Sonic Origins Plus will add a wealth of hard-to-find Game Gear handheld titles, and a playable Amy Rose, to the retro mix.
Update: Sega has now officially confirmed Sega Origins Plus.
Ready for a package deal? Sonic Origins Plus is heading your way June 23rd, 2023! Get ready for extra games, extra challenges, and for the first time ever…Amy's joining the party! pic.twitter.com/5DR1EbA1H5
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) March 23, 2023
As you can see, the updated collection is out on 23 June 2023, with a playable Amy, 12 Game Gear titles, and an assortment of other new modes.
Our original story follows…
Well this has a nice ring to it (You’re fired – Ed). A so-far unannounced upgrade to the 2022 compilation Sonic Origins will reportedly add a dozen Game Gear games and other new features to the existing line-up.
Imaginatively called Sonic Origins Plus, the update will reportedly be available as a paid upgrade for people who already own Sonic Origins, or as a bundle for those who buy the whole package either physically or digitally.
Plus will add 12 Game Gear titles, some of which haven’t appeared elsewhere before, including Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2, and the last ever Game Gear series entry, Sonic Blast. Plus will also add Amy Rose as a playable character to the first three 16-bit Sonic games as well as Sonic CD.
We keep using the word ‘reportedly’ in this post because the story came from ComicBook.com, which published and then swiftly deleted the post from its site. That hasn’t stopped the reports from spreading elsewhere, though, including the ever-reliable videogamechronicle.com, where we first spotted it.
Rumour: In a now-deleted article, @ComicBook relayed "new information" concerning #SonicOrigins Plus.
The report alleged a playable Classic Amy, playable Game Gear titles, and a physical release on 23 June 2023.
The rumour has yet to be corroborated by SEGA.#SonicNews pic.twitter.com/Uy24LBpL0x
— TailsChannel@mastodon.social (@TailsChannel) March 23, 2023
What’s clear is that Sonic Origins Plus is a real upcoming release, even if Sega hasn’t announced it yet for whatever reason – its title first popped up in a ratings listing in South Korea in February.
That Sonic Origins is even getting an update certainly fits with Sega’s piecemeal approach to its hedgehog mascot’s legacy. Although the games it collected together are just about all fondly-remembered classics, the package was criticised for hiving certain features off as separate, paid-for DLC.
Here’s hoping, though, that those Game Gear titles have been ported with care: while not all of them are great (we’d skip Tails’ Skypatrol, frankly), a few of them are well worth a play. And did you know that the first Sonic game for the Game Gear and Master System was programmed by none other than Yuzo Koshiro? Well it was.
