Sonic Mania is, in many ways, the Sonic game I’ve been waiting for since 1995. That would be the year I got Sonic & Knuckles, which was the last of the “Classic” Sonic the Hedgehog titles. After this, the series would eventually, in 1999, move into 3D with understandably different gameplay and, as games came and went, stylistic changes to a point where I honestly kind of questions what I was playing.
Sure, an attempt was made to bring back the spirit of the classic games in Sonic Generations, but this game really felt more modern than it should have – it was still 3D rendered, only paid lip service to the classic games, otherwise focusing still more on the later releases than anything else, and in the end it was more of just a 3D sonic with classic elements thrown in. Not my cup of tea, as they say.
Enter Sonic Mania, a game produced by fans of the classic games, for fans of the classic games. No, seriously, many of the developers are big names in the Sonic the Hedgehog modding and history community – people who have created specialized versions of the classic games, as well as procured and studied prototype copies of the games to figure out how they were developed. My kind of people, to be sure.
This level of passion shows in Sonic Mania. The game takes many classic levels and twists them into something totally modern yet also very familiar. While playing the game I found myself for the most part instinctively knowing what to do when a puzzle was presented; only a few times did I get stumped, but it didn’t take much effort to figure out what needed to be done (save for one incident I’ll go into on its own article.)
Right, I might as well break this down into the core elements of what makes a game good. Let’s get into it!
Gameplay:
Gameplay is spot on classic Sonic. Aside from a few sections where the physics was changed or otherwise behaves different from how it did in the classic games, things play just as you would expect. Levels flow in a very familiar style, and you feel in control in just about all situations.
The barriers from Sonic 3 return just as they behaved in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, alongside the classic Sonic 1 / 2 era shields, allowing for some interesting experiences in some levels.
Speaking of levels…
Level Design:
The Sonic Mania level design ethos is a mixture of classic Sonic, classic Sonic with new elements, and finally a few all new levels. Everything feels right for the most part – I can’t think of any levels that just feel wrong, beyond a few segments that, as I mentioned before, are a little rough, but all in all things feel right.
The new levels are hard to describe – they really do feel like a natural evolution to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog formula, but at the same time are so new (at least, with regards to a game like this) that they felt like a “proper” Sonic 4 (as opposed to the game that Sonic 4 actually was).
It’s hard to talk about level design without spoilers, so I’ll go into those details on another, optional article discussing each level in detail.
Music and Sound Effect:
The music in the game is just superb, nothing more would really need to be said about it. The new compositions fit in nicely with the classic Sonic sound style, and the remixes of the classic level themes are nicely done – they don’t try to be too different or unique, but still feel like fitting updates to classic songs.
The sound effects are simply classic Sonic to the letter. Even sound effects from the Game Gear / Master System games can be heard, if you listen carefully enough. Nothing much else to say in this category though.
Graphics:
Sonic Mania is, as you would expect, a game done in the classic Sonic style, both gameplay wise and graphically. At first glance it looks like just a high definition version of the classic games, but becomes so much more the further you get into the games – impressive graphic techniques that still fit the 16-bit aesthetic but at the same time take advantage of the fact that this game is running on a modern game console, and as such the engine can do pretty much whatever the developers want it to.
Thankfully, they did keep it simple, but still complex at the same time. When you play the game you will understand what I mean. Just pay attention and you will notice some neat little elements that, once again, show quite a bit of love and care went into this game.
Challenge:
This is where things are kind of odd with Sonic Mania – the game isn’t hard, but it isn’t easy. It seems to put more of an effort into damaging the player than previous Sonic games did, and while levels have a perfectly balanced challenge to them, some sections do seem to be overly harsh, and some boss fights are particularly rough, including one section that, yes, I’ve mentioned before and yes, I will get into in the future, that is just plain terrible.
Otherwise though, once you figure stuff out, it isn’t so bad. I can imagine this is about how I felt as a child with the classic games; I recall them being challenging, and me dying over and over on levels I now love – 20 years later, of course I have minimal trouble with the classics, and I can imagine down the line Sonic Mania being the same way for me – a game I know inside out.
Flaws:
Beyond what I mention above, I had one incident, ironically in that same boss fight, of the game not loading the next section properly and me dying out of nowhere. Otherwise, the game seemed to run fine, with no crashes, no glitches that I could find, or anything else that ruined the experience. That’s good, and certainly rare for a modern game.
FINAL RATING: 4.8/5
A 4.8. Why a 4.8? I want to give the game a 5.0, I really do, but the fact remains that one boss fight was so annoying to figure out, I have to dock it – I had to look up how to beat that boss, and as such I can’t justify giving the game a “perfect” score.
Still, the sheer charm the game has ( I mean come on, Splats is in the game!), combined with its otherwise top quality design makes the game a must have in my opinion for any fan of classic platformers, games fromt he 16 but era or, most importantly, fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
This is the Sonic game I’ve been waiting for, and probably the most fun I’ve had with a game in the past decade, at least.