Sonic Origins Plus is, at its core, a collection of some of the best games in the hedgehog's lineup. Unlike most other rereleases of these games, Sonic Origins includes the remastered versions of Sonic 1, 2, and CD, originally developed by independent developers Christian Whitehead (aka the Taxman) and Stealth of Headcannon, along with a newly-developed remaster of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, itself developed by Headcannon.

Origins attempts to tackle the daunting task of celebrating our favorite blue hedgehog's original legacy in a comprehensive, complete, fulfilling way with the love and care these games deserve.
Despite this excellent foundation Sonic Team had to build off, though, they just weren't Up 2 It.

The games included here are remastered in widescreen and run flawlessly. Playing the Genesis Sonic games in hi-res with a smooth frame rate is, of course, an excellent feeling and absolutely the ideal way to play these games.
For all intents and purposes, Sonics 1, 2, and CD function nearly-identically to the mobile ports released in the early-mid 2010s. There are some small differences here, for better or for worse - but these remasters serve as an excellent foundation to build upon.
I've personally wanted a console port of these versions for years now. It's genuinely exciting to get the chance to play these games with an actual controller on a TV. The Taxman/Stealth versions of these three games are, by all regards, the definitive ways to play these games - it's hard to really see any significant downsides compared to the original Sega Genesis versions unless you're an absolute purist. There are differences that the most dedicated of Sonic fans may notice, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons here.

Unfortunately, that isn't the whole story. Sonic Origins takes the opportunity to alter these games in ways that, frankly, don't add to the experience in any significant way.
Included in the collection is an "anniversary" mode - a spruced-up and enhanced version of the games, with the full roster of playable characters, the Drop Dash from Sonic Mania, and no lives/game-over system - instead, you unlock Medals, which unlock Museum content. This is a great concept! Unfortunately, it's marred by an unfortunate downside. The "classic" mode is locked to 4:3, and more closely emulates the original experience - these aren't emulation, mind you, but the remasters, locked in 4:3 with all new additions stripped. This is the only way you can play the game with the classic lives system. You cannot play with lives, in widescreen - it's one or the other.
I think the concept of a Sonic experience without a life counter or a game over is a great one, and makes it more accessible to newcomers. The fact this comes with the downside of barring people from playing the games as originally designed in widescreen, though, makes this a frustrating design choice.

The collection has also introduced other flaws - for instance, there's a fairly half-hearted feeling pop-up menu that occurs during things like character selection. It feels unpolished and slap-dash, and isn't cohesive with the games themselves. Other technical issues and bugs were introduced through the implementation of these ports, and very few of these have been fixed with the updated re-release.


Sonic 3's remaster is new to this collection. This port was developed in the months leading up to release by Headcannon, who worked on previous Classic Sonic releases, without direct involvement from Christian Whitehead.

It's a version of the game that, on surface level, feels on par with the level of quality and polish of the others included. Unfortunately, though, this remaster was rushed through development to meet strict Sega guidelines. As a result, the game wasn't polished to the level of the others. Bugs and glitches were left in the final release, others occurred solely as a result of Sonic Team's implementation into their engine. These faults are not those of Headcannon, who pushed for the best version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles as they could deliver, but on Sega and Sonic Team for not providing them the time they needed. It's frustrating as a fan and it's almost assuredly frustrating in their shoes to be left with a product that just isn't fully up to snuff.

I feel to most casual fans, it should manage just fine. It isn't broken. It functions about as you'd expect. But as someone who's well-versed in these games, it's off. The game didn't get the fine-tuning it deserves, and that's just a shame, honestly. It's a serviceable way to play through Sonic 3, but I don't know that it's the best way to.

This is, of course, ignoring the elephant in the room. (Mario joke goes here.)
Sonic 3 did not get a mobile port with 1, 2, and CD. The game had to wait years for this remaster - and not without reason. Sonic 3 is a game mired in legal troubles. Significant portions of the soundtrack were composed by the sound team of Michael Jackson, who was removed from the project shortly before launch. Despite hiring a composer to replace the Jackson-affiliated tracks, the messy development of Sonic 3 & Knuckles meant at least a portion of these tracks made it into the game released. These tracks were replaced for the PC port a few years later, but it took until 2019, when an early prototype was discovered, for the general public to discover the non-Jackson versions of these tunes were in fact intended for the Sega Genesis release after all.

The point being - Sonic Origins is the first rerelease of Sonic 3 in more than a decade, and to exist at all, it had to replace the Jackson tracks mired in legal troubles - Jun Senoue was tapped to compose new renditions of the tracks originally composed for the Genesis game (ie: the prototype tracks) using the original Sega Genesis music synthesizer.
That is not what we got. The tracks included in Sonic Origins are, in fact, speculated to be earlier versions of the prototype music, with less polished instrumentation than those originally leaked in the prototype. These are unfinished tunes that are not only different than the original game, but worse than anything in the final. Listen, I don't mind the tracks being replaced. If it's that or never get Sonic 3 again, I will take different music. It's a sacrifice worth making. But it's unfortunate that the tracks included here aren't even the best versions of these tracks known to exist.
Senoue did, actually, create a single new composition for this release. The track that plays as Super Sonic is a unique composition created for this game - and it shows.
I don't mean to sound rude, but this new track is not good. It's very reminiscent to the compositions used in games like Sonic Forces and Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and is very jarring compared to the rest of the tracks, which at least consistently have a Sega Genesis origin.
It's an arbitrary decision - it feels artificial, cheap, shoehorned in when it wasn't necessary.
That sentence could be said about a lot of the changes in this collection.

Sonic Origins Plus introduces Amy Rose to the Classic Sonic sidescrolling games. Her inclusion primarily serves to promote the upcoming Sonic Superstars.
She doesn't add much to this game. She really does not. Other playable characters - Tails, Knuckles, as well as Sonic Mania's Mighty and Ray - work as well as they do because they provide a different set of options to the player and how they tackle zones. They provide unique movement options that make each of them stand out in their own distinct way. Amy, in Origins, does not do this. Her moves here function as variations on Sonic's moves - her mid-air hammer attack feels like a longer-lasting insta-shield, and her running hammer attack is fundamentally just a weaker, less effective Drop Dash. I can think of no practical reason Amy provides anything different, or better, than Sonic in casual gameplay - it feels like it fundamentally goes against what made the other characters work so well in the first place. Why is she here? This feels like a hollow addition - one serving to promote a new game. Sonic Superstars previews show she's received a second jump in that game - why is that not here? Why are their movesets different in the first place? This is a baffling inclusion, and as a significant selling point of Origins Plus, it just doesn't work for me.

This release also adds Knuckles into Sonic CD, new to the Plus update. This wasn't an option in the original 2011 release, so it's nice to see it finally come to fruition. Knuckles' climbing, gliding, and explorative playstyle work really well with the kinds of level design Sonic CD has on offer - it's a natural addition to this game's playstyle and I'm happy to see it. It's frustrating, though, to see this release as paid DLC for buyers of the original Sonic Origins release. Frankly, this should have been here from the get-go. It's nice to see it happen, but I'm not happy with it being in this way.


Sonic Origins Plus has a smattering of additional content alongside the remasters. Unfortunately, very little of it feels truly substantial or meaningful, though, especially compared to prior remasters. There's a selection of art and music, but nothing truly groundbreaking. I feel like making these an unlockable is fun, but I don't feel the selection on offer is varied or interesting enough to really excel beyond 'neat'.

Included is a story mode - which is essentially a sequential playthrough of the four games with bridging cutscenes. Fairly unremarkable gameplay-wise, though I love seeing these animations. Relatively unremarkable overall, though a fun enough way to play through the four back-to-back.
There's also a Mission Mode included. These missions can be fun, but oftentimes they feel haphazardly designed - closer to a Sonic Forces stage than anything you'd see in an original Classic Sonic game - and they don't add much to the experience, honestly.

As of the Origins Plus update, this compilation now includes 12 Game Gear games! Wow, 16 whole games!!! That's fun, I guess. These aren't that enjoyable to go back to, and their presence here really feels like filler more than anything. The choice of exclusively Game Gear titles feels baffling when there's much more to reach from - Sonic 3D Blast! Knuckles' Chaotix! Sonic the Fighters! Sonic R, even? Adding a wider selection of emulated games would have made this collection feel much more complete, more comprehensive, and more fun.


Sonic Origins Plus is a collection that lacks the vision, coherence, polish and dignity that a collection of these excellent video games deserve. It does about the bare minimum to deliver enjoyable versions of these games, but the clear flaws of the presentation unfortunately effect the handful of positives present. This is probably, still, your best way to play these games on a console - though this isn't really saying a ton, considering they delisted most ROM releases from storefronts, most likely to finally clean up the lingering Sonic 3 releases with Jackson tunes - but it's so far from ideal. A straight port of the mobile versions would likely function better than the form presented in this compilation, and that's disappointing.

I'm aware this is GBAtemp - a site for enthusiasts of modding and fan projects. With that in mind, I feel like I can't ignore the obvious - there are other ways to play these games in a remastered form. Decompilations of the 1/2/CD mobile ports exist, as does Sonic 3 AIR, a widescreen implementation of Sonic 3 on Genesis. These fan projects together represent an alternate way to play these games, and one most would (rightfully) consider superior. You don't need Origins Plus to play Knuckles in CD. You don't need Origins to play Sonic 3 in widescreen - and AIR is, by all accounts, a better version.

But I feel it's unfair to let these options affect my judgment of Sonic Origins too much. It deserves to stand on its own merits, and it deserves to face its own flaws, not to be seen as worse strictly in comparison to fan projects. Unfortunately, even then, Sonic Origins is a lackluster experience. I had a higher opinion of this at launch, under the expectation that it would get the polish it needed through patches and updates. A year later, little has changed in regards to the flaws that have been here since launch, despite it receiving a significant content update in the form of DLC. It's difficult to view Sonic Origins Plus in a positive light, and not as a calculated move designed to entice people to double-dip on a physical copy.
The collection is certainly passable, but not much more than that. It's an okay way to play the Classic Sonic lineage, but it's one that lacks the polish, care, and heart that the remasters included were crafted with. And that's no good.