They’re wildly imaginative and delightful all the way, particularly the amazing Studiopolis with its popcorn machines, radio transmitters, silhouette windows and, er, Weather Reporting Robot Chicken (don’t ask). It’s especially hard when the new Zones are so frickin’ good. The remaining 8 are “remixed” versions of classic Sonic Zones such as Chemical Plant, Metallic Madness and the classic Green Hill, which are still excellent and barring their look and ideas are mostly new, but it’s still hard not to feel some disappointment heading into Lava Reef straight after doing Oil Ocean. The catch is, and the reason why this isn’t getting a higher score, only 4 of these 12 are new Zones. There are 12 Zones that have two Acts each, making this also one of the largest 2D Sonic games (most have only 6 Zones, making Mania on par with the combined Sonic 3 & Knuckles). And aside from a few cute moments Sonic Mania is all about the running and jumping, and only that. Aside from some robots there are no new characters, the good guys are relegated to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and even though the game references Sonic CD irritating series regular Amy Rose doesn’t feature (well, mostly). The story is told is told in a few short non-verbal cutscenes which last a matter of seconds, Sonic 3-style. It plays exactly like the Genesis/MegaDrive titles, by which I mean: perfectly. And all SEGA had to do was take the franchise away from Sonic Team and put it in the hands of people who actually understand what makes a good Sonic game. Sonic Mania finally, finally gets these things right. Every Sonic game post-Genesis/MegaDrive era has these problems, even 2D games like Sonic Generations and Sonic 4. Imprecise controls, odd movement, boring over-done story, irritating new characters, and taking the focus away from the core gameplay of running and jumping in favour of silly gimmicks like fishing, digging, Tag Teaming, swords, guns, or – ergh – the Werehog. Plus they’re utterly incapable of learning from their mistakes since the same problems dog every Sonic game since Sonic Adventure. I have always maintained that Sonic the Hedgehog in 3D works, it’s just Sonic Team doesn’t know how to make it work or understand what makes Sonic good. The Ultimate and Complete Guide to Sonic Mania! Tips, Special Stages, Boss Walkthroughs, Blue Rings and more!ġ0 Of The Most Memorable Songs From The Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise It should be noted that we're dealing with the PC version here, and if you're concerned about Denuvo DRM and any performance issues check the Performance section. Well, Sonic Mania is here to show those games exactly how to get Sonic right.

Since then even the best games like Sonic Generations were merely “good enough”, while still getting some fundamental things wrong.

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