It's somewhat ironic, then, that it wasn't SEGA or Sonic Team that rediscovered what makes a truly great game in the franchise, but devoted super-fans that also happen to be very talented developers. Those games stand up today and have occasionally served as a reminder of the glory SEGA could once achieve with the series. They've ranged from very good to downright bad, but some fans have consistently argued that Sonic was at his best on the Mega Drive / Genesis and SEGA CD, through the 'classic' games that made his name. Nintendo gamers - home console version of Generations aside - have been able to play most of the Blue Blur's adventures, with a handful of exclusives to boot. SEGA and Sonic Team has taken its mascot on some wild rides over the past 20+ years, stepping into 3D 'modern' Sonic, attempting a return to 2D with Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and dividing opinion, and blurring the lines (with some success) in Sonic Generations. In certain circles of chatty online gamers, Sonic the Hedgehog is often a hot topic. It has been adapted and added to by Damien "Sonic 2 was the clearly the best" McFerran. Competition mode now also supports anywhere from two to four players, leading to fast, fun multiplayer races with a roomful of friends.Editor's note: This review is based on our original Sonic Mania review, as penned by our erstwhile editor Tom "Please no, not another terrible 3D Sonic game" Whitehead. Some boss encounters see very cool and quite significant changes we won’t spoil here. Certain boss fights have thankfully been tweaked to make it easier to understand how to do damage and avoid cheap deaths, which was a big issue with the original. Time Overs are a thing of the past, letting you explore the massive levels to your heart’s content. Well, the Encore special stages start at this approximate level of challenge, so be prepared for a lot of frustration since you have to search for them again after every attempt.There are a couple of other enhancements worth noting, though. The special stages in the original Mania Mode (which is still in the game) started to get really, really nasty with bomb, pit, and rough terrain placement around stage 5 or so, and with the stages proving very punishing for even small mistakes, getting a full set of Emeralds for the true final boss encounter meant a lot of grinding. And when you do find them, the special stages start out brutal from the get-go. It’s a neat ability – but it’s only really useful in more open areas because using it in more cramped, hazard-laden levels like Metallic Madness and Chemical Plant can often be quite challenging.Īlso, unless you know the original Sonic Mania stages inside and out, you probably won’t notice many big differences in the levels other than the placement of the special stage rings, which are still a total pain to find. Ray has a gliding ability that allows him to soar over long stretches of a stage. (Mighty was also in Knuckles’ Chaotix.) Like Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, the duo comes with unique abilities: Mighty has a ground-pound that can shatter barriers and bypass certain enemy defenses like bumpers, and his shell renders him invulnerable to spikes while attacking, making some prickly levels and bosses a fair bit easier. The first involves a pair of vaguely familiar faces from an extremely obscure Japanese arcade game called Segasonic the Hedgehog: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. Sonic Mania Plus/Encore has a couple of major additions. But before you get fanatical over the prospect of more Sonic Mania, temper your expectations: the new content isn’t all up to the same standard. Last year’s Sonic Mania was a superb return to form for one of gaming’s most enduring icons, and Sega has now delivered even more Sonic in the form of Sonic Mania Plus, which you can get as either DLC – titled Encore – or a physical bundle that includes the main game, the DLC, and a 32-page art book.
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