Sonic Mania Plus SPOILER THREAD with UNMARKED spoilers!

Interesting... This feels just like accessing the Sonic & Knuckles stuff that was already inside Sonic 3.

I don't know if the leak was deliberate, but it's certainly helping to keep alive my interest in buying Plus (while waiting for the next Mania Adventures episode).

 

I really like that we can see the animals moving freely around Angel Island, like they do in the good-future version of the zones in Sonic CD.

You can see four different animals in this screenshot I took from the video:

 

^^Yeah, the animals running around cheerfully with that great rendition of the music and the wonderful pixel art and animation give the whole thing a great vibe. And the new Mirage Saloon Act 1 is definitely a major step up from the original in Mania mode. The equivalent of 1 new zone (2 separate new Acts), Mighty and Ray and their unique abilities, and the Encore stuff is pretty good for $5 DLC, not to mention all the cool stuff added into the free 1.04 patch. (If some of the color work in Encore was better the DLC would be a slam dunk/steal at that price, but from what we've seen so far it's still pretty good.) Looking forward to all the changes in the final build, and of course seeing what that pinball bonus stage is like.

 

This looks so cool, the new stuff blends in very well. But man, I really dislike the copy-paste grass ;_; Is it because upgrading the original tile let them look too similar or what?

I wish they would add even more stuff. Make it a real beast and please, keep on supporting it over the years.

 

I see Metallic Madness Encore is going for the Bad Future vibe the same way Stardust Speedway Act 2 Encore is.

 

Gotta agree that the grass they're using is surprisingly un-Angel Island Zone-ish but... eh, whatever.

Maybe they planted Green Hill seeds after the fire. =P

 

I still can't get over the grass....but at least it's not shiny like Splash Hill :v:

The ferns are better than ever though.

 

I personally prefer the grass to original Angel Island's grass graphics, which I've found slightly jarring (but tolerable) since the game's 1994 release.

 

Joking aside, really, 'Who's gonna mow that Angel Island?'

xD

 

I don't see the criticism with AIZ's grass. Seriously. It looks far better than the original S3 version, and it matches with the rest of Mania's art style.

 

I never even noticed the grass. Is it really that big of a deal to some people?

 

The original grass was really forgettable, to be honest.

The main difference people are noticing is the palette:

Original GFX:




Mania GFX:




Mania GFX, lighter palette:

 

Given the most likely reasons for a new version of Sonic3K not happening anytime soon, which BGMs might've been composed by Michael Jackson and/or his studio at the time?

 

Honestly, it seems like a misinterpretation of the original. Mania indicates a checkered texture for Angel Island. Urgh.

 

How? There's stripes in the grass I guess but I don't see how that means it's supposed to be checkerboarded.

Knuckles, miniboss, Ice Cap, Carnival Night, Launch Base, and possibly competition.

 

And yet, all of those have alternate versions that can easily be replaced.

 

Again with the grass. I am on the team that prefers S3 visuals, but I do understand that it was modified to match the previous grassed level of the game, and it is a good choice. This is Sonic Mania, not Sonic MixAndGo.

 

I like the grass. The pallete choices though, not really for me. Especially Green Hills. It looks awful...

 

When it comes to AI tiles, I really like the choices made.

IMO the original is an sickly contrasting eyesore and could probably be placed easily into any mediocre genesis game with a semi-realistic style. It's a mess. The edit has character, had clean edges and is consistent, while (to me) still obviously AI. Got a tiny gripe with GHZ sunset palette but even that isn't too bad.