Others are silly, like fighting a magician on stage in a bar saloon. Some are subtle, like the battle with a sword-wielding robo-samurai in the snow. ![]() Robotnik takes a backseat this time around, letting his newly-minted Hard-Boiled Heavies do most of the heavy lifting (as their namesake would imply). Not like a Sonic game would ever need a spoiler tag, but consider yourself warned: the boss fights are the highlight of Sonic Mania. As this is a game made by fans, for fans, it would stand to reason that the boss fights would serve as the ultimate shout-out to those who have kept the series kicking for over twenty years.ĭr. If there is one indulgence, however, it would be in the game’s many humorous boss battles. ![]() Even the game’s pixelated style shows a strict adherence to what could only have been possible on mid-to-late nineties hardware. The developers show a surprising amount of restraint throughout Sonic Mania. Beautiful is not a word I thought I would ever use to describe something related to Sonic The Hedgehog, but here we are. It is not the most challenging (not by a long shot that comes later) but it is a pinnacle example of why so many people love classic Sonic. Whether it’s the way Sonic bursts out of a giant popcorn machine or how the springboards look and sound like a Hollywood clap board, the attention to detail is so earnest I thought for a moment it was an original Sonic level.Īnother standout is Press Garden Zone, which begins in an overgrown, abandoned subway station and ends in a cherry blossom garden covered in snow. ![]() Studiopolis Zone is probably the best Sonic level I have ever played. This includes Sonic Mania’s brand new stages and bosses. Every addition made in Sonic Mania feels like a natural extension of the franchise’s roots. A few times I had to actually Google the original level’s design just to make sure I was remembering things correctly. None of these additions feel extraneous or gimmicky. In Stardust Speedway – another returning favorite – its once-decorative vines literally transform into an extraterrestrial platforming challenge. Other liquids become giant blobs of bouncy, gelatinous goo. Some will change and allow Sonic to cling to walls. While on the surface it looks exactly like its original counterpart, the second Act introduces the ability to alter the properties of different liquids. To the developer’s credit, Sonic Mania feels less like Frankenstein’s monster and more like a new spin on an old track. The whole introduction practically screams REMIX from the get-go, using the Chaos Emeralds as a convenient excuse to hop around fan-favorite locales with the occasional new level detour. A wordless plot hurls our trio of heroes Sonic, Tails and – if “swole” were an anthropomorphic echidna – Knuckles down avenues both new and old. However, developers Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PagodaWest Games have done exactly that. ![]() On paper, the idea of taking old Sonic levels and grafting on new gameplay mechanics sounds like game design via Dr. Add one cup of nostalgia, a pinch of old-school frustration, and the end result is a delicious Sonic souffle that, for better or worse, plays just as you remember it. Brand new levels and bosses made by true Sonic fans. Old levels with new mechanics and a fresh coat of paint. Take this dream scenario, replace Star Wars with Sonic The Hedgehog and you get Sonic Mania. Equal parts remaster and reimagining, Sonic Mania is a Sonic fan’s fever dream made real.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |