Genesis Share your favorite MD Music with the forum!

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Mega Drive’s FM Synth gets such a bad reputation by the wider retro games community, often from folks who had/grew up around SFC/SNES’ soundchip. I’m here to remind people that the Genesis had a headphone jack for a reason. Let’s all celebrate the best music this system has given us together!

 

[Leon]

Since it's only genesis/mega drive, i'll abstain from sega cd.

Wouldn't be me if i didn't add in a ys track.

 

[bigstinkie]

 

[Swagmata]

This shit goes so stupid man I love streets of rage

 

[andubandu]

im cheating out here since it's a sega cd game but i couldn't resist...

 

[bjork]

Target Earth's music is pretty underrated

Also a fan of Super Hydlide's music, even if the game is not wonderful

I like basically all the launch-era music too

Really the thing I like the least about Genesis music is... I don't even know the term for it, but the grimy metal sound? A lot of later games used it and I feel the music suffers as a result.

 

[nobitakun]

 

[Mopeybloke]

Ever since I learnt of Rymcast, that's the only way I listen to Mega Drive music. It sounds better than everything else I've heard, and I just get the soundtracks in extracted format, .vgz, and that consumes so little space.

For soundtracks, one of my favourite sounding is Phantasy Star II. I don't like the game, but it sounds very melodic in a way you don't usually hear the MD sound. The intro song, Fantasy, does a great job, and the level up jingle is actually my phone alarm.

 

[RageBurner]

It's not the synth itself that creates had sound on the MD, it's lazy sound drivers like GEMS that give the sound a bad rep.

 

[bjork]

Phantasy Star II. I don't like the game

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Since it's only genesis/mega drive, i'll abstain from sega cd.

Counterpoint: who says the CD/32X don’t count as extra Genesis content?

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

The people that say the Genesis sound chip is bad clearly haven't played enough Genesis games. I personally prefer it over the SNES's sample based approach.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Target Earth's music is pretty underrated

Also a fan of Super Hydlide's music, even if the game is not wonderful

I like basically all the launch-era music too

Really the thing I like the least about Genesis music is... I don't even know the term for it, but the grimy metal sound? A lot of later games used it and I feel the music suffers as a result.

Irony there is that I’m actually quite fond of the grimy sound when it’s done well. It was easy to make the Genesis sound that way using GEMS, but it was hard to make GEMS as a sound system sound good.

To me, the grunge is an aspect of the Genesis sound that makes it what it is. You may not love it, but it DOES make it sound different from other FM Synth based systems, which there were several at that time. The Streets of Rage games in my opinion had a lot of that grungy sound, but their composer was a total madman who knew the sound hardware in and out, and it just hits your ears SO MASTERFULLY!

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

here's some grungier sounding ones. I'm pretty sure The Ooze uses GEMS. Jesper Kyd is an underrated Genesis composer

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 8:51 PM

 

[bjork]

Irony there is that I’m actually quite fond of the grimy sound when it’s done well. It was easy to make the Genesis sound that way using GEMS, but it was hard to make GEMS as a sound system sound good.

To me, the grunge is an aspect of the Genesis sound that makes it what it is. You may not love it, but it DOES make it sound different from other FM Synth based systems, which there were several at that time. The Streets of Rage games in my opinion had a lot of that grungy sound, but their composer was a total madman who knew the sound hardware in and out, and it just hits your ears SO MASTERFULLY!

So I'll agree that, in the right hands, it could be used properly. Just most times, this was not the case. Even having one of the early Genesis units with the allegedly better sound, I just personally dislike it (the grimy sound) more often than not.

 

[jankusanagi]

Thunder.

Force.

IV

Intro!!

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

So I'll agree that, in the right hands, it could be used properly. Just most times, this was not the case. Even having one of the early Genesis units with the allegedly better sound, I just personally dislike it (the grimy sound) more often than not.

Agreed 100%. Genesis exposed who the truly talented/hardworking composers were. That’s part of why I respect it.

Heck, some games have composers credited front and center, which is rare even now. It shows how important sound was to the experience when done in the right hands.

 

[Leon]

Counterpoint: who says the CD/32X don’t count as extra Genesis content?

Fair point.

Actually prefer this version more than the japanese version.

Obligatory.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin]

Another great composer that doesn't get enough love is Matt Furniss. Has a very recognizable sound, you can always tell if he's the composer just by listening.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

If I had to describe the sound of the main SEGA platforms, it would be:
Master System - Bright and Computery
Mega Drive - Epic/Metal/Grunge
Saturn - Surreal Dreamlike/Q-Sound
Dreamcast - Cool Summer Vibes/60’s throwback boogie

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:07 PM

Fair point.

Actually prefer this version more than the japanese version.

Obligatory.

I’ve never heard a lot of these CD tracks! Just another reason why I should invest time into the SEGA CD, whether that be the system itself or an emulator.

 

[Johnathan Smikey]

Jun Senoue made banger Genesis songs before Sonic 4. Wish he stopped using those God awful VSTs and use something like Furnace for the Genesis-style tracks.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Jun Senoue made banger Genesis songs before Sonic 4. Wish he stopped using those God awful VSTs and use something like Furnace for the Genesis-style tracks.

I could literally hear the song in my head before clicking the link lol
Sonic 3D Blast has amazing music in both versions. I’m indifferent to the game, but the soundtrack for both is such a perfect example of Sonic’s sound on the respective consoles it released on.

 

[groundbeef]

Mega Turrican, Thunder Force 3, Sword of Vermillion, Gaiares and Lightning Force.

Ohhh and of course Strider.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Mega Turrican, Thunder Force 3, Sword of Vermillion, Gaiares and Lightning Force.

Ohhh and of course Strider.

Capcom ports and the early Mega Drive is a match made in heaven. Those early years had several Capcom games reprogrammed by SEGA for their console, and they chose some truly great ones to bring over.