Current Events > Why I think Sonic Mania doesn't come close to the greatness of S3&K...

(+) Yeah! (+)

I played through Sonic Mania with both Sonic and Knuckles and although the game was well designed enough to enjoy, it still could have been so much more. Here's why...

Continuity

Continuity is a big thing for me. Whether in a game or a series of movies or a show, it makes the journey seem larger if each part is somehow connected. It has the capability of making you feel like you're on a quest with the character you're playing or the character you're watching. Sonic 3 & Knuckles had continuity. At the end of each act, there was a brief cut scene showing how Sonic and friends arrived in the next zone. From Knuckles blowing apart the bridge in Angel Island Zone forcing Sonic to fall into Hydrocity Zone to Sonic leaping from a collapsing tower in Sky Sanctuary Zone into Death Egg Zone, it made the entire game feel like it was placed in a world that was connected rather than just a bunch of levels.

Sonic Mania does this to a certain extent but there are times when the end of a zone just fades into the next without any explanation at all. It breaks the immersion and in cases where one classic zone fades into the next, it feels like they were just thrown in there for nostalgia. I liked the transition from Studiopolis to Flying Battery Zone. It was a throwback to the past while making it feel connected. But then from Flying Battery Zone to Garden Press Zone...there's nothing. Just a fade to black. It's like, cool another new stage. But how did we get there? And then from Stardust Speedway Zone to Hydrocity Zone to Mirage Saloon Zone, there's also nothing. I LOVE what they did at the end of Saloon Zone. I just wish they would have put the effort to connect the rest of the levels.

By the end of the game, I didn't feel like I went on a quest to stop Eggman. I felt like I went through a string of some connection with random levels spread throughout.

I was going to go into depth about other things I think could have been better but what I mentioned above is the biggest flaw in the game for me.

I'll briefly mention that I think the new music is pretty weak including the main theme. To me, Sonic music is supposed to be cool, energetic, and catchy. None of the new music pieces are catchy and most of them aren't cool. They're energetic for sure but they're bloated with all sorts of instruments that don't allow you to hum along. I think the Boss music is the weakest music in the game. It doesn't make me feel threatened. Doesn't get me pumped up. It's not necessarily a bad tune but perhaps a poor choice in instruments. That high pitched bell sounding synth or whatever it is doesn't belong as the main instrument in a boss fight.

I'll also briefly mention that I think the group of Eggman's robots were under utilized. Their design was interesting (although a bit too zany) and the only fight that stood out with them was the one you fight in Studiopolis. Perhaps they could have had Sonic's story line focus on beating Eggman and have Knuckle's story line focus on beating the group of robots?

All of that aside, I did enjoy the game. Some of the boss fight were frustratingly slow but the level design was great and I wouldn't make if the same team made a sequel. I just hope they focus less on revamping old stages and instead work on created a new, cohesive, Sonic experience in the same vein as the classics.
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Mania's music is fantastic.
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somethingtofear posted...

Mania's music is fantastic.

it is yes. i still prefer the older genesis games though. but there is no denying that mana is the best 2d sonic game since the oldies
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somethingtofear posted...

Mania's music is fantastic.

For the classic stages, I definitely agree. The newer music, not so much. They're just not memorable.
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