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Sonic Mania |OT| Dreams Come True

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
Yeeesss, dat exclusive level content for Knuckles with
Lava Reef Act 2 having you go to Hidden Palace
, so pleased.

Hell, now I want to use debug mode & try to see what happens if I use Sonic.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Yeeesss, dat exclusive level content for Knuckles with
Lava Reef Act 2 having you go to Hidden Palace
, so pleased.

Hell, now I want to use debug mode & try to see what happens if I use Sonic.

The fight works exactly the same if you use debug mode to get to it as Sonic. It even swaps in Knuckles's sprites momentarily for one of the animations in the cutscene, haha.
 
The fight works exactly the same if you use debug mode to get to it as Sonic. It even swaps in Knuckles's sprites momentarily for one of the animations in the cutscene, haha.
Too bad it couldn't be Blue Knuckles as in Sonic 3 & Knuckles when you glitched Sonic into Knuckles' Sky Sanctuary.
 

Zonic

Gives all the fucks
YES, got the final trophy associated with a zone, 100% trophies completed. Gonna finish with Knuckles, then do a Tails run.
 

Daffy Duck

Member
I had a bug earlier at the end of Press Garden Act 2 where Heavy Shinobi hit me with his sword, encasing me in ice, and knocked me out of the boss arena and onto the next screen where the animal capsule was located. I then hit the switch and freed the animals while Heavy Shinobi just watched, lol.

Hahaha that happened to me.
 

1upsuper

Member
Does anyone have a list of
how many medals it takes to unlock each feature? I feel like tying those cool secrets to the blue sphere games is Mania's only real misstep. I'm already sick of those things.
 

Metal-Geo

Member
The soundtrack will probably get a release after the PC version is out.

Regardless of that, you can already find some fan recorded / ripped soundtracks online. With the music probably recorded through
D.A. Garden
.

Anyway, I've had
Metallic Madness Act 2
on repeat for hours now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Is this game good, or is it "just" a good Sonic game?

Weird question maybe.
It's perhaps the best Sonic has ever been, in my opinion.
 
I had a bug earlier at the end of Press Garden Act 2 where Heavy Shinobi hit me with his sword, encasing me in ice, and knocked me out of the boss arena and onto the next screen where the animal capsule was located. I then hit the switch and freed the animals while Heavy Shinobi just watched, lol.

Same.
But then he attacked me during the cut scene which caused it to glitch out. I ended up having to reset the game because Eggman was just standing there doing nothing.
 
So you have to be a Sonic fan?

Fwiw there are loads of people in here who have written they're not big fans of the series that have posted they enjoy it. There's someone on the last page who wrote a glowing review, for example.

It's a fun 2d platformer with an enjoyable soundtrack.
 

wrowa

Member
So you have to be a Sonic fan?

I don't have a huge amount of nostalgia for 2D Sonic, but I love Mania regardless. It has a couple of design decisions that feel archaic to me (like every little object can crush you to death), but other than that I absolutely love my time with it.
 

Finalizer

Member
Just encountered a "bug"

Press Garden Act 2 - Got a 1-up during Super Sonic, music reverted to the normal stage music afterward instead of going back to the Super theme.

I'd like to encounter this bug more often, heh.
 

SuperSah

Banned
There's no use in me asking if this game is worth it as it sounds like it's well and truly golden.

What I must ask however is how long will it last me?
 
There's no use in me asking if this game is worth it as it sounds like it's well and truly golden.

What I must ask however is how long will it last me?

Your first playthrough won't last more than 4 or 5 hours. There's tons of replay value though. I've easily put 20 hours into the game so far.
 

Randam

Member
I'm sure it'll work. I'm going to install the game on my toaster of a work laptop and fully expect it to work
Sometimes you'll be surprised.
Games maybe look like they should run on a toaster, but the developers used some kinda high tech engine which makes the game way more demanding than you thought.
 
So I finished this game today and I gotta say, it's a good game but not as good as S3&K. I encountered bugs along the way and near the end, I find myself encountering what I hate about the 2D sonic games: you will always get hit because you don't know where the enemy or other stage hazards will be. However, this is something you learn and can avoid with multiple runs.

One bug, which isn't gaming breaking, I fell inside a cog wheel when you're not supposed to but you can easily jump out. Another, sonic was stuck in one animation in
flying battery zone
and you have to restart the stage. There were many more but I digress.

I loved blue sphere in S3&K but I feel like there's an input delay that messes me up in this game. So I avoided playing it.

Even though I wrote what I disliked, I don't hate the game and I still enjoyed it. I'll definitely replay it again to get super sonic. ..I could never find those special stage rings....
 

Beepos

Member
An amazing game. I think Studiopolis and Press Garden are top tier easily. In saying that, as someone who finished S+K a billion times, the overall package is lacking. I feel Mania had some of the highest of highs, but I cannot stand CD levels, and felt they were poor here.

If someone was like choose one or the other, S+K is still the GOAT because the pacing is perfect, I think both Act 1+2 bosses are better and it builds to such a crescendo. Regardless, Mania does a lot right.

I also think S+K level design is the best despite how Mania moves you around.
 
If anyone is confused when playing chemical plant act 2 remember this, you are climbing up to the boss who is near the top of the stage, that makes the layout make more sense.

Sometimes you'll be surprised.
Games maybe look like they should run on a toaster, but the developers used some kinda high tech engine which makes the game way more demanding than you thought.

Shante Pirates Curse on steam ran on my old windows tablet but only at low windows resolution, the onboard gpu lagged a lot if anything higher.

Going by sonic CD on pc I would expect mania to run, just not sure how well overall (3d bonus stages lag on switch for example but that's a port, the steam version is like the main base)
 
A couple negatives, which are nit picky cuz the game is so awesome:

- The boss at the end of
oil ocean act 2
was buggy. Felt like at one point I got killed under its death animation.
- The final boss of the game, without emeralds, was a great concept but I felt
like you should have to kill the bots when you get transported to the different areas. It seemed like you could get away with just surviving which was way less epic.
-
oil ocean and lava reef act 2s
were way less novel than the other returns. I felt like they didn't offer many new concepts.
- there's a lot of blue sphere. I'm enjoying it a lot more this time around but there's still a lot.

Still, the game is phenomenal. 23 years was worth the wait. I really hope for a Mania 2, perhaps with a 50-50 new/old balance.
 

Finalizer

Member
Finished the Sonic run.

Y'all weren't kidding, that true final boss is a letdown. Kinda wish they'd done more with the Hard-Boiled Heavies throughout the game, like stuff with the stage transitions a la Knuckles in S3K. Especially for Sonic's run, where you just suddenly encounter him in the final final boss and it's like "well, this is happening lol." Lacks much of a build-up to the BIG BETRAYAL.

On to Tails then.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
I hate the final boss. He's not hard at all but the downtime sucks.

Its best to just try to juggle on top of him when he charges electricity. With each leash he loses he gets easier because you can hit him during his charge and it will leave an opening.

For those bad mini boss parts, only the second was a pain but I found out if you stand at the right side first, and then at the centre he won't hit you.
 

Finalizer

Member
I hadn't realized that if you bust two of his leashes before he teleports you, he'll skip the teleportation phase and go straight into the launching-missiles-in-the-air bit, so you can beat him without teleporting at all. Guess the fastest way to beat him is to just take intentional damage and cheese out the first several hits, assuming you're not already in super form anyway, heh.

EDIT:
The ninja heavy bit during the final boss is actually easy. Just stand in front of a spring and ready a spindash; let loose when he comes toward you.
 

Ferr986

Member
I kind of liked the final boss
it's true that is a little simple, but I liked how you could go from ground to air with Super Sonic so easily. It would be cool if you could do it in regular stages.
 

13ruce

Banned
I kind of liked the final boss
it's true that is a little simple, but I liked how you could go from ground to air with Super Sonic so easily. It would be cool if you could do it in regular stages.

Yeah it was unique to
control him fully
and i liked the
2 fight conflict in the battle between robotnik and the king heavy for the new gem
, i played through doomsday zone for first time ever yesterday and honestly i put em equal final boss ranking wise.
 

RockmanBN

Member
Finished the Sonic run.

Y'all weren't kidding, that true final boss is a letdown. Kinda wish they'd done more with the Hard-Boiled Heavies throughout the game, like stuff with the stage transitions a la Knuckles in S3K. Especially for Sonic's run, where you just suddenly encounter him in the final final boss and it's like "well, this is happening lol." Lacks much of a build-up to the BIG BETRAYAL.

On to Tails then.
Yeah it doesn't match up to Sonic 3's. Music made it feel so good.

o6CYeCj_d.webp

hqdefault.jpg

tumblr_mhvqpkrgk91qlj42ao1_400.gif

Love how Eggman gets to the point of deasperation where he tries everything to flee with the Master Emerald.
 

Ferr986

Member
Yeah it was unique to
control him fully
and i liked the
2 fight conflict in the battle between robotnik and the king heavy for the new gem
, i played through doomsday zone for first time ever yesterday and honestly i put em equal final boss ranking wise.

Yeah Doomsday Zone was epic as fuck but the fight itself was as basic as it gets.
 

Raitaro

Member
Glad to see that Jirard the Completionist in his Sonic Mania video also seems to agree with me and some others here that the game would have been even better if all the zones had been connected by stage transitions, especially since the ones that are included are of such high quality.

Please Taxman and crew, add in some of those cute animations between the later zones!

Edit: not to harp on this point too much but both Antdude and Matthew from the YoVideosgames! crew also seem to mention that the lack of stage transitions is the biggest nitpick they can voice against this game, which in a way is a very good thing of course. Still, I hope the Mania team picks up on this and finds a way to add some more transitions if they have the time and resources. Below, people are already giving some good suggestions for transitions.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Glad to see that Jirard the Completionist in his Sonic Mania video also seems to agree with me and some others here that the game would have been even better if all the zones had been connected by stage transitions, especially since the ones that are included are of such high quality.

Please Taxman and crew, add in some of those cute animations between the later zones!

It really sticks out as I play sonic 3 complete. Granted that mod improved some of the transitions and fixed the stage order to be more sensical and adopt the original pre-cart split progression order, but it really helps sell the idea that you are running through a single connected world and not just warping to stages. It is a shame that Mania didn't adopt them for all stages.
 
Glad to see that Jirard the Completionist in his Sonic Mania video also seems to agree with me and some others here that the game would have been even better if all the zones had been connected by stage transitions, especially since the ones that are included are of such high quality.

Please Taxman and crew, add in some of those cute animations between the later zones!

I'm really hoping that's the case. And they could buff off some of the roughest edges near the very end of the game. Imagine if they made the final boss better. They could do that! It's not like they're porting Sonic 1 or 2, it's their game.
 
That does make me wonder why all zones don't have transitions. Pushed for dev time?

They'll be included in the full version of the game when you lock it onto Sonic Mania Part 2. Maybe. :p

Would be awesome if a sequel did actually "lock on" to make a bigger experience.
 

Berordn

Member
Yeah Doomsday Zone was epic as fuck but the fight itself was as basic as it gets.

Until you learn the fight and utterly cheese it, it forces you to learn to manage your resources and play smart, so I like it for that.

Mania gets credit for daring to try something different with the final fight even if it ends up a little... Lacking.
 
Glad to see that Jirard the Completionist in his Sonic Mania video also seems to agree with me and some others here that the game would have been even better if all the zones had been connected by stage transitions, especially since the ones that are included are of such high quality.

Please Taxman and crew, add in some of those cute animations between the later zones!
It would've been cool for
Lava Reef
to
Metallic Madness
if
Sonic, Tails & Knuckles used the Hidden Palace teleporter to go to Sky Sanctuary, see Little Planet rise up and run through the spiral ramp to get back inside the encased place and land on Metallic Madness

Or
the teleporter shoots straight through a view of Sky Sanctuary and land in Metallic Madness if the other idea would retread a bit too hard
 

Mr Swine

Banned
Yeah it doesn't match up to Sonic 3's. Music made it feel so good.



Love how Eggman gets to the point of deasperation where he tries everything to flee with the Master Emerald.

I think the whole point of Sonic3 & Knuckles is that Eggman is desperate. sonic has time and time again stopped his plans for world domination. The Death Egg barely escaped destruction at the end of Sonic 2 and in 3 Eggman is desperate to get it flying above the planet once again. At the same time he is searching for the Master Emerald hen he is turning Angel Island upside down (well burning the forest and so on).

Then the last boss fight where Eggman thinks he has the upper hand with his giant Death Egg Robot only to be defeated even with the Master Emerald at hand. Then the great escape against Super Sonic which shows how epic Sonic 3 & Knuckles is
 
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