Sonic Jam

Sonic Jam is a compilation which contains the four main Sonic the Hedgehog games released on the Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), and Sonic & Knuckles (1994). Unlike later Sonic collections, Sonic Jam does not use a Genesis emulator; the games are true ports, and all are nearly identical to the original Genesis releases, with the exception of minor bug fixes. Sonic Jam emulates Sonic & Knuckles' "lock-on technology", a special feature that allows the player to merge elements of Sonic & Knuckles into previous games, with altered levels and the choice to play the combined Sonic 3 and Knuckles game and play as Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The games can be played in three difficulty modes: normal, easy, and original. Original mode is unchanged from the Genesis games, normal mode slightly alters the stage layouts to create a unique (often less difficult) experience, and easy mode adds platforms and removes many obstacles and some levels. New features include the ability to spin dash (introduced in Sonic 2) in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, play Special Stages separately, a "Time Attack" mode, and a "Time Out" option to disable time limits.

At the Tokyo Game Show in early 1997, Sega announced Project Sonic, a promotional campaign aimed at increasing market awareness of the Sonic the Hedgehog brand. Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic, said that "phase one" would introduce Sonic Jam as a compilation of games with several improvements rather than being direct ports. At the time of the show, the game was "88% complete". According to Naka, the purpose of Project Sonic was not only to increase consumer awareness but also renew excitement for Sega, as Sonic the Hedgehog was only initially successful outside of Japan.

Development began after the Japanese release of Nights into Dreams in July 1996, after Sonic Team received letters from fans asking who Sonic was. The Sonic creators, Naka and Naoto Ohshima, thought it was important to introduce people to Sonic. Sonic Team had not worked on a Sonic game since Sonic & Knuckles in 1994; other Sonic games had been developed by teams including Sega Technical Institute (STI) and Traveller's Tales. Naka thought Sonic Team needed a period to "recharge our batteries" and had new ideas.

Sonic Jam received mostly positive reviews. It holds an average score of 77% at GameRankings, based on an aggregate of four reviews.

The 3D environment, "Sonic World", received generally positive reviews. Lee Nutter of Sega Saturn Magazine said that it featured "some of the most astounding graphics witnessed on the Saturn", rivaling those of Super Mario 64. He praised the lack of clipping or glitching, and commended the 3D engine as "truly remarkable". Glenn Rubenstein from GameSpot, however, was not impressed, feeling it did not look as smooth as Super Mario 64 or Crash Bandicoot.