Sonic Mania- As Spectacular as an Eclipse

Sonic the Hedgehog is my childhood. The blue hedgehog has RUN parallel to my life in so many ways. I am not one of those people who believe in the Sonic cycle, or that Sonic has sucked since Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic has been kicking ass non-stop on handhelds for decades and Sonic Colors was a masterpiece. Sonic Generations was very good and Sonic Lost World was not a bad game. Let’s look at this game not as a great comeback for Sonic but as a moment that truly shows what the pinnacle of vintage 2D sonic can be.

Personally, this game is an enigma for me. Sonic 1,2, and 3 Knuckles already exist. Sonic CD happened. So with that said, why does this game exist? Who is it for? Ironically, it exists for super fans who never stopped loving Sonic and the game exist for people who thought 2D Sonic was the only Sonic we ever needed. I disagree and love 3D Sonic but 2D is a staple. I wonder how non-fans of Sonic feel about this game….Playing through this game it takes me back to my childhood in a really neat way. Sonic Mania is 2D Sonic perfected.

You can play as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. All have their classic skills. A lot of the levels in Mania are remixed original levels with some new levels in the game as well. They all fit really well together. They took some previous Sonic levels I hate, such as Flying Battery Zone and made them awesome.

Side note, Flying Battery Zone is the worst fucking stage. It is the level that keeps me from finishing Sonic 3 & Knuckles to this day. It’s too long, the gimmick of going in and out doors sucks. It’s confusing, and there is fire everywhere.

 

 

Sonic Mania took that level and added an amazing gimmick with some better boss fights.

The boss fights…..oh the boss fights. I would argue that Sonic has never had great boss fights. Mario seemed to understand boss fights better than Sonic. I love the aesthetic of Sonic bosses but normally they are so easy the boss fight is a waste OR they are so obtuse that you can’t figure out where to hit them. Sonic Mania doubles down on Boss Fights giving you one at the end of every stage (2 stages per level). The first boss stage fight is a smaller easier fight and the second stage fight is the BIG one that makes you think. Sonic Mania bosses are easy but they are soooo much fun if you have previous Sonic games as a reference point. I don’t want to spoil anything but one fight you get to turn the tables on Robotnik and fly his ship. You get to be the boss and it’s amazing.

These nostalgia moments in Sonic Mania are the best and worse. I love them because I have the frame of reference. I lived old Sonic. My son will see these references and won’t know what the big deal is. At one point, you play mean bean machine or see a character from a handheld game and those things resonate big with me but my son won’t get that.

All that said, this game play great. It feels perfect. The music is epic and the graphics are so good. The amount of frames in the animation is staggering and the attention to detail of this game is second to none. There is a completeness and crispness to this game that few Sonic games have had for years. This game is a great platformer even if it wasn’t a Sonic game. As a Sonic game it is truly something special. Oh and the special stages are sooo doooppppeeeee!

This game is a masterpiece. $19.99. More rare than an eclipse, a game of this quality at this price. Make it happen. 

Black Characters in Gaming: Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (Megadrive) Music

I have jokingly talked about Knuckles the Echidna being black, and I stand by that joke. An angry red person with dreads and brass knuckles who is constantly duped by the white antagonist….can’t be black 🙂 I AM NOT JOKING WHEN I SAY THE FUNK IS BLACK (it has transcended race)! and that original Sonic music on the Genesis is funky!

(CLICK THE LINKS, HEAR THE MUSIC ON YOUTUBE!)

This is inspired by a VGMpire podcast I heard recently (Link Here) that showcased old Sonic music.

Let’s start by hearing some real funk! I am talking Parliament Funkadelic. George Clinton.

“Maggot Brain”

“Groovallegiance”

“Motor Booty Affair”

“Flash Light”

“Atomic Dog”

“Mothership Connection”

“Stretchin’ Out”

“One Nation Under a Groove”

Normally, I do a lot of research for these but not this time. I was raised funk, I have lived funk, funk is life. I spent years of my life listening to and watching bootleg Parliament tapes and VHS. My childhood was littered with long road trips colored with maggot brain in the background. I played Bass from 5th grade through college.

The closest I have ever come to swimming was listening to Motor Booty Affair. I don’t like flying but I take flight on the Mothership regularly. I played bass growing up, and funk bass lines give us life on “the 1”. When I compare Sonic music to the funk, it comes down to the bass lines for me.

Is funk black? Yes, but the funk transcends race as much music does. Justin Timberlake can be as funky as Sly on a good day.

Funk and Sonic? I thought all these games were made by Japanese people. Fair question, the Japanese are funky, but lots of people worked on the music of Sonic. Sonic CD, and the soundtrack of Sonic 3 have very interesting developments. The most interesting one being Michael Jackson’s involvement with Sega on Sonic 3. (Off the Wall is one of the funkiest albums of my life!).

*Side note* Sonic was working with Michael Jackson on the soundtrack for Sonic 3 then his scandal with…the children went public. Sega wanted to distance themselves from that scandal. People from Jackson’s team are in the credits and people are on record saying MJ was working on music. The credit theme is supposed to have laid the ground work for “Strangers in Moscow”.  

Sonic in Moscow- Sonic MJ MashUP

Sonic 1 “Spring Yard Zone”- This track is amazing. That heavy bass line drives the what should be a light jaunt through a star lit night into what feels like a casino night.

Sonic 1 “Labyrinth Zone”-

Sonic 1 “Scrap Brain Zone”-

Sonic 1 “Staff Credits (medley)- All the songs are so good, and the bass drives the album. 

Sonic 2 “Emerald Hill Zone”- This bass line almost sounds like blue grass and if you look for the roots of funk it meanders from Jazz, Rock, and even bluegrass and country.

Sonic 2 “Chemical Plant Zone”– Smooth McGroove kills this song! All his voice! Amazing.

Sonic 2 “Aquatic Ruin Zone”–

Sonic 2 “Oil Ocean Zone”– This song is almost middle Eastern in theme. Makes sense…Oil…war….nevermind…Great song!

Sonic 3 “Character Select”

Sonic 3 “Hydrocity Zone Act 1 & 2”

Sonic 3 “Marble Garden Zone”–

Sonic 3 & Knuckles “Mushroom Hill Zone”–

Those were the funkiest Sonic jams in my humble opinion.

What I think is interesting about music in games is that original music doesn’t get the attention or credibility that licensed music gets. If Grand Theft Auto has a Funkadelic song in it, then it’s funky and a great sound track. While Toe Jam and Earl might blow the speakers out on Funktron nobody really appreciates it.

I think one of the reasons I was always drawn to Sonic more than Mario is the music. I play Sonic music all the time. Mario music didn’t appeal to me until Koopa Beach from Mario Kart was played. That shit is dope. The Genesis was very good at replicating guitar sounds and thumping bass. Good composer made the most out of that and I think Sonic is a sterling example of Genesis era music.