 Yesterday, we were halfway through our very healthy dinner of pizza when Kotor discovered a brand new trailer for Sonic Mania Plus. Naturally, he's been watching it non-stop on repeat ever since, and as such, he has some thoughts he wants me to share with you. He thinks his incoherent rambling sounds more respectable coming from my mouth. If Sonic Mania is the result of the modding community's loving tribute to classic Sonic titles, then Sonic Mania Plus is a tribute to the modding community itself. What's the first thing any fledgling modder does? They recolor existing Sonic background sprites and add in new characters. Considering that both of these elements are clearly on display in the Sonic Mania Plus trailer, it almost feels like Christian Whitehead and his team are giving their own game the modding treatment. What an excellent idea! How better to expand upon Sonic Mania than by producing an officially licensed and funded mod for the game. It seems that Encore Mode will follow in the grand tradition of Sonic mods by tweaking existing game geography just enough to make something different without the need to build something totally from scratch. Considering how versatile the components of any Sonic level have proven to be, this could be very good news for anyone who wishes for more Mania without waiting for an eventual sequel to be released. The addition of two classic characters is also a move right out of the Sonic modder's handbook. What's exciting is that Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel aren't simply reworked versions of Tails and Knuckles, but they've been given their own unique abilities. Ray's flying mechanic is going to be interesting. From the ducking and diving in the trailer, it looks as if he controls a lot like the cape feather power-up in Super Mario World, and this may end up being a more eclectic experience than simply gliding with Knuckles or flying short distances with Tails. It's also hard to ignore the similarities between this mechanic and the hang glider from Sonic 2 for the Master System. That's enough to give any longtime fan nightmares, but hopefully Ray will be easier to control. With Mighty's special power set, the game's developers face a bigger challenge. Mighty can bore down into the ground, smashing rocks and spikes. This is different to his wall jump ability from Knuckles Chaotix, and it creates a few difficulties for game design. Where Ray's flying ability slots into existing gameplay and level design relatively well, Mighty's unique power is solely reliant on unique areas of the game that only he can access. In screenshots that are floating around the internet, it's been revealed that Mighty's power will primarily mix things up as he smashes down to underground parts of levels only accessible using his power. This is a good idea, as otherwise, his ability would be pretty much the same as using Sonic's bubble shield. With the addition of new areas comes a need for more interesting unique level design. Mighty's power will rely totally on his surroundings, and if there aren't enough secret areas of the game for him to explore, his inclusion will end up feeling a little empty. Typically, the character to get his own secret areas has been Knuckles, but Mirage saloons own aside, there's not many levels that are unique to the character in Mania, not compared with Sonic 3 and Knuckles at any rate. Balancing the different powers and needs of three characters in a Sonic game can be tricky, but what's really going to prove to be challenging is adding in two additional characters so that they make a meaningful difference to the gameplay experience. This is especially true considering that Mighty's value will rely on adding additional hidden secrets to the game, and that can mean dramatically overhauling the design for each level. But then, the whole point of Encore mode seems to be the creation of twisted, altered levels that are built out of existing sprites and gameplay gimmicks. If this is where the team's attention is most acutely focused, and if they're able to rise to the challenge that Mighty presents, then Sonic Mania Plus will certainly end up becoming the definitive version of this game. Of course, there's still one thing missing from this game. One pink, adorable character that our daughter loves. Someone who could add a little bit more variety to the gameplay without the need for drastic overhaul of level design in order to incorporate her specific abilities. But we've probably said enough on that subject already. Here's hoping that Sonic Mania Plus turns out to be as good as it looks. Considering how well the original version of this game turned out, we probably have nothing to worry about.