Sonic Triple Trouble 16-Bit

What if Sonic Triple Trouble had been originally released on the Sega Genesis / MegaDrive, after Sonic 3 & Knuckles?

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense for this to have been the case. After all, Sonic 3 & Knuckles had its own share of three-in-one games with Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3. Also, Sonic Triple Trouble was originally going to be part of Sonic 4 anyway (before the project was cancelled), so why not just put it out there? We can’t wait to see what the game could have looked like if it had been developed on the same toolkit as its predecessors.

The Sega Genesis / MegaDrive was a 16-bit home video game system that was developed by Sega and released in 1990. It went on to become the best-selling console of its generation, with over 40 million units sold worldwide. If Sonic Triple Trouble had been released on this system instead of the Game Gear, what might have gone different?

A lot has changed since Sonic 3 & Knuckles released on the Genesis. While Sonic 2 was originally planned for the SNES, it ended up being ported to the Genesis instead (though still released on both systems). As a result, Sonic & Knuckles was a hybrid cartridge that could connect to any previous game that supported the lock-on technology. This meant that when playing Sonic & Knuckles, one could get access to special features as if they were playing through all three games together in one sitting. When connected to Sonic 3, we were treated to a completely new stage, Flying Battery Zone Act 1. When connected to Sonic 2, Flying Battery Zone Act 2 was unlocked (as well as Hidden Palace Zone 1). And when connected to Sonic & Knuckles alone, both Hidden Palace Zone 2 and Angel Island Zone 1 were unlocked. If you wanted all the content present in each game, you needed all three cartridges.