Sonic Mania

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Stanshall
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Sonic Mania

Post by Stanshall »

Right then, this is one of the hottest releases of the summer, it seems, and I'm now really enjoying it.

For context, I rarely touched any Sonic games as a kid besides a bit of the first one on the Master System. I played something of the DS game, the supposedly decent one but only put an hour or so into it. Full disclosure, I never liked the guy, nor his games. I felt it was too stop-start and I'd always end up going full pelt into a wall or some obstacle just off screen, if not into an enemy or something spiky which would make me scatter rings across the screen and recoil in a really annoying way, taking control away for a second or two.

I started playing this, was impressed by the presentation but quickly felt the same old frustration with the gameplay. I started asking around and had a number of conversations with people because I assumed I was doing something wrong, or was trying to overlay my expectations of what it should play like. Having read up, I also found that my complaints and issues weren't only pretty common, they're also commonly refuted. And so I took things on board and started again.

Forget about rings and pick ups , they said. Don't try to rush, ignore 'gotta go fast'. Explore the playground, see what happens if you go in different directions. Play it a bit more like Mario, in essence! (sorry if that's sacrilegious) And it's really started to click. I'm not trying to race through levels, I see the fast bits and on rails stuff as mostly cosmetic thrills for now, little transitions which I won't be good enough to exploit or make proper use of until I know the game and the levels better. They're there for pacing and variety, rather than the main gameplay stuff (or at least that's my approach for the moment and how I'm enjoying the game).

I'm only on the fifth area but I love the one-off ideas in each act, some imaginative and funny little thrills scattered throughout, and there seems to be more and more as the game goes on. The music is fantastic, I love that jazzy cheesy synthy Sega style, so joyful and carefree. The backgrounds in particular are stunning but the whole levels are beautifully designed, dense without being cluttered and distracting (so far). I don't expect it's a very long game but I'm already looking forward to replaying it and really learning the zones well enough to find faster routes and find some flow.

Anyone else?
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dezm0nd
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by dezm0nd »

Really enjoying this which is the first Sonic game i've truly enjoyed since Generations. Before that the series was mostly misses for me so to see this be on par with the Mega Drive lot of games is incredible.

The soundtrack is superb, with its remixes and original pieces too. Couple that with some subtle yet lovely flourishes of animation and you've got a brand new Mega Drive game that looks as good as my brain remembers the good old days.
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Flabyo
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Flabyo »

The way it was described to me is that this is the 2D Sonic game the Saturn would've got if the world hadn't decided 3D was all they were interested in.
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Flabyo wrote: August 18th, 2017, 8:43 am The way it was described to me is that this is the 2D Sonic game the Saturn would've got if the world hadn't decided 3D was all they were interested in.
I've heard the very same thing. Being an old skool Sonic fan, plus a Saturn owner who always yearned for a proper Saturn Sonic, it makes me very excited indeed.

I will absolutely be picking this up when I get a window to play (couple of things to finish off first), but I'm so delighted that it's receiving such praise across the board. Sonic fans have been so let down over the years that at least we can now all say 'we'll always have Mania' and die happy :lol:
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Flabyo
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Flabyo »

One of the mid game levels feels to me like it’s a gentle nod to Freedom Planet, you know, one speed platformer to another.

Especially the music. I’ll whack this behind a spoiler tag...
Spoiler: show

Especially the instrumentation choice around the 46 second mark.

It’s not a direct melody reference, but it has the same feel as Freedom Planet, for example:
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by ColinAlonso »

Stanshall wrote: August 16th, 2017, 10:48 pmForget about rings and pick ups , they said. Don't try to rush, ignore 'gotta go fast'. Explore the playground, see what happens if you go in different directions. Play it a bit more like Mario, in essence! (sorry if that's sacrilegious) And it's really started to click. I'm not trying to race through levels, I see the fast bits and on rails stuff as mostly cosmetic thrills for now, little transitions which I won't be good enough to exploit or make proper use of until I know the game and the levels better. They're there for pacing and variety, rather than the main gameplay stuff (or at least that's my approach for the moment and how I'm enjoying the game).
That's good advice. It's generally how I played the Mega Drive games.

I'm still on quite the high of playing a well designed nostalgic 2D Sonic to give reasonable thoughts. I like the level design so far but I'll only be sure after multiple playthroughs. The special stages (the ones to get the Chaos Emeralds) really ramp up the difficulty and Sonic's handling in those will get to me at some point. I get it's a reference to Sonic CD, but these seem harder so far. I think some of the bosses are great although the best ones are up to and including the the water level (not spoiling the name for anyone who is avoiding them). It's a tricky game, I found myself down to 1 life two-thirds of the way through the game, I survived to complete it without a game over though.

Also, regarding levels, I hated
Spoiler: show
Oil Ocean in Sonic 2
and I still hate it now. Finally I'd love if Sega backed these guys to do a fully original 2D sequel.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Jobobonobo »

Stanshall wrote: August 16th, 2017, 10:48 pm Forget about rings and pick ups , they said. Don't try to rush, ignore 'gotta go fast'. Explore the playground, see what happens if you go in different directions. Play it a bit more like Mario, in essence! (sorry if that's sacrilegious) And it's really started to click. I'm not trying to race through levels, I see the fast bits and on rails stuff as mostly cosmetic thrills for now, little transitions which I won't be good enough to exploit or make proper use of until I know the game and the levels better. They're there for pacing and variety, rather than the main gameplay stuff (or at least that's my approach for the moment and how I'm enjoying the game).
This is exactly how to play this game. The mega drive games were far more about careful platforming and exploration than speed, speed is a reward for your skills and this operates exactly the same way. It is this combination of speed and tight level design that makes these games so fondly remembered.

Just bought and started it today. This game is what Sonic 4 should have been. Been a big smile on my face since I pressed start. I can see myself returning to this again and again.
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dezm0nd
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by dezm0nd »

That definitely is how Sonic should be played, like a traditional platformer. I do enjoy the moments where I lose control and Sonic whizzes about insanely but if you think about the amount of times you're in control of Sonic himself at silly speeds, it's not very many.

The problem with some of the later games is that they've forgotten this and opted for maximum speed with some really obnoxious obstacles and enemies which stop Sonic 100%. The MD games (and Mania) are so good because they often find a middle ground which seldom enter the realm of super speed or super slow, making you happy, relieved or anxious to get back to the middle ground, the safe ground.

There's a reason why the secrets are tucked away in these levels and that's because they want you to find them. I just hope that when I play as Knuckles to find the secrets that they don't lose focus and the levels are stupidly large.
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Todinho »

I played abit of Sonicmania at a friend's house this weekend and I also had a bit of trouble getting into the groove, now I never really played much or any of classic sonic, I think the sonic game I played the most was sonic heroes on the gamecube, but I loved Freedom Planet which is essentially a sonic game so I was looking foward to this game but playing it now I dont know exactly what it is but the movement with Sonic feels a bit off, it feels a bit slippery for lack of a better term I mean it never feels I have complete precision over his jumps and that became really apparent in Chemical plant zone especially in those block sections where you have to jump up, I dont know if it's just me or the game because I played freedom planet to death and never had this problem Im wondering if maybe playing as another character would help to at least get me used to it because aside from that I really liked what I played, especially the level design and music.
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Suits
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by Suits »

The only thing that serious bugs me (apart from Metal Sonic) is the extra life sound remix :( .
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ashman86
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Re: Sonic Mania

Post by ashman86 »

One of the joys I've had with Sonic Mania is really introducing my wife to the series. Like Stanshall was saying with their own Sonic history, she had this idea that Sonic was all about holding the joystick/d-pad down to the right and allowing Sonic to just speed towards the finish line. She'd even told me before that she didn't like Sonic because the game just played itself.

She was surprised to find that the strategy didn't work. Classic Sonic was always about discovering multiple pathways through a stage on each playthrough and while there have always been roller coaster sections where Sonic just blasts through huge sections of the stage, those moments are broken up with precision platforming and often slow, deliberate choices. Once she caught onto that and started playing it, as OP put it, like Mario, she really started to enjoy the game.

Sonic Mania has totally recaptured that spirit and perfectly emulated what made the early Sonic games some of my favorites from childhood, and it's one of my favorite releases in an already stellar year for games.
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