The default being a combination of both Sonic and Tails. Upon starting a new game in Sonic Mania, the game asks you to make a choice of what character to pick.

Moreover, it barely changes the addictive gameplay that made Sonic the hedgehog icon he remains today. The game relies on the solid foundations of the classics that first popularised the blue blur. This nostalgic feel pervades the entirety of the gameplay of Sonic Mania. Beginning in the famous ‘Green Hill Zone’, almost every gamer will get a sense of nostalgia from simply hearing the first few chords of the iconic stage music. This seems like an excellent creative decision, as instead the game launches the player straight into the gameplay. The story of Sonic Mania is almost so hilariously irrelevant that the game spends barely any time dwelling on it. With perfectly appropriate stylised graphics, incredible pace and addictive gameplay, Sonic Mania Plus is an affordable must-buy for anyone and everyone. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Sonic Mania instead adds spokes and perfects the design of a formula that has stood the test of time. Yet, I am pleased to say, Sonic Mania recaptures the magic of the original games that made Sega and Sonic the household names they deserve to be. Mostly to blame are the recent incarnations of the blue blur that have been, to put it charitably, less than perfect. When discussing Sonic Mania there seems to be two reactions, either enthusiasm or disdain.

However, the gameplay of Sonic, at least anecdotally, seems to have experienced the ‘marmite effect’. Similarly, Sonic Mania Plus spins onto your screen with the energy and enthusiasm of the nineties relics that first cemented ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ in the public consciousness. A phrase so popular and well-formulated it remains part of our culture even today. Since 1996 Marmite have popularised the slogan, ‘You Either Love It Or Hate It’.

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