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Sonic Mania: Version 1.04 and Plus DLC PS4 Leaks (SPOILERS)


Sonictrainer

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I got the impression that a lot of the team had already moved on after Mania anyway.  It's awkward to say, but for all the hype and demand among fans for a Mania 2 (direct or spiritual), did anyone ever actually ask whether any of these people actually wanted to make one?

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2 hours ago, superman43 said:

Sonic Generations, bro, wassup ? 

Well at least Generations had a satisfying end instead of whatever Mania's endings were supposed to be.

Your best, loved by all kinds of fans Sonic game in years and the perfect reminder of the good old days ends with... Sonic lost in a void.

Spoiler

And now Eggman lost in a void.

It's not terrible but it's extremely disappointing. 

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9 hours ago, Tenko said:

So..now I'm conflicted. I would love to believe Ray is doing the double thumbs up Fonz style at the end of each act in Mania Plus.

2143235082_ezgif.com-resize(2).gif.636c6372e044f91db3ad267b8596af1d.gif

But now I'm left wondering if it's meant to be a nod to his character select screen animation from Sega Sonic Arcade. Mighty's seems to share some similarity with it too..  I'm so torn!!

tumblr_p6ivykihXa1wl4elqo1_500.gif.e562b33676b035b2ce17c4a92001246e.gif

Wow, Mighty seemed like grump in that game. Glad they changed that.

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3 hours ago, Jango said:

But... Why wouldn't he?

I would think it is something like, that where he produced all the music for Mania Adventures, Tee was open to Mania Plus showcasing another amazing musician!   

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Well, either way, Hunter's tracks are as good! I'm loving the track "Double Take" used during the Encore Mode load/save menu. It's a remix of the main theme, but with a distorted and kinda "corrupted" feeling to it. It's mysterious, unsettling even, yet jazzy and catchy. I can't quite explain. Feels like a "Final Story" of sorts. 

Please SEGA, keep these 2 (and Falk too) around. Pay them a lot to stay if you have to xD I'll triple dip Mania if I have to!

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4 hours ago, FFWF said:

I got the impression that a lot of the team had already moved on after Mania anyway.  It's awkward to say, but for all the hype and demand among fans for a Mania 2 (direct or spiritual), did anyone ever actually ask whether any of these people actually wanted to make one?

My impression for Mania was a one-off. Any viable sequel won´t happen for quite a long time and all at SEGA know why. Haruki Satomi, Takashi Iizuka, Aaron Webber and all the Mania cast. The Classic Sonic needs a rest, otherwise any game with him will stall. But, I can see a Sonic Team try, if they wanted to return to the Generations depiction of the environment combined with a) Classic Sonic, b) Modern Sonic. But they should be 2 different games, one solely focused on Classic World, with some returning stages (though less than half) and the rest trying to be creative. Modern World should be 3D ONLY and it can also feature few stages from previous games (Dreamcast/Gamecube, PS3/X360). 

 

Honestly, the Generations´ depiction of Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Sky Sanctuary and all the other stages was the TOP of the franchise, considering environment. And seeing Hydrocity, Sandopolis, Lava Reef and the others done in the same way could be a pleasure.

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Hmm I wonder if there is anything to the words Aaron used when talking about the art book in Mania Plus's physical release in the recent Sega Stream.

"There's some fun stuff on there...yeah..and make sure you look at it closely. That's all I'll say. Look at it closely. Might be some fun things we have hidden there...you never know."

Now is this just related to art, silly sketches etc. Or is this more of Aarons special mystery clue trail? 

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7 minutes ago, Tenko said:

Hmm I wonder if there is anything to the words Aaron used when talking about the art book in Mania Plus's physical release in the recent Sega Stream.

"There's some fun stuff on there...yeah..and make sure you look at it closely. That's all I'll say. Look at it closely. Might be some fun things we have hidden there...you never know."

Now is this just related to art, silly sketches etc. Or is this more of Aarons special mystery clue trail? 

If you look closely on each page you'll find a hidden Sanic.

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3 hours ago, Ivo the Coldsteel said:

If you look closely on each page you'll find a hidden Sanic.

Sanic DLC confirmed!!

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9 hours ago, Blue Wisp said:

Well at least Generations had a satisfying end instead of whatever Mania's endings were supposed to be.

Your best, loved by all kinds of fans Sonic game in years and the perfect reminder of the good old days ends with... Sonic lost in a void.

  Reveal hidden contents

And now Eggman lost in a void.

It's not terrible but it's extremely disappointing. 

What dimension do you live in where Generations had a satisfying ending?  You have the worst Super Sonic boss in history (Mania's isn't great, but a painful electrical shock is better than Time Eater) and then Sonic tells his past self to start drinking because things are going to get rough.  I mean, I know He-Man episodes with better stories and endings than both Generations and Mania but at least Mania has the excuse of being a tie-in to Forces.

I'll give Generations the Robotnik name drop though, that was nice.

Generations also literally ends with Eggman lost in a void.

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I've finished my first playthrough of Encore mode. Got the good-ending at the first attempt!

So much fun to play whilst switching between characters. The item-boxes which randomises characters and the item-boxes which cycle quickly between characters and and elemential shields are a really cool idea. The bonus stage is pretty good. You can earn continues easily by collecting 50 rings in the bonus stages and it's quite easy to collect items in the bonus stage using the "Catcher" from Knuckles Chaotx.

I earned 9 out of the 10 continues (as shown in the screenshot below) in the pinball bonus stage.

Mighty is incredibly fun to play as. Might be my favorite playable character in Mania Plus. In contrast I've yet to master Ray's move-set. It's sorta confusing.

I had a hilarious game-breaking glitch in GH act2; coming out of the tube after the special stage near the end (just before the Eggman boss); the camera locked so I couldn't get out of the tube.

I only lost a character once, which was Ray. Difficulty is slightly higher than Mania mode, but not by much.

The boss fights and their difficulty for Encore mode are exactly the same as in the leaked 1.04 version of Mania (for Mania mode & Encore mode). Mighty makes some of the boss fights a lot easier!
 

P3DehbO.jpg


All chaos emeralds collected by the end of Studipolis. The seventh special stage was the only one which took me two attempts. The rest were easy (bare in mind I've already played them in the leaked 1.04 version on PS4).
 

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Clip I recorded of the good-ending after defeating Eggman in Titanic Monarch:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1018501026498801664

Post-credits good ending scene:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1018501176201867264




The transition between Hydrocity & Mirage Saloon still feels unfinished. The other transitions are really good. 

I beat Heavy King in Lava Reef act2 (you can get to him without the need of Knuckles this time). I assume you can choose to fight either Jimmy or Heavy King in Encore mode.



I'm now gonna play Mania mode with Mighty. 

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1 hour ago, TheOcelot said:

Mighty is incredibly fun to play as. Might be my favorite playable character in Mania Plus. In contrast I've yet to master Ray's move-set. It's sorta confusing.

I beat Heavy King in Lava Reef act2 (you can get to him without the need of Knuckles this time). I assume you can choose to fight either Jimmy or Heavy King in Encore mode.

On these points - yep, you can choose which boss to fight in Lava Reef. Both Sonic's route and Knuckles' route are accessible to everyone due to changes in the object placement, so you can go whichever way you like at the end of the stage. A nice touch definitely. 

Mighty is definitely the easiest of the characters to get to grips with. There's absolutely no learning curve in understanding how his stomp move works, you can play a bit more recklessly while still having resistance to spikes and projectiles. He's a blast. But Ray is great too. Contrasting to Tails' slow, highly controlled flight, Ray and move incredibly quickly and one false move will make him fall. It takes a bit of practice to master, but I really recommend you do it. He's a lot of fun when you've comes to grips with him. And contrary to what you might think, he's usable even in a lot of areas you might think are too small. 

I'm not sure who my favourite character in the game is now. It's definitely not Tails; ever since S3K I've found his flight to be too slow and situational to be much fun as a main character. He's the perfect partner though. Everyone else I love.

EDIT: I just found out that the digital version of the game (at least on Switch) becomes unplayable once you've upgraded to Mania Plus physical. Taking the game card out and attempting to boot Mania says that an update is required. But as said update isn't available to download yet, nothing happens and the game doesn't boot. This will be fixed once the release date hits.

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qEPK0vt.jpg&key=65098edc7d5439df8d8dda26

As someone who hasn't yet personally played through Mania, due to waiting to find out if the PC version will ever become available without Denuvo; there have been some benefits: especially how the sense that both Mania and Mania Plus are real games is still sinking in!  It is very wonderful and surreal to see even something as simple as a Mighty and Knuckles saved game.  It can feel like being a time traveller! 

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I'm really hoping that the AUS/NZ version comes with that double sided poster!! I'm picking up my copy tomorrow and I can't wait, even booked the day off work. Got it on Steam the first time. PS4 this time so I'll have all of Mania Mode to do all over again with all 5 characters and gettibg the trophies etc from scratch, and then Encore..will be a grand time playing from a fresh start on a new system!!

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I've now beaten Mania mode with Mighty (and gotten all 32 medallions in the same playthrough...)

Look how long I spent in the blue sphere bonus stage, lol

DiLbaW2U0AAgHO5.jpg

The only difference to Mighty (and Ray's) good-ending in Mania mode is that; the ending-cutscene where Sonic, Tails & Knuckles watch little planet disappearing again (after being set free) now features Mighty & Ray standing with Sonic, instead of Tails & Knuckles. 

Nice!

I've uploaded footage of this:

https://twitter.com/...612764619636736

 

Another change in Mania mode (which Blue Blood confirmed to me) is that once you have collected all 32 medallions (and they must ALL BE GOLD) the bonus stage will then change to the pinball bonus stage from Encore mode. You no longer have to play the blue sphere bonus stage.

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I like that the reward for slogging through all this 32 Blue Sphere stages with Gold Medals is that you never have to see them every again. Lol 

As I've been saying since last year, I like Blue Sphere but their implementation in Mania is naff. They're long, frequent, require perfection and don't actually add anything to the immediate game. The Pinball Bonus Stage is so much more fit for purpose.

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Question. The Mega Drive cover is only available in Europe? Or both are available everywhere and I can choose which I want? And does it says on the package which one is it inside the holographic sleeve?

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22 minutes ago, Jango said:

Question. The Mega Drive cover is only available in Europe? Or both are available everywhere and I can choose which I want? And does it says on the package which one is it inside the holographic sleeve?

The reversible cover varies by region. North America and European have the same reversible covers, except with region-specific branding (Genesis in North America, Mega Drive in Europe obviously). Japan's reversible cover is more unique, as it's based on the Japanese style of the Classic boxart instead.

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I'm asking because I have no idea which one I'll find here in Brazil. Around here the name that stuck back in the day was Mega Drive (thanks to TecToy), just like Japan and Europe. In fact, isn't the MD called Genesis ONLY in the United States? 

Anyways, stores around here will likely import Sonic Mania Plus from Amazon US because it's cheaper than importing from Europe... So I guess will have to get the Genesis version, despite the fact that I've grew with the Mega Drive box... ;(

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Mania Plus releases in Australia tomorrow. Will the digital update + DLC go live then as well? Or do I have to wait for Wednesday? I've decided to cancel my physical copy and just upgrade my digital version.

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1 hour ago, Red said:

Mania Plus releases in Australia tomorrow. Will the digital update + DLC go live then as well? Or do I have to wait for Wednesday? I've decided to cancel my physical copy and just upgrade my digital version.

Depends which version, Steam you will have to wait till the Americans get it. Console you should be fine, it will go live on your release day since it's a local release on the local store front.

You and I are in the same boat since I live in NZ, counting the final 12 hours till EB opens tomorrow and I can pick it up. Luckily I'll be asleep for most of those hours...if the kids let me 😕

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Yeah, I live in Europe and I was thinking that since the same happened when Mania came out. Got to play the Steam version on Wednesday, not Tuesday. 

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Just got my copy, little bit sad that the Australian/New Zealand run doesn't have the poster that everyone seems to be sharing with their pics. Was that a retailer exclusive overseas?

I also found the hidden message in the manual that Aaron mentioned, haven't seen anyone else with early copies mention this. It's hidden Morse Code. I'll let people figure it out for themselves, but for those of you that want spoiled I'll put this here :

Spoiler

 

It's on the top of the back cover of the art book, as code it reads :

- --- --. . - .... . .-. --..-- / .-- . / .- .-. . / --. .-. . .- - . .-. / - .... .- -. / - .... . / ... ..- -- / --- ..-. / --- ..- .-. / .--. .- .-. - ... .-.-.-

Translated it reads :

TOGETHER, WE ARE GREATER THAN THE SUM  OF OUR PARTS.

Who knows if it's referring to this game or a future project? It seems Mania'ish but at the same time almost screams Heroes too...

Edit : My bad, seems it was posted about a few days ago. Curse you Donni!!

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