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

[Thief]

I'm just hoping Sega replaces enough key Sonic Team members with some real talent. The old farts in charge of Sonic Team now need to dissipate and make way for some fresh air. All the dumb ideas in Sonic Mania is Sonic Teams doing too.

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

I'm just hoping Sega replaces enough key Sonic Team members with some real talent. The old farts in charge of Sonic Team now need to dissipate and make way for some fresh air. All the dumb ideas in Sonic Mania is Sonic Teams doing too.

All the dumb ideas? I thoroughly enjoyed the game from the soundtrack to it's mechanics and closeness to the originals. Which aspects of Sonic Mania did you find 'dumb'? Just curious.

[Thief]

Well having so many recycled zones is one of their dumb ideas (something many reviewers mention as a con), another is some of the recycled zone choices (another con by many reviewers). Almost like Sonic Team were trying to sabotage Sonic Mania from the start to make them look good.

Also seen a small sign of some friction between Mania Team and Sega/Sonic Team over the DRM.

[Sik]

I agree with Blades, if Sonic Mania makes them money (which it will because it was quick and cheap to begin with) I don't think Sega will really care what Sonic Team thinks one way or the other.

Sonic Team has a history of interferring with other developers that have worked on Sonic (sometimes with good reason like the whole mess that was STI in the Saturn era, but also many times just outright being harmful). If I recall correctly Dimps originally wanted to make games as close as possible to the originals but Sega kept nosing their way in (hence Sonic Advance 2 focusing way too much on speed), that probably only discouraged them as time went on and made things worse.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure that if they think Sonic Mania can threat their reputation, they will try to prevent a sequel at all costs.

[Kamahl]

[Blades]

Not to hijack this thread, but this looks pretty good.

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

Well having so many recycled zones is one of their dumb ideas (something many reviewers mention as a con), another is some of the recycled zone choices (another con by many reviewers). Almost like Sonic Team were trying to sabotage Sonic Mania from the start to make them look good.

Also seen a small sign of some friction between Mania Team and Sega/Sonic Team over the DRM.

Ah I see. Well I see what you mean about the recycled levels from Sonic's past but the reason it didn't bother me is because they were fresh inventive takes on those old levels and showed us parts of the levels that no doubt always existed (in Sonic's world of Moebius) but that we just never got to see back in the day. That's how I justified the inclusion of those old levels and I'm happy with that conclusion. Obviously any sequel to Sonic Mania will have to contain 100% original levels though. I don't think I could take playing through Green Hill Zone for the 286th time!

[Kamahl]

Not to hijack this thread, but this looks pretty good.

There's some decent gameplay there desperate to get out, but it is drowned in fail and cringe

[Barone]

I just hope Sega fires the entire Sonic Team.

[Ken]

[Kamahl]

I laughed too much at that.

[Benjamin]

Booster Pad - Booster Pad - Booster Pad - Booster Pad - Booster Pad... I hate how Sonic Team focuses solely on making Sonic go fast with each 3-D release. The only way they slow him down is by shoehorning some gimmick onto him. Enemies are an afterthought, and the level design has all the flexibility of Gears of War. It's like they keep remaking Sonic Adventure but with prettier and prettier graphics each time. It's hard being impressed by a booster speeding Sonic when that's him 24/7, and when you strip away the speed, there's not much left.

[Thief]

Because that's what Sonic fans always demand; Speed. Give them levels like Marble Garden (a fave of mine, by the way) and Labyrinth Zone, and the Sonic community raise pitchforks.

[Obviously]

Forcing more recycled zones was definitely a mistake, but I'd say they made lemonade out of those lemons with the new level gimmicks. Except for some of the iconic set pieces they left intact I never really felt like I was retreading old ground.

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

I'm stuck on Titanic Monarch...I got to Robotnik and have figured out how to defeat him but before I get a chance to I lose all my rings constantly fighting his EggRobo sidekicks and their contraptions when you get teleported back and forth...so frustrating! I swear I was one hit away from defeating Robotnik and I was teleported to that bloody moving cups thing and with no rings I wasn't quite quick enough to avoid being blasted when I stood in the wrong place. Very tricky level!