Sonic Mania – How to Drop Dash

Sonic Mania is the first true follow up and spiritual successor to the popular Sonic series—which so many players remember from the Sega Genesis era. The remixed levels, old-school design, and even the familiar enemies and story are all the perfect recipe for a fast-paced trip down nostalgia avenue. But, the developers haven’t simply crafted a remaster here, in fact, Sonic Mania includes some additional items that fans have never seen before, like Sonic’s new Drop Dash move. In this article we’ll teach you everything you need to know about the Drop Dash in Sonic Mania, including how to do it.

It should be noted that the Drop Dash is a move that is only specifically available for Sonic. Both Knuckles and Tails still have their same powers—Knuckles can break through walls and glide, while Tails can use his tail to fly—so they do not really need this new power to get through the remixed stages.

How to Use Drop Dash

Sonic’s new move is similar to a classic Sonic move that fans may recall from previous titles—the Spin Dash—in which Sonic charged up and then burst forward in a ball. Unlike the Spin Dash, though, the Drop Dash doesn’t require any additional charging, which means it’s easier and quicker to activate, but it also isn’t going to offer near the power that the Spin Dash does, but it can be useful for clearing that extra gap while being propelled forward or any other direction.

To perform the Drop Dash, you’re going to want to hold down your action button while in mid-air. Keep holding it until Sonic rolls into a ball and then shoots forward, and don’t let go until you land on the ground. Not sure what your action button is? The action button is whatever button you use to activate things like your shield power, Knuckles’ glide move, or Tail’s flying move. Normally this will be set to Y on the Nintendo Switch, Square on the PlayStation 4, and X on the Xbox One.

Many of the remixed levels you experience in Sonic Mania have been updated to work well with this new ability, and you’ll need to get used to activating it quickly if you want to progress through the later levels. The Spin Dash isn’t obsolete, though, so don’t forget to make use of it as well. For more help be sure to check out our Sonic Mania tips, where we go over a few essential things that all players should know about when they dive into the game.

Be sure to check out our Sonic Mania tips for more help in the game.