Sonic Mania’s Reception Will Determine the Direction of the Series

Please Have Good Reception This Game Good Dare I say it change Sonic from a hated to loved

I've stuck by my old mucker through thick and thin over the last 3 decades but for the last 2 it's been mostly thin. The 2 Adventure games on Dreamcast had me questioning where Sega was taking him but even then I had no idea how far he would fall.

Hopefully Mania will be a huge success and Forces will flop. Then maybe they'll finally get the message that the vast majority of longtime Sonic fans don't want these crappy 3D games they've been putting out and only buy them out of loyalty.

OH MY GOD IT'S ONLY A MONTH AWAY!!!!!!!
I need this game in my life. I need more Sonics like this in my life. I sure can't wait to see how Sonic Mania will do!

@OorWullie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxqTVY8dlyE&t=25s

Seems like they are listening to fans and the reception their games get so that's a really good sign for the company and its future hopefully!

Just end it already. Sonic's reputation is beyond redemption at this point. Let it die in peace.

I don't think this is the sonic game this year that is going to struggle with reception...

This sounds like the same problem I would guess for F-Zero. There are die-hard fans, but the companies don't think the market would take it well. You would think when companies make enough money, they wouldn't worry about producing a niche game every once and a while.

I've only played a handful of Sonic games in my life, but Sonic Mania looks pretty good; might get it. Let's see those reviews first though.

I'd be surprised if it didn't do well. In terms of both sales and reputation that is.

They are really clueless aren't they?

@GamermanReviews Fool me once shame on Sega, fool me twice shame on me. Fool me 10 times shame on Sega and me and the whole Sonic fan base who keep falling for it over and over again.

Only 1 month and 9 days away.

I assume Sonic Mania will be received very well. Nintendolife's reaction to Sonic Forces might be the beginning of the death knell for 3D sonic though.

Well I know which one is on my radar...

It's not Forces, if that wasn't clear.

Need to let Archie have the license back! Adapt some stories from it into a game!

I don't know about the market, but I'm gonna receive it quite happily once I get my grubby mitts on that collectors edition

Game is going to make 'gangbusters' look like 'hotcakes'.

...

That sounded a lot better in my head.

@OorWullie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw-klI_Na7M

I would love it if the series could return to its series roots. I question over whether they will take that assertion seriously if it does sell well and has good reception, but it's a nice thought.

Guys I try really hard - really hard - not to make these kind of sweeping and presumptive statements..
But holy floopin' spit. How out of touch can a company be? The majority of the Sonic games are panned, and a few of them rise up to good-great status (Colors & Generations) and they don't bite. The response to this one has been a vocal "yes please" how do they not already see this?

They're joking, right?

Going back to their roots is the best thing I feel. All the adults who love sonic love the 2D platform. Feels like it will be at home on the switch

@Donutsavant I mean, they obviously have something, as the next two games in this series are a 16-bit continuation of the glory days and a sequel to Generations. But still, I agree, this is the game fans have been asking for for years and all the footage so far looks incredible. How could it be anything but well-received?

I hope, for the sake of the old skool fans, that they haven't attached square enix style unrealistic sales targets to this.

Based on previews its looking like Sonic Mania is set to be critically praised whilst Forces will be more mixed, if not leaning towards a panning from some review outlets.

Unofrtunately history has shown that this doesn't translate into commercial success and sales. Being a download-only title and dependent on how its marketed (this is Sega that gave games like Vanquish and Binary Domain all the marketing those games "really needed" <disable sarcastic tone>) there's a real risk the Mainstream Gamer or the gift-buying family member will not hear of it. There's also the unfortunate old-looking vs new-looking comparison many children will take in determining a game's supposed quality. Sonic Forces is likely to be plastered in stores and stuff whilst Mania may barely get a mention.

Despite all that I do desperately hope I am wrong and Sonic Mania completely wipes the board and gives Sega both barrels as to why they've been repeatedly tripping up the past many years.

Just stop reinventing the wheel! Especially after you actually put it together properly on occasion!

Hoping this does really well and we get a series, however Christian whitehead must always be involved, Sonic Team cannot be left alone to do this.

Looking forward to this far more than Forces

I already preordered this game, so that's saying something 💵

The gameplay of the classic games is cheap and unfair. As long as they fix this then perhaps it can be well received. The graphics will ruin the attraction to most people though.

The only recent Sonic games I really liked are Generations and Colors and Forces looks similar to those. The rest were rushed/boring/unpolished.

@Donutsavant They dont bite because while 2D Mario was accused repeatedly of getting stale and uninventive they fear thst and had to keep trying new things to keep it fresh.

Need i remind you this fanbase loves Mania but hates the sequel to Generations they wanyed because its a sequel to Generations.

Or that thos fanbase hates Sonic 4 citing it has no new levels despite every zone having a new name and nusic and in level gimmicks, where 4 of the 6 zones shown for Mania are straight up old zones, some of which have gimmicks FROM Sonic 4.

They have every damn reason to be unsure. This is a fanbase that says they want x only to hate it. This is a fanbase that wanted more Modern Sonic and hates it in this game when they get it. This is a fanbase that says they want a character to play as that isnt Sonic but is still somewhat comparable, but they hate the custom character.

They also said Sky Sanctuary wasnt yellow enough in Generations.

Made my point? This fanbase sucks. They could sell millions and it eould still be blasted.

Most sites I visit are excited for this one and not the other and I'm only currently interested in Mania. This looks like a welcome return to form after over a decade of mediocre games

I'm trying to think of any original 2D franchises beyond Mario, Zelda, and maybe Metroid that have really succeeded in transferring to 3D gameplay?

I like the idea of 2D Sonic on the Switch. I'm buying.

@MrGawain
Grand Theft Auto started out in 2D. There's one, can't think of any others.

Not interested in Forces what so ever, just looks awful. With Mania my preorder has been on since the first shout, and as the UK amazon didnt have the special edition for switch I had to order it off the US amazon.

Definitely looking forward to Mania. Forces, not so much.

Really looking forward to Mania, I'm positive it will sell well. My only issue with the game is that from the sounds of it, most of the game is a re-imagining. Whilst there is original content, I can't help but feel it is a game that is playing it safe. Don't get me wrong, it will be awesome but I'm wondering how it would fair if it was completely original content.

Sonic's future should be one dedicated 2D game (with Christian Whitehead's team) and one dedicated 3D game (no 2D sections like in Colours, Generations). Sonic in 3D has so much potential but it has yet to have a consistent style of gameplay, which leads to splits in the fan base.

As a Sonic CD fanatic, I'm really looking forward to this but do have some apprehension towards it too, courtesy of Sonic 4.

@shaneoh Wasn't it was a 3d rendered game in 3d space on PSX?
I can hazily remember hills and overpasses in the first game but I might be mistaken. I thought they just changed the camera angle that made it more obvious (and made the game far less "gamey").

With Sonic I think the problem is that Sega needs it to be a multi-million selling franchise but the game that it works best as is a 2d platformer - which isn't where you find many multi-million selling games any more. But partly that's because (other than Nintendo) big publishers don't put any weight behind them.

There's still a big audience for good 2d platformers. The spatial simplicity of the games can make them very accessible for a broad audience. That Sonic has failed in 3d isn't surprising to me but that Sega has never really managed to create a "New Sonic" in 2d like Nintendo has with Mario in the "New Super Mario Bros" series is perplexing.

I wish they could make an other Sonic Adventure game. I dind't like Sonic Adventure 2. It wasn't the same as the previous title

I'm pretty sure this will out sell Sonic Forces - which will lead to Sega launching another 3D unfinished mess of a Sonic game and then blaming the old school fans lol.
Seriously though, I'm going to buy the hell out of this game when it launches.

The close timing of this article and the one panning forces makes me think NintendoLife is trying to actively push Sonic back to 2D lol

Sega are a broken and fractured version of themselves nowadays and have no chance of ever going back to their former position.

They have self destructed at their highest level of management for too long.

Turning point for Sega is simple.

They should have commissioned Shenmue 3 a long time ago.
They should have made a Golden axe game akin to Shadows Of Mordor by now to cash in on the love for Game of Thrones.
They Should make Streets of Rage 4, using the play mechanic of Batman Arkhangelsk Asylum set in a locked down city akin to escape from New York and include online multiplayer for up to four people to play through.
They should make Virtua Fighter 6
They should make Panzer Dragoon Drei
They should make a PROPER sonic game. I cannot believe that they screw their flagship mascot year in year out when Nintendo seem to nail it for Mario with every completely different take on how to evolve those games.

I could go on with Sega but they just don't seem to have any idea about their own IPs or have the talent to develop them anymore.

Lot of guilt tripping lately... saying how reception and sales will determine the future of games to get us to buy day one to "save them".

I ain't biting, I only buy discounts or pre-owned because I'm old and grumpy.

I fully expect Mania to wipe the floor with Forces in terms of acclaim and commercial performance.

I am a bit confused by the whole Forces situation though. It looks as though it plays exactly like Generations (perhaps a bit lazily so) - and isn't that what 3D fans have been clamouring for?

As much as it pains me, I don't have a huge amount of faith in Sonic Team to get the job done. I think there's a time and a place for these 'Boost' Sonic games (Colours/Gens/Unleashed). But there needs to be more. People are not excited for a Generations rehash, especially when a much better looking Sonic game is coming out just before it.

Where is all the talent at Sega/Sonic Team, anyway? Why can't they just make good Sonic games? I don't get it. He's their bloody mascot, his games should be given ALL the time they need to be great and to last the test of time.

I think Sega need to hire some talent. Really good people. Ex-Nintendo staff or something. Get them working secretly on Sonic Adventure 3, bring back the open feel, the exploration, the sense of adventure, the chao. Work on it for at least 3 years.

Imagine a Mania sequel with HD hand drawn sprites (similar to the latest trailer or Sonic 2 HD). I think Mania is going to do very well. Forces... probably not so well.

@DESS-M-8 Do you have any strategy that doesn't involve spending tons of money for no profit?

Wow. If anything this drastically shows how utterly out of touch they are as a developer. Worrying about a 2D game where they've been very popular (when done right) over 3D dirge that has been some of the worst 3D gaming throughout the last few gens. Surely they should be longing for the release of this in the hope it restores far more faith in Sonic as a brand? Certainly not worrying if people will take to it on not! Maybe somebody should show Sega how YouTube likes work? 😉

If sales are poor, could it be the fault of Nintendo for not providing enough switch consoles to the market? Why would people buy a game for a console they can't get?

@bitleman that statement makes less than no sense.

Are you suggesting Sega should continue to make garbage?

@DESS-M-8 nice list but it's missing skies of Arcadia 2!!

@Namelessd damn right skies of Arcadia.
It was far from a complete list, more of instantly saleable high quality AAA titles at their disposal that they continue to ignore.

"Sonic Mania’s Reception Will Determine the Direction of the Series"
Let's hope so!

"We don’t know whether it’ll be accepted positively in the market."
LOL - Are you trolling me???

"In the past two decades Sonic games have been trying to target a broader audience from kids to adults. And Forces has that same idea, so that means a wider range of characters that we know children like. Even if other fans may not be quite as keen."

Translation:"for two decades we have been desperately trying to make a Sonic game both for people who can appreciate it and for everybody else too! IDK I'm not sure creating a game specifically for people who probably will like that game is a good idea. What do you think, it can be any good? Help me I'm not even aware of where I am, please..."

Sonic Forces sells over 1000 copies.
Sonic Mania sells over 1,000,000,000,000,000 and is loved by all.

"But our target audience preferred Forces, so that's the direction we'll go in in the future."

It's the Sonic way..

@DESS-M-8 No buy why should they make high budget games in genres that don't sell at all anymore?

@StuTwo
I can't speak for the PS version, but the PC version did have 3D effects (raised buildings, hills, ramps etc.) which basically involved moving the character between a higher or lower layer and increasing/decreasing the sprite size. Mario 3 had a similar feature, you could drop behind certain blocks and end up behind the scenery. X-men on the Mega Drive had it as well if I remember correctly, going through doors would drop you behind the scenery allowing you to bypass solid objects in the foreground.

In terms of sheer revenue I'll be stunned if Forces isn't more successful, since it's a retail game, but I have to assume that in terms of raw profitability, Mania will mop the floor with it. Ideally, they'd both be great, but I don't have a good feeling about Forces.....

They're not sure if it will sell well but they were fine with releasing all of the mediocre 3D Sonic games over the past 15+ years. Seems like nonsense to me.

2D is the way forward for the series, so hopefully people buy this to encourage development of a sequel (or, in my dreams, a Knuckles Chaotix remaster)!

I am sorry to burst your bubble, but I think Forces will do far far better than Mania in terms of bringing the money in for SEGA.

I want Sonic to forget nostalgia and go full 3D again, like what Sonic Heroes did. I feel that the world needs a purely 3D Sonic with medium length levels, light combat and a good sense of momentum and speed. Sonic Heroes had the right idea with it's super challenging Super Hard mode which tested your platforming skill whilst still going relatively fast. You can actually skip large parts of the 3D levels if you're skilled enough.

@idrawrobots My thoughts exactly. I guess it's good that they're trying to listen to fans, but they seem so utterly directionless and creatively bankrupt that it's painful. It's one thing for a company and group of creatives to go through the slump-- Nintendo's had plenty-- but never with the perilous lows of Sonic Team, and pretty universally coming back with a massive bang, as seen with Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey.

I'm thinking price point will play a large role . Dose anybody know how much the digital download will cost ?

Like most things, I'll wait to hear the reception. If it's actually good I'll certainly support it.

Cool.

Pathetic. Sonic is still stuck in circa 1992. Can you imagine the furore if Nintendo lazily threw together a new 8-bit or 16-bit instalment in the Zelda or Mario franchises?

This is just embarrassing for SEGA. Sonic has lost any credibility or claim to legendary status in the industry as far as I'm concerned.

It's the first Sonic game I've been looking forward to since the 90's. Day one purchase from me.

@CheezIt That's a valid excuse for the Switch, but there are millions of PS4 and Xbox One consoles in homes and sitting on store shelves.

I would think the Switch numbers would not make much of a impact anyway given there are more PS4, Xbox One, and PC owners currently.

@sillygostly Were Mega Man 9 and 10 lazy? Was Konami lazy with their rebirth series?

People want to play classic games, and this is a good way to exploit that market.

Sega is lazy with this game, but not because they want to make a retro throwback game. They are lazy a large chunk of the game are levels from previous games.

I doubt Mega Man 9 would have been as successful had the game featured four new Robot Masters and four returning robot masters from previous games.

That is where Sega made a mistake.

@GamermanReviews advertise much?

@OorWullie Why would you want Forces to flop? It could end up being a very great game! Not to mention, why can't we have both?? I mean look at Mario. They make the New Super Mario side scrolling games and have the Galaxies and 3D Worlds to complement it. Heck, take Metroid for a recent example. A new Metroid Prime (first person) game was announced, along side the announcement of a more classic, back to Metroid's roots, side scrolling game.

@CheezIt Breath of the Wild says hello lol. Literally more BotW carts were sold, than Switches were, And by quite a bit at that.
I was actually one of those, for about a month anyway. I knew i would get BotW regardless, so I bought it, but still couldn't get a switch for a few weeks later.

@HawkeyeWii I know it sounded a bit harsh but I've yet to play a 3D game from him that's been anything special and all indications point to Forces not being very good either.I was a massive Sonic fan in the 90's and would love to see him adapt to new styles like Mario has been able to do but Sonic team just can't find a style that suits him outside of 2D.But these 3D games obviously sell regardless of the poor reviews so Sega will keep making them.

@OorWullie hopefully they are both good and maybe each Sonic game in the future can have a 2d or 3d option to suit everyone's opinion of the games

Sonic Mania is pretty much the only Sonic game worth getting. Sonic Forces is almost assuredly going to be crap.