RCT Discussion / Best and Worst RCT Music Styles

Hopping on the poll bandwagon for a sec

 

What do you guys think are the best and worst music styles in rct? Personally I find gentle style, ice style and of course jurassic style to be in the upper tier. Roman fanfare is pretty great too. I don't really care for ragtime style nor organ style.

 

I've allowed multiple choice and I would have added the RCT1 fairground organ style but I reached the limit of question options.

This should be interesting, and good idea to make it multiple choice, I'll change my poll to do the same.

Anyways, top 3:

1. Gentle - Arguably the most 'beautiful' soundtrack in the game, alongside organ style. It really works well for water rides and almost every theme... ancient ruins, hotel lobby, sci-fi utopia, fantasy world, etc. It's honestly a little haunting.

2. Organ - Classical music is a strange but perfect fit for the game... I can imagine this playing at a pier amusement park, theater, or a baseball field... kinda works better than the game's actual theme song. Really exciting and stimulating stuff that works for a lot of themes 

3. Modern - This one is kinda funny because it sounds a little dated now but it's the best soundtrack for sci-fi themes and it's very versatile. It also may be the only song that's cooler than rock style 3!

 

 

Bottom 3:

 

3. Horror style - Kinda repetitive and ugly sounding... it represents the theme very well but I wouldn't ever go out of my way to listen to it... heck, organ style arguably works better for horror themes.

 

2. Dodgems beat style - Boring and repetitive, it's a few-second audio loop.

 

1. Candy Style - Just absolutely ear grating... this is what an ironic hell would sound like. Toyland and Fantasy style set the same sort of vibe without being nearly as annoying.

What a nice idea for a poll! I had a hard time voting though, because all of the RCT ditties have something going for them. With only one or two exceptions....

 

Gentle style and water style are very similar to each other, with water style sounding....bigger, more spatial. Like gentle works well in foresty, cramped situations, water style works great with bigger themes. Like Atlantis or something. Both have become synonymous with H2H for me though, as you're bound to here one of the two in H2H fantasy parks.

 

Roman fanfare and the Egyptian theme are both fantastic, with Roman fanfare offering more options to use it in diverse themes since Egyptian really is just that: Egyptian. It's pretty hard to imagine it in any other situation or context. The same can be said for the pirate theme, which of course is just a reimagined version of 'what shall we do with the drunken sailor' and therefore leaves less room for interpretation. Oriental style also falls into this category.

 

One of my favorite themes in all of RCT2 is fantasty style. I love the calm beauty of it, it makes me think of magic and fairies, but can also fit a storytelling theme very well. Woefully underused imo.

 

The three rock styles are great for anything generic and perfect for parks that I classify as 'dirty American realism'. I mean with this they're something I imagine hearing while standing in the station or queue for amazing but unthemed rollercoasters, like you would find in any Six Flags or Cedar Fair park. Rides that focus on the thrill of the ride, and less on immersion. The same goes for modern style, and sort of urban style as well although the last one thanks to it's upbeat style and less 'gritty' nature due to the lack of electric guitars is more versatile.

 

Mars style is pretty one note as well. Can be used for goofy space themes, but would also fit a 1950s horror movie style.

 

Snow and space theme are fantastic spatial themes to emphasize grandeur and magnificence.

 

The so hated candy style and toyland style are redeemable for me for the use of kiddie areas. I will admit they're pretty annoying though, with Toyland being the best for me imo. 

 

Jurassic style is also one of those themes that can be used outside it's predefined spectrum. As it has, as this is a theme that just like gentle and summer style has become an expected value in H2H parks, or at least in New Element parks.

 

Organ style reminds me of RCT-Guide and the Efteling. I dunno why, those two just match. 

 

Then there's mechanical and technical.... Yeah, those are bad. Repetitive, boring and downright annoying... Never used them and never will. 

 

I missed quite a few of them, but I think I adressed most of my thoughts on RCT2's music styles.

Wow I'd never heard Organ style until now.. I assumed it was the same as Fairground Organ (Merry go round) so I never clicked it.

Top tier

Most flexible, unrepetitive and atmospheric: Gentle, Summer, Water, Jurassic, Jungle Drums, Wild West

 

Mid tier

I would put all the "genre" sounding ones here, because they are catchy and useful, but predictable and uninteresting or just too tied to a theme: Pirate, Egyptian, Roman Fanfare, Oriental, Medieval, Snow, Ragtime, Toyland, Horror

Too ambient to be top tier: Martian, Space, Ice
Too conspicuous to be top tier: Organ, Fantasy, Modern

Low tier
Generally too repetitive or obnoxious in some way: Candy, Techno, Mechanical, Urban, Dodgem Beat, Rock Style 1,2 + 3
 

Rock Style 2 is great. That riff!
 
https://www.youtube....h?v=GRPiiTKk_ec

Also used to be a huge fan of Urban. Back when LL came out I was playing it all the time, thought it was so cool.

Jungle drums is another fave yeah, works really nicely as a background sounds with the animal noises.

You guys don't like Mechanical style? I always loved that one.

Whoever voted space style as bad I will find you and I will make you go to the doctor to get your ears fixed. Heathen.

Whoever voted space style as bad I will find you and I will make you go to the doctor to get your ears fixed. Heathen.

You can see who voted for it,  and agreed space style is so atmospheric.

Surprised people don't care for the Dodgems Beat. While repetitive, it's a great tune imo and always rounds out an area. I find it more "dirty American" then something like the rock styles, which always sound a bit too cliche for what they're usually assigned to. Of the 3 I enjoy Rock Style 3 the most, with 2 being the worst. 

 

Modern, Jurassic, and Wild West are my top picks, each sounding pretty epic depending on their use. All 3 can be used for things other than what their titles suggest and henceforth have become pretty big staples in our parks. Same can be said with the Water style which adds an aura of mystery which I'm sure was the intention. Space is also a higher pick for me and has a really sweet ambiance to it, but like alex mentioned it may be too ambient to be a top tier choice. 

This was linked in the discord fairly recently, but I really wish we had been given the extended Modern style
 

 

The Egyptian, Mechanical, Horror, and Medieval themes are pretty repetitive, cliche and annoying at times and I try to stay away from them. Roman and Oriental could fall into that too, but I like how both feel huge with either an intense, full sound (Roman), or a great ambient reverb (Oriental), allowing both to make their surrounding areas feel big. 

 

It took my ages to finally listen through Organ style but I really dig it. It can be hard to listen to, but once focused the melody is great and it's a fun listen. Just definitely a challenge compared to others. As a fan of classical music I really love the Fairground Organ style as well and which more themes had a mix of tunes like this one. 

 

Toyland, Martian and Candy styles are all fun so long as their uses fit the themes and are sporadic in use. I really dig Martian style for it's Elfman, B-movie feel, but I haven't seen it used for much other than alien or monster-esque themes. Maybe someday. 

Candy style lives on in my nightmares.

This would be more interesting if we could choose only one of each, I think. I'd choose ragtime as my favorite, by a large margin. Second favorite would be fairground organ. I've also always liked the techno and dodgems beat styles. I have no really strong feelings for worst, but I've always felt all the water/summer/etc. styles etc. are really boring and generic, as are the rock styles. Urban style is underrated, I feel.