Firstly I should start of by saying that yes, I strongly disagree with the desicion to use Denuvo for the DRM service for this game. But for me the damage is done, as my game was downloaded and played before the news came out. I disagree with it, I hope they end up reversing it, and it will reflect the score only slightly. But it still will affect my score. So now, lets move on.

My first game system was a Sega Genesis, and my first game ever was Sonic one. I can still remember my fledging days of gaming at four years old, going up against Dr. Robotnik in Green Hill and losing miserably to the mace swinging boss. I can still remember asking my Mom for help, but of couse she couldn't help me, she knew even less about the game then I did. So I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps, and learn on my own. And when i finally did beat it, the victory was all the sweeter. Sonic started me on a passion for videogames, and while I expanded outward and upward, I always came back to Sonic in the Genesis days. Each game getting more polished, more streamlined, and more fun. Then in my early teens Sonic made the jump to 3D, and it was...well awkward. Sonic adventure one worked yes, but it wasn't the same. And while there were parts to enjoy in it, which were further improved in SA2, it never felt the same.

The last game I ever pre-ordered was Sonic Heroes, and this for me was the start of the slow death of the series. The point where SEGA seemed to try with each game to find a new gimmick that stuck and simply failed at every turn. A shambling corpse that continued to decay with each subsequent release. Team formations, Guns, werehogs, storybook tales, wisps, the insulting use of the name 'Sonic 4' for a largely broken game that was practically shovelware. There were few reprieves, The gameboy advance series, rush, and generations. But far to many failures to ever be able to see the series as anything more than a washed up hasbeen, doing anything it could to be relevant.

Then, a flash in the dark. SEGA starts hiring well known and respective fan game creators and putting them to work. Which lead to some fantastic ports of the classic games. (Although dissapointingly most for tablet only) And finally, we come to Mania, a mostly remixed yet wholey new sonic game. Watching the release trailer I could feel the little four year old inside practically shouting to the heavens in excitement. But i had been burned before, and so I watched, and waited. Waited for the red flag that never ended up coming, and eventually caused me to pre-order a Sonic title for the first time in over a decade. And then it released...

And it was everything i could have hoped it would be. Nearly ever part of the game lovingly polished and put together by a team that cared. That knew what Sonic games from back in the day were supposed to be. A perfect balance of old and new gimmicks, or speed and platforming. Of the playful atmosphere laced with a mischievious threat. It was everything both the child inside of me, and the current me could have ever wanted in a new, 'classic' style sonic game. And it is one that is surely more deserving of the title of 'Sonic 4' by comparison to the awful episodic garbageware title.

The music, both remixed and new is wonderfully crafted and just as much of an earworm as most of the classics. Tee Lopes really hit it out of the park. And all the levels are masterfully crafted. Feeling massive and exciting to explore, and even more fun to speedrun once you've got a mental map. Each level houses a perfect mixture of old and new gimmicks and tricks, and the bosses are fun and always throwing you for a loop as you go along. And even better, the story is small, unemcumbered by the usual overdramatic and overwriguht storylines SEGA puts into thier 3D titles. Stories that seem as though they were dug out of the dumpster of the back of an anime studio for being to generic and idiotic.

But it isn't perfect. I already mentioned Denuvo, so I won't cover it again. But when it comes to the game itself I have two main issues with it. One is the inconsistant cutscenes between stages. One stage will have a well constructed, long or short connecting thread to bring the characters to the next stage, while others will simply fade to black and then drop you into the new stage. I feel if they were going to go as far as to creat elaborate cutscenes for many of the levels, why didn't they just do all of them? My other issue is the pointless aspect of Blue Sphere stages after you've collected all the gold medals. In game, the stages offer you no extra lives or other inscentives to keep jumping in and playing on your journey. Now I find myself cursing every accidental jumps into one of the bonus stages when it has nothing to offer anymore.

Sonic Mania is a fantastic game otherwise, a stellar entry in a series that was over two decades overdue. I know i'll be picking up and playing it just as often as the classics. I highly recommend buying it if you are a long time fan, or someone looking to see what those old farts from the SEGA vs Nintendo days are always going on about. If you can, get it for console to avoid Denuvo. My final rating is a 9/10.

Firstly I should start of by saying that yes, I strongly disagree with the desicion to use Denuvo for the DRM service for this game. But for me the damage is done, as my game was downloaded and played before the news came out. I disagree with it, I hope they end up reversing it, and it will reflect the score only slightly. But it still will affect my score. So now, lets move on. My first game system was a Sega Genesis, and my first game ever was Sonic one. I can still remember my fledging days of gaming at four years old, going up against Dr. Robotnik in Green Hill and losing miserably to the mace swinging boss. I can still remember asking my Mom for help, but of couse she couldn't help me, she knew even less about the game then I did. So I had to pull myself up by my bootstraps, and learn on my own. And when i finally did beat it, the victory was all the sweeter. Sonic started me on a passion for videogames, and while I expanded outward and upward, I always came back to Sonic in the Genesis days. Each game getting more polished, more streamlined, and more fun. Then in my early teens Sonic made the jump to 3D, and it was...well awkward. Sonic adventure one worked yes, but it wasn't the same. And while there were parts to enjoy in it, which were further improved in SA2, it never felt the same. The last game I ever pre-ordered was Sonic Heroes, and this for me was the start of the slow death of the series. The point where SEGA seemed to try with each game to find a new gimmick that stuck and simply failed at every turn. A shambling corpse that continued to decay with each subsequent release. Team formations, Guns, werehogs, storybook tales, wisps, the insulting use of the name 'Sonic 4' for a largely broken game that was practically shovelware. There were few reprieves, The gameboy advance series, rush, and generations. But far to many failures to ever be able to see the series as anything more than a washed up hasbeen, doing anything it could to be relevant. Then, a flash in the dark. SEGA starts hiring well known and respective fan game creators and putting them to work. Which lead to some fantastic ports of the classic games. (Although dissapointingly most for tablet only) And finally, we come to Mania, a mostly remixed yet wholey new sonic game. Watching the release trailer I could feel the little four year old inside practically shouting to the heavens in excitement. But i had been burned before, and so I watched, and waited. Waited for the red flag that never ended up coming, and eventually caused me to pre-order a Sonic title for the first time in over a decade. And then it released... And it was everything i could have hoped it would be. Nearly ever part of the game lovingly polished and put together by a team that cared. That knew what Sonic games from back in the day were supposed to be. A perfect balance of old and new gimmicks, or speed and platforming. Of the playful atmosphere laced with a mischievious threat. It was everything both the child inside of me, and the current me could have ever wanted in a new, 'classic' style sonic game. And it is one that is surely more deserving of the title of 'Sonic 4' by comparison to the awful episodic garbageware title. The music, both remixed and new is wonderfully crafted and just as much of an earworm as most of the classics. Tee Lopes really hit it out of the park. And all the levels are masterfully crafted. Feeling massive and exciting to explore, and even more fun to speedrun once you've got a mental map. Each level houses a perfect mixture of old and new gimmicks and tricks, and the bosses are fun and always throwing you for a loop as you go along. And even better, the story is small, unemcumbered by the usual overdramatic and overwriguht storylines SEGA puts into thier 3D titles. Stories that seem as though they were dug out of the dumpster of the back of an anime studio for being to generic and idiotic. But it isn't perfect. I already mentioned Denuvo, so I won't cover it again. But when it comes to the game itself I have two main issues with it. One is the inconsistant cutscenes between stages. One stage will have a well constructed, long or short connecting thread to bring the characters to the next stage, while others will simply fade to black and then drop you into the new stage. I feel if they were going to go as far as to creat elaborate cutscenes for many of the levels, why didn't they just do all of them? My other issue is the pointless aspect of Blue Sphere stages after you've collected all the gold medals. In game, the stages offer you no extra lives or other inscentives to keep jumping in and playing on your journey. Now I find myself cursing every accidental jumps into one of the bonus stages when it has nothing to offer anymore. Sonic Mania is a fantastic game otherwise, a stellar entry in a series that was over two decades overdue. I know i'll be picking up and playing it just as often as the classics. I highly recommend buying it if you are a long time fan, or someone looking to see what those old farts from the SEGA vs Nintendo days are always going on about. If you can, get it for console to avoid Denuvo. My final rating is a 9/10.