Mixed on this one, as a longtime fan of the games. Ordinarily, I'd write a review, but I think a simple pro/con list might be better suited for this.
Note: I am referring to the package as a whole, including the DLC. I had not played Origins until Plus was released.
Pros:
-all non-game gear games are in widescreen
-mission mode pretty fun, if simplistic
-cute new cutscenes
-background islands are cute
-playable amy rose
-coin system feels like a good replacement for lives, and makes the special stages bearable (I am a longtime special stage hater)
-probably the best official way to play the classic Sonic Games
-metal sonic is in this game
Cons:
-Sonic 3 has several music tracks replaced with terrible substitutes, meaning no Ice Cap Zone jams
-you apparently have to pay extra to look at the islands(???)
-you have to pay extra to play as Knuckles in CD for some reason (?????)
-new cutscenes are so short and don't add much to the story at all, and some from the trailers are not in the final game
-"classic mode" is not the original rom, instead just the "anniversary mode" but cropped
-bizarre lack of other Genesis Sonic games, namely 3D Blast, Mean Bean Machine and Spinball, despite the Spinball Island being featured and the Plus dlc including the Game Gear version of Mean Bean
-strange omission of far superior Master System versions of the 8-Bit games, namely Sonic 1 and 2
-how has Knuckles' Chaotix STILL not been rereleased to this day
-Amy is fun, but underwhelming in comparison to her moveset from Advance 1
-music player missing the Past versions of the CD tracks for some reason (???)
-absolutely terrible sound quality in the Game Gear emulation, getting the speed shoes and invincibility in GG Sonic 1 resulted in a horrible cacophony of noise
-Sonic CD's menus flip between the classic menu and the 2011 remaster menu with every selection
-physics are not exact to originals, but seem to be better now than they used to, resulting in a lot of sequences not working as intended (still fairly close, but there's no excuse for it to not be 1:1)
-really underwhelming selection of concept art, especially in the physical art book
-sadly the best official way to play the classic Sonic games
-no playable metal sonic
I still enjoyed my time with it, if only because Sonic 1, CD, 2 and 3&K are all excellent games. I suppose I would recommend it to first-timers, since it's the best official way to play these games, but it's disappointing knowing how much better it could have been. An entire generation of people are going to experience Ice Cap with the wrong music.
As a collection, it's inferior to Jam, Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection. Game Gear Emulation was done better there, too.
tl;dr: It's fine, I'm just annoyed about what could have been and the lack of effort and blatant greed. Play it on PC with a mod to restore the S3&K music.
or just play S3 AIR
Note: I am referring to the package as a whole, including the DLC. I had not played Origins until Plus was released.
Pros:
-all non-game gear games are in widescreen
-mission mode pretty fun, if simplistic
-cute new cutscenes
-background islands are cute
-playable amy rose
-coin system feels like a good replacement for lives, and makes the special stages bearable (I am a longtime special stage hater)
-probably the best official way to play the classic Sonic Games
-metal sonic is in this game
Cons:
-Sonic 3 has several music tracks replaced with terrible substitutes, meaning no Ice Cap Zone jams
-you apparently have to pay extra to look at the islands(???)
-you have to pay extra to play as Knuckles in CD for some reason (?????)
-new cutscenes are so short and don't add much to the story at all, and some from the trailers are not in the final game
-"classic mode" is not the original rom, instead just the "anniversary mode" but cropped
-bizarre lack of other Genesis Sonic games, namely 3D Blast, Mean Bean Machine and Spinball, despite the Spinball Island being featured and the Plus dlc including the Game Gear version of Mean Bean
-strange omission of far superior Master System versions of the 8-Bit games, namely Sonic 1 and 2
-how has Knuckles' Chaotix STILL not been rereleased to this day
-Amy is fun, but underwhelming in comparison to her moveset from Advance 1
-music player missing the Past versions of the CD tracks for some reason (???)
-absolutely terrible sound quality in the Game Gear emulation, getting the speed shoes and invincibility in GG Sonic 1 resulted in a horrible cacophony of noise
-Sonic CD's menus flip between the classic menu and the 2011 remaster menu with every selection
-physics are not exact to originals, but seem to be better now than they used to, resulting in a lot of sequences not working as intended (still fairly close, but there's no excuse for it to not be 1:1)
-really underwhelming selection of concept art, especially in the physical art book
-sadly the best official way to play the classic Sonic games
I still enjoyed my time with it, if only because Sonic 1, CD, 2 and 3&K are all excellent games. I suppose I would recommend it to first-timers, since it's the best official way to play these games, but it's disappointing knowing how much better it could have been. An entire generation of people are going to experience Ice Cap with the wrong music.
As a collection, it's inferior to Jam, Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection. Game Gear Emulation was done better there, too.
tl;dr: It's fine, I'm just annoyed about what could have been and the lack of effort and blatant greed. Play it on PC with a mod to restore the S3&K music.