4th Generation Music

[Qwertycwer II]

Do you prefer the music of the Genesis or the SNES?

[+thegoldenband]

Yes.

 

(More seriously: depends on the game and the quality/skill level of the programmer.)

[+Gemintronic]

Because of the sample rate most SNES games used they may as well have been FM synthesis. I agree with the composer+programmer being the deciding factor on either system.

[Reaperman]

Genesis music sounds pretty terrible to me "honk, blat, tinkle-tinkle, bong"--they got better after a while of hiding the issue. After that, some genesis tunes were down right 'tolerable'...

I'm not incredibly deep into the snes camp either, but it is a huge step up.

 

My choice for the generation is Neo Geo, which seems to have a hugely better version of whatever the genesis had (I looked it up once, they looked really close). Combine that with the huge storage on the carts and it's not too uncommon for music on the system to have full vocals.

Edited July 2, 2014 by Reaperman

[Torr]

To me the Genny does have a much more 'buzz-beep-ding' kinda of sound system going on whereas the SNES has this... nice?... sound to it...
But in the end I generally prefer Genesis music, it's seems to have more 'bass', sounds like a 'video game' to me,.. plus certain composers could really make it shine.

Whereas the SNES I find everything sound like the bass is muted with the treble up on high, and this light tinny echo behind everything...

Edited July 2, 2014 by Torr

[ZippyRedPlumber]

It's pretty much tied for me, I like both SNES & Genesis's music, though certain ports are better on one than the other.

[SoulBlazer]

The SNES had better sound hardware, and therefore usually better music. But the Genesis did have some nice music if some skilled programers were working on it. Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra: Hard Corps comes to mind, as well as the Phantasy Star games.

Edited July 4, 2014 by SoulBlazer

[high voltage]

That's 5th Generation, Wiki is wrong, Colecovision was 3rd, NES/SMS/7800 was 4th

[SoulBlazer]

Nobody can ever come to any kind of agreement on Console Generations, but here's my honest take:

 

1st Gen: Odyessy and Pong systems

2nd Gen: Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intelivision, Atari 5200, O2, Fairchild, Astrocade

3rd Gen: NES, Atari 7800, SMS

4th Gen: SNES, Genesis, 3DO, NeoGeo, Jag

5th Gen: Saturn, Playstation, N64

6th Gen: Dreamcast, Playstation 2, GameCube, XBox

7th Gen: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii

8th Gen: PS4, Xbox Next, Wii U

[high voltage]

Doesn't need to be an agreement, it's written facts.

 

You can't put the Colecovision in the same gen as VCS, 5 years apart.

Colecovision and NES less than a year apart, so you could put Coleco together with Nintendo, that would work.

Edited July 4, 2014 by high voltage

[SoulBlazer]

I can do whatever I want.

 

Others agree with my grouping.

 

A generation can last as short as three years or as long as seven. There has to be a MAJOR upgrade in tech.

 

But like I said, we can agree to disagree, as no one will ever be able to settle this question.

[+thegoldenband]

The SNES had better sound hardware, and therefore usually better music.

 

I say the following as someone who, if pressed, would say that the video game music dearest to my heart is definitely on the SNES: Chrono Trigger, Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, Secret of Mana, and so on. But "better sound hardware" is definitely debatable, to say the least, because the Genesis and SNES are built to do such different things, and neither one can really match the other's strengths.

 

The Genesis is damned good at doing FM synthesis, and its best soundtracks are near the pinnacle of that style of music. If properly programmed the Genesis can push very nice-sounding sampled audio, but it's processor- and ROM-intensive and most developers don't seem to have figured it out. It's also vulnerable to hardware variations; the original revisions of the Model 1, certain revisions of the Model 2, and the Nomad all sound quite good, but the late Model 1 and most Model 2s have a brittle, distorted sound.

 

The SNES can put out eight channels of sampled instruments, but with major limitations to sample length and quality. I do find that second-rate SNES music sounds very dated indeed, with canned, tinny samples with too-short loop points. The hardware delay/reverb effect can be made to sound very cheap and cheesy, too -- see the port of Art of Fighting for that. But in the right hands, the SNES can sound extraordinary, e.g. the soundtracks to ActRaiser or Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, which sound closer to their respective genres (orchestral music and disco- and funk-influenced techno) than anything I'd ever heard on a console before.

 

Basically, neither console can beat the other at its own game, and both can be made to sound terrible quite easily. The SNES aims to sound "realistic" and sometimes just sounds cheesy; the Genesis is basically a console version of a Yamaha FM synth, and anyone who lived through the 1980s knows that can sound cheesy in its own right. But the SNES can pump out lovely orchestral textures that the Genesis can't really duplicate, and the Genesis can put out crisp, shimmering highs and deep, pumping bass that the SNES struggles to match. Bottom line, I'm glad we have both consoles!

[gamecat80]

Nobody can ever come to any kind of agreement on Console Generations, but here's my honest take:

 

1st Gen: Odyessy and Pong systems

2nd Gen: Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intelivision, Atari 5200, O2, Fairchild, Astrocade

3rd Gen: NES, Atari 7800, SMS

4th Gen: SNES, Genesis, 3DO, NeoGeo, Jag

5th Gen: Saturn, Playstation, N64

6th Gen: Dreamcast, Playstation 2, GameCube, XBox

7th Gen: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii

8th Gen: PS4, Xbox Next, Wii U

 

 

I can do whatever I want.

 

Others agree with my grouping.

 

A generation can last as short as three years or as long as seven. There has to be a MAJOR upgrade in tech.

 

But like I said, we can agree to disagree, as no one will ever be able to settle this question.

 

 

I see a MAJOR upgrade in tech between the Atari 2600/O2/Fairchild and the ColecoVision/Atari 5200. I'd argue the ColecoVision and Atari 5200 are closer to the Famicom (NES) than to the Atari 2600. The Intellivision and Astrocade are somewhere in between the Atari 2600 and ColecoVision.

[Qwertycwer II]

That's 5th Generation, Wiki is wrong, Colecovision was 3rd, NES/SMS/7800 was 4th

Wouldn't that mean we're in the 9th generation now?

[Austin]

(More seriously: depends on the game and the quality/skill level of the programmer.)

 

This.

 

Also, both sound platforms are pretty different from one-another. It should be no secret that the Genesis/Mega Drive is going to sound a lot better if you are looking for grungy, fat synths, and that the SNES is going to give you crystal clear piano and orchestral sounds (which you won't find on the Genesis.. pretty much at all).