The last ten years have not been good for Sonic the Hedgehog, but it seems SEGA has plans to reinvigorate the “Blue Blur” just in time for his 25th anniversary. San Diego Comic Con 2016 saw the announcement of Sonic Mania, a new 2D platforming adventure that aims to re-capture the magic of the hedgehog’s 16-bit roots. Showcasing gorgeous sprite-based visuals and fast-paced side-scrolling gameplay, the Sonic Mania debut trailer signaled what could be a return to Sonic’s glory days.

Sonic Mania will feature reimagined versions of iconic zones and acts from classic Sonic titles, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles, and Sonic CD. In addition, the game will feature brand new zones, acts, and bosses, including the lottery-themed zone shown in the trailer. The Sonic Mania debut trailer can be viewed below.

The game will feature three playable characters: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. For fans that have grown weary of Sonic’s many, many friends over the last few years, Sonic Mania‘s limited cast will hopefully keep the game from moving into Sonic‘s more modern propensities. That, of course, doesn’t mean we wouldn’t like to see Metal Sonic show up at some point.

Within SEGA’s press release for its recent Sonic announcements, Head of Sonic Team Takashi Iizuka described Sonic Mania as a “passion project” that was “born out of [his team’s] fans’ love of the classic Sonic 2D platform games.” Iizuka shared that “this type of collaboration is a first for SEGA” and expressed hope that “everyone will be both surprised and delighted by this title.”

Sonic Mania is being developed in collaboration between SEGA, Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and PagodaWest Games and is set for release in Spring 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. More details on will be released later this year.

About The Author

Associate Editor

Rodney is an experienced video game journalist, having attended E3 the past four years and written for outlets such as Zelda Informer, Laser Time, and Nerd Hero. He is both a writer and editor, and strives to become a full-time video game journalist.

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