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

[EyeDeeNo76]

For anyone who has not picked up Mania yet. It's on sale at gamesplanet.com £14.99 -15% off = £12.74 (should be around $16.50 USD) for a Steam key. And no idea for how long.

But

Notice

Please note that this product is region locked and can't be activated from: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea

[Alianger]

Crushing wasn't a big problem to me but I don't recommend using Super Sonic in the final zone until you know it well. Agreed on blue sphere here, it's not bad but I hate how it cycles so you can't practice after failing a level, they're too long a break from the main gameplay if you play them all and also play special stages, and I wanted to see a mixture of different kinds of bonus levels too. Again, not a big problem though.

Keep in mind that we know the levels of the old games a lot better, and there was always a moderate level of trial & error there. I'm on my Knuckles playthrough and enjoying some parts more than in my first, seeing new level elements I didn't catch before and doing a lot better at the special stages for example. I also think Mania has the best bosses in the 2D series overall, there's only 2 or 3 that I would've tweaked a bit.

[QuickSciFi]

Questions:

1. Do you need to finish the bonus stages (get all the emeralds) in order to fight the true boss? (if so what makes it a true final boss).

2. How do you rate the difficulty of said bonus stages as compared to Sonic 1, 2 and Knuckles?

[Benjamin]

For anyone interested in getting a Steam refund due to Denuvo but was initially denied due to being over 14 days or whatnot, I'll note that I had success using the "I have a question about this purchase" option. My brief message noted that was the reason, that the DRM was not noted on the product page at the time of purchase and installation, and that the game was removed immediately upon learning of its inclusion.

[The Jackal]

Questions:

1. Do you need to finish the bonus stages (get all the emeralds) in order to fight the true boss? (if so what makes it a true final boss).

Yes. Super Sonic fight+different ending.

2. How do you rate the difficulty of said bonus stages as compared to Sonic 1, 2 and Knuckles?

Between S2 and S3&K. Mid Special Stages can be tricky, but they get much easier as you progress through them. Last one is a cake walk compared to the fifth one.

[QuickSciFi]

1. Thanks. Wait, "yes" different" final boss a la Sonic 3 vs Locked-On Sonic 3 (you only get half the boss of Sonic 3 when playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles locked on), or "yes" for just a different ending (a la Sonic 2...)?

2. Cool beans. Sound manageable.

[The Jackal]

It's like Sonic 3&Knuckles. Without the emeralds, you fight the "final" boss and get the standard ending. With the emeralds, after beating the same boss, you get a cut scene, then you have to fight an altogether new boss as Super Sonic. Then you get a slightly changed ending to the normal one, ala how Sonic CD did it.

[Thief]

This guy's entertaining enough lp highlights show that he basically got all the emeralds on his first cold playthrough. So they can't be that hard.

[Thief]

There's a flaw everyone should relate too but surprised no has mentioned yet. All these zones being revisited has the side effect of diminishing the value of these zones in past classic Sonic games. Therefore that guy in charge of Sonic team made a big mistake forcing Taxman's team to revisit so many classic Sonic zones. Because now more or less are forced to choose between the classics or Sonic Mania else wear out these particular zones too fast.

[cabear]

if the game's that boring, disappointing, lame, whatever why keep playing?

bite your loss and play something else. Why bother playing a game some of you clearly have a disdain for?

[Thief]

Because it's now a curiosity study for what went wrong... these things however usually don't go well at all. ie. I've long traded The Witcher 3, which was supposed to be one these "for science" studies. Only with Sonic Mania, well, no physical copy to trade in. So it's always on the PS4 dash nagging me.

I also find looking deeper into game's from a design perspective to be very interesting and make for great forum discussions. And what better place to discuss Sonic then on a Sega forum.

[cabear]

Enjoy beating your head over a game youre hate playing, just lookin at for what went wrong. Why not look for what went right?

I dont get the criticism. Everyone wanted a return to sonic glory, well here it is. If mario had went back and showcased levels from super mario world or part 3 people would be losing their shit but when sonic does it, a return to the classic sega games (part 3 and cd) people complain about it being shitty when it isnt. Maybe this game isnt for you.

I hated shovel knight. What a shitty game built around a one note jump bounce. I just stopped playing it. Why keep playing something i didnt enjoy? It sounds like some people just wanna play the game to complain about it.

[Thief]

So I take it you really like the game.

[Benjamin]

Everyone wanted a return to sonic glory, well here it is.

I'm super glad Sonic Mania plays so well. Then again, when a game has the look and feel of a ROM hack -- sorry, but it's true, albeit it's a very impressive "mod" -- I go in expecting the game to play as the previous ones it's based upon.

I'd say Sonic Mania is quite similar to the releases of Mega Man 9 and 10. They went for a dated look as well, and it could just as easily have been a well designed fan hack. Are they good games? Yes. Is it still disappointing that Capcom was happy to push out a retread of past titles instead of updating the releases to current standards? Yes.

People can still be critical of elements which fall short of their expectations and hopes, no? Sonic Mania is still a well made game with some pacing issues. I also wish it didn't go overboard with remembering the past, even though those levels were dressed up better than I expected. Neither criticism makes it a bad game, but it does make it less enjoyable for me.

If mario had went back and showcased levels from super mario world or part 3 people would be losing their shit

Munching raw sewerage would be declared the best thing ever if it carried a Nintendo stamp. The audiences and expectations aren't the same.

[Sik]

I'd say Sonic Mania is quite similar to the releases of Mega Man 9 and 10. They went for a dated look as well, and it could just as easily have been a well designed fan hack. Are they good games? Yes. Is it still disappointing that Capcom was happy to push out a retread of past titles instead of updating the releases to current standards? Yes.

I think the problem here is that if one wants modern standards, that's precisely what Sonic Forces is for. There's a reason why they decided to make two separate games at the same time.