Other than having some content locked behind frustrating pay/pre-order walls, this is an almost perfect nostalgic collection. If you love the original Sonic games, Origins is simply one of the best ways to revisit them!

Growing up I was (as you’ve probably heard/guessed by now) more of an old-school Mario fan than I was of Sonic. In fact, barring a level or two at friends’ homes or at a random store display, it wasn’t until much later in life that I was finally able to see the credits for the original Sonic The Hedgehog. However, as a huge fan of platformers and of retro games in general I’ve done my best over the last few years to dive into the Sonic series. So, I was over the moon to see the Origins collection – not only because it was coming to the Switch but also because it would feature Sonic CD and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles – two games I had never played. Plus, the fact that the collection also includes Sonic 1 & 2, several museum items and some remastered features (like a gorgeous 16×9 aspect ratio) – it’s easy to see why Sonic Origins was on my ‘most-anticipated’ list. Thankfully, the collection doesn’t disappoint and barring some frustrating marketing decisions and a little UI irritation here and there – Origins is a great addition to the libraries of longtime fans and thanks to some modern additions may even entice new players too.

Old-school Sonic – upgraded 

As these are remasters of some of the most iconic games in video game history I won’t go into too many details in terms of specific gameplay; Odds are you’ve either played these games already or at least have a very good idea of what to expect. Where classic Mario is all about intentional, pixel-perfect jumps – Sonic games are all about speeding around as quickly as possible and exploring multiple paths before reaching the end of the level with as many coins as possible. If you’re more familiar with the former, Sonic’s faster momentum-based movement does take some getting used to.  First-time players will likely struggle with some of the later levels (across the series) as Sonic’s twitchy controls, relentless velocity and unique health system can be a bit punishing (having coins means you can get endure a hit by an enemy, but doing so also sends your coins all over the place). However, once you ’embrace the pace’ it’s an exhilarating experience. And managing your coins while completing levels and taking on Eggman and his maniacal mechanical creations – is still as much fun now as it seemingly was all those years ago.

Once you ’embrace the pace’ it’s an exhilarating experience… and still as much fun now as it seemingly was all those years ago.

The reason I enjoyed this collection as much as I did was thanks to the new Anniversary Mode. While Classic Sonic (with the limited lives and 4:3 aspect ratio is available for those that want it), the new mode not only provides us with the awesome up-resed old-school pixelated visuals now in an even brighter 16:9 widescreen, but you also have unlimited lives, no time-limits and apparently even some tweaks to the gameplay itself. While not being an expert on how the original games felt means I probably didn’t notice all the subtle changes – I’m happy to report that I was able to enjoy my time with each of the four games not only thanks to their nostalgically-stunning art styles and music but also because of some very smooth and engaging gameplay – now also featuring Tails and Knuckles. Now, that isn’t to say that that classic difficulty has all been removed…Sonic 2‘s final boss level, for example, still gives me nightmares (even in this collection), however, all-in-all it feels like a much more welcoming experience than I suspect the original versions provided.

In fact, in terms of how Origins lays everything out, my only (pretty tiny) gripe is how the Story Mode (which seamlessly stitches all four games into one story) is only the final selection option in the Main Menu. The first screen you see is an option to jump into Sonic 1, and then Sonic CD and so on. Each has its own separate screen, and I eagerly hopped into them and played the games in order… only later realising that there was a Story Mode as the final option. Sure, I probably should’ve done a little exploring first, but I suspect I won’t be the only one who makes this mistake. Thankfully even experiencing it the way I did, you’re still treated to the new animated cutscenes (which are great) and so not much is lost overall.

Awesome up-resed old-school pixelated visuals now in an even brighter 16:9 widescreen, plus unlimited lives and apparently even some tweaks to the gameplay itself!

Mostly Marvellous Modes & Museum

In recent times (I’m looking at you Nintendo) some classic collections have left a lot to be desired. While completely remaking/remastering older titles is, understandably, not always possible, I am disappointed with collections that have no additional modes or even worse have very few (if any) museum features. However, the Origins collection shines in this department. Each of the four games has Boss Rush and Mirror Modes (plus a few other bonus levels). These are fun little distractions and allow play in short bursts. The only small issue I had with the bonus levels is that to access them you not only need at least 50 coins when you reach the end of the level (which is not an issue on its own) but as you reach the end-of-level sign-post you have to jump up and hit a hovering ring. However, you only have a few seconds to do this before it disappears and the fact that you’re often zipping and zooming as fast as possible to hit that mark it’s quite easy to miss – and I couldn’t quite get why this was a necessary additional step. Let me play the bonus levels!

On the Museum side – it’s really just more smiles from me. Completing levels unlocks everything from a variety of sounds and music from the original games, movie clips (the new animated sequences, Sonic Orchestra performances as well as Sonic Mania Adventure episodes) and my personal favourite – a huge collection of illustrations; These include some classic Sonic drawings, catalogues and even a selection of Sonic games’ box arts from around the world. As a collector, this really warms my heart and while it sounds perfect (and is… almost) the fact that to access all the content you need to use in-game currency to ‘purchase’ some of the premium content and even that for some reason some of the content is only available in certain editions feels like the self imposed-rarity we see a way to much these days when buying games and really doesn’t feel in-step with the rest of this great classic collection.

In the additional Modes and Museum department, there’s so much to love – and only strange marketing choices stop this from being a perfect nostalgic collection.

Sonic Success

It seems we have returned to the golden age of Sonic; Be it on the silver screen with two pretty impressive movies, the upcoming Sonic Frontiers 3D game which aims to take the blue blur into the future, or this excellent look into the past… Sonic is seeing an awesome resurgence these days and I for one am all for it!