In recent years, it’s been fun to be a Sonic the Hedgehog fan again after about two decades of almost total disappointment. One of the highlights was last year’s collection, Sonic Origins. Of course, some things should be better, and I’m fascinated by how difficult it seems to get a perfect analog (for any publisher) when so many small hobby developers get it right.
All in all, it’s hard to complain when some of the best platformers of the glorious 16-bit era are available in a slightly updated state, including masterpieces Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD. It doesn’t matter to me that Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s music was replaced and had some flaws at launch.
Because these are truly games that have stood the test of time. I don’t know how many times I’ve played Sonic the Hedgehog 2, I still find speeding up the second route, the chemical plant area equally magical. Plus, there’s a playfulness and a willingness to use the great elements of an adventure in one instance, even if they’re enough to serve as the basis for an entire game, something I think Nintendo is usually on its own. This was probably my least favorite of the first batch of Sonic the Hedgehog platformers, which is saying something considering it’s also a great game.
Well, now Sega has released Sonic Origins Plus, which can be purchased as a standalone game or as an expansion to Sonic Origins. The big news is the addition of a dozen Game Gear games, several of which are actually new to me – he owns Game Gear, collects retro games and loves Sonic. Here’s a list of what’s new:
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Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
Chaos Sonic
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine （8 位）
sonic drift
Sonic Spin Ball (8 bit)
Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
sonic drift 2
Tails Sky Patrol
tail adventure
sonic maze
sonic explosion
Many of them still hold up today, and I think platformers are especially good for younger players. The Mega Drive games are still very challenging, and the fact that Sonic is so fast makes them more suitable for older fans. 8-bit Sonic is much slower and more of a traditional platform hero. However, too many things feel like fun to try once and never play again, like Sonic Spin Ball (I really liked the 16-bit original).
The big draw of the series is the addition of two new playable characters, Knuckles from the Sonic CD and Amy Rose from games previously included in the series. Amy is my least favorite character, but Sega and the Sonic team have been more careful with her lately, and here she works flawlessly as an easy mod. Doesn’t quite resemble Sonic herself, but utilizes a mallet to defeat enemies, making her easier to play. The Knuckles add-on from the Sonic CD is also in place, making the adventure easier to explore and approach in new ways.
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so. . . What about the perfect buy recommendation? yes and no. This addition to the collection – and the collection itself – is definitely something I can recommend. But it’s the analogy I mentioned above, which still suffers from the same flaws, and adds new problems to the game rig title. In the latter case, it’s mainly the sound that takes a hit, and the controls in some games are a bit laggy in my experience.
Also, I wish a good collection like this would also include games coming to the main system as well as the Game Boy Advance, kind of like Konami’s lovely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. So, in the end, it didn’t get the highest rating, even though I really wanted to give it one. This is the best Sonic collection money can buy, and I can even recommend the Plus upgrade if you already own Sonic Origins, but I still hope this pack gets more love and becomes the definitive compendium for hedgehog lovers.
