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Description
SONIC ORIGINS PLUS.
Developed by: Sonic Team.
Published by: Sega.
Genre: Platformer/Compilation.
Rated: U (Suitable for everyone).

Between a thriving comic series, birthday bash DLC, his cartoon on Netflix, two major game releases and a potential third movie trailer later this year, it looks like everything's coming up Sonic the Hedgehog at the moment. Yes, he's had some stumbles in recent years, but Sega finally have a clear idea of what they want to do with this franchise again.

Give them a couple of weeks. I'm sure they'll find some way to fuck it up yet again.

This one's gonna be short but sweet. Sonic Origins Plus is the same four titles you've played in your childhood and that's about it really. However, it's the addition of a playable Amy Rose who can turn Super Saiyan that got me intrigued; Because without Amy being playable, I wouldn't have bothered with this collection as I didn’t need to replay them for the five hundredth time.

Before I go on, I should probably press on that point a bit more. Despite all the marketing bluster about Amy finally being playable in the classic games, she’s nothing more than a download code packaged with the same game as last year. Oh Sega. One step forward and two steps back! At least Peach and Rosalina were playable in Super Mario 3D World and not a glorified expansion pack a year later. I know this is a weird thing to harp on, but don't advertise your game as having Amy playable when it’s basically the same game as last year, but with a DLC code packed into the box. Oh yeah and they threw in some Game Gear games as well, but I doubt anyone's really gonna be playing those (except for Sonic Chaos, that one was really fun).

There's also some weird illusions to Sonic Spinball (Mega Drive version) and Sonic 3D: Flickies Island in the selection menu yet neither game is present on the cartridge. Either that's some future DLC foreshadowing, or just a strange reference for two games Sega have no intention of adding to the package itself.

Downloadable gripes to one side, Amy is the highlight of this entire collection. There's something cathartic about Amy beating Metal Sonic in a foot race and saving the day in Sonic CD. It kinda breaks the immersion when the ending plays the Sonic CD animated cutscene of Sonic rescuing her. Again, one step forward and two steps back.

Because Classic Amy is about as skilled as Biden on a bicycle (or doing anything), Origins Plus upgrades her abilities to make her more in line with her male counterpart. She can now perform a spindash, has increased speed, a variation of the Sonic 3 insta-shield and she's even ninja'd Mania's drop dash technique (though not as effective as Sonic's). The very existence of Super Amy feels like Origins Plus has taken a sledgehammer to this so-called list of "restrictions" people like to keep referencing online about the Sonic franchise. She can spawn an infinite number of hammers and toss them, Belmont style, at the poor bastard that gets in her way.

I'm fully aware Origins was plagued with bugs, errors, glitches and other technical hiccups. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones because I've yet to encounter a single error while playing Plus. That might have something to do with that patch update I installed the moment I put this game into my Nintendo Switch. Moral of this story: Give it a couple of weeks and wait for the predictable patch to come out. I'm not trying to diminish or downplay anyone's bad experiences, but since I didn't experience them, I'm not going to comment on something just to "whinge for views."

However, there's one glaring issue with this collection that no patches can ever hope to fix - The replacement Sonic 3 soundtrack. While Angel Island, Hydrocity and Marble Garden remain the killer tracks I remember, it's only when you reach Carnival Night that the rest of the soundtrack decides to kill itself. This is likely due to Michael Jackson's contributions to the game and Sega distancing themselves from him (possiby due to the false allegations about his private life). It's like having Stevie Wonder belting out some of his best songs during a live show, before being replaced by a tone deaf busker for the second half to butcher the rest of his classics. It’s not an absolute deal breaker for me, but they should have replaced the entire soundtrack if they were going to take this route.

To end on a positive, Origins Plus is the definitive way I intend to play the classic games now. Anniversary mode does away with the tired lives system, so I can die and retry as many times as I like. In their place is a new Coin system. When you collect 100 rings, find the right TV monitor, score enough points or get a continue bonus during Special Stages, you’re gifted with Coins which can be used to either buy content from the games museum or retry a failed Special Stage attempt. This was an absolute lifesaver during Sonic 2 and CD’s Special Stages. Lastly, if I have to turn the Switch off and come back to the game later, it’ll load my last playthrough at the last starpost I touched. I absolutely love this feature.

(Conclusion)
Sonic Origins Plus has its problems and I’m sorry for those who’re experiencing them. However, the addition of Amy Rose and the new safe features made this a fantastic experience for me. IF/WHEN they bring out yet another Classic Sonic collection, I hope they add even more characters to keep things fresh.

Description
SONIC ORIGINS PLUS.
Developed by: Sonic Team.
Published by: Sega.
Genre: Platformer/Compilation.
Rated: U (Suitable for everyone).

Between a thriving comic series, birthday bash DLC, his cartoon on Netflix, two major game releases and a potential third movie trailer later this year, it looks like everything's coming up Sonic the Hedgehog at the moment. Yes, he's had some stumbles in recent years, but Sega finally have a clear idea of what they want to do with this franchise again.

Give them a couple of weeks. I'm sure they'll find some way to fuck it up yet again.

This one's gonna be short but sweet. Sonic Origins Plus is the same four titles you've played in your childhood and that's about it really. However, it's the addition of a playable Amy Rose who can turn Super Saiyan that got me intrigued; Because without Amy being playable, I wouldn't have bothered with this collection as I didn’t need to replay them for the five hundredth time.

Before I go on, I should probably press on that point a bit more. Despite all the marketing bluster about Amy finally being playable in the classic games, she’s nothing more than a download code packaged with the same game as last year. Oh Sega. One step forward and two steps back! At least Peach and Rosalina were playable in Super Mario 3D World and not a glorified expansion pack a year later. I know this is a weird thing to harp on, but don't advertise your game as having Amy playable when it’s basically the same game as last year, but with a DLC code packed into the box. Oh yeah and they threw in some Game Gear games as well, but I doubt anyone's really gonna be playing those (except for Sonic Chaos, that one was really fun).

There's also some weird illusions to Sonic Spinball (Mega Drive version) and Sonic 3D: Flickies Island in the selection menu yet neither game is present on the cartridge. Either that's some future DLC foreshadowing, or just a strange reference for two games Sega have no intention of adding to the package itself.

Downloadable gripes to one side, Amy is the highlight of this entire collection. There's something cathartic about Amy beating Metal Sonic in a foot race and saving the day in Sonic CD. It kinda breaks the immersion when the ending plays the Sonic CD animated cutscene of Sonic rescuing her. Again, one step forward and two steps back.

Because Classic Amy is about as skilled as Biden on a bicycle (or doing anything), Origins Plus upgrades her abilities to make her more in line with her male counterpart. She can now perform a spindash, has increased speed, a variation of the Sonic 3 insta-shield and she's even ninja'd Mania's drop dash technique (though not as effective as Sonic's). The very existence of Super Amy feels like Origins Plus has taken a sledgehammer to this so-called list of "restrictions" people like to keep referencing online about the Sonic franchise. She can spawn an infinite number of hammers and toss them, Belmont style, at the poor bastard that gets in her way.

I'm fully aware Origins was plagued with bugs, errors, glitches and other technical hiccups. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones because I've yet to encounter a single error while playing Plus. That might have something to do with that patch update I installed the moment I put this game into my Nintendo Switch. Moral of this story: Give it a couple of weeks and wait for the predictable patch to come out. I'm not trying to diminish or downplay anyone's bad experiences, but since I didn't experience them, I'm not going to comment on something just to "whinge for views."

However, there's one glaring issue with this collection that no patches can ever hope to fix - The replacement Sonic 3 soundtrack. While Angel Island, Hydrocity and Marble Garden remain the killer tracks I remember, it's only when you reach Carnival Night that the rest of the soundtrack decides to kill itself. This is likely due to Michael Jackson's contributions to the game and Sega distancing themselves from him (possiby due to the false allegations about his private life). It's like having Stevie Wonder belting out some of his best songs during a live show, before being replaced by a tone deaf busker for the second half to butcher the rest of his classics. It’s not an absolute deal breaker for me, but they should have replaced the entire soundtrack if they were going to take this route.

To end on a positive, Origins Plus is the definitive way I intend to play the classic games now. Anniversary mode does away with the tired lives system, so I can die and retry as many times as I like. In their place is a new Coin system. When you collect 100 rings, find the right TV monitor, score enough points or get a continue bonus during Special Stages, you’re gifted with Coins which can be used to either buy content from the games museum or retry a failed Special Stage attempt. This was an absolute lifesaver during Sonic 2 and CD’s Special Stages. Lastly, if I have to turn the Switch off and come back to the game later, it’ll load my last playthrough at the last starpost I touched. I absolutely love this feature.

(Conclusion)
Sonic Origins Plus has its problems and I’m sorry for those who’re experiencing them. However, the addition of Amy Rose and the new safe features made this a fantastic experience for me. IF/WHEN they bring out yet another Classic Sonic collection, I hope they add even more characters to keep things fresh.