I think it’s safe to say that Sonic Origins is by far some of the most hyped I’ve been for a video game, I love playing the classic games and as someone who doesn’t really play any video games on Steam and such, being able to play these games on my Switch was great. Now I won’t deny that this collection does have problems and I think what’s most obvious is how rushed this collection is. Stealth already opened up about their disappointment with the collection and I haven’t encountered many bugs on Switch but sometimes I would have issues with collision… which doesn’t bother me that much considering I also had those problems in the original releases but still. Furthermore, some of the stuff not added in is rather baffling, mainly the absence of time attack. I don’t really play time attack much when it comes to Sonic but the omission is still jarring. The drop dash wasn’t implemented perfectly, it sucks that some of the music for 3 and Knuckles got replaced (I will say though, I really love the music used for Launch Base), and some of the features locked behind the digital deluxe version… some make sense, others are pretty stupid. I would also be lying if I said I could wait more time if that meant putting Knuckles in Sonic CD but it’s still, again, jarring.

In spite of these problems though, I do personally think Sonic Origins remains to be one of the best legacy compilations and I consider Anniversary Mode to be the definitive official release of all the classic games. Right off the bat, all of them are in a superb 16:9 aspect ratio that resolves a lot of the screen crunch issues each game had. Lives and game overs are completely removed and replaced with a brilliant coin system that can be used to retry special stages, which is one of the greatest improvements I have seen in any remake to date. The special stages themselves have never looked better and are miles more fun and beatable then they were on Genesis, Sonic 2 ESPECIALLY. And Sonic now has the drop dash, a feature that works somewhat well for Sonic 1 and 2 and perfectly for CD and 3 and Knuckles. Not to mention there’s not really anything they took away from the Genesis counterparts while still using the stuff that made the Taxman and Stealth remakes so great. Cheat codes are still present and debug mode can be used to farm for coins, Sonic CD has both soundtracks available and Sonic 1 and 2 allows you to play as either Sonic, Tails or Knuckles, while CD allows you to play as either Sonic or Tails.

If that were all Sonic Origins added, I’d be happy with calling this collection really good and leaving it there but Origins has even more content that elevates it to something special. Every game has a boss rush, and while I’m not a fan of it personally, I can see it as a great way to test the player’s skills. Mission mode is a great addition that can keep players coming back if they wish as they try getting the highest ranks and see how to use each game’s mechanics to their fullest. The museum is absolutely superb and using coins to unlock stuff present is genius. And on top of all of that, there’s story mode, and whole game that collects all four games in one playthrough. I’m actually hoping to play this mode soon when I get the chance. Oh, and the presentation in Origins is fantastic, easily one of the best looking collections I’ve seen.

In conclusion, Super Mario 3D All-Stars found dead in a ditch.

While there are better Sonic collections out there, this I would say is right under Sonic Mega Collection. The Anniversary mode is top notch, since it's the 5 games back to back mixed with gorgeous cutscenes by Tyson Hesse. Big ups to Sega for using the Whitehead versions of these games, without a doubt the peak version of all of these titles.

The big negative is that they don't have the Michael Jackson tracks for Sonic 3. Which really sucks, but I get it. But what does help make up for it is putting Sonic Mania Adventures in the game, so they're still around if anything happens. A nice little thing. Another nice little thing is the elimination of the lives system, making it a lot easier to collect all the Chaos Emeralds/Time Stones/Super Emeralds.

If you're not for retro collecting, this is the best way to play these wonderful games. Going in succession is honestly a trip and I would definitely recommend it.

Despite some small issues which I hope get fixed, this is a great celebration of Sonic's roots and likely the best collection to date. Sonic 1, 2 and CD are better versions of already great ports, and Sonic 3 has received so much love and care that all the small details collectively made me grin more than I can count. Add in the big new bits and it's the Taxman/Stealth remaster I've waited long for. Of course as everyone has mentioned, the Sonic 3 music isn't great and the situation regarding it sucks, but modding has already rectified that so it's made the already perfect version just that bit better.

Los Sonic clásicos tienen un motor de físicas muy bueno y su principal baza es el poder aprovechar la arquitectura y elementos de sus niveles para construir impulso, pero siempre han tenido un problema en cuanto a su diseño, que castigaba al jugador por ir rápido, algo irónico si tenemos en cuenta que la razón por la que pretendían venderse estos juegos era la posibilidad de avanzar deprisa. Esto era debido a limitaciones técnicas, pues la resolución de la Mega Drive no permitía en sus juegos un amplio campo de visión. La velocidad que puede llegar a alcanzar Sonic no encaja con la escasa visibilidad que hay en pantalla, porque si vamos rápido no tendremos apenas tiempo de reacción a los obstáculos que se nos aproximan, de manera que navegar a toda velocidad terminaba recayendo más en jugar varias veces sus niveles memorizándolos. A alturas de Sonic 2 y de Sonic 3 & Knuckles, los desarrolladores probablemente eran tan conscientes de ese problema que diseñaron secciones de velocidad específicas para que el personaje vaya rápido sin necesidad de que el jugador toque un solo botón, siendo más unos momentos semi-cinemáticos en los que obtener algunos rings que otra cosa, además de que están separados de las secciones más plataformeras.

Sonic Origins era una oportunidad de brindar a estos juegos un más que amplio campo de visión horizontal y vertical, especialmente porque los sistemas actuales tienen pantallas con resoluciones más grandes y no aprovecha eso. Han rehecho los juegos con un nuevo motor, molestándose únicamente en ampliar la pantalla a 16:9 y modificando en el proceso algunos de los combates contra jefes, de manera que sus problemas de raíz persisten. De hecho, los juegos que presenta están más estropeados, pues hay errores de colisiones que nos llevan a poder quedarnos atascados en algunas partes de su arquitectura y las físicas han sido alteradas, de forma que no alcanzaremos algunos lugares por medio de la velocidad, de la misma manera que en los originales. Sonic CD ha sido arruinado al poder abusar de la mecánica del Drop Dash para viajar en el tiempo, por lo que el valor de los escenarios a recorrer disminuye porque así deja de ser necesario buscar zonas adecuadas para mantener la velocidad durante un tiempo, además de que sigue siendo irrisorio que las versiones del buen futuro sigan estando plagadas de trampas que dificultan la navegación. Entiendo que esto fuera así por limitaciones de la Mega CD, pero se podrían haber rediseñado esas versiones de los escenarios en este, haciendo que la movilidad por ellos sea más cómoda como recompensa por haber cambiado el pasado, y no una simple reskin del mal futuro sin enemigos. Por otro lado, Sonic 3 hasta tiene un bug enorme en el que te quita todas las emeralds.

Pero ahí no acaba la cosa, también han incluído modos como el de misiones, el modo espejo o el boss rush, que no aportan nada significativo a la experiencia, por lo que están para inflar el producto con más contenido, diferenciarse así de otros recopilatorios y justificar el precio que cuesta, pero no es un contenido sustancial, sino un complemento vago. También han implementado un sistema de monedas con el propósito de sustituir las vidas, siendo su uso el de tener varias oportunidades en las fases especiales y el de poder desbloquear coleccionables, pero se va al traste cuando puedes ir al modo debug a farmearlas hasta el cansancio y así obtenerlos más fácilmente. Es insultante que uno de los incentivos de reservar este título antes de su lanzamiento era que te dieran 100 de este tipo de monedas de regalo y que el juego permita este abuso de farmeo, además de que hayan hecho la guarrada de que por 5 euros más puedes conseguir una versión que trae contenido que no es otra cosa que superfluo. Cabe mencionar que las fases especiales, al tener la posibilidad de reintentarlas tantas veces como te permitan las monedas que lleves, pierden completamente el riesgo de poder perder en ellas y, por tanto, devalúa como consecuencia la obtención de las chaos emeralds.

En general, este recopilatorio me parece un despropósito. Se nota que los desarrolladores tienen mucho cariño a estos juegos y por ello cuenta con una presentación cargada de atención al detalle, sí, pero de poco sirve cuando la experiencia es inferior a sus versiones originales de hace 30 años y otros relanzamientos.

sonic 1 has the biggest improvement, with the drop dash speeding up the slower level design
sonic 2 has the biggest downgrade, with tails jumping being all you’ll hear past the first zone
sonic 3 is basically unchanged and a fine way to play the best game of the trilogy. shame about the music though
sonic cd is still designed by a pack of chimps
none of this matters though when considering this rushed collection of ports has been given a 40 dollar price tag
buy it if you like sonic, emulate it if you are normal

Had this originally logged as the base Sonic Origins game, I eventually updated to the Plus edition, so my thoughts will include the additions that came from that.

This collection should have been so easy to make at least "good," but I must admit that it's really just passable. This collection does not offer much that can't just be obtained via emulation or mods, and those have implemented them better.

The best part of this collection is the fact that these games are playable with widescreen as well as a more steady frame rate, and the newly added cutscenes are high quality and do a nice job tying the games together. The added Missions give long-time fans something new to do, though there are not tons of these and veterans of the series will be able to get through them quickly.

Apart from what is listed above, many of the other things advertised as being highlights of this package include island models (which are just animations that play on the menu), a gallery (which includes some nice things, but very little that was refreshingly new or has not been accessible online for a very long time), and now Amy as a playable character - which is admittedly nice to have but it does not feel like it is fully realized.

Game Gear games were also included later on down the line, but it really feels like this was done as a way of boasting that there are now a whopping 16 games here versus the original 4. But even then, these Game Gear additions host no improvements over just emulating them. Any slow down, issues, and glitches are fully present. This could have been a great opportunity to increase the amount that can be seen of screen, and to give these games a breath of fresh air with more consistent frame rates and consistent ruling to platform touch detection, but none of these things were done. Fans can revisit the original Game Gear games with no additional polish at all - for an extra cost.

Ultimately, as a long time Sonic fan, it's nice to see that these games will continue to be easily accessible for a future audience. But it is sad to see that there was really a golden opportunity to help these games take the next step - to improve and make these games even better - but instead it feels like just the bare minimum was done.

It's really just a collection of emulators, some mods, and it's missing some iconic music tracks. Fans have been able to basically play the series like this for years, and for free (or at least much cheaper) This is a hard sell for $40 to anyone, Sonic fan or not. That kind of money could get you so much more these days.

I bought this game twice within a year's span from each other and refunded it both times. This review is only going to be about my experience playing the game on launch day of 2022. Strap in, I have a lot to say.

Pre-Origins Plus, all this game had was a sound test menu (with many incorrectly labelled tracks), an art gallery you had to unlock with coins by playing the games, three downgraded ports of mobile remakes for the first 3 Classic games, and then a remake of Sonic 3&K made for the collection that was very clearly rushed. I encountered numerous bugs in the time that I spent playing Origins on launch day. Completely disregarding Denuvo-related errors like constant crashing and black screens at launch that ate up at least 25% of my playtime, Blue Spheres music did not speed up with the stage speed, the casino bonus stage didn't fade to black fast enough and I could see the level abruptly stop spinning. I vaguely recall touching water with an Electric Shield causing the water to rapidly blink when it's only supposed to happen once on contact. The crumbling and shaking effects from Marble Garden Zone persisted through the entire level when they aren't supposed to.

Speaking of Sonic 3, it's impossible to mention Origins' version of it without addressing the elephant in the room: the replaced soundtrack. Thanks to lots of miscommunication from SEGA pre-launch, people ended up blaming Jun Senoue for how bad the prototype tracks sounded, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest he only wrote ONE new song (the Super theme using the same KORG Triton synths as Sonic 4). Carnival Night, Ice Cap, and Launch Base sound that bad because they're sourced from an older prototype than the November 1993 prototype that was leaked in 2019. It was a necessary evil for the game to be allowed to release, considering Cirocco Jones and Bobby Brooks' legal fight with SEGA surrounding compensation for their musical contributions. Me personally, I prefer the prototype music, but these specific arrangements are SO much worse than what we can hear in the more recent November prototype. It's such an insignificant thing to complain about, I know, and it's the least of this game's problems. But it's little details like not checking if what they had (or even what the internet had) was the most up-to-date arrangement of the songs they were replacing that just screams "we didn't have enough time to make this game". Even after the immediate fan outcry, they still haven't changed the music at all.

What mainly makes or breaks a rerelease collection for me is the answer to the question: "What does this collection offer me that I can't get from playing the copies of the game I already own?" To start, I was very charmed by the added intro and outro cutscenes animated by the same folks who did Mania's intro and outro. They're both adorable homages to Studio Junio's work on CD, and they very succinctly explain the essentials of each game's story to the player by realizing the plot expressed in the Japanese manuals of the original games. I was disappointed that some scenes from those Japanese manual stories were not portrayed in Origins (such as Tails investigating Sonic's plane to foreshadow his interest in being a mechanic and pilot for Sonic's plane that has remained relevant for decades since, or how they retconned the Death Egg landing at Hidden Palace Zone rather than at the lake that ends up becoming the reason why there's so much water present in Launch Base Act 2). At the same time, I really can't say it's a negative to the collection just because I'm a lore nerd. If anything, it is technically a positive because if the cutscenes were any longer than they are currently, it would feel intrusive for people who just want to play the video game they paid for.

The quality and quantity of concept art and illustrations isn't as great as Mega Collection Plus or Jam, but what is new here was really cool for it to be publicly released. One in particular that I'm grateful for is how I was really pleasantly surprised to find out Vector was made as a reference to the Blues Brothers, which is why the Chaotix manual jokes that he was "looking for God". That joke makes way more sense with that context. All of Mania Adventures is archived in Origins as well. So in the off chance that you don't have internet access or don't know that YouTube exists, Origins allows you to watch them that way.

Unfortunately, that's really all I have that's positive to say about vanilla Origins. You're best off just buying the remakes on the App Store of your mobile phone for $2 a piece, because Origins also removes lots of features, like multiple save files. The game has "Anniversary mode", with 16:9 and lives replaced with coin monitors for retrying Special Stages or unlocking the aforementioned concept art, or "Classic Mode" with 4:3 and lives... the issue with this is that there's no way to play the game in widescreen with lives if you want that challenge, and Classic Mode isn't the original game at all. It's just the mobile remake cropped to 4:3. All the imperfections and problems of the versions present in Origins (meaning, yes, there are glitches present in these versions that the mobile versions did not previous have) are going to be carried with you into Classic Mode.

I'll make a second review detailing if I believe the "Plus" expansion improves the collection at all (it doesn't). But as it stands, this collection is only good if you don't know any better. I don't even know how much of the game has been patched since launch to say if it's good enough for a casual fan wanting to play these games again.

The game was supposed to be THE solution to play retro Sonic games on modern hardware. Yet my experience says it is even worse than emulation on OpenEmu and nothing close to the likes of Christian Whitehead remasters or Sonic 3 AIR.

The games are at least somewhat functional when I played it. However I do noticed a significant increase in the amount of bugs that were not present in the original games. I don't know what happened when they were trying to port the game but something for sure have gone wrong here.

If you don't really mind about authentic Sonic experience. Go ahead and play this game as it at least functions after several updates. Whether it justifies the price tag? That would be a resounding no though.

If you ask me, just emulate the games. The quality of games from this port don't deviate much from emulation anyways in my opinion.