Yuji Naka Seemingly Confirms Michael Jackson’s Involvement With Sonic 3’s Soundtrack

Sonic Origins will release today and Sonic 3 players will see that many of its tracks have been changed. Namely, Launch Base, Ice Cap, and Carnival Night Zones sport new tracks, presumably because of Michael Jackson’s famously speculated contributions to developing the original score. Discussing the late King of Pop’s involvement with Sonic 3 has always been taboo at Sega, but one of Sonic’s principal creators has seemingly broken that golden rule.  

Sega claimed that Michael Jackson was hired by Sega to create Sonic 3’s music. Jackson is a Sonic fan and had previously worked for Sega on Moonwalker. The level of Jackson’s involvement varies depending on the source, but after completing a few tracks, Sega scrapped his work in the wake of Jackson’s 1993 child molestation allegations and disassociated itself from the artist. Sega is sensitive to confirm his Sonic 3 involvement, even though it has been a long-standing secret. Jackson was never officially credited. Michael’s involvement has also been assumed as the primary reason Sonic 3 hasn’t been re-released nearly as often as the other Genesis-era Sonic titles due to licensing issues with Jackson’s estate. 

Composer and Crush 40 founder Jun Senoue worked on some of Sonic 3’s other songs, and Sonic Origins replaces the Jackson-credited music with songs remade by Senoue that appeared in the prototype/PC versions of the game. Yuji Naka is one of the main creators of this franchise. Twitter to express his surprise and displeasure that Sega replaced Sonic 3’s music in the Origins collection and confirming years of speculation by referencing Michael Jackson directly writing: 

“My God, Sonic 3 music is different, even though SEGA Official used Michael Jackson’s music.”

Even though multiple sources who worked on Sonic 3 have occasionally referenced Jackson’s contributions to the soundtrack in one way or another, the details have always been somewhat vague so hearing Naka outright confirm it is quite the surprise. Sega has traditionally prohibited employees from mentioning Sonic 3’s connection to Jackson, and Naka hasn’t discussed it until now despite leaving Sega years ago. Naka was also involved with Square Enix for Balan Wonderworld development before leaving the company in controversial fashion. 

You can find out more about Sonic Origins in our review.