Support NeoGAF

Dusk Golem · Aug 3, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoc-As7hWc4

Just uploaded by the Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube account.

Also shows some variations of both with Tails & Knuckles (and different scenery), and some new footage of Studiopolis Act 2 & Chemical Plant.

For those who don't know, in the Special Stage collecting sphere increases your speed when you collect enough of them to go up a match speed, while collecting rings increases your time. Your goal is to catch the UFO, which will give you a Chaos Emerald.

Blue Spheres is for checkpoints hit to go to a bonus stage for extra goodies, IE power-ups, lives, rings, etc.

---

UPDATE:

Green Hill Zone Act 1 Time Attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FvYZotwjOU

NotLiquid · Aug 3, 2017

BiggNife · Aug 3, 2017

God those new special stages look incredible

I was never a fan of Blue Spheres though. Not sure if this is a controversial opinion or not.

MrBadger · Aug 3, 2017

Oh shit, Blue Spheres is back after all!

The low poly 3D models are glorious so I'm down for these new special stages. And I know a lot of people wanted Blue Spheres back so this is really cool. It's like how Sonic 3&K brought back the Sonic 1 special stages as bonus rounds. This really could have launched back then!

Also I caught that sneak peak of Studiopolis act 2's music

Ferr986 · Aug 3, 2017

heh, yikes at Blue Spheres, not a fan of them. Thanks god the actual Special Stages looks way better.

Also, is the second stage shown a new area?

muteki · Aug 3, 2017

So are the S3K stages always going to be at the checkpoints?

patrickthehedgehog · Aug 3, 2017

This looks better than I could have ever imagined! Reminding me of Sonic R a bit too.

GenericUser · Aug 3, 2017

I pray to god you have to earn the chaos emeralds in the new CD-like Special Stages, I hated the blue spheres special stage in S3&K.

Looks dope though, day one.

Dusk Golem · Aug 3, 2017

NotLiquid said:

BiggNife said:
God those new special stages look incredible

I was never a fan of Blue Spheres though. Not sure if this is a controversial opinion or not.

MrBadger said:
Oh shit, Blue Spheres is back after all!

The low poly 3D models are glorious so I'm down for these new special stages. And I know a lot of people wanted Blue Spheres back so this is really cool. It's like how Sonic 3&K brought back the Sonic 1 special stages as bonus rounds. This really could have launched back then!

Also I caught that sneak peak of Studiopolis act 2's music

Ferr986 said:
heh, yikes at Blue Spheres, not a fan of them. Thanks god the actual Special Stages looks way better.

Also, is the second stage shown a new area?

I think Blue Spheres might work better as a Bonus Stage rather than a Chaos Emerald stage, since then the goal isn't strictly just to win them but collect what you can inside of them to get bonuses, like items, rings, lives, etc. I actually think it's a very wise way to handle it.

Second stage shown is Studiopolis Act 2, which we hadn't seen before.

Berordn · Aug 3, 2017

muteki said:
So are the S3K stages always going to be at the checkpoints?

Yup, looks like they're just the bonus stages for points/lives/continues/whatever. Probably totally skippable, but there for anyone looking for a challenge.

It actually suits them a lot better, I think. They're long stages and this makes them break things up less than in S3&K, while the new special stages seem really snappy and straightforward.

Ferr986 · Aug 3, 2017

muteki said:
So are the S3K stages always going to be at the checkpoints?

Yes, like the pseudo Sonic 1 bonus stage was in S3&K. The regular bonus stage with the ¿emeralds? is the new one.

Mikey Jr. · Aug 3, 2017

Blue spheres are making my palms sweaty already.

Loz246789 · Aug 3, 2017

Man, I'm not a huge fan of sonic 3, but I have to admit the blue sphere stage remix sounds pretty great.

More importantly though, I love everything about the actual special stages. It's nice to have something that isn't a half pipe/based on sonic 1 for a change.

PMS341 · Aug 3, 2017

Blue Sphere nostalgia. I remember each stage fairly well.

RecRoulette · Aug 3, 2017

NotLiquid said:

If you put Sonic Classics in this Sonic and Knuckles cart you could play a ton of new blue sphere stages. I played way too much of those, and I'm glad that this is back.

Edit: Oh shit, seamless restarting on Time Attack is awesome.

Tizoc · Aug 3, 2017

Sonic 3 special stage theme is one of the goat tracks in gaming
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=94PFWs8Melw

VRMN · Aug 3, 2017

Wonder what the bonus stages get you. It looks like they're just the S3&K stages in HD, but bonus stages were for power ups and rings in that game and I'm not sure how they translate here.

Deleted member 20415 · Aug 3, 2017

What the hell is in that UFO that we need to catch it so badly?

I'm so in on this game...

bryanee · Aug 3, 2017

Blue Spheres are the best. Glad to see them back in some form.

Danneee · Aug 3, 2017

Why even include blue sphere stages when the new special stages looks so damn hot?!

Babymario26 · Aug 3, 2017

BiggNife said:
God those new special stages look incredible

I was never a fan of Blue Spheres though. Not sure if this is a controversial opinion or not.

They are fun

at first then they get stupid hard.

Ferr986 · Aug 3, 2017

This shit looks straight taken from 90's Arcade Sega, bru skies included. Wonderful.

muteki · Aug 3, 2017

Berordn said:
Yup, looks like they're just the bonus stages for points/lives/continues/whatever. Probably totally skippable, but there for anyone looking for a challenge.

Now i'm wondering if they could rotate through S1, S2, and S3's stages at the checkpoints like how in Sonic 3 had S1's, the gumball machine, and the other annoying one.

Aki-at · Aug 3, 2017

New special stages looks great, I approve!

But I never liked blue spheres so that's my only negative with the game so far.

bede-x · Aug 3, 2017

I loved the blue spheres so it's nice to see them back and the new one looks decent as well. Certainly not the CD disaster it could have been.

MrSaturn99 · Aug 3, 2017

THAT S3&K SPECIAL STAGE REMIX, HNNNGHHHH

S3&K Special Stages >>>>> Sonic 2 Special Stages. Come at me!

The Xtortionist · Aug 3, 2017

Danneee said:
Why even include blue sphere stages when the new special stages looks so damn hot?!

Seems to be replacing the gumball machine as a way to get extra lives. Likely not required to 100% the game.

Dat Studiopolis Act 2. Straight to my veins

Tizoc · Aug 3, 2017

Danneee said:
Why even include blue sphere stages when the new special stages looks so damn hot?!

Assuming both are used to get emeralds, it is to offer players an option on which method they wanna use

Guess Who · Aug 3, 2017

Err, didn't see this (longer) thread! Cross-posting from the other one:

1. Special stage design looks clever. I love how there seems to be little shortcuts you can take if you're attentive.

2. Shed a tear at how good Blue Sphere looks. Also, that split-second Studiopolis Act 2 tease!

3. I've been saying this since the very first trailer, but people haven't really appreciated how much of a game-changer Drop Dash is gonna be, especially in speedrunning.

MrBadger · Aug 3, 2017

Dusk Golem said:
Second stage shown is Studiopolis Act 2, which we hadn't seen before.

Funnily enough we saw Studiopolis Act 2 way back in the first trailer!

It's like the second clip of the game they show, and there's that bingo gimmick that we've not seen in any of the ct 1 footage

that trailer feels like so long ago. can't believe we're only under 2 weeks away now

Het_Nkik · Aug 3, 2017

Yesss! Blue Spheres is easily my favorite Sonic special stage. Tough but fair with none of that memorization bs like in the Half-Pipe.

Conezays · Aug 3, 2017

Very excited for this. Really hope it lives up to expectations.

Nocturnowl · Aug 3, 2017

I'm so glad Blue Sphere is tucked away in the checkpoints, I like it enough as a small diversion but actually perfecting each stage to get the emeralds in 3&K could be frustarting as heck considering how easy it is to fail with one misstep.

Liking the look of the CD inspired UFO chase, could it be the first special stage I actually enjoy (outside of Sonic 1 MS which was still standard gameplay).

TWrecks310 · Aug 3, 2017

If I'm 100% buying the game and am very hyped already should I watch this?

Robin64 · Aug 3, 2017

Ferr986 said:
This shit looks straight taken from 90's Arcade Sega, bru skies included. Wonderful.

Yyyyup! Very happy.

Possumowner · Aug 3, 2017

Looking fantastic,cannot wait

thelatestmodel · Aug 3, 2017

Finally, a new Sonic game by someone who knows what a Sonic game should look, feel and sound like.

IronicSonic · Aug 3, 2017

Superior 3D Sonic confirmed lol

Also not seeing Tails loosing rings is good news

I LOOOOOOVE THE NEW BONUS STAGE AND THE RETURNS OF BLUE SPHERES!!

GenericUser · Aug 3, 2017

MrSaturn99 said:
THAT S3&K SPECIAL STAGE REMIX, HNNNGHHHH

S3&K Special Stages >>>>> Sonic 2 Special Stages. Come at me!

Sonic 1 SS > Sonic 3 SS > Sonic 2 SS

Genesis couldn't handle 3d tubes, so SS in Sonic 2 was more luck then skill imo. At least you could teach yourself the muscle memory to win the S3 stages. Glad Mania will dump both concepts (at least for the chaos emeralds).

Vampirolol · Aug 3, 2017

This game surprises me every time. It looks perfect.

BodiesWithoutOrgans · Aug 3, 2017

Blue spheres noooooooooo lol can't wait

The Xtortionist · Aug 3, 2017

Nocturnowl said:
Liking the look of the CD inspired UFO chase, could it be the first special stage I actually enjoy (outside of Sonic 1 MS which was still standard gameplay).

Yeah, I'm digging the short time limits and good deal of control the new special stages give you (relative to other special stages, at least

). Easily looks like the best version yet.

BitStyle · Aug 3, 2017

Special stage character model reminds me of Sonic R. Very charming

ghibli99 · Aug 3, 2017

That new special stage looks so good! Smooth too.

HBP · Aug 3, 2017

WIsh there was a 3DS version.

Diablohead · Aug 3, 2017

Sonic 3 blue spheres is the worst out of all 3 main games to me, but glad they are there.

Also a shame blue spheres in mania doesn't use the 3D special stage visuals, the old 3 frame running sprite with some extra shade applied is ugly.

Taliban Stan · Aug 3, 2017

I'm happy as hell to see that the 3d sphere is back and that it's now a lamp post thing (I'll miss the gumball machine though).

The other bonus stage looked like the one from Sonic 2 but tamer and not as fun. Almost looks like a 32x protoype for Sonic Adventure.

Diablohead said:
Sonic 3 blue spheres is the worst out of all 3 main games to me

Did you play Sonic 1 and beat a stage with 50 rings? Something way worse than Sonic 3 takes place whenever that occurs.

J@hranimo · Aug 3, 2017

Literally a 10/10 Sonic game.

Blue Spheres is fucking BACK!

The Broken Ska Record · Aug 3, 2017

I keep forgetting this comes out in a little less than two weeks.

Fachasaurus · Aug 3, 2017

So hyped for this! I just can't figure out which platform to get this on! Ahhhhhhh!

Support NeoGAF

Sonic Mania - Special Stages, Bonus Stages, & Time Attack Shown Off

A 21st Century Rockefeller

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

A 21st Century Rockefeller

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Deleted member 20415

Unconfirmed Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Junior, please.

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Unconfirmed Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Similar threads