It's an interesting discussion to have but having a bit more of a think about it, I think I'll retract my earlier suggestion that Amy's the fourth playable character - since upon reflection I'm now thinking it's unlikely she'll be included. I'm getting the feeling Taxman/Stealth may have been mandated to stick to the classic trio so the game doesn't stray too far from Sonic 3K. Amy would just be too much of a wild card, especially considering she's never been featured (playable that is) in a classic game before. I'm sure they may have one or two surprises left for Mania's launch, but now I'm thinking Amy's probably not one of them.
Not that I don't trust this dev team, as a matter of fact Sonic Team should be embarrassed after this rag-tag team of young aspiring game designers out performs them, but I'd rather them keep focus and not stray into worrying about other things like additional characters. Obviously at this juncture the game is done, and it appears they already needed 2 delays in order to give everything the right polish. I doubt another playable character ever crossed their mind as a legitimate possibility. We already have 3. That's enough. Now down the road around the holiday season I'd totally be down for that kind of thing- perhaps Amy DLC which comes with a special new edition of the game. Or maybe pure skins you can use on Sonic to make him look like other characters like Shadow, Espio, Mighty, etc.
Not necessarily. Instead of the Spin Dash she could be given the Peel Out. Then she'd be able to get over the same obstacles as everyone else, she'd just be riskier to use. TBH though Blaze would be the better option for a female addition to the classic trio as she's basically Sonic with FIRE. She'd be more familiar but still have her own twist to the formula.
Not in the classic games they're not. Although I'd argue they should be - what's the point in having Sonic be "the fastest thing alive" if Tails, Knuckles, Amy (in SA2), Metal Sonic, Shadow, Espio (in Heroes), Blaze (in Rush), and now Infinite can match his pace, if not beat it? She had it in Sonic the Fighters. I'd buy Amy DLC. Amy would definitely be the hard mode character, just as she was in Advance, and just as Knuckles was in S3K. As long as there are a few exclusive routes (I pointed out a ton of ways that this could be done before, but good luck finding it in a >400-page thread), it'll be a new experience. Why wouldn't I want to increase my playtime by a third with a character I find it fun to play as?
I think we might see some cool character mods for Mania sometime after its PC release. Obviously not as cool as a Team Mania official job, but it will still be cool. I'm curious what the other modes in Mania will be and especially what the local multiplayer will be like.
Such a cheap spritehax way would be of a very bad taste, so please no. I can't say much about how I'd want her to play other than I'd want her gameplay to be distinctively different. Not specifically drastically different (that may actually hurt the gameplay in traditional Sonic levels), but enough to feel as different as Tails or Knuckles. (meanwhile I've got myself to Sonic Advance, and I've got to say that her gameplay there does feel annoyingly slow; but then, I recall people complaining about how Advance lineup's levels are too slow-paced, so this could be an issue here)
Going back to game levels I want to see in Sonic Mania. The reason why I keep thinking Ice Cap is a real possibility is that sprite from the Hedgehog Day Dance Party video See original video below Hedgehog Dance Party
I mean Tails in Sonic 2 was just short Sonic, so I don't see why this would be such a bad thing if it was optional and limited (obviously not everyone, but Mighty or Metal Sonic might be a nice Sonic skin)
Blaze is basically a slightly slower Sonic (LOL!) with better jumping abilities. Though I found it weird how her Fire Tornado is functionally identical to Sonic's roll and how that let her go through the pipes she'd just physically not fit in that stance. I'd really love to see her playable in any new game, but that's much, much less likely to happen than playable Amy in Mania alone.
Thanks for posting the original sprite Ralakimus I knew it was that sprite but if you look at the little animation there is some nice arm movements. It could be for a rail grind mechanic in a new zone, surfing or snowboarding. I'm hoping it's Ice cap! />
Even with that sprite I'm assuming its gonna be for the new snow level featured in the manual. I just don't see Ice Cap returning along side another ice zone. If they had not designed an original one with the same theme then sure, I'd believe we would see Ice Cap then. Talking about that, I'm not sure if anyone else would think the same but I don't really class Studiopolis as a "Casino" themed level so I could think we may see a returning zone, not a fan of Casino Night from Sonic 2 since I preferred Carnival Night aside from the barrel.
Already mentioned, but she had it as early as 1996 with her appearance in Sonic the Fighters. I imagine hoisting that magical hammer around would make it hard for her to roll. If she didn't have the hammer then she would really just be a pink Sonic, and what would be the point in that? I wouldn't call her weak, as her hammer obliterates everything in her way. She certainly is the slowest though, which adds to the challenge. Amy was always my favourite to play as in Advance 1 and 2 in strong part due to the challenge. It was also to better appreciate the zones though. After zooming through them with Sonic or Knux, I enjoyed a more laid back (yet not simple) playthrough with Amy where I could really take in all the sights and appreciate the badnik and hazard placements that I would have instinctively rushed through as the rest of the cast. I'm sure the team has surprises in store as well, if only for the sake of who doesn't love unlockables and surprises? Not sure what has you ruling out Amy though. She may never have been playable in a Genesis title, but was poplular enough after her debut in CD to re-appear in early versions of Chaotix' sound test and as a playable character in the Sonic Drifts and Sonic the Fighters. Then when the next mainline, and arguably classic, game came out known as Adventure, she was fully playable. This naturally then followed suit in the Advance series. Bias aside considering how I genuinely adore her playstyle, it would be fitting to have her be an unlockable in this "what-if Sonic did get a Saturn title?" game since she appeared just about everywhere else in that era.
My guess is rail grinding. So many are counting Ice Cap out, but who's to say the "Oriental Snow" theme can't be incorporated in an Act 2?
I just cannot get behind Amy's gameplay from the first Advance at all. I appreciate the effort to try and make her gameplay something different, but the result feels more like her gameplay was designed for a completely different platformer. Her moveset is like oil and water with Advance's level design and for me, her gameplay felt more like a frustrating chore rather than being fun. I think I did find her better to play in Advance 3, though, when they made her play more similar to the other characters. E-122-psi's Amy hacks might had been better as well, but its been ages since I last played though.
They are. Amy feels significantly faster in them, and her hammer jump actually propels her higher than the ordinary jump.
It's time for another "middle of the night random thoughts post" I suspect the "yeah, yeah" in Stardust Speedway 1 is a nod to the US soundtrack, for which Nilsen said "I thought it would be a fun twist to have female voices supporting the gameplay as almost a subliminal hook." due to the introduction of Amy Rose. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but this is Mania we're talking about. I would ask Tee directly but I don't have a Twitter. Similarly, the section at 0:35 in Dimension Heist seems like a reference to the similar section of Blue Sphere. This soundtrack is fucking incredible. And on the subject of the special stage, I really hope we get a unique background for each one (like Sonic CD), not just a palette swap (2/3K) or... nothing (1). From looking through the footage, the old backgrounds seem to still use only the basic parallax scrolling while all the new backgrounds have, at some point, a layer directly behind another like S3&K did in most levels. However, Studiopolis takes it a step further with a horizontal slice that has three distinct layers scrolling at different speeds, and it also uses rotation on a windmill. I really hope we get to see these effects (which would've been completely impossible on the 16-bit hardware) in more backgrounds, it takes things to a whole new level. Just under thirteen days to go. I couldn't be more excited if I tried. This is going to be the best Sonic game. By the Mania, for the Mania. I love you all for making this happen. Hype.
Amy's playstyle in Adventure was actually pretty solid because her hammer generally contributed to her speed while running. If I designed her from the ground up, I'd do the following... 1. Give her a peelout style dash, OR give her the advance style quick hop, but give it a bit of extra speed. 2. Let her still do the spin attack/roll, but let the hammer function as a much larger version of the insta-shield by essentially increasing her hitbox while doing the spin attack. 3. Let her hammer function exactly like it does in adventure where running at a certain speed gives her a quick and very high spinning jump (without the spin attack) where she can then rapidly spin the hammer multiple times before landing. Additionally, she would get one more even higher double jump from a second hammer swing while using this, and then more hammer spins on the way back down. 4. Let her charge a stationary swing while standing on the ground that, when it hits (and it has to be fully charged), will do double damage to a boss. This speeds her up but also turns her into a more skill based high damage character, giving her hammer a different kind of use for speedruns while still keeping her more in line with classic Sonic gameplay. I don't think spinning really suits her character honestly, but she's done it in Sonic Adventure 2 battle, so there is a precedent. Sonic could always teach her. Having said that, I think there's very little chance of seeing Amy as a playable character in Mania. Metal Sonic is much more likely if we do get anyone, and even then, he's always just been a Sonic skin (which I think is a big mistake. He should have a flight and energy attack mechanism of some sort IMHO, bringing him more in line with the OVA, but SEGA has never bothered to try anything like this.)
My man. Excellent post and I'm just as excited you are. Can't believe we're at the sub-two weeks mark. The game's getting close. lol - I get the meaning of what he was trying to say but yeah, he could have articulated it a little more elegantly.
