In just a few weeks, Sega will be releasing the Sonic Origins collections on multiple platforms, including the Nintendo Switch.
If you missed it, this four-in-one package will include Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. There'll also be various other goodies to unlock within the collection, animated content, and different modes.
While we've already seen a fair bit of gameplay footage, YouTube channel Sonic Station has now shared an edited 45-minute video of Sonic Origins - showing off Famitsu playing through a level of each of the games, the lovely new menus, and more...
Sonic Origins will be a digital release and will be available as a standard or digital deluxe purchase. There'll also be some other DLC content you can unlock.
Will you be adding this game to your digital library when it arrives on Switch on June 23? What do you think of the above footage? Leave a comment below.
[source youtu.be]
Comments 61
So, just like the original games? What else is to be expected from the new gameplay video?
Looks and ran great, please announce a physical copy and I would gladly double dip.
Cool. But still no word on what music in Sonic 3 is being included here š©
Still buying becauseā¦ I mean come onā¦ these games are amazingā¦ but I think Sega really needs to address the elephant in the room and say whether or not the original music is retained. Itās not like they arenāt aware of it.
I thought they said the soundtrack was āupdatedā. Where did I see that?
This is only worth $15.
@tka060681 This release isn't targeted at you, or really anyone who has already played the games to death and back. This game is meant to expose new Sonic fans (through the movie and newer games) to what Sonic was up to 30 years ago.
Amazing! It looks so much exactly the same.
@tka060681 Drop the 1 and maaaybbbee.
They show the video menu and we can see that the Sonic Mania Adventures Youtube shorts are included,
Bought it on Steam. I haven't played these games in years most notably Sonic 3 and Knuckles which I used to play a LOT when I was a Teenager so it'll be nice to take a Nostalgia trip.
@ChromaticDracula More than likely it will feature the original music from Sonic 3 and Knuckles rather than the stand alone Sonic 3 game Such as the invincibility music and mini boss music if that's what you mean.
@SteamEngenius @tka060681 Rebuild these games from the ground up, animate new cutscenes for them, and put it all in a compilation yourself, and I'm sure you'd be fine with all that work amounting to a $5-15 product. You probably wouldn't be happy unless this game was free. Quit being so entitled and learn to respect the effort that actually goes into game development, even for compilations like this.
@KayFiOS
You know people can voice their opinion, even though you may not like it.
@blindsquarel And I can voice my opinion on entitled brats that think this is a cheap product. Your point?
@KayFiOS
It was the quit being so entitled part. People can decide how much a game is worth to them. Just because someone worked hard, doesnāt mean it should be full price.
@blindsquarel It's so easy for people who don't have experience in game development to decide how much a game is worth... And I guarantee you, even if they waited for a sale, they'd be paying more than $15. And saying that it should be $5 is absolutely insane. It sure would be nice if my rent was $2! š¤Ŗ
@SteamEngenius I would only pay $9.99 for it, I already got sega ages sonic 1 and 2 on my switch, and sonic mania.
Watched about a minute before that looped music drove me crazy. Why was it playing menu music over the gameplay?! Who thought that was a good idea?!
Looking forward to playing Sonic 3 for the first time in a long, long time.
@blindsquarel @blindsquarel @blindsquarel @KayFiOS I bought Almost all the sega ages titles on switch, including sonic 1 and 2, now they want to charge $40 for this compilation, the price is ridiculous, I am not gonna buy it.
@blindsquarel Agree, I got almost 500 games on my switch, but I am not gonna pay $40 for this cash grab compilation.
Why are they refusing to confirm/deny the Sonic 3 OST lol they're really gone out of their way to hide the OSTs
Are the negotiations still ongoing or something?
@tka060681 I am going to buy it because I really want to play Sonic 3, but I completely agree with your point. The games industry is developing a reputation for ripping people off... loot boxes, subscriptions, currencies, DLC held back, selling you the same thing multiple times. As far as I am concerned, there is only so long the counter argument of "you don't have to buy it/ vote with your wallet" can stand up, especially as the entire world is seemingly entering a period of economic turmoil.
Games industry keeps raking in more and more money. Profits higher than they have ever been before. But how healthy is the industry in reality?
I too have the Ages versions of Sonic 1 and 2. There is absolutely zero reason why SEGA cannot apply an automatic discount to a digital download of Origins.
I'm still buying it, so I'm part of the problem apparently, but it's not quite that simple. The games industry will have to change some of these poor practices over the next few years.
@nocdaes please donāt buy it for this ridiculous price, itās not worth it at all, be a clever consumer.
It looks great, but will wait on the physical
@KayFiOS Only one of these is a new game, the rest have been available on mobile devices free for several years.
"Theres also some other DLC content you can unlock" Oh, are we talking about the "pay us extra for animated backgrounds in the menu"-part? Because I think that idiocy should be a topic everytime this game is mentioned so people know what awful business strategies they are supporting here.
Copy and paste repackage and sell. The Mega Collection on the GameCube was the 1st and still the best Sonic anthology you can own.
@KayFiOS
Each of these games is well over twenty years old. With half the games being rereleased every other year. If people feel like these games arenāt worth 40$ than that is a perfectly fine opinion. That doesnāt mean the developers didnāt work hard. It just means that the games arenāt worth as much as a new game. I bet the developers worked their tails off for skyward sword HD. But 90% of people can see the game was not worth full price. Even though the devs worked hard.
I'm failing to see what's so special about this package. Swear these games have been re-released a million times before in one form or another?
@Devann Regardless of whether it's for old or new gamers this package is absolutely a rip-off. Pac-Man Museum features 14 games and cost only Ā£17.99. This game will be Ā£32.99 for 4 games (and that's without the paid DLC)
@YagaMaki They have. It's about time Sega released a handheld collection with the Sonic Advance, Sonic Rush games and others in it! Now THAT would be an interesting collection.
For those who think this game is a rip off (I honestly think it's expensive!), the Colombian eshop is the way to go. The digital deluxe version is around $20 there, which I think is worth it.
@Devann
i dont feel that its specifically for newer fans since there are quite a few older fans who were hoping to see sonic 3&K get the retro engine treatment alongside those who had been asking for these versions of sonic 1 and 2 to be released on console.
For newer fans however these do seem like the definitive versions.
One thing that this trailer did show which is nice is that the sonic 3&K special stages are more in line with the smoother versions from sonic mania similar to how the special stages of 1,2 and CD also had some significant improvements in their respective remasters.
The important thing to note here is that this footage is running on Switch, and at 1080p 60 Fps! This is very important because in nearly every Sonic Origins thread on this website I see people asking if it will be 60fps, because the trailers say "4k 60fps on Playstation Xbox and PC only", and until now, there was no confirmed Switch footage.
For those wondering about the music, it was replaced in this video with Sonic Jam music, because in the original Japanese footage, it was Japanese commentary and the sound under the commentary was very poor quality... but even in that footage, they made sure not to play any S3+K stages that would have the MJ tracks, so we are still none the wiser.
Other things we learned from this footage (thanks to Sonic Central for compiling) :
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Multiplayer Mode comes from the Mobile version (it has 8 zones to choose from, being those Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruin, Casino Night, Hill Top, Mystic Cave, Oil Ocean and Special Stages. All the original Sonic 2 Zones use their Player 2 Song);
I don't see the point of this collection. Aren't these games already available 3 times on switch, as SEGA Ages, NSO Expansion and Sega Genesis classics entries? What's the point of having them a 4th time?
@Devann I disagree. I was a Sonic fan since when I was a kid in the nineties, and this is just what I want. Only, being a fan for so long I have such high expectations, but it appears that many of them will not be met. To give them credit, they have the right idea... but with Sega being Sega, they did what they do best and f***ed up the overall end result in my opinion in several ways. To list a few:
Original versions (quality emulations of original ROMS, or possibly improved versions of the originals like the Sega Ages releases of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 on Switch) plus Christian Whitehead versions? Nope, just Taxman's versions, either in widescreen or cropped 4:3. No originals, or originals with improvements here, for completeness. Just the remakes with different aspect ratios, and game rules/lives systems, which literally seem to be tied to each other.
Choice between the classic gameplay rules and game over/lives system vs. the "new" infinite lives mode? Nope, unless you consider being forced to run Christian Whitehead's versions with a cropped screen aspect a choice. There seems to be no widescreen mode with the original game over/lives system intact. Very sad.
The choice to play Sonic 3 and Knuckles as a whole, or to play the original Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles on their own, independently of each other? Nope, based on what I've seen and heard it seems like all you get here is a widescreen reproduction of both games locked on into one.
The main thing I am hoping for now, given all these disappointments for a collection that I had such high hopes and was very excited for since its original announcement is for all of the games' original Genesis music to be left intact. Sega, you're bragging about the museum/soundtrack "feature" of this game in your convoluted "sku comparison"... hell, you're even selling it as DLC or as part of a "deluxe" edition that costs $5 more. Don't let us down with inferior, non-original garbage music.
@chipia Only Sonic 1 & 2 are available these ways, and are far from the definitive versions. The Origins versions are rebuilt from the ground up and have many features that the older versions don't. The only versions of those games that are "as good" is the Android/IOS ports by Whitehead & Stealth, which aren't available on Switch. Sonic CD and S3+K are the biggest draws here, that's essentially 3 games never released on Switch, or indeed any consoles for well over a decade, and now as the definitive versions.
Sure, all 4/5 games were available in Sonic Mega Collection + Sonic Gems collection, but that was in the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era. And again, those were roms, when these are remakes from the ground up with tweaks and improvements. The last time we saw that on console was Sonic Jam on the Saturn.
@nocdaes The Sega Ages versions aren't completely irrelevant. Those are still the original roms. The "Classic" Sonic (4:3) versions in this compilation have also been remastered. There will always be a market for completely unaltered version of games. That's why I always say there is NO definitive version of a game: there is the best version of the original game and the best remake/remasters version. They actually co-exsist.
@ChromaticDracula Probably the original with MJ's involvement if they are choosing not to play it in trailers to avoid paying extra royalties
@inenai I REALLY hope that's the case, and its one of two possibilities I've broken down here in more detail in other threads. You make a very valid point that many don't realise, that if the result of the recent legal case was that they have to pay royalties on the music for every product that uses it, including the music in the trailers would cost more. In my day job I have this same issue with using music in movies - if you want to use that same music in the trailer, you pay all over again.
But the other possibility is they didn't manage to get the rights at all, and are purposefully not mentioning the music one way or another in the trailers and preview footage to avoid backlash and negative articles that may discourage pre-orders.
I sadly feel thats more likely, as if it were the case that they include the original music, even if they were avoiding playing it in videos for royalty reasons, they would definitely want to specify "includes full original soundtrack" or something as a feature, to stop everyone worrying and constantly asking every day on twitter and comment sections.
Sure, we'll find out one way or another the second the game is available anyway (my strong suspicion is there will be a review embargo before the date, as well as a ban on discussing certain things, music included). But a lot of people who will buy this collection are casual audiences who played the games in their childhood but haven't stayed up to date with the fandom and won't be aware of the music issue or that the games haven't been re-released for so long because of it. People who have only recently come back to liking Sonic because of the recent popular movies, or getting back into the series as they now have kids they want to share it with - "this is what Sonic was like when I was little". These kinds of people will just assume the games will be how they remember. A load of news articles and twitter outrage that would innevitably come the second its leaked that the original music won't be there, and could put a lot of those people off. And the hardcore fanbase would be outraged, but most will still buy it regardless.
So theres no reason for them to want to confirm if its bad news, and every reason to confirm if its good news. The silence is concerning. I'll be elated if the music is in there. If its not, for me its not a dealbreaker... and it will quickly get modded into the PC versions anyway.
@samuelvictor I believe if they didn't have the rights, that they would've already shown us how the game will sound like in the trailers. I might be wrong though, but I just have a feeling they do have the rights this time.
@inenai I really, really hope you're right. Truly. But as I said, they have every reason to show off the fact the original music is included as a feature to get more sales and please fans, and every reason to avoid backlash by keeping it hidden while still in pre-order period. I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed though, it will be a massive deal if they've pulled it off after the lawsuits and decades of complaints from the individuals concerned.
@inenai thatās actually pretty interesting and not an angle I wouldāve thought of. You may be onto somethingā¦.
Iām not sure how those contracts are written but this certainly seems plausible.
Iām one of the people who plays the game sometimes just to hear the soundtrack so needless to say, itās pretty important to me to have the original tracks in place, at least as an option.
Thanks! Iām feeling better and better about this whole situation. Canāt wait for release this month!
These have been re-released 8000 times already. Why does anyone care about this? Not to poo-poo it, it's cool if you're excited, but I don't get it.
@Devann wrong there's plenty for older fans and sonic fangame community is plenty excited. As if new fans care about hidden palace in sonic 2 or the presence of the dropdash they showed in the trsiler.
@Mr_Nutz the christian whitehead versions are full on remakes.
@Mr_Nutz Firstly, 3 out of the 5 original games haven't been re-released for current console, or included on any compilations for over a decade, save for the mobile only Sonic CD port. Sure, big fans will have been playing them on their retro systems or via emulation and fan ports, but casual audiences who either fondly remember the games from their childhood, or are new Sonic fans wanting to experience the literal "Origins" will now have a very accessible way to play all 5 on current consoles and PC.
Secondly, as they are recreated from the ground up by a proven team of ultra fans, in the same engine as the excellent Sonic Mania, so these should be the definitive official versions. So even the hardcore fans who regularly replay the old games are excited to have a much easier to access way to play the games, and are excited for the improvements. I know that as a near obsessive fan since 1991, the Whitehead/Stealth remasters of Sonic 1,2 and CD on mobile only were so good it made it hard to go back to the originals... and I even bought an Android console and gamepad specifically so I could play them on my TV. Having these versions (with tweaks, achievements etc) and equivalent quality versions of S3+K, which has never been recreated in this way before, available to me on my favourite current gen console is a huge deal.
@samuelvictor good summary on why true fans are excited
@samuelvictor since you mention sonic jam i must mention that the menu music is a throwback to sonic jams "sonic world" too and looks like we're getting a museum and videos. This compilation is a massive love letter to fans.
@chipia These are full on remakes using the Reto Engine from Sonic Mania that was exclusive to mobile and not available at all for S3&K. They are widescreen and add new gameplay tweaks (like Tails flying in S2 and Knuckles in Sonic 1). Lastly they have added intro cutscenes in a story mode that links the games. Coupled with tons of extras like mission mode and a museum theres a lot of reasons to be excited.
@Mikey_205 Thank you! And yeah, using the Sonic Jam music is a really nice touch that throws back to the last time Sega officially remade these games for the ground up for a current gen console. Before the mobile ports, Jam was my go-to way to play the Megadrive games, because of the subtle changes and improvements.
As an aside, I've been developing my own Sonic fangame for a while, which is an Origins style port of the 4 main 8bit games (widescreen, 60fps removing all slowdown, multi character select for all games, able to switch movesets and sprites to match your preference), and I chose to remake 8bit PSG versions of the Sonic Jam title and menu music for my intro, title and menu for this exact reason, so I was really buzzed to see Sega had the same thought!
I do have a question. Will there be a music toggle for Sonic CD between the US and EU/JAP soundtrack, like it was with the 2011 Remake?
@NatiaAdamo We don't know for sure because we've only had footage of the Japanese version (and I can't read the Japanese in the menus ). However, we've had confirmation from Whitehead himself that the version of CD on Origins is basically his 2011 version, and Sega own both soundtracks with no rights issues (except perhaps the opening animation songs?), so I would imagine its a very safe bet we'll get the option to switch as before.
One thing thats interesting is that Sonic Central noted that the vocals have been readded to the intro so hopefully that means we'll have the lyrics back to "Sonic Boom" and "You Can Do Anything" for the intro, rather than being instrumental only.
@samuelvictor Thanks for the summary!
@Mr_Nutz No worries
@Matty1988 @Toshiro_Baloney @ChromaticDracula @inenai Apologies to be the barer of bad news, but on the Live Stream on the official Sonic YouTube Channel, Katie just said:
"While unfortunately we can't use all of the original sounds from the Sega Genesis version of the game, Jun's been working really hard to adapt the original music that was composed in '93 for Sonic Origins, reproducing it with the sound chip from the Sega Genesis."
So, what that means is it will be the music from the Windows '95 version, recreated with the Megadrive sound chip. These were the original tracks in betas before MJ and team came on board and made new ones which were in the final release.
Its a real shame of course for those nostalgic to the Megadrive tunes, but she went on to very fondly talk about Jun making these new Genesis versions of the midi tracks and apparantly its been a real passion project for him and he's worked very hard on making them as authentic as possible, so I'm looking forward to hearing them, they should fit in far better than the midi versions the PC got. The stream is still live but you can rewind to watch it, or it should be archived for watching later.
Surprised they let that info slip this early. Katie is extremely professional and never says anything she hasn't been given clear permission to release. But still, doesn't seen wise to have let this info out when its bound to cause a stink on twitter etc. She was really going overboard to humanise the guy making the new music though and say what a fan he is, how passionate etc, clearly she was trying to stop people hating on him or criticising his versions that he's worked so hard on. As I've said here before, the music not being included is NOT Sega's choice, nor their fault. Having wrestled with them for over 2 decades, music rights are incredibly difficult (and sometimes impossible, no matter how much money you throw at the problem).
@samuelvictor Sounds like a cool project. I actually started on 8 bit Sonic on the SMS and those games dont get the love they deserve. Is this related to the 8 bit remakes I've seen floating around that redesign the SMS games. Or something different?
@Mikey_205 Thanks! No its not a redesign or expansion on the games in any way, its literally the equivalent of what has been done with Sonic origins - exactly the same graphics and level layouts, but with tweaks to modernise them - mostly bringing them into widescreen and 60fps removing all slowdown.
Of course all 4 of the main 8bit games had slightly different sprites and movesets, so I'm adding the option to use any of them in any game, at the moment I only have Sonic, but I'm planning to add Tails, Knuckles and Amy too, and perhaps have a second character following the first like in the 16bit games. I've very slightly tweaked and maximised the colour pallettes, and added (optional) parallax scrolling for the backgrounds.
I'm also an animator (trained with Don Bluth many years ago) and so I'm also making little 2d hand drawn animated intros and sequences, ala the Tyson Hesse ones.
I'm doing it mostly for my own amusement because I love the original 8bit games and dreamed of a Whitehead style remake... but thats clearly not coming anytime soon so why not do it myself? I'm making it primarily because I want a better way to play these games myself. I'm just doing it as a hobby in my spare time (I'm actually working on 2 commercial games and a big movie, so its literally just something I'm doing an hour or so each day on if I can fit it in for fun).
I'm not entirely sure of the legality of releasing it to the public as it would be literally 4 entire complete games which I didn't design (unlike most fan games which are original), I think what I might do (assuming I ever finish it) is make a trailer and release a demo, and hope it gets a good enough response from the community that either Sega offer to release it professionally, OR I get confirmation that its ok to release the full thing as long as I don't sell it, OR Sega decide to do the same thing themselves without me. I'd be 100% fine with it if there was Origins DLC announced tomorrow that has the 8bit games remade. Infact I'd be delighted! The whole reason I'm making it is because its something I've been dreaming they'd do for years
The first Sonic game I ever played was Megadrive Sonic 1 at a friends house in 1991, and I fell in love with it, and begged my parents for a Megadrive, but we were relatively poor and could never afford it. Eventually in Christmas 1993, after going without bithday and christmas presents for a while, they could afford to buy me a Master System 2, with Sonic 1 built in, and Sonic Chaos bought as a combined present from my relatives So the 8bit games are very special to me. And they were all I had until 1995 when I finally bought a second hand Megadrive.
@samuelvictor Yeah, I saw the stream. It explains at least why they weren't showing the games along with the music they will have, that is what had me wondering what was going on. A third possibility that I didn't consider: Music is just not the original, nor the demo one... it's a third version that isn't ready yet. Hard to foresee!
@inenai "the original music that was composed in '93" almost certainly means the same tunes as in the Windows port, it was confirmed several years ago with the beta leaks that the PC music, rather than being new compositions to replace the final MD music as people originally thought, was actually a midi conversion of the original tunes, which were then replaced with the ones by MJ's team. I may be wrong, and theres even more old tracks we didn't know about, but that seems the most liekly.
Wait... MENUS?! :00000
Seriously though, the menus look super good holy heck.
@relinqued ya charging for dlc for a bunch of 30 years old games is even ridiculous.
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