![]() But caring about the story in a Sonic game is where we part ways from the really hardcore fans, even if it’s not hard to enjoy things like the deliciously ‘90s animated intro. The game does have a proper story, appropriately set after the events Sonic & Knuckles (the last great Sonic game of the 2D era). The Sonic games have never been particularly hard though, at least in terms of just getting to the end of each act, so that shouldn’t be a problem even for new players.Īs you can imagine, the game is filled with fan service, most of which will go completely unnoticed by ordinary players. Sonic Mania clearly doesn’t feel constrained by the Mega Drive titles, but it does nothing to try and modernise the game’s approach to things like lives or the occasional instant or unforeseeable death. The boss battles are also uniformly excellent, and again often more interesting than those in the original games. Meanwhile, the remakes are often noticeably better than the originals with, for example, the Chemical Plant Zone adding additional variety through special pads that can stick you to the ceiling or pools of goop that can bounce you to different heights depending on how you mix them when you jump on a plunger. Highlights: Character animations fully ported over from Sonic Mania, with Mania-like smooth sprite rotation. Gameplay changes can be toggled off, allowing you to experience the original Sonic 1 with just the new graphics. We’re not sure why the game ended up being a mix of remastered stages and brand-new ones, or why this director’s cut adds new characters instead of new levels, but at least we can now say there’s been two top quality Sonic The Hedgehog releases this millennium, instead of just one.īut Sonic Mania understands this paradox perfectly, and new areas like the Wild West-themed Mirage Saloon Zone and TV-filled Studiopolis are almost indistinguishable in quality and imagination to the best of the Mega Drive games. Besides visuals, the mod also adds gameplay elements from Sonic Mania, such as the beloved dropdash. The end result feels like some sort of school project gone wild, something enthusiastic kids have made while the teacher was away and which far surpasses anything they were actually supposed to be doing. And Sonic Mania is essentially a combination of those two obsessions. He and others (including Tee Lopes remixing the music) have been making ports of the original games, and creating their own fan titles, for years. The secret behind Sonic Mania’s success is that it had nothing to do with them and was instead developed by a group of fans led by Christian ‘Taxman’ Whitehead. The physical version was released with a 32-page art book and a reversible cover in the style of Genesis or Mega Drive boxart covers, depending on the region.If you are a Sega fan you’ll know that between Sonic Mania’s release and now we had the predictably awful Sonic Forces, by the reliably unreliable Sonic Team. Additionally, an update released alongside Sonic Mania Plus adds more cutscenes and a reworked Metal Sonic battle based on his appearance in Knuckles' Chaotix ( 1995). Plus also adds an "Encore Mode" with remixed levels and a reworked lives mechanic, a pinball bonus stage, and a four-player competition mode. It adds playable characters Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel from the 1993 arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, each with unique abilities: Mighty can slam the ground and is immune to spikes when in ball form, while Ray can glide without losing altitude. The team built the game using Whitehead's Retro Engine and aimed for a graphical quality between that of Genesis and Sega Saturn games.Īn expanded version of the game, Sonic Mania Plus, was released at retail and as downloadable content for the original version on July 17, 2018. ![]() ![]() Art, level design, audio, and additional programming was provided by independent studios PagodaWest Games and Headcannon. Development began after lead developer Christian "Taxman" Whitehead, who was previously contracted by Sega to develop enhanced mobile ports of Genesis Sonic games, presented a playable prototype to Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka. The development team was composed of members known for their work in the Sonic fangame and ROM hacking community. It takes place over twelve levels, including eight redesigned stages from past games. The game homages the original Sega Genesis Sonic games, featuring speedy, side-scrolling gameplay. Produced in commemoration of the Sonic the Hedgehog series' 25th anniversary, the story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and his companions Tails and Knuckles as they venture to defeat their nemesis Doctor Eggman and his robotic henchmen, the Hard-Boiled Heavies. Sonic Mania is a 2D platform game published by Sega worldwide in August 2017 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows.
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