Savannah Citadel


 * For the Town Stage/Village on the same continent, see Mazuri.

Savannah Citadel (クレイ・キャｯスル) is the second Action Stage in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed. During the events of the game, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower and Chip travels through this area in their search for Professor Pickle, and later when pursuing Doctor Eggman. It is located in the outskirts of Mazuri village.

Savannah Citadel takes place at an open savannah, with an immensely large sandy building in the likeness of a citadel dominating the stage and some occasional large trees adorning the environment.

Overview
Savannah Citadel is based on various specific places and aspects from Africa. The primary setting for this stage is that of a flat yellow savannah, resembling those found in Africa. As a rather dry environment, roads of reddish-brown soil winds through the savannah area, with patches of scrubgrass growing at both sides of the road. In a few places, there is also wooden stances with multicolored screens hanging over the road, attached near the wooden fences of the road, sometimes even forming short tent-like tunnels.

In the open areas of the savannah, outside of the roads, there grow a few, respectably large baobab trees, while also having several exotic wild animals, such as giraffes, standing by at the edge of the road. In these open areas, there can also be found a few Mazurian settlements that are made of sand and mud, such as normal Mazurian residents, which resembles real-life mud houses from Timbuktu and Mali, and larger and more complex beige buildings, which resembles mosques. In the forest-dominated areas of the savannah, however, there grow much larger versions of the savannah trees, which are dense enough in numbers to cover up much of the areas outside of the roads. One tree in particular is as tall and wide as a skyscraper.

The Savannah Citadel is mostly dominated by a single, immensely large citadel-like building of sand and mud, which is presumably based off the real-life Djinguereber Mosque and/or the Great Mosque of Djenné. This impressive conplex is large enough to almost be a town of its own, and features stone-laid streets and alleys. Besides some wild-growing threes and bushes and a few carpets, this citadel contains very little else.

In the daytime acts, Savannah Citadel is brightly lit up by the strong sun and has clear sky blue skies. In the nighttime acts, Savannah Citadel is only lit up by flaming torches while having a clear black nightsky, dotted with countless stars.

Gameplay
In the daytime acts, the player travels across the vastness of the savannah, through the citadel complex, and across the three tops through platforms, poles, Springs and grind rails. When moving through the subgrass at the side of the roads in the daytime acts, it will cause the player to slow down significantly. In the nighttime acts, the player has to solve several puzzles using blocks and handles to raise wooden platforms and open stone doors, and often get across bottomless pits by walking on thin bars in a tightrope fashion or swining and/or climbing poles.

Act 1
This act takes place in outskirts of Mazuri, and includes the majority of the Savannah Citadel environment. Here, the player first travels across the open savannah, and then has to make it through the mud citadel, before arriving in the surrounding forest where he/she has to climb a enormous three at the end of the act, with the Goal Ring on top of it. It is in this act where Sonic and Chip are following Dr. Eggman, as they try to get to the Gaia Temple first.

Act 2
This act takes place above the ground in Savannah Citadel, on a race course made of wooden plates in the treetops. Here, the player has to complete a total of three laps on this course within one minute and fifteen seconds, or end up losing a life and having to start over. The area outside the course is a bottomless pit, meaning falling off the wooden race course will cost the player a life. Additionally, the wooden roadway does not have any fences, meaning the player can easily walk over the edge and into the bottomless pit, either by accident or on purpose. The entire act is designed around the Sonic Drift maneuver, which is essential for the player to use if he/she wishes to complete the act in good time.

Act 3
This act takes place entirely on the enormous three at the end of the daytime act 1. Like near the end of the daytime act 1, the player has to lap around the tree in order to make to the Goal Ring. For this act, however, the course has been altered, having been given new and longer paths, such as additional Grind Rails and Springs, more enemies and more dangerous and hazardous obstacles, such as spikes. The entire gameplay is played in 2.5D.

Act 1
This act, for the most part, takes place inside the Savannah Citadel's colossal citadel. There, the player has to enter the citadel and makes his/hers way through it to the other side. While progressing through the citadel, the player can to complete a number of puzzles with pushing stone blocks, pulling handles and raising platforms in order to proceed. At the end of the act, the player then has to defeat several waves of Egg Fighters in order to make the Goal Ring appear. It is in this act that Sonic the Werehog and his allies processes through in order to rescue Professor Pickle from his captivity in Eggman's base.

Act 2
This act takes place in the treetops, far above ground. Here, the player has to make it through a network of balancing beam to different platforms, by walking across them in a tightrope walking fashion, without any means of grabbing onto the beams' edges. Falling off the beams means instant death. At the end of act, the player then has to defeat a Big Mother to make the Goal Ring appear.

Mazuri Adventure Pack DLC
The downloadable content pack for the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, the "Mazuri Adventure Pack", introduced four additional daytime acts and two additional nighttime acts for Savannah Citadel to the game. These acts are basically extensions of the original acts in the game, but are much more difficult to complete. The pack was released on Xbox Live for 250 MS Points on 30 April 2009 and on the PlayStation Network for $3.00 on 7 May 2009.

Act 1-2
This act is basically the same as the daytime Act 1 in the game, expect the act has been modified, having been given more enemies and more hazardous obstacles, such as normal spikes, bombs and spiked balls.

Act 3-2
This act takes place in the same area as the daytime Act 3 in the game. Here, the player's objective is to collect 300 Rings while lapping around the tree, and get to the Goal Ring at the end of the course within two minutes. For this objective, the act has been modified with new paths and objects, such as springs, grind rails, and even trails of Rings for the Light Speed Dash, to allow better Ring collecting.

Act 4
This act takes place within the Savannah Citadel's colossal citadel. A complex platforming act, the player here has to scale the walls with the Wall Jump to reach the Goal Ring high above, while avoiding flamethrowers on the walls and floating bombs. This act requires that the player has obtained the Wall Jump Shoes.

Act 5
This act takes primarily takes on the same course where the Egg Beetle is fought. Here, the player has to complete three full laps on this course while avoiding bombs and confronting several chaser enemies that is encountered in the game; on first and third lap, the player is confronted by Aero Chasers, and on the second lap, the player is faced with the Interceptor. When sequencing from one lap to another, the player has to pass through some platforming sections in the middle of the course in order to enter the next lap.

Act 3
This act takes place within the Savannah Citadel's enormous. This act is designed to utilize the player's skill with Sonic the Werehog's pole swinging ability. Here, the player has to travel across large bottomless pits, which compromises half of the act, by swinging from pole to pole and using platforms. The poles needed for the player to advance through the act are timed by a lever, which the player must use to make the poles come out, and will retract when time is up

For the first part of the act, the player has to make it through a section with swinging poles, before then having to make it through a section with moving platforms. After that, the player will be on solid, where he/she has to fight a Big Mother, and later a Titan, to access the Goal Ring.

Act 4
This act takes place high up in the treetops of Mazuri. Here, the player has to make his/hers way across the trees on wooden catwalks and floating platforms, while avoiding flying hammers and spiked poles that will send the player down into the bottomless pits beneath the catwalks. At the end of the act, the player then has to defeat two separate Titans, each accompanied by a swarm of enemies, before unlocking the Goal Ring.

Boss
The boss encountered in Savannah Citadel is the Egg Beetle, a giant arachnid-like mech piloted by Dr. Eggman. It is fought directly after the player clears the daytime Savannah Citadel Act 1 in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, and can be fought after unlocking the Boss Stage in Mazuri's Gaia Gate in the PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Unleashed.

During this boss battle, the player chases after the Egg Beetle. Here, the Egg Beetle will drop harmful objects on the ground for the player to run into (boxes on the PS2/Wii version and spiked balls on the PS3/Xbox 360 version), fire missiles and try to crush Sonic with its flaming pinchers. At some points during the battle, the perspective will switch from 3D to 2.5D, where the Egg Beetle will attack from the side. To defeat the Egg Beetle, the player to avoid its attacks and attack its cockpit, either with the Homing Attack or the Sonic Boost.

Trivia

 * Many levels (including DLC levels) take place or partly take place on a massive tree. If the fight against the Egg Beetle takes place atop this tree as well, then that means that this tree is the location of Mazuri's Temple of Gaia.
 * The baseline from the day Mazuri act, at the very beginning (It is played with a guitar), has the same accompaniment in Back 2 Back (From the act Water Palace) from Sonic Rush.
 * The DLC nighttime Act 4 was originally shown off in developmental shots when the game was first leaked to the internet in early 2008. While it was not included in the final version of Sonic Unleashed, it debuted as one of the acts from the downloadable content.