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, was having a great deal of success with his band, Dreams Come True, leading to him upping his demands for work on a possible Sonic 3. Nakamura wanted more royalties; both for his new music, and for the reuse of his compositions in the future. Sega declined, and decided to look elsewhere for the composition power needed in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Soon after development on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was complete, core staff members Yuji Naka, Hirokazu Yasuhara, and Takashi Iizuka were brought back to Japan to begin work on Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Answering the call, Sega is 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 was not credited in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (as well as Sonic & Knuckles - the eventual "second half" of the adventure). Instead, credited were individuals Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III, and Scirocco (the Sega Sound Team and Cube were treated as secondary to the "music composers"). Jackson's omission was perhaps not surprising, particularly in the early 90s when only the core team of developers usually made it into the credits. And yet, strangely, 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 the 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 canceled 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 that Michael Jackson was simply uncredited. Additionally, Buxer stated that the scandal was not the cause, but Michael Jackson's dissatisfaction with the sound quality of the Sega Mega Drive system.

In 2016, Todd van Luling from the Huffington Post reached out to all of the Western composers involved. In this article, they explained that they were in fact assembled by Michael Jackson to help compose music for the game and that their music could still be heard in the final release. But 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 actually used to replace existing tracks composed by Sega's internal sound team, which would be first heard in Sonic & Knuckles Collection. This further points in the direction of Michael Jackson choosing not to be credited, rather than Sega pulling the plug themselves (who always had the option to choose their older, in-house compositions).

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. For more details, see #Background on SEGA Sound Team and Cube Corp.

• Tokuhiko Uwabo ("Bo") ― [Note: Sound Director]
• Sachio Ogawa
• Yoshiaki Kashima ("Milpo") ― [Note: Sound Driver]
• Masaru Setsumaru ― [Note: Sound Programming, Arrangement]
• Tatsuyuki Maeda ― [Note: Composer]
• Tomonori Sawada ― [Note: Composer]
• Masayuki Nagao ― [Note: Sound Programming, Arrangement]
• Jun Senoue ― [Note: Composer]

Sound Special Thanks

The following people are listed under 'Sound Special Thanks' in the ending credits scroll.

• Mayumi Nina Sakazaki (as "MRM") ― She was Michael Jackson's coordinator, although her role in Sonic 3 is unclear.
• Cube Corp. ― Nagao confirmed that former Cube members Miyoko Takaoka and Masanori Hikichi contributed to the music. Furthermore, Cube's old list of works not just included Sonic 3, but also confirms that they were responsible for composing eight of the game's tracks.
• Opus Corp. ― This credit was placed as Nagao was preparing the join the company during the development.
• Masanori Nakayama (Studio Who)
• Howard Drossin ― He would go on to contribute a few tracks for Sonic & Knuckles.

Music Soundtrack

This is a work in progress list to identify the team & composer(s) behind each piece of music in the Sonic 3 & Knuckles game series.

Discussion Thread.

Zones

Angel Island Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	01	ALL	Sega	???
	02	ALL	Sega	???
The compositions for Act 1 and Act 2 made it into an arrangement for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Because Brawl's "Sound Test" only credits Senoue, he is occasionally listed as the original composer for "Angel Island Zone", something Senoue has debunked. This arrangement was also included in the True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog compilation CD, where the composition has been attributed to "Sega".
The Act 1 variant has made its way into both Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania Plus. However, in both instances, nobody was directly credited for the composition.

Hydrocity Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	03	ALL	Sega	???
	04	ALL	Sega	Masayuki Nagao (Arrangement)
It was 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". It has been assumed that "Level 2" refers to "Hydrocity Zone". However, this is likely not by Michael Jackson's team. The Act 2 arrangement is significantly more different from the Act 1 arrangement and there are no vocal samples incorporated in either, unlike the other MJ compositions.
The music for Hydrocity Zone exists in the 1993-11-03 prototype.
The arrangement for Act 1 is unlockable in Sonic Generations. Both Acts were rearranged by Tee Lopes for Sonic Mania and included in the game's soundtrack. None of this would have happened if these pieces were not composed in-house.

Marble Garden Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	05	ALL	Cube	Miyoko Takaoka (Composer)
	06	ALL	Cube	Miyoko Takaoka (Composer)
In 2014, Miyoko Takaoka stated that she had composed the music for "Marble Garden Zone" and an ambiguous "bonus stage" during a correspondence on Twitter. However, when sent links to the bonus stage compositions from Sonic 3, she did not recognize any of them and suspected that her composition was replaced for the final release. She has been credited during an official Sonic Live stream video event in August 2020 for background music being played.
The arrangement for Act 1 is unlockable in Sonic Generations, suggesting there's no rights issue for these compositions, and unlikely to be from Michael Jackson's team.

Carnival Night Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	07	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	???
	08	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	???
Both Acts of the S3 version contain music inspiration from "Jam" by Michael Jackson. 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:
The final note in the sequence is accompanied by a distorted audio sample taken directly from the song "Jam", played on the YM2612's DAC channel. This sample is located in the Sonic 3 ROM. The poor fidelity of the sample playback on the Sega Mega Drive system could be supporting evidence of Brad Buxer's comment in the Black & White interview that Michael Jackson went uncredited as he was unsatisfied with the sound quality.
The zone's music also contains rhythms inspired from "Entry of the Gladiators" by Julius Fučík. This piece is in the public domain.

Flying Battery Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	09	ALL	Sega	???
	0A	ALL	Sega	???
The arrangement for Act 1 is unlockable in Sonic Generations. Both Acts were rearranged by Tee Lopes for Sonic Mania and were included on the game's soundtrack, indicating Sega has full ownership of these compositions and that they were composed in-house. The tune is featured as track 3 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Ice Cap Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	0B	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	Brad Buxer (Composer)
	0C	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	Brad Buxer (Composer)
The S3 version was based on a song called "Hard Times", an unreleased 1982 piece by new-wave band The Jetzons. Brad Buxer was the keyboardist for the band & was credited in Sonic 3. "Hard Times" was unheard by the general public until 2008, when it appeared as part of The Complete Jetzons compilation. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), an authority on music credentials, also attributes Bruce Connole as songwriter/composer for "Hard Times". Connole was vocalist for the 1982 composition.
While unlikely that Michael Jackson had direct involvement in this tune, a good portion of "Smooth Criminal" shares chord structures similar to Act 1. This is especially noticeable in the version that plays in the Moonwalker movie, which isn't found on the Bad album. Roughly 6 minutes into the song, following the bass solo after the quiet orchestral section (as Jackson and the gangsters perform the Anti Gravity Lean), the bass line & string section clearly changes to a piece of music very similar to Ice Cap Zone. After the main bass line 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. Regarding Ice Cap's prototype music, Tomonori Sawada is speculated to have composed the prototype's music due to similarities in Sonic 2's Crystal Egg Zone music for Game Gear. No official source has confirmed it to be the case at this time.
The compositions for Ice Cap Zone have never been officially released by Sega in any official capacity.

Launch Base Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	0D	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	???
	0E	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	???
The compositions for Launch Base Zone have never been officially released by Sega in any official capacity.

Mushroom Hill Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	0F	ALL	Sega	???
	10	ALL	Sega	???
Also known by its prototype name "Mushroom Valley Zone", this tune is featured as track 2 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami. Three arrangements of "Mushroom Hill Zone" were made for the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations and are included in the game's soundtrack. The Act 1 composition is an unlockable piece in the console version of Generations.

Sandopolis Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	11	ALL	Sega	???
	12	ALL	Sega	???
The tune is featured as track 5 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami. Though Howard Drossin included a piece of the same name in the album Virtual Sonic, the composition is completely different from the one used in-game. An arrangement of this piece by Tee Lopes and Jun Senoue - dubbed "Boo's House" - was included in Team Sonic Racing. This arrangement is on the official Sonic YouTube Channel and the game's soundtrack. In the latter, the original game music composition is broadly attributed to "Sega".

Lava Reef Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	13	ALL	Sega	???
	14	ALL	Sega	Masayuki Nagao (Arrangement)
Act 2's music is also used in Hidden Palace Zone. The composition was rearranged by Tee Lopes for Sonic Mania and is included on the game's soundtrack, where its original composition is broadly attributed to "Sega". Act 1's music is featured as track 6 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Sky Sanctuary Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	15	ALL	Sega	???
This piece is also used as the ending cutscene music for S&K and S3&K before the staff roll. This track has been used extensively in recent releases: it has been rearranged for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Sonic Generations, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. In all instances, the original game composition is broadly attributed to "Sega". The tune is featured as track 8 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Death Egg Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	16	ALL	Sega	???
	17	ALL	Sega	???
The tune is featured as track 9 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Bosses

Sub-Boss Theme	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	18	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
	2E	S3	M.J.	Brad Buxer (Composer)
Sonic 3 version built upon Knuckles' Theme (Sonic 3 version). Likely composed by Brad Buxer. Features similar chord progression used in Is It Scary from the Blood on the Dancefloor album. Geoff Grace is credited as arranger. Tune ID #18 is featured as the first of two parts on track 4 (The Boss) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami. Voice samples used in Tune ID #2E (such as "Come On!") can be heard in track 7 (Robotnik's Revenge) of the 1996 album Virtual Sonic, featuring music by Howard Drossin.
A glitch in vanilla Sonic 3 causes the S&K version of the theme to play. This programming oversight, where the game would still load up the music at ID 18 instead of 2E, suggests Buxer's composition may have been a late addition to Sonic 3. The October 1993 prototype supports this theory since at that point in time, the game always uses the S&K version.

Unused Theme	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2E	ALL	Sega	???
Replaced with the sub-boss music in the Mega Drive release.

Boss Theme	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	19	ALL	Sega	???
The tune is featured as the second of two parts on track 4 (The Boss) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

The Doomsday Zone	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	1A	ALL	Sega	???
The tune is featured as the second of two parts on track 10 (Boss The Boss) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Bonus stages

Bonus Stage (Rolling Jump)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	1B	ALL	Sega	???
Also known as the "Glowing Spheres Bonus Stage", it is the first of three parts of track 7 (Rings And Diamonds Land) on the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami. Although VGMdb lists the first section of that track as being composed by Jun Senoue, no evidence on the disc's physical documentation lists composers to associate with any of its tracks.

Special Stage (Blue Spheres)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	1C	ALL	Sega	Yoshiaki Kashima (Composer)
Was recycled from the unreleased SegaSonic Bros. for the Sega System C2 in 1992 from Stage 40 to 49 gameplay music and was also used as the title theme in a 1993 prototype of J.League Pro Striker. The music is also listed as track 15 on the compilation CD Sonic The Hedgehog 10th Anniversary and was rearranged by Tee Lopes for Sonic Mania. The tune is also featured as the third of three parts on track 7 (Rings And Diamonds Land) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.

Bonus Stage (Slot Machine)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	1D	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
The tune is featured as the second of three parts on track 7 (Rings And Diamonds Land) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami. One of the unused music found in Sonic 3D Blast's Mega Drive prototype 825 (as demonstrated by Sonic 3D Blast's game designer and implementer Jon Burton) includes this tune as a placeholder for Knuckles' special stage, during the time each special stage was developed to have their own tunes. He credits the tune to Jun Senoue.

Bonus Stage (Gumball)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	1E	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
Confirmed through an interview with the composer.

Knuckles' Theme	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
<div class="bobscreen" style="width:200px; height:px; display:inline-block; text-align:center; overflow:hidden;"> 200px </div>	1F	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	Brad Buxer (Composer)
		S&K, PC, PC	Sega	Howard Drossin (Composer), Masaru Setsumaru (Programming)
Music used in the prototype occurs during cutscenes with Knuckles at the end of AIZ Act 2 & HZ Act 2 (but not at start of AIZ Act 1). The same music is used in the Sonic & Knuckles Collection PC version. The Sonic 3 version of the 4-bar swinging hip-hop beat was heavily inspired by the drumbeat of "Blood on the Dance Floor" by Michael Jackson (drum programming credited to Brad Buxer). Howard Drossin's tune is featured as track 12 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami, and track 2 (Knucklemania) of the 1996 album Virtual Sonic.

Competition mode

Azure Lake	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	20	ALL	Sega	???
No notes yet.

Balloon Park	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	21	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
Composition credit shared with Sega Sound Team on the Sonic Generations Original Soundtrack: Blue Blur music CD (Disc 2, Track 24).

Desert Palace	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	22	ALL	Sega	???
No notes yet.

Chrome Gadget	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	23	ALL	Sega	???
No notes yet.

Endless Mine	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	24	ALL	Sega	???
The melody bears similarities to "Escape from the City" from Sonic Adventure 2, composed by Jun Senoue. However, Senoue himself has stated that said track is not based on Endless Mine Zone's music, nor does he mention working on this piece. Regardless, Cash Cash incorporated the melody for this piece in their Act 1 arrangement of "Escape from the City" for Sonic Generations, during which the player controls Classic Sonic. The original music composition for this arrangement is solely attributed to Senoue on the Blue Blur soundtrack CD.

Themes/Jingles

Title Screen	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	25	S3C, S3, PC	Sega	Tomonori Sawada (Composer)
		S&K, PC	Sega	Howard Drossin (Composer)
Title screen music changes in the PC version based on the game combination the player chooses to play. Howard Drossin's tune is featured as track 1 of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami, and track 6 of the 1996 album Virtual Sonic.

Staff Roll	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	26	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	Brad Buxer (Composer)
		S3C Proto	Various	Various
		S&K, PC	Sega	Various
Staff roll used in the PC version accessible through Sound Test of the prototype.
The Sonic 3 version was the basis of a Buxer-Jackson collaboration "Stranger In Moscow", as confirmed in the Black & White magazine interview, and episode 100 of TheMJCast audio interview. Brad Buxer used the same chords. 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 staff roll. 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 staff roll may have been a prototype to this song.
The Sonic 3C 0517 prototype changed the staff roll music to incorporate themes from Zones of the S3 & S&K games. However, the final mix is a medley of S&K Zones only.

Game Over	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	27	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
Is credited in the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island for the same cue Also used for the "Time Over" cue if spending 10 minutes in an Act.

2-Player Results (Competition)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	28	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
Is credited in the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island as the Congratulations Screen music when unlocking Level Select. This music was also used as the Continue Screen music, and the No Way? No Way! Screen music when locking the S&K cart onto another Mega Drive cart.

Act Clear	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	29	ALL	Sega	Jun Senoue (Composer)
Is credited in the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island for the same cue.

Extra Life	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2A	S3 Proto, S3, PC	Sega	Tomonori Sawada (Composer)
		S&K, PC	Sega	Howard Drossin (Composer), Masaru Setsumaru (Programming)
S3 version based off the S3 title screen. Likely one of the jingles Sawada referred to composing. This piece was used in a Progressive Insurance commercial in 2012. S&K version uses the tune of the S&K title screen. This tune is likely associated with Drossin. The PC version switches depending on the game combination the player chooses to play.

Got Emerald	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2B	ALL	Sega	Yukifumi Makino (Composer)
Used as early as Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive.

Invincibility Theme	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2B	S3 Proto, S3, PC	Sega	Tomonori Sawada (Composer)
		S&K, PC	Sega	Howard Drossin (Composer), Masaru Setsumaru (Programming)
S3 version based off the S3 title screen. Likely one of the jingles Sawada referred to composing. Was also used during a Progressive Insurance commercial in 2012.
S&K version uses the tune of the S&K title screen. This tune is likely associated with Drossin.
Also used as the theme to the character's Super/Hyper transformation. The PC version switches depending on the game combination the player chooses to play.

Competition Screen	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2D	S3 Proto, PC	Sega	???
		S3	M.J.	???
Prototype didn't use music (was only accessible in the Sound Test), but is used as Competition Menu in Sonic & Knuckles Collection. Mega Drive version is the only MJ team-composed track to use regular drums rather than samples exclusive to it.

Data Select	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	2F	ALL	Sega	???
This piece has been remixed by Naofumi Hataya for Sonic Gems Collection as "Sonic3 MegaD Mix" and was later included in the 2008 CD True Blue: The History of Sonic the Hedgehog. It was also rearranged for the Gallery Room in Sonic Generations and is included in the game's Blue Blur soundtrack. In all instances, the original game composition is broadly attributed to "Sega".

Final Boss Theme (Big Arm)	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	30	ALL	Sega	???
This piece has been rearranged by Cash Cash for the 3DS version of Sonic Generations and by Tee Lopes for "Part 5: Metal Mayhem", the final episode of Sonic Mania Adventures. On the Blue Blur soundtrack for Generations, the original music composition is broadly attributed to "Sega". The tune is also featured as the first of two parts on track 10 (Boss The Boss) of the 1994 soundtrack Sonic & Knuckles • Sonic The Hedgehog 3 arranged by Akinori Minami.
The fact that the track is placed high on the list, away from the other boss themes, suggests it may have been a late addition to Sonic 3. Since the track is also present in the October 1993 prototype, it may have been added once it was decided to split the game into two.

Drowning Countdown	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	31	ALL	Sega	Yukifumi Makino (Composer)
Used as early as Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive.

All Clear	ID	Version(s)	Team	Credit(s)
	32	S3, PC	Sega	Tomonori Sawada (Composer)
		S&K	Sega	Howard Drossin (Composer), Masaru Setsumaru (Programming)
The S&K version is unused.

Audio samples list

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.

Discussion Thread.

DAC Audio Samples List	ID	Type	Source	Description / Usage
	81	Drum		Snare
	82	Drum	Same as 83, 84, 85	Tom
	83	Drum	Same as 82, 84, 85	Tom
	84	Drum	Same as 82, 83, 85	Tom
	85	Drum	Same as 82, 83, 84	Tom
	86	Drum		Kick
	87	Drum		Snare
	88	Drum		Kick + Cymbal
	89	Drum		HiHat
	8A	SFX	Same as 8B	Hit (Metal)
	8B	SFX	Same as 8A	Hit (Metal)
	8C	SFX		Pop, Click
	8D	Drum	Same as 8E
	8E	Drum	Same as 8D
	8F	Clap
	90	Drum	Same as 91, 92, 93	E.Tom
	91	Drum	Same as 90, 92, 93	E.Tom
	92	Drum	Same as 90, 91, 93	E.Tom
	93	Drum	Same as 90, 91, 92	E.Tom
	94	Drum	Same as 95, 96, 97	E.Snare
	95	Drum	Same as 94, 96, 97	E.Snare
	96	Drum	Same as 94, 95, 97	E.Snare
	97	Drum	Same as 94, 95, 96	E.Snare
	98	Drum	Same as 99, 9A	Timpani
	99	Drum	Same as 98, 9A	Timpani
	9A	Drum	Same as 98, 99	Timpani
	9B	Drum		Snare
	9C	SFX		Shaker
	9D	SFX		Kick (Distorted)
	9E	SFX		Hit
	9F	Sample (Original)	Michael Jackson: "Jam"	"Jam!" long (Played at 13.5kHz) / Carnival Night Zone
	A0	Sample (Original)	Michael Jackson: "Jam"	"Jam!" short (Played at 13.5kHz) / Carnival Night Zone
	A1	Sample (Original)	Michael Jackson: "In The Closet" ([1])	Glass Break 1 / Carnival Night Zone
	A2	Sample (Original)	Michael Jackson: "In The Closet" ([2])	Glass Break 2 / Carnival Night Zone, Launch Base Zone
	A3	SFX		Hit
	A4	Drum		Kick (Muted)
	A5	Sample (Sample Pack)	Norman Cook: "Skip To My Loops" (Track 64)	"Come On!" / Sub-Boss Theme (S3)
	A6	Drum		E.Snare
	A7	Drum		Kick (Vintage)
	A8	Drum		Kick (Processed)
	A9	Sample (Sample Pack)	Norman Cook: "Skip To My Loops" (Track 64)	"Woo!", "HUH" / Sub-Boss Theme (S3)
	AA	Sample (Sample Pack)	Run-DMC: "Peter Piper" (1:56)	"Go!" / Launch Base Zone
	AB	Sample (Edited Sample Pack)	Same as AA sample with snare drum added	"Go!" + Snare / Launch Base Zone
	AC	Drum		Kick (Processed)
	AD	Percussion	Same as AE	Hit (Wooden)
	AE	Percussion	Same as AD	Hit (Wooden)
	AF	Percussion	Same as B0	Hit (Metal)
	B0	Percussion	Same as AF	Hit (Metal)
	B1	SFX		Sci-Fi Sound
	B2	Clap	Same as B3	/ Knuckles' Theme (S3)
	B3	Clap	Same as B2	/ Knuckles' Theme (S3)
	B4	Sample	Same as C1, C2, C3, C4	Chord Stab
	B5	Sample		Chord Stab
	B6	Sample (Original)	James Brown: "Say It Loud, I'm Black & I'm Proud" ([3])	"Yeah", "Hey" + Kick / Knuckles' Theme (S3), Sub-Boss Theme (S3)
	B7	Drum		Kick
	B8	Sample	Same as B9	Chord Stab
	B9	Sample	Same as B8	Chord Stab
	BA	SFX		Cymbal (Reversed)
	BB	SFX		Record Scratch
	BC	Sample		Chord Stab
	BD	Drum		Kick
	BE	Sample (Edited Sample Pack)	Same as A9 plus glass break added	"Woo!" + Glass Break / Sub-Boss Theme (S3)
	BF	SFX		Click
	C0	Sample (Original [?])		Breath
	C1	Sample	Same as B4, C2, C3, C4	Chord Stab
	C2	Sample	Same as B4, C1, C3, C4	Chord Stab
	C3	Sample	Same as B4, C1, C2, C4	Chord Stab
	C4	Sample	Same as B4, C1, C2, C3	Chord Stab
	XX	Sample	Similar to BC	Chord Stab

Background on Michael Jackson's Team

Roger Hector

“	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 [of] 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

This was the first confirmation we had about Michael Jackson's involvement in the game.

Brad Buxer

Brad Buxer, credited in Sonic 3, was a long-time contributor to 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.

Black & White Magazine (2009) Interview

Buxer shed some light on 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 [have] 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 [resulting] 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 [the] 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 similarities between Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" and Sonic 3's ending credits song were 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.

The MJCast (2019) Interview

In May 2019, Buxer was featured giving an interview on the The MJCast where he talked about the origin of Stranger in Moscow and his work on Sonic 3:

Buxer describes how he was assigned by Michael Jackson to start composing the music for the game, and it was Buxer who "delegated other people to help...like Doug Grigsby and Darryl Ross and other people."

Brad Buxer frames himself in the interview as being the lead on the Sonic 3 project, with Michael Jackson having less personal involvement.

Buxer states that in the end, they had about 41 music cues ready for the game.

This suggests that it is possible that every act and zone had a track composed for it, even zones planned for Sonic & Knuckles, but we know that only a few appeared and only in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 alone. If this is true, it could provide an explanation as to why Roger Hector feels that people never heard the Michael Jackson soundtrack. Sonic & Knuckles features no tracks by Michael Jackson's team, and only a small number of the tracks made it into Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in contrast to all of the tracks Michael Jackson's team produced.

Howard Drossin

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.

Cirocco Jones

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.

Correspondence between him and Sonic Retro members has revealed that he and the other composers spent "countless hours" working with Michael while trying to make sure it fit Sega's needs. He also revealed that there may be a lawsuit going on or about to go on as Sega owes them money.

Other composers

In addition to Brad Buxer 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 was released in 1995, and none are known to have previously worked in video games (or indeed since in most cases).

Background on SEGA Sound Team and Cube Corp.

Tokuhiko Uwabo

Uwabo has stated that he was responsible for the management of the game's sound development, which involved assigning the staff at Sega and contracting other composers. He did not do any work on the sound itself.

Yoshiaki Kashima

“	I composed a [piece of] music for [the "special stage"]. I [worked on Sonic 3, as well as the other titles]. [I'm] sorry. I can't give [you more details]. [Since it's all] confidential information.	„
— Yoshiaki Kashima

In a 2001 interview, he revealed he composed the special stage theme, previously used in SegaSonic Bros., which also happens to have more tracks that made it into later games. He stated that he was unable to go into further detail due to the confidentiality of the information. In private messages between a Retro User and Masaru Setsumaru, it was stated that Kashima was solely responsible for programming the game's sound driver.

Masaru Setsumaru

According to Facebook PMs between Setsumaru and Sonic Retro members, he was responsible for sound programming along with Masayuki Nagao. He was also responsible for sound effects and arrangement, although not music composition. He has also stated that he felt it was an honor to work on the same project as Michael Jackson.

Tomonori Sawada

Sawada stated in a SoundCloud PM in 2015 that he did not compose Sky Sanctuary's music, previously assumed to be his based on the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 10th Anniversary CD crediting the five Sonic 3 & Knuckles tracks to him, Kashima, and Drossin. He stated that he composed 3's title screen music and some jingles instead. He also said that he is no longer able to tell who did each track anymore, most likely due to him no longer having the documentation. He has been contacted about the prototype's music although he did not respond, possibly due to the confidentiality of such information. It is possible that he composed prototype Ice Cap's music, based on its similarities to Crystal Egg from the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Masayuki Nagao

Nagao has confirmed he was involved with arrangements and programming, including Hydrocity Zone Act 2. He also "produced" more than half of the songs for the game, which likely means he programmed them. Opus Corp. is mentioned in the credits as Nagao was getting ready to join the company while working on the game.

Jun Senoue

In a 2002 interview, he mentions that the bonus stage tracks were composed by him. However, he is unable to reveal details, due to "so much secret things". When asked on Twitter about who did what for Sonic 3 & Knuckles' music, he simply stated that Sega did all of it, neither going into detail about who did what nor acknowledging the involvement of third parties. In 2010, he stated in a Nintendo Power magazine that he knows "quite a lot" about Jackson's involvement, but cannot disclose it.

Miyoko Takaoka

During correspondence with Takaoka and a fan, she stated she composed the music for Marble Garden Zone and bonus stage music. After being shown the bonus stage music in the game, she did not recognize any of it as hers and believes that her track may have gone unused. The same may have been the case for Marble Garden's music too, as some fans familiar with her work do not feel it sounds like her.

Current issues

In the modern age, video game companies have become increasingly wary of re-releasing games in their back catalog that they may not own the full rights to. The changes made for Sonic & Knuckles Collection would suggest the music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has been presenting a problem since Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were brought to Windows PCs in the form of Sonic & Knuckles Collection at least in 1997.

In that edition, six tracks (Carnival Night, IceCap, Launch Base, the credits to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles' theme in Sonic 3 and the Competition menu) had 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. Sega isn't thought to have been challenged on the use of Sonic 3's music, but it remains a thorny issue to this day.

Initially, it was believed 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.

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. The lone exception is Lego Dimensions, which included Carnival Night and Ice Cap but sidestepped the issue by not licensing any music from the Mega Drive titles, opting instead to compose new soundalike tracks for all the zones. 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.