Sonic Origins launches in June with remasters of four classic games

In the lead-up to Sonic’s 31st birthday (feel old yet?), Sega has finally revealed the details behind Sonic Origins, a remastered collection of Sonic The Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Don’t expect straight ports of these Sega classics, though. 

In addition to remastered visuals updated for today’s consoles, Sonic Origins includes new achievements, collectibles, animated shorts, and game modes, putting a fresh pair of sneakers on these old classics.

In Sonic Origins, players will be able to choose between playing in classic mode or anniversary mode. In classic mode, players will experience the games in all their original glory and original aspect ratios. 

Anniversary mode offers a full-screen experience along with infinite lives so you won’t have to worry about getting repeatedly crushed to death in Chemical Plant Zone (you know the place.)

Sonic Origins lets you play as Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles throughout all four games giving you the opportunity to beat Metal Sonic as Knuckles or fly through Green Hill Zone as Tails. While Sega has given fans umpteen bundles of the first three Sonic games, Sonic CD hasn’t seen a proper re-release since 2011. 

No word yet on if this version of the game will feature the US or (the vastly superior) Japanese version of its soundtrack. Judge for yourself.

Although re-releasing games that are decades old seems fairly straightforward (assuming that it's even possible to port them to a newer platform), Sonic the Hedgehog manages to have a curiously fragmented list of pre-order options. Buying the Standard edition will only grant you access to the base game, but if you choose to pre-order, you'll also unlock 100 bonus coins (in-game currency), Mirror Mode, and a custom Letterbox Background. A so-called "free" DLC also comes with the Deluxe Edition.

The Deluxe Edition grants the user the most perks of all, unlocking everything that the DLC doesn't, including hard missions, extra character animations, camera controls over the main menu, and additional music tracks. There's also a Premium Fun Pack that contains some extra goodies, and a Classical Music Pack that's just the base game with additional music tracks. It's admittedly a bit confusing, so in short — if you want it all, you'll need the Digital Deluxe Edition.

Although the official pricing of the games is not yet up on the Sonic the Hedgehog website, SEGA's partners (such as Xbox) reveal that the base edition costs $40 and the Deluxe version costs $45. Whether that's a reasonable price to pay or not is up to each customer to decide, but nostalgia is a powerful force, and coming back to the games we once loved can be worth a whole lot — so Sonic Origins just might be a huge success despite the strange way the company chose to break up the different versions.