For this review, I'm not gonna explain my thoughts on the game itself. I'd rather save that for another time. I simply want to explain what Mania means to me on a sentimental value.
Let me take you back in time. back to the start of 2022 and tell you the story of how I became a Sonic fan. Back then, I was fairly familiar with Sonic as a series, but I wouldn't really have called myself to big on it. I'd only ever beaten CD on my phone, played a little bit of some of the other games and while I'd watched some videos about Sonic here and there, most of them were talking about how bad the franchise was, and were released around the mid 2010's. Me as the influenciable kid that I was, sucked it all up, and that combined with the fact that I grew up as a massive Nintendo kid made me look at the series overall in a negative light.
However, I was aware of Mania's reputation as a sort of exception to this in the mainstream, and had seen quite a few videos mentioning the game, so I decided "Screw it why not" and pirated it, thinking it'd be nothing special, just your avarage 2D platformer with nothing to noteworthy.
Boy, was I wrong.
My mind was completely and utterly blown away. All this creativity, all this visual splendor, all of this amazing gameplay...and I didn't even get past Flying Battery Zone. In that moment, I KNEW I had to buy the full thing.
I had my Steam account for a few months at that point, and since I'd just gotten a ton of cash for Christmas, I decided to spend it on a bunch of Steam games. FNaF 1, 2, Sister Location, Hollow Knight (which I've STILL yet to play) and wouldn't you know it, Sonic Mania as well as it's Plus DLC.
February 22nd, 2022. That was the exact day where I became a Sonic fan. It took me a while to beat the game, even more so to get the Chaos Emeralds and complete Encore Mode with me being new to the series and all. But when I did, I didn't want it to stop. I replayed it over and over, learned every character every level did every single blue sphere stage, and yet every time I replay it, I still manage to find at least one new thing, one new route, one new way to enjoy Sonic Mania.
From there, I knew I wanted to try out more, and well, the rest is history. Now looking back 2 years later, I could not have been happier at that very decision. In a way, this game changed my entire life. It introduced me to so many new friends, so many outstanding titles, and while not everything to come out of my time in this fandom has been good, those things that have I could not be more grateful for. And it takes a really, really special kind of game for me to say something like that.
Sonic Mania might not be the best Sonic game. Hell, it might not even be my favorite Sonic game, but the ways in which it has gone on to impact me as a person, and the ways in which being a fanatic of this franchise has changed my life cannot be underestimated. I love Sonic Mania, I always have, and I always will.
Let me take you back in time. back to the start of 2022 and tell you the story of how I became a Sonic fan. Back then, I was fairly familiar with Sonic as a series, but I wouldn't really have called myself to big on it. I'd only ever beaten CD on my phone, played a little bit of some of the other games and while I'd watched some videos about Sonic here and there, most of them were talking about how bad the franchise was, and were released around the mid 2010's. Me as the influenciable kid that I was, sucked it all up, and that combined with the fact that I grew up as a massive Nintendo kid made me look at the series overall in a negative light.
However, I was aware of Mania's reputation as a sort of exception to this in the mainstream, and had seen quite a few videos mentioning the game, so I decided "Screw it why not" and pirated it, thinking it'd be nothing special, just your avarage 2D platformer with nothing to noteworthy.
Boy, was I wrong.
My mind was completely and utterly blown away. All this creativity, all this visual splendor, all of this amazing gameplay...and I didn't even get past Flying Battery Zone. In that moment, I KNEW I had to buy the full thing.
I had my Steam account for a few months at that point, and since I'd just gotten a ton of cash for Christmas, I decided to spend it on a bunch of Steam games. FNaF 1, 2, Sister Location, Hollow Knight (which I've STILL yet to play) and wouldn't you know it, Sonic Mania as well as it's Plus DLC.
February 22nd, 2022. That was the exact day where I became a Sonic fan. It took me a while to beat the game, even more so to get the Chaos Emeralds and complete Encore Mode with me being new to the series and all. But when I did, I didn't want it to stop. I replayed it over and over, learned every character every level did every single blue sphere stage, and yet every time I replay it, I still manage to find at least one new thing, one new route, one new way to enjoy Sonic Mania.
From there, I knew I wanted to try out more, and well, the rest is history. Now looking back 2 years later, I could not have been happier at that very decision. In a way, this game changed my entire life. It introduced me to so many new friends, so many outstanding titles, and while not everything to come out of my time in this fandom has been good, those things that have I could not be more grateful for. And it takes a really, really special kind of game for me to say something like that.
Sonic Mania might not be the best Sonic game. Hell, it might not even be my favorite Sonic game, but the ways in which it has gone on to impact me as a person, and the ways in which being a fanatic of this franchise has changed my life cannot be underestimated. I love Sonic Mania, I always have, and I always will.