One thing I was thinking about is if they added some sort of obstacle to the path when playing as different characters. With Sonic 3K, the alternate routes were very organic in the sense that the layout never changed between characters, but there were only really routes for Sonic and Knuckles. Sure Tails had a select few areas he could access that Sonic couldn't, but he was still traveling the same Sonic path with only Marble Garden allowing his ability to shine. If the layout or object placement was able to be slightly altered depending on what character was being played, you can funnel them into sections made specifically with their abilities in mind.
So did anyone find out what the secret code Aaron put on the 25th anniversary USB drive mean? Is it related to Mania?
The drop dash is activated with a double jump and hold, so presumably not. Though saying that, after S1/2 mobile included all those moveset options in the cheat menus, it would be really cool if the team did a similar thing this time around.
I'm kind of hoping that we get a bit of representation for the Game Gear and Master System games. I mean, in the trailer, there's a portion where Sonic is climbing a massive waterfall. Now, I haven't played the demo myself, and I haven't watched footage enough to memorize the new levels in it, but isn't that waterfall NOT in the demo? So, it would be a small snippet taken from Green Hill Act 2? I haven't played GameGear/MasterSystem Sonic 1 in ages, but didn't Act 2 of Green Hill Zone in that game have an underground section with wading-height water in patches, and you got back topside by climbing up a segment that resembled a waterfall? Do you guys think that maybe these re-imagined areas might take a bit more from the Game Gear games as well? There are a lot of levels from those that would look amazing with the art updated and a bit of an expansion, and they're all places that I don't think we've gotten any re-visits from Sega. They'd also make a nifty compromise from Taxman and Stealth if it's true that Sega was the one insisting on revisiting older places to bank on nostalgia, since they'd feel a bit more fresh than doing more remakes of only the 16-bit titles.
I've played sonic 1 game gear a bit more recently, and even remade act 2 in SRB2. You don't climb the water falls in the act. In fact you just use them to go back down a level and a chaos emerald is hidden by one.
(I bet that if Sonic 3 & Knuckles was never released, and was annouced as "Sonic Mania", even then people would call it "a fangame".) Yeah, I'm a bit worried about this. I mean, in this demo, I didn't see anything in Studiopolis or in the New Green Hill that looked like an alternate route to Knuckles (like the 'boulders' in Sonic 3K). It may be that the differences in breakable route-based objects are more subtle than in other games, or perhaps the initial route of Knuckles is completely different - in one way or another, I find it hard to believe that Taxman/Stealth don't know what they are doing. Even so, it was an absence that had me worried.
Okay, I was probably thinking of Jungle Zone, then. Regardless, it would be nice if Sonic Mania incorporated the Game Gear titles in some way. They don't seem to get much attention from Sega.
I very much hope for this. I loved the insta-shield and would really be thankful for a just-how-you-remembered-it secret option. Not to bag on the drop dash though; it seems ok, follows the convention of a small upgrade to the moveset per game, and follows the nature of Sonic's moves being about maintaining speed while Tails'/Knuckles' moves aren't.
Not sure how that would work, since the stages would need serious re-imagining to the point where they might as well just make a brand new ones instead. I'm totally up for Fang showing up as a boss, though.
I think he meant it's the first official 2d game with classic Sonic. Most of those games don't count either. The only one that follows the classic style of game play is Sonic Advance. Sonic Rush is good but it's nothing like the classics. It is more of a Modern Sonic 2d game.
In terms of gameplay, yeah, definitely. Only the green eyes and title screen really allude to Modern Sonic, everything else though, feels perfect. It's closer to the MD games than even the original 8-bit games were. I'd classify it as classic Sonic, for sure />
Thank you Yeow for your kind sentiments. I didn't always get it right in my debate but it was the debate that we all took part in around that time, on the Sega forums, here and elsewhere, as a fandom, that drew out the definitions of the classic gameplay that we wanted and as you know identified all the problems of Sonic 4, Episode I and its sequel. One of the things I like about Mania is that (if we put the level trope of Green Hill Zone to one side) that it feels and looks like a genuine 16 bit game of that era, but more refined both in look, and from what I can see, gameplay. The drop dash is a great idea and it'll be interesting to play it and see how it affects the overall gameplay in terms of speed runs. Tails and Knuckles' involvement is very welcome and I am sure that I saw some hints in studiopolis of a few hidden routes for Knuckles in particular. I have seen many people throw the term "fan game" around. It's interesting to see how it is used. From, the outset, this is no fan game. I do take the point that we're saying fan games have improved (and how) over the last decade but we should acknowledge that this is not a fan game, it is an official title and it has all of the advantages of an official title. Hence why it looks so refined. This is an officially developed game by Sega, which is being developed by three people who are recognised programmers, designers and musicians. They are professionals now: that in itself is one of the greatest achievements of our fandom. Three supremely talented individuals are living the dream and we're here for the ride of a lifetime I suspect. If I may offer one constructive criticism: the HUD of yesteryear - particularly in Sonic 3 & Knuckles - was at its best in Sonic games when it was very clearly legible. The current font and shading to my eyes anyway, seems to fade into the background too much with the gorgeous visuals on offer in the games. Something more akin to the S3&K HUD in terms of simplicity would be preferable. But that's such a petty criticism, in my opinion, for what looks to be a very beautiful video game... Kudos Christian. You started with a proof of concept Sonic CD game running on an iPhone. Look at where you are now. Well done, congratulations, and most sincerely, good luck. I am sure Sonic Mania will turn out to be the success it deserves and the game we've been asking for since 1997.
Pagoda West has I think 2 past S2HD members, so I'm pretty sure the Animation and Music are their main responsibility.
