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REVIEW: SONIC MANIA (Switch, Ps4, Xbox One, PC - Switch version Tested)

21/8/2017

46 Comments

 
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"Rollin', rollin', rollin'...!" 

Do you remember that song? That was the song which started every Sonic The Hedgehog game, back on the Mega Drive wasn't it? Remember that? Do you? Do you remember it? Do you recall it - with your mind?

"Rollin', rollin', rollin'... Sonic da Hedgehog is rollin'... rollin' into a ball in the shower and sob-sob-sob-sob-sobbin'... Fartin' and sobbing'! Yeah yeah yeah! He's a big, blue, flatulent baby! Fart fart fart! And now he's got the runs - yeah!"

It was the best song ever written, back from the days when Sonic was a contender. You know: before he became the gaming equivalent of a try-hard middle aged man attempting to hang onto his fading youth. Your dyed hair isn't fooling anyone, Sonic. That blue doesn't look natural. There's something about the way the light catches it. Also, stop trying to learn the electric guitar, because you never got to be in a band when you were at college. It's just desperate.

You can't really blame Sega for taking the Sonic franchise in the direction they did. I mean, at the time  all the old 2D franchises were becoming 3D. How many of those worked though? Pretty much only Mario and Zelda, because... Nintendo.

3D essentially throttled Earthworm Jim, Lemmings, Toejam and Earl, and Ecco The Dolphin to death (and if you've ever tries to strangle a worm or a dolphin you'll know that's no easy task). It's fair to say, it would've killed Sonic too had there not been so much residual goodwill built up across his Mega Drive games.
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ALL THE ENTIRELY OF THE FAIR
What it is entirely fair to resent Sega for is sticking to its guns, and failing to learn the lesson - despite countless godawful 3D Sonic games - that the character simply didn't work when it wasn't a side-on platform game.

For reasons I've never understood, the two Sonic Adventures games are generally liked, despite being terrible and weird, but since then only Rod "The Sod" Iddyotte would argue that any of Sonic's games have been a top tier experience.

In recent years, there have been signs that Sega - in the form it exists today - at last understands Sonic's place in the gaming landscape. A self-depreciating Twitter account was the first step... and now Sonic Mania; a brand new 2D Sonic game which honours the franchise's origins, without simply filling its pockets with segs. If Sonic is middle-aged in gaming terms, then he's finally decided to rub up against that, and, by crikey, he suddenly seems so much more dignified for it.

Part remix, part entirely new, Sonic Mania reminds us why Sonic has been so impossible to get right in 3D: he was conceived as a 2D character, and here - in his natural environment - he excels. Whereas Mario is essentially a blank canvas, open to reinvention, putting Sonic in a 3D world worked about as well as, I dunno, James Bond in Balamory.

Everything is stripped back to basics - no dialogue or convoluted story, no uncomfortable cut-scenes where Sonic slides his bristly tongue inside a human princess's mouth, no desperate attempts to make the character edgy and relevant. 

LOVE THAT STUFF
All of the stuff people loved from those early games are here - simultaneous two-player mode with Tails, the bonus stages (including a brand new retro-3D UFO chase), and sprites; gorgeous, old school, sprites. There are elements drawn from across all of Sonic's Mega Drive titles, along with a ton of Easter eggs and additional modes.

It's a fast, frenetic, platform game which at points feels like a remix of the original Sonic The Hedgehog, and at other points feels like a sequel that we never got. Refusing to bow to platform game convention, when it comes to brand new ideas, instead of the usual generic platform stages we get areas like Press Garden - a mix of printing press and neo-classical greenhouse. 

Yes, there are points where it's maddeningly frustrating, Sonic's speed sometimes feeling as much a hindrance as a bonus, and enemies seemingly appearing out of nowhere. But it was always thus with Sonic, and is - frankly - what always set the series apart from its peers.
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SLAVISH
However, while what's new is great... I could've done without it being quite so slavishly devoted to Sonic's heritage. Though the stages which reprise those seen in earlier games have been given a twist or two, there's no question that they pale next to the new levels. Concepts which were a bad idea the first time round appear here basically untouched, and the only points I got bored were when I was playing through all-too-familiar areas.

That's an issue given that there has been no shortage of ways to play the original Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic CD in recent years. Consequently, it feels less like a full-blown sequel, and more like a remastered greatest hits album, with re-recorded songs and bonus tracks.

And that's a shame, because - really - given that this is more or less the Sonic game I've been asking for, and that this is very much a love letter to Sonic's fans. reprising so much of the past, rather than give us a full sequel, does let down the overall experience.

That said, it's a minor quibble really; the new stuff is SO good, so packed with invention and reinvention, and there's never a dull moment in any of the brand new stages - and the numerous boss sections occasionally border on genius.

​You can taste the authenticity, and the only thing which suggests this wasn't originally released in, say, 1997 is the heady waft of the nostalgic callbacks to Sega's history.

Ultimately, I'm left wanting more of the same, and that's probably a good thing.

​SCORE: 72%
FROM THE ARCHIVE:
​10 REALLY OBSCURE SEGA GAMES THAT SHOULD BE BROUGHT BACK
​
SEGA: LIFE BEFORE THE MASTER SYSTEM - A HISTORY
​
EXCLUSIVE SCRIPT EXTRACT: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
46 Comments
Spiney O'Sullivan
21/8/2017 09:32:34 am

That score. You monster.

Anyway, Sonic Mania is basically The Force Awakens for Sonic fans. Yes, it reprises a lot of stuff, but that's kind of necessary to reminding people of what they loved about the franchise, and the new stuff is great.

It will be interesting to see how Sega manages to throw away the good will they've built up from this...

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Clockwork Fool
21/8/2017 11:37:09 am

It's arguably more necessary for Sonic than Star Wars. There are poor deluded fans of the dire prequels and the insipid, tone-deaf expanded universe in the Star Wars franchise already, but hardcore sonic fans are a tiny and wonderfully weird minority when you look at the dire games they've been pumping out.

Hell, a huge part of Game Grumps success comes from the potential to plumb those awful Sonic games in particular for absurdity and miserable game-failure.

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MENTALIST
21/8/2017 09:48:40 am

2D game franchises that have successfully moved to 3D. That is a curious proposition. Apart from sports and simulation games franchises, how many are there?

Mario and Zelda, as described. Plus Metroid from their stable. Duke Nukem, actually, its good 3D version came out even before Mario's. Grand Theft Auto - although the 2D version was to some extent wilfully retro compared to contemporaries like the first of the Driver series. Metal Gear. Ninja Gaiden.

All the major Japanese RPG franchises have moved to 3D graphics, from Final Fantasy to Pokemon - but how much did any of their game mechanics actually change? It's just run around a 2D map, and select stuff from menus or use timing in a set-piece battle. The same goes for RTS and 4x games.

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Stoo
21/8/2017 10:42:22 am

There's Prince of Persia also. Okay the first attempt to go 3D wasn't a success, but then we had the fantastic Sands of Time....

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Jol
21/8/2017 01:55:57 pm

Flashback / Fade to Black was a decent enough transition; FTB might be atrocious now but it was fine at the time.

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Col. Asdasd
22/8/2017 09:04:23 am

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was a good, if not entirely accomplished effort.

I didn't like Worms 3D at all, but I really enjoyed Hogs of War which was basically the same concept but better executed... three years earlier. Plus Rik Mayall doing racist accents.

Broken Sword 3 was an interesting one. The 3D definitely made the enivronments seem more inhabitable, albeit less charming than those of the 2D games. From a gameplay perspective the most significant addition were block puzzles, which.. yeah.

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MENTALIST
22/8/2017 01:38:53 pm

I think that if a franchise deliberately returns to 2D for its main series, it's fairly indicative that its creators don't feel the move to 3D was completely successful.

Broken Sword is a prime example of that. Rayman, too, despite the fact that the 3D Rayman 2 got a lot of praise (although 3 got rather less). And then Sonic, obviously.

Spiney O'Sullivan
23/8/2017 01:27:46 am

Not every game needs to be in 3D. The 2D revival brought about by indie games after mainstream gaming desperately chased the big 3D wave has been a good thing in that respect.

Sonic works better in 2D because two dimensions is enough to work with when you need to combine speed and precision, especially when you have a sort of pinball physics thing going on. Worms relies very much on precise calculation, which is horribly complicated by a third dimension. Broken Sword is a point and click at heart, and point and clicks really only need two dimensions.

Nintendo got that idea about how some things don't work so well in 3D pretty early on. Mario changed structure completely to become a good 3D game.

Salem
21/8/2017 10:02:08 am

I'm pretty sure its easy to strangle a worm. The question would be where its neck is, but you could strangle the entire thing and that would include its neck at some point in the strangling.

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RetroReferencer
21/8/2017 10:42:26 am

I tried, and tried for ages to strangle The Real Turner the Worm, but all that happened is that he was sick.

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Anonymous Worm Stroker link
21/8/2017 04:09:40 pm

I tried a different tactic and attempted to befriend The Real Turner the Worm by stroking him. Still the same result and he was sick.

BALLS TO WORMS
21/8/2017 11:44:40 am

Death is too good for 'em.

First, tie a shoelace around it and suspend it betwixt your fingers, hang the bleeder by the neck 'til its penultimate gasp: hung

Then leave it on the shoelace and walk around a bit: 'drawn'

Finally segment the grotesque barely-sentient fleshy twiglet into 4: quartered

I don't subscribe to the theory that by taking part in this practice I am merely giving birth to 4 angry worms

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Craig Grannell
21/8/2017 10:43:28 am

I'm guessing that score is a nod to the fact Sega will now pull all of its advertising from Digi.

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Clockwork Fool
21/8/2017 11:39:17 am

And before I forget, damnit Mr Biffo. Now I want James Bond in Balamore.

It'd totally work! He'd just like, be an enigmatic and sophisticated guest star, always evasive about his *boring job* and frequently away on long exotic holidays.

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RichardM
21/8/2017 01:36:28 pm

Miles Jupp standing in for Q, making Bond a communications device out of yoghurt pots and string; P.C. Plum for J. W. Pepper as the comedy local law enforcement... Not to mention the sexual tension with Miss Hoolie ("The children will be leaving on the minibus for the mainland soon, Mr Bond...").

I think we have the concept for Daniel Craig's last Bond film pretty much done.

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Starbuck
22/8/2017 12:04:21 am

Bringing it back to videogames... Josie Jumpman.

Gaming Mill link
21/8/2017 01:22:56 pm

I didn't know what Balamory was so I had to look it up. I wish I hadn't now.

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sexist bore
21/8/2017 04:45:47 pm

You would Miss Hooley though right? Maybe that's more of a bored dad thing

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Hoolieisfit
21/8/2017 11:56:07 pm

Totally.

Neptunium
21/8/2017 03:23:36 pm

You are wrong about Sonic Adventure, terrible cutscenes/acting/music aside, they were fun games and showed that a speedy platformer could work in three dimensions. The music was actually so awful it was good, especially the "yo yo yo Ich bin Knuckles der pimp" music from SA2. I especially enjoyed the on-rails elements which Jet Set Radio then went on to refine to near-perfection.

Really enjoying Mania on the Switch, especially since it only cost £9 from the Russian eshop. I wasn't even much of a fan of 2D sonic, 2D sonic was always a one trick pony that lacked the depth of Mario. However Mania is forcing me to reevaluate my relationship with Sonic - there is depth there which I wouldn't have got as an impetuous teenager.

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Mr Biffo
21/8/2017 03:47:51 pm

I think you'll find that YOU'RE wrong.

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Spiney O'Sullivan
21/8/2017 04:55:36 pm

My general view was that Sonic Adventure was flawed but showed potential if Sega could iron out the issues. Overall I do actually like it, but it's much a product of its time. It's still largely playable, but you really have to overlook some things.

Sonic Adventure 2 had a few high points (mostly due to the soundtrack) but did nothing to fix those issues, focusing instead on adding two of the franchise's worst characters: Vegeta the Hedgehog and Rouge the Breasts. I mean, Rouge the BAT.

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Mrtankthreat
21/8/2017 03:50:47 pm

"For reasons I've never understood, the t̶w̶o̶ Sonic A̶d̶v̶e̶n̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ games are generally liked".

Fixed that for you.

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Penyrolewen
21/8/2017 08:33:18 pm

I'm with you, mr tankthreat. Never got them. Rubbish character, one trick games, boring. (Looks nervously over shoulder and then legs it quick before everyone starts chasing)

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applelemon
21/8/2017 08:48:16 pm

I'm not with you, the games aren't bad, you are just bad at them.

Well the Adventure games are terrible though

applelemon
21/8/2017 08:47:20 pm

hahahaha so funny. Have you ever played any of them?

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King of Duckhenrys
21/8/2017 05:43:42 pm

Are we all in denial about Sonic Forces then?

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Spiney O'Sullivan
22/8/2017 11:24:50 am

If it's just Sonic Generations 2, then it'll be fine.

Besides, Forces doesn't stop Mania existing.

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King of Duckhenrys
22/8/2017 05:12:19 pm

It doesn't stop Mania from existing, but it does show that Sega hasn't learnt a damn thing.

Spiney O'Sullivan
23/8/2017 01:34:18 am

It'll likely be alright, as long as it's basically Sonic Generations 2. Generations pretty much refined the level design of the "boost formula" games to be about as good as it can be.

That said, trusting Sega to just do the same good thing twice is a bit of a leap of faith.

Adam
21/8/2017 08:40:08 pm

Welcome back Mr Biffo. That score made me laugh!

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Mental_Out
22/8/2017 02:51:10 am

Fuck Sonic. Never even liked him on the Mega Drive. Sonic needs to die. But I think it would be quite RUDE not to torture him first... thumbscrews INSTANTLY spring to mind, yeah - followed by an intense session of electrodes on the testicles, then a fuckin' wire coat hanger down the japseye, really fuckin' hurt the geezer you know what I mean mate do ya? And then FINALLY it's time to say hi to the old man you been working for aaaall these years, *pumps shotgun* byebye Sonic, nobody ever gave a fuck about ya BOOM. Fuckin' shit games though innit

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Mental_Out
22/8/2017 02:55:34 am

Freedom planet though - fucking amazing

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Col. Asdasd
22/8/2017 08:57:27 am

"You're not going fast enough. The whole point of these games is to go fast."
"But then how do I avoid the enemies and instant death pitfalls?"
"You don't. You die, start the level again, and this time remember where the thing was that killed you."
"... Fuck this, I'm going back to Mario."

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Wilson Bensosten
22/8/2017 09:54:16 am

There's really not mush speed difference between Sonic and Mario and people that think Sonic is speedrunning either never played Sonic or played it like an idiot. They are very similar games

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Spiney O'Sullivan
22/8/2017 11:20:48 am

Your friends were wrong. Speed is mainly good for building momentum to get to higher paths and explore, but the real point of the game is to get the Chaos Emeralds. Going fast all the time means you can't explore the levels and fulfil the conditions to get to the special stages (collect enough rings or locate the hidden entrances).

If you're aiming to finish them properly, the games reward more considerate play more than Mario, where the levels are a bit more linear (though Super Mario World mixes it up a bit with the secret exits).

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Col. Asdasd
22/8/2017 02:33:19 pm

I agree that there's more to it than my slightly glib comment. But I've gone back to them since and I'm sorry, but slow Sonic is even worse than fast Sonic (I'm looking at you Marble Zone.)

Momentum is a very particular thing in these games. If it's not working with you, it's very much against you, like trying to ride a horse through a pool of treacle. If you're not using the spin dash it takes forever to build up and shed speed or even change direction.

In the early levels this is merely frustrating, as you miss one-chance jumps and struggle to get up tiny curved hills. In later zones they introduce precise platforming requirements where the slightest false move means death. The result of these sections is at best gluey tedium, at worst a lot of cheap difficulty and forced restarts.

As for the secrets, a lot of them can't be discovered simply through considerate exploration but require jumps which you only get one chance to make by maintaining perfect momentum through a series of one-way gates, adding a further requirement of trial, error and repetition.

I'm sorry, I get that these games are beloved by millions, and are an important part of many a childhood (Sonic 1 was the second game I ever played, aged 3. I still remember the sense of total enthralment.) But I don't think they're immune to criticism - on the contrary, I think they're really quite flawed.

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Col. Asdasd
22/8/2017 04:11:43 pm

Hmm. I feel like I have to retract part of this comment. It's too strident. All I've really been able to explain is why *I* didn't like the 2D Sonics, but I've used that as a basis to pronounce them objectively bad. Which isn't really on.

Spiney O'Sullivan
23/8/2017 02:14:58 am

I do understand what you mean to an extent. The games aren't easy (except Sonic 3), and punish failures hard and often. Even now I screw up on things, leading to the odd restart. And yes, the later parts of the games are far less forgiving and more demanding, and I outright hate a couple of levels in the series for that (looking at you, S3&K Death Egg). That said, I see speed runs and YouTube playthrough that nail those levels with crazy precision, so I suspect it's really my own failure rather than unfair design in those cases (barring one or two instant-kill traps that do require trial and error - i.e. The Mystic Cave Zone pit. Though that raises the question of whether a bit of trial and error is terrible game design).

I agree that they're demanding, and the physics isn't always your friend in the slower zones. That said, I don't really feel like it's unfair or inconsistent. Usually if I die or miss something I'm aiming for, it's my own failure to either calculate the right momentum to get where I need to be, or to execute what I need to. In a way it's like the Dark Souls thing. You either like the game enough to really learn the mechanics, or you don't.

Ben
24/8/2017 05:49:21 pm

That really isn't much different than all platformers from this era.
There really aren't many instant death traps in Sonic because of the rings and shields you can get. Then along with 1ups and continues you get many many chances to screw up before the game is actually over. But yes, the general approach to the game is practicing the levels until you know where all the enemies and pitfalls are and you are able to run through it at top speed. This was a very common approach to games in the 8-bit and 16-bit era but is admittedly pretty old-school now.

Sonic 1 had some balance issues between the speed/platforming aspects, Sonic 2 basically fixed all those problems, Sonic 3/Knuckles is easily one of the best games of the 16-bit era.

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DEAN
22/8/2017 11:28:55 am

I like Sonic and enjoyed Sonic Adventure. Sure, it's no Mario but when you're in KFC you drink Pepsi... and that's okay.

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MENTALIST
22/8/2017 01:45:08 pm

When I'm in KFC, I do as the Romans do.

So I lie down across several seats, and regularly throw up into one of their cardboard buckets in order to continue the pleasure of eating.

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DEAN
22/8/2017 03:15:57 pm

I know what you mean.

How superb would it be (speaking for myself) if I could do like pigeons do and redirect food to a crop in my neck (say enough for a whole Daddy Box Meal), and then push out a mastication rope when it was 'ready'.

I imagine it would look like a salmon-coloured snake shedding skin and sound like a klaxon going off under porridge.

Neptunium
22/8/2017 02:13:28 pm

Warning: Controversial statement ahead.

Pepsi Max tastes better than any product by the Coca Cola Company, and it tastes even better when it's watered down to homeopathic proportions as it is in KFC's soda fountains.

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DEAN
22/8/2017 03:25:34 pm

Pepsi Max is excellent, I grant you that!

New Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is good too mind... but after a few sips you can really taste that Zero.

Full Sugar BLUE Pepsi in the Middle East tastes way better than in the UK... gives Coke a proper run for their money.

Roy (Stuart N Hardy fan)
25/8/2017 08:35:28 pm

Once again I find meself agreeing with you, Mr B.
I bought this for The Switch and it's fun and colourful and fast but it's no Mario.
Sonic never was and never will be.
Good for a 10 minute blast.
And that's the Nintendo difference.
Well that's what I reckon anyways.

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