#Sonic 3 and knuckles steam Pc#

As Jackson's involvement with the title became more and more publicly acknowledged, the less Sega was willing to risk paying out copious royalties (as well as the bad press they'd garner for being associated with a galvanizing figure like Jackson.)

The latest collection of Genesis games, Sega Genesis Classics, also omitted the title, andВ the publisher quietly delisted the standalone bundle of Sonic 3 & Knuckles from Steam a while back. While never officially confirmed by Sega, this is likely why Sonic The Hedgehog 3 has been mostly absent from various compilations over the years - especially as of late. This put them in a weird place, licensing-wise, especially considering they would also owe royalties to a bevy of other producers who worked on the title.

#Sonic 3 and knuckles steam Pc#

While a late '90s PC port of Sonic 3 would scrub all of the music and replace it with grating, low-quality alternative tracks, what Sega was left with was a game that technically contained a small trove of Michael Jackson music. However, the music Jackson recorded did stay in the game, according to producers who worked on the title. It was a nasty little bit of serendipity, with a dash of corporate hubris thrown in for good measure. They could wash their hands of Jackson entirely, while also not having to admit that their console had technical limitations. It was around this time that those initial accusations hit Jackson, and in them lied a golden opportunity for Sega. Pop Fiction does an excellent breakdown of the whole story: Sega, of course, was reluctant to admit that any part of their console might be inferior. He didn't want the inferior sound quality of the technically limited console to affect his reputation, leading to his departure. Why? Because Jackson was a notorious perfectionist, as is painfully clear from watching 2009's This Is It, and found himself frustrated with the Genesis' limited sound chip. In truth, Jackson left the project of his own volition, and asked that his name be removed. It only made sense, then, that Sega wanted to distance themselves from the controversy. These accusationsВ damaged to the singer's reputation and would continue to haunt him until his untimely death in 2009. Many speculate the reasoning for this is that, around the time of Sonic 3's development, Jackson was rocked by accusations of child molestation. Sega has actually never officially confirmed that Jackson's music made its way into the game at all, having always downplayed his involvement. Related: Sonic Doesn't Need To Stick To 2D Sega proceeded to scrub his name from the final product, while still keeping his work. However, midway through production, Jackson left the project. Michael Jackson would wind up lending his musical expertise to Sonic's third outing, along with New Wave stalwart Brad Buxer and a few other producers. In fact, Jackson was closely entangled with Sega for a hot second in the late '80s and early '90s - so much so that they were the publisher of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, another unfortunate absence from the Genesis Mini.ДЇrom this relationship sprung an unlikely partnership. That's right - the King of Pop himself was at one point involved with the Sonic franchise in a fairly major way. So what gives? While Sega has always been reluctant to address this part of its history, the answer lies in an unlikely place: Michael Jackson. Not only that, but its sort-of sequel, Sonic and Knuckles, is also nowhere to be found. While Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and (unfortunately) Sonic Spinball are all present and accounted for, the Blue Blur's third outing is completely MIA.

Much like the early '90s, Sega has proven that it can, indeed, do what Nintendon't.Д«ut diehard Sega fans might notice a surprising omission when they fire up the Genesis Mini. Over 40 games, excellent emulation, fantastic build quality - this is one of the very best retro revival consoles to date. The Sega Genesis Mini is finally out in the wild, and it's mostly everything we could've ever hoped for.