Ah, Sonic just saying the name makes me smile. One of the first games I played and owned was Sonic The Hedgehog on the Sega Master System. That's right, for most people they played it first on the Sega Megadrive but not me. In fact, I played Sonic 1 and 2 on the Sega Master System and Sonic on the Sega Game Gear before playing it on the Sega Megadrive. Each console offers a very different experience but I enjoyed them all.
It is the 25th Anniversary of Sonic and to celebrate Sega in association with Christian Whitehead,
Headcanon and Pagodawest Games released Sonic Mania which I was very giddy to play. Lucky enough I have an awesome girlfriend (shoutout to the Starfish) who bought it for me as an early Christmas present, not only that but she got the special edition which comes with a Sonic statue mounted on a replica Sega Megadrive. When you power it on it says 'Sssssssseeegggggaaaa (currently grinning like a Cheshire cat). Anyhoo onwards to the food analogy followed by a review.
I grew up on Kinder Surprise Eggs (don't worry my parents also gave me real food too), low in cost, containing both milk and white chocolate with a little container inside featuring a toy you had to put together. When I used to get my pocket money I would buy a Buster comic and a Kinder Surprise, if I was really lucky the comic would come with free sweets too. Every now again I revisit my childhood to see what they are like now and while the chocolate is pretty similar the toys for the most part really suck and are often assembled. Playing Sonic Mania I found myself asking was this something that looked good and had something great inside or was it filled with disappointment?
Story
The story for Sonic Mania is quite interesting, it turns out buried beneath Angel Island (Knuckle's Home) is the Phantom Ruby. It has the power to disrupt time and has endless power, this attracts the attention of both Sonic, Tails and Knuckles along with Dr. Eggman. Their mission is to retrieve the Phantom Gem and thwart Dr. Eggman's plans.
Since Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles Dr. Eggman has been feeling a little bored and created the Hard Boiled Heavies robots that all look like him (maybe for a little company). Either due to boredom or the Phantom Gem, they have gone a little mad and gained their own personalities. You will get to battle them along the way, some are annoying and some are not so much so. That is pretty much the story in an eggshell (see what I did there...forget it).
Graphics
Sonic Mania while looking retro did not go for the classic Sonic 8-Bit or 16-Bit look of the Sega Master System and Megadrive. Instead, they have gone for a mixture between those consoles and the MegaCD which still gives it a nice retro look and feel. I like that they updated the look but did it without destroying the overall design of Sonic, unlike Sonic Boom (shaking my head at this moment).
The game includes many of the classic zones like Green Hill, Flying Battery, and Chemical Plant all with a little twist along with the newer zones like Titanic Monarch, Oil Ocean and Mirage Saloon. My favorites zones had to be; Green Hill, Flying Battery, Studipolis and Oil Ocean. Green Hill is the classic first act in most Sonic games and just reminds me of my childhood along being terrified of robotic crabs that walk deep inland like it's no big deal. Chemical Plant has a very industrial look and there are chemicals everywhere, some of them can make you bounce and others kill you (just like real life). I really like the look of Oil Ocean as it reminded me a little of Sonic CD and just looked like a polluted mess. It was also a subtle way for the designers to show kids the devastation of what oil can do to the ocean in a similar way as they did in Sonic CD. Also if you get the Fire Shield and go down the oil slide it sets on fire, it's the little things in life.
Music
The game was created by Sega along with big-time fans of the Sonic franchise and listening to the music the passion and love they have for it is clear. There are the classic Sonic sounds blended seamlessly with something new that feels like the original. The music is upbeat and moves between pop, electronic and a chiptune style sound well apart from the boss music which always has a slightly darker tone. The composer behind this music is:
Tee Lopes, born in Portugal and move to the United States when he was a child. For years he has been getting recognition for the remixes of Sonic he has posted on YouTube. He now works for Pagodawest Games helping create music for indie game, some of his works include; Major Magnet,
Circle Frenzy and Fling all available on Andriod and iOS.
Additionally, Hyper Potions created the opening animation music for Sonic Mania along with the tracks 'Checkpoint', 'Time Trails' and 'Friends'. Hyper Potions are Ian 'Sushi Killer' Tsuchiura and Kevin Villeco, who have an awesome logo - go check it out. They are an American band who produce Electronic Dance Music. They have created many tracks and remixed a number of songs, their works include; Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice, Gotta Go Fast - Sonic Tribute, League of Legends
and Mischief Makers Remixed.
The score runs at just under two hours and has many great pieces of music, I can see myself in the near future buying the record from Data Discs (check it out below). There were quite a few pieces I really enjoyed including:
Green Hill Zone Act 1
Chemical Plant Zone Act 1
Studiopolis Act 1
Flying Battery Zone Act 1 and 2
Hydrocity Zone Act 1
Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1
Lava Reef Zone Act 1
Titanic Monarch Act 1
Blue Spheres Bonus Stage
Hi Spec Robo Go!
Final Boss Theme
Gameplay
The gameplay is classic Sonic, most of the techniques and items are the same with a few additions, the classic TVs are all there including; lightning, fire and bubble shields along with the new Hyper Ring. The Hyper Ring collects all your rings together meaning if you get hit it's easier for you to catch them all.
There are multiple games modes that can be unlocked by playing the game and by completing bonus stages successfully. There is a Debug (cheat mode), Time Attack and Competition Mode. Like Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles you can play as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles and later Super versions if you collect all the Chaos Emeralds.
Sega and associates put a lot of nostalgic moments from the series into Sonic Mania including; Mean Bean Machine Boss, Metal Sonic from Sonic CD, original Sonic Bosses from the Megadrive along with Heavy Shinobi who is basically Shinobi from the series but in robot egg form (I know that it's not technically from the series but is still cool).
There are some great zones throughout the game and some not so great ones. My favorite zones to play were; Metallic, Mirage Saloon and Studiopolis. Metallic was really great as Sonic is already cool and cute, how do you make him cooler and cuter? Use a shrink ray on him, then get him to take on miniature versions of bosses. Mirage Saloon had an interesting desert cowboy feel along with some weird enemies plus you get to stand on top of a plane for Act 1 looking badass. I was slow to warm to Studiopolis as it had too much of this Hollywood feel but after a while, I got into it and I really liked the silhouette effect that occurs when you go behind glass. There were two zones that chapped my hide, Oil Ocean Zone and Titanic Monarch. Oil Ocean Zone looked good for the most part but later on, there is black smoke that builds and you have to pull chains to clear it if you don't you lose rings and die. Was not a fan of this and is it was very out of synch with the classic Sonic gameplay. Titanic Monarch Zone, the acts were quite long but became longer with those damn gravity balls. Purplely, pinky orbs that you have to almost break the analogs sticks to get yourself pointing in the right direction to reach higher locations. Of course, I could deal with one or two but both acts are littered with them and they are super annoying.
Final Thoughts
After six hours of play, how did I feel? Happy. While I felt Sonic Mania was not as good as the original games it does do a fantastic job of paying homage to them along with creating something new and special. In recent years few Sonic games released have really felt up to the mark but this one felt just right and I look forward to tackling it again in the future and maybe collecting all the chaos emeralds. This one gets a solid 4 out of 5
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