Sonic Origins Plus Review: The Classics With Some Extras

 Sonic Origins Plus, the physical (and digital) update to the previously released Sonic Origins finds itself in an interesting predicament. The premise of the game is to allow players of all ages to experience Sonic from the standpoint of his roots way back on the Genesis. Simply allowing players to rehash their experiences in these games however, was not going to be enough. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 1, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD were the big headliners included in the original Sonic Origins. The “Plus” update allows players to take Knuckles through the story of Sonic CD, which was previously missing from the game and also adds a familiar face in the form of Amy Rose. Amy and Knuckles can play through the four original games and offers some different play styles to the gameplay experience. Amy can speed around at the same rate of the other characters but she has her signature hammer to jump or sprint, -ala Drop Dash-style. Drop Dash is also added to the games to give Sonic some more mobility that he enjoyed in the Mania game. 

The game is separated into a few different modes:

Classic Mode – Retains the original 4:3 aspect ratio and keeps track of players lives. This mode is to let players have a taste of the games as they would have been on the Genesis. 

Anniversary Mode – This mode adds native widescreen support for the titles, gives unlimited lives, and allows for special stages to be retried if failed by using coins. Coins are acquired through life boxes or for collecting rings and when finishing stages. 

Knuckles being playable in Sonic CD is a welcomed addition, making the game’s difficulty a breeze since the levels were considered more vertical. By climbing the walls, the player is able to skip large sections of zones. 

With the major 4 cornerstone games being in the original Origins launch, the Origins Plus library adds all 12 Sonic series games that were released for the handheld, the Sega Game Gear. While I would never regret more Sonic titles of any system being playable, these offerings are kind of lackluster. The screen resolution was never great to begin with on the Game Gear and taking the Sonic games concept of blazing speed (albeit not every second) doesn’t make a good match. The 8-bit graphics are nice and colorful but whatever emulation engine the developers picked can have issues at times. The version I reviewed was on the Nintendo Switch and I only noticed some hiccups and chugging but no audio issues that others have reported. 

The only other gripes I have for the game is that the original music of certain stages in Sonic 3 are not included. This sours my nostalgia trip very much because that music was part of the attitude that was synonymous with Sonic as a character, a franchise, and a game. Is it just a few tracks? Yes. But that charm is missing from what could have been a definitive experience for Sonic 3 & Knuckles. 

The game has plenty of unlockables to find, such as alternative music tracks or concept art. Players can use their coins to unlock these and adds some collect-a-thon vibes to the package. Instead of just playing the games from start to finish, players can also tackle a Boss Rush mode or a Special Stage mode, which allows players to fight bosses back to back or go through the special stages of each game. 

The Sonic Origins Plus collection strives to be an all-in-one one-stop-shop for the classic Sonic experience. Playing the games as they were all the years prior is just what the doctor ordered for some players while veterans of the series will still have plenty to do with missions, mirror mode, and a museum of assets to unlock. Adding characters like Amy to each game or Knuckles to Sonic CD can give players new perspectives of the games they cherish. The Game Gear titles are not for the faint of heart but come with a save state option so you can power your way through them should you choose. Sonic Origins Plus is a great addition to your Sonic library and a fun way to go back to the old days. 

((Full Disclosure: A copy of Sonic Origins Plus was purchased for the Nintendo Switch for this review.))