Sonic Mania Plus Review (PS4)

Sonic the Hedgehog.  One of the most beloved characters in gaming history.  Sega's Captain.  Mario's rival.  Through big hits and terrible misfires, he's been alive and kicking for decades.  So is this entry a hit or a miss?  This is Sonic Mania Plus.

Sonic Mania is a true return to form, going back to the things that made Sonic great to begin with; running and jumping.  It's funny to think that a series could be at it's best when it was so simple, but that's the case with Sonic.  No boosting, no werehog, no wisps, no homing attacks, no human love interest.  Just going to the right side of the screen as fast as you can.  It's back to basics and it's great.

The game isn't completely without gimmicks, though.  The biggest of these is the ability to choose from five different characters, each with their own unique quirks.  Sonic is just regular old Sonic, running fast and jumping high.  Tails can fly, which is very useful, but leaves him vulnerable (he can kill enemies from underneath, though).  He can also swim underwater.  Knuckles can glide through the air, taking out any enemies he hits.  He can change direction mid-glide and climb walls, too.  Mighty can crash straight to the ground mid-jump, which is good for precision platforming and simply getting out of the way of danger.  His jump also seems to give him a type of shield, which can deflect bullets or under certain circumstances, protects him from spikes.  Finally, Ray (who I consider the game's hard mode) can do a weak glide maneuver, during which he is totally vulnerable.  It's like they took the worst parts of Knuckles and Tails and made a character out of that.  They all give the game that classic feel while keeping things fresh.  Ray is kind of lame, but they all add something to the gameplay.

There's an assortment of characters to choose from.

The gimmicky shields from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles make their glorious return, which is anything but bad.  I liked those shields are I'm glad to see they are back.  These shields each have special effects and give Sonic a special jump.  The first time I burned down a wooden bridge using the fire shield, I thought, "Whoa.  That never happened in Sonic 3."  Or how about using the electric shield to cling to magnetic surfaces.  These updates are neat and make different shields preferable on certain levels (or areas of those levels).

The shields allow you to do some pretty cool stuff.

Also, the most of the bosses have unique gimmicks to shake things up.  In one battle, you'll simply jump into whatever Dr. Robotnik is riding.  In another mission, you'll have to force him into spikes to damage him.  In yet another battle, you have to undertake the unexpected task of beating him in a round of The Mean Bean Machine.  It's like the creators said to themselves, "How can we shake things up without ruining the game?"  The end result is that the bosses are sometimes unexpected, but perfectly beatable in 1-3 lives.  A few of them are annoying and require some serious trial-and-error, but you shouldn't see the Game Over screen.

One of the bosses is a less shitty version of Mean Bean Machine.

The levels are old-school side scrolling with some being updates on levels you've played in past games. They seem long and fun to explore.  Some levels will have you pushing the time limit (10 minutes), but you can turn it off for a more relaxing experience in these instances.

Sadly, the old-school nature of the game means something not so good; cheap shots.  You'll take plenty of sucker punches, especially during your first playthrough.  Bullets will suddenly fly into the screen and if you don't have a shield, you're getting hit.  Enemies will wait on top of ledges and hit you with a perfectly-timed shot as soon as they come screen, sending you plummeting back to where you came from or to your death.  It can be irritating, but not game-breaking.

Well, it's time to get to the little stuff.  The graphics are nice and colorful, just like all the Genesis era Sonic games.  The music is what you'd expect from a Sonic game.  Put it on your MP3 player and crank it up.  You can also unlock stuff by acquiring medals in the bonus stages.

Collect medals here to unlock stuff, such as Sonic CD's Super Peelout.

There are other game modes, with Encore Mode being the highlight of them.  It's basically the normal Mania Mode but you'll get a chance to play as all the characters on the same playthrough.  You'll always have access to two at a time, with the ability to switch between them at any time.  You get access to other characters by hitting special monitors, which will switch out the character you're currently controlling for another.  It's an...interesting mode.

Sonic Mania Plus is a nice game for old-school Sonic fans.  The game cuts the bullshit and gets back to what made Sonic great.  Good graphics, great music, and the gameplay that Sonic Purist love.  Play it.