That's funny because I like Dune 2's OPL music over the GM version.

I also like Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Strife, and Raptor: Call of the Shadow's OPL even if the timbres are lackluster.

Yes Dune 2 was the game that came to mind for me too - amazing OPL3.

Tyrian's an obvious one.

I have to agree with Kreshna that most older games sound better with GM or MT-32. Especially when using a software MIDI synth like FluidSynth with a really good sound font (my favorite is Arachno). MT-32 sounds great if the music was originally composed for MT-32 and the artist takes advantage of its features.

However, there are some games that sound best in OPL, usually more "ambient" music that specifically uses the FM synth to good effect. My favorites are Dune and XCom: UFO Defense. But I do prefer MT-32 for XCom: Terror from the Deep. So IMHO, its always good to try out all 3 music styles (and GUS for some games) and pick the one you like best.

King's Quest (1990 remake) - most of the MT-32 instruments, especially the trumpet, in this one sound to me like someone playing a comb.

I think the games I tend to pick to answer your question are games that
1) Have very good OPL implementation to begin with
2) I've heard the OPL version exclusively many times before ever hearing the MT-32 version, thus developing an attachment to the OPL version.

The games that come to mind are Wing Commander I and II and allso, Ultima VII Pt1 and 2. Their OPL implementations are INCREDIBLE. So are their MT-32 versions, but because I heard the OPL versions first and so frequently, they became my preferred option.

Objectively, I can listen to these and say yes, the MT-32 version is better, but there's an emotional response I get from the OPL versions that I don't get with the MT-32 version.

I'm playing Fate of Atlantis at the moment and I'm listening to the MT-32 soundtrack. I find it sounds so weird, misses so much richness overall, has many volume problems between instruments that don't match, to the point of some instruments being barely audible. Another issue for me is the note attack speed is so slow compared to OPL, it makes me feel like MT-32 is on valium all the time -- it loses all the intensity and oomph especially in fast music like combat or tense situations.

Of course, there is no accounting for taste. I just want to know what OPL music do you people like better than its MT-32 or GM counterpart. It might stir my interest to explore more about this FM synthesis music.

So, which OPL song do I like better than its MT-32 version? I have mentioned a few in my OP, but they are all technically impressive FM music. How about non-technically impressive FM music? Then my choice falls on Ultima 6, where I like the OPL bootup song better than the MT-32 version.

Sure, the MT-32 version sounds more like 'real music', but OPL version sounds more ambient, more mysterious. The MT-32 version may sound like a 'real music', but it also sounds rather dull compared to the OPL version.

Since many of the classics have been mentioned already, I'll add Elite 2 to the pile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj6DmLTdjAY

I personally think the Adlib version of the intro is much superior to both the Amiga and Roland renditions!

I'm surprised Gods hasn't been mentioned yet.

Because Gods sounds better on the Amiga (where the game originally came from) than anything else...

Got rid of my MT-32 because I preferred Lost Vikings music played through a PAS16.

ratfink wrote:

Got rid of my MT-32 because I preferred Lost Vikings music played through a PAS16.

Yes the PAS16 has a beautiful OPL3 implementation.

I just sold an MT-32 too because as nice as they sound for some games, they're significantly more effort than the trusty old OPL3 (or clone) included with your sound card. More wires, mixing required, separate interface card preferable.

For Wing Commander, GM sounds better to my ears than FM. Ultima is another story though.

Also, Japanime games like Cobra Mission sounds great with FM.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

For Wing Commander, GM sounds better to my ears than FM.

Wing Commander III and IV were the only WCs to support GM. In that case, I agree, GM in WC3 is way better than FM. WC1-2 were FM or MT-32 and I think FM quality in the first two were much better than in 3 and 4.

WCI & WC2 sound great on MT-32, in my opinion much better than the FM music.

Ultima 6, on the other hand, sounds better with OPL than MT-32. Martian Dreams' MT-32 music doesn't sound too great either --certainly no better than its OPL counterpart.

Veil of Darkness sound better with FM music imho (you also lose every sound fx and voice with MT-32, but that's how game sound setup programmed)

I think I answered to a similar question last time, but out of my head that I can remember now, I like the following FM sounds better than the MT-32 version:

1. Double Dragon 3 : The Rosetta Stone opening music

2. Martian Memorandum, Temple Scene in Mars

3. Dune 2 - I feel the FM sounds conveyed the tensions better, though the MT-32 is not bad too

4. Wing Commander I dogfight tense/under-pressure music felt more intense with FM sounds

5. Eco Quest, especially the part when Adam descends into the sea layers sounds nice with OPL

There may be more, but these are the ones that I remember right now.

I think hearing for the first time with my Sound Blaster 1.5 card, before I had MT-32 (not until 18 years later) might have influenced my preference.