Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania is a 2017 platform game developed by Headcannon and PagodaWest Games and published by Sega. It is an entry in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, with a development team led by prominent members of the Sonic fan community Christian "Taxman" Whitehead and Simon "Stealth" Thomley. It was designed to be a successor to the classic 2D Sonic games for the Sega Genesis, and as such contains many elements from and references to those games. The D-Pad played Sonic Mania upon release as the forty-fifth game in The Super Sonic Let's Play - the playthrough commenced on August 16, 2017.

Episodes

« preceded by Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure

Video	Episode	Title	Length	Player(s)	Commentators	Release date
294	*	"A Brief History of Sonic Mania"	10:47	N/A	Rick, John	16 August 2017 (2017-08-16)
In a special live-action video, Rick and John introduce the game by exploring the larger history of Sonic level editors, ROM hacks, and fan games. Specifically, they look at the careers of Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley: the two started as notable members of the Sonic fan game community before eventually transitioning to making official remastered mobile ports of the classic Genesis games for Sega. After porting Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, they planned a similar treatment for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, but were unable to proceed due to unspecified legal issues involving the game, likely related to the soundtrack containing music written by Michael Jackson. No more official Sonic projects were announced by them for several years, until the 2016 reveal that they had in fact been working on a completely new game, intended to take the franchise back to its roots - Sonic Mania.
295	1	"Just Like the Old Games"	30:29	Rick	John, Lindsay, C/J	17 August 2017 (2017-08-17)
Rick and John continue to explain the history of Sonic Mania, this time delving into the specifics of the game itself, including its origins, development team, announcement, and combination of classic Sonic elements with new features and innovations. In the game itself, Rick, John and C/J watch the opening animation and begin the game, with Rick on the controller. He starts in Green Hill Zone, noting that the first act starts off identical to the original level before becoming very different later on. Along the way, Rick enters a "Blue Spheres" bonus stage identical to the first special stage from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and completes it with a perfect, earning a gold medallion. He continues the level but soon becomes stuck in a wall due to a bug. He is forced to reset and play through it again, picking up another two gold medallions along the way. He defeats the miniboss at the end and moves onto Act 2, where he plays a further four bonus stages, getting perfects on three of them. He then tackles the boss of the zone, which turns out to be the final boss from Sonic 2. He defeats it, then watches a brief cutscene where Sonic and Tails are teleported to the next level.
296	2	"Cool Bonus"	16:38	C/J	Rick, John, Ben	18 August 2017 (2017-08-18)
C/J takes over the control to play Chemical Plant Zone. Early on the first act he enters a giant ring, taking him to the game's first Sonic the Hedgehog CD-inspired UFO chase special stage. He completes it and gets a Chaos Emerald. He also enters a bonus stage, but fails to complete it. At the end of the act he fights the boss, resembling the Icecap Zone boss but with attacks similar to the Metropolis Zone boss. After defeating it, he moves on to the second act. The group enjoy the new music and level mechanics as C/J works through the act, completing another bonus stage along the way. He enters a third bonus stage later on in the act, and becomes lost for quite some time trying to find the final batch of blue spheres, but Rick eventually points him in the right direction and he completes it.
297	*	"The D-Pad Unboxes the Sonic Mania Collector's Edition"	9:21	N/A	Rick, John, C/J	20 August 2017 (2017-08-20)
In another special live-action video recorded before the start of the playthrough, Rick, John and C/J sit down to unbox the collector's edition of Sonic Mania. Rick tells the story of how he ended up accidentally pre-ordering three different copies of the game before opening one of them. The three look at the special items inside the box, including a Sega Genesis cartridge, a golden ring, and a Sonic statue.
298	3	"Lock-On Technology"	13:44	C/J, John	Rick	21 August 2017 (2017-08-21)
C/J enters another special stage through a giant ring, but fails to complete it. He also enters a bonus stage at a checkpoint, and gets a perfect. He then moves on to the boss, which turns out to consist of beating Eggman in a round of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Despite not being familiar with the game, he easily wins and completes the zone, passing the control over to John. John enters a brand new level, Studiopolis Zone, somewhat similar to casino-themed levels from past games. He plays through some of the first act and tries two bonus stages along the way, failing at both of them.
299	4	"The Fury of My Own Momentum"	20:11	John	Rick, C/J	22 August 2017 (2017-08-22)
John reaches the end of Studiopolis Act 1 and fights one of the Hard-Boiled Heavies, in a boss somewhat reminiscent of the Metal Sonic race from Sonic CD. Although he dies on the first attempt, he beats it on the second and moves on to the second act. Throughout the level, he takes on two more bonus stages, getting a perfect in the first one but failing the second. At the end of the stage, he faces Eggman's weather-themed boss and defeats it. Rick takes over for the fourth zone, Flying Battery. During the first act, he attempts yet another pair of Blue Sphere stages, completing the second one with a perfect.
300	5	"Flagrant Story"	19:02	Rick	John, C/J	23 August 2017 (2017-08-23)
Rick completes another bonus stage near the end of Flying Battery Zone Act 1, then easily defeats the miniboss due to his electric shield. He proceeds to act 2, which features numerous outside segments somewhat influenced by Wing Fortress Zone. During the stage, he attempts four more bonus stages, failing the first and completing the other three. Further on, he runs into an outside segment featuring electrified poles controlled by an enemy; he ends up falling to his death while trying to pass it.
301	6	"A Warm Pizza on My Penis"	18:59	Rick, C/J	John	24 August 2017 (2017-08-24)
Rick reaches the end of the Flying Battery Zone Act 2, attempting one more bonus stage before the boss, but failing it. The boss itself is a giant spider-like machine controlled by Eggman that needs to be knocked into spikes lining the walls to be defeated. Rick beats it, then hands back over to C/J for the next zone. C/J enters a brand new level, Press Garden Zone. He enters three bonus stages during the first act, getting a perfect for the first but failing at the other two. In the level itself, he spends so much time exploring side areas and using Tails to fly him up to higher platforms that he only has a minute left to defeat the miniboss once he reaches the end of the stage. He barely manages to do it, with only 14 seconds remaining on the timer.
302	7	"Less Precious with the Rules"	11:48	C/J	Rick, John	25 August 2017 (2017-08-25)
C/J heads into the second act of Press Garden, which combines elements from Mushroom Hill Zone with areas where Sonic must be frozen in order to smash through blocks of ice. During the stage, he enters two bonus stages and a specials stage, but fails to complete any of them. Soon, he reaches the end and faces off against the second member of the Hard-Boiled Heavies, who makes use of a freezing weapon and uses Asterons as throwing stars. C/J runs out of rings towards the end of the fight and almost loses, but just barely wins with some help from Tails. The group watch another brief cutscene, after which Sonic and Tails are teleported to the next zone.
305	8	"Lando Is a Man"	21:41	John	Rick, C/J	28 August 2017 (2017-08-28)
John enters the first act of Stardust Speedway Zone. C/J and Rick debate which version of the Sonic CD soundtrack is being used as John plays through the stage and defeats the miniboss. He then heads through a "Future" signpost and moves on to the second act. He runs through this level, failing an attempt at a bonus stage along the way, and reaches the boss fight against Metal Sonic. The battle contains several phases many references to fights with different versions of Metal Sonic throughout the classic Sonic games. John becomes confused as to how to damage the boss in the second part of the fight, where Metal Sonic is out of reach and needs to be damaged by knocking smaller enemies into him. He eventually gets past it, but has used so much time that he gets a time over before he can finish the battle. His second attempt is much faster and he defeats the boss.
306	9	"Handle with Care"	16:22	Rick	John, Ben, C/J	29 August 2017 (2017-08-29)
Rick enters Hydrocity Zone, which contains elements inspired by water levels from a number of different classic Sonic games. C/J and John discuss Nine Inch Nails and their own upcoming music projects as Rick plays through the first act, completing three bonus stages as he does so. He reaches the boss, in which Sonic must control Eggman's machine from the original Hydrocity Zone to damage him. Rick is unclear as to how to damage him for a while, and John reveals he accidentally already played Hydrocity in his off-camera playthrough. Rick eventually defeats the boss and moves on to the second act.
307	10	"The Blue Ball Whisperer"	21:04	Rick, C/J	John, Ben, Felice	30 August 2017 (2017-08-30)
Rick plays through the second act of Hydrocity. He completes a bonus stage, but fails two more, along with his first attempt at a special stage. He reaches the boss (a barely-changed version of the Act 1 boss from the original Hydrocity) and defeats it, clearing the zone. C/J takes over for the next level, Mirage Saloon, the first act of which is mostly based off Sky Chase Zone. He dies towards the end of the flying segment by accidentally jumping off the plane during a fast auto-scroll, but soon gets back to where he was and lands on a moving train. There, he finally succeeds in getting the second Chaos Emerald, and fails yet another bonus stage.
308	11	"'90's Kids Jizz Themselves"	12:15	C/J	Rick, John, Felice	31 August 2017 (2017-08-31)
C/J defeats the miniboss of the first act of Mirage Saloon. A brief cutscene ensues in which Fang the Sniper appears and shoots down Tails' plane, leading into the second act. C/J tries out a few more bonus stages in this level, and manages to complete one of them with a perfect. Eventually, he reaches the boss fight, in which Heavy Magician disguises herself as Fang, Bark the Polar Bear and Bean the Dynamite, complete with their signature attacks. He dies on his first attempt at the boss, but manages to defeat her the second time around. He is then shot out of a giant gun towards the next zone, and hands the control over to John.
309	12	"Perilous Pipeline"	16:59	John, Rick	C/J, Felice	1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)
John is annoyed to find out the level he's playing is Oil Ocean Zone - one of his least favorites from the classic series. He gets through the first act, failing a bonus stage along the way, and easily defeats the miniboss. The second act contains elements from Sandopolis Zone, as Sonic must pull switches regularly to stop his rings from draining as a result of the fumes. John dies a few times to the boss of the zone, which mashes up elements from the original Oil Ocean boss with the miniboss of Lava Reef Zone, but eventually defeats it. Rick takes over the Lava Reef Zone, getting part of the way through act 1, failing a bonus stage, and narrowly succeeding in getting the third Chaos Emerald from a special stage.
310	13	"Miami Nights"	17:57	Rick	John, C/J, Felice	4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)
Rick tries three more bonus stages during the remainder of Lava Reef Act 1 - he completes the first one, but fails at the other two. At the end of the stage, he defeats the Mystic Cave-inspired boss and moves on to the second act. There, he enters a special stage and almost gets the fourth Chaos Emerald, but accidentally jumps down a pit and fails. He then continues through the level, playing a further two bonus stages, completing them both with a perfect on the latter.
311	14	"The Least Many There Is"	15:38	Rick, C/J	John, Felice	5 September 2017 (2017-09-05)
Rick reaches the end of Lava Reef Zone and fights another member of the Hard-Boiled Heavies in an area inspired by Hidden Palace Zone. He is confused as to how to damage the boss for a while, but eventually defeats it and hands over to C/J for the next zone, which turns out to be Metallic Madness. He fails a few special stages throughout the act, but still makes his way to the end, where he faces off against a miniboss based on Final Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. C/J destroys the boss and moves on to act 2.
312	15	"Huge Asshole"	14:42	C/J, John	Rick, Felice	6 September 2017 (2017-09-06)
C/J takes on the second act of Metallic Madness, completing the stage and fighting a boss consisting of smaller versions of bosses from previous games; Sonic is also forced to be small during the fight, due to the shrinking lasers, returning from the original Sonic CD level. After defeating the boss, he hands the control over to John for Titanic Monarch Zone. John plays through some of the first act and enters one of the most difficult special stages to perfect in the game. Rick guides him through a frustrating bumper segment and he eventually makes it to the end, but accidentally jumps over one of the rings he needed to collect.
313	16	"Speed Limit the Porcupine"	18:40	John	Rick, C/J, Felice	7 September 2017 (2017-09-07)
John continues the first act of Titanic Monarch Zone, failing a bonus stage along the way. He reaches the end of the level and faces a modified version of the miniboss from Death Egg Zone. He defeats it and moved on to the second act, which is composed of four large sections that all need to be completed to proceed but can be played in any order, something the group only figure out before entering the fourth and final section. During the level, John tries two more bonus stages, failing one and completing the other without a perfect.
314	17	"Almost Dicker"	12:54	John	Rick, C/J, Felice	8 September 2017 (2017-09-08)
John completes the fourth area of Act 2 of Titanic Monarch, opening a portal that leads to the final boss. Eggman uses the Phantom Ruby in battle, shielding himself for most of the fight and only letting his guard down when he uses an electric attack. He also frequently warps Sonic to areas where he has to survive an attack from one of the Hard-Boiled Heavies. John runs out of rings and almost loses the fight, but manages to defeat it. Having not gotten all the Chaos Emeralds, the group are treated to the bad ending, watching the final cutscene and the lengthy credits - in a post credits screen homage to the original game, Eggman taunts the player with the missing Emeralds.
315	18	"What Are We Aiming For?"	16:16	John, Rick	C/J	11 September 2017 (2017-09-11)
The group restart the game on their completed save file in order to find the remaining Chaos Emeralds. John plays through Green Hill Zone and finds a giant ring in Act 1, but is unable to complete the resulting special stage. He searches for another one in the second act, but can't find any. Rick takes over for the first act of Chemical Plant Zone, but is similarly unable to locate a ring.
316	19	"Bouncy Juice"	18:38	Rick, C/J	John	12 September 2017 (2017-09-12)
Rick plays through the second act of Chemical Plant Zone and finds a giant ring towards the end, but immediately falls through a hole trying to make a jump and fails the special stage. He completes the zone and passes over to C/J for Studiopolis. C/J thoroughly searches the first act for giant rings, but still can't locate any. With only a few minutes remaining on the timer, he heads to the end of the level and defeats the miniboss.
317	20	"Less Clever Now"	20:08	C/J, John	Rick	13 September 2017 (2017-09-13)
C/J looks through the second act of Studiopolis and manages to find a giant ring, but fails the fourth special stage once more. He plays through the rest of the level, failing a bonus stage along the way, and defeats the boss, handing over to John for Flying Battery. John explores the first act of the level, eventually finding a ring near the end. Given another chance at the special stage, he narrowly completes it with only two rings left and gets the fourth Chaos Emerald.