10 Video Games That Didn't Deserve Their Amazing Soundtracks

Composer(s): Tomoya Ohtani, Hideaki Kobayashi, Takahito Eguchi.

Sonic the Hedgehog helped singlehandedly define gaming in the 90’s – but as a direct result – the character has floundered ever since, a relic of the previous century fighting to survive in a three-dimensional universe. Honestly, Sonic’s been struggling for years, never quite settling on a core concept, reinventing himself constantly in a desperate attempt to remain relevant, and mostly falling flat on his face in the process.

Case and point: Sonic Unleashed – released in 2008 – attempted to implement more conventional platforming segments, emphasising methodical combat over mindless speed, which actually made a decent amount of sense. After all – while the core appeal of the series is speed – speed has never translated well into three dimensions, so slowing down the pace might have opened up some opportunities elsewhere, allowing the team to focus on other aspects of the experience.

Ultimately, this didn’t work out, and the game received generally mixed reviews, which is shame considered how genuinely inspiring the soundtrack turned out. The daytime sequences in particular were accompanied by lively, energetic tracks that perfectly complemented the action, providing a much needed dose of personality. Unfortunately, the Werehog sections were just terrible – and while the music helped with the monotony of fighting literally hundreds of indistinguishable, boring monsters – it just wasn’t enough to salvage the experience, not entirely.