by Nolan Leahy
This review is based on the Nintendo Switch version of Sonic Mania. The game is also available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
For 26 years, Sonic has been one of the most iconic mascots in the gaming industry, to the point where both young and old gamers can easily recognize him. Despite his recognition, he’s had a bumpy road ever since his youthful 90s with his push into the 3D environment. The Sonic Adventure games were fairly decent. Sonic Generations provided a nice partial remake to some of his 2D levels while providing some mediocre 3D levels. Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) was…well…yeah. Sega took one of their biggest gambles with the creation of Sonic Mania by giving the creator keys directly to the most die-hard fans. Despite this risk, it’s one of the biggest payoffs within the past decade.
The beauty and the beats
Sonic Mania’s art flourishes and provides well-detailed environments throughout each zone. Green Hill Zone provides an additional path on the lower portion of the level with additional water effects, and the totem poles are larger and more detailed within the background. Studiopolis Zone offers fantastic visual effects for when Sonic reaches particular areas in the zone, leaving the player awed in its visual finesse. Animations of the bosses and Eggman (Robotnik) offer personality traits that don’t require dialogue to explain, and the transitions between zones offer more of a connection and fill in the gaps better than some of the 90s installments.
In addition to the art, the music is also ridiculously good. After hearing the tracks loop several times, it’s difficult not to hum the melody. There definitely isn’t a single awful track within the game, and listening to these tracks feels magical as the game takes you on a reinvented 90s trip.
Wait, that wasn't there before...
Sonic Mania’s gameplay offers far more than it shows on the surface. When giving it a simple glance, it can be easy to dismiss it as a general remake of classic levels with a bit of artistic polish and a few new levels. That’s not the case with this game. Sonic Mania not only brings back the classic zones from Sonic’s original trilogy, but also redefines them completely in their mechanics, layout, and difficulty. Levels are much longer on average in comparison to their older counterparts. Many levels can be passed within roughly six minutes, but some are so long that reaching the ten-minute time limit serves as a real danger. Classic Sonic veterans will be shocked to see the changes that Christian Whitehead has made to the remastered levels. For instance, grabbing the Fire Shield power-up in Green Hill Zone will allow for the spiked, rotating bridges to be burned down completely. At times, the Electric Shield serves as more of a tool to get from point A to point B that feels more necessary, but in a good way. In the case of the Electric Shield, the player doesn’t necessarily have to worry about losing the Electric Shield in order to track across the level because the obstacle is either optional or right in front of the source of the Electric Shield.
Sonic’s speed in this game is absolutely thrilling. Experiencing him roll and run through the designed tracks is satisfying and provides tension when he’s rolling upside down with no lower ground to land on. Think of it like a roller coaster without seat belts, or anything to protect the rider other than hoping he stays in the seat. The possibility of losing traction is absolutely frightening because of the grave that sits below, teleporting Sonic back to the last checkpoint.
