4 Ways Sonic Mania Improved Classic Sonic's Animation

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

MUSIC & TIMES: 0:00 - Sonic: Before the Sequel - Circumstance - Opening 0:28 - Sonic: After the Sequel - Horizon Heights Act 2 1:12 - Sonic: Before the Sequel - Star Shores Act 2 2:33 - Alex Lee - Take It 3:08 - Sonic: Before the Sequel - Titanic Tower Act 1 5:21 - Sonic: After the Sequel - Storm Station Act 1 6:44 - Sonic: After the Sequel - Horizon Heights Special

[@Pr0jectFM]

I see you also enjoy Sonic The Next Level

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Do you mean Alex Lee?

[@Pr0jectFM]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy No. The exact same song is used in the hack Sonic The Next Level. You're all about beautiful games and it's a beautiful hack with smooth Sonic sprites. It's the only other place I've heard the song, and since you showed some other fan games I assumed it was a reference to that hack. If there is some other connection between that Alex Lee song and Sonic The Hedgehog I don't know it.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Ah okay, well basically there's a missing level from Sonic CD referred to as "R2", and someone made a video of what it would have looked like, and they used Take It by Alex Lee as the song for the 'Present' theme and so on. So now it's widely known to Sonic fans as a potential Sonic CD theme (even though it's just an early 90s dance track)

[@Pr0jectFM]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy I found it. That video came out in 2016 and Sonic The Next Level was in the 2015 Sonic Hacking Contest, so that's where the original connection of that Sonic and that song came from. It's interesting how that happened.

[@PleaseUnsubscribeHaha]

4:26 "I just tend to leave him" Aww... that's cute OH NO WAIT WHAT ARE Y-

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Hehehe 😈

[@detgamingyt7701]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy A DEVIL, *_A D E V I L ! ! !_*

[@DoritoTime]

Reminds me of the one Sonic Short where the orbonaut couldn't turn around

[@greenknight9000]

*TO BE CONTINUED*

[@tgr3423]

*TO BE CONTINUED* has never been more perfect.

[@_Adie]

Sonic's... appearance on the title screen. He jumps and does all those twirls, and his finger has so many frames! It's quite mesmerising, looking at it for the first time

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah, it's almost like too much. I think they just wanted to show off to Sega when you think about how bland Sonic 4's was.

[@_Adie]

They're definitely showing off

[@knightshousegames]

I love in the special edition art book they have every frame of that animation across 2 pages

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

No way that's cool, haha

[@pkmntrainerred4247]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Yea, They really wanted to be like ''THIS is how intro animation is done, And yes I'm looking at you with that glare, Sonic 4''

[@Larry]

I'd like to see grass blowing in the green hill type zones, more so some sort of reaction when sonic runs etc.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yes! Environmental behaviour and reaction would be ace.

[@wangtang32000]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy hmm..

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

You don't agree?

[@RAFMnBgaming]

What Mushroom Hill did for that was pretty good.

[@marr_cel]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy sonic unleashed, generations, and forces did that.

[@Part_Time_Fox]

Great job on this analysis! The new animations flow great and definitely encapsulate how classic sonic should feel.

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

As a 2D animator myself, I love how you're analyzing and breaking down the animation in these games!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks! Are you a professional animator? Have a website or Twitter?

[@MicahBuzanANIMATION]

Yep, independent animator. I mostly do weird music videos and tour visuals for bands: www.micahbuzan.com/portfolio/animation/ I'm looking forward to digging through more of your vids. Keep up the great work, this is a really fresh form of videogame related content.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

@@MicahBuzanANIMATION Mate that's incredible, that's some really stellar work, I love it! I assume you've been in the industry for some time?

[@goolus]

"If he has one or no balls I'll just leave it there. 4:31 *jumps and kills*

[@LeroidwithFries]

4:26 guys don't be silly he was just jumping over to him to give him a big old hug

[@mjc0961]

"I just tend to leave him" Yeah I saw you cutting away before finishing him off. 😋

[@StriderZessei]

Gotta save the animal inside!

[@indigo6518]

Your voice is as calm as Bob ross

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thank you! I do love happy little trees! 🌳

[@TimurSokol]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy But why there is only one tree in your comment? Give him a friend 🌳🌳

[@brogaming7393]

@@TimurSokol I would love to, m8! 🌳

[@redalchemy7322]

A great analysis, Sonic Mania really improved upon the formula making it feel much more lively. The attention to detail in terms of speed for animation is a really nice touch. How would you feel about a more hand drawn Sonic like what has been recently released for their animation channel if they tried that style for a new game?

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I think that would be great, I feel like it's the perfect series now to begin trying out new art styles.

[@LiveHedgehog]

It's weird going back to the Classics after playing Mania because you don't realise how much detail it added. One slight gripe with the video - the music is a bit too loud compared to your voice, if you reduced the volume of the music a bit it would make the video better to listen to.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Oh that's strange, I didn't notice that so much when editing. Thanks for the feedback!

[@Agent-yw1kj]

Really? I think Sonic 3&knucles looks much more prettier than Sonic mania

[@lkellyjr.6146]

Male agent 3 are you outside of your mind my friend ( also not trying to be rude just saying sonic mania is way more detailed and the colors jump out way more in mania then in sonic 3 and knuckles

[@Agent-yw1kj]

@@lkellyjr.6146 Look at Sonic 3 and knucles. Then look at mania. Sonic 3 and knucles is much more prettier than mania by a long shot

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

It's all subjective, there's not really any point discussing who's right when it comes to aesthetics and prettiness.

[@aiwjdaiwkdwadkodawdawd]

4:30 "I don't want to destroy him!" *Jumps on it and cuts the video* No badniks we're harmed during this second

[@JSevion]

Great job breaking down all of the subtle details in the game's animations. I used to think I hated the animation smears, but they really do make the character animations more lively. I like the idea of replicating the Lost World bounce as well I still don't like smears on the robots, though. I really prefer the stiff, but ultra-smooth way they moved in S3K. Most of the badnicks recreated for Mania still retain this, but the newer badniks like the buzzsaw crabs from PGZ or the electric slinkies from TMZ still look off to me.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Ahh I forgot to do a close up of the buzz saw crabs in Press Garden! But yeah, agreed, sometimes it looks a little too rubbery on things that are a bit firmer.

[@theharvardyard2356]

I disagree on the Lost World stretchy jump, only because I like the impression the classic design gives that the ball he curls into is very rigid. It makes it feel more powerful as an attack, and gives more of an impression of a steel pinball bouncing around the stages rather than a rubber bouncy ball. This makes bouncing off enemies, bumpers etc. feel much more satisfying, to me.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

That's fair enough, the stretchy factor has been divisive

[@night377]

This just made me appreciate Sonic Mania even more, hopefully one day Christian Whitehead & the team can bless us with some kind of sequel.

[@tahamohammad8842]

One thing I love about sonic mania’s animation is how smooth it is,especially when compared to its predecessors. I believe it’s part of why the game feels smoother even though the control is nearly identical. The feedback you get as a result of moving is far smoother and that creates the image that the game it self is smoother.

[@BradynNewcomer]

This game makes me cry because of how beautiful it is.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

I didn't even notice many these detail!

[@AlexYardZone]

When I first played Sonic Mania I was a bit thrown off by the animation where sonic hits a spring and spirals up into the air. I didn't play Sonic CD much so I wasn't prepared for it but now I appreciate it. Funnily enough, I watched this video about a year ago and here I am again!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah, it's surprising how the spin launch works seamlessly into the overall design of Mania, seeing it in places like Green Hill and Chemical Plant is definitely a novelty!

[@draykiedrayker2279]

Your videos about video game animations really help me for my animations that are not video game oriented. Thank you!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I'm glad to help! 😍

[@GunFeverr]

The consistency of the jump attack sets it apart from other platfromers, the hitbox is very obvious and Sonic has no vulnerable area which means no infuriating situations where you take a hit because you're off by just a pixel, a stretch or transition frame would potentially ruin this dynamic.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

They was pretty much the idea I was going for, using Sonic Lost World as a reference

[@KaitouKaiju]

Maybe a better way to give it some weight would be a dust trail as he jumps up

[@jonsterthe1st355]

6:02 pause! Sonic cd's scraped breaking sprite!

[@guffingtonreal]

Tails, get off the bench.

[@jonsterthe1st355]

@@guffingtonreal I will vibe in this bench for all eternity

[@guffingtonreal]

@@jonsterthe1st355 You are not vibing. Sick fox.

[@jonsterthe1st355]

@@guffingtonreal ha! I shall use my powers of vibe to prove you wrong!

[@guffingtonreal]

@@jonsterthe1st355 That's not vibing. *That's a crime, Tails.*

[@LorenHelgeson]

One touch to the animation I like is Tails' idle animation. Originally a stifled yawn as Gamepro described it when Sonic 2 first came out, he now starts to doze off, but snaps himself awake with a shudder.

[@SegaMario]

2:33 Nice Sonic 1: The Next Level music there.

[@jackscrivens9520]

I think the brighter colours improve the game a lot :)

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Me too!

[@Mac1081]

I love the colours and animations

[@ThunderJams]

One element of the animation I love is how expressive Ray is. The way they blended his more isometric sprites from SegaSonic, as well as the general amount of character he has in his animations, he's so cute! Like his big doofy smile and thumb waggling after he finishes an act. He's perfect. Overall, the animation was really improved, but I'd actually say Sonic's animation is a little less expressive than in 3 & Knux. Compared to 1, 2 and CD it's a huge improvement, but I kind of liked the slight redesign he had in that game? Either way, it's definetly a game which looks gorgeous in motion, and the sprites are some of my favourites in any game ever, next to the sprite animation in GBA Fire Emblem.

[@cleanracerfoxboy]

2:52 u forgot to point a cool point. Lol Before the max speed animation, Tails starts spinning his tails. Haahahahh

[@djroscurro9859]

One thing I did notice is that the run seems to transition better into the sprint more than it did in the older games. I feel like it has a sense of rotation like the sprint. And he also leans forward similar to the sprint as well.

[@thesolaruniverse9776]

Great video as always! You sounded alot more calm this once -- which I definetly like!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks! Do I normally sound a bit more frantic or crazy?

[@thesolaruniverse9776]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Not really haha, I found you a bit quiter and more laid back (ish) this time! ^^

[@jedihunter176]

This man's voice is auditory silk

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Why ~ _thank yooou_ ~

[@TheAlison1456]

I love the concept of this channel. Applied specialization, having fun while learning and analyzing something. The kinda thing you just don't get with big channels.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Hey, thanks a lot! Yeah I have a bit of a problem that i get bored in doing the same thing too often, so my videos end up having, hopefully, a fresh feel each time.

[@ShinNoNoir85]

2:57 I feel like that Knuckles' climbing animation takes inspiration from his climbing animation in Knuckles' Chaotix.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

You're absolutely right. I've not actually played KC at any great length, had to watch some on YT, and it's totally the same! Furthermore, the transform effect from the Heavy Magician fight is taken from the intro of Chaotix! So many references!

[@notthere83]

You know, this really whet my appetite, as I skipped this game up until recently. But when I played it, it became apparent to me very quickly how much platforming in games has improved and that I don't want to go back to the mechanics of those "good old days". Jumps aren't always triggered when I press the jump button, running feels spongy. I'd rather go back to Hollow Knight, Celeste, etc. - if only I hadn't already played them for so long. There aren't enough great platformers and metroidvanias being released...

[@NehemYah810]

I love the sprites in this game although I do find myself a little upset they didn't revise the sonic 3 sprite. That was my favorite by far.

[@krealyesitisbeta5642]

“I tend to leave him.” Tails: “No bot left alive...”

[@barbaroffa]

04:29 - You were jumping on the poor thing! You lied to us!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I was saving the animal within!

[@barbaroffa]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy okay... I forgive you

[@Mac1081]

Video Game Animation Study the animal liked it in there

[@MasterGeorge090]

I liked how in Sonic Mania when the characters climb up/down the slope, the animation for the slope climbing improved by making it so it looks like the sprite rotated.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah that's right, they went for a 32-bit aesthetic rather than 16-bit, gives them a bit more room to be creative!

[@TechBlade9000]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Fun Fact: the SEGA Genesis is capable of doing sprite rotation and there's already a Sonic ROM hack that does it and a seperate one by the same dude that makes everything else rotate

[@VideoGameStoryTime]

Love this video! It's great to see Sonic Mania's animation broken down like this!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks guys!

[@QualityGarbage]

Watching this video again for fun and... 1:53 really reminded me how much stiffer Eggman is in Sonic Superstars

[@thescarvedinsect]

4:26- '...I just tend to leave him.' 4:30- *TAILS, NO!*

[@koopa1018]

4:10: Not to mention, it signals to the player when the enemy is actually dangerous.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Indeed!

[@keklekekle1114]

i dont agree with the idea of a transiction animation for a jump, i dont think i've seen a non-cinematic 2D platformer use one and it looking/feeling right (if you have any example, please tell me about them), and i specifically love how the jump in sonic games is snappy yet seemless, having him stay in the ground for two or even one frame could ruin that, not to mention that when going at high enough speeds, staying in the ground for two or one frame could potentially mean missing a jump, though maybe, if implemented correctly, it could prove me wrong, these guys are awesome at what they do, and have made so many great innovations that i wasnt a fan of at first.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I don't think it'd even notice, he could still be leaving the ground and have one or two frames transition, it wouldn't ruin the flow. I mean if you look at Mouse Man and Wonderboy in The Dragon's Trap by LizardCube (which I go into in another video) they have transitioning frames that you barely notice but don't hinder the gameplay whatsoever.

[@CriticaLinkCritiques]

Man, I really need to play this one of these days. Great video as always.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yess you doooooo

[@Bluedemons213]

If you look in the file's of sonic mania green hill act one you can see that the first boss is actually five parts of a 3D model put together and flattened to make it look like a ball, same goes for the giant mech for titanic monarch zone act one in the background.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Oh really? That's really cool, I didn't know that!

[@Trusty125]

You didn't mention Tails' ugly rotation animation in sonic 3 (His tails go all small and wiry) I thought that the one in sonic mania massively improved on that one

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Ah yeah, I should've got some footage of that, but I know exactly what you mean, it's like badly planned and stuff.

[@SilverSonic1992]

Ah, but there was a valid technical reason for that. You see, in normal gameplay Tails's tails are a separate object that animate on their own. Whenever you go on a rotating object however, the tails object vanishes and the tails are drawn directly on Tails's sprites. This means the tails cannot be drawn far outside of Tails's sprites due to the way the sprite is put together. It has a limited amount of pixel space for each character.

[@clonefighter1996]

@@SilverSonic1992 Sprite offsets didn't exist back then? Shame.

[@SilverSonic1992]

PyrkagiaTheHedgehog Sprite offsets?

[@ドリフト180X]

I’d love a second Sonic Mania. That game was so good. It seems weird Sega hasn’t made another yet.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Apparently according to an interview, the Sonic Mania project had fulfilled all it set out to do.

[@EnnVP]

Something I noticed was you get what feels like a full smooth 360 degrees of rotation when running a loop where you used to definitely notice the run angle transitions on the original series

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah that's calculated sprite rotation, which was doable in those days but took up lots of processing power.

[@zig8925]

The background music you use in your videos is always great!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks, and thanks to them for making neat music!

[@BruceKenobi]

I really like the channel! and what else to add? 2 words: hand-drawn animation!!! yeah! no more pixelart!

[@cpab27]

actually the turning around animation from sonic 2 is where the extra frame of turning around in mania comes from but the animation was just use for when you turn while doing the ledge animation but in later releases of the game it was scrapped cybershell has a complete video talking about it.

[@waifu_png_pl6854]

i loved the presentation in this game. everything was just so beautiful, the sprites, the colors, the animations, the general atmosphere... great game

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah, I really like the branding style they have for title screens and such as well. Good use of colours.

[@juneru2]

this video is wonderful. character animation is very overlooked in my opinion and im glad this video can show the insane effort gone into manias characters specifically. also its great you go over some of the enemies/bosses too.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks for the kind feedback, 'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@joannecarnival6411]

I must admit tho, I prefer when Sonic’s feet aren’t pointing straight forward; I really feel they should have built upon Sonic 3’s base sprite.

[@Amdecreations.]

Love your attention to detail and analysis. I too noticed they used a lot of squash and stretch in the frames/animation.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thank you!

[@AGwolf2097]

note: Knuckles' "new" gliding and climbing animation isn't too far off his animation from Chaotix on the 32x

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I've learnt that now yeah. That's really interesting!

[@OminousBlast]

I agree with your video! I would also like slight background motion blur and sonic to lean more forward while running to make the game seem more fast paced

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Good idea!

[@ScorpionF1RE_USA]

now that there are massive hd tvs, they should add a zoom-out feature to shrink what you see, so more of the playfield could be viewed at once. then you could see big jumps and enemies in time to line up your jumps properly. they could make zoom in / zoom out customizable, or even a speed sensitive setting.

[@bregowine]

This game is an absolute joy visually, with some of the best sprite work of all time honestly

[@berrytart_]

One really subtle thing about Tails's flying animation is that the tails spin faster when you press the fly button.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I like that!

[@ImoDaDude]

Your right, The lost world jump was quite satisfying!!

[@RandommBoyo]

You have selected the perfect music on beggining.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I'm a big fan of Funk Fiction

[@RandommBoyo]

I cant say why not :)

[@bacon9092]

“I just tend to leave it...” *JUMPS AT IT*

[@sosasees]

5:44 This 3D rotation looks just like Sonic 3D Blast

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Possibly, though I think it's mostly an enhanced sprite animation from the classic 2D titles.

[@pastyle0001]

The sonic after the sequel music made me sub, definitely my favorite fangame of all time.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

That music is just phenomenal

[@PleaseUnsubscribeHaha]

Finally, the long awaited Sonic Mania animation episode from animator Dan! Wait, wrong animator Dan?! JK of course amazing video as always!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Haha, thanks! All of the animator Dan's! (Danimators)

[@PleaseUnsubscribeHaha]

@@pixiepandaplush Yes please!

[@PleaseUnsubscribeHaha]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy I'm going to start using that when referring to either of you :P

[@PleaseUnsubscribeHaha]

@MageBurger I know a someone!

[@_Tzer]

I want a mania 2 that takes the mania verse and does its spin on the adventure series.

[@KalebFish]

4:42 *Bendableity*

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Technical term.

[@czech_ring]

there were originally more frames in sonic 2's running animation but they removed them because of performance issues

[@marcusanimations7228]

4:26 if he has 1 orbe or less i tend to leave him :tails then perceds with jumping on it

[@marx4538]

A lot of Russians talk about "awful eye-destroying palettes" and "bad animation quality" in Sonic Mania without even knowing what animation is.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Oh dear, that's a shame!

[@austinreed7343]

Marx They’re hooked on Mortal Kombat and other ugly video games like that. Orthodox Culture is weird.

[@gneu1527]

But not me

[@RandomGuy-zl5sp]

@@austinreed7343 but mortal kombat isn’t ugly

[@austinreed7343]

@@RandomGuy-zl5sp It is nowadays.

[@TheFullNEWS]

this makes me love the game so muchhh more. definitely playing it after this video lol

[@Bloxed]

Great video Dan! I love Mania's animation and how it's both faithful and new! You always do an amazing job breaking down animation! =)

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks so much! Yeah, I couldn't not do a video on it, really.

[@Bloxed]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy No problem! =)

[@Nic_2751]

The 3D games could still learn a lot from 2D animation

[@SparkyMK3]

Great video about a great game! I only wish they had made the spinning animation when theyre launched off of springs less stiff in the posing. Would it have been hard to get even a little bit of overlap (like in the spines) or asymmetry in the posing or action as they accelerate, decelerate and then fall, with different parts of the body catching up with or overlapping each other as they react altogether to whats going on, instead of twinning it and making the characters body suddenly go stiff as a plank for the sake of a smooth 3D rotation, or was it done that way on purpose for a specific reason? IIRC, the Sonic Advance games (which also had some nice spriteart) tried to avoid straight inbetweening like that.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I'll have to study the Advance games more, but I guess it's sometimes to make modelling easier on all five characters, perhaps? It was referencing the Sonic CD jump pose, so I guess they were just sticking to that.

[@scotchtapeworm3755]

I also love the intro animation with the music before the game starts. Simple drawingd, but it just feels so great! Instantly puts me in the mood to play thr game and have fun.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

It's s fantastic piece of animation indeed, Tyson Hesse is a god

[@nixtherabbit]

Wow theres a music that was in sonic cd the removed zone r2

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

That's a piece of music called *Take It* by artist _Alex Lee,_ which just happens to sound very Sonic CD-like, as the Japanese musicians took inspiration from 90s Western dance music.

[@samuelkibunda6960]

Let's just say sonic mania gave sonic and friends more character without even using words

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

True dat

[@alexanderventrella8659]

As someone who studied a little animarion in college (and loves Sonic), I appreciate this video. Sonic Mania did a lot to improve upon the classics, and I can see it going even further in another iteration. A few things I'd like to see are special animations for running backwards, walking underwater (also when low on air) and falling (currently just a walk/run cycle). Other than that, I do like the proof of concept you did with a squash-and-stretch for Sonic's jump. I think that would do wonders. Great video! Looking forward to more.

[@Trusty125]

There is actually a separate set of animations for air walking where the character's feet are a bit more pointed/floaty (unless you mean something more like Knuckles dropping out of a glide, in which case there is a falling with style mod)

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks for watching! Yeah, a separate falling animation (instead of the pointy feet air walking) would be great actually. And different environments for moving in general would be cool!

[@Hemigloopilop7890]

I feel like I would like to see the jumps left as they are for retro sonic style games - I saw the animation and the projection feels too telegraphed for that era/style sonic. It suits the modern sonic much better. That said - we got retro sonic in 2.5D in sonic generations... how about modern sonic in a retro setting (almost like the sonic advance series... which... I dunno why they stopped with that - they were true blue successors to the megadrive IMHO)

[@metaridleyakathecunninggod1006]

The music choice in this video was beyond perfect.

[@seba2366]

2:54 That animation is from Knuckle's chaotix with the Climbing aswell

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Yeah some others have mentioned this, I never knew as I've barely played Chaotix, and now I've noticed lots of other things from Chaotix, too!

[@iteachvader]

I think my only gripe with Sonic Mania's visuals is how the camera is smoothed out as compared to the original Genesis titles. It lost that super-smooth 60 FPS feel, ironically making the framerate feel _less_ consistent than they probably intended. Same with the characters' rolling animations; they don't feel as fast anymore since they were smoothed out with more frames in between. Doesn't change how much I still love the game though.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Hmm, not sure I can see what you mean.

[@iteachvader]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy I recorded some gameplay of both, and made a comparison of the camera behavior. Sonic Mania applies smoothing to the camera's movements, especially when re-centering on the player. Here it is if you'd like to take a look. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnaqiKOdmNOBrac

[@mersunarytigre]

Ah, quality content from our boy, Root. A good month indeed. :)

[@Lightning-2153]

I think it'd be interesting if the first few frames of Sonic's jump started with him uncurled, and then you actually see him tuck and curl into a ball.

[@bingobo2551]

One thing I would love For the sequel is 1 of the new zones from mania to return to its sequel, and 4 of the zones to return to its sequel.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Sounds like a good idea!

[@Nawer_Rapter]

About the jump stretching you consider neat, it gave me a sense of "slimeness" to the orb that is Sonic when jumping. It's a bit hard to keep that solid look of being a "technically meant to do damage" ball, like when you throw a rock, and still making it look like a complete and full jump of a character. Animations usually serves as teaching, and a solid object thrown to someone is usually more damaging than a slime, so you need to tell the newbies that jumping on things actually harms/breaks them, and that you have some "invulnerability" to it. Looking more solid keeps the mind on that though, I think. Also the stretching of Mighty is something that let's you know you've changed the peace of movement, it could be a slimy-lookie thing but he's Mighty, so you just assume that he will be harder even looking puffy, something that the curious, funny and happy looking Sonic doesn't seems to be at his base character. But yeah, some frames of some kind of anticipation, or like, transformation, would be nice.

[@3rdDimensionFox]

Another great job dude!

[@XaneMyers]

2:40 I know, this isn't what's being asked about, but can we just appreciate how Sonic's head *rotates side to side* when walking? I love that about Sonic. Almost every other character in video games strangely have "stiff" heads (like how Sonic looks when running at full speed, probably intentional there and not lazy artists). Look at Mario's joke of a walking animation in his 2D games and notice how his head doesn't do anything believable, and his feet only have three frames of animation (in SMW, at least). It's similar in other games with their heads never rotating. (Even my own sprites *I've* drawn have this problem!) SEGA put more effort into animating an animation you'll barely see compared to full-speed running... I'll just say, if I ever would have another artist draw pixel art for my own game, it'd be a requirement they avoid this oddity. *Rotate the head, even slightly, so the character doesn't look like their neck is locked to their body's rotation.*

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

While I agree with the idea of rotating head, which I should've mentioned more in the video, I disagree that Mario's run cycle is bad because it's older and has fewer frames. You should check out my Keyframes video about this thing. I think all run cycles are different, and you don't actually move your head when running in real life, but it looks fine when animated.

[@retromaster6163]

Excellent, insightful video.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thanks!

[@atomicskull6405]

If you put the same areas from the originals and Mania next to each other you can see they improved the background tiles as well. It looks like how you remember the games not how they actually looked.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Totally. They did a really good job of incorporating that classic feel by using original stage layouts. For instance Mania Green Hill Act 1 is Original Green Hill Acts 1 + 2 mashed together with some extra bits, and Mania Act 2 is Original Act 3 but extended.

[@Stewwit]

i wish they made the characters have a falling animation like from falling off a ledge or falling down from bouncing off of a spring.

[@nickolias7292]

So what if the while game was animated in the Toei/Hesse artstyle?

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

That would be pretty ace. I showed a little bit near the end of the fan game Sonic Ages, which uses Hesse's style

[@voluntarioscostarica4017]

the comment sections for these videos are so non-toxic, it feels like I am in the good side of the Inteernet for a change

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Thank you, that really means a lot. I do my best to keep it all chill and friendly!

[@ObaREX]

Just binged a ton of your videos. Surprised I never heard of you before. You ever think on looking back to not-so-much older games. Like the Portal series. Particularly the second one?

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Hey thanks! Possibly, yeah. I've like two years worth of video ideas, it's just a matter of finding the time to do them all 😅

[@munchjrgames942]

One thing that i love about Mania's animations is that they were specifically made so that frames could be deleted to reveal the original animation, for example, the spring, while now equipped with the faux-motion blur, still retains the original spring frames (Just with updated shading)

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I guess so. I'm not sure you can say that for all, but you certainly can for some.

[@munchjrgames942]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy Yeah, some don't work when you chop up the frames

[@lowpolysunrise]

I like the fact that sonic fan game music got in here

[@Rationalific]

Very nice run through! There were some differences that I didn't notice, but really make things nicer. Why hasn't Sega had these guys work on another totally new Sonic?! Why has it been almost 4 years?!

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Interesting question. The guys who worked on this broke off and made their own studio called Evening Star, and they haven't posted anything since.

[@Rationalific]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy I appreciate the info! It is good that they all stuck together. Hopefully, Sega will go through them (or is doing so now) to create the next Sonic game. (But knowing Sega, I have my doubts. They have a history of shooting themselves and their fans in the foot...) Thanks again!

[@superflix7790]

4:34 4:33 I'll leave it alone if it has 1 ball. *Tails jumps closer to the shaking orb*

[@Sinistar1983]

Thanks for this video, as a game dev this is super helpful.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

Hey no worries, glad if it helped!

[@Sinistar1983]

It did, thank you very much

[@Edgar_Kevin]

This game is the best thing that happened in a long time 😍❤