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Sonic Mania |OT| Dreams Come True

Not getting the Oil Ocean hate, it's one of my favorite stages so far!

This game is really amazing, I'm enjoying everything about it. The blue ball stages are more fun than I remember and I don't mind playing them over and over. The UFO stages are great too although I had to get used to the movement which took a while.

Crazy to hear me say this but a Sonic game is going to end up as one of my favorite games of the year in a year that, for me, is going to have as contenders the best Zelda, an at least awesome Mario, the best Mario Kart, Splatoon 2, Thumper, Shovel Knight...

That's CRAZY!
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
So is there a list with all the Big Ring locations throughout the levels? I've only gotten the one in the first world lol.
 

Mark1

Member
Oil Ocean is amazing, Mania did it justice and made everything feel more fun. Especially with the flame shield interactions.
 
And just like that i ordered a classic sonic 25 anniversary toy/small figure set. (3 pack with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles and their coins).

Can't find a Sonic amiibo anywhere and i aint gonna pay 15+ euros on worldwide shipping so this should do instead and i prefer the classic designs anyway:p

Funny cuz i always liked modern sonic more before playin all classics and mania. Now it's reversed and i like Classic more.

Edit: these:
maxresdefault.jpg

Those figures look lovely! Have you tried eBay for a Sonic amiibo?
 
I finished Sonic Mania last night. The first half of the game is pretty good, but man, the last few zones are awful, along with the boss fights. It really feels like the last few zones were super rushed compared to the rest of the game. I still had a lot of fun with it, but I won't lie that I was frustrated by the end of it.

Honestly
Metallic Madness
is really freaking good (second to last zone).

I feel the same about the giant ass octopus from ACT II.

However, it was refreshing to have a challenging boss, bosses in Mania tend to go on the easy side before this one, so I welcome this bit of challenge.

Really? I feel this had some of the hardest bosses. There was no clear way to beat Green Hill Act 2, for example, that I saw on my first try, compared to 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles' first zone bosses, especially 2. All of them had very obvious openings, and 2 was just one gigantic opening.
 

Alpha_eX

Member
This game is getting on my nerves recently, coming into a lot of soft locking bugs, almost consistently on the Puyo boss (can't exit after win) and then getting stuck in walls and the final straw, whilst running off screen after the goal :(

Doing a second run through with Sonic and Tails trying to get all the emeralds, now I'm really craving a Sonic R sequel.
 

wrowa

Member
This game is getting on my nerves recently, coming into a lot of soft locking bugs, almost consistently on the boss (can't exit after win) and then getting stuck in walls and the final straw, whilst running off screen after the goal :(

Doing a second run through with Sonic and Tails trying to get all the emeralds, now I'm really craving a Sonic R sequel.

This happened to me at that boss quite a few times as well. Super annoying, especially because I'm colorblind and have enough trouble beating the boss as it is.

Generally though, I'm enjoying the game even more in my second playthrough. Had a bit of trouble with the last third initially (got crushed to death often, was running out of time, had trouble with some bosses), but those problems are pretty much gone entirely.
 
Gonna add my support for Oil Ocean: I always loved how it provided a much needed challenge in an easy Sonic 2 game, but this version is just fantastic. I love how they borrowed the mechanic from Sandopolis for this one, and then the submarines for special items. And it feels so good to get around.

Plus, I love setting the oil slides on fire. =P
 

Opa-Pa

Member
I never liked OOZ before, but Mania made me appreciate it more and Act 2 was super fun. Now it's one of my favorite zones in the game.

Anyway, last night playing Mirage Saloon as Sonic I noticed that Knuckles was present on the airplane when fighting the Act 1 boss, but then I lost and when I fought it again he was gone? He's not supposed to show up, is he? Weird.

Also, you guys really need to start indicating which version you're playing when talking about glitches. I feel like you're making me paranoid for nothing haha.

Use the hidden level select.
Turn debug mode on and back out of the secrets menu. While the screen is fading out press and hold the left and bottom face buttons.
When the save select menu comes back you should be hovering over the No Save file. With the the two face buttons still held down, press plus/options/start button equivalent to go to level select. In level select you can press the left face button to change characters or press the top face button to play Sonic and Tails. All other modifiers selected from the secrets menu will still apply

Holy shit does this really work? That's nuts haha.

Like I said I don't mind my current replay with Sonic, but I recently unlocked DM so I'll probably be using this for Tails and Knuckles, thanks!
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
So I got a triple combo in Mean Bean (the Extra, not the boss), and I didn't get the trophy. It's only in the boss?

Edit: did it again and it worked.
 

13ruce

Banned
Those figures look lovely! Have you tried eBay for a Sonic amiibo?

Yes but with shipping fee's included it's 35 euro's wich i find a bit much for a amiibo i might get it later tho. But for now i need to budget a bit cuz i got school costs coming up:p

But when i can i will import a Sonic and Zelda BotW amiibo if they don't are stocked somewhere in my country by then.

Also already got some Splatoon stuff so that's why too:p + Metroid + amiibo's + yakuza kiwami + monster hunter stories comin up.
 

Stencil

Member
Man, I am just not good at this game. Been getting through most of the levels fine (Sonic & Tails) despite never being able to finish the bonus stages. The spheres I just lose focus during, and the UFO Race? No way. Got it once, but now I can't last long enough to catch up.
And now I've been stuck on Oil Ocean Zone thanks to the 2nd boss for a few days. Any tips? I can't last all the way to the boss with the flame shield.
 

VRMN

Member
And now I've been stuck on Oil Ocean Zone thanks to the 2nd boss for a few days. Any tips? I can't last all the way to the boss with the flame shield.

Be patient. What I would do for the boss is wait for the part that shoots the laser to surface, then go to the far opposite platform to give myself more time to dodge its shots. When the cannons surface, get a couple hits in, then bail. Get one or two hits in on the boss, then bail and focus on dodging cannon fire. Your instincts lead you take so many hits just lingering too long instead of using your mobility to dodge attacks because you want to kill him in one cycle because he's a pain in the ass.

As for the special and bonus stages; just ignore them if you're not having fun. Super Sonic is a neat bonus, but I find it more fun going through the levels without it.
 

VariantX

Member
Just finished the game on the first playthrough, now to play through again as knuckles and tails, then go for all emeralds, then all medals. Saw lots of complaints about the last zone, but I didn't seem to have much problem with it and found them to be good fun. If theres a design flaw in those later zones, its that you'll likely get spanked by a time over as I came within 30 seconds of 9'59"99 before clearing titanic monarch zone 1 because the zones are so damn large, even compared to S3&K. I thought I was boned for Titanic Monarch 2 when I only had 1:30 left to figure out the boss but the game resets the clock there. I'll say that sonic mania is way easier than the older genesis games, but that could just be down to good design or knocking off rust from my sonic game easier
 

Blueblur1

Member
I got two continues today. I didn't even know this game had continues and I had already beaten twice with all emeralds!

Such a great game. ❤️
 

Mark1

Member
Exploring the zones on later playthroughs made me realise how well made they are. Studiopolis and
Press Garden
have so many different routes that it makes me want to keep replaying them.

Even Green Hill partially has this feeling for me too.
 
Heh, I was playing as Tails, and after I did the train part of Mirage Saloon, Knuckles was back on the plane and when it crashed, he went down with it, not caring one bit.

Bug
 

VariantX

Member
I know there's no DLC plans for this game, but FUCK I wish there were. I'd drop more money without even the slightest hesitation If I could get more levels that match the quality of the existing ones. Or at least DLC that add back the level transitions.

I secretly wish for a competitive splitscreen mode for the special stages where you race and battle each other to catch the UFO first.
 
Had to do the requirements for the trophy Professional hedgehog twice. -.-

Because apparently if you use the "restart" option from he pause menu, that's not good enough, you have to leave back to the Main menu entirely and select TMZ from there every attempt.
 
Just finished it with my first sonic and tails playthrough and I loved it so much more than I thought I would.

Even though I was a complete Sega fanboy back in the mega drive days and loved every sonic I was not sure that the gameplay would hold up so well and thought this i was going to enjoy this for purely its nostalgia value but hell no, this game is just fun to play.

Even the more automated sections which I always thought were a bit meh in the previous games I enjoy in this one as I feel like they are used to hint at secrets or give you the chance to discover hidden areas.

I'm also freaking addicted to the bonus and special stages although i think getting all gold medals is going to take me ages, not sure ill go for it.

Sega should really think about why they were not able to make a game such as this themselves in so many years. They have such a great ip and mascot in Sonic, they really should take better care of it.
 
Finally got around to the super sonic boss, based off the rather negative impressions it wasn't actually as poop as I'd feared, heck I kinda liked it but then again super sonic bosses often fall flat with me.

Still got one row of horrifying blue sphere concoctions left should I be willing to do them.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
So I finally did the Super Sonic boss fight and...it's good but kinda lame compare to Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Rush.

I also didn't understand why Sonic would suddenly die when he ran out of rings as in other Sonic game it made sense since he was fighting in a harsh environment that required him go super since he could fly but in Mania the environment is fine as Sonic can easily walk on the ground, which makes the fight much easier.

I also asked the developers to add patch to have an option to disable Super Sonic or remap the button somewhere as sometime I would turn into Super Sonic in levels when I don't mean to, such a stupid design as it's a 2017 game release on systems that have more than 3 buttons there is no need to have players double tap A.

I mean for all the mistake Sonic Team made with Sonic games, when they brought back Super Sonic being playable in levels again they actually included an option to disable it if the player didn't want to use him.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Tried to go back to Sonic 1 and 2 and... Well, it's kinda rough. I always vastly preferred the visuals in Sonic 3, to the point I had to adjust for a bit whenever I went back to the rest, but now that I've been playing so much Mania they look even worse to me and I can barely tolerate them :(

Feels bad because I can still appreciate the brilliant art direction and sheer creativity in both games... But details like the less colorful backgrounds or the extremely basic running animation in Sonic 1... I can't do it, this sucks.

S3K remains great looking though.


Hydrocity was one of the very few water levels I enjoyed in games, but wasn't a fan of it in Sonic Mania.

My memory could be failing me but isn't it almost unchanged from the original? I love both either way.

And wouldn’t you know it, I beat it on the first try after reading this.

That is not a good boss.

Is this about the Knuckles exclusive boss in LRZ Act 2? Because I found him pretty straightforward and easy.

Edit: Ah I think you meant the true final boss, never mind. I didn't hate it but it was kinda underwhelming.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Uh oh, I just ran into a bug where the music doesnt start back playing after sonic's star power up runs out
 
So is there a list with all the Big Ring locations throughout the levels? I've only gotten the one in the first world lol.

As best I can here for the first few acts:

Green Hill zone Act 1
  • Knuckles only ring. Literally to the left after your very first wall climb. Jump through the wall. Roughly 15 seconds into the level.
  • Stick to the low path as best you can. When you see three TVs with 2 rings and 1 blue ring, stay on that low path. Follow it down until you find a rising column to stand on. Use this colum to jump on the two loops to the right of it. Jump to the right of the second loop into the wall to find another hidden ring.
  • This is the freebie ring everyone usually finds on the default path. Nothing special to it.

Green Hill zone Act 2
  • Stay on the highest path you can from the beginning. You'll see the ring on the other side of the wall. You have to climb over this hill and then fall straight down a ledge. Then jump to the left to get to the ring. Super easy with Tails and Knuckles. Sonic is a little trickier.
  • Immediately after that ring, go to the bottom most route you can reach. Eventually you'll see a TV with rings against a wall and a TV with a shield inside a wall just to the left of it with spikes on the wall directly above it. After you break the TV, walk into the wall to the left of it. Hidden ring right there. This is a little ways after the freebie fire shields behind the big water fall.
  • Stay on the lower path until you find a floating platform with two red springs on it just above some water. Hit the springs and climb upware until you see a zip line. Follow the zip line to the right and you'll find a little pool to jump into. Follow the water to get launched up the water fall for the last ring.

Chemical Plant Zone Act 1
  • Take the top route at the beginning and continue on the suggested path until you hit a small back and forth with yellow springs each lowering you a level. Just above the third yellow spring is a fake wall to go through.
  • If you continue on the normal path you'll hit a red spring trying to launch you left and down. Jump over this spring. Not long after you'll run down a crazy long ramp down and to the right. Spin off this and when you get launched, favor the left side of the screen to find another ring at apex of this jump.
  • At the bottom of the famous underwater stairs is a hidden wall to the right with a ring.

Chemical Plant Zone Act 2
  • When you're thrown downward for that big drop onto the super springy green liquid stay to the left as much as possible. There is a path here that leads to a ring. If you take the DNA bubble you've gone to far.
  • At some point you'll be launched from a tube upward and hit a TV on the ceiling. There will be 2 more TVs on the same ceiling. Not long after that you should hit a ramp that ends with you bumping a would be block stair. This stair drops and you can climb up it to the left for some more blocks and a hidden ring.

Press Garden Act 1
  • When you hit the first rotating cylender, drop under neath it and go left. It's a bit tricky to get the jump right, but there is a ring just past those newspaper bouncers.


This is what I've been doing for all my play-thrus. I know a couple other spots (the obvious train in Mirage Saloon Act 1), but by this point, it doesn't matter because I've got all my emeralds.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
And wouldn't you know it, I beat it on the first try after reading this.

That is not a good boss.

Agreed, Super Sonic boss fight are suppose to be fun as you're flying about and dashing into Eggman but the one in Mania is just falls flat because the game punishes you for flying as Sonic moves so slow and using the dash eats up 10 rings which isn't a problem but the stage doesn't give enough rings to make up for the lost and maintain super from is trick not that the game gives a good reason to why running out of rings is a bad thing as like I said before Sonic isn't in a hostile environment, like outer space, a flooded city, deep the volcano, high in the sky or deep in the planets core.


I like the original stages, still not hot on the revisited ones.

Same, especially Metallic Madness Zone which just a poor man clone of Scrap Brain Zone.

I wanted to see more new Zones as I was really impressed with the newer zone, with Press Garden Zone being my favorite of the bunch as if I wanted to play older levels from past Sonic games, I would just boot up my copy of Sonic 1-3&Knuckles.

Plus Generation handled Sonic revisiting older levels through time and dimension so with Mania it felt like "been there done that"

I know that is wrong, but I judge people that uses analog stick in a 2D game.

Played all the Mega Drive Sonic games, including Mania with analog stick and it felt goooooood.
 

TheOGB

Banned
Just played through
Knuckles & Knuckles
with a friend. We both grew up playing Sonic and had a blast. Competition mode was also a ton of fun, but I definitely wish more levels were available. Throw
Metallic Madness
in there for some real madness.

I wonder if they could make the Chaos Emerald special stages an actual 2P race 🤔
 
Uh oh, I just ran into a bug where the music doesnt start back playing after sonic's star power up runs out
Yeah, I've run into a bug like this a couple of times. It'll randomly play the Zone Clear jingle and then the rest of the stage is in silence, until there's something that changes the music like a boss.

Also had the jump sound replaced by the ring collecting sound effect.
 
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