The all-new classic Sonic compilation comes out June 23, 2022
A few days ago, we had some speculation that we would soon be hearing more about the upcoming compilation of classic sonic the hedgehog titles. Our prediction that news and a release date would be coming soon, turned out to be true. Sega announced through a new trailer, their website, and on their official accounts, that the game would be coming on June 23rd. In addition to the release date, more interesting details have been confirmed for the collection.
The Developers
As previously announced, the versions of; Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, in the collection have been re-made from the ground up to support widescreen. As speculated by fans, all four games are running on the Retro / Star Engine, the same one used for Sonic Mania. Origin’s versions of Sonic 1, 2 and CD will be the same as the fan-favourite mobile versions of those games, now on console and PC. In addition, Sonic 3 and Knuckles has been remade for the first time in the Star Engine. The work for this remake was done by Co-Lead Developer for Sonic Mania and the Sonic 1, and 2 remakes, Stealth, along with the rest of the team at his company, Headcannon.
Both fans and the developers seem excited by the prospect of the entire original trilogy, and CD, all at last being available in widescreen, with the best performance and additional features. Whilst the remaking of Sonic 3 & Knuckles has been handled externally by Headcannon, the compilation itself is being built internally at Sega. And there appear to be a number of surprise extra features to be found.
Headcannon is proud to announce that we have been working with @Sega to re-create Sonic 3 & Knuckles for their upcoming #SonicOrigins collection!
This completes the official "Remastering" of the mainline classics and marks our fourth time out with #SonictheHedgehog!
— Headcannon (@Head_cannon) April 20, 2022
Extra Features
The collection boasts both classic modes, and ‘anniversary’ modes of each of the games in the collection, allowing players to choose whether they play the updated versions, or original emulations of the games. Whilst playing in anniversary mode, lives will become a thing of the past, and are to be replaced by ‘coins’. These special coins are said to unlock extra features outside of the main games in the bonus menus. Extras such as concept art, videos, missions that have you tackling certain challenges within the game, and even a mirror-mode where you can play the games flipped.
There is also said to be a ‘story mode’ where players will be sent through the four games in chronological order. From sonic 1, to CD, to 2, and then to 3 and Knuckles (seemingly ending debates over which came first between CD and 2). All new animated cutscenes will punctuate the start and end of each game as well. These animations have been written by the franchises longest running comics writer, and writer for the upcoming Sonic Frontiers game, Ian Flynn. Meanwhile, animation for the cutscenes have been handled by Tyson Hesse and his team. Hesse being one of the individuals responsible for the popular Sonic Mania Adventures shorts released onto Youtube, as well as the far more well received re-design for the Movie Sonic, after the studio scrapped the original nightmare.
Screenshots from the game show that the backgrounds to its menus are charming 3D recreations of the islands upon which the classic games take place. All the extra additions to the presentation of the games, seem to be going a long way to making Sonic Origins more than just a simple collection.
Coming June 23rd
Pre-orders for the compilation have gone live, to mixed reception from the fans. A strange collection of minor cosmetic features have been seemingly withheld from the base game release, only available to those who pre-order or who purchase the Digital Deluxe version. This information was presented to fans through a bafflingly clunky chart to top it off.
Despite this, the collection is still set to be the definitive way to play Sonic the Hedgehog’s most celebrated titles, and will provide an easy entry point for new fans who have come from the movies.
Sonic Origins comes out on June 23rd. In the meantime, the franchise’s last remaster Sonic Colours Ultimate came out last year, and its brand-new open world adventure, Sonic Frontiers is set for release later in 2022.
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