Overview

The second Sonic Dreamcast title was a little disappointing compared to the original as it lacked new gameplay. But enough about the game itself, let's talk music. The soundtracks of games that are ridiculed always seem to be the best ones. This is no exception. Most of the themes are built around guitar and synth tunes. Alas, as it is a 60 track soundtrack across two discs, I'll highlight the good and a few of the bad. The soundtrack is split up into two discs, a Hero Side and a Dark Side respectively. It is just like the game in those terms, although a few of the tracks in the game are for both, but were randomly picked to go on a certain disc. Anyway on with the tracks.

Body

The Hero Side is a good place to begin. "SA2" is a cool instrumental version of "Live and Learn". It has pretty good guitar riffs and drum beats. The only problem is that is gets too repetitive and after a while it just stops, but it's still worth a listen. "Escape from the City" is the first level on the Hero Side and it involves cool vocals mixed with a guitar tune. The lyrics can get repetitive, but the music is pretty awesome. I'd recommend you find the instrumental version which is on the Sound Test, but not on the soundtrack. "That's the Way I Like It" is the theme to Metal Harbour. The trumpets and guitar are the main instruments used against a percussion background. They all blend in quite well to a good, upbeat, and catchy tune. The actual track on the soundtrack is a little different to the game because it has a cool start and finish, something the other tracks lack. Good stuff. "Won't Stop, Just Go" is the Green Forest theme. Based on a guitar for the tune, it's fast paced, like Sonic themes are supposed to be, which is great. The percussion is pretty cool as it mixes with the guitar at times. Other than that, it's a nice tune all round.

"Keys the Ruin" has a tropical feel to it. It's the Pyramid Cave theme and has a cool electric guitar as opposed to the normal guitar of the other themes. The bass has some tune to it. But the electric guitar is just awesome. A great piece. "Highway in the Sky" is the theme for the final level for Sonic in the Hero Side, Final Rush. It has a cool electric guitar mixed with normal guitar and heavy base. It's not a bad tune. It could be improved with maybe a different instrument used but oh well. In contrast, the music generally isn't well done on the Knuckles levels which is a real shame. Those who like rapping may feel otherwise. Nonetheless, the "Boss - Masters of the Desert" track is a cool battle theme for Knuckles. It's got a good heavy guitar riff throughout. I'm not saying this track is brilliant, but I have to mention one Knuckles theme.

"The Way Out" is a brilliant Sonic Adventure 2 theme. It is the theme for the first Tails level Prison Lane. It uses heavy and soft synths for the start of the theme and then goes into a heavy guitar for the coolest part and then back to synths. The guitar solo is just cool. It's definitely worth a listen to and one of the best themes in any Sonic game for that matter. "Down in the Base" is a pretty cool track also. For Tails' Hidden base theme, it starts off pretty strong but without really well done tune. The good tune comes at about the middle of the track with the heavy synth returning for a cool solo and then it's back to the guitars for the finish. The Tails levels seem to be the best ones on the Hero disc because "On the Edge" is also an awesome track, the theme to Eternal Engine. Starting off with a little guitar solo then moving to a guitar/synth bit. Then a heavy and electric guitar are paired up and it sounds awesome. The best part would be from about 1:10+ when the cool synth solo comes in with an awesome tune which will keep the head banging going.

On to the Dark Side disc now and the first track is, again, impressive. "Vengeance is Mine" is a cool theme for Shadow's Radical Highway. It uses a lot of electric sound effects to go with the guitar tune and a pretty cool drum beat also. A great start to the disc. "Rhythm and Balance" isn't a bad track either. This includes some gibbon noises (yes, the animal) and some vocal samples amongst the heavy drums, percussion, and keyboard. The scene is definitely set for White Jungle, the level to the theme, as the entire theme sounds like you're in a jungle. Another guitar / synth join up is "Mr. Unsmiley", the theme to Sky Rail. This theme isn't bad. It has some fast paced synth at times for the fast level. The drums are pretty good in this one too. The theme itself might get repetitive after a while, which is a good thing the level is short and you can die easily, so it always sounds good in-game. By now you're probably wondering what's with the Advertise and Events preceding the titles for some themes. Basically, those are tracks that play during the FMVs and all that is between levels. Of course, they're not really worth mentioning, but aren't too numerous here.

"Boss - Shut up Faker" is a cool battle theme for the second time Sonic fights Shadow. It's got a lot of percussion behind the guitar tune and it's fast paced too. There is synth in there too slightly, on its own though. It gets that little cooler when the guitar pitch is raised and then the better synth solo comes in. Good stuff indeed. "For True Story" is a very fast-paced theme, as it's the one that plays when Sonic and Shadow fight the final time, in a fast running fight with the floor falling from beneath them. It's got heavy cymbals as some of the solos which are original but the rest is synths. Not bad at all. "Soarin' Over the Space" is a good Eggman level theme. The Cosmic Wall theme starts off with a siren noise and a few beats of the drums. Those continue through the track. There is a guitar in the middle of the track, but most of it is synth. It can get horribly repetitive, especially as that level is particularly long. "34°N, 12°E" would be the only good theme for Rouge's levels (there are other Eggman levels but they're not as good). The theme to Mad Space does have vocals in it but the theme itself isn't badly done. It has a spacey feel to it anyway. Not bad at all.

Moving to the end of the soundtrack, "Co-operation" is the second theme to appear in the series of three tracks on the Cannon's Core level, which involves all characters. It is a slow paced one as it involves the slow characters. It has relative guitar tunes in it, but the slightly faster part is the only real good part. "Deep Inside Of" is the third Cannon's Core theme and is quite awesome. It is the one that plays during Sonic's part of the level and is therefore fast paced and well done. The heavy synth works with the guitar interludes and the best part is probably around 0:36-0:49 where it gets into quite the cool synth solo which plays again at about 1:26. A great way to end the last action stage. The final track of the soundtrack is the best vocal song in the game by far. "Live and Learn" plays during the final fight as Super Sonic and Super Shadow fight Perfect Chaos. And what a way to finish the game. It's to the tune of "SA2", but with more in it and vocals included. I should add they are brilliant vocals by Johnny Gioeli and they accompany the perfect battle scene. A must listen.

Summary

And to summarize, the Sonic Adventure 2 Original Soundtrack is a great addition to the discography of the Sonic series. It's great to see Sega showing an interest in guitars for their Sonic games now. For more from this soundtrack, look into the supporting vocal album too. Overall, an excellent refinement of the new direction for the Sonic series.