Sonic Origins (2022)

Rating is based off of the games in the collection - StH and CD are 4 stars, while StH2 and STh3&K are 5 stars.

The collection itself has some fun additions, like well-animated cutscenes with that Classic Sonic charm, pretty fun mini-missions across the 4 games, and some unlockable content in the Museum. There's also a Mirror Mode which is pretty empty, and I actually really enjoyed the boss rush mode. I know a lot of people mark down this collection because of the price, but I'm just rating this based on the games and the additional content. It's nice to have an accessible way for people to experience widescreen and more complete versions of these classic games. I obtained all the Steam achievements in 9 hours. This helped me get out of a gaming slump, so we love to see it.

Ok, so I've completed them all in Anniversary mode and honestly, apart from the missing Sonic 3 tracks, there's nothing wrong with this collection. I didn't even encounter any bugs! What I did find were some changes to the way physics plays out with the wider screen. I'd execute a quick move and it wouldn't quite go the way I remember it. Not to the detriment of the gameplay in the majority of cases, just different and enough to make me go "huh".

Weirdly, Sonic 1 was probably the least enjoyable game here. I don't know if it's just aged that little bit worse, or if after watching a video about just how slow some of the zones in Sonic 1 were designed I'm more aware of its flaws. But it does feel like the developers tried to make a more classic platformer out of Sonic 1 and weren't sure what to do with Sonic's high speed yet!

Sonic CD really benefits from the wider screen and special stage resets. This really is the best way to play CD and the most fun I've had with the game. It's a chaotic mess in places but the expanded perspective makes it easier to navigate and get up the required speed where needed.

Sonic 2 is still an amazing time and again, benefits from being able to repeat special stages if you have the coins.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my favourite game ever. It's such a shame they botched the replacement tracks and I feel that was a missed opportunity. But it still plays like a masterpiece and the little tweaks and additions to some of the games dramatic moments are mostly positive. Little changes that just tidy up or improve some of the limitations in the old games that made sense.

Honestly, I'm glad I bought this in the end. On sale :P That full price tag was a bit steep, even for these classics.

All right, let's get my complaints out of the way, in order of how much they matter to me:

• The Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack is one of my all-time faves. When I heard they were replacing the tracks, I tried to keep an open mind. Hearing the original tunes on anything but a Genesis or Mega SG always sounds kinda off to me anyway: Why not switch things up? But seriously, these replacements are horrendous. (Thank goodness there are mods to replace them.)
• Maybe I'm spoiled by Nintendo Switch Online and Digital Eclipse's compilations, but I really think a few of the games here would benefit from true "rewind" functionality.
• The bonus content is nice, but I'd have loved playable unlockables a la Master Collection. Even emulated versions of the 8-bit games would have been a nice nod to the franchise's history.
• There's no physical version as of this writing, the normal asking price is too high, and the side content DLC is silly. (I waited and bought the "digital deluxe" version on sale for about half the usual asking price.)

Complaints aside, I really enjoyed this collection. Sonic games in particular benefit from the widescreen presentation, the animated sequences are truly stunning, the "anniversary" modes make the games more approachable, and the optional missions are surprisingly fun. It ran great on my Steam Deck.

I won't dive deep into the games themselves, but here's my rapid-fire summary:

• Sonic 1: Iconic but uneven.
• Sonic CD: A fun, breezy oddball.
• Sonic 2: A classic!
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles: A masterpiece!

Origins has been a blast but playing through Sonic 3 is so painful. Allow me to explain, in detail, why this is the worst of the classic games, even moreso than CD.

• The level design is obnoxiously and unnecessarily long and overly winding. I realize a part of this was a decision made to influence the player to do more exploration, but when the level becomes so incomprehensible to navigate, exploration as an option goes out the door, and more often than not you wind up running out of time simply because you can't find the end goal.
• A second note on level design is how the backgrounds are way too busy. Thanks to the graphical improvements on the Genesis at this point, it made sense to push the envelope, but it makes everything a cluttered, garish mess, and often times you have trouble discerning what's in the foreground vs what isn't.
• A third note on level design is how the levels include FAR too many gimmicks. Springs that you're forced to use that send you flying so high you can't see where you're landing, ziplines that are neat but absolutely not needed and those goddamned barrels. Fuck those barrels.
• Everyone made a big stink when it was revealed the Origins collection had to replace the music in S3&K, but honestly...I don't know a single piece of music from it. It's bizarre to me that this is widely considered the best Sonic soundtrack, when the entirety of Sonic 2 (and a good portion of Sonic 1 even) are far more memorable and catchy. I listen to the Sonic 2 soundtrack regularly. I don't think I've ever listened to the Sonic 3 soundtrack willingly. Now this one is certainly more of a personal opinion, but I stand by it nonetheless
• Bizarre pseudo boss fights. At the end of every level in the previous 2 titles, you fought Robotnik, in some form or another. Suddenly, you're forced to fight these weird robots at the end of Act 1, and then fight Robotnik at the end of Act 2. It's just so...unnecessary. That's the thing about this title. So much of what's in it is absolutely unnecessary and just clutters the game, bringing it down.
• Despite them being considered one title, it's clear to me that Sonic & Knuckles is the far superior of the two, and so I don't like lumping it in with Sonic 3, because that isn't fair to it. Sonic & Knuckles continues with weird gimmicks and whatnot, but it's level design is fairly linear, and overall the stages are actually memorable again

I am approaching this from an aesthetic standpoint, not from nostalgia. Yes I'm nostalgia, and I can't deny that probably influences some things, but I'm trying my hardest to be as bipartisan as I can and look at it from a purely game design POV. Sonic 3 is just bad. Plain and simple. Sonic CD, while having its weird decisions, is at least unique enough that while I dislike it intensely, I appreciate what it tried to do and at least it did what it tried to do well. I just don't like it. But Sonic 3 is fundamentally not a good game, because it has far too many quirks and flaws that bring it down.

I hate being this critical of things I love, and I love Sonic to death, I always have ever since I was a little girl reading the comics and playing these titles, but as an adult, I am now capable of looking beyond those nostalgia goggles and seeing the cracks in them. I'm not saying Sonic and Sonic 2 are perfect by any means either. They also have weird stuff in them that doesn't really work, but the pros far outweigh the cons in those titles, and as such, they hold up better. They're genuinely enjoyable to revisit and play through. Sonic 3 is not. It is an absolute mess of ideas, none of which mesh together whatsoever.

I know I'll probably get reamed by this considering this title has somehow become considered the greatest Sonic game now, but that's a risk I'm willing to take to prove you're wrong lol

Holy god. Holy god. What a drug nostalgia is. While the first two hold up with no problems, it had been admittedly a while since I'd played Sonic 3 and wow wow WOW what a piece of shit that game is. I think the last time I'd played through it in earnest was when the arcade edition was released on the 360, and I got 100% in it.

It was never a favorite, it's always been the worst of the trilogy, but I don't think until playing Origins now that it ever truly hit me just how bad it is. The level design - and the placement of things therein - is absolutely atrocious, and the levels are way too huge. This is SUCH a step down. 1 and 2 will always remain classics, and the Knuckles half of 3 is pretty alright, but 3 proper is a shit show. Goddamn.

I know all the controversies surrounding this collection and the critics are absolutely right: the DLCs are weird and unnecesary, delisting other versions of the game was an dick move from Sega, is overpriced and yes, there are bugs...

... But these four games are still extraordinary and a lot of fun. The level design and music are still great (except for Sonic 3 but let's not open that Pandora's box).

Is this the best way to enjoy this games? I try to answer this (in spanish) in this article, but I really reccomend them for 2D platform fans. You should check it on this collection, on other versions or using "other" methods (wink wink).

Also, Anniversary Modes are a godsend.

Sonic Origins on jälleen uusi tapa pelata vanhoja Sonic-pelejä uudelleen. Tällä kertaa kyseessä on kuitenki normaalia kovempi paketti, kun mukana on mukavia QoL-parannuksia ja, ennen kaikkea, uudelleenjulkaisuille harvinainen Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Erikoisesti kokoelmassa olevat pelit eivät ole emuloituja vaan rehellisiä porttauksia, jotka hyödyntävät Sonic Manian ja Sonic-mobiiliporttauksia varten luotua kivenkovaa Retro Engineä.

Kokoelma tarjoaa mukavasti erilaista tekemistä pelien parissa. Joka pelistä on classic mode, joka mukailee pelien alkuperäistä muottia mahdollisimman hyvin, sekä anniversary mode, joka tuo modernia krumeluuria kuten laajakuvaa, loputonta elämää ja Sonic Manian drop dashiä mukaan. Näiden lisäksi on vielä story mode, joka latoo kaikki pelit anniversary modessa yhdeksi upein välivideoin ryyditetyksi pötköksi, time trial -listat, haastetehtäviä sisältävä mission mode sekä unlockattavaa multimediaa sisältävä museum mode. Myös S3&K-pelin Blue Spheres bonuskenttiä on tehty kokoelmaa varten lisää niitä halajaville. Museum mode on ehkä kevyt pettymys, sillä retrokokoelmissa on aina huumaavaa unlockata uusia pelejä (esim. Knuckles' Chaotix tai Master System -pelit olisivat olleet tässä hieno lisä), mutta tässä moista ei nähdä. Syynä oli halu keskittyä vain Mega Driven Sonic -peleihin. Ja nämä muut pelit olisi tarvinnut emuloida, joka olisi todennäköisesti tuonut omat ongelmansa.

Kokoelma ilmeisesti tuupattiin ulos Segalle tyypilliseen tapaan keskeneräisenä "juhlajulkaisuna", mutta tästäkin huolimatta se on pääosin hyvä paketti. Muuten peli toimi itselläni hyvin (Xbox Series X:llä), mutta yksi räikeä ongelma pelin kanssa oli jatkuvat kaatumiset Sonic CD:tä pelatessa. Tätä peliä pelatessa jouduin vetämään useamman kentän uudelleen (esim. viimeisen lopparin kolme kertaa), koska peli kaatui ennen autosavea. Muutama muukin kaatuminen tuli eteen. Tarkkasilmäiset Sonic-fanit ovat puolestaan löytäneet käsittämättömän pitkän listan pikkuvirheitä. Toivottavasti näihinkin puututaan.

Kokoelmaa kohtaan oli myös kaksi tunnettua pelonaihetta: DLC ja Sonic 3:n tekijänoikeuslimbossa olevat musiikit. Peliin julkistettiin käsittämättömän typerä vertailutaulukko eri versioiden ja DLC:n sisällyttämistä asioista. Loppujen lopuksi pelin DLC on niin pientä lisähöttöä, että on typerää, ettei sitä ole sisällytetty pääpeliin valmiiksi. Niille, jotka haluavat rahansa säästää, DLC on todella helppo skipata. Sonic 3:n musiikkien suhteen peli myöskin toimii melko haparoivasti. Sonic 3:n soundtrack-sotku on aiemmin ollut syy, miksi peliä ei ole voitu uudelleenjulkaista niin helpolla. Nyt ongelma on ratkaisu ottamalla tekijänoikeuskiistassa olevat kappaleet pois ja korvaamalla ne Sonic 3:n prototyypillä kuultujen kappaleiden "remasteroinneilla". Harmillisesti nämä korvaajat ovat aika rupuista kuunneltavaa verrattuna alkuperäisiin. Tyylikkyydessään ne häviävät alkuperäisen julkaisun ralleille ja fanien prototyypeistäkin kalastamat versiot ovat paljon pirteämpiä kuin tätä kokoelmaa varten tunkkaistetut lussuversiot.

No, entä ne pelit? Ne ovat edelleen kovaa tavaraa. Jokainen peli on tyylikäs, hauska ja pelattavuudeltaan hyvä tasohyppely, poikkeuksena ehkä sekava mutta päräyttävä Sonic CD. Pelien välillä on pelisuunnittelunsa puolesta mukavasti pieniä eroja, joita kokoelmaa pelatessa huomaa: Sonic 1 on perinteisempää tasohyppelyä, Sonic CD eniten kenttien tutkimista, Sonic 2 ja S3&K tuovat sulavuuden ja nopeuden kaiken keskiöön. Etenkin anniversary moden tuomilla pikkuhelpotuksilla ja lisäominaisuuksilla pelejä on harvinaisen hauska pelata.

On pieni harmi, että kokoelmalle ei voi antaa täysiä pisteitä, sillä se olisi todella helpolla päässyt niihinkin lukemiin pienellä lisähuolellisuudella ja vaivalla. Olen kuitenkin itse kokoelmaan tyytyväinen ja pelasin ilolla taas kerran nämä klassikkopelit läpi. Toimii edelleen.

Had a lot of fun playing through all the classic 2D Sonic games with this! Here is my ranking of all the zones. (I've excluded zones that are just boss fights: S1 - Final, S2 - Death Egg, S&K Hidden Palace, S&K Doomsday.)

1. Ice Cap (gotta play with original music though)
2. Flying Battery
3. Lava Reef
4. Mystic Cave (fave Sonic 2 stage)
5. Star Light (fave Sonic 1 stage)
6. Sandopolis (perhaps the hot take of this list)
7. Chemical Plant
8. Mushroom Hill
9. Sky Sanctuary ("BWOOP" - cloud)
10. Death Egg (S&K)
11. Angel Island
12. Launch Base
13. Aquatic Ruin
14. Casino Night (gambling is cool, kids)
15. Green Hill
16. Stardust Speedway (fave Sonic CD stage I guess)
17. Carnival Night (those barrels though)
18. Spring Yard
19. Marble Garden
20. Emerald Hill
21. Scrap Brain (best name for a zone though, lol)
22. Hill Top
23. Wing Fortress
24. Quartz Quadrant
25. Marble (not as bad as people make it out to be)
26. Hydrocity (or is it HYDRO CITY)
27. Sky Chase
28. Metallic Madness
29. Labyrinth
30. Oil Ocean
31. Palmtree Panic
32. Metropolis (damn these things)
33. Collision Chaos
34. Tidal Tempest
35. Wacky Workbench (literally hell)