Sapheros
Member
-.-
This thread might not release a lot of discussion. I will be aware of this, but for anyone that hasn't had a Genesis or hasn't played any of the Sonic Compilation games before, you might know this title if you had the old toaster PC known as Windows 98.
Released in 1996 and Developed by Expert Software, this is a port of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles to the PC. Now why is this so important you may ask? This is basically Sonic 3 alone, Sonic and Knuckles alone, and the two combined as the mega game itself. This shouldn't be so special right? I mean this is a great alternative if you didn't have a Genesis... or Saturn... or PS2/NGC/XBOX. But this game is in fact special for one very remarkable reason: the soundtrack differences.
Despite this being just a PC port of S3&K, three zones in the Sonic 3 Section had their soundtracks completely changed! It's rumored that the songs used for Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap Zone, and Launch Base Zone were changed due to a scandal related to Michael Jackson at the time, who had a part in the soundtrack for the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the Genesis. (Despite Michael not liking the Genesis Soundfont for ruining his beautiful music [Lookup: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker], and may his soul rest in peace as the King of Pop.) The zones have about 6 completely different and original themes. (I should probably mention that the entirety of the PC soundtrack are MIDI songs.)
They have really been in the ether for years afterwards, until the Sonic 3 hack, Sonic 3 Complete, was born. It not only polishes Sonic 3 and Knuckles on the Genesis, but makes the story feel better and well transitioned, they even included the PC's 6 themes, and now translated into the genesis soundfont, which are amazing and now recognized by anyone that loves the game, but never heard of this PC travesty.
To be honest with you all, besides the Sonic Game Gear games I played as a very young child, this was actually my first 16-bit Sonic game ever. Not Sonic 1, 2 or 3 on the Genesis. This was, and I absolutely loved it. This is the game that brought me into Sonic, I would always raise an ear whenever I heard Sonic ever since because the little kid inside of me LOVED this old compilation, that's not to say I didn't have any bad experiences in it.
As far as I may remember, I only completed the game as Knuckles, and only Knuckles (in the Sonic 3 portion that is). Wanna know why? Because I, for the simple headed life of me, could not get past those fucking barrels in Carnival Night Zone Act 2. This would in fact be my first most stupidest gaming moment in my life, (besides my father who has never played Sonic Heroes kicked my ass like 3 times in a row in Battle mode compared to me, who played the game for weeks) it wasn't until I was 12 where I played Sonic 3 on the Sonic Mega Collection for the PS2, and thought: "Lemme look this up on the internet since I could never figure it out." The reveal was so shocking I think I cried when I learned the truth, for years never experiencing the game like I did when I was so young, and couldn't figure out that the Up and Down buttons were the only way you could move those barrels. (I'm digressing aren't I?)
To wrap this up, I don't think you should play the PC version of S3&K when it's nothing different, but look up the PC version's soundtrack, it's some astounding MIDI goodness, and if you think the 6 songs could sound better, listen to the Genesis version from Sonic 3 Complete. It's all worth the while.
Carnival Night Act 1 | Genesis
Launch Base Act 2 | Genesis
Ice Cap Zone Act 1 | Genesis
