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Sonic Mania - Special Stages, Bonus Stages, & Time Attack Shown Off

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You will laugh about it, but is there any kind of PS4 Pro support planned for this? (Crisper native 4K pixels is all I can think of). I am undecided between the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 version.

I'll probably go for the Switch one, though. Too bad there's no physical version.
 

Blue-kun

Member
What is the best Sonic game?

Generations, even more so if you're willing to tinker with it and use the fanmade patch to allow you to play the Unleashed levels 'ported' into Generations.

Otherwise both Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles are pretty good, as well. Oh, and Sonic Racing Transformed. Amazing arcade-ish racer game right there!
 
Sonic 3&K
Sonic Colors
Sonic Generations
Sonic Advance 3
Sonic Rush/Adventure
Hopefully, Sonic Mania

Holy cow, this is pretty much my list as well. Granted, I haven't played Advance 3 in a long time and I've seen people say it has some awful level design at points so my opinion on that could change.

Maybe replace Advance 3 with Adventure 2 Battle or Heroes. Yes, I know Heroes has gotten a ton of backlash in the past half decade or so but I enjoy it even with it's obvious flaws and I just platinum'd Adventure 2 Battle on PSN a couple months ago and besides the Chao Garden not being my sort of thing anymore I still find it rather addicting.

Sonic Rush Adventure is also very underappreciated/overlooked. If the game didn't make you grind a bit for materials and if the story wasn't so empty (or if there were less cutscenes) it'd be close to perfect. I replayed it last year and I was dreading the ship combat with one of the sea vehicles since I remembered not liking it years ago but it was actually perfectly playable.

When it comes down to it Sonic is just incredibly varied (both one of his biggest strengths and weaknesses) and even some of the games with heavy flaws can still be very enjoyable.
 

Marcel

Member
The first one.

4aPTCrr.jpg
 

jcjimher

Member
Sonic 3 and Knuckles. No question. It compares to Mario's greatest games. Still amazing to play these days.

Nothing else comes close. Sonic 2 is a distant second. Generations and Colours are the top of the modern ones for me and not too far behind either.

This is the absolute truth.

(Although I would put Generations and Colours a bit farther from the classics than you)
 

NoKisum

Member
Maybe replace Advance 3 with Adventure 2 Battle or Heroes. Yes, I know Heroes has gotten a ton of backlash in the past half decade or so but I enjoy it even with it's obvious flaws and I just platinum'd Adventure 2 Battle on PSN a couple months ago and besides the Chao Garden not being my sort of thing anymore I still find it rather addicting.
While typing that list, I was gonna throw Adventure 2 on there, but put an asterisk on it. There's are many things I like about the game, but has some glaring glitches, and all of its play styles may not mesh well with everyone.
 

Neff

Member
Labyrinth Zone alone makes that not true.

One of the best Sonic zones ever.

It's legit my fav - but probably for nostalgia reasons.

Nostalgia plays its part, certainly, but I can bust out Sonic 1 today and have more fun with it than any of the others. It's unique in the series in that it's the only one which demands the player master Sonic's inertia at all times due to the absence of the Spin Dash, and as such is (imo) a much more skilful/rewarding game than 2 or 3.
 
I don't like the visual style or the level design. It just doesn't have the same feeling as the original Sonic games, but then that's a difference I'd expect when comparing a team of '80s/'90s Japanese veterans to a Western Indie team of today

The visual design looks incredible to me, honestly. It's very similar to the busy, vibrant, and sort of abstract style of Sonic CD. Sonic CD always felt like an evolution of Sonic 1's visual style. Sonic 2 and 3 were a tad more grounded in reality, to an extent.

I can understand being a tad concerned about the level design, as some of it does look like it could potentially frustrate less experienced players and confuse them, but as a whole it looks very creative and ripe for players to experiment.

The first one.

giphy.gif


We've all got our opinions... but...

Sonic 2 improves on nearly everything Sonic 1 did. Better, more consistent level design (that plays to the strengths of Sonic), more levels, an actual reward for nabbing the Chaos Emeralds, Tails, etc.

I can sort of understand if you preferred Sonic 2 over 3&K since 3&K has a bigger emphasis on exploration that you may not be interested in but Sonic 2 is just straight up better than Sonic 1. It's similar to how SMB3 took what SMB1 did and improved on it in nearly every aspect.

While typing that list, I was gonna throw Adventure 2 on there, but put an asterisk on it. There's are many things I like about the game, but has some glaring glitches, and all of its play styles may not mesh well with everyone.

Yeah, I'd never say Adventure 2 (or 1) are great games. They have humongous flaws that for many will be hard to overlook and I don't blame people if they don't like them. They certainly aren't terrible games, though. Adventure 1 was very ambitious for it's time (a little too ambitious) and Adventure 2 tried to fix a lot of Adventure 1's shortcomings (no wasting time in hub worlds, removing fishing and Amy gameplay, etc) but still lacked polish and not all of its ideas were good ones (the more dark and realistic tone, mech gameplay being clunkier, etc).
 

Guess Who

Banned
I replayed SA2 recently, and while I've long thought it was overrated, it was honestly even worse than I remembered. The camera especially is just unbearable, and even theoretically fun levels like Green Forest are absolutely plagued by bugs and jank (like how the "sticky" physics on the "tunnels" in that stage will randomly decide to just fuck you and send you flying to your death).
 

Loz246789

Member
If there's one thing I'll give Sonic 1, it's that it's probably the least in need of a slightly zoomed out camera due to the slower gameplay. In their original forms, sonic 2 and 3 just about work, but I'd love to be able to see further ahead sometimes. (You know what's a nightmare? Playing sonic 2 and 3 for the first time on the classic collection for the ds. I imagine if you're familiar with the games the screen crunch isn't too bad, but first time it's almost game ruining.)
 

Gattsu25

Banned
I've always hated Mode 7 anything.. Sonic CD special stages included.

Still, at least the Sonic 3 bonus stages are included. Some fake depth instead of a bland flat world.
 

Neff

Member
Sonic 2 improves on nearly everything Sonic 1 did. Better, more consistent level design (that plays to the strengths of Sonic), more levels, an actual reward for nabbing the Chaos Emeralds, Tails, etc.

I thought the level design in Sonic 1 was more interesting. Fewer and smaller stages, sure, but denser and more relevant obstacles as opposed to Sonic 2's stretches of automated speed candy. I'll give you Super Sonic, though, that's a genuine case of the second game taking something from the first (the Chaos Emeralds) and improving it.

Sonic 2's a fantastic game, no doubt, but I get bored of blasting through those stages these days. It's kind of effortless. Sonic 1 still has that magic and satisfaction.

It's similar to how SMB3 took what SMB1 did and improved on it in nearly every aspect.

I don't agree with this either.
 

zulux21

Member
and bought.

after humble monthly discount and credit back on the humble store it's only $15.30 so sure why not.

it looks like a new classic sonic that I can play co op with my wife.
 

dlauv

Member
S3&K is the best, or S&K if you want to keep it lite. S3 is weaker than Sonic 2, but better than CD and Sonic 1.

Altho, you'll get answers from all over the spectrum. Taxman's favorite is Sonic CD, iirc.

If there's one thing I'll give Sonic 1, it's that it's probably the least in need of a slightly zoomed out camera due to the slower gameplay. In their original forms, sonic 2 and 3 just about work, but I'd love to be able to see further ahead sometimes. (You know what's a nightmare? Playing sonic 2 and 3 for the first time on the classic collection for the ds. I imagine if you're familiar with the games the screen crunch isn't too bad, but first time it's almost game ruining.)

I always thought it was the biggest offender of speed traps. Spring Yard is particularly cruel and then it doesn't really let up. Of course, the Taxman port makes them somewhat of a non-issue.

Sonic 2 only has some near the end, most notably Metropolis. Sonic 3 in Marble Garden, which I'll assume was designed by a future Dimps employee, or Iizuka himself.
 
This game has the potential to be one of the best Sonic games ever. My God.

It's looking like it'll easily beat pretty much every Sonic game besides Sonic 3 & Knuckles imo. I'd love for it to be even better than that but since 3&K is my favorite game of all time I don't see that happening.
 
I've always hated Mode 7 anything.. Sonic CD special stages included.

Still, at least the Sonic 3 bonus stages are included. Some fake depth instead of a bland flat world.

The CD like bonus stage in Mania has 3D assets like palm trees and columns and such. Check out the video again.
 

Loz246789

Member
I always thought it was the biggest offender of speed traps.

Nah, for better and for worse, the game quickly trains you after green hill to treat the game as a regular platformer with a faster than usual main character. Outside of a very few segments, Marble zone does not lend itself to speed easily without a decent level of familiarity with the game. (I mean, it has block pushing. Nothing speedy about that.)

2 and 3 are better designed for speed, which means you're more inclined to go fast, which means that when the game *does* pull the rug out from under you, it's more likely to be an issue. In my experience, anyway.
 

Guess Who

Banned
If there's one thing I'll give Sonic 1, it's that it's probably the least in need of a slightly zoomed out camera due to the slower gameplay. In their original forms, sonic 2 and 3 just about work, but I'd love to be able to see further ahead sometimes. (You know what's a nightmare? Playing sonic 2 and 3 for the first time on the classic collection for the ds. I imagine if you're familiar with the games the screen crunch isn't too bad, but first time it's almost game ruining.)

I’m honestly surprised Mania didn’t copy CD’s camera. Sonic CD did this great thing where, if you are going fast, it will shift the camera so you can see further ahead of you. Weirdly, the “Taxman” version of CD removed this camera feature unless you enable the original CD spin dash.
 

Loz246789

Member
I’m honestly surprised Mania didn’t copy CD’s camera. Sonic CD did this great thing where, if you are going fast, it will shift the camera so you can see further ahead of you. Weirdly, the “Taxman” version of CD removed this camera feature unless you enable the original CD spin dash.

I KNEW there was a reason I preferred CD, I just never consciously realised what it was doing.
Thank you for pointing this out. XD
 

dlauv

Member
Nah, for better and for worse, the game quickly trains you after green hill to treat the game as a regular platformer with a faster than usual main character. Outside of a very few segments, Marble zone does not lend itself to speed easily without a decent level of familiarity with the game. (I mean, it has block pushing. Nothing speedy about that.)

I don't think it does. Green Hill Zone, for the most part and especially act 1, is decimated by holding forward and/or spinning. They're very fast stages although they allow for a variety of gameplay styles (platforming/exploratory upper path). Green Hill was the level they spent the most development time on, and it shows. The game slows down after that and stays slow, but I think it's to the game's detriment since all of the following stages are worse. Green Hill acts 2 and 3 throw a monkey wrench into the mix with the oscillating platforms with spikes in-between, and with the rotating spike bridge, respectively. Both are placed in the 3/5 mark of their respective stages just to fuck with the player and eschew the established pacing. A game that teaches well would encourage a play style within the first level and/or throughout.

Then you get to Scrap Brain 3, which is essentially trial and error and has zip to do with being cautious. Long, downhill sections in Spring Yard that are just speed traps meant to literally encourage the player to run or roll into a trap lest the player fight momentum. Starlight has a few spots where enemy memorization will keep you from getting hit.

It's just a somewhat rough first game with some winning mechanics and production value. Still a lot better than later games.
 
Hands-on preview of a Mania demo featuring the bonus stages, special stages, and time-attack mode by GameCrate.

- Bonus Stages are activated by the player having at least 25 rings, and are randomly selected.
- Bonus Stages will have new layouts, as well as layouts reused from Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- Completion of the Bonus Stages by getting all of the spheres results in the player earning a Silver Medallion.
- Completion of the Bonus Stages by getting all of the spheres and all of the rings results in the player earning a Gold Medallion. (They don't know what the medallions do.)

- You can fall off the track in the Special Stages (a la Chaotix) and hitting obstacles slows down your speed.
- In order to earn the Chaos Emerald, you just need to catch up to the UFO (you don't need to attack it as in Sonic CD).

- Time Attack allows players to play through individual acts. Levels during this mode have no checkpoints, no bosses, and the clock acting as a timer.
- Completing Acts in Time Attack mode results in the game logs and saves your times. You can compare your record to your personal best times, or upload your record to an online leaderboard.
- Restarting levels during Time Attack mode is done by the player pressing and holding a single button (not specified which).
- Knuckles is said by the developers to have a slightly lower jump height than Sonic and Tails as in Sonic 3&K (though I assume we may know this already).
 

Finalizer

Member
After Crash Bandicoot served delicious crow, they really should keep their trash hot takes to themselves

After the Crash remakes, it seemed like most folks relented while a handful of holdouts stuck to making little jabs in unrelated threads while avoiding general discussions of the games. I'm expecting the same here.
 

chrono01

Member
It's looking like it'll easily beat pretty much every Sonic game besides Sonic 3 & Knuckles imo. I'd love for it to be even better than that but since 3&K is my favorite game of all time I don't see that happening.
Definitely wouldn't surprise me if this were true, some seriously impressive stuff. Everything I see from this game, from its sprites to its music and now to its special stages, it's always great. I don't think I have a single complaint with what's been shown so far, as my initial worry that the "remixed" stages were simple do-overs, but it's clear a lot of thought has gone into those as well.

I need this game.
 
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