Crossover from the hacking topic because it's really interesting Look at what we have here stowed away in the game's data. EDIT: Apparently Amy is fake. Hyper isn't though.
also from the hacking topic -- that image is edited. The AMY stuff is not real. The "Hyper" stuff is, though.
Yeah, that's why I had decided to use the spoiler tags, actually. I had saw it being used a bit earlier a couple of pages back, and the Denuvo DRM fiasco discussion kind of extends to this thread as well as the spoiler-free one. Somebody might want to see the status on that and avoid the Zones. Hopefully it also spares somebody some grief if they accidentally go into this thread instead of the spoiler-free one by mistake. I actually wasn't aware you could + - spin dash the Silver Sonics into Metal Sonic . That'll save me a lot of grief next playthough. I was thinking of doing a solo Knuckles one next after I recover the remaining two Emeralds on my first save.
I've called out Peachy on the SEGA forums on the image :v: Seems a bit weird though, they have 9,500+ posts and joined 5 years ago. I'm secretly hoping it's real :v:
You're going to be considered a heretic by 99% of this forum's population. But I wholeheartedly agree. Crush 40 and Jun Senoue in particular are the best Sonic composers. *gets burned on a bonfire*
Since there's already a lot of Amy-related discussion here thanks to that fake image, cross-posting the only thing I've seen so far that indicates more characters may have been considered at some point in development, in case it's of interest:
I found out specifically because I did a solo knux playthrough. The way you described beating the boss first (bouncing attacks) is virtually impossible as knuckles, because he doesn't jump high enough. You'll almost never hit him that way. I actually got a time over on that fight with knux before realizing the easier way to do it.
So I'm part of the "patiently waited for the delayed PC release crowd" so apologies if these impressions are super late. Condensed thoughts: Note: I know we're allowed to post spoilers, but these impressions overdose on spoilers so I'm going to shroud them just in case. Pros Spoiler - The love, care and attention to the game is astounding. Taxman/Stealth gave this more love than Sonic Team ever could. - Several "Fuck yeah!" glorious moments like Flying Battery Act 2 in the rain, the Stardust Speedway Act 2 future jump and many more. - Several remixed zone choices were astoundingly good like Hydrocity and Lava Reef. - Some of the best and most beautiful level and graphic design I've ever experienced in a Sonic game - beating Sonic Team's post-Genesis efforts. - You can see the talent and creative flair from projects like Megamix shine through - the design is just fucking awesome. - The music is incredible. This track, the track to Chemical Plant Act 2's boss is one of the best Sonic tracks I've ever heard. - The level design focused on awesome alternative routes for Tails and Knuckles - and Knuckles getting all that special solo content. - The Saturn style 3D effects like the rotating Robotnik were mind blowing. Special stages are also fantastic. - When they said "comparable to Sonic 3K" they really weren't kidding. Epic game. Cons Spoiler - No Ice Cap Zone. Probably my biggest disappointment with the game. - Have to be honest, when the Oil Ocean title card showed up I looked down from my computer in dismay. - Only 4 original zones when seriously guys, we needed at least 5. Hell 6 would have been great. - The team were evidently limited in their creative freedom. You just know Press Garden was meant to be two separate original zones. - No zone transitions in the game's second half which was just jarring and makes the game feel unfinished. - No "Fuck yeah!" secrets like an extra playable character or anything truly meaningful to unlock to encourage more play time. - It was Blue fucking Spheres overload. The game is literally "play for a minute - Blue Spheres!" rinse and fucking repeat. - It comes so agonisingly close to beating Sonic 3K but just doesn't quite get there. It's almost perfect. Almost. - Difficulty spiking and some super hard bosses. The latter part of the game felt too much like "try not to die" amplified by the infuriating Sonic 3 save system. - All that Denuvo bullshit that almost overheated my computer. Just unnecessary for a small digital download game. And that pretty much sums up my major thoughts. I fucking loved it and it's definitely up there with the classics, but it really, really needed more original content and it has a few blemishes that prevent it from becoming one of the best Sonic games of all-time. It's seriously fucking good but ultimately doesn't quite reach "best game ever" status. Still need to play a little more to further define my thoughts but I think this pretty much covers it for now.
If Easter Eggs are going to get this weird, I'm pumped to see what else may be in store. You could just not jump in to the bonus stages?
Kinda wish Blue Sphere gave you something after you've got all the medals since it's pointless to play them after.
Well the fun part about the Blue Spheres is that once you get all the golds, you literally have no reason to play the stages ever again. Like I'm surprised you don't even keep the rings you collect in the bonus stages, it'd be a nice added bonus. Or if they had shield spheres that could be collected. Something to make them more appealing to go back to. But nope, nothing. I made a point on my first PC playthrough to get through those as fast as possible. I was able to get all golds by Hydrocity Zone Act 1. I don't see myself returning to them :v:
Well yeah, that's exactly what I ended up doing. But to me it's a poor design decision. Sonic 3K handled it much better with the different bonus stages. EDIT: Just to elaborate a little. Sonic 3K had the alternate bonus stages so you get a chance to get super important extra lives, or shields or whatever. This was a much, much better compromise than just "you shall play Blue Spheres forever!" which Mania does.
I can understand why they added Blue Spheres as Bonus stages (leftover from their Sonic 3 mobile concept). It saved them time and it was added content. Just unfortunate that there's nothing to do with them after you gold them all, and that applies for each save game.
You know regarding the starposts, anyone else think that the reward you get from them when you have a certain amount of rings is a random monitor item? Would really help with the pacing of the main game. The current system after a while I actively avoid jumping into the stars because it makes me feel like I'm playing two games parallel to one another.
I hate the idea of Star Posts allowing you to gain whatever shield you want and hundreds of rings, it was one of S3&K's worst, most game breaking features. Each level is carefully crafted with a lot of thought put into item distribution - giving a freebie at each check point undermines that effort. I'd like for Mania 2's Bonus Stages to be like the 8-bit Sonic 1's Special Stages - a time limit, a set amount of rings, a 1-Up and you have to reach the end in time. Maybe a gold medal could be awarded for getting every ring or collecting a special trinket. Also, the threshold for entering Bonus Stages should be upped to 50 rings again.
