There will also be multiple new methods to play the four included games, with everything tied into a central ecosystem of collectible coins. You can take part in the games in their original, 4:3 forms in Classic Mode if you like, but the new Anniversary/Story modes are where it’s at. Playing any of the titles in Anniversary Mode gets you essentially the same game, however with widescreen support and also the ability to choose Sonic, Tails or Knuckles as the playable character (no Lock-On technology needed!) as well as the removal of lives. Yep, no game over screens here – with unlimited lives everything instantly turns into a lot more accessible than before.
Story Mode, however, puts all games and also the new animated sequences in chronological order (Sonic 1, Sonic CD, 2 and then 3) in a single long run with Sonic because the only playable character. Then there’s also a Boss Rush option readily available for each game in addition to a Mission Mode that provides up a number of objective-based versions of levels where you’ll need to meet goals in order to unlock harder missions and earn plenty of the all-important coins.
Those coins, that you simply earn over the extra modes in addition to Anniversary/Story instead of life pick-ups and therefore are carried across every game, are useful for 2 things. Firstly they’re used to unlock everything in the Museum, that is stacked filled with a lot of pretty cool memorabilia from covers to manuals, never-before-seen art and documents not to mention a lot of music. More useful though may be the ability to cash them directly into restart any of the bonus stages across the games, which have always been a pain point given they’re increasingly simple to fail and crucial to seeing the real endings of each game. If you’re keen to finish all of the titles in Sonic Origins you’ll definitely wish to hang onto your coins for your purpose.
All said, this is a decent little package with some neat wrinkles to make playing these games more fun than ever, and I’d be lying basically said I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with the way it’s all presented. The games themselves look razor sharp and run impeccably, though it’s a bit disappointing there aren’t any extra visual options or filters made available given these happen to be rebuilt from scratch. I also really wish a “rewind” feature similar to those incorporated with previous emulated Sonic collections was available in at least the Classic mode to further mitigate frustration. The front end menu, which presents each game like a gorgeously-rendered 3D island, is totally unnecessary but looks great, and you may even zoom into and inspect each one of these – provided you taken care of the privilege.
Yep, the one real blight on this whole collection is the fact that SEGA has witnessed fit to nickel-and-dime fans from a bizarre choice of extras that are locked to the “Digital Deluxe Edition”. While only $7 approximately more costly compared to base version, the truth that the greater expensive version contains things like camera controls and animations in Sonic Origins’ menus feels a little gross. It’s also a touch jarring to play Sonic 3 & Knuckles with what’s seemingly a very early iteration of their soundtrack, included here in host to what’s always been suggested was a soundtrack composed in collaboration with Michael Jackson, but that likely couldn’t have been helped if there’s any truth to people rumours.
We’ve had plenty of retro Sonic compilations before, and also the cynic within me wants so badly to determine this as just another inside a long line of nostalgia grabs amid the continuing futile attempts at modern franchise entries. The truth is, the very first time in ages this feels like an authentic celebration of the blue blur’s beginnings, created using care along with a reverence for the source material. Weird Deluxe Edition choices aside, anyway.
