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I found the challenge to lie in mastering each stage instead of actually completing them which is great. I can't recall any instances where the game tried to kill me simply because I've never played the stage before. Mania was smart by creating a game that challenged your ability to move fast and traverse stages quickly whilst simultaneously making the game easily accessible. Children were surprisingly more competent than what you would see in this generation. What may be brutally unforgiving now was perfectly acceptable back in the day. That was a bit weird if you think about it. There's not even a tutorial on how to play it. So it's understandable that many newbies don't enjoy Mania.ĮDIT: I mean, Chemical Plant Act 2 boss is something you would only beat on first attempt if you played Mean Bean Machine. On the other hand, I saw my cousin having problems with it, to the point he asked me to play for him on certain parts.
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I had difficulty with blue spheres, special stages and many acts, and I loved that. I personally found those games to be much harder with more jerkish enemy and trap placements (especially crushers, which ZackScott HATED in Mania).Īs a Sonic veteran, I found Mania to be pretty easy, but to the average gamer, is it actually really hard? And what would that make the other classics? Brutally unforgiving?Īs a Sonic veteran, I found the game pretty well designed not to be easy for veterans. Okay, let's try that again." but rather a "Oh come on!! What was that!?" But I'm thinking if he and others had so much trouble with Mania, then games like Sonic 1, 2, and 3&K would eat them alive. When they get hit or die, it's rarely a "Oops. Are classic Sonic's mechanics something that's difficult for newcomers to wrap their heads around? Because frustration is something I've been seeing a lot with newcomers. But I can't tell if he just sucks or if I'm just seeing it that way because I'm a Sonic veteran while he and others like him are newcomers. The only times he was having fun were the speedy sections when he didn't have to actually do much. He tried keeping a positive attitude, but I could tell he was losing his patience with the game and not having that much fun.
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The amount of creativity included in these zone was insane and just everything about them makes me think that there is huge potential to keep creating new retro style titles.Personally, I found it to be the easiest and most forgiving game in the classic series, but I've watched several playthroughs of Mania where people were having so much trouble with it and getting super frustrated.
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Playing these zones made me wish that a brand new game with all new zones could be made. I also have to give a shoutout to the new stages featured in the game, Mirage Saloon Zone, Pressed Garden Zone and Studiopolis Zone. The speed and the zany soundtrack took me straight back to when I kicked his butt in Sonic CD. Speaking of Stardust Speedway it features one of my favourite boss battles against my number one baddie Metal Sonic. All my favourites are there, Flying Battery Zone, Hydrocity Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, Stardust Speedway. The classic zones have been remixed as well so it makes for an experience that feels familiar and then new mechanics are introduced that keeps you on your toes. A great mix of classic and new zones are featured and are blended together in a way that flows and creates a nice little story which was another aspect of Sonic 3 & Knuckles that I really enjoyed, so I'm very happy that this was included. The stages included in Sonic Mania are fantastic.