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Sonic fans: Explain to me the fan service and lore of Sonic Mania (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

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So if I have a N3DS XL, a WiiU/Wii, a PS3, a PS4 Pro and a Switch currently hooked up in my media center... What's the best way to play S3&K?

I also have a PC that was a capable gaming PC a few years ago, but I don't really use it anymore because it acts funny.

Get Sonic Mega Collection for GameCube and play that on your Wii/Wii U. It has great versions of all the original 16-bit games, including 3&K. Although actually, the Wii VC version of 3 and Knuckles might be a good alternative since the Classic Controller's D-Pad is better than GC's. I've never had a problem using the stick but the D-Pad might end up being more precise or more comfortable. They're both basically the same as far as emulation quality goes.

Then grab the PSN version of Sonic CD and you're golden.
 

WPS

Member
Since there seems to be a lot of people with knowledge of the more obscure older games - Is the mario-kart-item-box-esque sound effect that occurs when Sonic enters a funnel in Studiopolis Zone from one of those? I remember it very clearly from Sonic Advance, but wasn't sure if the sound effect was older than that.
 

Eblo

Member
Is the Giga Octo boss at the end of Act 2 a reference to anything? I imagine the smaller octo enemies were in the original Oil Ocean (since they appear in the remade stage), so maybe the Act 2 boss is simply a super-sized take on them?

The octo is new, but Oil Ocean had pretty much the same boss (with the gun an claw). However the octo is new, but it has elements taken from the boss of Lava Reef Act 1.

Exactly - the giant octopus is just a nod to the existing smaller enemies from the original stage. Also as cireza posted, the other elements of the fight are lifted from the original stage's boss fight and the original Lava Reef Act 1 boss.

Actually, around a decade ago, a fan-made mockup image of a giant octus in Oil Ocean circulated the Sonic hacking community. I scoured the Internet to find it for this thread but had no luck. Given the people behind Mania, it's entirely possible that this image inspired Mania's Oil Ocean boss. It's also possible it's a complete coincidence. Wish I could find it to see how similar it looks.
 

Neff

Member
It appears that Hydrocity is unique in that its Act 1 is actually all-new, while its Act 2 is a modified version of an existing level.

Every classic zone follows this format. The first act is all the acts from the original Mega Drive zones mashed into one, and the second act is an all-new stage with new elements.

edit: o nm
 

Berordn

Member
Every classic zone follows this format. The first act is all the acts from the original Mega Drive zones mashed into one, and the second act is an all-new stage with new elements.

Not all of them. Hydrocity is reversed, and both stages from CD have completely new layouts.
 

NotLiquid

Member
A lot of people keep saying that Bean debuted in Sonic the Fighters, but he originates from a 1980s arcade game (Dynamite Dux) made by the same development studio. His 2P color scheme from Fighters matches his original appearance from Dux.

I think it was on Sonic Retro the other day that a member pointed out Bean's translated Fighters Megamix profile suggests he's actually supposed to be a woodpecker and not a duck, which blew my mind at first but made sense when thinking about his moveset in Sonic the Fighters.

Also it was mentioned that Bark was conceived as a gentle and loving, if not shy dude rather than being a bad guy, which makes him and Bean being a part of Team Hooligan in Archie Sonic, and also being antagonists in Mania (well, technically impersonations of them) kind of funny.
 
Since there seems to be a lot of people with knowledge of the more obscure older games - Is the mario-kart-item-box-esque sound effect that occurs when Sonic enters a funnel in Studiopolis Zone from one of those? I remember it very clearly from Sonic Advance, but wasn't sure if the sound effect was older than that.
I'm pretty sure it's just from Sonic Advance. The sound effects from that game were mostly created just for it, then reused by the other portable games.
 

Neiteio

Member
All this Mania hype is so heartwarming.

One of my biggest wish if Mania 2 ever happens is to have a Land of Darkness stage.

It's one of the most memorable scenes of the Sonic The Hedgehog movie to me, and the music is dope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q_rcmtzvoY
My wish for Mania 2, as someone who really loved Sonic Adventure 2 back in the day, is to take some of its 3D worlds and translate them into 2D. I know Generations did something similar with City Escape, etc, but how cool would it be to see, say, Pumpkin Hill in the 32-bit pixel-art style of Mania.

And it wouldn't just be a straight translation, either. The idea would be to take the world theme, but to then create all-new layouts and stage elements within it. So for example, Pumpkin Hill could be reinterpreted as a Halloween world. The music, of course, could channel the classic theme.
 
My wish for Mania 2, as someone who really loved Sonic Adventure 2 back in the day, is to take some of its 3D worlds and translate them into 2D. I know Generations did something similar with City Escape, etc, but how cool would it be to see, say, Pumpkin Hill in the 32-bit pixel-art style of Mania.

And it wouldn't just be a straight translation, either. The idea would be to take the world theme, but to then create all-new layouts and stage elements within it. So for example, Pumpkin Hill could be reinterpreted as a Halloween world. The music, of course, could channel the classic theme.

Sonic Adventure 2 has so many stages that are "counterparts" to each other that they could kill two birds with one stone and have them be the same zone.

e.g.

Pumpkin Hill as Act 1, Sky Rail as Act 2
Lost Colony as Act 1, Eternal Engine as Act 2
Green Forest as Act 1, White Jungle as Act 2

etc.
 

OmegaFax

Member
Someone I know from TCRF & Sonic Retro by the name of Cooljerk/Krejlooc discovered something regarding Metallic Madness and the background/foreground mechanic.

Apparently, it isn't new for Mania and was first seen in the Tiara Bobowski 2D levels from Sonic Xtreme.

Sxc_side.png
(Image from Sonic Retro)
 

Guess Who

Banned
Someone I know from TCRF & Sonic Retro by the name of Cooljerk/Krejlooc discovered something regarding Metallic Madness and the background/foreground mechanic.

Apparently, it isn't new for Mania and was first seen in the Tiara Bobowski 2D levels from Sonic Xtreme.

Sxc_side.png
(Image from Sonic Retro)

Ehhhhh, I don't think that's a deliberate reference here. The idea of going between the background and foreground isn't all that unique in platformers - hell, Sonic 4 Episode 2 did it, and I'd argue the implementation there is more similar to Mania's than this X-treme GIF (such as the camera staying in place and Sonic just being smaller on-screen).
 
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