Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Development/Music

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MERGING ALL INFORMATION INTO ONE COHESIVE ARTICLE

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 are also thought 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.

But more likely, however, is that in 1993, Michael Jackson became caught up in child sexual abuse allegations. Having cancelled the final leg of his Dangerous World Tour due to health concerns, Sega likely chose to distance themselves from the composer during this period, and while Jackson was never proven guilty, the negative press was not something Sonic 3 wanted to be assocated with.

However, to this day the story is not fully understood. Some of the team deny Jackson's involvement, others claim his work was scrapped, and others appear oblivious to the situation. Nevertheless, Sonic 3 is generally met with more obstacles when Sega attempt to re-release it. With Jackson's death in 2009, the full story may never be known.

Michael Jackson evidence

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 is said to have been brought in to replace Michael Jackson's music, but also goes uncredited in Sonic 3. He is, however, the main composer behind Sonic & Knuckles (and is credited there).

Howard Drossin, a composer for a number of Sega games, would contribute to the soundtrack that is now used in Sonic 3. Brad Buxer, Doug Grisby III, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross and Geoff Grace also lent their work to Sonic 3's soundtrack. Interestingly, these same people have also worked with Michael Jackson at some point in their careers.

Hector went on to recollect that Howard Drossin, who is credited as the sole composer for Sonic & Knuckles, was the one who came in at the last minute and redid the soundtrack. However, the team that Michael Jackson had gathered together were credited in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. One of those credited, Brad Buxer, was interviewed by the French magazine Black & White shortly after Michael Jackson's death, recalling a very different sequence of events with the King of Pop's involvement in the soundtrack.

“	if he is not credited for composing the music, 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 and his music...Michael and I had made the following arrangements for the game, and it has served as the basis for Stranger In Moscow. More than any other song that I worked with Michael, Stranger In Moscow is where I made my most artistic leg.	„
— Brad Buxer, Music Composer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3

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

Howard Drossin, when recollecting his involvement in the soundtrack, 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. Even with this confusion as to who wrote which track for the game, the man responsible for creating the differences between the "Act 1" and "Act 2" songs was Masaru Setsumaru, who would also go on to create music for such other Sonic titles as Sonic 3D: Flickies Island and Sonic Adventure.

When the game was eventually ported to the PC in the Sonic & Knuckles Collection, 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) were replaced with entirely different compositions. Though for a time it was thought it might have something to do with the Michael Jackson connection, the songs have remained in subsequent rereleases over a number of platforms, making it just another oddity in a subject that has never been clearly explained.

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File:Michael jackson.jpg

Michael Jackson with Sonic the Hedgehog.

Brad Buxer Interview

On December 2, 2009, a member named dma from the website VGMdb (a website that focuses on video game music) brought attention to an article in Black & White Magazine. This interview was with Brad Buxer, a credited music composer for the Sonic 3 soundtrack and long-time collaborator with Michael Jackson. 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. This statement directly contradicts what another Sega employee, Roger Hector, claimed about Jackson's involvement. Scans of the interview can be found here.

Evidence for his involvement

The Buxer interview confirms that Jackson helped compose at least the chords for one song: the Sonic 3 credits theme. While Hector stated that all of Jackson's work was removed from Sonic 3 upon his child molestation allegations, many have noticed other similarities between Jackson's own released music and Sonic 3 songs. As Hector was outside of the development team he may have not had correct information.

Audio similarities

In a 2006 documentary by Qjimbo, a theory was developed stating that Jackson's work was not completely removed after all. Similarities between some tracks in the final Sonic 3 and Jackson's own work outside of Sega were evidence for this claim.

"Smooth Criminal", "Who Is It", & IceCap Zone Act 1

A good portion of Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" has a chord structure similar to that of IceCap Zone 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 IceCap Zone. After the main bassline returns, a keyboard continues to play the IceCap chord sequence until the end of the song. This was first noticed by Shade.

Jackson's "Who Is It" is also very similar to both "Smooth Criminal" and IceCap Zone Act 1. The keyboard section under the chorus, when sped up, has an almost identical chord structure and texture to that of IceCap Zone Act 1. This was first noticed by Dioxaz.

It was later revealed that the song was likely based not on a Jackson song after all, but "Hard Times", recorded by new wave band The Jetzons in 1982, but unreleased until the 2008 compilation The Complete Jetzons. Brad Buxer was the band's keyboardist.

"Jam" & Carnival Night Zone

The similarities between "Jam" and Carnival Night Zone (both acts) were spotted by Ben2k9 before it was even known that Michael Jackson worked on the music for Sonic 3. The tracks themselves aren't very similar, but there is a horn-based "downwards fall" (played directly before Heavy D's rap in the Jackson song) that also appears during Carnival Night. Carnival Night also uses a small sample taken from "Jam" (the sound of breaking glass as well as Heavy D uttering the word "Jam" from the beginning of his rap verse).

The Carnival Night Zone melody is compared to horns in "Jam" from the album Dangerous (transposed down one semitone). Identical notes between the two songs are highlighted in red.

This similar "downwards fall" is also apparent audibly:

"Stranger in Moscow" & Sonic 3 Credits

"Stranger In Moscow" is one of Jackson's songs that sounds most remarkably similar to a Sonic 3 song. 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. It should be noted that both MJ and Dreams Come True (whose band member Masato Nakamura help composed music for Sonic 1 and Sonic 2) decided to use ending music elsewhere, or vice versa. This was discovered by Shade.

Sound Effects

Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor contains samples that sound identical to the short 4-bar swinging hiphop beat that was used for Knuckles Theme on the original Sonic 3. Peculiarly enough this was one of the tracks that was replaced with the release of Sonic & Knuckles, and did not appear in the PC release of the game.

Cirocco Jones discography

A discography of another musician 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." This "levels 2 & 3" could be referring to Hydrocity Zone and Marble Garden Zone, respectively. However, this may be referring to work that had been composed, but already removed from the game. At the very least, the songs of Hydrocity and Marble Garden in the final game sound (instruments and composition) nothing like IceCap, Carnival Night, etc.

Unable to credit Jackson

Even if Jackson's work was used in Sonic 3, there was a possibility his name If Jackson could not be credited for his work in The Simpsons, then his work in Sonic 3 may also have been uncredited if it was included in the final game, if the same line of thought is followed. This was discovered by XCubed³.

Removed tracks in PC version

The PC remake Sonic & Knuckles Collection featured replaced some tracks, e.g. for Carnival Night Zone, IceCap Zone, Launch Base Zone, the Knuckles Theme of Sonic 3, the Competition Menu, and the Sonic 3 credits music by Takushi Hiyamuta instead Michael Jackson version. This OST is also used in Sonic 3 Complete romhack and Metal Slug series. One theory behind the reason for replacing these tracks is that the original tracks may have been composed by Jackson, and were removed in this remake due to legal reasons. But the Xplosiv have original synthesized OST.