Sonic Origins Plus is inching toward being a definitive Sonic the Hedgehog anthology of classic games, some of which are remastered. The inclusion of Amy and the Game Gear titles are arguably two steps forward, but the quality of those emulated titles in comparison to their remastered counterparts and lack of Genesis and Master System titles are two steps back. Either way, for Sonic fans who do not yet own Sonic Origins on their PS5, Sonic Origins Plus should be a very easy recommendation.
A little over a year ago, Sonic Origins released on multiple platforms. In my original review, I rated it a 9/10, justifying its inclusion of original titles in their original glory, Anniversary Mode’s refresh, additional new content in the form of animated shorts and extra modes, and its success at connecting with nostalgia as reason for earning the score. Its shortcomings existed in the form of confusing preorder packages, missing content, some of the jankiness of the platforming (underwater gravity, BOO!) and the far inferior Sonic 3 soundtrack.
One year later, Sonic Origins Plus is now available, containing all of the content from last year’s Sonic anthology with the addition of Amy, playable in the original titles for the first time ever, additional and more difficult missions and Mirror modes, and 12 emulated Game Gear titles. For the case of this review, I’ll be focusing on the new content that’s been included in the “Plus” Expansion and absent from last year’s base game. If you want our original in-depth thoughts on Sonic Origins, I recommend that you read our review of Sonic Origins before continuing further.
Sonic Origins Plus builds on what we originally thought was a great collection of Sonic titles by adding in some missing content and some original, never-before-seen content, for players to enjoy. The headlining star? Amy Rose!
Amy Rose is available as a playable character in the main Sonic titles and Sonic CD for the first time ever. While Sonic goes fast, Tails can fly, and Knuckles can glide/wall climb, Amy Rose uses her hammer to bonk enemies out of existence. Think of her ability as a safer version of Sonic’s spin jumps but with a wider circumference to account for Amy’s hammer. If anything, Amy’s ability makes her the safest and easiest character to use.
I rarely expect collections to add entirely original content to its library. Instead, I tend to expect collections to spend time updating the original content, refreshing it when needed, to ensure that current players can find enjoyment with older titles while veterans can relive their favorite gameplay experiences in their original glory. Again, Sonic Origins Plus does Sonic 1, 2, 3, and CD right by giving players the option of playing the original titles or their easier variants in Anniversary Mode. Sonic Origins Plus checks off the boxes of appealing to superfans (like me!) and new players already. Including Amy Rose is the proverbial icing on the cake that is a great collection.
Amy Rose’s sprites look fantastic, detailed, and of similar stellar quality to her counterparts. Her idle animations and level-end animations are unique, too, making her less of a Sonic-clone and more of an individual addition to the Sonic Origins Plus cast. The classic Sonic games are notable for how well they incorporate high-speed platforming with little fluff; Amy’s addition continues that trend to give players that same style of gameplay without deviating away from what makes Sonic games fun. I’m thrilled to see Amy in these classic games; should SEGA decide to add in other characters, like Shadow or Mighty the Armadillo, they should integrate them just like they did Amy to preserve the original games’ classic and fun qualities.
Knuckles has also been added to Sonic CD, filling in the gap from Sonic Origins. He plays similar to his Sonic 3 iteration, so you needn’t worry about changes to his character. I’m glad that he was added to Sonic CD for the sake of completeness — Sonic Origins was relatively complete in nature, and his addition in Sonic CD (along with Amy) makes things consistent.
Sonic Origins Plus‘ other major additions exist in the form of 12 additional Game Gear titles, including but not limited to Sonic Drift, Sonic Spinball, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. I appreciate how many were added, especially since Sonic Drift supports two players while Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine adds another “genre” of Sonic game to this collection.
Unfortunately, some of the Game Gear titles are subpar additions. I don’t mean subpar in their gameplay; I mean their sound quality and stability are lacking. When playing Sonic 1 and Sonic Chaos, it felt like my game was stuttering despite running on a PS5. Sonic Spinball had weird lags, directly impacting my ability to play. Picking up rings in several games sounded less chiptuney and more distorted, almost like the audio files themselves were somehow corrupted and playing through a burnt speaker. I tested the audio using several audio setups, and each time the audio let me down.
I don’t want you to assume that including older content, especially that which is aged, underrated, and nearly-forgotten to the sands of time, isn’t worth it if the content isn’t “good” to begin with. There’s an immense value in preserving titles in their original state and including them in a collection for the sake of completeness. However, if that collection contains upgraded versions of older titles, some level of updating is warranted on the missing titles that are to be added to the collection in an update. This is where Sonic Origins Plus really misses the mark, as they had an opportunity to dedicate that same level of love and care to the Game Gear titles as they did to the mainline Sonic entries.
This now begs the question: Is Sonic Origins Plus truly definitive? Not really, but it’s close. It’s inching closer to being definitive, at least compared to its 2022 counterpart, but not as definitive as other anthologies that have released in the past year, such as TMNT’s Cowabunga Collection and Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. It’s comparable to Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009), exceeding the previous-gen collection because of its original additions and refresh of the classic games. For it to be nearly definitive, Sonic Origins Plus should also include the remaining Sega Genesis and Master Series versions of Sonic games, such as Sonic Spinball. While the Game Gear version of Sonic Spinball is included in Sonic Origins Plus, it is not the same experience as the Genesis counterpart. Sonic Origins Plus could have taken a page out of the Cowabunga Collection’s book and included both versions of Sonic Spinball with a quick toggle to switch between the two versions, but it doesn’t. Again, my critique of Sonic Origins Plus‘ definitiveness should not be one that deters you from considering it in the larger sense. It’s a great anthology overall and should be treated as such, but it shouldn’t be considered definitive in the truest sense.
Sonic Origins players might be pleased to know that additional modes in the Premium Fun Pack are included, namely “Extreme Missions” and Mirror Mode. I’ve played enough of Sonic 2 and 3 to confidently have the levels nearly memorized. Mirror Mode effectively breaks my muscle memory and forces me to use my brain when playing. I know that sounds like I’m being sarcastic, but unlearning decades’ worth of muscle memory is tough.
At the bottom of this page, you’ll see that we’ve settled on Sonic Origins Plus to be a 8.5/10, slightly under its predecessor. This score reflects Sonic Origins Plus in its entirety. You may be wondering, “but what about the upgrade for existing Sonic Origins owners, Will? How would you rate that as a standalone DLC upgrade?” Great questions. Knowing Amy’s inclusion, the additional new (and more difficult) modes, and the Game Gear emulations, it’s incredibly hard for me to recommend the upgrade at this time for current owners of Sonic Origins, even for diehard Sonic fans. The base Sonic Origins game contains the arguably best parts of the entire anthology at this time despite it being incomplete without the Plus upgrade. Therefore, if I was to assign a score to the DLC upgrade, and only the upgrade, it would be a 6/10. If you’re a current Sonic Origins owner, consider waiting for a bit in case additional updates release that could address the stability/quality of the emulated Game Gear titles, at least.
Sonic Origins Plus is inching toward being a definitive Sonic the Hedgehog anthology of classic games, some of which are remastered. The inclusion of Amy and the Game Gear titles are arguably two steps forward, but the quality of those emulated titles in comparison to their remastered counterparts and lack of Genesis and Master System titles are two steps back. Either way, for Sonic fans who do not yet own Sonic Origins on their PS5, Sonic Origins Plus should be a very easy recommendation.
