The melody line is all over the place, and you can almost picture the climactic battle happening just off the music alone. The song starts off amazingly slow, with only the slow thud of the bass drum, and then kicks off into gear, going at a really rapid pace. What I find most engaging about this song is how it really attempts to set the stakes. Standout tunes are Launch Base Zone for being so damn punchy, Lava Reef Act 1 because of how well that bass line sells the hot mood, and Hydrocity Zone Act 2 for being the best song ever conceived by humankind.īut, to end off, Sonic 3 has one more thing I want to look at: the theme for the boss at the halfway point: Big Arm. The entire OST is like this, and the best way to get a feel for how it uses instruments and tone is to check it out yourself. I could go on, but I think you well and truly get the point I’m making about the stages. It uses high pitched taps, snappy drums, plucks of a guitar, and synth wails throughout the piece, giving it a solitary, light feel, which really works when you’re exploring an ice cavern.
Check out Ice Cap Zone as a stunning example. Sonic 3’s variety comes from the sheer amount of different instruments used. Sonic 2’s musical variety came in the mechanics, and Sonic CD used 4 distinct styles for remixes. Listen to these songs, then go play their respective stages, and you’ll absolutely notice that it’s so much better in the background, filling out the world being built.Īppropriately, when you’re speaking about tone, you can’t ignore how they modify that baseline. These aren’t stunning tracks on their own, but they slot in nicely to scenes like an old garden, or a mushroom-filled forest. Marble Garden is offbeat and uses very odd sounds, Mushroom Hill bounces around in a very unmelodic manner sometimes. Many songs on the soundtrack don’t really fit that idea of a “catchy song” of the era. It’s a first impression of the game that’s much gentler and a lot smoother – Sonic 3 is not a game about Sonic as a platformer, Sonic 3 is a game about Sonic going through a world, and appropriately, the music isn’t as in your face to facilitate this smoother, explorative mood.Īnd that’s a running theme throughout. It’s not irresponsible, either, as the bass line is very slow and metered in the background, preventing the song from losing control of itself. The drums in the background are a lot more muted and not as distinct, and the melody has a lot more buzz, a lot more notes blending together.
It’s a much… softer song than previous starting zones. There are strengths and weaknesses to this approach, but it gives the game a very distinct feel from every other one so far, one I think ends up being very worthwhile.Īngel Island Zone is somewhat of a tone setter, meant to ease you into the game. In the spirit of that, there are now two distinct songs per zone, one for each act, and in general the music is going for a more atmosphere driven, more tonally appropriate style. It’s the most story driven out of all the Genesis games, with level transitions and character development, and strives for a much bigger feel than the previous games. Like I said above, Sonic 3 is an adventure from start to finish. So, let’s check out the music of my personal favourite game out of the whole series, Sonic 3(and Knuckles). Sonic 3 is a wildly ambitious project, and the music absolutely reflects that. Where Sonic 2 strove for the best levels possible and most fitting music, Sonic 3 tries to make an adventure out of itself in all aspects. Where Sonic 2 is tight, mechanically and musically, Sonic 3 is atmospheric and grand, but not as careful. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is an interesting beast of a game, because it’s hardly a progression of Sonic 2’s ideas.
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