SONIC JAM: The Unsung Titan of the Sega Saturn | GEEK CRITIQUE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ย. 2021
- In 1993, Sega was on top of the gaming world. Just four years later, the company, and its Saturn console, were in dire straits, struggling in a distant third place behind the powerhouse Nintendo 64 and the upstart Sony PlayStation. And yet Sonic the Hedgehog, the very series that had propelled Sega to such unbelievable heights just a generation before, was nowhere to be found. This is the story of the only Sonic game the team that bore his name would ever make for Sega's 32-bit console, and much like the Saturn itself, it's been uncelebrated and under-appreciated ever since.
Same as my OG Sonic series, pretty much every remix I used here came from NicoCW/Dr. Reverbnik:
/ nicocw
/ @drreverbnik
Back TGC on Patreon: / geekcritique
Twitch: / geekcritique
Facebook: / geekcritique
Twitter: / tgcritique - เกม
In a lot of ways, especially in a period that was rife with such a bitter division between SoA and SoJ, Jam is an oddly affectionate tribute to the two biggest worlds of Sonic. It offered an inviting welcome to otherwise uncertain Eastern gamers to a franchise that likely seemed so American to them, while giving Western fans a glimpse of a different yet intriguing version of the Blue Blur.
1998 to 2008 would prove to be a tumultuous time for the fandom, especially with the fallout of Sega deciding with the Japanese canon/take on Sonic would now be the universal one. But much like Sonic World provides a glimpse of a 3D game that might have been, Jam as a whole is a window into a shared Sonic experience that could have followed in the decade after; where the very multiverse of what Sonic had already become was something to be celebrated rather than avoided.
I would like to complement you on a very well written comment, and you absolutely make a good point about the East. I feel as a Westerner, I've focused so much on how different Japan's Sonic is compared to the Western one, but never considered what they thought of the Western version.
Really makes you appreciate Generation's Classic design taking small elements from the American design and meshing them with the main aspects of the Eastern design.
At least they did incorporate some elements of the western canon, like the name Robotnik, and I think Sonic's love for chili dogs.
My man sounds like the gaming historian
Sonic was made solely for the American market, not for the Japanese market where they tried other games and not for the European or Latin American market where SEGA was already popular. So it makes sense it would struggle to find popularity over there.
@@CornishCreamtea07 It's still unreal when the franchise was almost always better over there than here. And in the case of the games, really always.
Great video. As a SEGA kid I deeply cherished my copy of Sonic Jam. Getting to see those Japanese commercials, the little gameplay additions like spindash in 1 and the alternate modes, and just getting to control a 3D Sonic in a time where that was a still a novelty. It may just have been a game compilation but it's brimming with soul.
Sup cyber, we love to see you
Still waiting on that Sonic Jam Bonus video
@@mecha-goober sorry? Is this your TH-cam video?
@@Robert-tl2vg ...huh? Clearly not. What are you on about.
He's alive!
Some crucial context: it’s important to note that when you say SEGA struggled to find success in Japan, you really mean to say it struggled building an audience AT HOME. Sega absolutely ran Japanese arcades since the mid-80s, while Nintendo claimed the console market. This is crucial, as the Japanese arcade scene was (and still is) much stronger in Japan than in the west; the arcade was the quintessential place to play in Japan. By marketing the Saturn almost entirely around bringing the arcade home somewhat faithfully, they convinced many of those arcadegoers to pick one up. Obviously this didn’t fly in the US, where SEGA had a hell of a lot more competition in the arcades and most players were becoming more invested in single-player home experiences than faithful arcade conversions. Sonic’s lack of an arcade presence definitely contributed to Japan’s general apathy towards him by the mid-to-late 90s.
@@secoTheSonicFan I don’t think Japanese gamers hate Sonic, it’s kind of like how a lot of American gamers don’t like Fire Emblem, but not because they hate it, but because it doesn’t suit their western taste
Even the japanese know that arcade games are good for 10 minutes at home. They purchased playstation in the bucketloads
But Sonic did have an Arcade game! SegaSonic the Hedgehog was a game kinda like 3D Blast but it's get from point A to point B instead of collecting Flickies. It was Japan only but we're talking about Japanese arcades so that doesn't really matter
This is facts for days with videos like this.
I always found Japanese arcade interesting because those arcade games are like actual games. Which definitely sounds weird but most arcades in America just boil down to gambling for kids
What I would give for a Sonic game in the style of “Sonic World”.
Sonic Adventure
What would you give?
Sonic robo blast 2?
@@masterfarr8265 Sonic Adventure is it's own style
So you basically want an open world Sonic game
Me: "Man, why play the Saturn version when it's available on a billion other systems?"
TCG: "It has difficulty options."
Me: "I'm sold."
I'm fairly certai Rom-Hackers have put the difficulty options on the Genesis Roms. At least I know Sonic 3 Complete had them.
@@papersonic9941 oh I'm almost positive it exists, but I didn't know about them to begin with until now
"Yeah, we labelled them 'original, normal, and easy' but in reality they're just 'normal, easy remix, and extra platforms.'"
"Get the fuck *_out_* of me."
Shame there's no hard mode though.
“Hey all, Josh here! DAMMIT! I critiqued Sonic Jam! It’s a pretty rare game, but I don’t want to be known as The Guy Who Critiqued Sonic Jam when I’m dead.”
Ah, yes. A true man of culture. :3
Scosh
"It's Sonic! It's cool! Movie cool!"
-Geek Critique, 1997
I was reading it that way just now as a 39 year old, so don’t feel too bad.
2:45
Song name? I barely remember it, someone please help
@@patkuoneflickgod1114 Sonic 3D Blast Sega Saturn Rusty Ruins Act 2
This is basically what I'm going to say about the sonic 2 movie that's coming!
"It's sonic! It's cool! Movie 2 cool"
Sonic World may have been a full year after Mario 64, but the 64 was far more powerful than Saturn. The fact that it looks comparable to Mario 64 at all is a miracle.
Imagine what could’ve been with Sonic Team working on N64 hardware at the time…
@@israelrice Right? They could have made something really great. Sonic World was a baby step, it could have been awesome seeing bigger worlds with similar missions
Project Nights consumers always asked `Who is Sonic?`
never
`How is Sonic?`
~ Sonic Team.
I’m glad to see some low-poly Sonic appreciation
Years later, The Fighters and R models still don't get enough honest to goodness love. There's something about low poly Sonic characters that reflects the soul of the series in a particular way I've never felt has been captured again.
For real, there's just something about them that makes it such a charming aesthetic
@@megamillion5852You forgot the Sonic Jam/3d Blast model :
“Sonic 3’s Elephantine design.” Few sentences make me smile in the way that one does.
IMO, Sonic Jam is a collection that has aged like the finest of wines.
It not only recreates the main Genesis games perfectly, but also has A TON of meaningful extra content about Sonic's history to that point.
Heck. Sonic Jam outclasses a lot of current gen collections like Super Mario 3D All Stars.
I'd love to see Jam getting a re-release sometime soon.
I'd love Sega to give Jam the Night's treatment. Original mode and widescreen mode.
“HONEY WAKE UP, A NEW GEEK CRITIQUE VIDEO TO ENDLESSLY REWATCH JUST DROPPED”
A new TGC is always worth the wait! Through your eyes I can almost imagine a parallel world where I was a diehard Sega/Sonic kid instead of Nintendo/Mario. And I love it!
Love your content, Mistare.
I am forever thankful that I had both a SNES and Genesis as a kid. Hell, we even had both the PSX and N64, then got a discounted Dreamcast when that was on its way out, so I had quite a diverse gaming experience growing up.
Oh look, It’s MistareFusion of Dragon Ball Dissection Fame!
I love your DBD videos and your Donkey Kong Country Retrospectives are really fascinating. DBD really changed my view on the series as whole. Thank you and I can’t wait for you finally end the manga.
Yoooooooooooo, when one favorite TH-cam has a favorite that’s also another of my favorites!!!!!
We're Writing a Manifesto that will CHANGE people's Perception about SEGA. Get Ready.
I feel like this is that perfect mirror image to your Sonic 06 video. The heartfelt, optimistic tone detailing exactly where Sonic was in 1996-1997 and where Sonic was headed. Nice change of pace from all the Colors Ultimate drama.
Only true OGs remember this video was titled "The Sega Saturn's Unsung Titan"
True OGs remember when my videos didn't even *have* titles, and the thumbnails were just a picture of the title screen with "THE GEEK CRITIQUE" at the top.
@@GeekCritique
huh
neat
The Gallery theme hits me in the feels.
Saaaaame.
There's an absolute abundance of positive things I could say about this, and all your videos... but I just wanted to say, every time I get to the end of one of your Geek Critiques, I'm just left with the sheer sense of reverence that you have for video games as a whole. It's infectious and genuinely wonderful.
26:18
Wow. That's actually pretty profound. Reminds me of the sonic CD quote too. Sega always had something nintendo didn't and that was personality.
Back in the 90's, Sega looked to be at the top of their game. Going up against nintendo, creating arcades, events, they looked to not have a care in the world.
But in all honesty, it wasn't that great for them behind closed doors. It was actually pretty fuckin bad.
Bleeding money on add ons just to complete with growing hardware, the arcade business going put of style, the bitter rivalry between SoA and SoJ, the paycuts, staff departs and downgrades, awful management decisions, constant game cancelations and sooooooo much more and it continued untill the failure of the dreamcast where it peaked so bad, the company almost closed down. A game called Segagaga was pretty much their way of letting everyone know how bad it really was and thought it was pretty much one of their last games on the dreamcast. Shit, the director went to an opening for segagaga to sign autographs for the game and almost NO ONE SHOWED UP. It was heartbreaking and demoralizing.
And yet, through it all, they kept going. They kept trying. They had their backs against the wall for a decade and was still smiling through it. Even after the 90's, sonic 06 development, the shit show that is the sonic fan base, the still questionable management decisions and quality control, those guys STILL got personality. They still got the heart to reach out to their fan base and show love. And as a die hard nintendo fan, I'll be the first to admit nintendo STILL can't beat Sega in that charm.
I may not be the biggest Sega or sonic fan but I will ALWAYS have a love and respect for them for always showing heart, even in their worst positions. That company's history in and of itself is a love letter to the fans that even through the worst times, always keep moving. Always keep smiling till the very end.
That quote and even sonic himself are the very embodiment to that belief they all share.
As Sonic said once "That's way past cool!" (Cannot really remember lol). I think that quote both applies to the Sonic franchise, fanbase and the guys there at SEGA.
This video was AMAZING. Ive only ever really focused on World as a kid, so it was really cool getting all the detail about the difficulty modes.
This game deserved a deep analysis and i can think of no one better to do it. Bravo, Josh!!!
YO IT'S NIEK
I'm so glad to see another episode of Geek Critique!
Worth the wait!
I never knew much about Sonic Jam, so this was really fascinating. Makes me wish I had a Saturn as a kid, I would've loved this.
Adding on to what Mega Collection and the like meant to "The Next Generation," something I've only recently realized is that between Mega Collection, Gems, and the Adventure ports, kids growing up with a Gamecube had access to pretty much the entirety of Sonic's history up to and through that point(except for some oddballs like Chaotix and SegaSonic).
Sure, they weren't exactly the definitive versions of... any of these games, really(except MAYBE SA2 if you love the multiplayer as much as I do), but that didn't stop me(and I can only assume countless others) from becoming a massive Sonic nerd who was just as scared of drowning in Chemical Plant as he was of doing the same in Aquatic Mine, equally intimidated by Mecha Sonic going super and Metal Sonic transforming into Metal Overlord, and equally baffled by the Carnival Night Barrel and Big the Cat's fishing controls. I may have still ended up being a Sonic fan without these, but possibly nowhere near as big of one. Even beyond Sonic I think that says a lot about the importance of game preservation and keeping older titles accessible.
I still remember being really surprised as I learned about the Classic/Modern divide in the fandom when I first started using the internet(around the time of Sonic 4's announcement, so pretty much when it peaked), especially since certain classic fans seem to have the idea that a lot of younger fans don't even know the older games exist, which always felt silly to read as someone who grew up with SADX, who is also someone who has actually played Tails Sky Patrol...on the same disc! It kinda pains me to see a good amount of people from my own generation do the same, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little guilty of it myself deep down(I just can't be bothered to publicly rant about it online).
As for Jam, I actually remember being pretty underwhelmed when I found out it was "just" a compilation because that same "History of Sonic" video made me think I was missing out on an entire 3D Sonic game. Since then I've just written it off as an older compilation with less games than the one I had, and a neat little novelty mode. This video's definitely helped me see it in a better light, especially the Easy and Normal modes as I never considered the fact it was still the original Sonic Team that made them. Great Video, and sorry if this comment got a little too long, this stuff has been on my mind for a while now and it seemed relevant.
I thought the Classic Adventure divide was insane back in 2010 as well for the same reasons you did as I had the GameCube experience with Sonic. Of course there actually is a huge divide between 2000s & 2010s for Sonic with the characterization being drastically different in the 2010s, Just Sonic Mentality randomly became a thing that started plaguing the main series with the arrival of 3D Boost. Even a lot of the older games are inaccessible to newer fans these days. These days everyone gets access to Sonic 1, Sonic 2, & Sonic CD with 3K being much harder to access.
The kids these days aren't getting the Gamegear Games, 3D Blast, Spinball, The GBA Games, Heroes, Shadow, the DS Games, 06, the Riders Games, or even the Rivals Games or Unleashed as they haven't been rereleased in such a long time. Game Preservation is important although none of the 4kids Era games have ever been ported & The Sonic Advance Trilogy was only rereleased on 3DS Eshop in Japan. I have waited 15 years for Knuckles Chaotix & SegaSonic to get rereleased in some format although that never happened.
Fun fact, the sonic world part of son jam is actually a prototype of sonic adventure, because sonic adventure was originally a going to be released on the southern as a part of the sonic project, but was moved it to the Dreamcast wants to developers, saw the hardware potential, but they didn’t wanna let their work go away, so they just used their earliest prototype in sonic jam, and polished it up a bit and people playing because on the gym didn’t know it, but if they were still going to release sonic adventure in the dream cast it would’ve been two years away
Just wanted to say that, in an environment such as TH-cam that places so much emphasis on continuously put out content day after day week after week, it is refreshing to see a channel such as your own that delivers quality content at a schedule that works best for you and what you have going on in life. Really enjoyed going through everything you have made over the last few years and look forward to what might be next for the channel.
Gives his old videos rewatch value too, his videos are always worth waiting for, quality over quantity.
I saw the insane difference between East and West Saturn sales when I was living in Japan last year. Every Hard Off store (Electronics thrift store) had dozens of Saturns and PS1's sitting around. Saturns everywhere, loads of Saturn games. N64 was there, but no where near as popular as Saturn and PS1. A good amount of Dreamcasts too, and yes, you can actually find Neo Geo stuff there too for a change.
I need to go to Japan
Man, in a world of Silent Hill HD editions and Sonic Colors Ultimate it blows my mind to see a port that had this much care and, hell, even love put into it, a true (semi)hidden gem
RIP ORIGINS
Definitely your best Sonic video so far. I really enjoyed this one. I appreciate how you took the time to discuss the difficulty options in Jam, because too many reviewers overlook them or only give them a passing mention. I never liked when a boss battle lacked rings, especially for Sonic 2's final boss where it's hard to find a tell for what attack Mecha Sonic is gonna use against the player so having a few rings would alleviate that for new players until they're comfortable taking on Classic mode.
Woo, thank you, that's high praise given how many of these I've made! And I *know*, nobody ever talks about the difficulty options, because the only people who tend to know about Jam at all are diehard Sonic fans who don't need 'em. It'd be really nice if they make it into Origins.
I could listen to you talk about sonic all day
That tracks, I could talk about Sonic all day.
"Hey y'all, Scott here, and DA##IT, I own Sonic Jam, it's a pretty rare game, but I don't want to be known as guy who owned Sonic Jam when I'm dead."
its neat that tails' character profile lists him as liking mints, and that he was accused of smelling like mint in the most recent sonic twitter takeover haha
I recently played through the classic games using the advice you gave in your video about how to enjoy classic sonic. I think I can consider myself a fan of them now. But man, those easy modes would have been a godsend for a first play through.
Thank you, THANK YOU for bringing up just how polar opposite Sega's Eastern and Western market successes and failures were across 3 (mainly 2) console generations. Always annoys me when people only ever bring up one side of the story, and say "that's the reason why Sega's *insert console or division* totally won or failed!"
Also, I got my Model 2 Saturn modded with a Fenrir recently, and YEP. Sonic 2 does have moderate frame-pacing issues from time to time, even without an actual CD drive.
I only really know both sides of the story for Saturn with it being great in Japan, yet badly screwed over by mistakes made when launching it Stateside. Because of the 32x Fiasco, Saturn was delayed with its western launch until it was too late & everything fell apart. Kalinski resigned for his huge mistakes with the Saturn Launch which was beat by PlayStation, although he ended up being replaced by a Sony Agent named Stolar who ensured that several of the best games Saturn had to offer Japanese players never reached US. Anime was on the rise among Western Audiences & let's not forget how badly butchered Fighting Vipers was outside of Japan.
Had we gotten the full glory of Saturn that Japan got & Knuckles Chaotix for it instead of 32x the system may have stood a chance here. What I really want to know are why Sega's MegaDrive failed in Japan & what the mysterious 3rd Console Generation you were referring to was. Was is Master System or Dreamcast? Was there a difference between US & Japan for Dreamcast? I thought it was the same story of Sega being out of money & unable to compete with the sheer resources that Sony had in both Regions when it came to PS2.
@@WaterKirby1994 I'm meant the Master System, as the Mark III (and SG1000) both flopped compared to the Famicom in Japan.
@@WaterKirby1994 Sega basically flubbed the Japanese Dreamcast launch as bad as they flubbed the US Saturn launch.
Also, the 32X actually started off quite successfully. I still think it was an ill-advised move, but at launch it was very popular.
If you like Sega or just want more in-depth analysis of the timeline, I highly recommend Jenovi's video "Why Did Sega Fail?" which I will link here:
th-cam.com/video/fu9_Oxn8LmA/w-d-xo.html
His entire channel is really interesting and has a lot of information you won't find anywhere else about Sega and the hardware they had been developing over the years. In addition he goes into deep dives on games ported across different consoles and unreleased hardware and software. I highly recommend checking it out.
@@rars0n 32x starting off successfully was something I didn't know. I was aware of SoA & SoJ competing against eachother with 32x vs Saturn throughout 1995. I will have to watch the video you gave me as I'm curious how Sega Dreamcast failed in Japan. I'm assuming that it released too soon there & had to compete with Saturn.
Ok after watching the video it's drastically different from what I heard with 32x & Saturn. I had heard it was SoA who demanded the 32x to continue the success of Genesis. I also heard the Saturn Day Scandal was from SoA & SoJ both having different plans & had them make conflicting promises.
Sony being a monopoly I was fully aware of, & you have to admit the irony that Sony would end up being worse to 3rd Parties than either Sega or Nintendo during the PS2 Era onward. I'm surprised that the continued sabotage of Saturn outside Japan was left out of the video. I was shocked to learn Sega was taking such a loss on each Saturn Sold even with its massive price.
Sega CD was also mentioned nowhere in the video. Sony was just too powerful a corporation who owned the means of production & could rig large parts of the industry such as CDs, DVDs, & more. Nintendo only survived because they refused to use Sony's CD Technology. As for Sega their console release schedule was too fast for any economy to support indefinitely & too fast for supply to possibly catch up with.
Sony was to put it simply the equivalent of an alien armada randomly arriving to conquer Earth. I know Nintendo was making strides to improve relations with 3rd Party Developers during the 5th Gen Era which were seen on N64 & GameCube. The Console Wars weren't a fair fight anymore once Sony appeared & Sega was just too easily slaughtered.
@@WaterKirby1994 Well, the whole Nintendo Play Station thing fell apart because Sony wanted licensing rights to everything released on CD. Nintendo realized what a terrible deal this was for them, which caused them to back out and go with Philips. Of course, there's an argument to be made that, like the Sega CD, SNES CD adoption would have been a fraction of the total installed base and therefore the game library would have still largely consisted of cartridges, but it's easy to see why Nintendo didn't want to give Sony that much control over the product. The SNES-CD add-on also didn't provide any increase in processing power, unlike the Sega CD, which added significant graphical functions, so I really doubt the SNES-CD would have sold very well.
Sony and Philips both created the compact disc format. Sony was not the sole proprietor of drives and discs, as there were many manufacturers of both. Likewise, the DVD format was a compromise between two competing formats, one from Sony and Philips, and another from Toshiba, Matsushita, and several other companies. It was a committee of computer manufacturers that forced the two factions to agree on a single standard. Thus, Sony had no control over the DVD format, just like they had no control over the CD format. Sega wasn't buying drives from Sony, they were buying them from JVC. It wasn't until Blu-Ray, when Sony insisted on using their own format, that they gained full control over the optical media (hence the war with HD-DVD).
Sony had a presence in the gaming industry primarily as a publisher up through the 16-bit era, which is when they realized, after the failed relationship with Nintendo, that they could make more money by creating their own console, and collect all of the associated licensing rights. It was Ken Kutaragi, the designer of the SNES sound chip, that eventually convinced Sony's management that it was in their best interest to make their own console (Sony's management was hesitant to enter the games industry because they viewed their company as a maker of high-end products, and Nintendo and Sega as a maker of "toys"). Sony had even briefly considered partnering with Sega to create a next-gen system but Sega nixed the idea because they thought that Sony didn't know how to make hardware or software (pretty ironic, considering how the Playstation turned out).
Sony was not that bad to third parties during the PS2 era, and the gigantic library of that console is clear evidence of that. Nobody has ever been as restrictive or punitive towards third-party developers as Nintendo was during the NES era. Sony never did anything like what Nintendo did, and they arguably helped drive licensing costs down, in addition to console hardware pricing (at least up until the PS3), making it cheaper and more lucrative for third-party developers to create more games. In contrast, licensing deals were less lucrative for Sega, who made more money selling their own games, which led to Sega prioritizing them over third-party games. This was a direct result of selling the Saturn at a significant loss.
There's a lot more to it than just the CD format as well. Saturn was more powerful, but also significantly more difficult to get good results with when compared to the Playstation. The combination of simple but effective hardware and easy-to-use development tools made the Playstation an easy choice for most third-party developers. Sega had been kept alive by their arcade division throughout the mid-90s, but even then there were still talks of them becoming a software-only company. It was mostly the older executives that wanted to maintain that status quo, and once they were gone, it was a foregone conclusion that Sega would exit the hardware market.
I applaud Sega's ingenuity and initiative. Check out some of Jenovi's other videos for some eye-opening stuff, like how the Genesis had an analog controller, or the various other devices that were supposed to be used with the detachable cable of the Saturn 3D controller. Sega had HUGE ambition, probably a bit too much for their own good, but their ideas were incredibly forward-thinking and innovative, and they no doubt had a huge role in making the gaming industry what it is today.
That Sonic world concept is great, I wish we'd have gotten a whole game in that style
Mega collection was the reason I got into a sonic as a kid, im so glad it exists
I was one of those kids of the 2010's who grew up with the classic collection! I just bought a copy this year to look back on it and MAN it lags hard. After years of playing the Genesis,m2 and Christian Whitehead versions it's weird going back. Even as a kid I wish it had Sonic CD, Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Spinball and 3d Blast. Awesome video! Keep up the good work!
I hear Classic Collection plays better on a DSi or later since it takes advantage of the stronger CPU. But it's still a really nice little pack of Sonic fun, I think. Everything and anything can in some way be formative for someone and we have to give everything at least that much respect.
@@DarkBowser64 I played it both on my DS Lite and 3ds and yea 3ds is definitely better. Still could be better tho haha
@@DarkBowser64 That game also has save states, which was really nice for me since it helps lower the difficulty somewhat.
It was planned to have those games but they were scrapped
@@four-en-tee thats gotta make the special stages no sweat
They actually made revamped versions of these games for a port? Fixed things that had become flaws with age? How are the Sega of the 90s and the Sega of today so radically different? And why can't we have these versions now?!
This was a very good video. It's always nice to see you express so much joy and reverence for the Sonic games you grew up with.
I very much like the beginning portion of this video. The perspective between the reputation of SEGA in different countries around the time Sonic Jam was released, really puts the game in a interesting light to me. It's very easy to ONLY think about the American side for media franchises if you live here and never take into account things such as Sonic not even being that relevant of a name in JP and needing to be reintroduced into the Eastern public during the Saturn era. It's just a bit funny reminded that Virtua Fighter is an JUGGERNAUT in Japan (arguably still is considering the tournament scene over there) and finding out that it eclipsed Sonic at one point. Then coming to think about NIGHTS creation relative to the time. It's all a very interesting viewpoint to me and is what I love to see in videos like these since I'm like a decade younger.
Yup, the fact that Virtua Fighter was such a system-seller in Japan was key to the Saturn's success in that market. But in the US, we'd been obsessed with fighters (most prominently Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat) throughout the early 90s, and a hasty port of Virtua Fighter couldn't move units. (Especially not next to Tekken.)
Japanese gamers not recognizing Sonic at all is strange, because Sega arcades used to be everywhere, near train stations and part of strip malls, and Sega arcades prominently featured Sonic in and outside their buildings. I guess it shows how drastically different the arcade market was compared to the home market in Japan, and why Sega struggled at home while running a nationwide arcade chain until 2020
You are a fine writer and decidedly not a lazy thinker. Kudos!
Never thought I’d tear up listening to someone talk about a niche Sonic collection I’ve never played on a Console I’ve never owned 😭
It’s fascinating feeling nostalgic for an era of Sonic I’ve never known… More than anything I really love your content for its ability to make me feel like I’m living through an era of gaming waaay before my time, your content continues to impress me (and many others I’m sure) more than a channel about a 20 year old cartoon hedgehog should have any right to, haha!
Make that 30 year old hedgehog.
@@mrbanks456 God, we're old.
@@smashmaster521 so very, very old
I thought i was the only one who teared up at the end ;_;
It's sad that Sonic Jam ended up being a better compilation than Origins. Sega has really lost their way.
And fans somehow still ate it up.
Wait wtf.
Man, seeing anyone talk about Jam at all just gets me right in the nostalgia. I still have my original copy after 25 years!
My first experience with sonic was with the DS Classic collection. I have it next to my setup to remind me of the franchise and my love for it!
I loved Sonic Jam. Thankful for one more reminder of my past in this moment of life I'll likely have to say goodbye to my hands playing games and the other pains. This may be my final year of age at 41, it makes me very sad...
But in this short life, games like this let me truly live and venture so many good tunes, activities, and worlds to explore.
Thank you for this. And my phone swype type and voice to text to share my thanks. Be good to your body, have your doctors check your blood and a1c regularly.
Sadly doctors now just don't go deep and fast for patients anymore with the destruction that is now our medical system.
I hope you're getting well, man..
@@Cooingluigimario3894 Thanks, some days are better than others. Wind up doing myself in when I do a bit much typing. But at least I can type again. For a while I could barely touch a keyboard. Still I have a thin hope it continues to get all the better from here and that I don't get such a pain wave like I did again. As it is every day is still indeed pain, but I can withstand it a chunk of the time to actually do some things.
@@Bangcat I'm proud of you, man. you're doing such a great job. :) take care of yourself for as long as you can.. spend time with your family.. all of the stuff you can do regardless of your pain. We're all happy for you. even if I'm a stranger on the Internet to you.
Hope you're doing good! Continuing to do your best and cherishing the small things are things we all should do anyway. I hope the pain is becoming more manageable
@@Cooingluigimario3894 Sometimes seems like I might be by slight bits, but any given day can seem like a set back.
You used Ristar music in the intro! That just makes me so happy, especially with the edit and announcement of Genesis for Switch!
Okay, I had watched a full long play of Sonic world, mainly because I love the low-poly look, and it was the game to really get me into 3D modeling. I know I'm not very good, but man, this game really got me thinking about it.
I did know about a lot of the smaller improvements to the games and a lot of the extras, although not all of them, especially a lot of the movies.
That's one of my favorite "level complete" sequences in gaming history. :D
@@GeekCritique Same! I bought the PS3 Genesis Collection, and really fell in love with Sonic 3, Ristar, Phantasy Star, and even kinda got to see Comix Zone in action! Your channel has made me a new Sega and Metroid fan, so I have you to thank for that.
You got me good with that first four minutes. I was getting increasingly tilted because "THAT'S ONLY TRUE IN THE WEEEEEEST!"... and then you pulled your party trick and showed Segata Sanshiro and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
For me Sonic Jam was amazing. It wasn't just a compilation, it was a treasure trove of lore and history.
Alright, here's a real comment. I love how in your videos you include callbacks to years old videos you made, it's like Metroid-style fanservice or something. I played Mega Collection first, due to my older brother owning it, and I don't regret it, but I think I'll end up playing Jam to play those updated difficulty modes.
Sonic World was what got me into Sonic fangames. I wanted to see if anyone made a PC remake, and while I never found one, I found a fangame of the same name that I still consider one of the better 3D Sonics I've played. I'm still looking, but now that I know I want to do programming as a hobby, I might consider making a SW remake myself, as faithfully as possible, and on appropriate hardware -- I have a Pentium II machine *and* a Power Macintosh just raring to go. If I do, I don't want it to just remain as a time capsule, I would love if it became the basis for a 3D Sonic fangame, hopefully with _much_ better music. World's music is... honestly pretty grating, and it was grating as the menu music to Classic Collection as well. I don't have a way to play Prime 1 right now, and my copy of DKC is nowhere to be seen in a self storage somewhere deep in the bowels of California, so it could be a good way to spend my time.
I didn't think I'd get as much of an emotional response to this video as I usually do just due to the subject matter, but it really did get me at moments, so keep up the good work!
Hey, thanks, I always wonder if people will catch that stuff. And given the fact that I was diving all the way back to 90s Sonic, it seemed appropriate to call back to my 2014 videos. It's kind of hard to believe it's been that long!
A Sonic engine built on Jam's foundation sounds awesome to me. :) Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@@GeekCritique Yeah, it really has. I certainly pick up on the old references, if just because I rewatch old TGC episodes regularly. I'm sure that there are still plenty of people watching from back in the old days, given just how consistent your style has been, and for them it's always a nice thing to show appreciation for sticking around so long. And hey, Kalin showed up in the Echoes video.
And I have to say, it never really occurred to me how old NiGHTS is. If asked, I'd have said I thought it was from 2000, but I guess that goes to show how good Sonic Team was.
used to watch your videos a lot in middle school, around when the hype train for smash 4 was rolling. i'm in college now and i still love seeing a new upload from you, it doesnt even really matter if i know anything about the game you're discussing because the sound of your voice and sense of humor feel like comfort food. i know thats an odd aspect of your content to enjoy but idk lol. just appreciate u always pumping out great stuff i guess
Exact same story for me.
I appreciate the inclusion of the Sonic Mega Collection portion of this video. Next to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Sonic Advance, Sonic Mega Collection was part of my introduction to Sonic, specifically being how I was able to experience the Genesis Sonic games (although Sonic 3 was the only one I could actually beat due to the save feature) even if they were mere emulations compared to Sonic Jam, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
I had no idea that Sonic Jam was like this. It was clearly more of a passion project that many people, myself included, assumed. Your perspectives on games always manage to balance sharp, studious examination with your own storied personal feelings. I don't think anyone pulls it off as well as you do. Thanks for continuing to provide such one-of-a-kind content. You're still an inspiration. And the Ristar intro made my heart melt.
Other factors not helping the Saturn in the West; was the terrible surprise launch at some retailers and not others in the US. That made a lot of them mad and refuse to sell Saturn products. Additionally the original PlayStation was $100 less than the Saturn at its launch. Both of those certainly didn't help it here.
Ooof, with the reception to Origins, as well as Stealth speaking out, you might want to rebrand the video to something else...maybe something along the lines of SONIC JAM: The Better Origins.
I realized something while watching this. The Retro Engine remakes of these games could’ve included the different difficulty options introduced in Sonic Jam. Now that I realized that, I’m disappointed that they aren’t.
Me, watching Josh cautioning at 32:12 to be skeptical of fandoms perception of the past and present of their respective franchise: pfft, yeah. Like that would ever happen to a game I love!
3 weeks later, as Twitter post after Twitter defends Metroid Other M right after Dread comes out: JOSH YOU ARE CLAIRVOYANT!
Sonic Mega Collection Plus on the PS2 not only gave me the opportunity to grow up with the Genesis games as a 2000’s kid, but also sparked my interest in animation with its in-production versions of the Sonic Heroes opening cutscene and Team Dark’s introduction cutscene. I will always cherish it for that.
I love this channel. it offers a unique take on a lot of the games releases due to the fact that you grew up and played a lot of these games at launch.
This seems way better than sonic origins
Having binged your backlog a few days ago, this came at a great time. Can't wait for the Sonic Dread video!
29:00 "Imagine what it was like to see *this* for the first time, with no context for what it was"
Me, who has never seen any Sonic animation or cartoon before: "Woah, it's Sonic"
Your comments on the versatility of Sonic being in-built into his design is something I've never considered. Very interesting take and made this a good view as much as all the Sonic Jam info I never had any idea about. This is what video game reviews, a bloated TH-cam genre for years now, should be doing. Thanks for making it worthwhile!
Definitely not to take away from either Nintendo, or Sega, that versatility is exactly what makes Super Mario Bros., and Sonic The Hedgehog characters that have lasted for 4 decades (Mario started in Donkey Kong, 1981), and 3 decades (Sonic, 1991). Mario, and Luigi's big thing is jumping. Sonics thing is moving like a fast pinball. The beauty of the simplicity of both franchises is that simplicity makes the versatility. Characters from both franchises can be put in other games (meaning, different game genres), and still remain faithful to original design by nature of the simplicity bringing the versatility. For examples: Mario still jumps on enemies in RPG games, and Sonic has literally become a pinball, and it works, because he already moves like one.
The mad lad seriously rebranded the video
Man, I was not expecting to get this sentimental over a sonic video.
You just earned yourself a new subscriber and I'm buying a saturn with sonic jam!
I was definitely one of those who got a Saturn primarily because I thought we'd get more Sonic games. I honestly wasn't getting excited for Xtreme, was disappointed that we got 3D Blast instead after getting the Genesis version, and enjoyed exploring the stages of R more than the actual racing itself, probably because that, Sonic World and Sonic's Christmas NiGHTS minigame were the closest we had to Sonic in 3D at the time.
As disappointing as it was that we never got a proper Sonic 3D game on the Saturn, getting the console exposed me to everything else Sega had to offer. Not just the titles made for the console like NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon but their arcade library. I'd play Daytona USA, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Sega Rally and Virtual-On at home, find them in the arcades and play them the way they were meant to be played, and they surpassed everything out there at the time. And the Saturn ports of games I never saw in arcades like Last Bronx, Fighting Vipers and Baku Baku were a real treat. I loved that console.
Seeing screenshots of Sonic World is what sold me on Jam. Just being able to roam around in a 3D environment as Sonic was a big deal back then, but it was everything else it had to offer that kept me coming back for more. Sonic always had this rather inconsistent portrayal in American media, often dark, so Jam was my first exposure to how he was portrayed in Japan. First time hearing Robotnik referred to as "Eggman", hearing the Japanese soundtrack for the Sonic CD animations, the preview of the Sonic OVA, which I didn't think would ever see a stateside release at the time, and the screensaver art. You think you'd outgrow some things as a young teen but end up loving it as much as you did as a kid all over again. It really was my first glimpse into much of the creative process. I also loved those doodles in the Japanese instruction manuals and was glad the OVA made a reference to them.
My only gripe with the collection is that the invincibility theme for Sonic 2 is missing. They used Sonic 1's invincibility theme for both games. But easily the best compilation of the 4 main Genesis classics.
I've been a Sonic fan for five years now; I first became invested in the series sometime around May or June of 2016, right before Mania was announced. And yet, despite that, I already feel like I'm part of that old stock of the fanbase. Prior to the time I became a fan, I didn't even know a game called Sonic 3 existed; I just thought there was only 1 and 2. I was nine, going on ten then, and now I'm fifteen, and a lot has certainly changed in five years, mostly for the better in the case of Sonic.
Sorry the Sonic Series has been in poor condition for most of the time you have been alive. Have you checked out the Adventure Era for Sonic yet? Both Adventure Games, The GBA Games, & Sonic Heroes that was when I got into the series almost 20 years ago. There were a lot of good Sonic Games accessible in the 2000s. Have you played the Classic games like Triple Trouble yet?
@@WaterKirby1994 Yeah, I've played the Adventure games and a lot of the classics.
It's your passion and heart that makes anyone tune into your videos, no matter the subject. Because of you that I played the Metroid games when I would have never considered it before! Keep doing the great work.
I still remember playing Jam when it came out, it was wild being able to see the stuff they packed in. The animations, music and previously unseen (to us in the west) stuff was a treat. Felt like a glimpse into another world. It really was exciting seeing all that new stuff, wondering what could be coming next and then the Dreamcast came out. Hoo boy. SA1's intro alone was mindblowing but I'll always have a special place in my heart for Sonic World, I spent countless hours tooling about that little 3D hub just to spend more time in it, pouring over the manuals and extras. I live in eternal hope that we'll get another compilation with as much love, care and attention to detail as Jam. It instantly cemented itself as one of my favourite entries in the franchise and still holds up today, provided you don't mind hooking up a Saturn every now and then! (Especially festive during the annual Christmas NiGHTS sessions!)
Also thanks not only for picking a piece of mine for a video, but for putting me in the Jam vid! It's one of my favourites of the franchise so it's extra special to get a shoutout in this episode in particular! Wild to get spotlit on the channel at all, big fan! Love the positive vibe and dare I say...spin you put on the vids. ...I'll see myself out.
When I picked up Sonic Jam from Wally World late one night 24 years ago, it represented something much more than just a collection of games I had already played 100+ hours of and a cool 3D gimmick stage, it represented hope as a Sega/Sonic/Saturn at a dark time.
I would finally get a PSX that same year along with an N64 and 1998-1999 with those was a helluva memorable experience!
Bravo! This was a brilliant video on one of the most underrated Sonic titles in the series. Even though it was a compilation it gave us so much more than a standard bundle of games. Sonic Team really wanted to celebrate the character and they pushed the boat out for Sonic Jam. I didn't have the internet in 1997 so all the content featured in the Sonic World section absolutely blew my mind because i was seeing it all for the very first time. I watched that OVA trailer so much i had "on a Sunday, riding my bike" as an ear worm for months.
Great video, man. Perfectly documented and presented. 👍
As a kid who grew up with the DS collection, I'm hella nostalgic to the Jam World theme purely because that was the menu theme of the game lol
Same here it's unfortunate I lost that game.
So much nostalgia. I used to draw sonic when i was a kid too and i can still draw him today. Spent so much time in Sonic World, such a missed opportunity for SEGA in the 32 Bit Gen.
I remember Classic Collection for the DS. It was my first time experiencing the Genesis games and while I struggled at first, I loved these games enough to eventually beat them all.
Also, wasn't this the only way to play Sonic 3&Knuckles on handhelds? That's an extra win in my book
Same, Classic collection made me love classic, and Rush made me love morden, going back to play Adventure 1 is honestly like a capstone between the two Eras, it's has classic stages like ice cap, and music from 3d blast, yet still feels distinct from classic sonic.
This video is assaulting me with nostalgia. I'd played the Genesis games at friends houses but Jam was the first Sonic title I'd actually owned. I had to have spent dozens upon dozens of hours in the museums in Sonic World and the ability to see the JP game manuals and the theater made me realize that there was a whole separate world of Japanese media out there.
I'm glad you included a section for Sonic Mega Collection. That was the one I grew up with, and it really cemented my love of the franchise way back when. Heck, it and all the other retro compilations are the reason I grew to appreciate the full scope of a medium's history, including games, TV, music, movies, and more. It was such a treat getting to see how much a franchise had evolved over more than a decade via one tiny disc, and I used to pour over the extras a lot like how you did with Sonic Jam. It's probably the reason I still get excited whenever I unlock artwork in a game nowadays. I feel like I get to experience another side of the game I never would've known about otherwise.
I never got to play Sonic Jam myself, but I was always very curious about it. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us!
Damn, this game seems awesome. I just played through Origins and I want to experience Sonic 3 with the original music, so I'm gonna order this ASAP. Playing "spot the difference" with the alternate difficulty modes seems like a lot of fun, too
When I was a kid and I found out about Sonic Jam on the Mega Collection, I wanted to play it so badly just to run around that little 3D hub. To this day, I don't know how to make a Saturn emulator work. I just wanna run around Sonic World, man. :')
I've been looking forward to this video since our discussion on Twitter over Jam and Mega Collection. It's great to have the history and full context behind such an enigmatic release in the franchise's timeline in a single video and really go into detail for what made it so special. Even today, as someone who was born parallel to the Dreamcast, there's nothing like powering on the old CRT, slipping the disc in the Saturn, grabbing my wireless controller (seriously, who would think that new officially-licensed Saturn controllers would be a thing in 2021?), and just enjoying the core Classic series in one place with so many options depending on how I'm feeling that day. As someone with an eye towards retro collecting and got into importing games thanks to the Saturn, it's kind of amazing that a package that oozes SegaSonic got a pretty much unaltered western release. Whether that was more due to a desire to share a look into what Sonic was in Japan or simply a budgetary decision to not overhaul the content to keep up appearances, the complete package of Jam is a time capsule with such a unique identity that it easily earns its spot in Sonic reverence.
~ Alia of AGL
Sonic Origins did indeed not manage to outshine Sonic Jam.
I don't know how you always do it, but you got every point so well and make the experience so enjoyable to listen to/watch that 35 minutes feels like 10 at the most. Well done as always.
Sonic Classic Collection DS was my first main Sonic game. It's what made me a fan, and for that reason, I'll never forgive it.
Ummm, what did the game do to make you hate it so much to never forgive it?
@@tahamohammad8842 It got me into this awful series.
Watching this for the first time tonight. Not to "um, actually" you but I was surprised to discover all of the sound in all four Genesis games is actually PCM wav files. They aren't running through some kind of different FM Synthesizer, they're just compressed digital audio. The reason they sound so weird is because of the compression they used -- they essentially chop out sound frequencies beyond a certain range, like cutting an image in half, but for audio.
Also, for what it's worth, I've also noticed the little bits of slowdown in Sonic Jam, and I *also* thought it was just my Saturn getting old.
BEAUTIFUL!
Loved every second of it
good 2 see u back man love your metroid and sonic vids really made them from the heart
looking at the large levels in Nights and Burning Rangers, I'm absolutely certain that full 3D levels could have been made for a 3D Sonic game. It's a bit ridiculous to claim the Saturn just wasn't up for it.
What I really like about your Sonic videos is that your perspective comes from someone who's been a loyalist since the beginning while still understanding the other side. Like many 2000's kids, my introduction to Sonic was through the Gamecube, so I had no frame of reference to what Sonic was "supposed" to be. I didn't even know Sega made consoles back in the day. I just thought they were the Sonic and Super Monkey Ball team. I did play Sonic 1 & 2 back in the day through the Wii, summer school programs, and even hair salons, but by nostalgic roots lied in Sonic Adventure 2 and Heroes, and I simply didn't bother with most of the games that came afterwards for the longest time. My point is that as the generations move forward, opinions and views of Sonic, and practically all franchises in general are usually tied to what kids grew up on. For example, I watched my older brother play Nuts & Bolts all the time having no knowledge that other Banjo-Kazooie games existed back then. So can I really be mad about it? On the flipside, as someone who loved the classic Mario Party games, everything that ND Cube made from 9 onwards made me feel like a part of my childhood was gone, and why it feels so relieving that Superstars is a thing. Perhaps this is why that phase where all the big TH-camrs would crap on Sonic Adventure 2 left and right kind of stung since as you said in your video on that game, criticism surrounding it has existed for a long time, and my generation was too young and naïve to notice. This is why your comparison between Sonic Jam and Sonic Mega Collection struck a cord. Sure, Mega Collection may not look as impressive as Jam was, but anybody who was introduced to Sonic at that point obviously didn't care about that. It was still Sonic at the end of the day and still a quality product regardless. Just like how someone who may have started playing Super Monkey Ball through Banana Blitz HD for example may not have been so against it. No matter what franchise we love, our perspective of what it was when we first got into it versus where it's at now will always have a factor in our view of it, whether we like to admit it or not.
Sonic's unlockable appearance in Christmas NiGHTS was amazing too :)
This was the first game I ever played. This introduced me to videogames and why I love them so much.
This took me back to my origins.
Keep Critiquin'.
Sonic jam yeeeeee
While I was introduced to Sonic Mega Collection and prefer it to the less accessible Sonic Jam, for me Sonic Jam is very much a wonderful piece of sonic history that honestly reflects and cherishes the franchise right before altering itself for the dream age. I would still give Sonic Jam much recommendation for gamers today through emulation to capture that unique time for the series
These video made me feel things I needed to feel again. Thanks mate - subscribed
Thanks so much for putting this together. I knew about the “easier” difficulties, but never seen such in-depth coverage of it.
You're a real one. Sonic Jam was an embarrassment of riches, definitely the best Christmas gift I ever got. Funny to think that it's still perhaps the only Sonic product to even acknowledge the existence of Knuckles Chaotix, I remember staring at those three screenshots in the museum for a straight hour wondering what the hell it was and why it wasn't included. Everything from the Japanese movie clips with no context to the cheat codes I couldn't have known about on the Genesis- to call yourself a Sonic fan in the 90s and then be confronted with this entire inaccessible universe of the franchise was overwhelming.
Now I'm really hyped for whenever you do sonic generations.
Beautiful video! Even made me teary eyed with excellent use of the music!
Another amazing video! Hope things are good and we see you again soon man!
I've never seen that "Man of the Year" animation before, but I'm sorely curious as to what studio animated it, because it LOOKS a lot like whatever studio made Animaniacs. I seem to recall at least a few episodes of AoStH having that same animation style, I think it was the one(s?) with Super Robotnik.
According to the sources I've found on the web, it was animated by TMS Entertainment mimicking the style of western cartoons at the time.
I really like the look of sonic jam's hub world. Low poly but very colorful and stylish
Your sonic videos and analysis are always just so well written and engaging
Man.. your content is amazing. Good job. Keep it up, all the best.