Welcome to the Archive site of The Sonic Stadium (2008-2023)
Please note that this site is no longer being updated or maintained; as a result, there may be design issues, and links to images and other media may be broken. Links to posts may redirect you to the same article on the current Sonic Stadium website.
The annual Japan Game Awards has officially launched its public voting period to decide which video game should be crowned Game of the Year 2023 – and SEGA’s own Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Origins (Plus) have both been admitted into the final shortlist.
For both Sonic the Hedgehog titles released in the last year to be nominated for the yearly game award is a pretty big deal, and proves just how far Sonic Team has come over the last five years to bring the Sonic series back into the public eye in such a positive way.
Interestingly, Sonic Frontiers and Sonic Origins also cover two distinct eras of the 32-year-long franchise – so whether you prefer Sonic’s modern adventures, or think the blue blur was best back in the 1990s, there’s no reason not to choose Sonic!
It’s a public voting event, so if you want to do your part and help Sonic Team win an award, you can visit the Japan Game Awards 2023 website (Japanese), click the button that reads, “投票する”, and then in the blue search area use the text field to search for either Sonic Frontiers or Sonic Origins Plus by using the following:
ソニックオリジンズ – Sonic Origins
ソニックオリジンズ – デジタルデラックス – Sonic Origins Digital Deluxe
ソニックフロンティア – Sonic Frontiers
ソニックフロンティア （ダウンロード版）- Sonic Frontiers (Download Version)
ソニックフロンティア デジタルデラックス – Sonic Frontiers Digital Deluxe
Each of the above games have multiple entries relating to their specific console platform, so feel free to pick the version of the game/s you want to win specifically.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
We already know how big of a deal it is that Sonic Origins exists. We raved about it in our review, after all. Finally getting a Sonic 3 & Knuckles re-release after a decade in legal limbo (and a full-on Headcannon remaster at that)? Experiencing the Taxman and Stealth remasters of Sonic 1, 2 and CD on home console and PC? Some minor bugs aside, the overall quality and sheer importance of this release made it instantly worth buying by default.
But now, a year later, SEGA is offering an expansion in the form of Sonic Origins Plus. Will it similarly be worth your money? All signs point to ‘yes’ – with some caveats.
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The first full look of Amy Rose gameplay in Sonic Origins Plus has been revealed by SEGA’s Sonic social media team, during the latest ‘Sonic Official’ livestream. In it, you can check out some of Amy’s unique moves and how she controls in Sonic CD, one of the four titles in the collection where you will be able to play as the rosy rascal.
As you can see, Amy has a “Drop Dash” move equivalent when playing the 2D classics – when you hold the jump button in mid-air and land, she will speed ahead while mashing her Piko Piko Hammer. That move smashes anything that happens to be in her way, including Badniks and item boxes. Amy also has a cool double-jump spin involving her Hammer, which we imagine can be used as a sort of buffer when attacking enemies in the air.
The action starts at 36:40 in the video above, so scroll over to that time and check out the gameplay for yourself.
What do you think? Game changer, or more of the same? Let us know in the comments below!
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Sonic Origins Plus is right around the corner, and to keep the hype going the Sonic social media account has released some new official artwork that highlights one of Sonic 2’s biggest remastered secrets.
The artwork is excellently produced by Tyler McGrath, a favourite of ours who has worked on many amazing Classic Sonic art pieces over the years. It’s great that his work is being tapped by SEGA and hopefully this leads to more official recognition!
As you can see, the piece features the Classic Sonic team posturing in Mystic Cave Zone. Knuckles is beckoning the others down a chasm that he has found, but what could be Hidden (Palace) down there..?
Of course, the whole thing is a reference to the introduction of a Sonic 2 lost level that was re-imagined and restored in the Christian Whitehead-led iPhone remaster of the 16-bit classic. Because Sonic Origins (and Plus) includes this new version of the game, Hidden Palace Zone can be accessed the same way on consoles and PC now too.
All you’ve gotta do is keep to the low route on Mystic Cave Act 2 until you hit a chasm with a drawbridge lever. Ignore the lever and just fall right into the hole. Just… make sure you’re only doing that on the iPhone or Sonic Origins versions of Sonic 2. You don’t want to give it a go on the Mega Drive/Genesis originals…
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Those of you who like all your gaming bits and bytes on a physical medium may be in for a little disappointment with the upcoming Sonic Origins Plus release this month. According to information on the game’s box, the additional ‘Plus’ content – playable Amy Rose, Knuckles in Sonic CD the Game Gear titles and more – will only be served to players in the form of a downloadable code.
The information came from eagle-eyed Sonic fan SnazzySonic, who saw a bunch of promotional Sonic Origins Plus boxes on his local GameStop store shelf. “I almost had a heart attack when I thought my GameStop was selling Sonic Origins Plus early,” Snazzy said. But for other fans, the heart attack would be had after looking at the back of the box.
As you can see on the blurb there, the physical edition of Sonic Origins Plus comes complete with all of the bonus content DLC originally released for the base game last year (which actually IS present on the disc/cartridge), as well as the new playable characters and Game Gear titles. But there is a line underneath the Plus-specific content that reads, “Downloadable via included code.”
For many, this won’t be too much of a problem, but there are plenty of people out there that are passionate about game preservation who will feel that the lack of the additional content on disc risks Amy, Knuckles in CD and the GG games being lost media in the far future. You might even wonder why there’s a physical edition in the first place if you’re not getting all of the content on the media. So you can see why this is a bit of an issue.
Still, at least the GameStop had a rad looking Sonic Origins Plus poster to show off at least. So you know, the day wasn’t a total loss, right?
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If you ever wanted to have the chance to create something Amy Rose-y in pixel-perfect proportions, then SEGA Japan has you covered. The company released a reference sheet of the Sonic series heroine, for fans to get crafty ahead of the release of Sonic Origins Plus.
As you can see, the sprite reference features Classic Amy Rose’s new standing pose and running animation, as seen in trailers for the upcoming compilation pack. A new addition to the Sonic Origins collection, Amy Rose is an extra playable character that can be used in Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Photos courtesy SEGA Japan Official Twitter Channel.
SEGA’s official Japanese social media channels shared a link to the Downloads page where you can find the PDF reference sheet, along with the above photo to show what you can do with it. The company also appears to task fans with an Iron-on Beads art challenge over the coming Japanese ‘Golden Week’ national holiday.
You can visit the downloads page here, there are other characters available to get creative with too, from Sonic to Tails and Knuckles.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
Andy Collins, an artist who has contributed to the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster in Sonic Origins, has published a statement that confirms the presence of fan-made sprites from the ROM hack ‘Sonic 3 Complete’ within the final release of Origins.
“It has come to my attention that several sprites of Super Sonic from Sonic 3 Complete ended up being used in Sonic Origins,” Collins, also known as A+Start, wrote on his Twitter page. “This was an honest mistake on my part. They were used as reference [images] during production and due to my way of working, went unnoticed amongst already completed sprites. I believed they were sprites I’d already started, and kept working them until I thought they were complete.”
“Obviously, this isn’t ideal and doesn’t reflect my work,” the statement continues. “I can only apologise and hope this doesn’t incite any ill will towards myself or Headcannon [the developer of the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster within Sonic Origins].”
Collins is a well-known artist within the community, and his sprite and pixel skills are showcased well in the Sonic Origins compilation package – most notably for us, within the intro sequence for the New Blue Spheres game mode, which features an impressive 3D Sonic leaping towards the screen.
The artist published the above statement on April 1, leading some to believe this may have been an April Fools prank. But with no follow-up message and many commentators corroborating Collins’ words about lifted Super Sonic sprites, it seems like this is a genuine notice addressing a genuine mistake.
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In a tweet that went up a few hours ago, Headcannon confirmed that they have contributed to the upcoming new content for Sonic Origins Plus, including Amy Rose’s new sprites and Knuckles’ campaign in Sonic CD.
It's coming – Sonic Origins Plus! We're happy to announce that we’ve once again cooperated with SEGA to update this project; you know we can't resist Sonic! Here’s some of what you can look forward to in Origins Plus: [continued in thread] https://t.co/X46RoXPfsD
Headcannon specifically calls out the work of team members Andy A-Start and DashPadSPD for design and data management in the expansion. In addition to the character updates, Headcannon also supplied additional enhancements which were not specified. Closing out the thread, the team thanks SEGA for their openness to the developer’s feedback and suggestions, and they appreciate the level of trust SEGA put in them.
Headcannon was responsible for bringing Sonic 3 & Knuckles to the Retro Engine in Sonic Origins’ initial digital release. While our staff has had very positive experiences with collection, some members of the community and members of Headcannon itself have expressed dissatisfaction with its technical shortcomings.
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It looks like an updated version of classic compilation Sonic Origins is in the works, as the Game Rating and Administration Board of Korea has recently listed a product titled ‘Sonic Origins Plus’.
The listing, spotted by Gematsu, simply details the name of the product. No other information has been unveiled, but given the original compilation was released on a number of modern platforms (including Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series and PC), it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume this ‘Plus’ version would be destined for the same.
The listing suggests that SEGA is preparing an updated version of the Sonic Origins package with some new content – possibly new games?
The original Sonic Origins release contained a slew of classic Mega Drive Sonic titles – Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. However, references to Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D Flickers’ Island and Knuckles Chaotix are included in the game’s menus and museum mode. Could we see these games represented in a ‘Plus’ revision? Or perhaps a selection of 8-Bit Sonic titles to fully represent the blue blur’s 1990s roots?
When more detail comes, we’ll be sure to let you know!
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Sonic Colors Ultimate has hit Steam, and it seems SEGA is celebrating the occasion with sales of Sonic games on both the Steam Store & New Egg. The sales on both stores are a bit different, with different prices and titles available, so we’ve compiled both here.
On Steam, all Sonic games are on sale for as much as 75% off, including:
Sonic Frontiers: $41.99
Sonic Frontiers – Digital Deluxe: $48.99
Sonic Colors Ultimate: $27.99
Sonic Colors Ultimate – Digital Deluxe: $31.49
Sonic Origins: $19.99
Sonic Origins – Digital Deluxe: $22.49
Sonic Mania: $9.99
Sonic Mania Encore DLC: $2.49
Sonic Adventure 2: $2.49
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle DLC: $0.74
Sonic Adventure DX: $1.99
Sonic Generations: $4.99
Sonic Forces: $9.99
Sonic Lost World: $7.49
Team Sonic Racing: $9.99
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: $4.99
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing: $2.49
Sonic 3D Blast:$1.24
Sonic 4 Episode I: $2.49
Sonic 4 Episode II: $2.49
Meanwhile, New Egg is having a more discounted sale for Sonic games with Steam codes. The selection isn’t quite as big, but the discounts are steeper. You can find the sale here. Check below for the prices:
Sonic Frontiers: $39.99
Sonic Frontiers – Digital Deluxe: $43.99
Sonic Origins: $15.99
Sonic Origins – Digital Deluxe: $19.99
Sonic Mania: $7.99
Sonic Mania Encore DLC: $1.99
Sonic Adventure 2: $1.99
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle DLC: $0.59
Sonic Adventure DX: $1.59
Sonic Generations: $3.99
Sonic Forces: $7.99
Sonic Lost World: $5.99
Team Sonic Racing: $7.99
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: $3.99
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing: $1.99
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The end of 2022 is now upon us. And boy, what a year it has been! After spending Sonic’s 30th Anniversary mostly waiting for trailers, watching online events and experiencing strange mobile crossovers, it finally feels like this year has been the big global celebration of the blue blur that the decades-long franchise fully deserved.
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How many hedgehogs does it take to maintain a 30-year-old multimedia franchise? At least 1.51 billion according to SEGA Sammy’s latest 2022 Integrated investor report, spread across physical and digital game units and mobile downloads.
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UPDATE: The full patch notes have been added to the bottom of this article.
While we love Sonic Origins here at Stadium, there’s no denying that bits of that collection released rough. Sometimes palette change animations would freeze, sometimes the game would forget that you’ve collected all the Super Emeralds, and sometimes Tails’ AI in Sonic 2 would fail to despawn him when he’s too far away, causing him to run into a wall and jump. And jump. And jump. And jump. Until you relive the PTSD of your 5-year-old sibling taking the second controller back in 1992.
We finally have our first major patch for the game, and it sounds like it addresses at least one (if not more) of the game’s major issues. MP1st (who in turn grabbed the info from PS4 update history), lists the brief patch notes that are vague in some areas, and very specific in others:
Added features to the “Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles” sound test – Fixed track mismatches in the Museum for certain music tracks included in the Classic Music Pack – Corrected an issue in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 where Tails goes off-screen and is unable to rejoin – Additional bug fixes
Track mismatches refers to a handful of mislabeled tracks included in the Classic Music DLC, such as the track names being swapped for Sonic Spinball’s bonus stage and boss fight music, or the Credits/Menu/Invincible themes in 3D Blast. And while we don’t yet have a sense of what “Additional bug fixes” encompasses, it’s a relief to know I can safely traverse Metropolis Zone without Miles mashing his distant immortal face into a wall for five straight minutes.
The patch has not propagated to every platform at time of writing, but keep an eye out over the next few days.
Comments that make the joke “but did they patch out the bad music” will not be approved, because I saw that coming a mile away, and thus it is not as clever as you think it is. Those comments should be directed at YouTube and Twitter, where they will join the 4000 people also making that joke.
Thanks to DauntlessMonk for the news tip.
UPDATE: Thanks to a commenter going by the handle “Update Name,” we were directed to SEGA Asia’s official Origins site for the full list of updates. It seems like a lot (hence us putting it at the end), but it’s fairly normal to group so many very contextual changes into a larger patch to reduce the number of patches sent out. For convenience, we’ve sorted the list by game:
Overall Fixes
Fixed a bug that was causing some songs from the Classic Music Pack to have incorrect titles displayed in the Museum.
Fixed a typo in the credits.
Removed an extra space from “PlayStation™Store” in the Simplified Chinese text. (PlayStation®5 / PlayStation®4)
Fixed a bug where exiting while connected to Xbox Live and syncing data would cause the game to crash. (Xbox Series X|S)
Fixed a bug where having multiple autosaves in a short period of time would result in them not saving correctly. (PlayStation®5 / PlayStation®4)
Fixed a bug that was causing save file contents to be different when manually saving the game. (Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S)
Fixed a bug that caused the game to freeze for about 10 seconds when going to offline mode after launching the game in online mode. (Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S)
Fixed a bug where launching the game while connected to a network, disconnecting from that network after reaching the Main Menu, playing a sound in the Museum, and then returning to the Main Menu would result in a crash after 15 seconds. (Xbox One / Xbox Series X|S)
Fixed a bug that was causing lower-performance GPUs to be automatically selected in multiple-GPU systems. (Steam / Epic Games)
Mission Mode
Fixed a bug in the “Fireball Dash” mission where it was possible to move outside of the mission area, and clearing the mission would result in the player becoming stuck.
Fixed a bug in the “Animal Rescue” mission where players would stand on top of clouds instead of bouncing or falling off them.
Fixed a bug in the “Bounce House” mission where characters would become inoperable if they collided with a Bounce Pad from the bottom when time expired.
Fixed a bug in the “Extreme! Super Sonic Finish” mission where falling off the platform shortly after reaching the goal would cause the camera to lock and prevent the player from progressing.
Fixed a bug in the “Aerial Attack” mission where players would get stuck on blocks and be unable to move.
Fixed a bug in the “Slippery Swim” mission that was causing invisible blocks to appear in areas they aren’t supposed to appear in.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Fixed a bug where retrying a stage in Classic Mode from My Data and getting a Game Over would make players get stuck at the Title Screen.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Fixed a bug where Tails would not return from outside the screen and a sound effect would continually play.
Fixed a bug that caused the sound effect for collecting Rings to be interrupted when collecting them in quick succession.
Fixed a bug that caused Tails’ flight sound effect to continually play after moving to the next stage if you were flying with Tails during the transition.
Fixed a bug in 2 Player VS mode where the time would never expire if it reached 0 during a player mistake.
Story Mode: Fixed a bug where the transition time from Mystic Cave Zone Act 2 to Hidden Palace 2 would be added to the player’s Best Time.
Fixed a bug that was causing crashes due to incorrect object calculations.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
Added a function to Sound Test.
Adjusted Competition Mode on the Nintendo Switch™ so that it can be played without registering two Joy-Cons™ / Pro controllers. *Made registration for two Joy-Cons™ / Pro controllers in Time Attack unnecessary, and made it possible to cancel controller registration in other modes.
Fixed a bug where leaving many Item Boxes in front of the sub-boss of Hydrocity Zone Act 1 would cause the game to crash when defeating the sub-boss and moving on to the next Act.
Fixed a bug that was causing players to get stuck when playing a Special Stage from the level select menu after playing Time Attack Mode.
Fixed a bug in Competition mode that caused players to go back a lap when they took damage or fell out of the stage.
Fixed a bug in Angel Island Zone Act 1 that teleported players when the island is set on fire.
Fixed a bug in Carnival Night Zone Act 2 where the boss would leave the area if hit by a mid-air attack while entering.
Fixed a bug that caused a sound effect to continually play when the player transitioned stages after defeating the boss of Death Egg Zone Act 1.
Fixed a bug in Flying Battery Zone Act 1 that caused a sound effect to continually play if a player transitioned stages when close to a magnetic object.
Fixed a bug in Competition Mirror Mode that was causing the courses to not be mirrored.
Fixed a bug that caused Sonic and Tails to get stuck on a burning rope in the middle of Angel Island Zone Act 2, which made it impossible to progress.
When starting in Classic Mode with a save file where the game has been cleared, entering and exiting a Special Stage without touching a checkpoint would cause the game time to incorrectly start at 9:59.
When starting the game as Sonic with a cleared-game save data file, performing certain actions in Angel Island Zone Act 1 would cause the player to be incorrectly moved to Knuckles’ boss area route.
Fixed a bug in Classic Mode where performing certain actions in the boss fight of Lava Reef Zone Act 2 would make the camera shift, and the character would fall out of the stage.
Fixed a bug in Angel Island Zone Act 1 where performing certain actions after the stage is set on fire caused the player to lose a life.
Fixed a bug in Lava Reef Zone Act 2 that allowed players to avoid the falling boulder that moves them to the boss stage.
Fixed a bug in the boss battle of Hydrocity Zone Act 2 that caused an invisible ceiling to appear, which prevented players from jumping higher.
Fixed a bug where immediately opening the pause menu when entering the first Special Ring in Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 and selecting “Restart” would cause players to start the stage from an unnatural position.
Starting the game in Classic Mode using saved data with a recorded Time Over in Angel Island Zone Act 1, and then getting a Game Over would cause players to immediately lose a life upon reaching the sub-boss.
Fixed a bug where opening the pause menu just before entering a Special Stage and then selecting “Restart” would move the player to a different Act.
Fixed a bug where coins would be increased in debug mode.
Fixed a bug where the BGM in Special Stages would slow down after collecting 50 Rings.
When starting the game in Classic Mode on a save file with a recorded Time Over, the Time would not reset from 9:59 upon clearing a stage.
Fixed a bug in Classic Mode of Death Egg Zone Act 2 where opening the pause menu and selecting “Restart” after transitioning to the boss stage would cause the player restart the boss fight with 0:10 Time.
Fixed a bug in Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2 that caused textures of objects to not display correctly. (Nintendo Switch™)
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Weeks after Sonic Origins’ release, a patch for the game has finally been confirmed to be underway. In a response to a fan on Twitter, Sonic Social Media Manager Katie Chrzanowski revealed that one is in the works:
“Hey! Thanks for the patience! The team’s been listening and is working on fixing a variety of issues right now. We’ll make sure to get some more official messaging out once we have more info for everyone. 🙂
Glitches in the game have ranged from common ones, such as Tails being unable to respawn near Sonic in Sonic 2, to seemingly random glitches that can do everything from random freezes to broken scripted sequences, to the water in Sonic 3 remaining white after a character jumps in with the electric shield.
We should note that, aside from the Tails spawning glitch (which appears to be a universal issues), we at Sonic Stadium have largely had very glitch-free experiences with the game. I had a scripted sequence break once, our top streamer GX experienced the game briefly forgetting he had the super emeralds during his 9-hour story mode stream, and site boss Dreadknux didn’t encounter anything while he was playing the game for his review.
Nevertheless, prominent people in the Sonic community have encountered and recorded the above glitches, and the issues were prevalent enough to get a response from Headcannon’s Simon Thomley.
Stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for further details on the patch, and Sonic Origins as a whole!
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Headcannon studio developer Simon Thomley (aka Stealth) has expressed dissatisfaction with his experience working with SEGA on the recently-released Sonic Origins, claiming that the publisher made modifications to his work that led to the existence of bugs and glitches in the game.
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Sonic Origins is out, and we’ve got a packed day of showing it off! If you’re not busy playing it yourself, if you’ve got any specific questions about the game, or if you just want to hang out and chat about it, join us on Twitch or YouTube as we take requests and experience a bit of Sonic Origins together!
8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM UTC (about 60-90 minutes long)
We’ll be checking out all the core features of the game, answering your questions, and taking your requests as we JUST check out the games, settings, and bonuses in the collection! If you plan on getting the game later and don’t want to get spoiled on the new animated sequences, this stream is for you.
Extended Story Mode Gameplay
10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 5 PM UTC (until ???)
If you want to check out the game’s story mode including cutscenes, we’ll be playing as much of it as we reasonably can! No guarantee that we’ll complete all three games, but rest assured we’ll at least be rushing through a bunch.
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Over a year after its announcement, Sonic Origins is finally available to play as of June 23, 12AM EST. It can be purchased on Xbox, Playstation, and Switch platforms for $40, or $45 for the deluxe version that comes with $8 of DLC (including music from other Sonic games and additional animations in the menu).
We’ve been covering this game for the last few days. You can check out our review here, and find a bunch of footage from the game here.
The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.
Sonic has been running for 31 years now, and yet of all of his adventures to date the original Mega Drive games still remain fan favourites. It’s no wonder that most of these timeless classics have been re-released in countless compilations over the years, but Sonic Origins stands out by daring to do something a little different this time around.
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A list of Sonic Origins’ trophies has finally been released, and its a pretty sizable list. We’ve got bronze, silver, and gold trophies, as well as a single platinum trophy for completing everything. You can check out the list below:
Complete Clear (Platinum) – Get All the Trophies!
Welcome to Sonic the Hedgehog (Bronze) – Watch the Opening for Sonic the Hedgehog
Welcome to Sonic CD (Bronze) – Watch the Opening for Sonic CD
Welcome to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Bronze) – Watch the Opening for Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Welcome to Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Bronze) – Watch the Opening for Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Beware Moto Bugs! (Bronze) – Defeat 10 Motobugs in Sonic the Hedgehog
Bubbly Breath (Bronze) – Use air bubbles in Sonic the Hedgehog
Time Traveller (Bronze) – Travel to the past or future in Sonic CD
Shut Down Metal Sonic (Bronze) – Win a race against Metal Sonic in Sonic CD
Beware Stingers! (Bronze) – Defeat 10 Stingers in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Lucky Hedgehog (Bronze) – Get the Jackpot in Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Beware Rhinobots! (Bronze) – Defeat 10 Rhinobots in Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Easy Peasy with Shields! (Bronze) – Collect all three types of shields in Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Ring Collector (Bronze) – Collect a total of 1000 Rings
Gallant Spin Dash (Bronze) – Defeat 30 Enemies with the Spin Dash
Newbie Hero (Bronze) – Defeat a total of 50 Enemies
Museum Time (Bronze) – View a Premium Collection item from the Museum
Very First Mission Clear (Bronze) – Clear 1 Mission
Knuckles the Echidna (Bronze) – Glide as Knuckles
Miles ‘Tails’ Prower (Bronze) – Fly as Tails
Boss Rush Attempt (Bronze) – Try the boss rush from any of the titles
Sonic the Hedgehog Mission Master (Silver) – Clear 10 Sonic the Hedgehog Missions with a S Rank
Sonic CD Mission Master (Silver) – Clear 10 Sonic CD missions with a S Rank
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Mission Master (Silver) – Clear 10 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 missions with a S Rank
S3 & K Mission Master (Silver) – Clear 10 Sonic 3 and Knuckles missions with a S Rank
To the Mirror World (Silver) – Play Mirror Mode
Movie Maniac (Silver) – Unlock 6 movie collection items with coins
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Today’s Sonic Official on YouTube confirmed a long-standing concern about Sonic 3’s soundtrack in Sonic Origins. During the stream, Katie Chrzanowski, social media manager for SEGA, notes that the game will not have all the game’s original tracks. Instead, the game will have new original-hardware adaptations of the songs composed by Jun Senoue.
I know one question that we’ve seen over and over is, what is the situation on the music in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. So, while unfortunately we can’t use all of the original sounds from the SEGA Genesis version of the game, Jun Senoue’s been working really hard to adapt the original music that was composed in 1993 for Sonic Origins, and he’s been going so far as reproducing it with the same soundchip as the SEGA Genesis and using is own digital audio tape collection to make this, like, as faithful to the originals as possible.
Katie Chrzanowski, Sonic Official, Season 6 Episode 3, about 36:00
Sonic 3 has long had issues with re-releases due to music contributed by Michael Jackson and Brad Buxer. This includes Carnival Night Zone, Ice Cap Zone, Launch Base Zone, the Multiplayer menu, the Sonic 3 Act 1 boss music, and the Staff Roll. Unreleased beta versions of Sonic 3, as well as the 1997 Windows PC version of the game, used significantly different compositions in place of the tracks.
While it’s a shame that we won’t be hearing the iconic sounds of Ice Cap once again, it’s definitely encouraging that we’ll be getting new versions of the alternate songs from Senoue, who contributed to the original soundtracks of both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Though if you’re really itching for those original sounds… probably a good idea to keep an eye out on the modding scene after it launches.
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The Sonic news train just keeps on chugging. With the drip-feed of Sonic Frontiers news far from done, SEGA has decided to drop a sudden announcement of a Sonic Central broadcast happening tomorrow.
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We’re less than a month out from Sonic Origins’ release, so the final details are now being added to some of the game’s storefronts. Specifically, we now have file size listed on both the Nintendo eShop and Xbox storefronts. Unfortunately, different sizes are listed in different places, which has made reporting on this messier than it really ought to be.
Over at Xbox, both versions of the game are listed at 6 gigs on the Xbox website. If that seems a bit big, that’s because it is: Sonic Mania’s size was less than 400MB, so this is a massive increase in size over that. If you check out the game’s listing on an actual Xbox One X, however, the game’s size is listed as a mere 324.89 MB.
Meanwhile, over at Nintendo’s website, we also have different sizes…between the different versions of the game. The standard version is listed at 3.6 gigs, while the Digital Deluxe version apparently has a size of 7.8 gigs. Finally, we have the game’s Switch eShop listings, which have the standard version at 3.5 gigs and the Digital Deluxe version at 3.8 gigs.
Given the version differences, that difference in download sizes seems a bit…extreme.
Obviously, they can’t all be right. In all likelihood, this will be corrected by the time the game comes out next month.
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While many were happy that Sonic Mania developer Headcannon was involved in Sonic Origins, it seems that their contribution was in the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster work itself and not the overall package. In fact, their part in remaking the game appears to have been contracted entirely separately from the context of Sonic Origins. In a thread, the studio’s official Twitter clarifies:
To address a misunderstanding regarding Headcannon's involvement in #SonicOrigins– We DID NOT work on Origins itself, nor did we do any additional work on Sonic 1, 2, or CD. We were contracted to build a Retro Engine version of S3&K as a separate project from Sega's Sonic Origins
But as was previously announced, Origins has features beyond the original Retro Engine remakes, such as its story mode, the coin system, mirror mode, the Museum, and… whatever classic mode is (be it the emulated originals or just letterboxed). Even Mission Mode, which features scenarios outside of the original games (like modified level designs and Knuckles in S3K Death Egg Zone), was developed by a team in SEGA as Headcannon further explains:
To further clarify, as it's been asked, yes, this includes Mission Mode. Sega's team developed the missions, as well as Boss Rush, Mirror Mode, etc internally. The only distinct mode that Headcannon created was Blue Spheres, and its implementation into Origins was handled by Sega
There are a couple of consequences to this separation of development. It does imply that SEGA has a team that has done work within the Retro Engine, developing small level and gameplay modifications, as well as hooks from these modifications to the external launcher (I.E. replacing lives with spendable coins). It also suggest that the versions of the games are otherwise the same Retro Engine versions previously released (hence no Knuckles in Sonic CD).
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UPDATE: We now have confirmation that this video is 100% official, and was posted on the official Korean Sonic the Hedgehog Facebook page.
While we don’t quite know this video’s origin, we do know this Korean language version gameplay video shows off some significant features in Sonic Origins the reveal trailer didn’t share:
We are marking this as rumor purely because it isn’t through official or confirmable sources at this time, but every other aspect of this looks pretty authentic. Treat this as we have high confidence but not 100% confidence in this. The button layout in the videos use ABXY, so the footage itself was taken from a Switch, an Xbox, or a PC.
While those who have played the other Retro/Star Engine ports will be quite familiar with some of these features, this gives a very brief overview of ones not present in the original 16-bit releases, including the Drop Dash and Super Sonic in Sonic 1, Tails as Knuckles’ sidekick in Sonic 2, and the prototype Hidden Palace stage connected to Mystic Cave.
Further, the video shows off a bit of the game’s interface, including Missions. In one, the player has to collect 50 rings in 50 seconds as Tails in Palmtree Panic, and another puts Super Sonic in Metropolis with a similar goal (but with the challenge of your rings being slowly depleted). In both cases, the stages are modified from their original 16-bit versions, changing formations of platforms, rings, and blocks. The rank letter in the top corner (shown in previous official screenshots) updates in real time, letting you know how well you’re performing.
If those bonus missions or getting to team Knuckles with Tails on a console platform gets you excited, Sonic Origins releases June 23 with these and many other announced features.
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We still don’t know a whole lot about Sonic Origins’ touted “Story Mode,” but we do know both Ian Flynn and Tyson Hesse are involved with the animated sequences. Flynn confirmed his contribution on the BumbleKing blog today:
#KnowingSmile finally revealed! I had the extreme pleasure of writing the scripts for the animated scenes for the new Story Mode in Sonic Origins!
I hope you enjoy when the collection is released June 23rd, 2022.
We don’t quite know what “writing” entails here, considering that most recent iterations of Classic Sonic have all been silent. It is possible that there could be some amount of dialog, or that Flynn developed the context and events of the scenes prior to Powerhouse animating.
At roughly the same time, Hesse also confirmed that he worked with Powerhouse for Origins, promising that there’s more animation in the game beyond the bits we saw in the trailer:
Working with the Powerhouse team on the new cinematics was an absolute pleasure. They did an amazing job, and you’ve only just seen a small part of the cool new stuff we did for Origins. https://t.co/2PSOLJvZCY
With Flynn contributing to Sonic Prime and writing for both Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers, and Hesse leading Sonic’s design in both Paramount movies, the two are quickly becoming significant figures beyond the Sonic comics, and into the franchise as a whole.
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If you were tapping your toe during the Sonic Origins trailer, then do I have good news for you! The Hyper Potions have released the full clean version of it to YouTube for your listening pleasure:
This is the latest of many collaborations between SEGA and Hyper Potions, from the iconic “Friends” and “Time Trials” themes in Sonic Mania, to the theme of the Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania trailer, to multiple remixes in Team Sonic Racing.
Many of their previous collaboration tracks are available on digital music storefronts such as Amazon and iTunes. Here’s hoping this Origins theme joins the others soon!
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Headcannon has returned to Sonic to remaster Sonic 3 & Knuckles for Sonic Origins. The developer, which in the past worked on the widescreen mobile remasters for Sonic 1 and 2 and co-developed Sonic Mania, confirmed on their Twitter that they also developed the enhanced, widescreen version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. This would also appear to confirm that the other versions are indeed ports of the Christian Whitehead remasters.
For Stealth, who started Headcannon, this is the completion of something he has wanted to do for some time. He had this to say on Twitter, “Hey! Remember how I repeatedly said “If Sega wants me to remake Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) I’ll do it”? Well, needing this game to complete their planned #SonicOrigins collection of remakes, Sega asked me to take on this huge task, and I recruited some of my Headcannon buddies to help!”
Headcannon also confirmed that SEGA developed Origins’ menus, integration, and overall presentation.
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After the past few days of leaks around the edges, the official Sonic YouTube channel has revealed the trailer for Sonic Origins. The game will be released on June 23, and will hit all major platforms (Switch/PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S/Epic/Steam). Gematsu reports the game to launch at $39.99 for the standard edition, and $44.99 for Digital Deluxe (more on that below).
UPDATE: The game’s official website states that Spain, France, Germany, and Italy will be getting the game on the 12th whenever you change the language. Seems that all dates have been changed to June 23rd now. Thanks to alexizaki for the news tip!
The trailer features gorgeous animation in a similar style to the Sonic Mania animated sequences and explicitly promising even more animation. The trailer also confirms the replacement of Lives with a “Medallion” system in the game’s Anniversary mode (as you’ll notice in the UI).
The game will include features both within and beyond previous HD remakes of the games, such as the ability to play as Tails and Knuckles in other games (with the exception that Knuckles won’t be in CD, per Famitsu), and the Hidden Palace boss from the Sonic 2 iOS/Android remake.
Famitsu reports further special features in the game, such as a Boss Rush mode, a “Mirror Mode” that flips the entire stage left to right, a “story mode” (unclear if this just refers to the animation sequences, or if it actually connects the four games), a mission mode, a museum collection, and leaderboards. We don’t know much about the Mission mode yet, however screenshots of it show off a menu with the Veg-O-Fortress from Sonic Spinball, and a screenshot of Knuckles in S&K’s Death Egg Zone (which he normally does not appear in) with a unique level layout, a timer, and a letter grade.
Following Sega’s recent releases, Origins will have a “Digital Deluxe” version, which is set to include an additional 11 “hard” missions, 73 extra music tracks in the museum from other Genesis and 32X games, bonus menu animations, 10 Classic mode backgrounds for the letterbox, and an “Island Camera.”
Gematsu confirms these Digital Deluxe features will also be available as DLC under the “Premium Fun Pack” at $3.99, with further music tracks available via the “Premium & Classic Sound Pack” for $3.99. Pre-orders will also get a “Start Dash Pack” unlocking Mirror mode, a Mega Drive background for Classic mode, and 100 coins.
Be sure to stay with us as further details unfold.
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It really feels like we’re close to a release date for Sonic Origins, the classic game compilation designed to celebrate Sonic’s 30th Anniversary. Overnight, details on the title were published (and subsequently leaked) on the Australian PlayStation Store, confirming some key information about how the 16-Bit games will be treated – including new animations, new areas to explore and missions to complete!
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There has been a rating, and there has been a cover image. And now there’s an official Sonic Origins website. Well, sort of. It’s up, but the public are not able to access it just yet.
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Sonic Origins may finally be pushing closer to a full announcement soon, as it has now been internationally rated, as reported by VGC. The Game Rating and Administration Committee of South Korea has granted the PC version of Sonic Origins an All Ages rating.
After its tease in the May 2021 Sonic Central presentation, Sonic Origins seemed to go completely dark. The collection announcement touted five 16-bit Sonic platformers (Sonic 1/2/3/K/CD), three of which were previously rebuilt in the Retro/Star Engine. We know very few details about this collection, except that Iizuka previously confirmed it would not be built off of emulation.
The promise of this collection and its subsequent disappearance are a big deal to classic Sonic fans, as this represents the first time Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles have all officially appeared on consoles in a 16:9 widescreen HD format. Some of these titles have appeared on mobile platforms and can be played in widescreen via community developed tools, but those looking to have that experience on consoles alongside Sonic Mania and the 2011 Sonic CD remake were out of luck.
We, among many, will be keeping a keen eye in the upcoming weeks to see if further details regarding this collection begin to rise.
Thanks to alexizaki for the key art tip!
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While it may still feel fresh in everyone’s mind, Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces were released in late 2017. We are four years divorced from those games (five by the time we get the next major release), with only one Sumo Digital racer and a piece of significant DLC between. We as Sonic fans don’t typically have to wait as long for the next big thing, even if the next big thing is a disappointment. We’re hungry, and we can’t stop thinking about what’s next.
2021 came with multiple new game announcements, a couple new trailers, and in spite of all that, we still don’t have a firm idea on what that next thing is.
May’s Sonic Central was a firehose of announcements, from the first official reveal of Sonic Colors: Ultimate to King Ice’s big gaudy necklaces to putting fictional doctors and athletes in Sonic mascot suits. But wedged in there were announcements for Sonic Origins, a collection of the core 16-bit Sonic platformers, and some sort of game where Sonic runs through the woods with digital effects (we now know as Sonic Frontiers). Despite these reveals, both slotted for next year, we have not actually seen their respective games. We’ve seen messaging, aspirations, and broad genre and style proclamations, but we’ve not seen an actual fully-formed game idea that will clearly go on to become a retail product.
While I don’t think the infamous Sonic Cycle has held real power for over a decade, SEGA’s marketing strategy remains as frustrating as ever: they seed teasers and extremely limited reveals long before they show any context, letting everyone’s mind go wild with possibilities before eventually grounding us in the reality of the game they are actually making. I’ve seen so many fans envision what Sonic Frontiers would be/could be/should be based on slow pans of landscapes and 4chan leaks from 2019, but the hard reality is that we still know very little of what that game is now and what it will be a year from now. The Game Awards trailer only contains three real pieces of information about the game:
1. The next Sonic game is open world.
2. It has open, natural environments with ancient-civilization-style points of interest dotted throughout.
3. There are one or more giant enemies.
At the very least, these core concepts have been around long enough that a CG animation studio (Marza or otherwise) was able to complete pre-rendered cutscenes for the trailer. What they don’t show during this trailer is what Sonic does, which, you know, is kind of important for a game. But the goal here admittedly wasn’t to show the game itself. The goal was messaging, and the message is, “We are working on the next game, and we’re winding up for a big risky swing.”
Weirdly, Origins is an even tougher nut to crack. We’ve either seen 60% of the game already if the collection compiles the Retro/Star Engine remakes (or some modification of them) while finally adding Sonic 3 & Knuckles to the lineup, or we’ve seen literally nothing if they’re using some other engine to recreate these games in 16:9. That said, development must have been incredibly early when SEGA announced it, since the Sonic Central reveal contains no actual video of the collection itself (as denoted by the “Original Gameplay” disclaimer in the corner and all the 4:3 footage of Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles).
In the same vein, we still know precious little about next year’s new animated series, Sonic Prime, save for some concept art we weren’t supposed to see. We know it’s some manner of multiverse show coming from Man of Action and WildBrain, two groups whose outputs vary wildly in quality and demographic aim. If there’s any room for more definitive feelings about a future Sonic project, the one space where we did get a trailer with plenty of information was for Paramount’s Sonic 2 movie. It’s more Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey antics, but with game references and Idris Elba. You probably already have a sense of whether or not that appeals to you.
I’m left excited and anxious for 2022, not because I can point to anything and say “I think this will be good” or “I think this will be a trash fire.” I just need to know. 2021 wasn’t an appetizer, it was looking at a menu and imagining the best and worst possible scenarios. Making a satisfying open world game is difficult and time consuming for any development studio, but Sonic Team certainly have plenty of time. Templates for really satisfying open world games exist, such as Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, and the Frontiers trailer has an interest in both.
These 2022 projects are still a ways out, it’s worth reiterating that. But who can blame us for walking away from 2021 disoriented. We were told so much, and yet we were told so little. Until we actually have a clear vision of what next year’s games and cartoon are, we’ll be entering 2022 still waiting for trailers.
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There is perhaps nobody more eager or proud to be wishing Sonic the Hedgehog a happy 30th birthday than Takashi Iizuka. Having been deeply involved with the franchise since Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the Sonic Team leader’s hands have touched every single era of the blue blur’s legacy. From designing stages for the Mega Drive classics, to directing fan favourites like Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, to producing the fine-tuned boost-era titles Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations – he’s seen it all.
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![You Can Stop Jumping Now, Tails, Sonic Origins Has a Patch [UPDATE: Full 1.04 Patch Notes]](https://archive.sonicstadium.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Sonic-Origins-Tails-Jump-895x375.jpg)
