The SNES may have had the better sound chip......

[Dreddz]

....but the Megadrive's had soul dammit! I always had a fondness for Megadrive soundtracks. People often look at the SNES for quality 16-bit music but I reckon the Megadrive had a unique quality in its music that really makes it stand out. There is something about that screechy Yamaha YM2612 sound that really appeals to me.

Here is some of my personal favourites from various Megadrive games.

YouTube - Shinobi III Music - Izayoi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSO3BY3cUv0&feature=related)
YouTube - Shinobi III Music - Japonesque (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmDaSVHlH3U&feature=related)
YouTube - Phantasy Star II Soundtrack 12 Advanced (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0Ta1p6P94&feature=PlayList&p=FD9B2C4FA1B3AE8E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=11)
YouTube - Sonic 2 Music: Metropolis Zone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRuJfhEeCe8&feature=related)


And of course...

YouTube - Streets of Rage 2 Music - Go Straight (Stage 1-1) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYx0OgWdbE)

So discuss your favourite Megadrive soundtracks. Hopefully you will all agree that I'm right.

[Rase]

I prefer Dreamer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K90j2VKSsbY&feature=related) when it comes to SoR II, but Go Straight was definitely a hell of a first impression when you started the game (freaking Yūzō Koshiro is an amazing composer).

I like Marble Zone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXukwNQG0uA), despite absolutely hating that level. M.U.S.H.A had some good stuff too, like Stage 7 (apparently called "Aggressive Attack") (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyMu-5X3PAw&feature=related). Also, The Hard Corps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8-tQQHqnE) from Contra Hard Corps makes me happy.

I certainly agree with you that the Genesis was a different beast, and that made for a very distinct sound. While I don't feel that it's overall better than SNES music, it definitely has more than enough gems.

[Skyblade]

The Genesis did have some good music, but, really, the sheer beauty of some of the SNES's pieces really outshines even the best of what the Genesis had.

I mean, I really, really love some of the OSTs from the Genesis. Warrior's Awakening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38aonTjiU-o) from SFII has one of my favorite battle tracks of all time.

But trying to compete with Secret of Mana, FFVI, and Chrono Trigger is just a losing battle.

[oddler]

I was going post a theme from Shining Force II but I couldn't pick just one. The shrine theme is probably my favorite. Phantasy Star II music is also awesome pretty much throughout the entire game.