Sonic Mania (August 15th 2017, Christian Whitehead, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch) - The New Classic

[Chris Knopps]

1 minute ago, Sonicfan287 said:

As for final levels, I still hope it's called Eggmania Zone 

i started thinking about what that may look like and I came up with a level similar to Panic Puppet Zone but more intricate in that it would basically be a giant Robotnik robot or statue or just Robotnik shaped fortress that you would go in and out of trying to get to the center to get to the Dr himself 

I dunno... I'm picturing some kind of mix of Metropolis Zone and Scrap Brain Zone with maybe a little Sky Chase Zone thrown in.

[Sonicfan287]

I could see Metropolis being reimagined in its own right and certainly a lot of the gimmicks could be used in almost any final level. 

As for sky chase, if they decide to go that route I wonder if it'll be used as a transition act to Flying Battery Zone. That would make the most sense since as far as we know FB will be the only flying airship level 

[FriendBot]

28 minutes ago, Chris Knopps said:

Nothing wrong with that. I'm just sick of Big personally. It was fun for a while but the fun with him is kind of over.

We need some Chaotix memes now. Where is my Charmy abuse?

The 25th Anniversary party stream, there's your Charmy memes.

[JezMM]

3 hours ago, expansivelovestories said:

There may be more zones within 2P competition! I am not wanting to get your, my own, or anyone else's hopes up that it could specifically be Mushroom Hill.

The competition mode has been hopefully more or less confirmed through the Steam details!  Somehow the Sonic 2 method of visually stretching and squishing a main game zone seems unlikely, and it would be very fun for the team to have mixed the two styles, longer zones similar to the experience in Sonic 2 but distinct zones for this mode, with layouts and graphics optimized for whatever screen format and perhaps adjusted physics would be present.

That is suddenly interesting to me, as, unless i am very forgetful, the Sonic 3 2P physics were not the same as in the main game at all.  It would be amazing, and probably rather likely, for Mania to contain the second Sonic 2P competition mode with physics matching those of the main game.

 

Having Sonic 3 style "looping" 2P stages would be neat but I wouldn't want to see too much effort go into such a side mode.  Re-using visuals from the existing stages is fine to create "looping versions", but creating unique ones feels like a wasted effort that could go into better 1P content.  Considering the retro stages was already likely a decision made with lightening the workload for the team in mind, making unique multiplayer stages would make no sense really.

3 hours ago, molul said:

I'd go for split screen, but vertically. With current 16:9 or 16:10 screens, I think it would be acceptable. At least more than stretching horizontally.

No reason to not include both as an option really.  Personally for a game like Sonic where spacial awareness is important in all directions, I feel it'd make the most sense to offer a bordered mode where the screens are smaller but give you almost the same field of view you get in 1P mode, something kinda like this:

I felt like making a mockup idk.  Obviously you'd re-arrange the HUD for player 2 and ideally I'd want the borders to be pixellated like the rest of the game but I didn't have all day for this lol.  But yeah, most people have HD screens for playing games on nowadays so a view like this would be perfectly readable.

[Adamabba]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe this has been posted yet? The JPN Mania website revealed a few details on the story:

Maybe hinting at the HBHs turning on him?

[Sonicfan287]

I hope not. While I'm all for the HBH having a prominent role in the story, I still want Robotnik to be the main villain at the end of the day 

[Lord-Dreamerz]

Robotnik's creations or monsters he teamed up with turning on him is so overdone, and is just lame every time they choose to do it now. I don't want to see it happen again for a long time.

[JosepHenry]

At least he is going to be the final boss. There is no way he is going to help Sonic stop the bad guy in the end... Right???? *Eye twitch*

[Sonicfan287]

2 minutes ago, Lord-Dreamerz said:

Robotnik's creations or monsters he teamed up with turning on him is so overdone, and is just lame every time they choose to do it now. I don't want to see it happen again for a long time.

So maybe that's not what happens since at this point it shouldn't be an unexpected thing 

 

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

But what if the hardboiled heavies turn on him....but side with sonic???? Man what a twist!!

[Sonicfan287]

Just now, Joseph Mello said:

At least he is going to be the final boss. There is no way he is going to help Sonic stop the bad guy in the end... Right???? *Eyes twitch*

Sounds kinda like Sonic lost world. He technically was working with Sonic for a lot of it and then is still the final boss so it's possible to have both things happen I suppose 

[FReaK]

I start to wonder if the story is made up by team mania or if sonic team has their fingers in this..

[Osmium]

Oh bloody hell, I certainly hope this isn't a story about how they turn on Eggman and/or work with Sonic. That's seriously so cliche at this point. I'd like to hope by unexpected, it's a different way...like maybe they work too well and they actually stop/temporarily deter Sonic in a way that Eggman's plans weren't supposed to work around or something...and so Eggman goes on an ego trip with this new information and screws himself up in a specific way or something...at least that would be something different. idk man. 

[Sonicfan287]

46 minutes ago, FReaK said:

I start to wonder if the story is made up by team mania or if sonic team has their fingers in this..

I do wonder sometimes how much Sega/Sonic Team is dictating this project. I can't help but feel like Christian Whitehead and his team wanted to make an all new game but Sega stepped in and said "NO NO NO!! THIS IS THE 25th ANNIVERSARY GAME!! WE MUST HAVE REMASTERED LEVELS!!" 

Not that the remastered levels are bad but I would've preferred more new content. For some reason Sega has this obsession with remastering everything they've ever done instead of making something new. 

As it pertains to the story, I think it should just be a straightforward simple story revolving around Robotnik making a new robot army and that's it. You defeat them one by one (maybe you face all of them in a final level) and then defeat Robotnik. The end. 

But knowing Sonic Team they were probably whispering in Mania Teams ear "hey how about the robots turn on Robotnik?? That'd be pretty cool!! Right?!" 

[Celestia]

As far as the remastered levels go, if it was something that was forced on them (I kinda doubt it but whatever), it seems like something that'd be an executive decision. I guess that could technically be someone like Iizuka, but yeah.

But the possibility of Eggman being betrayed, uh, maybe it was their influence?? I can't say I'm really bothered, it's kinda overused as far as Sonic plots go but not really a bad thing in itself. Though honestly I'm thinking that synopsis is referring to something else that we just don't know about yet.

...Come to think of it, wasn't there some news a while back that revealed (or at least hinted) at the Heavies going out of control already? I swear I remember people talking about something along those lines.

[Psychicmoose103]

4 hours ago, Joseph Mello said:

I want something like Eggmanland. Both difficulty and design. A hard stage that will challenge even veterans. Nothing cheap nor too long.

Classic EggmanLand style death amusment park level? I would love that!

[Jango]

I'm confident the story I'll not be cliche, neither over complex. It will be that kind of story that the players will say out loud at some point: "wooow, so simple, yet so clever!".

Clever, that's the word. I'm watching the trailer again, and again, my God, the music, the visuals, everything is beautifully crafted and literally exploding with joy! I knew Sonic Mania was something special... Literally the best thing that ever happened to this franchise in over 20 years, I am not kidding.

This is Sonic at its finest. I won't take anything less than this ever again. Sonic Forces is dead to me.

[Psychicmoose103]

A while ago someone stated, I think Izuka, something along the lines of "Who knows if they will stay loyal to eggman" or something like it. 

I feel like if they did the whole robots turning on eggman thing again, it would be interesting or with a twist. This game has so much love going into it, I can't see it being that cliche

[JosepHenry]

Ready for the first and only disappointment...  

[FReaK]

didnt iizuka say at some point that there is a new item in the game, equally important as the chaos emeralds?

[Sonicfan287]

Regardless I have to say I actually like the concept of the HBH

Theyre a new threat in the Sonic universe and they fit in a lot better than the deadly six since they're basically modified egg robos 

I could definitely see them having been used during that era. 

[Chris Knopps]

The plot will likely be the only disappointment Mania has to offer if "Betray the Eggman!" is the plot again, and I'm pointing all fingers at Iizuka if it happens.

He is involved to whatever degree and that would be just the kind of banana peel he'd love to toss into the game thinking it's "Epic!" for whatever reason.

I wholeheartedly agree about it being overdone. I would like to keep at LEAST the Classic Robotnik version competent, we get enough of this kind of mess from the Modern baboon we know as Eggman today.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

I wouldn't mind it as long as it is interesting and if eggman is still the true final boss. It'll be like the first time something like that happened in a classic style sonic game. (Other than sonic advance 3)

[Chris Knopps]

2 minutes ago, Acoolsonicfan said:

I wouldn't mind it as long as it is interesting and if eggman is still the true final boss. It'll be like the first time something like that happened in a classic style sonic game. (Other than sonic advance 3)

We don't need it being made a habit of should this become a classic series after Mania, one bumbling idiot of a villain who can't have one game without sounding like a deranged Santa Clause and fails to make even the DUMBEST of robots he creates respect him is WAY more than enough.

[StaticMania]

Eggman needs to laugh more. He needs more Metal Sonics. He needs more robots to betrayal him. He needs more bumblebee antics. He needs more explosions.

 

Classic Eggman needs to have all those and be competent...and who cares about what's overused or not.