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Topic: What retro console has your favorite sound chip, and why?

Posts 1 to 10 of 10

The_Eggzone

As we know, many of the older consoles had their own vibe and feel, not just because of the visual aspect/graphic abilities, but due to the sound chip... do you have a favorite? Do you prefer the charmingly limited 8-bit sound of the NES or Sega Master System, the "dirty synth" sound of the Genesis/Megadrive, the more advanced SNES sound chip (even though some of the built-in reverb effects were overused), or something else like the NEO-GEO or TG-16? Gameboy, the "Stereo NES"? How about the obnoxious Atari 2600 sounds? Ha...

I'm talking pre-CD era here, although in some cases the PSOne counts, for games that use the sound chip instead of redbook CD audio...

Curiously, let me know WHY you made your choice. I just thought maybe this would be a fun topic to discuss.

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sentiententity

I say the SNES. It was such a jump in quality from previous consoles.

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Ralizah

Sega Genesis, definitely. Had such a unique sound for its music.

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Vinny

SNES, with it's very distinctive, slightly muffled audio. Lot's of memorable soundtracks.

Edited on by Vinny

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kkslider5552000

Yeah, SNES. Which is weird, as its the only major Nintendo system I didn't grow up with. But it is the best.

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skywake

SNES is technically better but I have a soft spot for the Gameboy. Especially when it was really pushed to its limits. For example.

Edited on by skywake

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Buizel

SNES soundchip is very versatile, but I feel it loses a bit of character for it.

Mega Drive on the other hand had lots of character. Listen to any Sonic, Streets of Rage or Phantasy Star piece and you'll know it's from Sega.

I also quite like the Game Boy sound chip, the Game Boy Color being my first system. I'm still amazed at how atmospheric the Pokemon games could be on such a modest little machine.

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kkslider5552000

Buizel wrote:

SNES soundchip is very versatile, but I feel it loses a bit of character for it.

I dunno, I feel like games that either sound really dated because of it (specifically ones that sound straight out of Mario Paint for example) or that did crazy/weirder things with it added character to it.

It's actually kinda interesting comparing it to Genesis. I haven't played a ton of Genesis games, but I've always compared what I've heard it to a lot of like 80s music. Very hard synth sort of thing, sometimes to the point of obnoxiousness. Whereas SNES was more trying to replicate instruments and be epic. That's what it seems like in hindsight at least.

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Buizel

kkslider5552000 wrote:

It's actually kinda interesting comparing it to Genesis. I haven't played a ton of Genesis games, but I've always compared what I've heard it to a lot of like 80s music....Whereas SNES was more trying to replicate instruments and be epic. That's what it seems like in hindsight at least.

I think this basically sums up my thoughts on it. Obviously what SNES was going for has been improved on with each generation of consoles. Whereas I feel the 80s synth vibe of the Mega Drive / Genesis has been replicated to a lesser extent, probably because it's seen as outdated.

My opinion is, however, completely in hindsight (I did play these systems in their day but I was very, very young!). At the time I would definitely have preferred the SNES' sound, but the Mega Drive has its merit for having such a distinctive sound.

Edited on by Buizel

At least 2'8".

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