We’d recommend at least playing through some of Sonic Mania before reading on for spoiler purposes, and to read up on how to master Sonic Mania special stages to unlock and see everything on offer. If you have purchased the Encore or Sonic Mania Plus upgrades, note the following is the same as the base version released in 2017. On this page:
Sonic Mania PS4 Level Select: Options, Triangle and Square. (Thanks to reader lanerobertlane for the tip.) Sonic Mania Switch Level Select: Options, hold Y and start the game with the A button. Sonic Mania Xbox One Level Select: Menu button, Y and X together. (Thanks to Viktormoros for the tip.) Sonic Mania PC Level Select: Q and A keys together. (Thanks to Rainbow Seal on YouTube for the tip.)
Note of the above appears to work in ‘Encore’ mode. If you were originally using the ‘head to the title screen (back out of the main menu to reach it) press Y + B buttons together’ method on Switch, that has been patched out since release:
Sonic CD move Super Peel-Out Sonic 3 and K move Insta-Shield Debug Mode And Knuckles
To use cheats such as alternate modes, And Knuckles and Debug, you must go into Mania Mode and hover over the ‘No Save’ icon on the right. Next, press Triangle (or Y on Xbox, or X on Switch) to activate these options. Here is how you use each mode:
And Knuckles will add Knuckles as a second character, even to Knuckles! Debug is activated by pressing Triangle (or Y on Xbox, or X on Switch), then the jump buttons to place and rotate through options. Mania’s move is a Drop Dash (hold jump in the air), Sonic CD’s by holding Up then jump, and Sonic 3 and K Insta-Shield by pressing jump in the air.
Finally, since the release of Sonic Mania Plus, a new set of cheats has been revealed, thanks to CodenameGamma on Reddit (via Sonic Stadium). You need to use the Level Select cheat as described earlier, allowing you reach a screen where you can enter the sound test. Next, enter the sounds in this following order to unlock the respective cheat. You’ll know you are successful when you hear a sound effect.
4126 - Unlock all emeralds 6214 - Disable Super Music 9001 - Unlock all Sonic moves (Dropdash, Super Peel Out, Insta-Shield) 19790811 - Changes all animals into squirrels 19890501 - Does nothing, or unlocks all Medals 19921124 - Infinite Continues 20170815 - Egg Reverie flying in any levels instead of Super Sonic 20180623 - Force Encore Mode
Time Attack (speed run mode on individual zones) Competition (split-screen local competition, based on Sonic 2)
Venturing into the Extras menu will show three additional unlockables. These, as hinted by the grid of 32 icons in the bottom right corner of the screen, are additional modes unlocked by playing the Blue Sphere special stages. The good news is, you don’t need to unlock any gold medals to get these (it’s seemingly just to unlock an additional Achievement / Trophy). Get all 32 (at least) silver Medals to unlock:
Mean Bean (Puyo Puyo mini-game playable against the computer or another player) Blue Spheres (mini-game in original and Mania modes) D.A. Garden (sound test)
You don’t have to unlock these Medals in a single playthrough - instead, they are accumulated across all sessions. That means you can restart the opening level over and over if you wish to unlock them faster. Our special stages page explains the easiest way to find these special stages, including a trick involving the debug option.
