One of my earliest gaming memories is playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with my friend from preschool. From the moment I watched the Blue Blur race through the Aquatic Ruin Zone, without any sort of hiccup in the game’s performance, I knew I’d be a gamer for life. Sonic Mania captures the thrill of playing Sonic for the first time, with levels that provide a modern take on the classic formula. The levels feel like something out of the twenty-first century, and additionally, there are more animations in this game than in any of the classic titles. But at its core, this game still feels like classic Sonic, just with the things we expect out of 2D games put out today.
Fans of the classic Sonic games (and if you’re a gamer, I imagine it’s hard not to be one) will feel right at home here. What’s different this time is how they made a Sonic that feels like it was made in the modern era. There’s a lot more animation on Sonic, the enemies, and the environments. The music is perhaps the best we’ve ever had in a Sonic game, and I found myself seeking out the tracks on Spotify. I was less frustrated losing my rings in this Sonic, because there are fewer moments where you collide with an enemy unexpectedly. Generally when I’d lose my rings in Sonic Mania, I would think, “That actually was my fault,” which I can’t say about classic Sonic games, even Sonic 3 and Knuckles.
Green Hill Zone and Chemical Plant Zone are faithful to Sonic 2, but everything after that feels wholly unique. Studiopolis Zone is a fictional TV station run by Eggman, and leans toward the easy and breezy side of Sonic. Titanic Monarch Zone, the second-to-last level, builds on the skills you developed in all the previous levels, without being too difficult to complete. I could go into all the levels individually, but to me, the levels are the real highlight of Sonic Mania to me. I don’t think Genesis could have pulled off the presentation seen in these levels. It would not be possible to get the graphics, animations, and colors in these Zones without the more modern hardware. Still, at first glance you’d maybe think this was a Genesis game. The levels get an A+.
The graphics are incredibly colorful. It appears the game was made to be 720p with widescreen. Yes it’s 2024, and widescreen has been a thing for a long time, but you can really appreciate seeing that much farther ahead of Sonic thanks to widescreen support. The classic Sonics were on a 4:3 aspect ratio, and unexpected collisions with enemies were more frequent. There aren’t really a lot of extra modes aside from a Time Attack mode and a multiplayer mode. Again, the music is sublime. The artist is Tee Lopes, and he also scored the soundtrack to the new Ninja Turtles game. Check out his tracks on your favorite music streaming service.
It’s hard not to recommend Sonic Mania. If you are a gamer at all, chances are very good you have a fondness for classic Sonic games. This really reminds me of a classic Sonic, but is also a whole new experience thanks to original levels, more animations, superior music, and fewer cheap collisions than the classic games. It is unclear if we’ll get a follow-up title from Christian Whitehead, lead developer of Sonic Mania, but I feel we should be grateful we got this game at all. While Nintendo has been cranking out Mario games in the style of the classic titles, we don’t get enough classic Sonic. The closest thing to this I can think of is Sonic 4, which many considered a letdown, although I enjoyed it. 5 stars, definitely recommended.
5/5
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