Sonic Mania Special Stage Revealed

[Salamander]

2 hours ago, StriCNYN3 said:

@Ajavalo The blue spheres this time around function more like Sonic Heroes in the sense that it gives you a speed boost to reach the emerald quicker. Still wondering what the yellow spheres do, though. Prob the same thing, but doesn't fill your gauge as much.

I wonder if there's any nods to Sonic 2 though, like say you have to be at a certain mach speed level before each checkpoint / barrier before finally reaching the final goal where the UFO resides for added challenge? Wondering if they're gonna throw some half pipes and multiple road ways here and there along the race track, too, kinda like what Saturn 3D Blast did. Should be interesting either way.

 

My suspicion regarding the different-coloured spheres is that, as you reach different mach levels, you're asked to collect different colours of sphere; this is based on the speed indicator in the screenshot being yellow, with yellow spheres also on-screen.  Well the other colours be detrimental?  Hmm.  Difficult to say.  Maybe just a distraction.

[Natie]

Having a frantic chase through a brilliant and surreal yet cohesive looking 3D Sonic world is something I've wanted for a SS for years. I might actually enjoy a special stage for once.

[YuTwo]

Outside of the Sonic community I've seen Mania being constantly called as a throwback to the Genesis games but I think these special stages will further cement that this is more of a throwback to the Saturn and how a 2D Sonic game could have looked like in that system.

I really love how they decided to basically use the 3D Saturn model design of Sonic for these special stages instead of using sprites.

There is a certain charm to him that was only seen in that period before the Modern redesign took over.

I also like how the special stages for Mania are combining aspects of the others like CD with the 3D track and UFO, the blue spheres of 3K, and ring collecting for more time from Chaotix. Heroes could also be considered since it was about racing for the emerald as well.

For whatever reason this amalgamation suddenly reminded me of this very awesome piece of art that has been stuck in my mind for a long time now:

Image Link: https://liris-san.deviantart.com/art/The-Frontier-World-Warps-of-Confusion-469026556

I now it's wishful thinking but I want something like this in a future Sonic game.

 

[Chris Knopps]

6 hours ago, FFWF said:

My suspicion regarding the different-coloured spheres is that, as you reach different mach levels, you're asked to collect different colours of sphere; this is based on the speed indicator in the screenshot being yellow, with yellow spheres also on-screen.  Well the other colours be detrimental?  Hmm.  Difficult to say.  Maybe just a distraction.

Maybe the yellow ones bounce you off the path making you slow down?

[TheOcelot]

Crowd reaction to the reveal of the special stage:

 

[TheOcelot]

Here is a slightly clearer version of the screenshot:

Interesting to note the turquoise colored fish on the ground in the distance which might be an obstacle Sonic needs to avoid. The UFO has a catcher underneath and is holding the yellow chaos emerald. The Blue spheres make you go faster, but what do the yellow spheres do? In the S&K special stages they made Sonic bounce in the air. Not sure what the "Mach 3" refers to, does it mean this is the third special stage and not the first one?

[Tracker_TD]

2 minutes ago, OcelotBot said:

Here is a slightly clearer version of the screenshot:

Interesting to note the turquoise colored fish on the ground in the distance which might be an obstacle Sonic needs to avoid. The UFO has a catcher underneath and is holding the yellow chaos emerald. The Blue spheres make you go faster, but what do the yellow spheres do? In the S&K special stages they made Sonic bounce in the air. Not sure what the "Mach 3" refers to, does it mean this is the third special stage and not the first one?

Mach 3 refers to Sonic's speed, presumably. Collecting spheres boosts it, innit. That could be what the gauge is.

Anyway, I love it. They nailed the aesthetic, complete with the Saturn's low-res 3D aliasing. Beautiful. 

[TheOcelot]

21 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Mach 3 refers to Sonic's speed, presumably. Collecting spheres boosts it.

Yeah, makes sense. Presumably the (what looks like a) gauge next to the Mach 3 increases as Sonic goes faster.