it. The main melody in literally every part, the bass, the background chords, literally every single part of this song sticks out as a "selling point" of the song and I've known it for like not that long at all and I probably know every single instrument and part by heart now? Nintendoesn't do what Genesits in my room and accidentally jams out to flying battery for two hours straight OOPS i love this song. thnak you for existing song very food

funny fact deoxysprime upload is the version in sonic 3 where the echo channel just gets more and more desynced and its VERY funny but VERY illegal oopsies

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Flying Battery 2 - 2 Metallic Madness

4th: Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 94/100 (8.7), Sonic & Knuckles (1/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXchxWqLqyc

IT GETS EVEN BETTER WHAT!!! Pop Quiz "What if Flying Battery injected even more Maeda layering craziness and just went off the fucking walls?" A. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 B. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 C. Flying BaThis song is so good it's wild. Each instrument feels heavier than it did in the Act 1 song, so instead of a floaty song to air race to this is a dogfight happening above the beach where children are just chilling in the sun and mom is a big bass riff ostinato that pulls me down through the floor okay wait where am i going with this? UH OH PERFECT PERCUSSION ALERT 0:27 0:27 0:27 WEE WOO WEE WOO The DAC drums in this section are AB SO LUTE LY IN SANE i just want to clap along cause the loop end of this song is just what the fuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6-o3LFhQU
I highly, highly recommend this video to see just how each part in this song works together and sounds isolated, cause honestly each and every channel and part and instrument just owns so much. What a worthy top song in the series, a down-right banger.

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And just like that, the rest of Sonic & Knuckles goes down as well! What a great, great addition to an already strong OST, the whole package of S3 and S&K is definitely up there among soundtracks that I'll say are among "my favorites" for some time to come, and it's kinda baffling now that I think about to that I'm first coming to know of this myself in the year 2019/2020 and people here have been thinking that for up to 20 years at this point... dang haha. But yeah, amazing stuff and I'm really glad I finally buckled down and did this!

171st (29, 5.2): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1
166th (43, 5.9): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2
158th (48, 6.1): Sandopolis Zone Act 1
135th (58, 6.7): The Doomsday Zone
107th (61, 6.8): Death Egg Zone Act 1
73rd (64, 6.9): Lava Reef Zone Act 2
72nd (64, 6.9): Sandopolis Zone Act 2
70th (65, 7.0): Death Egg Zone Act 2
27th (74, 7.5): Sky Sanctuary Zone
14th (84, 8.0): Lava Reef Zone Act 1
5th (93, 8.6): Flying Battery Zone Act 1
4th (94, 8.7): Flying Battery Zone Act 2

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Two big hits in row, both original Flying Batteries go down and Metallic Madness now hold two of the top three spots!!

Flying Battery 1 - 2 Metallic Madness

w0w so much for #1

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That deconstructed video is pretty cool. I'm rooting for Metallic Madness myself, but Flying Battery wouldn't be a terrible top spot.

Anyway, I'm going to randomly share this fan-made version of Tornado Man's theme that makes it sound like Flying Battery because I love it so much and I was reminded of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNInVQhtGyo

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Don't care at all about Metallic Madness so gogogo Flying Battery

Tho I do prefer the Sonic & Knux vers over the Manias

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TheLegendOfRenegade genesis remixes are very good, I actually hadn't listened to this Tornado Man one before but I definitely see the similarities and I'm enjoying it quite a bit! I really like how they add in a melody-less loop and just lets you bask in the background FM glory. Trap Factory is probably my favorite remix I've heard from him; not just because it's one of my favorite Mega Man songs in general but god DAMN the edge on the FM in that song.

3rd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness "P" mix
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 95/100 (8.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (2/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziTN-VI_tEk

In the first and second revisions of this list (the current one being the fourth and final), this song was what I picked as my top song. It may not have grown on me quite as much as the two songs that follow, but god DAMN if this song isn't absolutely fucking amazing. This is the true potential of the RF5C164 chip in my eyes; it doesn't sound as "abiding by limitations" as other Past songs do, but rather it "creates its own sound by abusing the limitations" if that makes sense. There's just some really gnarly sounds in this, like the sweep at 0:12 and the echo-y almost vocal-like synth at the end of a loop at 1:00. And then BAM HELLO ORCH HITS like okay that's fuckin sick but then the song has the absolute audacity to throw you SICK ASS FUCK RAVE PIANO HOPPIN AROUND EVERYWHERE AFTER THE SICK GWOOON AT 0:13 LIKE A MADMAN like what???? theh ello???? you are perfect song???? this song's just so so so sick to listen to and I am glad everyone gets to enjoy it in all versions of the game!!1 yay!!!!!

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Flying Battery 1 - 1 Metallic Madness

Who will come out on top, Mania Flying Battery 1 or CD Metallic Madness Present???? The answer will be revealed.... tomorrow!

That version of Metallic Madness is good stuff!

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Sooooooooo

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I ended up not getting to this quite before VGMC came around, and most of my time not going towards real-life-turning-on-its-head-because-coronavirus has been going towards that lol

The last two will go up sometime soon though!!

Holy hell, what a quality topic. Can't wait to see the conclusion!

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2nd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 98/100 (9.1), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (1/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQ1wZWejlY

YES oh god YEEEES give me that 90s rave vibe injected straight into by arm like heroin all day and i will LIVE FOREVER. WOW!! 0:40 I AM IN THE COMPUTER BECOMING DATA DEEDOOTDODOEODOEOEODOT WHY IS THE ORGAN MELODY AT THE END SO PERFEC T ITS AN ORGAN????? This has so many things that just makes me fucking run on the walls and clip through and fly into the horizon and die like the fucking synth choices and the RAP and the ORGAAAAN and THE PIANO OSTINATO ORCH HIT OSTINATO GOING FOREVER AND EVER this song is very exciting!!! Ironically, this is one of the few Sonic CD JP songs where I really, really like the prototype "loop bridge" and of course there's no uploads that add it in (or uploads of the 2011 game version which does it PERFECTLY) when so many others add them in at the BEGINNING for NO REASON grrrrrrrrrrrrr anyway this song is super hot. Like. REALLY hot. And I love it a lot and listen to it on a pretty consistent basis because it is great music to pump you up so it's a mainstay in my gym playlist!! Absolute fucking banger.

1st: Sonic Mania - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 100/100 (9.2), Sonic Mania (1/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmo0bMoony8

Hello? Tee Lopes???? How the fuck???????? Flying Battery was already such an incredible theme, but Tee Lopes decided to rhythm game-ify it and make it even more of an absolute banger and jesus christ the quality of this remix absolutely fucking blowns my brains into orbit. Remember me saying I thought it was ironic that I liked that basically no FM was in the remix?? Well, this one uses EVEN LESS and doesn't even try to "fake it" considering it just straight up uses instruments like the trumpets in the second "pseudo-loop" which are INCREDIBLE by the way like. for real. And the parts that do still sound close to the original FM parts blend into the modern instrumentation so well it's. just fucking crazy. 0:26 SUBTLY ADDS THE EXTRA PERCUSSION CLAPS AND STUFF FROM THE SAME PART IN ACT 2 NOPE THATS ILLEGAL THATS TOO GOOD NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE it's not even fair anymore!!! and then the second pseudoloop also has the fucking crazy cool break parts with that electronic twanging at 0:44 and 0:50 fuck. This is like the perfect middle-ground between an "upgrade of the original" and a "remix" that literally not a single other song in the game nailed and it really shows how good getting that perfect middle-ground makes the final product. This song is absolutely insane, and since deciding positions/score for songs, this has actually risen so much that it's probably a Top 100 All-Time VGM for me. An absolute banger, through and through.

Thank you for this topic. Even though I'm not a huge dedicated fan of the series, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts and listening to the soundtracks again.

Kudos to your dedication!

When you've recovered from this, perhaps you could share your top 100 VGM? :)

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banshiryuu posted...

12th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - IceCap Zone Act 1
Composer: Brad Buxer
Score: 85/100 (8.2), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (4/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKL0BtScEd8

Really had some hard times deciding what to do with this one and the Act 2 as far as placement goes. Despite being told not to do so, I did have to give it a second thought... and a third. But as far as overall composition and stuff goes, god DAMN that chord progression is so good. It's so somber in an oddly haunting sort of way, and given its noted similarities to songs like Who Is It and the bassline in sections of Smooth Criminal, which are both amazing 9.0+ songs (I can rank non-VGM too you know!!) it's no surprise that it grabs me so much. The background static staccato plinks and constant scale ostinato combined with those chilling sweeps paints the picture of a vast ice field with the sun shining brightly and reflecting off of the snow as far as the eye can see so vividly in my mind it's actually beyond insane.

This song is crazy good at what it sets out to do. However...

Lol, well done. Glad Grand Kirby posted that link; I didn't even catch that that was a reference to the lyrics of Hard Times.

ninkendo posted...

#1 was and always will be flying battery Act 2

Agreed, though you wouldn't even have to be limiting it to Sonic songs alone. I put Flying Battery Act 2 atop my personal list of VGM in early 2014, and while I don't think I agree with much of that list anymore, I'm pretty sure my Top 2 haven't changed! (Stickerbush Symphony was #2. I made a point to only include my favorite version of similar tracks, so since Flying Battery Act 2 was considered superior, Act 1 wasn't on the list.)

banshiryuu posted...

8th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Angel Island Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 89/100 (8.4), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JHSUSwcUsw

If Chrome Gadget was Maeda layering creating beauty, Angel Island Act 2 is Maeda layering creating madness. What he (once again, probably. watch literally none of these end up being maeda lmao) did to Kashima-or-Sawada-or-whoever-the-fuck-composed-the-Act-1-who-knows's already extremely good masterpiece is incredible, to say the least. The CONSTANT switch between different voices and melodies really instills the panic of being in a forest literally burning down to the ground around you, and the bouncy nature of the song in general really helps support that feeling. And then those rolls come back at 0:43 YES I LOLVE THE ROLLS SO MUC H the rolly intro was my favorite part of Act 1 and now they're in the climax of the song augh. The part that I think gets me the most as far as voice swapping goes is definitely the part right after that at 0:56, just the way countermelody starts and it just starts layering itself on top of the melody over and over and then at 0:59 the both work against this other scale synth that comes in and THIS ALL HAPPENS IN FIVE FRIGGIN SECONDS. This song is so high-speed in all these artificial ways but thats SO COOL this song's so damn good guys for real. I hate that I love songs more than this because there is just so much cool stuff in this song. Incredibly good.

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And thus, the first of the four heavy, heavy hitters falls with two quick ones in a row, and four of the last five eliminations. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a great, great soundtrack, and together with the still-alive Sonic & Knuckles is definitely an OST to be remembered... so no surprise that it still gets the love that it does! And now I understand it all! This one's unique because of the extra composer wackiness with Michael Jackson's involvement and the beta songs and what-not... what a story behind this one. Hopefully someday we'll know the full story, but until then... I'll keep on listening!

132nd (58, 6.7): Launch Base Zone Act 2
131st (58, 6.7): Launch Base Zone Act 1
130th (58, 6.7): Endless Mine Zone
124th (59, 6.7): Balloon Park Zone
108th (60, 6.7): Desert Palace Zone
102nd (61, 6.8): Marble Garden Zone Act 1
101st (61, 6.8): Marble Garden Zone Act 2
88th (62, 6.8): Carnival Night Zone Act 2
65th (65, 7.0): Carnival Night Zone Act 1
57th (67, 7.1): Hydrocity Zone Act 1
37th (71, 7.3): Azure Lake Zone
31st (72, 7.3): Hydrocity Zone Act 2
28th (73, 7.4): Angel Island Zone Act 1
12th (85, 8.2): IceCap Zone Act 1
11th (85, 8.2): IceCap Zone Act 2
9th (87, 8.3): Chrome Gadget Zone
8th (89, 8.4): Angel Island Zone Act 2

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And now that we're in the top 7.... only two zones remain! Begin the battle of Flying Battery VS Metallic Madness!!!!

Wow, awesome. AI2 is pretty good, but we've really only got those two zones? That's wild!

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not the Flying Battery version I would've chosen but a worthy #1 nonetheless!

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banshiryuu posted...

4th: Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 94/100 (8.7), Sonic & Knuckles (1/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXchxWqLqyc

IT GETS EVEN BETTER WHAT!!! Pop Quiz "What if Flying Battery injected even more Maeda layering craziness and just went off the fucking walls?" A. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 B. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 C. Flying BaThis song is so good it's wild. Each instrument feels heavier than it did in the Act 1 song, so instead of a floaty song to air race to this is a dogfight happening above the beach where children are just chilling in the sun and mom is a big bass riff ostinato that pulls me down through the floor okay wait where am i going with this? UH OH PERFECT PERCUSSION ALERT 0:27 0:27 0:27 WEE WOO WEE WOO The DAC drums in this section are AB SO LUTE LY IN SANE i just want to clap along cause the loop end of this song is just what the fuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6-o3LFhQU
I highly, highly recommend this video to see just how each part in this song works together and sounds isolated, cause honestly each and every channel and part and instrument just owns so much. What a worthy top song in the series, a down-right banger.

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And just like that, the rest of Sonic & Knuckles goes down as well! What a great, great addition to an already strong OST, the whole package of S3 and S&K is definitely up there among soundtracks that I'll say are among "my favorites" for some time to come, and it's kinda baffling now that I think about to that I'm first coming to know of this myself in the year 2019/2020 and people here have been thinking that for up to 20 years at this point... dang haha. But yeah, amazing stuff and I'm really glad I finally buckled down and did this!

171st (29, 5.2): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1
166th (43, 5.9): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2
158th (48, 6.1): Sandopolis Zone Act 1
135th (58, 6.7): The Doomsday Zone
107th (61, 6.8): Death Egg Zone Act 1
73rd (64, 6.9): Lava Reef Zone Act 2
72nd (64, 6.9): Sandopolis Zone Act 2
70th (65, 7.0): Death Egg Zone Act 2
27th (74, 7.5): Sky Sanctuary Zone
14th (84, 8.0): Lava Reef Zone Act 1
5th (93, 8.6): Flying Battery Zone Act 1
4th (94, 8.7): Flying Battery Zone Act 2

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Two big hits in row, both original Flying Batteries go down and Metallic Madness now hold two of the top three spots!!

Flying Battery 1 - 2 Metallic Madness

Wow. Holy crap that's awesome. So disappointed this didn't make #1 but there's still a Flying Battery in here and the Mania version of Act 2 was good enough that I might still not be disappointed.
banshiryuu posted...

3rd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness "P" mix
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 95/100 (8.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (2/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziTN-VI_tEk

In the first and second revisions of this list (the current one being the fourth and final), this song was what I picked as my top song. It may not have grown on me quite as much as the two songs that follow, but god DAMN if this song isn't absolutely fucking amazing. This is the true potential of the RF5C164 chip in my eyes; it doesn't sound as "abiding by limitations" as other Past songs do, but rather it "creates its own sound by abusing the limitations" if that makes sense. There's just some really gnarly sounds in this, like the sweep at 0:12 and the echo-y almost vocal-like synth at the end of a loop at 1:00. And then BAM HELLO ORCH HITS like okay that's fuckin sick but then the song has the absolute audacity to throw you SICK ASS FUCK RAVE PIANO HOPPIN AROUND EVERYWHERE AFTER THE SICK GWOOON AT 0:13 LIKE A MADMAN like what???? theh ello???? you are perfect song???? this song's just so so so sick to listen to and I am glad everyone gets to enjoy it in all versions of the game!!1 yay!!!!!

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Flying Battery 1 - 1 Metallic Madness

Who will come out on top, Mania Flying Battery 1 or CD Metallic Madness Present???? The answer will be revealed.... tomorrow!

Okay, in fairness, this is a banger too.
banshiryuu posted...

2nd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 98/100 (9.1), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (1/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQ1wZWejlY

YES oh god YEEEES give me that 90s rave vibe injected straight into by arm like heroin all day and i will LIVE FOREVER. WOW!! 0:40 I AM IN THE COMPUTER BECOMING DATA DEEDOOTDODOEODOEOEODOT WHY IS THE ORGAN MELODY AT THE END SO PERFEC T ITS AN ORGAN????? This has so many things that just makes me fucking run on the walls and clip through and fly into the horizon and die like the fucking synth choices and the RAP and the ORGAAAAN and THE PIANO OSTINATO ORCH HIT OSTINATO GOING FOREVER AND EVER this song is very exciting!!! Ironically, this is one of the few Sonic CD JP songs where I really, really like the prototype "loop bridge" and of course there's no uploads that add it in (or uploads of the 2011 game version which does it PERFECTLY) when so many others add them in at the BEGINNING for NO REASON grrrrrrrrrrrrr anyway this song is super hot. Like. REALLY hot. And I love it a lot and listen to it on a pretty consistent basis because it is great music to pump you up so it's a mainstay in my gym playlist!! Absolute fucking banger.

...Okay? It's interesting, but I'm not quite sure it's on the same level as some of these others. But this means a Flying Battery still came out on top! And yeah, I can't disagree. Adding it to my list of things to nominate for the next VGMC.

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