SONIC MANIA - Special Stages, Bonus, and Time Attack

[molul]

2 minutes ago, Azure P said:

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Honestly I can't figure out how could this not be the best classic ever. We've seen a 10% (?) of the game and everything is an improvement from any past classic. 

[Azure P]

16 minutes ago, molul said:

Honestly I can't figure out how could this not be the best classic ever. We've seen a 10% (?) of the game and everything is an improvement from any past classic. 

Because we're yet to play the game.

[molul]

Yeah, that's the obvious logical thinking we all have in mind but don't really care about because we feel it will be so awesome. 

[Azure P]

43 minutes ago, molul said:

Yeah, that's the obvious logical thinking we all have in mind but don't really care about because we feel it will be so awesome. 

There we're people who felt Sonic '06 was going to be the best thing ever until they actually played it.

[MainJP]

1 minute ago, Azure P said:

There we're people who felt Sonic '06 was going to be the best thing ever until they actually played it.

People have actually played it though, at events like E3 and ComicCon, it even got nominated for several awards:

Yet somehow after everything we've seen so far you're comparing Mania to 06 of all things.

[Azure P]

17 minutes ago, MainJP said:

People have actually played it though, at events like E3 and ComicCon, it even got nominated for several awards:

Yet somehow after everything we've seen so far you're comparing Mania to 06 of all things.

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Also those awards really do mean little, apart from being a cool looking demo on the show room.

Do yourself a favour. Play the game first. Then we can rave about it being the second coming of Sonic jesus that surpasses Sonic 3 & K that's being insisted on here.

[Daisy-Fan]

Good thing they stop the teasing, it look glorious so far.

[molul]

1 hour ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Also those awards really do mean little, apart from being a cool looking demo on the show room.

Do yourself a favour. Play the game first. Then we can rave about it being the second coming of Sonic jesus that surpasses Sonic 3 & K that's being insisted on here.

Just let us be hyped

[Red Hot Jack]

This may seem controversial to some people, but the special stages remind me those of the Sonic Fgx fangame, since there is an obstacle course basically, with different environments and details. Nice touches by the way.

[Alienrun]

1 hour ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Also those awards really do mean little, apart from being a cool looking demo on the show room.

Do yourself a favour. Play the game first. Then we can rave about it being the second coming of Sonic jesus that surpasses Sonic 3 & K that's being insisted on here.

I can tell how good the game is just by looking at it.

Fight me!

[gato]

13 hours ago, Yeow said:

- In order to earn the Chaos Emerald, you just need to catch up to the UFO (you don't need to attack it as in Sonic CD).

THANK YOU BASED DEVELOPERS.

I know they fixed it in the ports but that was still one of my least liked parts on CD.

[Salamander]

Thoughts on what the Blue Sphere Bonus Stages and their reward Medallions might be for:

• Just for fun.  They're there for people who enjoy Blue Sphere to take a breather from the main gameplay to challenge themselves at an old favourite.  In this sense, they're very much bonuses, just an additional game stuck onto the one we already know.
• They grant some tangible reward in a context the previewers have yet to encounter.  This would include maybe giving you extra lives or continues or score bonuses at the end of a stage, or being added onto your clear game file as an extra marker of completion and a number to beat.
• They're similar to Red Star Rings and unlock concept art or something like it in an unrevealed Gallery Mode.

Without evidence, the first idea seems most likely, but the others aren't impossible.

[memoryman3]

This game makes me feel very sorry for Sonic Team. 

[Clewis]

3 hours ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

How on earth was Sonic 4's pre-release period comparable at all to Mania's? Even from the initial reveal a large fraction of the fanbase wasn't hyped for Sonic 4, and that only worsened once the full game ended up getting leaked. By release people already knew how disappointing the game was going to be.

And besides, most of us have already experienced Taxman and Stealth's previous Sonic projects. We already know for the most part what the Retro engine is capable of and how it emulates classic Sonic physics. There is a reason people have been wanting them to handle a 2D, retro-styled game since 2011, after all. At this point the only thing to be realistically wary of is the level design, and we've already been shown plenty of examples of how the Mania team has that under control too.

Seriously, there's no need to be a party pooper. Needlessly reminding people to "contain your hype until you play it" just causes you to come off as annoying.

[Indigo Rush]

4 hours ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Yeah a grand majority of the Retro fanbase were able to pick apart why Sonic 4 was going to suck from a few seconds of footage. 

This isn't our first rodeo. We know more about this game just from knowing the development staff, and many people have given incredibly positive and detailed impressions from hands-on gameplay, both fans and critics alike. 

We don't have the game in full yet, but the writing is on the wall. If anyone genuinely thinks this could flop, given how much of the game has been revealed, then... heh.

[HywelAtTheMoon]

1 hour ago, FFWF said:

Thoughts on what the Blue Sphere Bonus Stages and their reward Medallions might be for:

• Just for fun.  They're there for people who enjoy Blue Sphere to take a breather from the main gameplay to challenge themselves at an old favourite.  In this sense, they're very much bonuses, just an additional game stuck onto the one we already know.
• They grant some tangible reward in a context the previewers have yet to encounter.  This would include maybe giving you extra lives or continues or score bonuses at the end of a stage, or being added onto your clear game file as an extra marker of completion and a number to beat.
• They're similar to Red Star Rings and unlock concept art or something like it in an unrevealed Gallery Mode.

Without evidence, the first idea seems most likely, but the others aren't impossible.

Hasn't it already been said there's another type of item in this game. I can't remember who said it, but I saw it somewhere here. I doubt this was added just for fun. If that was the case, we'd have the gumball machine again. 

[Spooky Mulder]

I can't stop thinking about how bad I am at Blue Sphere. Hope the collectibles aren't anything too crazy that I'll miss out on when my Blue Sphere skills fail me.

[rosedust]

So excited. *screams*

[TheOcelot]

7 hours ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Sonic 4 was utter shit for all sorts of reasons. Whereas Mania is being handled by a talented professional development team who know what they're doing.

I was one of the lucky guys to play Mania at Summer of Sonic (which was nearly a year ago to the day - my god has it really been that long) and I knew then Mania had the potential to be something truly special. After about 10 seconds of playing Mania I felt so comfortable and confident with the controls and it was such a good time. 

The hype/feel-good factor this game has generated from the fanbase and gaming media has been better than anyone could have predicted. Mania is the real deal and does have the potential to pip Sonic 3&K as the best 2d Sonic, or at the very least give it a run for it's money. This is a hugh compliment from someone like myself who adores 3&K and knows it inside-out.

 

[RK3]

Nice, Sonic Mania is looking very interesting so far.

[Maxtiis]

9 hours ago, Azure P said:

Indeed. A perfect example not to get overly hyped about games one hasn't played yet. Sonic 4 could also qualify if you want a 2d comparison. What ever works for you.

Also those awards really do mean little, apart from being a cool looking demo on the show room.

Do yourself a favour. Play the game first. Then we can rave about it being the second coming of Sonic jesus that surpasses Sonic 3 & K that's being insisted on here.

This game will be fine. I have full confidence in the dev team, especially after all the info we've had revealed to us. It's Forces we should be concerned about, although I'm more easily pleased than most here are so I'm expecting it to be at least better than Lost World.

[MegasonicZX]

6 hours ago, Clewis said:

How on earth was Sonic 4's pre-release period comparable at all to Mania's? Even from the initial reveal a large fraction of the fanbase wasn't hyped for Sonic 4, and that only worsened once the full game ended up getting leaked. By release people already knew how disappointing the game was going to be.

And besides, most of us have already experienced Taxman and Stealth's previous Sonic projects. We already know for the most part what the Retro engine is capable of and how it emulates classic Sonic physics. There is a reason people have been wanting them to handle a 2D, retro-styled game since 2011, after all. At this point the only thing to be realistically wary of is the level design, and we've already been shown plenty of examples of how the Mania team has that under control too.

Seriously, there's no need to be a party pooper. Needlessly reminding people to "contain your hype until you play it" just causes you to come off as annoying.

To be fair (and its not that I disagree with your overall point) isn't that what we've been doing with forces for quite a while now? I mean we honestly have no idea at this point how good OVERALL these games will be (even though mania is only looking amazing from all we've been shown and forces looks...well)  so while its good to have high expectations, and I know in this case its very easy to have high expectations, I can see where he's coming from with not getting hyped up for the game just yet (even though the comparisons are a bit silly).

[Clewis]

1 hour ago, MegasonicZX said:

To be fair (and its not that I disagree with your overall point) isn't that what we've been doing with forces for quite a while now?

I won't speak for anyone else, but I don't feel like the situations are all that comparable. A number of the reactions I've seen regarding Forces have been straight-shot criticisms towards certain aspects of the game, not typically made in attempt to contain some sort of "hype bubble" (although I won't deny that there will always be a few people that don't want others to be excited for a product they think looks bad).

The comment I was responding to gave off more of a "You really should control your hype for the game, despite x, x, and x reasons showing why it's a safe bet to be excited otherwise" impression. As I said before, it just comes off as needless/annoying. If they had given an actual criticism towards Mania to help strengthen their point instead of providing two weak examples (one being over a decade old and the other not even being applicable) I probably wouldn't have had much of an issue with it.

[Azure P]

2 hours ago, Maxtiis said:

This game will be fine. I have full confidence in the dev team, especially after all the info we've had revealed to us. It's Forces we should be concerned about, although I'm more easily pleased than most here are so I'm expecting it to be at least better than Lost World.

Can't be disappointed when one isn't over hyped for the game. Copying elements from past classic Sonic games like Sonic 3 & K doesn't make it better than them. Sure it looks like it'll be a solid game. But I'll still be the voice of reason in the sea of craziness.

[Tracker_TD]

9 minutes ago, Azure P said:

But I'll still be the voice of reason in the sea of craziness.

That ain't what a voice of reason would say

That's what an ass would say

Real Talk™ though if folks are using the plentiful footage, impressions and so forth that we have to make a pretty safe call on the quality of the game, that ain't crazy, c'mon.