sonic 1: sucks, never playing ever again.
sonic cd: better than 1, not really a high bar but it still isn't great.
sonic 2: better than the previous but i hated the last 3 levels.
sonic 3 and knuckles: alright i guess

overall review: i do not like these games.

shameless rip off of a collection

Pasted from Steam

In its current state I cannot recommend purchasing Sonic Origins. Sega has a lot to fix about this, and until then I am keeping my review marked as "not recommended."

I considered writing more here (and even did begin to) but in the end I decided to scrap it, because the flaws of this collection have already been heavily documented at this point by others to the point where it would really just be a waste of my time, so I won't beat around the bush. I'm just putting this out here so that I can aid in getting the word out about this, because I truly do believe Sega can and should do better.

One of the only reasons I even purchased this to begin with was because I knew the legends at Evening Star and Headcannon were involved, and to hear straight from a developer that Sega mishandled their work for the project is very disappointing. Until this is at the very least addressed, I will not be able to recommend this product to anyone.

This soundtrack is saved from being in the D-Tier thanks to the few pretty good Hyper Potions songs in this cause wow the new songs done for sonic 3 do not sound good at all. It's a shame too cause I do legitimately quite enjoy the original leaked sonic 3 beta songs a lot, and while I would still miss songs like the final version of Icecap Zone, if it was replaced by the leaked original versions of these songs I'd very likely get over the track replacements. These versions though are, ough. Why weren't these just the original leaked versions those sounded perfectly good and final enough as is lol

Well, if it weren't for the save bug that wiped my data halfway through Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I probably would have given Sonic Origins a warmer recommendation, but as it stands, it's still a solid collection and probably the best way to experience the classics.

While some, of course, will disagree with that, for me, it was probably the only viable way to experience the 2D entries. That's all thanks to the addition of Anniversary Mode, which allows you to play with infinite lives and in 16:9. While the latter isn't that substantial, unlimited tries made the game much more palatable for me.

I've had a tepid relationship with the 2D Sonics in the past, mostly due to the difficulty and not ever clicking with the 'flow' of platforming, but thanks to Anniversary Mode, I was able to see them through. Well, mostly, besides that pesky save bug.

It's a good thing too, since even with the benefits of Anniversary Mode, I was still having trouble with certain bosses in these games. Not for lack of trying and understanding the patterns, but mostly because a handful of them can require split-second moves that aren't telegraphed clearly a lot of the time.

Despite the occasional difficulty spike and the save bug, I still had a decently fun time with this collection. My rating from most to least favorite of them is as follows:

- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles
- Sonic CD
- Sonic the Hedgehog

(Switch the first two around and that'd be my ranking for the soundtracks - without a doubt the best part of these games)

6/10

Got it for switch on launch and as was disappointed. The games do work they get the job down but that’s it. They could have really did more. The drop dash being in the new games is nice but that’s about it. No customization really. Sonic 3&K has its save selector so why don’t the other games implement it? And the classic mode isn’t classic mode. Its literally anniversary mode shrieked to a 4:3 screen. Are you kidding? 60 dollars for this? Come on Sega. I only beat Sonic 2 on this before leaving it alone.

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.

good way to play the original sonic trilogy and cd with the coin system for retrying special stages and infinite lives but like its still expensive for what you get especially with no original micheal jackson tracks and no savestate system because some of the checkpoints without rings suck like the last boss of sonic 2 or like letting you switch between past present future easier in cd and with games like this you expect them to add content a little especially how 1 cd and 2 kinda just end even when you get the emeralds but in the end still very convenient

Now, I like these games in this collection well enough, but I do not think this is the definitive way to play these games at all. When you've been playing these games as long as I have, you notice very miniscule changes to these games like the new widescreen messing up strategies on boss fights and several physics adjustments. Not to mention, 30 bucks for 4 games? I guess Plus adds a collection of Game Gear games, but I honestly don't think anyone is itching to play those. Also, why include the Game Gear versions of Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine but not the Genesis versions of those games? Hell, why even have the Game Gear versions of these specific games when they were also on the Master System in a less compressed quality? It really does feel like a slapdash new addition for some DLC. Don't even get me started on Sonic 3's music. I understand with the Michael Jackson lawsuit stuff the music changes were unfortunately bound to happen, but the music that they replaced just doesn't sound good. That's not an issue with the compositions either, it's just the instruments are terrible. Senuoe also composed a new Super Sonic theme that reeks with Sonic 4's fake FM. Sure, playing as Amy is a fantastic feature, and the new cutscenes are nice, but Sonic Mega Collection Plus remains the best collection of these games, with way more games and content. The Sonic 1,2 and CD ports made by Taxman and Stealth are better than the ones in this collection, and Sonic 3 Complete and S3 AIR are the best ways to play those games as well. See if you can get those, and don't even worry about Origins.

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.