You have to jump over his tentacles and hit him from the top to avoid damage in this fight. At least until you've broken his bottom limbs.
I got a cool bonus for dismantling the Flying Battery Act 1 boss in about 10 seconds by using the Lightning Shield. If that helps at all. BTW, this is a magnificent game. I just wish all zones would transition, not just some.
Spoiler So wait. Was this the result of the complaint or one of the reasons why the Hard-boiled Heavies theme is faster? Either way, it's stuck in my head and won't leave :v:
I dunno why people were surprised by this, considering NoA is based in Redmond WA, which is in Pacific time. It does suck for three-fourths of the country, but it's kinda expected by these guys.
The gameplay in mania is fantastic. I'm sure everyone has criticisms related to the story, for the flashy parts like transitions (or lack of), but honestly the gameplay ("level design" I guess is more true) is absolutely amazing. I agree the transitions could be more plentiful, but honestly the game doesnt need more, we'd just like more. Never a dull moment! The speediness is fun, balanced, and needs to be earned skilfully. The platforming is challenging, and quite frankly astonishing, better than anything on the genesis. Related to platforming - there are a LOT of stage specific themed gimmicks in the later new stages, and I love it. That sort of creativity started peeking it's head in S&K and I love how full-force it is in Mania. I appreciate deviation from the norm in a fun and simple way. The only level design criticism I could possibly give for it is the last 2 zones. 3 words: Crushed, crushed, crushed. I need to get good for sure, but oh my lord the insta death is real and I feel the zone before the last definitely had too many opportunities for instant death. I wouldn't really care if the game saved between acts. They are LONG acts and there are 2 bosses, it's frustrating needing to go through both after a game over. I didnt collect many lives though so that's on me. Speaking of bosses. Wow. I cant say I would ever fully enjoy the specific one with the other gameplay style (you know what I mean) but they were all really, really fun. None of the bosses seemed pointless, none were too simple or too quick, none + - that were new seemed uninspired, they were great. I may as well touch on the artistry of the new zones: Spoiler Enough said about the first 2. Press Garden was so lovely. I felt the art of the foreground in act 1 looked a little off style? Like it was from another game? But I think that was just the shock of a newish trope, I got used to it very fast. I love the artwork in Act 1 in general, the badniks are darling and very creative. Everything is unique, beautiful, while not seeming out of place. but... Press Garden act 2 is the most charming little level I've ever seen. I got giddy when I saw it was a snow themed level. this is where the artwork and gimmicks really shine. The last zone is very nice looking also, with some great hazards and gimmicks. Still trying to make it through both acts! It does look a little silly? Eggman's face is everywhere, while the older games took their last most dangerous levels more seriously. However this isn't actually a bad thing to me, I like this direction and I think fits an character of classic Eggman which we never fully explored. I haven't yet completed the game, but oh boy I will, many many times. --- That's one hell of a first impression. I have a LOT more to explore.
Full credits, for anyone interested. + - Holy shit, Jun Senoue was on the sound team for this? They haven't let him anywhere near a Sonic platformer in five years.
Can we discuss the plot of the game a little bit? Why is + - Angel Island in the ocean again ? Is the island in the intro even + - Angel Island ? It certainly looks like it and the music and intro reference it, but I don't think it's ever explicitly stated that it's actually + - Angel Island . Also, why is the + - Little Planet chained up again? Did Eggman just + - chain it up a second time? And this ties into the question of how the + - purple gem works. Is it bringing Sonic to other places (GHZ, CPZ, etc) or is it bringing those places to Sonic? I'm thinking maybe + - Little Planet is back because the + - purple gem somehow teleported it to Sonic. I'm disappointed that not all the Zones have transitions between them. I know some of them are implied (such as the Flying Battery landing at + - Press Garden ) but some of them are a little less clear. How did Sonic get from Stardust Speedway to + - Hydrocity ? Fingers crossed that a future patch adds in proper zone transitions for every zone. Maybe we'll get that when the PC version launches? :v: :v: Anyway I'm really enjoying the game. If anyone from the team is reading this, congratulations and thank you for giving us this amazing game.
I'm pretty sure + - it's a time stone, and the whole game is another time travel game. This would answer literally all your other plot questions as well.
+ - Except he's credited as Audio Engineer. I know that's no composer, but that's also something that wouldn't be relevant for remixed music from a past game.
The digital manual makes it clear: That is definitely + - Angel Island . As for my "first" impressions, having now beaten the game three times and played it for twelve straight hours? I need to go to bed. But also, Sonic Mania is pure, unbridled joy in video game form. I've never played a game that felt like it had so much passion instilled into EVERYTHING about it. And like, OF COURSE I'm gonna feel that way, Mania is MADE to make me feel that way, by people who made it this way because it makes THEM feel that way. But that sort of connection is something I don't think I've ever experienced to this degree in gaming. It's a case where a whole team of people who grew up LOVING a game series, spent their formative years learning everything they could about and got into game development largely BECAUSE of it has gotten the chance to build THEIR OWN OFFICIAL VERSION of that thing they love, and it is incredible. I'm sure this stuff happens in movies and TV more frequently, and I really hope it KEEPS happening in gaming, I hope more series end up in the hands of people who grew up loving them, because what I've experienced tonight is something I want more gamers to have.
For what benefits the widescreen gives you in seeing what's coming, I honestly have to admit that it doesn't help vertically whatsoever. Most of the damage I take in normal stages is getting shot at/dropped on by enemies just off-screen, or flinging into pain on short notice.
Dear Team Mania, My mind can only be blown so many times by your ingenious references: https://twitter.com/HP_Zoner/status/897503673617530881 No, but seriously, the amount of tributes in this game is as incredible as the ways they all fit. I never audibly react to things in video games, but I went "AH!" and laughed out of amazement several times during my first playthrough. Having grown up with the Master System games, you can't imagine my reaction when I got to the second phase of the Stardust Speedway boss. I'm practically speechless. At everything. I'll post my general thoughts once my brain is not high on Mania, since I don't think I can type coherently for much longasiudfsijsfnsklfglhnnnnnnng
That's not really a screen problem but a game design problem. Best example of this is + - the Oil Ocean minor boss with the spikes on the ceiling which are not visible until you're lifted in the air . Unless I overlooked key hints I would call that unintuitive, or to put it bluntly it's bullshit.
For those who haven't played the Blue Sphere option in the Extras menu, the Mania version is based off the old Blue Sphere 2 idea, including the Green and Purple spheres. I have more thoughts on the game that I want to share, but I'd like to finish a run through of each character first.
This game is amazing and well worth the wait. You can feel the amount of passion from everyone involved, yet it doesn't feel like a fan game. The fact that it feels like a labor of love while still seeming like a retail Sonic product just shows how talented the development team is. I cannot sing it's praises enough. So instead I'll talk about the one thing that bugs me the most: What's up with the lack of stage transitions in random levels?! I know someone on the dev team will read this at some point, so... hey dudes, what gives? Even a lazy transition would have been better than just fading to black and opening in an unrelated zone. Also like mentioned above please explain the story a bit thanks~
I'm glad green and purple have been left out to be frank, no need to make these stages longer than they have to be. They're already long enough to the point of tedium. I've got to be honest I've never cared for stage transitions. Don't get me wrong they're a nice novelty and a great way to tell a story without words but the game doesn't need to feel completely connected. I'd rather just get to the interesting gameplay parts.
Another weird design choice was the whole + - Time Stone + Little Planet thing. It gets a brief foreshadowing early in the game to a degree, but then by the end game + - you briefly see Little Planet in the background of Lava Reef where the Death Egg was, and then suddenly the ending has Little Planet freed again. Normally I wouldn't find this off-putting, the classic games are pretty abstract and all, but Sonic CD's opening firmly establishes where Sonic is going and why while Mania's openings, both animated and in-game, are fun mythology gags and messing about and only provide context to the villains with little else. The fact that it goes all + - suddenly Little Planet again with barely any context and doesn't even acknowledge the grounded Angel Island despite zones directly from it just makes it feel like the normal ending was completely.. empty ontop of its extreme shortness. I actually think the only classic ending worse than Mania's normal ending was Sonic 1's, and that's because Sonic 1 barely had an ending at all. I know plot should never be considered a focus for the classics, but part of 3&K's charm was its attempt at a consistency and on-going arc that tried to tie together Sonic's travels across Angel Island. This, in comparison, is only marginally better handled than the Time Eater shenanigans in Generations.
