Sonic Mania SPOILERS/Impressions Thread

[TheOcelot]

Edit: wrong topic. Bleh.

[Sonictrainer]

Huh. Didn't know that.

[BlueFlare]

According to SegaBits (and Steam), the PC version comes with bug fixes that console versions will get later. Also, modding will (possibly) be supported in the future.

Source

[molul]

Almost there! 45 minutes! 

Enjoy (finally), PC users ^^

[Daggett]

Regarding the flow of the zones, I'm led to believe Press Garden is on Angel Island, not Westside.

* The floral patterns on the bricks and pointed window architecture has major similarities to Hydrocity, as if the same civilization built both.

* The tree patterns in Act 2 are very consistent with Mushroom Hill's ecosystem.

* Use of the Dragonfly badniks.

* The frost vents share the exact same aesthetics as the ones in IceCap.

[BlueFlare]

1 hour ago, molul said:

Almost there! 45 minutes! 

Enjoy (finally), PC users ^^

Played a bit, I got to Press Garden. This game is so good I'm speechless. Can't wait to play some more, and maybe a bit more.

[Your Vest Friend]

13 hours ago, BlueFlare said:

According to SegaBits (and Steam), the PC version comes with bug fixes that console versions will get later. Also, modding will (possibly) be supported in the future.

Source

Uh, but they DID add DRM in, so mods are kinda off the table. 

 

[Red Hot Jack]

I almost got stuck in Chemical Plant, both acts. I didn't know that I had jump on the glow and get on the top of the tube.

[SSF1991]

Too much to type, so I did a video with my impressions of the game.

I feel like a loner but...um...I feel the game's very flawed.

 

[The Deleter]

32 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

Too much to type, so I did a video with my impressions of the game.

I feel like a loner but...um...I feel the game's very flawed.

 

On the bubbles and Hydrocity complaints, I agree, but since most of this is dedicated to special stage talk...
 

Naaaaah dude, lol. Half pipe is the absolute worst in this regard. It's almost purely memorization-based, with how the stages throw you into corners with rings or bombs so often, and requires around an 80-90% ring requirement for most of the later stages. They're straightforward, sure, but they are just as unfair as you feel these special stages are on player's first runs through them.

The special stages in this game are probably the most flat out forgiving special stages there's ever been in the classics. You can run for ages if you collect enough rings, giving you ample time to catch up if you did poorly before, and you can even catch up to the UFO at Mach 2 or 1 if you follow the UFO as closely as possible. These special stages give the most leeway a special stage has ever allowed in terms of requirements. The only thing you're tasked with is handling them, which again, you're given ample leeway to get a grip with in the first place. Just think of them as a racing game. Cut corners, and take shortcuts wherever you can. Sometimes blue spheres can mislead you, as well. Keep an eye on the track and determine what the best route is, as usually the UFO will end up going down those routes.

As for blue spheres, eeeh. They're still more reaction based than the Sonic 2 special stages, and you can just hover around and get your bearings at the cost of more speed, but the stages Mania uses are a lot more memorization-based than Sonic 3's due to learning the best ways to play and being thrown into unavoidable sections, yeah. Won't blame you for disliking them due to how complex they are (Personally I reeeeeally enjoy them for this very reason, lol) but they are entirely optional, so if they're souring your experience you should leave them alone for the majority of the time. And when you do feel like going for completion, you can always go back to Green Hill and alternate between the first two checkpoints for the fastest and easiest method at beating them. 

Pretty sure with time you can get a handle on these, just like people did with the original classic special stages. Just don't let them get too in the way of your experience; you can always go back and complete them later on, no sweat.

[sonicdudeatdawn]

4 hours ago, BlueFlare said:

Played a bit, I got to Press Garden. This game is so good I'm speechless. Can't wait to play some more, and maybe a bit more.

give yourself a couple breaks every now and then

[SSF1991]

16 minutes ago, The Deleter said:

Pretty sure with time you can get a handle on these, just like people did with the original classic special stages. Just don't let them get too in the way of your experience; you can always go back and complete them later on, no sweat.

Doubtful. Even after picking the game up I'm still getting absolutely nowhere and I've tried every tactic possible.

I've advanced 2-3 more zones. I cannot get anymore emeralds. I've gotten 3 medallions, but that's it.

I should've had all the emeralds by now and at least the vast majority of silver medallions. I'm not even close.

[The Deleter]

2 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

Doubtful. Even after picking the game up I'm still getting absolutely nowhere and I've tried every tactic possible.

I've advanced 2-3 more zones. I cannot get anymore emeralds. I've gotten 3 medallions, but that's it.

I should've had all the emeralds by now and at least the vast majority of silver medallions. I'm not even close.

Well that's... kinda worrying, not gonna lie, but you're on your first playthrough. Even if there are experts that finish the game with all emeralds and 100% medallions first playthrough, the majority of people don't. Why are you putting yourself to such standards when you already know you're not that good at either of them yet? That's just going to put you down on the rest of the game, dude, regardless of how good it is... Just wait until you can replay them without worry, man. They aren't necessary to enjoy the game.

[SSF1991]

Because I''m not going into this playthrough blind at all.

[CleverSonicUsername]

idk emeralds seem pretty easy to get to me, tbh.

[molul]

Cleared it with Sonic and Tails with only 3 emeralds and 8 medals, I think. It has been amazing! Every reference makes me go back 20 years, and there's a lot of new stuff. And the 60fps, the insane amount of frames in each animation... This game looks ALIVE.

I liked the new blue spheres mechanic and also the new levels. Some of them were really clever and challenging. I'll enjoy getting all the gold medals

The special stage is wonderful. Feels fresh, it's challenging, music is nice... Well done.

I think I only found 3 missing cutscenes. I like the one to Oil Ocean a lot!

I had no bugs or glitches.

I liked all bosses. I wish I didn't spoil myself before today but anyway, I still had a few surprises, like when you can go to the background like in DKC Returns! 

Also, if I had played the game without having watched gameplays the last two weeks, I'm sure I'd be even more excited. 

Overall it's better than I expected. Honestly, it FEELS better when you play it than whatever you've seen in YouTube.

I didn't like the Sonic CD levels much, as I expected. I wish we had had Starlight or Launch Base instead, or Mystic Cave. On the bright side, the remixed levels were really cool. I'm actually fine with act 1 being close to the original and act 2 adding lots of new stuff.

I give a 94/100. To me, it's still slightly below S3&K, but it's atomically close! 

A thing I thought after playing: I'd prefer if Sonic 3 remastered had the same graphics level as Mania (sprite rotation, mode 7, double the animations frames...). It's fine cloning the original game, but this would be really worth it.

Thank you, Mania Team. This is Classic Sonic as we truly remembered. Masterpiece.

[CleverSonicUsername]

4 hours ago, molul said:

 

I think I only found 3 missing cutscenes. I like the one to Oil Ocean a lot!

 

Flying Battery to Press Garden, Stardust Speedway to Hydrocity, Hydrocity to Mirage Saloon, Oil Ocean to Lava Reef, Lave Reef to Metallic Madness, and Metallic Madness to Titanic Monarch are all lacking transitions.

That said, I think only Hydrocity lacks any real cutscene. The zones that don't have one between levels at least have something between acts or at the start.

[Tenko]

It's so weird considering the love that's gone into everything else. You can only assume that either the theory about zones being switched around late in development and thus having their transitions removed is somewhere in the ball park. Or simply they started work on transitions late in the game with the actual zones being more important (obviously) and needed more time to finish things off and Sega didn't want to delay a second time.

Somehow them just not existing, or being part of the plan doesn't seem like a possible assumption what with the people involved. 

[PKGaming]

I feel like I should replay Sonic 3 and Knuckles before deciding if Mania is my favorite Sonic game or not. I remember enjoying 3&K a lot, but getting super annoyed at jerkish enemy placement and speedy segments that ended in Sonic running right into a spike trap or enemy that you couldn't see coming unless you had the stage memorized, almost as if the game punishes you for gong fast. Mania had almost none of this, which is why I think I might like it better, but it has been like 3 years since the last time I played 3&K. Maybe it'll be different from how I remember. 

[SSF1991]

5 hours ago, CleverSonicUsername said:

idk emeralds seem pretty easy to get to me, tbh.

Because it's not me playing it. It's you. You get a different perspective and a different reaction time than I do.

Don't get me wrong, that's fine. But no two people will play the game exactly the same. =P

[CleverSonicUsername]

5 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

Because it's not me playing it. It's you. You get a different perspective and a different reaction time than I do.

Don't get me wrong, that's fine. But no two people will play the game exactly the same. =P

It's also because I've played the game quite a few times. I wouldn't get too upset about not getting all the emeralds in your first run, I got 3 or 4 on mine and it wasn't for any lack of trying.

Frankly I think they're the most responsive series of special stages in the series, but like most things require some amount of acclimation and practice. You could be amazing at the core game because it's still Sonic, but flounder on those stages because they're pretty new.

[SSF1991]

Eventually I did get all the emeralds. It took a good while but eventually it happened. I don't feel like it was satisfying due to the rage I had...but at least it's done.

[CleverSonicUsername]

10 minutes ago, SSF1991 said:

Eventually I did get all the emeralds. It took a good while but eventually it happened. I don't feel like it was satisfying due to the rage I had...but at least it's done.

I think they get easier with practice faster than previous titles thanks to the responsiveness of the controls. Still, glad I didn't get them in my first run since the double-tap mapping of Super Sonic in the console versions would have diminished the experience of going through the levels normally on my first run.

Getting all the gold medals in the bonus stages is going to be such a nightmare, though. Those blue spheres stages get sadistic, and as with Sonic 3 & Knuckles, it's not as easy as clearing each square and collecting the rings. Some of the additional clusters of stand alone rings are fairly well hidden or tricky to get to, as is knowing what blue spheres to leave.

[PKGaming]

Does getting all gold medallions even unlock anything?

[CleverSonicUsername]

20 minutes ago, PKGaming said:

Does getting all gold medallions even unlock anything?

An achievement, so if you don't like Blue Spheres and don't care about achievements, then don't bother.