In Sonic Mania Plus, the leading trio of characters are Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, and Knuckles the Echidna. While each character shares the basics of traversal and combat, they also possess individual special abilities: Sonic’s agility allows him to drop into a high-powered roll after landing a jump, Tails can fly and swim faster than anyone else, and Knuckles can glide on and climb walls.

With the Plus edition, two new characters, Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, have been added to the mix. For the uninitiated, Mighty and Ray are two characters who first appeared in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, and later in the Sega 32X game Knuckles’ Chaotix. Mighty’s special abilities include a ground slam and being able to roll across spike traps, and Ray possesses advanced flight abilities that allow him extended airtime.