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Music

Game News

Here’s a Bit of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed’s Soundtrack

Destructoid has gotten their hands on some samples from the soundtrack of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Unlike the previous All-Stars Racing game, which only had a compilation of songs from past SEGA games, this sequel will have remixes by Richard Jacques. Yes, the very same Richard Jacques that did the music for Sonic 3D: Flickies Island and Sonic R. Destructoid has a longer written preview for the music in All-Stars Racing Transformed, but if you just want to listen to the samples you can do so below.

First up is a remix of Splash Wave from Outrun:

Than there’s a mash-up of Hideki Naganuma’s That’s Enough and Richard Jacques’ own track Everybody Jump Around, both from Jet Set Radio:

And last but not least, a remix of the Golden Axe theme:

Game News, Sega Retro

Rhythm Thief Demo Available in the US Nintendo eShop

Sure has been some unfortunate news for Sega as of late with the closure of several Sega studios. This comes as a massive dent that will cause them to become a much smaller player in brick and mortal retail markets globally as they make a larger push for digitally distributed Sega products. Considering that a lot of Sega’s success came from arcade games, or games that encouraged quick play, it’s a move that makes sense. But it is unfortunate for some of the quirkier titles that have been coming from Sega will not see as wide of a mainstream exposure. Not to mention a number of hard working individuals are no longer working for the company. As always, our condolences to all those involved. Anytime there’s a major closure is sure to generate some really depressing and unfortunate situations.

Sega is not out of the retail market completely, and Sega is willing to play the best cards that they have on hand. Until those major changes make their way, we do have a number of retail games to look forward to. Namely games like Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure are still on track for their debut. The game has already been released in Japan and the UK, however those in the US can now check out the game through Nintendo’s eShop for the NIntendo 3DS.

The demo comes with three rounds with unique mini games for each one. The game makes use of the touch screen, face buttons and (Not used in the demo version) the gyro sensor. Unlike most rhythm based mini games, the control scheme for the songs act as a familiarity as their use will differ for each round (or song.) Although you may find yourself having to replay certain stages as they require memorizing patterns. Some not as obvious as others the first time around, especially in the second round named “Looting to Louvre” where you have to match the pose of the statues to avoid the guards. It took a second playthrough to notice that the glowing hues put on the statues determine not only which pose to hit at the bottom of the screen, but the timing queues when our hero Raphael approaches a statue changes based on it’s pose. It works, but for those who are color blind may have some difficulty reading the poses on each statue as the tempo will also increase in speed overtime. There are onscreen ‘guides’ which will help assist with your timing. They can be freely turned off to allow to see the animations on the top screen. The other mini games featured make it easier to let you know how to time each action appropriately. But again, more than one playthrough will be enough to understand the controls which make for easier chances to net A ranks. As for the music, it’s better to just let you listen to the music itself. Hope you’re up for jazzy swing music, because I sure am. I’m terrible at explaining music, so just let the song below speak for itself, really. Also there are a few references to other rhythm-based Sega games in the mix as well.

It’s going to be tough from here on out for games like Rhythm Thief to make their way to store shelves, but even after playing the demo I feel that the game is going to deliver a unique experience. Why not take this time to check the game out for yourself?

[Source: Nintendo Press Site]

Miscellaneous

Crush 40 Puts Up Previews of Their Upcoming Songs

Crush 40, the band that performed the theme songs for past Sonic games such as both Sonic Adventure titles and Sonic Heroes,  has put samples of three of their songs that will be on their upcoming EP. While none of the songs are tied to a new Sonic game, one of them is related to the franchise.

The first of these songs, Sonic Youth, heavily references past songs they made or remixed for the Sonic franchise such as Open Your Heart, Live and Learn, His World and Sonic Boom. The as of yet untitled EP will be available on iTunes sometime in the future. The full versions will be performed in Tokyo later this week.

Game News, Music

Sonic 2006 TGS 2005 Theme Discovered

As a research site on the good (and bad) of the Sonic series, we couldn’t possibly let this one slip past us.

Russian Sonic site Sonic Scene posted what appears to be the music used in the very first trailer of the later ill-regarded Sonic The Hedgehog (2006). What’s special about all of this is the track was never used in game or, more over, released in any sort of auditory form aside from a trailer with off-mic noise.

But thanks to the efforts of Russian Sonic fan Mefiresu, he found a song that is strikingly similar to the audio used in the video. You can grab the near-five minute clip and listen for yourself right here.

Fan Works, Music

Sonic 3 & Knuckles Soundtrack Remade in Famitracker

Have you ever wondered what Sonic 3 & Knuckles might sound like if it were using the NES sound hardware and its expansion chips to produce the music? YouTube user 8BitDanooct1 did; so much so, in fact, that he spent over 200 working hours–that’s about a month and a half–tirelessly making it a reality. The results are a real treat:

Pretty cool, right? Get the full soundtrack in both NSF and MP3 format here.