The trio also come equipped with their classic movesets. The speed is a reward for smart and skillful play, while the platforming challenges are a fun test of your reflexes, but they never ask you do any precision jumping. The level design as a whole is a great mix of speed and platforming. Each of my romps through the game with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles have felt fresh and new every time, and I’m still finding new areas to explore. Unique character routes are one of the best parts of Sonic 3, and Mania really turns it up to 11. Knuckles (tougher than the rest of them) also has plenty of areas that he can find by climbing, gliding or breaking down obstacles. I went in as Tails on my second playthrough, and I was able to obtain four Chaos Emeralds in Green Hill alone, not to mention the bevy of top routes that yielded greater rewards. For example, when I did my first playthrough as Sonic, I found a handful of special stages on the main path, as well as plenty of shields and extra lives. The levels aren’t just big for the sake of, they are jam packed with tons of secrets to discover. Whenever I wanted to just charge straight to the goal, the game would allow me to do so with ease.Ĭonversely, the game also encourages and incentivises active exploration. Levels are big, huge in fact, but I never got lost or felt overwhelmed with just how open ended the levels presented to me where, nor did I feel that any particular levels drug on for too long. This means it has the verticality of Sonic CD, the expansive level design with multiple routes and hidden special stages from Sonic 3 & Knuckles, as well as the general pacing that I loved about Sonic 2. Sonic Mania combines the best ideas from each of the classic games. I would’ve never expected to see the pulleys and switches from Sonic 3’s Marble Garden used in Sonic CD’s Stardust Speedway, and nods like this are constant throughout the entire game.Ĭontinuing Sonic Mania’s theme of celebrating Sonic’s history is the game’s level design mentality. Beyond the old levels that were chosen for the game, gimmicks from various other levels were brought in for a bit of variety. Chemical Plants turns into, well, an actual chemical plant where you can bounce off various types of gels, while Flying Battery incorporates elements of Sonic 2’s Wing Fortress. The first act of most of the returning levels share many similarities with their original counterparts, but the second acts are different enough that they could almost be considered new levels. Sonic Mania on the other hand, really mixes things up. The returning levels in Generations were fairly similar to the original versions, just with a different gameplay style. This is almost exactly like 2011’s Sonic Generations, but Sonic Mania executed the concept with a lot more style. Sonic Mania’s entire premise is old levels with new twists, with a handful of really inventive original levels sprinkled in along the way. The game’s crisp visuals are accompanied by what I believe to be one of the best Sonic soundtracks ever, special mention to Mirage Saloon Act 2, and both acts of Studiopolis. I’ve always loved the background art of the classic games, and Sonic Mania has some of the coolest ones in the franchise. The lovingly created pixel art is gorgeous, and the animations are super fluid (plus, the idle animations are super in character). Sonic Mania has amazing presentation on pretty much all fronts. From the programmers, to the level designers and lead composer, Sonic Mania was lovingly created by an all star cast of long time Sonic community members. The history of the game’s developers is well documented on the internet, so I won’t be detailing any of that here, but I will say that it is extremely apparent that the team knew their stuff about 2d Sonic games. Every inch of this game is dripping with personality, and it truly feels like an authentic classic Sonic the Hedgehog experience that was created by fans, for fans. Sonic Mania makes me smile and it makes me happy, and those are two of the highest compliments that I can give to any medium of entertainment. Other review taglines considered: For the Mania, by the Mania, Nostalgia Ultra, Sonic Mania Review & Knuckles and pretty much any joke that references blast processing.
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