Personally, I would have preferred to see more familiar faces like Amy or Shadow, but I can’t deny the excellent job Christian Whitehead and PagodaWest Games did with Mighty and Ray.īoth characters fit in very well in Sonic Mania, each with their own ability set, complete with strengths and weaknesses, just like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. You can be forgiven if you have no idea who those characters are, as they are quite obscure unless you’re intimately familiar with Team Chaotix and/or arcade games from the early 90s. The most obvious addition are the two new characters: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel of SegaSonic the Hedgehog fame. It’s mostly the same game with a few big twists and smaller tweaks. Sonic Mania Plus is an expanded version of that game. Not that there is anything wrong with Sega continuing to pursue 3D games as well, but a proper return to form for older fans was long overdue. It was the game that I, and many other 2D Sonic fans were begging Sega for years to deliver.
Last summer, Sonic Mania was everything this Genesis kid could have dreamed of and more. If you don’t already own Sonic Mania at all, our review of the original version is still relevant and applicable Sonic Mania Plus is just an even more complete version of it and yes, if you love the 2D Sonic games it’s a must-play. We are evaluating Sonic Mania Plus then on the merits for someone who already owns Sonic Mania, and answering the question of whether it’s worth upgrading to the “Plus” version. We thought it was brilliant, and was everything that a fan of the Genesis classics could possibly ask for. We reviewed the original game already, and awarded it a 5 out of 5. Editor’s note: Sonic Mania Plus is an expanded version of the original game released last summer.