Sonic Mania Plus

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The ultimate celebration of past and future.

— Tagline

Sonic Mania Plus (ソニックマニア・プラス, Sonikku Mania Purasu^?) is a video game from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and an expanded version of Sonic Mania. It was released in July of 2018 both physically and digitally for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One consoles; and as a digital-only release on Steam for the PC. The content introduced in this version was also made available as downloadable content to digital copies of the original game for all platforms. This re-release adds two new characters to the game, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, as well as a new game mode, Encore Mode, which takes place after the events of Sonic Forces and expands the Competition Mode up to four players.

Hyperkinetic Studios was part of the development of this update. Since Tee Lopes was busy working on the soundtrack for Sonic Mania Adventures, one of the members of Hyperkinetic, Hunter Bridges, worked on the new music tracks along with Falk Au Yeong. Around the time of the release of Sonic Mania Plus, a patch was released for the base game which includes many changes and bug fixes from Sonic Mania Plus. However, the new content is separately included as a downloadable DLC named "Encore DLC".

As with its predecessor, Sonic Mania Plus received positive reviews, with most praise being directed towards the inclusion of Mighty and Ray and the gameplay in Encore Mode. However, criticism was directed to the lack of new features in the new mode.

Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot, ending details or any kind of information follow.

Storylines

Encore Mode

File:SonicMania PC AngelIslandCapsule.png

Sonic finding Mighty and Ray trapped in Angel Island Zone.

In the aftermath of the War to Take Back the Planet, Sonic is transported back to Angel Island in the past. However, he finds out that the Phantom Ruby has survived the past incident and followed him home. The ruby then floats away, and the hedgehog tries to catch it. Eventually, he finds it above two familiar figures trapped in a trap box. These are none other than Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, two of Sonic's old friends who helped him on a previous adventure. Upon freeing them, the hedgehog sides with one of them. Suddenly though, the Heavy Magician reveals herself to have been disguised as the other prisoner and steals the Phantom Ruby, leaving Sonic and his new teammate to chase her down. However, they catch up to her too late, as she gives the ruby to the wrecked remains of the Phantom King, among the Phantom Heavies. The Phantom King then uses the Phantom Ruby to restore the Hard Boiled Heavies, leaving the heroes to begin hunting them down in Green Hill. Along the way, they find their other friends, who join them on their adventure.

Eventually, Sonic and his group get attacked by Dr. Eggman in his Death Egg Robot, though they manage to defeat him, with the mech falling into the ground and getting stuck in a cave. When the heroes go there to check it out, they find that their nemesis has discovered the surviving Hard Boiled Heavies with the Phantom Ruby. Deciding to use the gem once again for his own plans, the doctor takes the Phantom Ruby and uses it to send the heroes to the Chemical Plant. Not giving up after this, the group continues their adventure from there, defeating various of Eggman's machines, including the Hard Boiled Heavies, along the way.

Eventually, Sonic and his friends discover that Eggman has seized Little Planet once again. Traveling to the planetoid and entering the re-built Titanic Monarch, the heroes find and fight the doctor piloting his Phantom Egg. After destroying it, the game's ending will depend on the player's progress:

• The bad ending of Encore Mode.
  The bad ending of Encore Mode.
• The good ending of Encore Mode.
  The good ending of Encore Mode.

• If the player has not managed to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds, the Phantom Ruby will be stolen by the Heavy King immediately after Eggman's defeat. He will then use it to power himself as Sonic's group and Eggman flee. After that, the Heavy King will be featured on a black background, juggling with the Chaos Emeralds the player did not collect, as two of the player's crew members will stand in front of him either disappointed or angry. The text "TRY AGAIN" will be shown as well.
• If the player has managed to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds, the Phantom Ruby will start to go out of control while Eggman tries to escape in a vehicle. Immediately after, the Phantom Ruby creates a space-time rift that sucks everything in. However, Sonic and his friends use the Chaos Emeralds to assume their Super States and escape, knocking Eggman into the rift in the process. Later, in Mirage Saloon, Sonic's crew celebrate their victory, with the Heavy King surprising them with a giant sundae. The text "YOU'RE TOO COOL!" will then appear.

Characters

Image	Character	Biography
File:SonicMania Mighty.png	Mighty the Armadillo	An armadillo with remarkable defensive power! His hard shell protects him from attacks, and by curling up into a ball he can use it to smash through enemies.
File:SonicMania Ray.png	Ray the Flying Squirrel	A young and enthusiastic flying squirrel. He loves adventure, and often glides to high places to get a view of the land below.

Gameplay

New features

• Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel are featured as playable characters. Like the original playable characters, Mighty and Ray play similarly to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. They also have moves exclusive to themselves. Mighty has the Hammer Drop, which makes him blast downward in a burst of speed, slamming Badniks and obstacles and making hidden items fall out of trees. Meanwhile, Ray has the Air Glide which lets him glide large distances through midair and even gain altitude. In Mania Mode, they will play the same Acts and bosses as Sonic and Tails.
• Optimized difficulty for boss fights.
• The unused Sweep Badnik from the original version of Sonic Mania has been added as an enemy in Angel Island Zone.
• A brand new Bonus Stage set inside a giant pinball table has been added.
• A results screen is now displayed at the end of Mania Mode and Encore Mode, listing the player's clear times for each Act and their total completion time (including Bonus and Special Stages).

Encore Mode

File:EncoreSaveSelect.jpeg

The save select of Encore Mode.

Encore Mode is a game mode exclusive to Sonic Mania Plus that takes place after the events of the game's Mania Mode and the conclusion of Sonic Forces, and sees the player progressing through altered Zones with new gameplay rules. Encore Mode has three save states that recompile the player's process, as well as a "No Save" mode. However, unlike Mania Mode, Encore Mode does not have any options to modify the gameplay.

Encore Mode includes all the Zones from Mania Mode (except Egg Reverie Zone), slightly modified with different color palettes and minor tweaks to the level design. In addition, there are new areas and different object placements that makes Encore Mode appear as an expanded version of Mania Mode. New pathways make use of all of the five characters' abilities, and some Giant Rings have been moved to other locations. The Special Stages remain figuratively unchanged from Mania Mode's, but the artistic layouts are in reverse order, and the Stages themselves are more difficult. Angel Island Zone has also been added as an introductory Zone; as a result of this, Green Hill Zone is the second Zone in this mode instead of the first.

File:Sonicmaniaplusvdr11.png

Ray with Sonic in Encore Mode's version of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1.

Encore Mode also features a new party and lives system. At the beginning, the player starts with Sonic and either Mighty or Ray. The player is in control of one of the characters while the other is controlled by the AI and can be switched by pressing File:PSTriangleButton.png/Template:Y Button (Xbox One)/Template:X Button (Switch)/[W]. Only the first two characters can be switched between, and only when both are on-screen and not in mid-air. To get the rest of the playable characters, the player must find a Character Item Box with cycling character faces on it. When they break it, the character shown on the monitor will be added to the player's party. When all five characters are obtained, the Character monitors will instead give the player a random item. Player Swap monitors from Competition Mode are also used, and breaking one of them will change the player's character to the next one in waiting, and Random monitors will shuffle the character order. Instead of traditional lives, the characters behave as lives. If the main character dies, that character will be lost and another character in waiting will take his place. If all characters are lost, it will result in a Game Over, but the player can resume playing by using Continues.

4-Player Competition Mode

File:Sonic-mania-plus-review-three.png

The Competition Mode setup screen with four players.

Competition Mode is expanded to allow up to four players simultaneously. When playing with two or three players, player 1 can customize the screen division.

Replays

Sonic Mania Plus adds the option to save replays of completed Time Attack attempts. The player can save as many replays as their system's storage will allow. Once a replay has been saved, the player can play back the replay, or challenge it. When challenging a replay, the player's previous attempt will be shown as a ghost during gameplay.

Changes

• On the title screen, the word "Plus" transitions under the logo while Eggman can be seen in the background flying with a chained trap box containing Mighty and Ray.
• The drowning theme music in Encore Mode was replaced with a remixed version of the drowning theme from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
• Mighty and Ray appear alongside Tails and Knuckles in the Competition Mode option on the main menu.
• If the player chooses to play as Mighty or Ray in Mania Mode, Sonic will be the one to fly the Tornado for them in Mirage Saloon Zone.
  • Additionally, the variation of the normal ending plays in which Mighty and Ray appear alongside Sonic instead of Tails and Knuckles.
• Collecting all thirty-two golden Medallions now allows the player to play the new Pinball Stages in Mania Mode.

Controls

Button formation				Movement
PlayStation 4	Xbox One	Nintendo Switch		File:MightyHUD.png Mighty	File:RayHUD.png Ray
		Pro Controller/Joy-Con (Pair)	Joy-Con (Single)
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) left/right	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons left/right	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right	Template:Analog Stick left/right	Walk/Run
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) up	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons up	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) up	Template:Analog Stick up	Look up
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) down	Template:Analog Stick down	Look down/Crouch
Square/Cross/Circle	Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left, right or down	Spin Jump
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) right/left + down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons right/left + down	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) right/left + down	Move + Template:Analog Stick down	Spin Attack
Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) down + Square/Cross/Circle	Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons down + Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One)	Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) down + Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch)	Crouch + Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left, right or down	Spin Dash
Square/Cross/Circle x2	Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One) x2	Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch) x2	Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left, right or down x2	Hammer Drop	N/A
Square/Cross/Circle + hold Square/Cross/Circle + Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (PS) left/right	Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One) + hold Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:A Button (Xbox One)/Template:B Button (Xbox One) + Template:Left Analog Stick/Directional buttons left/right	Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch) + hold Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:B Button (Switch) + Template:Left Analog Stick/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left/right	Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left, right or down + hold Template:B Button (Switch)/Template:X Button (Switch)/Template:A Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) left, right or down + Template:Analog Stick left/right	N/A	Air Glide
Spin Jump + File:PSTriangleButton.png	Spin Jump + Template:Y Button (Xbox One)	Spin Jump + Template:X Button (Switch)	Spin Jump + Template:Y Button (Switch)/Template:Directional Buttons (Switch) up	Super transformation (if 50 Rings + all Emeralds collected)
OPTIONS	Menu	+	+/-	Pause

Objects

Items

Air Bubble Chaos Emerald Giant Ring Giant spear Item Box 1-UP Blue Shield Bubble Shield Character (Encore Mode) (first appearance) Hyper Ring Eggman Mark Fire Shield Invincible Lightning Shield Player Swap (Encore Mode/Competition) Power Sneakers Random (Encore Mode/Competition) S Super Ring Little Planet flowers

Metal Sonic hologram Medallion Ring Robot transporter Schrodinger's Capsule (Encore Mode) (first appearance) Sphere Star Circle Time Warp sign UFO Warp Point

Gimmicks and obstacles

Arrow column Beanstalk Bomb Bumper Bungee Rope Bumper wall Cannon Capsule Conveyor Belt Crusher Dash Panel Dropping platform Electrical conduit

Fan Fireball Flipper Flywheel Goal Plate Hang Glider High-speed spiral tube High-speed warp tube Ice Spring Iron ball Jump Panel Lighting switch Magnetic sphere

Platform-raising Wheel Pulley Ruby Mist Saw Seesaw Shrink ray Snowblower Spikes Spring Star Post Switch Transport Vine Zipline

Characters

Playable characters

• Knuckles the Echidna
  • Super Knuckles
• Mighty the Armadillo
  • Super Mighty (first appearance)
• Miles "Tails" Prower
  • Super Tails
• Ray the Flying Squirrel
  • Super Ray (first appearance)
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Super Sonic

Non-playable characters

Anton (cameo) Bark the Polar Bear (cameo) Bean the Dynamite (cameo) Burrobot (cameo) Cluckoid Dr. Eggman Eggrobo Hard Boiled Heavies Heavy Gunner Heavy King Heavy Magician Heavy Rider Heavy Shinobi Phantom Heavies Phantom Gunner Phantom King (Mania Mode) Phantom Magician Phantom Rider Phantom Shinobi

Jimmy Metal Sonic Giga Metal Rock Drill Animals Becky Cucky Flicky Locky Micky Pecky Picky Pocky Ricky Rocky Tocky Wocky

Enemies

Amy Doll Aquis Armadiloid Asteron Ball Hog Batbrain Blaster Blastoid Bloominator (first appearance) Bugernaut Bumpalo Buzz Bomber Cactula Canister Caterkiller Jr. Chopper Clucker Crabmeat Dango Dragonfly

Fireworm Flasher Mk. II Gohla Grabber Hotaru IceBomba Iwamodoki Jawz Jellygnite Juggle Saw Kabasira Kanabun Matryoshka-Bom Mecha-Bu Mega Chopper Mic Drop Monkey Dude Motobug Newtron Octus

Poh-Bee Pointdexter Rattlekiller Rexon RhinoBot Roller Mk. II Scarab Sentry Bug Shutterbug Silver Sonic Spiny Splats Sweep Technosqueek Toxomister Tubinaut Turbo Spiker Turbo Turtle Vultron Woodrow

Bosses

Mini-bosses

1. DD Wrecker (Green Hill Zone)
2. Amoeba Droid (Chemical Plant Zone)
3. Heavy Gunner (Studiopolis Zone)
4. Big Squeeze (Flying Battery Zone)
5. Shiversaw (Press Garden Zone)
6. Hotaru Hi-Watt (Stardust Speedway Zone)
7. Dive Eggman (Hydrocity Zone)
8. Uber Caterkiller (Mirage Saloon Zone)
9. Meter Droid (Oil Ocean Zone)
10. Drillerdroid (Lava Reef Zone)
11. Egg Pistons mk.II (Metallic Madness Zone)
12. Crimson Eye (Titanic Monarch Zone)

Zone bosses

1. Death Egg Robot (Green Hill Zone)
2. Mean Bean Machine (Chemical Plant Zone)
3. Weather Globe (Studiopolis Zone)
4. Spider Mobile (Flying Battery Zone)
5. Heavy Shinobi (Press Garden Zone)
6. Metal Sonic (Stardust Speedway Zone)
7. Laundro-Mobile (Hydrocity Zone)
8. Heavy Magician (Mirage Saloon Zone)
9. Mega Octus (Oil Ocean Zone)
10. Heavy Rider/Heavy King (Lava Reef Zone)
11. Gachapandora (Metallic Madness Zone)
12. Phantom Egg (Titanic Monarch Zone)
13. Phantom King and Klepto Mobile (Egg Reverie Zone; Mania Mode)

Zones

No.	Mania Mode	Encore Mode
1	Green Hill Zone	Angel Island Zone
2	Chemical Plant Zone	Green Hill Zone
3	Studiopolis Zone	Chemical Plant Zone
4	Flying Battery Zone	Studiopolis Zone
5	Press Garden Zone	Flying Battery Zone
6	Stardust Speedway Zone	Press Garden Zone
7	Hydrocity Zone	Stardust Speedway Zone
8	Mirage Saloon Zone	Hydrocity Zone
9	Oil Ocean Zone	Mirage Saloon Zone
10	Lava Reef Zone	Oil Ocean Zone
11	Metallic Madness Zone	Lava Reef Zone
12	Titanic Monarch Zone	Metallic Madness Zone
13	Egg Reverie Zone	Titanic Monarch Zone

Development

During an interview with Famitsu, Takashi Iizuka explained that Sonic Mania was not intended to have a physical release; Sega staff requested one, but a retail version would have presented a challenge for the production schedule. After the game launched, fans also expressed interest in a physical version. As a retail release would cost more than the downloadable version, the team added value with new content.

When it came to deciding the new content, Sonic Team followed Sonic Mania's way of giving stimulus to fans’ curiosities and expectations by adding Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, two highly requested characters, to the game, despite them being considered "sealed characters" by Iizuka; to accommodate them, level designs had to be altered. When the team had to decide on Mighty and Ray's special actions, Mighty received his "Hammer Drop" after the team reflected on his "strong guy" setting and hard shell, while Ray received his "Air Glide" as a callback to his species. Multiplayer was also updated to have up to four players at once because there were more characters to select from.

Promotional

File:SonicManiaPlusInfo.jpeg

Sonic Mania Plus promotional North American poster.

With the announcement of Sonic Mania Plus, a wave of promotional material was announced. Those buying the physical version of Sonic Mania Plus received a holographic slip cover, a reversible Sega Mega Drive-themed sleeve (for the United States, Europe and Japan, respectively), and a 32-page art book.

Exclusive to Japan, the physical release of Sonic Mania Plus included limited edition packages that featured artbooks and the game's soundtrack on CD. The soundtrack is a double disk album with fifty-four tracks, which included all Sonic Mania tracks (excluding compositions by Masato Nakamura), all Hyper Potions tracks (including "Time Trials Plus") and all Sonic Mania Plus songs, including "Time Trial Plus" with Crush 40’s Jun Senoue on guitar.

There was also a SEGA Shop Japan exclusive Deluxe package containing physical goodies like a t-shirt, canvas purse, and stickers.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	86% (PS4) 90% (XONE) 91% (Switch)
Metacritic	86% (PS4) 86% (Xbox One) 91% (Switch)
Review scores
Publication	Score
Destructoid	8/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	9.5/10
GameRevolution	3.5/5
GameSpot	9/10
IGN	7/10
Nintendo Life	9/10 (Switch)
Comics & Gaming Magazine	10/10 (Switch)
DualShockers	9.5/10
Gaming Trend	95/100
PlayStation LifeStyle	9.5/10 (PS4)
We Got This Covered	4.5/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star half.svg
COGconnected	80%
Twinfinite	4/5
Nintendo Insider	9/10 (Switch)
Attack of the Fanboy	4.5/5 starsFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star full.svgFile:Star half.svg

Like its original version, Sonic Mania Plus was subject to positive reviews from critics and fans alike, with scores of 86%, 90% and 91% on GameRankings for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions respectively.

The inclusion of Mighty and Ray received critical acclaim. The addition of Encore Mode to the game was also well received. Matt Spinelli from GameSpot said that the new mode was a "welcome change-of-pace" that made the original levels more tense and exciting. He also said that the possibility of playing as all five characters at the same time made the experience much more varied, and that returning players are likely to spend the most time playing in this mode. Similarly, Michael Leri from GameRevolution wrote that the new backgrounds looked as gorgeous as the original ones, though too similar to these. Additionally, he said that "new pathways are a more substantial change but the levels are already so expansive that a few new routes will only stick out to those who have memorized the layout." Mollie L. Patterson, from Electronic Game Monthly, liked the gameplay style of Encore Mode, saying that it encouraged replay-ability even for those who were addicted to the original game, and that it was also nice for players who were not too fond of the Sonic and Tails duo or the "Knuckles & Knuckles nonsense" either. Nonetheless, she felt that the idea was underdeveloped, but that it was better to have it than not.

However, the lack of features introduced in Sonic Mania Plus was subject to criticism. Heldi Kemps from IGN said that Encore Mode was "rather disappointing" due to its lack of major changes. She also criticized the option to play as only two characters at the same time, meaning that the player would not be able to pass through certain paths with the characters they are using; as well as the "frustrating" new Special Stages. However, she appreciated the lack of Time Overs and the minor tweaks of some bosses to make them easier. GameRevolution was also critical of the "punishing" level design of the game, which he found "tragically ironic" since "most Sonic games are about moving forward." He criticized the life system, which allowed the player to have only five lives and that, after getting a Game Over, the player would be left with one single life and forced to get the rest of the crew on their own.

Cheat codes

New cheat codes were added which can be entered in the Sound Test on the Level Select:. These cheat codes can only be accessed in No Save Mode (done by enabling Debug Mode in the Game Options and holding Template:X Button (Xbox One)/Template:Y Button (Switch)/Square/[Q] while selecting a No Save game) but can be accessed from the base game without the DLC.

• All Chaos Emeralds: Play sounds 04, 01, 02, 06. This gives the player all of the Chaos Emeralds, enabling the super transformation.
• 14 Continues: Play sounds 01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04.
• Debug Mode in Encore Mode: Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 08, 00, 06, 02, 03. This sets the game to Encore Mode, allowing the player to play Encore Mode Zones (except Angel Island Zone) and use Debug Mode in Encore Mode. If the player tries to enter Egg Reverie Zone after activating this code, it will send them to the first Special Stage in Mania Mode instead. This only works in Sonic Mania Plus or in Sonic Mania after the Encore DLC is purchased.
• Egg Reverie Super State gameplay in any level: Play sounds 02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05. This allows every character in their Super State to fly in any zone like Super Sonic normally would in Egg Reverie Zone.
• All Sonic Abilities: Play sounds 09, 00, 00, 01. This gives Sonic access to the Insta-Shield, Drop Dash and Super Peel Out at the same time.
• Disable Super Music: Play sounds 06, 02, 01, 04.
• Ricky Mania: Play sounds 01, 09, 07, 09, 00, 08, 01, 01. All animals will be replaced with Ricky.
• 32 Gold Medallions: First, while on the title screen, input the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 level select code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up) in the time between sonic appearing and the press start option appears. After that, go into level select and put in the Ricky Mania code. Once the player has done that, they can now play sounds "01, 09, 08, 09, 00, 05, 00, 01" and get thirty-two gold Medallions. This effect is lost upon closing the game. This means, for example, that if the player originally had six silver medallions and then obtains all thirty-two gold medallion through the cheat code, then the player will go back to having six silver medallions after exiting and re-entering the game. It also does not unlock the "Full Medal Jacket" or the "No Way? No Way" achievements on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Steam versions of the game.

Miscellaneous

• Vape Mode: A mode called "Vaporware Mode" that goes unused in the game but is still intact in the game's code and can be reactivated via a cheat engine. Every song in the game is slowed down to 75% its original speed, though is restored if the player obtains a 1-Up.
• Instant Special Stage speed up: In the PC version of the game, pressing the Character Swap button while in a Special Stage will fill up the player's Gauge instantly, allowing the player to gain Mach 3 quickly, as well as repeatedly give themselves a Mach Bonus, increasing their Score by a great amount. This was likely a developer function left in accidentally.

Re-releases

Image	Platform	Description
File:ForcesManiaPlusPack PG.jpg	Nintendo Switch	Released in a compilation with Sonic Forces as the Sonic Forces & Sonic Mania Plus Double Pack on a Nintendo Switch double pack. It was released on November 23, 2018.
File:SMPTSR Switch ES front.jpg	Nintendo Switch	Released in a compilation with Team Sonic Racing as the Sonic Mania Plus & Team Sonic Racing, as a Nintendo Switch double pack. It was released in 2019 in Spain.
File:SMP mobile icon.png	Netflix	Released for IOS and Android devices through the Netflix Games platform. It got a limited release in the Philippines in February 14, 2024, and was fully released on May 8, 2024.

Trivia

• This is the first game that Mighty returns as a playable character since Knuckles' Chaotix in 1995, while Ray has not been playable in any game since his debut in SegaSonic the Hedgehog in 1993.
  • In addition, this is the first 2D side-scroller Sonic game that Ray appears in.
• On the back of the artbook, there is a Morse Code message near the top. It reads "TOGETHER, WE ARE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS."
• Some players accidentally got an unintended patch for Sonic Mania for PlayStation 4 in the United Kingdom on April 17, 2018. The patch added transitions to stages that lacked them in the original (such as going from Flying Battery Zone to Press Garden Zone), options to use the No Save mode special abilities, a no time limit mode, a completely redesigned Metal Sonic boss, new menus, and the option to download the Encore DLC (which was not able to function properly at the time until the the v1.04 update).
• Sonic Mania Plus' official trailer theme song ("Time Trial Plus") is a modification of "Time Trials" by Hyper Potions featuring Jun Senoue on guitars. This is the second time the trio have performed together, if including a live performance at Magfest 2018.
• The mock infomercial for Sonic Mania Plus is a reference to the humorous television infomercial that debuted in 1991 for the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It even uses the line "a whole lot more for less".
  • The salesman in the infomercial is Nathan Barnatt while Aaron Webber played the customer.
  • The "SEGA!" line that Kazuyuki Hoshino apparently screams at the end of the infomercial is a reference to the former commercials for both Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, where someone would look as if they are screaming "SEGA!" at the end.
  • The fake shooter game prototype that played alongside Sonic Mania Plus was a prototype game that the Sega team created and titled "Finger GunZ".
• Mighty and Ray's high-speed running animations resemble the ones they performed in SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
• Ray uses his tail as well as his hands when moving across bars. This is a technique that he could perform in SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
• One of Ray's idle animations depicts him looking out into the distance in a pose similar to a piece of artwork from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. One of Mighty's idle animations has him holding out his hands and looking at the player in an impatient tone, similar to Sonic's idle animation in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• Mighty's animations when he is near the edges of a platform are based on his animations from Knuckles' Chaotix.
• Ray's end level animation is based on his character select animation from SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
• Some of the cheat codes reference other things in the Sonic the Hedgehog series:
  • The code "04, 01, 02, 06" is a reference to the same code found in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but backwards.
  • The code "01, 09, 09, 02, 01, 01, 02, 04" is a reference to the North American release date of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992-11-24, or November 24, 1992) and the Debug Mode code in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
  • The code "02, 00, 01, 07, 00, 08, 01, 05" is a reference to the North American release date for Sonic Mania on consoles (2017-08-15, or August 15, 2017).
  • The code "02, 00, 01, 08, 00, 06, 02, 03" is the date for the Sonic the Hedgehog series' 27th anniversary (2018-06-23, or June 23, 2018; a video to celebrate the series was uploaded on that same day).
  • The code "01, 09, 07, 09, 00, 08, 01, 01" is a reference to the birthday of Simon Thomley (1979-08-11, or August 11, 1979).
  • The code "01, 09, 08, 09, 00, 05, 00, 01" is a reference to the birthday of Hunter Bridges (1989-05-01, or May 1, 1989).
  • The trailer for the mobile port of Sonic Mania Plus was accidentally released in the USA before the game was ported to mobile on May 8th, but when customers went to download the game in the Netflix app, it was nowhere to be seen. The video was private in the USA for a limited time until the official mobile release.

Videos

TrailerDev Diary 1 (Art and Design)Dev Diary 2 (Game Design)Infomercial

File:Sonic Mania Plus - Official Trailer

File:Sonic Mania Plus - Dev Diary 1 (Art and Design)

File:Sonic Mania Plus - Dev Diary 2 (Game Design)

File:Sonic Mania Plus Infomercial

External links

• Official website (English)
• Official website (Japanese)