Well shit, I was originally thinking the more complicated almost pun LIGHTS OFFPOLIS but you've given something far more terrifying.
RelaxAlex does an analysis of Flying Battery Zone and how it compares to the original level. I personally love both versions of the level, but the Sonic Mania version was definitely a nice improvement in level design.
That's game design done right, probably the subconscious reason why I love that remixed level so much. Kind of makes it even more shocking how most of the bosses don't succeed in teaching their patterns and weak points right away, and rely more on trial and error instead.
Some asterisks are needed. One, there's two lists in the article, one concerning Japan best-sellers and worldwide best-sellers (NA, Europe, and other territories). Mania is #3 for the latter, though it is #22 in Japan. Honestly not bad considering how anemic Sonic has historically been over there. Both lists also covers only eShop exclusive / digital exclusive games, so it doesn't count digital sales of games also available on retail, like Zelda: BotW, Mario Odyssey, and Splatoon 2 among others. On a similar note, Mania was the #17 most-recommended Switch game from players in Japan in data collected by Nintendo from surveys. Again, not bad, considering this is Japan we're talking about in the context of Sonic.
Sonic Mania has set the charts alight it seems. It'd be crazy if Sega dismiss the insane success. Best selling and reviewed Sonic game in forever. Surely this is enough to secure a sequel. Then there's the Project Plus potential re-release mystery. Still no news. Hoping we hear something soon, though a re-release that's destined to sell even more millions wouldn't shock me whatsoever.
I'd drop "potential re-release" from that, but it's still a mystery; the idea that it's a re-release seemed to stem from an idea that it'd be neat then a few members kept repeating it until they took it as fact. I would absolutely love a sequel to Mania, though! It was a very fun game and I would enjoy it even it if was just Mania 1 + more of the same.
I see your point regarding assuming potential re-release - as in nothing concrete has been even remotely confirmed yet and it's all speculation - but it is logical based on the name. The last time "Plus" was used in any capacity in regards to Sonic it was a re-release, of a Megadrive/Genesis Sonic collection no less. You're pretty much right though, it did become gospel on here just because most of us wanted it to happen, so mostly wishful thinking. As for wanting more Mania, agreed a hundred percent. I'd take a "Project Plus" edition even it just had restored level transitions and even one new stage whether it be remixed or original (Ice Cap Zone please Taxman) as I adored the game that much and I'd like to see a more expansive, enhanced version released. Hope the mystery on "Project Plus" is answered soon, so we can all get hyped again. Long-term I'd love to see Sega recognise the immense reaction to Mania by green-lighting a Mania 2 at the very least, or even a series. Basically more Mania in any form. Here's hoping.
I've made a little pick-me-up album to complement the official soundtrack. Tried to match the style of the official album as close as I could. Contains all the Nakamura tracks, the & Knuckles ending track, but not the regular ending tracks (because of sound effects) or the Hyper Potions intro track (because go buy it goddammit). https://mega.nz/#!J2QTkIxQ!swLSUFIpSOJxHc1q2p83_TlGd86dZHKF90_OaFK-HMU
I really wanted to enjoy this analysis more but the "comedy" is really distracting and overall deters from the presentation of a serious analysis of the level design. It doesn't help that he had to do it every other moment. He points out the original Flying Battery has lots of "waiting" sections, when his video as well could've been a lot shorter and to the point if he just cut the comedy a bit.
To be honest, although I didn't think his video was too bad for it, I've found forced excessive comedy tends to be a huge video killer for me. By all means have jokes, have punchlines sure, but not at the expense of the video's momentum. What I always feel should be: 1) Informative bit 2) Humourous Comment/Joke/Reaction 3) Next informative bit Usually ends up like: 1) Informative bit 2) Humourous Comment/Joke/Reaction 2a) CUT AWAY TO FOCUS ON THIS HUMOUROUS COMMENT/JOKE I JUST MADE <INSERT VIDEO EFFECTS> MORE REACTIONS - The punchline is long gone but MY SUBSCRIBERS ARE RISIING 3) Next informative bit But eh, humour is subjective as fuck, and I'm probably just getting old and miserable so there ya go. :v:
Roughly a month ago back in December (Dec. 22), Mania was near the bottom of the list of Switch eShop games at #18. As of the end of this week, Dec. 22 (and roughly five months since release), it's now risen to #12. I think it's safe to say by now that Mania's starting to following in the footsteps of other classic Sonic games (in re-releases) of having a long shelf life after release....at least on the eShop, anyway. That in itself is almost ironic to think about, given the failure or non-splash of what's been a long line of Nintendo-exclusive games since 2013. (If you're wondering where my wall of text concerning historic weekly Sonic sales charts went, click here.)
A few of you may vaguely remember me. It's been a decade or so since I've been active here, and I've been out of the gaming scene in general for quite awhile. I happened across a screenshot of something called "Sonic Mania" today, and for the first time in a long time it seemed like Sega might have managed to make a Sonic game that was half decent. 30 seconds into a youtube clip I was thinking "that looks like a pretty nice remake of GHZ", and then it swung underground in a seamless extension to the original level, and I was mesmerized. Were my eyes deceiving me? Had Sega cleared house and finally hired a team who genuinely cared about the franchise, and understood their long time fanbase? Who had they unearthed who knew how to put together a decent level for a 2D platformer? When the Wikipedia page dropped the names "Taxman" and "Stealth", I thought to myself, "Holy Crap! Yep, that'll do it!". Well done guys, this truly looks amazing. I've just bought my first new PC game in over a decade, and my first Sonic game in 17 years. I hope you get a decent cut of that sale price, you deserve it. Here's hoping this is just the beginning. So, any chance of a GoG release?
Lol no. They even added Denuvo to the game on steam. I heard from other publishers that SEGA is quite conservative concerning digital rights management .
