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Sonic Mania (WARNING: SPOILERS)

Unlimited Trees

Going home
Aug 28, 2017
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127
193
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Space
A thread in which we talk about the best Sonic game ever. Be warned, there will be spoilers.

So here are some random thoughts:
-All of the level layouts are some of the best level designs I've ever seen
-I love all the zones, especially Studiopolis, Chemcial Plant, Flying Battery, Snow Warehouse Zone, and Stardust Speedway
-the special stages, though challenging, are fun as hell
 

ArcaniaCQ

Marble Zone
Aug 29, 2017
41
23
83
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Sweden
The PC version will be great... Also I stole the qoute from Petter Knetter on youtube for my signature.
 

ScarlyNight

Legendary Moderation
Aug 29, 2017
11
17
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the Netherlands
Mania's great. I love the new assets and music, level design is probably the best the series has had so far and the amount of replayability is astonishing! I managed to quickly get all golden medals on day 1. My favourite Zone has to be
Press Garden Zone, it's so unique in design and act 2 is the best thing I've ever experienced in a Sonic game.

I still don't know where to rank this, however, but it's easily one of the best Sonic games out there!

Also for those that have missed it, the Steam release will include bugfixes and other stuff and will be coming to the other versions later down the road.
 
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Atomikku

OfirToeiSonicFan
Aug 29, 2017
19
2
13
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Onett
atomikku123.deviantart.com
Well guys, the truth is, Sonic Mania made me realize how noob I am in Sonic games (but I got used to the game later on)... Other than that, this game is just PERFECT, the character designs, the concept, the level design, the FRIGGIN music, the HUGE amount of Sonic and SEGA references, and much more
 

Arkenova

Queen of Shenanigans
Aug 29, 2017
32
22
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East Coast USA
Mania has so many zones that I enjoy but the tie is between several of them. One of which involves Press Garden with which Act 2 is up in my alley with the Japanese motif.
 

SlumberGlss

Nintender? Who's that?
Aug 29, 2017
52
16
43
Ahaha, nope.
Denuvo is a malware-like DRM that SEGA of Europe used on the PC port of Mania.
It doesn't even say that in the EULA.
 

Misinko

Feel the the fire! Break your vision!
Aug 29, 2017
41
14
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Hahahahahahahaha!
[Breathes]
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

What a bunch of utter hacks.
 

Clouder

The one and only
Aug 29, 2017
49
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Played through the first two zones as soon as I got home, and I can confidently say:

This is the closest we've ever gotten to Sonic 4. The music, the level design, the bosses, the special stages-- everything. It's the perfect love letter to a franchise, made by fans, for fans. I really hope this game tops the charts and we get much, much more of this.
 

ElectricSparx

Green Hill Zone
Aug 29, 2017
7
4
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The Earth
electricsparx.deviantart.com
Oh my god, this game is a dream come true. Honestly the only thing negative I have to say about Mania is that the Special Stages are really not fun. I won't go into too much detail on my thoughts about the Special Stages (because I doubt anyone cares to hear a large rant from me), but I'll just say it's like playing Sonic R but without drifting and more tank controls while also chasing down something that's going over 200 mph on Rainbow Road and constantly having to restart because you keep falling the fuck off or running out of time trying not to fall the fuck off. Also the Giant Rings just seem to be an absolute bitch to find. At least I got Super Sonic.

Everything else is fucking amazing though. I lost my shit at the goddamn Mean Bean Machine boss in Chemical Plant. Titanic Monarch's boss felt underwhelming, and I did that without Super Sonic. The true final boss was pretty cool, but IMHO didn't really feel too climactic. It was just a less-intense Doomsday Zone. The Blue Sphere bonus stages are neat, and they actually seem to control better in the Retro Engine than in the original Sonic 3K. The Drop Dash has grown on me, it's a pretty decent move (even though it really should be down + jump in mid-air, why the hell can't I use it with an elemental shield??). Was still all like "FUCK YES" when I saw the Insta-Shield (which is what I consider the best move for 2D Sonic) got unlocked at the end of my first playthrough though.

I literally woke up at like 7 AM and took the day off just to play this game, and I haven't been disappointed. Really hoping for modding (please let me have playable Mighty), and of course a sequel.
 

Atomikku

OfirToeiSonicFan
Aug 29, 2017
19
2
13
22
Onett
atomikku123.deviantart.com
Oh my god, this game is a dream come true. Honestly the only thing negative I have to say about Mania is that the Special Stages are really not fun. I won't go into too much detail on my thoughts about the Special Stages (because I doubt anyone cares to hear a large rant from me), but I'll just say it's like playing Sonic R but without drifting and more tank controls while also chasing down something that's going over 200 mph on Rainbow Road and constantly having to restart because you keep falling the fuck off or running out of time trying not to fall the fuck off. Also the Giant Rings just seem to be an absolute bitch to find. At least I got Super Sonic.

Everything else is fucking amazing though. I lost my shit at the goddamn Mean Bean Machine boss in Chemical Plant. Titanic Monarch's boss felt underwhelming, and I did that without Super Sonic. The true final boss was pretty cool, but IMHO didn't really feel too climactic. It was just a less-intense Doomsday Zone. The Blue Sphere bonus stages are neat, and they actually seem to control better in the Retro Engine than in the original Sonic 3K. The Drop Dash has grown on me, it's a pretty decent move (even though it really should be down + jump in mid-air, why the hell can't I use it with an elemental shield??). Was still all like "FUCK YES" when I saw the Insta-Shield (which is what I consider the best move for 2D Sonic) got unlocked at the end of my first playthrough though.

I literally woke up at like 7 AM and took the day off just to play this game, and I haven't been disappointed. Really hoping for modding (please let me have playable Mighty), and of course a sequel.
LOL, I also had a hard time with the Special Stages, it took me 2 days to beat them all, at this point, it takes me 1 try to beat Special Stages 1-5 & 7, and 2 tries to beat Special Stage 6
 

Misinko

Feel the the fire! Break your vision!
Aug 29, 2017
41
14
28
24

If you don't think this is the unequivocal best badnik in the game, then get out of my face.
 
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P3DR0

Administrator
Apr 26, 2017
47
170
69
Brass Hill Zone, Act 2
So I finished the game a couple of times now and while I had a blast going through it, I have some criticisms about it:

- The intro set in Angel Island really got me pumped for it. The graphics were great, the music was great, everything was solid... only to have a small cutscene in it and then get warped to Green Hill Zone. I mean, I guess I saw it coming since GHZ was there and how could that not be the first stage in the game, right? But still, kinda bummed me out and made me really appreciate GHZ even less because of it.

- Overall during my playthrough of the game, I'm not sure if I just got good at it, but I felt a lack of challenge in most stages. Even in later ones where traps should be more common. It was just very easy to blast through, perhaps to be able to play it perfectly will take some time, but I didn't have any trouble with the game whatsoever.

- When I did get in trouble, it was due to very questionable level design which made a lot of crushing traps. They all seem to have a very inconvenient starting placement times where you're just rolling or going at it with some speed and with no time to react, you get crushed because of pixels. Speaking of which, this game really seems to have a hard-on for crushing traps. I mean, I haven't been able to find many bottomless-pits but they sure as hell got a ton of crushing stuff to make up for it and to grant those cheap deaths we all know and love.

- Bonus stages. Look, blue spheres is a nice mini-game and all, but it gets boring after 10 times or so. Sonic 3 & Knuckles had a great variety of mini-games to play for bonus rings and lives and elemental shields to aid you in your adventure. Not only do the blue spheres mini-game break up the flow of the game a lot, they're also set in this very inconvenient way where it's just too easy to accidentally get in them, because of how generous the game is with rings. Just wish there were more mini-games and that they did more than just give you medals to unlock stuff.

- I really wish there were more special stages or at very least a way to access them easily. It really bummed me out when I got all seven rings and all those big rings did was give me 50 rings. I know this is how it worked on the classics but damn, these special stages are fun! I really wish there were more of them. I'd totally buy a cheap DLC with extra special stages or something.

- The challenge was toned way way down for boss fights. Some of them weren't challenging at all and I felt like they were there mostly for doing "cool stuff" than actually testing the player skills.

- Mirage Saloon Act 1 for Sonic and Tails got me very, very sad with it being only a Sky Chase type of stage. I mean, the Act 2 is probably one of the best stages in the whole game. It just felt like a wasted opportunity to give more of that awesome stuff. I'm glad at least Knuckles' act 1 is a regular stage.

- Some of the level transitions of the game could've been a lot better and more imaginative.

- The story could've been better explained, we didn't had a problem with that in S3&K, but with Mania, I kinda don't have any idea on what the fuck is going on, why is little planet back, what is the Titatic Monarch and so on. I feel like some of that stuff will be better explained in Forces as, by now, we all know Mania is a tie-in for that game, but still, wouldn't hurt to have some extra cutscenes or a lil' more explanation of the plot.

- The drop dash while very nice and has its uses is a skill that, in the end, doesn't do much. I would've liked if they designed more stages with its use in mind. For most of the time, I just forgot it was there.

- I felt like level tropes were too hard on industrial settings, with so many great stages to use from the classic trilogy and CD, I really feel like they could've picked some better stages than Oil Ocean, Metallic Madness, Green Hill or Chemical Plant. I would love to see Mushroom Hill remade, or maybe Casino Night, Spring Yard, Mystic Cave and you get my point. I just feel like they played way too safe with the level selection and also choose a few of the least interesting looking zones in the trilogy. Seriously, why Oil Ocean?

- Final Zone is probably my least favorite in the game. Gimmicks were way over-used to a point where it was almost boring and the stage itself isn't really challenging or fun, it's just... run around and get bounced 'til you reach the end. Second act was terrible, when I got in I was expecting a boss rush with the HBH given how the level layout suggested that, but once you got to each "room" it was just a mini-act having you running around for a while before going back in the main part of the stage. Something about the last zone really screamed "rushed" for me.

- Last but not least, the true final boss was very boring and unimaginative. After playing a game with so many cool stuff and imaginative bosses, it really felt boring as heck to fight Robotnik and the Heavy King. Kinda felt generic and there wasn't much challenge involved. It gave Super Sonic a special ability when on the air, but never required it to be used.



Despite all my criticisms, it's a very fun game and got me smiling for almost the entire time from end to finish. All the references were amazing and I'm sure I missed a few still, the gameplay is suberb, level design is, for the most part, great, the OST is just amazing and the graphics, oh my god, they are incredible. I don't know if it has taken the crown from S3&K in the list of best Sonic games, but it's at very least a tie between the two titles.
 
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Misinko

Feel the the fire! Break your vision!
Aug 29, 2017
41
14
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I'm very glad I went for a Knuckles run first and foremost. Knuckles' alternate paths are easily the best parts of the game, and the one aspect I feel put Sonic 3 as a whole to shame. Never before have I seen a game take advantages of Knuckles' abilities, and subsequently challenge the player so well as Sonic Mania. And as if that wasn't enough icing on the cake, the game becomes a totally different experience when you're no longer Emerald Hunting, and I love it. Running through Sonic Mania honestly feels like I'm playing the game I was expecting Sonic 2 to be, it's such an amazing experience.

Too bad I can't quite say the same for Sonic. I'm at Titanic Monarch ATM, and I really haven't enjoyed his stages so far. Maybe that'll change when I just start replaying individual levels, but as for now, the game isn't really doing anything for me. I do like the drop dash, and I frequently use it when exploring, but something in me just kind've misses the insta-shield. I mean we have 3 buttons to play with. Why couldn't they have both in the game?

Also echoing what P3DRO said, I would've loved to be able to freely select the special stages in some way. They're all easily my favorite Special Stages in Sonic history, and there's a certain Stage 5 I'd like to keep practicing. Also echoing what P3DRO said, the game doesn't edge out Sonic 3 for me. If it were all original stages, then absolutely. But seeing reused level themes, reused chunks of levels, and some lackluster remixes just cheapens the experience for me. After this, I don't ever want to see another re-used anything in my Sonic games.
 
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