Sonic Origins

Sonic Origins
Developers: Sonic Team, Headcannon, Evening Star Publisher: Sega Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch Released internationally: June 23, 2022 This game has unused animations. This game has unused areas. This game has unused code. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has debugging material. This game has a hidden sound test. This game has a hidden level select. This game has revisional differences.

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

Sonic Origins is a compilation of Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It also includes a Story Mode featuring new animated cutscenes that string the four games into one seamless adventure, and a Mission Mode where you can complete challenges and obtain Coins. Coins can be used to unlock music tracks, concept art, and videos in the Museum.

All games have been completely remade in the Retro Engine, featuring an optional 16:9 widescreen mode, new features, and various quality-of-life updates. While Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD have all been previously released on other platforms, Sonic 3 & Knuckles was built specifically for this collection, and features some alternate music based on tracks used in a prototype build of Sonic 3 due to copyright issues, although some of the versions heard are notably closer to how they were in Sonic & Knuckles Collection. Also, for better or worse, there's no way to play Sonic the Hedgehog 3 or Sonic & Knuckles separately.

To do: Compare differences between the initial iOS remasters and the versions seen here. Desert Dazzle exists in Sonic CD (though was also present in the original 2011 release). Likewise, Marathon Base Zone is in Sonic 2, and there seem to be a pair of test missions in Sonic 1. Other unused/scrapped Zones/missions may be present as well. Mentions of a Retro Engine debug menu for Sonic 3. The menu is technically accessible by loading Sonic 3's .rsdk file with a Sonic Mania executable, but even if it's not directly accessible from Origins, there's still strings that should be mentioned on this page. Possible early versions of Sonic 3 zones, as there are some Stage folders labled "old" or "... - Copy" in the Switch release.

Sub-Pages

Sonic 3 & Knuckles There's so much here it needs a whole page to itself! Lock-On Technology, anyone?

Leftover Game Data

The Origins executable contains leftover strings from the then-unreleased Sonic Frontiers. This makes sense, considering both games utilize Hedgehog Engine 2.

GameCleared
EventPlayed
TreasureMemoryGot
MonumentCleared
SculptureCleared
FirstLightPillar
FirstPortalIn
FirstPortalCleared
FirstPortalFailed
FirstChaosEmeraldStrageOpen
FirstChaosEmeraldStrageGet
SecondTutoIslandSage
ChaosEmeraldGot
BossAppearEvent
AncientBridgeCleared
GiantStatueCleared
GiantBridgeCleared
WaterfallBreakCleared
KodamaElderFirstTalked
KodamaHermitFirstTalked
FishCaught
NewFishFirstLooked
FishingBigFirstTalked
VoiceDiaryCaught
UIParryTutorialWatched
UIKodamaTutorialWatched
UIFishingTutorialWatched
UILightPillarTutorialWatched
UIMapMenuTutorialWatched
FishingSpotId
GrowFlowerStartDay
StageCaption
PortalEventExit
ScrapeBallErased
LightPoleCleared
DataRelicEnabled
BreakableColumnCrumbled
TotemPoleCleared
LimitedTimeGateCleared
GuideLightCleared
ExtendPillarCleared
ResonatorCleared
LineFlowerCleared
ObjItemDropped
KodamaTaked
KodamaElderTalked
KodamaHermitTalked
KodamaHermitSlept
SageSlept
TimerSwitchCleared
LaserReceiverCleared
TimerPanelCleared
OneWayPanelCleared
OneWayPanelManagerCleared
GateOpen
MiniBossKilled
MiniBossSpawned
FishingPortalEventExit
EventConditionCleared
MapOpened
PortalBitShow
PortalBitGot
PuzzleBarrierOpacityCleared
JinglePlayed
ActiveLightPillarNum
SealedObjectStatus
LightPillarStatus
LightPillarGroupStatus
FloorSwitchStatus
ImpactSwitchStatus
SlashCommonCleared
RotatableMirrorStatus
MovableMirrorStatus
RotatableStatueStatus
PuzzleBarrierStatus
PortalStatus
PortalBitNum
FishCoinStatus
FishingPortalStatus
TreasureChestStatus
EscapeLightStatus
GrowFlowerStatus
LaserRelicStatus
MusicBoxStatus
PowerupSeedStatus
WarpMonitorStatus
GimmickInfoStatus
KodamaFollowersNum
KodamaStockNum
TailsStatus
AmyStatus
EnemyDeadNum
MiniBossHealth
BossArea
GrowFlowerStartHour
GrowFlowerStartMin
TimerRingFlag
KodamaHermitUseDay
KodamaHermitUseHour
SageUseDay
SageUseHour
SageUseMinute
PlaySequenceId
TutoWallTime

General Game Differences

For detailed info on each game and their differences to the originals, see Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD.

• Each game has two modes: "Anniversary Mode" and "Classic Mode".
  • Anniversary Mode features a 16:9 aspect ratio and removes the lives system - where you would once obtain lives and continues, you instead obtain Coins. In addition, you can retry failed Special Stages by spending a Coin. This mode also enables the Drop Dash, a move that debuted in Sonic Mania.
  • Classic Mode features the standard lives system, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and no Drop Dash.
• The Drop Dash in Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD behaves differently compared to Mania - it doesn't have a proper animation, and when you hit the ground it actually charges up a Spin Dash for one frame before releasing. This behavior doesn't apply to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, where it behaves the same as in Mania.
  • Furthermore, in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, it is impossible to jump backwards after activating the drop dash due to the games' roll lock, where you can't drift in mid-air after a rolling jump. This mechanic didn't exist in Sonic CD and was removed from this remaster of Sonic 3.
• For some reason, a Sonic & Tails game cannot be selected for Sonic 1 without going through the character selection in the Level Select. Conversely, the Knuckles & Tails option for Sonic 2 has been upgraded from that to a default option.
• Prior to the 1.04 patch, Tails' AI in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 is broken in that he doesn't respawn when fallen behind. To fix this without updating, either the player must use the airlift function, or a co-op player must temporarily take control of Tails.
  • This is because the values used in the Drop Dash implementation in those games overlaps with the values used for controlling the Player 2 AI. Because of this, every jump resets the respawn counter, among other things.
• Prior to the 1.04 patch, the Museum music player mislabeled the names for most songs from Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic 3D Blast.
• Proto Palace Zone is no longer accessible in Sonic 2, with its cheat code now being needed (alongside Debug mode) to select Hidden Palace Zone from the Level Select, otherwise being inaccessible there now even if it's already been discovered by the player.
  • Boss Attack Zone is also no longer available, having of course been superseded by the collection's new Boss Rush mode across all games.
• The music has been changed from previous ports.
  • Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 now use their original soundtracks as opposed to the remastered soundtracks seen in their mobile releases. Specifically, they seem to have been sourced from the hardware recordings made for the Sonic The Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack album.
  • The Japanese/European soundtrack for Sonic CD uses the adjusted loops heard in the Sonic the Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition album. This means they lack the unused PCM music from the prototype, which was used in the 2011 port. Additionally, this version restores the vocals by Keiko Utoku and Casey Rankin in the Japanese/European opening and ending themes, whereas the 2011 port used instrumental renditions. The opening theme uses the alternative vocals from a very early prototype of the original and Sonic Jam instead of the final vocals.
  • The US soundtrack for Sonic CD appears to use the same loops as the 2011 port, which were in turn sourced from the Sonic the Hedgehog Boom album.
  • Sonic 3 & Knuckles replaces certain tracks with their alternate versions from the leaked November 1993 prototype build and the Sonic & Knuckles Collection. It also has an entirely new song used when characters turn into their Super or Hyper forms. More info on this game's music differences can be found on its sub-page.
• The opening and ending cutscenes for Sonic CD were remastered using a mixture of AI upscaling and manual cleanup, and are now always presented in 4:3 rather than the 2011 version's 16:9 crop. The ending uses the Sonic Mega Collection version's faster animation timing.
• The Sonic CD ending credits now include the additional credits from the US version, as well as the porting team credits. The 2011 version relegated the porting team credits to Tails' ending and left out the US credits altogether.
• In Sonic CD, all voice clips were removed (save for air bubble inhaling). As a result, the Badnik Teleporter/Time Stone sound effect now plays whenever a 1-Up/Coin monitor is struck, regardless of which character is being played as.
• The audio mixing in general is a little wonky - the music is quite soft, and some sounds are louder or quieter than they should be. The music seems to be rendered out from its native implementation to more typical sound streams as well, which leads to differences in how they sound during speed-ups the game uses. Quality seems lower than the originals in many cases, partly as a result of this. In addition, the implementation doesn't match the original for these cases.
• While the Sonic CD Sound Test code PCM: 32/DA: 8 still shows the Desert Dazzle image and enables the Level Select menu, Tails can no longer be selected through this method.
  • As a result, Tails is unplayable in Classic Mode of Sonic CD.
  • It is also no longer possible to start a game through the Level Select menu with all Time Stones obtained.
• Most of the menu system from Sonic CD 2011 has been ditched in favor of something more closely resembling the original Sega CD menu system, although choosing other options still uses some of the Sonic CD 2011 menu layout.
• The Level Selects for cleared save files in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 have been removed, now just allowing the final level to be replayed. Oddly enough, Sonic 1's can still be accessed by placing a signpost/capsule with Debug Mode in Final Zone.

Internal Project Name

Various files in the game, such as some sound archives and textures, refer to the game as "Hite".