Can you restore the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles music in Sonic Origins?

If you’ve played the original Sonic series, then you will likely hear a difference in the Sonic Origins music tracks. Specifically, songs from Sonic 3 & Knuckles have been changed. That might not sit well with some fans, which means they’ll be looking for ways to hear the original tunes.

Can you restore the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles music?

The short answer, sadly, is no. There is currently no method to restore the original music for Sonic 3 & Knuckles in Sonic Origins — at least in the console versions. When it comes to the collection on PC, it should be possible to restore it with mods. No such mod currently exists, though various modding communities are already discussing how it could be done. This could also change on consoles in the future, but for now, there is no option to hear the original music.

Related: Sonic Origins revitalizes the blue blur’s beginnings masterfully – Review

What happened to the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles music?

We don’t have an official answer as to why the original music is gone, but we can make an educated guess. A few weeks before Sonic Origins launched, Sonic social media manager Katie Chrzanowski confirmed the omission on Twitter. “Unfortunately we can’t use all of the original sounds from the Sega Genesis version of the game,” Chrzanowski stated. “Jun Senoue has been working really hard to adapt the original music.”

As with many video game soundtracks, the culprit here is likely licensing. It’s struck down many a re-release before, with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games being particular victims. Now that we finally know that part of the original Sonic 3 soundtrack was composed by Michael Jackson, you can imagine the potential licensing hangups there. Given the scandal that surrounded his later years, it would also be understandable if Sega wanted to avoid his legacy contributions altogether.

There might not be a way to restore the musical cut content, but Sonic Origins does bring back an infamous part of Sonic 2. You can find the Hidden Palace Zone that was cut from the original game.