Here is our review of the nostalgic return of everyone’s favorite 2-D blue hedgehog, Sonic Origins.
Sonic the Hedgehog initially rose among a sea of mascots to become the face of the Sega Mega Drive. Since then, he has gone on to become one of the most recognizable characters in gaming. Sonic Origins brings four of the original 2-D video games back to life. This review will focus on the amount of content and the quality of the digital remasters.
The collection contains the original 2D Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, along with Sonic CD digitally remastered for current generation consoles.
As someone that never owned SEGA Genesis or SEGA Mega Drive, I was excited to finally jump into the series that inspired multiple sequels, cartoon shows, and even feature films. And even though it’s been years since their original release, the classic Sonic games hold their own against modern platformers.
Going into Sonic Origins, my biggest question was, will the gameplay feel outdated? The original Sonic the Hedgehog came out in 1991. Since then, a few generations of consoles have passed, and we’ve come a long way in terms of gameplay ad graphics.
But what truly surprised me in Sonic Origins is how well the gameplay has aged.
But thankfully, Sonic Origins is a fantastic deep dive into the classic Sonic 2-D games with enough content for new players to enjoy while staying true to longtime fans.
Sonic Origins has a few different modes for players to experience. There is Classic Mode, Anniversary Mode, Missions, Boss Rush, and Museum. On top of that, SEGA has included a new set of challenges players will need to compete to earn coins.
Players can use these coins to unlock new music tracks and art from the Museum. So there is a lot of content that players can appreciate. But what truly surprised me in Sonic Origins is how well the gameplay has aged.
At no point did I feel that the gameplay was outdated. The new upgrades that they’ve introduced for current generations are the icing on top.
As a first-time player, it was fun to experience the improvements the sequels brought with them. The Sonic Origins UI is also beautiful and fun to look at. The game selection menu allows you to open a map where you can see every island in a neat circle.
Players can also enter Island Tour Mode and see their favorite characters around the island. Every game has its own island so it’s a fun detail.
Each game has three different modes that players can choose from Anniversary Mode, Classic Mode, and Boss Rush.
You’ll also be able to play as either Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Sonic & Tails. It all depends on which game you’re playing.
Anniversary Mode allows players to enjoy the classic Sonic games with a full-screen display and infinite lives. The Anniversary Mode is perfect for players that were turned away from the original games due to their difficulties.
But players looking for a challenge can still opt to play Classic Mode with the challenges from the original games. This mode features the original Sonic style with limited lives in the classic 4:3 display. This mode also has different letterbox designs that players can choose to use.
I thought this was a neat addition, and it felt nice to customize my Classic Mode experience. Much better than if it was just the same design for every game.
The challenges themselves are a lot of fun and will have you putting your Sonic skills to the test.
Boss Rush will give players three lives to take down every boss from each game. This is a fun addition for players looking to just master their tactics against Dr. Eggman. I found myself choosing this mode when I wanted to test how well my control of the characters had gotten.
There are also two extra modes for longtime fans of the series looking for entirely new experiences.
The Mission section is where players can go to experience every mission as one continuous experience. Here is where you will find Mission Mode, where you can replay levels with new challenges.
It’s neat to progress through each game continuously and have that progress tracked for you. And the challenges themselves are a lot of fun and will have you putting your Sonic skills to the test.
Then once players want to catch a break from speeding through, they can head to the Museum, where there are some incredible extras for fans to enjoy.
The Museum has illustrations, sounds, and movies that players can unlock while playing through Sonic Origins. The Sounds section has every musical track from the games in Sonic Origins and a few extra tracks that may surprise players.
The Illustrations are where I found myself spending most of my time. There are small character bios for all the main Sonic characters. It also features box art and manuals for every game and region. It’s cool to see how artistic the Japanese manuals were compared to everything else.
But the real question for most players will probably be: is it worth the price tag?
The Movies section includes some videos that any Sonic fan would appreciate, including full renditions from the Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony.
So there is a lot of content for longtime fans to enjoy. The Museum is truly a gift to the players. It made me realize that I wish I could go back to other games and have this sort of experience with them.
For fans that have grown up with Sonic, I’m sure the Museum is something they’ll spend a lot of time with. And for new fans of the series, it’s also a place to learn more about Sonic and all the popular characters introduced throughout the years.
But the real question for most players will probably be: is it worth the price tag? The answer depends on how big of a Sonic fan you are. Would I recommend this to someone with zero experience with Sonic games that just want to see what all the hype is?
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Probably not. Despite how excellent all the additions are and how well crafted these remasters are for the current generations, it’s not something I see myself playing too often.
Of course, picking up and playing for an hour or two is fantastic. But you’ll find that the original Sonic the Hedgehog doesn’t play as well as Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
The Museum is an incredible addition, but you won’t spend much time there if you’re not a fan of a video game’s OST or nostalgic propaganda.
Even then, they’re great to look at the first few times, but eventually, you won’t really bother with it.
If you’re a longtime fan of the series, Sonic Origins might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for all these years.
But, if you are a huge fan of Sonic, then Sonic Origins is a no-brainer. You get plenty of Sonic content to justify the price. You’ll probably spend a great deal of time unlocking everything in the Museum. There is just a lot of Sonic there for you to experience.
So it depends. Sonic Origins on its own is excellent for new players and old players. But if you’re a new player, then I recommend you wait until it drops in price for a bit. If you’re a longtime fan of the series, Sonic Origins might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for all these years.
Sonic Origins is a fantastic dive into the beginning of the iconic blue hedgehog that offers plenty of content for your money. Despite this, new fans may grow tired of how similar these classic games are. Longtime fans will probably welcome how much classic retro Sonic content there is and spends hours exploring all the different modes and challenges.
