Featuring levels from the Master System games to, The Lion King, we’ve picked six of the best from modders.
For as long as there have been games there have been fans cracking them open and stuffing new levels inside them – unofficially, of course. For decades modders have been finding ways to sneak extra content into their favorite games and that’s especially true of the Sonic community. The fans of the blue hedgehog have made full-blown makeovers of existing games, or additional levels to showcase what a game could do further. Since its release in 2017, Sonic Mania is still regarded to be one of the best Sonic games of its time, but modders have been expanding it with new levels, mods, characters, and conversions to prolong it further. With this in mind, we’ve played through countless levels to highlight six of the best, from their time and attention paid, to the complete randomness of others, in how some fit perfectly for a Sonic game. If you want to get in on the mod action, here’s how to install Sonic Mania mods. This zone is part of a collection that has four other levels from Sonic 2, released back in 1992. Sonic 2 Mania is a team effort to remake certain zones into the Sonic Mania engine, but with remixed music and their Act 2 variants twist what you think of what the level entails. Released back in 2019, Aquatic Ruin Zone led the way for other modders. Rather than create a 1:1 remake of older Sonic levels, the team expanded on what came before with new sections. They look and play like official DLC from SEGA. Aquatic Ruin Zone has been remade from the ground up, with remixed music and all the enemies intact, alongside the dangerous arrows and the breakable pillars that are across the two acts. This zone is a great example of building on what made the level memorable while expanding upon its design. Released as part of the Misfits Pack, you also get three other zones as part of a demo that remixes established and cut levels from past Sonic games. The music is a big highlight here, where the drums and percussion make the track pop as you run for an oxygen bubble or jump across risky platforms.
