OzGuy

How would you create a really professional-looking physical copy, like the job people did with the NiGHTs album to give it to Sonic Team at SoS '11?

The fact that the albums come with artwork for a hypothetical CD is really cool, and I'd love to know how best to bring it to life!

Looks like a riot

Great to see we're all on some semblance of the same page now. Tokoi-san I'm not so familiar with - Tomoya Ohtani is absolutely amazing when it's his time to shine. "His World" is my personal favourite Sonic theme - it's just... the riff, the chorus, it's like a cinematic letimotif for Sonic. Brilliant. UPDATE: I googled Tokoi and found out he did Tropical Resort and Red Mountain. SO MUCH YES

This... well, this got a bit out of hand. We've had crazy arguments over the quality of Crush 40's music, a complete rejection of the idea that Sonic was ever worth anyone's time, and some hate directed at fans like me. Let's all calm down, shall we?

Are they good? Like, has anyone read their work and can we trust them to do a good job with Sonic?

Although, "Heart Held Hostage" shows Sonic visibly cry (even if they are tears of joy) so it gets a point for reminding us how BS Sega's post-reboot guidelines are.

Does anyone have any fond stories of reading, or a favourite story/arc? The shipper in me says "Heart Held Hostage", but I liked "Sonic Adventure 2.5" as well...

So... I guess it's official. Archie Sonic is dead. I read it a lot in primary school, and I loved it. At the time, I was a bit biased towards Sonally... which is unfortunate, as I started reading after the reboot, but looking back, the stories told were great, and always managed to pull off "dark and edgy Sonic" in a way Sega's own writers never could. I hope the new publisher is great, but Archie Sonic will always have a place in my heart. What are your stories? "And though you're dead and gone, believe me, your memory will carry on." - Welcome to the Black Parade, My Chemical Romance

Not a play! That's WAY too far! What I meant was... maybe something like P&F... OK this is a lost cause.

Right. Well, those are kind of satirical, but what I'm asking is how to make a quality Sonic musical. Say... a musical take on the pre-SGW Archieverse? And don't say Sonic Live in Sydney.

Or something else?

Sonic Underground is... not a good show. At all. It's a cringe-fest that tried to turn a hedgehog full of Blink-182-esque energy into Meat Loaf. But when you think about it, a good Sonic musical should be a pushover! I mean, the music is Final Fantasy levels of consistent quality! So, what's the answer? Covers of songs from the games?

You CAN talk about its OST though. THAT'S good.

There are some great moody or melancholy tracks in there as well. And not just in Shadow the Hedgehog, but in games like '06, Unleashed and Heroes.

Well, not all tracks in Sonic games are upbeat.

For me, Sonic music should have some serious tracks, but also have optimism in a badass sense.

So, Sonic has a pretty good track record with music. *accepts Understatement Of The Millenium award* But what type of music fits each style of Sonic? Classic Sonic seems to be 90's dance music and EDM, whereas Adventure is more delving into punk rock and ska-punk, like Goldfinger. Then Modern Sonic gives off more of a Green Day/blink-182 vibe. Penny for your thoughts!

Sonic 2's continue screen. Sonic is just chilling on the ground and Tails is like "GET BACK TO WORK!"

I feel you're missing the point a little. What I'm asking is what genres of music will the theme's notation go with?

So, by now we should all know the classic "Guile's theme goes with everything" meme. Basically, it dictates that Guile's theme from SFII fits any event. But what about music? How many genres of music does Guile's Theme go with?

SO TRUE. When people think "chiptunes", they usually think the bleepity-bloop of the NES. What about the SNES, with its ability to create pseudo-CD audio, and the Mega Drive (I'm Aussie) with its MUCH more varied soundfonts? STOP USING THE NES!

Great! Your turn, btw

I have music knowledge! So I guess I have to talk about one of my fave Sega soundtracks now... um... Oh! Jet Set Radio! I actually have the OSTs to both JSR games on my iPhone... and wish to have the entire works of Hideki Naganuma on there one day... so I guess I have no other choice. So... 1. Why does it fit? Well, first off, the "protagonists" are gangs who listen to a pirate radio station. A pirate radio station usually plays music that isn't considered "mainstream". Back in the early 00s (when JSR came out) that was big beat and indie rock. So what does Naganuma do? He puts his own spin on the Fatboy Slim ethos, brings in little-known band Guitar Vader, and even brings in Rob Zombie for the US soundtrack. This goes even further in JSRF, where the soundtrack has artists like Cibo Matto and Scapegoat Wax that no one has even heard of. 2. What does it accomplish? Let's take a look at the title screen of JSR for an example. You boot up the game and you're greeted with the game's logo (as well as Professor K shouting it out) and a Rudie is skating around Shibuya Terminal. But most important of all, Hideki Naganuma's funky-as-hell "Let Mom Sleep" is blaring in the background. This music makes a statement, and that statement is Hey! You're playing something fresh and funky, yo, and you're about to have a BLAST! Elsewhere, let's say Final Groove, "Grace and Glory" fits the creepy, demonic atmosphere that the so-called Devil's Contract is supposed be infused with, and in the Kogane residential area mission where "'Bout the City" is playing, it creates a feeling of rocking out and tearing up the establishment - which the Rudies are definitely all about. In JSRF, "Funky Dealer" is the song that kicks off your graffiti streak, and there's only one thing this song could possibly be saying - WELCOME TO DA CLUB, BIYATCH! 3. What techniques did Hideki Naganuma use that made this piece so effective in this section of the game? "Let Mom Sleep" has various elements that blend together to make it the bar-setting funkfest that it is. The use of the brass samples at the beginning of the song has to be commended, as they add a funky 'kick' to the end of the first two bars. The organ sample from "Opposites Attract" helps to launch the song, too. Pretty much everything from the drums to the samples of 'Mom' complaining about the radio is used to maintain that all-important, rebellious, Rudie funk. Going back to "Grace and Glory", the chanting and organ at the start perfectly reinforce what the Devil's Contract is rumoured to do, and the mystical, evil feeling doesn't stop there. Naganuma-san uses samples of people screaming in pain, for crying out loud! The funk's still there, though, in the form of the bassline - though it has just the right soundfont to make you feel spooked out. That more along the lines of what you wanted, Darke?

Hidernori Shoji and Haruyoshi Tomita. You're welcome.