Sonic Mania (August 15th 2017, Christian Whitehead, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch) - The New Classic

[gato]

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*Tracker and Mister X's posts*

I swear there is so much love and detail in every little bit of this reveal... And that's mostly the title screen and 2 half-zones!

 

As for the insta-shield, it was a very early case of a deceptively useful skill since with (proper to Sonic's style) timing and some reflexes it could get you out of a lot of otherwise bad spots... Kinda like parrying in SFIII. You obviously aren't going to know how to use it much on your first matches but once you get it it's an invaluable tool. 

It's a shame to see it go but it might be for the best considering how you could tear apart bosses with it.

 

inb4it's Mighty a secret character's skill

[Mr Loopone]

I'm amazed how much level of detail has gone to this game from the Sega references to even turning what was originally a graphical glitch into a feature. It's only been one and a bit zones so far yet the community has disected most of it! This is getting almost Kojima level here. Bonkers, purely bonkers.

48 minutes ago, Dantemustdie00 said:

Boy, how long has it been since Tails and Knuckles were playable in a Sonic game?

Quite a while if it is referring to a new platform game (otherwise Taxman Sonic 2 would have counted). Excluding the 2P special mode in Sonic 4 episode 2 for Tails, both of them since Sonic Rivals 2 way back in 2007 that will mean by the time the game gets released, it'll be 10 years. Even longer if it is a Sonic Team made game so that would be Heroes. If you are on about spinoff titles (e.g. Racing, Free Riders, Olympics, mobile), then recently with Rio Olympics. Oh and they were in the Boom series. Forgot about that!

[Marcello]

Just a few unrelated tidbits I wanted to say:

I think Sonic's legs in his top speed run animation look similar to his Sonic 2 prototype ones. I thought that was neat.

I'm not a fan of the shade of blue Sonic is. Too bright. I know that's how he looks now, but I think the color works better on his 3D model than here. Just looks weird to me.

The Drop Dash is going to kill me lol I push A in the air for no reason so often :X

Studiopolis' music is so great. I can't stop listening to it.

^ Knuckles was also playable in Black Knight.

[Jango]

Just a few unrelated tidbits I wanted to say:

I think Sonic's legs in his top speed run animation look similar to his Sonic 2 prototype ones. I thought that was neat.

I'm not a fan of the shade of blue Sonic is. Too bright. I know that's how he looks now, but I think the color works better on his 3D model than here. Just looks weird to me.

The Drop Dash is going to kill me lol I push A in the air for no reason so often :X

Studiopolis' music is so great. I can't stop listening to it.

^ Knuckles was also playable in Black Knight.

That's Sir Gaiwan, not Knuckles.

[Tracker_TD]

2 minutes ago, Jango said:

That's Sir Gaiwan, not Knuckles.

ಠ_ಠ

That's taking being pedantic to a whole new level. 

[FReaK]

okay, i needed to calm down a bit after that reveal, so here are my thoughts.

 

HOLY F*CK! Sega finally had the guts to let people who know everything about the classics do what they love - and hell, this is going to be my most anticipated sonic game since sonic the hedgehog 3. I can't freakin wait to see more, spring 2017 seems so far away right now...Im in love with everything in this game.

 

Taxman and team, if you can read this - Thank you. Thank you so much for making this come true.

 

And btw, how many Acts per Zone do you think we will get? Will the Music make progression like in S3K? Will there be a Sonic & Tails mode? so many questions..

[Alex2Beta]

Pretty late to post this, but my god , during the livestream - to see Whitehead and Stealth mentioned in the trailer made me widen my eyes - and then suddenly rolling and superb 16-bit art just came up out of the blue and I'd be shouting internally at the sight.

Sonic goddamn Mania.

I'm really happy for those who waited for this kind of game, and frankly, I only got really into Sonic through the original SA1 on the 'ole Dreamcast, but it must be something if this rocked me out of my socks, because holy blue spheres, Sonic physics in a Sonic game AGAIN? Multiple playable characters? New Zones? This must of been some dream, this was almost surreal.

I also like that Title Screen with the super excited Sonic spin and that Island - pretty charming.

[TheOcelot]

Live fan reaction when Mania was announced from the Sonic party celebration. This is brilliant.

 

[Ajavalo]

I'm going to talk about an idea some people from Sonic Paradise have had in regards to the new levels/remade levels thing:

What if the main game had only brand new levels -like Studiopolis-, along with an all-original story, and the remade levels were to be added later via DLC packs?

That way, the game would be a completely new thing, with no excessive "nostalgia pandering", as some people would say, and we could still get plenty of reimagined classics: imagine a 'Sonic 1 Pack' with Green Hill, Labyrinth and Star Light, for example, a 'Sonic 2 Pack' with 3-4 levels from that game, or even a 'Sonic CD pack' and a 'Chaotix Pack'.

Seriously, this has to be the best idea ever! I would totally propose it to Sega and the devs if I could! What do you think?

[Diogenes]

Having a main game/story mode that's just the new levels would make sense, but I don't see reason for the remade levels to be DLC packs.

[Kuzu]

Do we even know if the game is half remade levels and half new levels, or one or the other?

[___-_]

Taxman is answering a few questions on Neogaf at the moment, and has stated that:

- Green Hill zone act 1 is the tamest of the remade stages

- There's going to be a couple CRT filters as well as "highest quality, uncompressed pixels" settings to choose from

- We'll see levels from Sonic 3 and Sonic & K

 

Here's the link in question:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1251267&page=34

[Tenko]

Neogaf huh, hope someone asks him if any old characters will make cameos or be bosses, there's enough other throwbacks already like the popcorn maker etc take it that step further

[Clewis]

The original screenshot from Mania isn't mine, but I thought this was a neat comparison to make anyway.

I love how a lot of the poses being used in this game are pulled from proto-Sonic 1 stuff, with Sonic's level clear animation being based on that seen in early Sonic 1 screenshots and his "looking up" pose being based on concept art for Sonic himself. Can't wait to see what kind of easter eggs the development team sneaks into Knuckles' and Tails' animations.

[Sean]

>levels from Sonic 3 solo confirmed

Woo!! Though I'm not expecting any of them to be Icecap/Carnival Night/Launch Base due to music issues.

[Soniman]

Oh please God give me the Hydrocity remake Gens failed to deliver, I would literally kill, like, commit murder, to get this

[Jango]

12 minutes ago, Clewis said:

The original screenshot from Mania isn't mine, but I thought this was a neat comparison to make anyway.

I love how a lot of the poses being used in this game are pulled from proto-Sonic 1 stuff, with Sonic's level clear animation being based on that seen in early Sonic 1 screenshots and his "looking up" pose being based on concept art for Sonic himself. Can't wait to see what kind of easter eggs the development team sneaks into Knuckles' and Tails' animations.

 

I loved this the second I saw This game is filled with love, I'm almost too scared to spoil myself untill the release date. Because it's going to be too hard.

[The Man On The Inside]

I love how this game is looking even now. I once joked on this forum that StealthTax should do a Sonic 5 - now it seems that that is happening, in a way. Well done guys. Also, I remember first discovering Tee Lopes's sonic remixes on youtube a few years back, and for him to now be finally working on the IP, on this game no less, must be a dream come true.

It is frankly, inspirational stuff.Well done to everybody who is making this happen. This has gone a long way toward lifting some of the cynicism from me - not even in terms of sonic, but in general. Looking at the footage, I am reminded of why I (and millions of others worldwide) gravitated toward the sonic games in the first place, way back on the hand-me-down mega drive I had nearly 20 years ago. The movement, sonic's expressive animations & character, the sound & music, the pixel art - even the animated UI before the level starts all look wonderful. I was truly gobsmacked when I saw that title screen.

But the best thing of all, is that SEGA has officially endorsed it. I don't regard them as an out-of-touch publisher anymore. It feels like they "get it". It finally feels like they "get it". Well done. Standing ovation from me.

No cautious optimism. No pinches of salt. Just pure hype. Again, well done everybody involved. I cannot thank you enough.

[TheOcelot]

So yep, Taxman confirmed that Mania is Saturn-esque retro 2D which sounds awesome. You bet your ass it's gonna be high quality.

[Tracker_TD]

" I realise Saturn-esque retro 2D stuff... "

I WAS JUSTIFIED.

We're finally getting the 2D Saturn Sonic we deserved. I could cry. 

[Roger_van_der_weide]

20 minutes ago, Sean said:

>levels from Sonic 3 solo confirmed

Woo!! Though I'm not expecting any of them to be Icecap/Carnival Night/Launch Base due to music issues.

Unless they use the PC soundtrack, which can use some loving.
Love this game, it looks amazing.

Only concern I have is that all the classic Sonic games have a diffrent style of gameplay and level design to them.
So will be challenging to get them all working in harmony together.
But we'll see.

I'm hoping they're going to be more playful with the remastered old levels and really make them take place a couple years after the original events. Like have it take place during a diffrent season, or time of the day.
Heck, it would be awesome if the Sonic CD stage is morphed to be like a mix inbetween the Present version and the Good future version, as if this game takes place inbetween those 2 time zones.

[Mania Pipe]

If they managed to get one of stages like Carnival Night, Ice Cap or Launch Base, then they will be able to do the PC version's tracks great justice. Though, I'm hoping more on Hydrocity Zone.

Also, one more thing I've been thinking, do you think they'll be able to this stage into Sonic Mania.

Spoiler

If so, then that would be great, probably getting a graphical revamp on the stage as well to boot.

 

[Tracker_TD]

A bit of speculation on my behalf; how cool would it be if TaxStealth's Sonic 1 and 2 were included with Mania? I don't think it's in the realm of impossibility; case in point, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles on PSP.

For a PSP game, DX Chronicles featured loads; 

- Full remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

- The original PC-Engine version of Rondo of Blood, fully translated

- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, another game in the series, fully redubbed and with a new PSP-exclusive playable character (Maria Renard; alright, she was in the Saturn version, but completely different)

---

Considering that, I don't think S1+2 being included in this is TOO out there, even with the Classic stages. And it'd get the classic games on PS4 at last, without needing to relist them on other services like Steam.

...maybe there'd even be a chance of S3&K Remastered included? Maybe that's a bit too out there, but who knows. 

[ChikoLad]

4 minutes ago, Tracker said:

A bit of speculation on my behalf; how cool would it be if TaxStealth's Sonic 1 and 2 were included with Mania? I don't think it's in the realm of impossibility; case in point, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles on PSP.

For a PSP game, DX Chronicles featured loads; 

- Full remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

- The original PC-Engine version of Rondo of Blood, fully translated

- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, another game in the series, fully redubbed and with a new PSP-exclusive playable character (Maria Renard; alright, she was in the Saturn version, but completely different)

---

Considering that, I don't think S1+2 being included in this is TOO out there, even with the Classic stages. And it'd get the classic games on PS4 at last, without needing to relist them on other services like Steam.

...maybe there'd even be a chance of S3&K Remastered included? Maybe that's a bit too out there, but who knows. 

It'd be amazing if they did that. Basically making Mania the ultimate package for Classic Sonic fans.

I'm not sure how likely that is though. I definitely can't see S3&K Remastered happening, because if SEGA was giving that the greenlight at all, they'd probably want it to be it's own, standalone game because it would easily sell.

[Tenko]

It would be nice to have the remasrers of Sonic 1, 2 and CD on the newer consoles. If not included then as a small collection or something. Would also help get Tax and Stealth some wider acclaim from those that may not have brought CD or don't own the smart phone versions.

Not that they need much more acclaim considering how widespread the news on Mania is now haha.