Sonic Origins

Sonic Origins, despite its turbulent release and Sega's commercial manoeuvring, is a remarkable compilation exercise that serves as an example in terms of celebrating a legacy. Its updated versions, the preservation of classic titles, the incorporation of new approaches and the inclusion of its museum are what should be the standard for compilations.

Overpriced DLC and the odd omission aside, the fact is that the five games in this collection are stone-cold classics, and they’ve never played better. Those without nostalgia may understandably wait for a sale and a further bit of polish. But Sonic Origins will be a great trip down memory lane if you were a Genesis supporter back in the day of the 16-bit schoolyard debates. They are infinitely replayable.

Sonic Origins has done an amazing job to modernize these classic games, and it will be the definitive way we’ll play them in the future, but we think that some old school fans of Sonic might doubt if it’s worth it.

Sonic Origins on Nintendo Switch should've been an easy collection to recommend to anyone looking to play classic Sonic games in the best possible way, but it is held back by some optimization issues on Nintendo Switch and a lack of polish in some areas. It has a lot of care put into the overall package with some lovely extras, but it definitely needed a bit more time. Hopefully it gets a few patches to bring it to the state it deserves to be in for a potential physical release.

Overall, Sonic Origins is an excellent collection of games to introduce newer players to what made Sonic the Hedgehog so interesting and unique. However, after Sonic Mania it does feel a bit of a step down with the reduced difficulty.

Sonic Origins collects four great Sonic games and adds some quality of life improvements, but extra content does feel a little sparse.

While Sonic Origins certainly could have been a more thorough and polished celebration of the early days of the Most Famous Hedgehog, I think it’s still worth recommending. If I earnestly ask myself if I would pay ten dollars a pop for standalone Retro Engine Sonic games on my Switch, the answer is yes. The minor differences don’t bother me much at all, but I can see them getting on the nerves of others. The music replacement is disappointing but understandable. But with four exceptionally enjoyable platformers included and a wealth of extra goodies to sift through, Sonic Origins makes for a compelling package.

Sonic Origins undoubtedly stands as the best collection of the SEGA series, thanks to a solid and careful remastering work, which enhances the original charm of the various episodes and the wonderful level design of some scenarios in particular, bringing us back to those summer days with the Mega Drive, a long time ago.

Quotation forthcoming.

Sonic Origins is simply more of the same, which is both its greatest strength and weakness. On one hand, it’s a near-definitive way to experience four stone-cold classics that represent some of the highest peaks of Sonic's career. On the other, most of these games are already readily available and there aren’t many new features or additions to justify buying them yet again. If you don’t already have a reliable or convenient way of playing these games now, or this is genuinely your first time playing through them, then we’d say that Sonic Origins is the go-to way to experience Sonic’s 2D heyday. Otherwise, we’d encourage you to either wait for this to go on sale or just pass on it.

Sonic Origins is a compilation that allows us to recall the origins of the blue hedgehog with interesting new content. However, nostalgia may not be enough to convince some players. Even so, it is still a highly recommended title.