Monday, April 5, 2021

Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed OST Review


Summary


Surprisingly, I've heard good things about Transformed. Unfortunately, I don't care too much for this soundtrack. 

Firstly, the stages they picked (for Sonic) are BAD choices. Ocean View is Seaside Hill--reminder, Seaside Hill is practically the modern Green Hill. Oddly though, the music is instead a mix of "Toot Toot Sonic Warrior" and "Super Sonic Racing" (which actually helps a bit).

Galactic Parade is Starlight Carnival, which is from Sonic Colors. Okay, a starry setting might look nice, but out of all the horrors of Sonic Colors, they could have at least picked Asteroid Coaster or Tropical Resort. 

Sky Sanctuary...didn't...wasn't this just in Sonic Generations?! That has to be the most overrated level in Sonic and Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I love most classic levels. Not that one. It's not the composers fault for the choices, but it in no way helped. 

There were also odd choices with the All-Star themes. I have to be honest, this is the best version of "Reach For the Stars" I've heard, but a mix of "His World," "It Doesn't Matter," or maybe "Sonic Boom" would have more ideal (seriously, "Toot Toot Sonic Warrior" is in this game at least 3 times, "Sonic Boom" needs love too!). Tails' oddly has the Adventure-Era invincible theme instead of "Believe in Myself" even though Amy and Knuckles get to keep their Adventure themes. While Metal's makes more sense--his theme from Sonic 4--it's a bit too recent for my taste. 

There are also random bits from Sonic R, which I assume is because of the composer being the same. 

The music is pretty high energy and with techno, dubstep, and a dance-fun feel. At first I kinda' liked it because it reminded me of Sonic Riders, but that quickly drained. The music just gets to be annoying. A lot of the mixes were disappointing, inferior, and/or strange. And some songs defiantly suffer from "Colors Syndrome" (overly 2010s).         

Aside from All-Star mixes, the only Sonic-remix that I really like is the modernized version of the Sonic and Knuckles title theme (for Sanctuary Falls). Ocean View was pretty good too, I guess, but I really would have liked "Toot Toot Sonic Warrior" mixed with "Sonic Boom" instead because uniting the two would be cool. Plus it always ticks me off seeing the JP OST get more attention.  

Some of the "classic" tracks don't sound like they were changed very much (if at all) but, damn it, I love Cosmic Fall.  


Best Song: Shadow All-Star Theme

Runner-Up (s): Amy All-Star, Eggman All-Star, Metal Sonic All-Star, Egg Hanger, Roulette Road, Shibuya Downtown, Outrun Bay+intro, Adder's Lair+intro, Dream Valley+intro, Carrier Zone+intro, Ocean View+intro, Grafiti City, Sanctuary Falls intro

oh, finally something that isn't complete sh--Thankfully it's hard to kill music from Shadow the Hedgehog. This remix is the theme for Super Shadow in the game, which includes parts of "Live and Learn" in addition to "I Am...All of Me." When you combine two of the best and edgiest songs of the series, nothing can go wrong. 


Worst Song: Galactic Parade Intro

Runner Up (s): Dragon Canyon, Temple Trouble+intro, Chilly Castle+intro, Race of Ages+intro, Grave Yard Dig, Galactic Parade, Sanctuary Falls, Graffiti City intro, Seasonal Shrines intro, Rogues Landing intro, Burning Depths intro, Mii All-Star, Alex Kidd All-Star, Results

OHNONOTSONICCOLORS Ouch! I like the Galactic Parade one a bit better than the original since it has a pretty piano, but this annoying intro is from the "Mario" section (stage Map) and is barely changed. I can't tell if it's gotten better or worse, but, boy is it irritating. 


Final Ranking: D


This is the first "modern" (good quality) game that I've considered E-Ranking. As a Sonic fan, it's pretty disappointing. However, as a Sega fan I think it has more potential. Someone who grew up playing on a Dreamcast or even a Saturn or a Genesis will be able to hear nostalgic tunes in a catchy, modern form. This doesn't work for Sonic, though, because this series was lucky enough to have modernized songs already, and compared to the likes of Sonic Generations this is mostly trash. 

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