Sonic is a name that has written itself in the history books, however, it is no secret that since the Hedgehog’s move to 3D, there has been a distinct lack of quality and identity in Sonic’s adventures. Although after almost two decades of 3D flops, Sonic returned to its roots with the game Sonic Mania. In this review, I’ll be going over the magic of Sonic Mania and how it ignited that love I had for Sonic as a child.
Game-Play –
The most important aspect of any Sonic game has to be the game-play and momentum. This has been an area of Sonic games in recent years that has felt choppy and broken. However, in Mania, the momentum and speed is fluid, lightning quick, riveting and most importantly, replayable and addicting.
The game-play of Sonic Mania is what makes it so brilliant, and it is also what made the original Sonic games such hits too. Mania has a game-play loop that is just quick enough to keep the player coming back, even after beating the game, to beat it all over again. This provides potentially multiple play-throughs, with multiple characters such as playing as Tails, Knuckles, Sonic, Sonic & Tails or if you are playing Sonic Mania Plus then you can do even more with Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel.
Visuals and Style –
Personally, I always thought Sonic looked his best when he was in 2D, and I hold that opinion more than ever after playing Sonic Mania. Sonic Mania, despite being a 2D game based on pixel-type graphics, is on another level with vibrancy and distinct locations.
Each zone vibrant and offers something fresh, even the old zones are great to go through again (except for Chemical Plant Zone). General animations of the characters are a charm, as noticing even the idle animations of both Sonic and Tails for example was something that showed me the passion the developers for Sonic Mania had for the identity that they felt matched these characters since their creation.
I also cannot ignore the animation at the start of the game. I would pay to watch a show in that style, it perfectly represents Sonic Mania and reignited that feeling and love for Sonic that I haven’t felt since I was a child.
Sonic Mania has beautiful and vibrant designs and locations, and the sprite work shows for me, what has been a major missing component in modern Sonic games, similarly to what Pokemon lost when they abandoned their sprite-based designs in favour of 3D models.
Music –
Even if Sonic has failed in recent years, something it always achieves is a stellar OST, I guess that is another similarity Sonic has with Pokemon in recent times. Sonic Mania is no different when it comes to the stellar songs that are at play. Some of my personal favourites are Metallic Madness Zone Act 2 and Studiopolis Zone Act 1. These tracks create that drive to move forward, and when you’re going at full speed with these kinds of songs playing, it feels like such a high for adrenaline.
What Has Sonic Been Missing? –
Sonic has been missing a number of things. Most significantly for me I think Sonic Mania provides a sense of natural speed and momentum that feels almost artificial in some way in the 3D games. The game-play in 3D has felt choppy and like it leaves the player without consistent control throughout, this couldn’t be further from the case in Sonic Mania. As well as this, a consistency in style and distinct sprite work that makes the characters really stand-out and pop off the screen is just something that hasn’t been the same in 3D. I could write an entire separate piece about what Sonic has missed in recent years but for now I’ll leave it at that.
Conclusion –
Sonic Mania was an insight to what Sonic should have remained as over the last two decades. Sonic Mania is a love letter to what made people fall in love with him, and is a complete diss to what he had become and what followed this game with Sonic Forces. It is disappointing to see that this game was swiftly swept under the rug in favour of a failed formula, however, with Sonic’s Anniversary being this year, one can always dream that they heard the love for this game and seek to make a Sonic Mania 2.
Final Rating – 8.5/10
Nathan Brennan 