What's the deal with Sonic 3's music in Sonic Origins? An analysis

A look into what makes those replacement Sonic 3 tracks in Sonic Origins sound so odd...

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:16 Issue 1 - Sound quality
2:59 Issue 2 - Instrumentation
5:44 Issue 3 - Low vs high pitch
7:01 Issue 4 - Spatialisation
8:31 Issue 5 - Voice banks
11:20 Conclusion

Sheet music transcriptions created in Dorico. Music from Sonic 3, the Sonic 3 1103 Prototype, and Sonic Origins, used throughout. Isolated stems and alt mixes created by me using Audio Overload, RYMCast and Logic Pro.

Music used:

Memes:

Sources:
Comment screenshots compiled from multiple Sonic Origins music videos and posts on the Sonic Retro forum

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#sonic3andknuckles #sonicorigins #sonicoriginsplus #sonic3 #sonicmusic #sonic3prototype #junsenoue

[greenknight]

The proto version just sounds so cheerful and boppy - like it makes you want to bounce around to the beat, which is fitting for the Zone's theme. The Origins version just sounds flat and depressing and it just feels like there's some sort of playback issue going on with the pitch

[DearMink_X]

I still personally prefer the original prototype theme for carnival night over the mj version. It fits worse, more fitting a day time amusement park than a carnival in the night, but I just like the overall theme for it more and also the act 2 remix over any carnival night Mj fan remixes I could find.

[Lu_ST]

my theory is that they used the even older prototype versions of the music not only because it's what they had *but* that they didn't want to simply use music from a (gasp) "evil stolen, illegally dumped prototype™" (1103) that was made available online thanks to fans, and not sega, i suppose sega considers that prototype leaked material that they "don't own" because they only have the much earlier prototype (which i'm still hoping one day we'll get our hands on, lol)

[BomberDuck]

7:11 you placed the left and right audio channels in opposite places lol. Good video, really does explain the problems better than "Jun soundfont bad"

On second thought the audio problem might be a problem with my headphones. Please tell me if it is or not, if possible.

[TwintailNami]

The Sonic 3 Complete version of the prototype songs are very nice to listen to. Although Carnival Night is in the same 3 semitone lower key as in Origins.

[DreamClinicOfficial]

Great video man, loving these nerdy deep dives!

[FSAPOJake]

I love the tracks, but not the Origins versions. The versions of the music tracks from the prototype are fantastic though, and I gladly modded those into Origins on PC.

[MichaelJackson-ef]

For me both tracks are fine but I prefer the old one, which i believe was made by Michael Jackson.

[koi_sakana]

I can understand them using the odd prototype versions because its the only version they had a backup of, but we all know what the 1103 tracks sound like, so why couldn't they use that as a reference to help them get it to sound better?

[MDTravisYT]

Creator of that Sonic Retro thread that you blatantly cut out my name from. I'll address some things from the video in short.
The low pass filter was hardware from the recordings. The MD outputs audio with a low pass filter. All games originally sound like this, it's not a fault of that game alone.
You mention the high frequency in Carnival Night 1 being missing. It is indeed there, but it uses a bugged PSG voice where it only plays for a fraction of a note, therefore almost unnoticeable.
These voice banks you mentioned are all in the game's data, both the older and 1103 versions in the 1103 prototype, and the final one being the only one existing in the final game.
My guess on why these out of date versions of the music were used in Origins was because they were literally the only backup they had of these songs. You can hear identical differences between the 1103 versions and these "backup" versions within the PC MIDIs, which in themselves were also based on older versions of songs (see Mushroom Hill and Sky Sanctuary).
Unlike what you suggest in the video, these tracks were not created by Senoue (for Origins anyway), besides the Super Sonic track. They are indeed older versions.

[newdoggerlandofficial]

They should have just composed new tracks

[NeKuLinu]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but I always thought the origins tracks sounded extremely similar to the Sonic 3 Complete versions

[Real_The_Goof]

Origins is using a re composed version from the composer.. it wasn't recorded from the original like it should have been.

[Milesprowerboy]

I pre ordered origins and played first day and man did I not like the new songs.

[maruku]

Nah! STILL don't like this music. Sonic 3's original music shoulda been kept, no matter how much money Sega has to pay to use their own tracks.