List of audio similarities

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The nature of the video game business means many audio tracks in Sonic the Hedgehog games share a striking similarity with the works of others. In some cases, (most famously Sonic the Hedgehog 3), this is because the artists responsible for the original composition were directly involved in the game's production. Other times ideas are lifted as a tribute, or in some cases, in the hopes that nobody would notice.

This relaxed approach to copyright, rife in the 1980s and early 1990s, has got some video game publishers in legal trouble, with soundtracks being altered or royalties forced to keep the game on sale. This is widely thought to be an ongoing issue with Sonic 3, but has also led to differences between Master System and Game Gear soundtracks of the same game.

The following is a list of Sonic the Hedgehog audio thought to have been inspired by other composers and musicians.

Music similarities

Sonic the Hedgehog (Mega Drive; 1991)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Green Hill Zone
Star Light Zone	"Love Won't Wait" (Bobby Caldwell, 1978)
Scrap Brain Zone	"Blade Runner (End Titles)" (Vangelis, 1982)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear; 1992)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Boss music	"Cübik" (808 State; 1991)	The Master System version uses a different tune.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Mega Drive; 1992)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Ending music

Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Mega-CD; 1993)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
D.A. Garden	"Pacific" (808 State, 1989)	While far from an exact match, there are many variants of Pacific from 808 State and it gained quite a bit of popularity across European clubs during the late 1980s and early 1990s. D.A. Garden uses the same kind of "birdsong" at the beginning for which Pacific is usually known for.

Sonic Chaos (Master System; 1993)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Gigalopolis Zone music	"Oh Yes! (SONG0)" (Korg M1 demo; 1988)	This demo tune from the Korg M1 synthesizer, very probably used to compose the rest of the music in Sonic Chaos, is almost identical to that of Gigalopolis Zone on the Master System. The Game Gear version uses an entirely different track.

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Mega Drive; 1993)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Stages 9-12	"Home Computer" (Kraftwerk; 1981)	An unused version of the track is even closer to the Kraftwerk song.

Sonic the Fighters (Model 2; 1996)

In-game audio	Similar to	Comments
Attract music	"Vogue" (Madonna; 1990)
Death Egg's Eye music	"When Will I Be Famous?" (Bros; 1987)

Samples

Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Mega-CD; 1993)

Japanese soundtrack

In-game audio	Samples from	Comments
Boss music	"Work That Sucker To Death" (Xavier; 1982)