Gallery: Sonic Mania Plus Is The Version Of Sonic Mania You've Always Wanted

Base.com have the physical for £23.85
Excellent price. If you haven’t heard or used them before, yes they are legit and never had any problems

Agree. This should have been retail day one. But well, I got the chance to buy it digital day one for half the price thanks to the easy "international eShop travel" method, and considering it cost me about 10 euros, paying now 24,90 (Amazon price minus Prime discount) means I will have paid roughly 35-36 euros for this masterpiece, so this time I'm comfortable with buying again a game that I already have.

With Wonder Boy I... let's say I put the account where I had downloaded it in other hands -ahem- and after this two cases of apparently digital-only game that eventually had a physical version I decided to hold on and study each new potentially big digital release. For example I didn't buy Celeste because it's so obvious it's gonna have a retail edition... Hollow Knight too, and they already said it will.

Kinda want this. So far the only game I've double-dipped on is Dragon's Trap but I'm very tempted, especially at that price.

I'll just keep the digital version but the physical version looks amazing.
Here's hoping we get a sequel to Mania, it's been better than most of Sonic's recent "adventures"

It all starts with this. A jewel containing the ultimate sonic game.
(i hope somebody got that reference...)

but, i seriously need to get sonic mania.

Glad I’ve held off getting this. I need to preorder later.

how silly do the people who bought the collector's edition feel now?

REALLY want that art book, but I can't justify buying a whole new copy of the game when I already own Sonic Mania digitally.

Yeap I'm totally going to re-buy this just for the physical cartridge and case. I'll also search around if anyone made a manual for it too so it'll be like a complete retro package.

@Nunya I know you're trying to be smart, but I hadn't a clue until now what "Plus" actually meant, and thanks to this informative article, I do now.

By the way... £4 for the Plus content digitally or £30 for the physical edition - that's some mark-up!

So I've never played a true 2D Sonic game and wouldn't have any nostalgic attachment to these games. Is this worth buying for me? It definitely looks good!

Pre-ordered this when they announced it.
Already have the digital, but had to buy it (grudgingly) when it first came out, as I thought they would not make physical.
But can't wait

I purchased the collector's edition last year (PS4). That same month I was finally able to get a Switch, so I bought the version for it also. I need that physical version though (Switch) but i spent enough on gaming stuff this month so hopefully it's not sold out by next month...

What day does the Plus content come out again?

I was on the fence about double dipping on this one, because I really wanted the art book and genesis cover, but didn't want to have to insert a cartridge every time just to get access to the plus content. If this unlocks the plus content in the digital version, then I'm pre-ordering now!

This is tempting. Very tempting. Curse you and your advertorials!

(I mean, I was already tempted by this before this was posted, but still.)

@Matthew010 IMO this is by far the best 2D Sonic game, and the least frustrating one too. You'll miss out on some of the fan service, but on the other hand, every level is going to be new for you, so overall I'd say you may even like it more than long time fans. I recommend it.

"...you'll find the standard Switch game case (which has a reversible sleeve inside showing a Genesis-style cover)".
Or, yes, a Mega Drive cover for us in Europe. Nice reporting, Nlife.

Both cover art looks really good, but I'll just stick with the $5 upgrade to my base game.

Besides, I made a box art and printed out for my shelf to go along with my collector's edition, so I'm happy with it.

This is one of the best thing that happened this entire year on the Switch !
In normal time, we'd think " ow it's nice to have that ", in present time because of the situation IT'S AWESOME !

Really happy to get my copy in two days with Octopath Traveler !

I double dipped for the physical. Such a great game, and I need that box.

Also, I am a consumer whore with disposable income and a lack of self control.

Oh snap, I was interested in this since I didnt buy the special edition physical copy when it came out, it had a neat statue with it, but cost like $90, so I passed. Anyway, I didnt know this version was going to come with a slipcase and artbook. Anything with an art book, Im sold! (I more-or-less triple-dipped for the recent Shantae Half Genie Hero, and it was worth it for the art book).
Gotta go reserve this, ayeeeeee!

@nab1 To be fair, I think I was going to get it anyway, but thanks. £23 isn't bad for a critically acclaimed game!

Pre-ordered my copy on Amazon prime. I am so glad I didn't buy the digital version when it dropped, proper way to play sonic (cartridge format)

So sad that the 3DS isn't getting any love. :'-(

@Damo
I do now.
For me Sega was only Genesis and Dreamcast.

I have no idea what a master system is.

Haven’t played this yet, I’ll probably grab it with the 20% off from Best Buy.

Hell, Sega Genesis had add-ons here.
32x and Sega CD.

I was waiting for a physical release to play this. I will be picking this up.

I have digital - please someone talk me out of buying this!!!

@nab1 I’m surprised you find Mania the least frustrating Sonic game. I was personally really irked by the way it hides the entrances to the Chaos Emeralds and if I fail to get the emerald it locks me out of returning to it to try again.

While admittedly Sonic 1 and 2 wouldn’t let you re-enter a bonus level, they at least weren’t hidden in those games and there were plenty of opportunities to enter them (especially Sonic 2).

I also disliked how few lives they give you after a continue. The last zone in the game is really tough and getting to the final end of game boss with just 1 life and then being sent back to the start of the zone is maddening. Conversely I got to Robotnik on my Nomad with about 15 lives and all the Chaos Emeralds in both Sonic 1 and 2 at the weekend.

Day one purchase, glad i didn't jump on the digital game last year! 😛

I forgot I had this on pre-order until recently.Was thinking about cancelling as have already got others on pre-order but after seeing this..no way am I cancelling.

@SonOfVon I don't feel silly at all. Money well spent, and it only cost me $44 dollars on Amazon with random discounts over the year I had it preordered. Comes out to roughly 24 dollars for a collectable statue that says "SEGA!" when pressed, a gold ring, which I always wanted as a Sonic Fan, and a mock Sonic Mania Genesis Cartridge. The other 20 was for the price of the game. Now I'm double dipping for another platform, with an artbook, reversable cover, and a shiny sleeve. Growing up on the Genesis, Sonic 3 & Knuckles was my favorite game as a kid, and I don't regret spending some more money on my favorite game of 2017.

@Bulkslash You probably also don't like Sonic 3, considering how the special stage entrances were copied from that game, and how Blue Spheres are the Special Stage Levels. Also, every main series Genesis/Mega Drive Sonic game gave you 3 continues after a game over, and placed you back at the start of a level. It's not doing anything different than the Genesis originals.

@Stocksy Sorry, can't do that. It's worth the money, or at the very least, 5 dollars to update to Mania Plus.

@majinx07 July 17th, same day as Mania Plus releases.

@Incognito_D Well, the base game for Mania is 19.99, the Plus DLC is costing 4-5 depending on your region, and the physical release of Plus has an artbook, which is costing about 5-6 depending on your region.

@WaveBoy "The reality is, sonic 1-3 were never good games."

The reality is, millions of people disagree with you.

I respect that you don't like classic Sonic games-- you don't have to. But that doesn't make them bad games. For example: I hate Counterstrike for a lot of reasons, but it's at least a well made game. It's just not for me. Sonic 1-3 are classic icons of the genre that had a major influence on platformers in both style and substance. The evidence of the continued praise, re-releases, huge fanbase, and millions in sales for Sonic Mania show that they are anything but bad games.

@Damo The point is, often in Europe, we're left out from getting little touches like this reversible cover. Sega only had the Genesis artwork for games in the European version of Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection on PS3/Xbox 360, for example. So it would just be nice to confirm that Europe gets equal treatment in an article that is read by both Europeans and Americans. Is that really too much to ask for?

@Moroboshi876 I'm curious, how do you travel to get the foreign region/country price on the eShop? Is it just enough to change Switch regions or do you do it on a web browser connected over a VPN? Thanks!

Love the physical. But got digital so gonna be sensible and just lay down the extra four quid.

@Francema No, it's not about VPN. You can either temporarily change regions or create a new Nintendo account and have its profile on your Switch alongside yours. Best part is you can play the games downloaded with that account with your original one.

The trickiest part is payment method, that depends on the specific eShop.

Has it been confirmed (or is it safe to assume) that the DLC version will contain ALL of the new in-game features of the Plus release (i.e. should the DLC essentially make previous versions of Mania identical to the physical version of the game)?

@ArcanineArco Cheers, much better than the £30 on Amazon.

@dimelives The paid DLC is just Plus without the physical goodies. There'll be a free update too with adds the extra level transitions.

Absolute ownership of something for the win!

"Let's hope Sonic Mania 2 isn't too far away"

Yes, I really would love to see that.

Not as wonderful in level design and music as Sonic 3 & Knuckles but a great Sonic game anyway and this physical release is really nice, if only the other Switch physical releases were like this and not bare-bones boxes without any art inside or booklet... or game, even.

@KingdomHeartsFan, yes it is. Wings of Honneamise is my favourite anime, truly awesome. It also has the best soundtrack of any film (not just anime) by the guy that went on to win the Oscar for The Last Emperor.

@Moroboshi876 one day I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the info. I guess Russia and Japan are the tricky ones.

@ArcanineArco Just put in my order from there now. Not often I see them undercutting my usual places much but glad its a good price. Too many places are premium pricing the Switch version over the others.

Also to those who may be curious still. These guys have partnered with Amazon and other big companies before too.

I loved Sonic 1 and 2 as a kid, never had the third one until later on so I don’t have nostalgia for that one. But as soon as this dropped I knew I needed to play it. And I kinda hoped for a physical game to be announced so I never bought the digital. Now I’ve had the physical pre-ordered (for 24,95 euros including shipping) for a while. I can’t wait to finally experience the game!

@Damo That’s slightly worrying. If European is confirmed to look like this I’ll get it from base but euro released often get the bare bones treatment

@RainbowGazelle to be fair if they only got sent the US version they can’t answer.

But I agree euro releases are usually the worst.

@Damo Then maybe mention which version it is in the article? I don't just mean to pick on this one article, it's just a general gripe I have with gaming sites only talking about NA versions as the product, and Europeans having to figure out whether it applies to them or not.

@SonOfVon Not at all because it was $45 for PC on amazon pre release so it was reasonable. Thinking about getting plus on the switch, though.

Looking forward to having a Mega Drive case on my shelf again (well, sort of). That holographic slipcase makes me think about how holographic stuff was EVERYWHERE in the 90's, which in turn makes me wish there could be a packet of Sonic Mania pogs stuffed into each copy...

Hmm...

Makes me wish there was a, Sonic Blue, pair of Joycons for the physical release of this game!

Since I already have the digital version, I will probably just pick up the 5 dollar DLC. This really should have been how the game launched, as I do prefer physical copies when I can. But I don't prefer physical copies at the cost of paying 6 times the price compared to a DLC update of a game I already have.

@nab1 Not only that. But should @Matthew010 become a fan of the series and play other games, he could come back to this one more seasoned and experience the bits he may not have understood the first time around.

Release day cannot come quick enough

Wait so if you already own Sonic Mania physically, it automatically updates to Plus for free, but if you own it digitally you have to pay $5? Hopefully I’m reading the article wrong because that’d be lame..

@backlogrob this is the first physical release of the game. So it’s the basegame digital for 20 bucks with the plus content for 5 bucks or the physical edition with artbook which includes everything for 30 bucks.

@Francema Japan is, I believe you have to buy gift cards. Russia lets you pay with your credit or debit card. At least if you're from Europe.

But if you check eshop-prices you will see Norway, South Africa, Mexico and Canada are the eShops to go.

@RyanSilberman I'm a fan of some of rhe 3D Sonics and the racing games, but never the 2Ds.

@nab1
It may work that way, as I’ve heard that the switch shares data between physical and digital copy’s in most games. I’m hoping for that too, because I want the switch version of the physical release, but since I already have the digital version, I’d love not needing the cartridge to play and to get the extra content just added to the save file/ game data.

@Moroboshi876 thanks!!!

@Francema You're welcome!

@Matthew010 one of the greatest old school platformers ever