Sonic News Network:Sonic Level Tournament/Week 10

Today begins the tenth week of the Ultimate Sonic Level Tournament! Inspired by the Sonic News Network's extremely popular Ultimate Sonic Character Tournament held in 2010, the Sonic Level Tournament has chosen a total of 256 stages, and you, the judges, will narrow down the competition until only one stage is crowned the most popular stage in the Sonic the Hedgehog series!

This week whittles down the number of Sonic Heroes stages that will make it into the next round. Please think through your decision before casting a vote. Note that each stage represents every appearance they have had in the entire Sonic the Hedgehog series. Please vote accordingly.

You have one week! Vote below!



Seaside Hill is the first stage you play in Sonic Heroes. It takes place at a beautiful beach with palm trees and other small towers. You can even see orcas swimming in the ocean. It is similar to Green Hill Zone in a couple of ways, including checkered walls and palm trees. Each team has their own goal; Team Sonic is after Eggman, Team Dark is trying to find Shadow's past, Team Rose is searching for Sonic, Froggy, and Chocola, and Team Choatix is searching for hermit crabs. Once completed, the player will move onto Ocean Palace. This level has been re-used in many games, including Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed, Sonic Generations, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Ocean Palace is the second stage you play in Sonic Heroes. It is very similar to the stage before it, Seaside Hill, with checkered walls and palm trees. The one exception is the giant palace in the middle of the ocean. In this stage there are many traps and gimmicks including falling pillars and swimming turtles you can ride on. Team Sonic and Team Dark's goal is to try and escape the ruins in pursuit of Eggman, Team Rose is being dragged along by Amy to find Sonic, and Team Chaotix is trying find a Chao from the ruins. Each team must face a large number of Eggman's robots in order to advance. At the end of the stage, Team Sonic and Team Dark ate being chased by Kaos, a giant, deadly rolling stone slab which has spikes all around it. Once the teams make it through this, they can make it to the goal ring. Once the stage is completed, each team will have to face off against Dr. Eggman in his Egg Hawk.

Which is the better stage? Seaside Hill Ocean Palace



The third level for Sonic Heroes, Grand Metropolis is a populated metropolitan city with hovering platforms and gigantic skyscrapers for our four heroic teams to blast through. Powered by HEXAeco, all of the buildings are incredibly huge! As Team Sonic continues to venture forward to stop Eggman's plans, they spin through various poles and "blast away" into various robots. Speaking of robots, Team Chaotix's mission in Grand Metropolis is to destroy all of Eggman's robots in the perimeter of the city. Team Dark keeps up their hunt to find Eggman to uncover Shadow's past (as well as to "destroy all of Eggman's robots", according to E-123 Omega's agenda), while Team Rose carry on their quest to find Chocola and Froggy! Grand Metropolis had reappeared in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games as a Dream Event. To top it off, Grand Metropolis has a fast-paced soundtrack that keeps the player on the move!

The fourth level of Sonic Heroes, Power Plant is a level whose name is very literal! A power plant that goes deeper in the city, the four teams must float through vertical versions of blue roads, pulling the characters up to a higher level of the plant. To make things extra spicy, the power plant has a lava elevator that can be only avoided if the teams move up. Eventually, Team Dark fights against Team Chaotix in an accidental case of who is stealing treasure, while Team Sonic is ambushed by Team Rose, in which the latter only wants to steal Sonic's heart! It's a hot and fast level made especially for those who want to warm up!

Which is the better stage? Grand Metropolis Power Plant



After working hard all day severing Eggman's chokehold on the city, Sonic and the gang decide to relax and have some fun for the night--and what would Sonic's journey be without a bright, flashy Casino where you can spin all your cares away?! Casino Park, the fifth stage in Sonic Heroes is a gambler's paradise, loaded with enormous spinning dice, rolling roulette wheels, and giant pinball tables adorned with slot machines! Players still have to keep on their toes, if only to a point; a few of Eggman's robots are here as well. Judging by their appearance however, they seem to be here to enjoy themselves, too. A new enemy makes an appearance as well: The Klagen has the ability to trap a team member and ruin their night! Regardless, Casino Park has the least amount of enemies in the game, so boundless fun is sure to be had by all! Take a chance and win big!

Things get a lot more serious when thundering down BINGO Highway. The enemies get bigger, badder, and they've come with their buddies as reinforcements. Seems like the winnings you've collected have drawn the attention of Eggman's pawns. As a result, a lot more items and pathways have been locked down, and there's no way forward without destroying them all. But that's not the only big hazard--lenghty, zig-zagging, long-winded Bingo tables make up for a majority of the sixth level here. A chance at collecting Bingo Chips will greatly increase your ring count, but if you're not careful, you could lose not only your rings, but even your life. Cut-out holes, sections--even entire platforms--raise the stakes to new heights, as a lot of skill and even more luck is required to come out on top!

Which is the better stage? Casino Park BINGO Highway



Rail Canyon is the seventh stage of Sonic Heroes. After defeating Dr. Eggman's Robot Storm in BINGO Highway, the four teams must grind through the rails to reach the goal. This stage's natural hazard is the lack of solid ground to run on. The majority of this stage includes switching from rail to rail to avoid traps and obstacles. As the name would imply, this stage is a massive canyon surrounded with rails ready to grind on. Anything that isn't rock or rail is an industrialized factory built by Eggman. The player will have to stop by these areas on occasion to destroy the robots guarding the area, flip a few switches and fly over obstacles to move on. But these areas are tame compared to the challenges the rails will provide later during the stage. The player will have to hit switches to change the paths of the rails to move on, as well as dodge trains and make it safely from one rail to the next. Once the goal is reached, the teams move onto the next stage: Bullet Station. It is challenging, and you will die a lot if it's your first time.

Bullet Station is the eighth stage of Sonic Heroes. Much like the previous stage, Rail Canyon, a lot of this stage focusses on grinding. Once again, the player must navigate through a maze of rails and switches to reach the goal. While grinding is one of the larger portions of the stage, it mostly focusses on the heroes fighting their way through the Bullet Station before finding a large cannon. By entering the cannon, they player will be fired to the next part of the stage to battle through more waves of enemies, as well as jump from train to train to destroy the engine and hit the rails again. At the end of the stage, the player must face off against the Egg Albatross. Eggman must have realized it would take more than just a giant metal hawk to defeat the heroes because now the Egg Hawk is back with assistance of a war blimp. The boss fight is similar enough to the fight against the Egg Hawk with the players running towards the machine and attacking the engines to destroy it. Once the Egg Albatross is defeated, the teams realize they were fighting a fake Dr. Eggman ("It's a fake?!"). The heroes then run off to Frog Forest to chase after the "real" Dr. Eggman. It is here that they players learn who the real mastermind is: Neo Metal Sonic.

Which is the better stage? Rail Canyon Bullet Station



Explore the forest of amphibians in Sonic Heroes ' Frog Forest. In the ninth stage of the game, Team Sonic fights to stop the Egg Fleet's advancement. Team Dark's mission is to make Eggman explain the Shadow Android that apeared after the Egg Albatross, Team Rose is searching for Froggy (this is his birthplace), Chocola, and Eggman, and Team Chaotix is told by their client to navigate the forest without interfering with the main gimmick, the frogs of the forest. When approached, they bring life-giving rin to the jungle, with plants and fruits used to progress through the stage growing at the preciptation's fall. They're a few other gimmicks, such as flying flowers and swinging vines. The stunning atmosphere, combined with an amazing score, makes this a stage to remember.

Beware the river gators in Sonic Heroes ' Lost Jungle. In the tenth stage of the game, the heroes move on to denser parts of the forest, with Team Chaotix tasked to collect 10 Chao. The giant frogs that appear in Frog Forests have counterparts: the black frogs. They, instead of bring life, are deathbringers to the flora in the jungle. Traverse the swamp, using mostly the same mechanics as the previous stage, except that there are growing vines used as rails. When Team Sonic and Team Dark draw near to the end of the stage, a killer alligator appears. You must outrun it using the swinging vines. Don't use Tails there, though. For the boss, fight a rival team. Team Sonic discovers Shadow's alive, and the two teams fight. Team Chaotix belives that Cheese is a chao they were sent to collect and try to interrogate Team Rose. Amy misinterprets it as the 20-year old crocodile asking the 12-year old hedgehog out on a date. Vector gets irritated and they fight. The stage gives off a jungle feel and the music helps, too.

Which is the better stage? Frog Forest Lost Jungle



Hang Castle is the eleventh stage in Sonic Heroes, and is the first to focus on a creepy theme, as it is in a Haunted Castle. The level doesn't directly focus on battling, but instead creeping and unnerving the player with the obstacles and the enemies. The obstacles include trick hallways that loop around infinitly, pathways that are invisible and are lit by blue torches, and since they are invisible, it is incredibly easy to lose your footing and plummet to the black abyss below. There are also giant fans that blow you upwards as you try to find an exit, and the whole stage flipping Upside Down! The enemies are the Egg Bishops, which swap faces when the Speed Formation Character uses their Blue Tornado/Black Tornado/Hammer Spin/Leaf Spin on them. The Bishop's red face heals all enemies near them, while the Blue creates a vortex which sucks rings from any heroes who step into it. There is actually no boss in this level, but it makes up for it in Mystic Mansion.

Mystic Mansion is the twelfth level in Sonic Heroes, and is the second to focus on the supernatural theme instead of battling. This level is actually more "crazy" than Hang Castle, since this stage actually includes Pumpkin Ghosts, with heads that resemble Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns, and skeletons that peer out from behind doors cheekily, and the hallways that the doors lead to lead to dead ends. There is a room in the level that leads to another "Dimension", that has a background that resembles water, and it changes colour with every formation. For example, Power - Red, Flight - Yellow, Speed - Blue. The room is also crawling with the Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin ghosts. There is a boss battle, but it is the second Team Battle. If you are Team Dark, you battle Team Sonic, and vice versa.

Which is the better stage? Hang Castle Mystic Mansion



Egg Fleet is the thirteenth level of Sonic Heroes. It takes in place in Dr. Eggman's massive armada of battleships all armed and ready to blast any intruder to bits, with multiple cannons equipped with targeting systems to lock-on enemies and some of Eggman's strongest badniks patrolling the entire fleet, including the powerful E-2000s, bird Badniks with shields and laser cannons. As this level takes place high in the sky, there are numerous places where the heroes could fall to their dooms. The airships, fortunately, have plenty of tools that allow them to hop from ship to ship like rails, propellers and giant fans. The main objective of the heroes is to destroy Eggman's main battleships. After that, they finally made it...

Final Fortress is the fourteenth and final regular level of Sonic Heroes. After successfully blowing up the main ships, the four trio of heroes manage to get onboard Dr. Eggman's flagship, set in the dark clouds and stormy weather. This is where they truly encounter Eggman's most deadly creations to date. The obstacles in this level are the same as in Egg Fleet with cannons, E-2000s and pits, but the mad doctor brought more mechs to end his enemies like the E-1006 Egg Hammers, the E-1007 Heavy Egg Hammers, crumbling platforms, switches that need to be activated and even gigantic multicolored laser cannons. This is easily the hardest level in the game and the heroes are forced to use everything in their arsenal (Speed, Flight and Power) to finally destroy this deadly weapon and end Dr. Eggman plans. Of course, they must fight him in his strongest mech yet; the Egg Emperor. A large golden Eggman robot with a laser sword, wings, a shield and an army of badniks for each team to deal with. But even after all that, it's still not ever yet...

Which is the better stage? Egg Fleet Final Fortress