Hearing you guys dunk on Sonic Mania was… cathartic. At the same time, one of my first video game obsessions ever was an S3&K PC port, and while it definitely contributed to my determined Sonic fanboyism and I think it is the best of the early 2D Sonic games, it is sometimes obtuse, frustrating, and decidedly not-fast. I think Sonic instills such a dedicated fanbase from a game design perspective because of how “anti-video game language” it can be, where many platformers sort of follow this Mario-esque philosophy like Gui mentioned and Sonic is off saying “eh, no, we’re going to do something different.” I think the series’ shift to score-based runs is truly a testament to obsessive gamer ethos, as people play and replay these often poorly-designed stages so that their quirks and hardly predictable aspects become easy hurdles. I know this sounds more than a bit critical of the games and their fanbase: I was one of them. I understand their appeal, but I absolutely agree with the idea that they have some arcade spirit imbued within.

And I really didn't want it to feel like I was dunking on Mania. I really did try, but it really felt like the game expected you to already have your undergraduate degree in 2D Sonic.