Sega Letting The Sonic Mania Team Move On Was A Huge Mistake

The next game from the team behind Sonic Mania was announced at this week's Nintendo Direct, and it looks just like what you would expect the Sonic Mania team to make without access to the Blue Blur.

Penny's Big Breakaway is a colorful 3D platformer starring a brand new mascot, a girl named Penny who wields a living yo-yo weapon. From the brief trailer, the game seems to have a lot of ideas and, given the critical and commercial success of Sonic Mania, it's a shame that the team is using those ideas in a game for Private Division instead of Sega.

[VincentVanBro]

Uhhh the Sonic Mania team aren’t slaves. Let them work on a new IP and take a break from constant Sonic.

[-Foxtrot]

Constant Sonic? They only did Mania

They could have been secured to do a sequel after the success of Mania, hell outright buy them to do a Sonic game then maybe revive another old Sega Megadrive game or something, even something original after a while

Superstars looks alright but Mania helped Sonic get back out of a shitty place.

The fact is Sega could have something really good going on and they p***** it away.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I thought Sonic Generations was going to be a step in the right direction, but then we found out about all the downsides of that title. They really should have tried harder to hold onto the talent in the Sonic Mania team.

[Yi-Long]

As usual, Sega sadly doesn’t have a clue as to what they’re doing and what Sonic/Sega fans want from them …

A shame, cause Sonic Mania was the very best Sonic platformer since Sonic 2, and the best Sonic game since Sonic & Sega All-Stars Transformed, and I would have been infinitely more excited about a Sonic Mania 2, than I was about Sonic Frontiers, Team Sonic Racing, and they even managed to somehow botch up Sonic Generations … (!)

Sega could be doing soooo much better if they had a clue about what they’re doing.

[Muadiib]

Awful looking character, also, I'm sick of almost all western games having an ugly looking female protagonist. It's a super annoying trope that I hope bloody dies and soon.

[FallenAngel1984]

Wouldn’t be something when Penny's Big Breakaway blows away Balan’s Wonderworld?

The dedicated fans of Sonic making a better 3D platformer than the actual creators Sonic

[Chocoburger]

S-E had Balan rushed hard though, it clearly needed more time, and the executives didn't care. If it had reached it's full potential it certainly would have been a better game. How good? We'll never know.

Let's not put down developers who were crunching hard (and didn't want to even release the game) just to get something out the door.

[FallenAngel1984]

Even if they had more time the base game is still abysmal

Basing an entire 3D platformer on one button is a bad decision