Sonic Origins

Our favorite blue hedgehog has been met with a series of miserable games. It's been a shame to see a once-great franchise fall into such disrepair, where every released asset seems to try and retrigger the glory days. So what do you do to the series when all seems lost? Rerelease the classic games, of course. Sonic Origins is here to trigger that nostalgia for the fun of old.

Sonic Origins seems like a desperate attempt to make the franchise relevant again. But we can't deny that the collection featuring the first few games of the series isn't worth a peak. So is there anything different about these rereleases? Possibly anything collectible? We'll have to replay these classic games again to find the nuances of Sonic Origins.

The Green Hill Roots

Even thinking about the original Sonic games and those iconic theme tunes already play in your head. That's how much of an impact these games had on gaming culture. As mentioned earlier, it's pretty incredible to see how Sonic and friends have declined, considering the first few games are so widely revered. But I digress - we're here to see if Sonic Origins is worth gaming investment.

The collection does as it says on the tin, bringing all the original games into one, easily accessible package. You'll find Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic CD brought to the modern console. So is anything different apart from the fact these games are all playable in one place? Well, there are a few noticeable changes.

First and foremost, yes, the games have been remastered to suit the modern screen. In every game, you will see the colors pop and everything move at a fluid 60fps, with upgraded animations and a coat of polish on gameplay. I guess that's all you could want in a revamp of your classic favorites? There are a few more unlockables and a few irrelevant additional game modes - but it's generally an essential collection of the original titles.

The only thing that really would spark intrigue into Sonic Origins is that there's no denying the games have never looked better. Something is refreshing about gameplay and visuals being so fluid. However, it still doesn't entirely deter from the fact that you're playing another version of the same game re-released countless numbers of times.

Racing Back to Relevance

So is Sonic Origins worth it? If you haven't purchased a rerelease of said games already. However, there's not enough going for this collection to pay top dollar for the privilege. It looks pretty; it's fun to play the classic games again - but ultimately, that's just what you're doing. It does feel like a bit of rinse and repeat with an extra coat of polish.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• The classic Sonic games are looking their best in high resolution
• The collection interface is sleek
• 60fps gameplay feels good

Cons:

• Same games added into yet another collection
• Not much content or additional features were added to the package
• The 'anniversary mode' is a bit dull

Sonic Origins is a collection of retro Sonic platformers released on the thirtieth anniversary of the first game in the series. The compilation brings the old game episodes back to life with new features and modern graphics.

Main idea

Some marketing tricks never get old. One such is re-releasing good old classic games in a new cover. Such moves motivate customers to buy. Sonic Origins set out to make the major 16-bit games in the series appealing to existing and new fans.

The list of games inside Origins:

• Sonic the Hedgehog. 1991.
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2. 1992
• Sonic and Knuckles & Sonic 3. 1994
• Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Improvements and refinements

The developers kept the basics of the gameplay, but improved certain elements of it. The so-called "Drop Dash" was added: Sonic switches from jumping directly to jerking, which is very useful when fighting enemies and makes it easier to pass all parts. Graphics have been significantly improved, the locations themselves have not changed, but the quality of the resolution has increased - on the new screens the picture looks brilliant. The most iconic features remained in the games. The old story about Sonic the Savior and his friends, stage structures (divided into two or three areas), sci-fi design, recognizable sound design.

Details

What else is new. Sonic has an infinite number of lives in Sonic Origins. Blue Hedgehog dies, but it will start all over again at the final checkpoint.