4/5. Sega’s Sonic Origins Plus is a decent enough collection of the core classic Sonic games with modern enhancements to improve the experience. However, the thrown-together feeling of this package and the less than polished presentation keeps this from being a perfect collection. My name is Xander, I am in grade 12 and this is my review.
Sonic Origins is a collection of the four Sega Genesis Sonic games: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic the Hedgehog CD. This comes all packed together with a 3D menu alongside a museum of various art, music, and videos as well as a new mission mode with a multitude of challenges for the four titles. Each of the games have been remastered with many new additions such as new playable characters, widescreen mode, and other quality-of-life changes. These additions to these classic games would easily make Sonic Origins the definitive collection, at least on paper.
However, this collection uses the decade-old mobile versions of Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD. While these versions have always been touted as the definitive versions because of the widescreen display and other new features, the lack of any additional new content in this $50 package makes it feel like Sega took the cheap way out (especially considering the mobile versions are free). The one major feature of this collection is an all-new widescreen remake of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The new additions that this version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles contains do bring some value to this collection, but I feel the price is still somewhat overblown for the actual content included.
Despite these criticisms, the original quadrilogy of Sonic games are still as great as they have always been. These games are timeless classics and are some of the best platform games out there with a mix of speed, platforming and challenge alongside colourful graphics, amazing music, and outstanding level design.
I likely would have rated this collection lower if it was not for the Plus DLC included in this physical version. It adds the additional character Amy Rose to all the base games, adds Knuckles to Sonic CD, and also includes 12 Sonic Game Gear games. These additions make Sonic Origins a better overall package since the inclusion of Amy in all four games and Knuckles in Sonic CD are exclusive to this collection. These two features alone provide Sonic veterans with a reason to buy this collection instead of sticking to the previous re-releases.
For hardcore Sonic fans and purists, this collection might not be the absolute definitive experience they would hope for, but still a fun and new way to play these titles. For the casual and new Sonic fans, Sonic Origins Plus provides a great way to play these titles with modern enhancements as well as a celebration of Sonic’s past.