• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

SNES vs Genesis Sound

C

Cow Mengde

Banned
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
 
S

Synth

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

For the most part, these all sound utterly butchered. I'm stunned anyone could prefer these to the originals.
 
G

gelf

Member
I think why I don't appreciate most SNES music is because I was late to the systems library in most cases. Sounding closer to "real" music but weaker and muddy isn't very appealing when you've already heard CD quality sound on other platforms. Makes me wish for a new version with a remastered soundtrack.
 
K

Kurt

Member
The only good thing i could tell about the sega sound chip is that it sounds more arcade style. It has his charms, but the snes soundchip is still a lot better quality wise.
 
Z

zmet

Member
Noivern said:
.Speaking of the SNES, am I weird for thinking the GBA renditions of the Final Fantasy V and VI to be sometimes superior to the originals? Sometimes the SNES/SFC versions felt a bit too soft.
Click to expand...
You're not the only one. I think Megaman & Bass GBA soundtrack sounds much better and crisper than the SFC muffled version.

Opening stage:
SFC- https://www.dropbox.com/s/quvnefxzkbbt9im/22 Opening Stage.mp3?dl=0
GBA- https://www.dropbox.com/s/f35e5tkhgb9ax6u/05 Opening Stage.mp3?dl=0
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
zmet said:
You're not the only one. I think Megaman & Bass GBA soundtrack sounds much better and crisper than the SFC muffled version.

Opening stage:
SFC- https://www.dropbox.com/s/quvnefxzkbbt9im/22 Opening Stage.mp3?dl=0
GBA- https://www.dropbox.com/s/f35e5tkhgb9ax6u/05 Opening Stage.mp3?dl=0
Click to expand...
I was gonna use M&B as am example too haha. The game'a music never really clicked with me until I tried the GBA version. Cold Man on the GBA is way too good to ever go back.

And well I never thought I'd find someone else who preferred the GBA music for FFVI. I like most songs better in SNES form, but stuff like Aria Di Mezzo sound completely different and I can't take it seriously on the SNES (I know what they were going for but nope).

About the Genny though. I've been reading past pages and after understanding how these chips actually work, I've gaines a whole new level of appreciation for the Genesis, the thing is incredible. I even ended up getting the Genny soundtrack for OutRun which I always found "objectively inferior". I love it.

Also pretty ironic that this started up as yet another "Sega was 100% outclassed" topic but nowadays it's basically a Genesis chip appreciation thread with the occasional outlier.
 
s_mirage

s_mirage

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

I sorry but I think those both sound bloody awful. The first one sounds off key, and it has the classic SNES issue of noticeable short sample loops. The second has obnoxious percussion and weak synth.
 
S

Sciz

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...
jesus christ

The MIDI version of Angel Island from the S&K Collection sounds better than that mess.

.

God, they're all terrible.
 
T

televator

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

Ahh... no. Sonic 3 music used the MD's sound chip to the fullest and pulled off remarkable tracks. Those SNES versions are absolute atrocities.
 
M

Maxrunner

Member
UncleSporky said:
Put another way, the Genesis has realistic synth sound (because it is actually synth).

SNES is playing MIDI, which is recordings of instruments played at different pitches. It's a pale imitation of real instruments. By contrast, the Genesis is an actual instrument. :p
Click to expand...
Pale? Really? OK.....
 
N

nded

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

These remixes are tragic.
 
S

Spwn

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.
Click to expand...

What is it that defines real music to you? Acoustic instruments? The Mega Drive had those fat bass sounds that make most sound chips on video gaming systems jealous (with maybe the Commodore 64 being the exception) and stuff like the Streets of Rage soundtracks actually sound like the electronic music of the time. Couldn't fool me thinking any SNES music to be actually anything you'd hear outside of karaoke backing tracks.
 
P

Psyrgery ES

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

I puked a bit in my mouth
 
Digital-Hero

Digital-Hero

Member
O

omgwtfbentime

Member
I think both are awesome when they to each sound chips advantages. SNES can have very intricate melodies and generally more complex instrumentation, but at times it sounds super muted and kind of cheap. Genesis has legendary bass lines and drum beat samples that can really rock a system, but at its worse they sound like incohesive bleeps and bloops. I think while SNES is objectively superior technically, Genesis has a lot more charm and character to it.
 
G

Glowsquid

Member
Cow Mengde said:
The SNES just sounded more like real music to me. The Genesis was so weird. Even the NES and Gameboy sometimes sounded more "real" than the Genesis.

This is SNES remix of Sonic Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOhOl5XdWI&list=PLFpZOVC_hACfa5ToWWgCmCR35TLeFjULO

I found the opening part Angel Island incredibly obnoxious to listen to on the Sega Genesis hardware, but this SNES remix just fixes that problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzoeiTPIdew&index=3&list=PLFpZOVC_hACeMdYTjWx8b2FiCaw5iILZq
Click to expand...

I had a listen to the whole playlist, and I'd like to thank you for brightening my day a little because holy shit those mixes are bad. The farting robot orgy version of Launch Base Zone is the highlight
 
T

Toparaman

Banned
What I'm getting from this thread is that 16-bit music is dope. I think SNES sound was more pleasant and easy on the ears, but I can see the appeal of the raw razorblade sound of Genesis.

I absolutely love the sound chip on the SNES. It's my favorite sound chip of all consoles. The bass is just godly.

Honestly it kind of felt like the sound quality of Final Fantasy music took a hit when it moved from SNES to Playstation, even though that's obviously not true on a technical level. The SNES sound chip just has a very smooth sound to it, less rough than most MIDI.

I honestly might spend the rest of my Sunday just going through all the linked music in this thread.
 
L

lazygecko

Member
I keep telling myself that one day I'll get around to making a narrated YouTube video with stylish infograms thoroughly explaining the differences between each sound chip, how they really work, and clear up a bunch of common stubborn myths, generalizations and misconceptions.

The main thing holding me back is I simply can't be arsed dealing with the ContentID bullshit when I inevitably want to use a couple of game music clips to illustrate points. I have no idea if you'd get away with Fair Use for that.
 
S

Spwn

Member
lazygecko said:
The main thing holding me back is I simply can't be arsed dealing with the ContentID bullshit when I inevitably want to use a couple of game music clips to illustrate points. I have no idea if you'd get away with Fair Use for that.
Click to expand...

Depends on how short the clips are and how they're presented. I'd say if you keep the clips short and talk in the video more than play the music, there's nothing to stop you. Also, are publishers even actively flagging retro game music on YouTube?
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
lazygecko said:
I keep telling myself that one day I'll get around to making a narrated YouTube video with stylish infograms thoroughly explaining the differences between each sound chip, how they really work, and clear up a bunch of common stubborn myths, generalizations and misconceptions.

The main thing holding me back is I simply can't be arsed dealing with the ContentID bullshit when I inevitably want to use a couple of game music clips to illustrate points. I have no idea if you'd get away with Fair Use for that.
Click to expand...

Fuck it, man. Just do it and get that shit on multiple sites. Someone needs to put the fucking hammer down on the topic.
 
T

Ty4on

Member
lazygecko said:
I keep telling myself that one day I'll get around to making a narrated YouTube video with stylish infograms thoroughly explaining the differences between each sound chip, how they really work, and clear up a bunch of common stubborn myths, generalizations and misconceptions.

The main thing holding me back is I simply can't be arsed dealing with the ContentID bullshit when I inevitably want to use a couple of game music clips to illustrate points. I have no idea if you'd get away with Fair Use for that.
Click to expand...
I don't have any experience using it, but they have a site where you can search for music to see what policies are in place. They have some game soundtracks there like the Mario Bros games. I'm guessing no policies means fair game for now...

https://www.youtube.com/music_policies

I doubt fair use will help. Lots of clips fall under it, but (I'm guessing because of time and cost and the vagueness of the regulation) that rarely, if ever, helps videos that are flagged by content id.
 
T

Toparaman

Banned
Genesis kids, be sure to call up your parents and thank them for not throwing your Genesis out the window. Imagine coming home from work to the sound of tinny sawblades coming out of your TV.

I mean, I actually dig a lot of the Genesis music, but boy it's certainly an acquired taste.
 
L

Lemon King

Neo Member
EPSYLON EAGLE said:
These are one most underrateds Genesis ost's of all time.

Vixen 357
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7HMJdTK5oA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLnJrcg3wSo&index=3&list=PLZhwH-JHZxW53CxInKATyCbywalx2XfGN

If you still doubt the Yamaha 2612 capabilities hear this!
Click to expand...

Swap it with a YM3438 for that sweet sweet 8-bit sample rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uEUiOzE294

Maxrunner said:
Yeah it produced what really matters. Better sound.
Click to expand...
SPC100 is sample based, so it could be light years better or worse. Just depends on the samples used for the music.
 
B

BriGuy

Member
K

kinggroin

Banned
I don't care about technicalities and capabilities. The Genesis mostly sounded like hot grating trash (I loved the system more than the SNES though). The few great sounding games were amazing to listen to, but I found the SNES consistently bested it in most titles while sounding much more grandiose (Contra, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Castlevania IV, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Zelda etc)
 
V

Vitacat

Member
There is no debate to be had.

SNES was inarguably far superior for sound (and visuals overall as well).

I owned both back in the day and a ton of games for each. I loved many Genesis games, and yeah there was some amazing music to be found (Shinobi, SoR, Gaires etc.). But on a purely technical basis, the SNES was king of sound.
 
Huggers

Huggers

Member
The SNES was better overall but Streets of Rage 2 has the greatest soundtrack of all time across all generations. So there's that
 
T

televator

Member
Vitacat said:
There is no debate to be had.

SNES was inarguably far superior for sound (and visuals overall as well).

I owned both back in the day and a ton of games for each. I loved many Genesis games, and yeah there was some amazing music to be found (Shinobi, SoR, Gaires etc.). But on a purely technical basis, the SNES was king of sound.
Click to expand...

Correction: there are 24 pages of debate to be had... So far.
 
T

Toparaman

Banned
Some of my personal favorite 16-bit tracks:
FFV Ahead on Our Way
When the song kicks in at 0:35
xiJk0LH.jpg

One more Uematsu track for good measure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMTXyExkeI

Super Mario World map:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDkj_QHOVrM
Super Metroid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sn9G-RHtII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pim1s_DBR64
Earthbound (maximum comfy music):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OqLkGWdwso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y5RRgjfNek

Apart from maybe Super Metroid, a lot of these tracks wouldn't sound so hot on a Genesis. But again, I respect the Genesis's unique sound capabilities as well.
 
S

Synth

Member
Mango Madness said:
Genesis kids, be sure to call up your parents and thank them for not throwing your Genesis out the window. Imagine coming home from work to the sound of tinny sawblades coming out of your TV.
Click to expand...

Heh, my mom had me record Streets of Rage 2's music to a tape casette for her.
 
A

Azoo

Neo Member
After growing up Genesis, I can confirm SNES has the better overall sound. LttP, EarthBound, Plok, DKC 1-3 and Kirby's Dream Land 3 are particular standouts of how good SNES can sound. Especially Plok, holy shit. Pray to Tim Follin every night, kids, he's probably why you were born.

BUT, the games that took advantage of the Genny soundchip the best it could muster end up just about being better than any SNES OST. Sonic 1 - 3K (especially 3K), Streets of Rage 1 - 3, Ristar, Gunstar Heroes, Sonic 3D Blast, and the first Rocket Knight Adventures are all very excellent.
 
Z

Zee-Row

Banned
Ninja Gaiden Trilogy sounded horrible on the SNES compared to the NES versions. The SNES soundtrack sounds like it was composed with Tubas.
 
S

Shaneus

Member
The SNES sound was traditionally better with RPGs and longer-form stuff where the atmosphere needed to be more "epic" or grandiose. The Genesis/MD hardware was largely the same as arcades which I think is why you see more intense, arcade-type titles benefit more from the type of music it can produce. That some of the generally regarded best-sounding titles on MD are heavy action/arcade-style games (Thunder Force IV, Streets of Rage etc.) I think attests to this.

jett said:
This is really good.
Click to expand...
This is why I keep trying to nominate Sub-Terrania in the Genesis/MD thread.

lazygecko said:
Today you can convert tracker modules to .spc, provided you stick within the format limitations. I think there's probably a tracker for directly composing in SPC format as well.
Click to expand...
Damn, you don't say! Interesting.



I need to buy me an MD Everdrive just so I can listen to all the MD music rips on the actual hardware. That system by far has the best and most iconic music on a home console. But I grew up with one.
 
E

EPSYLON EAGLE

Member
Super Nes fans always seem to have limited knowledge of the console library and the OST's that really push the soundchip.


Down the World

Super Nes singing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e_P9bs5XtM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxqHiddw7eE&list=PLuGdUcbPv0j8HuDfoDJaDZ7y4WACjxVNf&index=7

Mr. Nutz - Woodland 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e_P9bs5XtM

Dark Law - Meaning of Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6TRe6wAZUg&index=1&list=PL7D293EA2E116C996

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X47XoABFXMk&index=2&list=PL7D293EA2E116C996

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pokf5_pt_zA&index=17&list=PL7D293EA2E116C996
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

My thoughts after trying every SNES, Genesis and Amiga game
2 3
135
12K
lionagony replied
Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu finds recent game music “boring” – here’s why
Opinion
37
2K
Guilty_AI replied
The Mac vs PC War is back on (sprawling newsletter article by Tom Warren about Windows & Arm)
2 3
142
5K
GHG replied
Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters Steam patch released for FFI-VI (patch notes + 38% bundle discount)
48
3K
Rran replied
The Steam version of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster receives new update: First time it's discounted
Platform
2
591
kunonabi replied
Top Bottom