If the player manages to collect all seven Emeralds during a playthrough of the game, they gain the ability to use their character's super transformation, along with unlocking the game's true ending. At the same time, players must collect rings to replenish a ring counter that slowly decreases during the stage, though each course has a finite number of rings available the counter also decreases rapidly if the player fails to dodge one of the stage's obstacles.Īll of these stages end when the player either catches the UFO, runs out of rings, or falls off of the course. To catch the UFO, players can collect spheres that increase their speed, which makes it easier to catch it but requires players to exercise greater control of their character at higher speeds. Mania's version of these stages involve players attempting to pursue and catch a UFO carrying an Emerald around a course each of the seven Emeralds features its own course that has differences in layout and difficulty.
Giant rings hidden in each act, a feature of the original games, lead to pseudo-3D special stages similar to those in Sonic CD, and act as the special stages where players can attempt to collect a Chaos Emerald. Like Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the story is told via short in-game cutscenes between levels. Television monitors containing rings, elemental shields, or power-ups such as invincibility and faster running speed are scattered throughout each level. The player collects golden rings, which serve as a form of health players survive hits as long as they have at least one ring, but, if hit, their rings scatter and disappear after a short time. Robotnik or one of his robots, including the Hard-Boiled Heavies, elite henchmen based on the EggRobo enemies from Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Each zone is divided into 2 acts, in which the player must guide their character past various enemies and obstacles to reach the end.Īt the end of each act, the player takes part in a boss battle against Dr. Remixed stages consist of both new elements and recycled gimmicks and ideas from other past Sonic games. Sonic Mania takes place over 12 levels, called zones the game features 8 "remixed" zones, such as Green Hill Zone from the first Sonic game (1991), alongside 4 original zones. Unlockable options include Sonic's abilities from Sonic CD (1993) and Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994) in place of the drop dash and "& Knuckles" mode, which allows simultaneous control of any character and Knuckles, including himself. Players select one of 3 playable characters, each with their own unique abilities: Sonic can perform a "drop dash" which sends him rolling in a dash after a jump, Tails can fly and swim, and Knuckles can glide and climb walls.Īs with Sonic 2 (1992), players can play as Sonic and Tails simultaneously, or a second player can control Tails independently. Sonic Mania is a side-scrolling platformer similar to the early Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis. Sonic Mania Plus, an enhanced version with additional content, was released in July 2018. Within a year, it had sold over one million copies worldwide across all platforms. Several described it as one of the best Sonic games and one of the best games of 2017.
Many reviewers saw it as a return to form for the Sonic series following a number of poorly received games released after the 1990s its presentation, level design, music, and faithfulness to the early Sonic games were praised, but its lack of originality was criticized. Sonic Mania was released worldwide in August 2017. The team used Whitehead's Retro Engine and aimed for a graphical quality between Genesis and Sega Saturn games. Development began after lead developer Christian "Taxman" Whitehead, who was previously contracted by Sega to develop enhanced mobile ports of Genesis Sonic games, presented a playable prototype to Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka.Īrt, level design, audio, and additional programming was provided by independent studios PagodaWest Games and Headcannon. The development team was composed of members known for their work in the Sonic fangame and ROM hacking community. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog and his companions Tails and Knuckles as they venture to defeat their nemesis Doctor Eggman and his robotic henchmen, the Hard-Boiled Heavies. It takes place over twelve levels, including eight redesigned stages from past games. Produced in commemoration of the Sonic the Hedgehog series' 25th anniversary, Sonic Mania homages the original Sega Genesis Sonic games, featuring speedy side-scrolling gameplay. Game Review Sonic Mania is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows.