Sonic Mania

With two Sonic games coming out this year, Sega starts off strong with Sonic Mania, essentially a love letter to the Genesis titles made by fan-game creator Christian Whitehead and using his Retro Engine. Basically, this game is what Sonic 4 Part 1 and 2, which were average games at best, should be.

The first thing I have to say is the level design is superb. They provide a nice balance between platforming and speed, and even with levels that were simply reused themes, such as Green Hill Zone, have some sort of twist. Controls are also nice and responsive (as far as gameplay is concerned) and works well with either single or duo Joy-Con play. The graphics also receive an upgrade from the Genesis. In fact, I could go as far as to say it's more like a 32x, maybe Saturn, game, and the animation is pretty fluid and bouncy. In the special stages, it goes into an Emerald Stage, which is chasing an UFO to catch get the Emerald, goes into a Saturn like style, which keeps use with the classic aesthetic the game has.

If there are some issues I have, they're small, but they are noticeable. First of all, this is the Switch version I'm reviewing, and these problems seem to be exclusive for the platform. Also, from what research I've did, the port to Switch was done by Tantalus Media, who were responsible for many licensed games, though they do port jobs such as Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess HD, Zombi (which is basically Zombi U for PS4, Xbox One, and PC), and the soon to be release Rime for Switch, so I can't blame the main devs themselves, and I can only imagine the company will do a better job with Switch games in the future. Anyway, one of these two issues is that the special stages, which I'm sure isn't that demanding on the Switch, does drop frames. They're not big dips like 60 fps all the way to 15 fps. It just drops down to the 50s for a second and that's it, and that's if you experience it. Another, more noticeable issue is that the Home and Screenshot buttons have a delay. Yeah, you heard that right. These two buttons have a delay on the Nintendo Switch, and sometimes, they don't even work. Again, they're not gamebreaking bugs, easily overlooked even, but it's kind of disappointing that they exist. They should be fixed whenever they release a patch though.

Simply put, this game is a love letter to the classic games of the Genesis, and whatever system you want it for, it's a must have, and even with the Switch version's problems, it's still the version I recommend getting, if you have one. It's simply that much of a blast, even without Blast Processing.

UPDATE: Due to a recent patch that was FINALLY delivered. Not only did they fix the Home button issue, but they added a separate button for Super Form, which is now X instead of tapping jump twice, so no accidental transformations.

After the largely disappointing 2 episodes of the so called "Sonic the Hedgehog 4", it really seemed like any and all hopes for a truly excellent continuation of the classic genesis games were fading, and fast. Because what we got in 2010 was a lazy, idealess, and just bad game that had the balls to call itself the true 4th Sonic game, which it wasn't. Not even close. The 2nd episode was definitely better, but there were still major things about it holding it back from being truly anything good. So, with a very bad episode and a better, but mediocre at best one afterwards, the otherwise acceptable name of "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" was tarnished, and the future of main line 2D Sonic games were very unknown.

However, something amazing happened. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that mindset, as the incredibly talented Christian Whitehead and company agreed. And, came from the ashes thanks to their hard work and passion, one of, if not the best Sonic game ever made. The series was not only back, but arguably better than ever before. Because instead of shoehorning modern Sonic into a 2D plain and calling it a day, these guys expanded on literally everything that worked in the genesis games while staying faithful to them as well.

Everything feels just about perfect here. The visuals are not only colorful and detailed, but they have an unprecedented amount of liveliness and character while staying true to the overall aesthetic of the genesis games. The music from Tee Lopes is phenomenal from start to finish-whether it be new tracks or recreations of old tunes, this OST is one of the best in a Sonic game. The gameplay is perfect as well, as Sonic and friends not only feel identical to how they did in the classic games, but Sonics moveset has been upgraded to incorporate everything from the super peel out to the insta-shield. The level design combines everything great about the level design of the great levels from the Genesis games. These levels have not only an over abundance of speed like in Sonic 2, but also a lot of fun exploration like in "Sonic 3 and Knuckles". Though here, the balance of these attributes is more akin to Sonic 2, though, because the levels here are a lot bigger in scope, here, there's still more than enough fun exploration to rival S3&K in that regard. In other words, the levels are not only excellent, but perfect for a Sonic game all around.

Speaking of which, I think the way the developers went about the levels was perfect. One thing that always sort of bugged me was when people call this game a "collection" or a "compilation" of classic levels (which is, ironically, exactly what "Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I" was). While a lot of the levels in this game do return from previous games, there's a LOT more to each of them, as the level design consistently adds fun and fresh ideas, as well as completely expands upon the original ideas. Plus, the context as to why we're revisiting these places works wonderfully, and doesn't overshadow anything. Not only that, but the entirely new levels made by Christian Whitehead and company are all absolutely amazing, and do a perfect job in fitting in with the rest of the package. Overall, the levels have a balance of the greatness of the old with the greatness of the new, and because of how much newness is brought to the table, it all still works as a proper continuation of the series, as it helps make the Sonic series feel like it's own world.

The special stages are also probably my favorite of the series, as, much like Sonic CD, you're in a 3D plane chasing a UFO, except, there's only one here. However, it also incorporates things like the blue spheres, but as collectibles to increase your speed, as well as rings to increase time. And if you mix that with the tricky, yet incredibly fun stage design, these special stages are excellent, and are accessed the same way the ones in S3&K, which I feel was the best way.

Speaking of blue spheres, they're back, too-only this time, acting as a special stage accessed via checkpoints just like in Sonic 2. They're every bit as fun and satisfying to complete as they were in S3&K, but now look and sound much better. These are for tokens, which allows you to unlock a lot of goodies in the menus (won't say what to avoid spoilers). Though, because of how much bigger these levels are compared to the ones in Sonic 2, you'll be playing through these stages a lot-at least, far more than you would have for the special stages in Sonic 2. In other words, be prepared to have the blue sphere song stuck in your head after you 100% this game.

Overall, this game is every single tiny thing the episodes of "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" should have been, as it is the first Sonic game in just about 23 years that actually pushed the envelope for the series. Everything here is just as good as it needs to be, and it is consistently one of the most enjoyable games in the entire series. If you're a Sonic fan who somehow hasn't played this yet, I implore you to change that. This is the true continuation after S3&K we've been waiting for for years, and to think it wasn't even made by the same people who made the classic genesis games just goes to show how a deep love and passion for the series can really revive it back to legendary status. What an amazing comeback to an amazing series. Here's to a Sonic Mania 2.

Ever since I heard of this game being advertised I was hopeful. It promised a return to the bliss of early 2D sonic games. It also brings the style of those games and brings it into the present day with a mixture of revamped classic stages and new original stages as well. The game design is 2D platforming brilliance with a perfect difficulty spike and an incredible soundtrack.

The graphics are crisp and vibrant with tight controls. It everything I ever wanted from a 2D Sonic game and I'll be playing it for a very long time. Thanks Christian Whitehead for making 2D Sonic awesome again!

(Review based on Steam PC version) After the mediocre two-episode "Sonic 4" I was more tempered with Sonic Mania. Even though Mania looked to be taking a few more pages from the classics on the Genesis era I still went in largely skeptical and a bit blase about it if only for the fact this looked to be another heavy embankment on nostalgia more than trying anything really new. Returning levels had been done and not done well prior and I was mostly set up for an average experience. Still the development team lead by Christian Whitehead who helped port many classics and made a name for himself in the ROM hacking community did give me some encouragement.

After three plays of Mania (Sonic+Tails, Tails, and Knuckles) I can say it's a worthy callback to the classics made by the hardest of hard core fans getting a sense more what made the originals good and not relying heavily on nostalgia. Besides Sonic 1-3&K we have homages and little hints towards every game in Sonic's long history. Sounds and nods to even the 8Bit Sonic games, Sonic CD, Genesis era games, a little of the 3D era and even Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine are all represented here and it works. Sporting new level aesthetics and character animations add extra touches and magic, such as lighting the oil on fire with a flame shield! Brilliant! Designs are like the classics (though let's not dig up the trivial "Waah Sonic has Green Eyes" nonsense) controls are like the classics everything is tightly focused and well polished as games that came before it.

The music is better replicating the old 16bit soundtracks, better than Sonic 4's bland midi synth. Tee Lopes makes fantastic new tracks and great remixes of old stages too, but nothing musically will ever beat Sonic 3 & Knuckles but this comes pretty close. Still I didn't care for the mini boss music or the renditions of Stardust Speedway, which was based mostly on the Japan tracks which personally I found inferior to the U.S. Mixes and to the original. The original stages shine brightly and my praises there. My personal favorite has to be Lava Reef Zone 2 with the added guitars.

The game's fault lies in the fact it had to go back to old stages again, 60% of the game is remade old stages. The stages do have many new added gimmicks and aesthetics to shake it up, more original stages. The ideas are there and whether by over cautiousness or executive meddling to much of this game is the old with a new coat of paint. Nevertheless I didn't find them boring or uninteresting so there is that.

Mysteriously, moves like the Insta-Shield from Sonic 3 are absent from the main game. They are in the game but they're unlockables if you collect all the medals and only works in the No-Save game. This begs the question as to why something that should be in theory a standard move is behind an unlock wall and only in the No-Save game. There's also the super-peel out from CD though I didn't miss that much, I hardly used it in CD beyond the need to time jump but it's a fan favorite so I feel it should have been included.

Sonic Mania is terrific even though it relies heavily on the old to give us something new it still finds ways to innovate the old without reinventing the wheel.

Get this game, it is truly one of the very best, in the entire series and in the platform genre itself.