I have a weird relationship with Sonic’s games. I played the first two Sonic games all the time as a kid, but whenever I played them, I usually got bored after trying to beat their second zones. Despite that, the fond memories of zooming around Green Hill Zone made me all the more excited to play Sonic Mania when I bought it a few years ago. Now that I’ve actually beaten it, though, I’ve come to the realization that I never really liked Sonic games to begin with.

Although I didn’t really have fun with Sonic Mania, I could tell that this had tons of heart and passion put into it. The visuals, sound design, and especially the music are fantastic, and pretty much all of the zones and levels are unique and memorable in their own ways. My main issue with Sonic Mania, though, is also my issue with Sonic’s older games, which is that the way Sonic moves and the way his levels are designed always seem to be at odds with each other. Sonic is designed to go incredibly fast in a matter of seconds, but the levels are filled to the brim with obstacles that you couldn’t even see coming, and they force you to slow down, which doesn’t feel fun when Sonic can barely even stand still. Sonic also has a ginormous hitbox, so if the smallest pixel on his head touches the bottom of a solid platform, he dies instantly, which gets really annoying really quickly.

Although I didn’t have a fun time with Sonic Mania, I still think that it’s a good game, just not one for me. This was clearly made for Sonic fans, and while I used to think that I was one, playing Sonic Mania opened my eyes to how unfun his games are for me to play.