Sonic Origins (PC)

Powah Dunk | July 21, 2022 | Review | No Comments

Blue Streak, speeds by, Sonic the Hedgehog, too fast for the naked eye, Sonic the Hedgehog. If that brings any kind of nostalgia then you’re a rad kind of dude who enjoys chilli dogs and sticking it to Dr Ivo Robotnik, come with me and we will go back to the very origins of the blue blur, one more time.

Sonic Origins is a compilation title that compiles Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the latter being in its complete combined form rather than 2 separate entities but more on that particular caveat later on.

In terms of additional content you have a rather robust gallery which you unlock things in through collecting coins in the games “Anniversary” or “Story Mode”, you’ve also got a “Mission mode” where it cuts up chunks of stages from the games and presents you with a challenge, letter rank upon completion and all!.

Anniversary mode is available for all of the titles, here the developers have added extra characters such as Tails in Sonic CD, Knuckles in Sonic 2, they have also added Spin-Dash and the Drop-Dash from Sonic Mania into all of the titles which can somewhat knock the balancing of Sonic 1 and CD but again you don’t HAVE to use it so that’s on you. According to the press release there are also additional sprites but I have to be completely honest in saying I didn’t really notice any.

The original versions are all here as well if you don’t fancy the added bells and whistles and need the challenge of having “lives” which are gone in the Anniversary and Story modes, replaced by Coins which are the currency the gallery runs on, again it’s the 4 titles with Sonic 3 and Knuckles being combined.

Story mode takes you from the very roots of Sonic The Hedgehog to what is often considered the highest peak in classic Sonic, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, each game has a freshly drawn cutscene to start and end the game drawing them together, coincidentally drawing the ire of the Sonic fandom by placing Sonic CD in the timeline before Sonic 2 and not after.

While this is a fantastic addition I would urge that you take a break between the titles rather than running straight through them like the latest COD campaign, playing Sonic 1 and Sonic CD back to back is a test of will being these two are the weakest of the 4 titles despite the legacy they both sit on.

What is most puzzling about the package is the amount of bugs and weird physics stuff going on that weren’t present in the original releases of these games, by this point it’s common knowledge they aren’t the most stable of versions with weird glitches, hit boxes being out of wack and even stranger Tails A.I than before but currently these all still remain.

While it’s a nice tidy little celebratory package for the Blue Blur, the lack of additional titles such as the Master System/Game Gear titles, the freshly introduced bugs and the new soundtrack for Sonic 3 which is terrible, these all knock considerable points off of what could have been a real homerun for the series.

As it stands this is the best way to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles on modern consoles and scratch that Sonic itch you may have from the recently released film, otherwise there isn’t a whole lot to convince gamers to part with their cash for yet another Sega compilation title that misses the mark.