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Sonic Mania (8-15-2017, SEGA/Taxman/Headcannon/PagodaWest, PS4/XB1/PC/NX)

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I've got another theory on the lack of NX; it's a digital title and maybe Nintendo doesn't want any eShop games announced yet? All officially confirmed games are retail.
 
Generations was really short though. It seems like the mainline Sonic games have been getting shorter and shorter.

Anyway this game looks amazing. It's got such a 90s feel to it. It's a safe play by Sega, but it's a good move to get the franchise back on track. I hope the mainline Sonic game ends up looking promising too.
 
Today's mood


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Generations was really short though. It seems like the mainline Sonic games have been getting shorter and shorter.

Anyway this game looks amazing. It's got such a 90s feel to it. It's a safe play by Sega, but it's a good move to get the franchise back on track. I hope the mainline Sonic game ends up looking promising too.

Nah Sonic 2 can be beat in half an hour.
 
Generations was really short though. It seems like the mainline Sonic games have been getting shorter and shorter.

Anyway this game looks amazing. It's got such a 90s feel to it. It's a safe play by Sega, but it's a good move to get the franchise back on track. I hope the mainline Sonic game ends up looking promising too.

Ever since Sonic Adventure, Sonic games have a lot more content than they needed. It makes them feel padded and makes them horribly tedious to go back through. I think some producer said with Unleashed that 'if it was just Sonic running, it'd be a 2 hour game' and with everything, Unleashed is like 20-25 hours.
 
Ever since Sonic Adventure, Sonic games have a lot more content than they needed. It makes them feel padded and makes them horribly tedious to go back through. I think some producer said with Unleashed that 'if it was just Sonic running, it'd be a 2 hour game' and with everything, Unleashed is like 20-25 hours.

Generations was like 4 hours long. And I don't think a purely 2D Sonic will have any filler, it'll just be level to level from start to end.
 
I'm worried about the level design being sub-par, but I'll be getting this anyway as it's just the kind of thing I've been waiting for all these years.
 
I'm worried about the level design being sub-par, but I'll be getting this anyway as it's just the kind of thing I've been waiting for all these years.
Sub par compared to what? Other shitty level design we've gotten in other sonic games over the years?
 
Looking forward to a few years from now when everyone says that Sonic Mania is also bad, and that (upcoming retro inspired 2D sonic) will finally bring Sonic back to prominence... So many Sonic fans chasing a dream game that doesn't and never will exist.

So, do people generally think bad of you or is it just right now?
 
This looks so fucking good.

Have the haters even played the Christian Whitehead remasters? This shit is legit.

Mania is at worst going to be an awesome game, at best, stand alongside the original collection as a new classic Sonic game.
 
This looks so fucking good.

Have the haters even played the Christian Whitehead remasters? This shit is legit.

Mania is at worst going to be an awesome game, at best, stand alongside the original collection as a new classic Sonic game.

Indeed. I have zero doubts that this game is going to be great. Whitehead knows classic Sonic better than anyone (currently) at Sonic Team.
 
I sure hope the Taxman Sonic 1 and 2 remasters get ported in preparation for this release. More people need to know that those games are legit good remasters and that Sonic Mania is in good hands.

If this does well, maybe Sega will let them make a fully original 2D Sonic game.
 
I'm worried about the level design being sub-par, but I'll be getting this anyway as it's just the kind of thing I've been waiting for all these years.

I looked at the game play video and it looks like Sonic. In a good way. Later 2d games like Rush and Advance have a very odd way of doing level design where it's about absolute speed and you never stop and there's never slow moments. It makes stages look like obstacle courses more than actual levels. There's nothing like Aquatic Ruin Zone or Spring Yard Zone in these games. But watching Mania gameplay shows that there's s return of 16 bit era of making the gameplay fast, but with not going full tilt.
 
I pretty much started my online life with SFGHQ and at that time taxman and stealth were making cool things back then, it's great to see that they are working on a official original sonic game with their tallents.

Looks great and it's what I pretty much wanted from sega in the last several years.

My only issue is some of the animation frames for sonic have weird looking spikes, since the belly rotation animation here is using the sonic 2 version where his spines were more like razors instead of a bunch, it looks weird compared to the other frames being used.
 
I'm worried about the level design being sub-par, but I'll be getting this anyway as it's just the kind of thing I've been waiting for all these years.

I too was concerned like you after the reveal.

However what I saw of Studiopolis looks like they've taken care in the level design, still feels more Sonic CD than Sonic 1 to me but it looked good what I've seen so far!
 
Loving the look of this. Not too fussed with them enhancing levels from older games, but the new areas look awesome. Giving me some real Sonic 3 vibes there.
 
Hey, wait a minute...

I just watched the trailer again, and there's nothing in there that says Sonic Team's developing this. Where are y'all getting this info?
 
Well Mania is more of a remix than original. It has new Zones but it is getting old zones remastered/enhanced.

Do you think it's going to be a lot of remastered zones or maybe just the Green Hill Zone? From the looks of the trailer I would rather see almost exclusively brand new levels or at least heavily modified classics.
 
Hey, wait a minute...

I just watched the trailer again, and there's nothing in there that says Sonic Team's developing this. Where are y'all getting this info?

...I don't know who's saying Sonic Team is developing this, but it's clear as day it's being developed by the lads behind the Sonic CD remaster.
 
those Sonic Retro videos(first one, second one, and also the Gamespot direct feed) really convinced me on the level design. It has the complexity and size of a Sonic 3 and Knuckles level with the messy cluttered iconography of Sonic CD, the unique level gimmicks and badniks, the bursts of speed in-between the platforming and exploration, the elemental shields are back, the number of alternate paths. The physics are JUST right for the first time since 1994, and the new drop dash looks like a great idea, like the modern homing attack to quickly get you from the air to attacking/moving forward. It looks gorgeous with so many brand new art assets and animation frames, and it sounds great both its sound effects and music direction. Even the remade levels have been completely redrawn, with more alternate paths and hidden collectibles to make them fit with the rest of the game. The boss fight is a clever rendition of the GHZ boss, very nicely drawn/animated, and fits right in the with the S3&K style of mini-bosses. And now we got confirmation of it being bigger than Generations, so expect a ton of zones.

I don't...see anything I don't like? It looks like an across the board for success for anybody who's a fan of the Genesis Sonic games. They got the very best, most knowledgeable people who understood what made the original games great, and they're absolutely nailing it right now.
 
the main selling point is that they aren't developing this.

Who said they were?

...I don't know who's saying Sonic Team is developing this, but it's clear as day it's being developed by the lads behind the Sonic CD remaster.

I thought a few people earlier in the thread claimed that, since it wasn't being developed by Dimps, this would mean it'd be a good game.

Okay, so that not being the case, how is everyone so excited about this? This Chris person might be talented at creating re-makes, but that doesn't mean his talents will translate to level design. And the other developer involved in this only made iOS games beforehand.
 
Do you think it's going to be a lot of remastered zones or maybe just the Green Hill Zone? From the looks of the trailer I would rather see almost exclusively brand new levels or at least heavily modified classics.

I have no idea. Though I really hope we do get a bunch of new levels over remastered zones. Studiopolis looks really good and I want more of that.

Do we know if they're using Taxman's Retro Engine to make this?
 
those Sonic Retro videos(first one, second one, and also the Gamespot direct feed) really convinced me on the level design. It has the complexity and size of a Sonic 3 and Knuckles level with the messy cluttered iconography of Sonic CD, the unique level gimmicks and badniks, the bursts of speed in-between the platforming and exploration, the elemental shields are back, the number of alternate paths. The physics are JUST right for the first time since 1994, and the new drop dash looks like a great idea, like the modern homing attack to quickly get you from the air to attacking/moving forward. It looks gorgeous with so many brand new art assets and animation frames, and it sounds great both its sound effects and music direction. Even the remade levels have been completely redrawn, with more alternate paths and hidden collectibles to make them fit with the rest of the game. The boss fight is a clever rendition of the GHZ boss, very nicely drawn/animated, and fits right in the with the S3&K style of mini-bosses. And now we got confirmation of it being bigger than Generations, so expect a ton of zones.

I don't...see anything I don't like? It looks like an across the board for success for anybody who's a fan of the Genesis Sonic games. They got the very best, most knowledgeable people who understood what made the original games great, and they're absolutely nailing it right now.

I want it to be the longest 2D Sonic game ever.
 
Oh whoops no I meant Generations.

iirc Colors was like 6 hours.
its werid because i remember colors being 6 hrs long the first time i played it but when i did the shuttle mode you unlock that just lets you play one stage after the other it was only 1.5-2 hours long.
 
I thought a few people earlier in the thread claimed that, since it wasn't being developed by Dimps, this would mean it'd be a good game.

Okay, so that not being the case, how is everyone so excited about this? This Chris person might be talented at creating re-makes, but that doesn't mean his talents will translate to level design. And the other developer involved in this only made iOS games beforehand.

Sonic 2 iOS had a new level, Hidden Palace Zone, made up from assets from a canned stage of the same name from Sonic 2's development. Level design was brand new, though, and it was a lot of fun.

Beyond that, these levels just look fantastic.
 
I'm stoked for the game as it looks great but that announcement...ugh. Sega does this shit every few years and expects us to forget that they try a 2D nostalgia project every generation. Plus it's not even coming out during the anniversary year.
 
I thought a few people earlier in the thread claimed that, since it wasn't being developed by Dimps, this would mean it'd be a good game.

Okay, so that not being the case, how is everyone so excited about this? This Chris person might be talented at creating re-makes, but that doesn't mean his talents will translate to level design. And the other developer involved in this only made iOS games beforehand.

they know how to make sonic games - there is proof of them understanding the physics (retro engine) and the gameplay (via the other developer's fantastic romhacks). sonic team and dimps have proved they can create a pile of shit and release it as a sonic game and even manage to fuck up the consistency of that.
 
I mean they actually went back and redrew the whole GHZ, right down the background. In the original Sonic 1 there was a placement error with a weird gap in between the mountains


they keep the look but made it seem like there was a river/waterfall going down the mountain in that spot


Just an example of the kind of people working on this. Outside the original Sonic developers who have been scattered to the four winds, there isn't anybody with a greater knowledge and technical expertise to make a new Sonic in the Genesis mold than Taxman and Stealth.
 
I think Sega should get some credit for giving Whitehead and co the reins on this, particularly when one considers the state of things when Sonic 4 was first revealed.
 
Stop releasing games that can work perfectly fine on PS3/XB360.

I am one of those guys that still games last gem cuz there's so many games that came out on PS3 worth playing. I would like to see more consistent experiences on PS4 where you are actually utilizing the power of the system you are paying for. Games like Sonic Mania are the reasons why it took so long for us to jump to this generation.
 
The level design looks better than Sonic CD, at least to my eyes. I didn't grow up with CD and always thought it was the odd one out, it played almost like a fan game in places. There's a bit of that in Sonic Mania but overall it looks pretty good. Hopefully there is more new material than old.
 
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