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Sonic Mania |OT| Dreams Come True

I know the MJ songs are likely why there was no mobile port for Sonic 3/K but if the PC thing is legit than I guess they could be in for the DLC or Mania 2.

There's still Angel Island, Marble Garden, Sandopolis and Doomsday Zones that have never been redone in another game. So they have a few more zones to work with.

What a tease with the Angel Island music remix and art assets too...

It's a bit confusing with Sonic 3 it's never been released digitally on it own but the Mega Drive Collection was made available and is still available even digitally.
Sega has the rights to resell the unaltered ROM with the original music.
 
I beat the whole thing in in one sitting yesterday. Here are my impressions:


POSITIVE

- The physics are perfectly faithful to the classic games.

- Level design is mostly spot-on.

- The soundtrack is incredible.

- Full of fanservice, but cleverly implemented. It's far more than just seeing classic levels.

- The difficulty level is perfect (in my opinion; I've seen some people complaining about Game Overs, but I never got one).

- Strikes a great balance between nostalgia and brand new stuff. Not just in terms of classic zones and new zones, but also the new stuff in classic zones, and homages/references in new zones.

- Most of the bosses were outstanding.



NEGATIVE

- With the perfectly faithful physics comes the classic issue of Sonic dying if he so much as even slightly enters an area where there's not enough room for him to stand up. The rising water area in Chemical plant Zone is the perfect example of this. There's not enough room between some of the moving platforms to stand up, but there's enough room for Sonic when he's curled up. Which means if you're not careful, you can end up accidentally jumping into a gap and dying instantly.

- I didn't care for the very last zone, especially the second act. It went on far too long, and and too much of it had you flying and bouncing around with very little control.

- Some bosses are quite unspectacular, especially when considering how great most of them are. The
Lava Reef Zone
one in particular was quite disappointing. Considering how the end of that zone in the original game had a great setpiece and great boss, I was hoping for something special in Mania, but it was just a standard boss arena, and the boss itself was nothing special, and it was a bit irritating trying to hit it without getting hurt.

- Blue Spheres, and locking extras behind it, particularly ones that require you to perfect them. I'm OK at Blue Sphere, but not amazing. I tried to get all rings several times but gave up because I don't enjoy it enough.

- I would have liked more Sonic 1 and 3 stage representation. They only get 1 stage each. Green Hill Zone is always the go-to in any Sonic 1 representation in games like Generations, Mania, and stuff like Smash, Mario & Sonic, Sega Superstars Tennis, etc. It's disappointing to always see the rest of Sonic 1 go completely ignored. And after Generations (technically) snubbed Sonic 3 entirely, it would have been nice to see another Sonic 3 stage in Mania. Especially since they didn't really mix up the stage they did include as much as they did others.




The positives FAR outweigh the negatives though. I'm undecided if S3&K or Mania is my favourite Sonic game, but that in itself is incredibly high praise. Mania is everything I wanted and more.
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
I beat the whole thing in in one sitting yesterday. Here are my impressions:


NEGATIVE

- With the perfectly faithful physics comes the classic issue of Sonic dying if he so much as even slightly enters an area where there's not enough room for him to stand up. The rising water area in Chemical plant Zone is the perfect example of this. There's not enough room between some of the moving platforms to stand up, but there's enough room for Sonic when he's curled up. Which means if you're not careful, you can end up accidentally jumping into a gap and dying instantly.

This is fair, but I thought this was hilariously faithful to Sonic two.
 
I love how the Stardust Speedway boss seems to be designed to go with the music.
If you're constantly moving forward (like you would in Sonic CD) you enter the area with the egg machine right when the song shifts.
It's not dynamic, just timed really well. Love when games manage to pull that off.
 
This is fair, but I thought this was hilariously faithful to Sonic two.

The Sonic CD remake could be a little sensitive when it came to crushing deaths. At this point, default behavior should probably be to keep the player forcibly ducking. But I suppose that may lead to the engine catching less players being trapped in inescapable situations.
 

RRockman

Banned
I was playing through the game, having a blast till I got to
TMZ.
I was like wow this level is pretty tough, I wonder what the next one is going to be like.


I then look online to realize that it's the last level.

SEGA, do yourself a huge favor and buy every company involved with this game and restablish the Sega Technical Institute.

Then make more of these please. I need more. Like right now.
 
The Sonic CD remake could be a little sensitive when it came to crushing deaths. At this point, default behavior should probably be to keep the player forcibly ducking. But I suppose that may lead to the engine catching less players being trapped in inescapable situations.

An easy solution would be for the game to force you into a spin, and push you back out the way you entered the gap. If you can't be pushed out, then you die. That seems fair to me. It would eliminate being killed because you
 
This is fair, but I thought this was hilariously faithful to Sonic two.

Yep. As a kid I remember being terrified of being crushed in video games but couldn't exactly remember why. Then I play this and I feel like most of my deaths were from being crushed by the most mundane shit lol
 

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
I have one disappointment, and it is seriously personal.

the looking up animation is so expressive and well animated. My brother and I used to play sonic three and make Sonic and Tails "talk" to each other by pressing up rapidly and making them discuss the silliest things. I am a little sad I can't do that with my kids in this game.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
- I would have liked more Sonic 1 and 3 stage representation. They only get 1 stage each. Green Hill Zone is always the go-to in any Sonic 1 representation in games like Generations, Mania, and stuff like Smash, Mario & Sonic, Sega Superstars Tennis, etc. It's disappointing to always see the rest of Sonic 1 go completely ignored. And after Generations (technically) snubbed Sonic 3 entirely, it would have been nice to see another Sonic 3 stage in Mania. Especially since they didn't really mix up the stage they did include as much as they did others.

Agreed. Green Hill Zone is iconic and understandable to keep included, but there are some phenomenal levels that almost never get attention in Sonic 1 sadly due to it.
 

13ruce

Banned
I guess the sound issues with sonic 3 + knuckles is why the taxman version is on hold.
They know fans will be dissapointed when their favorite music is not in.

While i love having famous peeps doing/having music tracks or songs for games or famous composers it's kinda fucked up issue licensing wise. I hope this can be resolved some day legal wise.

Music in San Andreas/Vice City gone in the rereleases Dragon Quest VIII 3DS not having the good soundtrack, MGS Theme song and more.

Music adds alot to the game and having it replaced or removed can hurt the overall experience imo. This is the biggest negative point about rereleases and remasters of old/retro/classic/modern classic games.

Some of the music has emotional value for peeps wich why it would dissapoint em when it's not there while it originally was.
 

Guess Who

Banned
- I would have liked more Sonic 1 and 3 stage representation. They only get 1 stage each. Green Hill Zone is always the go-to in any Sonic 1 representation in games like Generations, Mania, and stuff like Smash, Mario & Sonic, Sega Superstars Tennis, etc. It's disappointing to always see the rest of Sonic 1 go completely ignored. And after Generations (technically) snubbed Sonic 3 entirely, it would have been nice to see another Sonic 3 stage in Mania. Especially since they didn't really mix up the stage they did include as much as they did others.

I suspect the problem here is that Sonic 3's music legality stuff pretty much restricted them to Angel Island, Hydrocity, and Marble Garden, which is a problem because Icecap or Launch Base are the other stages you'd actually want. I can't complain much because out of the possible S3K levels they could've picked, they picked literally the exact same
3
levels I would've wanted.
 

FinalAres

Member
I guess the sound issues with sonic 3 + knuckles is why the taxman version is on hold.
They know fans will be dissapointed when their favorite music is not in.

While i love having famous peeps doing/having music tracks or songs for games or famous composers it's kinda fucked up issue licensing wise. I hope this can be resolved some day legal wise.

Music in San Andreas/Vice City gone in the rereleases Dragon Quest VIII 3DS not having the good soundtrack, MGS Theme song and more.

Music adds alot to the game and having it replaced or removed can hurt the overall experience imo. This is the biggest negative point about rereleases and remasters of old/retro/classic/modern classic games.

Some of the music has emotional value for peeps wich why it would dissapoint em when it's not there while it originally was.

I really don't mind the odd song going for re-releases. I'd much rather compromise on something like that than...not have the game ported for example.
 

Nvzman

Member
Hey does anyone happen to know if (light spoiler for a boss)
the mean bean machine tiebreaker game in 2 player can be played without needing to tie? Getting 1:1 every time is sort of annoying.
 
Hey does anyone happen to know if (light spoiler for a boss)
the mean bean machine tiebreaker game in 2 player can be played without needing to tie? Getting 1:1 every time is sort of annoying.

You're asking if you can
just play Mean Bean Machine? Yes, you unlock it after getting 20 or so bonus stage medals
 

Demption

Member
Flying battery zone act 2 is kinda bad. The point where there is teslacoils and dudes using them, there seems to be no way to proceed after the second one?
 

VeeP

Member
I guess the sound issues with sonic 3 + knuckles is why the taxman version is on hold.
They know fans will be dissapointed when their favorite music is not in.

While i love having famous peeps doing/having music tracks or songs for games or famous composers it's kinda fucked up issue licensing wise. I hope this can be resolved some day legal wise.

Music in San Andreas/Vice City gone in the rereleases Dragon Quest VIII 3DS not having the good soundtrack, MGS Theme song and more.

Music adds alot to the game and having it replaced or removed can hurt the overall experience imo. This is the biggest negative point about rereleases and remasters of old/retro/classic/modern classic games.

Some of the music has emotional value for peeps wich why it would dissapoint em when it's not there while it originally was.

If you ask people would you rather have the game ported now with new music, or no port at all, I think at least 90% would say port the game. So I really don’t get why the S3K version is on hold.


And yes, music is important, and yea, people will be disappointed. But the ability to play Sonic 3 on your phone or Switch or PS4 would still be a great experience.

Sega just needs to launch a Sonic Remastered Collection package for all three consoles and PC now. Give us Taxman’s Sonic 1-3K, pls Sega.
 
Need advice. Should I cancel my Steam preorder and get this on PS4?

How's the PS4 d-pad been treating you guys? Any real reason to wait for the PC version besides the game being $2 cheaper on Steam?
 

muteki

Member
Flying battery zone act 2 is kinda bad. The point where there is teslacoils and dudes using them, there seems to be no way to proceed after the second one?

There is a spinning propeller column you can grab on to on the right, then proceed through the building.

Need advice. Should I cancel my Steam preorder and get this on PS4?

How's the PS4 d-pad been treating you guys? Any real reason to wait for the PC version besides the game being $2 cheaper on Steam?
Novelty throwback usb controllers?
 
Need advice. Should I cancel my Steam preorder and get this on PS4?

How's the PS4 d-pad been treating you guys? Any real reason to wait for the PC version besides the game being $2 cheaper on Steam?

I'll just say I have it on Switch, and using the buttons on the joy-con isn't all that bad, so I'd assume there should be absolutely nothing bad about using the PS4's actual d-pad.
 

Ristifer

Member
Hydrocity
seems to be reversed. Act 1 has a variety of changes, while Act 2 seems more faithful to the original.
 

robot

Member
Anyone else catch
those Revenge of Shinobi sound effects
during the
Press Garden Act 2 Boss Fight
?
 

Sami+

Member
I look forward to them delivering some new content, however I would be enjoying this game significantly less without throwback zones.

The new zones are fantastic and I'm not sure if I agree completely, but I am enjoying the throwbacks quite a bit regardless. Highlight so far has been
Flying Battery Zone
, which is just fucking enormous and has stellar music to boot.
 

Ferr986

Member
Got the true ending

did this ending connect with Forces? because Sonic doesn't look like he returns with Tails and Knuckles, and I doubt they did a Sonic 2 8-bits bad ending lol
 

RockmanBN

Member
Beat the game for the 5th time. One as each character, Sonic with Insta shield, and Sonic & Knuckles. Stage memorization is making it very easy to be Super the entire level. Wish could disable the Super music.
 

Sanjuro

Member
The new zones are fantastic and I'm not sure if I agree completely, but I am enjoying the throwbacks quite a bit regardless. Highlight so far has been
Flying Battery Zone
, which is just fucking enormous and has stellar music to boot.

That's where I'm at right now.

It's been over twenty years, so getting my feet wet in fairly familiar territory feels like a very welcome first step in the franchise.
 

Jofamo

Member
Apparently if you enable
& Knuckles
mode, then use the code I posted above to play Knuckles in the final stage, you unlock
a goofy extra ending. Just a still, but funny.

How to enable
& Knuckles mode before/on the level select screen? The setting doesn't seem to stick. I can only play as Sonic, Tails, Sonic and Tails or Knuckles?
 

mreddie

Member
Got the true ending

did this ending connect with Forces? because Sonic doesn't look like he returns with Tails and Knuckles, and I doubt they did a Sonic 2 8-bits bad ending lol

It's highly likely it's connected to Forces and explains how Classic Sonic ends up in it.
 

13ruce

Banned
Got the true ending

did this ending connect with Forces? because Sonic doesn't look like he returns with Tails and Knuckles, and I doubt they did a Sonic 2 8-bits bad ending lol

that purple/pink dimension/time/space gem might even be Infinite's gem or he steals it when Classic Sonic arrives since it kinda has the same powers as him. But yes that portal probably transports Classic Sonic to Forces atleast
 

Ferr986

Member
It's highly likely it's connected to Forces and explains how Classic Sonic ends up in it.

Yeah looks like it, can't say I like it
not because "ugh Forces" but because I dont' feel they should tie modern and classic games this much. It feels like an advertisment, if you ask me.

Hell this causes another problem with this Sonic being interdimensional compared to just time traveling like Generations.

I mean, this pretty much says that the Modern Sonic isn't the Sonic from the Genesis era, because it's another dimension, same about lil Sonic from Generations and lil Sonic from Mania, different Sonics too.

Basically, they overcomplicate stuff ala '06, just for having a free advertisment..
 
Got the true ending

did this ending connect with Forces? because Sonic doesn't look like he returns with Tails and Knuckles, and I doubt they did a Sonic 2 8-bits bad ending lol

Yeah probably.
You hear the same time-shift sound effect in the Sonic Forces E3 trailer while Infinite is doing his cube thing.
 

Jofamo

Member
It's one of the secret options in No Save mode.

I understand that. But the post I was quoting made it out that if you play Egg Reverie with Sonic + Knuckles, there's a bonus wee ending. I can play every other stage as those two, but Egg Reverie seems to always be limited to just one character.
 
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