Sonic Jam - Sega Saturn Review

I think Christian Whitehead once said he developed Sonic Mania along the lines of how he imagined a 2D Sonic game would look and run on the Sega Saturn.

Saturn is basically woulda, coulda, shoulda. A system that was basically completely ignored in the US by 90% of the gaming public and a majority of it's best games never left Japan. Even now I still haven't gotten into the Saturn scene (though I will pick up a Saturn in a second the next time I see one) and Sega in it's infinite wisdom still basically ignores it focusing almost entirely on the Genesis/Mega Drive occasional arcade and Dreamcast but mostly just the 16-bit stuff.

Still pisses me off that we never got a proper Sonic 3D adventure on the Saturn.

Never getting a true Sonic game for the SEGA Saturn was one of SEGA biggest mistakes!

When this game landed, it was pretty clear Saturn was toast. Too bad, because this was one of many excellent releases that graced the Saturn towards the end. I picked up a Japanese copy of this game just to experience the Sonic World prototype. Definitely very impressive. I wish the compilation would have included Sonic CD though. Because chances are most Saturn owners had a Genesis, and already owned most if not all of these games. I know I did.

Sega was maddening at this time. As a kid who had put hundreds of hours into the Genesis Sonic titles and hadn't yet purchased a 32/64-bit machine, I was near insulted to find out this was coming out on Saturn and it wasn't going to sway me (I'm not even sure if I was aware of the 3D overworld). If Sonic CD was on there, I would have been so incredibly hyped and purchased a Saturn. Similarly, if Sonic 3D Blast had come out on Saturn alone, I would have taken the plunge (but I had it on Genesis and was underwhelmed). Sure, Sonic R was enticing, but a racing game was not enough. Just a better business decision here or there would have made a world of difference. In the end, as big of a Sega and Sonic fan that I was, I couldn't justify a purchase.

I could understand the frustration of the early Saturn owners but I want this title in my collection because in a way it is one of the highest expressions of SEGA. Even the little 3D hub world it just makes it a must own to me.

What Sega should have done, was make another 2D Sonic title that played to the Saturn's strengths, without any compromises to the gameplay. Sonic Mania was created with the full intention as to what a 2D Sonic game would have been like on the Saturn (and I am surprised that nobody has ever attempted to port it there).

To this day, still the best Sonic compilation game ever

If a full Sonic game like the 3D world is launched in the first year of Saturn, everything change.

I agree. All I can think about when I play Sonic Jam on Saturn is I wish the soundtracks had all been redone with the Saturn's PCM and CD audio. I wish the graphics had been redrawn to be more colorful, and twice the resolution. I wish the backgrounds were 3D like Tomba on the PlayStation or some of the rooms in Symphony of the Night. It would not have taken much more effort on Sonic Team's part to enhance the graphics and sound. And while we are at it, I wish Sega had put the 3D Sonic in Sonic Team's hands. You do Sonic first, then you can do Nights and other projects. Sonic is the one that pays the bills and puts a roof over your heads. That 3D stage was a good indicator of what a 3D Sonic would have been like, but I think the final product would probably have been like Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation, switching between narrow corridors, 2D perspectives, and some more open areas. Ironically, Naughty Dog made in anticipation of a 3D Sonic coming to the Saturn to fill the void that would have created on the PlayStation side. Maybe that Sonic ZTreme engine will one day be used to make a 3D Sonic for the Saturn more in line with the Sonic Jam world than with the Xtreme demo. One can only hope.

I remember as a kid spending ages trying to figure out how to get to the next level on that 3d hub, until I later found out that there was no other level.

I remember that Sega was working on a new 3d sonic game and being exciting. Then They released Sonic 3d instead. I remeber being Soooo disappointed. I Remeber thinking "this is it? All this talk of a new cutting edge sonic and we get a genesis port?! "

My only complaint about this collection was that there was no version of Sonic CD included. At that age and time, I had never played Sonic CD nor owned a Sega CD.

Got this with my Saturn in '97; one of only three games I could get my hands on back in the day. The Saturn was discontinued in the US a year later. Bruh. Still love it for the history goodies.

That 3D engine section must have felt like such a hard slap in the face to people hungry for a proper Saturn exclusive Sonic game.

I honestly never knew Sonic Jam was a compilation title.

They should of added an extra CD with sonic CD and knuckles chaotic

I love the animation on Sonic running in the 3d world. I lament the missed opportunity.

So you can watch videos from Sonic CD but not play the game Sonic CD which was literally made by the same developer (Sonic Team) that put together this Sonic Jam compilation... Yeah cuz that makes sense 💀