Sonic Origins was released this week to mixed reactions, with some fans angered at the changed music from Sonic 3 and others experiencing bugs in these retro releases. The ports for all four games in the Sega compilation are partially the work of HeadCannon, a developer that also worked on the critically acclaimed Sonic Mania. Fans are rightfully confused as to the technical mishaps with this new collection, and one developer is taking it to Twitter to explain their side of the story. Simon Thomley, the primary developer behind HeadCannon, explained the situation, including Sega’s work on the Sonic ports after he passed it along and possible future work on the game.
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Thomley revealed that his team wasn’t entirely pleased with the work on Sonic Origins when he turned it in, saying they spotted bugs late in the process that they weren’t allowed to fix. He also admits that the team felt rushed during the process and that Sega did not agree to a delay that could have avoided some issues. However, Thomley’s main concern seems to be Sega’s work on implementing the ports into the Origins collection and the “wild bugs” that sprung up from that process.
This is frustrating. I won't lie and say that there weren't issues in what we gave to Sega, but what is in Origins is also not what we turned in. Integration introduced some wild bugs that conventional logic would have one believe were our responsibility- a lot of them aren't.
— Stealth (@HCStealth) June 24, 2022
Not everyone playing Origins at launch has experienced these problems, but the bugs that have popped up on social media are indeed wild. From Super Sonic defeating Robotnik without lifting a finger to the (arguably welcome) exclusion of Sonic’s drowning dirge, Twitter is full of examples of Sonic games running at less than 100%. What makes the problem even more frustrating is that Sega pulled down other digital ports of these games before the launch of Origins, giving retro gamers no (legal) alternative to these versions.
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Thomley has confirmed that HeadCannon is more than willing to return and fix these issues, but Sega hasn’t responded to their offer. In addition, he worries that his social media chatter about the game’s bugs could make Sega wary of working with the team again. Hopefully, the publisher realizes how much the Sonic community values the work of HeadCannon when it comes to Sonic Mania, the mobile ports, and now Origins. Everyone is excited about Frontiers, but the release calendar wouldn’t be the same without more 2D Sonic on the menu.
