Sonic Origins Plus Review

Sonic’s adventures are back once more with the release of Sonic Origins Plus, an expanded version of last year’s collection. New Game Gear titles, characters, and quality of life tweaks have been made – should players feel the need for speed with this DLC?

Sonic Origins Plus Review

An expansion of 2022’s Sonic Origins, the same basic framework powers this Plus DLC. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD are all present and accounted for, featuring quality-of-life improvements like widescreen and improved graphical flourishes in its Anniversary Mode. For those who’ve yet to experience the base game, you can read our review here.

Sonic Origins Plus has added Sonic’s long-time girlfriend Amy Rose to the mix as a playable character in all four titles. She’s not just a carbon copy of the titular character, however; her Piko Piko Hammer spices things up by allowing her to whack enemies in the air mid-jump. She’s also got a variation of the Drop Dash; when done correctly, she rushes through with a flurry of strikes, destroying everything in her path.

With these different mechanics, she is a most-welcome addition to the series. Amy’s playstyle features subtle tweaks, but they fit all four entries like a glove and give even the most frequent Green Hill Zone visitor something new to play with.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the 12 Game Gear titles included as part of the collection. Boot any one of these games up, and things quickly become amiss – sound is grating from the SEGA chime, there’s slowdown in most titles, the Japanese version instead of the American version was chsoen, and there’s no options outside of a quick save functionality. In addition, these are far from Sonic’s finest adventures; Sonic Blast and Sonic Labyrinth are borderline unplayable. Given the age of these titles and the fact that emulators feature a far greater suite of options, this is simply unacceptable. This performance could be due to Denuvo anti-tamper technology on the PC version, as the download is close to 8GB in size.

Outside of Amy, these questionable Game Gear ports, the inclusion of Knuckles in Sonic CD, and a “Surprise” image that unlock sections of an image after gaming achievements, there’s nothing else as part of this $10 pack. This is unfortunate, as Sonic Mania Plus’ DLC offered two characters and a new mode for $5 years ago. There are no additional Missions added as part of this collection, much less any additional games like Knuckles Chaotix or Sonic 3D Blast.

The inclusion of Amy Rose in Sonic Origins Plus is most welcome, but everything else in this DLC is roughshod. The poor port job of the Game Gear titles makes them borderline unplayable, and the package is a bit light when it comes to any other additions.

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