You expect that in a 2D Sonic game that lets you have both Sonic and Tails out at once, and I had hoped Encore mode would allow for two players as you have two characters out at a time. Something you may notice is that the game is advertised as having co-op. His face is about right for the old stretched screen view. I recommend the second choice, but purists will go for the first without question. You are also able to choose whether you want the screen to be stretched out like in the old days or squished to not look awful. In Competitive, you can change how many rounds you face off in, whether there's a time limit, and which item sets are available. This isn't a complaint - I loved racing friends and family in those multiplayer modes - but it is something to note. The new Competitive mode is a throwback (pullback?) to the multiplayer modes of yore found in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, with little to no changes to how the mode worked in those games. You can also use the new characters for individual playthroughs in Mania mode. Special boxes are scattered about to swap your characters, culminating to no two playthroughs ever being the same. You can swap between them with a button press, but the characters you have will rotate frequently. I think I hate them, but practice makes perfect.Īlong with the new obstacles found in Encore mode is the new character-swapping feature, which has you control two characters at once much like you would with Sonic and Tails normally. The new pinball-style special stages are more forgiving than the Sonic 3-style special stages in the original release, but the new Chaos Emerald stages (which are functionally the same as the original release) are brutal. The levels in Encore mode have been tweaked to allow for Ray and Mighty to shine, with obstacles just for them, along with a wealth of new challenges spread throughout each zone.Įncore as a whole is the more difficult of the two modes, no contest. These new characters and their brand-new abilities are perfectly suited to the new, remixed levels found in Sonic Mania Plus's new Encore mode.Įncore mode looks different at first glance, and it doesn't take long to figure out you're not in regular ol' Mania mode anymore. Ray is fun, but Mighty's slightly higher jump and mid-air spike immunity bring huge benefits. Mighty is also able to slam down into the ground with a double jump press, and he has a slightly higher jump than the rest of the cast. Often you can jump onto spikes a single time and bounce right off. Mighty, an armadillo in name and function, is immune to spike damage when jumping or spin dashing. Unlike Knuckles and Tails, Ray can get some tremendous momentum when airborne provided you take the time to master his gliding ability. You tilt backward to catch some air and hover, tilt forward to take a dive. Ray, an enthusiastic and nimble squirrel, is able to glide mid-air much like Mario with his cape in Super Mario World. These two characters aren't just for show, either - each has its own unique maneuvers for you to play with. The most obvious addition to Sonic Mania Plus is the characters Ray the squirrel and Mighty the armadillo, both of which have their roots in the arcade-only SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
It's a package that can satisfy both fans and newcomers with its signature '90s style. Sonic Mania Plus brings the experience of the original Mania release back with a few tricks up its sleeve, some that may seem insignificant on paper but bring the whole game together into a complete package. There is something to be said for the Sonic fangame developers behind Mania and their understanding of what made the classic games memorable and fun. Last year's release of Sonic Mania brought back the feel and style of classic 2D Sonic that Sonic Team and Dimps struggled to recreate with the episodic Sonic 4, and it quickly became regarded as one of the best - if not the best - Sonic games to date.