For this album review, this may or may have not been brought to my attention during the heyday of Centaku Media 1.0 (codename: CEN.TAKU.ME.), but it’s a long overdue discussion of one of my favorite albums from the Overclocked ReMix’s community, paying tribute to the soundtracks of Sonic the Hedgehog CD.

I’m a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog’s earlier soundtracks, most especially of what we’re discussing today: Sonic CD. Sonic CD was released in 1993, although I did not get a chance to play it until a couple of years later. It was one of my first Sonic the Hedgehog games, and still cherish it to this very day not just for the gameplay, but for it’s dual region soundtracks from Masafumi Ogata and Naofumi Hataya on the Japanese (and European) releases and Spencer Nielsen, David Young and Sterling Crew for the North American release.

While I was exposed to the North American soundtrack, it wasn’t until years later I discovered the Japanese soundtrack—and I was so excited to learn that both regions were included in OC ReMix’s tribute remix album for the then-20th anniversary of Sonic CD, Temporal Duality, released on November 25, 2013. Let’s see what makes this fan-made album a must-listen for those who have yet to listen to this hidden—wait for it—gem, nearly 12 years later.

Quick Impression:

From the description from the official page of the Temporal Duality album, the remix tribute contains samples from both the Japanese + European and North American releases of Sonic CD. It wouldn’t be right to include just one over the two. And having been exposed initially to the North American soundtrack, it was a gateway of learning and appreciating more of the original Japanese counterpart.

Personal Hook:

One of my absolute favorite tracks from Temporal Duality is Whackass Workshifts from halc and Sir J. It was the perfect timing to hear this as I happened to started a warehouse job the next week following the release of this album for the 2013 Holidays. It was my anthem then and to this day as I have a better paying and more forgiving job. It also samples the Japanese Sonic CD track for the Wacky Workbench zone, which alone is a track that slaps.

Artist Shoutout:

One track that I could not believe I forgot about up until I wrote this post was Crystal Duration from Funk Fiction. Sampling from the Japan and Europe side of Sonic CD’s Metallic Madness zone and the Special Stage, It was a track I rediscovered back in 2022 thanks to Spotify, but revisiting the track list felt like I was reunited with an old friend in an online game.

In regards to Funk Fiction, he does not have a bad track in his career. For recommendations, check out the Animal Crossing-inspired “K.K. Crusin’” with Tee Lopes—who provided the soundtrack of Sega’s Sonic Mania game released in 2017.

Mood + Recommendation:

If you’re a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog music, especially for the underrated Sonic titles such as Sonic CD and in a mood to go down the high-speed memory lane with some 90’s Sega Sound Team, check out Temporal Duality. As with all OC ReMix albums, it is free to download from the album’s official page hosted by the OC ReMix community. Give it a listen from OC ReMix’s Soundcloud playlist below.

Trailer for OC Remix’s “Temporal Duality”