Sonic Origins

Sonic Origins
Developer(s)	Sega Headcannon
Publisher(s)	Sega
Release Date(s)
Nintendo Switch (eShop)	WW: June 23, 2022
Nintendo Switch (eShop)	WW: June 23, 2022
Nintendo Switch	WW: June 23, 2023
Nintendo Switch	WW: June 23, 2023
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Platformer Compilation
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	01
CERO	01
ACB	01
USK	02

Sonic Origins is a platformer compilation video game released for the Nintendo Switch console in 2022, available on the eShop service. This game collects the remastered iOS/Android remakes of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, along with a similarly-remastered Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (which was not previously released on iOS or Android).

The game was made due to the recent success of Sonic the Hedgehog games and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies made by Paramount, so that people who never got to play the original Sonic games got a chance to play them, hence the name Origins.

An expanded version, titled Sonic Origins Plus, was released on June 23, 2023. This updated edition adds Amy Rose as a playable character to all four of the included games and also includes all of the Sonic-related Game Gear games. The new content was also released as DLC for the original version.

Features

• A new story mode where you can play the games in chronological order
• Updated versions of the games including widescreen support

Plus Additions

The game adds support for Amy Rose for all 4 games and adds Knuckles to Sonic CD. The expansion also includes all the DLC for the original version

The physical edition includes a 20 page art book and has a reversible cover.

The 12 Sonic related Game Gear are included in this update

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble
• Sonic Chaos
• Sonic Blast
• Sonic Labyrinth
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic Drift
• Sonic Drift 2
• Tails Adventure
• Tails' Skypatrol
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Differences from the original games

Since the first three of the four main games are based on their 2011-13 iOS/Android remasters helmed by Christian Whitehead (which previously did not see a release on any Nintendo consoles), all changes that were made for said remasters are carried over here. Sonic 3 & Knuckles did not receive such treatment beforehand, so this compilation marks the first release of its remaster. The Game Gear games, on the other hand, are emulated from their respective original ROMs and have no changes.

All four games

• New intro and outro cutscenes, similar to the Sonic Mania intro and ending, appear when the player starts up a new game and after they've beaten the game (even if the player got the normal/bad endings). These cutscenes appear only in this compilation.
• The player has the option to choose between playing as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles in all the games, plus Amy Rose if they have downloaded the Plus Content Pack. However, Knuckles cannot be played in Sonic CD (likely because he wasn't added for the original remaster) until the player has downloaded the Plus Content Pack.
• Another Origins-exclusive change is that the player has infinite lives when playing the games in Anniversary Mode, with the extra lives monitors instead dispensing Coins. Likewise, the player gains three extra Coins whenever they would earn a Continue in the original games. The Coins can be used to access the Premium entries in the Museum, or to give the player another chance at completing the Special Stages (which obviously makes it easier for one to achieve the good endings). Playing the games in Classic Mode restores the lives and Continues.
• Sonic can now perform the Drop Dash from Sonic Mania in all four games, but only in Anniversary Mode.
• Tails has his Sonic 3 moveset in all games, and can also now lift Sonic like in Sonic Mania (in the original Genesis version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he could only do this if a second player was controlling him).
• Activating the characters' Super/Hyper forms is now done by pressing a dedicated button (X in the Switch's case) while in mid-jump like in Sonic Mania; in the original games, the mid-jump transformation was triggered automatically in Sonic 2 or by the player pressing any jump button in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
• If the player enters the Level Select code on the title screen for Sonic 1 or 2, they can access options to give Sonic his Insta-Shield move and/or add in the Elemental Shields from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, though they cannot save their progress if they do this.
• Rotating objects now have more fluid animation. This also applies to all the Special Stages, as well as the spotlights in Sonic CD's Stardust Speedway.
• The boss arenas are either slightly re-arranged due to the wider aspect ratio, or have new walls bordering them. The Big Arms fight at the end of Sonic 3's Launch Base Zone, in particular, has invisible fans on the sides of the platform due to it being narrower than the full screen.

Sonic the Hedgehog

• Like in Sonic Jam and Sonic Genesis, Sonic can perform his Spin Dash move here, which he did not have until Sonic 2. The Level Select screen includes an option to disable the Spin Dash.
• In the original game's North American release, Sonic did not have mercy invincibility when getting hit by spikes and would immediately die if he got hurt again during the rebound. The Japanese version changed this so that he has mercy invincibility after hitting spikes, which is kept for this remaster.
• In Green Hill Zone Act 3, the player can no longer deal damage to Dr. Eggman when he enters the boss arena.
• The Level Select screen includes an option to add the seventh Chaos Emerald, complete with a new Special Stage in which to get it, and thus the ability to become Super after collecting all seven.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

• The player has the option to choose between either the Japanese/European soundtrack or the North American soundtrack.
• In the opening cutscene, the original vocals of the accompanying song "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" are restored, after having previously been replaced by an instrumental in the 2011 release.
  • On the other hand, however, the ending cutscene inexplicably removes the audio that was originally heard as Sonic and Amy escape Little Planet and skips straight to the "Cosmic Eternity - Believe in Yourself" song, resulting in the animation running much faster than it should.
• The stages' background music tracks now loop seamlessly, rather than fading out and starting again.
• In the original version, Sonic's Spin Dash operated differently, in that the player needed to hold ↓ for about two seconds (indicated by the screen scrolling to the left) or it would not work. The remaster instead has it operating the same as it does in the other games by default, though the player also has the option to use the original version's Spin Dash.
• Sonic and Amy's voice clips have inexplicably been removed, with Sonic's "Yes!" that usually plays when getting an extra life being replaced by the sound heard when the player destroys the Robot Generators.
• The pinball flippers in Collision Chaos Zone now have their own sound effects (the same ones used for Casino Night Zone's flippers in Sonic 2).
• When staying underwater in Tidal Tempest Zone, a chime is now heard three times before the drowning countdown appears.
• The Speed Shoe UFOs in the Special Stages are now blue, instead of having the same purple color as the Ring UFOs but with only their stripe colors to differentiate them like in the original.
• The warning sound in the Special Stages is now heard if the player has only five seconds left, instead of fifteen like in the original.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• The player's Ring count is no longer reset to zero after exiting the Special Stages. This particular change was originally made when playing the original Sonic 2 locked on to Sonic & Knuckles.
• On the other hand, when the original Sonic 2 was locked on to Sonic & Knuckles, sending Knuckles into the Special Stage would give him a much smaller amount of Rings required to beat the stage. Here, he now has to collect the same amount of Special Stage Rings as Sonic or Tails would have to.
• An infamous pit trap in Mystic Cave Zone now leads to the Hidden Palace Zone, which had previously been cut from the original Genesis version but was restored for the 2013 remaster.
• The good ending now includes a stinger showing the Death Egg crashing on Angel Island, setting up the next game.
• Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruins, Hill Top, and Oil Ocean Zones now have counterparts in the Competition Mode.
• Like with Sonic 1, a secret eighth Special Stage can be accessed from the Level Select.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

• The opening cutscene at the beginning of Angel Island Zone includes the following changes:
  • The Super transformation sound can be heard when Sonic changes into Super Sonic.
  • When Knuckles first appears, he assumes a fighting pose right after clobbering Super Sonic.
  • Tails run in from offscreen rather than flying in like in the original version.
• Sonic now has an extra idle animation that previously went unused; if he stands still for over a minute, he will drift off to sleep.
• When starting a new game as Tails, a variation of Sonic's opening cutscene appears, showing Tails landing the Tornado on the beach.
• When starting a new game as Knuckles, his opening cutscene from Sonic & Knuckles will play (though it is unexplained how he got from Mushroom Hill Zone to Angel Island Zone).
• When playing as Sonic and/or Tails, Knuckles' sprites now match how he looks in his own campaign. In the original version, he had a slightly different palette in Sonic and Tails' campaigns (most notably having yellow socks).
• When the Fire Breath mini-boss first appears midway through Angel Island Zone Act 1, the player character now moves to the center of the screen to watch its entrance.
• The airship that appears near the end of Angel Island Zone Act 2 now flies a little lower. Also, if the player character has Tails accompanying them, he will actually keep up with them instead of getting bombarded by the airship's bombs like in the original.
• In the original version, a computer-controlled Tails could accidentally steal an air bubble from Sonic in the underwater sections. This is no longer the case here.
• Due to legal issues regarding Michael Jackson's work on the Sonic 3 soundtrack, the background music for Carnival Night Zone, IceCap Zone, Launch Base Zone, and the Competition Mode main menu are replaced by new remixes of the original beta tracks, which were previously heard in the November 1993 Sonic 3 prototype and later in Sonic & Knuckles Collection.
• If the player holds ↑ or ↓ while standing on the infamous "Barrel of Doom" in Carnival Night Zone Act 2, the character will now look upward or crouch, which makes it a little clearer as to how the player is supposed to operate the barrel.
• When Sonic hijacks the spare Eggmobile near the end of Launch Base Zone, Tails now actually rides in it with him instead of falling into the water.
• The Big Arms boss fight at the end of Launch Base Zone, which appears at the end of the stand-alone Sonic 3 but was inexplicably cut from Sonic and Tails' campaign when locked on to Sonic & Knuckles, is reinstated into their campaign.
  • In addition, in the original version, if Super Sonic got grabbed by Big Arms and slammed into the ground, he would lose all his Rings and revert to normal. Here, getting grabbed and slammed as Super Sonic does not harm him.
  • Also, after the player defeats Big Arms, the cutscene that transitions from the Sonic 3 zones to the Sonic & Knuckles zones is now expanded to include Dr. Eggman flying towards the falling Death Egg in the background. The camera then cuts to a wide shot of the Death Egg crashing into Angel Island's volcano (originally used as the background for Sonic & Knuckles' title screen).
• If the player pauses right after entering a Sonic & Knuckles Warp Ring and then selects "Restart" on the pause menu, they can skip straight to Hidden Palace Zone.
• During Knuckles' campaign, Eggman would inexplicably reappear operating the Egg Hanger at the end of Flying Battery Zone instead of the Eggrobo. This oddity is fixed here.
• The first part of the ending (when Sonic falls out of the sky and Tails catches him in the Tornado) now has a new piece of music instead of reusing the Sky Sanctuary music.
• During the end credits for Sonic and Tails' campaigns, the "Sonic" text was mistakenly mirrored on the left-facing Tornado's sprite. This too is fixed here.
• The Super Sonic theme is now a new remix of the Sonic & Knuckles title theme, rather than reusing the Invincibility theme.
• Tails' Super form originally only appeared after the player collected all of the Super Emeralds as him. Super Tails can now appear earlier, if the player collects all seven Chaos Emeralds when playing as Tails, while the original Super Tails form (with the Flicky Army of Death) from Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been retconned as Hyper Tails.
  • In addition, while the player cannot obtain Super Tails normally in Sonic 1 or 2, they can have him appear in those games using Debug mode.
• Accessing the game's Level Select/Sound Test menu is done the same way as on the stand-alone Sonic 3 (pressing ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ on the title screen), but it is much easier here because the requirement to enter the code comes up when the "Press Button" prompt appears; on the original cartridge, the code infamously had to be entered within the two seconds of Sonic spinning to the front of the screen.
• Using the Level Select, the player can now actually bring Sonic and Tails to Knuckles' final boss area.
• Playing a certain order of tracks in the Sound Test can enable new cheats, including giving Sonic his Super Peel-Out move from Sonic CD (01-09-09-03-00-09-02-03), replacing all Badniks with Penguinators (01-09-09-09-00-03-00-06), replacing all items with the basic Shields (01-09-09-01-00-06-02-03) or bananas from the Competition Mode (02-00-00-01-01-00-01-03), removing all Rings and Item boxes (playing 00 eight times), making all destroyed Badniks release only Ricky the Squirrel (01-09-07-09-00-08-01-01), and enabling Flight Mode during a Super transformation (02-00-01-07-00-08-01-05).

External links

• Sonic Origins at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Sonic Origins at GameFAQs
• Official website
• Sonic Origins at Sonic Wiki Zone, the Fandom wiki on Sonic.