Domestic earnings crossed $187 million, while the international box office gross crossed $100 million (becoming the fastest movie in the series to reach that total). Shortly after the third movie’s release, Paramount confirmed that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is in the works and will arrive sometime in 2027. Though casting has yet to be announced, Jim Carrey (who plays Dr. Robotnik) said he’s open to returning.

On the gaming side, Sonic x Shadow Generations has been a big hit for Sega, selling over 1.5 million units in less than a month. Sega also recently announced Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds with Shadow joining the roster, though further details have yet to be revealed.

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.

Akuma – Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Did you think that M. Bison from Street Fighter 2, one of the toughest bosses in any game ever up till that point, was a wuss? Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s Akuma is the fight for you. Accessible only by reaching the last stage quickly without any continues in Arcade Mode, Akuma will appear and waylay Bison, then replace him as the final boss. In terms of abilities, he possesses the Zankuu Hadoken (which fires two Hadoken in mid-air), a teleport for quickly closing the distance, and very quick combos that take off chunks of health. Hilariously enough, his playable version isn’t as powerful but was still considered broken enough to warrant banning from tournaments.

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.

Earlier in the year, we got quite a surprise. Not only did a live action Sonic the Hedgehog film release, it was actually pretty good. And not only was it pretty good, but it actually was an unexpected success. Due to COVID-19, the movie industry is largely shut down, but the virus will one day go away or be defeated (or, at least, we hope anyway), so deals are still out to be made, and it seems a sequel is coming.

It was reported earlier that a sequel had officially been green lit by Paramount Pictures. As reported via Variety, the film now has an official release date coming out just under two years from now. As it stands, there’s no details about plot or who will be reprising their roles.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is set to race into theaters on April 8th of 2020, and let’s hope this time a multi-month delay isn’t in the cards like the first movie. As far as that original film, it’s available now on home media as well as all major VOD services.

Video game cover artist Greg Martin recently passed, according to a close friend posting on the NintendoAge forum. Martin is famous for a number of covers for video game box arts such as Pac-Man and Landstalkers but is most famous for his work done on Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

A eulogy for Martin was posted, with an excerpt stating that, “Greg was the rare person who both worked in and was a fan of the work of others in his industry. I don’t think he ever lost that sense of wonder he had as a teenager for really great artwork, and he was a collector himself of artwork, movies, art books, and other things. He was a huge fan of Frank Frazetta, Gil Elvgren, Hal Foster, and dozens if not hundreds of other artists.”

It’s never easy to deal with loss and we especially wish Martin’s family and friends the best in this time of need. The industry itself has lost a legendary figure who will nonetheless live on in our hearts and minds.

Sonic Retro’s iOS and Android port of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which originally released for the Sega Genesis in 1992 and is arguably one of the best 2D side-scrolling platformers ever created, is nearly upon us.

It’s been revealed that previously cut levels such as the Hidden Palace Zone are to be included in the new remaster. Originally, the plan was to open up this stage for those who collected all the Chaos Emeralds in the original game. These plans were nixed, but the level did make an appearance in Sonic & Knuckles.

Now, it seems to be back where it rightfully belongs. As of now, it’s likely we’ll see the Wood Zone as well, if not other interesting extras (in Sonic Retro’s port of Sonic the Hedgehog, you could play as Tails and Knuckles). Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will be arriving on Android and iOS tomorrow, so expect more details on pricing by then.

Regardless, what do think of this development? Let us know below.

(Source)

Here is a partial list of release dates:

* Sonic 2 – free for PS Plus users on April 6th, released onto PS Store on April 20th
* Streets of Rage 2 – free for Plus users on May 4th, released onto PS Store on May 18th
* Golden Axe 2 – free for Plus users on June 1st, released onto PS Store on June 15th

Thanks to Playstation EU Blog for the info.