It has long been a myth in video games that Michael Jackson wrote music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, causing long-running rumors about which parts of the soundtrack were involved.
Now, Sonic creator Yuji Naka has confirmed that Michael Jackson wrote music for the game.
“Sonic Origins Sonic 3 has a different song?” he tweeted unexpectedly. “My God, Sonic 3’s music has changed, even though Sega Official uses Michael Jackson’s music.”
My God, Sonic 3 music has changed, even though SEGA Official uses Michael Jackson music.
– Yuji Naka / 中 裕 司 (@nakayuji) June 23, 2022 To view this content, enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings
It was confirmed that Sonic Origins, the new Sonic game collection, did not use the original soundtrack. This was suspected to be due to ongoing copyright speculation with Jackson’s property.
Instead, the compilation uses new arrangements by composer Jun Senoue.
Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka confirmed this to Eurogamer: “When we go back and try to recreate all these games from over 30 years ago, you get a lot of old data that can’t really be used. And music was one of those things. we had to dig up the old DAT tapes to get the music out of all these games, and Jun Senoue came in and had to recreate in a modern format the music they could put on Sonic 3 and Knuckles as a finale. . ”
New: @SatieA’s @KatieChrz on the partially adapted Sonic 3 and Knuckles soundtrack on #SonicOrigins:
No “We cannot use all original sounds [from S3&K]. Jun Senoue has been working very hard to adapt the original music he composed in 1993 for Origins “, #SonicNews pic.twitter.com/7va4T76QdZ
– Sonic the Hedgehog News and Updates · Tails Channel (@TailsChannel) June 9, 2022 To view this content, enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings
Naka even tweeted a picture taken from Jackson’s house when the team visited her. “It’s pretty faded,” he admits. “I miss him.”
This is a picture I took with my camera when we went to his house with his helicopter. It’s pretty faded. I miss him. pic.twitter.com/wtM1BtMHwT
– Yuji Naka / 中 裕 司 (@nakayuji) June 23, 2022 To view this content, enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings
Sega allegedly left Jackson from Sonic 3 after allegations of child abuse, although fans believe the music he composed remains in the original version of the game and was worked on by Jackson’s producers.
Naka’s tweet is an important admission in this long-standing rumor.