I may be biased because I rather enjoyed Sonic 4 ep2, but I think it's pretty important in the canon. It explains how Metal Sonic got back from Little Planet so he could appear in later games (and be the antagonist of Sonic Heroes). I kind of hope the whole trapped Little Planet thing gets resolved eventually, but at the same time, I don't trust them to make another Sonic 4 without fucking it up like they did with ep1.
They could make a Sonic 5 if they did it right this time. Hell why wasn't this just Sonic 5? It could have finished off the plot from Sonic 4 but it could have been done right. And to explain the graphical differences they could have just done an "eh, fuck it" sorta deal. Sonic 4 didn't bother with the classic/modern design distinction, even though it should have, because Metal Sonic at Stardust Speedway had his modern design, so this could have just been a retcon. It was Sonic 4, no one would have cared if any of it was retconed :specialed: Plus, Mania already has the potential to screw up 4's plot. Now that Stardust Speedway is back, and Metal Sonic will probably be back as well, what's that mean for Sonic 4's plot? I think Sonic 4 took place during Knuckles' S3K plot if the website had any truth to it, but Knuckles is in Mania. So when does Mania take place? After Sonic 3 or after Sonic 4?
My apologies, it was just my experience of what was happening on the internet at the time the S4 episodes came out. I wasn't on Sonic Retro then so didn't think it would be fair to comment and assume a similar thing was happening here. Love CD - but I never treated it as being directly in the main storyline canon. More like a side game. Hence why it's not on the elevator I think. (Of course they could have put CD at the bottom below one, and that would have annoyed everyone! XD)
I say after Sonic 4. I think this is the "Sonic 5" which says that the Genesis/Saturn Era graphics are not dead yet. I don't think there will ever be a game called "Sonic 5" and that is ok. Eventually I can see a new 2.5D game that will be done, with the correct physics, but not for quite sometime. I think Sonic Mania is the last "hurrah" of the sprite graphics era. If it's not, that's ok too as they've perfected the formula
I don't really see the point in holding on to titles with numbered succession so dearly. Like, who care's if this was actually called Sonic 5. Or Sonic 6 if you count CD as 5. Very few games have been able to pull that off without it just becoming overly dumb. I think it would make more sense to just continue the way they are. Mania sounds better for marketing too. Having a new number in an old franchise only works in rare, nostalgia-fueled, instances. But, then again, I don't really see the point in deciding the ULTIMATE CANON, either. It's like arguing if the movies in DBZ are canon. Or how every Final Fantasy or Mario is canon with each other. Sure, it's obvious some have a storyline running together (like StH2->StH3&K), but ultimately I think the general canon is nonsense for the most part.
Chemical Plant Zone confirmed with gameplay vids http://www.gameinformer.com/games/sonic_mania/b/playstation4/archive/2017/06/08/a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-chemical-factory-level.aspx
Holy shit, I wanted exactly that but I didn't think it would happen because it was in Generations! This is fantastic. Those tubes kind of look like they're from Sonic CD. And the Tails footage definitely looks like Act 2 with the new things and background.
Holy Shit! OMG THAT ACT 2 MUSIC IS INCREDIBLE (Why are they calling it Chemical Factory? Is this in the cute spirit of magazines getting names wrong??) That was unexpected....so now we are up to: Sonic 1: - Green Hill Sonic 2: - Chemical Plant (Now will JELL-O) Sonic CD: - Stardust Speedway Sonic & Knuckles: - Flying Battery Sonic Mania: - Studiopolis - Mirage Saloon - (Unnamed Cathedral/Palace like Zone from that one image) - Blurred Zone from Aaron Weber I'm honestly not mad that Chemical Plant is back, it hasn't been beaten to death like Green Hill Zone yet. This is at least 8 Zones with at least 2 acts each and we know more is coming.
While I would have preferred not to see Chemical Plant again since it was in Generations... God damn was that a tasty remix for Act 2. I got the chills :v:/> That and they incorporated Metallic Madness pipes, Carnival Night Zone pipes, some kinda wall jumping gimmick, and that jello gimmick. It's really lovely. EDIT: One thing I've continued to notice though. The 1-up capsule icon for Tails is still his forward facing head sprite from Sonic 3, which means I'm assuming Knuckles' 1-up icon is still his life icon from Sonic 3. I wonder why that hasn't been replaced yet?
So that's six levels confirmed now? I figured they'd be keeping about half the roster secret, so I hope they're not overplaying their hand here. My money's on Hydrocity as the Sonic 3 rep still. Game needs a water level, and that's the best one. You could argue Chemical Plant is a water level, but Aquatic Ruin came right after it.
I know in the grand scheme of things this is such a minor thing to bitch about, but I really, really don't like those Sonic 1/CD styled star posts. The 2/3K design was much better.
Oh my god, THAT MUSIC, Tee is doing such a wonderful work. Most of the art has been redone to fit Mania's style of metal shading. And boy, THOSE? GIMMICKS. I'm in love. This is everything I wanted. Yesterday I was super hyped and played Retro Sonic for the first time, given is the closest thing we have to a original Sonic game by Taxman. Now I got hyped again, goddamnit.
All these media builds have come from a period prior to our final polish phase of development basically. So the game will look primo by the time we release!
That's what I figured, I have faith in you guys though it's looking great! You all made me excited to play Chemical Plant again, didn't see that coming :v: That Game Informer write up is painful though. No mention of Christian Whitehead, they spelled Pagoda West wrong, and they call the level "Chemical Factory" while making no mention of how it came from Sonic 2. Also it was pointed out that the worm badnik from Angel Island zone makes an appearance in this level. It's actually a really fitting enemy for Chemical Plant, probably more fitting there than it was in Angel Island.
Metallic Madness tubes, Quartz Quadrant twisting tubes, jello bounce floors (AND a Wacky Workbench variant, based on the sound effect and strength), gummy paddle sticks? The dev team went all out to make Chemical Plant Act 2 feel like a crazy amalgam of factory levels.
Not to mention its mobile video player is shit. Seriously, if they are gonna remix zones like this, they can put Labyrinth Zone for all I care. This is extremely amazing. Tax, may I ask, is there a lot of time between the showing of footage of some build, and the actual date of the build? By your info, it seems we're always seeing old builds but with new info unkown to us. Also, I think we can all agree we are eager to hear some dev stories post-release
Would have preferred another level since CPZ was in Generations but Act 2 makes me not be that bothered about this level choice....using gimmicks from other levels that aren't in Mania is a very good idea.
