Hidden Palace Zone


 * This page deals with the Hidden Palace Zone of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. For details on the unfinished level from the prototype version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit), please see Hidden Palace Zone (Sonic 2 Beta).

Hidden Palace Zone in Sonic & Knuckles is a transitional zone between Lava Reef Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone. It consists of a single act, and is the shortest zone in the game. It is also the only zone in any of the Mega Drive-era Sonic the Hedgehog games that is devoted to plot progression. The zone first appeared in the Sonic 2 Beta. In Sonic's storyline (which can also be played as Tails if Sonic 3 is locked on to Sonic & Knuckles), Sonic arrives in the Hidden Palace from the Lava Reef Zone. He encounters Knuckles the Echidna, who still believed Eggman's claims that Sonic is evil, and there is a boss battle in which the two fight each other. (The room of the boss battle is particularly notable for the prophetic mural in the background, presumably created by the defunct Echidna society, which foreshadows the final battle between Doctor Robotnik and Super Sonic in the Doomsday Zone.) After Sonic wins, a cutscene is shown in which Robotnik steals the Master Emerald from the Emerald shrine, thus revealing his true intentions to Knuckles, who tries to stop him. Knuckles gets electrocuted. When Knuckles recovers, he leads Sonic to a teleporter which transports them both to the Sky Sanctuary Zone.

In Knuckles' storyline, the level is even shorter. It contains no enemies or obstacles, and no other objects besides the teleporter used teleport to Sky Sanctuary, which is Knuckles' final zone in the game.

The Hidden Palace Zone also appears throughout the second half of Sonic 3 & Knuckles (after the beginning of the Mushroom Hill Zone), when the player collects one of the Super Emeralds. After entering the first special stage after completing the Launch Base Zone, a cutscene is shown in which any collected Chaos Emeralds are transported to the Hidden Palace Zone's Emerald shrine and transformed into Super Emeralds, although they have lost power and are grey. Jumping on a greyed-out Emerald will transport the player to that Emerald's special stage, the completion of which will grant the player a Super Emerald and turn the greyed-out Emerald into its original bright color.

Trivia

 * In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Hidden Palace is coded under Lava Reef 4 on the level select screen (Lava Reef 3 is the boss fight of Lava Reef 2.)
 * You can not beat Dr. Robotnik while he is stealing the Master Emerald. However, if you can somehow get to where the trap is without Knuckles, you can hit the fat man as many times as you want. Strangely, when you hit him enough times, he poofs into a Flicky, like Robotnik's Badniks. This triggers a glitch, where-as if you use debug mode and put something in, Dr. Robotnik will be on it. Not on his complete body.
 * This stage was originally going to be in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where Sonic gets transported when obtaining all seven Emeralds.
 * The prophetic mural on the wall is likely a direct reference to Hayao Miyazaki's film 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind'. In the said film's opening titles a tapestry depicts the creation of the Giant Warriors and the prophecy of Nausicaa's arrival, which the mural in Hidden Palace Zone bears a direct resemblance to.
 * In Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog #139, Sonic, Knuckles and the Chaotix arrive at the Hidden Palace Zone where the Dark Legion are stationed with the echidnas. The mural of Doctor Eggman and Super Sonic is also present. Sonic sees the resemblance and inqures about it, but Lien-Da claims that it has been there for a long time.
 * After the first teleporter, there is a secret area which only Tails can reach (without using Debug Mode,) consisting of two ledges either side of a large gap. This contains 20 rings, invincibility, an extra life, a speed boost and all three kinds of shield.
 * If you play with Knuckles the Death Egg is gone from the background, most likely due to the fact that Sonic's story takes place before Knuckles', thus the Death Egg has already been destroyed at that point in time.