It has a neat hook and some fun stage gimmicks, but the aesthetics are gaudy and the level design is uninspired, especially when set against characters that control in such unique ways! Thus, I’m put in the awkward position of saying, yes, it recreates the stages of Knuckles’ Chaotix within the constraints of Sonic Mania, allowing you to beat the stages as a single character instead of a tethered team, but I also question if it was a feat worth accomplishing. I’ll put this up front: I don’t think Knuckles’ Chaotix is a very good game.
Status: All Mania characters, 6 stages and final boss, special stage, pinball stage, and 4 “Encore” variants. It still has a long way to go, but it’s definitely one worth keeping an eye on. I would have liked to see more to gauge the designers’ knack for variety in level theme and structure. The game gives an incredibly small taste, but an ambitious one, with professional-looking reskins of the stage features and badniks. It has the density and diverging paths of a Sonic stage, though it leans heavily on simple puzzles, traps, and doors. It’s a solid Mania-style stage, though it doesn’t scream “Sonic CD” (interpret that as a positive or negative as you see fit). The design motif is firmly aligned with those two zones as well, putting Sonic in cramped tunnels and locked rooms that require finding a button to progress. Throwing the player into an underwater stage as your first and only impression is a risky move, but the game maintains pace through ample use of currents, boats, and the occasional running-on-water. This (mostly) single stage demo has the player navigate an underwater stage somewhere between Press Garden and Hydropolis with a gemstone aesthetic and chill music. Sonic DVD bills itself as a fan sequel to Sonic CD, and it certainly has the menu style down. Status: Demo – Sonic only, 1 Complete Stage, 1 Incomplete Stage, “Encore” variants on both. SAGE this year brings a bundle of Mania mods, so grab your Steam copy, download the Mod Manager, and let’s dig into some Mania remade!
And in the years since, new tools have made it easier for mod developers to recraft color pallets, sprites, music, and stage design. It played into expectations as much as it subverted them. It paid homage as much as it tread new ground. When Sonic Mania first released, it represented a fresh blast of energy for classic Genesis Sonic.
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