0:00- Nihon Falcom PC 2:04- Nihon Falcom MSX2 4:10- Nihon Falcom X68000 5:32- Hudson PC Engine 7:38- Famicom NES 8:57- Super Nintendo 10:35- Sega Genesis 12:37- Playstation 2 14:07- PC/PSP
PC-88: Hey, this is just great. Harmonics are perfect. They could've done more with that final part, though. MSX2: Eh... Too simple, and it seems off-key in some places, doesn't it? The bass track is really weak. X68000: Much like the original, but the final part is _far_ better. PC Engine/TurboGrafx: My favorite. Energetic, but not too noisy. Only problem is, it sort-of falls flat a bit near the end. Famicom: Why is it so fast? I personally think they could've made better use of the two square channels together, like the MSX2. Also, they missed the ending! SNES: A trivial one... You either love it or hate it, there seems to be no middle ground! I really like this one honestly, it doesn't have that constant synth noise and it's really solid. It seems to be lacking some backup tracks in one part however, and again, they missed the end. Genesis/MegaDrive: The original, only better. I like it a lot. PS2: This version's soundtrack stinks so much, really falls flat compared to the TurboGrafx one. _But,_ this is a rare case where it actually sounds good. I love the little creative spins here and there, and the final part was actually handled a bit better than a lot of the others, dare I say it. PC/PSP: I love the violin. It's perfect. But sadly, that's all I really like about it... The rest is just noise and gets on my nerves. My favorite is the PC Engine/TurboGrafx one, a very ingenious composition. Because I generally dislike a lot of that noisy synth music, I also prefer the SNES soundtrack over most, its style seems a bit more fitting for the game genre and the composers took a few creative twists that sound _great._ But they missed a whole chunk of this track! That disappoints me. Aside from that, I can't decide if I like the Genesis/MegaDrive one or the X68000 one more, they are both very good, along with the original.
As a nice fact: some PS2 and PSP games actually use MIDI-ish BGM (which passes through the sound chip) rather than your average audio track. With the last generation and new generation of consoles, this is pretty much lost but it's nice to know there were still consoles on the last 10 years still offering that possibility.
Oath had several ridiculously awesome themes... like both mini and area boss themes, the lava zone theme, the clock tower theme... actually now that I think of it, I can't think of a single song that Oath didn't do it best. And unlike a LOT of remakes, the songs didn't lost their identity. They don't drown out the main riff behind a sea of instruments, no, they enhance the main riff with the new instruments, unlike say the Airbuster theme in FF7R. You can hardly even hear the original piece underneath all the new stuff they added. But Oath's OST? You can still hear the original piece, loud and clear.
Timestamps: PC-88/98 0:00 MSX2 2:04 X68000 4:09 PC Engine CD 5:32 Famicom 7:37 SNES 8:57 Mega Drive 10:35 PS2 12:36 PC Windows/PSP 14:07 IMO: - PC-88/98: fantastic tune. And this version remains one of the best but will shines even brighter on Mega Drive... - MSX2: pretty good with a solid finale. Also it's cool to hear how this track could have sounded on my dear Atari ST (since both systems share the same sound chip). - X68000: rather weak, it lacks punch, but the finale (from 4:56) is beautiful. - PC Engine CD: very good but it's a bit overly done in some ways while lacking parts of the original composition both affecting the overall focus. Also, one of the problems with this version of the game is the inconsistant audio with jarring contrast between the CD tunes and the wavetable ones. - Famicom: eh, the system's sound style just doesn't suit here, it turned this epic tune into something almost... "funny" :s - SNES: the horror. Typical SNES crappy instrumentations (the lead lol + almost everything else is dull) in addition to being "just samples" i.e. lacking any kind of sound personality + the finale is not even here! Complete fail. - Mega Drive: my favorite. It nailed it in every respects: the emotion; the energy, the overall momentum... It took the original PC-88/98 tune and improved the kick, the snare, the bass + added a "circulation effect" for the sound which comes during that stellar finale (from here 12:01). Just awesome. - PS2: okayish. It brings back parts which were lacking in the PC Engine CD version but on other hand doesn't have the energy of the latter. The finale is rather sweet though. - PC Windows/PSP: meh. It's not fundamentally bad but it's not great either. The techno vibe and the added violin just don't work well here. PS: the video is welcome (BTW thanks Chalk!) but the quality of some recordings, such as the PC-88/98 or Mega Drive versions, is rather bad. For those interested I suggest, once you watched these comparison videos, to check Falcom Music Channel to listen to the concerned tracks in better conditions.
What puzzles me about the SNES rendition is that it had a vastly superior sound chip compared to many other consoles of the same generation, so makes you wonder how they were able to actually downgrade the sound rather than improve it. It doesn't sound bad exactly, but more generic as you said. When I played the PSP version I wondered why they went with other versions as a choice for the music, instead of SNES. This comparison makes a bit more sense. They went with the X68000 as an option actually. I prefer the new PSP OST over it.
psyance How you dare insult GODLIKE PC version? Shame on you! In the Oath In Felghana, there is not as many good tracks that gets stuck in your head like in other installations (Like in The Ark of Napishtim and Origin for example) But this version is absolutely gold and easily one of the best music of JDK Sound Team! Ah.. I guess I could play that fantastic game because of that track once again!
+Franck Knight The SNES has better sound capabilities compared to some others hardwares at the time but not all. Amiga and Mega Drive are tied with it, all with pros/cons over the others and then X68000 (and Neo Geo) have better sound capabilities. Lastly while the PC Engine has worst sound capabilities than every aforementioned systems, when it comes to the PC Engine CD add-on and when it plays CD music (which is not always the case), then it obviously has higher quality music (but which not necessarily means "better" as this aspect is subjective).
I love old hardware, The technical limitations and differences use to be so big that no one version was the perfect version. Made things so awesome. Now you buy either a 360 or ps3 version of a game and they're the same exact game.
One of my favorite themes in the entire Ys series and there's a bunch of em. I grew up with the PC Engine version so that is what I am most familiar with. Almost all renditions are just as excellent. I was particularly surprised with the Mega Drive / Genesis versions. Blew me away and I can only wish tracks from Ys Book 1, 2 and 4: Dawn of Ys can someday be remixed or rendered by some talent using the same YM2612/3438.
My personal favorites are the Sharp X68K version, the TurboGrafx-CD version, and the PC version. Most of my decision is rooted in the instrumentation and depth, and those are the versions that sound the best to me.
I would absolutely be in love with the PC version if it didn't just ignore the half-time bit my 'favorite' is still the PCE version, though I love every version (the SNES was my first exposure to this game.) I think it's such a good example of how different composers and different chips can attack the same composition. Like for instance, the Famicom version is definitely 'bad,' but only when in this context. But it's a perfect, badass Famicom track. It loses the spirit of the original track, but I think it's such an impressive use of the chip and kicks so much ass on its own
Ah, a comparison of one of my favorite themes from Falcom. In the context of playing the game, the Mega Drive rendition absolutely curbstomps everything else. A close second would be the PC-88/98. If you're just listening to the tune out of context, the PC Engine version is brilliant and sounds great on a nice stereo system. The rest range from passable to unneeded.
Both PC-88 and Megadrive uses Yamaha sound chips so they are bound to sound similar. PC-88 uses a OPN chip (YM2203) which was latter changed for a OPNA chip (YM2608), and the Megadrive uses a OPN2 chip (YM2612). Pretty much the main reason why I prefer Megadrive ost over the rest.
Hi Chalk, Dunno if it's due to the new version of youtube (which kinda sucks) but I slightly edited my post here and this caused it to not be sticked anymore. Weird. Is it the case from your POV?
Tough to say which is the best here... The only ones with a consistently both a consistently good drumline & baseline AND a strong main instrument are MSX2, NES, SNES, and PC, and the NES loses out just because it's missing so much. Have to give a pass to the MSX2 for being the best "early" one though. I think the SNES is the best just because the PC sounds a little empty at parts, but they're both amazing. Honorable mention to Genesis and PCE, the Genesis has great instruments but loses it at the "fast" part just because the drum beat is so off (a problem for a lot of these), same goes to PCE although its main instrument is kind of weak (again, a problem for all the "newer" versions). Definitely one of the best songs in the OST for all versions though.
Yet another one of the MANY comparisons where I compare the SNES to the Genesis and go "why did/does everybody say the Genesis had better sound?" when it's not even a close competition whatsoever. The SNES easily wins, by a longshot.
I feel like PC Engine wins again on this, though I don't like the way the audio was mastered. All the rhythmic elements are deep and really punch, but they cover up the melody lines. The Sony family sounds the best, of course with an unfair advantage.....though out of the "retro systems" The Super Famicom has the most balanced as well as musically rich sound here.
Really? The Super Famicom renditions of Ys III tunes sound kind of uninspired to me, not a whole ton of soul or passion. Just my opinion, though, and let's hope we agree that this game kicks ass!
I second that! There was a lot more distinction between versions back then. You could easily tell a SNES from Genesis game just from sound. All that's gone now :/
the pce version is just on another level really hated the DS ports they didn't know what they were doing even work more advanced technology they couldn't recreate the feeling this version gives off
For some reason, I really like the MSX2 version of this particular track. Not gonna give it a hardware win, but the spare 8-bit sound works here, at least to me. The Famicom version is 8-bit as well, but it just doesn't fit this track as well for some reason, and that's given the fact that the Famicom had a superior soundchip. As if any surprise, the PCE-CD version here sounds freaking amazing. But then again, this whole game sounds amazing on the PCE-CD. The PC-88 and Genesis tracks sound different enough here where I'd say I prefer the PC-88 version, but the Genesis still does well. The Sharp Version is better than any of the other FM versions, at least to me. I'd go as far as putting it in the same league as the PCE-CD version. The Super Famicom version of this whole soundtrack sucks. I know, I'm a Genesis fanboy, but the Super Famicom version just sounds really hollow and lifeless compared to everything else, even the Famicom and MSX2 versions sound more interesting. The PS2 version is terrible, above the SNES but not by much. The Oath in Felghana version actually sounds pretty awesome, but not in the leagues of the FM versions and certainly not the PCE-CD version. Of the PSG versions, MSX2 is best, Famicom being second. Of the FM-synthesis versions, Sharp X68k at first, then the PC-88 version, then the Genesis version. Out of the sample-based/CD/Midi whatever, PCE-CD is at top, hands down, Oath in Felghana a solid second, the PS2 version being lousy and second to last, only to the really, really disappointing Super Famicom version dead last.
***** Really? Ironically, to me the best one is Be Careful!, which takes place right after this one. So, you like to stay outside of the cave, I like to enter the cave. XD
Gender Neutral Chibi Thing Funny because I'd rate the SNES version a LOT better than any other versions here. I think most people hate it because the bass actually sounds like a real bass and not a synth techno-ish bass. The only other version with a real bass is the PC-E, but it lacks nuance terribly, it's just straight in your face heavy music, and totally misses the epic feeling you get when the rythm kicks in after the break in the SNES version.
Most of the people hate it, but well everyone has their likings, and well the SNES version sounds pretty cool, even if there's some parts of the song that it missed.
Snes has a unique set of sounds and it is recognizable very easy. I love snes music, even when some people thinks is "crappy"... It doesn't compare to the pce or x68k or Yamaha chips but it definitely gave good sounds
This is the personal best Ys music of all time. I heard various version of this game, since I loved Ys 3 and felghana remake, but It's quite surprising how PC88 and MSX2 version holds extremely well. I used to play on this very platform back in the day. I didn't play PCE until very later, but honestly I didn't like this version despite it's use of more like real instrument (pcm I guess?). NES version is abomination, and SNES version is downright disappointing as hardware is way more capable than this.... not to mention they both miss the second part which makes this music a whole. I actually loves Genesis version as this is last time I actually played Ys3 on time until felghana remake. PS2 is ear bleed for it time (shame) and yes... Felghana remake made this song a bliss to listen to. Thanks for comparing different versions.
