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Sonic Jam



 
 
Sonic Jam is a video game for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn

The is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America, and July 8 1995 in Europe. The system was discontinued in 2000 in video gaming in Japan and in 1998 in video gaming in other countries....
 and Game.com
Game.com

The game.com was a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting Personal Digital Assistant-style features and functions such as a touch screen and Stylus#Modern use....
. The Saturn version is a compilation of titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog series originally released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive

The is a History of video game consoles video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. Mega Drive was the name used in Japan and Europe, while it was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region....
. It was released in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 on June 20, 1997, in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 on July 31, 1997 and in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 during the month of August 1997
1997 in video gaming

Events*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November ? Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3 ...
.

It includes the main Mega Drive/Genesis anthology (including Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles

Sonic & Knuckles is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994 in video gaming....
 and its lock-ons); Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball is an adventure pinball video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1993 in video gaming and later porting to the Sega Game Gear system....
, Sonic 3D Blast, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a Sonic the Hedgehog video game released for the Sega Mega Drive, Game Gear, and the Sega Master System....
 are not featured.






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Encyclopedia


Sonic Jam is a video game for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn

The is a 32-bit video game console that was first released on November 22 1994 in Japan, May 11 1995 in North America, and July 8 1995 in Europe. The system was discontinued in 2000 in video gaming in Japan and in 1998 in video gaming in other countries....
 and Game.com
Game.com

The game.com was a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting Personal Digital Assistant-style features and functions such as a touch screen and Stylus#Modern use....
. The Saturn version is a compilation of titles in the Sonic the Hedgehog series originally released on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive

The is a History of video game consoles video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. Mega Drive was the name used in Japan and Europe, while it was sold under the name Sega Genesis in North America, as Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in that region....
. It was released in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 on June 20, 1997, in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 on July 31, 1997 and in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 during the month of August 1997
1997 in video gaming

Events*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November ? Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3 ...
.

It includes the main Mega Drive/Genesis anthology (including Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles

Sonic & Knuckles is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994 in video gaming....
 and its lock-ons); Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball

Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball is an adventure pinball video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1993 in video gaming and later porting to the Sega Game Gear system....
, Sonic 3D Blast, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is a Sonic the Hedgehog video game released for the Sega Mega Drive, Game Gear, and the Sega Master System....
 are not featured. The compilation also includes a 3D
3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a Cartesian coordinate system#Three-dimensional coordinate system representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images....
 "Sonic World", which allows players to access virtual museums featuring Sonic the Hedgehog history, art, music and advertisements, as well as remastered and uncut animation
Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of Motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways....
 sequences from Sonic CD
Sonic the Hedgehog CD

, or simply Sonic CD, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, video game developer by Sonic Team. It marked the first official appearance of both List of recurring characters from Sonic the Hedgehog #Metal Sonic and Amy Rose....
. Sonic World functioned as both a hub for the extras and as its own game, utilizing missions such as ring-collecting, reaching markers, or finding Tails. Completing all the missions would unlock the credits for Sonic Jam.

Games included in this collection are:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)

    Sonic the Hedgehog 2, or simply Sonic 2, is a platform game developed by United States studio Sega Technical Institute in collaboration with Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis....
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
    Sonic the Hedgehog 3

    Sonic the Hedgehog 3, often abbreviated and officially titled in Europe as Sonic 3, is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive....
  • Sonic & Knuckles
    Sonic & Knuckles

    Sonic & Knuckles is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994 in video gaming....


Furthermore, by selecting Sonic & Knuckles, the player can use the "lock-on technology" from its original cartridge version in order to link up to the other three games in the collection, making the following games also playable:

  • Sonic 3 & Knuckles
    Sonic & Knuckles

    Sonic & Knuckles is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994 in video gaming....
  • Knuckles in Sonic 2
    Sonic & Knuckles

    Sonic & Knuckles is a platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994 in video gaming....
  • Blue Sphere


Sonic Jam also included customized versions of the games, with redesigned levels with varying levels of difficulty. When played in "Original" mode, the games are identical to their original Mega Drive/Genesis releases. "Normal" difficulty adds extra rings and alters other aspects of the design to remove some of the challenge (these versions of the levels are used when playing Sonic Jam's Time Attack
Time attack

A time attack is another term for time trial. The term is commonly used in Japan for individual time trial events for motor vehicles that involves a vehicle running around the circuit in lieu of a qualifying lap and the term is widely adopted outside the country for tuner event and media....
 feature). "Easy" difficulty removes certain stages entirely, making the game much easier to complete.

Also implemented into Sonic Jam was the option to use Sonic's signature move, the Spin Dash" in Sonic the Hedgehog (on any of the above difficulties); originally, it did not debut until Sonic 2. There were also fixes of some glitches, particularly in Sonic 3. The games were not simply direct emulations like in later compilations, but rather elaborate ports to utilize the Saturn hardware.

According to the Sonic City website, Sonic World is a test level for what eventually became Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure

is a video game video game developer by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998 in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast and is the first game in the Sonic Adventure series....
.

The Game.com version features Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles though different from the Genesis originals. Curiously, this version's box art features the same render found on that of Sonic R
Sonic R

Sonic R is a racing game video game developer by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn and Personal computer, the latter version being porting to the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2 in Sonic Gems Collection....
.

Changes


Some of the audio is presented slightly different than they originally were on their original system. This is due to the CD format. The version of Sonic 2 in this compilation uses the invincibility tune from Sonic the Hedgehog. The reason for this is unknown, seeing that the invincibility music from Sonic 2 is actually on the CD. Making this issue even more confusing is the fact that the proper music for invincibility plays during 2 player mode. There are also some enhanced sound effects, particularly in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles where the sound effect for explosions (from monitors and enemies) is completely different. While the graphics are replicated perfectly on the Saturn, there is one additional visual effect in Sonic 1. While Sonic halts to a stop while running, he leaves behind skid marks just like in later games.

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