The Deleter

Not sure whether to post in the spoiler thread or this one, but I'm just gonna reiterate my overall impressions up to flying battery due to the statuses being a spoiler-free territory for the most part. First the kinda iffy stuff. The first thing that was immediately clear to me when I started playing this, was that the physics were pretty different from the classics, due to my playing Sonic 1 and 2 so much before it released. The acceleration feels longer and faster than Sonic 1, while a bit slower than Sonic 2, but more importantly the rolling physics are what stuck out to me the most. Rolling doesn't give you as much speed as it would in Sonic 1 and especially not Sonic 2, and doesn't really regard minor slopes that much as a result. They're not bad or highly inaccurate, (they're more gradual and have a higher potential top speed, and every game's physics can be good if they capitalize on them in the best ways possible) but they definitely took some getting used to. What's really bugging me, though, is how holding down on the control pad while rolling down straightaways no longer seems to guarantee you'll keep moving, and the roll comes to a stop in places it really shouldn't, such as Flying Battery's moment when you run/roll under the airship. Fell right off the ship due to a loss of speed, and I tried it again both holding right instead or not holding the stick at all. Still fell off both times, and only managed to clear the area randomly where it barely worked somehow. It's not just here, either, it's across any and all areas that have semi-flat ground to deal with. Dunno if it's just me who's experiencing this, but it is an imperfection nonetheless, as the classics never really had an issue with inputs and speed loss while rolling at high speeds. Also, the stages are preeeeetty generous with the ring amounts in this game. I've made it through only 4 zones so far playing semi-well, and I get around 200 rings near every level, and have a life count above 20 already. For a save-less game like Sonic 1 or 2, I'd say this might be good game design, as if you're playing through the first zones as well as I am through the game after being sent back by a game over, it'd emphasize the ideal way to play the game and teach players how to perform better in the process, while also giving a safety net for the later zones in the game that'd feel rewarding and assuring. Having this many in a save-based game that only throws you back to the beginning of a zone, though... It makes lives seem trivial with how easy they are to earn and how little the game actually challenges you so far, tbh. I'm sure later zones will get harder and have less rings overall, but it really doesn't feel like it scales well as a life system for a save-state game. Definitely don't feel the need to scout out life monitors, for sure. And that's a gameplay and exploration element that has lost some of its value as a result. That's it on my end so far though, in terms of negatives. Now... *ahem* This game, you guys. To start with, Green Hill Zone impressions. Like I said, first thing I noticed were the physics being different, and that took some getting used to, which also impacted my enjoyment of the first act. But being able to explore the zone much further past the level design of the originals is a lot more prominent an aspect in this zone, I gotta say, I love this zone for it now. On the first playthrough it was pretty neat, but coming back to it (as I keep playing the first three zones over and over rather than progressing and I don't know why, lmao) being able to spend up to nine minutes exploring around an "expanded" Green Hill Zone with Tails at Sonic's side ready to give him a lift anytime, is just my favorite thing to do right now, practically. Act 2 was pretty good, too, and the zip lines are a great concept when you can manage to work them into the flow of your gameplay. It was here where I started to get the hang of the physics, and basically getting my flow down again. And overall I think they managed to stay pretty faithful to the Green Hill level design, as well, despite using a few "flowing" design methods. It's not entirely the same, but I don't think I'd want it to be. Just glad it differentiates itself from the other level design in the game, honestly. Act 2 was also the first time I encountered the special stages, and man, these have to be my favorite of lot by far. Not only does it scratch that itch for a truly 3D Sonic game that hasn't been fully touched in forever, it takes the concept of the Heroes special stages and CD special stages and splices it with something I actually enjoy: Racing games. Managing the turns, retaining your speed, taking the corners as well as possible; it's all great fun, and combined with the verticality of Sonic's jump, they're constantly engaging and fresh imo. Heck, nailing a jump on a 3D ring item and managing to use that momentum to clear a gap, or reach another item, may just be the most classic Sonic example in a 3D game yet. All without a homing attack, as well. After that, I moved on to Chemical Plant zone. Out of all the zones I've played so far, I'd say act 1 is probably the least noteworthy stage, honestly. It's more chemical plant, really faithful to the design of the original, and the long, spliced lines of automation from the original stages actually make more sense than I thought they would in the context of a bigger and harder stage, but I've never really felt the urge to explore this level due to how arbitrary the original's exploration felt in the first place, with pipes taking you to areas you don't even know the location of entirely. It's a well designed stage, (well, aside from the water section actually crushing you this time around) but I don't feel the need to experience it past simply running through it once more. Act 2 on the other hand, oh man I love this level. It's probably even more heavily automated than the first stage, but it's blazing fast speeds that you typically control Sonic with at all times, and it almost becomes a psudo-Unleashed or Rush level in it's execution. As a recurring design this might be a problem, but for a single stage ala Hydrocity or Chemical Plant in the originals, it's a short-lived blast. It's alternate routes appear to be on the lower end of things, but with the way the stage is designed I don't mind it much. Too many options other than the occasional left or right might have broken up the pace, honestly. And in general the theming of the entire stage is really cool, taking place more in a industrialized lab than the production factory the original felt like. There's something to be said about how often checkpoints are used, though. Combined with the plethora of rings you can collect throughout a stage, these things pop up so frequently and readily they almost break the flow of the game. They're entirely optional, sure, but my motto going into the game, was to beat as many blue sphere stages as possible in order to unlock stuff first. I guess it's good for the casual player to have a good shot at seeing the unlockable stuff, but eh. Speaking of, I love the new framerate for the blue sphere stages, but good gravy I think it may make the stages harder than before with how fast it can get now. I've finished around 10 of them in my run, but I sorta dropped off rushing through them as soon as I realized I wasn't beating the game anytime soon. Next up was Studiopolis Zone, and can I just say that I love that one small area where there are a dozen shutter bugs and they try to slaughter you over a ring capsule? Mania may have some form of a story already, (as weird as it is) but I'm gonna remember moments like that as the actual adventure I went on in a game focused around simplicity, lol. Really cool moment. Anyway, the first act of this zone is a new classic already, from what I can tell. The level design is top notch for an open-ended, CD-esque stage, and it directs you in the right directions almost constantly with level props and points of interest, the exploration aspect along with the windows is really cool and makes you wonder if something lies behind near every corner you see, and the kind of loops and stunts you'll pull off in this area is especially creative, zipping you about every which way through terrain that looks almost nothing like the loops and slopes you typically encounter. The challenge in this zone is on point, as well, offering plenty of platforming challenges that either demand manageable precision or a good amount of speed to overcome, (either/or is the key factor here) or enemy encounters that'll attempt to stop you in your tracks, but don't cheaply surprise you, and you can deal with relatively easily if you're quick enough. Speaking of which, anyone else noticed that they basically fixed the orbinauts in this game? Rather than being unkillable unless you get hit, wait for their projectiles, or time the instashield right, they have a time limit until they're completely dangerous, which you need to beat in order to defeat them, all done by attacking directly and easily. Pretty smart take on such a classic enemy. And I love the theming of the stage, from the clapperboard striped walkways above the stage, movie-theater tape reels and platforms, and popcorn machines, to the broadcasting hornets, televisions you're beamed to ala Mike Teavee, and the badniks all being based around a recording material. I even noticed that the heavy gunner hard-boiled heavy isn't piloting the helicopter, but hanging on to the side while another does, and shoots a rocket launcher at you. Basically something straight out of buddy-cop action flick. I love that detail, lol. But overall, this is what a stage designed in the same vein as CD should be like, for sure. Utilizes all it's elements in tandem expertly, is an easy to understand stage despite being unconventional, and has a perfect sense of challenge as a more navigational-heavy stage that wants to test your skills. Act 2 on the other hand, oh boy. This stage is craaaaazy ambitious with it's props, throwing a million elements at you a mile a minute. It's a pretty flowing stage in the grand scheme of things, aping Sonic & Knuckles design more than anything, but the blocky terrain, CD style routes for item dead-ends, and complex art style initially threw me off how to play this stage, gotta admit. Once I got the hang of it, though, this stage is a blast to play through. The entire theming is great in this stage too, and I have a love-hate relationship with the lights as platforms honestly. They were the last thing I was expecting to land on or to fall from immediately after, but gotta hand it to them for the cleverness in the location it's in, and managing to make simple platforming a brief challenge with their disguise as the background. They also add to the cleverness of exploration in this stage, as well. Due to how easily they can be passed off as merely the background, people can often pass by secrets unawares, but then return and get a better look at the stage, and find secrets using their intuition instead of blind faith. And I loooove exploration being tied to intuition rather than sheer luck. One of my favorite moments of exploration in the game, for example, was a moment where I noticed how two electric enemies were placed somewhat close to a stage gimmick that makes you vulnerable. One enemy may have just provided a good challenge to avoid, but the fact that there were two placed at the same height, the second at a distance that the gimmick nor the ground could reach, made me curious to look around. I backtracked to before the gimmick, saw a ramp, and tried using it. Hit the ceiling the first time, but then I jumped at the apex of the ramp, and ended up running into an opposing wall/ramp, and started running along the ceiling above said enemies. Eventually the ceiling ended, and I thought I had only found a shortcut to keep speed up with, but during that thought I realized I had landed on one of the hidden lights. Managed to jump off it before I even knew where I should go, and just barely reached the second light platform by the skin of my teeth. Made it clear of danger, and a special stage ring floated right in front of me. Perfect example of good exploration and reward in a Sonic game right there, in my opinion. And Mania follows rules like these pretty often for it's exploration I find, so I'm really happy with the way it turned out so far. I particularly liked the reference to a certain anniversary stream at the end of the level, as well : P Flying Battery act 1 is relatively normal, but I did like the addition of the electric shield to the level design for a fun twist, and Mania captures the linearity of the original stage perfectly. I've always liked flying battery to a degree, and this version is no exception. It's just a larger, if not more flowing version of the stage, and that's cool. It's when it gets to act 2 where things get really interesting, in my eyes. Not only is the concept of exiting the ship introduced, but several different elements - elements of Wing Fortress coming into play, encountering control rooms, wings, and storage areas, the alternate paths remaining linear to themselves and spreading throughout the level in different directions - combined with that one factor, make flying battery feel like something I've never even thought about before: It being a ginormous battle ship you're travelling through at mach speed. You even get to run along the underside of the ship, which is crazy cool. (when it works properly >:V) I especially love how the routes themselves basically become their own level in the process when following them, establishing specific gimmicks, hazards, and props for each path exclusively, (one being under a garbage pit leading to Wacky Workbench callbacks and level design) and expanding upon them as the stage progresses. Fantastic reimagining that really goes great lengths to recontextualize the entire level, and it being set during intermittent thunderstorms as the ship passes through them doesn't hurt matters much, either. The boss for this level I found to be particularly good, as well, as it's a pretty gimmicky boss all things considered, but the way it behaves and the way you can influence it's behavior basically guarantees that you'll be able to curbstomp Eggman if you know what you're doing, with barely any waiting inbetween patterns or anything. Exactly the way a classic Sonic boss should be. Speaking of which, the bosses in this game a pretty routinely fantastic, going by what I've seen so far. They all pretty much abide by those rules for a good classic Sonic boss, but quite a few are done so originally and creatively they almost eclipse the actual classic games in their execution, and that's fantastic. I hope to continue the game further past this point at some point down the road, but honestly I've gotten so much enjoyment from these first four zones I don't feel like I'm missing out on much at all. Which is an incredibly weird feeling when playing a Sonic game of all games, tbh. Typically I just want to get to another level as fast as possible, but with these stages, it feels like I could just play them forever. And I mean look at them. Look at them. They're chock-full of unique gameplay gimmicks and features at near every corner, the stages are diverse and unique, the potential exploration is vast and replayable to no end, the level design is smart, tight, intuitive, and challenging, the content they offer is enormous, and it's all topped off with Classic Sonic's sublime movement quirks that feel like a dream to play with. Plus, I play as Sonic and Tails, so having the ability to have Tails carry and help me without the need of a second player is the absolute best, and even scratches that "Gotta have characters and story" itch in a way just by having a meaningful relationship between two characters as I play through the game. I gotta say, despite the small sampling I have at the moment, I haven't played a Sonic game that validated it's existence as a video game as much and as readily as this one has; heck, not even the classics can reach it, going by what I've played so far. That, is insane. Really looking forward to see what else is in store later on in this game... If I ever make it past these stages, that is :V

And that stupidity has barely anything to do with the plot and premise of the game with Forces, and everything to do with Shadow the Hedgehog's They are not comparable parallels...

Infinite and the OC are nowhere near the same level as ShTH in terms of narrative significance. One is just another NPC in the game turned into a playable character, the other is just an angsty villain on the same level as Zavok, just more flamboyant in his fashion and music tastes. Just because Sonic Team makes stupid design decisions for a video game in one form or another, does not mean that stupidity automatically carries over to the narrative, you know...

First "Oh no, the city is destroyed! Forces is wanting us to take it seriously! Sonic Team why..." Then "What the, there's Classic Sonic in the game, he's smiling, and the director says that the game won't be entirely composed of destroyed cities for the sake of keeping it lighthearted! Sonic Team what have you done..." Followed by "Oh wait, the director of 06 is directing the game and writing the story; it's probably going to try and have the same kind of serious tone as 06! Sonic Team what on earth..." Immediately corrected by "Oh no, Pontaff is writing the game?!? Their work is too lighthearted and poorly written for my tastes! Lol Sonic team..." And now we're back to "What?! The story is written and controlled by Nakamura again, and he wants it to take itself seriously?!? Lmaoooooo Sonic Team..." I know we aren't a hivemind or anything but good grief, the way you all flip flop on what's good or bad for the game like a light switch is ridiculous. It's like the game can't win at anything one way or another in this regard; if the story exists in one form or another, it's bad, even though it's literally the one aspect of the game we know basically nothing about...