Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania did to the Genesis Trilogy & CD what Sonic 2 immediately did to Sonic 1 with the addition of the Spindash, and what Sonic 3 & Knuckles immediately did to the games before it with a save function. And fair warning, I am going to gush about the game and maybe spoil things that I really hope you get to see without me spoiling it. Considering the time since release, I'm pretty sure most folks have gotten to play it, and considering the ridiculously low price of entry versus how much you get, Sonic Mania is a steal.

The Sonic classic games are a fantastic example of progression throughout sequels and Mania, despite having an entirely different team behind it, makes strides in the right direction. The extra frames of animation, the crisp opening cutscene, the fantastic level design, the new engine, special stages that are actually fun to play god dammit... It's a fan's dream come true.

But mostly, the drop dash.

The drop dash, as I've told anyone who will listen, is a goddamn r e v e l a t i o n. A spindash that can be charged mid-air to keep the momentum going is godsent, and of all Mania's improvements, the drop dash is the one I hope sticks. It's so good that it's dated every classic game before it. The Sonic Hacking Contest 2017 was filled to the brim with hacks that add the Drop Dash and they're always on the front of the Steam Workshop for the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive Classics.

And I think that's what I didn't expect going into Sonic Mania. How iconic, modern, and playable the game would feel right off the bat. It's a game that feels like it belongs in 2017, barring one or two shortcomings.

Criticism is hard for me to dish out. Just to see a work like this published is just a wonderful and fantastic thing, but that a game created under these circumstances is worth serious criticism speaks volumes about the quality of Sonic Mania.

But let me kill my darling, if only because it's so close to perfection that it'd be a shame to let this be the peak. And oh, does it hurt me to do this, but also, I'm genuinely glad that I have so few major criticisms.

First to of all, you can either have long acts, or a game overs that send you to the beginning of a zone, but not both. This isn't an issue in the early zones, but I lost nine lives on a stupid pit in act 2 of Flying Battery Zone. And you know what I wasn't in the mood for right after a game over? Playing the entirety of Flying Battery Zone from the start. This kind of thing wouldn't bother me in other classics because I can save scum the hell out of unfair or tough design to remove tedium.

Time overs are also antiquated and I don't find their inclusion welcome. Even in the remakes on Android and iOS, the time over isn't a big deal because the levels just don't last that long. You either die or run out of lives long before the timer reaches 9:59. But it happened in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and it was annoying then because the game automatically removes a life and not even save scumming will help there. Sure, in Mania lives are plentiful and I rarely hit 9:59 on any stage.

Doesn't mean it was any less annoying.

Sonic's design, at least in his 2D space, needs to progress. I understand where Sega was coming from, as the king of the arcades in the 1990s. But games have grown up. Sonic can still grow. And considering what the blue blur's survived, I think he should be allowed to thrive further.

I also wish there was a more active way to enter special stages. Once or twice I was hit by an enemy right next to a checkpoint, and the knockback caused me to enter the Blue Sphere special stage, which is a total waste of time and broke the flow of the stage. It's minor, but still. It happened often enough and was egregious enough to merit mention.

When Knuckles glides, if you let go of the glide button he sort of just drops like a rock. The baseball slide he does after landing a glide also doesn't feel great. I wish I could land into a light jog and continue gliding if I let go of the jump button, it just feels like the game thinks gliding is super overpowered, when it doesn't need that extra nerf. I get that Knuckles is the "Hard Mode" of the game, but the extra mechanical clunk of his moveset could do with some trimming.

Tails has no way to descend quickly. If I could press down and jump while flying to break into a spinjump, that'd be great and really up his versatility. Also, a flight gauge of some sort would be super appreciated, trying to suss out by feeling how far he can still fly is annoying, and the fact that he slowly descends before landing when his flight gauge is empty without some way to just drop is extra annoying.

Having some of the features being locked behind no save mode is somewhat annoying. Why can't I unlock the insta-shield or spinjump on a normal save? Hell, why can't I have all three at once, a mod using Cheat Engine has proved that it's possible.

Other than that... I mean, Sonic Mania is pretty great. It's hard to notice the flaws while listening to the expertly composed soundtrack Tee Lopes brought to the mix. It's hard to notice along Simon Thomley's expert level design. It's hard to notice while gawking at the near one to one recreation of Sonic's physics, thanks to Christian Whitehead's retro engine.

And now, I will gush;

There are so many little details. As a kid who played the everloving hell out of Sonic The Fighters, seeing Bark, Bean and Fang return was pure bliss. Oh my god, it was an easter egg that I just freaked out upon seeing. Playing Puyo-Puyo against Eggman in Chemical Plant Zone Act 2 was the greatest surprise. I loved it. It's honestly my favourite part of the game. And Knuckles & Knuckles mode? I could not contain myself. The man, the legend, the meme lives on. And he ain't here to chuckle. You can set the oil in oil ocean on fire. Definitive proof that there is a God. Chibi Sonic in Metallic Madness is so adorable that I think I actually died. Press Garden. Christ, just... Press Garden. You are objectively wrong if you dislike this stage. The added low-poly 3D effects just touch me in all the right places, Sonic Mania would feel right at home on the Sega Saturn and honestly, Sega would still be king if they'd decided to put the extra power of the Saturn to good use like how Symphony Of The Night  used all that power in the original PlayStation for bigger sprites and better effects. The special stages. Oh. My. God. The special stages. I think I've only ever had this much fun with the Sonic Heroes special stages and the song is so jamming, Tee Lopes can I worship at your altar for you are a god among men sir. The Drop Dash. THE DROP DASH. The insta-shield was a good addition but it never gave me the advantage flying or climbing did. But the Drop Dash? WHO AUTHORED THIS MASTERPIECE AND WHERE DO I SEND THIS PERSON MY MONEY? There's this added flow to stages that there just wasn't present before and now green hill zone goes down even faster. Time Attack is made even more fun with this godsend treasure and I really hope it becomes the default move for Classic Sonic.

Sonic Mania was here to subvert expectations and subvert my expectations it did. This is exactly what Sonic needed, and for a $16 platformer, I hope it gets the sequel it deserves. It's inexpensive, fun, replayable... Almost everything that modern triple A gaming isn't. To say that Generations, released half a decade ago, was the last game to come close to Mania in quality is a sad state of affairs, but honestly, I can't be mad because Mania was just so damn good.

In light of how Nintendo has treated Pokemon Uranium and Another Metroid 2 Remake, you have to praise Sega for seeing the good that can come out of fan-created projects. I'm not advocating for letting the fans control the entire direction of your IP, but take influence from them, work with them, look at their works and just soak in how cool it is people liked your product so much that they felt compelled to tribute it so thoroughly. I mean, is it not the dream of any creator to make something that eclipses them, that becomes so large and beloved that it transcends their interpretation?

A game made for the Mania, by the Mania. It's rare that a game is made with such love and passion and care. I genuinely hope we get to see infinitely more experience made from the same place, by independent or up-and-coming developers.