Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces

[Xeogred]

Holy crap for some reason I thought I heard there was only 6 zones... it looks at least twice as long as that! I took a peak at the time attack menu. For better or worse I don't know yet, haha. Might not be one I can get through in one sitting unlike the others. But I'm not really complaining. I guess it's like Sonic 3 + Knuckles sized.

Also:

Stardust Speedway! I didn't expect CD to get some love, that stuff was incredible. Though I heard Metal Sonic was in this and giving people trouble, got him on my first try though.

Stopping at Hydrocity for the night, which is one of the better Sonic 3 zones to me! But... water is always scary.

[Gunstar Green]

Stardust Speedway! I didn't expect CD to get some love, that stuff was incredible. Though I heard Metal Sonic was in this and giving people trouble, got him on my first try though.

Stopping at Hydrocity for the night, which is one of the better Sonic 3 zones to me! But... water is always scary.

It's not the only Sonic CD zone either! I'm not even a fan of CD but the re-imagined zones are incredible. The game is indeed Sonic 3 & Knuckles sized.

[Xeogred]

I died several times from that PresidentLeever, did anyone else have issues with that boss in other versions?

Also cried when Oil Ocean popped up, my least favorite Sonic 2 Zone haha. It wasn't too bad though and the second act was cool enough.

So since Mania is a mix up of all the 2D classics, it really puts it in perspective how much more I love the art design and aesthetics of Sonic 1 and CD. Those games look completely gnarly and 80's / 90's incarnate. You can't help but think of the Fresh Prince or Saved By the Bell. I wonder if some particular artist influenced the direction they were going for or something. I wouldn't be surprised if Christian Whitehead thinks the same, because most of the new levels seem more Sonic 1 and CD inspired. But the levels are still a cool mix of CD's verticality with Sonic 3 & Knuckles' complex maze level design.

This isn't to say Sonic 3 or S&K look bad to me, not at all. But the difference is pretty starking back to back to be honest. With the exception of like Hydrocity or somethig, most of the levels look kind of generically themed. And Sonic 2 I've always thought looked a little flat and muted compared to the others, so many zones too that are kind of throwaway in terms of visuals. But overall I still love most of it and it's cool Sonic had a lot of variety and was so colorful compared to others.

Anyways on another note, this completely destroys the New Super Mario Bros games. I think others here agree with me too that that look for Mario needs to go too. It was never even that good in the first place and we've had it for over a decade now or something. I don't expect Nintendo to go full on retro with the sprites and pixels again, but I really do hope if they keep a 2D Mario line going that he gets a serious redesign soon. Time to compete with that blast processing power again, Nintendo needs to top this!

[noiseredux]

I played on Switch and complained about the same issue with the octopus boss.

[Xeogred]

Shouldn't have brought back Oil Ocean.

[MrPopo]

Oil Ocean and Chemical Plant Zone are the two best zones of Sonic 2. So I was super happy to see both of them. Though Metropolis still has the best music; it's Genesis incarnate.

[Gunstar Green]

They had to answer the age old question of fire barrier plus Oil Ocean.

It was glorious.

[alienjesus]

Shouldn't have brought back Oil Ocean.

IU hgaven't played Mania yet, but if I had to pick 2 zones each from the Mega Drive games to come back, I woulda gone with these myself:

Sonic 1: Spring Yard & Starlight
Sonic 2: Chemical Planet and Mystic Cave
Sonic 3: Ice Cap and Launch Base (aka the only good zones in the game)
Sonic & Knuckles: Flying Battery and Lava Reef
I've never played Sonic CD.

I seem to have chosen all the mechanical and cave levels though XD. It's not my fault they make those the most fun.

[Xeogred]

Shouldn't have brought back Oil Ocean.

IU hgaven't played Mania yet, but if I had to pick 2 zones each from the Mega Drive games to come back, I woulda gone with these myself:

Sonic 1: Spring Yard & Starlight
Sonic 2: Chemical Planet and Mystic Cave
Sonic 3: Ice Cap and Launch Base (aka the only good zones in the game)
Sonic & Knuckles: Flying Battery and Lava Reef
I've never played Sonic CD.

I seem to have chosen all the mechanical and cave levels though XD. It's not my fault they make those the most fun.

Mystic Cave rules. I always liked Hill Top a lot too.

You'll get your wish on some of those. Flying Battery is in and I loved how they incorporated elements from Sonic 2's Wing Fortress in there.

You need to play this and CD ASAP!

Once I beat this (maybe tonight) I'll come up with my Mania 2 wishlist.

[noiseredux]

I'm almost glad to know the oil thing was a bug. When I posted about it earlier Popo was just like "get gud" haha.