Sonic Jam
"Sonic Jam" is a compilation which contains the four main "Sonic the Hedgehog" games released on the Sega Genesis: "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", "Sonic the Hedgehog 3", and "Sonic & Knuckles". Unlike future "Sonic" collections, "Sonic Jam" does not use a Genesis emulator; the games are proper ports, and all are nearly identical to the original Sega 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, resulting in changes to the level design as well as the choice to play as Knuckles the Echidna in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and Tails in "Sonic & Knuckles".
Educational games in the Sonic series
In 1996, Sega and Orion Interactive collaborated to produce "Sonic's Schoolhouse", an educational game in the Sega PC brand for Microsoft Windows. It was developed using a game engine similar to "Wolfenstein 3D"s and ten educators and psychologists helped create the game's challenges. A cartoon clock was originally the star of the game but was replaced with Sonic; thus, "Sonic's Schoolhouse" is only tenuously connected to the rest of the franchise. The game was released as part of Sega's 20 million "Blue is Back" marketing campaign to promote six "Sonic" games releasing in the holiday shopping season; advertisements for the game were run in magazines and it was promoted in store displays. "Sonic's Schoolhouse" also came bundled coupons worth 40 in discounts for "Sonic" merchandise, including comics and plush toys.