Sonic Origins Plus contains Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Each title plays largely as you would expect them to, with quality of life features which include the elimination of lives to retry and the ability to save your progress at every checkpoint. As for the games themselves, they're fun and challenging, if a bit inconsistent. Some levels have better design than others, with some not so fun levels in the mix, and bosses can at times be a trial to defeat.
In place of lives, you collect coins with which you can unlock illustrations, music, and movies in the game's Museum. (This means you have infinite continues/retries.) It was fun to look through all of the old concept art and various promotional materials from the series' early life.
You have many different ways to play in this collection. Apart from being able to play each title as four different characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy), there is also Mirror Mode and a variety of brand new Missions for each title. Missions can range from eliminating X number of enemies in a short time or completing a stage without taking damage. It was fun to challenge myself to aim for S rank times in these Missions.
One of the more significant additions of the Plus contents in this version is the collection of Sonic titles on Game Gear. I found these titles to be little more than a diversion at best, and could not feel compelled to play any of them for a significant period of time. They feel like something of a time capsule and are certainly much better suited to being played handheld on the bus or train.
In terms of display options, I was very disappointed that there is no CRT filter available. Sonic Mania had this, and I see no excuse for the lack of this feature if they intend for this collection to be the best way to enjoy these games. Personally, no CRT filter loses significant points on this release for me.
I think that if anything, with the quality of life features and reduced difficulty of this collection, Sonic Origins Plus might be a good way for new players to experience Sonic's earlier endeavors. If you've played these games before, I'm not convinced that there is much draw to this collection on the whole.
In place of lives, you collect coins with which you can unlock illustrations, music, and movies in the game's Museum. (This means you have infinite continues/retries.) It was fun to look through all of the old concept art and various promotional materials from the series' early life.
You have many different ways to play in this collection. Apart from being able to play each title as four different characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy), there is also Mirror Mode and a variety of brand new Missions for each title. Missions can range from eliminating X number of enemies in a short time or completing a stage without taking damage. It was fun to challenge myself to aim for S rank times in these Missions.
One of the more significant additions of the Plus contents in this version is the collection of Sonic titles on Game Gear. I found these titles to be little more than a diversion at best, and could not feel compelled to play any of them for a significant period of time. They feel like something of a time capsule and are certainly much better suited to being played handheld on the bus or train.
In terms of display options, I was very disappointed that there is no CRT filter available. Sonic Mania had this, and I see no excuse for the lack of this feature if they intend for this collection to be the best way to enjoy these games. Personally, no CRT filter loses significant points on this release for me.
I think that if anything, with the quality of life features and reduced difficulty of this collection, Sonic Origins Plus might be a good way for new players to experience Sonic's earlier endeavors. If you've played these games before, I'm not convinced that there is much draw to this collection on the whole.