This has been a long time coming! A thread on why Richard Jacques' score for Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island is one of the sorely overlooked musical masterpieces of the Sonic series 🧵

People tend to regard the Saturn music as weaker than the Mega Drive tunes we grew up with. Pariah had the flaming gall to put it in C tier lol. I'm the crazy guy who actually PREFERS the Saturn score.

One thing you'll notice about this OST is the tracks are WAY longer than almost any other Sonic game (as seen in this first level comparison). The pace of 3D Blast is much more leisurely than usual, so the stage themes are slower burns that take their time revealing themselves.

The core idea that sets this OST apart is that it takes a page out of the Mario playbook by building almost the entire score around a single core melody. Think of it as "the Flicky Motif".

This theme is like the spirit of Flickies' Island, and represents their freedom and innocence. Its heard most clearly in early stages like Green Grove, with its feel-good Palmtree Panic-y vibes.

But that melody is always under attack. In an homage to CD, Eggman's industrialisation is represented thru pulsing techno beats and repetitive synths. This serves to bury the "spirit" of the island as you progress.

Sonic's themes, like the Invincibility and Special Stage, are like a middle ground. Hip and high-energy, while still respecting that core Flicky melody. A harmonious blend of classic and modern.

Each stage puts a different spin (and genre) on that core melody, communicating the plight of the Flickies. Rusty Ruin conveys their loneliness and uncertainty, while Diamond Dust coats the song with cheery Xmas morning vibes.

Volcano Valley totally rips the island apart, submerging us in 90 seconds of gruelling Game of Thrones-style war music. But eventually, the Flicky motif returns more heroic than ever. They're beaten and bruised but they haven't given up. That key-change brings a tear to my eye 😭

Gene Gadget is *the* masterpiece of the soundtrack imo. Eggman has totally smothered the island with his tech, to the point that the Flicky Melody can barely breath. It's a straight minute of suffocating Eurodance beats, until...

...finally, the Flickies manage to cut through the techno-babble and their melody completes itself. It's a feeling of hope and determination, even as Eggman is always lingering in the background.

Similar to Quartz Quadrant, its two opposing forces clashing thru music: the acoustic, hopeful Flickies vs. the oppressive, synthetic Eggman. This degree of musical storytelling and theming is damn near unrivalled in the Sonic series, and pretty friggin' genius frankly.

The one weak point of the soundtrack is the Eggman boss themes. You can tell they took inspiration from CD with the evil laughter, but the spooky villain vibes are generic af. Where are my pulsing dance beats and record scratches?!

Another small criticism is the Act 2 themes, while very good, don't offer that same sense of narrative progression or evolution that you hear in Sonic 3 or Sonic Adventure. Then again, the stages of Flickies' Island didn't really give the composer much to work with 🤷‍♂️

Meanwhile the Special Stage theme SLAPS harder than E. Honda. Sonic special stages have always had this wacky game-show sound to them, and this is one of the very best. Tee Lopes before Tee Lopes.

It's all capped off with the sappy ballad "You're My Hero", which in retrospect, is the pretty obvious ground-zero for what would become the entire Sonic R music style. The truest, most complete version of the Flicky Melody.

A lot of people think Sonic R is a bizarre tangent in the world of Sonic music, but that's because Flickies' Island is the missing link that ties everything together. Listen to these 3 scores in succession, and there's a very obvious stylistic evolution.

Just as Sonic CD is built from house legends like Frankie Knuckles and 808 State, 3D Blast pays homage to 90's Euro/New-age acts like Enigma and Coldcut. Its almost like a fusion of the funky club elements of CD JP with the moodier, tonal elements of CD US.

The legacy of the Flicky Motif lives on in the incredible Metropolis Street Racer for Dreamcast, which is essentially "Sonic R 2.0" music-wise. One of the greatest OSTs a racing game has ever had.

Overall this soundtrack is incredible. Sega of Japan's score is also very good, but its a quite typical and familiar Sonic OST for a very atypical game. With this game being a collab between Sonic Team and Sega of Europe, *both* scores are kind of the "true" score in a way.

Considering how different and one-of-a-kind 3D Blast is, I actually think the more experimental and unique Saturn score is the better fit. It also gives an appropriately Euro vibe to this very European title. Sonic CD may have been the inspiration, but its a classic all its own.

And that's my 3D Blast Saturn thread! People seem to really enjoy these "analysis threads" so I'll keep making them. You know a soundtrack goes hard when even the Game Over theme is flames 🔥🔥🔥