Hooray the PC version is in the database now I can actually review it
So apparently this is the most well recived Sonic game of all time or something like that? At least that's what I've heard.
I'm going to be honest. I don't think this game is as great as people make it out to be. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game by any means. But I think this series has had higher points before.
Now in terms of gameplay...it's classic Sonic. Literally what else do you want me to say about it?
They did add a new mechanic called the drop dash. This basically allows you start charging a spin dash in the air and you'll release it as soon as you hit the ground. It's a neat little addition imo.
But other than that, this is Genesis/Mega Drive (depending on where you live) style Sonic exactly as most of you remember it.
Graphics: 9 This is probably my favorite part. The art style here actually doesn't look like a Genesis game at all. Instead I think Mania is what a 2D Sonic game on the Dreamcast (or maybe even Saturn?) would look like, and as someone who's always wanted a 2D sonic game on Dreamcast that's really cool.
The animation is also very nice and smooth. I normally dislike this in 2D games, but it worked out quite well here. I guess smooth and fast just kinda mix like that.
Sound: 10 Sonic games always have banger soundtracks, this is most certainly not an exception. It seems like they tried to go for something Sonic CD-ish with maybe a bit of Sonic 4 in there.
I love CD's soundtrack so this is getting an easy 10 from me
Addictiveness: 5 The main game is pretty lengthy for a classic Sonic game (13 zones!!!). Took me about 7-8 hours on my first try. And there's a whole ton of extra stuff to unlock too, which I should probably not spoil.
They even brought back those blue spheres special stages from Sonic 3.
Cool. But why. Why would you do that. I hate them. It's neat to see them back but why would you do this to me.
There's so many of them too. There used to be only 7. Now there's like 50.
I have never had feelings this mixed on any subject before.
I should probably stop talking about this.
OH BUT DID I MENTION THAT ALMOST ALL OF THE AFOREMENTIONED UNLOCKABLE EXTRAS ARE TIED TO SAID SPECIAL STAGES?
W H Y
Story: N/A Generic "Eggman bad, take him out" plot. Now with some extra robots, I guess. No reason to rate this, this game doesn't need a super complex story
Depth: 6 Now the mechanics might be pretty simple, but as is customary with 2D Sonic games, the physics are just wild. If you know what you're doing you can bounce across the whole screen really high and really fast in a matter of seconds.
A lot of the stages have a lot of different paths to take, so if you want to go extra fast you gotta memorize the best routes too.
Mania is probably a good speedrun game, and that's coming from a guy who doesn't speedrun it.
Difficulty: 4 In terms of difficulty, I'd say Mania is a bit on the easier end compared to the other classic Sonic games. It's still got somewhat challenging moments (HEY DID I MENTION THE BLUE SPHERES) but overall you should be able to casually cruise through it without too many issues.
Overall: 8 So it's a fun game for sure, but I kinda wished they had done some things differently. References are cool and all but like 75% of the zone roster is returning. I would have LOVED to some more new stages in this style.
I also wished the game was just a tad bit harder. I always felt like Sonic 1 and 2 were just the perfect difficulty for a 2D platformer.
And that's pretty much everything I can think of to say about this game.