In many games in the Sonic series, if the player stays submerged in water for too long without inhaling Air Bubbles, a countdown sequence will initiate. This sequence is usually accompanied by a repeating jingle that gets progressively faster as the countdown continues. If the player fails to catch their breath (either by leaving the water or inhaling an Air Bubble) before the countdown ends, the player character will drown and lose a life.
This mechanic first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog and has been a staple of Sonic games since then. Its signature jingle, presumed to be composed by Yukifumi Makino, Sonic the Hedgehog's sound programmer, is rearranged in most games it is used in. It is commonly referred to as "Drowning", though it has been given other names in soundtrack albums, such as "I Wanna Breathe" and "Out of Breath".[1][2]
Currently, 17 rips of this song and its arrangements have been uploaded, the most popular of them being "Drowning - Sonic Mania", which was uploaded on September 4, 2017, and has over 149 thousand views as of December 6, 2021. A recurring joke in a handful of "Drowning" rips is the song "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane, first appearing the rip "Drowning - Sonic the Hedgehog".
