Development began after the release of "Nights into Dreams" in July 1996, after Sonic Team received letters from fans asking "who Sonic was". Sonic creators Naka and Naoto Ohshima thought it was important to introduce people to the Sonic character, which was the basis for introducing "Project Sonic" to the public. Until the release of "Sonic Jam", the studio had not worked on a "Sonic" game since "Sonic & Knuckles" in 1994. Naka thought that Sonic Team had had a period to "recharge our batteries" and had new ideas.