That one boss is going to be the death of me. It's one of those things that looks cute on the surface but becomes insanely frustrating in execution. Spoiler I still remember in Sonic Mega Collection randomly guessing the code to the last level of Mean Bean Machine. It was awsome, but I could NEVER beat it!
I'm glad I watched the stream. Finding out that + - Oil Ocean made it in over + - Aquatic Ruin or Mystic Cave , that Act 1 of + - Mirage Saloon is + - just Sky Chase , and that they stopped + - using Zone transitions half way through the game would all have been massive, in the moment, hype-boner-killers. Game still looks amazing, and I'm still hyped to play it, though. Not overly disappointed that the PC version is getting delayed, since I was planning to double dip and get the PS4 version to play it Monday night anyway. Hope they manage to finish optimizing it.
Spoiler The bosses look absolutely brutal.....PS4 controllers are expensive so hopefully I won't be breaking any like I did during the Genesis era.
Any word on a boss attack mode? Also, some sorted thoughts: Level Sequence: Spoiler Green Hill Chemical Plant Studiopolis Flying Battery Press Garden Stardust Speedway Hydrocity Mirage Saloon Oil Ocean Lava Reef Metallic Madness Titanic Monarch Music: Spoiler - Love the inclusion of OOZ as I love that theme, and the reinterpretation is on point. - Mirage Saloon act 1 is a smooth intro to the funk of act 2. - Lava Reef retains both distinct themes. Act 2 gave me chills. - Metallic Madness is absolutely jammin'. - Titanic Monarch has an almost PSO "Crossing" vibe to it. Along side the more cartoon-villain motifs it alternates with. - Press Garden was most serene. It's like the new Hidden Palace or Ice Cap to me. - Haven't yet heard (or seen) Hydrocity yet, but I'm certain I'll dig it. Transitions: Spoiler - Green Hill to Chemical Plant was fun and unique. It really solidified the tone for the shenanigans at hand. - May have missed Chemical Plant to Studiopolis, unless it was just a timey-wimey fade. - Was there nothing between Flying Battery and Press Garden? - Flying into Mirage Saloon is fantastic. Helps give off the vibe of a true adventure. - Mirage Saloon into Oil Ocean was incredibly fun. I love the cannon. Love it. - Didn't spot a transition from Lava Reef to Metallic Madness. Considering implied proximity to Eggmans factory, it could likely be a short walk. - No transition into Titanic Monarch either, but that seems to make sense. Misc/Fanservice: Spoiler - The OOZ signs on the train in Mirage Saloon act 1. - The visibility of OOZ in the background of Mirage Saloon act 2. - I perceived nods to the Game Gear titles all throughout Mirage Saloon; train, prolonged platforming flying sequence, the charm. - Obviously the flying sequence also nods to Sky Chase. - Fang in Mirage Saloon. - Slight nod to Marina Madness in Oil Ocean act 2 perhaps? - Where did the Lava Reef Motobug go? - Amy doll in Metallic Madness! - The construction of Eggman's mech in the background of Titanic Monarch act 1. - Turtle dudes who look like they wish they hadn't shown up for work today in Titanic Monarch. - Hitching a ride with an Eggrobo in Titanic Monarch. I cannot wait to actually play through all this.
I couldn't help myself , had to watch the leaked streams. Anyhow, I wonder...... how many unused assets from past Sonic games made it into Mania..? Spoiler Titanic Monarch seemed to use assets based on Sonic 3's Chrome Gadget Zone from the 2 player competition mode. And i also feel like Chrome Gadget has many similarities to sonic 2's Metropolis zone, and after seeing Sonic 2 concept art drop with the different time periods, It made me wonder if Chrome Gadget was in fact related to Sonic 2 Originally. For example Chrome Gadget is actually a different rendition of Metropolis zone from another time period. I wonder if the Mania team had access to full sized assets , or did they have to resize them and add extra detail? I had attempted to resize them in the past myself, but never really got around to finishing that, Would be nice if after the game launches we could find out what kinds of scrapped assets were used and the stories behind them. Other questions like, was the playable background area in Metallic madness originally meant to be in the first version of Sonic CD? I wonder this because CD had them cut special stages with a similar mechanic where Sonic would switch between foreground and background layers.
Man, I'm so pissed at the delay that I really feel like going all "screw it" and watching the whole damn gameplay that was streamed... Is it possible to watch a recording of it? If so, where? Thanks.
It lagged an awful lot when I viewed it several hours ago, but here is a portion that goes from + - Mirage Saloon to + - Titanic Monarch.
Well, since we're discussing spoilers here: Spoiler I absolutely love that Silver Sonic from Sonic 2 (GG/MS) makes an appearance in the Metal Sonic fight with the game gear sound effects as well. Sonic 2 is my favorite gamegear game, so to see it have some type of nod in the game put a huge smile on my face.
Spoiler Absolutely agreed. I love those little touches like that, though I kind of wish they had also included different variations of robotic sonic that each had different methods required to use them against metal to your advantage. Since Metal Sonic was hooked up to that machine much like in the roulette wheel boss fight, perhaps it would randomly select a different robot variation from a real, and that would determine which robot you would fight.
The + - Oil Ocean Act 1 boss is incredibly punishing. It looks like the player is supposed to be heading to the center based on the order the platforms start to rise, but they die if they don't think to do that quickly enough. I'd go back and double check just to be sure, but this video loads incredibly slowly. I couldn't even watch the stream last night. I'm happy that + - Hydrocity was placed more than halfway through. I know that Sonic games don't always gradually escalate in difficulty, but I always wondered what that zone would be like if it was intended to be as difficult as a mid/late-game zone. That there are even fewer original zones than anticipated is pretty disappointing, but watching + - Oil Ocean Act 2 reminded that the Act 2s of the returning zones are so radically altered that they might as well be new stages. By the way, why are we still using spoiler tags? The other topic was created because we're expected to be discussing spoilers here.
I'm glad to see someone else had a similar reaction to + - Hydrocity . The water barely poses a threat in the original rendition of the zone, but it looks to be rather deadly this time around. While I'll need to play it to make a proper judgement, it seems possible that it could be the most difficult water level we've ever seen. I'd also like to take a moment to gush over the act two boss. For whatever reason, I've always been a bit of a sucker for the water current mechanic. It's awesome to see an entire boss encounter molded around it.
So a few things I had to check out due to curiosity Spoiler - That Metal Sonic fight, oh Lord does that look and sound beautiful - they did indeed fix the Flying Battery pipes :v: - the game over music is the one used in Sonic 3/4/Generations I'm going to try and keep the rest fresh though, particularly with the new stages.
Spoiler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFdfc8poFfA TRUE FINAL BOSS, you have been warned. DON'T LOOK IF YOU DON'T WANT A PART OF THE VERY END OF THE GAME SPOILED FOR YOU.
Oh dear...while I personally don't mind at all/nor care because we're getting an amazing/fun game out of this and that's all I truly care about...it's certainly going to grind some people's gears for many reasons.
Tax and Stealth would have walked off the team before participating in such debauchery. We're missing something still.