Out of the way, the blue Hedgehog came back, in all it's pixely goodness.

If you haven't played Sonic games this is a perfect time to give them a shot, and if you have played them you are likely not even reading this article, and are probably playing Sonic Mania right now.
Sonic Mania is everything a Sonic fan would want starting with the fact that it's a new 2D adventure after roughly 23 years since the release of Sonic & Knuckles (1994). Sonic has always been around with different variants of the genre, things like Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Collection, Spinball and the wave of 3D Games but even with Sonic Generations dedicating a good portion of the game to a retro 2D style platforming, it just wasn't the same. Until now.


Sonic Mania delivers on every bit of nostalgia and homage necessary to the classics, including full levels from previous 2D Sonic titles such as Flying Battery, Hydrocity, Chemical Plant Zone. Some remade takes on classic levels and new Blue Sphere stages, the amazing soundtrack. For anyone that ever played a 2D Sonic game this one feels like it was done with love.


Now even if you haven't played Sonic, the levels speak for themselves. Each stage with a glaring thematic approach makes every new zone feel fresh, each of them with dozens of routes up and down the level, secrets hidden everywhere, powerups. The game cleverly uses all that it has available to create a unique and very fun experience.


While getting from Act 1 to the very last Zone in the game may take just a few hours of your time, you soon realize all the things you could spend your time doing on top of just beating the game. Blue Sphere stages provide a challenging puzzle like bonus to collect Medals and unlock some Extras for the game, awesome Mode 7 racing provides a very fun and once again challenging way to collect all the Chaos Emeralds which in turn also unlock some Extra features in the game such as a hidden Boss fight and of course, spoilers, Super Sonic. The ability to play as Sonic, Sonic and Tails, Tails and Knuckles each of them with a distinctively unique gameplay, Tails can fly, Knuckles can climb walls, Sonic goes fast. The game even features a new Drop Dash mechanic and the option to play a no save file game with the classic mechanics from Sonic CD or Sonic 3&K.


Without a doubt , Mania has the most interesting and fun Boss fights of the whole 2D franchise and possibly the 3D series, each fight feels unique and fun, some challenging but always doable, they all have their homage to classic Sonic while adding and combining new features.

---

Sonic Mania is a full Recommend for anyone that likes platforming, good pixelated graphics artstyle, 2D Games and of course, Classic Sonic.
Now we just need a Megaman version just like this.