5 Reasons Why Sonic Mania is Awesome

Looking back through some of my posts from this past year, I've talked a great deal about the games that made a lasting impression on me like Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy. Well, I'm about to do it again for another game I really enjoy. Though, I feel like singing the praises of Sonic Mania is highly redundant at this point. Every gaming website and YouTuber that games has already gone on and on about why Sonic Mania is such a fantastic game. The bulk of these articles and videos usually start off by saying how much Sonic has sucked over the years, or that there hasn't been a good Sonic game since 1994. Because, you know, 2D Sonic is the best and 3D Sonic is lame. When you see that kind of nonsense pop up constantly, it can make reviews/videos hard to read/watch. I did a write up about about this a week ago and it's kind of the reason for this piece today. I don't feel like I truly gave Sonic Mania it's due. It truly is a magnificent game and here's five reasons why.

01. Easter Eggs Galore 

Anyone playing Sonic Mania that doesn't know much about Sonic's detailed history or the company that created him is sure to have a good time. Sharped eyed, die hard fans, however, will be in for a treat as this game is loaded with plethora after plethora of nods and homages. Studiopolis Zone is filled with references to SEGA games like Streets of Rage and Daytona USA. It goes beyond that, though. The Club Spin signs you see scattered throughout are similar to the real Club Sega signs located in Japan. You can even spell out half of SEGA's most aggressive taglines from the early 90s when they were competing with Nintendo, "Genesis Does." Sonic's act clear pose is taken from old concept art as is his looking up pose. Defeating Eggman in Studiopolis Act 2 has the TV screen go blank with the numbers 072216 on it, which was the day of the infamous Sonic the Hedgehog 25th anniversary live stream. Listen closely and you can hear the same annoying audio distortion from the stream.

02. Level Design

While the game does lose a few points for rehashing some old zone acts, Sonic Mania's levels are modeled after the 2D Sonic games from the 1990s and are for the most part an absolute joy to blast through. You can run loop-the-loops, gain a huge burst of speed, kick back and enjoy plenty of high speed thrills. Of courses there's still plenty of slower paced platforming to be had, but Sonic Mania does a good job of segregating it's speed and platforming sections. The way you transverse the levels mighty take you by surprise. Studiopolis Act 1 has you propelled upwards using a popcorn machine as well as transporting you through the act via radio waves only to have you come to a stop by bursting out an old CRT TV. In Press Garden Zone Act 1, has conveyor belts that subvert your expectations by also having bouncing properties. Press Garden Act 2 has you needing to get frozen (resulting in a hilariously painful look on Sonic, Tails and Knuckles faces) to break down walls blocking your path. Sure you could walk on land to get across a gap in most games but creating a path from bubbles? Now that is traveling in style.

03. The Bosses

Let me get this out of the way: Many of Sonic Mania's bosses are stupidly easy. You can usually damage boost your way through many of them. Even so, a lot of the bosses are fun and creative. In Studiopolis Act 2, Eggman attacks you by changing the weather either by strong wind gusts, super high temperatures or bringing about thunderstorms. The boss of Hydrocity Act 1 lets you turn the tables on egghead by hijacking his Eggomatic and using it to attack him. Chemical Plant Act 2 throws you for a loop by making you fight Eggman in a Puyo Puyo match. Sonic Mania is proof that boss fights don't have to be challenging or difficult to be fun or memorable.

04. Debug Mode

If you collect 18 medals in the Blue Sphere stages, you unlock Debug mode. (You can also access Debug mode via cheat code.) This mode can only be used during a No Save play through and while that may certainly sound like a bummer, the fact that it let's you break the game with everything it allows you to do, makes it perfectly understandable as to why Debug mode isn't allowed on a save file. With Debug mode you can spawn enemies, rings, lives, monitors of all types and much more. Having a hard time getting that acursed forth Chaos Emerald. Just spawn the S monitor to activate your super form. Wanna end the act right away? Drop a goal post in Stardust Speedway, pass it and the act is over because Stardust Speedway sucks.

05. Oh, MAN, is the Music GOOD!!!

If you didn't know who Tee Lopes is, Sonic Mania is going to make sure his is a name you won't soon forget. A long time Sonic fan with arrangements of Sonic tunes on YouTube for years, Tee's music is nothing short of extraordinary. His remixes of old themes like Green Hill Zone Act 2 and Flying Battery Act 2 sound familiar but with his own added flair and his original compositions for the game are audio bliss. The man has a serious gift for writing music stays with you long after you've turned the game off.

Flying Battery Act 2
Tabloid Jargon (Press Garden Act 1)
Stardust Speedway Act 1
Prime Time (Studiopolis Act 2)