In recent years, after two decades of disappointment, being a Sonic fan has become fun again. One of the greatest joys was the Sonic Origins compilation that came out last year. Obviously there are things that could have been better. If there’s one thing that impresses me, it’s how difficult it seems for some publishers to get a perfect emulation, while there are many small developers who can pull it off without much trouble.
With everything and everything, it’s hard to complain when you’re offered some of the best platform games of the 16-bit glorious era in renewed condition and with two masterpieces like Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD. I didn’t care if they changed the music in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 or if there were a few issues at launch.
Because they are games that stand the test of time. I don’t know how many times I’ve played Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and I still find it just as exciting to speed through the second zone, the Chemical Plant Zone. In addition, it emphasizes the joy and desire to use high-quality elements in certain moments of the adventure, although they are good enough to inspire an entire game. On a note, I think this is something that Nintendo usually does very well and that nobody else does. Among the first Sonic games available for Mega Drive, it’s probably the platform I like the least, so how much will I not like the others considering it’s a great game.
Well, Sega brings us Sonic Origins Plus, which can be purchased both as a standalone game and as an expansion to Sonic Origins. There’s good news: Twelve of the Game Gear games have been added, some of which are new even to me. I say this because I owned the handheld at the time, collect retro games, and am a Sonic lover. The list of new additions is as follows:
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New games in Sonic Origins Plus
- Sonic the Hedgehog (8bit)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8bit)
- Sonic Chaos
- dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (8-bit)
- Sonic Drift
- Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (8bit)
- Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
- Sonic Drift 2
- Tails’ Skypatrol
- Tails Adventure
- Sonic Maze
- Sonic Blast
Many of them still fascinate today. I think platform games are particularly good for younger players. The Mega Drive titles are still pretty demanding, and the fact that Sonic is so fast makes them more suitable for older fans. The 8-bit sonics are much slower and feel more like a classic platformer hero. However, if you play too much, you may end up hating the game, no matter how fun it may seem at first, as is the case with Sonic Spinball (love the original 16-bit version).
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The great appeal of the collection is the presence of two new playable characters: Knuckles in Sonic CD and Amy Rose in the games previously available in the collection. Amy has always been a character I’ve never really liked, but both Sega and Sonic Team have been treating her more lovingly lately, so she was able to accept the role with ease in a way. She doesn’t function like Sonic himself, but she uses her hammer to defeat her enemies, making her easier and more accessible to play. Knuckles’ presence in Sonic CD hits the spot and makes the adventure easier to explore while also representing a new approach to adventure.
So what. Can we say it’s a perfect title? Well yes and no. Both the collection itself and everything new it offers comes highly recommended. The problem is the emulation I mentioned at the beginning. Now you not only have the problems you had in the beginning, but also new ones that come with the latest additions to the Game Gear. By that I mean the sound, which isn’t very good and in my experience the controls are a bit slow depending on the game.
Also, I wish such a fantastic compilation could have included both the Master System and Game Boy Advance games, such as Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection. I would like to give full marks, but I can’t. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is the best collection of Sonic titles yet. I recommend the Plus expansion even to existing Sonic Origins owners. However, I still feel that the set hasn’t received all the love it needs to be the definitive compilation for most Hedgehog fans.
