Name:
Sonic Jam
Developer:
Sonic Team
Publisher:
Sega
Platform:
Sega Saturn (also the
Tiger Game.com)
Genre:
Platformer
Regions of Release:
Japan,
US, and
Europe
Year:
1997 (Saturn version),
1998 (Game.com version)
Players: One Player
Rarity: Easy to find
secondhand
Sonic Jam was released on the
Sega Saturn console in
1997. It is a
compilation of most of the
Sonic the Hedgehog games that were released on the
Sega Genesis /
Mega Drive, namely:
Sonic the Hedgehog,
Sonic the Hedgehog 2,
Sonic the Hedgehog 3,
and
Sonic & Knuckles.
Each of these games can be accessed from the main menu, and a number of different
options can be set for each game. For instance, you can choose to only play the
Special Stages, remove the '
Time Out' feature that kills
Sonic after 10mins in a single
Act, or even allow Sonic to
spin dash in the original
Sonic the Hedgehog game. Also,
Sonic 2 and
Sonic 3 can be played in conjunction with
Sonic & Knuckles, replicating the
Lock-On technology that S&K used on the
Genesis /
Mega Drive (in which another
cartridge could be inserted into the S&K cartridge, or 'locked-on').
All the games also feature digital
manuals from the European, US and Japanese versions of the game. The Japanese manuals are filled with wonderful
art, which is lacking from the Western manuals, so are well worth a browse regardless of whether you know how to play the game or not.
Sonic Jam also features
Sonic World: A
3D Sonic '
level' in which the player can control a 3D Sonic, and access a huge amount of Sonic
information, from various
exhibit buildings dotted around the
landscape (and it's the closest you'll get to an actual 3D Sonic game on the
Saturn):
Character House: This archive features portfolios for both the good and evil sets of characters in the Sonic games.
Music Shop: Listen to all the wonderful
BGM and
SE music from the games featured in the various games.
Movie Theater: Watch some of the various Sonic
adverts and clips from Sonic
cartoons in this building. Also features the
Sonic CD introduction and ending
animations.
Art Gallery: View some of the
gorgeous Sonic
artwork from over the years.
Hall of Fame: One of the most extensive features in
Sonic Jam, a
comprehensive history of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring loads of
information and
images.
Sonic World also has some
minigames called World Missions, in which you are required to collect a certain amount of
rings, or hit red and blue 'points', or touch Miles '
Tails' Prower (ho ho). Completing all of these tasks unlocks a
special surprise, apparently (haven't done it myself).
Although the games are practically the same as the originals, there are some minor musical differences (how the music starts and ends, very minor stuff). All in all, a wonderful collection, and a must for any
Sonic fan.
Sonic Jam is one of the two Sonic games released on the
Saturn, the other being
Sonic 3D. The Saturn's 'proper' fully 3D Sonic game,
Sonic X-treme, was never released.
You can view all the digital manual pages on a PC - they're all in .tif format. Also, there is an 'Extra' directory on the CD, which contains some nice artwork. Also, if you check the 'Sonic12' directory, some of the sound is in .aif format. Some of the movie files seem to be in .avi format, but will not play, sadly.
Servo5678 says re Sonic Jam: Don't forget to mention the pack-in promo item in the Japanese release: a jar of fruit jelly called "Sonic Jam". It came in Sonic blueberry, Knuckles strawberry, and Tails orange.
A version of Sonic Jam was also released on the
Tiger Game.Com, but is highly cut down, only featuring two levels from Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, and is pretty
slow and
sluggish, in black and white, and only has two
Special Stages, and three
bosses. It was released in 1998, and failed to save the already flagging system.