don't even get the chance to put their feet up and enjoy a corn dog, as the extremely hard-working Dr. Immediately following the events of Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic and co. From the faithful, brightly coloured Mega Drive era pixel-art to the FM synth of Tee Lopes' wonderful soundtrack, Christian Whitehead and his team of die-hard franchise devotees have produced a game that Yuji Naka himself would struggle to make more 'Sonic'. The hedgehog homage never lets up from this point. The eponymous hero emerges through a giant ring, superimposed against the backdrop of a wildly rotating tropical island, just as he once did before he found a new attitude, new shoes, and a devastating new dimension. If the majority of Sonic games over the past two decades were the literal wet dreams of series followers - embarrassing, uncomfortable, and unwelcome - Sonic Mania is the ultimate metaphorical equivalent.įrom the moment the word 'SEGA!' blares from the fondly-familiar opening splash screen, Sonic Mania has the heart of every Sonic fan in its hands.
But it never happens this, despite every reasonable doubt telling us otherwise, is for real. Put simply, Sonic Mania is the six winning spiny blue balls on every Sonic fan's lottery ticket, an unestimable jackpot that has you waiting for the inevitable wake-up call.
