Sonic Mania

Sorry for no post last week, but I was a little busy...

I rag on modern gaming a lot, but it definitely has its positive aspects.  One of the biggest is instant access to low cost or free games via subscription services like PlayStation Plus or Games with Gold.  It’s almost to the point where I have too many games in my collection.  Not all the free games are great, but some certainly stand out.  Especially when those games are updated versions of classics like Sonic Mania.

I don’t think Sonic the Hedgehog needs any introduction.  He’s Sega’s mascot and anyone who was a kid in the 90s has at least some familiarity with the blue blur.  His games from that era were classics and even his early 3D offerings were great playthroughs.  But that was 30 years ago and unlike his turtle stomping rival, Sonic has had quite a few missteps.  It’s not that every Mario game has been classic, but even at his worst, I don’t know if he ever sunk as low as Sonic ‘06.  Or Sonic R.  Or Sonic the Fighters.  Or...well, you get the idea.

But make no mistake about it, Sonic Mania is proof positive that the world’s fastest hedgehog is far from done.  It is entirely too early to say it, but this might be the best game in the series.  No, that’s not an exaggeration.  This is top of the line 2D side scrolling and every old school gamer should take the time to play through it.

Anyone that played Sonic back in the day knows what to expect.  You play as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles as you blaze through 12 levels, collect chaos emeralds and battle Dr. Robotnik/Eggman’s minions.  The dev team for this game consisted of respected members of the Sonic romhacking community and it shows, as most of the 12 levels are re-imagined versions of classic stages.  But these aren’t just pixel for pixel rehashes.  Each level is broken into two stages, with the first playing like its old school counterpart.  You will see the familiar locales and setpieces with the familiar music from the Genesis (or Sega CD, there is a Sonic CD stage in there).  The second stage is almost completely new with a re-mixed soundtrack.  

The backgrounds take full advantage of the new hardware, with once static imagery replaced with detailed animation.  The Sonic sprite is excellent as usual, but this game added in plenty of new touches.  For example, the fire power up will set the fluid on fire in the Oil Ocean stage.  It’s little things like that that set this game apart.  One of the biggest problems with the old school Sonic games were the boss fights.  They always felt sort of same-ish.  Not here though.  Rather than the familiar battle at the end of the chemical plant, for example, you will be dropped into a game of “Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine” against the computer.  It’s fun, creative and provides variety in a genre where that is difficult to do.  

The level design really plays into what is great about the Sonic franchise: speed.  It strikes the right balance between a blistering pace and fair challenge.  Enemy placement is great, as you need to think about what you are doing, but you can still destroy or pass them without slowing down too much.  Each of the stages have fun gimmick and none of them come off as frustrating.  The re-imagined stages have plenty new to offer while also retaining their familiar segments, from swinging on propellers in the flying battery to outrunning the wall in Hydrocity.  Each stage also has a few different paths you can take and they offer a good variety of different potential play styles.  The new chaos emerald mini game is pretty cool and the old orb stages from Sonic 3/and Knuckles provide access to unlockables.

All the personality in the world doesn’t mean a thing if the game plays like crap.  Fortunately, that isn’t the case here.  The control is tight and responsive and this is definitely a case where its the best in the series.  I always found Sonic’s jumping to be floaty and difficult to control, but that has finally been fixed.  The hit detection is almost perfect and the challenge is nice and balanced.  You can even change Sonic’s ability set to match what he can do in Sonic and Knuckles or Sonic CD.  It isn’t super useful, but its a nice touch.  

I also think they did a pretty good  job of choosing the right classic changes.  I think Chemical Plant, Hydrocity, Lava Reef and Angel Island were great picks.  I think Quartz Quadrant or Whacky Workbench would have been better representatives from Sonic CD than Stardust Speedway, but that is nitpicking.  Even then, I found myself liking levels I hated back in the day.  Flying Battery is probably my single least favorite level in the history of the franchise, but I found myself enjoying the re-imagined version.  The new stages are all excellent and I especially enjoyed the Press Garden.

Sonic Mania is an instant classic and a true return to form for a great franchise.  I barely even scratched the surface of the other modes like time attack and versus (I usually don’t touch stuff like that, but here I am compelled to go back and give it a shot).  There are even tons of DLC levels, although they aren’t free.  Even without all that, 12 levels is a big Sonic game and even though most of them come from older titles, they certainly don’t feel like it.  It isn’t free on PS Plus anymore, but I would have gladly paid for it.

Play this game if:

You like good, old school platformers

You were a big Sonic fan back in the day

You are looking for an entry point into a classic franchise

Avoid if:

Things like whether a game looks good in 1080p are more important to you than gameplay.

9.25/10