Sonic Mania (PS4) Review

A much-needed return to form.

 Sonic the Hedgehog experienced massive success during his early days on the Sega Genesis. All of his early 2D games were a hit on the system and cemented his reputation as one of gaming industry most recognizable icons. While he did find some occasional success since his jump into 3D, most were misses instead of hits and lacked the charm of early games. While we did have some great 2D Sonic games such as the Advance and Rush series', it was 2010's Sonic the Hedgehog 4 that was shouted as the sequel to the original games fans have been waiting for. Unfortunately, Sonic 4 lacked the charm and style that made the original games timeless. It was during summer of last year that fans were treated with a trailer of Sonic Mania, a faithful sequel to the Genesis that got fans excited. Programmed by the acclaimed Christian Whitehead, of Sonic CD remastered fame, and developed by Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, Sonic Mania aims to please fans of the Genesis games. As a fan of the classic games, I was excited when it was announced and was even more when I got the game. I reviewed the classic games last year so I recommended reading those before checking out the Sonic Mania review so you can have a clear picture of how the game holds up compared to its predecessors. But without any more delays, let's get straight into the colorful world of Sonic Mania.

STORY- Set after the events of Sonic & Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik (or Eggman) is back yet again. This time, he takes control of a mysterious gem that can bend the flow of time and is accompanied by his faithful robots, the "Hard-boiled Heavies". Once again, it's up to Sonic and Tails, as well as Knuckles who joins the duo as they try to thwart the doctor's plans. Like Sonic 3, the story is told through minimalistic cut-scene's that serve to throw Sonic and company into the next stage. And that's basically it, a Genesis Sonic plot in a nutshell, you won't be finding any demonic monsters or "wherehogs" here.

Wrecking Robotnik's as usual.

GAMEPLAY- Like all of its Genesis predecessors, Sonic Mania is a 2D side-scroller. You can play as three characters, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles across the game's twelve stages. Each character have their own abilities such as Sonic being the fastest, Tails who can fly, and Knuckles who can climb up walls and explore hidden areas. For those uninitiated, you need to reach the goal located in the end of the act while collecting rings, which are the form health, and beating enemies as well as going out of your way to find giant rings which house a Chaos emerald. Collecting all seven emeralds transforms Sonic as Super Sonic, which grants him invincibility against all enemies, though he can still die he gets squished or falls of the stage. The same applies for Tails and Knuckles, who are dubbed as Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles, respectively.

The classic gameplay is
here alongside new additions.

 The levels consist of both old and new alike. Classics such as Green Hill and Chemical Plant are here with new twits. Among the new original levels include the film-based Studiopolis and the wild-west inspired Mirage Saloon, which are easily my favorites. One has to appreciate the amount of detail and thought that went into the game-design and bosses, which are at times clever. Power-ups from Sonic 2 and 3 such as the speed shoes and elemental shields, respectively, make a return. Unlockable modes include the ever-present Time Attack and Competitive Mode. Time Attack is self-explanatory, you must reach the end of the stage while defeating enemies while achieving the lowest clear time. Competitive, a feature first appeared in Sonic 2, has you and another local player racing towards the end of the stage. Additional modes include Debug Mode, in which you can fiddle with the game's levels and Sound Test, which lets you play music from the game.

The levels are just plain awesome.

 Extra stages such as the Special Stages and "Sphere" levels that you can access mid-game by finding a giant ring and earning a set number of rings and hit a checkpoint, respectively. The Special Stages are similar to those of Sonic CD's has you guiding a low-polygon Sonic collects a chaos emerald by collecting blue spheres and rings. Sonic 3's sphere stages has you guiding Sonic this time collecting blue balls, err... I mean blue spheres while avoiding contact with the red ones, which can immediately end the stage. Upon finishing the stage, you receive a medal which upon collecting a set number of them unlock the aforementioned debug and sound test modes. Sonic Mania has a lot of neat references and nods to early games that you can encounter when you're playing, I've had a lot of fun seeing some of them as well.

PRESENTATION- One look at Mania and you'll think that it came out two decades ago, which is good since the game harkens back to its retro roots. The character sprites are clean and slick, the levels are vibrant and rich in detail, as evident by the likes of Press Garden and Saloon Mirage zones. Best of all is that the game runs at a nice 60FPS, which for fast game like Sonic Mania, makes the overall flow of the game feel smooth. Fun fact, Sonic Mania runs on Christain Whitehead's "Retro Engine", the very same engine that powered the excellent Sonic CD remaster. The soundtrack is yet another captivating aspect of Sonic Mania, there are the original iconic tracks by Masato Nakamura and new catchy ones by composer Tee Lopes that nail the upbeat vibes of the levels.

Sonic and company
are looking good.

OVERALL- Sonic Mania is a game built with passion, and the amount of love and care clearly shows throughout the game. Packing fun and smooth gameplay that's filled with interesting level-design and bosses as well as a vibrant and old-school aesthetic, Sonic Mania is easily one of the Hedgehog's best entry in years. It sounds like a stretch, but Sonic Mania looks and sounds so much like a Genesis game to that point that you might think it is and just got a remastered port. Not only that, but should have been the Sonic 4 that we should have gotten years ago as well. If Sega wishes to bring Sonic back to his former glory, then talent like this is what they need to make great Sonic games again.