https://www.twitch.tv/sonicofficial Live Stream Iizuka just confirmed that there'll be more Classic levels than new ones. Disappointing, but oh well. Green Hill itself is supposedly the tames of the Classic stages, and it looks like it'll be an absolute blast to play and explore. I really can't complain. My personal theory? Eggman is attempting to create a movie or something of sorts cataloguing his past battles with Sonic, and he's trying to rewrite so that he comes out victorious. Studiopolis would fit in as his base of operations. EDIT: Aaaaaand it's finished.
I have to wonder if we'll finally see Desert Dazzle this time after Sega declined its addition in Sonic CD 2011. In any case, the fact that classic zones are being remixed doesn't make me particularly worried if there are multiple zones with the same theme, since it looks like the scenery is going to be tweaked to help differentiate them.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Iizuka also mentioned that Mania would have a new item or something like that? Like some sort of new game mechanic or ability? Wonder what that is. On another note, it looks like the Sonic social media group's meme charm has even rubbed off on Sonic Team to an extent, going by how Hoshino was in on the joke and he--along with Iizuka--having a good laugh about it with Aaron. Absolutely amazing. And then the bit when Aaron revealed that Hoshino actually made and wore multiple shirts with different picture of Iizuka, to show his face subtly growing from a smile to a complete grin throughout the ad. Freaking hilarious, I genuinely laughed out loud. Blue Blood's probably right in saying the social media group is the best thing to have happened to the series.
Aaron also specifically mentioned that the "Collector's Edition is coming to North America", and if Amazon says you can buy it, you can buy it. While not explicitly saying that it's exclusive, that's basically what he was saying and that you'l want to import it if you're not in North America yourself. Fair do's. Guess that means I'm buying at least three copies of the game!
Here are two more direct feed gameplay videos that have not been posted in the thread yet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFS6H2I9euw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OCrhfeFsJw
The stream may not have been worth much for news on Mania, but man was it incredibly charming and funny. I'm definitely looking forward to more streams in the future.
The Sonic Mania t-shirts are available on Amazon UK and US again: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Sonic-Triple-T-Shirt-limited/dp/B01L0H9Z02 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mens-Sonic-Mania-Studiopolis-T-shirt/dp/B01KUG9PVI The listing however states the t-shirts are only available until the 30th of September so grab them while you can. Not sure why they were pulled before but it seems the listings are active again. Thought I'd give everyone a heads up as I know some people missed out before. Act fast.
Those are different - they're the US versions of the shirts instead of the UK versions we had before. I bought both of them before they were delisted and was thoroughly unimpressed with the print quality and manufacturing of the shirts. Maybe these are better?
Since it hasn't been mentioned in the thread yet, Iizuka confirmed today on the stream that Mania has more remixed levels than original levels. This isn't surprising, but now there's confirmation.
He specifically says 1, 2, 3K, CD too, so Chaotix remains lost in time. Optimistically, that means there will still be a decent ratio, perhaps 5 classic zones and 4 new ones. Still, I hope the classic zones change enough to be more unique than GHZ, which the devs keep saying is the tamest one. I know a lot of you seem content on a single product, but I would rather this be a launching point for new zones in this engine. Remember the final scene of Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario looks up into the sky and sees the whole new Galaxy that was created after some temporal shenanigans took place? I want something like that to happen, but then we can play it after the campaign.
I posted my impressions of the US Shirt I ordered a few pages back. Mine has been through two loads of laundry so far with no issues. It's not as shitty as iron-on, but it is some type of printable material applied to the fabric. It's not the kind of thing that will crack if you crease the shirt. Probably the best they could do given that you can't apply ink directly to a dark-colored shirt. I don't have anything to compare it to though. The printed area does have a rough texture to it but it seems like it will last a few years of wearing/washing it every couple of weeks.
On top of this, it looks like Mania is taking Sonic level design in a new direction, in some ways. After I saw how much of a physics paradise Studiopolis is, I was amazed. It looks like Mania's stages will do their best to take advantage of Sonic's unique movement and gravity in ways the classics never did. So I expect that even with the retread of familiar stages, we're still getting levels that play very differently from their past versions. Green Hill Zone looks involving and interesting now, instead of three acts of sleeping while holding right.
Pretty much anticipating this too. I like how there's this vibe of "Oh, we're releasing a classic Sonic game. Damn, now our actual main release Sonic game has to be good." It's like they've put themselves in a position where they'll either prove they can do something right if they care, or they'll prove classic gameplay is the reliable way to go. I'm pretty disappointed about the "more remix levels" though. They'll be fine I'm sure, but we've seen enough to feel a lot of confidence about the completely new zones, so they're pretty much what I'm excited about. Personally I'd prefer only about 3 remixed levels; that's about where the joy of rediscovering an old home moves into "Ok I get it" territory for me and the way I'm feeling in this particular 5 minutes. That said, anyone else already ready to pay for Sonic Mania 2? Purely for more zones. This. This waiting period already is killing me. May? MAY??? We're not even in freaking October. Sonic Mania 2. Coming spring 2037.
Thanks for tuning in, guys. It was a dry run so technical mishaps were expected, but sometimes trial by fire is the fastest way to find what works and what's busted. We already have the camera improved substantially for our next stream. We're trying to make them weekly on Fridays going forward, but we'll see how well that holds when things get busy. Glad you all enjoyed it, regardless! :v: And while I get the concern for what Iizuka-san said, stick with believing in the title. The team behind it comes from here, after all. They'll do things right.
I'm disappointed that you don't look like Arsène Lupin III. Regarding the remix levels, practically every time Aaron's talked about the subject, he's stressed that Green Hill is the tamest and that the rest of the revisited classic zones will see more Radical Trains—I mean, radical changes. I trust him, but I'm also just holding out until we finally get to see anything other than Green Hill to make a judgment on whether or not the redone old levels will feel like retreads.
You guys are saving the reputation of the Sonic franchise and I love you. All of you. Mania looks nothing short of amazing.
I'm also a tad disappointed about the news of more remix zones. One aspect which I don't like is that some (but not all) of the new additions to Green Hill are actually recycled elements from Emerald Hill and Palm Tree Panic. All the classic “palm tree stages” had their own identity, which came from having their own elements. Recycling these elements in Green Hill stops the changes from feeling as “fresh” as they could. I'd prefer it if the changes to Green Hill were based around the elements that were unique to that zone (e.g. new obstacles based around the spiky logs and totem poles). Still I have faith that Taxman and Stealth will deliver an awesome game. The new stuff they added to the mobile games were outstanding, so I know they won't let us down.
I've just realised (I know, it's obvious, but by some reason it didn't came to my mind earlier), that even if someone outside from US (definitelly in case of Europe) will order this Collector's Edition of Sonic Mania, Steam code will be probably completely useless, due to region lock (yeah, you can still play with VPN activation, but if there is lock not only on activation, but also on playing, then it won't help too much, not to mention about risk of removing the game from your account by Valve). Well, I'm guessing that it's completely solving my potential dilemma about "order or not" (even if I would stand prepasterous price for shipping). Thanks, Sega. (don't know anything about PS4 and XBox One region lock, but I'm guessing that you can expect something similar as well). Funny thing, If I was asked month or two ago, I think I would tell "yeah, for sure". But now? I feel that I've completely lost all this hype. I've saw what was officialy showed, well, I kinda like half of it (more specifically - new zone, I'm not too keen on playing one more time in Green Hill Zone, which is not even trying to emulate that it's something new by making new name and slightly different color palette), and that's it. I'm guessing that there are no chances for any sort of widely available demo (due to reasons mentioned by TimmiT and Luke), so at this point I'm going to wait for release and judge the final effect. Kinda weird, that I feel no trace of that hype which I had initially.
I must admit I am disappointed by Iizuka's statement about zones. Still think that the game is going to be great but I'm getting the impression that it's not going outdo S3K in terms of content and appeal. Anyway still really curious of how they are going to handle Sonic CD (you know time travel and all).
