Rusty Ruin Zones: Ruin Levels in Sonic Games

[Sonictrainer]

For adventurers, archeologists, treasure hunters, and mad scientists, Sonic and Blaze’s world have a number of ruins that hold details, answers, and mysteries of the past. From animal nests where Eggman stored his Prison Capsules to ancient murals and artifacts that led to the discovery of Chaos Zero, Chip, Dark Gaia, and a unknown sphere that energized Modern Metal Sonic, there have a been many dangerous ruins that Sonic and his friends have sped through.

NOTES: 

1. I haven’t played/completed Blast, Pocket Adventure, Rivals 1 & 2, Free Riders, and BOOM so I intentionally left out Ruins Levels from those games.

2. I skipped Seaside Hill/Ocean Palace, Water Palace, and Pirates Island this time because I already talked about them before (Beach and City Topic Links).

3. If you have a favorite Ruins Level or Hub I forgot about, didn’t mention because I never played/completed it, didn't mention because I already talked about it before, or have a level you feel can be described as a Ruins level, feel free to talk about it in the topic.

 

Sonic the Hedgehog: Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone

In the first game, Sonic runs through 2 ruins on South Island.

The first is the Marble Zone, a series of ruins slowly being melted away by surrounding magma. At least that’s how it looks on the surface. There are actually caverns and passageways that were designed around the lava and filled with traps. Did Eggman create these? Or were they already in place before he even came to the island?

The second is the Labyrinth Zone, a reverse on Marble Zone by being an underwater maze of ruins instead of lava. Besides drowning, Sonic will have to dodge spinning Spike Balls on chains, pop-up spikes/tridents, and the popular water current pulling until grabbing a bar for a few seconds sections. I wonder who the faces on the walls and tiles are?

Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Aquatic Ruin Zone and Hidden Palace Zone

The Aquatic Ruin Zone is a grassy area surrounding a lake and the remains of some sort of structure on Westside Island. Someone decided to install crossbows and sensors inside of some of the pillars to shoot arrows at anyone who passes by. Underwater some of the rusted pillars will fall and sink to the bottom. Besides those traps, there are number of upgraded Badniks such as Grounder, a fatter version of Burrowbot that sometimes digs out of the walls at random, Whisp, a robot fly that travels in groups, and Chop-Chop, a bigger and more aggressive version of Chopper that attacks unsuspecting explorers that go into the water.

Originally, the Hidden Palace Zone was a scrapped level that wasn't used until Sonic & Knuckles. However, it was finally added in the 2013 version of the game. It has its own unique Badniks, Gimmicks, and Eggman Boss Battle. Unlike other Zones, it's now a secret Zone that can be accessed by a pit in the Mystic Cave Zone. Clearing it will send players to Oil Ocean Zone.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles: Hydro City Zone, Marble Garden Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Hidden Palace Zone, and Sky Sanctuary Zone

The Hydro City Zone is the underground water system of the Floating Island. Here Sonic and Tails have to avoid drowning, getting crushed, being treated like laundry by the Sub-Boss, and getting blown up by Eggman's water grenades.

The Marble Garden is a grassy set of ruins on Angel Island. These ruins are filled with swinging spiked balls, tar pits, wheels that change the landscape when Sonic and Tails Spin Dash into them, and spinning platforms that fly when Sonic and Tails run on top of them. In Act 2 Eggman drills into the ruins, causing everything to come crashing down and forcing Sonic and Tails to escape before being crushed and buried alive.

The Sandopolis Zone is a sandy desert on Angel Island with Egyptian style pyramids. Act 1 has Sonic and Tails riding through the world’s slowest quicksand, rock climbing off the sides of ruins, and watching out for the desert Badniks Sandworm, Skorp, and Rock’N. Act 2 has Sonic and Tails explore the inside of one of the pyramids while avoiding spirits, that grow hostile as it gets darker, and getting buried alive again, after setting off a trap that causes sand to start pouring in from the ceiling.

The Hidden Palace Zone is a small area between the Lava Reef Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone. This was the original area where the Master Emerald was kept and the first area where Sonic and Tails finally face off against Knuckles.

The Sky Sanctuary Zone is the highest area on Angel Island and was a battlefield between Sonic and Tails against Mecha Sonic and an army of Eggrobos. Now it’s just another home for the birds that live on Angel Island.

Sonic CD: Tidal Tempest Zone and Wacky Workbench Zone (Bad Future)

The Tidal Tempest Zone is Little Planet’s take on the aquatic ruins theme. Starting off with the Present, it seems like the area is not too far from some volcanoes if you look in the background at the beginning of the stage. The insides of the caverns are varied with both natural and unnatural rocks, minerals, metals, and machines but with a balance. There are pillars with spikes underneath that sometimes sink down into the bottom, switches that moves blocks to give access to new areas, and pipes similar to the ones from Chemical Plant except Sonic doesn’t roll while inside of them.

In the past, the walls have not been constructed yet, there are small amounts of vegetation, and the water is a little darker but still safe to swim in.

If Sonic doesn’t succeed in finding and destroying the Badnik Machine in the past, the future will have purple water, much more metal and machines, and there are will no trace of plants or life.

If Sonic does succeed, the future the water will be a healthy aqua green, there will be aquariums for plants, and there will be a better balance of nature and technology, making a better ecosystem overall.

The Wacky Workbench Zone is a giant factory on Little Planet. Most fans question the design of this area and dislike it. Well it turns out even Dr. Eggman doesn’t like this level because in the Bad Future, it became abandoned, destroyed, and ruined. Even the Badniks that are stationed here are worn down, missing parts, and need repairs.

Sonic Chaos: Aqua Planet Zone

There’s not much I can say about this zone besides the fact that it has an interesting cloud animation and the boss is a round bad bird bomber, which could be a prototype for those big purple bird robot Badniks in Sonic Lost World.

Sonic Triple Trouble: Tidal Plant Zone

The Tidal Plant Zone seems to be some sort of underwater ruins that were converted into a factory. Here Sonic can use his “Propeller/Screw Shoes” Wait, what? Those are horrible names… “Scuba Shoes” and Tails can use his “Seafox” to swim through the water and explore the area. The Boss of this level is Knuckles inside of a machine that periodically drops bombs…but doesn’t have a dome to protect him from the water…how is Knuckles breathing underwater though?

Sonic 3D Blast: Rusty Ruin Zone

The Rusty Ruin Zone is a set of ruins located on Flicky Island, which may have originally been underwater until recently. To get through some of the ruins Sonic will have to use spinning tiles to go Crash Bandicoot and horizontally spin attack to destroy enemies and certain rusty blockades. Some of the bounce blocks have Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles’ heads on them. The Genesis and Saturn/PC Version of this level’s soundtracks are my top favorite for this game and my number 1 Ruins soundtracks for Sonic games.

Sonic R: Regal Ruin

Regal Ruin is a course with many sharp turns and paths. There are 2 Chaos Emeralds inside 2 of the pyramids here and collecting all 5 Sonic Tokens allows you can challenge Egg Robo to a race.

Sonic Adventure: Mystic Ruins Adventure Field, Sand Hill, & Lost World

The Mystic Ruins is a jungle that can be accessed from Station Square by train, that a group of archeologists are investigating. Tails built a workshop on the side of a cliff on the main area, Big lives in a hut in the jungle with Froggy, and Dr. Eggman actually created a base here. There are a number of secrets and mysteries here including the system of rail carts that lead to different areas, secrets in the caves that involve special keys and items, a Chao Garden hidden in the side of another cliff, a Silver Chao Egg hidden in a waterfall, an ancient building near Big’s hut in the jungle, and a newly discovered cave that was created when Angel Island crash landed into the area.

Sand Hill is a sand board ride through the desert to try and catch Froggy. Obstacles will pop out of the ground but they’re only a problem if you’re doing a time attack.

Lost World is a giant maze filled with many rooms and hazards. The traps include flaming pillars, spike pits, burning arrows, an Indiana Jones inspired flaming boulder, and a water ride that drops you off a waterfall. There are also some interesting gimmicks here such as an area with a giant, stone snake moving through water that rises and lowers when the correct switch is pulled, a dark area with mirrors that reflect light to show 2 different pathways, and a room where switches can allow the user to defy gravity and walk up walls. Waiting at the end of this ordeal is a mural depicting Perfect Chaos.

Sonic Adventure 2: Wild Canyon, Dry Lagoon, Pyramid Cave, Hidden Base, Death Chamber, Sand Ocean, and Egg Quarters

After breaking the Master Emerald to prevent Eggman from taking it, Knuckles was able to find his first shards in Wild Canyon.

After choking Knuckles out for breaking the Master Emerald, Rouge was able to find her first shards in Dry Lagoon. She can free the turtles and use them to access new areas.

With Shadow freed and the Master Emerald broken, Dr. Eggman decided to head back to his desert base during the night. It seems that G.U.N. was able to track him down and sent groups of G.U.N. robots to take him out.

Following Eggman, Rouge tries to find 3 keys to enter Eggman’s Base in Egg Quarters while avoiding the ladybug sentries.

Team Heroes’ infiltration of Eggman’s base with Tails blasting through Hidden Base. If Tails has the Bazooka, he can get his Mystic Melody.

Next up is Sonic’s turn, as he grabs a Bounce Bracelet, swings from rotating bars, and avoids ghosts to reach the gate surrounded by neon lollipop Eggman heads.

Finally, it’s up to Knuckles to find 3 keys in Death Chamber. He can also grab his Hammer Gloves.

 

Sonic Heroes: Seaside Hill/Ocean Palace

Seaside Hill is a group of checkerboard tropical islands that have a set of white ancient ruins.

The game starts with an awesome fusion of the Green Hill Zone and Emerald Coast, as the 4 Teams practice their team formations, use a Bobsled, and run through 3 way Shuttle Loops.

Then in Act 2 aka Ocean Palace, they punch and smash their way through blockade and doors, hop across giant turtles, and try to outrun a set of giant wheels.

Sonic Battle: Holy Summit

This hub area is where players can find Knuckles and later Chaos Zero. Unfortunately, Gemerl’s first meeting with Knuckles led to a fight in the Chao Ruins.

Sonic Advance: Angel Island Zone

This Dreamcast Era remix of Angel Island features a fusion of Marble Garden and Sky Sanctuary. Many Genesis Era elements appear here including the bouncy clouds from Sky Sanctuary, S tunnels from Green Hill, wheels that characters can run on to move, and Badniks from Sonic 1, Sonic 3, and Sonic Adventure. Waiting at the end of this level is Mecha Knuckles, a robotic duplicate that starts out with a jump and glide but later starts launching missiles from its chest.

Sonic Advance 3: Chaos Angel Zone

The Chaos Angel Zone is the last of the 7 Zones Dr. Eggman created by splitting the world using Chaos Control...but using a different machine from the one he’ll later use in Unleashed. The Acts seems to take place in a darker version of Sky Sanctuary above storm clouds and we can get a view of the…sun and moon/other planets? Inside the temples there are flames lighting in the background keeping things visible. The Chaos Angel Zone has a number of gimmicks and traps that can help and hinder characters and annoying enemy placement, such as weights that can be used to launch characters up slopes or off walls to higher areas. Tails and Cream are very useful here as Leaders and Partners.

Shadow the Hedgehog: Glyphic Canyon, Sky Troops, and Death Ruins

Glyphic Canyon is one of the possible 3rd stages in the game that can be accessed easily if Shadow decides to be neutral twice in a row. Here Shadow can continue being neutral and just go after the Chaos Emerald, help Knuckles defeat 60 Black Arms, or help Black Doom by activating the jewels (even though he’ll have to defeat the Black Arms guarding the last one for some reason).

Sky Troops is one of the possible level 5 choices. Though it looks similar to Glyphic Canyon, one major difference is that Eggs Pawns are fighting Black Arms and Eggman, who is normally leading Dark Missions in certain levels, is leading a Hero Mission for this level only.

Death Ruins is one of the other level 5 choices, only available by doing 4 Hero Missions in a row. Here Shadow runs through a set of jungle ruins that are slowly being invaded by the Black Arms and their alien plants. Here Shadow has only 2 choices:  help Rouge defeat 50 Black Arms or reach the Goal Ring to help Black Doom.

Sonic Rush: Water Palace Zone and Mirage Road Zone

The Water Palace Zone continues the trend Ocean Palace started with white cities/ruins surrounded by water. Sonic and Blaze hydroplane and swim through the area while fighting a Metal Version of the Loch Ness Monster at the end.

The Mirage Road Zone is a Modern Era remix of the Sandopolis Zone, except without the ghosts. While the visuals are amazing and the Boss Battle with Egg Scarab is interesting, this is where the game starts including the “Defeat X amount of enemies to continue” sections. Before end of Acts 1 and 2, Sonic and Blaze will end up on a slow moving flatbed while rocks and enemies fall in from the top screen. 

Sonic Rush Adventure: Sky Babylon Zone and Pirates Island

Welcome to Blaze and her World’s version of the Babylon Garden. Sky Babylon is a set of ruins floating above the ocean that has a gem motif. Sonic and Blaze will have to boost across breakable roads, avoid burning paths, use gem powered Pulleys to reach higher areas, jump back and forth between the foreground and background, and grab some Gold Material. Unfortunately the instant death lasers from the Altitude Limit Zone have returned and, though they’ve been redesigned and look really cool in this level, they are located in spots that can catch players off guard during on their first run if they get too Boost happy.

The last level of Sonic Rush Adventure, Pirates Island is a an ancient, pirate themed city that Captain Whiskers and his crew currently call home. Sonic and Blaze will have to ride and avoid giant anchors, ride Ecco the Dolphin's family underwater through Dash Rings, and take on Whiskers and Johnny in a giant sawblade death match.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2006: Dusty Desert and Kingdom Valley

Dusty Desert is famous for having the world’s fastest quicksand. Fortunately, Elise’s power allows Sonic to run on top of it…until she runs out of energy. Unfortunately, there are some ideas here are not polished, not finished, or completely annoying. Remember the exploding bomb puzzle in Silver’s version of the level?

Kingdom Valley is a set in a valley of castle ruins surrounded by water and one of the first levels shown off of the game. Sonic and Silver team up to try and catch up to the Egg Carrier Mk.3 while Shadow and Rouge try to retrieve the Scepter of Darkness.

Sonic and the Secret Rings: Levitated Ruin

Levitated Ruin is a new twist on the sky ruin theme where the levels are actually a school of giant, flying fossil stingrays called Rukh. Though you could compare it to Angel Island, differences include running on paths of light, fighting gargoyles, bracing for strong winds, Ziplines that Sonic can ride using Pulleys, and Sinbad the Sailor, who is captured and needs to be rescued. The Blue World Ring, that is said to represent Hope/Prayers, is also here.

Sonic Riders: Sand Ruins, Dark Desert, Babylon Garden, and Sky Road

In Sand Ruins, Sonic races against Tails, Knuckles, and Jet through the desert and the inside of a Babylonian temple. The race will end prematurely before he reaches the finish line since his Blue Star Extreme Gear was rigged during Story Mode. Racers will branch off into different paths until the course leads into the side of a canyon then eventually into the temple. The rest/recharge area has racers on top of arrows being launched. The faster you recharge, the further the arrow will send you.

Dark Desert takes Racers through a new path of Sand Ruins during the start of a Solar Eclipse, causing the sky to turn dark as Night. This time racers go inside a bigger Babylonian device that splits racers by Speed, Flight, and Power.

Babylon Garden is the restored legendary, floating city of the Babylonians. Here Sonic races Jet on his new Extreme Gear, the Blue Star Mk.II to stop Eggman and save Amy. However, it’s unstable in some areas and has some tight turns that can mess up racers if don’t make it correctly or get caught in the wrong turbulence. Speaking of turbulence, part of the course has characters riding on natural turbulence before grabbing a Babylon flying machine.

Air Road takes place on another part of Babylon Garden, where Wave tries to outrun the Egg Racers. Like Babylon Garden, parts of the track will break although some of the rumble will become ramps and lead to shortcuts for specific racers. There’s also a secret turbulence shortcut if racers can get enough air.

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity: Gigan Rocks and Gigan Device

Gigan Rock is a ruin filled with a legendary treasure. The course starts off with all racers going down a dip, Speed Highway Skyscraper Style, and jumping off 2 to 3 ramps before going inside the ruins. Later Racers can gravity dive off of giant statues.

Gigan Device is the night version of the level, where the Babylon Rouges have already grabbed the treasure and tryout the new gravity abilities.

Sonic Unleashed: Gaia Gate, Shamar/Arid Sands, and Adabat/Jungle Joyride

In the Wii/PS2 Versions of Sonic Unleashed, Acts are accessed through the Gaia Gate, a massive hub that connects all the Gaia Temples.

After restoring 4 of the Chaos Emeralds, Professor Pickle has everyone transfer to the Desert Country Shamar. Arid Sands will have Sonic racing and punching his way from the city into one of the ruins to get each of the Shamar Temple’s Gaia Keys. During the day, he’ll need to watch out for falling pillars and landslides. At Night, he’ll have to avoid getting burned by Fire Masters and use Water Barrels to put them out.

Adabat is a beautiful country that consists of tropical islands. The sixth Gaia Temple is here and will require him to explore Jungle Joyride for the Gaia Keys. As the name suggests, Jungle Joyride will have Sonic race through the islands across the water, through grassy jungles, and carefully through ancient ruins located on the sides of giant waterfalls. Here Sonic will have deal with only Egg Fighter Series Robot during the day and only Dark Gaia Minions at Night, including the mini-bosses Aero Chasers, Interceptor, Big Mother, and Titan.

 

Sonic Generations: Sky Sanctuary and Seaside Hill

One of the coolest remixes in the game, Sky Sanctuary had some interesting design choices such as changing the color scheme, adding multiple paths in Act 1 and 2, and classic gimmicks get across the areas.

Mixing elements from the original Seaside Hill and Ocean Palace while also adding in elements from other water ruins levels and multiple paths made Seaside Hill awesome to play through again, despite many wishing another level from Heroes had been chosen. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Lost Labyrinth Zone and Sylvania Castle Zone

The Lost Labyrinth Zone was an area that Dr. Eggman was investigating for some reason. It isn’t until Episode Metal that we find out that Lost Labyrinth had some sort of purple orb (which I like to call Shadow Sphere) that has some sort of energy that Metal Sonic takes and absorbs. This is one of the first levels where Sonic carries a flametorch as he travels in Act 2.

The Sylvania Castle Zone is an area near the next destination for Little Planet and is a fusion of the Aquatic Ruin and Marble Garden Zones. After landing the Tornado, Sonic and Tails speed through the area throughout the day until they battle Dr. Eggman and his Egg Serpentleaf during the night.

Sonic Lost World Wii U: Desert Ruins Zones 1 & 4, Silent Forest Zones 2 & 4, and Sky Road Zone 4

Excluding the surreal Honeycomb Highway in Zone 2 and Dessert Ruins in Zone 3, Zones 1 and 4 are actual desert ruins. Zone 1 has Sonic run in big 3D areas while avoiding the Sandworm’s inside the pyramids in 2D. Zone 4 has a tornado carrying sand that Sonic has to avoid before fighting with Zomom in a blocky cage match.

Silent Forest Zone 2 has Sonic rush through some jungle ruins during the night to chase after Zor. As he gets closer to the end, he’ll have to avoid the Robotic Owl’s instant death spotlights. At the end, he can take on Zor and the Robot Owl is a very slow and tedious Boss Battle. Zone 4 has Sonic explore a different set of ruins, where stone Thwomp like Tikis move up and down and part of the ruins will start to become dark. At the end is the second battle against Zor and his shadow clones.

Sky Road Zone 4 has Sonic climb through a darker, stormy version of Sand Ruins while dodging Boos, sliding down sand, and bouncing off springs to take out Zavok.

Discussion Questions

If you had to choose, what would be your #1 Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

What would be your least favorite Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

What’s your favorite Ruins Level Music Track(s)?

What are some old or new ideas you'd like to see in future Ruins Levels/Hub Areas in Sonic games?

What's another level theme you'd like to see fused together with the Ruins themes, that hasn’t been done yet, in Sonic games?

Would you personally, like to see a Ruins Level/Hub Areas in the 25th Anniversary Game?

 

Optional: What should the next level topic in April be?

• 1) Sky Levels
• 2) Eggman Levels
• 3) Both at once
• 4) Your own suggestion

[Semi-colon e]

There's a shit ton of underwater ruin levels in the Sonic series, you missed Hydrocity, Water Palace, and Pirates' Island. Arguably, Hidden Palace from S&K too, but that's just me.

 

Ruins to me feel like one of the few tropes that can be done multiple times in one game and not get repetitive. Take Sonic 3. Hydrocity is a ruins level, and so is Marble Garden after it. However, they have such a different feel. Same with Pirates' Island immediately after Sky Babylon in Rush Adventure. Ruins zones appear almost all the time, because they're so malleable and have the capacity to be diverse, much like water stages can too.

 

There are several ruins levels that I'm not too fond of, like Sandopolis, Marble Zone, and the emerald hunting levels, but there are also many that I adore, especially watery ones. I've talked in several topics before about levels like Hydrocity, Pirates' Island, and Chaos Angel and how they are some of my favourite levels in the entire franchise, or other levels like Water Palace (which was also in Generations 3DS, but I haven't played that) and Aquatic Ruin. Instead, I will talk about some of the other ones I like that don't really get much attention.

 

Marble Garden is a zone I used to despise as a child because of the spike traps and how they come out of nowhere, and those spiked crushers. Honestly, I think nowadays I love it other than the crushers (slamming crushers always make me tense). The music is fantastic in both acts, the Act 2 boss is amazing, Eggman goes all out to try to kill you, and there's loads of alternate pathways, some of which I'm discovering even now, and the massive as fuck slopes. I'm also really fond of Sylvania Castle, actually, and I think it has the elements of both Marble Garden and Aquatic Ruin tied together nicely without being overly derivative. I think it has the best level design of Sonic 4 as a whole, with lots of alternate pathways, water sections that can be avoided, amazing visuals, and a good atmosphere. I think having it be a castle instead of Roman or Greek style ruins really made it shine, and I think I like it even more now I'm more into Castlevania! Act 1 is a bit basic due to being the first stage, but Acts 2 and 3 really mix the level design up a lot and I find this one consistently fun to play.

 

You ain't missing many good ruins levels in the 8 bit games, though. Labyrinth is okay in Sonic 1 but the lag is unbearable. Sonic 2's Aqua Lake isn't that bad but Act 2 is really long and there's no checkpoints. Sleeping Egg in Sonic Chaos (you missed this too) seems to be a sort of flying ruins place, but the fake floors are obnoxious, while Aqua Planet is the most halfhearted water level in the entire franchise, with many non dedicated water levels having more of it. I always considered Triple Trouble's Tidal Plant to be more factory based, like a mechanical version of Labyrinth Zone (right down to the colours), and it's probably the most interesting level in the game thanks to fighting Knuckles and having the underwater powerups. And then you've got Sonic Blast. Yellow Desert I can't even remember, while Blue Marine is utterly horrendous. Eugh.

 

To answer the actual questions, my favourite ruins levels are Hydrocity, Pirates' Island, Chaos Angel, and Aquatic Ruin, while my least favourites are probably all the emerald hunting ones or any ruins level in 06 that isn't played as Sonic. Mirage Road also sucks horribly due to bad pacing and is imo the worst level in Rush. Or Blue Marine. Ruins levels tend to be some of my favourite or least favourite in Sonic games for some reason, with less inbetween. In terms of music, there are a lot of great ones, but Hydrocity and Chaos Angel are probably my favourite, but it's hard to pick out of so many good ones!

 

I don't really have many ideas for ruins levels, they can kind of just do anything really.

 

On a side note, I consider the Generations version of Sky Sanctuary to be 100% better than the original, other than the lack of Mecha Sonic. This is because it's more of an actual level, and the increase in console power really allowed it to shine.

[Salamander]

Wacky Workbench's Bad Future comes closest to a specific type of level I would like to see in a future Sonic game: Mechanical ruins, such as a ruined factory, Death Egg ruins, ruins of some other Eggman base, etc.  Swap stone for rusting metal and fill it with broken traps, but otherwise, so many of the same level tropes work; collapsing floors, spikes and sharp edges.  Sonic CD is good at this type of level in general, though, thanks to the use of Bad Futures.

For your next topic... well, there can't be that many sky levels, so it would be interesting to look at that.  One thing that might provide some fruitful insight, though, would be a look at final levels in general - that is, where the final boss is confronted.  There are obviously going to be a lot of commonalities between those but I think the exceptions and general strategies might be worth a look.

[Your Vest Friend]

What about Ocean Palace? 

[Drawloverlala]

can Hydrocity zone count? some part of the floor and some wall fall to pieces

it also has some Sonic's statues hidden

or also desert palace

its the only zone i can beat my little brother on 2 players mode XD

both are my favourites!

EDIT: gezz i forgot the questions..

and i also forgot one of my favs.. Jungle Joyride zone! on Adabat.. wich resembles Cambodia's Ankor Wat temple... its beautiful!!

sometimes i'd wish Sonic Boom had that kind of jungle levels... (Sonic Boom has also a lot of Ruin levels)

least favorite:

well i don't really know.. i think it can be  sand ruins zone.. on Sonic Riders it was so difficult to me to and my brothers to pass through the first time...XD

favorite Ruins Level Music Track(s)?

ah maybe that would be.. hydrocity zone, desert palace zone (.sandopolis zone..(its so sticky)  ahh Adabat, jungle joy ride zone! day and night  and Rusty Ruin Zone! i love it so much i use to think that maybe it was scrapped from Sonic 3.. but that's just me XD

old or new ideas you'd like to see in future Ruins Levels/Hub Areas in Sonic games?

hmmm.. an level based on Los Andes or south american culture! *o*  and with Llamas!!

What's another level theme you'd like to see fused together with the Ruins themes, that hasn’t been done yet, in Sonic games?

ehhhh... dunno...an ice level with a ruin level.. it would be "cool" 

or maybe a virtual level with ruins level..(dunno how that would work)

Would you personally, like to see a Ruins Level/Hub Areas in the 25th Anniversary Game?

YES!! i mean if this next game is gonna be a remake.. i'm open to the possibility to see any ruin zone from Sonic 3 and knuckles

or any ruin zone from SA2 XD

---

next time it could be about Eggman levels...

 

Edited March 11, 2016 by Drawloverlala
forgot the questions! XP

[Sonictrainer]

1 hour ago, Semi-colon e said:

There's a shit ton of underwater ruin levels in the Sonic series, you missed Hydrocity, Water Palace, and Pirates' Island. Arguably, Hidden Palace from S&K too, but that's just me.

Oh snap, you're right. I forgot about the Hidden Palace Zone.

50 minutes ago, Detective Reptiles said:

What about Ocean Palace? 

As for the others, like I mentioned in the Notes, I've covered the water ruins levels in the Beach Topic and City Topic already.

I didn't forget about them, I wanted to give the other levels I haven't covered yet the spotlight this time.

Although now that I think about it, based on that logic, I could have left out the Unleashed levels as well...I'm Sorry! 

EDIT: I'll update and add the other Water Ruins levels when I get back from work.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Sonictrainer

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

Ruins is such a wonderfully varied level trope. It seems like you could even divide it into various little "sub-tropes", such as underwater ruins (Labyrinth Zone, Aquatic Ruin Zone, Hydrocity Zone, etc.) and desert ruins (Sandopolis Zone, Desert Palace Zone, Sand Hill, Pyramid Cave, etc.). It's interesting to imagine what kind of places these ruins could've been long ago, back before they were ruins and all that. It adds another layer of fun and interest to Sonic's world. Most of it will never be explored fully except in our imaginations, but maybe that's a good thing.

It would be difficult for me to name what some of my favorite ruins levels are overall, but Hydrocity Zone is one of my favorites on the basis of being intriguing (an underwater city on Angel Island...that's pretty darn awesome!), Desert Palace Zone is one of the prettiest, Sky Babylon is one of the most unique-looking, and Rusty Ruins Zone has some great music. Also, while Sleeping Egg Zone is pretty boring-looking, I find it pretty fun and it has one of the best names of any zone x)

As for ideas for new ruin zones, I'm not sure, except that some unique aesthetics like those in, say, Sky Babylon would be really awesome. We've already had a fair few similar-looking desert ruins levels, while many other kinds of ruins vary a lot in appearance, so I would steer a bit away from the desert aesthetic and go for the more creative stuff.

[KHCast]

Could Cisis City be counted as a ruins level? From the looks of it, the place has been abandoned for years, and the state of the city is pretty ancient.

[Semi-colon e]

4 hours ago, KHCast said:

Could Cisis City be counted as a ruins level? From the looks of it, the place has been abandoned for years, and the state of the city is pretty ancient.

 

Possibly, but my bet was that it was left out because it's already appeared in the city thread and that there aren't that many "modern" ruins levels anyway. The focus seems to be on ancient ruins levels.

 

Anyway I love these level trope threads. It's a shame they don't get more discussion while everyone is obsessing over the stories and characters threads that have been done to death a million times.

 

I also realised Seaside Hill and Ocean Palace were missed. The whale ruins are distinctive, the level appears over and over again, and the Classic one in Generations is a pretty good level and another example of the underwater ruins type (and probably the only time it's combined with the Green Hill theme). The Modern one is also great due to the alternate pathways that are so prevalent. Wouldn't have been what I picked from Heroes for Generations, but they did a damn good job to the point I'm not too bothered by it.

[Monkey Destruction Switch]

19 hours ago, Drawloverlala said:

What's another level theme you'd like to see fused together with the Ruins themes, that hasn’t been done yet, in Sonic games?

 

ehhhh... dunno...an ice level with a ruin level.. it would be "cool" 

I love this idea. The closest we've had so far is Sonic R's Regal Ruin when the snow weather effect is happening, and it looks really pretty that way, so I'm confident a permanently snowy/icy ruin would be, as you said, "cool". It would certainly be a fun way to spice up the oft-used ice trope, too.

[Sonictrainer]

Due to popular demand I went back and added in the Water Ruins/Cities.

On March 11, 2016 at 0:26 AM, KHCast said:

Could Crisis City be counted as a ruins level? From the looks of it, the place has been abandoned for years, and the state of the city is pretty ancient.

Crisis City can considered for a number of different themes. Fire, City, Ruins, Horror, Supernatural, etc.

 

Ok, let's answer some questions!

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If you had to choose, what would be your #1 Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

I'm also going to go with Adabat/Jungle Joyride. The music, the rush of the Daytime Levels and DLC, and awesome sky during the Night...it is my number 1 ruins level in Sonic Games and my number 1 favorite level in Sonic Unleashed.

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What would be your least favorite Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

I was going to go with Mirage Road, but personally I think that honor belongs to Aqua Planet Zone. There's not much going on during this stage.

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What’s your favorite Ruins Level Music Track(s)?

Both the Genesis and Saturn Versions of the Rusty Ruin Zone from Sonic 3D Blast

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What are some old or new ideas you'd like to see in future Ruins Levels/Hub Areas in Sonic games?

I'd like to see more rock climbing, ziplining, and parkouring in a ruins level.

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What's another level theme you'd like to see fused together with the Ruins themes, that hasn’t been done yet, in Sonic games?

As others mentioned, I'd like to see Sonic styled Ice Ruins, Metal Ruins, the ruins of an amusement park, or the ruins of a level from another Sonic game.

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Would you personally, like to see a Ruins Level/Hub Areas in the 25th Anniversary Game?

I think it's impossible to not have a Ruins Level in a Sonic game. In my research, Sonic Advance 2 was the only game without one.

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Optional: What should the next level topic in April be?

I've finally decided the next Sonic Game level theme topics up until July.

 

Spoiler

 

• March 27th: Scrambled Egg Zones (Eggman)
• April 22nd: Plant Kingdom Zones (Grass/Forests/Jungles)
• June 23rd: Green Hill Zones (Checkerboard Hills)

 

 

Edited March 21, 2016 by Sonictrainer
Changed Dates for Future Topics

[Kiah]

Another level tropes topic, awesome! I agree that these topics need more love...Well let me do my part answering the questions here 

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If you had to choose, what would be your #1 Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

There are so many wonderful Ruins Levels to choose among the many in Sonic games but if I had to make a definite choice, I would have to go with Adadat/Jungle Joyride from Sonic Unleashed:

The beauty of this level (among many in this game) is absolutely breathtaking even among the ruins with beautiful and intricate details. Then there is also the music and the thrill and excitement of the Daytime levels...all of these things to me makes Jungle Joyride an absolute delight to look at, listen to and also play  

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What would be your least favorite Ruins Level/Hub Area in a Sonic Game?

Sandopolis Zone from Sonic and Knuckles. The quicksand, the ghosts, the traps, the length, the difficulty...Not even the music can make this ruin level enjoyable for me as I loathe it that much. I don't do much fussing when it comes to the Classics as I like them a ton, but Sandopolis is definitely something to get me complaining as I don't like it at all. Sonic expresses my thoughts perfectly in the above image of Sandopolis .

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What’s your favorite Ruins Level Music Track(s)?

 

 

Rusty Ruin Zone Acts 1 and 2 of the Saturn version of the Sonic 3D Blast Soundtrack. In fact, these two tracks are my absolute favorites in the ENTIRE Sonic series. I can listen to both of these tracks for hours on end as I enjoy them that much  

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What are some old or new ideas you'd like to see in future Ruins Levels/Hub Areas in Sonic games?

Not related to gameplay but among the ruins I would like to see cameos referencing the Sonic cast like Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric did for example:

I also liked some of the ideas that came from Sonic 4:

I know the torch puzzle among many things aren't liked in Sonic 4 but I like the idea of Sonic having to face darkness amid the ruins and having a light source of some sort to help him along the way. 

Also mine carts (control issues aside):

We all know Sonic moves way faster than these things but I think it's nice to see him switch up his modes of transportation from time to time

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What's another level theme you'd like to see fused together with the Ruins themes, that hasn’t been done yet, in Sonic games?

I love me some Ice/Snow levels so like others said I would like to see this combined with the Ruins theme in Sonic games. I don't mind seeing Carnival themes combined with Ruins themes as well as that brought to mind the possibly of falling through some destroyed and worn-out tents in order to find either some goodies inside or even a trap. There are definitely some possibilities there  

I also like the idea of ruins of levels of other Sonic games, I think that is an tragic and interesting way to reference some of the levels traveled in by Sonic and friends in previous adventures. What came to my mind on the matter is Angel Island Zone. Last time we saw it via Act 2 it looked like this:

So it would be interesting and sad to see Angel Island again after it was devastated by flames considering how beautiful it once was  

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Would you personally, like to see a Ruins Level/Hub Areas in the 25th Anniversary Game?

Sure, why not? It's pretty much a staple as far as tropes in Sonic games are concerned for nearly the past 25 years so it definitely wouldn't feel right it lacking with it being relevant as long as it has in the series IMO. Also if the level is fun and isn't too difficult I'm all for it

And Scramble Egg/Eggman Zones are next up in April, huh? I'm looking forward to it!  

[Regulus]

I actually thought Sylvania Castle from Sonic 4:Ep 2 was pretty cool. I like what they did with that level. Would have been better if it was a sprite game though.

[mikeblastdude]

On 3/15/2016 at 6:12 PM, Kiah said:

I know the torch puzzle among many things aren't liked in Sonic 4 but I like the idea of Sonic having to face darkness amid the ruins and having a light source of some sort to help him along the way. 

I agree with this completely. I actually loved the torch puzzle level and appreciated that they at least tried to do something different (which I can't really say about any other part of the game...).

As for my preference on ruins locations, I tend to prefer the ruins in the sky ones, like Sky Sanctuary, Chaos Angel, and Sky Babylon, for both their music and atmosphere.