Sonic Mania 2 secretly cancelled?

A Funeral before the baby shower 

Sonic the Hedgehog is as classic as it gets when we're talking about video game mascots and discounting the racially stereotypical ones. He's the blue fuzz with attitude, the rad speed freak of the animal kingdom, the sapphire shaded cataract haunting Doctor Robotnik's eye, and he has to be one of Sega's best achievements. And that's saying quite a lot for a gaming company as proud and renowned as Sega, but Sonic is just that big and successful, the praise is justified. Even though I think the gaming public has a very pointed selective memory when it comes to remembering Sonic's contribution to the gaming space. It seems that ever since the well documented disaster that was Sonic 2006, fans have tried to consistently rewrite history in saying that every single Sonic game after 3 was bad and crap and no one ever liked them. Yeah, that's why Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were are classics, I guess...

But throughout all the good games that poor memories have turned bad (Adventure 1 and 2, Heroes) the middle of the road games that people seem genuinely unsure about (Unleashed, Colours, Black Knight) that one game which no one dares call bad, but people seem to wantonly ignore when trashing the later Sonic franchise (Generations) and then the undeniable bad: (Forces, Boom, Riders) the fanbase has stood ready and hungry to receive it all. For such a whiny bunch they sure do shut up and eat their medicine whenever Sega shoves it in their face, don't they? If only there was some sort of consensus on what the majority of fans wanted there would be some sort of clear path for the Sonic series to follow. If only there was one undeniably stellar entry which stood out as a gold standard you'd have to be completely oblivious not to modelled yourself after. If only this game was so important to the fanbase that it literally spawned from the dedication of one of their best, proving that this was something the fans want. Oh wait, that game absolutely does exist. It's called Sonic Mania.

One of the loudest cries that the Sonic Team repeatedly received was that the fans want the series to go 'back to it's routes' and tackle the 2D realm considering the 3D stuff never worked out for them. (Literally the most famous images of Sonic today are derived from his 3D self, but sure- let's pretend 3D Sonic never had a good game.) Only ring-a-ding, there goes my 'same old crap' alarm, because the second fans got exactly what they wanted with the incredibly uneven and far too familiar Sonic 4, they complained so hard that episodic adventure was never even finished. (Part of the problem might have been the fact that it was episodic) Sonic Mania was the game which really managed to execute on that plan to it's fullest, and not in the half-hearted 'making concessions' way that Sonic Generations did. This was a fully new and shiny Sonic game reusing that beloved cast and sending fans on a delightful love letter to the furry blue fandom.

I've never been a mouth-foaming rabid fan of the Sonic games, truth be told, but even with that disconnect from others I have to say that I absolutely loved Sonic Mania. It's classic retro heart beating in a slick modern side scroller that did it's best to pay tribute to as many niche corners of the Sonic world as humanely possible is simply sublime in it's execution. It's a game born from so many influences and wears each one of them with pride and impossible grace. (They managed to rope in a tasteful reference to Eggman's Mean Bean machine, for god's sake!) The music slides neatly alongside the unassailably high standard of the originals, the new levels and remixes of old ones carried surprises and mechanics to keep things fresh for new and old players, and the presentation touches are incredible. Top marks for those level transitions alone.

And I'm far from alone in my opinion. A lot of those same fair-weather Sonic fans who keep a foam-hand stitched to the back of their picket boards simply fell over themselves to sing their unchallenged praises of Sonic Mania, as being the true successor to the Sonic throne. (And, of course, this time that wouldn't be a title they immediately snatch away when it becomes popular to berate Sonic again, like they did for Generations.) Parties were held, wars were halted, aliens beamed down in jubilation, all was right with the world once Sonic Mania touched it. And the game got such fanfare that the creators, who crucially weren't just Sega's Official team but a supergroup spotted with talented fan creators too, were allowed to make a special director's cut version of the game which reintroduced two mythical lost characters from the franchise and threw in a whole new mode to play the main campaign with as well, just as a final flex.

All and all the message from the response should have been clear to anyone watching, Sega most of all, but apparently not because speculation abounds that the reason we've heard neither hide nor hair of a sequel is because such a proposition was strangled out back before we could ever see it. Apparently this comes because of the Studio now called Evening Star has broken up with Sega. Now Evening Star Studio might side like a newspaper at first glance, but when I tell you that Christian Whitehead is involved that should mean a lot to Sonic fans. Mr Whitehead is the man who's name is irrevocably tied to the intro screens of the definitive original Sonic trilogy remakes on Mobile, which do their job so well that many don't even realise those games are actual total remakes and just think they're ports. (They are exceptionally well done, which only goes to foreshadow his later work on Sonic Mania)

News on exactly what this conflict was sparked over is unspecific, as is the case with any sore break-up I would imagine, but an insider has claimed that the issues were on Sega America's side as they grew 'extremely unreasonable', whatever that means. But whilst that remains up-in-the-air on it's legitimacy, we can say for a fact that Sonic Mania 2 is almost definitely not in direct development at this moment given that Evening Star just announced their work on an 'original 3d platformer', and it's not really feasible for small new studios to be working on two projects at once. All of which means the dawning new hope for the Sonic series may be upfront laying dead in the water after it's first new outing, dooming us all to another 20 years of games that fans initially like then decide they hate when it get's cloudy outside.

If there is any truth to Sega straining relationships until they snap, then I have to say that Sega have well and truly screwed themselves with this one. I can sort of understand why they would too, long standing once-console wielding studio with ties back to strict corporate Japanese culture exercising their control over their property; it fits their MO. But when we're talking about a series as fragile as Sonic, with one entry that scored universal acclaim from the work of dedicated fans, maybe it would have behoved Sega to give some slack to their tight rope around their franchise for Evening Star to work their magic once again. Or maybe this is really Evening Star's fault and they just watonly blew a great gig with a storied publisher. Who can really say at such a stage? All that's seemingly for certain is that Sonic Mania is about to become a one off, and that's a bag-pipe serenading 100-gun-salute level tragedy right there. (We'll never get our modern send-up to the Sonic Eraser soundtrack now...)