I've beaten Sonic Mania Plus again, and oh God, I forgot how Special Stage 7 from Encore Mode is fucking brutal.
So I don’t want to make something out of nothing but I was reading a new interview with Ian Flynn and he had something very interesting to say about the 30th anniversary comic: https://comicbook.com/gaming/amp/news/sonic-the-hedgehog-comic-ian-flynn-interview/ Christian whitehead wrote the introduction to the 30th anniversary comic trade paper back so this makes me wonder if whitehead and Flynn were working together on pitching a sonic mania 2. Is Flynn making this comment an indication the pitch is dead in the water… Or could it still happen?
Ever since Evening Star added the "Upcoming Original Game" page to their website (which I am profoundly excited for), along with confirmation of a new publishing partner, I've been fairly convinced we aren't going to see a Mania 2. Unless it's way down the line after their original IP is released, and depending on that game's success, who knows what they'll be working on thereafter. I'd love to see another classic Sonic game... SEGA has so much potential that they are just sitting on now, especially after critics raved about Mania and provided TONS of valuable insight into what people would actually want to see out of another 2D entry, and how they could take the formula to the next level. They just got the ball rolling, but they don't seem to want to go anywhere with it. But I digress. If there is another 2D classic entry, I'd imagine SEGA themselves might try their hand at it again. But I think we're reaching a bit to suggest a Tax/Stealth sequel may have ever gone beyond just a pitch.
Sonic Mania is almost 5 years old. Sonic 1 through 3D blast happened during the same amount of time. Mania 2 ain’t happening.
You are probably correct. However we should also note that part of the reason why we did not get a original Sonic game for the Saturn was because Sonic Team burned themselves out making so many Sonic titles in so short a time. The lack of a Mania 2 could be due to the Mania team not wanting to burn themselves out... and for all we know Sega may be more than willing to rehire them in a few years if they wanted to return. Heck for all we know some of em could still be working with Sega on origins. So, is it likely that we will get a Mania 2 in the next 5 years? Probably not. But I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. But I think we absolutely should accept that a Mania 2 will not be happening this or next year
Sonic Team is focused on the next 3D title and Evening Star is probably all hands on deck working on their own big 3D project. Best to just forget about Sonic Mania for now. It's clear now Classic Sonic's return was meant to be temporary and not the start of anything.
I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that.. Evening Star has stated that they aren’t involved in any form with Origins But the team not wanting to burn themselves out with Sonic makes perfect sense; they are most certainly aware of what the original Sonic Team went through during that 5 year stretch from 91-96 and they don’t want that to happen again so they are playing it safe with SEGA I’m sure
Wait Evening Star said that? Where? I guess I’ve been out of the loop lol. I guess it’s still possible that Stealth/headcanon is involved
Christian himself confirmed that on the REMS Discord. As for Stealth, it could still be possible but I’m not expecting it (if one isn’t involved, the other likely won’t be either)
Not burning yourself out makes sense but it still sucks to see, but if none of the parties aren't interested in pursuing the game, then there's nothing else to be said about it.
REMS? Is that the retro engine moding server? If so that’s truly a obscure place to make that statement. By any chance do u have a screenshot of what Mr. Whitehead said? I’m very interested in seeing exactly what he had to say... and not because I don’t believe u: I do.
Just in the interest of not spreading misinformation: The claim is that Christian said Evening Star wasn't involved with Origins, NOT that they wouldn't want to make another Sonic game. I think you're right, and it's a lot more heartbreaking than I even thought it would be to realize that I think you're right. This character has been with me almost my whole life. I've dedicated a great deal of my time, energy, and passion into Sonic over the decades, and through all the ups and downs I always felt I got just as much out of it. But more and more lately, I get the impression they aren't making this stuff for me anymore, and maybe they haven't in a very long time. I've learned I'm a lot happier if I can avoid Sonic entirely, and I only learned that because I finally gave myself some distance. And that sucks. I miss coming here, I miss talking to you guys, I miss the debates and the enlightening conversations and the jokes and the friends I've made. I miss feeling like this place, and this fandom, was somewhere I fit in. I miss playing the games. But all the same, right now I **know** I'm gonna be better off letting it go. What else can I even say? Well, above all else, thank you to everyone who made Sonic Mania happen. I can't imagine I'll ever play a more joyous video game than what you guys made for us. We all fought the good fight for many, many years in our own small ways to help make it happen, and we'll always have that.
As usual Josh has said something incredibly insightful and meaningful. I took a break from Sonic following Lost World and didn’t even think about Sonic until Mania came out. If u feel you’re better off having taken a break then you’ve made the right decision. I just hope we still get videos from you on the boost games. I actually just watched ur rereview of DKC3 and was very impressed
This is a tangent, but to add to your point. I can't imagine what about Mania demonstrates any risk of ES/HC/etc. burning out or running out of ideas. It's a megamix game with some added bells and whistles, such as the drop dash, the Encore Pack DLC, and the one-third pie of new stages they were allowed to make. And this is after their previous work was enhanced remasters of the old games with a few bonus features (playable Tails in CD, Hidden Palace remake in Sonic 2, etc.). It only scratches the surface of what a new MD Sonic game could be like. (Which in fairness, it didn't need to do and likely wasn't its goal anyway. After years of abandonment and missteps, a competently made new MD game in any form was a feat in itself.) Shame that Sonic Team and the rest of Sega still aren't interested in expanding that sandbox, with or without the Mania devs. But what can you do.
Yes REMS is the Retro Engine Modding Server. I don’t have an exact screenshot of the comment since this was mentioned over a month ago and I suck at going through old messages on Discord, but Christian was promoting a Q&A that he was going to be a part of on Feb 26th and one of the comments he said was “Anyone asking about Origins is going to be disappointed”. So this, plus other users I’ve interacted with on the server pretty much stated that Evening Star is not involved. It’s not a 100% set in stone confirmation, but hearing this from those who have interacted with him prepared me for that reality so it is what it is. At the end of the day, I’m sure the collection will turn out just fine and it will be a nice way to play all the classics officially on modern hardware
This "megamix style game" already took 2 years of development - 3 if you add plus expansion, which in many way also was completing the base game, like the missing stage transitions- 3 years to make one game, it's the same timefreme that the entire classic era games got made This is downplaying their efforts if anything, like they "needed" to do better or something like that, sometimes it's not about the ideas you have in mind, but in the time and effort it takes to even execute them, for all we know they have a ton of ideas, but also the development was longer and more tiring then they anticipated -it got delayed after all, and released with missing stage transitions on top of that- burnout can happen to anyone for any reason, if they think they don't want to do another classic sonic game so soon -if at all-, they have the right to not do it, and they earned it after making Mania
Yeah, I feel you - I've been well aware I'm not really in the demographic for Sonic games for a long time, outside of the occasional throwback stuff like Mania. I'd say as a teenager was when I finally stopped sponging up everything Sonic and just learned to enjoy whatever came my way that I thought I'd like. If a Mania 2 comes someday, I'll be there for it, but I don't need to be holding my breath any longer for it. I will say Sega working on Origins without Evening Star's involvement is utterly batshit and also a 100% certified Sega move.
Or be like the other batshit crazy fans and just make your own Mania 2 one day like Whitehead and co did
