Desert Ruins

"Desert Ruins doesn’t just offer huge desert plains to discover and huge sandstorms to escape from… Sonic the Hedgehog must also explore the sweet-filled ‘Dessert’ Ruins and a giant bee hive!"

- Sonic Lost World Website

Desert Ruins, known as Dessert Ruins for Zone Three, is the second stage in the upcoming video game, Sonic Lost World. It is a generic desert themed Zone, closely similar to Sandopolis Zone from Sonic & Knuckles, but with numerous sand tornadoes, and some of platforming puzzles inside pyramids. Aside of badniks, another recurring enemies in the Zone are large rotating cacti balls and hungry blue worms, which are able to eat the player instantly.

Like other stages, there are a variety of other themed zones; as for Wii U version, there is a candy-themed zone and honey hive-themed zone.

Zone One
For the Wii U version, the first half of Zone One of Desert Ruins is actually a real desert, only it appears to be much open-spaced and less ruin-like within the game. In this zone, the Crimson Wisp appears, which gives Sonic the Crimson Eagle power, allowing him to fly over quicksand and avoid the giant sand worms. The second half takes place inside a temple. The Yellow Wisp and its Color Power, the Yellow Drill, appear in this section. Sonic has to avoid a giant worm that moves across the screen.

Zone Two
For the Wii U version, Zone Two of Desert Ruins features a 3D behind-the-back perspective as Sonic is running at a rate similar to Terminal Velocity from Sonic Colors. Throughout the level, Sonic runs through honeycombs, skydives while trying to avoid Balkiry badniks, performs long Homing Attack chains, and dodges Buzzers. The final part has Sonic soaring through the air towards a Capsule on front of a green and purple block-like face. The hexagonal structure of the honeycomb tunnels resembles the layout of the Special Stages to the Sega 32X video game Knuckles' Chaotix.

Zone Three
For the Wii U version, Zone Three of Desert Ruins has a candy theme to the level, similar to Sweet Mountain from Sonic Colors. Sonic can run on multiple platforms of a variety of foods, such as licorice, and pieces from both cake and cookies. Several foods can be seen in the background, such as cupcakes, pancakes, and ice cream. Sonic can also use a Homing Attack to jump higher via Truffle Cannons.

Zone Four
For the Wii U version, Zone Four of Desert Ruins will be a 2.5D platforming stage. In this act, Sonic runs away from a giant tornado, and in the second half can use the Yellow Drill power.

Zone One
Much similar to Zone One on the Wii U version, Zone One on the Nintendo 3DS version has Sonic going through a giant, desert area where bottomless pits and moving sand cause some difficulty for the player, who controls Sonic. Giant cacti and giant sandworms enemies, as well as Eggman's badniks, appear in this stage to test the player's skills. The player has to look out even more gigantic worms, which move on the underground, as trying to catch Sonic. Indigo Wisp is featured in this act.

Zone Two
For the Nintendo 3DS version, Zone Two of Desert Ruins has an entire side-scrolling theme featuring Sonic moving through, as the zone name suggests, a ruins in a desert. There are gimmicks in the stage that determine whether Sonic should go through the right path or an alternate pathway. The Yellow Wisp and its Color Power, the Yellow Drill, is available to use in this stage, as it can burrow underground. Movement-spheres sense the movements of Sonic and can be used to activate switches Sonic cannot reach to move on throughout the stage.

Trivia

 * This zone has similarities from Mirage Road from Sonic Rush.
 * The background music of Act Two on Desert Ruins in the Wii U version is similar to Skyscraper Scamper Daytime music from Sonic Unleashed.
 * Also, the background music for Act Two on the Nintendo 3DS version is similar to the music played on Arid Sands Daytime music from Sonic Unleashed, as well.
 * In Act Two of Desert Ruins in the Wii U version, if Sonic hits a wall while running fast, especially in a mach-speed section like this zone, he goes into a splat animation and it's instant death, even with rings.
 * On the final product of Sonic Lost World, according to Aaron Webber, Act Three (the candy-themed act) will add the letter "s" of the word "Desert" on the act loading screen to spell "Dessert". This is a pun to the act's bizarre appearance of sweets.
 * Desert Ruins appears to be the zone where the Deadly Six betrays Dr. Eggman, as according to the Japanese Nintendo Direct cutscene given on 7 August 2013, the Deadly Six use what appears to be mind control to take control of Eggman's badniks and use the robots on the doctor.
 * A little note should be noted on Desert Ruins Act Four for the Wii U version; there is a giant purple and green block-like totem head that appears in the background. This is the exact same totem-design-head that appears in Desert Ruins Act Two for the Wii U version.
 * Desert Ruins Act Three may have reference to Layer Cake Desert in New Super Mario Bros. U, since it's also a desert with dessert-themed interactive objects.
 * Desert Ruins Act 3 does have a similarity to Sweet Mountain from Sonic Colors.