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

[Multikaris]

23 minutes ago, Tenko said:

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 :

  Reveal hidden contents

 

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!!

You mean as in the Forces theme song? Fits very well with it, too. Or could be applied to infinite.

[Psychicmoose103]

The all caps make me think something robotic. Perhaps its something about the heavies?

[Tenko]

8 hours ago, Miragnarok said:

You mean as in the Forces theme song? Fits very well with it, too. Or could be applied to infinite.

Why do quite a few people seem to think it's Forces related? That sentence isn't anywhere in the Forces theme. Tho I guess it could be attributed to Forces general theme and its link to Mania. But again no more potentially implied than Mania itself with all 3 characters, now 5, working together seen through the few transitions and end scene etc to bring down Eggman, it fits the working together theme too. Heroes as well came to mind due to the team setup and the whole "together" and team aspect...

Infinite is a stretch, he was all about power and being strong, in himself, not much of a team player after his crew got taken out. I don't think it's in reference to him. It does make me wonder why it's in code tho, besides a bit of fun.

Edit : I'm also streaming Mania Plus on my PlayStation 4 via Twitch, TenkoTAiLS should bring it up in a search if anyone is interested. 

Double Edit : Was this one in the original?

[superman43]

7 hours ago, Tenko said:

Double Edit : Was this one in the original?

No, it wasn´t. All of these are different from the ones in Mania mode.

[Blue Blood]

9 hours ago, Psychicmoose103 said:

The all caps make me think something robotic. Perhaps its something about the heavies?

It's just because it's Morse Code. Really guys, it's nothing more than a feel-good message in the spirit of the teamwork that made Mania a thing.

[Patron]

10 hours ago, Tenko said:

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 :

  Reveal hidden contents

 

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!!

Could be a throwback to the classic japanese boxarts featuring inspirational quotes.

Sonic the Hedgehog / Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Quote

Don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live a life without regrets.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Quote

To live a life of power, you must have faith that what you believe is right, even if others tell you you're wrong. The first thing you must do to live a life of power is to find courage. You must be ready to reach beyond the boundaries of Time itself. And to do that, all you need is the will to take that first step… (Front)

"Ask not what others can do for you, but what you can do for others." ---Sonic (Back)

Sonic & Knuckles

Quote

Sonic races through the green fields. The sun races through a blue sky filled with white clouds. The ways of his heart are much like the sun. Sonic runs and rests; the sun rises and sets. Don't give up on the sun. Don't make the sun laugh at you.

[DiamondX]

Probably going to literally on this but Mania and Forces together were $60.

Perhaps they are reffering that the games are still connected and maybe they will give something special if you have both?

[Badnik Mechanic]

12 hours ago, Psychicmoose103 said:

The all caps make me think something robotic. Perhaps its something about the heavies?

 

2 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

It's just because it's Morse Code. Really guys, it's nothing more than a feel-good message in the spirit of the teamwork that made Mania a thing.

Yeah Morse Code is read back in Upper Case, I might be wrong but I think telegrams where the same.

Anyway, I did a small video on the Morse Code message because I recognised the line immediately as being from Aristotle, well a variation of one of his quotes.

Only I don't think it's just tied to the team, I think it also includes the fans as Well, since as it states in the artbook, if it wasn't for the fan demand and reception, Mania Plus wouldn't exist.

 

 

[Multikaris]

 What about the meaning of the stinger with the Heavy King? From the text, I took it to mean that they reformed. But others see the scene as a sneak attack. Maybe this scene has something to do with the next game... 

 

And I suppose Mania Adventures is moreso a Pilot to a Cartoon than actually part of the game.

[Gemster312]

On 7/15/2018 at 3:40 AM, TheOcelot said:

I've collected my Switch copy of Mania Plus!

Well, time to play!

 

I just got my copy and there was no poster.

Was the poster you could purchase separately?

[Blue Blood]

12 minutes ago, Gemster312 said:

I just got my copy and there was no poster.

Was the poster you could purchase separately?

The poster is a retailer exclusive bonus here in the UK. You had to pre-order from ShopTo to get it. The only other place I've seen it is in the press kit.

[crm0622]

Hello! I'm not sure If this was already covered and right place to post, But anyway...

So, after I posted about (glitchy) angel island zone in v1.04 PS4 leak, I haven't post something for long time.

But, after 'Sonic Mania Plus' released, I recently found something interesting about 'Sonic Mania Plus' logo.

Below image explain that well. 

Notice what I mean? (Hint : Look at the red circle.)

Maybe this is just speculation, but I think there may be one more last dlc that fill the empty part of logo.

If it's actually right that last dlc may contains hyper sonic and its final boss or something? (In case, the logo can called like 'Hyper Sonic Mania Plus' or etc...)

Anyway, I think that's it and have a good time with 'Sonic Mania Plus'!

[Blue Blood]

That outline was there right from the start, long before Plus was ever added. It's a nice idea, but ultimately not hinting towards anything. Mania came out 11 months ago, proved to be a huge success and subsequently got DLC and a physical release. They'd be hard-pressed to squeeze more out of the game instead of developing a new title entirely.

I find it strange that Heavy King can be almost completely unaccounted for in Encore Mode. The fight against him in Lava Reef is optional, only appearances that he's guarantor make are in the ending sequences. In the bad ending he reclaims the Ruby after the Phantom Egg is defeated, and in the good ending he shows up in the post-credits sequence of Mirage Saloon. 

[TheOcelot]

Okay, now this is really interesting:

Unused/incomplete version of the rest of Angel Island act1 & act2 from Sonic 3 has been discovered in Mania Plus' files:

I wonder if Team Mania ever considered using Angel Island as a full zone.

[superman43]

1 hour ago, TheOcelot said:

Okay, now this is really interesting:

Unused/incomplete version of the rest of Angel Island act1 & act2 from Sonic 3 has been discovered in Mania Plus' files:

I wonder if Team Mania ever considered using Angel Island as a full zone.

I believe it´s a leftover. They ported both zones from Sonic 3 Remastered, remodelled back the beginning part of Act 1 and added into DLC. They just didn´t bother with deleting this mess.

[BlueFlare]

2 hours ago, TheOcelot said:

Okay, now this is really interesting:

Unused/incomplete version of the rest of Angel Island act1 & act2 from Sonic 3 has been discovered in Mania Plus' files:

I wonder if Team Mania ever considered using Angel Island as a full zone.

Woulda been so cool. Even if Act 1 is just an intro zone, it is over very quickly and kind of misses the feeling of the original zone. 

[superman43]

14 minutes ago, BlueFlare said:

Woulda been so cool. Even if Act 1 is just an intro zone, it is over very quickly and kind of misses the feeling of the original zone. 

Wait some time and modders will make playable Angel Island.

[BlueFlare]

10 minutes ago, superman43 said:

Wait some time and modders will make playable Angel Island.

Yeehaw, I really want two full acts.

[Multikaris]

3 hours ago, TheOcelot said:

Okay, now this is really interesting:

Unused/incomplete version of the rest of Angel Island act1 & act2 from Sonic 3 has been discovered in Mania Plus' files:

I wonder if Team Mania ever considered using Angel Island as a full zone.

Or it’s more evidence of Episode Metal. 

[superman43]

55 minutes ago, BlueFlare said:

Yeehaw, I really want two full acts.

I just wonder... Encore Mode acts are stored differently than Mania Mode ones, right ? That means... modders could actually make Encore Mode with all different zones.

Just now, Miragnarok said:

Or it’s more evidence of Episode Metal. 

That actually doesn´t make any sense.

[Multikaris]

1 hour ago, superman43 said:

I just wonder... Encore Mode acts are stored differently than Mania Mode ones, right ? That means... modders could actually make Encore Mode with all different zones.

That actually doesn´t make any sense.

That the full versions of Angel Island and Egg Reverie remain unused for so long? There’s gotta be something they won’t tell us yet... 

 

I’d imagine Egg Reverie and Angel Island be used as full zones by Metal Sonic on his rescue mission. And also, they discovered a third color scheme for GHZ. MonkeyDude was also originally an unused Badnik alongside the water skater one. There’s also Whisp, Caterkiller, and a version of Splats (the last one might just be an Easter egg) in the code, along with others for which no gameplay data exists.

Concerning Angel Island, the developers are no stranger to re using old layouts, as seen with Hydrocity.

[molul]

I'm playing Encore Mode. Just reached Flying Battery Zone. I must say I LOVE Encore Mode's new mechanics. 

Changing characters so often is really fresh, more fun than just playing 2 characters until the end of the game. The Angel Island bit was much appreciated, the color changes on the other zones make them feel like a (well-done) fan hack, enough for me to feel different. The new bonus stage is much better than Blue Spheres as a bonus stage (although I'm not enjoying it too much because I'm always stuck at the second area), and the new special stages are more challenging (much appreciated again that they're different, as I wanted to play many more of this special stage ). 

And of course, playing with Mighty and Ray is also really fresh and fun. They just work. And Ray's gliding is not that difficult to control, but a tutorial or some explanation text wouldn''t hurt so anybody would learn qiuckly. 

To me, this is a 10/10 videogame. There are two ways of playing the story now, very similar but different enough to want to play both. I hope this stays for future 2D games.

Totally worth the money.

PS: and I'm unable to test the 4 player mode, but it's something I'd play a lot if there was an online mode. I'd pay for an online competition mode, honestly.

 

[superman43]

2 hours ago, Miragnarok said:

That the full versions of Angel Island and Egg Reverie remain unused for so long? There’s gotta be something they won’t tell us yet... 

 

I’d imagine Egg Reverie and Angel Island be used as full zones by Metal Sonic on his rescue mission. And also, they discovered a third color scheme for GHZ. MonkeyDude was also originally an unused Badnik alongside the water skater one. There’s also Whisp, Caterkiller, and a version of Splats (the last one might just be an Easter egg) in the code, along with others for which no gameplay data exists.

Concerning Angel Island, the developers are no stranger to re using old layouts, as seen with Hydrocity.

That justifies only one thing - that the DLC was planned from at least few months before Mania release. 

Because:
1) the sprites found with S, T, K, M and R letters, with M and R being again Sonic... that´s why 1.04 patch on PS4 changed Mighty and Ray into Sonic (as the sprites weren´t loaded yet)

2) that Angel Island mini section was planned... MonkeyDude - used there, Sweep ("the water skater one") also used here, I think. Or at least it was.

Whisp and Caterkiller might have served as possible badniks to return. Maybe Caterkiller was revised into the green one in Mirage Saloon. Mirage Saloon predominantly uses Sonic 2 badniks, although changed a bit.

 

Plus... rescue mission ? What rescue mission ? In the first place, there is absolutely no reason for Metal Sonic to be playable. And then, what should he rescue ? Eggman or what ?

[Tracker_TD]

Yeah, I think folks need to realise that just because there’s unused content in a game, it doesn’t always mean it was cut due to time constraints or something. Sometimes stuff just gets ‘cut’ because it doesn’t fit (Tails original CPZ animation) or it was never intended to be used and is just a dev leftover (Scrap Brain sprites in the first build of Mania). 

Beyond really random conspiracies, there’s really nothing to suggest any kind of Metal Sonic addition. The devs have stated now that Mania is concluded, so it’s time to move on (and hope for Mania 2, innit).

[Will Connor]

Completely agreed with Tracker.

Also aside from the fact a lot of unused material goes unused for good reason, and the presence of unused material indicates absolutely nothing about the potential for more DLC, what in the world would they name a second piece of DLC? "Sonic Mania Plus Plus"? "Sonic Mania Plus: 2"? "Another Encore"? "Encore… again"? 

(I'm just kidding; obviously they could come up with another name. But yeah I'd say there's a 1% chance of more DLC for "Mania" happening. I am hopeful/think there's around a 75% chance of a "Mania 2" or otherwise named sequel happening at some point, though, so yeah now it's time to hope for that and try to indicate to Sega that we would all very much like to see it happen.)