Sega currently wishes to release 2D games alongside the mainline 3D Sonic games as long as possible. Sonic Origins Plus is being released this June to add some Classic Sonic fun for fans alongside the constant stream of updates for Sonic Frontiers throughout the year. Origins Plus works in the same way Sonic Mania's Plus expansion did; offering a way for players to expand their existing game for a small price, or allowing players to buy the base game and the Plus content in a physical package. Origins Plus plans to make itself worth players' while by not only adding 12 Game Gear games alongside the four classic titles it offers, but also by including Amy Rose as a new playable character.
Many of Amy's playable appearances back when she was also known as Rosy the Rascal were relegated to spin-off titles, and this trend continued into even the Modern Sonic titles, which makes her inclusion in these games a very overdue addition. There are many reasons as to why Classic Amy being playable matters, from answering requests fans have had for years to the pink hedgehog possibly changing the status quo of the series.
How Including Amy Rose Makes Sonic Origins Complete
Sonic Origins stands out among previous Sonic collections by aiming to tie the four games it offers into one cohesive narrative. The compilation pulls this off by adding new animated cutscenes to the start and end of each game regardless of any pre-existing endings. While this gives Sonic CD fans two back-to-back openings and endings to watch, they do their job. These animated sequences also put an emphasis on Amy that rings hollow in the base collection proper, as she's seen smashing badniks with the boys while she isn't playable whatsoever.
Though the cutscenes likely tried to include the hammer-wielding heroine to give her a bigger role than she had previously, it ended up being a big criticism toward the entire collection at large. Without Origins Plus, it's for the extra content for Amy to feel empty as she wasn't allowed to shine on the same stage as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Now, that balance is properly even as Origins can be experienced as all four characters, ending a long streak of Sega side-lining Amy despite her being around longer than many fan-favorite characters.
The Fan Demand for Amy Rose
When it comes to a missing piece for something as big as a Classic Sonic compilation, of course dedicated fans took notice. Leading up to Sonic Origins' release, and even sometime afterward, many players made it known that they thought there was plenty of room for Amy on the character select screen. Fans had been campaigning for Amy's playable since Sonic Mania, where the pink hedgehog wasn't made playable even in the following Plus expansion.
While Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel were deserving of playable status after they hadn't been seen in Sonic games for two decades before Sonic Mania Plus, the same could be said about Amy. The pink hedgehog hasn't been playable in a mainline Sonic game since 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog. Now, she makes her return to playable status after 17 years in Sonic CD, the game that she first starred in, and three more iconic titles along with it.
Sonic Origins Plus Might Change Sonic Lore For Good
One important detail about Amy being made playable in Sonic Origins Plus is that one game in particular has some steep requirements to complete. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, to truly beat the game, fans need to at least collect the seven Chaos Emeralds, if not the Super Emeralds afterward. This allows any player character to go "Super."
The Super form is required to play the true final boss of S3&K in Doomsday Zone. Due to this, special transformations were added and changed for Tails and Knuckles respectively in Sonic Origins to reflect how Sonic Team has said that only male hedgehogs can go "Super." However, in order to allow fans to complete a full playthrough of Sonic 3 & Knuckles with Amy, she requires a Super form, if not a Hyper form also.
As Amy finally makes her way into the spotlight alongside Team Sonic, she's also getting a Super form. It's understandable that fans would be excited about this, as not only had they been waiting for the day that Amy would be made playable again, but they had also been wondering what "Super Amy" would look like in both her Classic and Modern iterations for years. Amy might have broken the rather strange requirements for Super forms just by being adapted into a playable character for Sonic Origins Plus.
Unfortunately, there's a very strong chance that while she's guaranteed to get some sort of transformation, it may be as simple as a glowing color pallet, much like what Super (or Hyper) Knuckles is considered to be. Sonic Team could also consider the form not canon entirely, as Amy making her way through Sonic 3 & Knuckles on her own isn't canon to begin with.
No matter if Amy's Super form is canon or not, there will still be plenty of content to make Rosy the Rascal fans happy and inspire more "accurate" Super Amy fan art for years to come. For those who stood by the pink hedgehog despite how some other players were turned away by her enthusiasm about marrying Sonic over the years, Sonic Origins Plus is only the beginning of great things for Amy Rose. Not only is she playable in her introduction title and the original Sonic trilogy, but a leak suggests Amy will soon be playable in Sonic Frontiers as well. As Sonic Team shifts toward making multiple playable characters a priority in the Sonic franchise, it's only natural that the female lead would also get to shine.
Sonic Origins is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Plus expansion will be made available on June 23, 2023.
