Sonic Mania

Box art for Sonic Mania

***Sonic Mania*** is a side-scrolling platformer video game in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* franchise which acts as a celebration of the *Sonic* series' 25th anniversary. Set in an alternate reality after the events of *Sonic 3 and Knuckles*, the game follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna as they try to keep Dr. Eggman and his Hard Boiled Heavies from harnessing a mysterious new energy source.

*Sonic Mania* was developed by Christian Whitehead, along with Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, known for their work in the Sonic fan game community, and was published by Sega. The game emulates the style of the original Sega Genesis *Sonic* games. The game was announced on 22 July 2016 and released on 15 August 2017 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, and on 29 August 2017 for PC.

A definitive version of the game titled *Sonic Mania Plus*, was released on 17 July 2018 as paid downloadable content to the base game alongside a physical version of the game. Itincludes the return of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel as playable characters, as well as a 4-player Competition Mode and an “Encore Mode".

## Level Select

You'll need Debug Mode unlocked in order to access this. Once it's unlocked, go into Mania Mode, turn Debug Mode on, then hover over the No Save option. Input the following:

* **Xbox One**: **Hold X** while selecting No Save.
* **Switch**: **Hold Y** while selecting No Save.

## Debug Mode - Early Unlock

Alternatively, you can enter this code to unlock Debug Mode, which allows access to the Level Select immediately:

## Sound Test Cheat Codes

In the Level Select (see above), there's a Sound Test that lets you listen to music and sound effects in the game. As of version 1.05 (Sonic Mania Plus), if you play certain sounds in a specific order, you can activate a code. While most codes are No Save exclusive, some can carry over into a normal save file game.

### **UFO Special Stage Select**

If you play a specific sound in the Sound Test and then select *Special Stage 1*, you can choose which UFO Special Stage to play.

### **Blue Sphere Bonus Stage Select**

If you play a specific sound in the Sound Test and then select *Special Stage 2*, you can choose a Blue Sphere Bonus Stage to play.

## All Gold Medallions - Unlock Early

Playing and perfecting all the Blue Sphere bonus stages will get you the Gold Medallions, which will unlock extra features like Debug Mode and the D.A. Garden. However, as of version 1.05 *(Sonic Mania Plus)*, YouTuber **CodenameGamma** found that there is a multi-step code to unlock everything from the very beginning of the game without playing the Blue Sphere stages (you may need the Encore DLC or *Sonic Mania Plus* for this):

 **STEP 5: Enter and Leave a Level** | Now enter a level and immediately leave it. If all of these steps are done correctly, you should obtain a plethora of messages saying you've unlocked various extras.
(**NOTE**: This does not affect trophies or achievements.)

## Unused Cheat Codes

 **Vape Mode** | A Vaporwave mode (referred to as "Vape Mode" in the code) is an unused mode within the code of *Sonic Mania Plus*. The mode makes all music in-game slower and lower in pitch. While the data is bunched together with other Level Select codes, the code to activate it is somewhat unfinished. While there are references in the code of the Switch version to it, the Steam release of *Sonic Mania Plus* is the only way to get it working via modding. It's speculated to have been removed due to the console versions not being able to run it properly.
It's thought that it could have been activated it at some point during development using the **Hunter Bridges' Birthday Code** from above, before it was a part of the **Unlock All Gold Medallions** cheat. Considering this is a music-based function, and the above code is a reference to a Mania composer's birthday, this connection seems likely.

## Trivia

* Many of the cheat codes in *Sonic Mania* (and *Sonic Mania Plus*) are references to either developers or other cheat codes from past Sonic the Hedgehog games
	+ The **Unlock Debug Mode Early** code uses the same inputs as the *Sonic the Hedgehog 3* Level Select cheat code
	+ The **All Chaos Emeralds** code is exactly the same as it was in *Sonic the Hedgehog 2*
	+ The **14 Continues** code uses the same inputs as the Debug Mode code in *Sonic 2,* which also happens to be reference to the North American release date of *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* (24 November 1992)
	+ The **Encore Mode in Level Select** code is a reference to the date of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series' 27th anniversary (23 June 2018)
	+ The **Super Sonic Flight** code is a reference to the North American release date for *Sonic Mania* on consoles (15 August 2017)
	+ The **Ricky Mania** code is a reference to the birthday of Simon Thomley, one of the developers (11 August 1979)
	+ The technically unused **Hunter Bridges' Birthday Code** is, as the title implies, a reference to the birthday of Hunter Bridges, a composer for *Sonic Mania Plus* (1 May 1989)
	+ The removed **Dunkey Mode's** code was a reference to the *Sonic 3 and Knuckles* Level Select code

* When Takashi Iizuka, head of Sonic Team, was asked about the removal of the Dunkey Mode cheat, he responded by asking "Dunkey Mode???" in confusion. It seems Iizuka, and possibly SEGA, were unaware of the code. The developers may have simply forgotten to remove an inside joke in the final release. This could explain why it remained in the Switch version until the Mania Plus update, as it was ported by a different developer.