The Physical release is a massive treat, coming in a lovely foiled slipcover - an art book with lots of concept sketches and level design concepts, including concept art for the game's lovely animated opening. Pitfalls exist - but most of them are to prevent the player just "holding right" to finish the level or give them something to remember to avoid next playthrough - it rarely feels cheap or unfair. Characters run at high speed and while gravity can act on these characters as they hit hills and slopes, it never feels like it completely kills the momentum of the gameplay. It not only plays well, but feels like a classic Sonic game too. Visually it's a delight, with fresh new art for each location and overall improvements, the original core characters of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all have fresh new sprite sets with some lovely expressive animation (not that much of it is needed - it's mostly confined to cliff-edge wobbles and wait animations) along with the new Ray and Mighty from SegaSonic Arcade - an additional treat for long time fans. They are passionate about the series and this really shows in everything Mania has to offer, from loving recreations of classic Zones with slight twists (like the massive syringes that turn Chemical Plant Zone's Toxic Mega Mack into Mega Jell-O) to fun obscure references to the series past and Sega in general (which Studiopolis is packed to the gills with). Most of the staff on Sonic Mania come from this fan community and are accomplished creatives and programmers. There's always been an active fangame scene for the series, with lots of hacked versions of the classic games out there where people have designed new zones and even successfully introduced new mechanics. A previous effort to go back to the series roots, Sonic 4 Episode I - had been marred with physics issues and "modern style" gameplay elements that made the game less enjoyable. Sonic Team occasionally hit on good ideas, but their own Sonic titles can be pretty hit-or-miss with audiences. There's no pretending that the Sonic series has had it's issues. ![]() Sonic Mania caused massive buzz when originally announced and was a bold move by SEGA.
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