Sure, they aren’t huge gameplay features, being solely a bunch of extra coins, additional soundtrack tunes, and an extra mode, but this is a retro compilation of games that had been re-released a bagillion times over the years. I expected worse from these coins, given how Sega is sadly selling them in premium packs. Non-intrusive, and far from game-breaking. They can also be used to give you an extra chance in bonus rounds, such as the utter nuisance of trying to grab a Chaos Emerald in the original Sonic the Hedgehog game. These coins are used to unlock neat bonuses, such as concept art and footage from an orchestra playing the Sonic soundtrack. It also includes coins, which are given out to the player at the end of each level, depending on how you play it. The Anniversary mode ditches the classic life system and includes the aforementioned “play with whoever you want” feature. It’s a fun new way to experience these classic titles.Ī few brand new cutscenes whenever you start a new game. I’m not gonna lie, playing as Knuckles in a game like the original Sonic the Hedgehog pretty much breaks the game, making things exponentially easier, but the sole fact that this is now possible in an official Sega release is worth celebrating. Finally, the main kicker is being able to play as Tails and Knuckles in any game of the collection (Knuckles just can’t be used in Sonic CD due to that game’s overall design nature). You can also do the drop dash from Mania in all games. That feature had only been available in Sonic Jam, a really good collection of older Sonic games originally released for the Sega Saturn before this one. As a result, all games now run at a 16:9 aspect ratio (though you can toggle between screen ratios), and new elements have been added to those games to make them stand out.įor instance, spin dashing is now possible in the original Sonic the Hedgehog game. All four (or five, I never know with Sonic & Knuckles) games have been ported to a brand new engine, the Retro Engine, which I assume it’s the same one that powers Sonic Mania. But this is not a mere collection like that one Mega Drive compilation released for modern platforms a few years ago. We’ve all played them countless times over the past thirty years. Most up to date news can be checked on the dedicated thread in the Sonic Retro's forums.Spin dashing in the first Sonic is a game changer.Īt its core, Sonic Origins is yet another collection comprised of the Mega Drive-era games: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 (and Knuckles), and Sonic CD. This project allowed non-official ports for video-games such as PS Vita and WiiU. It can be checked out on it's GitHub repository alongside RSDKv5 engine component. In August 2022, despite the previous statement, Sonic Mania decompilation got it first 1.0 release. According to the author, there's no plans for Sonic Mania to be also reversed due to the game's steep complexity compared to previous releases. The effects on modding community are still to be evaluated, for example, what are the benefits and downsides compared to ROM hacking. Despite binaries being freely available, the player is still required to obtain a copy of the game's data through official sources such as Google Play, AppStore or Steam. The user Rubberduckycooly released two projects on GitHub: one for Sonic 1 and 2, and the other for Sonic CD.
In January 2021, 3 games based on Retro Engine were reverse engineered. In late 2018, with Christian joining the new game studio known as Evening Star, it was decided to rename the Retro Engine and its RSDK format to the Star Engine and the Star SDK respectively. In 2016 Sonic Mania, another Retro Engine-powered game, was announced and fully released in 2017.
These new features for the games include upgraded graphics, widescreen display, 60 fps, remastered soundtracks, and many more features. The Taxman and Stealth (Simon Thomley) remade and remastered Sonic the Hedgehog CD (2011) for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, iOS, and Android, Sonic the Hedgehog (2013) for iOS and Android, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013) for iOS and Android using the Retro Engine.