Yuji Naka casually confirms Michael Jackson’s involvement in Sonic 3

Out of nowhere, the former head of Team Sonic Naka Yuji confirmed Michael Jackson actually did work on the Sonic 3 soundtrack – Sega officially denied his involvement years later. Since Michael Jackson’s involvement was never officially confirmed, Naka Yukichi essentially confirmed one of the biggest rumors surrounding the team.

The accidental confirmation came from Yuji Naka’s own Twitter account, who expressed his shock at the change to the soundtrack in the classic Sega platformer. As you can imagine, this stunned many game trivia heads, speculators, or just regular old fans of the fastest hedgehog in the game.

The reason all of this is showing up now is due to the recently released Sonic Origins. This compilation of classic Sonic games contains many retro games that belong to the series – including Sonic 3. However, Sega previously confirmed that the Sonic 3 version in the series will not have its original music.

Our own assistant editor Alex Donaldson wrote earlier this month why there is no original music in Sonic 3, which, as you might guess, was developed by Michael Jackson in the ’90s. The alleged crimes during Sonic 3 resulted in his contributions being completely downplayed and removed in future versions of the game.

By the time the feature was released, those invested in the mystery had found a prototype for the game, which contained original music tracks that didn’t make it into the official release. In the eyes of those investigating the topic, this is Michael’s contribution. All that’s left is an official confirmation from Sega that the case is basically cracked.

All of this is what makes Yuji Naka’s tweet so compelling—because it suddenly confirms a suspicion that fans have been digging for years, completely out of thin air. It’s a bizarre conclusion to one of the funniest celebrity stories in gaming – thrown around randomly on social media.

How do you feel about this revelation? Let us know below!