Sonic Origins brings four remastered classics, but the Nostalgia Tax is real

By Tom West,
Sonic Origins has been announced and brings Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One in June, with the remastered collection carrying a rather spicy $40 price tag.

Sega's legendary blue critter will be blazing back onto screens with Tails and Knuckles for a remastered adventure or four. The collection will feature an Anniversary Mode that features a full-screen 16:9 display and infinite lives, which is something quite different to what the games originally offered on the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive consoles. Luckily, for those of you that want to soak up the retro vibes, there will be a Classic Mode available as well. Here, you'll be welcomed by 'game over' screens when you run out of lives while playing the collection in its retro form, but it doesn't look like you'll be able to toggle each mode's features interchangeably. That means you won't be able to play with the retro visuals but with more modern gameplay presets and vice versa. Each of the games in the collection will have missions associated with them, which once completed, will earn you in-game currency called Medallions to spend at the Vault for new content, such as Special Stages.

Sonic Origins features four classic 16-bit Sonic games and launches on June 23rd (Sonic's birthday) for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Preordering unlocks the bonus content, including 100 Medallions, Mirror Mode, and a Letter Box (Mega Drive pattern).

The Sonic Origins Standard Edition will be priced at £32.99/$39.99/€39.99, and the Digital Deluxe Edition will cost £36.99/$44.99/€44.99 and include the following:

  • Main Game
  • Difficult Missions added
  • Letter Box
  • Characters in Main Menu
  • Island Camera on Main Menu
  • Character Animation in Music Playback
  • Exclusive Tracks from Mega Drive titles
Will you be returning to these classic games with a modern twist? Let us know down below!
Tom West
Written by Tom West
Tom has been playing video games since he was old enough to hold a controller, experimenting with a number of systems until he eventually fell in love with Xbox. With a passion for the platform, he decided to make a career out of it, and now happily spends his days writing about that which he loves. If he’s not hunting for Xbox achievements, you’ll likely find him somewhere in The Elder Scrolls Online or fighting for survival in Battlefield.
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