Project Overview
Without a doubt, one of the most well-known Sonic memes out there is the &Knuckles meme. Just slap "&Knuckles" at the end of any title, maybe sprinkle the Echidna's head over the actual characters, and wham! Quality meme material! But why should Knuckles get all the glory? After all, the game the meme originated from was Sonic&Knuckles, not just &Knuckles. He should be sharing some of the stardom with the blue blur, and that's exactly what this mod set out to do!
Origins
Originally, this started as a joke mod (And I guess it kind of is still) meant to be a silly parody of EXFalchion's Knuckles Mania & Knuckles mod, which replaced everything with Knuckles. I liked the concept and wanted to make a similar mod of my own, but of course, Knuckles had already been taken. Then I got an idea: What if I used Sonic instead of Knuckles? Many months of development and a few iterations on GameBanana later, and the end result is one of the biggest overhaul mods of Sonic Mania to date.
In case you couldn't tell by the screenshots, Sonic Mania and Sonic PLUS is a complete overhaul of Sonic Mania and its DLC. If I went through every individual change we'd be here forever, but fortunately I can briefly describe some of the more important changes included in a quick bullet point list:
- Every character has been turned into Sonic, while still retaining their original moves and some even receiving their own unique custom sprites!
- Every badnik and Object been turned into Sonic.
- Every stage's color palette has been edited to Sonic's colors. Sonic might even appear in the background occasionally, so keep your eyes peeled!
- Some music tracks have been remixed to include various vocal themes from the Sonic franchise (Usually Sonic's theme).
- Special Encore palettes for the levels that still relate to the Sonic theme while being different to the original in some fashion. (For example, Chemical Plant in Mania mode uses Sonic's Mania palette, while in Encore Mode it uses his Sonic 2 Palette.)
- Special Stages are not way past cooler with the addition of 5 million Sonic models on the screen!
- A very special ending for those who manage to make it all the way to the end of Encore Mode!
- ...and tons of other secrets and easter eggs to find!
This mod is best experienced blind in a full playthrough, but you are free to play however you see fit! There's a ton of content to cover, so have as much fun as you can trying to find it all!
Changelog
9/3/2018: As many have pointed out, the zip contains a bunch of unnecessary files leftover from the Repainted mod (This is because I'm on the team and I was doing some progress on both mods using the Data folder method until we got a proper mod loader for Plus) which ended up bloating the filesize to a ridiculous degree. I've taken the liberty of removing all those files and uploading a new download for you guys to play that has a much small filesize. I apologize for forcing you guys to download nearly 300mb of what would ultimately be unused content. I know SAGE has already concluded, but for you cool kids who still want to give this mod a try, now you should have a much easier time doing so.
Screenshots and media!
Bonus Content
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q. How do I download and play this mod?
A. You'll need to download this bad boy right here and then follow its installation instructions. Then, once you've done that, download the Sonic Mania and Sonic PLUS mod and extract the contents of the zip into the mods folder that should have been created if you followed the mod loader installation steps correctly. From there, just open up the mod loader, select the mod, and hit "Save and Play"!
Q. Will this mod work if I haven't purchased Sonic Mania Plus?
A. Yes, it should work normally as intended, so long as you've updated your game to the latest version (1.05). You will be missing out on a lot of the content, though! The Encore DLC is fairly cheap if you already bought Mania on Steam, so it's not to pricey.
Q. Will this mod work if I own a cracked copy of Sonic Mania/Sonic Mania Plus?
A. No it will not, and I will not provide you any instructions or hints to circumvent this. Only those who actually purchased the game on Steam with real money are able to play the mod. I don't care what your excuse is. Just shell out five dollars and support the devs of this game.
Q. Something is broken/You forgot X thing!
A. Technically that's not a question, but I'll answer it anyway. A full reskin of the game results in you having to manage a lot of files, and sometimes little things slip through the cracks. If it turns out I missed something important or the game crashes due to something from the mod, please let me know either in the comments or on Discord and I'll try to push a small bugfix update for it.
Q. Your mod stinks!!!!!!!!
A. Why thank you!
SECRETS: ENCORE ORIGINS
Bet you’re wondering what all the Encore Palettes mean, huh? Well, I’ve got a handy little guide that lets you in on the origins of each one!
Q. How do I download and play this mod?
A. You'll need to download this bad boy right here and then follow its installation instructions. Then, once you've done that, download the Sonic Mania and Sonic PLUS mod and extract the contents of the zip into the mods folder that should have been created if you followed the mod loader installation steps correctly. From there, just open up the mod loader, select the mod, and hit "Save and Play"!
Q. Will this mod work if I haven't purchased Sonic Mania Plus?
A. Yes, it should work normally as intended, so long as you've updated your game to the latest version (1.05). You will be missing out on a lot of the content, though! The Encore DLC is fairly cheap if you already bought Mania on Steam, so it's not to pricey.
Q. Will this mod work if I own a cracked copy of Sonic Mania/Sonic Mania Plus?
A. No it will not, and I will not provide you any instructions or hints to circumvent this. Only those who actually purchased the game on Steam with real money are able to play the mod. I don't care what your excuse is. Just shell out five dollars and support the devs of this game.
Q. Something is broken/You forgot X thing!
A. Technically that's not a question, but I'll answer it anyway. A full reskin of the game results in you having to manage a lot of files, and sometimes little things slip through the cracks. If it turns out I missed something important or the game crashes due to something from the mod, please let me know either in the comments or on Discord and I'll try to push a small bugfix update for it.
Q. Your mod stinks!!!!!!!!
A. Why thank you!
SECRETS: ENCORE ORIGINS
Bet you’re wondering what all the Encore Palettes mean, huh? Well, I’ve got a handy little guide that lets you in on the origins of each one!
Green Hill: Paler colors than the default, just a sunset theme basically.
Chemical Plant: Palette uses Sonic’s palette from Sonic 2.
Studiopolis: Unchanged (sadly)
Flying Battery: Black and Red? It’s Shadow!
Press Garden: I switched the red and blue. Still looks beautiful regardless.
Stardust Speedway: Act 1 uses the CD palette for Sonic, Act 2 uses Metal Sonic’s palette.
Hydrocity: Everything’s flesh colored, a reference to Garrulous64’s Flesh OC.
Mirage Saloon: The same, but with a nighttime sky.
Oil Ocean: The default mania palette, I thought the purple looked pretty cool.
Lava Reef: Act 1 turns everything blue, a reference to the original version of the palette in the very first versions of the mod. Act 2 is a reference to an infamous palette error that plagued many streamers who tried out the mod which caused a pure-black palette in Act 2.
Metallic Madness: Uses Sonic’s palette from Sonic CD.
Titanic Monarch: instead of blue, the final level is adorned in black. Wonder who this is referencing?...
Chemical Plant: Palette uses Sonic’s palette from Sonic 2.
Studiopolis: Unchanged (sadly)
Flying Battery: Black and Red? It’s Shadow!
Press Garden: I switched the red and blue. Still looks beautiful regardless.
Stardust Speedway: Act 1 uses the CD palette for Sonic, Act 2 uses Metal Sonic’s palette.
Hydrocity: Everything’s flesh colored, a reference to Garrulous64’s Flesh OC.
Mirage Saloon: The same, but with a nighttime sky.
Oil Ocean: The default mania palette, I thought the purple looked pretty cool.
Lava Reef: Act 1 turns everything blue, a reference to the original version of the palette in the very first versions of the mod. Act 2 is a reference to an infamous palette error that plagued many streamers who tried out the mod which caused a pure-black palette in Act 2.
Metallic Madness: Uses Sonic’s palette from Sonic CD.
Titanic Monarch: instead of blue, the final level is adorned in black. Wonder who this is referencing?...
Credits
BETA TESTERS
ShibaM
Beta Angel
CarlosFlare
Some Fool
Modern (Most of the Sonic edits)
ShibaM (Custom Knux and AIZ sprites)
20Baisju and HatLovingGamer (DERobot sprites)
Eracity (Puyo sprites)
JammerTheFox (SSZ Eggman sprites)
Jamb and Roxy Doodlebug (Cybershell sprites)
Mike1967Now/PROJECT SHADOW (Shadow sprites)
MUSICIANS
Some Fool (A good majority of the remixes)
Modern (Like 2 or 3 lame remixes, Some Fool was the real champion here)
(THOSE WHO WEREN'T REALLY INVOLVED BUT CONTRIBUTED IN SOME SMALL WAY)
EXFalchion
TheHatLovingGamer
Really3D
LooneyDude (He even approves of the Sunky cameo!)
0nyxHeart
StraightDogga
Turret3471
Jon Burton
Bossclips (shoutouts to)
Cortez
Cybershell (RIP)
Axanery (Hex Editing)
(THOSE WHO SHOWCASED THE MOD IN ITS EARLY STAGES AND GAVE IT EXPOSURE. MY GRATITUDE IS IMMENSE!)
Garrulous64
Knuckles Channel 3 &Knuckles Sonic
Sizzstar
Konic64
Motidzuki
Razor and Zenon and Sonic
JammerTheFox
Axanery a.k.a. the real Christian Whitehead
Stealth (Yes, the Stealth played this mod!)
Neo Hazard
And finally, this mod is dedicated in memory of Mr. Man Guy. May you live on in our hearts and serve as an inspiration for others.
ShibaM
Beta Angel
CarlosFlare
Some Fool
SPRITERSModern (Most of the Sonic edits)
ShibaM (Custom Knux and AIZ sprites)
20Baisju and HatLovingGamer (DERobot sprites)
Eracity (Puyo sprites)
JammerTheFox (SSZ Eggman sprites)
Jamb and Roxy Doodlebug (Cybershell sprites)
Mike1967Now/PROJECT SHADOW (Shadow sprites)
MUSICIANS
Some Fool (A good majority of the remixes)
Modern (Like 2 or 3 lame remixes, Some Fool was the real champion here)
SPECIAL THANKS (THOSE WHO WEREN'T REALLY INVOLVED BUT CONTRIBUTED IN SOME SMALL WAY)
EXFalchion
TheHatLovingGamer
Really3D
LooneyDude (He even approves of the Sunky cameo!)
0nyxHeart
StraightDogga
Turret3471
Jon Burton
Bossclips (shoutouts to)
Cortez
Cybershell (RIP)
Axanery (Hex Editing)
SHOWCASE CORNER (THOSE WHO SHOWCASED THE MOD IN ITS EARLY STAGES AND GAVE IT EXPOSURE. MY GRATITUDE IS IMMENSE!)
Garrulous64
Knuckles Channel 3 &
Sizzstar
Konic64
Motidzuki
Razor and Zenon and Sonic
JammerTheFox
Axanery a.k.a. the real Christian Whitehead
Stealth (Yes, the Stealth played this mod!)
Neo Hazard
And finally, this mod is dedicated in memory of Mr. Man Guy. May you live on in our hearts and serve as an inspiration for others.
