When it comes to retro-styled games getting published and put onto new platforms, there are always some technical aspects that don't quite line up as conveniently as modern gamers would like, as the restrictions that held back titles made in the '90s are no longer a concern. Yet, these retro games made in their image cannot overcome certain traits that bind them in some regards without being completely remade from scratch, which would ruin a lot of the nostalgic value that makes such games, like Sonic Mania, so desirable in the first place.

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One issue that is quite common with retro games published on different platforms is the resolution and window size, as this style of game was made with far lower resolution demands. This can result in the default windowed mode of games on PC being annoyingly tiny when compared to a gamer's monitor, even if it looks fine when scaled up to encompass one's entire screen.

When booting up Sonic Mania through Steam, players will encounter this every time that they launch the game, however, there are thankfully some ways around this less-than-ideal function.

Updated on October 31, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Sonic Mania was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the franchise, and, as a nod to the earliest games in this legendary series, was created in the format of a 2D side-scroller.

Though, there was a lot more about the development of this game that some gamers may not know; particularly that a team of dedicated fans was a huge part of what made this game possible and successful. Hopefully, other such commemorative titles for other famous franchises will take a similar approach.

How To Switch From Windowed Mode To Fullscreen Mode

video portion of the in-game options menu.

Thankfully, the developers of Sonic Mania understand that people don't want to play their game in a window that is a quarter of the size of the average monitor screen. When one opens the game and finds themselves at the Main Menu, they should navigate to the Options.

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From there, select Video to open up the menu pertaining to the visual aspects of the game that one can adjust to their liking. The fourth option down, titled "Full Screen", is what players in Sonic Mania will likely be looking for first, so simply turn this to the "ON" position for the game to instantly shift into Full Screen mode.

How To Make Sonic Mania Always Open In Full Screen Mode

player adjusting text in a game file to always make it open in full screen mode.

How To Find The Correct File

If one does not want to manually switch Sonic Mania into Full Screen mode every time that they launch the game, they can manipulate a setting file of the game with subtle changes to make the game always launch in Full Screen mode. The file that one is looking to alter should be called Settings.ini and the file path to find it should be as follows:

  • [Your Computer] > [Your Hard Drive] > Steam Games > steamapps > common > Sonic Mania

What Changes To Make To The File

There are three changes that players will need to make, though they are very simple, just be sure to only touch the specified lines of text! Here's each line that needs to be changed and how to make the simple changes:

  • [windowed=y] CHANGE TO [windowed=n]
  • [border=n] CHANGE TO [border=y]
  • [exclusiveFS=y] CHANGE TO [exclusiveFS=n]

After making these changes, reopen the game and it should start up in Full Screen mode every time that one launches it from Steam.

The Release & History Of Sonic Mania

Sonic and Tails in Saloon Zone in Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania Critical Reception

Sonic Mania was released on August 15, 2017, and was unanimously well-received by both critics and fans--many of whom praised it as the best Sonic game to be published in well over a decade. The gameplay, visuals, and audio were all very nostalgic and represented the origin of the franchise in a satisfying manner while also providing new, fun levels to enjoy.

There are still some who are disappointed with it, as the haters claim that it does not do anything original. Thankfully, few people pay much mind to such negative comments, as the quality and fun of Sonic Mania speak for themselves.

Interesting Game Development Choices

Interestingly, a lot of the development team that worked on Sonic Mania were individuals from the ROM hacking community as well as those who have worked on high-quality Sonic fangames. For those unaware, ROM hacking is the act of altering the existing files within a complete game to change the gameplay, visuals, or audio. ROM means "read-only memory" and, as such, the work that goes into manipulating such files is on par with professional video game development.

By having a dedicated group of long-time fans who are capable of handling and altering game files as the core of the team, Sega only needed to oversee things and take care of the marketing aspect--which turned out to be a solid plan, as Sonic Mania sold over a million copies in 2017 despite being released halfway through the year.

Sonic Mania is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.

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