Sonic Mania Plus: Official Reveal (Coming July 17th) - NO SPOILERS

[NikoS]

IT'S TIME!!!

[Sonic Fan J]

10 minutes ago, NikoS said:

IT'S TIME!!!

HYPE!!!

Adding some context to this post now (that's going to be difficult cause of how hyped I am), I loved everything I just saw. Things to note I like the platforming potential I see in Mighty's Hammer Drop (I love that animation) and it looks like momentum is going to integral in making use of Ray's Air Glide (though I wonder how abusable it will be by Spin Dash jumping off of slopes).

 

Spoiler

As for the trailer itself I love the new updated elevator scene and how Mighty and Ray get their color when Sonic takes Mighty's hand. Now I can't wait to see if the game has an updated opening and to see someone put together a supercut of all the animation so far XD

 

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

That thumbnail and the added rock to the Time Trials track was fuking awesome.

[Marcello]

Ha. Ray has the cape from Super Mario World. Still not sure I like his sprite. He looks so big. But his glide swoop looks nice.

Mighty being able to destroy spikes with the stomp is cool.

[E-122-Psi]

Have these new screenies been uploaded here yet?

Spoiler

I know NO SPOILERS but I didn't know what this fell under.

[TheOcelot]

2 minutes ago, E-122-Psi said:

Have these new screenies been uploaded here yet?

  Hide contents

 

Yes, in the spoiler topic. 

Mania Plus looks fucking awesome. My prediction of a mid-July release was pretty accurate.

 

[E-122-Psi]

1 minute ago, TheOcelot said:

Yes, in the spoiler topic. 

Ah sorry, I thought that was just for the 1.04 leak.

[Eurisko]

21 hours ago, silvereye27 said:

In the pre-order trailer we see Sonic, Tails and Knuckles get in the lift. Do you think we'll see a new bit of animation with the lift door closing, only for Mighty and Ray to turn up too?

Probably not, me being overly excited by that little picture.

You called it!!! 

[R.C.]

It comes out on my birthday.

Bless.

[Tenko]

I'm sure some of you have seen this, and I do hope Amy gets at least a cameo..

But this made me laugh, so sorry not sorry. 

Edit : If Amy was to make it into Mania or a hypothetical Mania 2, would you rather they just use Amy as her name or use the old callback Rosy moniker instead?

[Red Hot Jack]

7 hours ago, Tenko said:

Edit : If Amy was to make it into Mania or a hypothetical Mania 2, would you rather they just use Amy as her name or use the old callback Rosy moniker instead?

Amy, easily. Not only it's more marketable but it would only create confusion to call her Rosy or even Sally as it was intended back in CD, though I would have some kind of reference to Rosy the Rascal.

[Sonic Fan J]

11 hours ago, Tenko said:

I'm sure some of you have seen this, and I do hope Amy gets at least a cameo..

But this made me laugh, so sorry not sorry. 

Edit : If Amy was to make it into Mania or a hypothetical Mania 2, would you rather they just use Amy as her name or use the old callback Rosy moniker instead?

That video... TT_TT, XD

But, to answer the question; I would go with her nickname of Rosy the Rascal. While even in her debut she was still called Amy, and as @Jack the Maniac says it would be more marketable, as someone who would like to see how she could be handled with a pre-hammer mentality I think the disassociation of her old nickname (unless of course you follow the Archie Comics in which case SEGA needs to take that name back as their own thing) would make it easier to sell her without the hammer style of gameplay and experiment with a Genesis/Mega Drive design mentality. I'd love to see what they could come up with and I believe using the Rosy name would give them the leeway to get away with such experiments while also skirting around the issue of her major design change with people who are newer to the franchise. Plus, using Rosy better matches the descriptive names of the other characters which creates a more cohesive package.

[Tenko]

It's interesting how people think pre-hammer when she did have her Piko-Piko Hammer in the classic continuity too. I suppose if you go off the Sonic CD character descriptor then you could design something around the tarot cards? What if like Cream with her projectile Cheese she could throw her tarot cards? Like a speedy Gambit haha. It would still play into the speed and reaction time based gameplay of the classic platforming formula. You could make it so she still curled so people could use it optionally to the original play style, but those that mastered it could take out enemies from a distance to clear the path for quicker speed runs.

[Sonic Fan J]

16 minutes ago, Tenko said:

It's interesting how people think pre-hammer when she did have her Piko-Piko Hammer in the classic continuity too. I suppose if you go off the Sonic CD character descriptor then you could design something around the tarot cards? What if like Cream with her projectile Cheese she could throw her tarot cards? Like a speedy Gambit haha. It would still play into the speed and reaction time based gameplay of the classic platforming formula. You could make it so she still curled so people could use it optionally to the original play style, but those that mastered it could take out enemies from a distance to clear the path for quicker speed runs.

It's easy to think pre-hammer if you acknowledge all of Amy's appearances pre-Adventure where she only had one appearance with the hammer in the like six or seven games she showed up in (CD, Sonic Drift 1 and 2, Sonic Game World, Chaotix as a hidden cameo, Fighters, and Sonic R - admittedly after the first appearance of the hammer). Admittedly though I'm about the only person I know of who would like to see how you can make a hedgehog character unique while staying truthful to the original design concept and Genesis/Mega Drive formula. While I've admittedly thrown out any number of ideas of my own, about the only suggestions I've really personally liked are giving her different shield abilities from Sonic or giving her a triple jump. To be truthful I wouldn't mind her having a triple jump and the ability to swim as it would make her very unique in regards to how she platforms in different environments.

[Red Hot Jack]

A new screen from Sonic Paradise shows Mirage Saloon at sunset, other screens had it at night time. Which means the zones will have day-night system? It's definitely not Encore Mode, which is tag team and with new gimmicks.

[Salamander]

I see that Sonic Paradise has neglected to provide a source for their images; stay classy, gentlemen.  Fortunately, I was able to unearth it myself:

https://www.jp.playstation.com/blog/detail/6913/20180516-sonicmania.html

I put the page through Google Translate, and the sunset Mirage Saloon is explicitly presented as being the zone's Encore Mode counterpart.  Night-time Mirage Saloon appears to be a component of the four-player Competition Mode update; perhaps that mode now has its own palettes, too?

[Sean]

Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have

[Multikaris]

On 5/16/2018 at 8:10 AM, FFWF said:

I see that Sonic Paradise has neglected to provide a source for their images; stay classy, gentlemen.  Fortunately, I was able to unearth it myself:

https://www.jp.playstation.com/blog/detail/6913/20180516-sonicmania.html

I put the page through Google Translate, and the sunset Mirage Saloon is explicitly presented as being the zone's Encore Mode counterpart.  Night-time Mirage Saloon appears to be a component of the four-player Competition Mode update; perhaps that mode now has its own palettes, too?

Or maybe act 2 is at night. But the idea of Competition Mode having palettes of its own is intriguing. Maybe have Stardust Speedway Act 1 at day ala Marble Garden, or with purple, polluted plants. 

[superman43]

4 minutes ago, Miragnarok said:

Or maybe act 2 is at night. But the idea of Competition Mode having palettes of its own is intriguing. Maybe have Stardust Speedway Act 1 At day ala Marble Garden, or with purple, polluted plants. 

Yeah I agree with you. Mania mode has transition from morning to day and Encore will have from sunset to night.

[Salamander]

I agree that act differences are possible, and perhaps even more likely; I just wanted to remain within the confines of the material given.  It's not clear that the two backgrounds are from different acts, but they're definitely from different modes.

[Milo]

The original Mirage Saloon changes from a pink "morning" sky to a blue "mid-afternoon" sky during/after Act 1. The night sky for Mirage Saloon could also be the same thing for Encore Mode, transitioning from the orange sunset sky.

[Tenko]

6 hours ago, Sean said:

Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have

I'm totally with you on this one!! When that train showed up it was a pleasant surprise, loved Eggman on the whistle too. The section seemed so short. It has to return in the zone somewhere I thought...but nope.

Would be great if they utilized Team Hooligan again as a boss fight on said train too. Maybe on per section of the train, fight your way to the front? 

[TheOcelot]

6 hours ago, Space☆Yeow said:

The original Mirage Saloon changes from a pink "morning" sky to a blue "mid-afternoon" sky during after Act 1. The night sky for Mirage Saloon could also be the same thing for Encore Mode, transitioning from the orange sunset sky.

In Mania mode the sky transitions from morning to afternoon about half-way through act1 of MS. However, the new "orange sunset" screenshot  for Encore mode is from act2 (and not act1) and we've seen the night sky four-player screenshot in act2 as well. So for Encore mode, it might be that act1 will take place entirely in the orange sunset and act2 will at some point transition from orange sunset to night sky.

 

One thing we have no clue about is what act1's level-layout of Mirage Saloon will be like for Ray and Mighty.

Mighty can't navigate Knuckles version of act1 without some modification to the level design. You might be able to make it through with Ray if you can manipulate his glide moveset enough. Although, it's highly likely the stage would also need to be modified for him. 

So, Ray and Mighty's routes will need to be redesigned for both Encore & Mania mode. Unless of course Ray and Mighty are just given Sonic & Tails mostly-boring Tornado sequence in Mania mode, but get a re-designed version of Knuckles route for Encore mode?

7 hours ago, Sean said:

Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have a train sequence boss. Please have

This made me think of the train boss fight in the Animaniacs Mega-Drive game:

 

[Skull Leader]

On May 13, 2018 at 9:46 PM, Tenko said:

I'm sure some of you have seen this, and I do hope Amy gets at least a cameo..

But this made me laugh, so sorry not sorry. 

Edit : If Amy was to make it into Mania or a hypothetical Mania 2, would you rather they just use Amy as her name or use the old callback Rosy moniker instead?

This video only makes her "cameo" as an enemy feel even more like a slap to her fans than an acknowledgement of the character. But anyways...

For a sequel, I really don't see her being called by any other name other than Amy, since that was her name ever since Sonic CD and would avoid confusing people by using an obscure nickname that was dropped a long time ago. As for how she would show up, being playable is the very least that should be done since a mere cameo, especially after what Mania did, would just not cut it (plus I think that Amy is past the point where she needs more exposure to capitalize on her popularity, which has remained for a long time despite hardly enjoying the same benefits ST never escatimates when it comes to either Tails or Knuckles).

Likewise, I'd expect her gameplay to be something unique that focuses on her Piko hammer abilities much like in Sonic Advance (and while we're at it, give a quick origin to that thing, like how does Amy get it from or how she finds it), maybe even being molded after how she played in that game but with some improvements. I really, really would hate to see Amy being turned into yet another one more semi-clone like everyone else already is (with Mighty and Ray apparently being two more of the same) since I think that every character having the same exact abilities that Sonic has not only makes the protagonist feel kind of lame, but bloates the cast with many characters that give no substantial incentive to play them, as other than one or two abilities (usually flight... like, how many forms of the worst skill in the platforming genre do we need?), there really is no difference and whatever change is done to the other characters speed and acceleration feels inconsequential. Amy's unique game style was done in 2001/2002, so at this point I think anything said about why supposedly it can't be done now would just sound like excuses, something that can grow tiring seeing how for all the supposed fanservice Mania wants to deliver, they seem to draw a line when it comes to Amy.

[Sonic Fan J]

11 hours ago, Skull Leader said:

For a sequel, I really don't see her being called by any other name other than Amy, since that was her name ever since Sonic CD and would avoid confusing people by using an obscure nickname that was dropped a long time ago.

Amy's unique game style was done in 2001/2002, so at this point I think anything said about why supposedly it can't be done now would just sound like excuses, something that can grow tiring seeing how for all the supposed fanservice Mania wants to deliver, they seem to draw a line when it comes to Amy.

Or roughly 16/17 years ago with no representation after it. Even in Sonic BOOM! where her Advance 1&3 style would have made the most sense to return her actual platforming abilities include triple jumping and swinging on poles, two abilities that did not need her hammer at all regardless of the pole swinging using it in its animation. She was sold as acrobatic more so than anything but even that has not been capitalized on since. 

As for excuses for why it can't be done, there really isn't any since even fans have proven it can be done. What there is however is a little thing called demand. Mania was able to be successful due in part to the demand for what it delivered; a faithful reproduction of the Genesis/Mega Drive game formula. No matter how unique or special Amy's Advance 1&3 gameplay was, the demand for Amy from what I've seen does not necessarily include that gameplay. While I personally argue for at least keeping the rolling gameplay of a classic styled Sonic game, most cases of Amy demand does not include a description of how she should play in a Genesis/Mega Drive accurate game with those cases where her Advance 1&3 gameplay coming up is more that it would be accepted. The problem is that acceptance and demand are two very different things. It also does not address what the Mania team and Sonic Team/SEGA necessarily want/want to do with a classic representation of Amy

And just to play Devil's Advocate a little here involving excuses, what if the excuse in question is a matter of not wanting to use it. What if, perchance, part of the mentality of the Mania team is that if they were to add Amy they would want to leave their own unique stamp with her and could never achieve a satisfactory idea or agreement with Sonic Team/SEGA? Considering they did not re-implement Mighty's Wall Kick from Chaotix, instead opting for his new Hammer Drop ability, the possibility I bring up here is one that could very well explain why there is no playable Amy in Mania. Of course it is all just pure supposition and conjuncture, but imagine if you will that she was supposed to originally be included in a playable capacity and that those Amy bombs in MM really were meant to be a lighthearted joke hearkening back to her original interaction in Sonic CD. Just food for thought really...

*EDIT*

Adding on to address the confusion issue of her obscure nickname, you have to admit that more so than any other character if you were to show her Classic and Modern designs to someone who was ignorant of the series that they would not necessarily connect the two as being the same character in different art styles.