OH YES Sonic Mania (Spoiler free thread)

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Dr. BUGMAN
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Dr. BUGMAN »

Image

Vinyl ost by the same company that's been doing other Sega LPs. I hope that art isn't limited to the sleeve!

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Malchik
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Malchik »

I think Sega should give more control back to Sega of America because they know how to better appease core fans than SoJ could ever imagine.

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Jingles
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Jingles »

Malchik wrote:I think Sega should give more control back to Sega of America because they know how to better appease core fans than SoJ could ever imagine.
I mean, just look at Sonic Boom! Bounce pad!

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Wombatwarlord777 »

Jingles wrote:
Malchik wrote:I think Sega should give more control back to Sega of America because they know how to better appease core fans than SoJ could ever imagine.
I mean, just look at Sonic Boom! Bounce pad!
To be fair, that was less of an active mistake on their part and more of an outside train wreck they utterly failed to prevent.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by big_smile »

Iizuka moved to the USA and everything to do with Sonic was put under his control. So there's not really a strong separation between SoA and SoJ anymore. From the way Iizuka has described it, it's just one unified Sonic division that oversees everything to do with the brand. I think the only reason SoJ didn't do Classic stuff in the past was because they didn't see the demand for it. Even now Iizuka sees it as niche market.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Dr. BUGMAN »

By Bigisland hisself:

Image

Interestingly, no Knuckles. Come to think of it, we don't really have any evidence he ever drew Knuckles, apart from maybe some of the Screensaver images.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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Sonic the Sketchhog X Paper Mario crossover when

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by big_smile »

The story has come out in a new manual that was given at SDComic Con. The freebie includes some lovely artwork and confirms new levels.

As we get close to the release date, please remember to use spoiler tags (and bonus points for giving an indication of what the spoiler is about).

The story's a *tad* confusing in continuity terms (I must stress 'tad', because it's only a little and even that's overstating it)

Very minor story spoilers:
It talks about Knuckles being the newest ally, so it must come straight after Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
But then we've seen those posters of Bark, Bean and Fang. Sonic didn't meet these characters until StF*, so shouldn't Mania take place after that?

There's also that Japanese interview which talks about Espio being in the game (although I get the feeling that's an error by the interviewer), so Mania should probably take place after Chaotix too (especially as StF seems to).


The again, there's nothing say that StF/Chaotix was the first time Sonic met Bark, Bean, Fang and Espio, so I guess Mania could get away with coming before. Also, 'newest ally' is a relative term. Sonic might consider Knuckles to be 'new' even after the events of Stf and Chaotix (especially as he didn't really interact with Knuckles in those games).

Sonic 4's another tricky one as it's supposed to show how Metal Sonic was resurrected from Little Planet (although I guess we don't know if Metal is in Mania). I know they originally talked about Sonic 4 take placing after Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but there's nothing in the story that requires it to do so.

(*Iizuka is very dismissive of the GG games, implying they are in a separate continuity, so StF was probably Fang's first true appearance).

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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You say that the manual gives information about new levels? Do you mind spoiling that as well? Or at least telling us the number of levels in the game, if they revealed them all?

Alright, now to respond to some of your points. I imagine the whole bit about Knuckles being Sonic's newest ally comes down to semantics. Aside from possibly Sonic the Fighters, Nack, Bark, and Bean have never explicitly been cast as working with Sonic. Nack's always seemed like a first-class asshole who has always tried to screw Sonic over. Bark and Bean have recently been retconned as criminals, so I doubt Sonic would really want much to do with them.

Then there's the question of why they were in Sonic the Fighters in the first place. According to Sonic News Network's wiki, apparently the eight Chaos Emeralds are needed in order to defeat Robotnik. Previously, I thought that the Emeralds were only relevant in that they were the entrance fee for Sonic's little fighting tournament.
So I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that Nack was there to take possession of the Emeralds and scram. The argument is harder to make to Bark and Bean, but given their characterizations by the time of Sonic Mania, perhaps their presence in Fighters wouldn't be interpreted as being with the best of intentions.

tl;dr: Nack, Bark, and Bean probably aren't considered allies of Sonic by whoever wrote Mania's story, either due to oversight or actually knowing those characters.

Izuka's dismissal of the GG games pisses me off, more than it should. Not only is it totally disrespectful to the people who developed those games, but it involves that stupid "multiple worlds" nonsense he resorts to whenever he can't easily explain minor snags in the games continuity that instead smashes it up into meaninglessness.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by big_smile »

Wombatwarlord777 wrote:You say that the manual gives information about new levels? Do you mind spoiling that as well? Or at least telling us the number of levels in the game, if they revealed them all?
I haven't read the booklet (outside of the story) because I don't want to be spoiled about the levels. But it is all on here:
https://mobile.twitter.com/StevenThePage

Those are good points about the story.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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By the way, I have found the contents of the manual elsewhere online. I'm gonna spoil its contents here, so expect some information about the story and levels.

First off, it's not really a manual. It's a promotional booklet that emulates a game manual. As in, most of the booklet's contents are developer profiles and pages dedicated to SDCC autographs.

That said, it's not totally devoid of new information.
The story is that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles race to beat Eggman and his Hard-Boiled Heavies to a new powerful energy source, and apparently Eggman and his robots beat Sonic's group to it. There are individual character profiles for Sonic, Tails, Knux, and Eggman, but I didn't get a good look at them.

And then there's developer profiles followed by two pages of concept art. Mostly it's stuff we've already seen (although there is art of something resembling Studiopolis built over layers of more-ancient looking stone/carvings). What is new is concept art of a Japanese-inspired environment set in fall and winter.
Given that we have an outline of a Hard-Boiled Heavy with what looks like a katana and a samuri helmet, this isn't that unexpected.

Along the borders of the autograph pages are small sketches of Sonic and Co. Interacting with various gimmicks. Again, it's mostly stuff we've before, although there is some new stuff that I didn't manage to get a close look at. At the very least, there's a giant orb that looks to either operate like the wheels in Carnival Night or possess their own gravitational pull.

So yeah, not much, but it's something to hold us over until August.


At the panel at SDCC, they revealed the Special Stages. They operate like a mix of the Special Stages in Sonic CD, Sonic 3&K, Knuckles Chaotix, and Sonic Heroes, of all things. Sonic runs on a flat three-dimensional environment, chasing a single UFO. Bop it and the Chaos Emerald is yours. Collect colored orbs to speed up and Rings to extend your allotted time. The Special Stages apparently use low-poly models for Sonic and the other PCs, and Sonic's model looks like it could've very well been directly ripped from Sonic R.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Frieza2000 »

That special stage background art is really selling it. Aside from the obvious reference, I'm also getting a Game Gear vibe from it.

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Malchik
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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The 3D themed stages are inspired by the scrapped Saturn 3D bonus stages for Sonic 3D Blast.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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Malchik wrote:The 3D themed stages are inspired by the scrapped Saturn 3D bonus stages for Sonic 3D Blast.
They weren't scrapped. I played them. They were the only good bits.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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Popcorn wrote:They weren't scrapped. I played them. They were the only good bits.
They were literally the only reason I ever went back to 3D Blast. The music alone was worth the price of admission.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Wombatwarlord777 »

Spoilers ahoy. Footage of Special and Bonus stages was released earlier today.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.eurogame ... attack-mod

The Special Stages look fantastic in motion and look like a lot of fun. The Bonus Stages are a retread of Sonic 3 &
Knuckles's Special Stages, which is really interesting.

I think this has some possible implications...

1) The Bonus Stages truly are bonus stages. Getting all the blue spheres or a perfect run rewards you with lives or continues or whatever.

2) The Bonus Stages truly are bonus stages, but there's more than one format for them. Sonic 3 & Knuckles had three types of bonus stage. Who's to say the same won't apply to Mania? Could we also be getting bonus stages based off the Special Stages from Sonics 1 and 2.
Seems like an insane amount of work to me.

3) The Bonus Stages aren't really bonus stsges. In the footage, the player manages to nab all the blue spheres and rings, but it shifts before we can see what their prize is. Could it possibly be a second set of magical McGuffins? Given the talk in the story about a strange new energy source, I wouldn't entirely discount it. Plus, fans of the classic games have been arguing the merits of exploring to find the entrance to Special Stages versus accessing them by carrying so many rings to a certain point. Mania might have decided to include both methods.


Sorry about all the spectuation. This is the most excited I've been for a Sonic game's release in a long time.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by big_smile »

Apparently, the PC Version has been delayed until the 29th.
Some stores are selling the download codes early, so it's possible to play the game now on consoles.

(Considering it's a download title I am surprised they didn't do some digital pokery to stop codes being redeemed early).



The PC version won't be out until August 29th, so let's keep any discussion of in game content in this new thread until October to give everyone a chance to play it in full:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3278

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

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big_smile wrote:Apparently, the PC Version has been delayed until the 29th.
Goddammit. I pre-bought the PC version so I could play it the day it came out (it was really cheap here in Brazil) and bought the Xbox One's Collector's Edition (it was the only one available, I do not own a Xbox One). I guess now I'll have to buy the PS4 version if I want to play it this week.

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Malchik
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Malchik »

Opa-Opa wrote:
big_smile wrote:Apparently, the PC Version has been delayed until the 29th.
Goddammit. I pre-bought the PC version so I could play it the day it came out (it was really cheap here in Brazil) and bought the Xbox One's Collector's Edition (it was the only one available, I do not own a Xbox One). I guess now I'll have to buy the PS4 version if I want to play it this week.
The game can use all the support. Maybe we can get another 2D Sonic game if it sells really well.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Majestic Joey »

So looks like there are reviews out. Most sites I saw say the game is great but since it is short (3 hours long like sonic 3 and knuckles) it becomes a 8 out of 10. That's literally the only complaint and they say everything else is awesome. Seriously fuck game review sites. I hate the amount of bias there is. If it was a Nintendo game it would get a much higher review (like how Dynasty warriors always gets mediocre reviews but once you give it a coat of Zelda paint and call it hyrule warriors it becomes a 9 out of 10 game). It pisses me off and yes I know I sound like a total Sega fan boy right now.

Anyways can't wait to play mania. I replayed sonic 3 and knuckles the other day to get into the mood. That game played at a leisurely pace takes about 2 to 3 hours and honestly I think that is the perfect length for a sonic game. It doesn't start to drag and it still feels like an accomplishment when you finish.

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Malchik
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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Malchik »

Side scrolling Sonic games were never long. In fact most 2D platformers can be completed in a few hours. I guess years of side quests spoiled our generation.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Wombatwarlord777 »

Majestic Joey wrote:Anyways can't wait to play mania. I replayed sonic 3 and knuckles the other day to get into the mood. That game played at a leisurely pace takes about 2 to 3 hours and honestly I think that is the perfect length for a sonic game.
For one single playthrough? It's going to take more than that to see substantially everything in the game.

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Re: OH YES Sonic Mania

Post by Majestic Joey »

Wombatwarlord777 wrote:
Majestic Joey wrote:Anyways can't wait to play mania. I replayed sonic 3 and knuckles the other day to get into the mood. That game played at a leisurely pace takes about 2 to 3 hours and honestly I think that is the perfect length for a sonic game.
For one single playthrough? It's going to take more than that to see substantially everything in the game.
Oh I just meant beating the game. I'm probably going to replay multiple times for all the alternate routes and goodies.

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