Sega will delist classic Sonic games ahead of Origins

By Cristina Alexander April 26, 2022

Sega has announced that it is delisting digital versions of all the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games. According to a press release published on Tuesday, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD will be delisted from digital game services on May 20.

The company said that all those games are being delisted in preparation for the release of Sonic Origins, which is slated to come out on June 23 — the first time since 1991 that a Sonic game was released on that exact date. However, it was careful to note Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will remain available through SEGA Ages on Nintendo Switch, while the latter Sonic game will still be playable on the Sega Genesis via Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.

The last time Sega delisted Sonic games was in 2010, when it announced it would make games with average or below-average Metacritic scores unavailable to buy new at retailers. The games that were affected by that rule included Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Riders, and Sonic and the Black Knight.

Sonic Origins will feature HD ports of all the four aforementioned games in their Classic and Anniversary formats. Classic Mode will let players enjoy the games as originally intended with a limited life count and a small screen, while Anniversary Mode widens the screen, adds a coin counter, and allows players to control Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles or a combined duo of any of the characters (though not Amy Rose, to the internet’s dismay). It also gives players the ability to use Sonic’s drop dash move, which was introduced in Sonic Mania.

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Cristina Alexander

Gaming/Mobile Writer

Cristina Alexander has been writing since 2014, from opining about pop culture on her personal blog in college to reporting…

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The best Sonic fan games

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Sonic was once the biggest rival Mario ever faced. The blue blur certainly gave the plumber a run for his money in the 8- and 16-bit days of gaming and was arguably winning in terms of mass popularity for a brief moment in time. Sonic was the cool, hip, more "adult" type of character with a very '90s attitude that resonated with a large portion of the western gaming audience. He was even the very first video game character to ever get his own balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Needless to say, Sonic was looking to run away with the title of the face of gaming. That was until the 16-bit days ended, and the shift to 3D began.

Unlike his contemporaries, Sonic wasn't -- and arguably still isn't -- able to find a comfortable footing in the 3D space. Rather than revert back to what made his first couple of games so good, Sega kept pushing 3D titles, even after they left the console business. Sonic's reputation quickly spiraled, but his popularity remains arguably as strong as ever. Fan works involving the blue hedgehog have flooded the internet for years, with the most impressive being Sonic fan games. Most give old-school fans more and new takes on what they loved about the old 2D games, but others showed that Sonic really can work in 3D, along with all sorts of other experimental titles we'd never see Team Sonic make officially. If you miss the days when Sonic was at his top speed, here are the best Sonic fan games that can give you the thrill his official games can't.

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