Another amazing episode... filled with funny smears, too! I don't know if anybody else noticed it, but I love how Ray is depicted with a wider mouth than the rest, just like in the arcade. EDIT: Spoiler Oh, also:
Goddamn I absolutely loved how wonderful and terrifying Metal Sonic was in this. brb watching the Sonic OVA again-
My favourite one so far, really action packed, pushed the plot forward and had some good characterisation and humour. That's a lot to pack in to two minutes! It feels like it's been a long time since Metal Sonic was treated like a serious threat, so kudos to the team for really nailing it. It was fun to see Metal Sonic fight someone other than Sonic for a change too. The score and its integration of Stardust Speedway really enhanced the intensity of the action. Ray continues to be the highlight of this series. In lesser hands he could very easily have been turned into a poor man's Tails, but the team have done a fantastic job expanding upon what was already present in SegaSonic the Hedgehog. The happy-go-lucky bundle of energy approach to the character is endlessly endearing. Also - is Eggman's base supposed to be the re-purposed remains of Death Egg, or something new?
Last episode's limited animation was really limited. Almost felt like slideshow with some posteffects at times. Other than that great episode as usual.
Every episode has been super good. This mini-series is one of the most charming things I've watched in a while, and I think it's the perfect interpretation of the classic characters. I love Mighty and Ray's brotherly bond. It's similar to Sonic and Tails, but their personalities are different enough to keep it interesting. That said, the funniest bit for me was when Knuckles appeared. I could practically hear him going "EMEROWWWDS". I also found it kinda funny that the first thing you hear when Metal Sonic creeps in is a subdued "HUEHUE" from Stardust Speedway. I don't know why, but imagining that playing every time the camera cuts to him is hilarious to me.
This one was magnificent. I still like the first one more for how quintessential was about sonic series (you know, Sonic's about this and that kind of stuff), and is hard to compare them beyond that because the emphasis on the first was humour and in this one is pure action, so I'm choosing that, but this one was so good... I always had a special place in my heart for Ray since I knew of him and the game he was in despite not seing that much of either of them back in the day; seeing this Ray is really like the one I thought he was in 1993 with just a couple of screenshots of SegaSonic Arcade makes me really happy. In fact, when I've seen Mighty and Ray together acting like Sonic and Tails but acctually different I thought they could be a good alternative as the main and only characters of a classic style spinoff featuring a different story. I would easily give both couples the same level of protagonism, at least. Mighty is nice too by himself, but I'd give him a bit more of seriousness to differentiate him a bit more from Sonic, my only complain as the rest of this portrayal of him was perfect. And then, Metal Sonic. OMG. Yes, that's Metal Sonic. That's why it's my second favourite character in this franchise. On a side note, I liked what I've seen of Mighty, Ray, and Plus gameplay in general during the credits. I'll be playing Ray a lot not just because of being fond of him, but also because of how he looks and plays in game. 23 days to go.
Okay wait I'm confused about the timeline Mania > Adventures > Plus ...Or is it? How is it that Mania happens, + - Sonic goes to Forces (don't know if that's a spoiler at this point so I'm putting it in iSpoilers, heads up it involves the end of Mania), Sonic comes back, Adventures happens, and THEN all the stages in Mania happen again, only this time with Ray and Mighty? I thought Plus was more like a complete version of Mania, unless Ray and Mighty's stories happen after the fact. The only way it'll make sense is if in episode 5 some time warp thing happens and then at that point they can make a Mania Plus Plus with Amy and I won't care about the timeline at that point anymore.
Mania > [inlinespoiler]Forces[/inlinespoiler] > Adventures > Mania Encore Mode If you look at Episode 1, when Sonic pops back into existence, he's in the same pose as [inlinespoiler]he is in Sonic Forces' ending.[/inlinespoiler]
Although Encore Mode remixes the existing stages, + - it looks like it has its own plot set after that of the main game - and presumably after Mania Adventures, given that the shorts have directly connected to the end of Sonic Forces and introduced Mighty and Ray to the narrative. From what's been seen so far, I'm guessing in storyline terms Encore Mode "officially" introduces Mighty and Ray gameplay-wise, and being able to select them in Mania Mode may end up as kind of a non-canon Knuckles in Sonic 2-style bonus. Obviously this could turn out not to be the case, as Mania Plus still hasn't been released yet, but it's certainly looking pretty likely. If it holds true, it would make the official order of events something like: + - Sonic Mania (Mania Mode) > Sonic Forces > Sonic Mania Adventures > Sonic Mania Plus (Encore Mode)
Okay, so I'm dumb and didn't even realize that Encore Mode was a thing. I honestly thought that the different color pallets during the Adventures credits were just to make them look pretty. Thank you for clearing that up.
Regarding the timeline, right now I'd say Encore Mode is non-canon, whereas Adventures is the true follow up to Mania, story-wise. Without spoiling too much for those wanting to go blind into Mania Plus, what was shown of Mania Plus on yesterday's livestream is conflicting with what's been shown in Adventures (anyone who watched the livestream will know what I mean). Given the nature of Mania's Phantom Ruby, it's not as though Adventures has no options for a plot device which would lead nicely into Encore Mode's story, but I feel like doing so at the end of Adventures would be messy and rob the series of a satisfying conclusion. In other words, I feel like Adventures and Encore Mode provide two differing takes on a certain scenario, and I personally don't see both being canon, so my preference would be to take Adventures as canon *at this moment*, but that's just because I really love what we've been getting from it. Otherwise, there's no confirmed canon yet, so I wouldn't sweat it too much. By the way, did anyone source Mighty's entrance theme yet? I need that in my life.
It's a more dramatic arrangement of Trap Tower from SEGASonic the Hedgehog. The same theme was also remixed for Ray's intro in Mania Adventures.
Although you might be right, it would be strange to me if the Adventures team weren't trying to coordinate with the Plus team in some way. We've got one more episode of Adventures to go so let's see how they handle the ending before making any conclusions. Who knows, that Phantom Ruby might still be ready to mess things up...
I can almost hear it I feel I try hard enough, but I don't think that's it. Ray's theme is actually an arrangement of Run, Run, Run!, not Trap Tower.
That single frame looks so amazing that it would make me buy a BluRay filled with episodes like these. + - I don't have a BluRay player. =P
