Don't have time to do it but compare the music from The Lion King on the SNES and then the Lion King on the Megadrive/Genesis....
Sums up this argument perfectly...
Are... you
sure you want to go with that example? Positive? Well, okay, if you're certain, let's do this:
"To Die For"
SNES
Genesis
SNES version gets credit for having more choir samples. However, it
really drops the ball with two things. It's slower tempo, first of all, although that's kind of debatable as to how much that really detracts. The bigger issue at hand, honestly, is
what the hell were they thinking with that trumpet sample? It's a complete mood-killer.
Meanwhile, the Genesis version was fortunate enough to have Matt Furniss doing the music, and that was a guy who genuinely knew his way around an FM synth (case in point: he did the conversions of the
first two Mortal Kombat games, which sounded so much better than the conversion of
the third one, which he
didn't do), so the offending lead instrument in the SNES version is replaced with a more serious-sounding brass-facsimile. It doesn't have quite as good of a choir, notably missing the high-pitched "HOOOOO" from about 15 seconds into the SNES version, although it still squeezes in a good "HOO" and "HAH" at appropriate moments.
Overall, for this one? I'm leaning Genesis. SNES would probably have taken the lead here if they hadn't royally screwed it up with that
awful trumpet sample.
But you didn't want just one track, so let's dig deeper.
"Be Prepared"
SNES
Genesis
Actually, this one sounds better on the SNES, for the most part. Samples of actual bassoons and such work better, I think. It's not like the Genesis couldn't do a convincing bassoon -
Aladdin had a nice one in "Arabian Nights" - but Furniss clearly opted for... whatever you call that, instead (sounds like that noise you get when you
twang one of those door stopper springs). That said, I prefer one aspect of the Genesis version - the backing percussion instrument (sounds like a kalimba?) has some harmony on a separate channel, which is mostly missing in the SNES version (sounds more like a vibraphone there). Compare around 0:46 for both to see what I mean; the SNES version feels like it's missing some notes entirely, there.
----
Y'know, actually, you're right. This
does illustrate the differences pretty clearly and effectively:
it varies. Sometimes within the same soundtrack. For instance, with
Toy Story I prefer the
SNES version of "Red Alert!" to
the Genesis one for having a more accurate piano noise, but swing back around for "Inside the Claw Machine", where the
SNES version uses that same piano instrument in a more menacing piece where it doesn't fit, while
the Genesis version breaks out the Master System's square lead, even giving it a nice echo on another channel.
So, too, it goes for a good chunk of the library.
"Level 5" in
Earthworm Jim sounds better on
the Genesis than
the SNES, because the SNES has a really off-key bass at the beginning (assuming
the Special Edition version was Tallarico's authorial intent).
"Lorenzen's Soil"/"ISO 9000" from
Earthworm Jim 2 sounds better on
the SNES than
the Genesis, mostly because of the strings. (
The PC/PS1/Saturn version blows both out of the water, of course, but those consoles aren't at issue here. Still, dat guitar.)
Captain America and the Avengers sounds like complete garbage on
the SNES, compared to
the Genesis (although that's a Hitoshi Sakimoto/Masaharu Iwata job, probably not the fairest comparison).
Spider-Man and the X-Men sounds pretty bad on
the Genesis compared to
the SNES (although that's a Tim and Geoff Follin job, also not a fair comparison).
It varies.
