A Brief History of Michael Jackson's Sonic the Hedgehog 3
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- 10 years and 7 months ago, James Hansen, better known as "Qjimbo", posted a video hypothesizing that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop himself, had a hand in the creation of music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on the Sega Genesis, based on a few shreds of musical connections made of the years.
What followed was an avalanche of mythical proportions, hidden contracts, secret audio tapes, and business partners trapped under NDAs, and it all pointed to one thing:
Michael Jackson made music for Sonic 3.
- - -
This video combined over THIRTEEN YEARS of research from some of the finest detectives the internet has ever seen, and as such I want to make sure everyone gets their proper thanks and credit where it's due:
Ben "Ben2k9" Mallison, whose initial discovery of the connection between Carnival Night Zone and "Jam" may very well have been the snowflake that started the avalanche.
HXC, who was the first to get direct confirmation from Roger Hector that Michael Jackson's involvement wasn't just a fantasy.
Steven "Shade" Nipper, who made the impressive jump from the Sonic 3 Credits Theme to "Stranger in Moscow", a connection that ran far deeper than anything we'd seen thus far!
Dioxaz, whose theories about Ice Cap Zone (while "Who Is It" and "Smooth Criminal" turned out to be red herrings), prompted the seemingly neverending quest for answers to that theme's origins.
Spexfox, who used some sound manipulation magic to reveal that "In the Closet" made its way into Carnival Night Zone too!
The users of SageXPO, who managed to squeak out a little more information from Howard Drossin about the time period when Michael left STI.
The folks over at GameTrailers, for their serious in-depth research to unveil more secrets hiding between the lines with their series "Pop Fiction".
• Pop Fiction: Season 4:...
The Huffington Post, for bringing everyone above and more back together to try and solve this puzzle for good.
testkitchen.huf...
and the BIGGEST thanks of all go to James "Qjimbo" Hansen, for his video "Michael Jackson's Sonic 3" all the way back in 2006 that kicked all of this off. We'd never have gotten here without you.
• Michael Jackson's Sonic 3
• The 10th Anniversary o...
- - -
"Smooth Criminal", "Al Capone", "Jam", "Smooth Criminal", "Who Is It", "Blood on the Dance Floor", and "In the Closet" by Michael Jackson
/ michaeljacksonvevo
"Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm
/ alienantfarmvevo
"Hard Times" by The Jetzons
• The Jetzons - Hard Times
"Sonic 3" by Rare Candy
rarecandyband....
- - -
For this and more, check out our website at dpad.fm, and help support us on Patreon at / dpadfm !
And check out THESE AWESOME FOLKS who have been really huge contributors to our channel this month!
- Gomer - / gomer21xx
- Ciera Davidson - www.etsy.com/s...
I...worked on this story for years...and...he just...he tweeted it out.
twitter.com/nakayuji/status/1539944869862354944
Well, happy 31st birthday, Sonic! And happy release day for Sonic Origins!
And of course, keep an eye out - it would appear this video is in need of an update or two...
cant wait for an updated video, still revisit this one every now and then its so good
and then he corrected it.....
for sure, this stands as one of my favorite videos on youtube
Even though it seems mostly solved, it's still important to know the history! I came here because I had no idea what the significance of the tweet meant :)
I immediately thought of your video!!!!
So Nakamura was so expensive that Micheal Jackson was the cheaper alternative?
Floyd Money Mayweather 50-0 GOAT HAHAHA
Michael wasn’t greedy. And he offered his services
MJ gave over 300 million dollars (of his own money) away to charity in his life. More than any other entertainer in history. He did not care for money. He knew he'd always have something coming in from album sales, merchandise, tours e.t.c.
Hell he is still the only ever musician who did a huge world tour for free. He gave all his earnings away on the victory tour.
He signed a record breaking deal with pepsi in the 80's and ended up donating all 10 million dollars from it to a charity for burns victims.
@@theindiediary5950 I'm glad you brought that up. People always talk about MJ's looks and personal life, but hardly talk about his charity work.
MJ was a gamer
Well, a prototype was uncovered of Sonic 3, and turns out the music in the PC port was the original prototype music. My theory is that Sonic 3 was gonna have the Sonic 3 PC music but Micheal Jackson stepped in and added his music. And the Sonic 3 PC was being produced along side the prototype. But it was to late to change the music
can confirm, some are legit jams
Another theory I heard yesterday is that the PC music is the real MJ music with the final tracks being imitation MJ music, as he had already left when the prototype is dated(no MJ music should have got in after that), and apparently the final marble garden music (which is in the prototype) is a replacement for an MJ track that was there before it.
@@bangerbangerbro That really wouldn't make sense due to Jackson's music having a very distinct sound, including voice samplings of him saying "Go!," and "Come On!"
@@xity-xfilms5228 Well those are just samples. Of course both versions of each of those tracks could be made by the Sega sound team, being replaced with MJ imitation music after someone in charge wasn't happy with it. Final ice cap zone however we know was done by Brad Buxer.
@@bangerbangerbro Eh..., not really sure. But I am sure Jackson had some involvement with the music, especially those certain tracks. It has been said that Jackson would call late at night to Brad and the other members of his team, and beat box music over the phone as reference
Yuji Naka confirms that Micheal Jackson composed Sonic 3 OST
My mind is absolutely blown by the fact that after all this time, he just came out and said it, hahahaha
@@the_dpad yeah it's really funny how he just confirmed like that when Sonic Origins came out
@@the_dpad There's also this czcams.com/video/qlYQooIyCAI/video.html
The Ice Cap Zone/Jetzons part caught me off guard. It's almost the same song, not just elements put together. Fantastic video!
But it STILL *sounds like* it's the refrain for "Who Is It"; mix that and "Hard Times" and tell me what you think...
This is a great video about the MJ and Sonic link. Good job!
Yuzoboy I had a feeling you would show up here
Thank you so much! It was a real blast getting to pull this whole thing together, glad you liked it!
I guess you could say processing all that info was a "blast"...as in, blast processing? Hah? HAH? Ahh I should die
vlanstar Heehhehhee! That was a good one. I wonder why there ain't more thumps up. I guess people didn't get the joke. 😆
It would have been better had he not proceded to explain the joke, that's instant lead balloon teritory.
It's a shame we'll never get to hear those phone recordings or tracks that Michael hummed to Brad. Wouldn't it be glorious to hear what could've been to an already fantastic soundtrack?
Maybe Micheal hummed the tune on brads balls too!?
It'll probably break seal someday, if people are still interested.
Too bad it won’t happen due to the fact that C. Cirocco Jones passed away.
@@LemontLMontyJohnson If that's true, who or what was stopping Sonic Origins from using the original Sonic 3 Soundtrack? Brad Buxer? Some other guy?
@@awesomeboss2020They would like need permission from Michael’s family because when he died a lot of his music licenses expired with no intention of renewing them back. Probably one of the reasons why Sonic 3 and Knuckles never got like a mobile port or was featured in the mini Genesis collection.
*ALL MUSIC COMPARISONS IN THIS VIDEO:*
4:53 Carnival Night Zone x Jam
5:26 Ice Cap Zone x Who Is It, Smooth Criminal
5:54 Credits Theme x Stranger in Moscow
10:44 Credits Theme x Boss: Big Arms
11:41 Knuckles’ Theme x Blood on the Dance Floor
12:43 Carnival Night Zone x In the Closet
14:30 Ice Cap Zone x Hard Times (Jetzons)
Arcaden carnival night
My worst nightmare
It took me 10 years just for know about press up and down xD
Thank you. Can't stand talking heads wasting my time
Bear at least my 10 freaking years not be wasted
Ice Cap Has Deep Similarity With An Unreleased Track "Hard Times" By Brad Buxer.
HulluHapua what are you talking about we all know this stuff already
“Sonic CD was produced in Japan with a soundtrack heavily influenced by a new-school genre called new jack swing.”
One of my favorite Michael Jackson songs is Remember the Time. I loved the music in a lot of the Sonic games. But now I see why I found Sonic 3 and CD to really stand out from other Sonic games and why I liked them so much.
Remember the Time is amazing, definitely one of his best songs
One of my fav songs from mj as well wow
"Influenced by Teddy Riley's New Jack Swing genre"
Thank you for mentioning that, New Jack Swing was everywhere in video games from at least 1989 (Altered Beast's funky game over theme) to around 1996 (Nights into DREAMS), especially in Sega Genesis games. It's probably my favorite genre of music.
Agreed 100%. People don't realize just how much of an influence Teddy Riley and his sound had on video games back then. NJS was huge in the late 80's and early 90's!
Javonte Treble
It's a shame it died down in the mid 90s and practically went extinct (in America) by the late 90s. Japan and South Korea are making NJS music today, and it's pretty good.
New Jack Swing fans unite!
Seriously.. it's gonna come back. You just watch....
+Kattywampus Bruno Mars made some new jack swing songs recently!
sonikku956 sonic 1 & 2 also has NJS easily
Lesson: Take a sonic track, tweak it and you can have a hit song.
Mr. Q - iLoveQatar.net
Either that, or you're a musical genius waayyy ahead of your time.
As demonstrated, for instance, in 21:52.
*Has plans for Studiopolis*
Not anymore maybe In the 90s
WIZ KHALIFA DID. LISTEN TO "MRSRIGHTFERNOW" IT WAS GREEN HILL ZONE FROM SONIC 1
I dont care what someone would say, i truly believe michael jackson worked on the soundtrack
Yeah agreed. Roger Hector I believe isn’t very truthful.
with brad buxer
Sonic developer confirmed it a few days ago
well? he is its tweeted around the release of sonic origins
Confirmed on Oringins' release by Yuji Naka himself.
Smooth Criminal even sounds like it was made on a Genesis.
Seems now we know exactly what Sonic 3 would sound like on the Sega CD.
Ice Cap Zone in CD quality.... that would have been so amazing!!! I guess in a way we did end up getting that with Hard Times by the Jetzons getting released though.... but the whole Sonic 3 OST in CD quality would be amazing!
wasn't Sonic CD originally supposed to be Sonic 2?
@@GiordanDiodato It was supposed to be a Sega CD port of Sonic 2 originally before Sega of Japan opted to make a spin off game in the style of Sonic 1 and 2 instead.... hence Sonic CD became a thing.
@@trevinodude No sonic CD was originally gonna be sonic 2, with the whole time travel thing. But they realised they couldn't chase if hardware limitations so they split the teams or something, gave sonic a companion and started sonic 2 on the mega drive. The other team continued the time travel game on the sega mega CD.
Thank you for putting this together. This is a much easier and organized way to help explain the whole MJ x Sonic 3 situation to someone than searching through tons of different videos or forums.
MJ's contract was not terminated by SEGA. He decided to omit his involvement when he frankly was unimpressed by Genesis' sound processor. He said that it "Sounded like Robotic Farts".
Omg garrett willamson
i know I'm quite randomly asking but does anybody know a good website to watch newly released tv shows online ?
@Caiden Amos try FlixZone. Just google for it :)
@Enrique Dario yea, I have been watching on Flixzone for since march myself :)
I grew up with only two things i like, mj and sonic. And knowing that they work together really blow my mind. Thanks for making this.
I understand what you mean
Exactly🙌
mj and sonic i mean sonic is my thing but i dont really like spiderman.
(This is a joke i know mj is michal jackson xd
My two favourite things as a kid were MJ and Sonic 😊
I’m here because we finally have Twitter confirmation.
From out of the blue, Yuji Naka arrives to confirm it all in a single tweet, you love to see it
czcams.com/video/pqfSBnqUDcg/video.html
This was before that.
@@the_dpadWait they give you twitter in jail?
RIP Michael Jackson thanks for sharing a talent that will never be duplicated. Ever again
Long before Michael Jackson, all my life, I've wanted to see Jackie Chan and Michael Jackson together.
Please, I’m already a better dancer than him
@@d4c_reznor470 then do the smooth moonwalk and turn without letting the microfone fall. I dare you. Stupid kid.
@@gamingnubs7628 the fact that you can’t even spell microphone correctly means I have nothing to prove to you
@@d4c_reznor470 oh boy, sorry! I guess my english isnt that great, maybe because its my 3rd language, not my main, primary language I speak. Youre very ignorant to think everyone speaks english on a whim. Also, prove your point. If you cant prove it, then you cant do it.
I'm now addicted to hard times
Yeah... Ice Cap Zone already had basically my favourite song in a sonic game, but knowing what it was based on... Wow.
KuraIthys lol the worst is when u beat that level, and can't listen to that tune anymore. I agree, best song in the sonic games for sure.
Haha, back when I learned that connection I too got addicted to the song :P I still go back and listen to it now and then and I have it in my "Generally liked songs over the years" playlist on Spotify :D
Yeah, it's surprisingly good for an unreleased track from a forgotten, short-lived new wave band.
i had hard times completing S3&K
This probably was one of the most thoroughly comprehensive videos I've seen about Sonic. Good job guys, you really outdid yourselves with this one.
Really,you haven't seen a lot of Sonic-Tubers Video's on
"Where Sonic Game Series Should Go Next","The Deeper Meaning of Sonic The Hedgehog Games",Sonic Theories etc. have you?
Just so everyone knows, Sonic 3's credits say this:
Carnival Night Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Competition Menu - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Hydrocity Zone Act 1 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Ice Cap Zone 1&2 - Brad Buxer (Hard Times, obviously)
Knuckles' Theme - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Launch Base Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Miniboss - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Staff Roll - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
That's all they have for Michael Jackson or Brad Buxer, in alphabetical order. Everything else has the regular Japanese composers.
Imagine if in the 90s, instead of Space Jam, we got a similar animated/live-action movie where Sonic brings MJ to his world to help him and his friends defeat Robotnik or some other outside threat. I would have killed to see a movie like that. 🥺
That would be great. I wish people would realize Space Jam is actually a terrible movie lol (not as bad as the second one... that was unwatchable)
@@sangieredwolf I think the reason why everyone always praises the first is cause of nostalgia. But I agree with you that the second one was just awful.
@@sangieredwolf it was dumb fun imo
Literally would have died for this lol
So Sonic The Hedgehog The Movie, but in 1995 instead of 2020?
This actually got me into Michael Jackson.
Thomas Hopkins same
He is a legend
*_I would think Michael himself would get you into music._*
Me too
haha same!
MJ never even wanted credit and I love how his music blends in with one of my favorite childhood memories. #MichaelJackson
Nonsense...Sega thought he was toxic waste by the time Sonic 3 came out.
StoicVampire Pig That's cute
Ponya Thomas Jason that's a silly thing to say. The only reason he wouldn't have wanted credit is because he wasn't happy with the sound quality of the chip which is bizarre as surely he would've noticed it's limitations on sonic one and two
He didn't want credit on that one episode of The Simpsons. Even the creators claim to not know which parts are actually him or the sound-alike voice actor.
Freshest woomy Sony doesn't own Simpsons...
Clearly, whatever damage the lawsuits might have done to his reputation, and whatever the reasons for the Sonic 3 soundtrack situation, this was not the end of Micheal Jackson's involvement with Sega.
Anyone that has played either of the Space Channel 5 games almost certainly knows what I mean...
the best dancer ever that even saved all humanity and warped through space and time dancing... best character
Miracle Johnson?
I really do enjoy how this video goes through the story of how Michael's involvement was handled by both Michael's people and Sega. It went from "Michael was removed because of the scandal" to "He was unhappy with the quality of the music, so he wanted his name taken off, but his producers/engineers can keep working on it". Not only that, but I loved how you sorted out the Ice Cap Zone theme situation. "Hard Times" is actually an enjoyable song in my book. I find it amazing that it was the basis for one of the greatest level themes in Sonic history.
It's 2 year old video, but screw it. I'm subscribing. Now to catch up with the channel, see what I've been missing... :)
Just so everyone knows, Sonic 3's credits say this:
Carnival Night Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Competition Menu - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Hydrocity Zone Act 1 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Ice Cap Zone 1&2 - Brad Buxer (Hard Times, obviously)
Knuckles' Theme - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Launch Base Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Miniboss - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Staff Roll - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
That's all they have for Michael Jackson or Brad Buxer, in alphabetical order. Everything else has the regular Japanese composers.
Where did you get that? Michael Jackson was never credited in the game and the credits listed all composers in one section, not by zone. In the credits there 6 people(Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III, Scirocco) credited under composers, some(or all) being affiliated with MJ in some way and the Japanese composers are listed under SEGA Sound Team.
@@RandomTwat In the Sonic 3 prototype. He's credited under the Alias J.J. Smith.
@@segaunited3855 I haven't found anything about a Sonic 3 prototype that has MJ's name in the credits under a pseudonym.
I did find that pseudonym in a The Simpsons episode though.
@@RandomTwat The Simpsons Alias in "Stark Raving Dad" is John Jay Smith. In Sonic 3's prototype its "JJ Smith.
@@segaunited3855 That's what I'm saying. I haven't found anything about a Sonic 3 Prototype having that name in the credits.
Okay but those mashups were fire, can we get an extended ver?
+Riolan I can certainly give it a shot!
@@the_dpad
It's been 3 years
Search yuzoboy he’s mashes most of the sonic three track to the songs
@@mishalmx it's been 84 years
specifically ice cap x hard times
"we're not here for al capone, we're here for smooth criminal" lol
It’s horrible how much Jackson was treated whilst he was on this Earth I can’t imagine the pain he went through daily thinking that people thought he was a freak and pedophile Michael will always be alive in our hearts and in his music
@@SPLKIRA someone is misinformed , how does it feel to be an idiot
Joel Smith
I think all of the boys he raped had it worse
lots of trolls here lmao no he didn't fuck kids
Lakitu886
He absolutely did. Stop carrying water for pedophiles
@@MrShanester117 😂😂👍
This is probably my favorite video on CZcams. It has music, gaming and investigative journalism, my three favorite things for videos. I probably have watched this a dozen times.
Great to see all of this information in one place and presented so well. Awesome video.
Thank you so much! Labor of love, haha
You're welcome! And it certainly shows. This is a topic that I've always been interested in and every piece of information I hear regarding it always catches my attention (there were things in this video I didn't even know about, my hope is that one day we'll finally get proper crediting for each individual track). Again, glad to see all of the important details documented in such an excellent way.
Cody Ryan MJ and his team did not compose Hydrocity the first act was scored by Masanori Hikichi and second act was scored by Masayuki Nagao
Cody Ryan Could be a removed level from the game. MJ's team did 41 tracks and scored for the entire game so a lot of music was cut.
Crash4563 It could have been a proto of hydrocity, meant for the end of the game, near launch base
Wow guys that was incredibly interesting and well put together! I've always been curious about Michael Jackson's involvement with Sonic 3 and now I feel like I had a much better grasp on the facts and speculation.
Also, holy shit that "Hard Times" song is straight up Ice Cap Zone, and it's awesome!
Hard Times is an awesome song. Can't believe it was unreleased and I'm glad it was found.
GameFace Sadly, I don't think Ice Cap Zone or Carnival Night Zine will see a remake in the future for legal reasons.
Just so everyone knows, Sonic 3's credits say this:
Carnival Night Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Competition Menu - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Hydrocity Zone Act 1 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Ice Cap Zone 1&2 - Brad Buxer (Hard Times, obviously)
Knuckles' Theme - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Launch Base Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Miniboss - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Staff Roll - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
That's all they have for Michael Jackson or Brad Buxer, in alphabetical order. Everything else has the regular Japanese composers.
It looks like sonic origins will finally show what Sega will do with the soundtrack situation. We still don't have much info on the sonic 3 portion of the collection but in time we'll see.
Btw guys, New Jack Swing was created by Teddy Riley but popularized by Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis in the 80's with the albums Control and Rhythm Nation which prompted Michael to jump on the sound since it was hot!
This was such a cool video, I actually got chills a bit.. I'm a 33 year old gamer, grew up with Sonic games, and by far Sonic 3 was always the crown gem for me. While I did appreciate the addition of Sonic & Knuckles, I can remember as a young kid the differences in music stood out me.
I also always thought Sonic 3 had a ton of music that reminded me of the King of Pop, but I had erroneously assumed it was based mostly off of MJ music and influenced, but never thought a direct hand was involved. It honestly cleans up so much muddled assumptions.
Fantastic video!!
Thanks a ton! This was a blast to work on, I'm glad you got something out of it!
That Jetzons song "Hard Times" is pure magic.
There is an alternate reality where MJ was brought in to compose the soundtrack for Sonic CD and it went on to be published thanks to its capabilities with CD audio. ;_;
...im still convinced sega took inspiration from him for that soundtrack, because both versions of the soundtrack give me those vibes
If you were a kid in the early 90s, and we’re both an MJ fan, but also loved Sonic games, then you most likely have noticed these similarities for the last 20 something years!
Thanks for corroborating what many of us have wondered about all this time 😂
Sonic is fan of Michael Jackson
Lenci Escobar your profile picture says it all
Always have been. Sonic was most inspired by MJ anyway while fake sonic fans try to cover up with there censorship. Ever since that sonic x was released released I already knew Sonic fan base was going to die.
How can Sonic be influenced by Michael Jackson? The first Sonic was from 1991 and Masato Nakamura is the composer, same with the second game. The design of the characters have nothing to do with Michael Jackson either.
This video is about Sonic 3, in which Nakamura no longer was the composer of. The Composer list for Sonic 3 at least includes 10 people and 1 of them probably being Michael Jackson. So even if Michael was involved he was involved with even from the conspiracy peoples reaching with 2-3 tracks from Sonic 3.
But you are trying to infer he made the whole game and that Sonic itself as a game is inspired by Michael Jackson? WTF
I am not even a Sonic fan, but if you truly think that Sonic as a game or graphic design has anything to do with Michael Jackson then you are deluded, all Michael had to do with the Sonic franchise was influence on a few tracks in the third game (but so did 9 other people). But you can believe that Michael Jackson suddenly can retroactively be the inspiration for even the first Sonic game or the characters and story or the original pieces that Nakamura made if you want, insane.
Lord of the belts: The return of the KING and your freaking out about something you haven't researched. SONICS RED SHOES ARE WERE INSPIRED BY MICHEAL RED SHOES IN HIS MUSIC VIDEO. SCRUB!!. IT'S WHY HE WAS INVOLVED WITH SONIC 3 IN THE FIRST PLACE
Since the ideas MJ had in stored for the gaming company of Sega and there 16bit era. That was how Moonwalker for the Sega arcade system and 16bit console was marketed. Sega was already working with MJ at the time and they needed mascot from him to represent Sega sense they were his fans too, That mascot was Sonic which was MJ idea before he decided to make the bunny from Moonwalker name Sonic and to have it as he mascot. All the attitude and personality MJ had he put into that mascot. For you information it canot be research because it was never accredited to MJ, something everyone have been saying on the comment section. I know this because I use to work backstage during MJ performances along with Wilma Cosma band. MJ had a list of creactive thoughts that he was going to put into the gaming industry. You dont know.
Fake accusations ruin everything. Imagine how amazing it would be to have Micheal as a game composer?
My thoughts exactly. Imagine a final product with full MJ collab.
Well now thanks to that whole mess of false allegations, we're never gonna get a port of Sonic 3 to mobile. Feels bad man.
Imagine a Trump Whitehouse with no Russia "investigations".
What the fuck does Trump have anything to do with this? Get your politics out of here.
Illustrating what fake accusations can do to a man. Look at the women who came out of the woodwork towards the end of last year claiming Trump sexually assaulted them. Where are they now?
the credits theme and stranger in moscow played together is such a fucking banger
One of the biggest reasons why Sonic 3 & Knuckles is one of my all time favorite video games, is its soundtrack. I'm also a big Michael Jackson fan. Thank you for uploading this :')
As someone who grew up obsessed with Sonic and MJ and someone who loves investigating video games, this is one of my favorite things the internet has done. I really like how you summarized the development of your research and the research of others and played music side by side and mashed together. It really made for a thorough and enjoyable video!
Dear John, never change.
Also this had like super boatloads of interesting info! Thanks for putting it together.
I read it as Battletoads first and wondered if it has so much mystery to it too
I still watch this video at least once a month. The solid narration and editing still makes this an enjoyable watch. Looking forward to a possible follow up, especially with the announcement of Sonic Origin collection.
THIS. NEEDS. MORE. VIEWS.
Something has been bugging me for years. When I was a kid and before I had the internet I bought Sonic 3 and Sonic &Knuckles and the first thing that jumped to my mind was how different the music felt (as well as Sonic new sprite model) and at the end of one of those games (maybe Sonic 3 &knuckles) I saw something weird for the first time ever and that was that the credits were in a weird format as in initial of the first name and last name (ex: Y. Naka which stands for Yuji Naka).
And then somewhere around the credits (I think it was special thanks) the name "M. Jackson" appeared. I joke about it saying, maybe it was "Michael Jackson". Then years later I saw a Gamespot video and they never mentioned this fact, nor this video does. It's been driving me crazy and I haven't found a trace of it on youtube or anywhere else. I still have my copy of the game at my parents house but I am living overseas. If I end up going visiting I and checking that ASAP.
Anybody knows anything about it?
Could it be you have a different copy of the game? If your memory is actually true then... I don’t know what to say.
Weird, there's no footage of Sonic 3 or Sonic3&Knuckles staff roll with first names being initials. You really should check that cartridge.
Dude, have you gotten your cartridge back yet?.
Did you get your cartridge back yet? Do upload the credits on it if you can.
I'll pay you 40 for your cartridge..
I know that a few people have already commented about this, but just recently, a prototype of Sonic 3 (burnt on EPROM on November 3rd, 1993) has been discovered by drx of Hidden Palace -- the same drx who did the 2008 proto dump, as well as the release of the Nick Arcade prototype of Sonic 2. In it, the PC version of the music for Carnival Night, Ice Cap, and Launch Base Zones were used in place of the Jackson-Buxer score, as well as the themes for the credits, the competition mode, and Knuckles. It's possible that:
A) This prototype, alleged to be built in October of '93, used these tracks in place of the final compositions as placeholders, only to use it again for the PC version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles due to MIDI limitations at the time.
B) These tracks were fully digitized and ready for replacement if Jackson or any of his members brought on decided to deny Sega usage of the original compositions.
C) These tracks could be possible replacements for their counterparts if a Sonic 3 & Knuckles rerelease were to happen.
There's still a lot more about the development of Sonic 3 to figure out; especially when talking about it's music, now that this beta has come out. However, it's best left as an update to this video as it's not a definitive end to the Sonic 3 Michael Jackson mystery...just an end to the S&K Collection mystery, at most.
A moment of silence for the OG soundtracks that never made it to Sonic Origins... Carnival Night Zone... ICE CAP Zone (that one hit the most)... & Launch Base Zone.... Y'all will forever be missed 😔💔
on the current console at least . . .
Carnival night won't be.
Rest in Spaghetti. Never Forgetti. R.I.P. Michael Jackson’s Sonic & Knuckles’ Soundtrack (1993-1994)
You know what they say: "No spaghetti, maximum regretti"
This video was REALLY good. You didn't once assume that the viewer knew anything about the situation and presented all information very well.
Fun fact:
All of the accusations crumbled under cross examination, hense why micheal was found not guilty.
But the media peddled his guilt, even today.
sad..
he needed pheonix wright as his attorney.
Not a fun fact. Nothing but the truth. But its too late now. R.i.p mj
Michael had conservative opinions, so it's typical the left leaning media would go after him.
@@myfellowsonicfans7131 true true
I'm so angry and shameful that my 63rd years old father has always brought up that dirty and false scandal whenever me and sis talk about MJ. No matter what we said to him and the proofs of his innocent, he always spit and curse MJ name like he's a plague/race traitor... Sometimes I really wish I could hit him for saying shit like that without real basis, he was a Cop work in Crime Investigation and yet he is the most stubborn shitty man I've met. I believe he hate MJ even before his skin has got whiter over years let alone that false scandal, I'm so ashamed that I'm his child whenever he's cursed MJ name. What's to feel proud about his glory days when he condemned an innocent man without even try to listen to the truth?
Hey, They released a new Sonic 3 Prototype from Nov.3 1993, that still has the genesis versions of the Sonic & Knuckles collection music still in it. This kind of totally throws the whole timeline into question now, why those tracks wouldn't be in the final game 4 months from release is ether 1. they were still integrating MJ's music despite the allegations, 2. for whatever reason these "PC" tracks were just not integrated fast enough to make it into the final retail release. Ether-way this proto throws the entire thing into chaos.
Definitely keeping an eye on things, this has been an incredible discovery!
@@the_dpad Hey if your up for talking or whatever about this id love to actually talk to someone who actually cares since it seems like my viewers wouldn't get what this really means. also love your stuff.
This is just an assumption of mine but I wonder if they were already in development in the game including many soundtracks before MJ was brought in. A few soundtracks were created and placed on certain levels. Once the allegations were brought up and as much as they say they removed any involvement they didn't and that was the final game. So in short (again, my guess) They made rough tracks, had a few remade by MJ and then released the game even after the allegations. Once they reintroduced the games later the original songs were placed back. Maybe fear for legal reasons at this point. IDK, just my guess.
Hi codenamegama
I honestly think it may be the 1st one. The prototype OST is amazing and all (better than the PC Version of the OST that came out later) but there was something so distinct about the “Woo, Go, and Come on’s that MJ and team’s track used, Sega might have known that the vocal hits might impress their investors (and impress fans) more.
I really want to hear "the water" original recording and stuff. Hydrocity is my favorite zone. :D
Wtf is wrong with both of you madmen
Kitsune91 whut is your profile pic...?
Lt Hershel / Jan Nasa ??
"Hydrocity is my favorite zone"
I'm pretty sure it's established as fact within the sonic community that the water zones are kind of not good
yeah... hydrocity's music is pretty good.
As someone who's interested in Sonic 3's music development, I quote enjoyed this video. However, I feel that Sonic 3's soundtrack is so shrouded in mystery that it makes for an interesting subject regardless of MJ's involvement. Sega are extremely coy about revealing the full soundtrack credits, though it wouldn't surprise me if they know just as little or less about the credits than we do.
The number of musicians is almost endless as well. There's some evidence to assume that Angel Island was composed by neither Jackson, Buxer & Co. nor Sega Sound Team, but that still doesn't narrow it down much. The game also credits the likes of Cube Corp, Opus Corp, Masanori Nakayama and Mayumi Nina Sakazaki, so rule of elimination doesn't work.
So I generally get more excited than I should whenever a facet of Sonic 3K's music credits is unearthed. I hadn't picked up on the Final Boss/Credits connection before, so that's something to think about.
It's definitely pretty astonishing just how many otherwise unrelated people all had their hands in the sound and music design for Sonic 3, in the future I'd love to take a crack at an analysis of the tracks individually and see if a few more can't be identified and traced to a specific composer.
You forgot to end quote
Just so everyone knows, Sonic 3's credits say this:
Carnival Night Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Competition Menu - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Hydrocity Zone Act 1 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Ice Cap Zone 1&2 - Brad Buxer (Hard Times, obviously)
Knuckles' Theme - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Launch Base Zone Act 1&2 - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Miniboss - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
Staff Roll - Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer
That's all they have for Michael Jackson or Brad Buxer, in alphabetical order. Everything else has the regular Japanese composers.
Psionix
This is very believable, but where did you find this?
Seconding the ask for a source please. If only because I'd like to know exactly who did Angel Island and Hydrocity. I don't really care about the MJ stuff.
That Jetzons -Hard Times bit practically blew my mind once I heard it. Great job with this video!
Four and a half years late to the party, but:
Another track bearing striking similarities to Ice Cap's theme is In For The Kill/Caught In A Trap by Electric Light Orchestra. It had been developed for the album "Secret Messages" with a slated release date of 1982. The album was delayed and the song became a bonus track for reissues of the follow up, Balance Of Power. The engineer (and uncredited co-producer) for the album was Bill Bottrell, who then began to engineer and produce for Michael Jackson from Bad up to HIStory. Also important to note is that Bottrell was responsible for introducing Buxer to Jackson.
That fade to orange at 22:31 is suspicious...
MICHAEL JACKSON'S KIRBY STAR STACKER CONFIRMED
Marx: "The sun and moonwalker are fighting!"
The D-Pad Imagine the Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright boss fight...
Thank you for adding in the audio of the accuser's dad saying: "If I go through with this I win big time", because to anyone that does 10 minutes research and has common sense knows Michael Jackson was not guilty of those allegations. So sad, we could have had Sonic soundtracks curated/composed by Michael Jackson otherwise
The "victim"'s dad didn't even seem concerned about his son but ruining the career and life of Michael Jackson. The dad used his son as a tool to take down someone more successful than him.
There was no audio, what? It was just the subtitles from a newscast.
As a kid I was both an insanely huge sonic & michael jackson fan - the music i make has been heavily inspired by both mj and the first 3 sonic games. I remember playing sonic 3 for the first time as a kid and just somehow instinctively knowing michael did the music. Probably the most telling song (that no one ever seems to mention) is the mini boss theme from sonic 3. It even has a sample of mj’s voice going “hoo!” In it. I remember just assuming mj did the music and telling my friends at school like it was fact much to my surprise 15 years later when it was actually publicly confirmed i was right all along!
Which mini boss?
@@kilato9649 all
Someone should alert Siivagunner of this (if he hasn't mixed some of these songs already).
GOOD IDEA, don’t know how we hadn’t thought of that ourselves.
Oh, yes. We should tell ‘em.
Do I have news for you.
Andrew Grottle don’t worry the King for Another Day tournament has a few Sonic 3 bangers
Man, I got chills when I heard "Hard Times"... that's awesome!
Great video man. Thank you all the people who worked on the music for Sonic 3. Man! Sonic is so cool.
And here we are now with the proto type of Sonic 3 being released.
Sei arumami - han jarui jiburukimi, I ji a, larukim, hanjaruku...SONIC PROTOTYPE!?!? 😴 Dishuru!!!!!! Michael Jackson!!!!🎶🎵🎼
Link?
Seeing this video for the first time a few months ago blew my mind, especially realizing that there was a Jetzons song that was pretty much just Ice Cap with vocals. Since watching it, I've come back to this video numerous times and have even shown it around. I'd love for you guys to do more in-depth analysis videos like this in the future.
Aw thank you so much! We did a second one along the same vein recently about the fall of the Dreamcast that you might like: czcams.com/video/gNquEJXs4_U/video.html
And we’re already working on a third to wrap up the Sega stories too!
I'd like to point out that I am Ben2k9. I did an interview last year with Huffington Post about this, it was very interesting!
Renegade can you prove?
This wax cylinder record was invented by Thomas Ed he lie
Long Live the memory of MJ in his great music!
No its more like let's remember all the unfortunate kids who got diddled. He's burning eternally now...
Luke The Drifter people like you ruin everything ya know
@@lukethedrifter3363He ain't a kiddy diddler tho lmao
@@felixt808 true
@@felixt808 Strangely people like to live in 2005.
The credits / stranger in moscow and hard times / ice cap zone mashups are bangers
I can remember as a kid alllll the way back to when I first got Sonic 3, aaallllll the music always really stuck out to me. I remember literally describing it just feeling, "cooler." Over the years even as an adult, I've played those games a million times over & listened to the dang songs on CZcams. I only just recently heard about this MJ connection & it ALL makes so much sense now. Hell, I was a huge MJ fan too. One of the first, if not THE first cassette tapes I owned as a kid was Michael Jacksons. Heh... That's some crazy stuff.
14:52 I don't think you played that "Hard Times" sample long enough.
No wonder I loved the sonic 3 music. It had a wonderful team who was lead by one of the most thrilling musicians of all time. Great video. The new information and the use of Michael's clips from music videos that quite frankly are masterpieces. Also that ending shot :) that brought a smile on my face.
Funny how when I played sonic 3 as a kid I always assumed it was Jackson's music. Was always rumors about this even back then but no proof. Nice video! =)
Yup MJ beat/rhythm was dominant for our generation, just knew it, he was the best at new jack swing
This still manages to be one of my favorite videos on CZcams
This video was EXCELLENT. I especially appreciate the timeline at the end.
Man... what I wouldn't give to hear those lost demo songs, though..
Just stumbled upon this video, it has blew my mind! Especially never noticing 'Hard Times' is Ice Cap zone. Great work!
The "blood on the dance floor" and knuckles theme combined HIT HARD BRO
Also the "Hard Times" with Ice Cap give me chills broooooooo
6:18 Ooh that sends shivers! You got all the good parts of the 'Stranger in Moscow' 'Credits' hybrid in that clip, chief!
This video is a decent timesink for those stuck in tedious, repetitive work for those that can get away with a headphone in. Thanks for making it, team!
This is a really well made video, informative and interesting, a lot of effort clearly put in... Deserves a lot more views.
Aw, thanks! :) It's been growing steadily over time, so we'll see how it goes!
@@the_dpad 500k views your pretty good
Dude u deserve way more subs, I actually am so impressed I just feel like advertising your channel so u get more subs or something. Great work man.
My thoughts too. Excellent video!
Such a good video! ❤️ Thank you!
Ice Cap Zone was actually from the song "Hard Times" by The Jetsonz
I have to tell you this is one of the best and most well made mini-doc
etrospective videos on CZcams. I wish more people could blend entertainment with information like you do. I love the subject too. Thank you SO much!
Thank you so much for watching! I'm glad you got a lot of enjoyment out of it, it was really a blast to make :)
the effort you put in to this really shows. One of my favorite videos ever!
I honestly don't like alien ant farm's cover of smooth criminal
Yeah.Me Neither
Same
It's nowhere near as good as the original
MJforever The guy is not a good singer
MJforever Yeah it's bad. But I can understand what the lyrics are saying more clearly. But it's still bad.
HOLY SHIT
I need that mash-up between Smooth Criminal, Who Is It and Ice Cap! That sounds kickass
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you for putting it together so perfectly :)
Damn! great job putting all of this together. I'm happy to finally have something piecing all of the pieces together into one coherent piece
I could listen to Ice Cap zone theme all day!
Same here!
This whole development of sonic 3 is one of the most interesting things I've found on the Internet and to be honest I'd love to let everyone I know about it, because it's that good.
I want a jet set radios dev video
Great job on this! I've heard about this connection in the past, but it's nice to see a full breakdown of it!
Another interesting fact sonic shoes are model after Michael Jackson himself great vid
This is the best video about the thing and now it needs to be updated.
It sure does! :)
i remember seeing this video on my crappy ipod touch in 2016 thinking this was the coolest thing ever. I watch it now 8 years later and I still think it is.
Fantastic video, glad to see all the information in one place. :)
Bro the kid at 2:10 was way ahead of his time.
"The fastest DJ alive."
~MC Sonic
Did you notice that Bridge Zone on Sonic 1 (Master System) sounds like Janet Jackson's Together Again?
Yup! We talk about it in the intro to our Sonic 1 for Master System series :)
Didn’t Bridge Zone come first as well?
Happy 31st birthday Sonic! Very good video content, a comprehensive research
Ice Cap was basically hard times by The Jetzons I'm pretty sure.
Edit: 14:40 coming back from a later point in the video, he mentions this apparently.
Great Job on making this Excellent video that answers so many questions everyone has had about the Sonic/Michael Jackson connection. Everything from the information, the timing in editing and the transitions used to go from one example to another was spot on! Now I only wish that there was a re-release of Sonic 3 that included more of Michael's Signature tunes being used in the game, I know it would be a hit!
Here's what I think, now that the Sonic 3 prototype leaked.
The prototype tracks are what Jackson composed.
It would make sense with Michael being disappointed with the sound quality - the tracks in the final game sound FAR better on the Genesis.
Cleanup was done to try and recreate a soundtrack for the game as fast as possible, but wasn't finished. This accelerated development was what led to samples being used from tracks the developers worked on... which largely included actual Jackson music. Not technically the music Jackson made for the game, but the use of these samples had the opposite "distancing" effect.
The MIDI OST + Sonic Origins soundtracks were able to fully realize Jackson's original compositions for the games.
If we had those god damned voicemails pertaining to Carnival Night or otherwise it would all be answered.
The biggest reason I came up with this theory is Ice Cap zone. It makes absolutely no sense for Ice Cap to have been changed in the final release to a full sample of a totally unrelated song by a totally unrelated artist unless they needed to actively replace Jackson's music ASAP. It also makes no sense for it to have changed in the PC version unless they fully realized the original soundtrack's vision, because if the original full soundtrack had legal troubles you'd think they would have been able to keep the 100% definitively non-Jackson song in.
Why do so many people still think MJ had that much involvement? Not just his team, but MJ himself.
It would be kinda cooler had he and his team worked on the proto due to the final tracks... Basically being long existing songs but translated for genes.