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Which games have better music: Mario, or Sonic?

2D : Sonic (and 2D mario is very, very good, but the mega drive era sonic stuff is just exceptional. I could listen to hilltop or starlight or icecap for a long time)
3D : Mario
 
Sonic.

But in a weird way, it's both really close and not close at all. No one could argue that Mario's music is and has always been stellar, but the Sonic games are just on their own level when it comes to music -- and that goes for both the 2D and 3D titles. I can only think of a scant few franchises and games that can compare to or surpass Sonic musically, and those are Final Fantasy, Mega Man (all series inclusive), Kingdom Hearts, Shovel Knight, and the Chrono series. Outshining a Sonic soundtrack is an almost impossibly tall hill to climb for any game.

Hell, Sonic Mania's soundtrack is already demolishing most of the Mario competition with Studiopolis Act 1, and that's the first and only stage theme they've released publicly as yet.
 
2D era for both: I have to give it to Sonic. It almost hurts because those Mario games are full of classic tracks that trounce over most other games.

3D era: Vocal tracks in Sonic games are terrible. Absolutely awful. Mario would have won even if the music was plain average

Modern era (still 3D but lets say from the Galaxy games): Mario. Sonic instrumentals from some of these games are really good but sound like they want to be Galaxy tunes.
 
During the early 2D era Sonic no question about it. Bur after the jump to 3D and factoring in the RPG Mario takes it and runs away, never to be seen again. Heck, sonic gets negative points for the atrocities of Chronicles.
 
I'd say Mario in general - that is, taking the entire soundtrack of each franchise into account - but there's a few Sonic tracks I'd elevate above the average Mario track (Star Light Zone springs to mind)

PillarEN said:
3D era: Vocal tracks in Sonic games are terrible. Absolutely awful. Mario would have won even if the music was plain average
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I would say that while it's perhaps not a great Sonic soundtrack, I do kind of adore the Sonic R soundtrack. If Richard Jacques is involved in a vocal track I will at least sit up and take notice, even if it's relentlessly cheesy. I was delighted when Super Sonic Racing put in an appearance in Sonic & All Stars Racing.
 
Sonic overall is pretty mediocre if you consider all the games, but this isn't even close, the soundtrack of Mario doesn't even stand a chance.
 
Despite how much I love Koji Kondo, I think the Sonic series has the stronger melodies.

Nothing is ever going to be the melodies in Chemical Plant Zone.

Super Mario Sunshine and Galaxy have fantastic OST's though. I'd just like to see more melodies introduced into Mario music.
 
Mario.
Ragtime, Jazz, big band, epic orchestra of the 2d and 3d mario games>good classic sonic tunes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>vocal music and rap from the sonic games.

I know some people love the last thing, but its not my cup of tea. I can like some of the tracks Crush 40 delivers, but thats it.

NSMB series is the sour part in an otherwise excellent track record for Mario. And Mario Sunshine had too little variation in themes, but I hate that game already so i dont talk about it.
 
What is up with some saying Sonic games are full of lyrical music? This hasn't been the case since Sonic Unleashed which had a grand total of TWO songs full of lyrics. The last mainline one didn't even have a title track from my recollection, Jun/Crush 40 have been kept away from composing the main Sonic OSTs for a while now and only brought out of the Sega cellar every now and again for the odd remix and for the better in my opinion, they weren't... good at the Sonic 25th event.

As for which series had better music... One had the involvement of Michael Jackson at some point so it's not even close, Sonic hands down.

The franchise definitely hit it out of the park in the classic franchise and then it entered a slump from Adventure 2 onwards. Jun started off brilliantly with the majority of Adventure 1's soundtrack but got progressively worse with each successive game. But since Ohtani has taken over the franchise has been on fire, Unleashed, Colours, Rush Adventure, all great soundtracks.

Even him and the team's "poor" work in Lost World still produces some fantastic tracks.

Sea Bottom Segue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8cLe9ZUh1w

Windy Hill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdHliM2iXoE

Silent Forest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsF7JCSmH6A

Owl Lights - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an26YidvQyA
 
Aki-at said:
What is up with some saying Sonic games are full of lyrical music? This hasn't been the case since Sonic Unleashed which had a grand total of TWO songs full of lyrics.
Click to expand...

It's probably because Crush 40's stuff were what would be in most trailers, and that's probably the extent most have listened to the post-Genesis tracks.

And then there's stuff like Pumpkin Hill, City Escape and Sonic R's entire OST being arguably more famous than the games they're featured in at this point.
 
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Mario.
Ragtime, Jazz, big band, epic orchestra of the 2d and 3d mario games>good classic sonic tunes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>vocal music and rap from the sonic games.
Click to expand...

There's plenty of Jazz or Orchestra in Sonic. Take a listen to Unleashed OST, for example (seriously, don't skip the night time themes, they're so varied in each stage).

Sonic has been hugely varied in musical styles, especially when Senoue got kicked out (so, Sonic 2006 onwards). The Adventure style isn't representative at all on what Sonic offers nowadays music wise.

But as always, some people will vote one side without even having a listen to what the other side offers. Especially if it's a Mario vs Sonic thing.
 
It's definitely Sonic.

And no, there are plenty of Sonic games that easily touch Galaxy level.

TheRedSnifit said:
This probably holds true for both sides, honestly.
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Considering Sonic's history on Nintendo consoles I think the Sonic side is probably more familiar with Mario music than vice versa

Anyone saying Sonic doesn't touch Mario Galaxy musically is just being ridiculous.
 
The Galaxy series are the only Mario titles that had music worth remembering. All other entries had music that I thought was actually grating. So Sonic, by a mile.
 
Nintendo has been so conservative with their musical output for Mario that I don't really feel it's a fair comparison. Sonic has such an abundance of quality soundtracks from many different talents over the years.
 
I prefer Mario by a lot actually. The only Sonic games where the music really stuck with me were Sonic 2 and Rush, both are absolutely fantastic. The others are good but nothing that memorable.

Stuff like Yoshi's Island, Paper Mario TTYD, Galaxy games, SM64, SMB3, World etc are all fantastic and memorable to me.
 
lazygecko said:
Nintendo has been so conservative with their musical output for Mario that I don't really feel it's a fair comparison. Sonic has such an abundance of quality soundtracks from many different talents over the years.
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Are you only looking at the new Super Mario series? Because Mario games have insane variety. 64, Sunshine, Galaxy, and 3D all have very different sounds. Factor in Kart, sports, and RPGs and you have every kind of genre covered.
 
The more I think about it, the more lopsided this feels. I really have found Mario music to be obnoxious outside of the Galaxy titles and Super Mario RPG. Whereas pretty much EVERY Sonic game I have played has great music. The Genesis titles, Sonic CD (US and Japan), Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Somic Generations, Sonic Advance series, even that dogshit Sonic 2006. Music is the one department where Sonic had always delivered, and Mario has typically just been tolerable.

I mean listen to this shit: https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=wt_bxku0z9I
 
Sir_Crocodile said:
2D : Sonic (and 2D mario is very, very good, but the mega drive era sonic stuff is just exceptional. I could listen to hilltop or starlight or icecap for a long time)
3D : Mario
Click to expand...

Yeah this is definitely how I feel as well. Chemical Plant, Hydrocity, Flying Battery, Doomsday, Chrome Gadget, Aquatic Ruin, Sky Sanctuary. The list goes on. Consistently excellent stuff. Also shout outs to Yuzo Koshiro's Master System soundtrack of Sonic 1. Particularly his version of Scrap Brain. I wouldn't call this one a landslide, mainly because 2D Mario is synonymous with extremely memorable tunes.

3D Mario on the other hand is just immaculate, and the direction the music turned for Sonic at this time wasn't to my personal taste for the most part, although there was the odd good tune here and there. The Galaxy soundtracks alone would be enough to cement this one, but if you count 64 and 3D World on top of that (I wasn't a fan of Sunshines music) then I think it wins by a large margin.
 
Ealeir Sonic games are superior to Ealeir 2D Mario games

However 3D sonic games are inferior to 3D Mario games. Galaxy and 64 soundtracks are great in particular the Bowser and Water levels in 64.
 
While not much of a Sonic Fan, there are a few really cool tracks I like: Station Square, Casino Nights, Green Hill Zone, etc.

But Mario x 1000 (even if you just say 2D Mario, or 2D Mario or Mario Kart, just those would have a a greater selection of gaming aural delights
 
Yo Sonic, your 2D game soundtracks are great and I'm real happy for ya and imma let you finish, but Mario Galaxy is the greatest soundtrack of all time
not named mario kart 8
, all time!
 
kromeo said:
Sounds like the kind of garbage you'd get at the start of a kids TV show in the early 2000s
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That's not very nice, awesome cartoon intros are something of a lost art these days but it'd still be a shame for you to disparage the entire medium.

Besides, if you're really after a 2000's era cartoon intro then you need to listen to the theme of Sonic X - "Gotta go fast!"
 
My pick is Sonic. There are few tracks in the Mario games that I like, while Sonic usually has a good soundtrack. Heck, some might say that the soundtrack is the only redeeming aspect of some games.
 
Sonic. Most people's favorite Mario OST is orchestra :x

Sonic has dabbled with a lot of genres, and each zone has it own unique music. Most people who are dissing modern Sonic music probably don't like NSMB wah wahs.
Sonic 1-3 soundtracks wipes the floor with Mario 1-3 soundtracks. And even the worst Sonic game gave us His World.
 
Persona7 said:
2D games? Sonic.


3D games? Mario.
Click to expand...

Yup.

Absolutely nothing in the 3D Sonic games can compete with the orchestral masterpiece of the Galaxy games, or the quirky awesomeness of 3D World. No sir.

But then Chemical Plant from Sonic 2 *by itself* murders almost anything 2D Mario has to offer.
 
Synth said:
It's probably because Crush 40's stuff were what would be in most trailers, and that's probably the extent most have listened to the post-Genesis tracks.

And then there's stuff like Pumpkin Hill, City Escape and Sonic R's entire OST being arguably more famous than the games they're featured in at this point.
Click to expand...

But that's the thing, Crush 40 hasn't featured in a title track since like 2006 I think, it's been a decade now! And the last two mainline Sonic games (Generations and Lost World) used instrumental music in its trailers :E

I get the feeling that most people has fallen into the whole "Sonic music is butt rock, classics are the best!" mentality too when nothing can be further from the truth.
 
Dereck said:
Why do people say "and it's not close", without elaborating
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Sonic's music is more consistently good and reaches higher highs. I mean, I'm not a music major so I can't really elaborate all that much because I just don't know the proper vernacular for analyzing and comparing music, but I think it's a fair statement if you think one is a lot more enjoyable than the other.
 
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