"The pitch bends sound wrong. They are too smooth." Solution: Genesis FM chips had a specific pitch bend curve. You need to set your DAW's pitch bend range to 2 semitones (not the default 12). Check the Soundfont's documentation, but 2 is the golden number.

That twangy, slightly detuned, impossibly catchy lead of Emerald Hill Zone will fill your speakers. And just like that, you are eight years old again, blasting through loop-de-loops.

You don't need to be a programmer or a sound designer. You just need the .sf2 file, a lightweight sampler, and a USB key. Load it up. Press a key.

But what if you could take those iconic sounds—the distorted bass of Chemical Plant Zone, the steel drum lead of Aquatic Ruin, the punchy kick drum of the final boss theme—and use them in your own Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)? What if you could make them ?