Support NeoGAF

[TheOGB]

It's hard to fathom a Sonic game this appealing is a real thing that will be out in less than two weeks

Sonic 2 style or bust imo.

"Get some more rings!"

and he still won lmfao

 

[Sixfortyfive]

"Get some more rings!"

and he still won lmfao

"WHEN HE HOP, YOU FUCKIN' HOP WITH HIM."

 

[jman2050]

I think my eye twitched a bit every time I saw someone try to roll/run up a wall and then jump off the wall for no reason partway through.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

They are suppose to be sega saturn graphics

Hmm...doesn't look anywhere close to me. I still stand by that they look like DS graphics to me.

I hated Blue Sphere in S3K but that was mainly because it was required to get the chaos emeralds, which in that case I thought was a little too hard for something that was mandatory for Super Sonic (One mistake and it's over was too harsh IMO).

I feel it's the fairest of the Special Stages in the mainline Genesis Sonics...easy to learn, hard to master type of thing to me at least. You're acting like you NEED to unlock Super Sonic, which is not the case (he's optional!). I feel like the game trusts you enough to replay it again and again, giving you more and more chances to get better and improve on Special Stages...maybe it's just me, who knows?

Sonic 3K is too bloated and easy. If you're already familiar with the game, then you can just sort of sleepwalk through the first 75% of it. The stages in that game are a lot bigger than those in the previous games, especially vertically, but that's often achieved from just padding them out with long ramps, loops, and slides than with obstacle layouts that make good use of that space. The game's still godlike just due to pretty much everything from the Lava Reef boss onward, but I wished it spun its wheels a little less during the build-up.

Sonic 3K is too bloated and easy.

In your opinion!

If you're already familiar with the game, then you can just sort of sleepwalk through the first 75% of it. The stages in that game are a lot bigger than those in the previous games, especially vertically, but that's often achieved from just padding them out with long ramps, loops, and slides than with obstacle layouts that make good use of that space. The game's still godlike just due to pretty much everything from the Lava Reef boss onward, but I wished it spun its wheels a little less during the build-up.

Hmmm...I can sort of agree with you regarding certain stuff here

Super Sonic is also a negative. Breaks the game. In the later games I either hold off on the last emerald until the last possible moment or just play as Tails in Sonic 2 instead.

In your opinion! The POINT is for him to break the game, it's meant to be a fun unlockable in game! Noone's forcing you to collect all 7 emeralds anyway, so I fail to understand how he's a problem in the slightest...

 

[Ferr986]

You're acting like you NEED to unlock Super Sonic, which is not the case (he's optional!)

I mean, you need Super Sonic to play the last stage (Doomsday Zone) and the true ending.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I mean, you need Super Sonic to play the last stage (Doomsday Zone) and the true ending.

Technically, you don't.

If you split up the completion of the first 7 special stages between the S3 zones and the S&K zones (and also never complete the second set of special stages at all), Sonic never actually possesses the 7 emeralds at once and thus can never transform normally, but he can still play Doomsday Zone.

 

[Kiriku]

Never thought I would say this, but I am actually looking forward to a Sonic game. First time I can remember since... Sonic Adventure. lol
I miss the gumball machine special stage though, still remember that song. Partly because I love this sight-read ragtime improvisation a lot too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LrelS09BMc

 

[cireza]

Will Super Tails return ? He was overpowered in S3&K.

 

[Paul_Str337]

The Special Stage is hitting a specific nostalgic nerve centre in my brain despite the zone not lot looking exactly like 3D Sonic on the Saturn. It's still very 32-bit though and I appreciate the effort. I also appreciate that it's something new and that Blue Spheres has been moved to a bonus stage. They get to have their cake and eat it too, something old with something new. It also helps to pad out the game length a bit. I wonder what these medals are for though?

 

[SoulUnison]

Will Super Tails return ? He was overpowered in S3&K.

It made sense.
Super Tails needed the Super Emeralds, so he was sort of on the same tier as Hyper Sonic and Knuckles.
Plus, he's sort of the "little brother" playable character. Flying negates a lot of the game's platform if and challenge, so he gets the Flickies to trivialize combat, too.

 

[MrBadger]

Mania after 15th of august.

Very possible. The classic games aren't flawless, but they're still the best games in the series and this is the first Sonic game to ever understand what worked about them and build upon it.

Technically, you don't.

If you split up the completion of the first 7 special stages between the S3 zones and the S&K zones (and also never complete the second set of special stages at all), Sonic never actually possesses the 7 emeralds at once and thus can never transform normally, but he can still play Doomsday Zone.

Or if you just get all the emeralds in S3 and leave them in Hidden Palace when you get to S&K

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

This might be the first new Sonic game I get in over a decade.

Feels bizarre.

 

[MAtgS]

Christ, I just realized the green birds flying in the mode 7 stage are from the background of Sonic 1's special stages.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

Will Super Tails return ? He was overpowered in S3&K.

I hope only Sonic can go Super. I feel like there needs to be stuff done to make sure Sonic doesn't seem inferior to his friends.

 

[Lucky Seven]

I hope only Sonic can go Super. I feel like there needs to be stuff done to make sure Sonic doesn't seem inferior to his friends.

He's the only one who can go Hyper, a lot of people forget that.

 

[Gin-Shiio]

He's the only one who can go Hyper, a lot of people forget that.

Sure, but Super Tails at least was easily on par with Hyper Sonic.

 

[Peltz]

Damn... The whole game looks fantastic now. By any chance, is there a scanline option for those of us who want it?

 

[Future]

Alright dammit you have my money. FUCK

I feel like somewhere in Sega somebody finally asked the question: "what if .... we just did everything that fans want?"

 

[NoName999]

He's the only one who can go Hyper, a lot of people forget that.

Hyper Knuckles is a thing as well.

 

[TheShinobi]

He's the only one who can go Hyper, a lot of people forget that.

You can go hyper with knuckles too though.

 

[13ruce]

Very possible. The classic games aren't flawless, but they're still the best games in the series and this is the first Sonic game to ever understand what worked about them and build upon it.

Yup pretty much why i said that, game is gonna be very good. And honestly in my book it's the real Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

 

[Guess Who]

Damn... The whole game looks fantastic now. By any chance, is there a scanline option for those of us who want it?

Yep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvNQw9MROns

.

 

[Lucky Seven]

For whatever reason, I remembered Knuckles only going super with 14 emeralds. I guess that's only with Tails.

 

[Sky Walker]

Sonic 3 & Knuckles.



It is law.

God bless you, my man. S3&K is the most perfect sonic game ever made.

 

[Gamecocks625]

This might be the first new Sonic game I get in over a decade.

Feels bizarre.

Would be my first one since Sonic 2

 

[Jingle Boy]

It's beautiful

 

[NoName999]

For whatever reason, I remembered Knuckles only going super with 14 emeralds. I guess that's only with Tails.

Knuckles needed 7 to go super. He needs 14 to go hyper.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

I think im gonna play some S3&K when I get home. Unexpectedly getting hyped for this game. Doesnt help the Switch is portable and I can just take it anywhere.

 

[MAtgS]

They should retcon Tails going super with 7 and Hyper with 14 so its consistent.

 

[Unknown?]

Looks like a mix of CD and Heroes special stages. Looks pretty cool but I'm sure will be rage inducing in harder stages. Lol

 

[Hot Coldman]

hot take: Tails shouldn't go Super

 

[Stat Flow]

hot take: Tails shouldn't go Super

He will in Sonic Mania 2.

 

[Diablohead]

Christ, I just realized the green birds flying in the mode 7 stage are from the background of Sonic 1's special stages.

Same with the fish in the background in the tails part of the video

The Special Stage is hitting a specific nostalgic nerve centre in my brain despite the zone not lot looking exactly like 3D Sonic on the Saturn. It's still very 32-bit though and I appreciate the effort. I also appreciate that it's something new and that Blue Spheres has been moved to a bonus stage. They get to have their cake and eat it too, something old with something new. It also helps to pad out the game length a bit. I wonder what these medals are for though?

It's a bit like the S3k bonus stage which was based on the sonic 1 special stages but had a slot machine in the center instead of an emerald, looking at it like that I don't mind blue spheres returning in mania.

 

[MrBadger]

God bless you, my man. S3&K is the most perfect sonic game ever made.

Specifically the &K half

 

[Ferr986]

Specifically the &K half

For some reason I always liked the 3 part better. Sandopolis is the worst stage of the game to me and I didn't are that much about Flying Battery (even though a lot of people loved it) and the second act of Death Egg (the first was cool). &K has the higher highs though.

 

[IronicSonic]

For some reason I always liked the 3 part better. Sandopolis is the worst stage of the game to me and I didn't are that much about Flying Battery (even though a lot of people loved it) and the second act of Death Egg (the first was cool). &K has the higher highs though.

For me, &K part is much more solid, even though both parts of the game have a "weak" stage. For me, Launch Base Act 2 and Sandopolis Act 2 are the lower lows but still solid levels.

 

[MrBadger]

For some reason I always liked the 3 part better. Sandopolis is the worst stage of the game to me and I didn't are that much about Flying Battery (even though a lot of people loved it) and the second act of Death Egg (the first was cool). &K has the higher highs though.

I'm of the rare opinion that Sandopolis is a great stage once you get past the confusing slopes. I've always found Sonic 3 to peak at Hydrocity, and Sonic and Knuckles to just stay good for the whole thing. Better music, too. No Carnival Night theme

 

[RagnarokX]

I hope only Sonic can go Super. I feel like there needs to be stuff done to make sure Sonic doesn't seem inferior to his friends.

Eh, no. This idea that "Sonic is inferior so why would anyone play as him?" is silly. Knuckles is slower and jumps less high and usually is forced to take radically different routes that Sonic and Tails can't take. Tails can take Sonic's route or his own that can only be reached through flight, but Tails' ability to fly significantly reduces the difficulty of the stages. Sonic is essentially normal difficulty while Tails is easy; and that's no better reflected than in Super Tails' automatic Flicky barrier of death. Sonic also has exclusive access to the elemental shields' secondary abilities and the insta-shield/drop dash.

It made sense.
Super Tails needed the Super Emeralds, so he was sort of on the same tier as Hyper Sonic and Knuckles.
Plus, he's sort of the "little brother" playable character. Flying negates a lot of the game's platform if and challenge, so he gets the Flickies to trivialize combat, too.

But the emeralds never quit being super after Sonic 3.

I never really liked playing as Tails that much because he doesn't get the elemental shield abilities, and his abilities in general make him less fun than Sonic because they are slow and trivialize the challenge. Super Tails made him even less fun. Really, imo, it's Tails that needs more done to make him more worth playing as. Hopefully Mania plays to Tails' strengths with lots of Tails-specific paths with Tails-specific challenges.

Also, I know Sonic is supposed to be a 1-button game, but they really need to make the button that makes you turn super something else. One of the things I didn't like about the Classic games was how after obtaining the emeralds you couldn't jump in Sonic 2 or use secondary abilities in Sonic 3 without triggering it. Make it a shoulder button or something.

 

[Berordn]

I'm of the rare opinion that Sandopolis is a great stage once you get past the confusing slopes. I've always found Sonic 3 to peak at Hydrocity, and Sonic and Knuckles to just stay good for the whole thing. Better music, too. No Carnival Night theme

I'd still rank Ice Cap and Launch Base pretty highly, but otherwise I agree. Marble Garden always feels like a slog and Casino Night Zone is... special. S&K stays really consistent throughout, it's only real dip being Flying Battery (which makes some sense with the layout being a holdover from S3). Sandopolis is a bit of a bizarre zone, but the gimmicks are generally interesting and not a total momentum killer like Marble Garden's slops and UFOs tends to be.

S3&K is still overall the best package, but on its own I'd probably rank it as S2 >= S&K > S3 > S1

 

[JackelZXA]

I wonder if Tails or Knuckles finally get unique sprites for super forms? It'd be cool if they continued the DBZ jokes and had Knuckles get SSJ3 dreads (Why can't he turn gold too?). Tails could get mystic gohan hair??

 

[RagnarokX]

I'd still rank Ice Cap and Launch Base pretty highly, but otherwise I agree. Marble Garden always feels like a slog and Casino Night Zone is... special. S&K stays really consistent throughout, it's only real dip being Flying Battery (which makes some sense with the layout being a holdover from S3). Sandopolis is a bit of a bizarre zone, but the gimmicks are generally interesting and not a total momentum killer like Marble Garden's slops and UFOs tends to be.

S3&K is still overall the best package, but on its own I'd probably rank it as S2 >= S&K > S3 > S1

IMO Ice Cap has a fairly strong Act 1, but Act 2 is one of the weakest levels in the game, like a Green Hill but with less going for it. Launch Base never sat well with me due to the aesthetics for some reason. It's pretty funky compared to Scrap Brain and Metropolis.

Also: top

like ancient fidget spinners, except, you know, they actually do stuff. Beyblades brought 'em back to popularity.

 

[Tarin02543]

Could this mean a renaissance for 2D gaming?

What other games we love could get the same treatment?


Super Mario World Mania?
Legend of Zelda Mania?

 

[Triforce141]

I wonder if Tails or Knuckles finally get unique sprites for super forms? It'd be cool if they continued the DBZ jokes and had Knuckles get SSJ3 dreads (Why can't he turn gold too?). Tails could get mystic gohan hair??

Tails would turn blue or red since he's yellow already

 

[Berordn]

IMO Ice Cap has a fairly strong Act 1, but Act 2 is one of the weakest levels in the game, like a Green Hill but with less going for it. Launch Base never sat well with me due to the aesthetics for some reason. It's pretty funky compared to Scrap Brain and Metropolis.

Also: top

like ancient fidget spinners, except, you know, they actually do stuff. Beyblades brought 'em back to popularity.

I'll give you Act 2 being fairly weak, but I love the iceberg style aesthetics.

Also, meh. It's a weird stage mechanic no matter how pedantic you want to get over the name.

 

[War Raichu]

Tails would turn blue or red since he's yellow already

I'm okay with him just turning gold (he's normally brown or orange depending on the game) instead of flashing. Hopefully he and Knuckles don't flash colors, I always thought that was dumb.

 

[RagnarokX]

I'll give you Act 2 being fairly weak, but I love the iceberg style aesthetics.

Also, meh. It's a weird stage mechanic no matter how pedantic you want to get over the name.

Not really. They're like Metropolis' nut and bolt lifts, except they can move horrizontally. Also landing them on the ground and letting them speed along was great. They were a great idea for a gimmick to fit an ancient theme.

 

[Berordn]

Not really. They're like Metropolis' nut and bolt lifts, except they can move horrizontally. Also landing them on the ground and letting them speed along was great. They were a great idea for a gimmick to fit an ancient theme.

I dislike them for much of the same reason I dislike the nuts and bolts - it completely halts your movement for a time and there's very little variety to them. Admittedly the spinny things in 3 are better in that you can interact with the level a little more and jump off early to get to secrets and alternate routes, but on top of the other gimmicks in the stage it ended up feeling very shallow and made the whole stage feel slow.

Maybe in a better zone I'd appreciate them more, but it MGZ feels like a total slog to me.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Could this mean a renaissance for 2D gaming?

What other games we love could get the same treatment?


Super Mario World Mania?
Legend of Zelda Mania?

You're asking this after 5 NSMB games and Mario Maker?

 

[NZerker12]

Super Knuckles should be pink with slightly elevated dreads. While Super Tails should turn silver so his super colouring doesn't conflict with Sonic's. Hopefully Super Knuckles will retain the screen shake glide he had as Hyper Knuckles if Sonic is getting the Super Flash move.

 

[RagnarokX]

I dislike them for much of the same reason I dislike the nuts and bolts - it completely halts your movement for a time and there's very little variety to them. Admittedly the spinny things in 3 are better in that you can interact with the level a little more and jump off early to get to secrets and alternate routes, but on top of the other gimmicks in the stage it ended up feeling very shallow and made the whole stage feel slow.

Maybe in a better zone I'd appreciate them more, but it MGZ feels like a total slog to me.

There's lots of variety to the tops. You can fly with them; which is slow, but you can find secret paths with them (this also requires a lot of skill). You can land them on the ground and zip along very fast and down those weird shafts. They break open columns that Sonic can't normally break, giving access to other routes.