We had the excellent luck of getting some controller time with the much anticipated Sonic Mania. Which meant, aside from how generally nice the convention was, that I’d finally get to lay hands on the first genuinely 2D Sonic game in ages.
The demo offered a choice between Green Hill Zone and the new Studiopolis Zone. Since I had watched someone else play Studiopolis right before I got my turn, I naturally caved to nostalgia. It’s not a straight recreation of the original, however.
“The soundtrack is a definite high point.”
It’s something of a remix; there are parts that flow exactly as they did in the original game, but might lead to another part of the stage, or to something new but still inspired by the original. You couldn’t just rely on memory to get through the stage, but it felt like it would’ve back in the day.
The soundtrack is a definite high point. Sega games, as a rule of thumb, have always made excellent use of whatever sound capabilities they had to hand. Hell, even when Sonic games haven’t exactly been up to snuff, they’ve usually had some damn fine music. Everyone’s known how Studiopolis has sounded for over a month, but if that’s just a taste of what Sonic Mania has, I really can’t wait for the full soundtrack.
“Unlike Sonic 4, the physics feel right.”
Sega has been very hit-and-miss with Sonic games since the jump to 3D. It wasn’t until around the release of Sonic Colors that they really started making a concerted effort to bring the quality of their games in line with the brand. And while they’ve stumbled a bit (cough cough Sonic Boom: The Rise of Lyric cough), you wouldn’t get that from what Mania puts on display.
Unlike Sonic 4, the physics feel right. When you hit loops, when you’re in the air, at full speed or carefully navigating an area, it feels like the original games. And that’s a good thing.
Sonic Mania looks good, sounds good, and feels right. I was originally disappointed that it wasn’t revealed until after E3, since it meant I might not get a chance to play it before it came out, so I was happy to see it at the GameStop Expo.
It was a highlight, and that’s saying something, since the show itself was an extremely pleasant experience overall. I can’t wait for the full release. Everyone involved is just nailing it.
Especially the Social Media team.
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