"De-mixing" Sonic Generations 3DS' Big Arm to run on Sega Genesis
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 Published On Dec 29, 2023

Download links to the mp3, a looped version of the mp3, the midi file I created for the 3DS version, and the midi file for this demix: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AuaJEDSykCcEgeYhR...

Jun Senoue's version of Big Arm in the 3DS version of Sonic Generations is legendary, and I think most would consider a true successor to the original (same goes for his version of Casino Night!). If you haven't listened to it, you can find it here:    • Big Arm  

I was curious what it would sound like had it been created back in 1994 and used as the final boss theme, with the same restrictions on sound chip hardware. Unfortunately, no midi file existed so I had to create one from scratch. Thankfully, @deannkosi2079 had already transcribed the lead instrument on his channel, and I was able to enter the notes as the sheet music scrolled by. If not for that starting point, I can't say I would have made this - I am absolutely terrible at pitch detection and music transcription. Thankfully, there's tools these days for the pitch-inclined such as myself.

I used https://www.lalal.ai/ to split Senoue's version into as many stems as possible, so make it easier to look at the frequency spectrum to determine which note was playing. Then used Audacity with its EQ and spectrum analysis. I had to really EQ the stuff with some steep slopes to carve out the noise, but I think it turned out pretty well. I am sure there are a few wrong notes in the harmony as I could cleanly separate them out, so if you want to take a stab at fixing it please do - the midi file is linked above.

To recreate the Genesis' sounds, I used the Genny vst (https://www.wonthelp.info/genny/viewt.... I imported Sonic 3's version of Big Arm from https://vgmrips.net/ into Genny, which let me use the same instrument parameters the devs used for the original version. I used ValleyBell's (https://github.com/ValleyBell) vgm2mid tool to create a midi from the original Big Arm as a starting place, as the first part of the remix is the same (with only slight alterations).

Then throw in a bunch of work and experimentation and this is the result! It's certainly not expected to 'replace' the 3DS version or anything, but it was a curiosity of mine.

https://www.vgmusic.com is currently not accepting midi file uploads as they work on some backend stuff, so if they ever come up I'll upload the 3DS midi file there.

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