Like many Sonic fans, I picked up the physical release of Sonic Mania Plus, making the third time I've purchased the game (and probably not the last). Despite my annoyances at some of the old-school game design like getting hit by enemies you can't see, I still love this game nearly a year after its release. It is soooo nice to have a physical release of this baby and thankfully, SEGA has heard the demand for it loud and clear. I would have been happy just having a game card/disc to look upon and a snazzy case to display on my shelf but SEGA and the Mania team went a step beyond that and gave us a sweet reversible Genesis/Mega Drive cover and a really nice art book full of concept art and oh-so-cute doodles. More content includes the Encore mode, four player competition and a couple of extra characters that you could say make a mighty fine addition to an already outstanding game. No, I am not sorry for that awful pun.
Mighty the Armadillo made his first appearance alongside Ray the Flying Squirrel in the 1993 arcade game, SegaSonic the Hedgehog, an isometric platformer (three full years before the subpar Sonic 3D Blast) where Sonic, Mighty and Ray were all captured by Eggman and work together to escape his clutches. Mighty would go on to be a playable character in 1995's Knuckles Chaotix for the ill-fated 32X add on for the Genesis and after that, he and his best friend Ray wouldn't be seen for a very, very long time.
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| Mighty made his game debut in SegaSonic the Hedgehog, a game that has yet to be given any sort of home release. |
The first time I laid eyes on Mighty was in an issue of the long defunct Game Fan magazine. He and the gang from Knuckles Chaotix were on the cover and at first, I mistook Mighty for SEGA's speedy blue mascot. I mean, look at him. He looks like a fan recolor with slight alterations of Sonic. Mistaken identity aside, I liked Mighty's design. I would get my Mighty fix through ROM hacks like the excellent Sonic Megamix and Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series that is sadly no more (but hey, we got a killer IDW Sonic comic series now!). We'd get a reminder that Mighty and Ray still exist in the form of some missing posters in Sonic Generations but the two wouldn't appear in the flesh until the Sonic Mania Plus release/update. It has been over two decades but at long last, Mighty and Ray are back. I may have some gushing words for the flying squirrel later on, but for now, this editorial is all about the greatest Armadillo in the history of video games.
I LOVE playing as Mighty in Sonic Mania Plus. I just finished a play through as him and I had an absolute blast. You thought Tails was the easy mode of the game being able to fly and swim? Please. Mighty is for players that don't feel like dealing with enemy BS or for younger players that may possibly have a tougher time with the other characters. Or for the player that just wants to have a breezy run through the game. And after running through Sonic Mania numerous times on the PS4 and Switch, that is exactly what I needed.
Being an armadillo, Mighty has a protective shell and that thing is such a no sell to so many things. He can jump on spikes without being affected (so long as he doesn't bounce into more spikes uncurled). He can roll into a ball and projectiles bounce right off of him. Basically, any enemy or nearly any obstacle that is can fire off rounds or has sharp edges, Mighty is OP to it. I loath the boss of Oil Ocean Act 2 so much. With Mighty, I was able to take, sweet, sweet revenge for all the lives I lost on past play throughs. Mighty also has this bangin' ground-pound-like move that makes the coolest sound whenever he hits the ground. It can break through enemies usual impenetrable defenses. Those bothersome piranha plants in Stardust Speedway? I crushed them with satisfying ease. The only thing that made playing as Mighty even better was when I collected all the Chaos Emeralds and became Super Mighty. The ground slam is even faster in that form.
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| Welcome back, Mighty. You were very much missed. |
Being an armadillo, Mighty has a protective shell and that thing is such a no sell to so many things. He can jump on spikes without being affected (so long as he doesn't bounce into more spikes uncurled). He can roll into a ball and projectiles bounce right off of him. Basically, any enemy or nearly any obstacle that is can fire off rounds or has sharp edges, Mighty is OP to it. I loath the boss of Oil Ocean Act 2 so much. With Mighty, I was able to take, sweet, sweet revenge for all the lives I lost on past play throughs. Mighty also has this bangin' ground-pound-like move that makes the coolest sound whenever he hits the ground. It can break through enemies usual impenetrable defenses. Those bothersome piranha plants in Stardust Speedway? I crushed them with satisfying ease. The only thing that made playing as Mighty even better was when I collected all the Chaos Emeralds and became Super Mighty. The ground slam is even faster in that form.
I am ever so thankfully that Sonic Mania was finally given a physical release and we got such delicious extra content with it. If you haven't played Sonic Mania, grab the physical edition or download it. And play as Mighty. Man, just writing this makes me excited to do another run as him. He's that dang good.
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