Lords of Thunder: TurboDuo and Sega CD Tandem-Play Soundtrack - NintendoComplete
75The soundtrack from Lords of Thunder, a shoot 'em up released on the TurboDuo (1993) and Sega CD (1995) consoles.
I can't think of too many video game soundtracks that could've have directly competed at retail with "real" music that you'd buy on CD, but Lords of Thunder is just as metal as any metal album you've ever heard from the late 80s/early 90s. It can thrash hard, but it's always melodic and memorable - I think maybe "hair metal sans vocals" would be a good way to characterize it.
It's really difficult to overstate just how good the game's music is. For this video, I've combined the soundtracks of both versions of the game so that you can listen to either one in isolation, or listen to them both synced up at the same time.
The Turbo's audio occupies the left channel, while the Sega CD's audio occupies the right. Just pan your audio left or right to hear one or to adjust the balance between the two.
I did as much as I could to keep them synced without any unnecessary alterations, but because the games use different recordings, the tempos don't quite match. In these instances, I shifted the Sega CD audio to match the Turbo audio - the changes were slight, keeping within +/-2% of the original recordings' speed. All of the music stays in the same key between games, so no pitch-shifting was necessary.
I thought a mix like this would nicely demonstrate the strengths of both versions in an enjoyable, easily-digestible way.
Though the two different versions of the game featured the same pieces of music, the arrangements and the mixing differ quite widely between them, giving each game its own distinct sound character.
The TurboDuo version is all about raw power with a heavy treble bias that allows those piercing guitar leads to cut their way front and center of the soundstage like a hot knife through butter. It doesn't use many post-processing effects (reverb, chorus, etc.) to blunt the edges of the sharp, harsh tones.
The Sega CD version has a much more polished, radio-friendly sound to it, coming across as "produced" with its mellower dynamics, heavier bass, and a larger feeling of presence thanks to the reverb effects. It's cleaner sounding than the Turbo's, but the Sega CD loses much of the "in your face" effect that the original used to such great effect.
Personally, I'll pick the TurboDuo version over the Sega CD one every single time, but both are phenomenal, and both justifiably have their own stalwart defenders. They're both of extraordinarily high quality - whichever one is better is simply a matter of individual taste.
All of the video recordings were taken from the TurboDuo version. To see my playthroughs of the two versions, check out these links:
TurboDuo
https://youtu.be/bqXsGzzdWMI
Sega CD
https://youtu.be/lfoBPtAnLQk
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