Mario & Sonic

[Shrikeswind]

Actually, neither Mario nor Sonic are getting messed with. The levels are simply designed in such a way to be mutually accessible, so while there are loops, they're only useful for when you're playing an impatient character, like Sonic and Toad. Characters like Mario and Knuckles, meanwhile, who move slower, will feel at home too, as they ponder alternate paths, for example, while Sonic and Toad can just book it around the loop, Mario and Knuckles will be able to use the floating platforms to reach an alternative path without losing precious momentum, seeing as they don't have much to begin with. See, I HAD thought of that. (What, don't think Toad can hit that loop? Wario's Woods says otherwise.) Note that this applies to things some characters can do, as well, such as some abilities I'll be explaining.

That reminds me...

ABILITY - Triangle Dive

His fists shall guide him when his feet cannot, through the sky shall they lead him, but never to the sun. Echidna legend

This interesting find speaks of an ability likely exclusive to echidnas, but it seems odd that the only mention of this ability was located near the legend of the Emerald Guardian. It's possible this ability, which seems indicative of a belief that certain echidnas could glide, was referring only to the legendary Emerald Guardian, which would make him very much a special echidna.

[Fryguy64]

Hitting the loops in Sonic is about speed rather than the ability to stick to surfaces, and I'd submit that Toad has been a lot less successful in this mysterious ability to adhere to vertical surfaces before and since Wario's Woods.

The way you describe the game, it sounds like the characters all play through the level simultaneously, and you control one of them. The problem with this is Sonic will always come first, unless Sonic's path necessarily diverts him into a long path around the stage, while Mario's path is fairly straightforward, but only accessible by the slower characters.

Even "slower" Knuckles and Tails can Spin Dash and move much faster (and, with ramps, jump much higher) than any Mario character. Without fudging them, that is.

I'm not saying such balance would be impossible, but it would weaken the premise of the game if essentially Mario characters have a separate level to the Sonic characters.

Sonic platforming is difficult, but not impossible, but will slow him down enough. Meanwhile, Mario moving extremely fast on ramps simply doesn't happen... So you have a problem.

Of course, Mario and co. can swim indefinitely, while Sonic sinks and eventually drowns. Sonic can hit loops, twists and ramps, while Mario... slides down them on his bottom. Just a few ways you could divide the pathways...

[Shrikeswind]

Basically? Yes, the characters do play through simultaneously. You select the character you play as, and the rest are more or less a cut-scene in the background. (If you pick Sonic, Luigi doesn't appear until the end of the level, where you get a good laugh out of him.) The background cut-scene shows the level at your pace, so you can watch, say, Tails pulling his stunts in the background, allowing you to figure out what to do next.

I have something I would like to say on Spin Dashing, but not yet. Just know it's been fudged with a little bit, but not too significantly.

Seperate levels? Not quite. You could in fact use Sonic in the slower variants, and it is technically possible to get through the faster variants even with the loops with even Luigi. The difference is that Sonic will be forced into moving at a pace a Sonic fan wouldn't be comfortable with (i.e., "Why can't I just book it to the goal!?") and Luigi will have to find alternate ways to get around the speed obstacles like the loops (and, of course, do it slowly.)

Actually, those ideas and many more are on their way.

ABILITY - Ground Pound

Yea, and when we fell, we shook the ground. And the people stood in awe, as the earth quaked, and great palaces faltered. And the ground beneath us broke, and my brother, who fell from the window, stood, and showed his head. And I, who fell from the roof, stood, and showed nothing.Luigi 15:35-37[/i]

This verse implies some form of common ability, as can be seen by Luigi's use of plurality in describing who fell. It's apparent that their landing was particularly forceful, which makes it seem that this was no mere accident. It may be that the power of the quake was the result of several landings at once, as well. Luigi fell from a rooftop, and so when he landed, he seemed to have broken more ground than Mario. Luigi had mentioned elsewhere his ability to jump higher than his brother, so it's possible he would have broken more ground even had the two simply jumped from the ground.