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Sonic Mania (8-15-2017, SEGA/Taxman/Headcannon/PagodaWest, PS4/XB1/PC/NX)

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iavi

Member
A game consisting of re-imagined classic zones with some new ones throughout? So this is the 2D Generations essentially.

I'm all for it. Just give me Lava Reef
 
nx mania thread, poor thing
fILQpxq.gif
 

Aki-at

Member
Hahaha Sonic fans

It's actually a good point.

When you look at Sonic level structure, there isn't a lot of floating platforms tying the level together, there usually is a natural point where the structure begins and how it eventually spreads out and or thins. Look at Wing Fortress, it still overall resembles a flying airship so the games do try to stick to a grounded logic on structures.

That being said what I've seen of Studiopolis is great so it could just be down to the fact remaking original levels and trying to add in extra routes is tricky. Hopefully their execution is better in other levels.
 

RagnarokX

Member
It's actually a good point.

When you look at Sonic level structure, there isn't a lot of floating platforms tying the level together, there usually is a natural point where the structure begins and how it eventually spreads out and or thins. Look at Wing Fortress, it still overall resembles a flying airship so the games do try to stick to a grounded logic on structures.

That being said what I've seen of Studiopolis is great so it could just be down to the fact remaking original levels and trying to add in extra routes is tricky. Hopefully their execution is better in other levels.

A more relevant set of examples are Knuckles' routes in Angel Island and Launch Base.

http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic3/downloads/s3-aiz-act1map.png
http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic3/downloads/s3-aiz-act2map.png

http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic3/downloads/s3-lbz-act1s3&kmap.png
http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic3/downloads/s3-lbz-act2s3&kmap.png

Knuckles ends up in underground areas of these levels with different backgrounds.

The cave in Green Hill Zone needs work. The grass and trees feel out of place there.
 
Eh, no. Not at all.

Even the beta was not a bland flash game.

*pics*

They have some great artists and are being extremely faithful to the original game.

*links*

You forgot to mention that the project was initially cancelled and then re-started from scratch. The website changelogs reflect the new stuff that the new team has made now. The old pics and video are from the original project and its alpha release.

Wouldn't be surprised if Sega would rather avoid associating this with Sonic 4 by making this sound like its sequel.

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea I bet. If they called this game Sonic 5, that would remind people that Sonic 4 was the thing that came before it.

Necessary move IMO. Get as far away from that game's influence as possible.

I'm confused about the people saying this comes off as a fangame. Despite all of the sprite work people are pointing out as fangame staples, none of that matters to the population as a whole because most non-ultra Sonic fans haven't played fangames, or many of them, so they wouldn't know these are 'staples' in fan games. And there isn't anything innately bad about their inclusion in Sonic Mania anyway. I'm starting to think that there isn't anything Sega can do to completely please the Sonic fans-- if Sega hiring competent fans-turned-developers to create an original game with authentic physics and a look that evokes the look and feeling of a lost 32 bit 2D Sonic game isn't enough to please you, then nothing will.

I'm buying the shit out of this, and then I'm buying it again, and I'm going to do everything I can to convince my friends to buy it, and then I'm probably going to buy some copies for my friends that refuse to buy it. This is Sega squarely listening to their fans and actually executing on that idea, not some half assed 2.5D effort that was shitted out with the noise of dying cats

This, absolutely.

Really can't help but be questioning of those being dismissive of this game on the basis of for looking like a "ROM hack" or a "fangame" among others. What about the other cosmetic stuff or (more importantly) the fundamental elements that the game actually looks to be getting right? Either accidentally or deliberately, they're missing the forest for the trees.

And to me, this behavior comes off as especially obnoxious, because attitudes like this was what got classic fans immediately got dismissed out of hand as "unpleaseable whiny retrofags who only want pixel perfect 2D rehashes of the classic games" when they pushed for their complaints against the last attempt at a classic Sonic game. And it goes without saying that any Genesis Sonic fan worth their salt knows that Sonic 4 got so much more wrong at being a classic Sonic game than this game looks to be doing.
 

Spinluck

Member
Classic Sonic is one cute little fucker.

Easily a top 5 video game character design.

Easily recognizable silhouette.

Balanced proportions.

Awesome and simple color pallet.

Full of charm and cute af.
 

Liamario

Banned
Classic Sonic is one cute little fucker.

Easily a top 5 video game character design.

Easily recognizable silhouette.

Balanced proportions.

Awesome and simple color pallet.

Full of charm and cute af.

Now let's take that classic design and totally fuck it up by making him look all edgy and shit. And let's produce poor games that fit this new character design.
 

Tain

Member
Really though I'm assuming these guys have made from hacks/fangames with new levels and enemies and shit right (beyond Taxman's ports)? Are they good? On par with the originals?
 

clav

Member
Kinda don't like the invincibility instrumentation.

It should use the same instruments on the title screen, not a meow meow sound.

Studiopolis sounds like it borrows from a Game Gear Sonic track in the intro.
 

jax

Banned
Okay. Sorry I was extremely tired after the event so I couldn't post impressions. I played each level a grand total of about 7 times. They were getting pissed at me because I kept exploring instead of finishing the zones. Whoops. The entire game just feels extremely natural to play. They regrettably had us using x360 pads for some reason, so I couldn't really get a great feel for the dpad, but it didn't really matter cause Sonic controls so naturally. Almost better than the classics. More loose, but in a good way.. he almost feels like a faster sonic 1, the levels are more sprawled out to make up for the added speed, my guess is due to the lack of the Genesis limitations.

Studiopolis was amazing. Full of secret paths with power ups from Sonic 3, I seriously kept finding new paths without even looking for them. The badniks were amazing in this level, many of them placed in a way that makes it kind f difficult to progress without a power up, the level design, music and colors on studiopolis reminded me of CD a lot, but more linear. I'd get lost in CD, but I could always find my way back here.

Green Hill Zone was really really fun. A lot of the level was the same, but there were 2-3 more paths both above and below to explore. The boss at the end is also new, a spinning eggman robot, pretty easy to defeat.

Honestly I regret playing Mania now because now I'm having serious withdrawals. It almost made me better at playing 2, which is weird. Ugh. Is it spring yet?
 

Metal-Geo

Member
Okay. Sorry I was extremely tired after the event so I couldn't post impressions. I played each level a grand total of about 7 times. They were getting pissed at me because I kept exploring instead of finishing the zones. Whoops. The entire game just feels extremely natural to play. They regrettably had us using x360 pads for some reason, so I couldn't really get a great feel for the dpad, but it didn't really matter cause Sonic controls so naturally. Almost better than the classics. More loose, but in a good way.. he almost feels like a faster sonic 1, the levels are more sprawled out to make up for the added speed, my guess is due to the lack of the Genesis limitations.

Studiopolis was amazing. Full of secret paths with power ups from Sonic 3, I seriously kept finding new paths without even looking for them. The badniks were amazing in this level, many of them placed in a way that makes it kind f difficult to progress without a power up, the level design, music and colors on studiopolis reminded me of CD a lot, but more linear. I'd get lost in CD, but I could always find my way back here.

Green Hill Zone was really really fun. A lot of the level was the same, but there were 2-3 more paths both above and below to explore. The boss at the end is also new, a spinning eggman robot, pretty easy to defeat.

Honestly I regret playing Mania now because now I'm having serious withdrawals. It almost made me better at playing 2, which is weird. Ugh. Is it spring yet?
This is all really exciting to hearread. Thanks for the impressions!


As if waiting wasn't hard enough already.
 

Guess Who

Banned
Been trying to think of how the Drop Dash would work, control wise. Haven't heard anyone from the event talk about it, or even seen anyone use it in footage. I'm wondering if it might be a timing thing - hit down just as you're about to land from a jump to dash. Would add a level of skill to keeping speed and momentum going if it requires a precise touch to pull off.
 

keero16

Neo Member
Okay. Sorry I was extremely tired after the event so I couldn't post impressions. I played each level a grand total of about 7 times. They were getting pissed at me because I kept exploring instead of finishing the zones. Whoops. The entire game just feels extremely natural to play. They regrettably had us using x360 pads for some reason, so I couldn't really get a great feel for the dpad, but it didn't really matter cause Sonic controls so naturally. Almost better than the classics. More loose, but in a good way.. he almost feels like a faster sonic 1, the levels are more sprawled out to make up for the added speed, my guess is due to the lack of the Genesis limitations.

Studiopolis was amazing. Full of secret paths with power ups from Sonic 3, I seriously kept finding new paths without even looking for them. The badniks were amazing in this level, many of them placed in a way that makes it kind f difficult to progress without a power up, the level design, music and colors on studiopolis reminded me of CD a lot, but more linear. I'd get lost in CD, but I could always find my way back here.

Green Hill Zone was really really fun. A lot of the level was the same, but there were 2-3 more paths both above and below to explore. The boss at the end is also new, a spinning eggman robot, pretty easy to defeat.

Honestly I regret playing Mania now because now I'm having serious withdrawals. It almost made me better at playing 2, which is weird. Ugh. Is it spring yet?

Sounds fantastic, this is seriously making me more excited the more I hear about it. Almost more hyped than the Project 2017 game for me
 
Now let's take that classic design and totally fuck it up by making him look all edgy and shit. And let's produce poor games that fit this new character design.

To be fair, in-spite of Yuji Uekawa's radical artwork for Sonic Adventure, Sonic himself didn't really looked that edgy in-game, at least in the Dreamcast version.

sonicsm.jpg


He doesn't look THAT off from his original self. Green eyes aside, he's just a bit taller and has curved spines, which I'd argue looks better for a behind the shoulder camera 3D game. Sonic in his classic form always looked kinda off to me in games like Sonic R.

Even today I'm not sure if I'd call Modern Sonic "edgy".

Sonic_modern_and_classic_designs.png
 

Jazzem

Member
Okay. Sorry I was extremely tired after the event so I couldn't post impressions. I played each level a grand total of about 7 times. They were getting pissed at me because I kept exploring instead of finishing the zones. Whoops. The entire game just feels extremely natural to play. They regrettably had us using x360 pads for some reason, so I couldn't really get a great feel for the dpad, but it didn't really matter cause Sonic controls so naturally. Almost better than the classics. More loose, but in a good way.. he almost feels like a faster sonic 1, the levels are more sprawled out to make up for the added speed, my guess is due to the lack of the Genesis limitations.

Studiopolis was amazing. Full of secret paths with power ups from Sonic 3, I seriously kept finding new paths without even looking for them. The badniks were amazing in this level, many of them placed in a way that makes it kind f difficult to progress without a power up, the level design, music and colors on studiopolis reminded me of CD a lot, but more linear. I'd get lost in CD, but I could always find my way back here.

Green Hill Zone was really really fun. A lot of the level was the same, but there were 2-3 more paths both above and below to explore. The boss at the end is also new, a spinning eggman robot, pretty easy to defeat.

Honestly I regret playing Mania now because now I'm having serious withdrawals. It almost made me better at playing 2, which is weird. Ugh. Is it spring yet?

Music. To. My. Ears. :D.

Thanks for detailed impressions!
 

Stevey

Member
Eh, no. Not at all.

Even the beta was not a bland flash game.

They have some great artists and are being extremely faithful to the original game.

Indeed.

Well, yeah they won the fucking gold medal for making Sonic as sterile as is humanly possible.
 
Holy shit, that zone is called Studiopolis Zone? Funny, As a teen, I remember creating concepts for zones I'd like to see in a new Sonic game(at the time, it was my own version of "Sonic the Hedgehog 4"), and I had one zone called Cinemapolis Zone, had a sorta retro-Golden Era Hollywood aesthetic and featured Sonic running on giant film reel loops, massive spinning reels, and cameras that would follow Sonic around project some of the footage on giant screens in the background. Cool to see some of my younger imaginations be brought to life by other people with similar creative juices. Now time for Electric Jungle Zone(a robotic jungle that serves a dual purpose as a power station), Egg Park Zone(massive amusement park with a smaller Death Egg at its center) and Piston Prix Zone(Racetrack/Auto themed area that is part something akin to Mega Man 7's Turbo Man's stage and part F-Zero-esque course) every get thought up by other visionaries.

Other than that, this game's looking like what I've dreamed a true Sonic 4 should've been like. And Tee Lopes, I love the remixes of Starlight Zone and Labyrinth Zone(which I think represents the style of those musical genres pretty damn well). Studiopolis Zone's track is awesome!
 
Okay. Sorry I was extremely tired after the event so I couldn't post impressions. I played each level a grand total of about 7 times. They were getting pissed at me because I kept exploring instead of finishing the zones. Whoops. The entire game just feels extremely natural to play. They regrettably had us using x360 pads for some reason, so I couldn't really get a great feel for the dpad, but it didn't really matter cause Sonic controls so naturally. Almost better than the classics. More loose, but in a good way.. he almost feels like a faster sonic 1, the levels are more sprawled out to make up for the added speed, my guess is due to the lack of the Genesis limitations.

Studiopolis was amazing. Full of secret paths with power ups from Sonic 3, I seriously kept finding new paths without even looking for them. The badniks were amazing in this level, many of them placed in a way that makes it kind f difficult to progress without a power up, the level design, music and colors on studiopolis reminded me of CD a lot, but more linear. I'd get lost in CD, but I could always find my way back here.

Green Hill Zone was really really fun. A lot of the level was the same, but there were 2-3 more paths both above and below to explore. The boss at the end is also new, a spinning eggman robot, pretty easy to defeat.

Honestly I regret playing Mania now because now I'm having serious withdrawals. It almost made me better at playing 2, which is weird. Ugh. Is it spring yet?

While I think the gameplay footage speaks for itself, this is a very promising impression.
 

dlauv

Member
Been trying to think of how the Drop Dash would work, control wise. Haven't heard anyone from the event talk about it, or even seen anyone use it in footage. I'm wondering if it might be a timing thing - hit down just as you're about to land from a jump to dash. Would add a level of skill to keeping speed and momentum going if it requires a precise touch to pull off.

It replaces insta-shield and shields replace drop dash. I don't know what determines the speed of the drop dash. I hope something does.
 

Kinsei

Banned
If you read my post, I wasn't calling anyone here that. I was saying statements like those was a rather common sight to see when people were describing those who complained about Sonic 4 not being classic enough back in the day.

I know, there was no reason to repeat it though. Retro whiners would have sufficed.
 

Lork

Member
There's something strangely off-putting to me about the incredibly smooth rotation of Sonic's sprite as he traverses slopes. Does anybody else know what I'm talking about here?

It could just be a matter of my brain going "It's not what I'm used to so it sucks!", but maybe there's some actual phenomenon going on that makes a pixel art sprite rotating like that look as "wrong" as it does.
 

jax

Banned
Been trying to think of how the Drop Dash would work, control wise. Haven't heard anyone from the event talk about it, or even seen anyone use it in footage. I'm wondering if it might be a timing thing - hit down just as you're about to land from a jump to dash. Would add a level of skill to keeping speed and momentum going if it requires a precise touch to pull off.
The drop dash is activated bu having specific timing. I was able to do a few of them, but the levels they had didn't require it at al. It was hard to get the timing right.
 

Brannon

Member
A drop dash? It's something I didn't even know I wanted, like the fake fireball for Ryu in SSFIIHD360. I mean you could do something similar to that if you gamed certain areas in Sonic 3/Knuckles, but a deliberate drop dash is awesome.

I'll bet speed runners are going to be so hot for it.
 

jax

Banned
Sounds fantastic, this is seriously making me more excited the more I hear about it. Almost more hyped than the Project 2017 game for me
Everyone there thought Mania was project 2017. The hype was insane. When they announced actual '17 everyone was pretty surprised. I know I would have been happy just with Mania, especially after playing it a while.
 
Everyone there thought Mania was project 2017. The hype was insane. When they announced actual '17 everyone was pretty surprised. I know I would have been happy just with Mania, especially after playing it a while.

I think for most people, Mania is the big Sonic game for 2017. The trailer for Sonic Team's project gives me zero confidence it will be anything good.
 
Studiopolis is the recording studio that the games since Colours have been dubbed at. I almost wonder if the name of the Zone is an in-joke referencing that.
 

Surta

Member
I think for most people, Mania is the big Sonic game for 2017. The trailer for Sonic Team's project gives me zero confidence it will be anything good.

Premature much? It was just a short CG teaser, hinting at a sort-of sequel to Generations, which is great!
 

Guess Who

Banned
It replaces insta-shield and shields replace drop dash. I don't know what determines the speed of the drop dash. I hope something does.

The drop dash is activated bu having specific timing. I was able to do a few of them, but the levels they had didn't require it at al. It was hard to get the timing right.

Ah, I saw a post at Sonic Retro that basically explains it: hold jump a second time while in the air and release it the moment you hit the ground. So it is a timing thing. Still not sure how speed is determined though. (Maybe the length of time jump is held?)
 
Premature much? It was just a short CG teaser, hinting at a sort-of sequel to Generations, which is great!

Sonic Team's track record speaks for itself. The tone of that trailer was ridiculous.

Mind you, I don't even consider Colors or Generations to be great games. They're far better than every other 3D Sonic game (and I did enjoy them both to an extent), but to me, that's not saying a whole lot. I genuinely don't believe Sonic Team is capable of making a truly great Sonic game anymore.
 
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