Sonic Mania Proves Sega's Future Lies in its Past

I'm not the world's biggest Sonic fan. I'm not even a Sonic super-fan, or someone who grew up with the hedgehog. In fact, I didn't own a Genesis until the late 1990s; I purchased it and a grip of games from an eBay seller after dropping coin on a Dreamcast in a burst of Sega-related consumption. As a result, my Sonic takes aren't doused in childhood wonderment or misplaced nostalgia.

Sonic's a character that I've always respected from a bit of a distance, mainly for how he and video game series propelled Sega—a company that was previously best known for the ho-hum Sega Master System and a handful of excellent arcade titles—into video game and pop culture stardom. Some could argue, myself among them, that Sega's leaned too heavily on the Blue Blur's brand in the recent past, but Sonic Mania may be the key to the company's future. It's that good.

Sonic Mania, developed by true-blue team of Christian Whitehead, Headcanoon, PagodaWest Games, and, of course, Sega of America, knows that you're there for speed, speed, and more speed, so its level design is one that caters to fluid movement. The game has lots of straightaways and loops to blaze through, as well as alternate routes. It downplays the platforming sections that roadblocked me from truly loving past Sonic games. It's the Sonic game that Sonic fans erroneously remember playing in the past, and exactly what I'd expect from a modern Sonic the Hedgehog game.

As I played through Green Hill Zone and the first bonus stage with a huge smile on my face, I hit me that Sonic Mania isn't just a good game, but a shining example of what Sega could do and be if it looked to its past to drive its future.

The company is sitting on a gold mine of classic titles and knows it. The recently released Sega Forever, a retro package for mobile devices that includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II, and other titles, is a showcase of the company's rich history. The games have modern touches, such as an optional free-to-play model and cloud saves, but are just teasers for what Sega could do. If the fan hype around Sonic Mania proves anything, it's that there's a sizeable audience drooling with desire for series with deep-digging roots to return to a similar playstyle. In short, Sega needs to apply the Mania treatment to its most cherished and beloved titles.

Nearly a decade ago, a very reliable source told me that Sega wished to revisit Streets of Rage, but there was uncertainty in regards to whether it should be a 2D or 3D affair. My take? Go with what worked in the past and improve upon it. Make it sprite-based. Get Yuzo Koshiro to score the action. Bring back classic characters and toss new ones into the mix. And, most importantly, give the project to a seasoned team that loves the series—they would have an idea of what works, what doesn't, and how new gameplay elements could be best implemented.

One just has to look at how WayForward Technologies reenvisioned Double Dragon with Double Dragon Neon. The polygonal beat 'em up was flawed fun that doubled down on the late 1980s and early 1990s ridiculousness. While I don't think a new Streets of Rage should go the humor route, a potential development team should study Double Dragon Neon's new-retro soundtrack and cool leveling system, as that gave the game extra depth.

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Likewise, the Out Run series hasn't seen a truly new entry since 2003's Out Run 2, a classic racing game that's been yanked from digital storefronts due to a lapsed Ferrari license. Out Run 2's seen numerous updates, and Sega, in partnership with the port masters at M2, released an excellent 3D version of the original Out Run title for the Nintendo 3DS. Out Run, at least the good games in the series, is all about simplicity, so the breezy racing formula shouldn't be mucked with too much. That said, any future Out Run games need to forgo real-world automobile licenses so the titles can exist, digitally, for generations to come.

Streets of Rage and Out Run are just two examples of revered Sega titles that need new installments, but Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, and the almighty Virtua Fighter are high on my list of games that need Sonic Mania-like love, too.

I recognize that game development is a difficult task, so I balance my wants and wishes against how a company sees these endeavors: cost and cost benefit. Sega, after all, no longer manufactures consoles, so its software-focused revenue stream likely makes it a risk-averse company.

Though, with the titles in its vault, one has to wonder if Sega has more to lose if it does nothing with those franchises at all.

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