Sonic Mania/ Sonic Mania Plus (XB1, PS4, PC, Switch)

[BonusKun]

Oh come on, Kollision is a cool guy and there are merits to his comment whether one likes it or not.

Never said he wasn't a bad person. I just want to hear his reasons why he dislikes it other then it being a "Rehash" which to a hell of a lot of people this clearly isn't the case.

[GohanX]

He has every right to state his opinion, and we have every right to tell him how wrong he is. Welcome to the internet!

[SEGA.GENESIS1989]

Not mad. Just think it was the wrong (though predictable) choice.

Wrong? Er, what? You were expecting something different and entirely new? The game was developed to celebrate/commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. If you're looking for something new, you'll be getting Sonic Forces.

[Genesis Knight]

Wrong? Er, what? You were expecting something different and entirely new? The game was developed to celebrate/commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. If you're looking for something new, you'll be getting Sonic Forces.

There are many ways to celebrate a 25th anniversary other than rebuilding levels (Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Flying Battery, Blue Spheres). Sonic Mania, as a near-perfect recreation of mechanics, sound, and visual style, is a celebration of classic Sonic regardless of the levels. But I'm saying that the Sonic Mania team and engine could have produced a game without reusing any of the old levels or bonus stages - a true logical progression on Sonic 3 & Knuckles as if it was circa 1997. They chose not to. I think that was the wrong choice.

It's a fun game, it's a great Sonic game. But it could have been better.

That said, it undoubtedly sold more copies because of the familiar elements and probably will get better reviews than if it was wholly new.

[Barone]

I think it's a first step in the right direction after years of bogus renditions of the series.

And it's the first time they tried out this kind of partnership for a Sonic game. It was the safe route to rely on the level design of the classic games and then do something over it. The "restored" content is a nice plug to nostalgia and a good way to generate interest.
We shouldn't forget how skeptical people are nowadays towards any brand new Sonic game.

For a first step, I think it was great and certainly got the job done. Now the deal is to see if they go ahead with this same partnership and create a whole new Sonic game.

[Raijin Z]

Different for the sake of being different isn't a guarantor of quality. By merging the first two zones of previous games' areas, into single levels, then using the second zone as the experimental extension of them, the game appears to have achieved a good mix of classic and current, without being so different that it is incomparable to the previous titles in the series that is 1, 2, 3&K, and Mania.

[PreZZ]

À 2D metrodvania with sonic would be awesome, or Christian whitehead working with dotemu

[Genesis Knight]

...

Agreed. Great response.

Different for the sake of being different isn't a guarantor of quality. By merging the first two zones of previous games' areas, into single levels, then using the second zone as the experimental extension of them, the game appears to have achieved a good mix of classic and current, without being so different that it is incomparable to the previous titles in the series that is 1, 2, 3&K, and Mania.

It wouldn't be different for difference sake any more than S123&K - which never reused levels or bonus stages. Regardless with the spot on recreation of classic mechanics and aesthetics, Sonic Mania would never have been "incomparable" to the classic games regardless of entirely new levels and bonus stages.

[Blades]

How are people mad at the game having classic zones in them when we knew this was case an entire year ago

This.

IIRC people were excited.

[EclecticGroove]

Different for the sake of being different isn't a guarantor of quality. By merging the first two zones of previous games' areas, into single levels, then using the second zone as the experimental extension of them, the game appears to have achieved a good mix of classic and current, without being so different that it is incomparable to the previous titles in the series that is 1, 2, 3&K, and Mania.

This is how I feel. I didn't have an issue with the stages themselves as they clearly took them and ran with them in a new, yet logical, direction.

My only complaint were the 2 special stages, as I felt like they were both design choices limited by the hardware of the day, and something totally new/different could have been done in this game without retreading old ground that didn't really serve a purpose. When people express their love of Sonic 1-3+K and CD, they are almost never expressing love for the special stages in them, only expressing them being better/worse than other games in the series.

With all the slavish attention to recreating Sonic in a modern engine with better visuals/performance, I feel like they could have really done something far more interesting that we've never seen before, and that wasn't possible with the old games.

[Raijin Z]

Well, if this does well, there's room for another, more unique game with the same engine. I'm getting a bit burned out trying to perfect the game on my first run, so I'm going to give it a rest for a long time. Then again, maybe I'm just completely burned out on video games, and running on the fumes of the past desire to play them.

[Alexrd]

There are many ways to celebrate a 25th anniversary other than rebuilding levels (Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Flying Battery, Blue Spheres). Sonic Mania, as a near-perfect recreation of mechanics, sound, and visual style, is a celebration of classic Sonic regardless of the levels. But I'm saying that the Sonic Mania team and engine could have produced a game without reusing any of the old levels or bonus stages - a true logical progression on Sonic 3 & Knuckles as if it was circa 1997. They chose not to. I think that was the wrong choice.

I agree. The reuse of assets from the previous games, the busy visuals, it all screams of 'fan game'. Just one more hacking project. Which is a shame.

[BonusKun]

I agree. The reuse of assets from the previous games, the busy visuals, it all screams of 'fan game'. Just one more hacking project. Which is a shame.

If you can compare any other fan game with the amount of original added quality, I'd love to see that. For a fan game backed by Sega I don't think I've seen anything this close over the years which has come forth and promised all what they delivered. I think the people who weren't happy with this even tho we all knew they were re-creating some of the older zones along with the new ones which a lot of you seem to be ignoring in an attempt to make a newer 2D Sonic are just bitching for the sake of bitching.

If you want a newer sonic then by all means Sonic Forces isn't too far off but for a lot of people and I mean a lot, This game nails exactly what we've been wanting for years. Saying it's like a fan-game while yes it was made by fans of the series doesn't mean it's a bad game. If you want to really compare a bad recent Sonic game then please try Sonic 4. That felt more like a fan game and that was made by Sega themselves.






P.S. The sphere stages from Sonic 3 are awesome!

[Gogogadget]

Well, it is a fan game, it's by Taxman & Stealth. Not Sega.

Also, reused content? Well Sonic has blown chunks for absolute years, you have to remind people why Sonic used to be such a big deal before you go ahead and start making it original again. Kinda like why Force Awakens was a re-tread because the other movies are so absolutely shit that people probably forgot it belonged to a franchise that was once actually watchable.

[Thief]

Ugh, using The Force Awakens example is not good. Not good at all. The Force Awakens is the perfect example of everything wrong with today's entertainment industry.