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Top 10 Favourite Sonic Vocal Themes

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Hi there folks. I am V-202: codenamed Davva. But feel free to call me just Davva. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. So in honour of the said franchise’s anniversary, I’m making a countdown about vocal themes from the games. The games have some of the most memorable pieces of music...

*sees Sonic Chronicles, Sonic Labyrinth & SB:RoL*
OK! OK!! So some aren’t as good as others! I get that! But some of the best music pieces are the vocal themes. Whether the theme suited a character or the game in general. You’re bound to have at least 1 or 2 songs that you just want to sing to. Which brings us to this countdown. Anyway here are the rules for this one.

1) Only songs that have appeared in the games. So no TV themes or songs from the cartoon adaptations & music videos.
2) Just to make this list as fair as possible, I’ll only allow one song per artist/band. That way this list won’t be dominated with songs by Crush 40.
3) It’s my opinion. Please respect it as I would yours.

I’ll do my very best to try and describe why I like the songs in question. Now before I finally begin the countdown, some honourable mentions first. These are the vocal themes that sadly didn’t make the cut, but are still music to my ears.


HONOURABLE #1: SONIC BOOM by Pastiche
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLBLB4…
I’ll be honest with you lot. When I first heard this song I didn’t like it at all. Hell I still preferred the Japanese/European intro and outro of Sonic CD to this day. However the song has greatly grown on me lately. The first minute and 35 seconds of it was good, but then loses steam and then it picks right up again for the big finish. Overall this is not bad.

And again I ask. Why the Hell is this not the intro for the Sonic Boom TV series?!


HONOURABLE #2: MY SWEET PASSION by Nikki Gregoroff
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXHw8o…
This song represents Amy rather well as it captures the energetic and immobilized nature of the character down to the core. It has made more appearances in other games than any of the others to date. Many of the lyrics indicate her being ‘sweet’ and even the musical notation in this is wrote in a major key which is to give the song a more lively feel as well.

A fitting theme to one of my favourite characters.


HONOURABLE #3: DREAMS OF AN ABSOLUTION by Bentley Jones
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zvjYL…
While I’ve never played that 2006 abomination, I’d be lying if I told you that this game didn’t have any good music. This theme represents Silver really well. The keyboard chords start the song off wonderfully. The lyrics are inspirational as it represents Silver’s character, who wants to make things right and save his world.

Bentley Jones has since then made So Much More for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. I do hope he’ll write another song for the franchise again someday.


HONOURABLE #4: LAZY DAYS (LIVIN’ IN PARADISE) by Ted Poley
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr6UUh…
I’m probably one of the few fans who don’t hate Big the Cat. He may not be my absolute favourite, but I can think of 2 fatter b*****ds who are far worse than him. If there’s one thing he has that the other 2 don’t have is a really catchy theme song. I gotta give credit to Ted Poley with his vocal range. He makes it sound like there were 2 people sing the song. The high voice representing Froggy and the medium/low voice representing Big respectively.

This is my kind of song I’d listen to in the summer time.


HONOURABLE #5: REACH THE GOAL by Shadowlink4321 (AKA Shadels)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O80wOO…
OK. Technically this is a fan made song. But damn it, it’s a really good one at that. If I remember correctly, this was made for a contest and the winner would be one of the beta testers for Sonic 4: Episode 1. While he didn’t win the contest, he did however won the hearts of fans with this song. It represents Sonic and the franchise in general excellently. The lyrics are meaningful, the beats are good and Shadels has a decent singing voice.

And I agree with everyone when I say why is this song not the main theme for Sonic Generations? It would’ve been really awesome if it was in that game. Anyway enough honourable mentions, it’s time to start the countdown.


NUMBER 10: LIVING IN THE CITY by TJ Davis
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Tid2…
We start things off with the first vocal theme that I’ve ever heard. Sonic R is a really underrated game, in my honest opinion. I remember me & my brothers playing this game for the very first time. Radical City was the first track we played and this was the first time we’ve been introduced to one of TJ Davis’ performances. I immediately fell in love with this one. One of the things I enjoy about this song is the harmony. TJ Davis managed to bring this song (and the rest of the songs in Sonic R) to life; the song repeatedly refers back to ‘survival’ and this song really lets you feel that it brings you to life. The harmony and strength behind her voice really does the song justice. Together they make a striking upbeat song that really makes you want to explore the city. The lyrics maybe cheesy but hey, this is Sonic we’re talking about.

This is one song that I’ll happily keep my dreams alive.


NUMBER 09: IT DOESN’T MATTER (SA2 VERSION) by Tony Harnell
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZjSrW…
The original Sonic Adventure version is a classic in its own right. So when Sonic Adventure 2 was made, they got Tony Harnell once more for the task to remix it. In my opinion, he did a bang up job of it. There are many things I appreciate about this song. For starters it’s a lot more energetic than the original; the guitar beats are much more livelier and Tony’s voice put in more soul to it. The lyrics are still the same as the original, but this time they are clear to understand.

Whether you prefer this remix or the original, I think we can all agree that it doesn’t matter who is wrong and who is right.


NUMBER 08: WAKING UP by Julien-K
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBU3-N…
Julien-K have made 2 vocal themes for the franchise. While I do like This Machine, (the theme for Team Dark in Sonic Heroes) I like this song just a little bit more. Hell, it’s possibly my favourite from Shadow’s own game. This song plays when you beat the neutral stories. It has a dark techno feel to it. Then again Shadow himself is a dark character. He isn’t good guy, but he isn’t bad guy either. The robotic voice that says the lyrics “this is what its like/it means to be free” gives this song more flare. What I find interesting is this line in this lyric...

The ones with answers always get their way...

That line alone not only sums up Eggman, Black Doom and the GUN Commander trying to have way, but it also sum up every story arc that has characters suffering from amnesia in fictional media. Period. This song creates a very dark yet lively piece of music which I think represents Shadow’s character precisely.

But then again, I’m a Sonic fan who finds his game to be a guilty pleasure. This is who I am...


NUMBER 07: REACH FOR THE STARS by Cash Cash
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHuG2…
Not to be confused with the other song by S-Club 7. Sonic Colours may have one of the most light hearted stories in the series, but I still enjoyed it anyway. The game introduced the Wisps, Orbot’s new design, Cubot, new voice actors for Sonic & Tails and the band for this game, Cash Cash. The songs use of sound effects gives it flavour, it’s fast paced and the lyrics while corny (not as corny as some of the dialogue from the game’s story) are inspirational. I gotta give credit to the lead singer Jean Paul Makhlouf, for his vocal range. In the first verse he sings as normal. But in the second verse, he sounds like a girl. You would never imagine if I told you the female voice was his.

This song along with Speak With Your Heart are so far the last vocal themes in the franchise. Not counting remixes. I do hope Cash Cash will perform more in the future. For this song and the game in general was one colourful experience.


NUMBER 06: E.G.G.M.A.N. by Paul Shortino
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvERHi…
For every hero, you need a villain. Dr. Robotnik/Eggman is not only one of my favourite characters; he is also my all time favourite videogame villain. Period. And this theme song from Sonic Adventure 2 fits him brilliantly. The industrial & machine like sound effects adds character to the theme and reflects Eggman’s love for inventions. The guitar solo that plays after the second chorus is really energetic. I cannot help but imagine Metal Sonic performing the guitar solo. Lastly the lyrics sound like they were written by Eggman himself.

Screw that Imperial March like orchestral music that Eggface had from Sonic 06 through Colours! This theme is more than worthy for the greatest videogame villain ever. He is the Eggman, it’s who he is. All hail the Eggman Empire!


NUMBER 05: TEAM CHAOTIX by Gunnar Nelson
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9E66y…
There couldn’t be a better song to represent the Chaotix Crew than this song. This theme from Sonic Heroes matches the personality and spirit of Vector, Espio and Charmy brilliantly. It’s upbeat, catchy, and gets you pumped for action. The song starts slow and builds up to the explosive chorus which sounds like a crowd in a concert altogether singing the lyric “Team Chaotix!”. What makes this song unique among the other Sonic theme songs is that Vector’s voice actor from the Dreamcast Era, Marc Biaggi, says the words “brain damaged” in Vector’s voice at the opening. This is so far the only time a character is involved in a song. I loved the energy of the song and I’d very much appreciate it if this returns for future games.

This is one song I would happily come along for the ride.


NUMBER 04: WITH ME by Emma Gelotte & Tinna Karlsdotter
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djclvy…
Sonic & the Black Knight is an awesome game and didn’t deserve the hate it got! While Secret Rings had a longer story and a far more memorable villain, Black Knight had better gameplay controls and doesn’t overuse its main theme. Here is 1 of 2 songs from this game. This plays during the final battle against Merlina and it fits really well. The guitar riff playing throughout the battle really gets you pumped. The lyrics tell the story of a battle between two characters which rightfully fits this song. The first verse of the song represents Merlina’s perspective, while the second verse does this vice-versa for Sonic’s perspective. The clever use of the instruments and timing of the song really presents a powerful piece of music. Worthy for a final boss.

This won’t be the last time you’ll be hearing songs from that game.


NUMBER 03: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING by Casey Rankin & Kaiko Utoko
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCSL7n…
I remembered when I played Sonic Jam, went to Sonic’s World, looked at the theatre section and saw the Sonic CD intro for the very first time. It was just awe inspiring. This animated intro of Sonic CD is done by the combined efforts of Toei Animation & Studio Junio. It’s aged rather well all things considered. Every rhythm and beat of that song is in sync with the animation brilliantly. While the lyrics at the start are maybe a load of gibberish, the rest of it feels inspiration come the “Toot toot Sonic Warrior” part. This song feels like I’m watching a proper Sonic cartoon adaptation. I’m NOT saying the current one is bad! But I think you know what I’m trying to say.

Sadly this song and Cosmic Eternity were both removed in the 2011 re-release of Sonic CD, due to copyright reasons. Which is a shame because I would love to see this song become an opening theme for a future Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon adaptation someday. Oh well, at least there’s always fan made projects. In fan made projects, you can do anything.


NUMBER 02: ENDLESS POSSIBILITY by Jaret Reddick
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T0uIX…
This one is from one of my all time favourite Sonic games. Sonic Unleashed was an awesome game that also didn’t deserve the hate it got! The gameplay was fun; I LOVED the werehog stages, memorable NPCs, great music and it’s possibly one of the last games that put a lot of effort in their stories. It’s such a shame that those monsters from Archie Comics are currently b*****dizing it! But I’m not here to rant about how evil Archie Comics are. I’m here to talk about why this song is absolutely wonderful.
Most vocal themes of Sonic normally portray him as a hero who could do no wrong like Goku or Superman. That’s cool n all, since most of us look up to him. But this theme goes the extra mile by doing something we rarely get. Sonic’s inner feelings and personal ambitions. We all know that he fights for his friends and the good of the world. But deep down, what does HE want? What are his goals in life? This song describes Sonic’s nature and all the things he could do if he wanted to. Accompanied by the rocking instruments and the inspiring lyrics. This song as well as my number 1 entry has a wonderful message that’s still relevant in today’s society. I just get goose bumps every time I listen to this song. It just has great atmosphere.

In the end, I think most of us can agree that the possibilities are endless.


NUMBER 01: LIVE LIFE by Crush 40
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7jzIh…
I bet the moment I decided to make this list; you knew I would make a song by Crush 40 be number 1. C’us let’s face it, most (NOT all) of the songs or remixes by them are really good. Now you’re probably wondering why I chose this one above the likes of Live & Learn, Open Your Heart, Knight of the Wind and What I’m Made Of.
Well for starters unlike most of Crush 40s songs, that are normally rock n roll, this one is more of a rock ballad type. Which is a very unusual, yet rather nice change of pace. The violin that accompanies with the guitars at the start and throughout the song sounds absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are inspirational as it has a wonderful moral and that we should live our lives to the fullest. Because let’s face it, life is short. In fact on the day I finally die, one of my last wills will be having this song play on my funeral.

Like Endless Possibility, I get goose bumps every time I listen to it. But what makes it go the extra mile for me is it reduced me to tears of joy. Something I never thought any song from the franchise could ever do. This is so far the last song that Crush 40 has made for a Sonic game. I’ve heard rumours that they are coming back to do more songs for this year’s anniversary game. Whether it’s true or not one thing is for sure, this is the best song they’ve made to date and it will be difficult for them to top it.

Live Life, the best song that Crush 40 has ever made to date, my number 1 favourite vocal theme from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and one of my favourite songs of all time.



And that was my top 10 favourite Sonic vocal themes. Here’s hoping that we’ll be hearing more great theme songs in the near future. Now then, what are your favourite vocal themes from a Sonic game? Do you agree with my choices? Do you think I have poor taste in music? Please let me know in the comments section. I would love to hear them.

Until my next countdown, I am V-202 Davva saying... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!! Here’s to another 5 years for this franchise. Later folks.
Here it is everyone. My newest countdown and just in time for the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

I would like to thank my littlest brother for helping me finish this thing. It wasn’t easy trying to describe some reasons why I liked these vocal themes. But I’m satisfied with what I’ve written. No matter what happens, I will continue to support my videogame icon. Through the ups, downs & all arounds, of this franchise’s rollercoaster ride.

Happy Birthday Sonic the Hedgehog...


EDITS as of 20/02/2021
Added in the hashtags to make my literary works more presentable.

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Saafm1's avatar
Good choices!:)