Another thing I just realized is that the 3 remasters were developed using older versions of Christian’s Retro Engine (CD was version 3, 1&2 was version 4, and I think Mania was version 5) So one possibility would be developing the games using the most advanced version of RSDK and it could pave the way for even more features and extras, hence the 2022 release.. I doubt they will create Mania versions of the classic trilogy and CD though. Also, interesting note, Simon’s Headcannon website has a TBA box listed on the bottom of his list of games developed.. could it be this updated collection? Maybe not, but it could be updated once more details are out and we get official confirmation of who is developing this (ofc IF he is a part of it) But again, this is SEGA, as everyone says, so I hope they don’t screw up this opportunity to bring the definitive versions of these games together for the first time
This collection could be made by another company. Whoever is behind it, it's nice to get the Classic Sonic games officially in widescreen. Actually that's a really good thing. Will be fun to play on Switch if they release it on there. I hope they add some decent extras though.
Same. It'd be nice to see this be like a unified collection, so you can pick and choose options for styles or whatnot (like in Sonic CD It'd be nice if there was a Genesis sound mode that swapped the weird CD sound effects out) and so you can play as Knuckles in Sonic CD I will say though, this collection's existence makes me regret buying the AM2 version of Sonic 2 on the Switch.
All the special features on the Switch version of sonic 1 and 2 will still be handy, unless they add those features to this port.
A "Discovery Mode", as it were? Would be a nice little feature for sure. But yes, the mentions of the Mega Man Legacy Collection are exactly what I'm envisioning. With the added bonus of being a lot more polished on the actual games if we get Retro Engine versions of each title. Hell, in an ideal world I'd want the original ROMs on there as well as "Legacy Versions", so people like Dek are also happy. And as a frame of reference, of course. I think the only thing preventing that would be Sonic 3 music shenanigans. But with a little effort (and perhaps a slightly higher budget), this could all be feasible. I think Digital Eclipse were lucky in that Capcom had all their shit together in terms of having the key art and concept art ready when they made the MM20 book, but I'd hope we'd see more art from the SEGA vaults that haven't been seen in missed opportunities like the Pix 'n' Love and Cook and Becker books. Hell, I see "unseen before" Yamaguchi art on commercial US t-shirts all the time!
I'm more excited about this collection of old games than I am for Colors and the new game, not sure how to feel about that I've played Sonic 1 and 2 in widescreen on PC. It will be really good to have them on consoles. After processing this, it's actually really good news
I'll just reiterate that I hope the collection is Taxman and Stealth. I know it most likely is, but I would have expected them to say that from the start because they know how marketable it is. They didn't so it makes me wonder if these ports are being done in house or something. I mean, look, I don't need Taxman and Stealth to handle these ports. It's preferable, yes, but as long as the ports are competent and have the QoL that we all like from the previous Taxman ports, I'll be fine, but I wonder if they'll go with that considering they did completely new ports of 1 and 2 by M2 for 3DS and Switch. I'd just like competent and good stuff done for Sonic's 30th.
I’m on the same boat you are.. the classics always provide a fun time for me and the Taxman ports are no exception. Just sucks we have to wait a year but I’m sure it will be worth it
Bluntly put, it should at least be using the retro engine as a base, since SEGA does own the rights to use it, and has done so on all platforms for Sonic CD for a decade now (Yep, it's been that long!). Same applies for the mania engine, which is essentially just a more feature rich version of the original retro engine. Not porting over the Taxman assets onto some variant of this engine would be a very strange move, as they already have the coding done and it wouldn't take much work to port them at all. Using that engine for S3 would also be relatively simple. Hacking the original roms to be widescreen would be much more of a challenge, and not very productive compared to using existing code and assets they already own the rights too. If that was the plan, M2 would've already done it with their own ports.
It's fair that people don't like the changes. But sorry in no way they were fangame-y. Myself feel pretty miffed that a company hired as a contractor have it's work somewhat diminished, because of their past presence as a fan. And that they have to carry that label so heavily on a professional environment. I'll bet if no one knew Taxman previously, you would of course criticize their work and that's ok, but i'll bet no one would label it as "fangame-y". ...I even seen people calling Sonic Mania a fan game out there, for crying it loud.
It has nothing to do with the individuals or their past work, and more the insertion of the assets from Sonic 3 into a modified credits end sequence for 2 to tie the game straight into 3's intro for the sake of foreshadowing / sequel hook. Right down to Knuckles in the bushes next to Eggman. Even if it was done by Sega themselves, it would look off and probably have more nitpicky people wonder about it. I don't mind it but I do feel like it's the exact kind of thing a fangame or romhack would do, ala Sonic Classic Heroes tying together 1 and 2 and so forth.
If S3K were being developed by Taxman and Stealth, wouldn't Sega have mentioned it in their stream? It would just be good PR. "From the developers behind Sonic Mania, the best received Sonic game in 15 years, come Sonic Origins, a compilation of the 5 games that started it all!" or something to that effect. That being said, vanilla S3K is such a good game the only reason I would be interested in this is if it were getting the RetroEngine treatment.
It does not matter that much, but I really hope they will use Japanese artworks for this collection (for now, I'm ignoring the teaser from Central). Also it would be really cute and neat if it was a kind of "Modern Sonic Jam". I actually really hope they"ll take some inspiration.
It's funny how much Sonic Gems and Mega Collection (and Plus) offered 20 years ago vs now we have a 4 game collection announcement that isn't even finished yet.
Zippo said this collection is being made in-house and fans are helping but not Evening Star, so maybe they're not using the retro engine remakes and are creating completely new widescreen versions. Regardless how the collection is being developed, it needs to be on par with the StealthTax remasters. I also hope they add some new content-at the very least I expect the drop-dash to be implemented. Maybe also included Ray & Mighty. Or better yet add Amy Rose as a playable character, which could be a smart move because some fans were disappointed she wasn't one of the characters added in Mania Plus. I'm gutted this collection isn't coming out until 2022, but I guess the extra wait gives me hope SEGA are actually putting in some real effort to make this new release special. Also, they didn't say 1,2 CD & 3K would be the only games included. No matter how good these games play it will still feel weak without more games. I'm not expecting 20+ games, but 9 or 10 with some effort put into each one could make for a pretty sweet collection.
Still, these are widescreen remakes. Even if they use the existing remakes of S1. 2 and CD, they still need to do Sonic 3, and that's more work than slapping ROMs onto emulators.
And yet if that's really all it is then it'll still be the most lacking Sonic compilation to date - even the DS one included an extra art gallery, ffs Fingers crossed they just aren't ready to announce the other stuff yet, but I wouldn't put it past it not being possible because of either budget or COVID constraints
Getting the TaxStealth versions of Sonic 1, 2, and CD for consoles (and hopefully retail too) is good. Getting a re-release of S3&K at all is great. S3&K officially getting widescreen is promising, given TaxStealth's scrapped 3&K remaster pitch to Sega which had this covered. Fingers crossed they're being called back to make that a reality for this collection. Not impressed on everything else. Granted, given the general lack of details and the collection not slated for this year, it sounds like this is still in development, so things could change. But I’m gonna be in “that group” I guess, and say I would liked to see the other Genesis-era games (Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and Saturn) included in this collection, if not the post-Genesis games. There has been a remarkable lack of re-releases/compilations of old Sonic games in general over the past decade that weren’t S1 and S2; and with that in mind I have little reason to believe Sega are preparing more releases of Sonic’s back catalogue anytime soon. This compilation would have to be truly exceptional for me to consider getting it at full price, barring it being really cheap ($20 or less) to begin with. Though if Taxman and Stealth are confirmed to be working on the collection/remastering S3&K, that will definitely be a major point in its favor for me.
Very curious to hear who is handling the S3 remaster in this collection. Hope we can get some more info soon.
