Naka: Sonic 3 & Knuckles Special Stage Was Inspired By Dragon Ball Z

It is no revelation that Sonic the Hedgehog has drawn upon pop culture in its creation (the Death Egg probably being one of the more obvious tributes to Star Wars), but it appears that the influences from Dragon Ball extend further than super forms and collecting 7 powerful objects! Continue reading Naka: Sonic 3 & Knuckles Special Stage Was Inspired By Dragon Ball Z

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Mash-Up Monday: Dragon Spring & Knight of the Power

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[ Feature image is Super Sonic vs. SSJ Goku, by Lamar Wells! ]

As though Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball hasn’t garnered enough success during its initial run in print and on television the world over, the famed manga and anime series is having quite the revival period in recent years.

Sequel films Battle of Gods and Resurrection: F have since contributed to the series mythos with the introduction of the Super Saiyan God, and a new sequel anime series – Dragon Ball Super – continues to add to Goku’s many adventures, following the defeat of the alien warlord Frieza, Doctor Gero’s Androids and his ultimate creation in Cell, and Bibbidi’s evil, planet-levelling monster of eons past, Majin Bū.

Numerous parallels exist between Dragon Ball and Sonic the Hedgehog – a set of seven magical artifacts said to grant miracles, Super transformations, time-travelling heroes sent back to the present to save their future, just to name a few – but there’s only one such parallel we explore here on Mash-Up Monday (or would a “Fusion Friday” have worked better for this one?), and that’s music!

Our first mash-up – “Dragon Spring” – was submitted to us by TrueBlueFuse, combining the opening to Dragon Ball Z Kai with one of my favourite tracks from the mobile endless runner, Sonic Runners! Takayoshi Tanimoto’s “Dragon Soul” fuses with Tomoya Ohtani’s “Spring Emotions” below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb7Cy5z1EZI

Thanks for sending it in, TBF!

On the other hand, Dragon Ball fans in the West are likely to have grown up to Bruce Faulconer’s score, so perhaps the next mash-up, “Knight of the Power” by Hyper-Shan, might suit your fancy!

Faulconer’s “Gohan Powers Up”, first played during the Z Warriors’ climactic battle with Cell (heck, some of you might even recognize this tune from Chakra-X’s Sonic: Nazo Unleashed animated fan film!), combines with Crush 40’s “Knight of the Wind”, from Sonic and the Black Knight, and the end result makes for a rather mystical take on an otherwise rock-heavy track. On one hand, it’s easier on the ears, but on the other, it sounds otherworldly!

Found any other interesting Sonic music mashups out there on the web? Maybe you have one of your own you’d like to share? If so, you can either share your suggestions in the comments section below (as well as your thoughts on TrueBlueFuse and Hyper-Shan’s mash-ups above!), or you can reach me via any of the following to see your choice next Monday:

Also, if you could all keep the “Sonic vs. Goku” debates outside of the comments section, that’d be greeeeeaaaaat–––
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.