• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Sonic Mania |OT| Dreams Come True

OK, got all the emeralds on my Sonic & Tails save, saw the true ending, and finished the blue sphere stages (50/50 gold/silver).

Now to blast process my way through Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic Alone.

I gotta say, Studiopolis is by far the best of the "spring yard" archetype stages in any Sonic game. If it weren't for the lame Act 2 boss, I would be tempted to call it my favorite 2D Sonic level ever.
 

Sanjuro

Member
Blue Sphere.

iYcW5EJ.gif
 
I knew it would be that one. Yeah, I had to play on the gamepad to get that one. There's no way I was going to be able to beat that on a laggy TV.

One thing I found when I first started playing the switch version on my tv is that the responce time for movement was crisp and really good, I have all the extras on my tv turned off but the game felt better then the mobile ports when it came to response times.

portable play is amazing crisp also.

Blue Sphere.

iYcW5EJ.gif

wow, did that player get a fine for doing that do you know?

OK, got all the emeralds on my Sonic & Tails save, saw the true ending, and finished the blue sphere stages (50/50 gold/silver).

Now to blast process my way through Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic Alone.

I gotta say, Studiopolis is by far the best of the "spring yard" archetype stages in any Sonic game. If it weren't for the lame Act 2 boss, I would be tempted to call it my favorite 2D Sonic level ever.

Don't forget
Knuckles & knuckles as it has a unique all emerald ending
 

Finalizer

Member
This Blue Sphere stage almost drove me insane.

Huh, thought that one was pretty straightforward. IIRC it's based off a secret blue sphere stage from S3&K, and I wanna say it's modified a bit to be quite a bit easier.

I gotta say, Studiopolis is by far the best of the "spring yard" archetype stages in any Sonic game. If it weren't for the lame Act 2 boss, I would be tempted to call it my favorite 2D Sonic level ever.

Speaking of this boss,
how do you avoid damage during the wind phase?

Don't forget
Knuckles & knuckles as it has a unique all emerald ending

I thought that ending happened regardless of emeralds. Gonna be annoying to get otherwise...
 
Speaking of this boss,
how do you avoid damage during the wind phase?

There are poles sticking out of the left and right sides of the screen that you will grab onto when the wind lifts you up. You can get a hit in by jumping off when Eggman is above you, and another one when the wind dies down if he's close enough.

Is there a reward for getting all gold medals on blue sphere?
 
Speaking of this boss,
how do you avoid damage during the wind phase?



I thought that ending happened regardless of emeralds. Gonna be annoying to get otherwise...

The bars on the side of the big tv can be grabbed.

I thought it was all emeralds but I have not done it myself yet, only seen it on twitch
 

Finalizer

Member
There are poles sticking out of the left and right sides of the screen that you will grab onto when the wind lifts you up. You can get a hit in by jumping off when Eggman is above you, and another one when the wind dies down if he's close enough.

The bars on the side of the big tv can be grabbed.

...Huh. Didn't even notice them through two whole playthroughs, lol.

Is there a reward for getting all gold medals on blue sphere?

Cheevos. Otherwise, just get silvers for unlockables.

I want them to add in more unlockables in the future so MLG Blue Sphere players such as myself can get moar swag.

I thought it was all emeralds but I have not done it myself yet, only seen it on twitch

Well I'll be finding out soon enough,
unless I suddenly stop sucking at getting emeralds this run. Got the first four 1st try, so at least I feel like I'm getting the hang of things, but I still don't know where most of the big rings are in the mid-game zones.
 
Did anyone else laugh as hard as I did when you got to the main Lava Reef boss with Knuckles?

When I saw the thought bubbles... just freaking A, guys. They must have had a blast making this game.
 

Sami+

Member
...Huh. Didn't even notice them through two whole playthroughs, lol.



Cheevos. Otherwise, just get silvers for unlockables.

I want them to add in more unlockables in the future so MLG Blue Sphere players such as myself can get moar swag.



Well I'll be finding out soon enough,
unless I suddenly stop sucking at getting emeralds this run. Got the first four 1st try, so at least I feel like I'm getting the hang of things, but I still don't know where most of the big rings are in the mid-game zones.

If your experience is anything like mine you'll probably just stumble into them lol. First run as Sonic I only had like three or four, with Knuckles I had all seven by Stardust Speedway lol.
 

Waji

Member
Ok so how are we suppose to pass the Oil Ocean boss ? It's barely possible to get back any rings after being hurt and we randomly die in oil even when it's completely not related to the platforms being "destroyed" before.
I was kinda enjoying the game but it begins to annoy me quite a lot.

I already read the advices from these smart people who say this is the easiest boss of the game but it absolutely doesn't work and at some point I just die magicaly even if I play safe.
Some also said it was impossible to die with the Flame Shield but I didn't even see what it was supposed to do since you still get hit by the bullets. So... it does't protect against anything.
 
Ok so how are we suppose to pass the Oil Ocean boss ? It's barely possible to get back any rings after being hurt and we randomly die in oil even when it's completely not related to the platforms being "destroyed" before.
I was kinda enjoying the game but it begins to annoy me quite a lot.

I already read the advices from these smart people who say this is the easiest boss of the game but it absolutely doesn't work and at some point I just die magicaly even if I play safe.
Some also said it was impossible to die with the Flame Shield but I didn't even see what it was supposed to do since you still get hit by the bullets. So... it does't protect against anything.

First, when Eggman initially takes down the platforms, try to jump at him once he surfaces the first time. When the laser comes up, just keep jumping below a platform as he'll never shoot under there. Be ready to leave once you see the pink tentacles pop up because he'll bring the platforms down and you with it from underneath. Once you're on top, try to get a couple hits on him. Rinse and repeat.

I haven't done this without losing rings at some point in the boss fight, so I do find it harder than the original Oil Ocean boss, who was a piece of cake.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Ok so how are we suppose to pass the Oil Ocean boss ? It's barely possible to get back any rings after being hurt and we randomly die in oil even when it's completely not related to the platforms being "destroyed" before.
I was kinda enjoying the game but it begins to annoy me quite a lot.

I already read the advices from these smart people who say this is the easiest boss of the game but it absolutely doesn't work and at some point I just die magicaly even if I play safe.
Some also said it was impossible to die with the Flame Shield but I didn't even see what it was supposed to do since you still get hit by the bullets. So... it does't protect against anything.

The Flame Shield reflects the bullets.
 

Waji

Member
That's what I thought but I continuously get killed by something. I always stay far away from the platforms when I see the tentacles.
I wait to be sure it's completely away before I jump there.

Maybe it's because I play as Knuckles and he's just not jumping high enough to make it easier.
I just did a good run but jumped on a bullet while trying to go out of the oil. I'm just not feeling good in that ink after dying from nothing (and clearly not from the plateforms crumbling).
 

MrBadger

Member
Did anyone else laugh as hard as I did when you got to the main Lava Reef boss with Knuckles?

When I saw the thought bubbles... just freaking A, guys. They must have had a blast making this game.

Yeah, that whole sequence and boss fight is so perfect.

Although
I think it's weird how Heavy King is only fought as Knuckles. As one of the main bad guys, he's severely under-utilised.
The story feels like it has a lot of missing pieces in it.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Yeah, that whole sequence and boss fight is so perfect.

Although
I think it's weird how Heavy King is only fought as Knuckles. As one of the main bad guys, he's severely under-utilised.
The story feels like it has a lot of missing pieces in it.

For Sonic, he's part of the Super Sonic fight.
 

Waji

Member
4th game over. I was good/ok at everything else, but this is just ridiculous.
And Mario would have to learn from this game ? Lol... maybe just for a few details but that's it. I don't see what's so amazing about it. It's just an ok old school Sonic.

I just hate this boss. When I attack there's always a random chance of knuckles juste dying on the boss right after I hit it. I'm sick of this level which I already didn't like that much.
And to help it, it has one of the music I like less.
 

Sixfortyfive

He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
I want them to add in more unlockables in the future so MLG Blue Sphere players such as myself can get moar swag.

Speaking of which, have you played the "Mania" Blue Sphere course in the Extras menu yet? I'm still curious if there's supposed to be a very small number of distinct stages in that category or if the game is just stuck giving me repeats for some reason.
 
The bullets are the easiest to avoid. Dont go crazy waiting under those platforms since they will crush you.

Was I just unlucky, or do they kill you if you're simply standing on the platform when it's brought down too? Because I was definitely "crushed" ontop of one before.

Speaking of which, unintentional "Crush" deaths are easily my biggest gripe with this game due to how frequent they can occur. It was hilarious the first time it happened, as it reminded me of the classics. However, it's happened just a few too many times throygh my playthroughs that it's led me to wishing the game had a more forgiving solution. With the very small amount of bottomless pits now present, being Crushed is now the most dangerous (and unfortunately in many cases, arguably unfair) obstacles in Sonic Mania.
 

Majora

Member
4th game over. I was good/ok at everything else, but this is just ridiculous.
And Mario would have to learn from this game ? Lol... maybe just for a few details but that's it. I don't see what's so amazing about it. It's just an ok old school Sonic.

I just hate this boss. When I attack there's always a random chance of knuckles juste dying on the boss right after I hit it. I'm sick of this level which I already didn't like that much.
And to help it, it has one of the music I like less.

I had real trouble with this boss as well, just playing as Sonic. Sometimes I would fall in the oil and just die instantly and I had no idea why. Seemed bugged to me.
 

BiggNife

Member
Out of curiosity what did you guys think of the second to last zone? I thought it was cool as hell and way better than the last zone but I've seen some people complaining about it
 

Berordn

Member
Out of curiosity what did you guys think of the second to last zone? I thought it was cool as hell and way better than the last zone but I've seen some people complaining about it

It could be my favorite zone in the game. Tons of routes, interesting gimmicks and virtually nothing to do with the original version, much like the other zone from that game.
 

wrowa

Member
4th game over. I was good/ok at everything else, but this is just ridiculous.
And Mario would have to learn from this game ? Lol... maybe just for a few details but that's it. I don't see what's so amazing about it. It's just an ok old school Sonic.

I just hate this boss. When I attack there's always a random chance of knuckles juste dying on the boss right after I hit it. I'm sick of this level which I already didn't like that much.
And to help it, it has one of the music I like less.

The boss crushes you to death when it starts to sink down again, that's likely what kills you. You have to be careful not to attack him for too long. Play it safe. Also keep in mind that the easiest way to attack him is by jumping on his top when he starts to appear.
 
Out of curiosity what did you guys think of the second to last zone? I thought it was cool as hell and way better than the last zone but I've seen some people complaining about it

Titanic Monarch
was okay, but yeah,
Metallic Madness
was so good I wouldn't have had a problem with it being the last zone. I loved that they included elements from
Scrap Brain and Sonic 1's Final Zone
. Honestly in general, I LOVED when Mania's stages incorporated elements from others throughout the series.

Maybe I need to replay the last one though, I'm probably swayed a bit by how long it was (especially since the ones previous were pretty long too) and I was feeling fatigued by the time I got there.
 
Out of curiosity what did you guys think of the second to last zone? I thought it was cool as hell and way better than the last zone but I've seen some people complaining about it

Seeing how I had previously played Sonic CD and knew how challenging the platforming was in the original, I knew to take my time here. It was neat seeing the callbacks to CD too, with the clever reuse of the shrink rays. Glad it wasn't the final stage though, as it's one of the slower stages for sure.
 

MrBadger

Member
Out of curiosity what did you guys think of the second to last zone? I thought it was cool as hell and way better than the last zone but I've seen some people complaining about it

It grew on me immensely in replays. I thought it was a bit of a boring pick at first cause I usually
stop playing Sonic CD after Stardust Speedway,
but it's pretty great. Does a lot of fun things with the original zone's gimmicks, has killer music and a fun boss fight. The mid-boss, however,
was really stress-inducing. And it also felt a bit underwhelming that it was just straight up the Sonic 1 final boss for the most part.

For Sonic, he's part of the Super Sonic fight.

That's true.
But I still don't think he has enough presence considering how he keeps showing up in the background art and the intro cinematic. I hope this game isn't the last we see of him because he has a really cool design.
 

Waji

Member
The boss crushes you to death when it starts to sink down again, that's likely what kills you. You have to be careful not to attack him for too long. Play it safe. Also keep in mind that the easiest way to attack him is by jumping on his top when he starts to appear.
I finaly found a good timing to be asap (as safe as possible : P).
I killed it just now. I was flying away all the time at the opposite of what it was doing but the most important was to begin to fly away from my platform during before the 3rd laser so I'm already on the safe platform before the 3 others fall.
Then I immediately fly-attack the boss and the timing made it impossible for the bullets to touch me.

I still got hurt twice I think but miraculously kept one ring twice. The second time especially I grabbed one in the oil really at the very last possible moment I'm sure.
The thing is that it's not even "hard" when you look at each thing seperately. I mean I can play a few levels of Ikaruga... and fifn't have too much trouble with Shovel Knight for example.
But everything together and the replay frustration creates so many possible ways to get hit/killed.

Good thing I get to lava reef after as I love the music there if I remember correctly.
 

bman94

Member
Just finished my second complete run through with Knuckles.

Playing Sonic Mania is making me desperately want a Taxman Collection of 1-3K + CD on Switch, PS4 & Xbox One. It seems like Mania was huge success for Sega, hopefully this would push them to handle the legal issues with S3&K so they can get taxman to work on those.

So imagine this: Digital release of aforementioned collection BUT a Physical release for $40 of Mania + Taxman Collection in one disk/cartridge. All the classic sonic games in one package and you get the added benefit of physical Sonic Mania.
 

Seik

Banned
Let me guess, was it the maze where you need to jump over the reversible ball, then immediately turn left for the last two blue spheres?

If so, I did the exact same thing. X_x

It happened twice.

One of those were four blue balls in the middle of the place that you can only access by bumping on a yellow one, if you don't do it in the correct order, you're screwed.
 

Griss

Member
I've beaten the game as Sonic, Knuckles and now Tails, and I have just one more blue sphere stage to go before I can put the game down for good but I just can't beat it.

Anyone have any tips for the stage where you have to circle areas containing rings? I never know which direction to take the yellow jump sphere at the end when I'm done one lap of blue spheres, I always end up jumping out into the wrong direction somewhere. There must be a gimmick to this one that I don't understand, I beat the rest but have lost on this one about 15 times in a row now.
 

Ristifer

Member
Just finished my second complete run through with Knuckles.

Playing Sonic Mania is making me desperately want a Taxman Collection of 1-3K + CD on Switch, PS4 & Xbox One. It seems like Mania was huge success for Sega, hopefully this would push them to handle the legal issues with S3&K so they can get taxman to work on those.

So imagine this: Digital release of aforementioned collection BUT a Physical release for $40 of Mania + Taxman Collection in one disk/cartridge. All the classic sonic games in one package and you get the added benefit of physical Sonic Mania.
Man... don't tease the lot of us with this. Everyone wants this lol.
 

Aki-at

Member
I've beaten the game as Sonic, Knuckles and now Tails, and I have just one more blue sphere stage to go before I can put the game down for good but I just can't beat it.

Anyone have any tips for the stage where you have to circle areas containing rings? I never know which direction to take the yellow jump sphere at the end when I'm done one lap of blue spheres, I always end up jumping out into the wrong direction somewhere. There must be a gimmick to this one that I don't understand, I beat the rest but have lost on this one about 15 times in a row now.

The only way I managed to beat that one is by using the bumpers. Since the stage is a square just before you're about to go to the last one on the yellow spring, go over the bumpers so you're on the reverse side.
 

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
Yeah,
Oil Ocean's
Act 2 boss was easily the most troubling obstacle in the game for me. There's just so many things that can crush you during the fight, and the pinching is already a little less forgiving than I'd like just playing the game. Factor that with the "urgency" of having to release the
steam
during replays - even if it's rarely an actual issue - and the whole level is probably the most frustrating.
 
Please tell me I'm not the only one who LOVES
Oil Ocean
? It's one of my favourite Sonic 2 zones too, if not most favourite. Mania improves on it further.
 

13ruce

Banned
I'm not going to get my hopes up, but it would be amazing if Sega game them the time and resources to make that happen.

Could see it happen when the ios/android ports are out with console getting em in a free update that release day.

Just make the missing ones be one of the heavies or eggman use that new stone. Or just that stone portal animation.
 

Aki-at

Member
Please tell me I'm not the only one who LOVES
Oil Ocean
? It's one of my favourite Sonic 2 zones too, if not most favourite. Mania improves on it further.

I personally prefer the original.

But Act 2's music is excellent, just the sort of remix I wanted to hear.
 

Ristifer

Member
I love that a lot of these bosses/latter stages are a bit stressful. One of my main concerns with Mania was that it might be a bit easy at times. But they definitely made it a challenge to get through.

However, it can get a bit grating, that's for sure haha. A lot of the crushing deaths are faithfully represented in Mania. Even without getting crushed against the walls/ceilings, I remember getting in an awkward position with some of the cubes in CPZ. I jumped to time it properly and ended up getting crushed underneath, while they were moving to the side. It was confusing. But then I remembered that these things happen all the time in these classic games. It made me wince at the screen numerous times.
 

Skel1ingt0n

I can't *believe* these lazy developers keep making file sizes so damn large. Btw, how does technology work?
I fucking hate saying this, but there's a strong piece of my brain that keeps telling my heart not to count on ANYTHING coming from Christian Whitehead and the other Mania folks - only because I could never be surprised if Sega somehow fucked things up either intentionally or on accident.

I mean, it makes absolute, total perfect sense for us to get maybe some enhancements to Mania, maybe some paid DLC, definitely a Mania 2, and I think we'd all love to see an originals collection. So, because it makes perfect sense I wouldn't be surprised if Sega never funds it and we get Sonic Team's Forces 2 and Unleashed 2 in the next five years.
 
Please tell me I'm not the only one who LOVES
Oil Ocean
? It's one of my favourite Sonic 2 zones too, if not most favourite. Mania improves on it further.

I'm amazed at how many people like this stage, because I've always hated it, so seeing it in Mania was definitely the only downer for me regarding it. The Mania version is definitely much better though, and I like what they did with it and made the music tolerable as well.
 
Top Bottom