Not with a bang, but a whimper.

[Mr Smith]

I wish MJ's zombie corpse would come back to life, confirm he had nothing to do with anything Sonic, then do the Thriller dance.

I rate this idea: awesome/10

[Rusty Venture]

My ideas are always more than awesome, they are jawusum.

[KenshiroX]

I do think Sega turned Sonic into a dog's breakfast, but I must admit, of all the characters they added recently, I have to say I don't mind Shadow.

(Waits for flamewar)

[Da_Shocker]

They didn't put it all on one cart (although it was planned that way) because it wouldn't fit.

Not buying that since even when these 2 games are combined they are still not as big as SSF2 on the Genesis.

[oldmanwinters]

Not buying that since even when these 2 games are combined they are still not as big as SSF2 on the Genesis.

I was under the impression that the Sonic 3 development team ran out of time to finish the game by the deadline and had to release a half finished Sonic 3 on "Hedgehog Day" [i.e., Groundhog Day] 1994, with the preferred release deadline scheduled for Christmas 1993. With the extra time, they were able to complete Sonic & Knuckles and release it with the Lock-on technology.

Maybe I'm just pulling this out of thin air?

[Edit: Wikipedia notes that combining the games into one cartridge might have been too expensive; citation needed (of course!)]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3

[kool kitty89]

Hey, be glad S&K wasn't encorporated into sonic 3, otherwise you wouldn't have Knucknles in Sonic 2, or 2 different soundtracks (at some parts) for Sonic 3 and Sonic 3&K.

[Da_Shocker]

The soundtrack isn't really that big of a deal to me. And really what could keep them from still utilizing the lock on technology? One thing I did hate about Sega is they always seem to have a tendency to release games before they are 100% completed.

[Zebbe]

You can't build a Babil Tower of Doom with a XBLA Sonic & Knuckles . Fail.

[17daysolderthannes]

I wish MJ's zombie corpse would come back to life, confirm he had nothing to do with anything Sonic, then do the Thriller dance.

HE didn't have anything to do with it, the DEVELOPERS were INSPIRED by his clothing style and attitude when making Sonic. The shoes in particular are based off of a buckled boot that MJ wore. This also explains Sonic 3, Michael Jackson didn't write the music, but rather the composers were heavily inspired by what he was doing at the time.

[Elusive]

I do think Sega turned Sonic into a dog's breakfast, but I must admit, of all the characters they added recently, I have to say I don't mind Shadow.

(Waits for flamewar)

Why flame? Shadow was an excellent character - keeping him as a one-shot character would have been a great cap-off for the Adventure games. Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog started and finished his second storyline, too, answering a lot of questions about his past and his future. I would have loved a more film-noiry style for the Shadow game, but I don't think Sonic Team could pull it off.

Now E-101 Gamma is how you pull off a bittersweet, one-shot character.

HE didn't have anything to do with it, the DEVELOPERS were INSPIRED by his clothing style and attitude when making Sonic. The shoes in particular are based off of a buckled boot that MJ wore. This also explains Sonic 3, Michael Jackson didn't write the music, but rather the composers were heavily inspired by what he was doing at the time.

I think that the developers were just looking to create a cool character, and so just went with what they thought was cool.

[AD2101]

I was under the impression that the Sonic 3 development team ran out of time to finish the game by the deadline

That's what I heard too. It would explain the half-assed ending of Sonic 3, at least.

[NeoVamp]

I have to say I don't mind Shadow.

A dark version of the main character, how horribly cliche.

[Rusty Venture]

I have to say I don't mind Shadow.

I guess its better than liking Rouge and her big bat titties.

[Falxix]

I guess its better than liking Rouge and her big bat titties.

:Slowly raises hand:

[Knuckle Duster]

I guess its better than liking Rouge and her big bat titties.

I think that ship has sailed.

Maybe he returned to Dargaard Keep in his home of Krynn, all the while singing about Rainbows in dark places; Still dreaming up lustful fanfiction for cartoon characters, between his planning of war campaigns to conquer the Irish.