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Sonic Mania review thread
- Thread starter Savantcore
- Start date
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
Its a meme quote dagnabbit!
Insane Metal
Member
WAT
O_O
O_O
TRUE ORDER
Member
Great to see the game is being well received, I've missed a good Sonic game.
ROUGE_BLOCK
Member
I wonder if this will make all the 3D sonic fans eagerly anticipating Sonic Forces and if it's swimming 7s really salty down the line.
SALT WATER
SALT WATER
Hero of Legend
Member
I don't think so. It seems to be the common thought basically from all sides that Forces is going to underwhelm or even suck.
frankie_baby
Member
3d sonic fans?
Indeed. do have low expectations because instead on focusing on whats good, modern generations sonic, they are AGAIN splitting their focus into things that are uneeded, like Classic Sonic and create your own character dude's levels.
Oh boy....
I get the impression Forces is going through development troubles, resulting in it's very unfocused ambitions. Classic and Avatar aren't put in because 'they would make great additions to the game', but rather to pad out a very short Modern Sonic romp with seemingly worse level design compared to Generations.
Too early to be cynical on Forces just yet, but it's telling when Mania had a clear goal day-one while Forces just looks like 'We want EVERYONE to be happy!?!' and having poor excution in everything.
Forces has no excuse to be shit, putting it bluntly. Sonic Team had years since Lost World to cook up a good game and if they are simply making Generations 2, it should be at least good. If Forces sucks, it clearly tells me Sonic Team needs to go far away from Sonic.
Mania is one of the few times in series history that it's getting above 85% from most critics. If a small team could make a great Sonic, what is Sonic Teams, a studio who worked with the series since day-zero, excuse for putting out lackluster or outright poor games across the years?
They have none. I love Colors, Unleashed and Generations a lot. But I think it's time, if Forces sucks, to give the series to other developers.
Edit: I cannot stress Mania's critical success enough. When has Sonic (a console platformer title at the very least) gotten such high review scores? Since Adventure 2 on the SEGA Dreamcast.
I wonder if Mania outsells Sonic Forces what will Sega and Sonic Team think.
frankie_baby
Member
The only way forces is outselling mania is with a big overshipment and bomba bin pricing
ROUGE_BLOCK
Member
I wouldnt count on that. The temperature in enthusiast forums on the internet is obviously very biased toward mania.
Forces is going to sell just fine.
Victor Lucas of Electric Playground Network, former co-host of G4TV's Judgement Day, gave this game a 9/10. He's pretty over the moon with it.
Unknown?
Member
Despite what people here think there are a lot of people interested in Forces for the principle of being similar to Colors and Generations. It wasn't until the setting was revealed that people started to shit post.
patrickthehedgehog
Member
My review is in: this game is a 10 / 10! Just beat it today without emeralds and can't wait to play more.
Aaron Strife
Banned
Looks like Sonic Advance was just a point higher.
I think they meant a console Sonic game getting such a high score. The last official Sonic console title to get THIS HIGH LEVEL of praise, was Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast.
Elfforkusu
Member
Well, Advance came out in 2001, so either works...
Aaron Strife
Banned
They said 15 years though. Advance 1 was 2002 (US), Adventure 2 was 2001. Although I was surprised it got an 89 even back then.
Oh well, point is the same either way. Sonic's back, baby.
*Looks over to Forces, seeing it release in November*
Uh...hopefully this level of quality sticks around...hopefully....
But at the very least, SEGA knows people love and want more Classic Sonic. Wouldn't be shocked if Mania 2 or another Classic game from Taxman & Team is in the process of being greenlight right now.
February 2002 was more than 15 years ago, if we're going to be pedantic about it.
balladofwindfishes
Member
Sonic Advance was the Mania of its time. Plenty of reviews discussed it was the welcome return of Sonic to 2D
Advance is also a good game. Nice variety of characters and levels. There's a few minor issues (lots of bottomless pit traps) and one huge issue (the emerald stages are basically impossible), but it's a fine Sonic game.
Advance 1 was the 'Sonic 4' of it's time period in many cases.
I would love the Amy gameplay from advance to come back in some way. Lots of fond memories of playing it. It was a fun turn on the sonic gameplay.
They'll be having fun playing a video game, instead of talking about how other people might be mad about video games on a forum
Eh, I feel like you and a lot of people are gonna be upset when forces does well. You seem to have confused reviewers and enthusiast forums with the general populous.
As someone who loved Generations despite classic largely sucking, I agree. Mania is a better Sonic than anything Sonic Team has done in a very, very long time
I know Taxmans expertise is classic Sonic, but I'd love to see this team tackle another generation of Sonic as well. The passion is there like it hasn't been in so long
balladofwindfishes
Member
I liked being able to punch as Knuckles. It doesn't do anything that jumping on enemies couldn't do, it was just kind of fun.
Amy put a neat spin on the game.
While This might be too large of a discussion topic for this thread, but while I am the person who say " maybe sonic team should let other people make bunches of different types of sonic games, instead of trying to make one sonic game that pleases no one" but there is a key issue that comes when them handing over the reigns.
Themeing.
He's a tough reviewer, especially when it comes to Sonic games...
https://www.destructoid.com/review-sonic-colors-187691.phtml
He isn't the biggest fan of Sonic. So him giving Mania such high marks is shocking. But he's always fair, though critical, of many games. If something clicks with him, he really enjoys it. Jim's one of the better reviewers of Sonic games too, as he was fair to Generations and Lost World if I remember correctly.
Jim's infamous for giving Sonic 4 Ep. I a great score and Sonic Colors a 5 out of 10 (which Sonic's PR people even joked around over, sending him a giant poster of Colors XD).
GabeTheGrouch76
Member
I don't think so.
Sales for Sonic games over this past decade have historically been on the decline since Unleashed --despite Colors and Generations widely agreed to be the first good Sonic titles in years-- and recent games (Lost World/Boom games) have been sales disappointments/flops.
The critical reaction to those games have also caused Sonic's image to take a hit too. The goodwill Colors and Generations brought has almost been wiped out completely, with Lost World being polarizing and the Boom games ranging from being forgettable to being garbage comparable to the notorious Sonic 2006. Prior to Mania, it's largely been up to the Boom TV show and the antics of the Sonic social media handles to give Sonic some positive rep over the past few years (even given at this point, it's almost entirely ironic / self-depreciation).
The reception to and planned release period for Forces itself aren't helping its chances either, which aside from dividing fans across the board; has also gotten mixed to negative previews from the press so far. Forces is also aiming for a holiday release (if a leaked date is accurate, Nov. 7th in particular), which puts it against big titles such as Super Mario Odyssey, CoD, Assassin's Creed, SW Battlefront, and Need for Speed among others.
Last but not least, Mania's presence hasn't done the game any favors, as it's widely been agreed that Mania looks to be the better Sonic game when the two have been put side-by-side together. Now that Mania has been released to great acclaim across the board, Forces is going to have a harder time selling itself. Especially so with a growing number of people becoming aware that Mania was a game made by a small group of dedicated fans, rather than the series' chief developer Sonic Team--and the resulting implications about what that says about Sonic Team as a studio and their understanding/handling of Sonic over the past two decades.
But hey, that's just what I think.
I wouldn't say he's exceptionally tough just has taste that others don't agree with all the the time.
Like this
https://www.destructoid.com/review-sonic-the-hedgehog-4-episode-1-186106.phtml
GabeTheGrouch76
Member
Advance 1 was first released in Japan at the end of 2001.
Dre_G_Writer
Member
bought this today, played the first two acts, but had to stop, have to go to work. It was pretty much the old sonic I remember back on the genesis. And that is exactly what i wanted it to be. Pretty excited to come home from work and play more of it.
Yep. Despite being professional developers at this point, it must be upsetting Sonic Team that a game made by the fan community might end up better with the expensive AAA funded project. More so if Forces is facing troubled development, which I think it had faced thus far.
So many conflicting ideas being thrown around within Forces, that it's hard to make out if the end product will be a great experience. The only thing we know, is the following.
- Modern Sonic will be the best, just on the idea that it origiantes from quality gameplay from the past (aka Generations and Colors). Level designs might suffer from being to linear or bland but it will be fun at the very least.
- Avtar could be good, though it's control differences from Modern will push people to prever Modern Sonic. The 'Create Your Own' Hero idea alone can cause teasing, which already happened.
- Classic Sonic will easily be the worst, with both gameplay and level design utterly pailing in comparison to Mania, which has authentic 'game feel' and creative level design oozing at every intch. The only Classic Level, Green Hill, looks so bland and boring compared to Mania's version of Green Hill for example.
- The story being 'serious' can easily backfire. Sure the writer from Shadow's story in 06 is penning it now (and directing it...who also directed 06...grrrreeeeeaaaaaat...) and that story was okay enough. But still, the story could easily be quite bad.
- Tone is very confused and greatly conflicts with the franchise's current direction.
I feel like that anecdotal.
II feel like anecdotal. Especially with your term, the last two decades. There are fans, outside of classic sonic, so... for the large sections of two decades, and large sections of people, they were enjoying sonic adventure 2, or the advanced games, or the rush games, or unleashed, battle, ect ect ect.
I do think, like in myself raising questions on if sonic team should keep making sonic games, more on forces end than on mania. Because the idea that the whole fanbase is now " coming apon a revelation" kind of implies that they aren't large groups of people wouldn't loose there damn minds if a game with 3 on the end was announced next week.
I agree with some of your other points but I feel as though these are exaggerated points.
I have don't have a problem with this
If classic sonic exists, modern sonic can be as dumb and edgy and cheesey as it wants to be, just you know plan around it and do it well. I don't think it conflicts with the direction, I think the direction after this game or rather should be, just make different sonic games.
I've said this to you, specifically you. That I strait up want a shadow the hedgehog game made by platinum. No bullshit. And I think in a world, where sega isn't developing and you can just... you know have different sonic games for different people and products in general. Like, i'm not saying this to belittle people who like classic sonic exclusively, I don't want you know the very generic " charming " disney look, I like classic sonic Sonic & Knuckles is one of my favorite games ever But its not what I want out of sonic. I want dumb anime shit.
So I don't think forces " serious" tone should be why forces is bad, if its bad. It will be bad because its a giant unfocused clusterfuck
I agree with you, as people love 3D Sonic. I love 3D Sonic. But it's telling when the damn community have a better grasp on what people love about the blue blur than Sonic Team. And we are in the time period where things like Sonic Utopa and Sonic UDK are being created. So the fan-developer community making official 3D games next is the logical step forward for SEGA, assuming they kick Sonic Team off official 3D Sonic titles post Forces.
Just want Sonic to REMAIN good, as they had a good thing going. 2008 started the slow rise to quality and 2010 cemented it with two great Sonic's (Colors and All Star's Racing) and one okay-ish one (Sonic 4 Ep. I. Uh...when seen as a mobile Sonic tossed on consoles, it isn't THAT bad).
2011 gave us Generations and the following year offered one of the best kart races of the generation via Racing Transformed. Sonic WAS back but once we got Lost World, the ride when off the rails, crashing with Sonic Boom.
They cannot afford another sporadically rise and fall again, more so when knowing the FANS made Mania. If Sonic Team continues to mess up, they will be in hot water.
I don't have an issues with 'Silly' Styled Sonic either. It's funny, but it needs to be 'on the joke', like how Metal Gear Rising was. That game knew it's story was stupid and had a ball taking a piss from time to time. I love Rising, so a game styled like that with Shadow or Knuckles? Day-Zero man.
The problem is that Sonic being 'silly' and 'cheesy' is linked to really bad games (Shadow comes to mind). So that sours people on Sonic being 'experimental', when Sonic Team tried (and failed many times) doing that very thing.
Its also Linked to games like sonic adventure 2, I feel like its less about whats happening and more about how its used. But to offer another counter point, it doesn't need to be a joke, it doesn't need to be in on the joke. One because I like games being dumb with out having to constantly look at the camera. But two, do you read the comics? Ever Since Flynn took over, while I wont say flynn has been perfect, but the guy wrote stories for those books where there are... " serious" stories, that take themselves seriously aren't meant to be funny and are just... fun cool actiony dumb adventures.
You can do that really well.
Just do it good, and whatever they do , focus on just that.