Sonic Mania Reviews/Impressions Thread

[Mr. Armstrong]

Dunkey Review.

 

[Soniman]

30 minutes ago, Mr. Armstrong said:

Dunkey Review.

 

I guess this doesnt really matter and im just being a fanboy here but it does bug me a but how Dunkey will shit all over how shitty 3D Sonic has been but conviently ignore Colors and Gens (he literally goes form Unleashed and skips straight to dumping on SLW like??) because it doesnt help his argument obviously, though im willing to believe its for comedy's sake and to lead up to praising Mania 

[Dejimon11]

2 minutes ago, Soniman said:

I guess this doesnt really matter and im just being a fanboy here but it does bug me a but how Dunkey will shit all over how shitty 3D Sonic has been but conviently ignore Colors and Gens because it doesnt help his argument obviously, though im willing to believe its for comedy's sake and to lead up to praising Mania 

It's extremely jarring especially when he calls out game journalist for doing the same shit with them being inconsistent with Sonic. 

[Mr. Armstrong]

13 minutes ago, Soniman said:

I guess this doesnt really matter and im just being a fanboy here but it does bug me a but how Dunkey will shit all over how shitty 3D Sonic has been but conviently ignore Colors and Gens because it doesnt help his argument obviously, though im willing to believe its for comedy's sake and to lead up to praising Mania 

Donkey likes generations and colors you can see his review of those games to confirm that, he only mention Sonic 3D games that he does not like.

[JezMM]

2 hours ago, Sonicfan287 said:

That's a bit surprising and disappointing to be honest. I've seen plenty of good reviews and I myself won't have my opinion of the game effected because of a few "so-so" ones but I say surprising because I've watched the majority of Polygon's coverage of the game leading up to release and they seemed high on it, with one of their staffers saying it was their most anticipated game of 2017. I didn't expect them to give it a 10 but based on many of their previews, I got the impression they were big Sonic fans and really were looking forward to this game. It's just weird to read this review that basically says "yeah, it's okay but it's basically just another Sonic game" 

 

1 hour ago, Mark1 said:

I think because the person who did the previews was sacked from the team. He was very enthusiastic about the game.

That person was Nick Robinson and yeah he was recently dismissed from Polygon.  Regardless the review would've likely been the same, Nick was a video producer for the site, not a reviewer.  It's a shame the drama with him happened now because I was looking forward to his personal coverage of the game but the dust has far from settled on the reasons why he was fired (and for many it seems it never will) so he's been inactive on social media recently.

[Chris Knopps]

20 minutes ago, Soniman said:

I guess this doesnt really matter and im just being a fanboy here but it does bug me a but how Dunkey will shit all over how shitty 3D Sonic has been but conviently ignore Colors and Gens (he literally goes form Unleashed and skips straight to dumping on SLW like??) because it doesnt help his argument obviously, though im willing to believe its for comedy's sake and to lead up to praising Mania 

Colors and Generations were primarily 2D games so they kind of help his argument of 2D superiority if that's what he's going for. Didn't watch the video yet. Neither can really count as 3D games. The last one worth really touting as 3D was Unleashed and even that game had 2D sections.

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Friendly reminder that Iizuka basically admitted he wasn't sure if this game would be well-received. 

[Chris Knopps]

2 minutes ago, Whatever the WhoCares said:

Friendly reminder that Iizuka basically admitted he wasn't sure if this game would be well-received. 

I think the problem is that, after Sonic Team here in the West was absorbed completely back into SEGA of Japan they lost a LOT of touch with Western culture and demands over the years. That's why Forces is likely suffering too because they are trying to cater to the West they knew back in the late 90's with that one. It's a GOOD direction but one taken based on a decisions tread almost 20 years ago.

Mania is the equivalent of a major culture shock to Mr. Iizuka, that's what I'm led to believe. He's being RAPIDLY brought up to speed with what the West loves and hates all in one fantastic explosion through Mania.

The future will be... Something from here on.

[Celestia]

7 hours ago, QuantumEdge said:

And by the way, uh, what was that about Sonic "Never being great" IGN?

To be fair, was the person who wrote the review the one who said that? XP It's not like these sites are hive minds.

11 minutes ago, Whatever the WhoCares said:

Friendly reminder that Iizuka basically admitted he wasn't sure if this game would be well-received. 

Eh, I wasn't sure how well this game would be received either. Especially after reading some of the spoilers from the leaks over the past few days...then again most of the potentially disappointing stuff are things only fans'll really care about, so.

Speaking of which, I'm even more interested in seeing fan reception now. I kinda get the feeling the reception is gonna be more mixed among fans. Not as much as LW or something like that, but more like...CD, maybe?

[CleverSonicUsername]

Any reviews in particular that don't have spoilers in them? Those are pretty good scores all around though.

 

Edit: Also man do I hope this game does well. I'm deflated over the division of old vs new but even the old can still play great. With any luck this does well enough, and proves to Sonic Team that Taxman should be allowed to make something entirely fresh from top to bottom next time.

[Mark1]

Been playing it on Switch for 30 minutes. And can see where the old vs new comment comes into play, but that feeling left rather soon after exploring Green Hill more. 

It really feels like mixture of CD and 3&K, which isn't a bad thing at all. It's great! You feel that incentive to go explore around more than once.

Special and extra stages are great thus far.

Want to keep playing, but have work in the morning so need to prioritise on my sleep. But so far it's been quite the enjoyable experience so far. Came across some rather neat surprises already such as...spoilers below:

Spoiler

Super Peel Out as an unlockable ability. Did not see that coming.

Again. Can't wait to play more in the morning on the commute to work.

[Maxtiis]

It's great to see the glowing reviews this game has received. Despite my optimism for the game I actually was expecting a lot of negativity in the reviews; considering how bad many modern gamers seem to be at the classics, I thought I was going to read reviews about how the critics thought the game was too hard merely because they died a lot and blame the game for it instead of their lack of skill. Like Sonic is now the new Dark Souls or some crap again.

Much to my delight though many of the reviews I've read are actually well put together and very insightful, and no I'm not just saying that because the game is reviewing well. I've read plenty of reviews of games I've liked where the reviewer ultimately praised the game, but their points were incoherent and points were organized sporadically throughout.

The only one I've read but didn't like was the God is a Geek one; is it really necessary to tell people their opinion on the Adventure games was wrong because you think they're garbage? Can't you review Sonic Mania on its own merit instead of relying on putting down the 3-D games just to artificially elevate this game by comparison? And the mention of Trump was completely unnecessary; keep politics away from my video games.

[Sonictrainer]

 

Even Egoraptor likes Sonic Mania 

[rosedust]

I've been seeing good reception so far, that's great! I'm glad it's doing well. If only I could play it for myself. 

[memoryman3]

Sonic Forces is coming....

 

 

be prepared. 

[CleverSonicUsername]

Edit: Actually maybe not the right thread.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

10 hours ago, Sonictrainer said:

 

Even Egoraptor likes Sonic Mania 

That doodle is adorable.

[Red Hot Jack]

6 hours ago, memoryman3 said:

Sonic Forces is coming....

 

 

be prepared. 

And it better come soon!

[Sonicstitch]

 

OK this may be the wrong place for this but I am not shore where it should go

and I am so MAD right now!

I had pre ordered sonic mania on steam and we all know how that ended.

So yesterday I go out to buy a Nintendo eshop card for switch. Mania is $20.00 so I buy a $20.00 card. I go home and wait until midnight. But the game does not show up.

I give up and go to bed. The next day I find sonic mania on the eshop. I have my $20.00 in the eshop I try to buy mania and I get insufficient funds. It wants $1.34 extra. For taxes!

But I only have a $20.00 card. How could I have known that? I’ve never used the Nintendo eShop before. On steam and PSN the taxe is included in the posted price.

Now I have to go out and buy another $10.00 card just so I can have $1.34 for a $20.00 game!!

 

When people say that digital distribution is easier, it makes me want to hit them with something like, AMYS HAMMER!!!!!!

[ChikaBoing]

This is one my fave stramers playing though Sonic Mania, concluding at the end that it is the very best Sonic game. He is not for everyone (he plays up the over the top character), but you can just tell he is having an absolute blast, like I did (and everyone else)!

 

[SpongicX]

Despite being a bigger fan of the Adventure games, I am really enjoying Sonic Mania so far. I got the Switch version. I've been playing as Tails, and just beat Mirage Saloon Act 2. Man, was that boss fight something else.

 

I personally am enjoying Mania more than the original Genesis games. Not bad for a $20 game! I hope Sonic Forces can somehow amaze me further.

[Chris Knopps]

I'm going to be doubling over and pissing buckets when Forces comes out.

All of the backlash, all of the venom...

Never will such an extraordinary humble pie be delivered so perfectly, that's how I feel.

Come on Forces, come on... I want me some extra EXTRA salt.

There won't be a single review, likely not even a single discussion that exists pertaining to Forces that won't contain Mania.

I'm going to be having so much fun watching hell break loose when that thing releases.

[Psychicmoose103]

So here are my personal negatives and positives with sonic mania. Lets start positive!

- POSITIVE -

The Entire Soundtrack. Its seriously fantastic
The level design and gameplay is top notch
I really like the design of the hardboiled heavies. They are all very cool
The bosses are pretty fun, and all original and unique
I very much enjoy the special stages. While tough they are more fun for me then any other classic game
All of the new zones are insanely creative, almost more creative then any of the other classic zones.


- NEGATIVES -

Some levels are missing transitions between them. It feels extremely lazy and unfinished. Its also weird to be on Stardust Speedway and then next second your on a completely different landmass.
The plot in general was kind of strange and had many plot holes.
No Boss Rush. Not super negative but it was in sonic 2 ios remake.
Anticlimatic Ending. Both bad and true.
My favorite zone in all of classic sonic, Hydrocity, seems to be the least interesting old zone. The music is still great, but act 1 only has a few new things, and one of which, the bubbles, slow the level down to a crawl. Act 2 has nothing new in it and is mostly re-cycled level design.

 

Overall, the game was a blast, and the levels themselves were awesome. I just wish the story was a bit more thought out to make it feel as epic as Sonic 3K.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

 

[RK64]

16 hours ago, Chris Knopps said:

I'm going to be doubling over and pissing buckets when Forces comes out.

All of the backlash, all of the venom...

Never will such an extraordinary humble pie be delivered so perfectly, that's how I feel.

Come on Forces, come on... I want me some extra EXTRA salt.

There won't be a single review, likely not even a single discussion that exists pertaining to Forces that won't contain Mania.

I'm going to be having so much fun watching hell break loose when that thing releases.

I really, really hope if Forces ends up being bad, it's a wake up call to SEGA. They don't NEED Sonic Team to make great Sonic's. Sonic Team needs to prove to people they can still make good Sonic games. Lost World was a bit odd but it had ambition to be different at the very least. If Forces sucks, just trying to be Generations 2 (something not HARD to pull off honestly), then they should just stop with Sonic for a few years. 

Give the IP to other studios within SEGA, let Sonic Team make other games again, and let Sonic 'breathe'. The brand is tossed around so often, that a two year break would be good for the Blue Blur. Just hope Forces is good and that a Mania 2 is getting greenlight at some point.