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Sonic Mania |OT| Dreams Come True

BTA

Member
It features at least 1 level from each of the 5 Genesis era Sonic games, each with re-imagined level designs bosses and new remixes of the songs. There's also numerous easter eggs and nods to other elements of Sonic history and other Sega IPs.

Thanks!

Not sure how I want to proceed but I realized I owned Sonic 1 on iOS so I guess I'll play that much myself. Not sure I really want to undertake playing/watching all of them given how much I want to get done in the next few weeks as is, but maybe I'll just play like one a week for a bit.
 

Endo Punk

Member
Felt like I was stuck in battery zone 2 forever. The part where you have to run upside down, I would keep changing direction inputs and end up going slower and falling to my death not realising that I just have to hold down one input and let momentum carry me. Took me like 20 tries to realise lol.
 

Ducktail

Member
Fuck it, GAF. I'm in for the portability!

IMG_6856.jpg


Hyyyype!

Yeah, that install size is tiny!

The game is identical on all plataforms. I'm having a great experience playing on my Switch.
 
That's no Press Garden:p
I liked that one cuz it reminded me of Castlevania in someway.
Same, strong Castlevania vibes.

Felt like I was stuck in battery zone 2 forever. The part where you have to run upside down, I would keep changing direction inputs and end up going slower and falling to my death not realising that I just have to hold down one input and let momentum carry me. Took me like 20 tries to realise lol.
Yeah, that killed me too the first time. A bit too punishing.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Thanks!

Not sure how I want to proceed but I realized I owned Sonic 1 on iOS so I guess I'll play that much myself. Not sure I really want to undertake playing/watching all of them given how much I want to get done in the next few weeks as is, but maybe I'll just play like one a week for a bit.

When I replayed S1/CD/2/3K recently, the first three games took less than an hour each and S3K was about two and a half. They aren't terribly long games.
 

Sane_Man

Member
Felt like I was stuck in battery zone 2 forever. The part where you have to run upside down, I would keep changing direction inputs and end up going slower and falling to my death not realising that I just have to hold down one input and let momentum carry me. Took me like 20 tries to realise lol.

+1 Fuck that section.

The game over bullshit is the only low point of this game. Why are we still dealing with this in 2017.
 

sonto340

Member
+1 Fuck that section.

The game over bullshit is the only low point of this game. Why are we still dealing with this in 2017.
A big part of the classic sonic games is pressing no inputs in certain parts. It’s why the physics gameplay feels so good. You let your momentum carry you. You’re supposed to pick this up when stages like chemical plant make you go back and forth and continuing to hold one direction would just make you screech back and forth. Let the momentum carry you until you’re sure of which direction you’re going.

Just let go.
 

BTA

Member
When I replayed S1/CD/2/3K recently, the first three games took less than an hour each and S3K was about two and a half. They aren't terribly long games.

Yeah, looking at the LP I was considering watching (Run Button's) made me realize how short they were and HLTB backed that up, which is why I'm down for actually doing it.

Still, if I do it I'm gonna space it out to not mess with my terrible estimations of how quickly I'll get through with what I'm currently playing anyway.
 

Kyzon

Member
I loooove the special stages. I wish I could play more of them.

Also just found out that Mirage Saloon act 1 changes the time of day during your play. I died once trying to get the big ring, and then I came back and the background shifted as I went through. Absolutely beautiful.
 

TrueBlue

Member
Final Zone Spoilers:

How on Earth do you finish these without timimg out? By the time I got to the Act 2 boss, I was down to one life - which I of course lost.

Now they expect me to go through both Acts again with less lives? Come the fuck on.
 
Loved the gumball machine, but the other 2 bonus stage types in 3K were bleh.

The gumball stage was really neat. I didn't like that there wasn't really a way to 'finish' it, you just kinda went until you couldn't anymore. But they could have fleshed it out with the medals. If you're able to empty the machine, the medal pops out.
 

Loz246789

Member
Final Zone Spoilers:

How on Earth do you finish these without timimg out? By the time I got to the Act 2 boss, I was down to one life - which I of course lost.

Now they expect me to go through both Acts again with less lives? Come the fuck on.

There's actually a surprising number of life opportunities in the final zone. On my successful attempt, I reached the act 2 boss with nine lives, although it took a bit of practice to reach that point.
 

Flintty

Member
Oh my shit. That drowning music on Chemical plant. Hello, nightmare from my childhood. This game, it feels old but fresh at the same time. I'm not far in but can already see that this was a real passion project.

Also, I think I'm terrible at Sonic now. I used to destroy it on Megadrive but this feels brutal, and I like it.

That puyo boss gave me the biggest grin!
 

Tizoc

Member
Final Zone Spoilers:

How on Earth do you finish these without timimg out? By the time I got to the Act 2 boss, I was down to one life - which I of course lost.

Now they expect me to go through both Acts again with less lives? Come the fuck on.

Some people have apparently beaten each act in under 2 minutes unless my eyes were playing tricks on me.
 
This game is making me want to replay the old Sonics which is an urge I've really never felt since I was a kid, bar the odd novelty of the phone version which was a regrettable idea.

Not joking when I say this is the first time I've actually felt excited by something Sonic since I was chewing Hubba Bubba and crunching Jawbreakers.
 
I don't understand the final zone. What's with the mist stuff? Are you supposed to go into it or not?

Act 2 of Titanic Monarch is nonlinear. It has four sections you must complete in any order, and each are accessed by entering mist. The goal of each of these sections is to make it to end, which is signified by a small pocket of mist next to a gravity orb that flings Sonic. In these sections are large masses of mist that return Sonic to the earlier point of the section - avoid falling into these.
 
4K output is unique to the PS4 Pro right now, though this really doesn't mean much if you don't actually have a 4K display - all it really means is it can natively show a pixel perfect image regardless of your display's native resolution.

All versions do 1080p@60Hz for the most part (the Switch version has some minor performance issues during special stages, and there are apparently issues relating to the dashboard software on Xbox One).

thanks for the info, I was either going to go with PS4 Pro or PC and stream it to the 4k TV.
 

Kinsei

Banned
I don't understand the final zone. What's with the mist stuff? Are you supposed to go into it or not?

Your goal is to pick a path then make it to the end. Once you reach the end a purple portal will warp you back to the start and you'll need to go down another path. Once you beat all four paths a big portal will appear in the center and take you to the boss.
 
Final Zone Spoilers:

How on Earth do you finish these without timimg out? By the time I got to the Act 2 boss, I was down to one life - which I of course lost.

Now they expect me to go through both Acts again with less lives? Come the fuck on.

I got like 5 timeouts, luckily I stacked on several lives. That level is BS and I thought hydrocity act2 was the low point. To be fair the boss is easy you'll be fine.
 
I'm sorry if this has already been asked, but this is a very long thread: can anybody tell me if after you've beaten the game on a given save file and unlocked level select for it, the special stage big rings respawn? In other words, can I go back and attempt those damn things as many times as I want so as to unlock the true ending, or am I potentially S.O.L. because there's a finite number of the big rings?
 
I'm sorry if this has already been asked, but this is a very long thread: can anybody tell me if after you've beaten the game on a given save file and unlocked level select for it, the special stage big rings respawn? In other words, can I go back and attempt those damn things as many times as I want so as to unlock the true ending, or am I potentially S.O.L. because there's a finite number of the big rings?

Special stage rings respawn infinitely after clearing the game.
 
Act 2 of Titanic Monarch is nonlinear. It has four sections you must complete in any order, and each are accessed by entering mist. The goal of each of these sections is to make it to end, which is signified by a small pocket of mist next to a gravity orb that flings Sonic. In these sections are large masses of mist that return Sonic to the earlier point of the section - avoid falling into these.
Ah I see, thanks. I didn't understand that
some mist you shouldn't go into and others you should.
 
A big part of the classic sonic games is pressing no inputs in certain parts. It’s why the physics gameplay feels so good. You let your momentum carry you. You’re supposed to pick this up when stages like chemical plant make you go back and forth and continuing to hold one direction would just make you screech back and forth. Let the momentum carry you until you’re sure of which direction you’re going.

Just let go.
Sure, but putting a hole directly underneath is mean level design. My first instinct was to change direction, it's hard to tell at such a high speed.

(Just a minor gripe in an otherwise stellar level.)
 
Yeah, the final act of the final zone is the low point of the game for me. It's the only level in the ENTIRE SERIES where I've timed out.

The boss is awesome though.
 
Felt like I was stuck in battery zone 2 forever. The part where you have to run upside down, I would keep changing direction inputs and end up going slower and falling to my death not realising that I just have to hold down one input and let momentum carry me. Took me like 20 tries to realise lol.
I did this same thing ha, realized it before 20 tries however.
 

Griss

Member
I like the special stages, and blue spheres, but I do really miss the variety of bonus stages that were in S3k.

The problem with blue spheres is that it's too involved and takes way too long to be as frequently available as every checkpoint. You can end up playing blue spheres every 20 seconds of in level gameplay. It can end up being 50% of your play time.

It was a poor choice to put it where they did, imo.
 

MrBadger

Member
I wasn't too hot on the final zone. After Studiopolis, Mirage Saloon and
Press Garden,
I was expecting something more. All of those zones were incredibly original or full of references to forgotten or unused things, then
the closing zone is this fairly generic city/machinery level with gimmicks and a miniboss lifted directly from the Death egg, followed by the kind of anti-climactic boss you'd find at the end of an Advance game.
It was decent enough, but definitely the weakest zone in the game. Every other zone was on point. My only other issue with Mania is I don't think Blue Spheres works as a bonus round. The bonus rounds in 3K were quick easy ways to get extra lives or power-ups.

Now to grab all the emeralds and play the Knuckles campaign! I'm expecting it to have some differences, considering
Sonic never fights the Heavy King, and Knuckles isn't a part of the Sky Chase level
 

Ferr986

Member
The last level goes faster the second playthrough but IMO the level design is a lil weird. The level before that one was better as a final stage IMO.
 

TrueBlue

Member
Yeah, the final act of the final zone is the low point of the game for me. It's the only level in the ENTIRE SERIES where I've timed out.

The boss is awesome though.

It wouldn't be so bad if the game let you restart from the Act you died in. I've turned the game off for now because I really don't like the thought of going through both Acts again.

I know I'm kinda focusing on this one aspect of a fantastic game, but I think it's one that leads to unnecessary tedium.
 
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