Review: Sonic Generations – Blue Blur Soundtrack

It’s been a while since the release of the Sonic Generations Original Soundtrack, entitled ’Blue Blur’ (which is an obvious reference to our quick spikey fella). I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this, including a Crush 40 guitar pick, an autograph of Senoue-san himself and a bonus sticker sheet, as a gift from a good friend of mine.

A 20th anniversary is not just something, and such a special anniversary should be celebrated with a great 20th anniversary game. Appreciation of the overall game can be read here (Blake Draco + SW staff members) and here (AAUK). In this article, however, I am focusing on the soundtrack of this game.

Music is of great importance in a game, and let’s be honest, it has never been a problem in the Sonic games, has it? The same goes for the Sonic Generations OST. This soundtrack, consisting of no less than 3 discs, has a fancy sleeve around it on which Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic are pictured. When you remove the sleeve, you’ll see the beautiful case in which the CD’s are. The shiny gold-coloured Sonic Generations logo on the white cover made me instantly fall in love with it.

So yeah, let’s kick off with Disc 1:

The first disc contains the title jingle, stage music and end-roll medley used in the console version of the game. The title jingle is the famous Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) title tune, remixed by Jun Senoue.

The stages in the console version of Sonic Generations are Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant, Sky Sanctuary, Speed Highway, City Escape, Seaside Hill, Crisis City, Rooftop Run and Planet Wisp. Each stage is split in 2 acts: a classic act and a modern act. The classic tunes are usually techno-styled remixed versions of the original songs, meanwhile the modern tunes generally are rocking remakes.

Cash Cash and Naofumi Hataya have done most of the classic remixes, Tomoya Ohtani and Kenichi Tokoi have done a handful of both and Jun Senoue is mainly responsible for the modern compositions. They all have done an amazing job in my opinion, even though I personally prefer the modern compositions over the classic ones, they both are really good. The up-tempo modern tunes match Modern Sonic’s sleek and fast design, meanwhile the classic tunes, which are a bit slower, match Classic Sonic’s chubby and cuddly appearance.

Disc 2:

The second CD contains the tracks used on the 3DS version of the game.

The music of Casino Night Zone, Mushroom Hill, Emerald Coast, Radical Highway, Water Palace and Tropical Resort are on this CD, as well as the title tune, challenge tracks, end-roll medley and Cash Cash & Jun Senoue’s brilliant version of ‘Super Sonic Racing’ (yes, this is a studio version of the one that was performed live during Sonic Boom 2011). The lack of the Green Hill Zone mixes on this CD is because those are exactly the same as the console versions, which are on the first disc.

Besides Jun Senoue, Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Cash Cash and Naofumi Hataya we also see works of Circuit Freq, Richard Jacques and Hideki Nagamuna on this one. Again the modern mixes are fast paced meanwhile the classic ones are more techno-ish, both fitting their respective variations of our beloved hedgehog.

Disc 3:

Last but not least, there’s this third disc, containing the boss fight tunes, cutscene background music and the remaining tunes and jingles (stage clear, menu, invincible, timer, etc). Additional to the musicians on the first two CD’s, a few cutscene compositions by Yutaka Minobe and Yasafumi Fuduka can be enjoyed on this CD as well. Furthermore there are a few mixes of Crush 40 songs (Open Your Heart by Crush 40 & Circuit Freq is bloody awesome!) and a single track done by Alex Makhlouf from Cash Cash.

Personally, the cutscene music is not particularly what I would be listening to on my iPod (unlike most of the stage / boss fight music), but it’s not bad and does it’s job as cutscene filler just fine.

Overall, this is a fantastic soundtrack! The variety between rock and techno songs is enjoyable and especially the modern mixes are a brilliant stimulator when you’re out for a run in the park, for instance. The physical appearance of this soundtrack is outstanding as well, but what’s most important is the great music; something you most certainly can leave up to musical geniuses like Jun Senoue and Tomoya Ohtani. This exquisite soundtrack may definitely be mentioned in the same breath as the glorious Sonic Adventure & Sonic Adventure 2 soundtracks.