Having just recently played through each of the classic 2D Sonic titles up to CD, my immediate impression of Sonic Mania booting into its first level was that it felt like an evolution of the game’s original formula from the 90’s. The aesthetic and feel of the game almost seems too good to be true, but the experience holds up from start to finish.

Only a handful of the game’s stages are fully new and original, with the bulk of them being remixes of classic Sonic stages. The remixes feel like clear improvements over the source material and introduce new mechanics for a familiar but fresh experience. The handful of brand new stages are all incredibly unique and a blast to play through. There are also a bunch of new boss fights that were challenging but good fun. I still can’t believe they were able to make Flying Battery Zone good...

Regrettably, I did encounter one softlock where my character was stuck in map geometry in Chemical Plant Zone. I had to restart the stage, but it was early on and so it didn’t have so much impact on my experience.

Also worthy of note is the Drop Dash technique, which allows you to instantly start into a dash on landing from a jump, allowing for more dynamic movement. The new characters in Plus, Mighty and Ray, also have their own unique movement options and likewise feel just as good to play.

Finally, I was delighted to find that the game comes with great CRT filter options that mimic the warm and fuzzy TVs we used to play the original Sonic games on. I still can’t believe that Sonic Origins was released without any such option, but I digress...

If you enjoy classic 2D Sonic or 2D platformers in general, you should find Sonic Mania to be a blast and absolutely worth your time. Give it a shot!