The game and the character Sonic the Hedgehog is back in the news.
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Not only have there been two recent successful movies featuring the blue speedster, starring Jim Carey as the evil Dr. Robotnik but now there is a revelation that the soundtrack music for the video game series’ third installment in 1994 was written by none other than Michael Jackson.
The creator of the game, which was released on Sega, confirmed as much on Twitter earlier this week. Yuji Naka, the video game series’ original lead programmer, shared the news on Twitter in a series of tweets celebrating Sonic’s 31st anniversary.
The news was prompted by the arrival of Sonic Origins, a remastered compilation of the first four Sonic titles, which was released this week on June 23 for the game’s anniversary.
Naka wrote on Twitter in a moment of confusion upon the release, “Does Sonic Origins Sonic 3 have a different song?” Then added, “Oh my god, the music for Sonic 3 has changed, even though Sega Official uses Michael Jackson’s music.”
Sega’s official TikTok account showed a life-size Sonic miming Jackson’s hit, “Billie Jean.”
Naka later shared an aerial photo of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch with the note, “This is a picture taken by me with my camera when we went to his house in his helicopter. It’s pretty faded. I miss it.”
The remaster of Sonic Origins Sonic 3 was confirmed by Eurogamer not to include Jackson’s alleged contributions, instead choosing a new arrangement by composer Jun Senoue.
And the rumor of Jackson’s involvement in Sonic 3 dates back to the game’s original score, which sounded to many like “Smooth Criminal” and “Black or White.”
In other Sonic news, Paramount studios announced both a Sonic 3 movie and a live-action Knuckles spin-off.
Photo by FRANCIS Sylvain/AFP via Getty Images
