Lava Lamp
Friday, 28th October 2011, 11:00am (UTC), 20 Comments
Update: Lava Reef Zone added to the Sonic & Knuckles section
Lava Reef guide now up! Probably one of my favourite levels if I had to choose. As I mentioned last time, I wanted to get it finished before Sonic Generations comes out next week, because once that happens I'll be rather preoccupied!

I had to make quite a tricky decision with my arrows in the Act 2 map, as unlike most stages, the vast majority of it is made up of internal tunnel walls rather than the background, and neither the all-characters blue nor the Sonic-only blue arrows showed up very well on that annoying wall pattern. So I've given the arrows themselves a background block colour of a lighter blue to help them show up better. A little untidy but it was the only thing I could do, save for painstakingly cutting out all the walls myself, which I don't think would have been better.

There's not much left to go now really is there? Hidden Palace won't take long, I can probably squeeze most of it in during November, although I'm also looking forward to the new Zelda game later in the month, that being my second favourite game series, so I best not be making any promises just yet, just to be on the safe side. I've got a lot of time off around Christmas though so I'll easily have it done by then and will be able to continue with Sky Sanctuary, which of course is only one act long so that's reduced my normal map making time by half. And then there's only one full level after that, but in Death Egg, the fact that I only have to worry about Sonic's route through and that there are no Special Stage rings actually helps a lot. The Other Modes page is quite big for this game too and will be put in there somewhere along the way, but after all that and a few more bits and bobs, we can call it all finished! Probably some time during Spring 2012, lets say for now.

I'm getting more and more certain that I really don't want to be heavily involved in writing or publishing any more guides after this, I must admit, but I have been thinking more about what I could do regarding site features, if only for a somewhat selfish reason; My day to day occupation is actually as an Actionscript developer, making Flash applications, sites and games mostly for kids, employed by a small company in London. I actually haven't done much HTML-based work since this site's last major update in 2009, so I have been meaning to get back up to date with such things as JQuery and HTML5 if I can. So to this end, I might tinker around with a few things on the site, possibly including the creation of a mobile-friendly version of Zone: 0, if I can figure out the best way of displaying all that content on the small screen. So just because I can't bring myself to do any more guides at the moment, doesn't necessarily mean that Zone: 0 is dead just yet!

Also, a quick thank you to a man I know only as "adam UNKNOWN" who has recently offered his services to help out with a few things, very kindly, so I gave him a task I've been meaning to get round to since the aforementioned 2009 update - uncropped versions of the screenshots! You may have noticed at some point that if you clicked on most of the shots in Sonic 1 on any page before Scrap Brain, you'd get the uncropped version pop up in a lightbox. Thanks to Adam, this has now been implemented on Scrap Brain, and in Sonic 2 for levels Emerald Hill to Casino Night. I'm hoping he can carry on with some more too. Cheers Adam!

Finally got a nice 20th anniversary collectible in the post yesterday - the Sonic 1 and 2 OST, including Masato Nakamura's original demo versions of the tracks he created! Of course I went straight to those, and while naturally they're not quite as easy to listen to as the final versions we've grown so attached to, they're nonetheless an interesting thing to own. Maybe when the CD becomes harder to obtain, I might add them to the Sonic 1 and 2 downloads sections. In the meantime, see if you can grab a copy yourself! There's only two left on the above link at the moment.

So, if I check my calendar, as of writing it is now only 6 days and approximately 6 and a half hours until the earliest conceivable time that I can get my hands on Sonic Generations! That's if Amazon get my highly exciting (albeit not cheap) collector's box of goodies to me on Thursday rather than Friday as they have speculated, and that I can get home from work round about 6:30. I know, as ever you lucky Americans will have it a couple of days before then but you'll just have to keep quiet for that time. I've been playing the new demo to death, and both modes really do just feel so solid. I'm convinced the classic mode has had some minor tweaks in the jumping and rolling departments since the first demo, and now feels extremely comfortable to play, and modern Sonic feels like a more refined Sonic Unleashed experience. In a 3D area, if you just stop and walk around, the control really feels right now, as SU had a lot of inconsistencies there, often feeling very slippery. Now, Sonic adjusts between slower, tighter controls and faster, responsive speed very very smoothly. At the moment, the only two things I hope that the game offers options for is to turn off Omochao (surely, you must be able to, right?) and to turn down the sound effects a few notches, as they do overpower the music quite a lot. Overall, as you'd imagine, I am extraordinarily excited. I think a full review from me will probably be quite likely next month at some point!

That'll probably be the next time you hear from me, so I hope you enjoy the game as much as I'm sure I will!
Comments   20 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by TheGuyWithTheGames on Friday, 28th October 2011, 3:40pm
Great Stuff! I love your guides, they are chock full of information that you can't get anywhere else.
#2. Comment posted by Anonymous on Friday, 28th October 2011, 3:45pm
By the way, i never noticed the Death Egg in the backround of Lava Reef zone Act 1 (shown in lava reef's miselicious notes section) (Yes I know I spelled miseluious wrong)
#3. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 29th October 2011, 1:06am
Awesome guide, thanks!
#4. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 29th October 2011, 5:30am
SEGA have already announced their next sonic game. Sonic Dimensions, it is similar to sonic colours, but instead of wisps sonic is split into multiple personalities. eg red sonic. They each have different features, similar to wisps. Eggman also gets split, into good and bad. That's all from me. You can read more at tssz.
#5. Comment posted by Adam UNKNOWN on Saturday, 29th October 2011, 8:57pm
Sonic Dimensions is a fan game engine.
#6. Comment posted by nore#! sonic on Sunday, 30th October 2011, 11:12am
it is by SEGA and it's on the wii u


thanks

nore#! sonic
#7. Comment posted by MoDaD on Tuesday, 1st November 2011, 12:03am
Great work. As always, your attention to detail is appreciated.
#8. Comment posted by Whoracle on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 2:34am
Great site you have here. Amazing work.
#9. Comment posted by MoDaD on Sunday, 13th November 2011, 8:12pm
As this project is coming to a close soon, I was wondering if you had plans to redesign the homepage to reflect the complete nature of all the game guides once Sonic & Knuckles is done (as I'm assuming there will be less emphasis on timely content like blog posts or "new" features when that occurs).
#10. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Sunday, 13th November 2011, 8:53pm
That's exactly what I'm planning, yes! Stay tuned!
#11. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Monday, 14th November 2011, 6:50am
Maybe a pic from each zone, like how you did at the top left corner is S&K, but for all the zones that you did a guide of.
#12. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Tuesday, 15th November 2011, 9:50am
Well, isn't this interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_3#External_links
#13. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 16th November 2011, 11:50am
Well here's some news about sonic CD http://www.sonicstadium.org/2011/11/vocals-dropped-for-sonic-cd-ports-soundtrack/
#14. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 16th November 2011, 7:25pm
Thanks, I am still technically in hiding from Sonic news until I finish the 3DS version of Generations, as there's a couple of levels in that which I still don't want spoilers for. It's a shame they seem to have so many problems with rights to soundtracks, you'd think that they should be able to use whatever they wanted.
#15. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 17th November 2011, 1:55am
If sega cannot re-create their OWN music how can an independent team re-create Sonic CD in HD? They hvae started. This would also apply to Sonic 3 HD because of MJ, even though they have already re-mastered Ice-cap.
#16. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 18th November 2011, 7:50am
Why is it that 2nd zones always have the best music. Chemical plant, Hydrocity, Flying Battery. All of them are favourites of mine.
#17. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 18th November 2011, 9:29am
More news, the first is BIG news. (VERY BIG news, especially for LQS)

http://www.sonicstadium.org/2011/11/sonic-snap-contest-runner-up-entries-and-winner/

http://www.sonicstadium.org/2011/11/sonic-snap-contest-runner-up-entries-and-winner/ (just some Hyper cool fan artworks, but still worth a look)
#18. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Friday, 18th November 2011, 7:55pm
You posted the same link twice. What was the first one supposed to be?
#19. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 19th November 2011, 4:32am
The IMPORTANT news.

An update happened today, that is the second link.

http://www.tssznews.com/2011/11/17/eu-publisher-to-sell-sonic-history-book/

http://www.tssznews.com/2011/11/18/sonic-history-book-to-be-published-in-english/
#20. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 19th November 2011, 8:39am
Thanks, I'll definitely be getting myself a copy of that! Seems like this 20th anniversary year just keeps giving and giving!
Anything else been going on lately?
Saturday, 8th October 2011, 2:46pm (UTC), 63 Comments
An odd post, this one. Firstly, I'm still busying myself with the Lava Reef Zone guide. Not quite ready yet, but it'll be coming your way before Sonic Generations does. That's a must for me, because once that game arrives, I'll be spending little free time on anything else for a while!

Speaking of which, I was wondering if any of you would be so kind as to update me on anything interesting that's been happening in the world of Sonic over the last three weeks - but NOT related to Sonic Generations! About three weeks ago I decided to take the drastic step of going into Sonic news hibernation, in order to avoid any more spoilers about the upcoming game. I really really don't want to know even the tiniest new piece of information about it now, especially if it's related to the levels. I did create a rather comprehensive Twitter keyword filter, but as I discovered, it was somewhat dependent on people spelling the names of levels correctly!!

However I would quite like to know about anything else, as it's been very boring without any Sonic news at all. So have any new games or versions of games been announced? Any new details about Sonic CD XBLA or Sonic 4 ep 2? Any interesting fan games that have surfaced? (I did manage to see SAGE this year though). Any new 20th anniversary merchandise going around? Anything Sonic at all!.. well, anything except the American comics, I'm not that fussed about them.

I'd be very grateful to be kept informed, both over the last three weeks, and if anything pops up over the next month too! Thanks a lot :)
Comments   63 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by Mike on Saturday, 8th October 2011, 11:48pm
Not sure if the announcement of Sonic CD came out was before or after the 3 weeks. Coming out on basically everything but the Wii. Even the Android! Nice nifty new HD version.
#2. Comment posted by Mike on Saturday, 8th October 2011, 11:58pm
Oh and! http://www.facebook.com/sonicretro?sk=app_208195102528120 Sonic title Generator from Retro. Fantastic time waster
#3. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Sunday, 9th October 2011, 10:00am
Yeah, I did catch the Sonic CD announcement before going into my hibernation, but I take it we still haven't got a release date or anything yet? Thanks :)
#4. Comment posted by Jackaroo on Sunday, 9th October 2011, 10:13pm
Have you heard about the Sonic Generations Collectors edition thats available for europe?
It comes with the Game itself in a Lenticular sleeve that changes from classic to modern sonic, An art book, A CD Featuring a selection of songs from the past 20 years of sonic, A DVD with a documentary on Sonic, DLC For Generations (From what ive heard its a Pinball minigame, Super Sonic Avatar Costume for 360 and a Sonic Generations theme), A Numbered gold Ring, A figure of Classic Sonic & Modern Sonic posing on top of a large ring and it all comes in a cool box featuring both sonics. It all looks pretty awesome and is certainly something special for the 20th anniversary. Heres an image of it :
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/sonic-generations-collectors-edition-646x325.jpg
It is europe only though but there are sites that are shipping it internationally if you live outside europe.
#5. Comment posted by Pokemarionic on Monday, 10th October 2011, 8:39pm
Sonic the hedgehog 4 episode 2 will not support 3d and will contain brand new music!
#6. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 7:30am
Thank you, yes, I know about the collector's edition, it'll be with me on the day of release, hopefully! Any nuggets about ep 2 are much appreciated as well!
#7. Comment posted by Adam on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 1:42pm
LiquidShade what's your email address? :)
Anyway, do you know about the fan project 'Sonic Adventure Generations'?
Check it out! It's Sonic generations with Sonic adventure gameplay as the 'classic sonic'! It looks really good!
#8. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 6:12pm
liquidshade@soniczone0.com

Looks nice, but I'm afraid I'm getting dangerously close to spoilers when looking around anything Generations related on Youtube, so I think I'll check out more later on!
#9. Comment posted by Adam on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 7:13pm
I know, Sonic Stadium once had 30 mins of Generations footage and I was like NOOOO! GO AWAY! SPOILERS!
Hmm, do you know about the soundtracks they're releasing? You seem to be as big a Sonic fan as I am so I'd check it out
#10. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 7:22pm
Sonic Generations has been officially anounced by SEGA to be on PC! Guess we can look forward to that. (I don't have an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3, so this is amazing news to me.) =)
#11. Comment posted by SpeedingHedgehog on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 7:30pm
Lets see... there's been some speculation as to weather or not Sonic 4 Ep 2 would have 3D effects or not, and as of now, the answer is "No". Besides that, SEGA has been very quiet...

Sonic CD will have the JP soundtrack for the game, and MAY have the American soundtrack also later on as an update if SEGA can get the rights for it. But that's a BIG maybe.It has also been confirmed that it runs on Christian Whitehead "The Taxman"'s Retro Sonic engine.

Sonic Generations is now going to be released on PC via digital distributers, one being Steam. It has big system requirements, however... Also, there is gonna be a Sonic-themed skating competition called "Sonic Generations of Skate" featuring many skating legends, including Tony Hawk. It'll happen in California in the US on October 22nd, and will air on television on November 25th on Fox Sports, in the US at least... I know you're in the UK, but fogured you'd at least like to know that that's going on. Figured those wouldn't count as spoilers. :P

Those were the announcements that were not spoilers, and were important to me, at least...
Hope I was some help! :D
#12. Comment posted by Pokemarionic on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 8:27pm
i dont think this counts as a spoiler, but sonic generations is coming out on the PC
#13. Comment posted by Adam on Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 9:05pm
The PC version gets Eggmanland with Sonic and Knuckles Death Egg Zone remix. Just kidding! I'm not evil like that...
#14. Comment posted by hmmmm... on Thursday, 13th October 2011, 12:28am
go to the sonic stadium
#15. Comment posted by Anonymous on Sunday, 16th October 2011, 12:24pm
More News! The PC port of the game will cost $25 on steam.

Also, on the 3DS version, there have been rumors that this version will be delayed to 2012. It's only a rumor, but still...

Last, there might be a demo released on October 19th for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game.
#16. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Sunday, 16th October 2011, 4:07pm
Another demo!? Awesome, I'll be sure to keep a look out for it this Wednesday! Thanks anon, I might have missed that entirely :)
#17. Comment posted by Gemster312 on Monday, 17th October 2011, 4:31am
Well, heres something you might be interested in... Sonic 3 HD.
Its a project open for everyone to participate in who wants! So you could totally join! Its just a HD remake of the original Sonic 3 and Knuckles! Me being the lead Programmer, its commign along pretty well. Maybe you would like to join? :)
Head over to sonic3hd.com to see whats going on. Its all in the forums section currently, as its only a 6 month old project with about 10 official working members including myself
#18. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Monday, 17th October 2011, 8:48am
Don't forget the much more Advanced (not meaning to brag) Sonic 2 HD, demo coming out soon of EHZ & HTZ. :D Check it out on sonic retro.

P.s You'll love generations-sega have released a HEAP of gameplay and trailers, and trust me-you'll love it!
#19. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Monday, 17th October 2011, 8:52am
P.P.s I do like S3HD as well as S2HD
#20. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Monday, 17th October 2011, 8:53am
*cough* third post lucky http://www.s2hd.sonicretro.org/
#21. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 18th October 2011, 4:06pm
I won't say anything specific on the levels, but I will say this: the level list is the only disappointing thing about this game so far, so be prepared for that.
#22. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 19th October 2011, 6:42am
Hey, I love the levels!! They are awesome, don't listen the anonymous!!! I mean they could be better, but they're still awesome!
#23. Comment posted by Anonymous on Thursday, 20th October 2011, 6:55am
Youtube has an ongoing series right now called Sonic for Hire, It's quite funny and worth checking out 2 seasons have been made with a third next month.
#24. Comment posted by Anonymous on Thursday, 20th October 2011, 4:12pm
@Hyper Sonic. No, they're not bad levels, but there were a couple of stupid decisions. The design itself is awesome, but the choices could've been a lot better.
#25. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 21st October 2011, 1:59am
I wouldn't call any of those decisions STUPID. Just not the best decisions. And they improved the "bad" levels by changing the design to incorporate things that weren't in the original levels. The one from Sonic Heroes had extra features that were not even mentioned in the original level, I just hope you know what I'm talking about! There are other examples, but I don't want to mention them. In case of spoilng.
#26. Comment posted by Anonymous on Friday, 21st October 2011, 2:32pm
Doesn't matter. The nature of the levels themselves is what makes them bad decisions. And the Heroes level didn't really have much that was new either. There's nothing they could possibly do to those levels to make them good decisions.
#27. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 22nd October 2011, 12:58am
The levels because good decisions, because they changed the features radically, you OBVIOUSLY haven't seen the classic gameplay of the level from heroes, it looks EPIC, and nothing like the original stage.
#28. Comment posted by Anonymous on Saturday, 22nd October 2011, 4:30pm
What are you talking about? Of course it looks like the original. It's a little less like the original, I'll give you that, but it's still very close.
#29. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 22nd October 2011, 6:00pm
Ok, this isn't the place to have endless arguments thank you very much. If you want to do that, please take it to another forum or exchange email addresses or something. Thanks.

Moving on, a piece of news I happened to notice myself is that Sonic won a Golden Joystick award yesterday in the UK, for outstanding contribution. A very nice little tribute indeed. http://www.goldenjoystick.com/
#30. Comment posted by jarbyjarb(the sonic info box) on Monday, 24th October 2011, 12:32am
sega has confermed the first bit of the sonic timeline. it go's sonic 1, sonic 2, sonic 3, sonic and knuckels, sonic 4 ep 1, sonic cd, sonic 4 ep 2.
#31. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Tuesday, 25th October 2011, 9:56am
Sonic 4 ep 1 doesn't have a very rich story in my opinion, and I don't even think it should be on the timeline! (I know a very RADICAL view) *cough* radical *cough*
#32. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 1:29am
@LiQuidShade Even after you find out the level list? Because I have a feeling you're going to end up picking a side afterwards (probably my side TBH). There's a lot of controversy behind some of the level selections (not surprising, it's the Sonic fandom after all). On that note, I'll shut up until you see the game for yourself. I've gotten my point across. Just don't get hyped up too much, that will only end in disappointment (not everyone is going to be 100% pleased with the game of course).
#33. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 7:07am
Just 98% happy! In my opinion there is only one bad thing about the game, and it is NOT the levels! P.S GET HYPED GET HYPED I've seen half the game, and trust me GET HYPED. HYPO HYPED. No, HYPER HYPED,get it hahaha.
#34. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 7:58am
I'm sure I'll be writing a full review afterwards, so there will be plenty of space for discussion about level choices and all other elements to the game in the comments of that post. To be honest, I'm pretty sure I know what most of the levels are going to be anyway, partly from them seeping through into peoples comments and tweets over the last few months unfortunately, but there's probably two or three that I'm still not very certain about, so I just want to keep the identity of those as secret as possible for the moment! Of the ones I am aware of, or at least strongly suspicious of, there are certainly a mix of great choices and not so great choices, but I'm just keen to see what's different about them from their original versions, and how they all fit into the story and in what order.

To be honest Hyper_Sonic, the fact that you have been able to see half of the whole game already rather saddens me! Whether it's through officially released material or leaked media, it creates a gulf between those who are happy to see it and those who don't want it ruining their experience. And most people aren't fortunate enough to own a website and ask their readers to give them spoiler-free news from the rest of the franchise! It's a topic I feel very strongly about, and when this is all over, I feel like I want to try and see if I can start taking action about it - whether it's through cooperating with other sites to try and make spoilers more secure, or maybe even talking to SEGA themselves to see if there's anything they can do to try and withhold a bit more. That can only be done with enough like-minded voices though so I'll want to see how many others there are out there that feel the same way. This will all come in another post soon but in the meantime, I'm interested to hear more opinions on the matter.

Anyway, thanks all for respecting my need to keep things unknown so far! Only 9 days to go for me!
#35. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 8:10am
I know, but my point was that I have STILL not lost the hype after watching them. P.S You have made me fell guilty :(
#36. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 8:18am
SEGA have really tried their hardest to stop the spoilers though. But the reason that So much gameplay was leaked AND the 10+ trailers by SEGA were released was because they wanted to keep the Hype ball rolling, and it was rolling a little too fast! But you do have to remember that some people want to know what the game is like before they play it, I am one of them. Besides, it's not my fault, my hands just had a mind of their own! After I found out the level list by accident I just couldn't control myself. You should make a "this is a spoiler free zone" banner on your site. Also I saw a comic with a "this is a ring free zone" for death egg zone s2, just wanted to let you know my inspiration.
#37. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 9:19am
lol, it's alright, you're not to blame - if the game will still feel just as fresh and enjoyable for you when you actually play it, then no harm done. But for me, seeing all of that would ruin it a bit - I just like it to be a surprise. I can appreciate media being used to attract people who wouldn't have bought the game otherwise, that's obviously important, but I do believe they can do that without telling us about almost every single level in the game, which I'm assuming they probably have done by this point. That's putting aside the leaked level list of course, which was accidental. Still, it was pretty stupid leaving it lying around in a demo that was obviously going to get dissected.
#38. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 26th October 2011, 10:08pm
Yeah, there's definitely been too much leaked content to the point where I've started tuning out. I don't mind knowing the levels, but knowing the entire level design is too much. The only ones I want to see are the ones that I'm worried about in terms of level design. S3 level was one, and I was quite impressed with it, but I'm still worried about the SA1 and 06 levels. Everything else I'm waiting until I actually play the game.
#39. Comment posted by Anonymous on Thursday, 27th October 2011, 2:29am
I just saw the 06 level, and it looks pretty good, but it's missing a very crucial part of the level.
#40. Comment posted by Anonymous on Friday, 28th October 2011, 4:21pm
Hey, just a heads up, some of the retail stores here in the U.S. are selling the game early (sadly, that's starting to become a trend here), so be even more careful of spoiler between now and the time you get the game.
#41. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 29th October 2011, 6:07am
Well I actually quite liked the SA1 level, even though it was a bit too overdone in the game.
#42. Comment posted by Anonymous on Monday, 31st October 2011, 8:34pm
That's the only one I haven't seen yet that I want to.
#43. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 2nd November 2011, 4:13am
Tails is an unlocable character in Sonic CD.
#44. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Thursday, 3rd November 2011, 7:00pm
Don't know if anyone's managed to get their collectors box early today, but Amazon only dispatched mine at 5 this afternoon, so HOPEFULLY, should come tomorrow. It did originally estimate that it might be today though, so disappointingly, I still have another frustrating 24 hours ahead of me! Argh!
#45. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 4th November 2011, 9:00am
I'm sure you'll get through it, and LOVE the game as I do! The missions are almost like acts 2,3,4,5 & 6 plus sonic 2 HD's sound track www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGQPKwKeww
#46. Comment posted by Anonymous on Friday, 4th November 2011, 10:57am
I've been playing the game most of the last few days, and it's just plain awesome in spite of the (IMO) bad level choices. Argh! If only I didn't have school!
#47. Comment posted by Anonymous on Monday, 7th November 2011, 1:36pm
Hey Liquid, you got the game yet?
#48. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Monday, 7th November 2011, 10:10pm
Yep! Got, completed, loved! More thoughts soon.

Incidentally if anyone finds a good quality, complete rip of the soundtrack (just until the OST's released), please share! I only just missed the one here before it got taken down, hopefully it comes back soon: http://forums.ffshrine.org/f72/sonic-generations-complete-looped-tagged-mp3s-97723/
#49. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 7:48am
I bet that you didn't love the game as much as I did, (actually you probably loved it more :D). Everything about the game was awesome except one (large) and many minor things. All in all an AWESOME game, easily the best in the francise since SA2, for me anyway.
#50. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 7:48am
*franchise
#51. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 9:08am
Can you go back on twitter now LQS :)
#52. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 2:30pm
I've been playing on and off, but I haven't beaten it yet. I'm very close, though. All I have left is to do 3 Modern challenge missions, then beat Silver, Egg Dragoon, and Time Eater. Hey, what do you think of the level choices?
#53. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 8th November 2011, 10:38pm
You'll have to wait until my review! Which should be this weekend at the latest I would have thought. But generally there were some very good and some not so good choices. Some that proved better than I thought, and one or two others worse so, but again, I'll name names later on! All in all though yes, it is a fantastic game, and one I'd recommend to literally anyone!

Yes, I will go back on Twitter soon. :)
#54. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 9th November 2011, 5:58am
Personally the "bad" level choises turned out to be some of my fav levels in the game (heroes, SA1, and 06) how ironic is that. The 3 bad choices being in my top 5 levels. I actually loved. EVERY zone in the game. Each stage is a treasure. Most of the missions are pretty awesome too. I like the missions that deviated from the act the most.
#55. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 9th November 2011, 4:58pm
I thought those three were okay, but could've been better. The Colors level turned out a million times better than I expected, though. Or at least the Modern level did.
#56. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Wednesday, 9th November 2011, 8:00pm
So did the classic one, nut the modern one was good too. This raises the question- classic sonic or modern sonic? I know that everybody likes both; but if you had to chose one what would it be? For me classic 52% modern 48%. The problem with classic Sonic is that his acts are ALWAYS shorter that the modern acts because he get act 1. I just hope that Sonic 4 ep 2 is like a clone of classic Sonic in generations, graphics and game play wise.
#57. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 9th November 2011, 11:13pm
For me it's Modern 70% Classic 30%. And I didn't like the Classic version of the Colors level, but I'll wait until the review comes out to explain why.
#58. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 10th November 2011, 6:14am
Actually I changes my mind, if the classic and modern acts had equal lengths-then I would be classic 65% modern 35%. It is not my fault that I like classic more, I just do! I miss 3D platforming Dreamcast style. Does anyone else?
#59. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 10th November 2011, 6:36am
to LQS http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=25598 *cough* music rip *cough*
#60. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 10th November 2011, 7:18am
You know, I JUST REALISED how old the above link is...
#61. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 10th November 2011, 7:59am
You most likely know this, but all the music is missing from your sonic CD guide :(
#62. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Thursday, 10th November 2011, 7:16pm
I know, at the time there were storage restrictions that prevented it, though these no longer exist, so I've just been lazy :P - I might actually wait to see if I can get my hands on the supposedly looped versions from the new Sonic CD next month. I remember that there were some already in existence but quality wasn't as good, as I recall.
#63. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 11th November 2011, 7:40am
I just want to hear bad future of stardust speedway all over again, *cough*
Sand Castle
Wednesday, 10th August 2011, 7:54pm (UTC), 13 Comments
Update: Sandopolis Zone added to the Sonic & Knuckles section
I've fought off the looters of the London riots this evening to bring you one of Sonic's toughest and most daunting original levels - the Sandopolis Zone guide is finally among us! If I remember right back, this is one of the levels that I actually wanted to publish early, when the site was in its prototype phase, in order to test the general format of the guide. There's loads of tricky things about this level, so it's a good test of how successful the page actually is as a strategy guide. Over four years late then, but nevermind. The maps came out pretty massive for this one, in file size. Hope we're all on fast interweb connections!

Sorry I've been quiet lately, there were a few things I wanted to post about, particularly around the big anniversary celebration a couple of months back but I never really found the time. I did plan on writing about my visit to Summer of Sonic, as I did last year, but by the very end of that I rather lost my enthusiasm about it. Through no fault of the event itself or the efforts of the staff, all absolutely brilliant and very entertaining in general. Thing is I was supposed to be one of the lucky site owners to be granted an interview with Yuji Naka and Takashi Iizuka, which I was extremely excited about, and would have loved to have fed back to you. Unfortunately I was very last on the list, by which point, after waiting an hour or so, I was told they were apparently too tired, so my interview was cancelled. My suspicions carry me to the conclusion that this may have been a decision taken by Sega reps there rather than the duo themselves. Either way I wasn't happy, and even had to barter for the opportunity to have them sign my original Sonic 1 instruction manual, which they could just about muster up the strength to do, but without me getting to meet them myself at all. A great thing to own, but not so great a story attached to it really. And for that I also had to wait another 45 minutes or so. Even while waiting backstage, I did generally feel a little bit ignored by everyone too - they all seemed to know each other quite well, and I had to overhear what was actually going on, rather than be told. Before that, it was all a great day, and I even got to play on Green Hill modern in the Sonic Generations demo three times (which is going to be fantastic by the way), but unless there's something equally enticing next year I can't say for sure if I'll want to really be there or not. Maybe I'm better off celebrating Sonic quietly and individually in the way in which I always have done.

I should acknowledge that my map work actually featured in two different UK magazines in June, one with my permission, the other not. Retro Gamer asked if they could use my Green Hill Act 1 map as part of their front cover fold out, with a nice nod to me and my site alongside. I happily provided them with the original, full size, non-annotated version, and it looks brilliant in print! A great accomplishment for this site. Games Master meanwhile swiped my Marble Zone Act 1 map without asking (talk about looting! :P). Still flattering, but they had to make do with having an obscure "1" point icon in the middle of it. There's a lesson there kids - always ask first, you might get something even better than what you were actually after! Thanks to the Retro Gamer guys. Slightly less thanks to Games Master, although their special Sonic issue was pretty cool in general, if inaccurate here and there. I'd like to think that a few fans recognised my handiwork straight away though. Hopefully.

Well, I'd like to say Sonic Generations is looking better and better, but.. I'm not allowing myself to look at it! I feel like I go on about this all the time, but I really think with this game, it's more important than ever before to hold back as many surprises as possible, especially anything related to the classic era, in my opinion. They've never really delved into such specific references as they're doing here, so I'm not allowing myself to see even one screen shot of Chemical Plant, or any other classic stage yet to be revealed - it'll be so much better to experience it completely fresh when I finally get to play on it. That said, I am finding that I might be robbing myself a little bit of the hype and excitement that makes this build-up time always so special - even if the final product occasionally doesn't live up to it (though I'm confident that won't be the case here). A certain balance needs to be struck I think, but I'm still of the opinion that you can't rely on Sega, games media, and especially not hackers to strike that for you, it takes the right amount of will power to put some things off limits to yourself, but without losing the excitement of something new to look at.

I might be tempted to look at the next stage to be shown from either Adventure or modern eras, just because I know Green Hill so well now. I think one more trailer will do me, maybe just a snippet of gameplay from one of those levels, but then it'll be a complete lockdown! I might even try to work out if I can create some sort of Twitter or RSS feed that shows me only Sonic news that doesn't contain certain key words. Such as "Generations" and perhaps even the names of every single possible level to make an appearance. Am I going mad? perhaps. If I succeed though I'll see if I can share it for like-minded misers.

What I definitely will continue to avoid like the plague is that cursed list of the names of all of the levels, hacked out of the classic demo a couple of months ago. The fact that such a thing exists makes traversing the Sonic community at all very difficult. Why the developers would leave that lying around in there in the first place is beyond me, surely now they must be aware that if it's in there, hackers will get it, whether anyone wants them to or not. It's become a bit awkward that people know exactly how accurate my own predicted level list actually is, well before I will. Surprisingly, 100% accurate so far though! That never happens! Please, please do not tell me how much that percentage is actually going to drop down to though. If at all possible, I want to be able to sit down with this game in November, not having a clue what half of these levels are going to be.

That'll do for this post I think. Hope to start on Lava Reef soon, as I'm eager to get this guide finished so I can crack on to more financially lucrative endeavours. Got to pay the bills unfortunately, but finish it, I will.

Stay safe.
Comments   13 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by Josh T. on Wednesday, 10th August 2011, 9:36pm
You're like me. I like to stay away from spoilers as much as possible, too!

Also, the Sandopolis guide is great! :D
#2. Comment posted by Anonymous on Thursday, 11th August 2011, 2:33pm
Glad to see that this guide is up!

So, I take it that it will be another 2 to 3 months until you upload the Lava Reef guide?
#3. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Thursday, 11th August 2011, 6:28pm
In all likelihood, yes. Hidden Palace and Sky Sanctuary should be quicker though, as there's a lot less to them.
#4. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 11th August 2011, 9:06pm
I can tell how you don't want to see any of the Sonic Ge*******ns spoilers. they do really spoil... I won't reveal any level, all I wanted to say was the SEGA officially released screenshots of classic (cutie) and modern tails and one zone (which you actually so happened to predict), so if you do not want to see any spoilers then you haven't all ill say is that on the official side you have predicted 4 levels (GH, CE, RR, and **Z) Isn't it weird how all sonic zones have two words...

I cannot wait till you publish my favorite zone of all time, Death Egg :D It is a real shame how no levels in S&K feature water though. I do like a good water stage :( If Death egg had water it would be the perfect zone:D
#5. Comment posted by Cybershell on Tuesday, 16th August 2011, 7:23am
These guides really are fantastic, thanks for making them
#6. Comment posted by MoDaD on Tuesday, 16th August 2011, 6:23pm
Once again, great work. Congratulations on the magazine appearances. If you keep up with all of this high quality work maybe someday you can get into an official contributor position? (If that's what you're interested in, that is.)
#7. Comment posted by Zeupar on Wednesday, 17th August 2011, 9:25am
Awesome job as always, LQS! Do you happen to have scans of those magazines? I am curious to see them. :P
#8. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Thursday, 18th August 2011, 3:11pm
Thanks :)

I have a photo of a portion of the Games Master one. You can tell there's no mistaking it for anyone elses map! Photo here
#9. Comment posted by Anonymous on Thursday, 25th August 2011, 10:02pm
Any chance you'll add a map for the secret special stage in Sonic 3 (as featured in the cheats sectionof that game)? It'd be nice to have it match the other special stage guides.
#10. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Friday, 26th August 2011, 6:24pm
Probably not. I must admit, the only reason I could do those maps so easily was because I traced over ones from scans of the Sonic Mega Collection Japanese guide, which doesn't contain that stage. Won't rule it out, but I doubt I'll have the time/patience.
#11. Comment posted by SeekingTruth on Saturday, 27th August 2011, 7:54am
I have been deeply in love with this site since I first discovered it, it's always so exciting to see an update :) Amazing Sandopolis guide! Have you ever considered making a simple Facebook page for Sonic: Zone 0? It could help your work get the attention it deserves. :) I'm sure there's thousands of Sonic nerds on Facebook who would love to plumb this site's depths that would never find this place otherwise.
#12. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 27th August 2011, 11:23am
Thanks a lot! Facebook eh? I suppose I could, never really considered it properly. Probably because I'm one of the few people who spends loads of time online, but very very little of it on Facebook - can't stand it, personally. But, it is the way things seem to be going these days isn't it? So I might look into it a bit more. However, I am starting to wrap up all the work I plan to do on this site, so it won't be as beneficial now as it would have been a year or two ago. Still, thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a think!
#13. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 30th August 2011, 10:44am
And when there is management Lava Reef?
Truly a day to celebrate
Thursday, 23rd June 2011, 6:27am (UTC), 8 Comments


As if anyone needed reminding, our beloved Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is 20 years old today, and with nary a grey hair in sight. Sadly, I have to keep this commemorative post uncharacteristically short and sweet. I had planned a big article, which I have started and may complete soon, but a mix of writers block and just sheer lack of time have stood in the way unfortunately. But still, I wouldn't have felt right letting this momentous occasion pass by with no reference at all.

20 years is a long time for any gaming series to have remained this active, releasing title after title pretty much every year therein. To this, SEGA can attribute something inherently loveable about Sonic's impeccably designed character, his vast, imaginative and varied worlds, and the beautiful physics and level designs that combine so perfectly to create an inimitable experience across all of interactive entertainment. There is nothing in the world like a great Sonic game, and the quest to gather as many as possible is what keeps loyal fans mesmerised where they would otherwise have lost interest. You don't even need a 20th anniversary celebration to know that Sonic the Hedgehog has cemented his place in the history of the medium as one of the most popular characters and franchises ever, to be remembered long after he's gone, if one can even imagine such an event.

Playing a great Sonic level, whether it's running and jumping madly through Green Hill Zone, desperately trying to keep momentum, or dodging obstacles left and right while blazing through Rooftop Run, carries with it an amazingly fulfilling feeling with it. You become engrossed in a world of flowing colour that becomes more and more vivid the more you play it, and the better you know it. Those memorable tunes from your childhood are woven into the fabric of your brain, becoming part of the rhythm of your life. The thrill and wonder you experience when treading new territory in a hidden route you never knew about before, or even more so when seeing a brand new environment for the first time, encountering its traps and hearing its characteristic melodies. The amazing anticipation when you lay your eyes on that new trailer for an upcoming game, and then can't help but watch it again and again. These are among the many things that make being a Sonic fan worth every hardship.

I love Sonic, and I think it's a pretty safe bet that you do too. Today is a day where we should all count ourselves grateful that we have such a great character, story and history to remember and hold dear, and there is so much to love about it. So make sure you do something special today as your own small tribute. SEGA have excitingly given us the perfect celebration: a demo of Sonic Generations which goes live today! Play it. Play Sonic 1. Play your favourite games of the series. Dig out your Sonic comic collection. Play your favourite Sonic soundtrack. Watch an episode or two of your favourite Sonic cartoon. Put your Sonic underpants on. Run like Sonic down the street. Do whatever you need to do to remind you of what SEGA's blue saviour means to you.

Happy Birthday Sonic. You will always be the best.
Comments   8 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by Andrew on Thursday, 23rd June 2011, 8:39am
Hey, hey, hey, Sonic'll always be the best!! I agree :-D
#2. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 23rd June 2011, 8:41am
Happy birthday sonic!

P.s LiQuidShade, you were pretty good at predicting the sonic generations levels, city escape, AND roof top run have been confirmed by SEGA as levels of Sonic generations, let's see if you get any more levels correct.
#3. Comment posted by TheGuyWithTheGames on Thursday, 23rd June 2011, 7:59pm
Amazing. That was just amazing. I have been by Sonic's side since June 23 1991 and even though he has had a bumby ride in the 3d games, he will always be my favorite videogame mascot. Let us hope for another amazing 20 years of sonic. Happy Birthday, Sonic !
#4. Comment posted by ThatRandomDude on Friday, 24th June 2011, 1:21pm
aww... I missed it :'(
#5. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 25th June 2011, 1:55am
Is there a downloadable PC version of the sonic generations demo? PLZ answer
#6. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Saturday, 25th June 2011, 1:55am
Is there a downloadable PC version of the sonic generations demo? PLZ answer
#7. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 25th June 2011, 9:02pm
Nope. Sorry!
#8. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Sunday, 26th June 2011, 11:28am
Could one be available via an emulator?
Assault and Battery
Tuesday, 17th May 2011, 9:56pm (UTC), 17 Comments
Update: Flying Battery Zone and Gameplay page added to the Sonic & Knuckles section
Back once again, this time with a double helping of Sonic & Knuckles guide goodness - the general gameplay page and the complete guide to Flying Battery Zone! Admittedly, that Gameplay page is largely the same as Sonic 3's, as you'd probably expect. Few changes to the mechanics and there's no point reinventing the wheel, but I was sure to read through thoroughly and check that any differences were accounted for. At least you finally know how to make Knuckles glide and climb walls. Lord knows what you've been doing all these years without me. It's always an awkward page to put together, that one, because ideally it needs to come early on in the guide updates, but it should contain screenshots from the whole variety of levels. Ideally, I could just take a few from those that I've already grabbed from the level guides but because I haven't done most of them yet, I have to go and get a few just for this purpose.

I'm quite pleased with the Flying battery guide, there's certainly a lot of points to cover. I think the maps are among the clearest too, as the routes are all neatly separated so I didn't have to fill it with blue arrows everywhere, something I'm often anxious about having to over-use. There's also a number of ways in which these maps can be particularly useful, such as indicating exactly what is in each of those animal capsules, individually - difficult to do otherwise. I guess I have quite a strong connection with the zone in general - growing up, similar to the infamous water-rising bit of Chemical Plant Act 2, I would also live in fear of the first death-drop ridden outside bit of Flying Battery Act 1, which was a big jump up in difficulty. Those spiral elevators in Act 2 are no reward for surviving it either. Although the appearance of the background in particular is actually quite bland compared to its neighbouring Mushroom Hill Zone, the music alone makes the whole level a real star for me. Act 2 is officially my favourite piece of Sonic music of all time, which is really saying something, as the number of truly great tunes in the last 20 years of Sonic music is easily in the hundreds. I'd be overjoyed for the level to reappear in Sonic Generations, purely for the chance to be able to hear that tune brought up to date.

In other news, I'll be at Summer of Sonic again this year (at least I assume I will, I managed to register successfully though haven't received tickets yet, I assume they're coming). Whether or not I'll be able to meet any of you, I don't know but I hope so! If Zone: 0 is featured on the website wall again, I'll just stand next to it pointing, for the majority of the time. Unless Sonic Generations is playable of course, in which case I'll probably spend much of it queuing!

Hope to post about something exciting (exciting for me anyway, and very much so!) soon, based on an email I received today. And given that it's almost just one month away until the joyous anniversary day itself (which by all rights should be accepted as a religious holiday in my book), I'll try and see if I can at least come up with some kind of article to mark the occasion. As I've tweeted recently I've been playing sizable portions of most of the games, from the most recent, working backwards, and aiming to finish with Sonic 1 on 23rd June. Hopefully bringing them all together like that might inspire an idea or two. I'm in the darkest era right now (you know the one), but after that it'll be mostly plain sailing!

That'll be all. Next stop, Sandopolis Zone!.. Ack!
Comments   17 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 18th May 2011, 1:49am
Thanks for all the hard! I hope you'll enjoy your time at Summer of Sonic ;)

Cheers
#2. Comment posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 18th May 2011, 1:50am
hard work* :P (sorry it's 5AM)
#3. Comment posted by Andrew on Wednesday, 18th May 2011, 3:56am
Wow, after over a month. I can see that it took a lot of time with a complex level like FBZ.
#4. Comment posted by Mike on Thursday, 19th May 2011, 1:16am
Sandopolis Zone! Ack. I'm with ya brother. :-D Act 2 is pure evil. Especially as poor Knuckles.
#5. Comment posted by Jamie Dawg on Sunday, 22nd May 2011, 9:11pm
Hey, I don't know if you read my last comment but here it is, since you're going to finish the guide and then basically shut down the site, I wanted to make a deal with you; to prevent the site from dying along with your great and hard work (and of the other editors), I'll be hosting a copy of this site in some host I have yet to determine, and attempt to revive it, since I'm a huge fan of the stuff your putting out here and I'd like to put some guides on more recent Sonic games, like Sonic Adventure or Sonic Colo(u)rs, of coarse anyone would be able to help, including yourself, because I feel that Sonic sites lack what this site has. If you're interested, let me know by e-mail.
Cheers.
#6. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Monday, 23rd May 2011, 7:45pm
Hi Jamie,

Thanks for your offer, I had considered something along these lines, but I won't be handing anything over immediately I'm afraid. For one thing, the site is not dying, it will remain online and I will host it indefinitely - which I mentioned in my original post on the subject - but it's unlikely to receive updates.

Although I like your ambition, I'd been trying for almost two years to get others involved in the writing process of this site, and despite many offers, no one has yet to complete even a quarter of a guide - I am the only editor. So you'll understand if I respond with "I've heard that one before!".

However, if you're serious about this I would suggest you do what I did and just get writing. Long before anything goes online, you should complete a full guide or two in plain text, even if it takes months and years (which it probably will if done properly). At that point, by all means get in touch and show me, and if you can convince me the site is safe in your hands and will be added to competently, I'll be much more willing to consider some sort of hand over :)

Good luck!
#7. Comment posted by CloneWarrior on Tuesday, 24th May 2011, 1:46am
Hey, LiQuidShade.

I love your guides and I'm really going to hate seeing this place basically freeze once the S&K guide ends.

I don't suppose that you might consider still doing blog posts as more Sonic games come out, or even just little things?

I know it's not much, but it almost scares me seeing a website that's just frozen in the past like this one could be.
#8. Comment posted by Silversounds on Wednesday, 25th May 2011, 12:59am

Hi LiQuidShade,

You may already be aware of this but I just wanted to give you a heads up in case it isn't something to do with my computer: the map for act two of Flying Battery Zone seems to be corrupt or something- it's coming out a little wonky.

Thanks for the awesome site!
#9. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Wednesday, 25th May 2011, 7:47pm
@CloneWarrior
I might be able to post something every now and then, but I can't imagine I'd have the time to make that particularly frequent. You might have to just live with your fear I'm afraid.

@Silversounds
Really? Looks fine to me. Anyone else can confirm or deny?
#10. Comment posted by Silversounds on Friday, 27th May 2011, 1:01pm

Hi again,

Just checked it again and there's no problem now. If you haven't changed anything then I'm guessing it was a bad download that got stuck in my temp net files and kept getting shoved back up when I retested- didn't think of that at the time.

Sorry about that :)
#11. Comment posted by CloneWarrior on Monday, 30th May 2011, 9:29am
Even if you only posted when you played a new Sonic game or something, it'd be infinitely better than never posting again.
#12. Comment posted by CloneWarrior on Saturday, 4th June 2011, 2:06am
Hey, LiQuidShade, what if I was thinking about going about creating a Sonic Adventure (DX) guide?

I'm just about to go into my first homework free summer following high school graduation and will probably have enough free time in my hands to write it up.

If someone else would be able to help with formatting it, would you be willing to put it on the site?
#13. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Sunday, 5th June 2011, 8:39pm
Maybe, but it has to be good! And also it has to be complete, before I even think of preparing the site to hold it. And you'll need to take your own screen shots, and publish it yourself (though you can use my admin system, so no need for HTML knowledge).. If that's all alright with you then by all means, be my guest. Send me a sample at some point and I'll let you know whether or not it looks promising.

That goes for anyone else too, by the way, if they really really want to contribute, feel free to give it a go, though I won't be reserving games for anyone anymore - first to complete, to a high standard, wins! I'm happy for Zone: 0's legacy to continue, providing I don't have to have any more than a guiding hand in it.
#14. Comment posted by CloneWarrior on Monday, 6th June 2011, 3:22am
Well, I currently have no means of getting screenshots, but I'm on the lookout for someone who could help me with that.

So if there's anyone out there reading this who had the means to take screenshots of Sonic Adventure (DX), I'd love to get some help.

I should get to work by the end of this week, and I'll send you (LiQuidShade) a sample of Sonic's story up through Emerald Coast as soon as I can.
#15. Comment posted by Ricky on Wednesday, 8th June 2011, 4:17pm
Incidentally, sorry about lack of artwork form me, I've been very busy with a job and will be for another few weeks at least :(
But I will be doing Chemical Plant. In it, I'm going to murder Tails. The parasite.

#16. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Friday, 10th June 2011, 10:30am
I found an awesome music website, which has piano solos that replicate mega drive themes, I know this will surely start controversy, but i quite like it's sonic 2 final boss. It doesn't have fbz though :(

http://www.gamemusicthemes.com/megadrivesheetmusic.html

And while I'm at it, I found some good cpz artwork, no offense to Ricky.

http://sanik.hacking-cult.org/inker/data/1220359403sonic-chemical_plant_wall_bbs_final.jpg

#17. Comment posted by pokemega32 on Sunday, 12th June 2011, 10:33pm
Alright, I've got preliminary guides done for Chaos 0 and Emerald Coast. Where do I send them?
The Generation Game (time to predict some levels!)
Wednesday, 27th April 2011, 7:12pm (UTC), 26 Comments
Naturally, I can't resist taking some time out from my next level guide to talk to you about Sonic Generations, the almost dream-like new 20th anniversary major Sonic game whose bombshell was officially dropped last week, followed by the jaws and indeed saliva of many surprised fans I can only imagine. I mean, we all knew that something along these lines was on its way, but I for one was unprepared for just how amazing it would look.



I'm still in awe that it even exists really. a) given how much of a point Sega seemed to make about not putting classic Sonic in Sonic 4, and b) that it really is the kind of game I've often daydreamed about throughout the last ten years. A series of direct nods to specific levels and events in a dazzling blur of nostalgia. During ultra serious plots about government conspiracies and the end of the world, or never-ending grind rails and speed pads, you'd ultimately have to force yourself to snap out of that daydream, as it didn't look like Sega had any intention for such things. Perhaps appropriately enough, after all Sonic himself is supposedly one to never look back. But now, things are different - it seems that the landmark of 20 years and a gradual, arguably fan-lead shift back into more classic stylings has created a large cycle that brings us, remarkably, to that very dream game. Whether it'll be exactly as any of us had ever imagined in our wildest of dreams is to be decided, but the promises look frankly unbelievable - classic levels from three different eras of Sonic history? Hello, that sounds like the perfect place for outrageously bold speculation! My time to shine...

The structure of Sonic Generations..

The fact is, I never really learn. I'm often wrong about game-wide speculations about things like the amount and order, and specific types of levels and how they're divided into smaller stages, whenever I attempt to predict the contents of upcoming games. That's probably not the best way of maintaining your interest in what, as of currently writing, will probably be a sizable article, but still, I'm going to have a crack at it anyway, and it's at least food for thought. So lets go over some sensible assumptions...

Here's what we know: At least two stages per level, one as classic Sonic, the other as modern Sonic. The levels will reflect 20 years of Sonic history, covering three different eras, classic, "adventure", and modern, i.e. the beginning, middle and end. The first level is Green Hill, which, obviously accounts for part of the classic element. I think it can very safely be assumed that pretty much all the levels will be obvious clones of specific previous levels from those eras. That's about it.

Well for starters I suspect, and hope, that there's more than just the two stages/acts, per level/zone. In the above video, in which both Sonic's steam through at a fair old pace, classic Sonic's stage clearly ends at around 1:40, while 'ol green-eyes is still going strong at nearly three minutes, with no end in sight. To maintain balance, I suspect that there is at least a second act for classic Sonic to complete, of a similar length, thus maintaining traditional level division patterns on both sides of the coin. Although having said that, I hope there's even more fun to be had beyond that, even if it has to be through silly little bite-sized acts like in Sonic Colours, but perhaps optional.

Next there's the question of sheer amount of levels, and how they're ordered. Could it be chronologically, or a massive mish-mash of time zones colliding chaotically? Well, this is a big main Sonic game for the 360 and PS3, and if previous examples are anything to go by, I'd say around nine or ten would be the amount to shoot for - specifically nine, it's the magic number of completely individual worlds for both Sonic 06 and Unleashed. I think it's interesting that they've made a point of saying that the levels correspond to three different specific eras of Sonic's life so far. If it were a fairly disorganised series of hops back and forth in time, I wonder if there would have been any point in specifying that there were only three definite eras at all, rather than just more vaguely covering the whole 20 years. It could be to just really make their point clear that they will be covering everything, not just the first few games of the 90's, but my suspicion is that the three eras play a big role in the structure of the game itself and that it isn't just marketing talk. The game is divided into three, and conveniently, we've already decided that we're going to have nine levels. That means three for classic, three for Adventure, three for modern. Bad news I suppose for anyone hoping for a bias toward one era in particular, but you never know, maybe they can squeeze in a tenth. What isn't so clear, however, is exactly how far the boundaries of each era reach. I have my own ideas, and I believe the levels will be played, mostly, in chronological order, so each era will be played in full before the player can progress to the next.

I've been having a good think about these levels for the last week, and I've narrowed down my definitive "dream team", of sorts. I've stuck my neck out and chosen eight specific levels to join Green Hill (or Greenhill as it seems to be called here), evenly distributed across the three eras. It's not an easy decision, if you're being realistic about it. On the one hand, you have to pick truly iconic worlds, all of which will be instantly recognisable to anyone who's played their native game even a little bit. An elected representative ambassador for each game, you could say. In most cases, the truly iconic one is invariably going to be the first level of any game - it's the only one every player is guaranteed to play at all (well, probably), but you can't have a game full of first levels can you? Especially if most of them are tropical paradise/jungle/beach levels. Any game planner worth their salt will try to vary the colours and content of each level as much as possible. I find the most characteristic levels for any game are often those that are most heavily featured in its pre-release media, in exciting trailers and screenshots that we all stare at for months before even playing them. Who knows by what criteria Sonic Team themselves judge a characteristic, memorable, and Sonic Generations-worthy level though.

So, with quite enough introductory waffle, lets get on with it..

The Classic Era

Green Hill Zone - Duh.

Chemical Plant Zone
Chemical Plant Zone

Assuming there's room for a level from Sonic 2, there are many worthy options. Obviously Casino Night Zone screams out to you at the top of its lungs, and I would be happy to see it if I hadn't already seen it so recently in Sonic 4, under the guise of "Casino Street Zone". I'm sure they'd find a way to add something new to it in 3D, much like they have with Green Hill, but nonetheless it would feel like a waste of a crucial slot in the game that another long lost level could fill. Same for Metropolis really, as much as I'd love to hear an updated version of that theme tune. My suggestion? Chemical Plant Zone. Putting a personal case forward, this level is instrumental in forming my childhood, with its terrifying (and yet entirely avoidable, as it turns out) scary-water-rising bit towards the end that gave me nightmares for years. Even the Sonic Team of 2005 thought that was hard enough to warrant making a T-shirt about it. In any case, it's a well known and unique stage, and its speedy paths will be appropriate for modern Sonic too. Thanks to Sonic Colours bringing submersive water to 2.5D, that brilliantly frustrating section can no doubt be brought to life once again!

Mushroom Hill Zone
Mushroom Hill Zone

With only one slot left in the classic era, we've a tough choice to make. Conceivably this could come from Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, or potentially even from Sonic CD, but I'm not so sure about the latter - it would please die hard fans no end I'm sure, but I just don't know if enough people have played Sonic CD for it to be viable. Icecap Zone was my first choice, but then you have to consider the issue about the music. If it does make the cut, it'd be very interesting to see if it comes with its original theme intact, as it would perhaps shed light on whether Sega actually do own the rights to that.. And not Michael Jackson's lawyers. Still, I'm going to assume there's problems there, and go for the alternate choice of my most recently featured level: Mushroom Hill Zone. Absolutely characteristic of Sonic & Knuckles, it's a first level that's worlds apart from Green Hill, set instead in a great forest of fungi. The Hedgehog Engine would render it stunningly rich, especially if they choose to indulge in Mushroom Hill's changing seasons. I think that would be incredible personally.

Mini act? Sky Chase Zone

Well, they managed to do it in both Sonic Adventure and Sonic Unleashed - who's to say they can't tuck in the extra little treat of an aerial battle in the skies that can emulate the Sonic 2 side-scrolling original and even the more fire-powered Sonic Adventure version as well. Imagine a classic Sonic and Tails in the Tornado 1, joined by their modern counterparts in the Tornado 2 as they chase down the Egg Carrier together, crashing through time toward the Adventure era!..

The Adventure Era

Twinkle Park
Twinkle Park

For Sonic Adventure's contribution, I would avoid Emerald Coast as a full stage - I know it's not quite the same as Green Hill, but it is very similar. If Icecap Zone doesn't make it into the classic portion, it could reappear here in Sonic Adventure form very easily, but in this particular list of mine, we don't have a bouncy/pinball style stage yet, which I would argue is more pressing. Casinopolis is too odd to really translate effectively into either game mode, Speed Highway's a bit generic - I would suggest Twinkle Park. Classic Sonic's take on it could borrow many elements from the likes of Spring Yard, Casino Night and Carnival Night to help ease it into this unfamiliar territory, in addition to Twinkle Park features like exploding barrels and bumper cars.

City Escape
City Escape

The thing about Sonic Adventure 2's levels is that, well, they're a bit bland aren't they? Very enjoyable of course, but also really story-lead, and I wouldn't particularly want to find myself in dull corridors of government bases or space stations. Green Forest and Pyramid Cave are much more interesting, but I think the only real option here is City Escape, complete with irresponsible barging of traffic whilst road-boarding and cheerfully cheesy lyrics. Whale fans still mourning about Emerald Coast's rejection could easily be comforted too, as San Fransisco is by the coast, is it not? Surely there's no reason why Sonic(s) couldn't be chased by both a whale and a massive truck in the same level!

Rail Canyon
Rail Canyon

Insert controversy here. I see no reason why Sonic Heroes couldn't find its way into the Adventure era. Regardless of what you think about it, it's an important part of Sonic's history, and it's chronologically closer to the adventures than anything particularly recent. Unlike SA2 as well, its levels are incredibly vibrant and visually interesting so I'd be happy to see any of them really, although perhaps not Seaside Hill, it's had several reincarnations already and is ridiculously similar to Green Hill anyway. The next most iconic level of this game? Well, could be Casino Park, which isn't a complete clone of Casnio Night, but level number 6 is a tad late for a casino level to pop in isn't it? For me, it has to be the unrelenting grind-fest of Rail Canyon, perfect for modern Sonic. What exactly Classic Sonic is supposed to do with all those rails is another matter of course, but we'll find something for him. Perhaps he can spend more time in the more internal areas of Bullet Station, or mess around with some small crane-based puzzles. Quite a good opportunity to try some brand new 2D level features actually.

The Modern Era

Rooftop Run
Rooftop Run

I think this hectic dash through Sonic Unleashed's Spagonia country deserves a place amongst Sonic's best bits, and is among the most characteristic levels in the game that could competently sit at level number 7. Perhaps change the lighting a bit to more of a sunset, just to make it seem like more than just an exact duplicate of the original, whose graphical prowess and attention to detail will be pretty much identical to this one anyway. More minor acts in this level saw a trip through the torch-lit sewers beneath the city, which might be a nice place for classic Sonic to explore.

Kingdom Valley
Kingdom Valley

Sonic 06? Boooo, booo.. BOOOOOO! ..Yep, get over it. This era in general is certainly where I had the most trouble, and I'm not really sure if the likes of Secret Rings, Black Knight or Sonic Colours really quite fit into it. Sonic Colours just seems too recent enough to really have made a mark in the history books by this point, especially when you consider its production will have overlapped slightly with this game. Black Knight I don't think really had an impact on anyone. We could quite easily see something from Secret Rings I suppose, but this process is becoming quite a subjective one by this point, and I've decided to with go with Kingdom Valley. The first Sonic level to begin with the letter K (probably my favourite completely useless Sonic fact!) slots in neatly as a penultimate level, it's not really similar to anything so far, and has a number of interesting, unique features to utilise. I've always been quite excited and intrigued by it, so I'm going to give it another chance.

Eggmanland
Eggmanland

Ooooh, more controversy! Not only have I picked one of the longest and most utterly frustrating final levels ever, I've also gone for two Sonic Unleashed levels!? Hear me out. I believe that if there are only going to be nine levels, Sonic Team will divide them equally between the three eras, and for me, nothing else quite fits into this era, other than three levels from arguably the two major Sonic games of this time (based on budget and general "big-ness" rather than popularity or anything else). Secondly, it is a honking great huge, notorious level, I think the ultimate final level really, especially as Eggman had been going on about building it for an entire decade before finally doing so - makes sense to me. In any case, these are all just mostly visual ideas and templates, how enjoyable any of these levels are in their original forms bear no impact on their level of enjoyment in this game, as they are all very likely to be redesigned entirely from scratch anyway.

What's more, I've had another theory. By including two Sonic Unleashed levels, you're bringing ready-made graphics into your game that most people probably won't mind seeing - you've immediately got all the visuals you need for two full levels, so resources for designing maybe one more are freed up! I think for this reason we could see a tenth full level in this game after all, and it could be anything! How about if there are two final levels? Perhaps only modern Sonic tackles Eggmanland while classic Sonic is brought back to Scrap Brain Zone, providing a kind of neat balanced symmetry to what levels from what games are included. Two from Sonic 1, two from Unleashed sounds pretty fair to me.


..Anyway, those are my official predictions right now. I encourage you all to try and piece together your own, and then probably see how wrong you are, as indeed I will, I'm sure. It's not quite perfect on my list anyway - we've got some opportunities for a few splashes of water here and there but no full on water level as such, and it almost seems wrong to have no casino level in this game that is supposed to cover all of Sonic's most iconic bits, but frankly, there's been so many that not everything will fit. Especially if you want to include any of Sonic's more secondary adventures like the Advance or Rush series. Trying to cram in something from up to fifty-ish games just isn't going to work, is it? Arguably you could shrink down the modern portion to make room, but my personal hunch is that they won't do that. However I do hope that by shamelessly recycling some recent graphics, they will just about be able to make room for some additional material elsewhere. To be honest though, I don't think there are many classic stages or references that they could add that I wouldn't be thrilled to see, this is an incredibly exciting game from virtually any angle, and for me, the months between now and its release cannot pass quickly enough!

WARNING: Spoilers in the comments section below. The full list of levels has been discovered. If, like me, you don't wish to know exactly how wrong or right I am with the above until you actually play the game yourself, ideally, then I wouldn't scroll too far through the comments below if I were you :P
Comments   26 Comments have been posted.
#1. Comment posted by Meph on Wednesday, 27th April 2011, 10:50pm
I was wondering when you'd post about this. :)

Personally, I would have chosen Launch Base Zone for the third zone, because I think it could be tied into the plot.
#2. Comment posted by Mercury on Thursday, 28th April 2011, 7:56am
First: I would be surprised to see too many levels from Unleashed/Colours, seeing as how they are such recent games... on the other hand the reused bosses in Colours make me worry that Sega isn't shy about blatantly recycling content. Though, if C.Sonic gets 'classic-fied' versions of them that might justify their inclusion.

Second: A Sonic game needs a good mix of level tropes: Green, Ruin, Casino, Aquatic, Sky, City, Base, Space, etc. Looking at it that way, each of these could be filled by their most iconic representatives: Green => Green Hill, City => Stardust Speedway, etc. (I don't think Sonic CD is too long of a shot, since Sega's clearly trying to appeal to classic fanboys this time around.)

Third: My only strong level prediction is Death Egg Zone. The Death Egg is symbolic of the classic series and is Classic Eggman's greatest creation. I'd be very surprised (and to a certain extent, disappointed) if Sega didn't resurrect this level - it seems like a shoo in. (They might even borrow SaSASR elements for it, but I hope not - that version of the level didn't really capture the feel, IMO.)
#3. Comment posted by Sonikku-Nation on Thursday, 28th April 2011, 9:58pm
Well, I'd want something like Marble Zone from Sonic 1, Ice Cap and Lava Reef from Sonic and Knuckles, and may Sandopolis, Casino Night from Sonic 2, Carnival Night from Sonic 3, Twinkle Park from Sonic Adventure, Windy Valley from Sonic Adventure, Kingdom Valley and Crisis City from Sonic 06, Toy Kingdom from Sonic Advance 3 and so on.

BTW, I hope you (the creator of this article and many stuff of this site) don't mind me asking, but when will you finish that Flying Battery portion of the Sonic and Knuckles guide?
#4. Comment posted by jingoi on Thursday, 28th April 2011, 10:38pm
My submission is= Frog Forest, Water Palace, Egg Rocket, Levitated Ruin, Crisis City, Dragon Road, Lost World, Bingo Highway, Lava Reef.
#5. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Saturday, 30th April 2011, 1:39pm
@Sonikku-Nation - I'm about half way through it. It's mapped and the text is finalised, I need to do the screen shots now and wrap it all up, though I am quite busy, so maybe two-three weeks.
#6. Comment posted by Classic gamer on Saturday, 30th April 2011, 11:45pm
My level predictions:

Classic era (6 zones):
- Grenn Hill
- Chemical Plant
- Casino Night
- Hidrocity
- Flying Battery
- Stardust Speedway

Dreamcast era (3 zones):
- Emerald Coast
- Speed Highway
- City Escape

Modern era (3 zones):
- Kingdom Valley
- Asteroid Coaster
- Eggmanland
#7. Comment posted by Sonikku-Nation on Sunday, 1st May 2011, 12:03am
@LiQuidShade: What?! Come on! Why can you not finish it now?

Ha! I'm just kidding around with ya.

Still. 2-3 weeks, I can be very patient enough for that. Just take as much time as you need.
#8. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 3rd May 2011, 2:17am
Best case scenario for me would be Star Light, Chemical Plant, Hydrocity, Ice Cap, Flying Battery, and Stardust Speedway. I honestly could care less about anything from the 3d era. Its the 16 bit era that made Sonic who he is, not the 3d. Sonic Adventure was fine, but my childhood was the 16 bit era.
#9. Comment posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, 3rd May 2011, 8:56pm
I was expecting to appear Mushroom Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone or Death Egg Zone, and also believed that they include Chasse Sky Zone
#10. Comment posted by Lord of the ideas on Tuesday, 3rd May 2011, 9:15pm
It would be good to revive the levels of Sonic 2: Hidden Palace Zone, or Wood zone ... Do I understand? (Lost zones)
#11. Comment posted by Mr Space on Wednesday, 4th May 2011, 11:45pm
Could revive, but more importantly include the Death Egg
It would also be interesting to see the new version of the music with real instruments.
#12. Comment posted by AquaRuin on Thursday, 5th May 2011, 6:53am
Only nine levels? OH NOES! So many zones I want to see returned that aren't going to make it in. I want Marble, Labyrinth and Scrap Brain to return from Sonic 1 alone. I also want Aquatic Ruin (one my favourite zones ever as you might have guessed from the my name), Casino Night, Mystic Cave and Wing Fortress from Sonic 2, Hydrocity, Marble Garden, Icecap, Launch Base, Hidden Palace, Sky Sanctuary AND The Doomsday. I need 14 slots just for the classic era. But LiQuidShade, you do have very good choices for the classic era. CPZ and MHZ would be great.

Sadly, I have not played the Adventure era, I have played Sonic Heroes however but that game was so full of bottomless pits that it made it rather difficult to progress in the game. I haven't played the game in ages, can't really remember anything about now. Same goes for the Morden era (jeez, where have I been?), I've only played the rather recent Sonic Colours so I can't really say anything about choices from that era.
#13. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 5th May 2011, 9:43am
I am a little disapointed that you chose twinkle park. It is not one of my faviourite levels. I think there should be an outer space theme, after all Death Egg is my faviourite zone. There should also be a sky base type zone, winged fortress, sky deck, or final fortress (which I found to be too easy for a last zone) A good old last story would also make a nice addition to the game. I wonder what the special stages will be like, and if there will be a form of super sonic. And lastly, how could a zone like chemical plant be transformed into 3d?
#14. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Thursday, 5th May 2011, 6:42pm
There's certainly some key Sonic level tropes missing from my list, although I was going under the assumption that each era will be completed consecutively, which doesn't have to be the case at all, it depends on the plot really. Sonic(s) could easily jump back and forth through time as they go, opening up possibilities like Death Egg or Wing fortress, which should really appear at the end of the game I'd say.

What I was really going for here though was a realistic prediction above all else. It's not necessarily my own personal dream list, but I think because this game promises so much (perhaps more than a Sonic game ever has really), it leaves room for a lot of disappointment if you don't get all the levels you were hoping for. It's all very well to list out reams of them you'd like to see, but I think if you're expecting any more than 3 or 4 (maaaybe 5 if you're very very lucky) classic levels, then you're in for a big let down. They only have so much room, and what I think is a clear determination to cover the whole 20 year history, so my advice would be to try and make the most of whatever you're given, otherwise no one's going to be completely happy with this game!
#15. Comment posted by Dan on Monday, 16th May 2011, 9:35am
I think that 12 levels should total (four per era). I like your choices for the latter two, but we should have a bit more. In the modern era, maybe we could see one colors level. In the classic era, I'd ditch chemical plant for something sonic CD, like wacky workbench. It fits the level trope (premature industrial) and is more of a call-out to classic fans. But that leaves one question:which soundtrack to use? As most of you, I'd wanna see the Japanese soundtrack, but there is also one last thing: time zone? I'd find past most fitting, because it's a level from the past in the past! (and it would solve the soundtrack issue). I'd also personally want to see flying battery over wing fortress. It's more iconic and is more likely to be recognized (second level vs. Second-to-last level). But that leaves something to Change from mushroom hill. Maybe casino night?
#16. Comment posted by Beau on Thursday, 19th May 2011, 4:38am
@LiQuidShade

LiQuid, this article is excellent. I've been looking around the net for people's opinions on what the levels will be in Sonic Generations', and none of them are as thoughtful or as realistic as this list. I was hoping someone out there would make a well thought out and likely prediction like this... and you did! Thank you!

I do hope they take a level from Sonic 3 and a level from Sonic and Knuckles respectively. And then perhaps make the final level Death Egg, since it is a stage which has spanned multiple games and even had an alternate incarnation in Space Colony Ark. I think that'd be fitting.
#17. Comment posted by stripedshirts on Tuesday, 24th May 2011, 7:29am
It would be amazing to race side by side with Metal Sonic in HD. Stardust Speedway please!
#18. Comment posted by AquaRuin on Wednesday, 25th May 2011, 7:21am
I have managed to narrow down my oversized list of choices but there probably are people out there that have an even longer list then what I had. Heck, choices and decisions...3, 3, 3? 4, 4, 4? 6, 3, 3? I would honestly go with the unfair 6, 3, 3...well, if some of the zones wanted don't make it in there is still Sonic the Hedgehog 4...right?
#19. Comment posted by LiQuidShade on Tuesday, 7th June 2011, 8:28pm
Two out of two so far! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t68aeAbUu4g&feature=youtu.be (stay with it til the very end, mind!)

It's all coming together, *evil laugh*
#20. Comment posted by Kore on Saturday, 11th June 2011, 1:05am
Ok so I made a list of all the common stage tropes and put my dreamlist together. With a total of 12 levels with 4 in each era, this would be my ideal sonic generations:
Green- Green Hill
Casino- Twinkle Park
Ruin- Kingdom Valley
Ice- Cool Edge
Desert- Pyramid Cave
Factory- Chemical Plant
Water- Hydrocity
Haunted- Hang Castle
Lava- Lava Reef
Space- Asteroid Coaster
Base- EggmanLand
Seriously it would be amazing if these were the choices. Make it happen Sonic Team!
#21. Comment posted by Aerobian-Angel on Saturday, 11th June 2011, 8:29pm
~Genesis~
- Hidden Palace Zone: Now I know that this doesn’t really count as a zone, seeing as it’s one act long and there solely from story purposes, but I love the whole “confrontation with the Guardian” mood. The only letdown is that Knuckles was pathetically easy. Not [just] because he had some bad A.I. programming, but because his moves were limited to the ones that you can do when playing as him. If he could pull off some “HOLYCRAPIDIDNOTSEETHATCOMING” moves, then I’d write him off as one of the best bosses of the game, and Sonic Generations has a big enough chance to do just that.
- Sunset Park Zone: This game gear level felt like an unsual, yet almost instantaneous, classic. The whole place felt all un-Sonic-y in a sense that running to the right wouldn’t get you anywhere fast, except to instant death. Now, while this level did tone down the running, platforming and exploration had heavy emphasis, which reminded me that this wasn’t just a game showing off a speedy little rodent. No, it was about a speedy little rodent that could jump. And, as you probably expected, Act 3′s music was flat out awesome. There. I said it.
- Hill Top Zone: This level has got to be the most underrated level in Sonic 2. Possibly in the whole genesis era. Heck, I like this one better than Chemical Plant zone, which I find to be too heavily praised (much like how I find Sonic 2 just to be Sonic 1 with the addition of a [playable] stalker). Now, before I drive this tangent any further, there’s just something that I find to be enthralling about the lush Blue Hills in the Mountain Tops. While its musical theme was freakin’ weird (in a good way), the stage itself was unique all in its own way. And it had lava. I’d love to see HD lava in a Sonic game.
- Stardust Speedway (Boss): Okay, maybe asking for a boss throwback is pushing it, but darnit I loved this boss. Heck I loved ALL of the bosses in Sonic CD. They weren’t just “How many times can you hit Eggy?” bosses, they were “can you even find out HOW to hit Eggy?” bosses. Except for this one. This one was all about staying alive. But not because Sonic had to wait for Eggman to kill himself (like for many bosses in Sonic 3K), but because Sonic had to pass a trial of only one surviving. To this day, I still feel the adrenaline rush from this boss. In a way that no other boss (in the Genesis Era) has given me.

(I do not have any Sonic 1 levels on here because they already did that for Sonic Colors)

~Dreamcast~
- City Escape: Possibly the MOST memorable Sonic Adventure 2 stage out there (thanks to the demo in the Sonic Adventure 1 casing), City Escape is downright awesome. A lot of us take this stage fro granted, you’ve got so many cars (parked/moving), so many buildings, so many branching, yet inaccessible streets [for practical reasons], and an awesome feel of outrunning the cops in the most ridiculously cool way possible.
- Sky Deck: Everyone remembers Sky Deck. Who doesn’t? As glitchy as this stage may or may not have been in its latter sections, it was still fun to play. I just love the feeling of taking down a carrier at high altitudes, from the inside out. You know, until I found out that all I had to do was push a button under Eggman’s seat to do it. So the feeling died. But that’s not to say that the feeling was never there. Either way, I’d love to return to those amazing heights in stunning HD.
- Metal Harbor: This is one of those levels that makes you realize the true purpose of the “Score” part of the Score-Time-Rings HUD. Now, while you play this level, you’ll notice that doing it in THE FASTEST TIME POSSIBLE, will rank you a C at best. Rather, this level encourages you to do what no other Adventure level had. EXPLORE. Now, this stage is pretty linear and pretty much devoid of alternate routes already, but when you look in the right spots you’ll find some zones to amp up the score. And then there’s the biggest kick-in-the-nuts moment ever. The missile launch section has an extended climbing route. The upper-section really tested your speed and mettle as you had to ring-dash, homing attack, and run as fast as you could to the second handle bar. I wonder how classic Sonic will fair…

~Modern~
- Kingdom Valley: This stage was just beautifully epic, and possibly my favorite in the whole game. Granted, White Acropolis had an unorthodox appeal to it (stealth in a SONIC GAME?), earning it some favoritism, but it just pales in comparison to Kingdom Valley. Crisis City also had its high points as well, and I wouldn’t mind seeing that one again either. On the subject though, Kingdom Valley was so mythical and felt so… RIGHT. It was basically the level that made Sonic ’06 have ANY reason for picking the game back up. You know, besides its unbelievably stellar soundtrack. The point is, the level has so much more potential to build upon from its roots and Generations has a chance to do it justice.
- Pirate Storm: Sonic and Secret Ring’s main and possibly only REAL issue was the auto-run system. But that didn’t keep me from absolutely adoring this level. You see, this level did what so many others these days [and in the classics too] were too humble to do: it destroyed all sense of subtlety. Instead of taking the “Hey look at that, there are some cannons firing in the distance, that’s a nice touch” path, they took a “F**K CANNONS IN THE DISTANCE, I’M RIDING CANNONBALLS!” path. And that brought back that never-a-dull-moment sense from the Adventure days. Heck, even more so than those. Can I have Sonic doing tricks from cannonball to cannonball in a midair free fall? Only generations can bring me that.
- Various Sonic Rivals (2) levels: This game was just epic for me. It was basically the original Sonic 4 (with tag-team in the sequel (like Sonic 2)) that focused on recurring nemeses (like Sonic 3) while fighting off Eggman (like all classic games). Heck it even had side-scrolling gameplay. And the drafting system was a nice touch. Maybe this is an excuse for multiplayer…
- Skyscraper Scamper Daytime: Okay, so this one is basically City escape on steroids, but how awesome would it be to see a 2D rendition? Complete with all of the steep drops and building hopping that Rooftop Runway could only dream of. Get rid of the speed boosts and then you’d have pure, 100% momentum that propels you past the screen. Unlike Chemical Plant Zone and most modern levels today. Since this is already a Unleashed/Colors style, I guess that it would be quite redundant to do this as Modern Sonic, unless it has a whole new perspective.

I probably have more ideas that I haven’t thought of yet, but I would definitely want to see these ones make a return. Maybe Sonic Colors is too recent... maybe not. It did come out LAST year, after all...
#22. Comment posted by xamoel on Thursday, 16th June 2011, 4:29pm
Classic:

s1-Green hill
s2-Chemical Plant
s3-Ice cap
s&k-Sandopolis
sCD-Stardust speedwayy
s4 ep1-Mad gear

Dreamcast:
sa1: Lost word (is not so funny stage, but is very symbolic on sadventure storyline)
sa2: City escape

Modern era:
Sonic heroes: Hanging castle or Bingo highway.

Sonic 06: Crysys city or Kingdom Valley.

Sonic unleashed: Rooftop Run

Sonic Colors: sweet mountain or Starlight carnival. probably gonna be planet wisp.

The next ideas are from non canon sonic games, but can be cool as future DLC ad-ons stages.
knuckles chaotix- Marina Madness
Shadow: Mad Matrix or Lost colony ark.
Secret rings: Lost Palace (the window based floor stage, is really pretty)
Black knight: Molten Mine or that lava stage.
Riders SAGA: Gigan rocks, or megalo station or something like that.



#23. Comment posted by Anonymous on Monday, 4th July 2011, 9:53pm
The level and boss list for HD consoles was leaked from the demo by hackers:

Levels:

Green Hill
Chemical Plant
Sky Sanctuary
Speed Highway
City Escape
Seaside Hill
Crisis City
Rooftop Run
Planet Wisp

Casino Night Zone pinball minigame (DLC)

Bosses:

Metal Sonic
Death Egg
Shadow
Perfect Chaos
Silver
Egg Dragoon

For 3DS version:
Green Hill
Casino Night
Big Arm (Sonic 3's final boss)
#24. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 7th July 2011, 8:46am
I just want to see the screenshots of some of those levels, and well, hear the music. :D
#25. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Sunday, 24th July 2011, 8:53am
Screenshots released of chemical plant zone, and stardust speedway, and whats more on SEGA's website!!!
#26. Comment posted by Hyper_Sonic on Thursday, 18th August 2011, 9:54am
LQS DO NOT READ THIS, anyway wowowowowowowowowowowowowow!!! TONES of new videos and screenshots released for sonic generations (including mushroom hill 4 the 3ds) AND Sonic 2 Final boss. cannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwaitcannotwait!!! (all revealed on sega sonic gens home page(seaside hill, rooftop run and more).
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