Original Story: Former Sega programmer Yuji Naka seems to have confirmed that Michael Jackson did indeed work on the original Sonic the Hedgehog 3 soundtrack, which could explain why it is no longer used in new re-releases of the game.
This is in relation to an earlier Tweet where Naka seemingly connects Sonic 3’s music with Michael Jackson through a tribute Sega Tweeted to the pop star.
Update 6/23 9:58 am PT: Yuji Naka has somewhat walked back his assertions that Michael Jackson is somehow involved with the music in Sonic 3.
On Twitter, Yuji Naka reacted to the fact that Sonic 3’s soundtrack in the Sonic Origins collection was changed.