Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Development/Music

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Unlike other Sonic games, the music of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 stands as an ongoing controversy for Sega due to the choices made during development. It is not fully understood how much of the soundtrack is owned by the company, having outsourced its production to third-parties, some of which have chosen to distance themselves from the project in later years.

Masato Nakamura, responsible for the soundtracks to the first two Mega Drive Sonic games games, was at the time having a great deal of success with his band, Dreams Come True, leading him up his demands for working on a possible Sonic 3. Nakamura wanted more money; both for his contributions in this new game and for if Sega chose to reuse his compositions for any future Sonic titles. Sega declined, and decided to look elsewhere for the composition power needed in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was set to be developed in the United States at the Sega Technical Institute, where a chunk of the original Sonic Team (including Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara) were still situated. Answering the call, Sega are thought to have been approached by pop sensation Michael Jackson and his team. Jackson had a history with Sega (most notably producing Michael Jackson's Moonwalker early in the Mega Drive's lifespan) and had visited Sega's offices in Japan some months prior. He liked video games, he liked Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sega accepted immediately.

“	And you wouldn't believe the celebrities who did cameos. Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson...of course they didn't use their real names, but you could tell it was them.	„
— Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons episode 9F03, "The Itchy & Scratchy Movie"

However, Michael Jackson is not credited in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (or indeed Sonic & Knuckles - the eventual "second half" of the adventure). Instead, credits go to the following "music composers": Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III and Scirocco (and in addition, Sega's internal sound team and Cube are also confirmed to have composed music for the game). The omission, particularly in the early 90s when only the core team of developers usually made it into the credits, was perhaps not surprising, but still curious as several staff members have mentioned the star by name.

Jackson had a history of going uncredited (or using pseudonyms) in productions, often due to contractual complications. Reportedly Jackson's record label at the time, Epic Records refused permission for the star to sing for any of its potential rivals. The most famous example of this is third season episode of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, Stark Raving Dad (1991), where despite guest starring as "Micheal Jackson", the credit is given to "John Jay Smith", a person that does not exist. This was later referenced in a season four episode of the show.

In 1993, Michael Jackson became caught up in child sexual abuse allegations and cancelled the final leg of his Dangerous World Tour due to health concerns. General Manager of the Sega Technical Institute at that time, Roger Hector, stated in a 2005 interview and in a follow up video interview on Pop Fiction in 2013 that this scandal lead to Michael Jackson's music being removed. Brad Buxer, a member of Michael Jackson's production team, argued that the music was not removed but instead Michael Jackson was simply uncredited. Additionally, Buxer stated the reason was not the scandal but that Michael Jackson was not satisfied with the sound quality produced by the Sega Mega Drive system.

In 2016, Todd van Luling from the Huffington post reached out to all the composers involved, and in this article they explained that they had in fact been assembled by Michael Jackson to help compose music for the game and confirmed that the music they made could still be heard in the final release of the game, providing hard evidence on what had been speculated on for more than a decade. Additionally, with the revelation of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 1993-11-03 prototype in 2019, it appears that the music that Michael Jackson's team produced was used to replace existing tracks in the Sega Mega Drive version, with Sonic & Knuckles Collection retaining the original prototype tracks composed by Sega's internal sound team and Cube. This further points the evidence in the direction of Michael Jackson not wanting to be credited due to the sound quality, as the development team had the option to completely roll back to the original tracks they had prior to the involvement of Michael Jackson if the scandal had been so objectionable.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Credits

Michael Jackson's Team

The following people are listed as 'Music Composers' in the ending credits scroll, with Buxer, Grigsby and Jones all confirming in this 2016 Huffington Post article that they worked with Michael Jackson on the soundtrack to Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

• Brad Buxer
• Bobby Brooks
• Darryl Ross
• Geoff Grace
• Doug Grigsby III
• C. Cirocco Jones ("Scirocco")

SEGA Sound Team

The following people are listed under 'SEGA Sound Team' in the ending credits scroll.

• Tokuhiko Uwabo ("Bo")
• Sachio Ogawa
• Yoshiaki Kashima ("Milpo")
• Masaru Setsumaru
• Tatsuyuki Maeda
• Tomonori Sawada
• Masayuki Nagao
• Jun Senoue

Sound Special Thanks

The following people are listed under 'Sound Special Thanks' in the ending credits scroll. While Nagao has confirmed that Miyoko Takaoka and Masanori Hikichi contributed music to the game, it is unclear what the others did.

• Mayumi Nina Sakazaki (MRM)
• Cube Corp.
• Opus Corp.
• Masanori Nakayama (Studio Who)
• Howard Drossin

List of music tracks linked to Team and Composer

This is a work in progress list to identify the team and composer behind each piece of music in Sonic 3.

Zone / Event		Act	ID	Team	Composers	Sounds Similar To...	Notes
<div class="bobscreen" style="width:200px; height:px; display:inline-block; text-align:center; overflow:hidden;"> 200px Knuckles' Theme </div>	Prototype / PC		1F*	Sega			*Used in the Prototype at the end of AIZ Act 2 and HZ Act 2, but not at start of AIZ Act 1. Also used as Knuckles' Theme in Sonic & Knuckles Collection, which confirms it as the prototype Knuckles theme.
	Sonic 3		1F	Michael Jackson	Brad Buxer	Michael Jackson - Blood on the Dancefloor	Heavily inspired by the drum beat in Blood on the Dancefloor, Drum programming credited to Brad Buxer.
	Sonic & Knuckles		1F	Sega	Howard Drossin
Sub-boss	Prototype / PC / Sonic & Knuckles		2E	Sega	Unknown
	Sonic 3 MD (Only)		18	Michael Jackson	Brad Buxer / Geoff Grace	Michael Jackson - Is It Scary	Built upon Knuckles' Theme, which was likely composed by Brad Buxer. Features similar chord progression used in Is It Scary from Blood on the Dancefloor album, which Geoff Grace is credited as arranger.
Bonus Stage (Gumball)	All Versions		1E	Sega	Jun Senoue		"I did only 2 or 3 songs for Sonic 3. Actually, the songs for bonus stage are mine" - Jun Senoue interview by LOst (June 2002)
Special Stage (Blue Spheres)	All Versions		1C	Sega	Jun Senoue
Competition Screen	Prototype / PC		2D*	Sega	Unknown		*Not used in the Prototype gameplay (soundtest only) but is used as Competition Menu in Sonic & Knuckles Collection, which confirms it as the prototype Competition Menu theme.
	Sonic 3 / Sonic & Knuckles		2D	Michael Jackson*	Unknown		Not used in PC version and not in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (prototype; 1993-11-03), has Michael Jackson "sound" to it but is *unconfirmed.
Angel Island Zone	All Versions	Act 1	01	Sega	Tomonori Sawada / Yoshiaki Kashima ("Milpo")		Sonic 10th Anniversary CD credits Tomonori Sawada and Yoshiaki Kashima
		Act 2	02
Hydrocity Zone	All Versions	Act 1	03	Sega	Unknown		Originally believed to be composed by Michael Jackson's team due to Cirocco Jones' website having a section for "Levels 2 & 3" of a Sonic the Hedgehog game with a demo called "The Water". However this is likely not by Michael Jackson's team: Has an Act 2 Remixed version, not just slightly changed like other MJ songs. Has no vocal sounds unlike other MJ songs. "Level 3" which is also mentioned (Marble Garden Zone) has been confirmed as by a member of SEGA's sound team not MJ. Sounds the same in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (prototype; 1993-11-03) which appears to be prior to any other MJ songs used to replace existing songs. Exists in Sonic Mania.
		Act 2	04
Marble Garden Zone	All Versions	Act 1	05	Sega	Miyoko Takaoka		Confirmed via twitter: https://twitter.com/soundforest1/status/451046640552382465
		Act 2	06
Carnival Night Zone	Prototype / PC	Act 1	07	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2	08	Sega	Unknown
	Sonic 3 / Sonic & Knuckles	Act 1	07	Michael Jackson	Unknown	Michael Jackson - Jam
		Act 2	08	Michael Jackson	Unknown
IceCap Zone	Prototype / PC	Act 1	0B	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2	0C	Sega	Unknown
	Sonic 3 / Sonic & Knuckles	Act 1	0B	Michael Jackson	Brad Buxer / Bruce Connole	The Jetzons - Hard Times	Performed by The Jetzons in 1983. Title: "Hard Times". BMI credits Bruce Connole as composer. Brad Buxer was a keyboardist in The Jetzons and Buxer is credited in the Sonic 3 credits, unlike Connole.
		Act 2	0C
Launch Base Zone	Prototype / PC	Act 1	0D	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2	0E	Sega	Unknown
	Sonic 3 / Sonic & Knuckles	Act 1	0D	Michael Jackson	Unknown
		Act 2	0E	Michael Jackson	Unknown
Ending Credits	Prototype / PC		26*	Sega	Unknown		*Credits Theme in Sonic & Knuckles Collection.
	Sonic 3		26	Michael Jackson	Brad Buxer	Michael Jackson - Stranger in Moscow	Confirmed in Black & White Magazine interview to be composed by Brad Buxer using the same chords as Stranger in Moscow.
	Sonic the Hedgehog 3C (prototype 0517)		32	Sega & Micheal Jackson	Multiple		Significant as it is a full medley of zone music in Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles including zones with Michael Jackson's team's work. This was scrapped in Sonic 3 & Knuckles (why?)
	Sonic & Knuckles		32	Sega	Howard Drossin		Medley of zone music only in Sonic & Knuckles.
Azure Lake Zone (Competition)	All Versions	Act 1	20	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2
Balloon Park Zone (Competition)	All Versions	Act 1	21	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2
Desert Palace Zone (Competition)	All Versions	Act 1	22	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2
Chrome Gadget Zone (Competition)	All Versions	Act 1	23	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2
Endless Mine Zone (Competition)	All Versions	Act 1	24	Sega	Unknown
		Act 2

List of Sonic 3 audio samples linked to source

Download Sonic 3 Samples (WAV Format) File: S3sampswav.rar (125 kB) (info)

The DAC audio samples located within the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ROM (originally extracted by Stealth) are listed here as part of an ongoing project to locate where they came from (songs, sample packs, etc.)

ID	Audio	Type	Description	Source	Zone / Event
9F	Played at 13.5kHz.	Sample	"Jam!" long	Michael Jackson - Jam	Carnival Night Zone
A0	Played at 13.5kHz.	Sample	"Jam!" short	Michael Jackson - Jam	Carnival Night Zone
A1		Sample	Glass breaking 1		Carnival Night Zone
A2		Sample	Glass breaking 2		Carnival Night Zone
A5		Sample	"Come on!"	Rob Base & DJ E Z Rock - Joy & Pain (Featured in many sample packs)	Sub-boss
A9		Sample	"Woo!"/"HUH"	AKAI "Music Store - Einstein I" Sample Pack	Sub-boss
AA		Sample	"Go!"		Launch Base Zone
AB		Sample	"Go!" + Snare	Same as AA sample with snare drum added	Launch Base Zone
B4C1-C4		Sample	Chord Stab
B5		Sample	Chord Stab
B6		Sample	"Hey"		Knuckles' Theme
B8-B9		Sample	Chord Stab
BC		Sample	Chord Stab
BE		Sample	"Woo!" + Glass Breaking	Same as A9 Sample with Glass Breaking added	Sub-Boss
C0		Sample	Breath
X		Sample	Chord Stabs	Similar to sample BC
81		Drum	Snare
82-85		Drum	Tom
86		Drum	Kick
87		Drum	Snare
88		Drum	Kick+Cymbal
89		Drum	HiHat
8A-8B		SFX	Metal hit
8C		SFX	Pop/Click
8D-8E		Drum
8F		Clap
90-93		Drum	E.Tom
94-97		Drum	E.Snare
98-9A		Drum	Timpani
9B		Drum	Snare
9C		SFX	Shaker
9D		SFX	Distorted Kick
9E		SFX	Hit
A3		SFX	Hit
A4		Drum	Muted Kick
A6		Drum	E.Snare
A7		Drum	Vintage Kick
A8		Drum	Processed Kick
AC		Drum	Processed Kick
AD-AE		Percussion	Wooden Hit
AF-B0		Percussion	Metal Hit
B1		SFX	Sci-Fi Sound
B2-B3		Clap			Knuckles' Theme
B7		Drum	Kick
BA		SFX	Reverse cymbal
BB		SFX	Record Scratch
BD		Drum	Kick
BF		SFX	Click

Background on Michael Jackson's Team

Roger Hector interviews

“	Sonic 3 (also called Sonic & Knuckles) was a lot of fun, but it was also very difficult. Michael Jackson was originally brought in to compose all the music for the game, but at the very end, his work was dropped after his scandals became public. This caused a lot of problems and required a lot of reworking. But the game turned out great in the end.	„
— Roger Hector, General Manager of the Sega Technical Institute

In an interview in August 2005, Roger Hector, the "executive coordinator" of both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, confirmed that Michael Jackson composed all the music for the game, but was dropped due to the 1993 scandal. This was backed up by a separate interview two years later, claiming that the Jackson soundtrack was never heard by the general publicMedia:Makingofs3kpg4.jpg.

While Hector was not directly involved in Sonic 3's development, his role was to manage all projects at STI, and was usually involved with high level discussions (Jackson's signing and dismissal being two of them).

“	The music fitted perfectly for the game, and they had a distinctive 'Michael Jackson' sound. We had it all ready and integrated into the game when the first news stories came out accusing him child molestation, and Sega had to back away from the collaboration...It was too bad nobody outside ever heard the Michael Jackson music.	„
— Roger Hector, Executive Coordinator, Sonic 3 & KnucklesMedia:Makingofs3kpg4.jpg

Howard Drossin interview

Howard Drossin and his guitar. From the MTV Special "Inside Sonic & Knuckles."

According to Roger Hector, Howard Drossin is said to have been brought in to replace Michael Jackson's musicMedia:Makingofs3kpg4.jpg, but also goes uncredited in Sonic 3. He is, however, the main composer behind Sonic & Knuckles (and is credited there).

Drossin, when recollecting his involvement in the soundtrack in August 2008, was adamant that Michael Jackson had nothing to do with the final product, but went on to say that he was not responsible for the bulk of the soundtrack as Roger Hector claimed, but only a handful of his tracks made it into the final product, most exclusive to Sonic & Knuckles.

When locked onto Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles creates Sonic 3 & Knuckles. When this occurs, the miniboss and Knuckles themes (and most of the jingles) from Sonic 3 are replaced with their Sonic & Knuckles counterparts, most of which were composed by Drossin. So in this context, some Sonic 3 tracks were replaced by Drossin's compositions, but the true reasoning for why remains unclear.

Brad Buxer interview

Brad Buxer, credited in Sonic 3, was a long-time contributor with Michael Jackson. He is the co-writer of the 1996 hit, Stranger in Moscow, and was also involved with the production of Jam and Who Is It, all of which are thought to share similarities with the Sonic 3 soundtrack.

Buxer shed some light into Michael Jackson's involvement in a December 2009 interview with Black & White Magazine. In this interview, Buxer confirms that the final release of Sonic 3 does contain at least one piece of work by Michael Jackson:

“	B&W: Can you clarify the rumor that Michael had in 1993 composed the music for Sonic 3 video game, for which you havel been credited? Buxer: I've never played the game so I do not know what tracks on which Michael and I have worked the developers have kept, but we did compose music for the game. Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that's what I did. And if he is not credited for composing the music, it's because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music... B&W: One of the surprising things in this soundtrack is that you can hear the chords from Stranger in Moscow, which is supposed to have been composed later... Buxer: Yes, Michael and I had composed those chords for the game, and it has been used as base for Stranger in Moscow. [...]	„
— An excerpt from the Black & White Magazine interview with Brad Buxer

According to this statement, Jackson did not wish to be credited by name in the game because he was unhappy with the quality of sound the Sega Mega Drive's Yamaha YM-2612 sound chip produced. Buxer's statement also confirms that the similarity between Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" and Sonic 3's ending credits song are not a coincidence, and that the credits theme indeed uses chords originally composed by him and Buxer.

However, these statements directly contradict what Roger Hector has said.

Cirocco Jones discography

A discography of another musician (or "music consultant") working on the game, Cirocco Jones (appearing as 'Scirocco' in the Sonic 3 credits), lists a "levels 2 & 3" as being composed by Michael Jackson and belonging to "Sonic The Hedgehog". While "levels 2 & 3" could be referring to Hydrocity Zone and Marble Garden Zone, respectively, it could easily be referring to prototype level ordering, or indeed the order in which the group composed music.

The other "composers"

In addition to Brad Buxter and Cirocco Jones, other credited composers are known to have worked alongside Michael Jackson in the early-to-mid 1990s.

Robert Green "Bobby" Brooks was working with Michael and his siblings as an audio engineer, possibly from as early as their Motown years. Darryl Ross was also an engineer working with the star, Geoff Grace a composer, and Doug Grigsby III produced some of Jackson's material during this time period. All four were involved in the creation of Michael Jackson's next album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I which released in 1995, and none are known to have previously worked in video games (or indeed since in most cases).

Sonic & Knuckles Collection

In 1997 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were brought to Windows PCs in the form of Sonic & Knuckles Collection.

In this edition of the game, six of the tracks (Carnival Night, IceCap, Launch Base, the credits to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles' theme in Sonic 3 and the Competition menu) have entirely different compositions, and the Mini-Boss theme is always the Sonic & Knuckles version, with the slot for the Sonic 3 version being replaced with an entirely different (and unused) song. The reasoning for this has never been clearly explained, and has not applied to subsequent Mega Drive re-releases of the game(s).

Initially it was believed that these new songs were composed to be replacements to avoid rights issues, however as these tracks are present in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (prototype; 1993-11-03) people have speculated that the PC version may have been in simultaneous development as the Sega Mega Drive version. It is possible that the compositions in the PC/Prototype were what was originally planned before Michael Jackson's team was introduced, and only the development team working on the Sega Mega Drive version got the compositions produced by Michael Jackson's music team.

Audio similarities

While it has yet to be confirmed which tracks were influenced by Michael Jackson, there are definitely some clues left in the game.

Knuckles' theme

The 4-bar swinging hiphop beat that plays when Knuckles comes on-screen, one conveniently replaced in Sonic & Knuckles and the PC release of the game, contains samples that sound identical to "Blood on the Dance Floor".

Carnival Night Zone

Both acts of Carnival Night Zone share similarities to "Jam", most notably in the use of a horn-based "downwards fall" (played directly before Heavy D's rap in the Jackson song):

(identical notes between the two songs are highlighted in red)

Ice Cap Zone

Much of the Ice Cap Zone theme was composed by Brad Buxer, as an unreleased 1982 track by new wave band the The Jetzons. "Hard Times" was unheard by the general public until 2008, when it appeared as part of The Complete Jetzons compilation.

While it is unlikely Michael Jackson had any direct involvement in this one, a good portion of Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" shares a chord structure similar to that of the first act 1. This is especially noticeable in the version that plays in the Moonwalker movie, which isn't found on the Bad album. Roughly six minutes into the song, following the bass solo after the quiet orchestral section (as Jackson and the gangsters perform the Anti Gravity Lean), the bassline and string section clearly changes to a piece of music very similar to Ice Cap Zone. After the main bassline returns, a keyboard continues to play the Ice Cap chord sequence until the end of the song.

Jackson's "Who Is It" is also very similar to the zone. The keyboard section under the chorus, when sped up, has an almost identical chord structure and texture to that of the Sonic 3 level.

Credits theme

Sonic 3's credits theme is extremely similar to a faster-paced "Stranger In Moscow", another Buxter-Jackson collaboration. The synth/strings section, as heard in the intro before the lyrics start, is identical to the sequence that plays during the first section of the ending theme to Sonic 3.

Particularly unusual about this find is that Stranger In Moscow was not released until a full two years after Sonic 3. It has been suggested that the Sonic 3 credits theme may have been a prototype to this song.

Current issues

In the modern age, video game companies have become increasingly wary of re-releasing games in their back catalogue that they may not own the full rights to. The changes seen in Sonic & Knuckles Collection would suggest the music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has been presenting a problem since at least 1997. Sega is not thought to have been challenged on the use of Sonic 3's music, but it remains a thorny issue to this day.

No subsequent Sonic game has ever revisited Carnival Night, Ice Cap or Launch Base Zone. Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania avoid these levels, and likewise, the music accompanying Knuckles or the mini boss has never been heard outside of Sonic 3. Curiously, however, some of the replaced Sonic 3 jingles have turned up in newer games (such as the title screen and 1-up theme), which would suggest Sega owns the rights to those, but a game like Sonic Pocket Adventure, whose entire soundtrack is lifted from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles has no signs of the so-called Jackson tracks.

Despite being offered by Christian Whitehead, Sega chose not to offer remastered mobile versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in a similar manner to the 2013 releases of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Likewise while other mobile versions of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 were commissioned, none were released for Sonic 3.

Sonic 3 is less widely available than its Mega Drive counterparts - while included where it is expected (e.g. Sonic Jam or Sonic Mega Collection), it is often neglected in budget Mega Drive consoles made by AtGames, and is missing from the 2018 release of Sega Mega Drive Classics, despite virtually every other first-party Mega Drive game making an appearance.

There is no concrete evidence that the music holds Sonic 3 back, however there have been similar cases where the publisher has been reluctant to re-release games that may present legal issues. Nintendo's Earthbound on the Super NES is one such example - the Virtual Console release was held back for years because much of the game's soundtrack samples popular songs from The Beatles and elsewhere.

List of music tracks

Both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles

ID	Usage	Musicans	Comments
01	Angel Island Zone Act 1		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
02	Angel Island Zone Act 2		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
03	Hydrocity Zone Act 1		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
04	Hydrocity Zone Act 2		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
05	Marble Garden Zone Act 1		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
06	Marble Garden Zone Act 2		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
07	Carnival Night Zone Act 1		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
08	Carnival Night Zone Act 2		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
09	Flying Battery Zone Act 1
0A	Flying Battery Zone Act 2
0B	IceCap Zone Act 1		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
0C	IceCap Zone Act 2		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
0D	Launch Base Zone Act 1
0E	Launch Base Zone Act 2
0F	Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1
10	Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2
11	Sandopolis Zone Act 1
12	Sandopolis Zone Act 2
13	Lava Reef Zone Act 1
14	Lava Reef Zone Act 2, Hidden Palace Zone
15	Sky Sanctuary Zone
16	Death Egg Zone Act 1
17	Death Egg Zone Act 2
18	Sub-boss		Same as 2E in Sonic & Knuckles
19	Boss
1A	The Doomsday Zone
1B	Bonus Stage (Glowing Spheres)
1C	Special Stage
1D	Bonus Stage (Slot Machine)
1E	Bonus Stage (Gumball)		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
20	Azure Lake		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
21	Balloon Park		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
22	Desert Palace		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
23	Chrome Gadget		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
24	Endless Mine		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
26	Credits		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
27	Game over
28	Competition results, Blue Sphere		Faster in Sonic 3
29	Act complete
2B	Chaos Emerald
2D	Competition menu		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone
2F	Options, level select
30	Final boss
31	Countdown		Blank in Sonic & Knuckles alone

Sonic the Hedgehog 3-only

ID	Usage	Musicans	Comments
1F	Knuckles
25	Title screen
2A	Extra life
2C	Invincibility
2E	Sub-boss
32	Ending

Sonic & Knuckles-only

ID	Usage	Musicans	Comments
1F	Knuckles
25	Title screen
2A	Extra life
2C	Invincibility
32	Ending

Prototype/Sonic & Knuckles Collection

ID	Usage	Musicans	Comments
07	Carnival Night Zone Act 1
08	Carnival Night Zone Act 2
0B	IceCap Zone Act 1
0C	IceCap Zone Act 2
0D	Launch Base Zone Act 1
0E	Launch Base Zone Act 2
1F	Knuckles
26	Credits
2E	Unknown