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Spoiler-free Sonic Mania discussion thread

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Overlord, Aug 10, 2017.

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  1. Laura

    Laura

    Brightened Eyes Member
    I agree with someone that S3AK kinda falls apart in the last half. Flying Battery is a little more tedious than I remembered, Sandopolis is straight up awful after Act 2 and while Lava Reef is a great level, it also has moments of tedium. Still a great game though and my favourite classic tied with Sonic 2.

    I'm looking forward to seeing how Mania fares!
     
  2. steveswede

    steveswede

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    So when the release date kicks in will it happen all at the same time or is access locked until the correct time zone comes around?
     
  3. Fenrir

    Fenrir

    Eh. Member
    I'll attest to Sandopolis being absolute trash, but that's about it. Flying Battery has plenty of gimmicks to avoid getting tedious, and Lava Reef does have its moments, but it makes up for that with the transition from act 1 to act 2/its boss being one of my favorite moments in the entire franchise.

    According to Aaron it'll vary and he'll have the more concrete times tomorrow.
     
  4. Do you mean after Act 1? I don't get it.

    This is such a surprise to me. I've always though S&K was the better half of S3, even while loving the first half in every way.

    Then again, I may be somewhat in the minority that believed both halves S3 and S&K are better than Sonic 2 in almost every way. They improve the level design substantially, better music and better presentation. I was obsessed with S2 as a kid until I got my hands on S3, and then pretty much played S3 a thousand times more often since. The only reason I can even buy the argument that S2 is better than either half of the game is because it is a complete game as intended. But both S3 and S&K are about as long each.
     
  5. steveswede

    steveswede

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    I think all the games have flawed levels but the one I think is the least flawed it would be Sonic 3 without Sonic and Knuckles. I just find Ice Cap Zone to be so boring.
     
  6. MontiP

    MontiP

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    I barely saw a thumbnail of the final boss, and while it bothered me a little, it also made me more curious of how will it be when I get my hands on the game. Like how will it look? How will it play? What gimmicks will it have? How will the music be? That kind of stuff.
     
  7. Ell678

    Ell678

    Am I Annoying You? Member
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    Well, my "hiding away" game of choice is going to be Fallout 4 with a new bunch of mods. Should tide me over for a couple of weeks.
     
  8. Laura

    Laura

    Brightened Eyes Member
    After replaying all the Sonic games lately I don't think S3AK is far and away better than Sonic 2 as people let on. I'd like to make a full post putting my feelings about this, but I'll do it after I complete Mania and can discuss all the 'classic' Sonic games together.

    But in short, S3AK has a lot of levels that I found utterly tedious upon replay.

    I think Marble Garden is an utterly boring level that looks visually dull. I also think the spintop gimmick, while a cool idea, is really awkwardly implemented. You stroll really slowly on it so you don't crash into spikes above and you have to slowly trudge it near the breakable platforms.

    I like Ice Cap overall, but I find it has a few irritating moments, such as the endless loop mazes. I find one part particularly aggravating, where you have to jump off tiny platforms with springs, and if you mess up, you fall all the way back down. It's very frustrating. Similarly, while I like Flying Battery Zone, I also think it has stilted mundane moments, such as waiting for the scrolling platforms that go up the pipe etc.

    And Sandopolis is just awful, especially after Act 1.

    I think the only truly great levels in Sonic 3AK are Angel Island, Hydrocity, Carnival Night, Mushroom Hill and Sky Sanctuary.

    Meanwhile, I'd say Sonic 2 has Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruin, Casino Night and Mystic Cave as great levels.

    Sonic 3AK has the edge over Sonic 2 with saves, but I think on a level design standard, I don't think Sonic 3AK is better than Sonic 2 by the large margin a lot of people let on. Sonic 3AK may be much larger and have far more complex levels, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are better designed.

    I also think a lot of people are mean to Sonic 2 because of its huge popularity and the somewhat obscure nature of Sonic 3AK with the general gaming public.
     
  9. Lapper

    Lapper

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    I have no nostalgia for any Sonic3&K level past hydrocity, because I never bothered playing past it as a child - because I didn't like Sonic's sprite :ssh: . Did my first playthrough last month with S3Complete S1 sprite option.

    I think S&K levels are actually the most fun, I dislike Marble Garden mainly, it's suuuch a drag.
     
  10. Sparks

    Sparks

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    Does anyone remember the times the game goes up on each console?
     
  11. I like Marble Garden quite a bit. I love the look of it, I like some of its gimmicks, I love how Robotnik show up to taunt you, and the way everything collapses before the boss is great. Plenty of interesting stuff going on. Not a big fan of Sandopolis though.
     
  12. Rika Chou

    Rika Chou

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    PS4 is 9PM PST Monday night.
     
  13. http://imgur.com/mNxcsqr


    Currenlty preparing for the Mania-I'm hoping I can use these to fix the PC version of Mania so it releases on time. I wonder if it'll work? :v:/>
     
  14. Lapper

    Lapper

    Lappering Tech Member
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    When does switch store update? Know nothing about it!

    About S3&K, I loved Sandopolis. I knew what I was up for in act 2 and I enjoyed it more than I thought. Their mini bosses were dreadful though.
     
  15. MontiP

    MontiP

    "Tylerfoxorwhatever? I barely know her!" Member
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    You forgot Sonic 4 :specialed:
     
  16. SuperSonicRider

    SuperSonicRider

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    FWIW I'm definitely gonna be watching the trailer, so if you (or anyone else) would rather not watch it for fear of spoilers I'll come back and vaguely chime in on it (if someone else doesn't before me). I don't have a problem with watching this prerelease stuff from official Sonic accounts since the Mania Team's been pretty explicit about not wanting to show too much of the game. But I totally understand why people wouldn't to since this is such a special game! The officially released stuff is just part of the hype for me personally :) But I digress!

    Also if anyone's worried about spoilers from the official Sonic accounts, Aaron said there would be a lot more Sonic Forces news coming in as soon as Sonic Mania launches, so you might not have to worry about seeing unannounced Mania info in thumbnails from there, unless they do DLC or something. On a related note, some YouTube precautions I've seen floating around on other social media are to pause your video watching history, or go into Incognito/Private mode on your browser. Personally I've been doing the latter.
     
  17. Socknic

    Socknic

    Someone Too Tough To Beat Member
    I completely agree that S3&K can become a bit of a slog, however, I still consider it to be far superior to Sonic 2. Even at the peak of its tedium (I'm looking at you, Marble Garden), S3&K features a degree of depth that Sonic 2 can only dream of. I'll try to break it down: generally, the zones of Sonic 2 are either focused on speed or platforming/hazard avoidance. Emerald Hill and Chemical Plant are prime examples of the speed focus, whereas Oil Ocean and Metropolis represent a more traditional platformer approach. While the speed zones might feature a few different paths, it is far too easy to simply blaze through them in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, zones which feature primarily platforming and hazard avoidance come across as rather counter-intuitive. To me, Sonic's best level design has a certain unique flow to it. Zones such as Green Hill, Aquatic Ruin, and Launch Base represent an ideal blend of speed and platforming. These zones allow the player to achieve Sonic's signature exhilarating speed without losing sight of the series' platformer roots. While S3&K on the whole is by no means perfect, it best exemplifies the golden speed/platforming balance. While some of its zones are certainly rather boring, I still appreciate their depth, complexity, and recognition of what makes Sonic good. Based on what I've seen, Mania may very well match, or even surpass, S3&K's level design. I can barely contain my excitement!
     
  18. +1 for the S&K half!

    I just find the tropes a touch more inspired than the first (3) half.

    One of those people that loves the dark act 2 of Sandopolis. So much dread. Also great that it had a a serious tone that was genuinely frightening - rather than being all like Boo!! Haunted house!! A great achievement.

    I like Marble Garden and it's sense of mystery & unease. S3&K done a fantastic job of conveying a deep mood for each zone, far more than any other Sonic game, imo.
     
  19. steveswede

    steveswede

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    For me Sonic 2 starts to lose it past Mystic Cave Zone. Oil Ocean and Metropolis are beautiful to look at but by eck they drag on. A lot of this with these two is down to repetition, deja vu level sections. It's not as if that doesn't happen in other zones it's just that these two seem to excel at it.
     
  20. Xiao Hayes

    Xiao Hayes

    Classic Eggman art Member
    S3&K does much more than Sonic 2 the kind of stuff we hate about modern games: automation excess and no backtracking allowed. While no classic Sonic game is really free of these elements, I feel they're much more evident in S3&K, and Iizuka was already there! (Conspiranoic theory :tinfoil:)

    I like each of the classic games for particular reasons that I feel unique and conform their identity: S3&K is technically the best and has a lot of things that excel compared to previous installments, but it has a "Bitch, I'm famous!" feel, not so pure and experimental as the previous ones. Sonic 2 suffers the stigma of being the middle child, but it's the one that gives the real classic feel, not as pure as Sonic 1, but improving from its predecessor's mistakes, establishing the "classic" concept much better, and it also has quite an original set of levels.

    BTW, what do you have with Carnival Night? I hate that much more than Sandopolis or Marble Garden, it's automation and frustration at their best!

    EDIT: Corrections again, I often forget to read all I wrote before posting.
     
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