great article. I'm pretty excited about the switch, but am waiting a bit until there're more games. Excited for those who are getting it though!
The Nintendo Switch Chicago Preview Event
Friend of the site, Greg Meyer, had a chance to go hands on with the Switch at one of the exclusive events. In anticipation of tomorrow's release, he's put together a bunch of impressions to get you excited for what's coming next for Nintendo.
Sonic Mania
Sonic is back with a new 2D platformer for Switch (as well as PS4, Xbox One, and PC) that harkens back to his glory days on the Sega Genesis. While there’s a negative reputation to the Sonic series as of late, after spending some time with Mania, I walked away impressed with developer Headcannon’s work with everyone’s favorite hedgehog.
This was a co-op demo, with Sonic and Tails as playable characters. For this demo, we each used a separate joy-con as our controllers, so Switch owners can play co-op without having to buy a separate controller. The controls were simple; using the joystick for movement, while the X button controlled jumping. Holding down on the joystick while pressing the jump button allowed Sonic and Tails to charge up a spin dash. I was skeptical about using only one button for jumping and to spin dash, but after trying it I never ran into an issue.
There were two levels available for the demo: the familiar Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1 and a new level called Studiopolis. Marcus and I took turns playing as Sonic and Tails. For Green Hill Zone, I played as Sonic, while in Studiopolis I used Tails.
Sonic Mania’s graphics are bright and colorful, reminiscent of the Genesis games, but in HD. Green Hill Zone eased us back into the familiar world of 2D Sonic, with a variety of paths to take before reaching the boss. The level allows players to race through the level as fast as they can, with only a few “gotcha” moments to punish inattentive players (like me) to fall off a ledge into a pit of spikes. The level ended with the traditional Eggman boss battle. Sonic had to avoid a trio of connected spikey spheres while jumping into Eggman’s ship at the top of the level.
Studiopolis, the new level, would feel right at home in Sonic 2. The level felt like a tribute to Casino Night Zone, but with a musical twist, and featured screens with Eggman dancing with a cane in the background. Microphone enemies would pop down from the ceiling and swing into Sonic and Tails. Escaping Studiopolis involved plenty of jumping and navigating around obstacle areas, so don’t expect to blaze through this level in a straight shot.
Sonic Mania should be a fun single player, or co-op experience. However, I forgot from my 16-bit days that playing as Tails can be a disorienting experience. The camera focuses on Sonic, and it’s easy for the second player to lose Tails off screen if the Hedgehog speeds away. Once Sonic slows down, Tails will fly back on screen and rejoin the action. Keep that in mind when playing Sonic Mania with a friend.
Comments