New Zone/Trope Combination Ideas

[Splash the Otter]

If they ever do a Sonic 4: Episode 3, though, I'd like the first level to be the Angel Aftermath Zone - basically, Angel Island Zone after the fires have gone out.  The entire zone is totally blackened, there are sand-like ash piles everywhere, the water is grey and polluted, the trees are all toppled and scorched.  We never really get to see Eggman's impact on any of the zones he's passed through.  There are badniks everywhere, sure, and occasionally we accept that he's constructed an industrial base in one, but where is the ruin and desolation?  There are few representations of this and I'd like to see more.

This reminds me of an idea I had for a sequel to Tails' Adventure, but with Poloy Forest. Since the fire would have been less recent in this case, there would be signs of the forest returning to normal, with small trees here and there.

[-blank-]

Okay, I've got some more zone ideas up my sleeve.

 

 

 

Gemstone Mine Zone: (Underground trope)

 

You find yourself in, what else? an underground mine. A underground mine filled with jewels of all kinds, from emeralds to rubies, to sapphires to diamonds. At more than one point, you will find yourself riding a minecart. The final time you ride on a minecart, you find yourself about to crash into a dead end wall. Above you is a large hole that you have to jump through to avoid hitting the wall.

 

Aquatic Cave Zone: (Underground trope)

 

Here we have another underground level, but  this time, a good portion of it is submerged in water. There are also stalagmites (or is it stalactites?) that fall, allowing you to jump on them to get across large areas of water, so if you time things right, you won't have to go in the water all that much.

 

Magma Jungle Zone: (Jungle/Lava trope)

 

Imagine for a moment a beautiful jungle. Now, imagine lava running through it. You've got Magma Jungle Zone now. One needs to be careful going through this zone; that lava can be quite detrimental.

 

Overgrown Temple Zone: (Ruins/Jungle trope)

 

What had once been a wondrous temple centuries ago is overrun by jungle fauna in the present day. Here, you will encounter crumbling floors, traps that had been in-place by the creators of these ruins, and other such things that make traversing through this zone a challenge.

[Dr. Crusher]

Common though they may be, zone topics are always one of my favourites. I just love reading about all the creative worlds people come up with.

 

Anyways, here's one I thought up. It's not that good, but hopefully it's not too bad.

 

Inferno Tomb - Desert/Lava/Eggman Base

Never one to forget a good idea, Robotnik's made another pyramid fortress. However, the sun god Ra must have overworked, because this one is slightly less straightforward in that it's half Egypt and half Hell. Based on the legends regarding the Ancient Egyptian afterlife, Sonic/Tails/whoever is forced to venture through a world that combines both the heat of the desert and the volcanic. Coffins are suspicious, some of the hieroglyphs lead to traps, and the pharaohs and alligators are all skeletons (well, metal skeletons at least). The few parts outside aren't any better, for you must traverse across a sea of lava whilst avoiding little boats that try to shoot you, not to mention those pillars that tend to fall whenever you're near. As you go further into the pyramid (in other words, between each act), it becomes more and more mechanical. It's possible that the surrounding desert environment was a previously normal one until Robotnik did... something to make it as magma-infested as it is now.

 

The Badniks in this zone include (but aren't limited to):

Dark Claw: Based on Bastet. A black cat robot who simply swipes ferociously.

Hawkeye: Based on Horus. A hawk robot, it uses it's large eyes to shoot lasers from a good distance.

Handray: Based on Aten. A rotating yellow disk with many tiny, lanky arms to try and grab you.

Play-Dead: Based on Anubis. A dark blue jackal robot who... breathes fire?

 

The mini-bosses of this zone are the Organ Chests, a set of little flying robots inspired by the canopic jars. The Hapi Chest roars a supersonic wave, the Qebehsenuef Chest uses it's vacuum mouth to try and suck you up, the Imseti Chest simply vomits lava ala the Robo-Boiler from Sonic Spinball, and the Duamutef Chest spits out small, slow, but very persistent balls of acid. When there's two of them left, they start getting worse, with their own unique way of making themselves harder depending on who's still not been defeated. The Hapi Chest's waves can now paralyze you for three seconds, the Qebehsenuef Chest stops it's vacuum for a brief second to try and trick you into attacking it, the Imseti Chest's lava vomit is now powerful enough to start cutting through the floor (albeit only in small doses), and the Duamutef Chest shoots out an occasional giant acid ball in-between the regular small ones.

 

Dealing with these four at the same time can be a bit of a nightmare. The best course of action is to go for the Duamutef Chest first, otherwise it's frequent acid balls will prove to be very annoying. Then go for the Qebehsenuef Chest since it's vacuum mouth can make you collide into the attacks of the other two. Next, it's the Hapi Chest's turn, because at this point what's basically the Boss Rage mode has set in, and if you're paralyzed while the lava vomit comes along... well, use your imagination. Finally, that leave the Imseti Chest for last, so it's just a matter of not getting hit by the lava.

 

The Act 3 boss of this zone is the Egg Osiris, a giant machine modeled after the god with the same name, only with the typical Eggmany touches. This is a bit of a "platforming" boss, because you're fighting in this pyramid's version of the River Nile, and while you may be tempted to have a nice cool bath after going through the rest of this scorching pyramid, the current is way too strong, and you'd be washed away instantly. So you're jumping across the few bits of land in order to try and catch up with Robotnik. It would appear that this robot's attacks are based around earth, water and wind. It can lock-on to you for five seconds before stopping and firing a powerful wind from it's mouth, in an attempt to push you into the river. Other attacks include summoning medium-sized balls of rock to crash down from the heavens, and using it's crook to command the water. Commanding the water works in three ways: it can make simple tidal waves for you to carefully jump over, it can rise up at one side (making the other side act like a slide that sends you falling into the abyss), or - after a ten-second interval and lock-on (indicated by a ticking sound) - a gush of water suddenly sends you flying in the air. And you'll have to try and not be distracted since the boss is still attacking during that ticking noise. Thankfully, this attack is done rarely.

 

The way to attack him is fairly simple. You can't attack him directly since his feather flail is used as some sort of magic shield. The very tippy top of the pillars beside the river are noticeably rusty, but you can't quite jump high enough to reach it (or if you're a flying character like Tails, your flying limit will be conveniently shorter than usual). You have to wait until his river-changing attack is of the "side-slide" type, upon which you must jump on the platforms and attack one of the pillar pieces, which will hit the robot (you do have to aim it, but it doesn't have to be exactly pinpoint). This will temporarily disrupt the flail's forcefield, so quickly jump towards him and attack his chest.

 

After four hits, he starts to wisen up a little. Both the summoned rocks and tidal waves increase in size, and the river now acts even more violent and unstable. In addition, he has a new attack in firing little homing feathers from his flail. The "side-slide" attack now goes back and forth repeatedly when executed. You'll have to use this to your advantage, because when you try to jump up on the higher side and attack the pillar, the Egg Osiris will just swipe it away with his crook. So while he's swiping that pillar, you must immediately go up the river when it's high on the other side, and attack another pillar. Then you do the usual attack-the-chest routine when his shield is down.

 

After three more hits, his shield is destroyed, but he's not done yet. Now all he does is the water-gush attack... continuously. The whole river now acts like a dangerous trampoline, with you bouncing across each gush. What you must do is try to aim yourself so that the gushes throw you over to the Egg Osiris. When you're close enough, all it takes is one little jump, and the battle is over. Now Robotnik will think twice to slander the Egyptian god mythology.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Dr. Crusher