Sonic The Hedgehog

[gunswordfist]

I can't imagine them not using one of the Death Eggs. I am hoping for Hydrocity as well. Best Sonic water level and my favorite zone from S3&K. Also, I am really hooing that Casino Night makes it.

[Foggle]

Kind of sad that half the game will be spent on reliving past glories yet again, but if they're as different from their original incarnations as Generations' stages were, I guess I can't complain.

[Foggle]

I've been replaying the Genesis games over the past few days since the new one looks hype. Gotta say, I don't think I've ever given Sonic 3 & Knuckles enough credit over the years. I mean, it was a huge part of my childhood, but goddamn, this game is good - just, like, objectively, from a design and artistic perspective. I'm not the hugest fan of the series as a whole, though I do like the first two games and a few of the others (and every OST is amazing), but S3&K is about as close to perfect as a video game can be, and it only gets better with age.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm thinking the Classic Zone remakes in Mania are being done because they can reuse a lot of assets, it's the 25th anniversary game, and because it's an easy way to add content to the game without padding it with crap. Taxman and his team seem to be using the budget Sega gave them wisely, so I hope they can knock it out of the park. We need more games like this in the future.

Someone recorded the live reaction of Sonic Mania from the event. I always enjoy watching things like this.

[gunswordfist]

That was lovely!

[Daikun]

Sonic 3 & Knuckles HD remake!

[Rynnec]

I was hoping Mania would be a Megaman 9-style game with all new levels instead of a rehash of old levels, still looks good though. I'm really hoping that they'll have other playable characters besides Team Sonic as unlocks, I'd love to see 16-bit Blaze and Shadow.

[Spark Of Spirit]

PAX gameplay!

Taxman confirmed that both Sonic 3 and S&K will each be getting representation here (unlike Generations) which probably means there will be 5 classic zones total to go with the new ones. Given that there will probably be a full 7 zone normal game in there, I'd think of these classic zones as bonuses.

Unfortunately, that means Green Hill will probably be the only Sonic 1 representation again. It doesn't look like Spring Yard or Starlight will get their turn to shine any time soon. Though I wouldn't mind it getting a second zone to round out the classics to a six zone full game of its own.

Going on my previous guess, I'd assume that means:

Sonic 1: Green Hill
Sonic 2: Mystic Cave
Sonic CD: Stardust Speedway
Sonic 3: Hydrocity
Sonic & Knuckles: Lava Reef

My guesses are a bit well reasoned, though not much.

Green Hill is obvious, and it's already been revealed.

Mystic Cave is based on the fact that the most famous zones (Chemical Plant and Casino Night) were in both versions of Generations, and that Mystic Cave is the next most popular.

Stardust Speedway is far and away the most popular Sonic CD level, there isn't even a debate here. Plus, Generations didn't give it a full level despite that excellent boss fight.

Hydrocity is based on music issues. None of the Sonic 3 tracks that had Michael Jackson's sound team involved have ever been in a new version of Sonic 3 that hasn't been a direct port. That means Carnival Night, Ice Cap, and Launch Base, specifically. Carnival Night was never getting in anyway, and Launch Base is a very situational level that was kind of already represented in Generations 3DS. Ice Cap is a great level, but its the music people like above all else. Without the music, I can't imagine the point of bringing it into this game. It will only pale in comparison to the old version. After Ice Cap, Hydrocity is the most popular Sonic 3 level, and the series best water level. They don't need to bother with water levels for the proper Sonic Mania game if they include this, too. Personally, I think it's the most obvious choice for inclusion here.

Finally, there's Lava Reef. To be honest, it should have been in Generations, but probably wasn't because Crisis City was (and there is no other popular Sonic 06 level) and was excluded for Sky Sanctuary and Mushroom Hill (That second one had me doing a double take, too) in the game. Lava Reef is the most popular level in Sonic & Knuckles with only Flying Battery coming close (and that is only really due to the music) and since there will probably be some sort of Death Egg representation in the game kind of makes the latter zone redundant here. Lava Reef has dense level design, the best bosses in the game, excellent music, is a turning point in the story, and is the best fire level in the series. It also completely changes tones between acts, giving a ton of possibility to giving it a do-over here.

Those are just my guesses, anyway. They'll probably include Green Hill, Aquatic Ruins, Stardust Speedway, Ice Cap, and Flying Battery, just to spite me. 

[Foggle]

Please vote so we can actually get a physical release! https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/773936650434990080

[gunswordfist]

VOTED!!

[Spark Of Spirit]

So it's getting a physical (sort of) release.

It also got this commercial. 

[Nel_Annette]

When I voted in the poll for a collector's edition, in my mind I imagined there'd at least be a case with a physical disk. A bit miffed that doesn't exist, but I still preordered the thing.

[Lord Dalek]

So it's getting a physical (sort of) release.

It also got this commercial. 

Great tribute to the legendary original Sonic 2 ad.

[Spark Of Spirit]

This fangame looks pretty great.

[Nel_Annette]

Hell yeah. I was watching SAGE this year and Neo Genesis looked cool too.