Sonic Mania's Chemical Plant Zone boss fight has a genius throwback
If you haven't seen it already, Sonic Mania has a pretty overt and very surprising reference to one of Sega's classics in one of the game's boss fights.
We should mention that there are spoilers beyond this point, so turn back now if you want to experience this moment for yourself in the game.
Boss fights in Sonic Mania are pretty varied, but the the boss fight for Plant Zone is particularly special. Instead of a traditional fight, the stage turns into a Puyo Puyo/Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine round.
To beat the boss, you have to actually play a round of Puyo Puyo, which is such a wonderful deep cut that nobody expected. In fact, you can even unlock a Mean Bean mode to play later, and it supports two players. This is just one of many cross-series references in Sonic Mania.
If you want to know how unlock the Mean Bean mode, head over to our cheats guide. The mode is found under the game's Extras menu.
Sonic Mania is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The PC version was pushed at the last minute, and is expected to release August 29.