I'm always a bit cautious when I see a T-Shirt that uses a lot of colors, because it usually means it's going to be low quality. You can't print on a T-Shirt like you can with paper, proper shirts are silk-screened and it needs to be done one color at a time. I'm hoping the US ones are done correctly since they're not the same as the UK ones. The front of the triple threat shirt only uses 6 colors, so theoretically it could be done via silk screening, but the logo on the back probably not. My US shirt has shipped, I'll post impressions for that version when it arrives in a few days. (I have prime and theoretically the shirt should have been here today, but for some reason this seems to defy the 2 day shipping I picked. Even though I got a tracking number for it on Friday morning it hasn't actually entered the carrier's hands yet and isn't scheduled to arrive until Wednesday.)
I dunno, I haven't seen anything too cheap... Let's remember that while we all want this game to be perfect, and we've certainly waiting long enough, it isn't going to be everything to everybody. It won't be a perfect game, just as no perfect game has ever existed. I'm not saying we shouldn't critisize the game, I'm just saying that this is as good as it gets... Probably. No Sonic game is perfect, even the classic trio had some poorly placed badniks, so if we say "this needs refining", and that refinement doesn't happen after all, it doesn't mean the game is "flawed" it just means the game isn't perfect as no game ever can be. Again, the game can't be everything to everyone. Rest assured the game will be designed as to accommodate speed runners too, so excellent players will be able to sprint through unscathed. We just need how to figure out how to do that is all...
I wonder why, since Sonic 4, they kept the 1up theme from Sonic 3. Usually they would create a 1up theme based on the game's main melody, but here it's just a new take on the one from Sonic 3. That's weird.
http://youtu.be/fEfKC4sxTG8 He shows off loads of the lower path in GHZ (which a huge new area) and the upper parts of Studiopolis. I'd assumed that that the lower routes in Green Hill were part of an entirely new act 2, not merely expansions to the somewhat vanilla rest of the stage. I wonder what the second act has in store? I absolutely love the way it looks so far. The layouts are very CD-esque in their crazy use of springs and slopes and curves, but they appear to be more focused. It's not like CD where you might not be sure of the right direction to move in after falling to a different path. If I'm going to complain about something (other than Studiopolis' snail badnik), it'll be those breakable walls that you can't back track through. Never fun when the game says "no you're not allowed to explore from this direction" when there's no real reason for it.
Haha, I called it! You do indeed enter the lower route passed the three item-boxes. The lowest route is certainly vast! We now know that the (below) screenshot comes from the first act of GH in Mania and not the second act. Just look at 2:17 in the video. http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/4/49/Sonic-Mania-Green-Hill-Zone-Underworld.png/revision/latest?cb=20160723140456 I like how the guy tries really hard to explore as high as possible and how he eventually works out how to get the extra-life item box. There's so much to explore. So much replay value! Awesome stuff.
You know I wondered the same thing, particularly because that song gets replaced when Sonic & Knuckles is locked on, then they continued to use that 1 up sound up until Sonic Adventure 1.
Sonic 3 is classic, & Knuckles is modern. Clearly. http://youtu.be/Hlu5ERC_GMg Watch the Game Scoop boys desperately try to walk back from the backlash.
Huh. The part of that video starting at 2:08 (YouTube time, not in-game time) has a level layout section from Palmtree Panic 2, although the objects are repositioned. That's interesting, to say the least. Not that it necessarily means anything, but I thought it was a clever little… reference, if it can be called that? (EDIT: Video repost for new page.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEfKC4sxTG8
Nice spot! Knowing StealthTax I wouldn't put it passed them! If that's a deliberate reference to Palmtree Panic then it's very cool (especially as Palmtree Panic likely won't be Sonic CD's remade stage). I know some fans have said part of Emerald Hill's level design also appears in the first act of Mania's. Is that true?
Is the Spin Dash's proper "revving" sound effect(s) back? It wasn't a huge loss in the grand scheme of the remasters, but that just makes it another nicely surprising attention to detail here.
Those guys genuinely pissed me off more than they should have, You know you're too into a franchise when you get overly emotional about IGN of all places slamming the blue blur. They really are assholes though.
There's a couple of noticeable things that could do with some more polish - that snail badnik is one, since it looks a bit flat and crappy compared to Sonic himself, and the extra life theme sounds unfinished. I wish I was tangentially involved with the art direction - not so much the pixel art itself, but the choice of colours. Everything in Studiopolis is either orange, blue or purple, and on top of that, there's an added blue-ish tint which isn't very Sonic-esque. If the yellows were yellow and the reds were reds, it would be easier to believe this came from a time where console hardware was pushing 16 million colours as a selling point. To the untrained eye, there's not a big palette on offer here. Dare I say it... ... it's closer to Xenon 2 than Sonic 3. It's not mind-bogglingly horrendous and it may only apply to one zone, but it was one of the first things I spotted - Sonic kinda blends in. "Controversy"
That's true, but the reason he brought it up and probably the main reason they're even covering it is that they realize that they probably went too far in that video and they wanted to throw a bone out there to try and soften the blow. That video frustrated me to no end, not necessarily because that was his opinion but because his arguments were the same ones everyone uses that aren't accurate but keep getting repeated to the point everyone just assumes they're true. It's just a huge bummer. I guess I'm fairly appreciative they at least took this step, but I'm way too biased on this subject to let it go at this point :P
Goddamn, that gameplay video without commentary is what I've been wanting for weeks. Finally get to hear more than 10 seconds of the miniboss theme (which sounds awesome, by the way). Really wish they'd put this demo up on Steam or something though. I'm itching to play it.
Not sure if it's been pointed out, but in the new video with Aaron, two new tidbits I noticed: Studiopolis is "a bit" later than Green Hill. One of the later levels then. He also mentioned that there would be a lot of old levels.
Eh, I'm rather divided about this. One one hand, the (main) series could be described to have leaned way too much on waving the nostalgia flag over the past few years. Sonic 4 was mostly a uninspired rehash of older levels, Generations was an anniversary nostalgia trip, and nearly half of Lost World's zones could be summed up as Green Hill with a basic videogame theme tacked onto it. I do wish that Mania has a equal or higher ratio of original levels, it would certainly help shake off the "lol ROM hack / fangame" accusations the game has gotten at the very least. On the other hand, old zones getting dramatic twists to them is interesting, and the I like the underground section that's been added to Green Hill so far. Coupled with Taxman saying it will be the tamest of the bunch, I won't lie that I am interested to see what changes they have in store. I also do hold faith in the developers that they can deliver with Mania, and hopefully from there go on to bigger and better things with classic Sonic.
Yeah, that's definitely what's keeping me optimistic. The benefit of there being "a lot" of them means that the chances of me seeing levels I want revisited is higher. If there was only one Zone per game, I doubt I'd be seeing Marble, Labyrinth, Aquatic Ruin, Mystic Cave, Mushroom Hill, or Lava Reef get some crazy awesome remixes. That's of course not to say that 100% original levels wouldn't be preferable, but hey. This thing is actually happening, our people have finally been handed the reins. I'm fine with whatever form that has to take. Just like how I'd have been (somewhat begrudgingly) fine with a TaxStealth remake of 3K not having all of the original music.
