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

[Tenko]

If they wanted to make a potential collectors edition of Sonic Mania be even more awesome and well recieved than it likely already will be, just sprinkle on some copies of the Stealth/Tax remastered Sonic, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD. There's already a fairly good portion of people that would like to see the remasters of Sonic and Sonic 2 hit consoles and PC finally. With all the Mania hype around its release it would be a great time to bring these other titles out on consoles etc as there will be renewed interest in the older games.

[Cyrus]

You think they'd make the collector's edition on the same scale as Generations'? I regrettably missed out on Generations' collectors edition and want to see something that nice done for another Sonic game.

[Tracker_TD]

New issue of GamesMaster has an interview with Mania's producer, Lola Shiraishi.

Highlight of it: "Sonic Mania is a hypothetical title asking: What if SEGA kept making 2D platforming games on the SEGA Saturn?"  

Segata's death shall never be in vain. 

[Jango]

Took them long enough! This is exactly what people have been asking for years: a team focused in making classic 2D games, and Sonic Team (now as a whole) focused in making the fancy 3D ones without the pressure of "trying to please all kinds of fans".

I want Mania 2 and Mania 3 & Knuckles ?

Ohhh, imagine if SEGA do decides to release a physical disc version... They should totaly named it SONIC MANIA CD! ?

[FriendBot]

As soon as Mania was announced, I was thinking this was going to start off to a new line of Classic-styled games. I mean, without a doubt Mania is going to be praised and sell very well so yeah, it would crazy of SEGA to not let Whitehead and crew to make more.

[expansivelovestories]

49 minutes ago, Soni said:

As soon as Mania was announced, I was thinking this was going to start off to a new line of Classic-styled games. I mean, without a doubt Mania is going to be praised and sell very well so yeah, it would crazy of SEGA to not let Whitehead and crew to make more.

Yes; what is really special too is that additional games can all be created with complete patience!  Sonic Team and Sega made the best with what they could do in a more limited time with the original games. 

Additionally it is helpful that at this time in the future there is considerable openness to ideas being rebuilt from the early games.  Tax and Stealth had mentioned regarding ideas they had for S3K, to try and build some of the competition stages into complete zones; i don't have the exact words but i think it is somewhere on sonic retro!  That is even more possible now, though it may not specifically be in Sonic Mania; I think it is at least implied that those environments exist on the floating island alongside the zones explored in the main game.   

[TheOcelot]

The final results of the poll:

83% voted yes, so hopefully this will help persuade SEGA a physical collectors edition is worth it.

4 hours ago, Soni said:

As soon as Mania was announced, I was thinking this was going to start off to a new line of Classic-styled games. I mean, without a doubt Mania is going to be praised and sell very well so yeah, it would crazy of SEGA to not let Whitehead and crew to make more.

Judging by the hype/reception it's received I can't think of any reason why Mania won't sell well on all platforms. I'd imagine a sequel is pretty much guaranteed. Hopefully StealthTax would want to make another one. I wonder whether they'd want to make another Saturn-esque styled 2d game or go for something more modern (with the help of a bigger budget)........

...like, maybe a Dreamcast-esque 2d Sonic game?! Yep, I'm stubbornly sticking with this prediction over the next few years  

5 hours ago, Jango said:

Ohhh, imagine if SEGA do decides to release a physical disc version... They should totaly named it SONIC MANIA CD! ?

Just imagine if we get a physical release which also includes the 1, 2 & CD remasters?! Best..........collection...........ever!

[molul]

If mania's sales are good, I'd expect Sega to finally greenlight S3&K Remaster, and launch the mobile remasters for PC, then go to Mania 2.

[Tracker_TD]

I'm still sticking to my theory S1 and S2 will be unlockable within Mania, Dracula X Chronicles style. Hell, Generations had Sonic 1 in it; this is another Anniversary title, would make some sense. 

[Tenko]

4 hours ago, Tracker said:

I'm still sticking to my theory S1 and S2 will be unlockable within Mania, Dracula X Chronicles style. Hell, Generations had Sonic 1 in it; this is another Anniversary title, would make some sense. 

I would love this to be a thing, I said previously that the name itself Sonic Mania came across as a great celebration/compilation game much like Sonic Jam. If it was not only a game but a hub of sorts for the other classic renasters then that would be pretty awesome.

[TheOcelot]

Just thought I'd post this HardcoreGamer article which is rather nice:

"Sonic Mania’s Studiopolis Does What Nintendon’t"

Quote

When asked what modern Sonic the Hedgehog games are lacking in that made the original games such classics, more than a few people will reply that more focus needs to be placed on the speed, and honestly, I want to smack some of them upside the head for vastly simplifying things or even getting it wrong. It was never just the speed that made those 16-bit legends, it was some truly superb level design where speed was encouraged, sure, but also allowed for multiple unique set-pieces, gameplay elements, obstacles, enemies and hidden secrets. They were made in such a way that everything felt fast, but you could always go at them with your own approach and end up discovering something new.

As such, I jumped at the chance to try out the new Studiopolis level in Sonic Mania, Sega’s upcoming retro birthday present to Sonic. And it did not disappoint. The demo showcased the first act of the movie/television-themed level, which had badniks that shoot razor-sharp film strips at you, giant popcorn machines that shoot Sonic upwards, news trucks that turn him into a broadcast signal which bounces around the map, projections of ’30s-styled Eggman cartoons, truckloads of neon everywhere…there just isn’t a part of it that wasn’t fun. And it was all structured perfectly, with little pathways and secrets found in every nook and cranny, hidden entrances, classic loops, rotating bumpers, little areas where only silhouettes are seen…look, I could honestly spend all day attempting to describe every awesome thing I saw. All you need to now is that Studiopolis is an absolute delight of a level and controls simple and perfectly, like an old-school Sonic the Hedgehog game should.

But I’m guessing that you’re only reading this article because you want to know what the “Nintendon’t” part in the title is about, so let’s get to that. Modern Mario games, while still being incredibly fun, have always had some issues with creating original worlds in recent times, tending to re-use the same themes and assets. And as the prominent face of major platformers at the moment, Nintendo’s flagship franchise could stand to spice things up more often, like it has in RPGs such as The Thousand-Year Door. To be fair, a lack of unique level design is a complaint among a lot of modern games, even a few Sonic ones themselves, but stuff like Studiopolis feels like the bright light of innovation we need at the moment, combining the vibrant, detail-filled pixelated backdrops of Genesis titles such as Dynamite Headdy with the sheer creativity and originality seen in later games like Psychonauts (two of my all-time favorite games, in fact).

When asked where the inspiration for Studiopolis came from, the response was that it was a tribute to the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles. Indeed, it feels like a natural evolution from the likes of the Casino Night Zone or Carnival Night Zone, while still remaining it’s own unique creation, and also containing the types of graphical flourishes and touches that really feel like they came from a more current game. It also isn’t exactly a shocker that the music was superb as well. Sonic Mania will be featuring remixed versions of some classic levels in addition to ones like this, but if any of the newer stuff is even half as good as Studiopolis, it could easily be one of the best games in the series when it comes out next year.

Oh, and one other way Sonic Mania does what Nintendon’t? It brings in some well-known creators of fan games to help share their love towards creating what is so far shaping up to be a truly excellent Sonic game as a gift to the fans, while Nintendo handed out three high-profile DMCA takedowns for fan games in the past month alone. Just sayin’.

Well said.

 

10 hours ago, Tracker said:

I'm still sticking to my theory S1 and S2 will be unlockable within Mania

Assuming you're referring to the remastered versions, then yeah, maybe as part of a collector's edition. Otherwise, SEGA would want to make a profit from releasing the remasters separately on current-gen.

[DiamondX]

Considering they wont put all of the levels from Sonic 1,2,CD,3 and Knuckles, would anyone else like DLCs with remastered old levels (Like a Sonic 1 DLC, Sonic CD DLC and so on)?

[Marcello]

4 minutes ago, SSJ Diamond said:

Considering they wont put all of the levels from Sonic 1,2,CD,3 and Knuckles, would anyone else like DLCs with remastered old levels (Like a Sonic 1 DLC, Sonic CD DLC and so on)?

No. The last thing I want is more old levels.

[Spееdy]

It would be cool to have these S1 and S2 games as an additional content to play within the game with the same character mechanic (Drop Dash included) and stage improvements (smoothness) like in already present stages of Sonic Mania. I liked how Ubisoft did in their Rayman Legends having the improved Rayman Origins stages (graphical only) as an addition to the main game. Maybe we can get something similar in Mania too?

[kimplix]

On 9/9/2016 at 2:19 AM, Soni said:

We got some Sonic Mania posters, powered by Totino's!

How did you manage to get those posters? I'm just so envy to get one of them rn

[FriendBot]

14 hours ago, kimplix said:

How did you manage to get those posters? I'm just so envy to get one of them rn

Wish I knew because that's not me holding those posters and besides Tracker founded a tweet saying those were fan-made.

But dammit, doesn't mean I still want one.

[StaticMania]

Can't believe I'm only just now thinking about this, but why isn't the insta-shield in the game? It can't really be about the single button move-set thing, it only requires you to tap the button again to use it. While the drop-dash only needs you to press and hold the button a second time. There's no inconvenience here, but even if there was (possibly programming wise) they could map that ability to a different button, like what Lost World did with the homing kick.

[molul]

I'm gonna miss the insta shield too. I wish they added it at least as the normal shield's power up (like the electric shield's double jump).

[Indigo Rush]

Okay so this may be my first negative rant about Sonic Mania. 

I've given it thought and I think the thing with the absence of the insta-shield that bugs me the most out of all of this is that the explanation of why it was removed is justified by a false dichotomy; it wouldn't even interfere with the drop-dash. To activate the drop-dash, you need to hold the jump button mid-jump and keep holding until you land. To activate the insta-shield, you simply 'tap' the jump button mid-jump. Tap vs Hold. I cannot think of any situation where an insta-shield would put you at a disadvantage or how you could confuse that with the drop-dash. If anything, the insta-shield can provide a visual cue that, if you keep holding, you're about ready to start your drop-dash. Press, Sonic flashes, then the flash wraps around Sonic as you keep holding as he charges the drop-dash. Doesn't that sound like it'd look cool?!

I'd be less peeved about this if the devs just said "we didn't really like the move, so we're trying this instead," rather than say that it wouldn't work.

It would work, they just don't wan't to do it. And that's fine, but at least come clean about it. Or map it as the regular shield's special action. Something.

[MegasonicZX]

Its a long shot but what if they had it as an unlockable/selectable from you can choose from the menu. Not only would this give more play style variety but  it'd also be nice to have just for variety's sake, personally i'm all in for the drop dash over the insta shield but I can see why people would be miffed at its removal.

[Diogenes]

It's not a terrible amount of interference, but I could see including the instashield leading to unwanted drop dashes from players who habitually hold the button after instashielding.

And honestly I still don't see the loss of the instashield as a problem. Aside from popping orbinauts and nicking Mecha Sonic's Metropolis boss mode it never got much use from me.

[Indigo Rush]

Maybe it's because I play Sonic 3 & Knuckles every day NO I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM SHUT UP I DO NOT NEED TO SEE MY PSYCHIARIST but that split-second of invincibility has saved my skin several times and that extended reach has proven indispensable in my endless endeavor to punish Launch Base Zone (from the Orbinauts to Big Arm) for making my childhood a living hell.

No, really, once I mastered the insta-shield, Launch Base becomes a breeze. Phasing through the flamethrower hazards, getting the steel Orbinauts, protection from those bastard punching frogs and shaming Big Arm when it does that stupid "hey i'm just gonna move left and right on the floor you can't touch me heehee" but then insta-shield right through those spikes and reminding it WHO'S KING.

[PickleBrows]

The likes of 06 had real issues with having both a high speed vertical and horizontal move mapped to the same button, separated entirely by incredibly precise context detection and milliseconds of difference between a "tap" and a "hold". We've all seen the problem of the game mistaking your choice of lightspeed dash or bounce in life or death situations.

Mania's Instashield would be far less of a problem. If you want to use the Drop Dash you'll probably be holding down the button for the majority of Sonic's descent in his jump arc while the Instashield is, of course, a quick tap of the button. 

I'd like to imagine they'll be giving at least some consideration to the lack of an Instashield. I don't think we'll have a situation like the Starlight Zone Orbanaughts that simply cannot be hit safely without powerups. 

[TheOcelot]

The insta-shield as three features;

1)  it extends Sonic's attack radius

2) renders him temporarily invincible

3) if Sonic jumps from a roll (like in Sonic 1&2) he'll be unable to change his jump direction and speed. Using the insta-shield, however, makes him regain control of the jump.

I can't remember who said it but the ability to regain control of Sonic's jump after jumping from a roll has been added to the normal moveset in Mania. Which means the extended attack radius and brief invincibly is what's been dropped.

I'm indifferent. I guess I'm so used to playing Sonic 1, 2 & CD without the insta-shield that I don't use it much in Sonic 3. I've never found it to be a critical part of Sonic's skill-set. Not having the insta-shield makes it more important to learn and adapt to the enemies attacks/makes it more of a challenge, which I prefer to be honest.

I don't see the Drop Dash as a logical replacement for the Insta-shield because it's a different type of move altogether. Drop-Dash on it's own, however, seems alright. It (from what we've seen) appears to be an optional move and not forced on the player, which I like.

[Jango]

Also, to do the drop dash, you have to hold down + the jump button. It wouldn't get in the way of the insta shield, but okay... I say add an option to switch between the drop dash or the insta shield before starting a new game.