The Genesis sound really is all over the place from game to game, the same as PCE sound. Same with composition. But I think that if you heard more of the good stuff, you'd appreciate the sound (like anything else) for the best examples, not the poorer ones. It's a huge library and even though I find issues with the music in most games (same with PCE), the sound itself is amazing when used effectively.
I agree that some games offer absolutely stellar tunes,
but sadly, it is the exception, not the rule, IMHO. Let's chalk it up to personal preferences...I have never been a fan of MD's/Genny's FM synth guitar, for example. It just annoys me, IN GENERAL. Not all games, of course...that would be silly. But a lot of games just irk me with lame (my judgement) FM synth guitar. Or even if it is a sampled guitar...it doesn't matter, I'm just not a fan of bad guitar. I'd much rather have a synth replace the lead guitar...again, this is just my quirk.
I happen to like cheesy synths used in 80's/90's music, so I like the "Telenet House Band" sound...well, our very own Paranoia Dragon has often stated that he really dislikes these synths...to the point where he doesn't want to listen. I understand where he's coming from, but I feel he's missing out.
Similarly, I agree with you, I'm probably not appreciating all the music the MD/Genny has to offer because of my pet peeves. I can't deny it.
I've listen to a few hundred MD/Genny soundtracks, though, and I don't think my overall judgement on the MD/Genny is going to change.
Agreed, but then you have shining examples of what the Genesis could really do in games like Streets of Rage 2 and the Road Rash Trilogy.
Even with The Genesis/MD having the worst sound of the 16-bit era, I still enjoy it more as a whole than the SNES.
For example, I owned only a Genesis in the 16-bit era. I loved it and still do and still find games I love that I had never played before. I bought my own SNES years after the fact (around 2002 or so). There are certainly some games I enjoy and play on the SNES but, just don't have that attachment to it like I did with the Genesis. At first I thought it was because of emotional/ nostalgic feelings. However, many more years later (2012), I decided that before the world ended I should at least see what this TurboGrafx thing was all about. Wow! Was I ever blown away. Now, the NEC hardware holds a much higher place in my heart than that of the Genesis or SNES. This proves that for me personally, the SNES just doesn't do it.
I agree that some soundtracks are absolute fu&cking amazing on MD/Genny. All the SoR, IMHO, belong in the "splendid" category.
Personally I think the SNES (vs. Genesis) has a much larger library of music that I would still listen to, now. Of course, I have a critique of SNES tunes, too. I won't get into the details now, but I want to be clear that the SNES is not without sin, either. Just slightly less sin than the Genny, that's all.
Remember, I'm factoring in two things: (1) memorable compositions and (2) how hardware spits those tunes out.
For the record, a lot of arcade games do not particularly impress me when the tunes are listened in isolation. I never realized this in the past because I was actively playing games to hear the music, but it is impossible to fully listen to the music when sound effects and challenges distract you. A lot of music is totally appropriate as background music to help establish the mood of a stage....it never was intended to be listened to as a stand-alone piece of music. Akin to a movie soundtrack, a lot of video game music is (was) truly "background music", purposefully composed to be part of the "supporting cast" but never intended to take center-stage. I don't expect all games to take center-stage, but I love when a soundtrack can stand on its own, apart from the game.
BOTTOM LINE: I hear you
