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

[molul]

10 hours ago, Zippo said:

Taxman isn't a fan of CD's level design either. Looking forward to seeing what he improves in the chosen levels.

Thank God. 

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

10 minutes ago, Celestia said:

Aaand another vid, this time featuring Sonic & Tails..

...have we seen the loops in Mirage Saloon collapse like that part @0:38?

Looks like there's a special zone ring thing (?) at 1:12! 

 

[molul]

Mirage Saloon music is nice but... To me it doesn't fit the desert look. It sounds more like a Studiopolis remix. First impression might be wrong, though.

[Cyrus]

The desert vibes are definitely there under all of the poppy electroswing vibes and the flute/whistling covers the western theme.

[Tracker_TD]

 

This dude right here is going to be pretty much all of us when Sonic Mania releases.

From the Sonic Toon: Fire and Ice launch stream, where Iizuka played Mania for a bit (around 1hr 48m):

 

[Zippo]

Dear Sega/Taxman/Tee Lopes, please officially release the music for Mirage Saloon Act 2. Please, I need it.

Signed, everyone.

[azoo]

This is gonna be the best Sonic game in well over 10-15 years.

Just throwing that out there.

[Menace2Society]

I'm a little confused as towards why the consoles that Mania is going to be on isn't shown in the Japanese trailer. It seems strange to have the consoles revealed on the International trailer, but not the Japanese one. I wonder why that's the case.

[gato]

You know, I've never been one to believe those people who kept telling me that Tails was cuter in the classics since I find his modern appearance to still be quite adorable, but these sprites man...

I can't...

 

1 hour ago, molul said:

Mirage Saloon music is nice but... To me it doesn't fit the desert look. It sounds more like a Studiopolis remix. First impression might be wrong, though.

Maybe is because it's the act 2 theme?

Actually, have we ever gotten any confirmation about different acts having different music or that's just me assuming because Sonic 3 act transitions got confirmed a while ago?

I still love the music tho.

[Zippo]

Also, did anyone else spot this? From the official Twitter account.  Looks like new Mania art. 

[Tracker_TD]

4 minutes ago, Zippo said:

Also, did else anyone spot this? From the official Twitter account.  Looks like new Mania art. 

I doubt it's specifically for Mania; it'll just be like the other Classic art they've been uploading this year, only they shaded this one due to the magnitude of the milestone. 

[TheOcelot]

2 hours ago, Cyrus said:

More footage from Gamespot, charmingly cut between character choices in a montage style. Try not to mind the slight buzzing in the left channel.

Great stuff. 

Good to hear a clean version of Mirage Saloon's music and I'm really liking it. Seems to fit the pace of the act nicely. I swear Tee Lopes is gonna nail the soundtrack.

I'm so glad they showed footage of the Tails assist move (Tails carrying Sonic). Hopefully it will be easy getting Tails to pick-up Sonic in 1-player mode (was a tad cumbersome in the mobile ports), definitely looks easy.

I love how the Spring-Yard inspired badnik attacks using a drop-dash move (mirroring Sonic's new move) and if Sonic hits them hard enough they can end-up on the platform above or below!

Knuckles running-feet animation when he goes super-fast mirrors Sonic's Sonic 2 beta animation in Mania. Looks so cool.

Much like Studiopolis I'm getting more of a Sonic CD vibe in terms of the layout, but that's not a bad thing. It's clearly a fluid stage, especially when you master the gimmicks with lots of multiple routes. I wonder how different Mirage Saloon - how much it has evolved - from Taxman's original concept for Desert Dazzle? Fascinating!

Mania just looks so fucking good. I'm super hyped.....AGAIN! It's awesome they've showed so much footage. We've now seen Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Sonic & Tails in action. Four different playable options, so plenty replay value! I'm convinced we'll also be able to play with Knuckles and Tails (AI) following.

The amount of work StealthTax have done in terms of the animation blows me away. 

[BlueFlare]

Mirage Saloon looks and sounds amazing, brilliant! Tax 'n boys, I have strong faith in you. This gonna be GOOD!

[molul]

By the way, now that drop dash is confirmed just for Sonic, how about insta-shield as the normal shield power-up? Also, how about Knuckles and Tails get shield power-ups on anothe button?

[Clewis]

6 hours ago, Velvet Reindeer said:

I just love how cool Knuckles looks on his victory screen. Even his pupils are animated!

That's a nice little nod to the Knuckles in Sonic 2 intro with the fist turning.

1 hour ago, BenderTheBatman said:

The amount of work StealthTax have done in terms of the animation blows me away.

I think the art and animation are being handled by PagodaWest, actually, considering their previous games look and move just as nice.

EDIT: I'm kinda surprised nobody has pointed this out here yet, but while Studiopolis features portraits of Eggman:

Mirage Saloon features portraits of some King Eggrobo-esque character:

Since Mirage Saloon apparently takes place later in the game, does this mean Eggman is usurped at some point, or maybe he's just some kind of lackey like Metal Sonic and is the boss of the zone? Now I kinda want to know what the game's main premise is, since it seems to have a bit more going on than just "Collect the chaos emeralds and stop Eggman before he does mean things to people again!"

[Daisy-Fan]

Totally love that Mirage Saloon track, that's very a mix of S3&K with CD in it. can't wait it release.

[Zaysho]

1 hour ago, Clewis said:

Mirage Saloon features portraits of some King Eggrobo-esque character:

This strangely gives me vibes of Black Eggman from the OVA, along with the Egg Emperor from Sonic Heroes.

Could be looking at Eggman's next giant mecha.

[Lucid Dream]

Ack just realised somebody already posted the Tails carrying Sonic animation

Knuckles on a stool. 

I can't stop laughing at his expression. 

[Uraraka]

 

5 hours ago, Cyrus said:

Sonic confirmed to be a fat fuck They finally acknowledged how heavy Sonic must be for Tails to carry

Much love to the animator(s) from me, whoever they are, they're doing a terrific job. I just can't wait to see how goofy Robotnik is in this game.

     Oh my gosh! I always wondered how a kid who couldn't fight a tree with his bare hands could carry someone twice his size around. Haha! Kinda like how rouge can carry omega and stuff....

  

Welp now I know knuckles got caught up to no good! 

12 minutes ago, Burning Dreams said:

 

Also, Knuckles

I can't stop laughing at his expression. 

 

[TheOcelot]

On 10/27/2016 at 8:49 PM, Burning Dreams said:

 

Looking at Tails facial expression, he looks like he's straining so hard he's gonna poo himself...

I'm sorry, someone had to say it 

Something of interest to note; Knuckles starts from a different location compared to Sonic & Tails in act2 of Mirage Saloon. This could mean Knuckles has a Knuckles-only route in act1 which leads to a different entrance to act2.

EDIT: Knuckles route starts higher in the stage than Sonic & Tails. Knuckles joins S&T's route at about 1:20 in his gameplay video which I linked.

[JosepHenry]

Tyson Hesse MUST be working on these animations.

 

[Indigo Rush]

For those bummed about Mirage Saloons non-deserty music, it literally has the whistle from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in there. It's less Desert, moreso Saloon (but not quite ragtime), hence the more upbeat pianos and trumpets. Cowboys and Indians stuff. Southwestern America. Totally fits.

Also pinball elements YES; I thought Studiopolis was a fantastic city trope but was lacking in the pinball/party effect, turns out they saved more of that half for Mirage Saloon. Never ever would have thought of combining desert and pinball, so it's so great to see it working out as well as it does!

[YuTwo]

They put in the classic EG symbol here which was also seen on the popcorn machine in Studiopolis. There is also those bottles that have SH2 on them possibly as a nod to Dust Hill Zone which Mirage Saloon has elements of. 

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

21 hours ago, Tenko said:

Haha I hadn't heard the news until I saw Ian make a post about the Hooligans being in the new gameplay for Mania. I was like "Are you serious?!". Wish it was a boss right but I'll take what I can get, any recognition outside the comics is a positive!!

It's all looking so beautiful tho regardless, I don't want to spoil myself with too much info, but at the same time I don't want to miss anything either...it's hard to decide if I want to go on full blackout or not.

@Tenko, Christian's comment makes me think perhaps they could show up as a mini boss

5 hours ago, CuzEyeCan said:

I'm a little confused as towards why the consoles that Mania is going to be on isn't shown in the Japanese trailer. It seems strange to have the consoles revealed on the International trailer, but not the Japanese one. I wonder why that's the case.

Perhaps it's a Switch exclusive in Japan and not announced yet? wouldn't be the first time nintendo did the console publishing

[Muscles Maximum]

Man, this game is gonna be so good.

The music so far is incredible, and the spritework is fantastic, the colors are so retro and really pop. This game is just beautiful. Completely my aesthetic.

Mirage Saloon is such a charming level. It's got so much personality and flare. I love how the pinball flippers are shaped like vulture heads, such a nice little touch. The big revolver shooting you out is so cool and creative. The big bottles of Egg Seltzer you can activate. The bar looking areas sprinkled around in this deserted town. The wanted posters of Bark, Bean, and Fang making the place seem dangerous. This place feels so lively.

I'm so glad Knuckles' climbing sprite is based off his sprite in Chaotix. The emotions and expressions on the character's faces are all so good.

And honestly, I'm just so happy Knuckles is finally back. Like, really back. Seeing him out here running around, climbing stuff, soaring through the air, waving his fists around, being himself. It's awesome. Really nice. I'm kind of at a loss for words I don't really know what to say.

Ugh, this game is so perfect.