When Sega launched Sonic Origins last year, the collection’s existence didn’t make all that much sense. For one, all of its member games were cheaply available on most digital storefronts right up until about a month before release. After Sonic Origins came out, it was the only way to play Sonic’s first several entries, and fans were now going to have to pay $39.99 for the privilege.
Further, Sonic Originsoffered little outside of those gamesbesides some minor visual upgrades, some digital window dressing and a smattering of side content. This is all to say that it was a nice-looking package that nonetheless didn’t feel worth what Sega was asking for it. With the release of Sonic Origins Plus though, the value may actually be there now.
The content added by Sonic Mania Plus ranges from little more than novel to almost essential. On the “novel” side of things, players are getting some new art in the library, new characters populating the main menu’s islands and a handful of new missions. It’s all stuff that’s nice to have, but aren’t the sorts of things anyone would bother buying. More significant is the addition of Knuckles to Sonic CD and Amy Rose to all four games as playable characters.
Until now, there was little to differentiate the Sonic Origins iterations of Sonic’s first four outings from the versions that had been available separately before the collections launch. The visuals were slightly improved and Sonic 2’s Chaos Emerald mini-game was looking markedly better, but that was it. Now though, now these new versions actually have something different to offer fans.
Sure, Amy Rose and Knuckles don’t change that much, but they still enable players to enjoy these titles in a new way. The developers actually make smart use of Amy’s hammer, enabling her to pull-off moves and maintain momentum where Sonic can’t. She doesn’t necessarily allow players to run through the stage faster than they could as Sonic, but she does allow one to take certain risks more often. She’s very much like Knuckles in that sense and thus makes for an excellent addition to the playable cast.
One new character and some fluff isn’t enough to justify a DLC like this, though, so Sega sweetened the deal by throwing twelve more Sonic titles from the Game Gear and Genesis into the mix. One’s mileage may vary considering that most of them are old handheld games that haven’t received any noticeable enhancements, but they do nonetheless add a lot of much needed variety to the collection.
Also, unlike the mainline titles featured in Sonic Mania Plus, most of these weren’t widely available before, making this a much more valuable offering for fans and collectors. The addition of these games and a playable Amy Rose will likely make that $39.99 worth it for most classic Sonic fans out there. Still, early adopters may feel burned by having to shell-out an extra $9.99 when everyone else gets it for the initial launch price.
For an upcharge like that, it should have at least added a new mainline game or something that’s still nearly impossible to play. Something like, say Knuckles' Chaotix. Sonic fans have been asking for that one for decades now, and it’s still nowhere to be seen. Throwing a truly sought-after game like that in would have gone a long way toward making Sonic Origins Plus a true must-have collection and earned back some goodwill from the fanbase.
As it stands though, yes, Sonic Mania Plus is worth it now for those Sonic fans who didn’t grab it last year. For those that did, though, it’s going to be a matter of how much they want to play as Amy or whether they actually want to try any of those newly-added Game Gear games.
