Sweet Sweet Sweet by Dreams Come True

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the coolest video games of all time.

This is not up for debate.

I'm sure some of you will call me biased because Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Genesis—or Mega Drive, if you measure things in kilometers—was the first video game I ever played.

However, you're just wrong.

Listen, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had everything a good game should have: great graphics, exciting levels, an excuse to bully your little brother by making him play as Tails, plus it makes great Julian Fries. most importantly, it has great music.

Sonic is notoriously famous for its fantastic soundtracks, but Sonic 2 easily ranks among my top ten video game soundtracks of all time.

From the exciting, disco energy of "Emerald Hill Zone," to the jazzy swagger of "Casino Night Zone," to the strange & cryptic funk of "Mystic Cave Zone," the soundtrack delivers on all fronts.

But the track that has always stuck with me the most is the song that plays right after you beat the game.

Once you defeat Dr. Eggman for the final time and skydive out of the Death Egg—from space, mind you—the sequence that follows was probably one of the most satisfying moments of my childhood.

And the whole thing is accentuated by the triumphant melody of the ending theme.

Now here's the fun part. 

The composer of the first two Sonic games, Masato Nakamura (中村正人), just so happened to be a member of the enormously popular J-Pop band Dreams Come True.

And to top it all off, some of Nakamura's Sonic melodies would eventually find their way into Dreams Come True's own repertoire.

Case in point: "Sweet Sweet Sweet," featured on their 1992 album The Swinging Star.

The song is essentially the Sonic 2 ending theme transformed into a full-fledged J-Pop ballad, complete with lyrics and a much more elaborate arrangement.

And somehow, it works perfectly.

The album version almost feels like a wedding anthem, especially with all those bells ringing in the background. The melody still feels very triumphant like the game version, but with the addition to Dorikamu's signature ballad stylings and Miwa Yoshida's wonderful voice, suddenly it becomes warm, sentimental, and romantic.

Rediscovering Sweet Sweet Sweet outside the context of Sonic felt pretty satisfying. It was the perfect recreation of my childhood.

Then, in 2006...they ruined it.

2006 was not a good year for Sonic, as most fans already know. Sonic the Hedgehog for PS3 and XBOX had just release, famously just called Sonic 06, to polarized fanfare. After playing the game for myself, there are a few things that I can forgive it for...but this remix is not one of them.

Look How They Massacred My Boy

Who thought this was a good idea!? I'm not sure when this trend began, but not everything needs a hip hop remix. To top it off, they got Akon to do weird vocal fill-ins for the song. I'm not familiar with the Senegalese-American singer, outside of his philanthropic work in Africa (which I commend him for), but if this song is anything to go off of, I'll pass on his discography. I'm not kidding when I say this version is annoying to listen to. they might as well have went all out and put DJ Khaled on the track to shout "WE DA BEST MUSIC" at the top of his lungs. 

I'm sure there's somebody out there that has nostalgia for this version, it's just not me. If you want to hear how it's supposed to sound, go check out Dorikamu's best album, The Swinging Star. or even better, go play Sonic 2!