Sonic Adventure

Yes, it had some iffy voice acting and lip syncing. Yes, there were some bugs and collision issues. But the first time I saw that cinematic with Chaos wreaking havoc in Station Square as “Open Your Heart” played, I knew Sonic Adventure would be incredible. It offered gorgeous Action Stages to explore in Emerald Coast, Windy Valley, and Speedy Highway while each playable character offered their own unique gameplay hook.

E-101 with its lock-on shooting, Knuckles with the exploration and Chaos Emerald hunting, Amy and her struggle to escape ZERO – there was plenty of good and a bit bad, as seen with Big the Cat’s mercifully short fishing stages. Nevertheless, Sonic Adventure served as an incredible transition from 2D to 3D with its sense of speed, unforgettable music and gameplay.

Four “Remakes”

As the name implies, Sonic Origins focuses on the original Sonic the Hedgehog titles from the Sega Genesis era (which also includes the short-lived Sega CD). Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles (the combo of Sonic 3 with Sonic and Knuckles), and Sonic CD are all included in one package for $40. These are all remade on the Retro Engine, which Sonic Mania was also developed on. Along with high resolution visuals, each title also has new opening and ending animations.

Story Mode

While you could play each game separately, the new “Story Mode” ties them all together, allowing one to play them sequentially and experience the entire saga with animated cutscenes bridging each game. How does Sonic meet Tails in the lead-up to Sonic 2? How do the two know about the mysterious floating island and travel there? For that matter, how does the conclusion of Sonic 3 and Knuckles tie into Sonic CD? The new Story Mode should hopefully provide the answers to these long-burning questions.

Classic and Anniversary Modes

Each title in the collection can also be played in two separate modes – Classic and Anniversary. Classic is the original version with a 4:3 aspect ratio and limited lives. Anniversary offers the new updated resolution in wide-screen format with no limit on lives. So while the difficulty more or less stays the same for the latter, you’re now welcome to retry as many times as possible. Of course, those who insist on enjoying the games in their original, challenging states are able to do so.

Sonic Mania Developer Involved

Aside from the engine, Sonic Mania has a bit of an effect on Origins with the Drop Dash from the former being incorporated into Sonic’s moveset (but only in Anniversary Mode). That’s not all though – developer Headcannon has also played a significant role in the collection’s development. Along with assisting in pre-production for Sonic CD and co-developing Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, it also developed the Sonic 3 and Knuckles remaster. Considering how much fun Sonic Mania was, it’s good to see the developer being on board throughout Origins and contributing in such a significant way.

Boss Rush

If you want to skip through the platforming sections and simply take on each game’s bosses, then there’s good news. Each title has a new Boss Rush mode that lets you do just that. The particulars still need to be clarified though like whether there are leaderboards, if you get anything from completing them and so on and so forth. Will there be a one-hit kill option where you must defeat every boss without taking any damage? We don’t know but it should be fun to find out.

Mirror Mode

Though these are technically remakes rebuilt on the Retro Engine, they’re still the classics that fans know and love. As such, a lot of this is going to look familiar, for better or worse. If you want to mix up playthroughs of Green Hill Zone and Stardust Speedway, then there’s the new Mirror Mode. This essentially flips the level’s layout, so instead of going from left to right, you travel from right to left. It may sound deceptively simple but may also screw with your muscle memory, forcing you to adapt to the new challenge.

Mission Mode

For those looking to further spice up their runs, there’s Mission Mode. This adds several different objectives for each game in the collection, like slaying five Caterkillers and reaching the goal in Sonic the Hedgehog 1. Completing a mission confers Coins. There are four grades based on how well the objective is completed with C being the lowest and the highest being S – higher grades equals more Coins earned. With multiple missions for each game, there’s plenty to keep one busy.

Coins and Museum Content

So what do you spend the Coins on? Content from the Museum, of course. Though Sega has yet to outline all of the unlockable content, it’s confirmed that tracks from other titles (Sonic Spinball) are included. There will also likely be illustrations, wallpapers, animated cutscenes (like from Sonic CD) and other goodies to unlock. Coins can also be spent on playing special stages.

Start Dash Pack, Premium Fun Pack and Classic Music Pack DLC

Here’s where things get very confusing. The Standard Edition only includes the base game but pre-ordering will get you the Start Dash Pack for free. This includes 100 Bonus Coins to start with, a Letterbox Background for playing through Classic Mode, and Mirror Mode unlocked. Mirror Mode doesn’t seem restricted to this pack – instead, it seems that buying it will grant instant access to the same though Sega has yet to clarify.

Then there’s the Premium Fun Pack which can’t be purchased separately at present. It includes Hard Missions for Mission Mode (which, again, can presumably be unlocked through regular play), a Letterbox Background, Character Animations in the Main Menu, camera controls over the Main Menu’s Islands, and Character Animations during the Music Islands. The Classic Music Pack, which also hasn’t been priced separately, offers additional tracks from the Sega Genesis titles. You can get both of these in the Digital Deluxe Edition.

However, if you don’t pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition (which costs $45), then you’re missing out on the Start Dash Pack’s content. How much that will cost separately after launch also remains to be seen. Not exactly the most ideal breakup of DLC that a retro game collection should have but hopefully most of this will be included in-game and simply requires Coins to unlock.

PC System Requirements

For PC players, Sonic Origins requires an Intel Core i5-2400 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.2 GHz with 6 GB of RAM and a GTX 760 or Radeon HD 7870 with 2 GB VRAM at minimum. This is to run the game at 720p resolution and 60 FPS. Recommended requirements include a Core i5-4570 3.2 GHz or Ryzen 3 1300X 3.4 GHz with 8 GB of RAM and either a GTX 770 or Radeon R9 280. You wouldn’t think four remakes of classic titles that are remarkably similar to the originals would need so much RAM but alas, here we are.

There have been next to no updates on the collection since then, but it seems that could change soon. Recently, Sonic Origins was given a classification rating by South Korea’s ratings committee, the Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC), suggesting that an update regarding its release date could be coming soon.

When Sonic Origins was announced last year, Sega didn’t mention any platforms for it, and that information still hasn’t been unveiled. The collection will include Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and Sonic CD, along with “fresh content” that Sega has yet to detail.

Meanwhile, later this year, open world 3D platformer Sonic Frontiers will be launching for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Sega celebrated Sonic’s 35th anniversary in style, with a number of major new announcements. A new mainline game in the series was announced for 2022, while the remaster Sonic Colors Ultimate was also announced. At the same time, Sonic Origins was also announced for fans of the series who’re looking for something much more classic and old-school.

Sonic Origins will compile four of the series’ original games- Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Not much is known about the nature of this collection, such as what kind of enhancements we can expect, but Sega does say the collection will also include “fresh content”, which should excite fans of the series. More details are going to be revealed later on.

Right now, Sega hasn’t announced what platforms Sonic Origins will be releasing for, but we do know that it’s launching some time in 2022. Check out its teaser trailer below, courtesy of IGN.

After Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb teased games coming to Xbox Game Pass in March, starting with Rise of the Tomb Raider, we now have the full slate of other titles in-bound. According to Xbox Wire, these games are Sea of Thieves, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil Revelations 2, The Final Station, Euro Fishing, Sonic CD, Oxenfree and Super Lucky’s Tale.

To be fair, Sea of Thieves was already known beforehand when Microsoft announced that Xbox One exclusives would be launching on the same day for Game Pass as retail. The other titles don’t look all that bad, especially Oxenfree, Sonic CD and Resident Evil Revelations 2.

Among other Xbox One exclusives coming to the service are future titles in the Halo, Gears of War and Forza franchises, State of Decay 2, Crackdown 3 and much more. The service is currently available for $9.99 per month and features 100 available titles for playing at any given time.

Boss Theme – Sonic CD

As a boss theme trying to represent the vileness of Eggman, this t-heme from the US version of Sonic CD was fitting. That is, until you listen past the 20 second mark which is when it descends into a David Lynch film and then a Dario Argento film. Neither of those is something you want to see as a kid by the way, forget hearing about it as an innocent child (relatively speaking).

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

John Romero’s Head – Doom 2

Perhaps the epitome of strange discoveries, Doom 2 players discovered id Software co-founder John Romero’s head behind the Icon of Sin when the no-clip mode was activated. It’s interesting because Romero’s head is actually the weak point for the boss and he even says you need to kill him (with his words running backwards of course).

Never owned a SEGA CD? Didn’t pick up a copy of the Sonic Gems? Chances are then that you missed out on the wonder of Sonic CD. The blue hedgehog is only just beginning to claw his way back to the brilliance of his early days and here is a chance to pick up a classic title you may never have played before! Tails is even in it as a fully playable character this time! The game should be up on XBLA now, pricing at 400 MS points, and should be on PSN now in Europe and out on the 20th in the US. Check out the developer diary above for more info on how awesome this game is.

Thanks to Siliconera for the info.

Check out this new trailer from Sonic CD, due for the iP, Mob, PC, PS3 and X360.

Following the classic story of the original, Sonic CD sees Dr Eggman plan to cause chaos and take control of the future by stealing Time Stones from the Little Planet. Sonic must speed through levels and travel through time while fending off Eggman’s robots to recover the Time Stones, and save Amy Rose from his mechanical twin, Metal Sonic.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Oh yeah, the very acclaimed but under played and under ported Sonic CD is making its way to consoles people actually own! Created for the ill fated Sega CD, hence the title, Sonic CD has for years had the reputation of a forgotten classic. With the little blue critter’s most recent output having been shaky at best and his more popular retro titles having been ported to the point of losing all meaning, the idea of getting access to classic Sonic that many people have not encountered seems like a smooth move. The game is due out on Xbox 360 and PS3 in the last quarter of the year.