Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (#19449)

[ruby]

wasn't really feeling the music shown so far that much, though hard to judge from the game mix, and in combination with remixed songs being shortened because they only play 1 lap at a time (especially bad in Ocean View and Metal Harbor), but the Green Cave remix they played in the Red Bull promo video sounded really good. I went from worried to cautiously optimistic for this game's soundtrack

[Lily]

this was discussed on the Discord a while back, but a lot of the game's music is probably by Kai and the usual people he works with (like Tae Fujimoto or Satoshi Oike), and for whatever reason he decided to just do... Chain Chronicle again instead of something more befitting of a Sonic game.

[ruby]

Originally Posted by Lily

this was discussed on the Discord a while back, but a lot of the game's music is probably by Kai and the usual people he works with (like Tae Fujimoto or Satoshi Oike), and for whatever reason he decided to just do... Chain Chronicle again instead of something more befitting of a Sonic game.

some tracks (like Kraken Bay) sound more like his Wonderland Wars, which is funny as they recently put those soundtracks up on digital. a lot of tracks feature this choir, though Metal Harbor final lap I feel like might be Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on vocals instead. definitely agree Kai and co are involved though.

[Lily]

oh, my bad. yeah, I meant Wonderland Wars. I mixed up the two Kai games again, lol

[ruby]

Ok now that Galactic Parade music sounds awesome, need the full version asap. those new chords over the original melody sound so good omg

[ruby]

...and with the most recent post it sounds like they just have a low-pass filter on the music at all times...
that would explain why it's been sounding like that I guess, but genuinely why???

[ruby]

Takahiro Kai and Kanon Oguni appear to be in charge of sound for this game.

https://twitter.com/Koha2010/status/1932319749784080823

[ruby]

also Kai more directly confirmed to be sound director, though it was quite obvious already lol https://twitter.com/SEGASoundTeam/st...95409726722126

[bigeyes0123]

I think Kai's music is great, the same goes for the Digital Circuit that was released today. It's not a remix, it's a shame, but the song is great

[ruby]

he's a great composer, I just wish his stuff had higher production value. the main theme is arranged by two outside musicians and produced by Jun Senoue and its production sounds top-notch, meanwhile Kai's course songs sound extremely Kai, for better or worse. some tracks we've beard snippets of, like Mystic Jungle, sound more like Chain Chronicle than they sound like Sonic. every final lap song also sounds like it has that Wonderland Wars choir that I'm personally not a big fan of - at least it sounds like there's legible lyrics for each

ironically, out of all the courses based on past games, Dinosaur Jungle and Digital Circuit are the ones I'd have loved remixes of their original songs the most from lol

[bigeyes0123]

I agree! I like both songs, too. I also liked the songs that Kai and his colleagues remixed or composed during the beta Test

But I definitely don't like the chorus of Final Lap

[Jacinta]

It's an interesting fact that CrossWorlds was released on the same day as the Tokyo Game Show 2025 event started. And, as well as Hatsune Miku, there are guests from Minecraft, Persona 5, Like a Dragon, Pac-Man and SpongeBob Squarepants in the game. Mega Man is also going to be in the game's season pass (although I was expecting Street Fighter to be the chosen Capcom guest IP before the announcement).

There's also a collaborative song between the game and the professional gaming team Crazy Raccoon, titled "No.1"; that will be added to the game in early December. It is a newly written song sung by Amatsuki, Ras, Jasper, VanilLa, Akami Karubi, and Rion.

[kao]

Originally Posted by ruby

he's a great composer, I just wish his stuff had higher production value. the main theme is arranged by two outside musicians and produced by Jun Senoue and its production sounds top-notch, meanwhile Kai's course songs sound extremely Kai, for better or worse. some tracks we've beard snippets of, like Mystic Jungle, sound more like Chain Chronicle than they sound like Sonic. every final lap song also sounds like it has that Wonderland Wars choir that I'm personally not a big fan of - at least it sounds like there's legible lyrics for each

ironically, out of all the courses based on past games, Dinosaur Jungle and Digital Circuit are the ones I'd have loved remixes of their original songs the most from lol

I mean, that is the thing as a composer. You have a signature style and you typically stick with it. Even Ohtani who has a large range in his music sounds distinctly Ohtani. I think his songs sound great, and there are definitely standouts that I didn't realize was his style at first.

[ruby]

Originally Posted by kao

I mean, that is the thing as a composer. You have a signature style and you typically stick with it. Even Ohtani who has a large range in his music sounds distinctly Ohtani. I think his songs sound great, and there are definitely standouts that I didn't realize was his style at first.

I'm talking about production value, not style. the music is very similar in style to Wonderland Wars, but it just sounds underproduced when compared to it.

[kao]

Originally Posted by ruby

I'm talking about production value, not style. the music is very similar in style to Wonderland Wars, but it just sounds underproduced when compared to it.

Underproduced? I'm kinda curious what you mean by that. Not in an argumentive sense, I've been getting into the ins and outs of how music works so I'm just a very curious person LOL

[ruby]

Originally Posted by kao

Underproduced? I'm kinda curious what you mean by that. Not in an argumentive sense, I've been getting into the ins and outs of how music works so I'm just a very curious person LOL

when comparing Takahiro Kai's work on this game with his other works (like for example Wonderland Wars, Sonic Superstars, 404 GAME RE:SET), some tracks in CrossWorlds sound more empty, hollow. there are less elements in the mix, and the mixing and mastering doesn't necessarily make the songs hit as hard as songs from other games. also, for some of the the final lap versions of the tracks by the guest remixers, the chants (by Kai) sound kinda poorly layered in, end result being a bit jarring to listen to (like Dragon Road for example, the chants are very loud and sound like they were not made for the fast-paced melody at all).

I really enjoy the new compositions he made for this game, but I feel like the production could have been handled better. Jun Senoue handled the production of the main theme, and I think it sounds really good. I believe Takahiro Kai was just spread too thin acting as the sound director for a Sonic title, and in turn wasn't able to give his own songs the level of polish that is expected from a Sonic soundtrack.

[kao]

Originally Posted by ruby

when comparing Takahiro Kai's work on this game with his other works (like for example Wonderland Wars, Sonic Superstars, 404 GAME RE:SET), some tracks in CrossWorlds sound more empty, hollow. there are less elements in the mix, and the mixing and mastering doesn't necessarily make the songs hit as hard as songs from other games. also, for some of the the final lap versions of the tracks by the guest remixers, the chants (by Kai) sound kinda poorly layered in, end result being a bit jarring to listen to (like Dragon Road for example, the chants are very loud and sound like they were not made for the fast-paced melody at all).

I really enjoy the new compositions he made for this game, but I feel like the production could have been handled better. Jun Senoue handled the production of the main theme, and I think it sounds really good. I believe Takahiro Kai was just spread too thin acting as the sound director for a Sonic title, and in turn wasn't able to give his own songs the level of polish that is expected from a Sonic soundtrack.

Ah I see. I do think he has plenty of stand-out songs in the game that sound really good (Roulette Road, Colorful Mall, Blizzard Valley, Minecraft DLC) but I can see what you mean. Honestly wonder how he got a gig like that considering his previous contribution was just a few songs for Superstars. Also glad there are non-chant versions of the final laps for that reason, though some songs like Sand Road definitely sound better with the chants.

[ruby]

Originally Posted by kao

Honestly wonder how he got a gig like that considering his previous contribution was just a few songs for Superstars.

I think it's just part of how they got the arcade team to work on this game, given Kai has been on plenty of the rhythm games.

[kao]

Something I'm very curious about is that specifically the Pac-Village arrangement of Pac-Man's Park credits both Oguni and Kai, but that arrangement is very clearly Kai while the Maze one is by just Oguni. It makes me wonder if maybe the Maze music was arranged first and then maybe Kai arranged Oguni's arrangement so it sounds more fitting of the village's atmosphere.

Ontop of that I'm wondering if in regards to Bikini Bottom if Kai composed and then Kiriyama arranged it since I assume the actual use of a guitar(?) to simulate the SpongeBob vibe is a Kiriyama thing but it credits both of them as composers.