Time to Beat:
7 hours to beat as Knuckles
6 hours to beat as Sonic & Tails
with special ending
3 hours of verse modes against my 5
year old son
In second grade my parents bought me a
console; a Sega Genesis. One of my games was Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Though I played it often, I never beat it. Looking back that seems
absurd (it only takes about 3 hours to beat), but I was only eight at
the time.
In 2017, a collection of indie
developers, PagodaWest
Games and Headcannon,
produced Sonic Mania in a partnership with the
publisher, Sega.
The simple goal of
any classic 2D Sonic platforming game is to reach the end as quickly
as possible with as many rings and abilities, discovering secrets and
avoiding dangerous spikes, pits, and enemies.
Sonic Mania features 12
Zones, each of which is split into two Acts. Every Act ends with a
boss. The game alternates between not difficult and fairly easy.
Aside from one or two bosses (the rocket boss in Studiopolis Zone Act
1) they fit the general difficulty. One unnecessary difficulty is
that
Sonic Mania doesn't save between Acts, only after
completing a Zone. Also, Sonic always starts each Zone and Act with
zero rings, regardless of how many he collected in the last Act.
Some levels contain secret entrances to a race to collect a Chaos
Emerald (more on these later). A collected Emerald is saved after
completing an Act. Though there are 12 Zones, there is no thematic
connection between them. The plot is almost non-existent and
completely irrelevant. After completing each Zone Dr. Robotnik uses
a magical ruby to escape, and Sonic follows. Some of the Zones are
reworked from previous Sonic game, while others are brand new. The
platforming in
Sonic Mania is straightforward, almost
casual. It doesn't compare to the modern genre of difficult
platformers like
Celeste,
Super Meat Boy,
or
They Bleed Pixels. Developers almost
discourage exploring the Acts. Sonic likes speed, and levels should
be beaten speedily. If the player surrenders to this inclination,
Sonic Mania becomes more like a Disney ride than a
game. Its easiness lends itself the to feeling of a pinball machine,
or a funnel, drawing the player down with the irresistible force of
gravity. If the player doesn't resist how much material do they
miss? How much of each level remains unexplored?
Some elements in Sonic Mania
seem like remnants from the days of arcade games. Games couldn't be
saved so they needed to be beatable in a single sitting. The player
has only ten minutes to finish an Act. If the player doesn't beat
the boss by the time limit they die. I found this to be a problem on
my first playthrough. It might have been the first playthrough, or
because I explored too much with Knuckles. Time is one element of
the scoring screen at the end of each Act. Score is another remnant
from the past. People used score to differentiate and compete with
other players when playing at the public arcade. Score is an antique
feature I don't care for. All it is good for is earning extra lives.
When beginning a game the player
chooses from four possible squads. They can pick Sonic, Sonic &
Tails, Tails, or Knuckles. I tried Knuckles on my first playthrough,
but for my second I played the classic; Sonic and Tails. Though I
never played Tails solo, I used him in a number of versus mode races
with my son. Each of the options has strengths and weaknesses. In
Sonic Mania Sonic feels slightly faster. Maybe he
accelerates to top speed with less time than his friends. His main
ability is that gains special abilities from Item Boxes. These
boxes, which look like TVs, display the item inside on their screen.
The Fire Shield, Lighting Shield, and Bubble Shield all make their
wearer invincible to the appropriate element. They also protect
against one instance of damage, and then they disappear. Tails and
Knuckles gain these protections, but Sonic receives special jump
moves. With the relevant shield Sonic can perform a mid air dash, a
double jump, or a bounce jump.
Tails can fly. That's it. But it is
phenomenal. He can only fly for a few seconds, but it provides
maneuverability and reach which Sonic can't match. Knuckles has two
abilities. He can climb walls and glide. Both allow access to out
of the distant locations, but they are slow. Knuckles also has a
strange feel when moving, as if he is weighed. His jumping and
gliding feel odd compared to his friends. The Sonic and Tails combo
is unique. The player controls Sonic, but Tails tags along. Tails
collects rings and destroys enemies, but mostly he spends his time
dying with that satisfying
death sound. He appears seconds later to
rejoin his leader. As Sonic the player can still use boxes for their
special jumps, but he has access to the Tail's flight. To use it,
hold the up button and jump twice. Tails will pick up Sonic and
carry him for a limited time. Though Sonic Mania is
nearly the same for all three heroes, Knuckles has some slight
variations in levels. If I had to pick the easiest playthrough, I
would guess Tails even though I never beat it with him.
It would be unfair to gloss over
Sonic's visual effects. The developers perfectly capture the
nostalgic effects of music and visuals. They update them in gorgeous
detail for the modern system. This is classic Sonic, remade in
wonderful appreciation of the past. 
Though
Sonic Mania is easy most
of the time, it is challenging in the right places. It remains fun
even when it is easy. Two areas offer at some challenge. The
developer could make them difficult because they are unnecessary to
winning the game. Failing to beat these areas won't impede the
player's progress. First there are the seven Chaos Emeralds. The
player needs to collect them all to unlock Super Sonic (Tails,
Knuckles). The entrance to the Chaos Emeralds are depicted as Giant
Rings scattered in hidden areas across the Acts. Entering a Ring
begins a 3D race with an alien spaceship clutching an Emerald. The
player needs to catch up to the Emerald to win it. The player is
limited by a timer. The race track is filled with holes, bombs, blue
orbs, and rings. Touching rings adds them to the timer. Crashing
into bombs lose rings. Falling off the course ends the race. But
collecting blue orbs increases Sonic's speed. I think my game had a
glitch. Pressing Y on the controller would increase Sonic's speed immediately. No one on the internet reported a similar glitch. These races are difficult, but
practice leads to improvement. Each race has short cuts and secrets
that can only be learned with a few tries. If the player beats
Sonic
Mania they can return to any Act and search for the Emeralds.
Once the player has the seven Chaos
Emeralds they need to collect fifty rings. To activate Super Sonic,
jump and press Y. In his Super Form Sonic accelerates from zero to
100% in less than a second (allowing him to run up walls from a
standstill), is invulnerable to all damage except for being crushed
or falling into a bottomless pit, damages any enemy he runs into, and
falls slower. This last ability isn't flying, and isn't quite like
gliding. Super Sonic mode drains one ring a second. If Sonic runs
out of rings, Super mode ends.
There's another secret area, the bonus
stage. Like the Chaos Emerald races, it is in 3D. Controlling Sonic
the player has to run into all the blue orbs. Touching a single red
orb loses the stage. The player can only turn left or right, or
jump. They can not stop. The longer the player is in the bonus
stage, the faster they run. I found these obscenely difficult. They
unlock secrets and bonus abilities, like a Sonic & Knuckles mode.
At last you're at the final boss,
you've defeated Robotnik for the last time, and the game ends. But
did you really beat the final boss? Probably not. The secret final
boss is only accessed by defeating the final boss while Super Sonic.
I am uncertain what this means. Do I have to have collected the
seven Chaos Emeralds? Or do I have to defeat the final boss as Super
Sonic? It seemed safer to make sure I beat the boss while still
being Super. To do the latter, you'll need to bring at least 100
rings to the final battle. Bringing 50 won't give you enough time to
win. The secret final boss is easier than most other bosses, which
seems right. The special ending isn't supposed to be a difficult
challenge, but a reward, like a cherry on top of a Sunday.
Sonic Mania includes a
two person, split screen competition. Each player chooses Sonic or
one his friends and starts the race. The earlier levels were almost
easy enough for my five year old to beat on his own (I had to
maneuver him over spikes or pits). The players run on the same map,
meaning they see each other, and rings taken by one can't be picked
up by the other. When one person crosses the finish line the other
has 60 seconds to reach it as well, or be disqualified.
If both players cross the finish line
they are judged on five categories; time to finish, total rings
collected, rings held when crossing the finish line, score (enemies
destroyed), and boxes broken. The player who scores higher in a
category earns one point. If players tie they both score the point.
A player can earn up to five points. If one has more, they win. If
the players are tied then the tie-breaker is a round of Dr.
Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, also called Puyo Puyo.
In Conclusion,
Sonic Mania is a
glorious blast from the past; a Sonic adventure recast for fans new
and old. It's simple fun, improved by abundant exploration
and a bit of challenge sprinkled in.
Sonic Mania looks great, it sounds
great, and it plays great. It doesn't offer any faults to criticize, unless
one doesn't like the genre of classic platformers.
Recent:
Election
Reflection 2020
Relevant:
Apex
Legends: The Peak of Battle Royale
Braid:
Thinking Backward
New
'n' Tasty: A Distinct Flavor
Comments
Post a Comment