As it stands, Sonic Mania has managed to reinvigorate the gaming world's love affair with Sonic the Hedgehog. The game has been a huge success at launch, gaining the best reviews for a Sonic game in over a decade and earning plaudits for its devoted call-backs to the 2D platformers of old. Indeed, the game has proved to be such an excellent follow-up to the classic Sonic games that one fan has even taken on the task of getting the game's opening cinematic working on Genesis hardware.
The gamer in question, who goes by the name Matteus over on the Sega-16 forums, has managed to recreate that fantastic Sonic Mania intro sequence using Genesis stock, and it's truly a sight to behold. Here it is in all its retro glory:
It may miss the bells and whistles of the full animated version, but Matteus has done an incredible job to get the animation working on Genesis hardware at all. When it's paired up by a reworking of the animation's theme by Alianger, it's almost as if this truly was a lost Sonic game rediscovered after all these years.
The intro to Sonic Mania has managed to gain a fanbase all of its own, in part due to its clear nods to the beloved animated video that opened Sonic CD, and elements of the intro even made it into the Sonic Mania launch trailer. Here's the intro project working on a real television, through a real Genesis, for reference:
Although the launch of Sonic Mania has certainly been a great success, it hasn't been without some bumps along the way. In particular, the PC version has been hit with problems, from the initial delay to the PC release of Sonic Mania through to the controversy regarding the use of the Denuvo DRM system. Although Sega eventually dropped the DRM requirement for the PC release, it still left a bitter taste for many.
Nonetheless, it's fair to say that the reception for Sonic Mania has been more than Sega would have hoped for. It's also clear that long-time fans truly are appreciating the game, so let's hope that more projects like porting the intro to the Genesis are on the cards.
Sonic Mania is out now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
