The Blue Blur at His Best: Sonic Mania Review

Players: 1-2
Platforms: PC (via Steam), Microsoft Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4

While I’ve enjoyed most of the Sonic games I’ve played, there’s no denying that the quality of the franchise has mostly been questionable at best since the Sega Genesis days. It seems like Sega finally realized this, and decided to put the development of their most recent 2D title in the hands of devs who are fans more than traditional Sonic devs. This was probably the single best decision they’ve made in quite a long time.

Uh oh...trouble is brewing!

From the moment you boot up the game for the first time, you know it’s going to be something special. The entire game sticks with its 16-bit aesthetic, and even includes a beautifully animated intro movie harkening back to the one in Sonic CD. I want to make a very important point about myself before I dive into this: I’m usually turned off by games that focus too much on being retro or try too hard to be nostalgic. Following that thought, the mantra of Sonic Mania is definitely the word ‘balance’. The entire game revolves around balancing old and new, and things blend together quite beautifully as a result. The game has a very clear 16-bit Genesis look, but you’ll notice that the sprites aren’t exactly the same as the older counterparts from that era. Everything was carefully drawn to meld that modern Sonic look while still retaining the very distinct classic look. The newly drawn sprites for the characters also help to allow for some more in-depth animations. All that care results in an extremely smooth experience. The animations have more variety than the classic games, the level scrolling runs really well at 60fps and the enemies are animated clearly so that the player can always tell what to expect. Interestingly, you can choose to apply a CRT filter to the visuals if you want it to look like the old games. It’s an interesting feature, though I never used it because I felt like it diminished the beautiful work put into the art in the game. Yet everything still very much looks like the classic games. It’s absolutely phenomenal that they managed to create such a beautiful blend as they did, without sacrificing on the quality of the experience in relation to the modern era.

Everything is so bouncy in Chemical Plant Zone!

This doesn’t just apply to the visuals though. Sonic Mania takes place shortly after Sonic & Knuckles, and shares a similar opening sequence to Sonic 3. With Sonic and company flying over the sea in the Tornado, they run into trouble and end up on land. They find none other than Robotnik brewing trouble with some kind of Chaos Emerald. Next thing they know they’ve been sucked through some kind of dimensional (or time?) rift and end up in classic Green Hill Zone. As you run through the level, the nostalgia will hit you hard and fast. It’s remixed just enough to incorporate the pacing and style of the new game while making sure veteran players feel at home. The blast to the ears of all the classic sound effects and the beautifully remixed music nearly made me weep tears of complete and utter joy. I got to the first boss, and felt a slight familiarity, but soon found out that things weren’t exactly the same. Next thing I know I’m propelled into the next Act, which draws inspiration from the classic Green Hill Zone and reforms it into something completely new. Every Zone that’s pulled from one of the first 5 Sonic games (Sonic 1-3, Sonic CD and Sonic & Knuckles) follows this flow: familiar remix to a slight surprise in boss battle to a clever progression into something new involving the same themes of the original zone. My favorite example is from Chemical Plant Zone. The first Act is essentially the same as the original in Sonic 2. The second Act takes the idea of a chemical plant and the objects, enemies and obstacles presented in the original game and evolves it into something new. Instead of dealing with underwater navigation, you discover this chemical gel which allows you to bounce really high, and is the theme for how Act 2 plays out. To make things even more exciting, each stage is meticulously designed so that each character can progress naturally. Sonic runs fast, Tails flies and Knuckles can glide and scale walls. Each stage has multiple paths to cater to each character when appropriate. In the rare case that a level can’t be tailored without changing too much, the character gets his own unique level to play. It’s this very careful thought that’s put into each evolution from classic to new that makes the game feel so delightful.

One of the many creative boss battles in the game.

All of this love and care carries over into the entirely new levels as well, such as Mirage Saloon Zone. It draws inspiration from various scrapped stages in older Sonic games, and revolves around an Old West theme. Rather than having a classic casino or carnival stage as is habit in the Sonic series, Sonic Mania presents it in an Old West casino/saloon setting, which is both classic and refreshing at the same time. On top of all this, the game throws various gimmicks at you in each stage or boss, to assure that you never feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over again. A particular favorite of mine was a Robotnik fight that was just a Mean Bean Machine battle (an old Sonic themed puzzle game).

In addition to the rest of the throwbacks, a couple of old special stages make a return. The one you’ll see the most, which is accessed via the checkpoint poles when you have at least 26 rings, is exactly the same as the ones in Sonic 3 (& Knuckles). You have a pseudo-3D area where there are spheres you have to run around and collect. Collecting just the border spheres in groups will turn the group into coins, and collecting all the coins will get you a gold medal rather than just a silver medal for completing the stage. These medals unlock secrets that you can use such as Debug Mode or changing Sonic’s special ability. Quick diversion, I absolutely love the new ability called the Drop Dash. It helps the player keep momentum but holding down and pressing jump when in the air, immediately dashing when you hit the floor. The only downside to the unlockable abilities is that none of these are usable in a saved game. You can only apply them in a no-save run. This means you’d have to restart from the beginning when you exit the game. It seems like a bit of a waste, since some of these features are fun to use, and not everybody is going to want to play the entire game in a single sitting. This is especially relevant since this is one of the longer 2D Sonic games to come out (12 zones, 24 levels, each with its own unique boss).

The special stage from Sonic 3 makes a return.

The other special stage is the UFO chase from Sonic CD. It has a similar perspective to the previous special stage, but instead you collect spheres which speed you up so that you can catch up to a UFO that’s carrying a Chaos Emerald. These stages are well-hidden, so getting to them is half the fun (I only managed to find 4 on my first natural play through). I really liked that there were two different types of special stages in the game, but was a little disappointed that none of them were new. They have slightly changed or new layouts, but the mechanics are exactly the same. With how hard the devs worked to mix in old and new, I was expecting to get one brand new stage type and one classic. Still, it’s a minor complaint in an otherwise near-perfect experience.

Aside from the Mania Mode (the game mode I’ve spent the entire time talking about thus far), there’s also a Time Attack mode for you to test your skills in, as well as a VS mode. The VS mode plays exactly like the classic games. Both players select their character, you select from one of 12 levels inspired by levels in the main game, and then you race to see who can finish first. There are items you can collect that can either help you or hinder the enemy, and this mode can only be played via split-screen. It isn’t a particularly compelling game mode, but is certainly a fun diversion on occasion. On a similar note, if you choose to have a partner in Mania Mode then a 2nd player can jump in and control the partner, making the entire adventure co-op friendly. The screen only follows player 1, so it’s difficult to control player 2 (as has always been the case in the franchise), but it’s a nice feature nonetheless.

The game is identical across the systems. There is slight slowdown in the special stages on occasion on the Switch version (it’s almost negligible), but the Switch version offers the ability to play the game on the go, which is very complimentary to the pacing of the game. Personally, I played the entire game on the Switch, and it felt like the best choice I could have made.

Even the fully animated intro scene is made with love and care.

Sonic Mania is an amazing love letter to fans of the franchise. Since the entire game is polished to the standards of a modern game, it’s even great for people new to the franchise who are looking for a wonderful platforming experience. That’s the joy of Sonic Mania. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’ll find something to enjoy in this game if you’re into platforming. I can’t recommend it enough. Enough talk though, it’s time for me to jump back in and work on getting all the gold medals!

- Teepu

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Graphics: PERFECT
Sound: PERFECT
Gameplay: AMAZING
Value: PERFECT

OVERALL: PERFECT

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