Sonic Origins is meant to be a celebration of classic Sonic, the first time that all four main games from the Mega Drive/Genesis era — Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD — have been compiled together. And from the looks of the gameplay trailer shared earlier this month, it seems like it will be!
The collection comes with a number of different modes, including Anniversary Mode (that comes with a bunch of modern day features), Classic Mode, and a brand new Story Mode. This will feature some fancy new animated cutscenes and will let you play through the games in chronological order (not release order, which is why CD comes before Sonic 2).
But Sega Asia seems to confirm that you can only play through Story Mode as the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog, on its website.
Now, this might sound disappointing initially, but it also makes a bit of sense. Sonic is the only character who features in all four games originally — Tails and Knuckles don't make their debuts until 2 and 3, respectively — so adding them into the game and the narrative might have been a bit more work than needed. Knuckles also won't be playable in CD at all, for some reason (really, because Sega would need to redesign him significantly to make him work in CD's stages — thanks for the reminder, readers!). At least Tails will be playable in everything in every other mode.
And unless you want to turn off your companion while playing through Sonic 2 in the other modes, this is the way to finally get all of those pesky Chaos Emeralds in the second numbered game without Tails spoiling the fun by running into spikes and bombs all the time. Honestly.
If there's one disappointment to come out of this, it's surely Knuckles' absence in the final game. Knuckles gets his own little story throughout 3 & Knuckles, which is set after Sonic's own adventure and features a different final boss to the one Sonic gets to face off against.
Oh well, it looks like we'll have to tolerate playing through the story as the main character of the Sonic series. But surely Knuckles' scenario will still be available in the other modes, so at least they'll still be part of some of the experience. Still, we would've loved to have seen more story for Sonic's friends, and even more animated cutscenes with the rest of the trio wouldn't have hurt.
Sonic Origins is due to launch on Switch next month — 23rd June, in fact! How do you feel about Story Mode being a Sonic-only zone? Let us know in the comments.
[source asia.sega.com, via gamerant.com]
Comments (47)
Also they took these games off Steam... If the Internet is to be believed... 🙄
Oh, Sonic Origins, you. It'd be really nice if there was any piece of news for this game that didn't come with 5 extra caviats. I still can't help but think that there's a LOT more to this game than meets the eye, especially since we have no real clue about what's actually included in the museum mode. I just don't think that Sega would make something as underwhelming as what we're seeing, given their track record of consistently making some of the best collections in the industry. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the missing, typically re-released spin-offs showed up the museum, as well as a few others that haven't been re-released in a while.
To be able to only play as Sonic in Story Mode DOES make sense. From a story perspective, Knuckles & Tails would be just a side-story at best.
Plus, Knuckles playable in Sonic CD would've been counter-productive. CD's levels don't accommodate Knuckle's abilities & style well. Mostly because how the levels are designed.
But...still...can't imagine playing as Knuckles in Sonic CD.
EDIT: I've browsed the site more and notice that Origins also includes addition music from Knuckles Chaotix. Saw it on the shopping guide section of the site.
@Wurstsemmel753 The comment of the day.
Knuckles also won't be playable in CD at all, for some reason
Have you played Sonic CD?
@DanijoEX "I've browsed the site more and notice that Origins also includes addition music from Knuckles Chaotix"''
Would be nice if that indicates Knuckles Chaotix is unlockable! (Wishful thinking I know)
I don't get all the fuss of Tails losing rings in Sonic 2's special stages, he only collects the rings you'd miss anyway and I never had a problem getting them with him around.
As for the story mode, it makes sense given they're his games and designed primarily around him
Sorry, narrative? Lol cuz Sonic is known for its deep, compelling story. Adding in Knuckles and Tails would completely upset the balance of this beautiful and carefully crafted tail...
Haha...
Im just hoping for a physical release really.
The reason Knuckles isn't playable in CD is apparent if you've played CD before
I mean Sega has been snubbing everyone in the main games who isn't named Sonic or Eggman for a while now so this isn't surprising.
@Daniel36 Considering Knuckles is a bad guy for 3/Knuckles...yeah.
@carlos82 The required ring count is increased if Tails is with you. Since he's just as liable to hit a bomb as grab a stray ring, having Tails along is a de facto difficulty increase.
@alexybubble Well Sonic Spinball is already part of Expansion Pass. That may be why we aren't seeing side games in the series in this release.
@carlos82 This was my point exactly. Surely removing Tails actually makes the Sonic 2 special stages harder! Any rings he finishes with are a bonus and would have been missed otherwise.
@carlos82 The first couple Special Stages are okay. But Tails moved about 2 seconds behind Sonic. So he starts running into every obstacle on the harder stages.
@Clyde_Radcliffe I wish that to be true and it would be really cool for a secret unlock.
@Dr_Corndog I wasn't aware of that, I don't think I ever played as just Sonic, then again I never found it that difficult to get the emeralds either
I fully expected the "story mode" (where everything is combined in order, and joined with cutscenes to make the story flow) to be only Sonic playable by himself, thats the only way that really makes sense keeping the same configuration through. Only other option would be half way through you meet Tails and then he joins you from that moment on.
That said, different unique story modes with different little cutscene transitions for playing through as only Tails and Knuckles would be awesome and I can see that maybe being one of the things added for the innevitable "Plus" styles version, similar to Encore mode in Mania.
And as others have said, and I've said on this site before, Knuckles not being playable in CD is a shame but not really surprising giving his moveset, and the different style of the zones. Apparantly fans have patched him into the previous Taxman/Stealth version so its possible with the engine and doesn't break stuff, its just that his moveset doesn't work well with the layouts. It'd be cool to give us the option as an unlockable, even if there was a warning that it might be glitchy, or if they remove his unique abilities and just make him a Sonic "pallette swap" kinda deal.
Makes sense they’d only let you play through story mode in the canonical way, also because Sonic being the focus of the cutscenes.
@Andy_C444 It was self deletion before the mods noticed. Because when mods delete posts, they are still there as blank ones stating the reason mods removed them. The 2 sock puppet accounts still exist but with no posts. I assume the user is trying to hold onto the accounts and prevent them from being banned, so they can be used later.
My hope its they just pick one of the accounts and choose to use it for posting non-spam and become a proper member who doesn't waste their own time trying to annoy people. Assuming that they aren't already alts of another user. Perfectly possible its just someone who already posts here and wanted to have some "fun". Either way, I hope we can go back to being able to discuss Sonic without the same person derailing the thread by posting 15 messages in a row every day. 😇
The link to the gameplay trailer in the article is broken.
@Shadowthrone I’ve only played it once and got really confused by the time jumping mechanic. Why wouldn’t Knuckles be able to work?
Just it being there is pretty cool, I'm okay with Story Mode being exclusively Sonic. I'm more concerned about whether you'll be able to play as Sonic 3 & S&K separately, and whether it has the original music. Hopefully yes and yes.
I'm more irritated by the fact that Knuckles is not playable in Sonic CD--this just confirms that literally the only thing "new" in this collection is Christian Whitehead's Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Which is disappointing; going into the games' code and actually adding some cool stuff would have been nice for this long-awaited console release of decade-old cell phone ports of decades-older Genesis games.
I'm just hoping it's good.
Personally, Knuckles not being playable in CD, and his scenario for S3&K not being included in "Story Mode" isn't defendable. If they included Tails as playable for this rerelease and back in the 2011 CD rerelease, then they could've taken the time and effort to make Knuckles work in this 2022 rerelease.
Not having a simple little Story Mode for the Knuckles scenario of S3&K is silly being that it's canon.
SEGA gonna be lazy ofc tho
@Andy_C444 I went back to the article you were referring to, it doesn’t look like he’s been banned yet. Edit: Never mind, I forgot you can still see the comments of someone that’s been banned. So what article was he on with his alt accounts?
Had a sonic phase earlier in the year. I was a millimetre from falling completely in love with 1 and 2 . For me the difficulty of the last few zones in each jus makes them a chore where I fear running at full speed. Otherwise nothing but fond memories of all these games xx will buy this just for 3 xxx
"Knuckles also won't be playable in CD at all, for some reason."
Historically, Knuckles can only jump 80% as high as Sonic and Tails. Adjusting stages in ways that allows Knuckles to get through STH1 might be reasonable, but every Sonic CD stage has 3 different versions (past, present, future) and would require a lot more work, and could cause a lot of things to break.
There's your reason.
Reading the comments makes me wonder if anyone knew player two could control Tails in the original Sonic 2's single player mode, bonus stages and all. Made getting the Chaos Emeralds much easier back in the day.
@Dualmask
The problem is most older people don’t always have access to a player 2.
Knuckles' Story Mode for the first two games would be "continue to sit on the Master Emerald..."
I actually found Sonic 2's Special Stages extremely easy whether you played with Sonic alone or Sonic and Tails together. The only one I had a bit of trouble with was the last one (Special Stage 7) because of the way the rings were scattered all over the place, literally but I always remember seeing the Stage flash all different colours when I did it and I was like YES!!!!
Being able to play as Tails and Knuckles always felt like the devs giving you ways to break the balanced designs. I don't care how ill-suited CD is for Knuckles, I want to know how drastically the gameplay changes for him.
@Matty1988 Fait enough, but what about Tails?
@Andy_C444 Yeah I noticed. Don't let it bother you. Best not to reply or post publicly about it I guess. Clearly they are bored and want attention so best to ignore it.
Does anyone know why Sonic Origins is still not available for preorder on Switch? It's been everywhere else since its original big reveal, I've had my Xbox preorder since April 20, and despite claims that it is coming to "all platforms" (including Switch) on June 23, it still does not appear to have a page on Nintendo's site. It's getting closer and closer to release month, what's going on here? Any other game, I would've had my Switch digital download preordered by now.
@Andy_C444 Hey there, thanks for bringing this to our attention, really appreciate it!
If you happen to notice any more please report the account in question or contact us here & we will be sure to handle it https://www.nintendolife.com/contact
Have a great day!
This doesn't bother me nearly as much as whether or not Origins will remaster or even include MJ's contributions to the Sonic 3 soundtrack. That game just isn't the same without bangers like 'Carnival Night Zone' or 'IceCap Zone'
I know that there was a dispute for some years over the rights and royalties to that music. Origins's trailer not even acknowledging its soundtrack has me thinking it's still trapped in courtroom hell (which come to think of it would be a fantastic classic Sonic stage) but is there any hope?
I remember when Sonic 2 came out. I remember being amazed with the game and when it came to the “special stages” how mind blowing it was then. Yes, the later special stages were a pain since you had tails with you. I used to have my brother or mom come in and play as tails with the second controller just so I didn’t have the delayed issue Tails has. It will be nice to play this again and not have to have somebody play as Tails so I can get the gems. Looking forward to this!
I am kinda confused here... why isn't the game "Sonic & Knuckles" in this collection?
I'm confused. Was the author of this article unaware that the original Sonic 2 already had the option to play as only Sonic or Tails?
@James696 Courtroom Hell Zone... I like it.
@Chibi_Manny Sonic 3 & Knuckles is included instead of Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles. Sega commissioned Headcannon, one of the studios behind Sonic Mania, to build Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the same engine that Sonic CD, 1 and 2, and Mania were built on. It's an odd exclusion, but the content from Sonic & Knuckles is still there, you just need to reach Zone 7, or use the Level Select. Outside of that, Tails is playable in the Sonic & Knuckles levels, and you sadly lose title screen for Sonic & Knuckles.
@DanijoEX theres a mod that gas done it....
@Wilforce Tails operates more or less like Sonic, so he's easier to put in. Knuckles has different mechanics, not least of which is a lower jump that aren't easily transferred to a game made solely for Sonic. Any reworking to make him usable is further compounded because the stages in Sonic CD all have 3 different versions (past, present and future) and all would have have to have the rework done. It'd be a big undertaking to put him in a game that was never designed with him in mind.
Oh snap! I got schooled by the real deal K.T.E. @Knuckles himself so you know is all true since he lived through it all himself!
🎵~ Born on an island... IIIIIN... the heavens! ~ 🎶
Ok lol putting that joke aside now.
@Knuckles thank you for telling me about that. I had absolutely no idea that was what SEGA did so that's new to me. Real shame about loosing the super cool "Sonic & Knuckles" title screen, that was the best one out of all of them imo. I was doing some research about that and found out that even though we lost the Sonic & Knuckles title screen, all the original jingles and theme songs (such as invincibility, extra life, etc.) from the original Sonic 3 have been replaced by the ones from Sonic & Knuckles which is kinda interesting.
I found a YouTube video that shows the difference in music between both games which basically list all the Sonic 3 music that got replaced by Sonic & Knuckles music.
@Chibi_Manny Careful there, you know what that song says about chuckling.
The reason the songs are replaced in Sonic 3 & Knuckles is because the game uses the sounds from the Sonic & Knuckles half of the cartridge. As for why they were changed in the first place, we will likely never get the official answer, but 99% chance it involves Michael Jackson being involved with the soundtrack of Sonic 3 and most of his music that wasn't a zone theme was replaced by new songs in Sonic & Knuckles.
I didn't mention these as lost earlier because I was talking about what content you wouldn't be able to see from Sonic & Knuckles and just added on that Tails could play through the stages now. All the songs you mentioned would still be accessable in Sonic & Knuckles, but not Sonic 3, since I wasn't listing those numerous changes.
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