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.
Check for more changes from the August and October patches.
Add Origins Plus changes.
The Retro Engine version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles was created specifically for use in this compilation, with numerous improvements and changes when compared to the Genesis original.
Dissect the corrupted graphics and data shenanigans further. Apparently there are a whopping 64 slots the discussed method opens. Good lord.
Original
Origins
Main Differences
The selected character(s) are displayed at the bottom-right rather than indicated by a number below Angel Island.
The selection screen is more condensed, including more entries such as the "Gumball" bonus stage and all five multiplayer stages.
"DeathEgg" is now spaced as "Death Egg".
Extra/renamed entries compared to the original include:
Lava Reef B - Lava Reef Zone's boss area. This was originally listed as Lava Reef 3.
Hidden Palace - Now has its own entry instead of being listed as Lava Reef 4.
Death Egg B - Giant Eggman Robo boss fight. This was originally listed as The Doomsday 2.
Sky Sanctuary S - Sonic's Act.
Sky Sanctuary K - Knuckles' Act (Mecha Sonic Mk. II boss fight).
Bonus Stage G - Gumball Machine bonus stage ("G" for "gumball").
Bonus Stage R - Slot Machine bonus stage ("R" for "rotating").
Bonus Stage S - Magnetic Orbs bonus stage ("S" for "spheres").
Blue Spheres - Original Blue Spheres mode. Playing this in Anniversary Mode gives a 16:9 perspective and saves the player's level progress. Owning the Plus DLC and highlighting Amy in the Level Select before selecting this mode will allow her to be playable (though certain graphics relating to her in the Blue Spheres menu are missing). When the player touches a red sphere, a "Super Emerald retrieval unsuccessful" message will appear and they will be asked if they would like to retry the stage with a coin.
Switching characters in the Blue Spheres menu while Amy has been accessed through the above method brings up what's left of Mighty and Ray from Sonic Mania. Due to their .bin files being missing from the 3K data file, they appear as corrupted blobs of glitched graphics, and jumping as either character crashes the game.
New Blue Spheres - New Blue Spheres mode. Playing this in Classic Mode gives a 4:3 perspective and saves the player's level progress.
For whatever reason, the Sound Test only goes up to 19, meaning that only the main Zone themes and the two standard boss themes can be listened to. This might have been done to either keep consistency with the shortened lengths of the Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 remasters, or to hide the remaining tracks that still retain some degree of Michael Jackson influence from the original version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles (such as Sonic 3 Act 1 boss, Sonic 3 credits, etc.) Tellingly, the non-Jackson Sonic 3 Act 1 boss theme is one and the same with the Sonic & Knuckles version used in Origins, meaning the two tracks would now be identical, and the non-Jackson Sonic 3 Knuckles theme isn't even available in Origins' Museum. This is despite the Sonic & Knuckles version having parenthetical text denoting it as such, whist the only non-Jackson version of the Act 1 boss theme thus does not.
The level select now has preview icons, a feature that was previously only present in vanilla Sonic 3. Added alongside this was new shrunken-down versions of the file select icons for all the game's Zones (except for Death Egg, which reuses its icon from Sonic 2), as well as new icons representing the Bonus and Special Stages and a redesigned Sonic portrait for the Sound Test. Tails and Knuckles now have their own portraits in the Sound Test, as does Amy in the Sonic Origins Plus version.
Sonic
Tails
Knuckles
Amy (Plus DLC)
Original
Origins
The following is a comparison of level select icons. The level select screen from Sonic 3 alone was used as a basis for this comparison, as well as the zone order.
Name
Original
Origins
Notes
Angel Island Zone
Hydrocity Zone
Marble Garden Zone
Carnival Night Zone
Flying Battery Zone
IceCap Zone
Launch Base Zone
Mushroom Hill Zone
Sandopolis Zone
Azure Lake Zone
Balloon Park Zone
Chrome Gadget Zone
Desert Palace Zone
Endless Mine Zone
Bonus Stages
Both icons are used for all Bonus Stages.
Special Stage
The Sonic Origins special stage icon is taken directly from Sonic Mania.
Cheat Codes
Main Codes
The Level Select is enabled the same way as in Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up. Notably, Origins removes the requirement of needing to enter it in the rather narrow timeframe between the Sega logo background turning black and the white flash just before the title screen.
If performed correctly, you will hear a ring chime. Then, scroll down the list of menu options and select Sound Test. As in prior games, the Sound Test allows several cheats:
To play a specific Special Stage, play a sound from 00-0F and then select Special Stage.
To enable Debug Mode, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 04, 01, 00, 01, 08 (October 18, 1994, the US/European release date of Sonic & Knuckles; this is also the Debug Mode cheat from Knuckles in Sonic 2).
To start with all Chaos Emeralds, play sounds 04, 01, 02, 06 (exactly the same as it is in Sonic 2).
To start with all Super Emeralds, enter this cheat twice.
Added in patch v1.04
To enable the original shields from previous Sonic games (using their design from Sonic 2), play sounds 01, 09, 09, 01, 00, 06, 02, 03 (June 23, 1991, the official launch date of Sonic 1).
To enable infinite continues in Classic Mode, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04 (November 24, 1992, the US/European release date of Sonic 2; this is also the Debug Mode cheat from Sonic 2). This is still functional in Anniversary Mode, despite it not having lives or continues.
To give Sonic the Super Peel-Out from Sonic the Hedgehog CD, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 03, 00, 09, 02, 03 (September 23, 1993, the Japanese release date of Sonic CD). New Sonic 3-style Super Peel-out for the Super Peel-Out were created for regular Sonic, but not for Super/Hyper Sonic. Activating the move or going at top speed while in a Super or Hyper form will put Sonic into his ball sprite and often cancel out the move.
To remove "& Knuckles" from the game's title screen, title cards and endings, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 04, 00, 02, 00, 02 (February 2, 1994, the US release date of Sonic 3).
Going to the Slot Machine Bonus Stage with this cheat activated will crash the game.
To fly as a character's Super transformation, play sounds 02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05 (August 15, 2017, the release date of Sonic Mania; exactly the same as it is in Mania). This ability behaves like the one used by Super Sonic during the battle against the Egg Reverie boss in Mania.
Characters can use 5 Rings to perform a dash in the air, and it also allows Knuckles to access some routes that are normally only accessible by Sonic/Tails/Amy.
To disable the Super transformation's theme music, play sounds 06, 02, 01, 04 (exactly the same as it is in Sonic Mania).
If level music is interrupted by a cutscene or boss fight, the theme music will still play when it resumes.
To replace all freed animals with Ricky, play sounds 01, 09, 07, 09, 00, 08, 01, 01 (August 11, 1979, the birthdate of Headcannon lead developer and lead programmer Simon "Stealth" Thomley; this is the same cheat as in Sonic Mania).
To replace all enemies with Icecap Zone's Penguinator, play sounds 01, 09, 09, 09, 00, 03, 00, 06 (March 6, 1999, the birthdate of Headcannon programmer Noah “Mr. Poe” Hall).
To replace all items with Competition Mode's banana peels, play sounds 02, 00, 00, 01, 01, 00, 01, 03 (October 13, 2001, the birthdate of Headcannon programmer Derrek “TheStoneBanana” Harbold).
Unlike the cheats for randomized items, no items and classic shields, this won't affect the Spheres in Bonus Stages.
To randomize all items, play sounds 04, 07, 09, 08, 01.
To give characters in Competition Mode their abilities from the main game, play sounds 03, 02, 01, 06, 00.
The Super Peel-Out cheat also affects this cheat.
To prevent the camera from lagging behind a speeding player during gameplay, play sounds 02, 02, 06, 03, 07, 02.
To remove all rings, items, and Special Stages, play sounds 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00.
General Differences
To do: Get comparisons for the following:
Sonic's adjusted sprites
Hyper Sonic's color changing effect
Eggman's glasses
Competition Mode stages
Compare the original game's music, the new music, and the November Prototype music.
As well as adding sprites pointed below.
The game is internally referred to as "Project Cobalt." Its description is "Knock Knock it's Sonic 3 and Knuckles", a reference to a lyric from "Unknown from M.E.", Knuckles' theme from Sonic Adventure.
Despite no graphics existing for the Sonic 3 staff credits, text exists for it at \Data\Strings\Credits3.txt.
Graphical
The title screen background features an animated water distortion effect, instead of the palette cycling seen in the original.
The camera now features a vertical easing effect, first seen in Sonic Mania.
Many of Sonic's sprites have been touched up slightly. Notably, he no longer reuses Sonic 2 sprites when running sideways inside the giant tree in Angel Island 1.
Hyper Sonic now changes colors more smoothly, and his dash attack has added sparkle effects.
Eggman's glasses are now properly colored blue instead of the original game's black.
Eggman laughs a lot more, something he almost never did in the original game. Depending on the boss, he laughs when first appearing, when using certain attacks, or when dealing damage to the player, similar to Sonic 1 and Sonic 2.
The Tornado now properly displays "SONIC" when facing left, instead of flipping to read "ƆIИOƧ".
Dropped rings now bounce off walls and ceilings instead of "climbing" up them, a behavior reused from Sonic Mania.
Air bubbles now use sprite scaling when inhaled.
Super Sonic now de-transforms on death.
Rings and Special Rings have more frames of animation, giving them a smoother appearance.
Knuckles' gliding and falling sprites now have a bit of animation.
Special Stages now animate more smoothly, and spheres become semi-transparent when collected, similar to Sonic Mania.
Before transforming into their Super/Hyper forms, Tails and Knuckles now use a frame from their newly drawn rotated ducking sprites before going into their original transformation animation frames.
Per Amy's inclusion, the Plus edition has a redrawn "game complete" file select icon.
Original/Origins
Origins Plus
Gameplay
The Drop Dash ability from Sonic Mania has been added, which is usable in Anniversary Mode.
In Sonic Origins Plus, Amy Rose has been added as a playable character in Anniversary Mode. She can also become Super Amy or Hyper Amy by collecting all Chaos Emeralds or Super Emeralds, respectively.
For consistency with Sonic Mania, Tails now has a standard Super form that can be accessed after collecting the first seven Chaos Emeralds. It lacks the Flickies from his Hyper form. The original game's Super Tails is renamed to Hyper Tails, but acts the same as before. Additionally, Super Tails now leaves a spark trail just like Super Sonic and Super Knuckles, while Hyper Tails uses afterimages in line with the other characters' Hyper forms.
In addition to the existing Blue Spheres mode (which has been updated to allow the player to play as Tails), Origins adds "New Blue Spheres", which features some fancy new artwork and two new sphere colors originating from Stealth's pitch forSonic Classic Collection, later appearing in the initial proof-of-concept for the Sonic 3 & Knuckles remaster (but not officially debuting until Sonic Mania's Blue Spheres mode). The New Blue Spheres difficulty rating screen uses an unused track from the prototype (which also ended up in Sonic & Knuckles Collection, still unused).
1103 Prototype / Sonic Origins
Sonic & Knuckles Collection (General MIDI)
Sonic & Knuckles Collection (FM Synthesis)
A new code can be entered to change Tails' name into Miles by pressing Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Up at the title screen.
Prior to the v1.04 patch, the Fireball Dash mission had six blocks at the end of the intended playable area to prevent players from leaving the mission area. They didn't quite do their job, as Sonic could easily charge a Spin Dash with enough height to clear them; this allowed access to the rest of the zone, and could easily lead to further glitches and even completing the game from inside Missions mode. Post-patch, the height of the blocks is now at least 11 blocks tall, preventing players from escaping the mission area.
The attract mode gameplay seen by waiting long enough in the title screen is absent in this version.
The jumping and transforming sound effects now play in Sonic's intro cutscene, and he kicks up sand plumes when flying over the beach.
During this same cutscene, Knuckles now enters the fighting stance from his Hidden Palace battle before he steals the Emeralds from Sonic.
When playing as Sonic & Tails, the latter now appears by walking into the scene from the left-hand side of the screen instead of flying in from above.
When replaying a file with all the Super Emeralds collected, Sonic transforms into Hyper Sonic during the cutscene instead of Super Sonic.
Tails now has an intro cutscene where he lands the Tornado on the beach and proceeds into the jungle on foot.
In the Plus version, Amy's version of the opening cutscene has Amy riding on the Tornado much like Sonic. Tails then lands it on the beach, and Amy heads into the jungle on foot.
Knuckles' intro cutscene from Sonic & Knuckles is reimplemented. Strangely, even though Knuckles starts from Angel Island, the scene still takes place in Mushroom Hill.
The grabbable swings now have a smoother animation.
Characters now use a smooth sprite rotation when swinging around the long vine ziplines.
The large spiral tree no longer caps the player's speed. As a result of this, the player may actually speed up while inside it.
The controls are locked during the initial encounter with Fire Breath. The player now moves to the middle of the screen and looks up at it when it arrives into frame.
The Bubble Shield monitor at the end of Act 1 has been moved away from the center of the screen, keeping the signpost from bouncing off it if not interacted with.
Act 2's music no longer plays when re-entering the second half of Act 1 after a Bonus or Special Stage, fixing a bug from the original game.
Activating a door switch in Act 2 causes the camera to shake.
Foreground flames no longer appear underwater in Act 2.
The Green Bomber in Act 2 has been lowered, showing parts of it unseen in the original game.
Tails is no longer constantly hit by the Green Bomber's bombs if he is following Sonic or Amy. Instead of repeatedly catching up and falling back, he now runs alongside the player.
When the Egg Scorcher Mk. III destroys the bridge, its pieces now keep their collision until they start falling.
The Floating Egg Capsule now moves off-screen after being opened. This could be an oversight, since the one in Sonic's version of Lava Reef Zone still stays in place.
Hydrocity Zone
Original
Origins
The Pointdexters have had their graphics fixed. In the original, the graphics for the partially inflated torso were squeezed into a 3×3 square in order to consume as little VRAM as possible. However, the head and rear pieces were aligned to the top of the torso graphics rather than aligned to the center, making their sprites appear broken. Origins fixes this error by realigning the head and fin to the center.
The splash effect from Turbo Spikers now displays properly.
The graphical error where the decorative black background orbs just before the Big Shaker miniboss didn't move has been fixed.
The fan platforms pop out earlier, causing the player to visibly pass through them as they ascend.
Sonic and Tails now use their falling animation after Knuckles destroys the bridge in Act 2.
Prior to the v1.04 patch, the Egg Vortex arena had an invisible ceiling as Sonic and/or Tails, making the boss fight much more difficult.
A bug from the original game causing the player to become invisible while traveling up a translucent water tube was fixed.
Entering Debug Mode during the transition to Marble Garden Zone causes the game to crash.
Marble Garden Zone
Prior to the Version 2.0.0 update, the first encounter with the Tunnelbot mistakenly caused debris to fall for the rest of the act or until the level was reloaded.
Activating a Drop Dash on the Spin Dash-activated fly wheels will activate the wheel and cause Sonic to bounce off of it, similarly to when Spin Dashing on top of it.
The player uses their cylindrical spinning sprites when inside the tall vertical shafts.
The falling ceiling segment in Act 2 has a fixed camera height. Prior to Version 2.0.0, Knuckles could move through his section so fast that the camera would stay locked even after the ground stops falling. This could only be fixed by dying and respawning after touching the checkpoint before the boss.
The Egg Drillster Mk. II now spawns on the right side of the screen instead of in the middle.
When the Egg Drillster Mk. II slams into the ground, the player character enters their ledge animation.
When fighting the Sonic/Tails version as Knuckles, Eggrobo appears in the zoom-out sprites instead of Eggman.
The Knuckles version of the fight correctly plays the Act 2 boss theme instead of the Act 1 boss theme.
The palette change to nighttime at the end of Act 2 is much smoother.
The spinning tops inherit player's current speed when they're activated, and have higher acceleration overall.
Carnival Night Zone
If Tails is following the player, he can no longer pop balloons; he instead bounces off of them.
The barrels have misplaced white pixels on the side of their sprites.
Original
Origins
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy now look up and duck when moving the barrels up and down.
Yellow objects (e.g. yellow springs, rings, and ring monitors) use an incorrect underwater palette in Act 2.
As a result of the expanded aspect ratio, the unseen hole at the end of Act 2 is now visible.
In Act 2, the animals freed from the Egg Capsule on Knuckles' route now bounce around him during the score tally instead of leaving as soon as they're released.
Even if Knuckles fights Eggrobo at the end of Act 2, he is still teleported to IceCap Act 1.
IceCap Zone
Using the Insta-Shield on frozen items now just breaks the ice block, rather than destroying the item monitor inside while leaving the ice intact.
Sonic's snowboard in Act 1 is now smoothly rotated in-engine.
Sonic and Tails look up before the avalanche buries them at the beginning of Act 1. There's also a snow cloud effect when they jump out, similar to the beginning of Launch Base Zone.
Star Pointers now drop their remaining projectiles if destroyed early.
The snowfall during the fight with Big Icedus in Act 1 is now semi-transparent. In the Genesis version, this effect was achieved by alternately flickering the sprites on and off each frame.
Big Icedus has a sound effect when lifting snow off the ground.
The palette change to noon at the end of Act 1 is much smoother.
The transition to Launch Base Zone leads the player off to the right, instead of the camera remaining centered on them
A glitch allows you to access the Egg Capsule in Act 2 before Eggman appears by activating a Super/Hyper transformation right as you enter the boss area.
Launch Base Zone
The spinning elevators are much faster and play the Super Peel-Out sound effects from Sonic CD instead of the normal spinning sound.
The unavoidable elevator near the beginning of Act 1 previously sent Tails upward to an exclusive path. In Origins, both Sonic and Tails are sent downward, meaning Tails' path is now unused.
Characters now look up when riding up the teacups.
The teacups now play a sound effect when they detach from their poles.
Orbinauts now drop their remaining spike balls if destroyed.
Ribbots' wrecking balls fall apart like a boss when destroyed. The ones with vertical and sideways wrecking balls play the same sound effect as the spiked blocks when their arms extend to their maximum length.
Snailblasters play a "ping" sound effect from Sonic CD when the player bounces off of one.
The ziplines now bounce in response to the player's weight when grabbed.
The screen now flashes when Knuckles' bomb explodes in Act 1. He starts laughing earlier than he did in the Genesis original after throwing it.
Eggman and the Twin Hammers now properly flash when taking damage.
The boxes that spawn the double Twin Hammers for Knuckles use their (unseen) lower placement from Sonic 3.
Eggrobo's previously unused jumping sprite is now used for the boss battle if Knuckles makes his way to the portion of the stage that is accessible by Sonic and Tails.
The timer continues to run between the Egg Cannon and Egg Rocket, as it did in Sonic 3 alone.
Tails properly joins Sonic in the Eggmobile instead of falling into the water, dying, and respawning once Sonic gets to the Death Egg.
The Eggmobile "takes damage" when Knuckles punches it, flashing and playing the damage sound effect.
If Knuckles uses Debug Mode to access Sonic and Tails' Act 2 boss areas, not only does Eggrobo take Eggman's place in the Egg Cannon battle, but the NPC Knuckles is absent. Unlike in the original game, Knuckles does not face backwards when jumping into the Eggmobile, nor is he "hit" by the invisible NPC. Instead, the Death Egg's launch sequence activates automatically when reaching this part of the cutscene.
During the battles on the Death Egg, two updrafts have been added to the side to prevent the player from falling off.
Big Arms is now fought as all characters instead of just Knuckles, like in Sonic 3. The bug where the Big Arms was able to deal damage to Super forms has been fixed.
Big Arms has a new defeat animation where its arms don't fall off until the Eggmobile starts to collapse, with the rest of it falling to pieces as soon as the Eggmobile hits the ground at the center of the screen, after which it falls to the bottom of the screen. This immediately cues the cutscene where the Death Egg's launch is thwarted. Eggrobo also has this new defeat animation applies to Eggrobo as well, although during the transition to Mushroom Hill, he still emerges from the top of the screen despite falling to the bottom.
Prior to Version 2.0.0, the cutscene where the Death Egg falls apart after defeating Big Arms played no music at all, instead of continuing to play the final boss theme like in Sonic 3, or playing the level theme like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and post-2.0.0 versions.
A score tally appears after defeating Big Arms, using the previously-unused Sonic & Knuckles All Clear jingle instead of the standard Act Clear theme.
A previously unused Eggman animation for the cutscene at the end of Act 2 was added to the game. Prior to Version 2.0.0, he was incorrectly layered on top of the platform's bars, making him look comically tiny. The 2.0.0 update fixes the animation. Eggrobo uses similar sprites if Knuckles fights Sonic's/Tails' version of Big Arms via debug mode.
The Sonic & Knuckles title screen sequence has been repurposed as a cutscene after Act 2.
In Knuckles' version of Act 2, the Floating Egg Capsule now moves off-screen after the Flickys and Cuckys leave it, rather than immediately upon being opened.
Knuckles no longer alternates between his hurt and falling sprites in the cutscene after his Act 2.
Tails correctly has two tails throughout the cutscene at the end of his Act 2, rather than having four of them when he looks into the distance as in the original game.
Mushroom Hill Zone
Prior to the v1.04 patch, there was a bug where attempting to restart the level while entering the Giant Super Ring, but before the screen started to fade to white, would place Sonic and/or Tails in the Super Ring's chamber as if they just left it. However, upon attempting to leave, the Knuckles cutscene would replay; as the player is unable to move during this cutscene, this would result in the door closing on top of them for an unavoidable crush death. Curiously, restarting the level while the screen was fading out would place players in Hidden Palace Zone, skipping half of the entire game.
The camera now stays fixed on the player while riding the large pulley machines.
Hey Ho doesn't physically turn until it starts chopping the trees, the animation for which now includes a sprite that was unused in the original game.
There is no longer a whirring noise when Knuckles activates the wind trap at the beginning of the Sonic and/or Tails version of Act 2.
Prior to Version 2.0.0, exiting a bonus stage in Act 2 would cause the color palette will revert to Act 1's. This would fix itself when entering an area where the palette shifted, or shortly before the final checkpoint of the act.
Knuckles now always fights Eggrobo at the end of Act 2. In the original, he would sometimes fight Eggman instead due to a bug.
The tip of the Egg Scrambler's satellite has a new animation for falling off when the Act 2 boss battle starts, instead of instantly disappearing.
The music stops when the Egg Scrambler's defeat animation starts, instead of just after.
The Mad Mole piloting the Flying Battery after the score tally now uses the same sprites as the ones encountered in the rest of Mushroom Hill.
All characters use the new rotated "look up" sprites when watching Eggman/Eggrobo board the Flying Battery in the cutscene after Act 2.
Flying Battery Zone
The beginning of Act 1 has an animation where the player is thrown onto the starting platform from below.
The Laser Prison can now be properly destroyed by Tails or Super/Hyper Sonic attacking the laser itself, mirroring its appearance as the boss of Wing Fortress in Sonic 2. It takes 10 hits to defeat.
The animation for the Egg Hanger has been improved, showing it "hopping" to the left and right instead of shimmying. The original frames used for this animation are still in the game files, but are no longer used.
Original
Origins
Eggman uses a new front-facing sprite when Sonic and/or Tails is directly above the Egg Hanger.
Knuckles now fights Eggrobo instead of Eggman at the end of Act 2 (an oversight in the original), complete with new sprites.
The door the player breaks through at the end of Act 2 now rotates as it falls.
Sandopolis Zone
Knuckles reuses Sonic's cutscene at the end of Act 2, although Lava Reef still begins with him walking in from the side instead of falling in from above.
During the Egg Golem boss in Act 2, if a transformed Super character is standing on top of the Eggmobile when the head reforms, it now triggers a crush death instead of immediately dealing damage to the golem's head.
Lava Reef Zone
Fake Rocks now properly give 100 points upon exploding; previously they gave no points at all, despite the "100" graphic showing up when they self-destructed.
During the transition from Act 1 to Act 2, the foreground in the boss arena shifts to the Act 2 palette rather than keeping the Act 1 palette.
Knuckles now laughs after knocking down Sonic and/or Tails with the boulder at the end of Act 2, restoring a visual cue from threedifferentprototypes.
During the transition from Act 2 to the Egg Inferno sub-Act, Sonic and/or Tails are accompanied by the boulder they were carried with, providing continuity.
Hidden Palace Zone
When entering a Special Stage through Hidden Palace for the first time, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles use the new rotated Look Up sprites when viewing the Chaos and Super Emeralds.
The teleporter that appears in the Super Emerald chamber during Special Stage visits is present during Eggman's theft of the Master Emerald.
After Eggman escapes, the floor below Sonic/Tails/Amy and Knuckles breaks away in a cascading fashion rather than all at once.
Sonic and/or Tails use their falling animation after Eggman escapes and the floor collapses.
Knuckles taps his foot before motioning for Sonic/Tails/Amy to come with him.
Knuckles can be seen walking up to the teleporter to Sky Sanctuary. In the original game, he is already in place when the camera unlocks.
Sky Sanctuary Zone
When playing Sonic/Tails' Sky Sanctuary as Knuckles via Level Select and Debug Mode, the NPC Knuckles does not appear at all. As such, the platform extends automatically after the Death Egg leaves the screen, with the button pushing itself down as if the NPC Knuckles had pressed it.
Every character now has new animation for hanging onto the bars and looking to the left.
The fights against Mecha Sonic Mk. II in the Egg Wrecker and Egg Bouncer now play the Act 1 boss theme. The Act 2 boss theme only plays during the actual fight against Mecha Sonic at the end of the zone.
The Egg Wrecker now uses the same rotation sprites for the wrecking ball as in the 2013 version of Sonic 1.
After defeating Mecha Sonic Mk. II at the end of Sonic/Tails' Sky Sanctuary, the characters all go into their forward-facing ledge animation just before the floor gives way.
In Knuckles' version of the level, the HUD disappears during the cutscene where Mecha Sonic attempts to attack Knuckles and destroys Eggrobo, and returns afterward. Additionally, Eggrobo is given a proper death animation and the player is given 100 points from it.
When playing as Sonic, Tails, or Amy in Knuckles' Sky Sanctuary via the Level Select and Debug Mode, the cutscene has adjusted for both characters. Instead of Eggman exploding and disappearing when Mecha Sonic Mk. II attacks him, his Eggmobile is destroyed and he falls off the bottom of the screen, using modified sprites from Mania. Instead of gliding like Knuckles, Sonic Drop Dashes to the right; he will do this even in Classic Mode, where the Drop Dash is normally disabled. Tails flies to the exact middle of the screen, the same place where Knuckles usually glides. Amy glide-rotates to the ground, then Drop Dashes [sic] to the right.
Death Egg Zone
The secret Tails path in Act 1 has been tweaked, replacing its Thunder Shield monitor with a 1-Up/Coin monitor and adding red springs to the bottomless pit at the end so Sonic can actually traverse it without Tails' help.
The countdown heard on the transport tubes uses a generic beep rather than the unique chime from the original. This is also present in Competition Mode.
The gravity chamber in Act 1 now plays a chime when all six buttons are pressed. It no longer plays the ambient sound of the engine humming.
After defeating the Red Eye, the entire floor breaks off in a cascading fashion rather than all at once.
The Death Egg Zone title card reappears (without the "Act 2") during the transition between the Death Ball and the Giant Eggman Robo.
During the first phase of the Giant Eggman Robo boss fight, its fingers no longer have a "wind-up" animation before they slam down on the floor.
The transition to Doomsday/bad ending after the final boss is much slower.
Debug Mode is now required to select this zone as Knuckles via Level Select.
While playing as Knuckles, Eggman is replaced with Eggrobo in all instances, not just the Master Emerald chase.
After defeating the Giant Eggman Robo or the Final Weapon in The Doomsday Zone, Knuckles' normal ending (the one seen after defeating Super Mecha Sonic Mk. II in Sky Sanctuary) now plays.
The Doomsday Zone
Sonic now makes the same "whooshing" sound as in the rest of the game upon transforming, with the "whistling" sound now unused.
Tails and Knuckles no longer have glitched graphics upon entering the stage, an obvious fix from the original.
Knuckles now uses his gliding sprite rather than his running animation, while both Tails and Amy (via the Plus DLC) use their running animation.
Competition Mode
Competition Mode has been given a facelift - players are now full-size, and the levels themselves have been redrawn and upscaled to match. By default, the physics are unchanged, and Sonic and Knuckles still can't use their special moves. Playing sounds "03, 02, 01, 06, 00" in the Sound Test reverses this, allowing all characters to play exactly as they do in the main game.
The Balloons and Bumpers in Balloon Park now play the same sounds as their counterparts in the main campaign, rather than the sounds of the bumper gumballs.
The Bumpers now use Sonic's palette rather than Knuckles, fixing an oversight from the original game.[1]
Music Changes
To do:
Update the IceCap audio. They are low in quality with noise reduction.
Upload the Sonic & Knuckles versions of the Invincibility theme (both the Genesis and PC versions.)
A portion of the music in the Sonic 3 half was replaced entirely due to copyright issues stemming from Michael Jackson's involvement with the Genesis version (although everyone from the original game's sound team is still listed in the credits, as was the case in Sonic & Knuckles Collection). The affected tracks include Carnival Night Zone, IceCap Zone, Launch Base Zone, the Competition Mode theme, and the Sonic 3 credits. The replacement tracks are based on the compositions from the prototype build and Sonic & Knuckles Collection. Although Sega stated these were new arrangements by Jun Senoue, it's unclear to what extent he was involved, as some tracks are identical to their prototype counterparts, while others sound less refined, suggesting that they originate from a prototype that predates the November 3rd one. This is furthered by how the replacement tracks use a very old version of the Universal Voice Bank that featured in the prototype versions of certain tracks.[2]
Name
Original
1103 Prototype
Sonic & Knuckles Collection (General MIDI)
Sonic & Knuckles Collection (FM Synthesis)
Sonic Origins
Notes
Carnival Night Zone Act 1
The music in Carnival Night is significantly closer in style to the Sonic & Knuckles Collection version of the theme. Act 1 is faster in tempo and 3 semitones lower in pitch, and its instruments and arrangement are generally less refined. The Origins version is missing any stereo panning effects, which are prevalent throughout the prototype counterpart.
Carnival Night Zone Act 2
Act 2 is more similar to its prototype counterpart, but also has less refined instrument choices. The Origins version is missing any stereo panning effects, which are prevalent throughout the prototype counterpart.
Ice Cap Zone Act 1
Nearly the same as the prototype, aside from using the same instruments as Act 2.
Ice Cap Zone Act 2
Same as Prototype.
Identical to the prototype.
Launch Base Zone Act 1
The music is fairly close to that of the prototype, but with different instrument choices to more closely imitate the Sonic & Knuckles Collection version. Act 1 is in the key of D major like the Collection, whereas the prototype version is one semitone higher.
Launch Base Zone Act 2
The music is fairly close to that of the prototype, but with different instrument choices to more closely imitate the Sonic & Knuckles Collection version. Act 2 seems to have volume balancing issues in the section between 0:30 and 0:45, as the backing instruments are loud enough to almost drown out the main melody, an issue which does not occur in the prototype's version of the same track.
Competition Mode
Same as Prototype.
Identical to the prototype. Interestingly, this is named 3K2D_2Pvs_Menu_SK internally.
Ending (Sonic 3 Credits)
Same as Prototype.
Identical to the prototype. Now used in the ending instead of the Sky Sanctuary theme if the player has collected all Emeralds. Interestingly, this is named 3KF6_Unused_Ending internally.
Super Sonic Theme
A new theme was composed for Super Sonic, instead of reusing the Invincibility music. Unlike the other tracks, it is clear that this is a new composition by Jun Senoue, as it uses similar instrumentation to Sonic the Hedgehog 4 rather than the Genesis sound chip. It also replaces the Invincibility theme on the results screen of the Blue Spheres mode.
Other Changes/Notes
There's a bug where the music restarts from the beginning rather than resuming whenever a jingle plays (such as upon collecting a 1-Up/coin).
Prior to the v1.04 patch, the Blue Spheres theme would not speed up the longer you stay inside a Special Stage.
Although music playback in Origins is handled by the Hedgehog Engine, Retro Engine music objects exist unused in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Interestingly, the looping points for the replaced themes align closely with the original tracks instead of the prototype, PC, and Origins versions, suggesting that Headcannon developed the remaster using the originals before Sega replaced them.
Although the "Anniversary Mode" and "Mirror Mode" use the Sonic 3 1-Up jingle, the "Classic Mode" uses the Sonic & Knuckles 1-Up jingle. Most other instances of songs differing between Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles use the latter version across all modes.
The Medal Icon sound effect from Mania that has been added to Blue Spheres, is not used (named RSDK-3---Medallion internally).
Unused Graphics
To do: There's more to be added.
Confirm whether the "Copyrights" sprites are used in Blue Spheres.
Artwork
Name
Description
Press Text
Alternate versions of the "Press Button" text, reading "Press Start" and "Touch To Start". "Touch To Start" appears to be a leftover from the initial mobile proof-of-concept Taxman and Stealth made in 2014.
Title Blue Spheres
An option on the title screen for the Blue Spheres modes. In-game, these modes are selected through both the collection's main menu and the Level Select.
Sonic 1 Special Stage Leftovers
A load of Sonic 1 (2013) leftovers, located in the Slot Machine Bonus Stage.
Unused Gumball Bonus Stage Objects
All of the previously unused Bonus Stage gumballs, plus a new "?" gumball. This is used when the Random Monitors cheat code is enabled.
Using Debug Mode to place the gumballs (which would crash the game prior to the 2.0.0 update), the blank gumballs does nothing, the two "S" gumballs do indeed give the player a Super transformation and Rings (though it doesn't carry over to the main game), and the "F" gumball plays the black gumball sound effect but otherwise does nothing. Interestingly, if a partner Tails touches an "S" gumball, he will briefly gain a Super transformation before quickly resetting to normal.
Unused AIZ Object
A button stored in Angel Island Act 2's object sheet. Still unused.
Unused Monitors
Monitor icons for a clock, three shields, an Emerald, and a spring. Similar icons appeared on the previous remasters of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2:
The Shields monitor toggled between the game's original Shield monitors and the elemental monitors from Sonic 3.
The Emerald monitor toggled the maximum Emerald count between 6 and 7 in Sonic 1, and toggled between giving or taking away all Emeralds in Sonic 2.
The Spring monitor only shows up in Sonic 2, where it was also unused and had no function.
The Clock monitor appears in Sonic CD's Debug Mode. It was originally meant to cause a time freeze effect, but doesn't work properly there.
Prototype Intro
Sonic's surfing sprites from the prototype's intro.
Knuckles Piloting Sprites
Sprites of Knuckles piloting the Tornado. Perhaps intended for a new cutscene, like if Sonic Mania's "& Knuckles" mode was reused.
Old Eggman Sprites
An older version of Eggman and Eggrobo's sprite sheet, which features Eggman with black glasses. While he had black glasses in the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles, they were changed to blue in Origins for consistency with the other games.
Test Object Icon
An unshaded ball with "TEST" written on it.
Unused Eggrobo Sprites
Sprites of Eggrobo in the Egg Scorcher Mk. III in the background of Angel Island Act 2, zooming away during the Egg Drillster Mk. II fight in Marble Garden Act 2, a version of him in the Egg Mobile in a variation of the post-Big Arms graphics, and piloting the Egg Inferno in the Lava Reef Act 2 boss sub-Act. Only the Angel Island Act 2 sprite is currently unused in regular gameplay.
Amy has sprites for the Continue screen that are only used in the game’s Classic Mode. Amy can access Classic Mode through its level select code (also the case for the collection's versions of Sonic 1 and 2). Her animation seems to be a reference to her losing animation in Sonic the Fighters.
Editor Icons
A few icons for a stage editor can be found in Editor/Icons.gif, similar to unused graphics present in Sonic Mania but with a few additional frames added.
The Plus version adds a few more icons to the above. The biggest difference here is that there is now an icon for an Amy starting point.
Debug Sandopolis Sprite Frame
In the file 3K_SPZ/AniTiles.gif is an animation of the torches used in Sandopolis Act 2. This eighth frame was most likely intended for animation debugging.
Unused Frame from Blue Sphere Menu
An unused sprite frame from 3K_BlueSpheres/Planet.gif, probably intended to set up an object to use animation. It resembles the Special Stage background from the November 3, 1993 prototype.
Unused Objects
Hyper Ring
The Hyper Ring monitor from Sonic Mania is present in the game's debug mode. Its HUD element uses a broken palette, but it otherwise works as expected. It forms part of the selection for the random monitor and, as of v1.04, is obtainable through the random monitor cheat code, albeit while retaining the broken HUD palette. This was fixed in the 2.0.0 update.
Unused Stages
Blueprint Zone
Map
In-Game
A test stage with simple graphics and lots of slopes. The Taxman previously mentioned that "Blueprint Zone" was made to test RSDKv5. Object graphics for this zone could be found in earlier versions of Sonic Mania, suggesting that this is a very old leftover.
The Zoo
A level called The Zoo exists in the files, presumably for testing Badniks during the porting process. It crashes the game when loaded. Zoo versions of various zones exist, with "Zoo" used in place of "Zone" (eg: "Hydrocity Zoo").
Layout of Flying Battery Zoo.
Boss Attack Zone
A Zone meant to serve as a boss rush mode, akin to the level of the same name from the Sonic 2 remaster, as well as the cut Egg Gauntlet Zone. Like those, it differentiates itself from Origins' dedicated Boss Rush mode for all games by including level design connecting the bosses, essentially abridging the levels to the bosses and set pieces and sprinkling in helpful Item Boxes. It also includes the Act 1 bosses, theoretically doubling the length of the boss rush.
Knuckles' alternate pathways and bosses are included, immediately splitting off with the rocks in Angel Island Zone Act 1, although his pathway/cutscene position in Hydrocity Zone Act 2 is blocked off even when playing as him and has unfinished level design leading to nowhere. Oddly, the segment uses the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 layout for the level rather than the Sonic 3 & Knuckles layout used elsewhere in Origins, presumably because
a Yellow Spring would make more sense for a Time Attack with this level than the 1-Up Item Box. A glitch also locks Knuckles into sliding against the ground at some point into the Flame Mobile battle.
The level is very unfinished with only four of the zones present. The Flame Mobile lacks the Eggman/Eggrobo sprites until defeated and doesn't properly transition to Hydrocity Zone, either softlocking on Sonic/Tails/Amy's cutscene (presumably meant for a new transition without Knuckles, who isn't present in Hydrocity Zone) or transitioning to Hydrocity Zone Act 1 with Knuckles' cutscene. The Carnival Night Zone layout ends at the arena for the Bowling Spin, which never spawns in.
The Zone was likely scrapped in favour of the Origins Boss Rush mode, which also replaced the other Sonic 2 Boss Attack Zone.
Sonic Mania Leftovers
To do: Add every single Sonic Mania leftover, add images and videos.
The game appears to be based on Sonic Mania, as there are a lot of leftovers from it hidden in the files and codes.
& Knuckles Mode still exists in the files as a potential cheat code, but is disabled.
The character respawning behavior from Encore Mode.
All of Sonic's sprites (not once, twice, but three times!).
Tails' sprites (twice).
Knuckles' sprites.
All of the chibi player sprites.
The player continue sprites (twice).
HUD-related graphics.
The splashes, bubbles, and drowning countdown.
The Cool Bonus, a type of bonus that starts at 10,000 points and decreases by 1,000 every time the player takes damage, is still tallied during the results screen.
Artwork
Name
Description
Chemical Plant Objects Editor
A icons for Chemical Plant Objects Editor can be found in Editor/TransportTube.gif.
Blue Spheres Players Sprites
Players sprites for Blue Spheres can be found in 3K_Special/Players.gif.
Old Pause Menu
An old version of the pause menu can be found in 3K_Global/Pause.gif.
Continue Sprites
Sprites for Continue Screen can be found in 3K_Players/Continue.gif. Also, a duplicate of this file can be found in S2_Players and in SM_Players Folders.
Display Sprites
Display Sprites can be found in Global/Display.gif.
Water Sprites
Water Sprites can be found in Global/Water.gif.
Chibi Sonic Sprites
Chibi Sonic Sprites can be found in S1_Players/ChibiSonic.gif. Also, a duplicate of this file but with different background color can be found in SM_Players Folder.
Sonic's Sprites
Sonic's Sprites can be found in S1_Players/Sonic1.gif, S1_Players/Sonic2.gif, S1_Players/Sonic3.gif, S1_Players/Sonic4.gif. Also, a duplicate of these files but with different background color can be found in SM_Players Folder.
Tails's Sprites
Tails's Sprites can be found in S2_Players/Tails1.gif, S2_Players/Tails2.gif, S2_Players/Tails3.gif. Also, a duplicate of these files but with different background color can be found in SM_Players Folder.
Chibi Knuckles Sprites
Chibi Knuckles Sprites can be found in SM_Players/ChibiKnux.gif, SM_Players/ChibiKnux2.gif.
Knuckles's Sprites
Knuckles's Sprites can be found in SM_Players/Knux.gif, SM_Players/Knux2.gif
Sprite Swapping
Code exists for swapping sprites for the Player, HUD and Global objects of Rings, Springs, Sign Posts, Spikes and Shields between Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Sonic Mania (not Sonic CD as it shares sprites with Sonic 1). This is related to the Hyper Ring initially breaking the HUD palette prior to 2.0.0, switching to one of Sonic Mania. This could have possibly merely been a method to showcase Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles all running on RSDKv5 prior to how it ended up working in Origins, although the presence of what seems to be Sonic Mania's Press Garden Zone Act 2 ice Spikes in the code questions this ("SM_PSZ2/Spikes.bin", possibly relating to the cut Pulp Solstice Zone name).[3][4][5][6] The GameConfig.bin file for the game contains the global palettes for Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 alongside a modified version of Sonic Mania's.[7] Additionally, the amount of leftover Mania sprite sheets lines up with what would be needed: three for Sonic (Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic Mania), two for Tails (Sonic 2, Sonic Mania) and just one for Knuckles (Sonic Mania). Theoretically swapping to Sonic Mania would be busted and Sonic 1 or Sonic 2 wouldn't work whilst swapping to Sonic & Knuckles changes some art in the game code (possibly Bonus Stage stuff) and Sonic 3 is the cheat code to disable "& Knuckles" branding across the game, which currently crashes the Slot Machine Bonus Stage.
