History YMMV / SonicMania

** The battle against Dr. Eggman in the Chemical Plant Zone, [[spoiler:a.k.a. the [[VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine Mean Bean Machine]] [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Duel]]]], is widely considered one of the most creative and entertaining boss battles ''in the whole franchise'', and is cited as one of the biggest highlights of the game.

* ToughActToFollow: ''Mania'' became the most acclaimed ''Sonic'' game since the beginning of its AudienceAlienatingEra. As such, many hoped it would signal an upturn in series quality going forward, and that its developers would return for more entries. The sequels that drew the most unfavourable comparisons were ''Forces'', released merely three months later and regarded as too short and straightforward, and ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'', another 2D game, for its few innovations and weaker design than ''Mania''.

* ToughActToFollow: ''Mania'' quickly became the most acclaimed ''Sonic'' game since the beginning of its AudienceAlienatingEra. Many hoped it would signal an upturn in series quality going forward, and that its developers would return for more entries. The sequels that drew the most unfavourable comparisons were ''Forces'', released merely three months later and regarded as too short and straightforward, and VideoGame/SonicSuperstars, another 2D game, for its few innovations and weaker design than ''Mania''.

* ToughActToFollow: ''Mania'' quickly became the most acclaimed ''Sonic'' game since the beginning of its AudienceAlienatingEra. Many wondered if it signalled an upturn in series quality going forward, and whether its developers would produce more entries. The sequels that drew the most unfavourable comparisons were ''Forces'', released merely three months later and regarded as too short and straightforward, and VideoGame/SonicSuperstars, another 2D game, for its few innovations and weaker design than ''Mania''.

* ToughActToFollow: With ''Sonic Mania'' being so acclaimed, it was only natural that the next 2D Sonic game ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' wouldn't live up to everyone's expectations. Indeed, when the game released, reception was somewhat mixed, mainly due to its tacked-on emerald powers and occasional bugginess.
** Also for ''Sonic Forces'', which released a mere three months later and met with a tepid reception, especially concerning its Classic Sonic levels which were seen as vastly inferior to ''Mania's''.

* FandomRivalry:
** With ''Sonic Forces'', unsurprisingly. It's a pretty one-sided rivalry though, at least as far as noise goes, with fans of ''Mania'' being quite vocal about their dislike for ''Forces'', whereas those who genuinely prefer the gameplay, story, and overall presentation of ''Forces'' simply deem ''Mania'' as uninteresting rather than bad.

* ToughActToFollow: With ''Sonic Mania'' being so acclaimed, it was only natural that the next 2D Sonic game ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' wouldn't live up to everyone's expectations. Indeed, when the game released, reception was somewhat mixed, mainly due to its tacked-on emerald powers and occasional bugginess.

* FandomHeresy: Admit you don't like the game. [[SchmuckBait Go on, we dare ya]]. After the game received widespread acclaim, and even more after ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' came out to [[SoOkayItsAverage a mediocre reception]], many fans proclaimed {{Promoted Fanboy}}s Christian Whitehead, Headcannon, and [=PagodaWest=] Games to be the better handlers of the franchise than Creator/SonicTeam themselves. This is for better or for worse, as when ports of ''Sonic 1'' and ''2'' were brought to the Switch as part of M2's ''SEGA AGES'' series of ports, they got blasted simply because the CW-HC-PW trio wasn't involved with it.

** In Encore Mode's rendition of Lava Reef Zone Act 2, you're given the choice to either take a lower path to fight Heavy King or an upper path to fight Heavy Rider (in Mania Mode, which one you fight depends on the character you picked). Heavy Rider's arena is directly above Heavy King's arena; with Super Tails' increased speed, [[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1019989452825903105 you can fly all the way from the latter to the former,]] triggering the Heavy Rider fight. Doing this [[https://twitter.com/dbMisadventure/status/1019996432462315520 appears to cause a softlock]] (after the results screen, the transition scene meant for post-Heavy King triggers, causing your character to run towards the inaccessible teleporter and get stuck on a wall), but eventually the game moves on to the next zone.

* MagnificentBitch: The [[MasterOfDisguise Heavy Magician]] is the most crafty and charismatic of Dr. Eggman's [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Hard-Boiled Heavies]]. Encountering Sonic in Mirage Saloon Zone, she conjures several Badniks, including a Caterkiller she turns giant, before shooting the Tornado down in disguise and using her disguises in a magic show battle. In ''Plus'''s Encore Mode, after surviving the destruction of the Titanic Monarch, she disguises as one of Sonic's captured friends to steal the Phantom Ruby, revive the other Hard-Boiled Heavies, and continue Eggman's world domination plot.

** The initial release had quite a number of bugs, even some game breaking ones (like one that soft locks the game if you hold a direction after the first Chemical Plant boss, which required a stage reset to fix).

** "King of Speed", which requires you to beat Stardust Speedway Zone Act 2, a rather labirinthye level with multiple routes, in under a minute. Fortunately, you do not have to fight Metal Sonic as well, and this achievement is slighter easier to get in Time Attack Mode.

* CharacterRerailment: Knuckles returns to his ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' characterization of a gullible, but street-smart guardian. When Heavy King tries to [[spoiler:steal the Master Emerald]], [[ContinuityNod he actually remembers]] the events of ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' and picks him off rather easily. This is in contrast to modern games and spin-offs that portray him as a DumbMuscle.

** The [[TimedMission 10 minute time limit]] is still present as always, and before ''Plus'', there was no option to disable it, unlike in the ''{{VideoGame/Sonic Advance|Trilogy}}'' and ''{{VideoGame/Sonic Rush|Series}}'' games. Coupled with some of the longest acts in a sidescrolling ''Sonic'' game and several tricky {{Goddamned Boss}}es, it can be said that you ''will'' die due to Time Over at least once. To make it worse, ''the timer wouldn't even flash or give a warning when it reached the last minute'' like it did in previous ''Sonic'' games until a patch made it do so a couple of weeks later. Fortunately, the time limit is disabled entirely during the [[spoiler:''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine''-inspired match at the end of Chemical Plant Zone Act 2]], and it resets when you reach [[spoiler:the FinalBoss at the end of [[MarathonLevel Titanic Monarch Zone Act 2]]]]. The option to disable the time limit was also added back in ''Plus''.

** The [[VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine Mean Bean Machine]] boss fight becomes a lot more hilarious when Sonic was added to the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris2'' roster, he even references Mean Bean Machine in one of his voicelines

*** New transitions were added to stages that didn't have them, fixing a few {{Plot Hole}}s in how the characters made it from Point A to Point B.

** All of these memes concerning Eggette/Omelette (thanks to the Egg Spider boss from Flying Battery Zone Act 2) that had been created up to this point--and in particular her backstory of being the [[AmbiguouslyRelated daughter figure]] of Dr. Robotnik--end up becoming this when ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' it prominently features [[spoiler: Sage, the Girl AI that Sonic had several run-ins with, who eventually develops into an artificial daughter figure for Dr. Eggman.]] This can get more prophetic with the variations of Egg/Omlette that make her [[spoiler:an android built by Eggman]].

** Thanks to an early reveal of the [=PS4=]'s ''Plus'' update, it is evident that ''Mania'' was not a very finished game on launch, as a great many things that fans had raised complaints about, from the highly conspicuous (the disappearance of level transitions after a certain point) to the subtle (Tails not reacting properly at the start of Chemical Plant Zone, despite having an animation for it), have been addressed in ''Plus'', which is indicative of this being in effect.

* TierInducedScrappy:
** Out of all the playable characters, Tails is by far the least useful in abilities, basically being Sonic with a slow flight and without his extra moves or the ability to use shield powers. Whereas Knuckles has his own distinct moveset and Ray has his incredibly broken and fast gliding ability while Mighty has his very nifty [[GroundPound Hammer Drop]] and immunity to spikes, Tails almost feels superannuated by them in comparison.
** For partners in Encore Mode, Knuckles is by far the most useless of them, as his low jump height combined with his overspecialized gliding ability makes it very easy for him to fall behind you.

* [[Awesome/VideoGameLevels Best Level Ever]]: A lot of fan favorite levels have returned, but the original levels really stand out:

** All of these memes concerning Eggette/Omelette (thanks to the Egg Spider boss from Flying Battery Zone Act 2), and more specifically with her being the daughter of Dr. Robotnik, that had been created up to this point end up becoming this when it's revealed in VideoGame/SonicFrontiers that [[spoiler: Sage, the Girl AI that Sonic had several run-ins, turns out to be the artificial daughter of Dr. Eggman.]]

** The [[VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine Mean Bean Machine]] boss fight becomes a lot more hilarious when Sonic was added to the [[VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTetris Puyo Puyo Tetris 2]] roster, he even references Mean Bean Machine in one of his voicelines