Sonic Origins Plus confirmed for June 23rd 2023

[Sprite Machine]

I like that it's got the Flicky and Spinball islands for the other options. The presentation of this collection really is excellent.

 

The Sonic CD intro movie is nicely cleaned up, and the Toot-toot Sonic Warrior lyrics are back!

 

Sonic 2 split-screen 2-player mode is still squashed, but looks even more ridiculous in widescreen. Surely there should be an option for side-by-side non-squashed display?

EDIT: More 2-player zones to choose from and characters retain their abilities - nice!

 

Sonic 3 title music for the S3&K game, but S&K music for the boss and Knuckles themes. I wonder if there are options to toggle/mix-and-match? They didn't play Ice Cap or Carnival Night zones, so no confirmation on music there.

 

Digital Deluxe edition for Switch is still not available on the UK eShop, unless I'm being blind.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Sprite Machine

[Qazimod]

 

I think this was clipped from the Sega livestream so it's not exactly new, but not everyone will have stuck around during the livestream.

 

I'll admit, the mission mode sounds interesting - in that it has "unique content" of sorts - but there's this unshakeable feeling of being sold old 2D Sonic games for the hundredth time.

[Kayin Amoh]

Fun fact: When I bought Sonic 3 at launch the first copy I had was corrupted. Screen flickering, sprites and background elements vanishing and appearing at random and also teleporting about... the bombing run was messed up beyond belief with graphical garbage obscuring everything.

 

I wound up not liking the game much after returning it for a working copy, and always wondered if my overall disappointment was linked to that shitty first impression.

[Down by Law]

I got Sonic 3 from Ritz video for £45 when everywhere else wanted £60. I was 8 going on 9 years old. Me and my brother pooled our pocket money for it.

 

We finished it in two sittings (the first coming to an abrupt halt after getting stuck by the barrel of doom of course) and couldnt get over how short it was. Also, the best music was in the throwaway competition modes.

 

Thankfully Sonic 3 & Knuckles turned it into something epic, but that first playthrough was dissapointing to me too.

[Paulando]

I bought Sonic 3 with my Christmas money in Birmingham city centre, after we visited some relatives there. Loved it. But I hated the ugly title screen.

 

Picked up Sonic & Knuckles in Dixons a year later, in the shitty cardboard box.

[dataDave]

I didn’t like Sonic 3 that much, either. I rarely got games outside of Christmas and birthdays, so to get it on the launch day was something very special. With that, I kind of tried forcing myself into liking it which resulted in me playing it to utter death. I went really deep with the debug mode, and tried unlocking Knuckles that way after all other conventional game play methods failed.

 

Like Down by Law says, It required Sonic & Knuckles to become something special. Although the gulf in quality, especially considering the levels, is really noticeable.

 

I’ve been wanting to replay S3&K from beginning to end for so long now, but I keep putting it off. I think it’s because I just can’t stomach those shitty Sonic 3 levels anymore. I’d much rather play through Sonic 2 again - but no, not when Sonic Mania is here. 😕

[Down by Law]

I've warmed to it over the years - I hated Marble Garden as a kid but now I kinda love the aesthetic of the place and the music (fuck those spinning tops though forever)

 

I always wished I could replace the music of Carnival Night and Launch base to Balloon Park and Chrome Gadget from the competiion mode as they were so much better imo.

 

 

What a bop

 

[Qazimod]

Looking forward to dudes logging on to GameFAQs in 2022 asking about the Carnival Night barrel.

[Down by Law]

1 hour ago, Qazimod said:

 

I think this was clipped from the Sega livestream so it's not exactly new, but not everyone will have stuck around during the livestream.

 

I'll admit, the mission mode sounds interesting - in that it has "unique content" of sorts - but there's this unshakeable feeling of being sold old 2D Sonic games for the hundredth time.

 

Interesting that at 1:18 the competition mode uses the full size Sonic and Knuckles sprites rather than the cut down ones in the original game

[Paulando]

11 minutes ago, Qazimod said:

Looking forward to dudes logging on to GameFAQs in 2022 asking about the Carnival Night barrel.

 

I’m pretty sure I could only get past this with the level select cheat for a long time, until I read the solution in a magazine in Asda or something.

 

Oh, and the Sonic 3 level select was a massive pain in the arse.

[carlospie]

Sure was, I got it to work once ever. Up up Down down left right left right a start or something all input within a two second window 

[Paulando]

Up up down down up up up up 
 

I remember taking the cartridge to a friend’s house, and him just sitting there while I tried to get it working time after time.

 

The Sonic 2 cheat was 19, 65, 09, 17 on the sound test, which was Yuji Naka’s birthday 

[SMD]

7 hours ago, Qazimod said:

 

I think this was clipped from the Sega livestream so it's not exactly new, but not everyone will have stuck around during the livestream.

 

I'll admit, the mission mode sounds interesting - in that it has "unique content" of sorts - but there's this unshakeable feeling of being sold old 2D Sonic games for the hundredth time.

 

the Sonic World music just makes me feel like Sonic Jam is still going to be a better package...

[Sprite Machine]

6 hours ago, Down by Law said:

 

Interesting that at 1:18 the competition mode uses the full size Sonic and Knuckles sprites rather than the cut down ones in the original game

Yes, looks like the levels have been reconstructed at full size.  And then squashed horizontally like Sonic 2. 

 

Also: not that it was in doubt, but nice to see at 0:31 that the Sonic 2 special stages are the remade ones from the mobile port.

[Nick R]

10 hours ago, Paulando said:

 

I’m pretty sure I could only get past this with the level select cheat for a long time, until I read the solution in a magazine in Asda or something.

 

Oh, and the Sonic 3 level select was a massive pain in the arse.

 

4 hours ago, carlospie said:

Sure was, I got it to work once ever. Up up Down down left right left right a start or something all input within a two second window 

 

I think I only ever managed to input it once, too.

 

The reason it's so hard is that not only were many of the descriptions printed in magazines of the time very vague about when to start pressing buttons, but it turns out there are only certain specific frame windows during which the inputs will be accepted. This led to people coming up with weird recommendations on how to get it to work ("you press the buttons in time with the music!" was one theory I heard).

 

The Sonic Retro wiki has a detailed table of frame numbers (in both NTSC and PAL) that accept/reject inputs:

 

https://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3/Hidden_content#SEGA_screen_technical_details

 

This page explains that the reason inputs don't register on those particular frames is because that's when the game is busy decompressing the title screen intro graphics:

 

https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2018/01/once-more-from-top.html

[Down by Law]

It's been confirmed that Carnival Night, Ice Cap and Launch Base are being replaced with new compositions by Jun Senoue.

 

 

Outside of Ice Cap I couldnt give a shit about the OG Carnival and Launch base so this is actually quite welcome to me.

[Paulando]

On 08/06/2022 at 22:00, Nick R said:

 

 

I think I only ever managed to input it once, too.

 

The reason it's so hard is that not only were many of the descriptions printed in magazines of the time very vague about when to start pressing buttons, but it turns out there are only certain specific frame windows during which the inputs will be accepted. This led to people coming up with weird recommendations on how to get it to work ("you press the buttons in time with the music!" was one theory I heard).

 

The Sonic Retro wiki has a detailed table of frame numbers (in both NTSC and PAL) that accept/reject inputs:

 

https://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3/Hidden_content#SEGA_screen_technical_details

 

This page explains that the reason inputs don't register on those particular frames is because that's when the game is busy decompressing the title screen intro graphics:

 

https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2018/01/once-more-from-top.html

This explains a lot, thanks 

 

I could do it every time, but it took a lot of tries and resets. Once you filled up the save slots you didn’t really need it though, and S3&K had a different cheat anyway.

[MW_Jimmy]

32 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

It's been confirmed that Carnival Night, Ice Cap and Launch Base are being replaced with new compositions by Jun Senoue.

 

 

Outside of Ice Cap I couldnt give a shit about the OG Carnival and Launch base so this is actually quite welcome to me.

 

Uggggh. It's really disappointing in my view.

 

It'll be a cleaning up of the prototype originals so will Ice Cap will sound a bit like this (which I think is the PC soundtrack)

 

 

[Paulando]

To me it sounds like they’re making it sound like the originals as much as possible, but because they’re recreating it and not reusing sounds from it, it’s technically a cover version? Either way it sounds pretty crazy.

[MW_Jimmy]

Confirmed. PC soundtrack:

 

 

[Mogster]

I'll miss that Ice Cap theme. It's one of my favourite themes from the whole series.

[dataDave]

Fucking hell, I'm not the biggest fan of Sonic 3's soundtrack, but that proto Ice Cap tune sounds generic as fuck. The comments praising it are proof as to why Sonic fans (very, very rarely) get nice things.

[SMD]

3 minutes ago, Fallows said:

Fucking hell, I'm not the biggest fan of Sonic 3's soundtrack, but that proto Ice Cap tune sounds generic as fuck. The comments praising it are proof as to why Sonic fans (very, very rarely) get nice things.

 

You mean this?

 

 

Spoiler

It's from Sonic 2 on the Master System

 

 

 

[Wiper]

1 hour ago, Mogster said:

I'll miss that Ice Cap theme. It's one of my favourite themes from the whole series.

 

It's fine, just make sure to have this appropriate track ready to fire up whenever you play that stage and you're golden: 

 

 

 

[Sprite Machine]

At least the PC version can be modded to replace the music, Denuvo permitting...? 

 

[Down by Law]

Just worth saying those proto versions on youtube aren't the ones going into this - well they are but remade by Jun Senoue with the genesis sound chip. I think that's pretty interesting to see what he comes up with, and definetely better than sonic 3 & k being locked away on old machines.

[MW_Jimmy]

Sega should sort the licensing out! This is basically them now giving up ever resolving it. They haven't ever been clear on what the specific issue is either - if unwillingness from rights owners (somewhat understandable), not knowing who has the rights or payment (much less understandable).

[Paulando]

Yeah, it’s crazy really. Does it have something to do with the Michael Jackson connection? Did he keep ownership or something?

[Paulando]

4 hours ago, Mogster said:

I'll miss that Ice Cap theme. It's one of my favourite themes from the whole series.

Although Launch Base is pretty groovy, it doesn’t really fit the stage in my opinion, especially as the final (kind of) stage in the game, but Ice Cap certainly is one of the greatest Sonic tunes ever.

[Down by Law]

Brad Buxer composed the music,he was basically delegated the job by MJ. Brad Buxers band is the Jetzons posted above. Either way its highly likely due to the Jackson estate as the last release of Sonic 3 / Knuckles was on the Mega Drive collection in 2009 - same year Jacko snuffed it.