Review — Sonic Mania
Originally published August 24, 2017, for Sega Addicts, part of a three person group review
“By the fans, for the fans”. It’s a phrase you hear all the time, but it’s usually followed up by a promising fan project getting C&D’d weeks later. Not in this case. Sonic Mania is the product of a rare event; a company seeing how talented members of a classic franchise’s fanbase are and instead of telling them to stop doing what they’re doing, deciding to hire them to create the potential next great entry in their beloved series. In a lot of ways, this could be seen as a big risk, especially when the whole “back to Sonic‘s roots, as you truly imagined it!” thing has been done to death in the past with usually mediocre results. But when the names attached to the project are the likes of Christian Whitehead, Simon Thomley, and Tee Lopes, among others, your worry starts to dissipate, and you start to think “this could really be the game I’ve waited 20+ years for”.
So that’s the big question. Is it? Since Sonic discourse is usually about as divisive as a political discussion or a comment thread about who the best Persona 5 girl is (it’s still Haru, by the way), we’re doing something a little bit different to answer that. We’ve gathered the thoughts of three different members of your humble Sega Addicts staff, each with differing levels of Sonic fandom and experience, to give you the most comprehensive, and gargantuan, answer to that question we can.
Of all the Addicts, I believe I had the most flip-flops during the lead-up to Sonic Mania. From my initial disappointment at the debut, to my childlike astonishment at the new levels like Studiopolis and Mirage Saloon- and everything in between- it’s been quite the rollercoaster of hot takes and emotions. By August 15th though, everything had settled back solely into excitement. I mean, it’s a new 2D Sonic, in the hands of some of the fanbase’s most talented creators, in 2017. How the hell do you not get hype for that?
If I could describe Mania in one clichéd phrase, it’d be that it feels like coming home. It’s a game that, much like Sonic 3 did for a younger me, just simply feels comfy. You can immediately see the amount of love that’s been put into this game without even stepping foot into Green Hill, from Tyson Hesse’s utterly gorgeous opening movie to the menu design. And when you do get into the actual game? Man, oh man. The levels and sprites are fantastic, popping with bright colors, but not in a garish Sonic-CD-esque manner. The whole thing is just such a treat for the eyes, and it personally made me feel like I was 5, just witnessing Sonic for the first time all over again.
It’s not just a visual treat, either. I’d like to know who I need to bribe to keep Tee Lopes as the composer for every Sonic game moving forward, because his work here is some of the best in the series. Special mention has to go to his renditions of Lava Reef Act 2, Flying Battery Act 2, and Metallic Madness Act 1 (what up, Ridge Racer Type 4 sax?), but pretty much every track on the OST is fantastic. Seriously, I’ll happily trade Jun Senoue, legend that he is, for Lopes to get brought on full time.
Enough begging from me, though. We need to talk about the meat of the game and answer the $66,000 question: How does it stack up with the classics? Quite frankly, Sonic Mania not only lives up to their legacy, it surpasses them with flying, mostly blue, colors. 2D Sonic has never felt better to control, with the bump to widescreen and a steady 60FPS framerate helping immensely. This is especially apparent in the Blue Sphere bonus stages. Play one in Mania, then go back to one of the myriad releases of Sonic 3 and play one, and tell me Mania’s don’t feel so much more responsive.
On top of the fantastic controls, the level design is some of the best in the entire series. The layouts are structured well enough to offer a fair challenge to any type of player- from a hardcore speedrunner to someone who just likes having lots of stuff to explore. I was very iffy on bringing back so many Genesis era zones, but the Mania revisions of the classic levels are far more creative than expected, and I couldn’t be more pleased. The most exciting prospect was the promise of new worlds to explore, though, and the four new zones are amazing, not feeling out of place in the slightest. The biggest standouts, however, are the aforementioned Studiopolis, which is an instant classic on par with any of the all-time greats, and the decidedly weird but gorgeous Press Garden.
The best thing about Mania is simply the sheer amount of replay value it has, with three different story routes, an absurd amount of unlockables, huge levels with plenty of easter eggs to discover, and of course, getting all the Emeralds and medals via special stages. I initially thought a $20 tag was too high, but with the amount of content here, it’s more than worth that. I’ve played about as much Mania during launch week as I would a good JRPG, and I’m nowhere close to being bored. That’s just how much there is to do and how good the game feels.
If I have any issues with the game, the absolute biggest one is the ratio of new-to-old zones. I get that this is a nostalgia product- and a damn good one at that- but I really would’ve preferred to see more new zones to old ones. Reverse the ratio and make the old zones a reward for people who give new ones a chance next time. Also, if I ever see Green Hill again after this and Forces, I will scream. That aside, the one other glaring issue I have is that sometimes, collision detection is a bit off. This is especially apparent in Oil Ocean’s boss, as I’ve had rings just ghost through me instead of going back into my collection several times, something I never see on other levels.
In the end, Sonic Mania is an absolute must-have for any Sonic or Sega fan in general. Even as someone who absolutely adores the “boost-to-win” titles like Colors and Generations, this is the most fun I’ve had playing Sonic in years, and I can only hope that, A.) Forces can be just as good as Mania, and B.) Sega has the good sense to bring back this team for a sequel.
Let the Mania continue to run wild, Brother.
A+
