Sonic Mania: How to Get Debug Mode & Enter Cheat Codes (Plus)

How to Get to Debug Mode in Sonic Mania

Sonic Mania, in old-school Genesis fashion, features a secret Debug Mode and Level Select that players can enter into whenever they want from the title screen. If you’re not familiar, Debug Modes usually let you do things like select your level, cheat, gain some light developer power, and other features that wouldn’t normally be possible if you didn’t know it existed. Usually it’s something that developers use to help them skip around their own game, and sometimes they leave it in for players to discover.

In Sonic Mania, you can enter debug mode by backing out to the title screen from the main menu (by pressing whatever back out button is) and then press and hold: square & X (PS4), X & A (Xbox One), or Y & B (Switch) as the screen loads back to the main menu. Eventually, you’ll get a message that says press any button to continue. Go ahead and do that while keeping the buttons pressed (you’ll need to press A, X or plus, it’s not technically any button). This brings you to level select, go ahead and pick a level and bam you’ve entered the Debug version of the zone.

How to Get Debug Mode & Level Select in Sonic Mania Plus

Debug mode in Sonic Mania Plus is a little different. For this one, you need to get 16 medals from the blue spheres. After that, you’ll have unlocked a Debug Mode options where appears in the Game Opts. section in Mania Mode. Turn that on and head to the No Save option. Instead of tapping, press and hold Square/X/Y and then also press your normal button to enter the level select mode and enter the Debug version of the zones, the same place you would have gotten to above in the original version.

Sonic Mania Plus How to Enter Cheat Codes

Plus adds new cheat codes that can be entered from the Debug Menu’s level select. Use the above steps to enter the menu from a no save file. You’ll notice there’s a sound test feature on the bottom right. That’s going to be where you input various numbers to unlock a code. Reddit has an ongoing thread where people are still working out the cheat codes as this is a fairly recent discovery. Check out the full list here which is still being updated. Basically though, you’re going to input a certain string of numbers into the sound test function, and if you put the correct combination, you’ll hear the sound of a ring being collected, and you’ll know that the code is active.