darkSpyro

The Switch version of Sonic Mania has broken street date.

Be wary of spoilers.

Quote: sonicbrawler182

The Switch version of Sonic Mania has broken street date.

Be wary of spoilers.

Hey, can I has Spoiler links

Being honest

I don't really care about spoilers for Mania, since I probs won't get it

I'm not even sure if any actual spoilers have leaked yet.

Just that the Collectors Edition is out in the wild, and because Nintendo hasn't implemented a pre-load system yet, people who pick up the Switch version of the CE can enter their download code and actually play the game because there's no countdown lock like on PS4 and Xbox One.

I'm avoiding spoilers so I won't be posting any links of the sort.

Speaking of spoilers, Sega released the game's opening cutscene:

Bless Tyson Hesse and Hyper Potions. ^.^

The Sonic social media team have a special Sonic Mania announcement to make in a minute. This is odd, since they said there would be no more announcements, so it's likely in response to the leaks.

You can only release videos until the 7/7 ingame date and is prohibited from talking about Yusuke's---wait wrong SEGA game.

News was as follows:

-PC version has been delayed until August 29th for further optimisation. Anyone who pre-ordered on PC before August 15th will receive a free copy of Sonic 1 on Steam as an apology. If you ordered the PC version of the Collector's Edition, you will still receive it on the 15th, but the download code won't give you Sonic Mania until the 29th. You will still get Sonic 1, though, if you use it before then.

-All other versions will still come out on August 15th.

-They unboxed the Collector's Edition. The contents have been slightly altered - originally, the intent was that the metallic collectors card would have your download code on it. However, this wasn't possible due to the different code lengths on the different platforms. So instead, they have included an extra pamphlet with the download code, and the metallic collectors card will simply be a collectors item. Also, the Collector's Edition now contains an extra, sturdier box inside the outer box. Most of the print (like the game version) isn't on this box so it's meant for display purposes. It opens at the front, and the contents can be neatly displayed inside it.

-The Collector's Edition also showed artwork of one of the Hard Boiled Heavies that was previously teased.

-26 random copies of the Collectors Edition will be signed by Iizuka-san or Hoshino-san. It only applies to U.S versions though.

-The Sonic Mania Introduction Manuals given out at SDCC will be distributed at more events such as PAX West in the future.

-They showed off a new portion of Studiopolis Zone.

So, I know we don't know exactly how many zones are in this game, but if it's about 3&K length, I feel like 14's reasonable. I'm-a guess we'll have 10 returning zones (2 per game if we count 3&K separately) and, like, 3 or 4 original zones?

Slight spoilers

Is that so? Huh... I'm-a take some guesses then...

Reviews are in, mostly positive.

Then Polygon, in their immense wisdom, complains that a game made to cater to nostalgia relies too much on nostalgia. I mean, this isn't YK, it's 100% marketed and made to be that Sonic game you liked as a kid with a bit of newer stuff.

Quote: Bifrost

Reviews are in, mostly positive.

Then Polygon, in their immense wisdom, complains that a game made to cater to nostalgia relies too much on nostalgia. I mean, this isn't YK, it's 100% marketed and made to be that Sonic game you liked as a kid with a bit of newer stuff.

Suprised it wasn't ign

They once gave a review of a pokemon game a point of for "Too much water"

No IGN reviewed it positively. Very positively, actually. To the point where the author of said review was calling people out on Twitter who were posting "lolz ign hates sanic" memes. <.<

Despite the fact it was their company that started "Sonic was never good", so the guy needs to look into the mirror.
That aside, iirc the IGN Sonic reviewer just really hates modern Sonic, not the older games, it was someone else who started that(if not disregard this entire post). Though it's a surprise if he didn't spend a second to complain about Tails and Knuckles since Lost World and other reviews criticized their sole existence so much.

After Lost World I've just stopped paying attention to official reviews from publishers. It really seems like a lot of outlets either have no idea what they want in a Sonic game or they're just too lost in despising Modern Sonic to really even warrant any attention(see: GameInformer).

I don't usually dismiss critics but when it comes to Sonic, I already know exactly what I'm going to like and what I'm not going to like so I usually see no point.

Honestly what matters is that both games cater to the fans, and Sonic Team knows both games are going to resonate with fans because it's exactly what the majority of the fanbase wants. If I want an honest review of a Sonic game I'll just go watch SomeCallMeJohnny.

I got Mania on Switch, came out at midnight.

Did the first three zones and after that, proceeded to repeatedly speedrun Green Hill Zone Act 1 and made Top 5 on the Leaderboard.

Overall, having a blast. Tight level design with lots to explore, and the Drop Dash is amazing. Lots of cool surprises too (look forward to Chemical Plant Act 2's boss). The Special Stages might be my favourite in the series too.

I'm a bit iffy on the implementation of Blue Spheres as Bonus Stages. You actually need to do them for 100% completion, but it's kinda tedious doing 2-3 minutes of Blue Sphere after every minute or so of normal gameplay.

Still waiting on my PS4 Collectors Edition to ship, but I think the game is great on Switch.

is mania any good? i might buy it

Just got my first Sonic Game in 9 years!

Great game, I loooooooove

Did a complete run of the game with Sonic and Tails, haven' gotten all the Chaos Emeralds yet.

Overall really great. Hands down the best one since Generations. Great level design, phenomenal music, love the graphics, the new zones are awesome(Studiopolis being the best zone overall imo), probably the only real complaint I have is that the boss fights can range from being really great to really bad(looking at you, Studiopolis boss fight).

Doing another run as Tails and one as Knuckles. Not sure when I'll get to collecting all the Chaos Emeralds.

Quote: pankakesparx456

Did a complete run of the game with Sonic and Tails, haven' gotten all the Chaos Emeralds yet.

Overall really great. Hands down the best one since Generations. Great level design, phenomenal music, love the graphics, the new zones are awesome(Studiopolis being the best zone overall imo), probably the only real complaint I have is that the boss fights can range from being really great to really bad(looking at you, Studiopolis boss fight).

Doing another run as Tails and one as Knuckles. Not sure when I'll get to collecting all the Chaos Emeralds.

Reveal Spoiler

Also Mirage Saloon has one of my favorite easter eggs ever now. My jaw dropped when Fang, Bark, and Bean showed up.

Which one?

Oh yeah, just in case you guys didn't catch it, in the true ending with Sonic...

.....

I wrapped up both my Tails and Knuckles playthroughs and got all of the Gold Medals along the way.

It's worth replaying the game as at least Knuckles because he gets to do some things the other two don't.

One thing in particular...



Also you get something cool for getting all of the medals.

kachinga

This is great for me if it's legit, cause I really want to play this but I honestly don't like digital downloads

Since nobody brought it up yet, a new gameplay style was revealed for Sonic Forces where you play as Sonic and the Avatar at the same time. The leader is dependent on the move being used - Sonic leads when you boost or homing attack, for example, and the Avatar takes over when you are using a Wispon or the grappling hook.



They also uploaded a track for a Metal Sonic boss fight, which is a remix of the Stardust Speedway Bad Future theme from Sonic CD (US Version).

So, if Mania had Tee Lopes doing his best 90s pop impression, Sonic Forces is apparently fully embracing (or poking fun at?) the synth/dubstep explosion of the 2010s. Given the US soundtrack for CD had a "darker and edgier" vibe to it compared to the JP one, I'm okay with this remix. But does this mean the JP version will be there too?

Also, gee, that thumbnail image. I wonder who's controlling/buffing up Metal Sonic? Definitely not Infinite, whatever would give you that idea.[/s] I'm really starting to wonder if Eggman's the actual Big Bad in this of if Infinite is upstaging him.

At the very least, I like the Heroes inspiration with the tag-team stages. This whole game is basically Sonic Heroes growing up and going through its angsty teenage phase. Appropriate, since the game will be turning 14 right around the time Forces comes out. XD

I really liked this stage, both outside and inside the pyramid. Also, that's a very nice song. I wanna see what they'll remix for Shadow, Chaos and Zavok.

Quote: HIR

So, if Mania had Tee Lopes doing his best 90s pop impression, Sonic Forces is apparently fully embracing (or poking fun at?) the synth/dubstep explosion of the 2010s. Given the US soundtrack for CD had a "darker and edgier" vibe to it compared to the JP one, I'm okay with this remix. But does this mean the JP version will be there too?

Also, gee, that thumbnail image. I wonder who's controlling/buffing up Metal Sonic? Definitely not Infinite, whatever would give you that idea.[/s] I'm really starting to wonder if Eggman's the actual Big Bad in this of if Infinite is upstaging him.

At the very least, I like the Heroes inspiration with the tag-team stages. This whole game is basically Sonic Heroes growing up and going through its angsty teenage phase. Appropriate, since the game will be turning 14 right around the time Forces comes out.

It'll be interesting to find out exactly what's going on with him, Shadow and Chaos in the game. The tag-team stages really are a call back to Sonic Heroes in addition to Sonic Advance 3 and Knuckles Chaotix as they had the tag team system as well.

Anyone have any tips for Blue Spheres and Hydro City Zone in Sonic Mania? I haven't had much experience with the Genesis era, so I could use a little help.

Alright, thanks for the tips! I feel like one of the main things for me in this game is that in order to get good, you have to die a lot. After getting a game over for what felt like the twelfth time, I finally managed to beat it. Now that I actually made it through the level, I feel like I could do it again without such disastrous results. Is that just how Sonic is, or games in general? It just feels different with Sonic.

Sonic Forces release date announced, being Nov. 7th, and along with that comes pre-order bonuses for costumes for custom Original Characters.

Apparently heavy Magician and Heavy Rider are females

Also, Heavy Rider's Motobug is named Jimmy, assumingly named after the guy who made the Sonic 1 ROM hack where you could play as a Motobug

Hold the phone... I thought this was aiming for a December release? Sega, you're not really pushing this up are you? I thought you'd learned your lessons here! <.>;

****ing Joker the Hedgehog are you kidding me

HHHNNNNGGGGGHH THOSE CONTROLLER SKINS

Quote: HIR

Hold the phone... I thought this was aiming for a December release? Sega, you're not really pushing this up are you? I thought you'd learned your lessons here! <.>;

I'm fairly certain that they were aiming for a holiday release for Forces, and the holiday season usually includes November because it's shopping season for the holidays.

Plus the November release date did get leaked a couple weeks ago so maybe they were planning that already.

Quote: HIR

Hold the phone... I thought this was aiming for a December release? Sega, you're not really pushing this up are you? I thought you'd learned your lessons here! <.>;

It was aiming for a Holiday 2017 release, which technically starts around November


I'm surprised at the $40 price mark tbh.

I think SEGA got the memo about the mindless hate over 3D Sonic to lower the price. The game can be really good but Mania was SO good it'll be on everyone's minds even in 3 months when this comes out - and the reviewers love their bias. Making it cheaper at least gets the attention of people just looking for something to have fun with once they're done with Mario Odyssey.


Or I have no clue about how pricing works. Could go either way.

Are the skins detachable, or...?

Quote: Bifrost

I think SEGA got the memo about the mindless hate over 3D Sonic to lower the price. The game can be really good but Mania was SO good it'll be on everyone's minds even in 3 months when this comes out - and the reviewers love their bias. Making it cheaper at least gets the attention of people just looking for something to have fun with once they're done with Mario Odyssey.


Or I have no clue about how pricing works. Could go either way.

It's quite simple, Mania & Forces are 1/3rd and 2/3rds respectively of a "full AAA product." That's why Mania is $20 and Forces is $40. :^)

Dunno why it isn't in the tweet, but the press release mentions that the Bonus Edition of Sonic Forces also comes with 4 post cards. There will also be a retailer exclusive pre-order bonus that nets you an in-game Shadow costume for the Avatar, though the participating retailers have yet to be announced.

Quote: Bifrost

I think SEGA got the memo about the mindless hate over 3D Sonic to lower the price. The game can be really good but Mania was SO good it'll be on everyone's minds even in 3 months when this comes out - and the reviewers love their bias. Making it cheaper at least gets the attention of people just looking for something to have fun with once they're done with Mario Odyssey.


Or I have no clue about how pricing works. Could go either way.

It actually seems to be becoming standard for platformers from AAA studios to be priced at $40/€45. The last few major Sonic games before Lost World were as well. Nintendo and Mario is the exception, not the rule.

Even the other Nintendo platformers (Yoshi and Donkey Kong) have been sold at a reduced price. So it's just Mario that can still sell at full price, really.

If Generations is any indication, I don't think the price is really going to matter in the long run if people keep coming back to Forces like they do Generations. That's of course given that Forces' replayability is as high as that game.

I'm hoping the Steam version will get the kind of mod support Generations got. That would be nice to see. <.<