Sonic Origins
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is a 2022 '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game compilation by Sega. It features remasters of the first four
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s in the ''Sonic'' series originally released for the Sega Genesis and the
Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
; '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991), ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed The Death Egg. Like the first ''S ...
'' (1992), ''
Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other '' Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...
'' (1993), and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis, Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), rings and defeating en ...
'' (1994). The games are playable in their original format and a new
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
format that removes
lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a '' life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...
. ''Origins'' adds additional
game mode In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-sha ...
s and missions, which allow players to unlock content in an in-game museum. ''Origins'' was conceived following the release of the 2020 ''Sonic'' film; due to the influx of new fans,
Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...
head
Takashi Iizuka , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Noa ...
wanted to make the older ''Sonic'' games available on modern hardware. It was primarily developed at Sega, though Simon Thomley, who worked on ''
Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays homage to the original S ...
'' (2017), developed the remaster of ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles''. A portion of the ''Sonic 3'' soundtrack was replaced with rearrangements by
Jun Senoue is a Japanese composer and guitarist who works for Sega, known for his various contributions in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. He is also the songwriter for the band Crush 40, which has also contributed to many ''Sonic'' games. B ...
, following speculation of licensing problems arising from
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's involvement with ''Sonic 3''. ''Origins'' was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5,
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
on June 23, 2022, the series' 31st anniversary. It received generally favorable reviews; critics praised the enhancements and presentation, but criticized the
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
, replaced music in ''Sonic 3'', lack of features, and additional bugs not present in the original games.


Content

''Sonic Origins'' compiles and
remasters Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
the first four
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series—'' Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991), ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed The Death Egg. Like the first ''S ...
'' (1992), ''
Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other '' Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...
'' (1993), and ''
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis, Genesis. Like previous ''Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting Rings (Sonic the Hedgehog), rings and defeating en ...
'' (1994)—originally released for the Sega Genesis and the
Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan ...
. The player controls Sonic the Hedgehog,
Miles "Tails" Prower , better known by his nickname , is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Tails also appears in his own spin-off series, comic books, cartoons, and films. He is the second character to consistently appear by Sonic's sid ...
, and
Knuckles the Echidna is a fictional character in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he has the ability to punch enem ...
as they attempt to stop
Doctor Robotnik Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ohshi ...
from stealing the
Chaos Emeralds is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedg ...
. They traverse side-scrolling levels at high speeds while collecting
rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
, defeating enemies and bosses, and finding secrets. Unlike the originals, the player can control Tails and Knuckles in any game, with the exception of Knuckles in ''Sonic CD''. The " ''Blue Spheres''"
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than t ...
from ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' is also included, along with an all new version called ''New Blue Spheres'', which added additional sphere types from ''
Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays homage to the original S ...
'' (2017). ''Origins'' features two versions of each game: "classic mode" is the original format, presented in 4:3, while "anniversary mode" features support for
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
displays, removes
lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a '' life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * '' Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous ...
, and allows Sonic to use the "drop dash" from ''Sonic Mania''. Both modes use the Retro Engine version of each game, aside of the emulation of the original game in classic mode. A "story mode" allows players to play through the four games sequentially in anniversary mode, with new
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
cutscenes A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
that bridge their stories, which are also seen when launching or clearing each game in either mode, respectively. New modes include a boss rush mode; a mirror mode that reverses the level layouts; and a mission mode featuring 60 additional standalone challenges, such as collecting a target number of rings within a time limit or reaching the goal without destroying any enemies. An in-game museum allows players to view a collection of music, artwork, and videos, including the ''Sonic Mania Adventures'' animated shorts originally released in 2018. Players can unlock additional museum content, such as music arrangements from later games, concept art, and cutscene animatics, by completing in-game
achievements Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality type ...
or spending coins earned through gameplay. Coins can also be spent on additional attempts in Special Stages. Players who
pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...
ed the game started with 100 coins and mirror mode unlocked. Menu aesthetics, a set of 11 harder missions, and tracks from ''
Sonic Spinball ''Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball'' is a 1993 pinball video game developed by Sega Technical Institute and published by Sega. It is a Spin-off (media), spinoff of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series set in the continuity of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog ...
'' (1993), '' Knuckles' Chaotix'' (1995) and ''
Sonic 3D Blast known in Europe and Japan as is a 1996 platform game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series for the Sega Genesis and Sega Saturn. As Sonic the Hedgehog, the player embarks on a journey to save the Flickies, birds enslaved by Doctor Robotnik ...
'' (1996) for the museum music player are available as
downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
(DLC).


Development

''Sonic Origins'' was conceived alongside '' Sonic Colors: Ultimate'' (2021) following the release of the 2020 ''Sonic'' film. Because the film brought many new fans,
Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...
head
Takashi Iizuka , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Noa ...
wanted to make older ''Sonic'' games available on modern formats. Iizuka noted that though they are frequently rereleased via
emulation Emulation may refer to: *Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system :*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles *Gaussian process em ...
, they felt "retro" on modern displays due to their 4:3 aspect ratios; he wanted ''Origins'' to modernize them with widescreen support and new features to appeal to both new and longtime fans. ''Sonic Mania'' encouraged Sonic Team that there was still an audience for 2D ''Sonic'' games and the series' 30th anniversary provided the "perfect" opportunity to develop a compilation. The compilation was developed internally at Sega, which handled the presentation and consolidation of the included games. The remasters of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Sonic 2'', and ''Sonic CD'' are based on the
remakes A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sam ...
made in the
Retro Engine The Retro Engine is a multiplatform game engine developed by Australian programmer Christian Whitehead, best known for its use in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Overview Unlike most modern game engines, the Retro Engine is primarily tai ...
released between 2011 and 2013;
Christian Whitehead Christian Whitehead, also known by his alias The Taxman, is an Australian video game programmer and designer. He is most recognized for his work creating updated ports of early games in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, as well as being th ...
, creator of the Retro Engine, updated it to allow the remakes to run in a compilation. The ''Origins'' team prioritized the main ''Sonic'' series, so they did not consider including other 2D ''Sonic'' games, such as those released for the
Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...
, ''Knuckles' Chaotix'', and the ''
Sonic Advance is a 2001 platform game developed by Dimps for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It was the first ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game released on a Nintendo console with '' Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'' on the GameCube, and was produced in commemoration of ...
'' series.
Powerhouse Animation Studios Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Austin, Texas. It was founded in April 2001 with a subsidiary called Powerhouse Animation LLC, established in summer of 2014. The company develops and produces tradition ...
produced the new cutscenes with longtime ''Sonic'' artist Tyson Hesse, with a script written by ''Sonic'' comic book writer
Ian Flynn Ian Flynn (born May 31, 1982), also known by his Internet pen name Ian Potto, is an American comic book writer. He was chief writer for Archie Comics's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' since issue #160, after the departure of the previous chief writer Ken P ...
and featuring arranged music by ''Sonic Mania'' composer Tee Lopes. Simon Thomley and his studio Headcannon, who worked on the Retro Engine remakes and ''Sonic Mania'', developed the ''Origins'' remaster of ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles''. Thomley said he was contracted to develop the remaster separately from ''Origins''. The compilation marks ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' first rerelease since 2011, following speculation that soundtrack licensing problems arising from
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's involvement with ''Sonic 3'' were preventing new releases. As Sega was unable to use the soundtrack for ''Origins'', Sonic Team composer
Jun Senoue is a Japanese composer and guitarist who works for Sega, known for his various contributions in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. He is also the songwriter for the band Crush 40, which has also contributed to many ''Sonic'' games. B ...
rearranged several tracks originally written for ''Sonic 3'' prior to Jackson's involvement; they were previously featured in the 1997 '' Sonic & Knuckles Collection'' for
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
. Thomley said he and the Headcannon team were unhappy with the version of ''Origins'' that Sega released, and that it did not represent Headcannon's work. He said they developed the ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' remaster under crunch conditions for a strict deadline, that Sega would not delay it, and that Sega had introduced bugs when integrating it in ''Origins''. According to Thomley, the Headcannon team "were outsiders creating a separate project that was then wrangled into something entirely different".


Release

''Sonic Origins'' was announced during a livestream commemorating the ''Sonic'' franchise's 30th anniversary on May 27, 2021, and was released on June 23, 2022—the series' 31st anniversary—for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...
. Prior to release, Sega delisted the existing versions of the games from most digital stores. The move received criticism on
video game preservation Video game preservation is a form of preservation applied to the video game industry that includes, but is not limited to, digital preservation. Such preservation efforts include archiving development source code and art assets, digital copies o ...
grounds and for preventing consumers from choosing their preferred versions. It was compared to
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
delisting ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily d ...
'' games before the release of the compilation '' Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition'' (2021), a decision that was reversed following backlash.


Reception

According to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, ''Sonic Origins'' received "mixed or average" reviews for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4; it received "generally favorable reviews" for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Zoey Handley of ''
Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. History ...
'' felt that the compilation was lacking and lamented the lack of more substantial additions, writing: "The whole idea behind the new collection was apparently to 'modernize' the games; moving them into a new engine rather than simply emulating them. If that's the case, why stop with widescreen?" Brian Shea of ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'', by contrast, praised the enhancements made to the Anniversary mode, writing, "The ''Sonic Origins'' package is terrific overall... Having the best versions of the classic Sonic saga in one bundle is supremely satisfying." Heidi Kemps (''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'') and Stephen Tailby (''
Push Square Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
'') felt that while the additions made to the compilation justified the purchase for fans, its lackluster presentation and unnecessary downloadable content hindered ''Origins''' overall quality. Kemps noted that "even the recreations of the games themselves have some issues, with strange bugs that weren't present in the originals". John Linneman of ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
'' also criticized the bugs, stating "most aren't game breaking, but the sheer number of them impact the overall experience", specifically mentioning a recurring bug in ''Sonic 2'' that made Tails get stuck as the player progresses through the level. Jacob Bukacek of ''Hardcore Gamer'' felt that the new versions "aren't all that much better than the originals" and that the compilation "doesn't manage to justify the price tag". TJ Denzer of '' Shacknews'' was more forgiving, praising the added museum, Boss Rush mode, tight controls, and remaster quality, but disliked the lack of multiple saves and console commands. Sam Machkovech of '' Ars Technica'' criticized the downloadable content, lack of a rewind or save state option, and the delisting of the existing versions from most digital stores, calling it "a tragic example of good classics ruined by greed". Regarding the game's lack of bonus content, ''
VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. History The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, ...
'' Mike Minotti wrote that "compared to, say, the 3D explorable world with its multiple media museums from ''Sonic Jam'', it's a bit bare", but concluded that "a few oddities aside, these are fantastic remasters. Even if you're a Sonic fan who already owns these games in other compilations, ''Origins'' is worth it." ''Sonic 3'' replaced music received criticism. ''Destructoid'' said the replacement tracks "just feel wrong" and were inconsistent with the rest of the soundtrack, and ''Ars Technica'' said they did not compare well to the original tracks. ''Game Informer'' felt they stripped the levels of their nostalgic feel, but that replacing the music was better than omitting ''Sonic 3'' entirely.


Notes


References


External links


Official website
{{Sega video game compilations 2022 video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation 5 games Sega video game compilations Sonic the Hedgehog video games Windows games Xbox One games Xbox Series X and Series S games