Sonic Mania! Sonic returns to his 2D roots! Finally!

SEGA
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The new special stages look good. I like the way they’ve mixed elements from the Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic CD special stages together.

The Sonic 3 & Knuckles special stages now appear to be bonus stages, which is cool. I remember having a lot of fun with these, as every pre-1994 Megadrive game would unlock a different stage when locked onto the top of Sonic & Knuckles. Since I owned the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge, renting a non Sonic game would often have the added bonus of unlocking a new variation of the special stage. I guess Sonic & Knuckles used the data on the inserted cartridge to help generate the special stage’s layout and colours; procedurally generated gameplay, Megadrive style.

I think it’s more likely that we’ll see a sequel to Sonic Mania since that wouldn’t require the development of a whole new engine. If Sega release a new 2D game with updated graphics, I’d rather it be given a new name rather than being called Sonic 5. I’d rather forget that Sonic 4 exists.

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I agree. And I hope after Sonic Mania, the team makes a true Sonic the Hedgehog 5 with unrestricted freedom and all original stages!

Damn, it’s almost here…I can’t wait for the mania!!

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Did anyone pick up one of the console versions of Sonic Mania? If so… any thoughts?

The PC version, which I’ve preordered, is not far away at all. I’m quite looking forward to it. It’s the highest rated Sonic game in fifteen years.

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Yeah, I got it for the Switch. It actually is the best Sonic game in years! But that’s because it stays faithful to what made sonic so exhilarating, charming, and exciting in the first place:

Pros:

-Correct momentum, speed, and physics

-Balanced level design incorporating platforming and speed

-Imaginative level design

-Fun but challenging special stages

-Super Sonic!

-Fun boss battles

-Story is told without any text or dialogue just like the Genesis games! With charming characters who express themselves without having to resort to god awful humor or kindergarten jokes. (I’m looking at you Sonic Lost World!)

-Sonic has his cool, care free attitude and original personality back again!

What’s new?:

-There are 4 new levels, each well designed, full of charm, and great music.(Press Garden is my favorite!)

-The old levels’ second acts are completely new, interesting and fun to play (especially Chemical Plant Act 2 and its boss!)

-You can play sphere bonus states at checkpoints to win medals and unlock bonus content!

-Sonic has a move called the drop dash that insures you wont abruptly lose your momentum

Cons:

-To many old stages (8 old and only 4 new, might bother some people)

Conclusion and rating:

So, yeah this game was a trip down memory lane while also incorporating something new. So as you can see Solo, there is more to be excited for than to be concerned for. The con I listed could be considered just a subjective opinion. There is a lot to like with this game. Christian Whitehead did an amazing job. I just hope if there is ever a Sonic Mania 2 he is given free reign to make an entirely original game with all new levels or at least 50% new 50% old. That is my only concern.

Score: 9 out of 10

My own subjective opinion concerning too many old levels over new, cost the score 1 point, but otherwise this would have been a perfect score!

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Also, a few interesting things to take note of:

-When you play as knuckles he has a completely different first act in Mirage Saloon, than Sonic or tails!

-While in Lava Reef Zone Knuckles actually enters Hidden Palace Zone and fights a different boss in a very familiar area from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles!

-By using the level select cheat and selecting the last boss fight, Knuckles and tails can fight the true final boss! (And in doing this Knuckles gets a secret ending!)

-The layouts of all the levels change when playing as Knuckles. You can explore and take different paths!

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Yesterday I finished the game as Sonic. I still have yet to collect all the emeralds and finish the game as the other characters. But I’ve played enough of it now to give a solid opinion.

I found Sonic Mania to be a bit disappointing. It’s a good game, and a consistently solid Sonic game all the way through, which is something I can’t say for most of the post-Megadrive titles. But it’s not the game I expected and hoped for.

Sonic Mania was marketed as “an all-new adventure”. But here’s the thing - it’s not all new. Most of the game is not new at all, but a remix of the 16-bit Sonic games. And as a special anniversary title that’s fine, but when the majority is not “all new” I can’t help but feel misled. It’s not the successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles that I’d hoped for.

Sonic Mania feels a lot like fan fiction. Good fan fiction, but fan fiction nonetheless. Let’s move some elements around in the classic zones, change the music here, add some new twist on a classic boss there. I understand the intent was to celebrate the old titles. But for me, much of the game felt like “been there, done that” and for the remixed levels, a kind of uncanny valley (since I remember classic games so well).

It also feels very conservative in terms of gameplay and the chosen levels. The first two stages are the same as the first two stages from Sonic Generations - Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Green Hill is coming back again in Sonic Forces. How many times is Sega going to appeal to nostalgia, rather than moving the series forward? I think Sega missed the point that many fans had about Sonic 4; it wasn’t that we wanted to replay old stages, but wanted a continuation of the momentum based gameplay of the 16-bit titles. Sonic 4 evolved the 2D gameplay in the wrong direction, Sonic Mania hasn’t evolved much at all. A good example of moving a 2D series forward well was Rocket Knight (2010), which while it didn’t have the same distinct art style, updated the controls to be more fluid than the Megadrive titles.

The PC version of Sonic Mania was plagued with problems too. Flaky controller support and offline play. Maybe they will fix some of these issues in a patch, but the bad DRM at least could have been avoided and has left a bad taste in the mouth of many fans.

Sonic Mania is a good game. It’s worth playing for the new stages. I’m not convinced that the level design or music is better than the old games (too many cheap instakills), but it’s solid all the way through and that’s really something special for a Sonic title. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into before purchasing. It’s a celebration title, not a true successor to Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

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This is pretty much how I felt as well. And like I said: the con of too many old levels, really hurts the game’s originality and ability to stand on its own. I was yearning for new levels all the way through!

I really liked some of the old levels like: Stardust Speedway and fighting Metal Sonic again!
But for the most part I think again, Sega played it too safe and didn’t give Christian Whitehead total creative control. Which is why Sonic Mania 2 or the next game he makes needs to be entirely original.

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This news is a bit old now, but it looks like Sonic Mania is getting some DLC. “Sonic Mania Plus” will feature two new playable characters:

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Yeah, but do we have to buy the game all over again or will there be a paid dlc download option for current owners of the original?

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I played it months ago and loved it to bits. There was a point in my life, not so long ago, where I had a ritual of listening to some Alan Watts or other lectures while playing the original Mega Drive trilogy of Sonic games on a emulator on my laptop. I must have played them a million times. So Mania not being very different wasn’t a disappointment for me, because I wasn’t expecting much in the way of new content…as long as it was a variation of the original formula I’d be happy. And I was. VERY HAPPY.

Obviously they can do much more with the license…but this is a step in the right direction. I don’t think Sonic works in 3D. None of the games I played really gave me the kick I got from playing the Genesis games. If the future is more 2D Sonic…that’s a good thing. No matter the iteration it will probably be something I like.

I wonder if there is any way to get the Plus DLC on my Steam copy of Mania.

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The DLC is out:

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Alright, I know everybody loves this games but tell me how do I do so that this game clics with me…

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Did you grow up with the original Sonic games? That is a large part of the appeal of Mania, to play another game similar to those 16-bit classics. It’s a nostalgia kick through and through.

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Nope.

But I want to take the hype train, how do I do, seems like my brain doesn’t understand how to enjoy the mechanics of this game :roll_eyes:

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For me, a large part of the appeal of the 16-bit Sonic games is the fact that Sonic controls like a ball. I encourage you to roll through the levels as much as you can; this will be easier once you’ve learnt the layout and know where the traps are. The momentum based physics creates a real flow as you jump and roll through the levels (this is something Sonic 4 and the 3D games did not replicate). If you go back to Sonic 1, you’ll see that he doesn’t have spin dash in the original game. This forces you to use Sonic’s momentum to run up loops and smash through walls. Most importantly, none of the momentum is automated and since Sonic doesn’t run too fast in these games, you really feel like you are in control.

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Don’t worry - I have a friend who grew up with the 16-bit Sonic games and he was super pumped for Sonic Mania, but is just absolutely awful at it and can’t complete it. I’ve no idea how he’s managed to regress to the point where another of our friend’s early-school age daughter is better at the game than he is.

So, it could be worse.

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You kinda have to be a special kind of cool kid to enjoy Sonic. If you missed the train, forget it. You ain’t ever gonna be part of the elite group. Your childhood is non-existent too.

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So apparently the Switch version of Sonic 2 is getting Sonic Mania’s drop dash. A fun bonus.

It’s not the Christian Whitehead (mobile) version though (apparently), which was a really good port, updated to widescreen and including the missing Hidden Palace zone. I’d probably rather see a similar version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles (or Mania) for mobile than this. Sonic 1/2/CD for iPad are my go to versions of these games now since they’re most suited for quick games after other tablet use.

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For those who haven’t played it yet, Sonic Mania is free on the Epic Store this week. I recommend it.

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Too bad I bought it twice already LoL!