Sonic Jam (Game.com)

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Sonic Jam
System(s): Game.com
Publisher: Tiger
Developer: Sega
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code Rating US 1998-07-10 $? 71-734

Sonic Jam is a game released on the short-lived Tiger Game.com exclusively in North America. It is a pseudo-compilation of three Sonic the Hedgehog games originally released for the Sega Mega Drive; Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. Though the game shares the same name as Sonic Jam for the Sega Saturn, its content is entirely different.

In 2011, an official Game.com emulator was released, meaning the game is now playable on computers.

Story

“	Oh no, the evil Dr. Robotnik is back and meaner than ever! Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles need to use all their speed and skill to keep the world a safe place and defend the Floating Island.	„
— Sonic Jam Game.com US manualMedia:SonicJam Gamecom digital manual.pdf

Gameplay

Sonic Jam for the Game.com does not contain entire games, just five levels which are loosely based on the Mega Drive classics. There are three selectable characters; Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, all of whom retain their moves from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with the exception of Knuckles, who cannot glide or use his wall climbing ability. No powerups introduced in Sonic 3 are available, however the method of entering Special Stages are similar to that of Sonic 3. The game has a very low framerate, and as such the footage used in the Game.com commercial had been sped up.

Selectable games

Games are selectable on the main menu. After selecting a game, a character select screen appears next.

	Sonic 2
	All the levels use the graphics of Emerald Hill Zone. There are three regular enemies and three bosses. The bosses used are Egg Poison from Chemical Plant Zone, Egg Hammer from Aquatic Ruin Zone, and Egg Drillster from Emerald Hill Zone. Surprisingly, the last boss in this game is the first boss of the 16-bit version.
	Sonic 3
	All the levels use the graphics of Angel Island Zone. There are three regular enemies, one reused from Sonic 2, and two bosses. The bosses used are the Fire Breath and Egg Scorcher Mk. III.
	Sonic & Knuckles
	All the levels use the graphics of Mushroom Hill Zone. There are three regular enemies and three bosses. The bosses used are the Hey Ho and Egg Scrambler from Mushroom Hill Zone and also the Gapsule from Flying Battery Zone.

History

Development

Main article: Sonic Jam (Game.com)/Development

Hidden content

Main article: Sonic Jam (Game.com)/Hidden content

Manuals

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  US manual

• 

  Digital manual from Hasbro website

Screenshots

• 

  Character selection screen.

• 

  Sonic Ending

• 

  Tails Ending

• 

  Knuckles Ending

Physical scans

Game.com, US
Cover
Cart File:SonicJam GameCom US Manual.pdf Manual

References

Sonic the Hedgehog games for other systems Sonic Jam (1998) | Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999) | Sonic N (2003) | Sonic X (2007) | Sonic the Hedgehog (2008) | Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012) Prerelease Sonic the Hedgehog games for other systems Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (prototype; 1999-10-22) | Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure Taikenban | Sonic N (prototype; 2003-09-16)