Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

Overview

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. Like previous Sonic games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to stop Doctor Robotnik from relaunching his space station, the Death Egg, after it crash-lands on a mysterious floating island. Sonic 3 introduces Knuckles the Echidna, the island guardian, who lays traps for Sonic and Tails.

Development began in January 1993 by Sega Technical Institute in California, shortly after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It was initially developed as an isometric game, similar to what became Sonic 3D Blast (1996), but became a conventional 2D platformer due to time constraints. The pop musician Michael Jackson composed portions of the soundtrack but left the project and went uncredited; sources vary on how much of his work was retained, and many tracks were replaced in rereleases.

Sonic 3 was developed simultaneously with Sonic & Knuckles; they were planned as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split it. The Sonic 3 cartridge can be attached to an adapter on the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge, creating a combined game, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles.

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Platform

Developer

Sonic Team, Sega

Publisher

Sega

Series

Sonic the Hedgehog

Engine

Retro Engine

Platforms

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One

Age rating

ESRB E

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

Yes

Co op

Yes

Age ratings

ESRB

E

Release dates

Playable today

Credits

Publisher

Sega

Developer

Sonic Team, Sega

Released

2022-06-23

Age rating

ESRB E

Region

US

Time to beat

about 4.1 hours