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The game is not without new additions and notable changes to the formula, however. The [[Insta-shield|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 Fire Shield burning down bridges in Green Hill and the Lightning Shield having magnetic properties in Flying Battery. A new item based on the Combine Ring from the obscure 32X spin-off ''[[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 marked by a blue ring icon added to the player's ring count). Should the player take damage, a handful of giant rings, which represent the total rings lost, fly out of the character; these rings of which can be recollected for a brief period of time.
 
The game is not without new additions and notable changes to the formula, however. The [[Insta-shield|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 Fire Shield burning down bridges in Green Hill and the Lightning Shield having magnetic properties in Flying Battery. A new item based on the Combine Ring from the obscure 32X spin-off ''[[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 marked by a blue ring icon added to the player's ring count). Should the player take damage, a handful of giant rings, which represent the total rings lost, fly out of the character; these rings of which can be recollected for a brief period of time.
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===Other Modes===
  
 
Returning to ''Sonic Mania'' are [[Special Stages]], which by tradition contain the series' treasured [[Chaos Emeralds]]. As in ''Sonic 3'', Special Stages are hidden within the stages and are accessible through [[Giant Ring|Giant Rings]]. 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 making sure to stay on the track (as the player can fall off the course into a pit) and avoid hazards such as spiked balls. Racing against a time limit, the player has to catch up to 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.  
 
Returning to ''Sonic Mania'' are [[Special Stages]], which by tradition contain the series' treasured [[Chaos Emeralds]]. As in ''Sonic 3'', Special Stages are hidden within the stages and are accessible through [[Giant Ring|Giant Rings]]. 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 making sure to stay on the track (as the player can fall off the course into a pit) and avoid hazards such as spiked balls. Racing against a time limit, the player has to catch up to 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.  

Revision as of 14:05, 8 August 2017

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SonicMania title.png
Sonic Mania
System(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Genre: 2D Platform
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Sony PlayStation 4
US
2017-08-15 $19.99 ?
Sony PlayStation 4
US (Collector's Edition)
Summer 2017 $69.99 ?
Sony PlayStation 4
EU
2017-08-15 €19.99 / £14.99 ?
Sony PlayStation 4
EU (Collector's Edition)
Summer 2017 €89.99 / £79.99 ?
Sony PlayStation 4
JP
2017-08-16[1] ¥1,800 ?
Template:XOne US 2017-08-15 $19.99 ?
Template:XOne US (Collector's Edition) Summer 2017 $69.99 ?
Template:XOne EU 2017-08-15 €19.99 / £14.99 ?
Template:XOne EU (Collector's Edition) Summer 2017 €89.99 / £79.99 ?
Template:XOne JP 2017-08-16[1] ¥1,800 ?
Windows PC
US
2017-08-15 $19.99 ?
Windows PC
US (Collector's Edition)
Summer 2017 $69.99 ?
Windows PC
EU
2017-08-15 €19.99 / £14.99 ?
Nintendo Switch
US
2017-08-15 $19.99 ?
Nintendo Switch
US (Collector's Edition)
Summer 2017 $69.99 ?
Nintendo Switch
EU
2017-08-15 €19.99 / £14.99 ?
Nintendo Switch
JP
2017-08-16[1] ¥1,800 ?

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.

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

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic the Hedgehog 3#Game Mechanics
Sonic Retro emblem.svg 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 starposts 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. Shields also return in this game, with the titular trio of elemental shields from Sonic 3 (the Water Shield, Fire Shield, and the Lightning Shield) restored, 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 Fire Shield burning down bridges in Green Hill and the Lightning Shield having magnetic properties in Flying Battery. A new item based on the Combine Ring from the obscure 32X spin-off 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 marked by a blue ring icon added to the player's ring count). Should the player take damage, a handful of giant rings, which represent the total rings lost, fly out of the character; these rings of which can be recollected for a brief period of time.

Other Modes

Returning to Sonic Mania are Special Stages, which by tradition contain the series' treasured Chaos Emeralds. As in Sonic 3, Special Stages are hidden within the stages and are accessible through Giant Rings. 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 making sure to stay on the track (as the player can fall off the course into a pit) and avoid hazards such as spiked balls. Racing against a time limit, the player has to catch up to 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.

Also returning in Sonic Mania are the Bonus Stages as presented in Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, which are accessible through a circles of stars that appear above starposts, should they be activated with at the player holding at least 25 rings. This time, the Bonus Stage see the return of the Blue Spheres stages from the aforementioned two games, with the primary change being the player collecting one of two types of medallions upon completion of the stage. The player is awarded a Silver Medallion upon collecting all of the spheres, while the player collecting all of the spheres and all of the rings (and thus earning a "Perfect" score) is awarded a Gold Medallion. The Bonus Stages are randomly selected, and Blue Sphere layouts for the stages include reused layouts from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, as well as original layouts.

Sonic Mania also features a Time Attack mode, as first seen from Sonic CD. This time, the Time Attack mode features unique goalposts separate from the main campaign (both used for starting and ending the level), as well as a new feature that allows players to immediately restart the level during playthroughs by pressing and holding a certain button. Acts in Time Attack mode exclude bosses and checkpoints, and the clock functions as as a timer. Players upon completing Acts are graded on their time, and their score; an a additional "Cool Bonus" is added if the player completed the level without taking damage. Once Acts are completed, the game saves and records your time, in which the player can either compare them to a personal list of best time logs, or upload their record to an online leaderboard.

A Competition mode that provides competitive multiplayer with two players is also included. Adapting the two-player "Vs. Mode" setup as seen in Sonic 2, players see themselves racing each other in zones from the main campaign in a split-screen format, and are graded on a criteria of the player's Score, Time, Ring count at the end of the act, their Total Ring count (including rings they lost), and the amount of Item Boxes broken. The player that wins the most criteria takes the round.

Resources

Artwork

Promotional Material

References

External Links

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

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
Windows PC
Retail
 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    
Steam
 2010  Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Spinball | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine | Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island | Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing     2011  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles | Sonic Adventure | Sonic Generations     2012  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I | Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II | Sonic Adventure 2     2013  Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed     2015  Sonic Lost World     2017  Sonic Mania | Sonic Forces     2019  Team Sonic Racing     2022  Sonic Origins | Sonic Frontiers     2023  Sonic Colours: Ultimate | The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Superstars     2024  Sonic X Shadow Generations    
filler
Sony PlayStation 4
 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    
Xbox One
 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 Speed Simulator | Sonic Origins | Sonic Frontiers     2023  Sonic Origins Plus | Sonic Superstars     2024  Sonic X Shadow Generations    
filler
Nintendo Switch
 2017  Sonic Mania | Sonic Forces     2018  Sonic Mania Plus | Sega Ages Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Forces & Sonic Mania Plus Double Pack | 2 Hits Pack     2019  Team Sonic Racing | Sonic Mania Plus & Team Sonic Racing | Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020     2020  Sega Ages Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic Mania + Team Sonic Racing Double Pack     2021  Sonic Colours: Ultimate     2022  Sonic Origins | Sonic Frontiers     2023  Sonic Origins Plus | Sonic Superstars     2024  Sonic X Shadow Generations