Decided I was going to play through this game 'for reals' after abandoning it a few years ago, mostly because of the reverent tones given to it on the Gamespot podcast Rorie was on recently.

Anyway, I plug away until it's time to go to Mexico and finish the raft mission. Just as I get control again, I decide I don't want to use the crappy horse I've just been given and get off to whistle for my Kentucky Saddler.

Which, I've read afterwards, is what stopped the awesome music cue I've been hearing about from happening. At all. No song. Nada.

Bummer.

Wow that suuuuucks, it's one of the best moments in the game.
can't you take an earlier save or something?

Sadly, no. Went through a period of "Well, maybe it's the first time I enter a town or something?", by which time I'd already triggered a bunch of autosaves and a few manual ones.

Ah well, shit happens.

Happened to me too. Had no fucking idea what people were talking about with the "Mexico song".

How someone at Rockstar never thought a player would whistle for their horse, I do not know. That it's still an issue is pretty lame.

I guess it's possible that they didn't expect that moment to resonate as much as it has, but it's a little ironic how a developer that's overly devoted to their bullshit sometimes wouldn't realise what cutscenes are for.

It's not that great. Yeah, it kind of makes you feel like Clint Eastwood, but it's really just your introduction to the part of the game that should have been cut short, or cut completely.

Red Dead Redemption's Mexico is the collecting boar hides of MMOs.

I did the same thing :(

I really really still don't get people's beef with the Mexico bit. I actually really enjoyed most of it. I mean train robberies?! Fuck yeah!

Oh man, I remember that happening to me!

It's like bro-hugging Da Vinci in Assassin's Creed II, you either got it or you didn't.

Which reminds me that I originally traded in ACII for RDR, oh to have the foresight not to make that decision.

@demoskinos: It felt like I did a whole bunch of stuff that didn't matter as soon as I was done.

It's like that moment when Bill has the one paragraph of information you need, but he's not going to tell you until you do everything he wants, and the things he has you accomplish don't impact your own story one bit. The whole time I was in Mexico I felt as though a particular character could allow me to solve my problems if he wanted to, but instead I had to run two dozens errands for him first.

That's the big Mexico moment everyone keeps harping about? Man, I just don't get the RDR love. No more special than the silly ladder climb in MGS3.

They really Xboned it up.

Maybe it doesn't resonate with people who aren't Mexican? I'm Mexican and it was a blast going through Mexico and hearing all the people talk Spanish and get all "ranchero" all over the place. I don't know how it plays for others who don't understand Spanish or the culture.

Well if were going that route then I'd argue 2/3rds of the game are exactly that. How many favors do you do for that snake oil salesman guy? A fuck-ton. He keeps promising you things and its always one more thing. Its one of my criticisms as a whole for the game Marston seems like a guy who doesn't take shit but then ends up being peoples bitch for most of the game. Apart from the narrative angle I found the things you did in Mexico pretty fun for the most part.

Played the single-player twice and never had that happen to me. That would really suck. One of the best aspects of RDR is the atmosphere, and that song heightens it even further. That song really makes you feel that your journey has only begun and that it's only going to get uglier and uglier until the credits roll.

Same thing happened to me, I didn't even know about the song until I finished the game and a bunch of people were talking about in the forums. When I watched the video of it I was really pissed that I didn't get to go through that.

This is one of those game I regret never playing a second time. This and ME2 have to be the two best games this generation for me.

/highfive. Also how can you say "It's not that great." and "it makes you feel like Clint Eastwood." while describing the same moment?! And yeah, the train stuff was great and Landon is a baller. I enjoyed all of Red Dead, Mexico included. People who hate the Mexico portion are just RACISTS, is all I'm saying.

There's a music cue later on that I missed because I happened to gallop across one of the three best horses in the game on the way to my destination. It was kind of a bummer.

I... never even knew... No regrets though. I enjoyed RDR quite a bit even without experiencing this moment.

Wow so that's what I missed. I thought that I had my volume too low and that it played during the raft bit. Turns out that the game fucked up on me.

Don't remember this at all.

I thought the one everyone talked about was when you go to meet your wife and son finally.

You know the exact same thing happened to me. The worst thing was that the song started and I pretty much got off my horse immediately to loot some bodies and then it started to fade away. So I only got 20 seconds of the song. It was just long enough for me to think this is awesome and then WTF why is the music "tied" to the horse? It completely ruined that moment for me. I just think it's straight up poor design and it's one of the many reasons why I don't enjoy that game as much as others. The game has serous pacing issues.

It's one of the top two moments of the generation for me. You're supposed to just live in the moment until its over.

It was an amazing moment, sorry you missed it. But can you explain exactly what it was that made the music not cue? Like was it cut short to make room for the sound of your whistle or something?

I had a awesome sunset on the horizon when doing that

I think it's tied to the horse you start out on. The first time I played the game the music started right after I hit the button to get off the horse and I remember it fading really quick, though I can't remember if I got off to loot something or to call my own horse. Second run I knew to stay on the horse, and it was pretty awesome.

It's a good moment but it pales in comparison to the epilogue and super late title card.

The entire soundtrack of RDR is phenomenal but 'Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie' has to be one of the worst songs I have ever heard. It should be struck off from the CD or digital album.

Far Away always gives me chills now thanks to RDR

Restart the entire game from the beginning. It is the only way.

That didn't happen to me on the 360 version, but it did on the PS3 one.

It's actually that horse singing the song, which is why you don't get it if you switch to a shitty non-singing horse.

Just play the song on a different device when you play the game, or sing it yourself like a real cowboy.

Exact same thing happened to me (down to the Kentucky Saddler being the horse I whistled for). Didn't stop this from becoming one of my all-time favorite games.

I checked my map to set my horse GPS as soon as I got there. I think I heard maybe three seconds of the song.

Exact same thing here, and what a shit easy way to fuck up a great moment. I recently replayed the game and messed up the sequence, again. I "solved" it by turning of the sound and just played the song through youtube...

As someone who replayed that sequence a few times, I can verify that--yes, if you get off the prescribed horse, the music stops. Period.

The Mexico part goes on a little long, but it's hardly the "collecting boar hides in an MMO" part of RDR. The exposition and characters in that part of the game are well-executed and memorable.

Still in my top 5 of the best moments of the generation. I don't get why they would stop the music if you get off the horse, that's dumb...

Happened to me too, no big deal, still really enjoyed the game.

Oh, that really sucks. You'd think a bug like that wouldn't slip through.

As someone who didn't really like RDR (not the game's fault, I just hate westerns), that moment was downright beautiful. What an awesome surprise that was.

I had no idea this was in the game, played through it twice and missed it both times.

It's been a while since I played that part, but as a gringo, my feelings on the Mexico section are that: A) it is the most fun area to run around cowboying it up, as it has the strongest sense of place/ looks the coolest, and B) it is possibly the worst written part of the entire game. Which is saying something, considering how god-awful the Blackwater bit is. And the Irish/Nigel sections. And the... you get my point.

I loved all the Spanish stuff, but the lazy moral cynicism/ shitty writing that's endemic to R* really ruined what could have been the most fun section of the game. Not only does half the stuff you do have nothing to do with anything, but in Mexico the writers suddenly forgot to give Marston any actual dialogue, so he just says "I'm lookin fer two men!" in response to anything anyone else says, the entire time. So it's not like you can even sympathize with him when he's burning down villages for no reason at all.

Wow, surprised that so many people missed that.

The only part I disliked about Mexico, was the fellow (his name escapes me) who kept saying that I was a terrible shot. Sorry brother, I know your supposed to be the old gunslinger character who shows me how to be more than a thug, but I blast fools just fine.

Meh, you got a moment later that will make up for it

@jimbo said:

This would make a good post-ending easter egg cheat actually. Remember in GTA how if you left a car with the radio playing, you'd still be able to hear the music as you walked down the street? Would be cool if the horse continues to sing after you touch dirt, but you hear the song slowly fade out as he gets bored and walks off.