Difference between revisions of "Sonic Mania"
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===Story=== | ===Story=== | ||
Some time after saving [[Angel Island]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] and his best friend, [[Miles "Tails" Prower]], are relaxing when Tails picks up a strange energy reading far away. Though different from the [[Chaos Emeralds]], the reading is remarkably powerful, and Tails convinces Sonic to join him and check it out. Sonic and Tails take off on the [[Tornado]] towards the source, but sure enough, the evil [[Dr. Eggman]] has detected it too! Now it's a race between Sonic and Eggman to get there first and figure out what mysteries it holds. However, Eggman has been busy: he's just unleashed a new team of elite Egg-Robos to handle his most important tasks. They're called the "[[Hard-Boiled Heavies]]," and they're about to reach the source of the signal first! It's up to Sonic, Tails, and their newest ally, [[Knuckles the Echidna]], to defeat the Hard-Boiled Heavies, unlock the secrets of the energy source, and stop Dr. Eggman! | Some time after saving [[Angel Island]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] and his best friend, [[Miles "Tails" Prower]], are relaxing when Tails picks up a strange energy reading far away. Though different from the [[Chaos Emeralds]], the reading is remarkably powerful, and Tails convinces Sonic to join him and check it out. Sonic and Tails take off on the [[Tornado]] towards the source, but sure enough, the evil [[Dr. Eggman]] has detected it too! Now it's a race between Sonic and Eggman to get there first and figure out what mysteries it holds. However, Eggman has been busy: he's just unleashed a new team of elite Egg-Robos to handle his most important tasks. They're called the "[[Hard-Boiled Heavies]]," and they're about to reach the source of the signal first! It's up to Sonic, Tails, and their newest ally, [[Knuckles the Echidna]], to defeat the Hard-Boiled Heavies, unlock the secrets of the energy source, and stop Dr. Eggman! | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Game Mechanics== | ||
| + | ===Gameplay=== | ||
| + | {{main|Sonic the Hedgehog 3#Game Mechanics}} | ||
| + | {{main|Sonic & Knuckles#Game Mechanics}} | ||
| + | As a continuation of the gameplay design of the original Mega Drive games, ''Sonic Mania'''s gameplay is relatively identical to the those games and familiar to well-versed fans of the original titles. Players are still expected to clear the level under the span of ten minutes, with all of the classic elements present--collecting [[rings]] to protect themselves from taking damage, running/rolling through loop-de-loops to gain speed, using [[springs]] to reach higher platforms, and avoiding [[badniks]] and [[spikes]] that can cause damage, as well as other dangerous traps and gimmicks along the way. [[Item boxes]] are also present, with standard powerups like speed shoes, invincibility, and the ten-ring box present; as well as [[checkpoints]] that save the player's spot in the level. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The game design also follows from ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'' and ''Sonic & Knuckles'' in particular, resulting in many elements returning from those games as well. Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna all return as individual playable characters, as well as a mode that allows "Tails" to follow Sonic and provide local cooperative play between two players (with Player 1 controlling Sonic and Player 2 controlling "Tails"). All three characters retain the standard [[spin attack]] and [[spin dash]] abilities; with "Tails" also having his flying and swimming mechanics, and Knuckles having his climbing and gliding mechanics as well. The game's Zones are separated into two relatively large Acts, packed with multiple routes and secret locations for players to discover; alternate routes only accessible by certain characters are also present as well. Every Act also ends with one boss fight, with "sub-bosses" featured at the end of Act 1; and standard bosses featured at the end of Act 2. The [[Aqua Barrier]], [[Flame Barrier]], and the [[Thunder Barrier]] elemental [[shields]] are also brought back for this game, alongside the the standard shield as seen from ''Sonic 1'', ''Sonic 2'', and ''Sonic CD''. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The game is not without new additions and notable changes to the formula, however. The [[W Spin Attack]] introduced in ''Sonic 3'' (popularly known as the "insta-shield") is absent from Sonic's moveset; having been replaced with the new "[[Drop Dash]]" ability. Best summarized as a "mid-air spin dash", the Drop Dash allows Sonic to build up momentum in mid-air after a jump, which upon contact on the ground grants the player additional speed and rolling distance. Environmental properties have also been granted to the elemental shields, which allow them to have additional properties to the levels--two notable examples are the Flame Barrier burning down bridges in Green Hill and the Thunder Barrier having magnetic properties in Flying Battery. A new item based on the Combine Ring from the obscure [[Chaotix]] is also added (with its monitor appearance marked by a blue ring), which fuses the player's total ring count into multiple rings (a HUD indication is also added, with a blue ring icon added to the player's ring count). Should the player take damage, a handful of giant rings fly out of the character that can be recollected for a short time. | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Chaos Emeralds]], [[Special Stages]], and [[Bonus Stages]] also return; with Special Stages hidden within the stages and are accessible through [[Giant Rings]], and Bonus Stages accessible through a circles of stars that appear above checkpoints, should they be activated with at the player holding at least 30 rings. The Bonus Stage sees the return of the [[Blue Spheres]] stages from ''Sonic 3'' and ''Sonic & Knuckles'', with the primary change being the player collecting a medallion upon completion of the stage. The Special Stage is a new concept, based on the Special Stages as seen in ''Sonic CD'' and ''Chaotix''. The Special Stages see the player chasing down a UFO carrying a Chaos Emerald in a three-dimensional course while also avoiding hazards such as spiked balls and bottomless pits located the stage. Racing against a time limit, the player has to catch up to and destroy the UFO in order to earn the Chaos Emerald before the time limit expires. Spread out inside the level are spheres which can increase their speed (collecting a certain number of spheres increases the "Mach" speed level of the player's character), as well as rings that can increase the game's time limit. A competitive two-player mode is also said to be included in the game. | ||
===Artwork=== | ===Artwork=== | ||
Revision as of 17:33, 3 August 2017
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| Sonic Mania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| System(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Sega | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games,  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: 2D Platform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sonic Mania (ソニックマニア) is a forthcoming 2D platformer developed by Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PagodaWest Games. The game is a return to the style of the Mega Drive games, and features both brand new zones as well as re-imagined zones from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD and Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
Contents
Story
Some time after saving Angel Island, Sonic the Hedgehog and his best friend, Miles "Tails" Prower, are relaxing when Tails picks up a strange energy reading far away. Though different from the Chaos Emeralds, the reading is remarkably powerful, and Tails convinces Sonic to join him and check it out. Sonic and Tails take off on the Tornado towards the source, but sure enough, the evil Dr. Eggman has detected it too! Now it's a race between Sonic and Eggman to get there first and figure out what mysteries it holds. However, Eggman has been busy: he's just unleashed a new team of elite Egg-Robos to handle his most important tasks. They're called the "Hard-Boiled Heavies," and they're about to reach the source of the signal first! It's up to Sonic, Tails, and their newest ally, Knuckles the Echidna, to defeat the Hard-Boiled Heavies, unlock the secrets of the energy source, and stop Dr. Eggman!
Game Mechanics
Gameplay
|
Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog 3#Game Mechanics |
|
|
Main article: Sonic & Knuckles#Game Mechanics |
As a continuation of the gameplay design of the original Mega Drive games, Sonic Mania's gameplay is relatively identical to the those games and familiar to well-versed fans of the original titles. Players are still expected to clear the level under the span of ten minutes, with all of the classic elements present--collecting rings to protect themselves from taking damage, running/rolling through loop-de-loops to gain speed, using springs to reach higher platforms, and avoiding badniks and spikes that can cause damage, as well as other dangerous traps and gimmicks along the way. Item boxes are also present, with standard powerups like speed shoes, invincibility, and the ten-ring box present; as well as checkpoints that save the player's spot in the level.
The game design also follows from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles in particular, resulting in many elements returning from those games as well. Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna all return as individual playable characters, as well as a mode that allows "Tails" to follow Sonic and provide local cooperative play between two players (with Player 1 controlling Sonic and Player 2 controlling "Tails"). All three characters retain the standard spin attack and spin dash abilities; with "Tails" also having his flying and swimming mechanics, and Knuckles having his climbing and gliding mechanics as well. The game's Zones are separated into two relatively large Acts, packed with multiple routes and secret locations for players to discover; alternate routes only accessible by certain characters are also present as well. Every Act also ends with one boss fight, with "sub-bosses" featured at the end of Act 1; and standard bosses featured at the end of Act 2. The Aqua Barrier, Flame Barrier, and the Thunder Barrier elemental shields are also brought back for this game, alongside the the standard shield as seen from Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic CD.
The game is not without new additions and notable changes to the formula, however. The W Spin Attack introduced in Sonic 3 (popularly known as the "insta-shield") is absent from Sonic's moveset; having been replaced with the new "Drop Dash" ability. Best summarized as a "mid-air spin dash", the Drop Dash allows Sonic to build up momentum in mid-air after a jump, which upon contact on the ground grants the player additional speed and rolling distance. Environmental properties have also been granted to the elemental shields, which allow them to have additional properties to the levels--two notable examples are the Flame Barrier burning down bridges in Green Hill and the Thunder Barrier having magnetic properties in Flying Battery. A new item based on the Combine Ring from the obscure Chaotix is also added (with its monitor appearance marked by a blue ring), which fuses the player's total ring count into multiple rings (a HUD indication is also added, with a blue ring icon added to the player's ring count). Should the player take damage, a handful of giant rings fly out of the character that can be recollected for a short time.
Chaos Emeralds, Special Stages, and Bonus Stages also return; with Special Stages hidden within the stages and are accessible through Giant Rings, and Bonus Stages accessible through a circles of stars that appear above checkpoints, should they be activated with at the player holding at least 30 rings. The Bonus Stage sees the return of the Blue Spheres stages from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, with the primary change being the player collecting a medallion upon completion of the stage. The Special Stage is a new concept, based on the Special Stages as seen in Sonic CD and Chaotix. The Special Stages see the player chasing down a UFO carrying a Chaos Emerald in a three-dimensional course while also avoiding hazards such as spiked balls and bottomless pits located the stage. Racing against a time limit, the player has to catch up to and destroy the UFO in order to earn the Chaos Emerald before the time limit expires. Spread out inside the level are spheres which can increase their speed (collecting a certain number of spheres increases the "Mach" speed level of the player's character), as well as rings that can increase the game's time limit. A competitive two-player mode is also said to be included in the game.
Artwork
- DrEggmanDBFtoYgWsAEj7P8.jpg
Promotional Material
Collector's Edition
Japanese Collector's Edition
Vinyl Soundtrack
Classic Black Vinyl Soundtrack
Limited Edition Vinyl Soundtrack
Translucent Blue Vinyl Soundtrack
Translucent Blue Vinyl Soundtrack
Soda
Blanket
Handkerchief
Hoodie Jacket
Promotional Collectibles
References
External Links
- Sonic Mania on Steam
- Sonic Mania Debut Trailer
- Sonic Mania Pre-Order Trailer
- Sonic Mania Collector's Edition Infomercial
| Sonic Mania / Sonic Mania Plus | |
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Main page (Plus) Manuals |
show;hide
Scrapped Enemies: Mini-Bosses:
Level Bosses: Scrapped Bosses: |
| Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems | |
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1996 Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Sonic the Hedgehog The Screen Saver | Sonic's Schoolhouse 1997 Sonic & Knuckles Collection | Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island 1998 Sonic R 2003 Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut 2004 Sonic Heroes 2006 Sonic Mega Collection Plus | Sonic Riders 2010 Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing 2011 Sonic Generations 2013 Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 2022 Sonic Speed Simulator |
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2017 Sonic Mania | Sonic Forces 2018 Sonic Mania Plus | Sonic Forces & Sonic Mania Plus Double Pack 2019 Team Sonic Racing 2021 Sonic Colours: Ultimate 2022 Sonic Origins | Sonic Frontiers 2023 Sonic Origins Plus | Sonic Superstars 2024 Sonic X Shadow Generations |
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