'Sonic Mania' Is The Retro Game For Nintendo Switch: A Closer Look At The Hedgehog And His Buddies

Chris Loterina, Tech Times 15 January 2017, 07:01 pm

As you probably know, Nintendo's Wii is getting replaced by the Nintendo Switch and one of its upcoming titles is a reimagined Sonic the Hedgehog game called Sonic Mania. Sega gave it a halfhearted debut at Twitter on Jan. 13 but from the looks of it, the upcoming title seems the most interesting we have seen from the franchise in a while.

Why Sonic In 2D?

To be clear, Sonic Mania will have 2D graphics. You might not find any significant change in the way the side-scroller looks when compared to its previous iterations in early consoles - the visual presentation resembles the Genesis-era Sonic games.

What is also surprising is that the Switch itself is quite a powerful device, with its large touch screen display and the processing power especially when docked. So the decision to release a retro game may be a bit off especially if one considers the graphic quality of announced games such as Nintendo's Super Mario Odyssey.

But if you are a Sonic fan or if you have religiously played each and every release in the franchise, then you will be able to appreciate its merits not just on account of nostalgia but also on what it will be bringing to the table.

Sonic Mania: New Game Features

Most importantly, there are the new levels, new bosses, and new Sonic moves. These are on top of what Sega has referred to as reimagined content. Sixteen stages were reportedly reworked to pay tribute to the legacy of the original hedgehog that lodged the most credible competition to Mario in the past.

"This all-new experience celebrates the best of Classic Sonic, pushing the envelope forward with stunning 60 FPS gameplay and pixel-perfect physics," Sega declared.

There are also two other playable characters, namely Tails and Knuckles. The promotional trailer only showed Sonic the Hedgehog in action so it is not clear whether these two will have different skills or gameplay technique.

Pricing, Release Date, And Compatibility

Sega has not released any information about pricing or the exact release schedule for Sonic Mania. The company was able to confirm, however, that the game will be available this spring, which should place the actual rollout between March and June.

At this point, Sonic Mania is already up for preorder at the Sega website.

Aside from the Nintendo Switch, the game will also be released in other platforms such as PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.