Top Seven Zones I'd like to see remixed in Sonic Mania

I just can't stop talking about Sonic these days. I recently watched a video that presented the youtuber's personal picks for the top seven they'd like to see. It's a good video, feel free to watch it before I go over my picks.

And now, I use the break function, because reasons


As mentioned in the video, there is the claim that Sonic Mania is meant to feel like the Sega Saturn 2d Sonic game we never got. As such, levels for remixing must be chosen as previous to that era. I'm not going past under any circumstances, though I am hopeful the unnamed 2017 project does something like that.

It won't, but whatever. I'm going to pick seven, picking 1 from Sonic 1, and then 2 from the next three games. Counting S3&K as a singular complete game, rather than two 75% of a game games. I'm also going to stick to a pair of rules that I believe reflect what would be best for Mania, and therefore, best for the player at the end of the discussion.

First, I'm picking levels I think have great music. That's not a difficult parameter, though, since most Sonic levels have great music. The one exception is my Sonic 1 choice, since I actually can't bring any of the tunes past Zone 1 to mind.

Second, if you look at Sonic Mania's take on Green Hill Zone, you'll notice it seems to go into an underground. That gives me a thematic hook for these levels I think shouldn't be ignored: The ability to go up and down. Not exactly a breakthrough, but I mean levels which effectively transition from two different areas that allow the level to feel bigger in a clean fashion. A functional sky, a base level and then an underground will make for the best levels.

Third, all of this is subjective, but I'm more interested in Sonic Mania being a good game than picking my favorite levels. So these aren't necessarily my favorite levels at all. I'm going to count it down backwards, and you can probably guess #1.

#7 - Marble Zone (Sonic 1 - Zone 2)

While I think this zone's inclusion is highly unlikely, I'd like to make a case for it, even if I don't exactly like it that much. The original Marble zone offers two big things: First, it transitions between above ground and below ground with a consistent pace that would work nicely with being expanded upon. In fact, you could seemlessly add sections without even feeling like anything new was added. It has always been a level people found a bit confusing. It's a big departure from Green Hill Zone, and in doing so, offers everything the remix needs without needing to add much at all.

In fact, that leads to my second element: It loses much of its sense of speed, but this can be added gracefully by using more of the above ground, perhaps by adding loop de loops that fit the theme and racing over bridges being consumed by the weirdly out of place lava. Nothing about these classical looking ruins really strikes me as, you know, involved with lava. But there it is, because underground faring levels need lava for some reason. But that weird dissonance just leads to a level that has tons of potential to be polished into a real winner.

In terms of potential, Marble Zone might be the single best case on the list. The original version feels a little bit unfinished and a little bit off-kilter from the way Sonic eventually gelled, but not so far a la Sonic CD levels it isn't just a touch over from where it would feel great yet still authentic.



#6 - Flying Battery Zone (Sonic 3 and Knuckles - Zone 8)

Picking zones out of S3&K that meet the criteria above is surprisingly easy. In fact, it's almost problematic how many of them you could choose, and how few of them I imagine are going to make it. Something like one tenth the copies of Sonic 3 sold compared to Sonic 1, so it's never going to get the recognition it deserves in these nostalgia trip games.

Regardless, there's a string of "Robotnik dominated" levels in the early Sonic series, levels that are often memorable in how they share elements and style, even from game to game. I think Flying Battery Zone is probably the best of the lot to remix.

First thing, the music is fantastic. Probably the best tune in the S&K line-up.

Second thing, of the flying fortress / space station / robot city selection of levels, I feel like Flying Battery is almost already a remix itself. It combines elements from Metropolis and Wing Fortress zone, as well as some touches from earlier. But of all of those, it has a distinctive top, middle and bottom - sometimes you're on the bottom of the fortress, jumping along narrow paths to try to keep from falling below. At other times you're up top, into the propellers that keep the beastly flying base in the air.

This creates a full transitional path, one that can be blended into a distinctive beginning and ending as you ascend the fortress, without really adding anything new. It allows the remix to be something far more expansive and impressive.

The other thing, though, is that Flying Fortress is already loaded with gimmicks that can offer designing the course a huge spread of options that - again - don't mess with the formula.

#5 - Tidal Tempest (Sonic CD - Zone 3)

Sonic CD levels, however, are something that asks a set of questions that leave me wondering what the Sonic Mania team will answer with. I mean, the initial question is the simplest one - Are they going to use them at all? You would think, given Christian Whitehead's involvement in porting Sonic CD around and making Sega some sonic-dollars, he'd be eager to do so. But I don't know if they plan to do any of the games other than Sonic 1.

The other questions are - past, present, future? Are they going to include the time travel gimmick in some fashion? I would hope so, but maybe not in an overwhelming way. The other thing is, Sonic CD levels aren't really "Sonic 2d" levels. They're very different - not bad, once you get the hang of them, but different - and what we'd be seeing here are more Sonic CD levels being transformed into Sonic 3&K sort of levels. That leaves a lot of questions. The producer of Sonic Mania, who is lovely and awesome and doesn't seem like she's cut from the 'talk to the press' kind of cloth, confirmed Sonic Mania levels have more of the scope and vertical elements of Sonic 3 style stages.

So why Tidal Tempest? Well, it's pretty basic. It has a great above / below the water feel, which facilitates the design ideas I keep harping on about. It also has quite a number of interesting little gimmicks that could be expanded into a bigger, or maybe just more streamlined level design. It's also got great music and nice sprites that reference Labyrinth Zone without being anywhere near the displeasure that much of Labyrinth zone is. It feels like a good, solid water level, probably the second best in the early series.


#4 - Hill Top (Sonic 2 - Zone 5)

Hill Top Zone is an interesting little enigma and always felt a little weird to get to as a kid. It very strongly resembles Emerald Hill Zone, and you somewhat wonder if somewhere along the way Sonic realized he got lost and doubled back to take the high road in the other direction. It is, after all, Hill Top Zone right? Emerald Hill Top? Probably not, but it meshes the "Hill" zone basic styling with a lot of not very basic styling.

Hill Top really works for this list in much the same way as others: It has elements which can be expanded out, but the original pair of acts didn't really delve too deep. Speaking of which, the zone has lava (for some reason) in its underground sections but also lots of up high in the clouds style stuff that could be expanded out as well.

And honestly, Hill Top just doesn't feel quite finished, like it's a zone that was marked 'done' at the end but is a bit empty and a bit underdone. It's not to say I dislike it, just that it kinda feels like they had a background and then sort of pieced other parts together to form a cohesive but a little bit on the empty side zone.









#3 - Quartz Quadrant (Sonic CD - Zone 4)

Of the various options Sonic CD presents, I think Quartz Quadrant is the best one to see translation into a standard form Sonic level without losing too much of its original identity. The levels are, to be fair, a bit flat and don't have quite the transitional element that some of the other options on the list do. That hopefully can be rectified by using the time travel option, perhaps in a more "traverse the white light" sort of fashion instead of the unfortunately due to technical limitations jerkiness of the original time travel implementation. But Quartz Quadrant offers some nice visual elements and a good sense of zoomy platforming.

Gimmicks wise it does have the crystals and weird conveyor belts that feel straight out of Megaman. Both of these could be expanded upon, maybe in a way that works with the time travel flow, like feeding crystals into furnaces to time travel? Basically, there's room here for expansion, but a good base of an interesting and visually enjoyable level. Of course, all the levels in Sonic CD are weirdly visually enjoyable.

Also, the music is really great and the Robotnik fight at the end has that sense of sucking in just the right way to be rebuilt into something quite a bit more interesting. I'm not sure if it's my favorite Sonic CD level; I'd need to go back and play through the game a couple more times.



#2 - Oil Ocean (Sonic 2 - Zone 7)

I think it's incredibly, unbelievably unlikely we'll see Oil Ocean in Mania. As I said back in my Sonic 2 review, the zone has a style of westernized "Arabian nights" fused with something of the more modern, at the time, Arabic world. That sort of stuff doesn't seem to make its way to mainstream audiences, which is a damn shame.

Oil Ocean does lack an underground; but tubing running beneath the Oil ocean itself could offer some interesting terrain without requiring too much sprite work. On the other hand, it has an interesting set up, much like Flying Battery. The very top of it is very open, with a lot of interesting decorations, while the bottom is very compact and tends to be ramps leading over the flow of sludge that the level gets its name from. The middle is a transition between the two.

This remains one of my favorite zones, and seeing it expanded upon to clean up some of the dodgy sections, or just see more of it at all would be fantastic.












#1 - Hydrocity (Sonic 3 and Knuckles - Zone 2)

Hydrocity is simply my favorite Sonic level, and honestly it feels a lot like it informs the rest of this list. It has its own style, a visually pleasant palette, and it transitions from three somewhat different regions. There's an upper floaty section, a "right on the water" section and then beneath the flood line of the ruins. It has a huge amount of vertical space, but also excellent speed sections, especially that great moment when you first realize Sonic can cross water if he's going fast enough. I think that can happen in Aquatic ruin, in Sonic 2, but here it's a central moment of the level as you blast past enemies and the background just turns into a blur.

It's just a great zone, and it does everything I'd want to see in a remix, though maybe I should be asking for bad zones to be remixed instead of some of my favorites. But then, it's all subjective anyway. There's really not so much to talk about, when it comes to the later zones on this list. They're just great choices, and I hope to see some of these, though the way Sonic Mania is shaping up maybe I shouldn't worry at all.

And the levels I expect to see through the eyes of pessimism:
Sonic 1 - They'll do Spring Yard Zone
Sonic 2 - Casino Night and Mystic Cave Zone, which I honestly think are two of the weaker options.
Sonic 3 - Carnival Night Zone and Ice Cap Zone (I do love Ice Cap Zone)
Sonic & Knuckles - Sky Sanctuary, yet again, because reasons.
Sonic CD - Wacky Workbench, because of course.


But it doesn't matter. The mania is real!