Sonic Origins

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Museum

Classic Sonic Re-Defined

— Tagline

Sonic Origins (ソニックオリジンズ, Sonikku Orijinzu^?) is a video game compilation of the four first mainline titles from the Sonic the Hedgehog series released for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega CD. It was developed by both Sega and Headcannon, and published by Sega. It was released internationally on 23 June 2022 as a part of the Sonic franchise's 30th anniversary, with versions coming to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Sonic Origins was conceived following the release of the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog film; due to the influx of new fans, Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka wanted to make the older Sonic games available on modern hardware. The games are playable in their original format and a new widescreen format that removes lives. Sonic Origins also adds additional game modes and missions, which allow players to unlock content in an in-game museum. The game was also launched as a digital standard edition that includes the main game, and a digital Deluxe edition with extra content and functionalities.

The game was received with a warm reception; the presentation was praised, but the new music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, glitches that were not present in the original titles, and the lack of new content were all met with criticism. On 23 March 2023, a remastered edition of the game, named Sonic Origins Plus, was announced and released on 23 June 2023.

Plot

Storylines

Spoiler warning: Plot, ending details or any kind of information follow.

Sonic the Hedgehog

As part of his quest to find the six legendary Chaos Emeralds, the evil scientific genius Dr. Eggman has arrived on South Island, rounding up the local Animals and using them to power his robot troops, whom he refers to as Badniks.

While running around, a young hedgehog named Sonic discovers a robot harassing his Animal friends. After he destroys this robot, a group of Flickies, including the one that was contained in the robot, tell him that Eggman has been kidnapping all of the local Animals. This in fact turns out to be true, as Sonic notices the doctor leading his robot troops and carrying heavy Capsules filled with unfortunate Animals. Seeing Eggman head towards Green Hill Zone, the hedgehog follows his trail in that direction.

While making his way across South Island, Sonic liberates the Animals from Eggman and faces the doctor on repeated occasions. He also manages to find and secure the six Emeralds before his new nemesis does. Eventually arriving in Scrap Brain Zone, and despite suffering a few setbacks, the hedgehog defeats Eggman after an epic showdown, and the doctor retreats in his Egg Mobile. After his triumph, Sonic returns to Green Hill Zone, where the happy Animals are waiting for him. He then releases the Chaos Emeralds, which show him a vision of them and a seventh Emerald flying elsewhere after disappearing and filling the area with colorful flora. Having saved the day, the hedgehog, now having become a hero, leaves in search of adventures.

Sonic CD

Above Never Lake, a beautiful celestial body, known as Little Planet, is visible for only a single month every year. Just before the planet makes its latest appearance, a pink hedgehog named Amy is reading her tarot cards, which tell her that she will meet her true hero very soon in the face of danger. As her cards fly away, Little Planet, pristine as always, appears above her.

Soon, however, Dr. Eggman takes notice of Little Planet. Wanting to construct a massive fortress on it in his pursuit of world domination, he surrounds it by a giant metallic shell and chains it to a nearby mountain with his own face. Using the power of the "Time Stones" on Little Planet, he begins his nasty operations. It does not take long, though, for Sonic to see what the doctor is up to, and immediately rushes to the tiny planet to set things right.

On Little Planet, Sonic meets Amy, who is soon kidnapped by Eggman's cutting edge creation: Metal Sonic. In his adventure, he crosses many of the planet's regions and faces the doctor along the way. The hedgehog also manages to undo all of his nemesis' work by collecting the Time Stones and destroying his contraptions in the past. Eventually, in Stardust Speedway, Sonic is personally challenged to a race by Metal Sonic, which he wins while his robotic copy crashes against a wall. Next, he travels to Metallic Madness, where he faces Eggman. Following Sonic's victory, the doctor's shell covering Little Planet breaks down. As the hedgehog and Amy escape to safety down to Earth, the tiny planet disappears while some of its flowers fall down to Never Lake, blooming peacefully there.

Following his second victory, Sonic boots up his personal airplane, the Tornado, and pilots it to search for more adventures. Meanwhile, back on Never Lake, Amy is reading her tarot cards again, which depict a group of Animals, a pair of Tails, and a Chaos Emerald. These cards fly away like before, much to the pink hedgehog's frustration, but she is delighted to see Sonic in the Tornado.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Following his second victory, Sonic flies in the Tornado to West Side Island. As Dr. Eggman researches the last known area the Chaos Emeralds were seen, he finds them hidden in the West Side Island. Seeking the power of the Emeralds, Eggman travels to West Side Island and invades it with Badniks.

Meanwhile, a two-tailed fox, named Miles Prower, nicknamed Tails, runs away from two other foxes. He ends up getting cornered by the foxes, who mockingly bully him, as they think Tails' two tails are weird. Sonic runs by and Spin Dashes the foxes, leaving them dazed. Amazed, Tails follows Sonic and helps him throughout his new quest.

Sonic and Tails travel through the Zones, defeating Eggman in each one of them. Eventually, Sonic infiltrates the Death Egg Zone, where he faces Mecha Sonic. After defeating Mecha Sonic, Sonic comes across the Death Egg Robot, and destroys it.

As Tails, seeing the Death Egg falling from the sky, pilots the Tornado and picks up Sonic, who (if all the Chaos Emeralds are collected) is in his Super state. Meanwhile, the Death Egg crash-lands on a floating island named Angel Island.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

What remained of Dr. Eggman's Death Egg Robot fell into a mysterious cavern. Eggman barely makes it out of the head and then proceeds to throw a tantrum at his recent loss only to notice a large green emerald. He then attempts to approach it, only for its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, to make himself known and threaten him. Eggman, while begging, then claims that Sonic and Tails were trying to steal the emeralds and he was trying to protect them. Knuckles then agrees to aid Eggman, unaware of Eggman's duplicity.

As Sonic and Tails enter Angel Island to pursue the damaged Death Egg, Knuckles attacks a super-transformed Sonic, knocking all of the Chaos Emeralds in the process. As Knuckles swipes the emeralds and runs off, Sonic and Tails make their way through Angel Island, destroying Eggman's various enforcements and Knuckles' traps. The two eventually arrives to Launch Base Zone, where Eggman has finished repairing the Death Egg and plans to launch the spaceship. Despite being halted by Knuckles, the tremors caused by the launched spacecraft knocks Knuckles aside into the water, as Sonic and Tails lands onto part of the Death Egg via an unattended Egg Mobile. Noticing the foes, Eggman attempts to dispose of them with the Egg Rocket and Big Arms, to no avail as the Death Egg is heavily damaged in the process, and begins sinking back to Angel Island. As Sonic and Tails fall into Mushroom Hill Zone, Eggman flees to the Death Egg, which has now landed into the volcano at Lava Reef Zone.

As the two continue their journey to the volcano, Knuckles, who has recovered, tries to find the two trespassers again and sets up more traps throughout the forest. By the time Sonic and Tails makes it to the apex of Lava Reef Zone, Knuckles knocks the two down with a boulder, sending them to a deeper part of the volcano that is reactivated by the Death Egg. Upon defeating the Egg Inferno, cooling the lava again, Sonic makes his way to Hidden Palace Zone where he duels Knuckles once and for all. After defeating the echidna, a rumble is heard as Eggman proceeds to take off with the Master Emerald in his final attempt to power the Death Egg. As a deceived Knuckles fruitlessly attempts to stop Eggman, he allies with Sonic and Tails to open up a Warp Point to Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Boarding the Death Egg after getting past several Eggrobos and Mecha Sonic Mark II, the hedgehog and fox infiltrates the space station and its many contraptions until they destroy Eggman's Death Ball. Panicking, Eggman resorts to a Master Emerald-powered Giant Eggman Robo, but is foiled in the process. Attempting to escape using his Egg Mobile, Sonic manages to damage it enough to drop the Master Emerald as the spaceship begins to crumble and explode.

Despite the loss of the Death Egg, Eggman resorts to taking off in his special spacecraft, the Final Weapon, carrying the Master Emerald in the process as it heads for The Doomsday Zone. Using the power from the Chaos/Super Emeralds, Sonic transforms and navigates through the asteroid belt and after the spaceship. Using the missiles of the spacecraft, Sonic manages to heavily damage the spaceship in the process, forcing Eggman to flee in a Death Egg Robot-like mechanism, which is also quickly defeated by the hedgehog. Taking back the Master Emerald to Angel Island, the island begins to float back up as Knuckles thanks Sonic and Tails for helping him reclaim the relic. Meanwhile, Eggman has landed in the middle of the ocean, adrift on an inflatable raft. As Eggman curses after Sonic for ruining his final attempt to launch his spacecraft, a Flicky (specifically, the same Flicky which Sonic freed from a Moto Bug earlier) appears and threatens to pop Eggman's raft. Despite Eggman's efforts, the Flicky pops the raft off-screen.

Shortly after Eggman's defeat, Knuckles is seen relaxing in the middle of Mushroom Hill Zone. However, he is attacked by a bomb dropped by an Eggrobo, who have survived the events of Sonic's pursuit on Sky Sanctuary. Getting revenge on the Eggrobo, Knuckles chases after it throughout the island, winding up back at Sky Sanctuary Zone. As the Eggrobo manages to catch Knuckles with a claw, it takes him to the mastermind of the secondary attack, Mecha Sonic Mk. II. As Mecha Sonic tries to finish off the echidna, Knuckles manages to escape the claw's grip in time, making the robotic hedgehog inadvertently hit the Eggrobo, destroying it in the process. As the echidna and robot duels, including the latter attempting a final resort super transformation via a stolen Master Emerald, Knuckles prevails over the robot, destroying it for good as the Master Emerald is returned to its shrine once again.

Characters

Image	Character	Profile
File:Sonic Origins Sonic.png	Sonic the Hedgehog	The world's fastest supersonic hedgehog loves freedom and hates injustice. Though he can be a little too quick to act, he would never look away when someone is in need.
File:Sonic Origins Tails.png	Miles "Tails" Prower	A kindly kid fox with two tails. He supports Sonic by spinning his tails and flying like a helicopter.
File:Sonic Origins Knuckles.png	Knuckles the Echidna	An Echidna that protects the Master Emerald. He takes his work very seriously, but is also quite gullible. Dr. Eggman has him believing that Sonic the Hedgehog is the real enemy.
File:Sonic Origins Amy.png	Amy Rose	Sonic's greatest fan, she is energetic and always ready to join the action. She enjoys fortune card readings and wielding her piko-piko hammer to help her friends.
File:Sonic Origins Robotnik.png	Dr. Eggman	A self-appointed evil genius scientist. World domination is his goal, but Sonic keeps getting in his way.
File:Sonic Origins Metal.png	Metal Sonic	A cutting edge super-powered robot built by Dr. Eggman to get the upper hand against Sonic. He was designed to look like and match Sonic in both speed and power.

List of games

• Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)
• Sonic the Hedgehog CD
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles
• Blue Sphere

Gameplay

File:The Main Menu of Sonic Origins..jpg

The main menu of Sonic Origins.

The main menu for Sonic Origins is presented as an interactive world map with six familiar islands from the Sonic the Hedgehog series presented as 3D illustrations in the form of dioramas that represent the different features and modes of the game:

• South Island represents Sonic the Hedgehog
• Never Lake represents Sonic the Hedgehog CD
• West Side Island represents Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Angel Island represents Sonic 3 & Knuckles
• Mount Mobius represents the Mission menu
• Flicky Island represents the Museum menu

The player can scroll through the various sections of the main menu or open the world map and select a specific island. Each island is marked with a logo of their game or an options headline. There are also additional modes available for each game. The events that occur during the game also affect the appearance of the islands on the map. The Premium Fun Pack DLC in particular also causes three-dimensional character models to showcase various animations on their respective islands.

The different games in the compilation include additional content, namely the additions to their respective remasters that were released in 2011 and 2013. Notably, the lock-on technology title, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, is treated as one title, meaning its components Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles do not appear in Sonic Origins as separate games.

New features

Anniversary Mode

File:OriginsSc1.png

Sonic the Hedgehog in Anniversary Mode.

Anniversary Mode is a feature that allows players to experience the gameplay of the titles in Sonic Origins in a new format for beginners by providing a full 16:9 aspect ratio. Furthermore, it has removed the life system and time limits, thereby giving the player infinite tries in this mode to keep the fun going without having to worry about Continues, Time Overs, or Game Overs. Also, whenever the player would earn an extra life in the original games, such as by opening 1-Up Item Boxes or collecting 100 Rings, they instead earn a "Coin" in the games' Anniversary Mode. Notably, Anniversary Mode has also replaced the 1-Up Item Boxes with Coin-granting Item Boxes instead. Similarly, in the cases where the player would earn a Continue in the original games, they will instead earn three Coins in Anniversary Mode. The player can use Coins in Anniversary Mode in the Special Stages, where they are given the option to retry any Special Stage they fail at by paying up one Coin.

The player can play as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles across all four games in Anniversary Mode with their unique abilities intact, with the exception of Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog CD. Tails may also follow Knuckles as a partner in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sonic can also use the Drop Dash in every game in this mode.

Classic Mode

File:OriginsSc2.png

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in Classic Mode.

Classic Mode allows players to experience the gameplay of the titles in Sonic Origins in their retro form with classic challenges. This mode features their original screen dimensions with a 4:3 aspect ratio, and includes the classic finite life system, a time limit of ten minutes, and Game Over gameplay. The sides of the screen in this mode is black by default, but can be decorated with letterbox borders that are available through DLC.

In Classic Mode, the choices of playable characters in the games are restricted to those that appeared during said games' original releases. That means for example that only Sonic is playable in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, or that only Sonic and Tails are playable in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (not counting cheats). However, some updated gameplay elements are still present in this mode, such as the Spin Dash in Sonic the Hedgehog, the extra Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Tails' assists in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

This mode uses the Retro Engine versions instead of the emulated versions.

Boss Rush

File:Mode-bosslush-ss01.jpg

Sonic fighting the Egg Spinner in Boss Rush.

The Boss Rush is a mode where the player can go up against most of the major bosses sequentially for each game (no mid-bosses appear here, and Brass Eggman, Sonic/Tails' version of Mecha Sonic Mk. II's battle, and the Final Weapon are all omitted) as either Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles (the lattermost not being available on Sonic CD's Boss Rush).

In Boss Rush, the player immediately enters the vicinity of the bosses' arenas and after defeating them, they automatically move onto the next fight. The player is as well only given three lives to complete each gauntlet. Furthermore, certain boss fights will provide the player with Rings before their respective fights for withstanding damage. If the player completes a Boss Rush for a game, the game will reward them with 25 Coins and record their best clear time.

Sonic 1Sonic CDSonic 2Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sonic/Tails)Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles)

Round	Boss	No. of Rings
1	Egg Wrecker	0
2	Egg Scorcher
3	Egg Stinger
4	Egg Mobile	3
5	Egg Spiker	0
6	Egg Crusher	3

Round	Boss	No. of Rings
1	EGG-HVC-001	0
2	Egg Tilter	1
3	Egg Bubble	0
4	Egg Conveyer	3
5	Egg Razer	0
6	Metal Sonic	10
7	Egg Spinner	3

Round	Boss	No. of Rings
1	Egg Drillster	0
2	Egg Poison
3	Egg Hammer
4	Egg Claw	3
5	Egg Scorcher Mk. II
6	Egg Digger
7	Eggmarine	0
8	Egg Bouncer	3
9	Laser Prison	6
10	Mecha Sonic Death Egg Robot	3

Round	Boss	No. of Rings
1	Egg Scorcher Mk. III	3
2	Egg Vortex
3	Egg Drillster Mk. II	0
4	Egg Gravitron
5	Egg Froster
6	Egg Cannon Egg Rocket Big Arms	6
7	Egg Scrambler	0
8	Egg Hanger	3
9	Egg Golem
10	Egg Inferno	6
11	Giant Eggman Robo	0

Round	Boss	No. of Rings
1	Egg Scorcher Mk. III	3
2	Egg Vortex
3	Egg Drillster Mk. II
4	Egg Froster	0
5	Egg Rocket Big Arms	3
6	Egg Scrambler	0
7	Egg Hanger	3
8	Egg Golem
9	Mecha Sonic Mk. II Super Mecha Sonic Mk. II

Mirror Mode

File:Knuckles at Scrap Brain Zone in Mirror Mode.jpg

Knuckles in Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 in Mirror Mode.

Mirror Mode is a new feature in the games that flips the entire Zones from left to right without changing the layout, effectively allowing the player to complete the levels from the opposite direction by moving to the left instead of right. This mode can be unlocked after clearing either Classic Mode, Anniversary Mode, or Story Mode. Alternatively, it can be unlocked from the start via the Start Dash DLC. All other features in this mode are the same as in Anniversary Mode.

Story Mode

Story Mode is a new feature in Sonic Origins that can be accessed under the "Mission" menu. Here, the player runs sequentially through all four Sonic titles in the compilation in chronological order: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

As the player plays through this mode, the game will skip the respective title screens and menus for each game when starting or finishing it. Furthermore, when finishing a game, there will be a smoothly transition over to the next through new animated cinematic intros and outros that have been given to each title. The player controls Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog CD, with Tails following him in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This mode has a progression bar. Otherwise, all other features in this mode are the same as in Anniversary Mode.

Mission Mode

See also: Mission (Sonic Origins)

File:OriginsSc6.png

Missions for Sonic the Hedgehog.

Mission Mode is an extra feature in which the player can compete in sixty additional standalone challenges in Acts that are split across each of the four games. In them, the player has to complete certain objectives that are specified in the Mission menu, such as collecting a target number of Rings within a time limit or reaching the goal without defeating any enemies. The Missions themselves take place within selected Acts from the levels of each game, with additional layout-altering elements added to them. This mode also makes use of the Rank system to grade the player's performance for each Mission based on either how quickly they cleared a Mission within the allotted time or the Rings they managed to accumulate, with "S" being the highest rank, followed by "A", "B", and "C". Missions are further ranked by difficulty, from one to five stars; the more stars the Mission has, the more difficult it will be. This feature lets players earn Coins by competing said Missions, with the Coin rewards for each Rank increasing the more difficult the individual Mission is, and additional Coins rewarded for clearing a Mission for the first time.

Museum

File:Mode-museume-ss01.jpg

An illustration of Sonic in the Museum.

The Museum is a feature where the player can unlock a variety of collectible content and add it to their collection, such as music, videos and artwork. The Museum has three sections of content: Sounds, Illustrations, and Movies. Furthermore, each section is divided into two brackets of content: Normal Collection and Premium Collection. The "Normal Collection" contents are automatically unlocked as the player progresses through the game. In the "Premium Collection" on the other hand, the player has to spent Coins to unlock the content there. The contents include not only game footage, but a variety of other artwork related to the classic era of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. In addition, the Premium Collection have some contents that have never seen released to the public.

My Data & Ranking

My Data & Ranking is an online leaderboard. Here, the player can record their best time for each Act and/or round in Anniversary Mode, Classic Mode, Boss Rush, and Mirror Mode, and check out the Ranking on the online leaderboards to see players' times from around the world, where they can compare it to the player's own results.

Changes

General

• Remastered visuals that include all-new visual presentations, plus enhancements for the current generation.
• Progress in all modes is automatically saved when passing Star Posts and clearing levels.
• New opening and ending animations have been added to each game in Story Mode.
• The Drop Dash is featured as an additional move for Sonic in Anniversary Mode across the four games. In most games, this technique utilizes existing Spin Attack animations and transforms into a Spin Dash when it touches the ground for one frame. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog CD, the Drop Dash works like it did in Sonic Mania. The other games, however, do not allow the player to change the direction of the Drop Dash after it is activated.
• Super transformations are now triggered with a dedicated button for all games that feature them, rather than the jump button, thereby allowing players to use their character's abilities without having to transform.
• The Giant Rings in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the Special Stages in all of the games (except Sonic the Hedgehog CD) now move smoothly.

Sonic The Hedgehog

• In Green Hill Zone Act 3, it is no longer possible to sneak in extra hits on the Egg Wrecker, as its hitbox is disabled until the wrecking ball has been fully deployed. Oddly, this does not apply to the sub-boss version piloted by Mecha Sonic in Sonic & Knuckles' Sky Sanctuary level.
• Final Zone now has an invisible barrier at the very end of the stage when Eggman flees, making it so that Sonic can no longer lose a life by running or jumping into the pit nearby.
• Scrap Brain Zone Act 3 and Final Zone now have a score tally if played in Time Trial via the "My Data And Ranking" section. In the original cartridge release, they were simply absent.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

• The original opening and ending cutscenes have been remastered.
• All of the character voice clips (such as Sonic yelling "yes!" when a life obtained) are removed. The 1-Up jingle is replaced with the sound effect for collecting a Time Stone, while Sonic's line, "I'm outer here!" and Amy's scream and laugh are muted. The unlockable Sound Test likewise no longer has the option to play these voice clips.
• Unlike the original Sega CD release, the timer does not reset to 5:00:00 when the player travels through time at a point when the timer is past 5:00:00.
• Restarting a level outside of Act 3 will now have Sonic or Tails remain in their current time zone, which is useful if the player either misses any machines in the past or needs to have another go at time-travelling if the time posts have already been used. Any already-destroyed machines will also remain destroyed if this is done.
• Metal Sonic mockingly wagging his finger at Sonic before their race has been removed. However, the Museum sound test retains these sprites of Metal Sonic during his animation while music is playing.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• The highlighted options in the main menu now features the life icon from Sonic the Hedgehog CD instead of the stars from the original.
• Hidden Palace Zone, which was included as a scrapped Zone during the development of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and later reinstated in the 2013 remaster, is brought back. It comes with its own original boss and new enemies. It uses Mystic Cave Zone's two-player music as the background music.
• The 2 Player Vs. Mode now features Chemical Plant Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone, Hill Top Zone, and Oil Ocean Zone; Zones that were not present in that mode in the original game.
  • Additionally, Knuckles now appears as a playable character in this mode, like in the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• In Wing Fortress Zone, the player is no longer at risk of dying of a Time Over during the levels ending cutscene. The timer simply freezes at 9:59 while it plays out.
• The cogs in Metropolis Zone now has a smooth animation.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

• An updated "New Blue Spheres" mode has been added, which includes new Sphere types previously seen in Sonic Mania.
• Due to legal issues regarding Michael Jackson's work on the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 soundtrack, certain tracks are replaced by new remixes of the original beta tracks that were previously heard from Sonic & Knuckles Collection and the Sonic 3 prototype dated 3 November 1993 (1103), respectively. Additionally, the Super transformation theme in Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been given a new remix rather than using the Invincible theme, although it uses the instrumentation from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 instead of the one used for Sonic & Knuckles. The affected tracks are as follows:
  • Competition Mode main menu (same as the 1103 prototype)
  • Carnival Night Zone (sourced from prototype earlier than 1103)
  • IceCap Zone (Act 1 sourced from prototype earlier than 1103, Act 2 same as 1103 prototype)
  • Launch Base Zone (sourced from prototype earlier than 1103)
  • Credits theme (same as 1103 prototype)
• The Slot machine Bonus Stages now use updated graphics, taken from the 1103 prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
• In the first cutscene at Angel Island Zone, the regular transformation sound is heard when Sonic transforms into Super Sonic off-screen. Super Sonic also leaves a trail of sparkles when flying to Angel Island, and kicks up dirt when traveling over the sand. These effects are not present in the respective cutscene of the original release.
• When showing up in the first cutscene, Knuckles now makes a combat position before grabbing the Chaos Emeralds instead of standing still like in the original. Additionally, two small rocks are flung up when Knuckles emerges from the ground, which are not present in the original release.
  • Additionally, when playing as Sonic and Tails, the latter appears running from the left side of the screen rather than by flying from above.
• In the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles release, Knuckles' appearances in Sonic and Tails' stories depict him slightly different (for instance, having different colored socks and fur) than when playing as him, due to palette limitations. Sonic Origins edits these appearances to make Knuckles consistently resemble his playable form throughout the game.
• The Ring counter on the HUD no longer changes color when the player is in close proximity to a Giant Ring.
• When playing as Tails, the first cutscene shows him landing on the Tornado on Angel Island, whereas in the original game, no cutscene was present when playing as Tails.
• Knuckles' intro cutscene from Sonic & Knuckles is re-added, having been removed in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The cutscene plays right before the first Act of Angel Island Zone, but despite this, still depicts Knuckles in Mushroom Hill Zone.
• Dr. Eggman has refreshed graphics, including blue glasses instead of black ones. Both he and the Eggrobo also have a new laughing animation when piloting vehicles, attacking the player, and whenever the player character gets hurt or loses a life.
• Due to reusing code from Sonic Mania's score tallying system, an unlisted "Cool Bonus" has been added to the game and can add more points to the player's score without informing them, netting them more points per Act than what was possible in the original release of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
• Standing completely still for one minute or over as Sonic will cause him to perform a new "sleeping" animation, using sprites which were left unused in the original game.
• The Eggrobo has additional animations when piloting vehicles. This also corrects a few errors in sprites where the robot would not properly replace Eggman in the original game, most noticeably in the Egg Hanger; as well as when fighting Sonic/Tails' version of the Egg Drillster Mark II as Knuckles, and when fighting normally inaccessible bosses as the echidna such as the Egg Cannon and Egg Inferno.
• Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic now possess additional rotation sprites which accurately depict their quills. In the original release, many of Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic's rotational frames were color-edits of Sonic's when using gimmicks like the Spinning Top, leading to his quills remaining normal during said animations as opposed to sticking up.
• All characters now possess new rotating animations for crouching and looking upwards, which are used when pressing down and up on a Spinning Wheel.
• The Ring counter in the Special Stages counts downwards, as opposed to original releases of the game where it counts upwards.
• Certain movement in the game have a smooth animation, such as the Super Rings sporting additional frames which allow for a smoother spinning animation and the playable characters swinging on a vine in Angel Island Zone.
• Tails can now undergo a super transformation like the other playable characters when having all seven Chaos Emeralds. To accommodate for this change, the form originally labeled "Super Tails" (when having all seven Super Emeralds) has been renamed to "Hyper Tails".
• All flying Capsules will float leftwards offscreen once activated. In the original game, they do not move horizontally after being activated.
• Upon the first Fire Breath's arrival on Angel Island Zone, the playable character will automatically move to the center of the screen and look upwards for a few seconds. In original releases of the game, this animation is absent.
• During the "bombardment" segment of Angel Island Zone Act 2, if playing as Sonic and Tails, Tails will follow Sonic more closely, whereas in the original game, Tails will usually get stuck on the left side of the screen due to the bombs.
• Tails as a partner can no longer pop balloons on Carnival Night Zone.
• Pointdexter's sprite has been corrected at the ends.
• Knuckles' version of Egg Drillster Mark II now properly plays the Act 2 boss theme instead of the Act 1 sub boss theme. Additionally, the Egg Wrecker and Egg Bouncer uses the Act 1 sub-boss theme instead of the Act 2 boss theme.
• If the player walks past the Cannon at the end, they find a pit with an invisible fan at the bottom, similar to those present at the start of Sky Sanctuary Zone.
• Big Arms is now featured as a boss in Sonic and Tails' stories and sports a new animation upon being defeated.
  • Additionally, upon defeating Big Arms, a new transition cutscene is present which leads into the Sonic & Knuckles Zones. Here, the previously unused Eggman sprite in the Egg Mobile is used, which is shown flying towards the Death Egg in the background. The scene then shows the background of the Sonic & Knuckles title screen, where the Death Egg crashes into the Floating Island's volcano.
• Due to the screen size being expanded, the player can walk off the platform where Big Arms and the Egg Rocket are fought, although invisible fans at the edges will prevent them from falling off-screen.
• While being blown off Launch Base Zone by the Eggrobo's bomb, Knuckles will play a slightly different animation.
• In Flying Battery Zone Act 2, the sub-boss can now be directly defeated via Super/Hyper Sonic. This was not possible in the original cartridge release of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, as the laser cannon was programmed to take up to 255 hits to destroy.
• In Sandopolis Zone Act 2, for unknown reasons, almost all of the grappling ropes are left out, resulting in one area being inaccessible as Sonic without the use of a well timed Spin Dash and Spin Jump.
• The rings created by the Ring Shooters in Death Egg Zone feature a slight transparency effect, as opposed to the original release where they were solid.
• Several songs and all of the sound effects from Sonic 3 & Knuckles are not featured in the Sound Test in the Level Select menu, for unknown reasons.

Story changes

Sonic Origins offers the player a brand-new story mode based on the classic games, featuring abridged versions of the stories featured in the original game manuals. However, the animated cutscenes feature some minor differences from the manual stories.

• The Chaos Emeralds are revealed to be only seven across all games, while the original manuals suggested there were more than South Island's set of emeralds.
• Sonic 1 ends like the original, but now Sonic has a vision of the original six Chaos Emeralds heading up to West Side Island with the addition of a seventh emerald.
• Sonic Origins confirms that Sonic the Hedgehog CD is the second game in chronological order.
• In Sonic Origins, Amy Rose was already at the Never Lake as she uses her tarot cards to know she will meet Sonic. In the original manuals, Amy first used the tarot cards and then went to the Never Lake.
• Sonic Origins adds an epilogue to Sonic the Hedgehog CD, where Amy once again uses her cards to predict the future. In it, she sees Sonic will meet Tails and go after the Master Emerald. This differs from the original manual of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that states Sonic went there by coincidence.
• The events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are simplified. In Sonic Origins, Tails is shown to be bullied due to his tails mutation, but Sonic unintentionally saves him while passing through. Inspired, Tails followed him and learned how to use his mutation as a talent to fly and keep up with Sonic, and Sonic immediately takes a liking to the fox. In the original, the bullies are only mentioned and after seeing Sonic run, Tails followed him for days until he found the Tornado. Eggman would later attack the island, leading to both Sonic and Tails to team up.
  • As a side note, the original manual claims Eggman followed Sonic to the island, while Sonic Origins does not show why Eggman appeared on the island.
• Sonic Origins adds an epilogue of the Death Egg crashing on Angel Island.
• Sonic Origins shows Dr. Eggman meeting Knuckles the Echidna at Hidden Palace Zone. In the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Eggman and Knuckles meet on the forest. In the original manual of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles was the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, and they started to shine weirdly before making him unconscious and disappearing. Knuckles would later meet Eggman in the forest, who tricks the echidna into thinking Sonic is after the emeralds.
• Sonic Origins adds an epilogue of Dr. Eggman in the middle of the ocean alongside the remains of the Final Weapon.

Other modes

Options

Options is the main settings menu for Sonic Origins, which holds the following options:

• Language: Change the language of the in-game messages to be displayed between "English", "Français" (French), "Italiano" (Italian), "Deutsch" (German), "Español" (Spanish), "Polski" (Polish), "Português (Brasil)" (Brazilian Portuguese), "Русский" (Russian), "日本語" (Japanese), "繁體中文" (Traditional Chinese), "简体中文" (Simplified Chinese), and "한국어" (Korean).
• Sound: Change the sound settings for the following parameters:
  • SE volume: Adjust the volume of the sound effects.
  • BGM volume: Adjust the volume of the background music. (Muting it will simply mute all sound in the Game Gear titles)
• Graphics: Change the graphic settings for the following parameters:
  • Anti-aliasing: Turn the anti-aliasing on or off. Makes the pixels in-game a little more blurry.
  • Nearest Neighbor: Makes the pixels in-game more clear to see. This can only be enabled if you have anti-aliasing off.
  • Box art option: Select the box artwork to be displayed between North American, European, and Japanese.
• Letterbox: Change the letterbox settings in Classic Mode by choosing one of the following letterbox patterns for it: "Default", "Black", "Sonic", "Tails", "Knuckles", "Dr. Eggman", "Metal Sonic", "Amy", "Sonic 1", "Sonic CD", "Sonic 2", and "Sonic 3 & Knuckles".
• Credits: Watch the game credits for Sonic Origins.
• Gamepad: Change the gamepad settings. This setting is exclusive to Xbox One/Xbox Series X and Series S/PC.
• Keyboard: Change the keyboard settings. This setting is exclusive to Xbox One/Xbox Series X and Series S/PC.
• Check Tutorials: Check tutorials for the following subjects:
  • Check Tutorials: Shows the basic controls for all games.
  • Special Stages: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
  • Controls: SONIC CD
  • Time Travel: SONIC CD
  • Special Stages: SONIC CD
  • Special Stages: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
  • Controls: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 & KNUCKLES
  • Special Stages: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 & KNUCKLES
  • Controls: Sonic: Displays how to perform moves exclusive to Sonic.
  • Controls: Tails: Displays how to perform Tails' exclusive moves.
  • Controls: Knuckles: Displays how to perform Knuckles' exclusive moves.
  • Coins: Explains how to obtain Coins in gameplay.
  • Playlist: Explains the Playlist feature from the Museum Sounds menu.
  • Missions: Explains the Missions section.
  • Retrying Stages: Explains a feature in the "My Data" section.
• License: Check the license.
• Reset settings: Reset the settings in the Options menu.

Downloadable content

Start Dash Pack

The Start Dash Pack serves as a free pre-order bonus pack for those pre-ordering Sonic Origins, and includes the following:

• 100 bonus Coins
• Mirror Mode unlocked
• Letterbox background (Mega Drive pattern)

Premium Fun Pack

File:Premium Fun Pack.webp

The Premium Fun Pack DLC.

The Premium Fun Pack was purchasable for $3.99 USD, and is now bundled with the Plus upgrade. It includes the following content:

• Eleven additional hard missions
• Ten Letterbox backgrounds
• Character animation in the main menu
• An "Island Camera" control function over the main menu's islands
• Character animations on the music islands

Classic Sound Pack

File:Classic Music Pack.webp

The Classic Sound Pack DLC.

The Classic Sound Pack was purchasable for $3.99 USD, and is now bundled with the Plus upgrade. It includes the following content:

• 73 additional music tracks from Sonic Spinball, Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic 3D Blast

Development

According to Takashi Iizuka, Sonic Origins was conceived alongside Sonic Colors: Ultimate for both old and new fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog series following the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog film who wanted to know about the "origins" of Sonic, and was meant to be available on modern formats and appeal to both groups in its games and other media. Iizuka also noted that though they are frequently rereleased via emulation, they felt "retro" on modern displays due to their 4:3 aspect ratios; he wanted Sonic Origins to modernize them with a 16:9 widescreen support and new features to appeal to both new and longtime fans. Sonic Mania showed as well Sonic Team that there was still an audience for 2D Sonic games and the series' thirtieth anniversary provided the "perfect" opportunity to develop a compilation.

The compilation was developed internally at Sega, which handled the components, presentation and consolidation of the included games. While emulator-based porting is easier to do, since the games chosen for Sonic Origins have been played for several years, Iizuka wanted to take this opportunity to revive them again on the current hardware. With that in mind, the team dared to try porting. With the games not running on emulation, the team were able to modify the games themselves. They also planned to add elements that would make it easier for beginners to play the games, similar to Sonic Colors: Ultimate. The team behind Sonic Origins team prioritized as well the main Sonic series, meaning they did not consider including other 2D Sonic games, such as those released for the Sega Game Gear, Knuckles' Chaotix and the Sonic Advance series.

In July 2021, Sonic Origins was stated to still be in the early stages of development.

Sonic Origins incorporates games based on the previously-created remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog CD (2011) and Sonic the Hedgehog (2013) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013), which were made in the Retro Engine and released on mobile devices; In addition, the compilation includes a remastered version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles, created by Headcannon and its related developers. All games in the compilation utilize the Retro Engine with Christian Whitehead, the creator of the Retro Engine, having updated the engine to allow the remastered games to run in a compilation. Meanwhile, the new animations for the game's Story Mode were created by Powerhouse Animation Studios and Sega in collaboration with longtime Sonic artist Tyson Hesse, and scripted by Ian Flynn, a long-time writer for several comics based on the Sonic franchise while also featuring arranged music by Sonic Mania composer Tee Lopes. The original opening and ending cutscenes from Sonic the Hedgehog CD in particular were remastered by members of Discotek Media.

Simon Thomley and his studio Headcannon, who worked on the Retro Engine remakes and Sonic Mania produced the remaster of Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the Retro Engine, as well as the new Blue Sphere Mode for Sonic Origins. Thomley said he was contracted to develop the remaster separately from Sonic Origins. The compilation also marks the first re-release of Sonic 3 & Knuckles since 2011, following speculation that soundtrack licensing problems arising from Michael Jackson's involvement with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were preventing new releases.

Thomley said he and the Headcannon team were unhappy with the final version Sonic Origins release, and that it did not represent Headcannon's work. He said they developed the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster under crunch conditions for a strict deadline, that Sega would not delay it, and that Sega had introduced bugs when integrating it in Sonic Origins. According to Thomley, the Headcannon team "were outsiders creating a separate project that was then wrangled into something entirely different".

Promotional

File:License Global 2022 April p11.png

License Global (April 2022).

The game was announced during the Sonic Central video presentation on 27 May 2021 that showcased news regarding the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary celebration. Among these announcements were also the teaser trailer for this game. The teaser trailer featured footage from the Retro Engine versions of the available games, being Sonic the Hedgehog (2013), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013) and Sonic the Hedgehog CD (2011), as well as emulated footage from the original 16-bit version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Prior to release, Sega delisted the existing versions of the games from digital stores excluding mobile platforms. The move received criticism on video game preservation grounds and for preventing consumers from choosing their preferred versions. This action was compared to Rockstar Games delisting Grand Theft Auto games before the release of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition in 2021, a decision that was reversed following backlash.

In the April 2022 issue of License Global magazine, an advertisement for the Sonic the Hedgehog series was featured on page eleven which used the key art of Sonic Origins, predating a formal reveal of the art from Sega. The game later received a full reveal on 20 April 2022. This would include the release of the game's official trailer and the reveal of the game's scheduled release date for 23 June, the canonical birthday of Sonic himself.

On 3 June 2022, Famitsu held a livestream where the staff took a look at Sonic Origins and its various contents and features through an hour-long playthrough of the game. Soon after, on 7 June, Sonic Origins was featured on the 2022 Sonic Central livestream, where a summary of the game's contents and release date was given.

Soundtrack

The music for the official trailer of Sonic Origins was composed by Hyper Potions.

As a result of ongoing and unresolved legal issues regarding the soundtrack for Sonic 3 & Knuckles regarding the participation of Michael Jackson and his associate, Sega was unable to use its entire soundtrack for Sonic Origins. As such, it would be announced that Jun Senoue, who was one of the sound engineers for the original game, would replace the affected soundtracks from the game with unused beta soundtracks from a prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 dated 3 November 1993 that were previously featured in Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997), which Senoue would recreate "as faithfully as possible" using the original sound chip to make them sound as authentic to the original tracks as possible. Despite this claim, some of the new renditions are identical to those of the leaked prototype whilst others sound less developed.

The affected tracks included the soundtracks for Carnival Night Zone, IceCap Zone and Launch Base Zone; the theme music for Knuckles and the mid-boss music, which were replaced with their equivalents from Sonic & Knuckles; and the theme music for the super transformation, which was given a new remix mirroring its theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Unlike its 2011 remaster, Sonic the Hedgehog CD in Sonic Origins features "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" and "Cosmic Eternity - Believe in Yourself", the respective opening and ending themes for the Japanese version of the game, and "Sonic Boom", the opening and ending theme for the American version of the game, all with their original vocals.

Achievements

These are the achievements and trophies for the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Steam versions of Sonic Origins.

Image	Name	Description	Trophy Class	Achievement	Gamerscore
File:SOriginsTrophyPlatinum.png	Complete Clear!	Get all the trophies	Template:PSN Trophy Platinum	N/A	N/A
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Welcome to Sonic the Hedgehog	Watch the opening for Sonic the Hedgehog	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png	File:SonicOriginsBronzeAchievement.jpg	10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Welcome to Sonic CD	Watch the opening for Sonic CD	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Welcome to Sonic the Hedgehog 2	Watch the opening for Sonic the Hedgehog 2	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Welcome to Sonic 3 & Knuckles	Watch the opening for Sonic 3 & Knuckles	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Beware Moto Bugs!	Defeat 10 Moto Bugs in Sonic the Hedgehog	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Bubbly Breath	Use Air Bubbles in Sonic the Hedgehog	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Time Traveler	Travel to the past or future in Sonic CD	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Shut Down Metal Sonic	Win a race against Metal Sonic in Sonic CD	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Beware Stingers!	Defeat 10 Stingers in Sonic the Hedgehog 2	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Lucky Hedgehog	Get the jackpot in Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Casino Night Zone	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Beware Rhinobots!	Defeat 10 Rhinobots in Sonic 3 & Knuckles	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Easy Peasy with Shields	Collect 3 types of Shields in Sonic 3 & Knuckles	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Ring Collector	Collect a total of 1000 Rings	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Gallant Spin Dash	Defeat 30 enemies with the Spin Dash	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Newbie Hero	Defeat a total of 50 enemies	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Museum Time	View a Premium Collection item from the Museum	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Very First Mission Clear!	Clear 1 Mission	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Knuckles the Echidna	Glide as Knuckles	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Miles "Tails" Prower	Fly as Tails	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophyBronze.png	Boss Rush Attempt	Try the Boss Rush from any of the titles	File:PSN Trophy Bronze.png		10
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Sonic the Hedgehog Mission Master	Clear 10 Sonic the Hedgehog Missions with an S rank	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png	File:SonicOriginsSilverAchievement.jpg	40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Sonic CD Mission Master	Clear 10 Sonic CD Missions with an S rank	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Mission Master	Clear 10 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Missions with an S rank	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	S3 & K Mission Master	Clear 10 Sonic 3 & Knuckles Missions with an S rank	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	To the Mirror World	Play Mirror Mode	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Movie Maniac	Unlock 6 movie collection items with Coins	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Sound Savant	Unlock 10 sound collection items with Coins	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Art Appreciator	Unlock 30 art collection items with Coins	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Everyone's Hero	Defeat a total of 200 enemies	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophySilver.png	Super Sonic	Turn into Super Sonic	File:PSN Trophy Silver.png		40
File:SOriginsTrophyGold.png	Cleared Sonic the Hedgehog	Clear Sonic the Hedgehog in either Anniversary or Classic Mode	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png	File:SonicOriginsGoldAchievement.jpg	80
File:SOriginsTrophyGold.png	Cleared Sonic CD	Clear Sonic CD in either Anniversary or Classic Mode	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png		80
File:SOriginsTrophyGold.png	Cleared Sonic the Hedgehog 2	Clear Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in either Anniversary or Classic Mode	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png		80
File:SOriginsTrophyGold.png	Cleared Sonic 3 & Knuckles	Clear Sonic 3 & Knuckles in either Anniversary or Classic Mode	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png		80
File:SOriginsTrophyGold.png	All Clear!	Clear all 4 titles	File:PSN Trophy Gold.png		80

Promotion

File:Sonic Origins trailer 45.png

An overview of the digital deluxe edition of Sonic Origins.

On 20 April 2022, a digital deluxe edition of Sonic Origins was announced that includes the following in-game content:

• Main game
• Hard missions
• Character animation in the main menu
• Camera controls over the main menu islands
• Character animations during music islands
• Additional music tracks from Mega Drive titles

Cheat codes

The method of activating cheats via Sound Test in 2013 remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is closely the same in Sonic Origins with the exception of Proto Palace Zone being inaccessible, with its cheat code now being a necessary means to simply access Hidden Palace Zone from the Level Select. For the cheat codes in these games, see here and here. The method of unlocking Level Select and Sound Test menus in Sonic the Hedgehog CD also works the same way as in 2011 remaster of the game alongside the Desert Dazzle/Level Select cheat added in the 2011 remaster, though it no longer enables Tails playability within that. Additional cheat codes in the Sound Test menu are based on ones present in the Windows 95 version of the game, which can be viewed here.

Sonic the Hedgehog

• Level Select: At the title screen, press ↑ ↓ ← →. A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code. After that, press Template:Y Button (Switch)/Square/Template:X Button (Xbox One) to display the Level Select menu.
• Display Tails' name as "Miles": At the title screen, press ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↑ . A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code. This will also enable the hidden developer credits in the intro.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• Level Select: At the title screen, press ↑ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ← → ← →. A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code. After that, press Template:Y Button (Switch)/Square/Template:X Button (Xbox One) to display the Level Select menu.
• Display Tails' name as "Miles": At the title screen, press ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↑ . A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles

• All Chaos Emeralds: At the Sound Test, play sounds 04, 01, 02, and 06. A Chaos Emerald chime will then sound to confirm the code. Plays the sounds again in the same sequence to collect all the Super Emeralds.
• Debug Mode: At the Sound Test, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 04, 01, 00, 01, and 08. A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code. From there, the player can select any Zone to start it with Debug Mode. The following commands for this game's Debug Mode are as follows:
  • Enter/exit object placement mode: Press Template:Y Button (Switch)/Square/Template:X Button (Xbox One). Also, while in object placement mode, use Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons/Arrow Keys to move around.
    • Cycle forward through available objects: Press Template:A Button (Switch)/Circle/Template:B Button (Xbox One).
    • Cycle backwards through available objects: Press Template:X Button (Switch)/File:PSTriangleButton.png/Template:Y Button (Xbox One) while holding Template:A Button (Switch)/Circle/Template:B Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Switch).
    • Change item subtype when selecting item: Press Template:B Button (Switch)Cross/Template:A Button (Xbox One).
    • Place selected item: Press Template:X Button (Switch)/File:PSTriangleButton.png/Template:Y Button (Xbox One).
  • Reverse gravity when outside object placement mode: Press Template:X Button (Switch)/File:PSTriangleButton.png/Template:Y Button (Xbox One).
• Level Select: At the title screen, press ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑. A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code. After that, press any button to display the Level Select menu. Additionally, by pressing ↑ once, or ↓ twice, a Sound Test option will appear on the title screen. The following commands for this game's Level Select are as follows:
  • Select Zone: Use Directional buttons/Arrow keys.
  • Select character: Press Template:Y Button (Switch)Square/Template:X Button (Xbox One)/.
  • To have Tails follow Sonic if the latter is selected: Press Template:X Button (Switch)/File:PSTriangleButton.png/Template:Y Button (Xbox One).
  • Play chosen Zone/Sound Test track: Press Template:A Button (Switch)/Circle/Template:A Button (Xbox One).
• Display Tails' name as "Miles": At the title screen, press ↑ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↑. A Ring chime will then sound to confirm the code.
• Penguinator Badniks Only: Play the sounds 01, 09, 09, 09, 00, 03, 00, 06. All Badniks will turn into Penguinators. In Hydrocity Zone, the disintegrating platform will trigger upon contact, rather than requiring the character to destroy the Badnik in the Blastoid's place. In stages such as Carnival Night Zone Act 2 and Death Egg Zone Act 2, Some Penguinators will appear upside-down, sliding along ceilings instead of floors. In Launch Base Zone, the Penguinator will appear in front of the Flybot767 alarm gate. The alarm gate itself will not activate even if triggered. An airborne Penguinator falling onto a sloped road will dash at high speed down the slope until it finds a flat section of land.
• All Item Boxes are Random: Play the sounds 04, 07, 09, 08, 01. A question mark will appear on all Item Boxes.
• All Item Boxes are Blue Shields: Play the sounds 01, 09, 09, 01, 00, 06, 02, 03. In the Gumball and Glowing Spheres Bonus Stage modes, the Lightning and Flame Shields are removed from gameplay, despite appearing inside the Gumball Machine for the former. In the Stage Acts, only the Water, Lightning and Flame Shield item boxes are replaced.
• Super Peel-Out: Play the sounds 01, 09, 09, 03, 00, 09, 02, 03. Sonic can now use Super Peel Out in the same way as in Sonic CD, with the sprites having been updated to reflect this. This gimmick only works with Sonic.
• All Item Boxes contain Bananas: Play the sounds 02, 00, 00, 01, 01, 00, 01, 03. A question mark will appear on all Item Boxes. Once destroyed a Banana Item will appear on the ground. The mechanics of the Banana are similar to that in the 2P versus mode.
• No Rings or Item Boxes: Play the sound 00 eight times. A dropped rings sound effect will play. In every stage Act, Rings, Special Stage rings and Item Boxes will disappear. This also affects all three of the Bonus Stages and The Doomsday Zone, rendering the latter impossible to beat. This does not affect Special Stages. Capsules that originally provided Rings in Flying Battery Zone will still provide rings, being the only source for rings in this mode.
• Ricky: Play the sounds 01, 09, 07, 09, 00, 08, 01, 01. All the Badniks will release a Ricky. When the character destroys a capsule, only Rickies are released.
• Infinite Continues (Classic Mode only): Play the sounds 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04.
• Flight Mode when transformed: Play the sounds 02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05. When the character chosen transforms, double tapping Template:B Button (Switch)/Cross/Template:A Button (Xbox One) will allow the Super Character to fly around the stages, similar in mechanics to the Egg Reverie Zone from Sonic Mania. The Air Dash move can also be used during flight, although that comes with a notable cost of rings.
• Super Theme Disabled: Play the sounds 06, 02, 01 and 04.
• Default Gameplay in Competition Mode: Play the sounds 03, 02, 01, 06, 00. The Drop-Dash and Insta-Shield along with 1P Physics can be used on 2P stages.
• No "& Knuckles" branding: Play the sounds 01, 09, 09, 04, 00, 02, 00, 02.
• Camera locks in on player: Play the sounds 02, 02, 06, 03, 07 and 02. The character will always be at the center of the camera aside from the stage's edges.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	75% (Switch) 73% (PC) 72% (PS4) 78% (PS5) 50% (XONE) 74% (Xbox X/S)
Review scores
Publication	Score
Destructoid	6.5/10
Game Informer	8.5/10
GameSpot	7/10
Nintendo Life	8/10 (Switch)
Hardcore Gamer	3.5/5
Push Square	7/10 (PS5)
Shacknews	8/10 (PS5)
VentureBeat	4.5/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star half.svg

Sonic Origins received "generally favorable reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.

Zoey Handley of Destructoid felt that the compilation was lacking and lamented the lack of more substantial additions, writing: "The whole idea behind the new collection was apparently to "modernize" the games; moving them into a new engine rather than simply emulating them. If that’s the case, why stop with widescreen?" Brian Shea of Game Informer, by contrast, praised the enhancements made to the Anniversary Mode, writing that "the Sonic Origins package is terrific overall... ...Having the best versions of the classic Sonic saga in one bundle is supremely satisfying." GameSpot and Push Square felt that while the additions made to the compilation justified the purchase for fans, its lackluster presentation and unnecessary downloadable content hindered Sonic Origins' overall quality. Kemps further noted that "even the recreations of the games themselves have some issues, with strange bugs that weren't present in the originals." John Linneman of Eurogamer criticized the collection's bugs, stating, "most aren't game breaking, but the sheer number of them impact the overall experience", specifically mentioning a reoccurring bug in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that made Tails get stuck as the player progresses through the level. Jacob Bukacek of Hardcore Gamer felt that the new versions "aren't all that much better than the originals" and that the compilation "doesn't manage to justify the price tag." TJ Denzer of Shacknews was more forgiving, praising the added museum, Boss Rush, tight controls, and remaster quality, but disliked the lack of multiple saves and console commands. Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica criticized its downloadable content, lack of a rewind or save state option, and the delisting of the existing versions from most digital stores, calling it "a tragic example of good classics ruined by greed". Regarding the game's lack of bonus content, Mike Minotti of VentureBeat wrote that "compared to, say, the 3D explorable world with its multiple media museums from Sonic Jam, it's a bit bare", but concluded that "a few oddities aside, these are fantastic remasters. Even if you're a Sonic fan who already owns these games in other compilations, Sonic Origins is worth it."

The replaced music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 received criticism from some critics and fans for its quality. Destructoid said the replacement tracks "just [feel] wrong" and inconsistent with the rest of the soundtrack, and Ars Technica said they did not compare well to the original tracks. Game Informer felt the tracks stripped the levels of their nostalgic feel, but that replacing the music was an acceptable compromise compared to excluding Sonic the Hedgehog 3 entirely.

Update history

• Version 1.01 (23 June 2022)
  • Fixed bugs to improve stability.
  • Other minor bug fixes.
• Version 1.03 (30 June 2022)
  • Fixed glitch that caused the game to crash when accessing Rankings with data in My Data in PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
• Version 1.04 (5 August 2022)
  • New secret codes are functional in Sound Test of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
  • Several music track titles from the Classic Music Pack that were displayed incorrectly in the Museum have been fixed.
  • Competition Mode in Sonic 3 & Knuckles is adjusted on the Nintendo Switch so that it can be played without registering two Joy-Cons and Pro controllers. Registration for two Joy-Cons and Pro controllers in Time Attack were made unnecessary and made it possible to cancel controller registration in other modes.
  • A glitch in Sonic the Hedgehog has been patched out, where retrying a Zone in Classic Mode from My Data and getting a Game Over would make players get stuck at the Title Screen.
  • Notable glitches fixed in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 include:
    • Tails would not return from outside the screen and a Spin Jump sound effect would be continually heard.
    • The sound effect of Rings gets interrupted when collecting them in quick succession.
    • Tails' flight sound effect is continually playing after moving to the next Zone if the player was flying with Tails during the transition.
    • Time limit would never expire in 2 Player VS mode if it reached 0 during the second player's gameplay after one has already reached to the Goal Post.
    • The transition time from Mystic Cave Zone Act 2 to Hidden Palace Zone would be added to the player's Best Time during the Story Mode.
    • A minor glitch was fixed that was causing crashes due to incorrect object calculations.
  • Notable glitches fixed in Sonic 3 & Knuckles include:
    • Leaving many Item Boxes in front of the sub-boss of Hydrocity Zone Act 1 would cause the game to crash when defeating the sub-boss and moving on to the next Act.
    • One glitch caused players to get stuck when playing a Special Stage from the Level Select menu after playing Time Attack Mode.
    • A glitch in Competition mode caused players to go back a lap when they took damage or fell out of the Zone.
    • Angel Island Zone Act 1 had playable characters being teleported when the island is set on fire.
    • Egg Gravitron would leave the area, if the player hits it by using a mid-air attack right when the vehicle enters the area.
    • A glitch caused a sound effect to continually play when the player transitioned Zones after defeating Red Eye in Death Egg Zone Act 1.
    • Flying Battery Zone Act 1 had a glitch causing a sound effect to continually play if a player transitioned Zones when close to a magnetic object.
    • Competition Mode during the Mirror Mode didn't include the courses to not be mirrored.
    • The playable character would get stuck on a burning rope in the middle of Angel Island Zone Act 2, which made it impossible for the player to progress in the game.
    • When the player starts off the Classic Mode with a save file where the game has been cleared, entering and exiting a Special Stage without touching a Star Post would cause the game time to incorrectly start at 9:59.
    • When the player begins the game as Sonic with a cleared-game save data file, performing certain actions in Angel Island Zone Act 1 would cause the player to incorrectly gain access to the boss area exclusive to Knuckles.
    • Performing certain actions in the Classic Mode, while fighting the Egg Inferno in Lava Reef Zone Act 2, would make the camera shift, and the playable character would fall out of the Zone.
    • In Angel Island Zone Act 1, performing certain actions after the Zone was set on fire, would made the player lose a life.
    • Players could've avoid a falling boulder caused by Knuckles in Lava Reef Zone Act 2 and doing so would prevent the player transition to the separate Boss Act of the Zone.
    • A glitch during the fight with Egg Vortex in Hydrocity Zone Act 2 caused an invisible ceiling to appear, which prevented players from jumping higher.
    • Opening the pause menu right when entering the first Special Ring in Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 and selecting "Restart" would cause players to start the Zone from an unnatural position.
    • Starting the game in Classic Mode while using saved data with a recorded Time Over in Angel Island Zone Act 1, and then getting a Game Over would cause players to immediately lose a life upon reaching the first encounter with Fire Breath.
    • When the player opens the pause menu just before entering a Special Stage and then selecting "Restart" would move the player to a different Act.
    • A bypass method of increasing amount of Coins in the Debug Mode has been patched out.
    • Originally, the background music in Special Stages would incorrectly remain on the same speed despite the playable character's acceleration rising up.
    • When starting the game in Classic Mode on a save file with a recorded Time Over, the Time would not reset from 9:59 upon clearing a stage.
    • In Death Egg Zone Act 2 while playing the Classic Mode, if the player opens the pause menu and selects "Restart" after transitioning to the separate boss Act with Giant Eggman Robo would cause the player restart the fight with 0:10 displayed on the Time HUD.
    • A glitch found in Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 would cause textures of objects to not display correctly. This glitch was noticeable exclusively in Nintendo Switch version of the game.
  • Notable glitches fixed in the game's Mission Mode include:
    • In the Fireball Dash mission, it was possible to move outside of the mission area, and clearing the mission would result in the player becoming stuck.
    • Slippery Swim mission was causing invisible blocks to appear in areas they aren't supposed to appear in.
    • In the Animal Rescue mission, players would stand on top of clouds instead of bouncing or falling off them.
    • Bounce House mission had the playable character becoming inoperable, if the player made them collide with a yellow Spring from the bottom right when time expired.
    • Extreme! Super Sonic Finish mission had the playable character falling off the platform shortly after reaching the Goal Post as it would cause the camera to lock and prevent the player from progressing.
    • Aerial Attack! mission had players getting stuck on blocks, while being unable to move.
  • A typo in the credits has been fixed.
  • An extra space from PlayStation Store in the Simplified Chinese text has been removed in PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
  • A bug exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game has been patched out, where having multiple autosaves in a short period of time would result in them not saving correctly.
  • Glitches found exclusively in Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S versions of the game have been fixed. These include:
    • When the player is exiting while connected to Xbox Live and syncing data would cause the game to crash.
    • A minor bug, that caused save file contents to be different when manually saving the game.
    • Going to offline mode after launching the game in online mode that would have cause the game to freeze for about 10 seconds.
    • When the player is launching the game while connected to a network, disconnecting from that network after reaching the Main Menu, playing a sound in the Museum, and then returning to the Main Menu would result in a crash after 15 seconds.
  • A glitch exclusive to Steam and Epic Games versions of the game has been fixed, that caused lower-performance GPUs to be automatically selected in multiple-GPU systems.
  • 42 other bugfixes.

Trivia

• Sonic Origins marks the first time since 2011 that Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been re-released.
  • It also marks the game's first appearance on a Nintendo platform since Sonic Classic Collection, and its first appearance on a Sony platform (in its complete, locked-on form) since Sonic Mega Collection Plus.
  • It marks the second time Sonic 3 & Knuckles is re-released without the original music for the levels Carnival Night Zone, IceCap Zone and Launch Base Zone, instead featuring Mega Drive renditions matching the Sonic & Knuckles Collection versions of the soundtrack. This version also features an all-new Super Sonic theme composed by Jun Senoue instead of using the same track for Invincibility.
• This is the first Sonic game to be released exclusively for the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 without backwards compatibility.
• The release date for Sonic Origins, 23 June, is the same date as the release date for the original Sonic the Hedgehog in North America. It is also considered the canonical date of birth for Sonic.
• Sonic Origins marks the first time the 2013 remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are fully available for PC and consoles.
• "Sonic Origins" was also the tentative title for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. This similarity is most likely a coincidence.
• Both Sonic and Eggman's poses in their key artwork are based on their poses from the key artwork of Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver.
  • The artworks for Eggman and Metal Sonic are derived from existing stock artwork, with the latter's originally being based on the key art for Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
• Prior to the 1.04 patch, many of the tracks featured in the Classic Sound Pack were erroneously mislabelled, and featured the descriptions of other tracks.
• The design of Amy's tarot cards in the cutscenes for Sonic the Hedgehog CD are based on Diana Skelly's original design that she created for Amy's tarot cards in the IDW Publishing Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog #45, "Trial by Fire, Part 1".
• The music that plays in the main menu of Sonic Origins is a remix of the music that plays in Sonic World from Sonic Jam.
• A small amount of the additional rotation frames for Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic which this compilation adds to Sonic 3 & Knuckles are modified from fan-made sprites serving a similar purpose in Sonic 3 Complete, an unofficial ROM hack of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Andy Collins has addressed this, stating that the sprites were used as a reference during the game's production, but were mistaken for work-in-progress sprites, leading to them accidentally being modified and included in the finished product.
• In the original releases for Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Dr. Eggman's glasses/eyes were black like in Sonic 2, but they were changed to blue like they were in the original Sonic the Hedgehog in this version along with its expansion pack. Its unknown why they were changed, while Sonic 2 stayed the same.
• According to Ian Flynn, the fox bullies had internal development names. Their names were non-flattering adjectives.

Videos

Trailers

Teaser trailerOfficial trailerRelease Date trailerLaunch trailerAccolades trailer

File:Sonic Origins - Teaser Trailer - Sonic Central 2021

File:Sonic Origins - Official Trailer

File:Sonic Origins - Release Date Trailer - Sonic Central 2022

File:Sonic Origins - Launch Trailer

File:Sonic Origins - Accolades Trailer

"Speed Strats" promotional videos

Speed Strats - Game ModesSpeed Strats - Sonic the HedgehogSpeed Strats - Sonic CDSpeed Strats - Sonic the Hedgehog 2Speed Strats - Sonic 3 & KnucklesSpeed Strats - SecretsSpeed Strats - Speedrunning

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Game Modes

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Sonic the Hedgehog

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Sonic CD

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Sonic the Hedgehog 2

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Secrets

File:Sonic Origins- Speed Strats - Speedrunning (feat. Argick)

External links

• Official English website
• Official Japanese website
• Official Asian website (English)

Sonic the Hedgehog game compilations

Console	Sonic Compilation (1995, Mega Drive) · Mega 6 Vol. 3 (1995, Mega Drive) · 6-Pak (1996, Mega Drive) · Sonic Jam (1997, Saturn) · Sega Smash Pack Volume 1 (2001, Dreamcast) · Sonic Mega Collection (2002, GameCube) · Sonic Adventure DX (2003, multi-platform) · Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004, multi-platform) · Sonic Gems Collection (2005, multi-platform) · 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Heroes/Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (2005, Xbox) · 2 in 1 Combo Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus/Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (2005, Xbox) · Sega Genesis Collection (2006, multi-platform) · Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009, multi-platform) · Sega Fun Pack: Sonic and the Secret Rings & Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (2009, Wii) · Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Shadow the Hedgehog (2009, PlayStation 2) · Dreamcast Collection (2011, multi-platform) · Sonic Forces & Sonic Mania Plus Double Pack (2018, multi-platform) · Sega Mega Drive Classics (2018, multi-platform) · The Ultimate Sonic Bundle (2019, Xbox One) · Sonic Origins (2022, multi-platform) · Sonic Origins Plus (2023, multi-platform)
Handheld	Sonic 2 in 1 (1995, Game Gear) · Sega Smash Pack (2002, Game Boy Advance) · 2 Games in 1: Sonic Advance & Sonic Battle (2005, Game Boy Advance) · 2 Games in 1: Sonic Advance & ChuChu Rocket! (2005, Game Boy Advance) · 2 Games in 1: Sonic Battle & ChuChu Rocket! (2005, Game Boy Advance) · 2 Games in 1: Sonic Pinball Party & Columns Crown (2005, Game Boy Advance) · 2 Games in 1: Sonic Pinball Party & Sonic Battle (2005, Game Boy Advance) · Combo Pack: Sonic Advance + Sonic Pinball Party (2005, Game Boy Advance) · Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Rush & Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll (2009, Nintendo DS) · Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Rivals 2 & Sega Genesis Collection (2009, PlayStation Portable) · Sonic Classic Collection (2010, DS) · Sega 3D Classics Collection (2015, 3DS) · Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives 3: Final Stage (2016, 3DS)
PC	Sega Family Fun Pak (1996) · Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997) · Sonic & Garfield Pack (1999) · Sonic Speed Pack! (1999) · Sega Smash Pack (1999) · Sega Puzzle Pack (1999) · Sega Archives from USA Vol. 1 (2000) · Sega Archives from USA Vol. 2 (2000) · Sega Archives from USA Vol. 3 (2000) · Sega Smash Pack 2 (2000) · Arcade Collection (2000) · Sonic Action Pack (2000) · Twin Pack: Sega Smash Pack & Sega Smash Pack 2 (2000) · Sonic Action 4 Pack (2001) · Sega Mega Pack (2003) · Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2006) · Sonic Double Pack (2008) · Sonic PC Collection (2009) · Sega Mega Drive Classic Collection (Vol. 1 (2010), Vol. 2 (2010), Vol. 3 (2010), Vol. 4 (2011)) · Sonic Anniversary PC Pack (2011) · Dreamcast Collection (2011) · Sega Genesis Classic Collection Gold Edition (2011) · Sonic Hits Collection (2013) · Sega War Bundle (2013) · Sega Forever (2017) · Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Bundle (2020) · Sonic Origins (2022) · Sonic the Hedgehog Legacy Bundle (2024)
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Navigation templates to Sonic Origins

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Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)

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Main article (Blue Sphere) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (prototype) · Re-releases (2001, 2005, mobile, GBA, iPod, 2013, 3D, Sega Ages)

*Appears in re-releases of the game only
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