Review: Sonic Origins

destructoid.com:

I try not to have opinions about the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It’s dangerous. What’s wrong with the series? Why does it have such a ravenous fanbase? What games are good? Which ones are bad?

Well, we certainly go back to the Sega Genesis titles a lot, which is what Sonic Origins is. I’m pretty sure I’ve accidentally bought Sonic the Hedgehog more times than I’ve intentionally bought any other game. Sonic Origins promises to be more of a remaster, but that’s a weird way to use that word. It’s widescreen now. I guess that’s something.

Sonic Origins (PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch)Developer: SegaPublisher: SegaReleased: June 23, 2022MSRP: $39.99

For the record, Sonic Origins is a compilation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Admittedly, there’s a lot more to Sonic Origins than just widescreen ports; the upgrades are just very granular. I could go down the list of changes, but they don’t amount to a whole lot. Some of them you have to pay extra for, which is absolutely galling.

The changes are mostly to be found in each game’s anniversary mode. Titles that couldn’t support different character configurations now do. You can play as Tails or Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog. You can play as Tails and Knuckles as a pair in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Tails is also in Sonic CD (but not Knuckles).

Notably, in anniversary mode, limited lives have been removed. While I can’t say I miss them, the games were developed around them being an obstacle. Without limited lives, the games are all a lot easier. Making progress is as simple as barrelling ahead to the next checkpoint. You can choose to play in classic mode, which restores them to their former