Game about Sonic often strike in that they do not absolutely need. Trying to make a serious dramatic story with a bunch of characters, inappropriate gameplay mechanics like the slasher from
Unleashed, exploring the city of Adventure – it all over again became the cause of the failure of the new series of games.
Sega has made was an attempt to do everything the old way in a bit Sonic the Hedgehog 4 , but … just was not able to recreate the correct physics of motion of the hero! Besides, Sonic 4 was very poor and the secondary content for: closed loop just two small episode.
Attempt to become better released five years ago, the Sonic Generations , but it turned out to be collected from the remakes of old levels, and its three-dimensional stages, not all were successful.
Sega would try to develop the idea of Generations – maybe then she would have something outstanding. But no, she released the failed the Sonic: of Lost World , and then completely delved into the cycle of the Sonic Boom – with American design heroes and absolutely unintelligible gameplay.
Helplessness Sega can easily be seen in its initiative on the transfer of classic games on mobile platforms: a great idea, but the execution – curve emulation on Unity. Modern Sega nothing can itself bring to mind: we need the fans.
That fans have long understood “Sonic” is better than the developers responsible for the series. They create their own fashion of old parts, their own game about Sonic.
One of these craftsmen, Kristian Uaythed, he wrote from scratch engine for such games with perfect physics simulation character movement.
The precedent of cooperation with this brilliant programmer at Sega already had: she had previously hired him for porting Sonic 2 on the mobile platform, and he instead just write a wrapper for the emulator, completely rebuilt from the ground up the whole game, adding support for widescreen displays, and even recover deleted release version of the stage.
Whitehead created for ultimate version of one of the best games of Sonic, and trust him (and other not less talented enthusiasts) to create a new part in the spirit of the classics seemed an obvious decision. But for such a move by Japanese companies – not just a gimmick, but a unique case.
And more interesting, as the Sega behave further, given the success of Sonic Mania.
If we consider the core quality of the classic “Sonic”, which brought them success in the early ’90s, we can note three most important. The first – it is certainly accurate, responsive handling, important for any platformer. Second – this is what makes the “Sonic” “Sonic”: speed.
Proper levels of Sonic the Hedgehog find a balance between classical platformal tests and dizzying high-speed sections. Incredible geometry stages, transforming their segments in the real roller coaster – is the real face of the series.
Finally, the third quality is good “Sonic” is a variety of game mechanics, each of which does not require a separate explanation and intuitive. It is thanks to the mechanics each level in the best parts of the cycle is perceived differently than the previous one.
With such mechanics it is important not to go too far they should complement shade standard game process and not to displace it is (as is often the case, for example, on a Sonic Colours Wii).
Sonic Mania all these three criteria, of course, satisfied.
The game falls into the same trap as the Sonic 4 and Sonic Generations: it relies too heavily on its primary sources, too much borrowing. Of the 12 areas, which are divided into the game, 8 moved from classical pieces, which is why Mania feels like a collection of remixes, and not an independent new part.
Remixes undoubtedly succeeded: it is our way through places painfully familiar, then suddenly some part breaks down the picture and makes adapt to slightly different structure phases.
Sonic Mania constantly flirts with the expectations of the fans, and then throwing them Easter eggs and recombine mechanics from several sources – and then adding a mixture of something his own, completely new. But at the same time not feeling that much we have already seen.
And given that this parasite on classics have been practiced for at least two other editions of “Sonic” is considerably spoils the impression from the Sonic Mania.
Its developers can create great new levels, and very much like to see the continuation of Mania of them consisted entirely.
