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Sonic Mania/Hidden content

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Level select

SonicMania PC LevelSelect.png

To access the level select, go to the Mania Mode Save Select menu and highlight "No Save", activate Debug Mode in Game Options (providing it is unlocked), then select "No Save" and press and hold Square (PS4) / Y (Switch) / X (XB1) /  Q  (PC) before the screen goes black. Note that even as of v1.04 the player still needs to highlight a "No Save" game for it to work.

To use the level select:

  • Use the D-Pad (Consoles) /  šŸ”©   šŸ”«   šŸ”Ø   šŸ”Ŗ  (PC) to select a level.
  • Press Square (PS4) / Y (Switch) / X (XB1) /  Q  (PC) to select the player's character.
  • Press Triangle (PS4) / X (Switch) / Y (XB1) /  W  (PC) when Sonic is the selected character to have Tails follow him.
  • Press Circle (PS4) / A (Switch) / B (XB1) /  A  (PC) to play the selected level/sound test entry.

In v1.0 of the Nintendo Switch version, the level select could also be accessed from the title screen by holding Y before "Press Any Button" appears, then pressing any other button after it appears. According to The Taxman, this method of accessing the level select was intended for testing and was left in by mistake; it was later removed as it affected logging in to user accounts on consoles.[1][2]

v1.04 sound test codes

As of the v1.04/Sonic Mania Plus update, new cheat codes have been added which can be entered in the sound test on the level select screen, discovered by CodenameGamma:

All Chaos Emeralds

Play sounds 04, 01, 02, 06 (referencing the same code found in Sonic 2). This gives the player all of the Chaos Emeralds, enabling Super transformation.

14 Continues

SonicMania PC 14Continues.png

Play sounds 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04 (the Debug Mode code in Sonic 2, also the date the game released in North America).

Encore Mode

Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 08, 00, 06, 02, 03 (a reference to Sonic's 27th birthday; a video to celebrate him was uploaded on that same day). This sets the game to Encore Mode, allowing the player to play Encore Mode stages (except Angel Island Zone) and use Debug Mode in Encore Mode. If the player tries to enter Egg Reverie Zone after activating this code, they will be sent to the first Special Stage in Mania Mode instead.

Fly anywhere as the characters' Super Form

SonicMania PC FlyAnywhereWhenSuper.png

Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05 (referencing the release date of Sonic Mania). This allows every character in their Super form to fly in any Zone like Super Sonic normally would in Egg Reverie Zone. The player can even perform a dash in the air, which will cost 5 Rings.

Max Control

Play sounds 09, 00, 00, 01. This gives Sonic access to the Insta-Shield, Drop Dash and Super Peel-Out at the same time. This code will even allow the player to use the extra moves in Encore Mode if the Encore Mode code above is enabled.

Disable Super music

Play sounds 06, 02, 01, 04 (All Chaos Emeralds code backwards). One thing interesting is that this code works outside of No Save mode.

Ricky Mania

SonicMania PC RickyMania.png

Play sounds 01, 09, 07, 09, 00, 08, 01, 01 (referencing Stealth's birthday). All animals will be replaced with Ricky.

32 Gold Medallions

SonicMania PC ExtrasMenu.png

First, while on the title screen, input the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 level select code (Up Up Down Down Up Up Up Up) in the time between Sonic appearing and the "press any button" text appearing. After that, go into level select and put in the Ricky Mania code. Once that is done, play sounds 01, 09, 08, 09, 00, 05, 00, 01 (referencing Hunter Bridges' birthday) and you will obtain all 32 Gold Medallions. This cheat actually saves the medallions, which is ideal if the player just wants to unlock all of the Extras without having to play the Blue Spheres Bonus Stages.

Select Special Stage

Play a sound from 00-0D and then select Special Stage 1. It will be a different Special Stage based on the last sound played (from Mania Mode's first Special Stage to Encore Mode's last Special Stage).

Select Blue Sphere Stage

Play a sound from 00-1F and then select Special Stage 2. This is similar to the above cheat.

Videogamedunkey Easter Egg

Notavailable.svg

In Hydrocity Zone, grab one of the hooks, then press: Left Left Left Right Right Right Up Up Up. a Ring chime will confirm correct entry. Afterwards, find one of the boosters and activate it. Instead of the normal sound, it will play a @vgdunkey-related sound effect.[3]

  • This button combination was previously used in Sonic & Knuckles.
  • This easter egg was removed in version RC 1.03.0919 (released 2017/09/25) on PC, and v1.03 on PS4 and XB1. Interestingly, it was not removed from the Switch version until v1.04.

Retro Engine V5 Dev Menu

ManiaDevMenu.png

In the PC version of the game, if the Settings.ini file is edited with the line 'devMenu=1' within the '[Game]' section, then a dev menu can be accessed by pressing the  Esc  key in-game.[4] This menu was used by the dev team to quickly access various sections of the game, and includes:

  • Resume: Closes the Dev Menu and resumes the game.
  • Restart: Restarts the current level/scene.
  • Stage Select: Access any level/scene in the game. Its submenu includes:
    • Presentation: Dev logos screen, Title Menu, "Thanks for Playing" screen, Level Select menu, Staff Credits, and Continue screens.
    • Mania Demo: Access to the Green Hill Zone and Studiopolis Zone demos playable at the 25th Sonic Anniversary Event. Removed from RC 1.05.0713 onwards.
    • Mania Mode: A text-based level select for Mania Mode.
    • Encore Mode: A text-based level select for Encore Mode. The Encore DLC must be installed, otherwise these options will be disabled.
    • Special Stage: A selection of all Mania and Encore Special Stages.
    • Blue Spheres: Access to any Blue Spheres stage, including options for 'Random' and 'Random 2' which chooses a random Bonus Stage from original and Mania mode, respectively.
    • Pinball: Access to the Pinball Bonus Stage. Strangely, this can be accessed even if the Encore DLC is not installed.
    • Extras: Allows selection of Puyo Puyo mode and the D.A. Garden.
    • Cutscenes: A list of the cutscenes in the game, which can be jumped to.
    • Videos: The various ending animations.
  • Options: Change game settings:
    • Video Settings: Changes video-related settings. This menu contains additional options not found in the regular options menu:
      • Window Size: Options are 1x, 2x, 3x and 4x. The normal video menu only allows this setting to go up to 3x.
      • Window Aspect: Missing from the normal menu. This changes the game's aspect ratio to 16:9, 4:3, 3:2, 16:10 and 5:3.
      • Fullscreen: Toggles full screen.
      • Screen Shader: Changes the screen shader like in the normal menu, except CRT-Sharp and CRT-Soft are named "CRT-Yeetron" and "CRT-Yee64" respectively.
    • Audio Settings: Changes audio-related settings:
      • Streams Enabled: A YES/NO option. Setting this to "NO" will disable the music.
      • Streams Vol: A volume control for music.
      • SoundFX Vol: A volume control for sound effects.
    • Configure Input: Configures the inputs for each player.
    • Debug Flags: Available as of RC 1.05.0713. These toggle various things, such as enabling/disabling Debug Mode and toggling sprite/background layers.
  • Exit: Closes the game.

Enabling the Dev Menu will also activate extra features that are accessed with certain keys. The player can hold  Backspace  to fast-forward the game, press  F12  to freeze/unfreeze the game, and  F11  while the game is stopped with  F12  to advance one frame at a time. Note that this will prevent Steam's screenshot function from working if the key for it is bound to  F12 .

Additionally, the player will be able to press the "Super" button during a Special Stage to instantly increase speed level by one and raise the Mach Bonus. This can be done infinitely, and no additional cheats are required.

Unused content

Art

Objects

Art Description
SplatsUnusedMania.png
Though a new version of Splats is used in Press Garden Zone, the original version of the Badnik can be placed in Green Hill Zone via Debug Mode. Interestingly, this version of Splats behaves differently compared to either version found in the Debug Mode of the 2013 remake of Sonic 1, suggesting this is more than just a leftover from the earlier game.
CPZUnused-Mania.png
A pondskater Badnik that can be placed in Chemical Plant Zone using Debug Mode, named Sweep in the game's files. It would skate along on the surface of water and shoot its nose at the player. It would later be used in Angel Island Zone in Encore Mode.
Caterkiller-spr.png
Caterkiller, taken directly from Sonic 1. Its sprites are located with the sprites for Metallic Madness Zone, suggesting it may have been for that Zone. It is not in the Zone's debug listing and must be manually added to StageConfig.bin.
Whisp sprite.png
Whisp, taken directly from Sonic 2 and behaves similarly to how it did in the original. A similar Badnik, Shutterbug, is based on this Badnik.
Wreck.gif
Green Hill Zone's rolling ball can be placed with Debug Mode. It functions identically to how it did in the 2013 remake of Sonic 1, but it doesn't use the exact same graphics.
Studiopolis Love Testing Slot.png
These are sprites of an unused love tester machine, found by Dolphman of The Spriter's Resource. CodenameGamma later discovered that the object is still functional and can be coded back into the game.[5]

When the player jumps inside, the top monitor will display their character while the bottom monitor will display one of five characters (including Amy and Dr. Eggman), awarding points based on the match-up that is picked at random. There are "winning" and "losing" matchups which vary depending on the player's character, with "winning" match-ups awarding 400 points, and "losing" match-ups not awarding any points; neutral match-ups award 100 points. The match-ups are as follows:

  • Sonic's winning match-up is with Amy, and his losing match-up is with Eggman.
  • Tails' winning match-up is with Sonic, and his losing match-up is with Eggman.
  • Knuckles' winning match-up is with Eggman, and his losing match-up is with Sonic.
The spike blocks from Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone. Functions identically to its original appearance. This object uses sprites from the now-absent Blueprint folder. The folder must be re-added for the object to display properly. This object is also not present in any of the stage's StageConfigā€”it must be added manually.
The Drop Targets from Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone. Functions identically to its original appearance, but without sound effects. This object uses sprites from the now-absent Blueprint folder. The folder must be re-added for the object to display properly. This object is also not present in any of the stage's StageConfigā€”it must be added manually.

Audio

Music

Audio ID Description
2A A pinch mode theme intended for Egg Reverie Zone, named "Egg Reverie Pinch Mode" in the D.A. Garden and can be listened to there as well as in the level select's sound test. Official soundtrack releases name the song "Egg Panicky" and note that it's only available in the sound test.

Sound effects

Audio Description
Global/RingO.wav. The original Ring sound from other games and an early version of Global/Ring.wav.
Global/Sliding.wav. A different version of Global/Slide.wav.
Global/Warp.wav. The Teleporter sound from Sonic 2 and an early version of Global/Teleport.wav.
Stage/Beep.wav.
Stage/Beep2.wav.
Stage/Ducc.wav. Likely a joke sound.
Stage/Electrify2.wav. While Stage/Electrify.wav (from Sonic 1) is used, this one from Sonic CD isn't. Stage/ElecCharge.wav, a higher-pitched version of this sound, is used.
Stage/LedgeBreak2.wav. The only one of the three "LedgeBreak" sounds that isn't used.
Stage/Rev.wav. Used by Stegway in the 2013 version of Sonic 2.
Stage/Strain.wav.
Stage/Swing.wav. Identical to SSZ1/Flail.wav, but 0.4 KB larger.
CPZ/Sticky.wav. Intended for the sticky platforms in Chemical Plant Zone. The final game uses Puyo/Land.wav instead.
FBZ/SpiderBounce1.wav. Intended for the Spider Mobile boss fight.
FBZ/SpiderBounce2.wav. Intended for the Spider Mobile boss fight.
FBZ/SpiderBounce3.wav. Intended for the Spider Mobile boss fight.
SSZ2/MSTransform1.wav. An early version of SSZ2/MSTransform.wav.
MSZ/RkillerRattle.wav. Intended for the Rattlekiller.
MMZ/Grow.wav. An early sound for touching a growth ray in Metallic Madness Zone Act 2, taken from Chaotix.
MMZ/Shrink.wav. An early sound for touching a shrink ray in Metallic Madness Zone Act 2, taken from Chaotix.
TMZ1/HogBounce.wav. Intended for the Ball Hog's bombs.

Bonus Stage layouts

There are four unused Blue Spheres layouts in the game that cannot be accessed via the Dev Menu. The only way to access these is to rename their SpecialBS files.

I'm outta here

"Thanks for Playing" screen

SonicMania PC ThanksForPlaying.png

The "Thanks for Playing" screen that was originally used in public demos at events can be accessed using the Dev Menu. However, some of the assets will not be loaded, so the player is only presented with the background that was used before being taken back to the Sega screen.

Vape mode

A mode called "Vape Mode" (short for Vaporwave Mode) was found in the code of the game and CAN be accessed in the level select, but the code to unlock it is unknown. In fact, there may not even be one at all.

Early levels

Green Hill Zone Act 1

An early Green Hill level design, similar to what was presented in the San Diego Comic Con demo, is located in the GHZCutscene folder in the file Scene1.bin. This is used for when the Phantom Ruby teleports the player to Green Hill Zone in the intro, with the actual level being loaded afterwards.

(get map)

Studiopolis Zone Act 1

(get map)

Lava Reef Zone Act 1

100%
Early map
100%
Final map


Unsorted

  • Sonic Discovery title
  • Heavy Mystic
  • Pulp Solstice Zone
  • Egg Reverie Zone unused tiles (get map)

References


Sonic Mania / Sonic Mania Plus
SonicMania title.png

Main page (Plus)
Maps
Achievements
Downloadable content
Changelog
Credits


Manuals
Promotional material
Magazine articles (Plus)
Reception
Merchandise


Development
Hidden content
Bugs
Technical information