Launch Base Zone

The Launch Base Zone is the sixth and final level of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and simply the sixth level of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The level features the Death Egg in the background. Dr. Robotnik uses three different weapons in an attempt to stop Sonic and Tails: first, he uses a static projectile launcher at the foot of the Death Egg. When that fails, Robotnik flees to the Death Egg and Sonic chases after him in the Egg Mobile, leaving (or Tails (or Sonic if you're playing as Tails) behind. After boarding, Dr. Robotnik employs a rocket armed with lasers to fight Sonic, but is still unsuccessful.  Defeating the rocket leads to the final boss:  Big Arm (possibly inspired by Robotnik's Giant Mech at the end of Sonic 2) that can grab Sonic in a ball and slam him into the floor.  This boss also possesses the ability damage even Super Sonic (though taking Super Sonic to the final battle is rare).  The strength of his new mech, Robotnik is defeated once again, The level ends with the Death Egg blowing up in the background (in Sonic 3 & Knuckles the Death Egg just falls back onto Angel Island).

Layout
Like many of Robotnik's fortresses, the entire facility is fully protected with an array of hazards, traps and machinery, such as an alarm system that will spawn an easy to defeat, but persistent badnik, rotating tubes that will make the player move as it spins, that while no danger is seen early on the soon, later parts feature spikes that await hasty players. Other hazards include crushing spikes, flamethrowers among others.

Later on Act 2 new hazards include water with great risk of drowning if the player doesn't have either a Bubble Shield or leaves quickly, and the infamous Eggman Monitor which damages the player if broken. The facility seem to heavily depend upon the water tubes to provide energy (in a manner similar to that of Chemical Plant). For the player to progress he must make use of the technology available such as the transport capsules, break through the red boxes which control and change colored walls to progress, use rotating (and sometimes unstable) platforms, speed enhancers, circular tubes and even the water system itself.

Worthy of note is the fact that, despite of being a large facility dedicated to the reconstruction of the Death Egg, the fortress has no traces of pollution or nature endangerment at all. In fact the background shows a perfectly clean sky, a forest at the distance, and even the water seems pure, contrary to zones such as Scrap Brain Zone or the Chemical Plant in which the liquids are chemical.

Music
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