As we near the coast on the one-year anniversary of their original release, I'm not sure there's much need to reiterate how good Sonic Mania was. (You can always check out my review if you do want that, of course.) Coming as a collaboration between Sega and a team of developers comprised of talented longtime fans of the blue hedgehog, the sport served as both an homage towards the 16-bit era of the series along with a path forward for all those still wanting Sonic to stick to his 2D roots. Sonic Mania maintained a superb level of quality almost consistently from start to finish, bringing smiles both to a totally new generation of Sonic players and longtime fans like me who had gotten lost on the way.
If there's any game that really wasn't in need of an expanded rerelease to repair or add on to what had come before, Sonic Mania would be near the top of the list. And yet, here i am, nearly twelve months later, receiving Sonic Mania Plus.
Before anything else, Sonic Mania Plus serves in an effort to bring that which was previously a digital-only title to keep shelves, something 2D Sonic's return without question deserved. However, Sega and the teams involved weren't satisfied with just slapping the original game onto discs (or cartridges), packaging it with a mini art book and calling it a day, so Plus also leads us a handful of smaller-but really appreciated-changes. Funny enough, the one I had been most looking forward to was adding the stage transitions missing in the original. Sure, they were a small aspect which had no real impact on gameplay, but they were part of the overall sense of attention and care given to Sonic Mania that then felt strangely incomplete. Well, they're all here now, and i am satisfied-mostly. There is a transition or two that also feels kinda lazy compared to the others that people get, but a minimum of everything is now consistent.
Stage transitions aren't what's most enjoyable about Sonic Mania Plus of course, just how about two brand-new characters instead? Joining Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles within this expanded form of the game are Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. When they have elicited cries of “who?” from some, they're pretty interesting additions given that-with their debut within the 1993 arcade release SegaSonic the Hedgehog-they are some of Sonic's earliest, yet most forgotten over time, playable friends. Each brings their own unique twist to Plus: Mighty can drop out of the jump with an enemy-crushing ground pound, block projectiles while crouched, and survive one bounce on spikes; meanwhile, Ray-my personal favorite-can glide with the air without losing altitude (like Knuckles does).
To help encourage players to give the adventure another go with the duo, Sonic Mania Plus also offers up Encore mode. On the surface, Encore mixes up the game's thirteen zones with tweaked visuals and environments, while also adding in Sonic the Hedgehog 3's Angel Island. (Just, believe me, temper your excitement because of its inclusion.) We get an all-new type of checkpoint bonus stage: a sort of pinball-esque mini game, no doubt inspired by Sonic Spinball's own bonus stages. Given how much I loathe the normal blue sphere challenges, I was stupidly excited initially when i first discovered this new alternative. After giving them a go, I actually do feel like the idea is a tad underdeveloped-but I'd still favour them than not.
Encore mode then provides one other big gameplay twist. After starting off as Sonic, you rescue either Mighty or Ray (your choice) in the first act, and from there, you'll always play like a duo, having the ability to switch involving the two active characters at any time. Instead of additional lives, 1-up monitors will “rescue” among the other characters which you'll swap from reserve and into your current playable pair through the use of special monitors. When one character dies, another jumps in to take their place, with a full game over occurring once you have wiped out every member of your current stock. I wasn't whatsoever expecting this aspect when giving Encore mode a try, but it's a neat idea which will help encourage replayability-even for those who have already literally original Sonic Mania to death at this point. It's also nice to possess a team choice for those (much like me) who may not be in to the Sonic & Tails duo-or, uhm, that Knuckles & Knuckles nonsense either.
Beyond that, Sonic Mania Plus brings many other smaller examples of polish to help make the original game's shine even more brilliant. Time Trials now provide the ability to save and playback replays, Competition mode enhances the possible player count up to four, and Korean and Chinese have been added to the language options. On top of that, the prior “secret” gameplay options (for example unlocking the Sonic CD peel-out dash) are available even for your saved games. Oh, and-to the utter delight of a number of you out of trouble there-there's the ability to completely turn off the stage time limits.
There is a change that appears in Sonic Mania Plus that i am not really a fan of, but it is a big change born from good intentions. One of the complaints about Sonic Mania was that some of the bosses were too easy, even though that hasn't been fully addressed to my liking, I do think their degree of difficulty feels better now. In rebalancing these encounters, though, among the bosses was completely altered from what they were before, and it is a move that feels lateral. Sure, the original battle was something of the letdown given the need for the smoothness under consideration, but honestly, same with this. The boss' rework feels like a wasted effort in my experience, a comment I can't make about any other piece of the sport.
One iffy decision doesn't even start to negate all the wonderfulness that Sonic Mania Plus brings by using it, of course. Even while a game title not looking for fixing, it's difficult to deny it does now feel like a more complete and polished product. If you have been dragging the feet on picking up Sonic Mania or were waiting to see if an actual release would eventually come, then it is time to finally experience the joy and splendor that Christian Whitehead and friends have provided us with. And, should you already own the game's original release, I'd think about the $5 it'll take to change your copy a no-brainer.
