Sonic Mania Team Celebrates 7th Anniversary With Trivia, Art And Unreleased Tracks

Man, it's been 7 years already? Such a great game! How many years must we.wait for a followup?

Lol I didn’t click with this game, but I remember the hype, and haven’t touched a sonic game since. However all of the media around Sonic X Shadow has me craving a Sonic experience and so I bought Forces today for 9$

Can’t believe it’s been 7 years

Still my most played game on switch with now over 155 hours. Love this game to death.

Cool now update the game icon in the home menu.

No offence to Tee Lopes, but as someone who played EVERY main line 2D Sonic game, Sonic Mania felt really run off the mil. It feels like the people who celebrate the game the most are people who barely played any Sonic games.

It's fun, but in the same way modern 2D mario is fun but unimpressive. I felt that way back in 2017 and I still feel that way now. The only really fun parts were the special stage tracks. But there's only 7 of them and you can't replay them after you beat the game!

Still, kicker sound outta Lopes though. Also it was originally supposed to be called Pulp Friction Zone? That sounds like a better name!!!!

@ScalenePowers Ummm... I think that might have been a bad investment....

@Pigeon Don't hold your breath. Sega was jealous of the reception it got while Forces failed to garner interest.

@Maulbert Sonic Superstars...

@Samalik Superstars is not a sequel to Mania.

@Maulbert Then what are you actually wanting other than more genesis sonic? that's clearly what your wanting, right? Because that's the closest your getting. Even the game's Physics engine is based on Mania's, with Whitehead's approval.

I'm sorry but Pulp Friction is such a good alternative name for Press Garden

@ScalenePowers If you didn’t click with Mania, Forces isn't gonna be any better...

@Samalik It was a solid game, but it lacked new zones, the ones it did have were amazing, but what's the point of replaying Green Hill Zone or Chemical Plant when you can play Sonic 1 or 2 instead? in a way it's like a 2D/Genesis Sonic Generations with revisiting old levels.

@RoboCube Even without the new zones, the fact that they boiled everything back down to what was on the genesis is in itself what made it kinda lame in a way. Like, we had more omnidirectional-ish movement once the 2D GBA games started coming out, and Rush games perfected the controlled chaos of going fast while actually doing sh|t... only to then get a game that controlled EXACTLY like the genesis games, complete with it's faults in how speed is handled, made less inciting by the lack of a ranking system to make going fast feel vital rather than a jingling keys gimmick. And everything is all one button...

I know that might have been the point, but that doesn't make it any less disappointing to a fan that tries to give the main line games a shot. So much progress in 2D sonic, tossed out for nostalgia pandering... The old games are still a fun game in a more than "eh" kind of way by modern standards, but I fail to see why so many lapsed fans show so much vitriol when the games aren't EXACTLY like the genesis games... Like, EXACTLY.

I really wanted to like this game, but I guess Sonic is not for me in general. I played it for several hours and stopped, because it was just so BORING for me. I can't find the appeal some folks are talking about.

That unreleased song sounds very Goemon Mystical Ninja

Sonic Mania was decent, but still didn't scratch the itch.

Sonic remains a few chaos emeralds short of reaching its true potential. SEGA have no clue how to get there... but seems to me, the fans aren't really sure either?

The gulf between where Mario has gone versus Sonic is absolute.

I liked it, but found some of the later zones a bit overly long. I would have also chosen some different zones to remix, but that's just personal preference. Overall though I really appreciate what Christian Whitehead and the Mania team were able to create for long time fans of the Series.

The first game on the Megadrive and the Master System are probably still my favourites. Superstars was pretty good in my opinion, especially compared to Sonic 4, but again suffered from some frustrating boss fights for me.

Damn, seven years?? Still a fantastic game though, and probably the only decent Sonic game of the last ten years or so. I really hate how they just didn't make a Mania 2 and instead we got that trashy Superstars.. which is easily one of the worst 2D Sonic's, right up there with the Game gear titles

7 years already? Hopefully these guys get involve with Sonic again at some point

@Isaix They were involved in Origins and Superstars.

@N0SEGaming SEGA and Arzest were mostly in charge of those. I don't think the Mania team were fully involded and had total control on those.

@Isaix You said "involved", I gave you involved. They weren't in charge, they were involved.

If you ask me, this team deserves to make a completely new classic Sonic game, with only brand new levels this time. They have the talent for it.

@Samalik I don't see how the Dimps games are a step up over the genesis games. They have a lot of trademark Dimps bs where you get crushed by stuff you couldn't see it, bottomless pits in places where they shouldn't be, etc.. Not to mention, the boost makes the gameplay WAY different (not bad but quite different). It makes the game more about reacting to whats coming on screen than trying to maintain your speed and flow like in the Genesis games (Advance 2 had a similar type of design as well despite lacking the boost). I will say Advance 3's tag team system is really cool and should be considered for another 2d Sonic game, but the level design still feels a bit wonky... (I still like the game quite a bit) A ranking system is kind of cool, but if the game is well designed, I think its inherently fun to replay and get better. Learning the level layouts and how to maintain your flow is fun regardless of whether the game gives you a carrot on a stick to do it.

@N0SEGaming Semantics. You know what I meant XD

@Samalik But it's meant to be like the Genesis game, it's almost like if we got Sonic 4 on Saturn (instead of the Sonic 4 we got on Wii/Phones that people like to pretend doesn't exist now) it's meant to celebrate Sonic's history kinda like Generations did and I think it did better then SEGA's other efforts, it expanded on what the Genesis games did and even had some original levels that are real highlights, mirage saloon & studiopolis are two of the best levels Sonic has gotten yet, plus it got Classic Sonic out of the modern Sonic games into his own. (even if Superstars was bit of let down, the Mania team should of made the next Classic Sonic game) it was nice having a good Sonic game for a change.

As for the Sonic Advance games being better, I still have nostalgia for them but they haven't aged well at all unlike the Genesis Sonic games, that said I would be up for a HD remaster/Sonic Origins take on the Advance games, having wide screen and some quality of life improvements might fix a lot of the issues it has.....*still get ptsd over the bottomless pits tho..

I also find the Advance series to be better games than Mania.

Mania has long-ass levels and over-designed stage gimmicks. It's a fun game, sure, but having to play through the most annoying Sonic levels (Stardust Speedway, Metallic Madness, Lava Reef) is just... why?

Advance games have a lot of variety in the 3 games but they all seem to keep their acts at a decent length and without sacrificing exploration.

Advance 3 gets a lot of flack for the stages, and some of them are just bizarre, but the aesthetics are absolutely sublime and don't tire you out after playing just 1 level.

@Samalik I didn't say I wanted a sequel to Mania. I was just responding to a comment. Buzz off. I feel like you're stalking me.

@HammerKirby Well for starters when you get good at them (because they do want you to get good at them to meet certain thresholds like ranking systems or end of bonus stages) they put the action back into the action platformer with how much you think the physics are controlling you until you start rebelling against them to cause chaos, at least in their later games. It could be because I worked backwards with Dimps games from Rush Adventure back to Advance 1, but I didn't have an issue and can only really give a "get gud" response to that, considering that's what these games are all about. But because you're constantly reacting on-screen, the speed feels more worthwhile and a challenge just as much as it is a reward.

Meanwhile, if I boot up Sonic 3 & Knux now, I'm not any faster 10 years ago than I am now, which is not very fast when I'm in control. I don't feel the need to jump back in immediately because there's no ranking system in these games. I stress that because in my history of playing games, a great ranking system helps stress test how well designed the mechanics actually were.

And while that mentality works with actual arcade games like Pac-Champ or a short shmup, "if the game is well designed, I think it's inherently fun to replay and get better" isn't much of a motivator towards a highly linear action adventure game. There's only so much you can feel like learning in a 5 hour game without incentives to do so. So what's the point? I'll give Mania some credit of having a time attack mode.... but why is that a separate mode?

@RoboCube I know they are suppose to be genesis games in this way, but that's still not much praise coming from me as I already pointed out.

@Pigeon Why don't you give a proper comparison instead of giving vague ad hominem slop?

If it truly is that amazing, when why are there a lot of people here showing how they couldn't connect with the game?
Like I said, Mania feels like a game hyped up by people who do not play Sonic games. Yes, even the 2D ones. And I know that for a fact, cuz I actually did play these games and felt almost nothing in my soul when playing mania.

Sonic Mania Plus is awesome! My first Switch title. I'm not a fan of Sonic to the degree I am of Super Mario Bros., or Mega Man. However, I do love the Genesis titles, and Mania was absolutely perfect for what it is supposed to be. I still do laugh at Sega being jealous that Mania was praised, while Forces wasn't.

@Samalik 3 & Knuckles has tons of different shortcuts so I don't know what you mean by not getting any faster? Levels like Carnival Night Act 1 can be beaten so much faster once you know the route to take. To me I've played say Rush and S ranked several levels in it. It is run, but once I get the S, I don't really feel the drive to replay the level. Because you can instantly reach top speed, maintaining your speed becomes a non factor, so at that point its just about memorizing the levels. I respect your view, but it does feel like we just have fundamentally different views about 2d Sonic. To me I replay Sonic 2 and 3&K to death and most of the Dimps games (aside from maybe Advance 1 and 3) are every once in awhile type of games. The bs I think makes them less friendly to newcomers (I can learn the level layouts just fine) and I think even when you learn the layouts they are less interesting overall.