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#31
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#32
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I don't think he or his team did Hydrocity anymore, not after the fact that Miyoko Takaoka did Marble Garden. Neither Hydrocity or Marble Garden's songs were replaced in the PC version from 1996, when every other confirmed MJ song was. Not to mention the fact that both Hydrocity and Marble Garden have a legit Act 2 remix, when all confirmed MJ songs (and ones that are 99% certain to be his, but not confirmed) have Act 2s that are pretty much the same as the Act 1 arrangement, with just slight changes. (Carnival Night Act 1 / Act 2, Ice Cap Act 1 / Act 2, etc)
So who composed Hydrocity? Not confirmed in the slightest, but for some reason I'm thinking it was Masanori Hikichi, who worked at CUBE (credited in the game) alongside Takaoka at the time (see Terranigma). I remember asking Masayuki Nagao (who was credited alongside Hikichi in Mean Bean Machine in 1993, around the same time that work on Sonic 3 would have begun) if Hikichi and Takaoka worked on Sonic 3, and he said "I think so", which led me to contacting Takaoka, who confirmed her involvement. I haven't ever had the chance to ask Takaoka if that's his track, but she might not even remember and I'd rather not continue to bother her. If somebody can get a hold of Hikichi though, we could ask. EDIT: Small detail, but Takaoka's Japanese Wikipedia page listing Sonic 3 is what led me to asking Nagao in the first place, if anybody cares. Seems like Takaoka put that info there herself. Last edited by dissident93; Jan 29, 2016 at 08:13 PM. |
#33
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I personally think Hydrocity Zone may have been composed by Tatsuyuki Maeda, due its similarities with Rusty Ruins, Diamond Dust and his works in general. Though, I've recently been getting my doubts about this, after getting more familiar with his style.
I think getting a hold of Hikichi would be impossible. :/ |
#34
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As the years go by, the more I am convinced that Hydrocity was composed by either MJ or one of his crew. The Huffpost article reinvigorated my thinking about it. The song is just unlike anything else ever composed by Maeda, Hikichi, or any of the Japanese composers who worked on Sonic 3 really. It's not just that it's funky and jazzy- yes they have written funky and jazzy tracks. It's the voicings, the changes, and arcs of the melodies, the rhythms, the arrangement. Really the quality of it. It's just American through and through. It sounds so much closer to the work MJ's songwriters and arrangers were doing in that era, than any of those Japanese composers. I will say, if Hydrocity Act 2 IS one of those Japanese composers, then it's by far the best track they've ever composed. I'm a fan of Terranigma, 3D Blast, Golden Axe 3, etc. as much as the next guy, but there is nothing in any of those soundtracks that match the level of melodic and rhythmic craft that is Hydrocity Act 2. However, when I look at the songs composed by the likes of Brad Buxer and Michael Jackson, it just fits with their level of talent and their output. And their musical style.
I wonder if we'll ever really know! |
#35
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Hydrocity Zone Act 2 was rearranged by Masayuki Nagao. Hydrocity Zone Act 1 is definitely a Japanese composition, as it was reused for Sonic & Knuckles Collection. All tracks suspected to have been composed by the MJ crew were removed from that game.
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#36
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Just my thoughts. |
#37
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Did you read what I said above? I'm 99% positive Hydrocity is not anything from MJ or his team. What you said proves my point, with the Act 2 version of Hydrocity sounding nothing like most other Act 2 themes in the game, with exceptions given to Angel Island and Marble Garden. (two tracks we know 100% for sure were written by Japanese composers, and thus not MJ). Also, Nagao confirmed years ago he was the one who wrote Hydrocity Act 2, so I'll take his word over any "disbelief" he couldn't write anything like that.
To recap, MJ and his team heavily used vocal/unique percussion samples in their tracks, and every single one of their confirmed pieces were removed in the PC collection, while Hydrocity didn't use samples at all, and wasn't replaced. The song is also stylistically different from anything MJ and his team did for the game (heavily emphasizes melody over dance beats), and has similar instrumentation to Lava Reef Act 2, which Nagao told me he also wrote. It's still possible MJ or one of his crew members wrote Hydrocity, but unless one of them confirms it, I'll go with it being a Japanese composition. Slightly off topic, but I'm starting to think more and more than there were other uncredited Japanese composers on the soundtrack. From all the research I've and others have done (from process of elimination), it comes down to Tatsuyuki Maeda and Sachio Ogawa doing around half of the soundtrack. The problem is that Maeda's style isn't obvious here, so he may have had just a minor role akin to Senoue, and Ogawa wouldn't have been a lead composer on the project, not with the more senior composers on the project. Others have suggested Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata, but I'm 99% sure they didn't work on Sonic 3 because they were both in-house Sega composers (why would Sega omit them?), and Hataya's Wave Master profile doesn't list Sonic 3. Not to mention both would have been busy working on Sonic CD at the time anyway. I've still never figured out Opus Corp's role in the game either. (They were credited alongside Howard Drossin and Cube, both confirmed to have written music for the project). Apparently, Opus' once stated on their website that they did "eight tracks", which would fit nicely with what we know. @drdevilfx I don't hear any Maeda in Hydrocity Zone, mind pointing out where? Last edited by dissident93; Feb 3, 2016 at 03:33 PM. |
#38
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Yes, I read it, and also your info from years ago that he arranged Act 2. Which I have seen in other places as well. My point is that the only crediting he has ever gotten is for the arrangement of the track, not the composing. For example, on Sega Retro, it lists "Arrangement." Not "Music and Arrangement" like it does for tracks that he composed. What if he arranged musical ideas that were provided in MJ team's demo tape? I'm talking about the B and C sections. That seems much more likely (when comparing them to MJ's music) than him composing those sections himself. Did he ever say that he composed Hydrocity?
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#39
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By "arranging Act 2", he means that he took Act 1 (written by another Japanese composer, most likely) and added his new spin on it. All the original stuff in Act 2 would be his, if that is what you are wondering. But like I said above, I don't believe Hyrocity to be a song from MJ, but I suppose it's still possible.
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#40
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Ahh gotcha. Yeah, it's so interesting, Hydrocity Act 2 is the most curious and mysterious case for me in all of this lore. It's by far my favorite Sonic track, and to me is the most MJesque out of anything in the game melodically, so it would be ironic if it wasn't composed by him. Particularly in the Chorus (C section) how the melody lands on the Maj 7 of the Ab chord followed by the Maj 6 of the Bb chord. That repeated note with a changing harmonic relationship is vintage MJ!
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#41
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It's also likely that the Japanese composers intentionally tried to emulate MJ's style, and whoever did Hydrocity got it right. Masaru Setsumaru (who helped program the sound driver) told a friend of mine that he "was excited to work with MJ", so the Japanese composers knew about MJ's involvement.
Last edited by dissident93; Feb 3, 2016 at 04:03 PM. |
#42
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I was just looking through the S&K instruction manual credits:
sk-credits.jpg Have we ever heard anything from the Sound Coordinator Hisaki Nimiya? If there's anyone who knows the entire story, my guess is it'd be him/her. A quick search brings up a Twitter and Linkedin account, but it doesn't seem to be a unique name (several facebook results for example.) Out of curiosity, does anyone have any info on "Masanori Nakayama" of "Studio Who"? I couldn't find ANYTHING on Google. |
#43
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Nothing is known about Nakayama and Studio Who. Many of us have searched, but nothing can be found. It's possibly some very small Japanese company.
Also, wasn't OPUS credited due to Nagao joining it immediately after the game? I recall reading he put the company's name on the credits in preparation for joining. @dissident93 I believe Hydrocity's a Maeda track, due to its similarities with Rusty Ruin and Diamond Dust. To be honest though, the Meada sound is still not as strong in this track when compared to his works in GAIII, JLPS2 and S3D, so I still have my doubts. |
#44
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Nothing is really known about Nimiya's involvement, but if I'm remember right, somebody tried to contact him regarding Sonic 3 before. I don't recall him responding though.
I also wasn't aware of the Nagao/Opus connection (or maybe I forgot). |
#45
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#46
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Okay, this needs to be bumped. Let's just make this a general "who composed Sonic 3?" topic.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...el8PBU2hxgdd7n A proto of Sonic 3 has surfaced. Turns out the "new" music for Sonic & Knuckles Collection was actually the original stuff (though the PC versions of the songs are arranged somewhat). This also includes the "new" midboss theme that appears in Sonic & Knuckles; that's in here too. This seems to confirm that there was some kind of issue with having "the MJ music" (I'm aware of Hard Times) at some point after Sonic 3, and that "the MJ music" was brought in later. Last edited by Despatche; Nov 19, 2019 at 08:48 AM. |
#47
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Keeping with the fine tradition of companies being maximally confusing about whether the original music is included in a remaster or not, Sega is re-releasing Sonic 3 & Knuckles for the first time since 2011.
It's included in the collection Sonic Origins. And you'll need to consult a table to find out what you're buying between two different editions and several DLC packs. This table also includes an entry for a "Classic Music Pack", that is "Additional music tracks from MegaDrive/Genesis titles". To the casual observer, this would appear to be the original Sonic 3 MegaDrive/Genesis music that is subject to copyright issues with Michael Jackson's team of contracted musicians. If you're diligent enough to read a Famitsu article, you'll find out that the "Classic Music Pack" is actually just 73 tracks from Sonic Spinball, Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic 3D Blast that you can play back in the "Sound" section of the collection's "Museum" option. None of this is communicated by Sega directly on their web pages, unless you count the ambiguous "Sonic Origins Classic Music DLC Pack features additioinal re-mastered music tracks from the Sonic universe." note on the Xbox pages for the DLC pack. In 2015, Simon Thomley (programmer on both Sonic Mania and Sonic Origins) had called for Sonic fans to tell Sega they don't care about the disputed Sonic 3 music being replaced in a potential new port. This was six years before Sonic Origins was even announced, though, so it doesn't give any indication as to what it means for this particular collection. No matter if the original music is in Sonic 3 or not, another company has failed horribly at making the facts clear. Edit: The official Japanese site explains what's in the "Classic Music Pack". Would it have hurt to mention this on the English site? And still no explanation on what Sonic 3 music they'll use. And none on Sonic CD either which also has two different soundtracks. Last edited by zierts; Apr 22, 2022 at 11:48 PM. |
#48
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Thanks for sharing informative details Zierts. Last edited by Dias 09; Oct 22, 2022 at 11:02 AM. |
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