Jungle Joyride


 * For the hub world on the same continent, see Adabat.

Jungle Joyride (ジャングル・ジョイライド) is the eight Action Stage in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, and the sixth stage in the PlayStation 2/Nintendo Wii version of Sonic Unleashed. During the events of the game, Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip look through this area in their search for the keys needed to unlock the local Gaia Temple. It is located nearby Adabat.

Jungle Joyride takes place in a tropical region bordering the coastline, with fresh and green jungles on solid ground, clear blue water with stilt house villages, and ancient ruins all over the place.

Overview
Jungle Joyride's setting is based off real-life locations in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. A tropical paradise of its own, Jungle Joyride's landscape is that of an archipelago with a rocky jungle environment on the islands, essentially splitting the stage's layout up between the landmasses and the sea.

On the islands in Jungle Joyride, the environment has several large rocks that shape the landscape, creating high cliffs, canyons and valleys. Across the ground of the islands, Jungle Joyride is covered entirely in dense and green jungles that are filled with trees, such as palm trees and regular trees that can grow to very large sizes, grass, and bushes with big leaves. Also, the rocks on the islands in Jungle Joyride, while still having large jungle plants on their flat surfaces, have patches of green mose and grass on them and a few bushes hanging from the cliff sides. Also, running through Jungle Joyride on the islands are very wide rivers that form incredibly immense and wide waterfalls, with occasional rocks and trees sticking out from them, which cover up most of the horizon.

The coastlines on the islands of Jungle Joyride do not have a consistent layout, and instead alternates between sandy beaches and steep gray cliffs that immediately lead into the jungle. There are also several wooden piers that either run along or across the recesses in the coastline, or extends further into the sea.

Out on the respectable shallow sea in this stage, Jungle Joyride features several wooden dwellings in the form of residential stilt house villages, which resemble real-life Toraja stilt huts, raised above the waters. These buildings are all connected with more wooden piers that form paths between the different houses. The sea in Jungle Joyride is also dotted with small sandy islands that have palm trees on them and rocks extending up above the water surface.

Noticeable prominent structures that can be found all over Jungle Joyride are countless ancient ruins that are reminiscent of the real-life Buddhist relics seen around Asia, primarily from Angkor Wat. These ruins comes in towers, pillars and stone paths. They can be found en mass in both the jungles, where they form small cities, and in the sea, where they can lie above and below the water surface.

In the daytime acts, Jungle Joyride is brightly lit up by the sun and features a bright and only partially clouded sky. In the nighttime acts, Jungle Joyride has flaming torches that lit up the paths, while the sky is colored in a perpetual orange twilight as the sun remains only just hidden behind the horizon.

Gameplay
In the daytime acts in both versions of Sonic Unleashed, the player travels through the stilt house villages, through the jungles, along the coastlines, and also across water sections, which requires that the player is moving at top speed, or risk sinking into the bottomless sea.

In the daytime acts in the PS2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, Jungle Joyride features a gimmick in the jungle sections where the player can swing from vine to vine across grabs in the treetops, and also has a section with floating stone blocks with faces on them that can fall down on the player as an exclusive environmental hazard.

In the daytime acts in the PS3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed there are no exclusive gimmicks for the player to use. However, they have unique environmental hazards in the water skimming sections, such as ancient pillars that will fall down on the player or water sprouts bursting out of the water, both of which can send the player plummeting into the bottomless seas. On solid ground, there are also swinging axes that the player can slide under in order to avoid damage. In the daytime Act 1, Jungle Joyride also has stone statues that can sprout out water that will push the player off the path and into bottomless pits.

In the nighttime acts in the PS3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, the player mainly travels along the coast, crossing various small islands, coasts and nearly submerged ruins. In these acts, the player can use slingshot poles to propel Sonic across grabs to new islands. The player is also introduced to plant-themed switches that must be pressed in the order that mirrors a blooming flower to open new paths.

In the nighttime acts in the PS2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, the player first starts out by traveling across the stilt house village. Form there, however, the player continues to the coast, before entering the jungle and from there, enters the ancient ruins of a city.

Head for the Goal!
This act includes the majority of Jungle Joyride, as the player first travels along the beach, then through the jungle, and finally through some villages. At the beginning of the act, the player proceeds down along the coast, running down grass-covered passages and across a beach. At the end of the coast, on a small island, the player enters a Cannon and is shot into the jungle through a stone gate. After passing through the jungle section, which involves skimming on water, the player reenter a coast, before proceeding down a pier, into a stilt house village, while being confronted by a Aero Chaser. After making it through the village, the player is send flying into another stilt house village by a series of springs, Dash Rings, and a Rainbow Ring. From there, the player then has to make it through the village, before arriving at the Goal Ring.

Gather Rings at Top Speed!
This mission occurs in the beginning of the "Head for the Goal!" mission act, around the coastline area. Here, the player has to collect 150 Rings within one minute and twenty seconds. Once that is done, the mission is completed, and the player is rewarded with a Moon Medal.

Time Attack! Race for the goal!
This mission takes place across roughly the first half of the "Head for the Goal!" mission act, starting from the beginning of the act to the end of the jungle section. Here, the player has to make it to the Goal Ring within fifty seconds. However, for each checkpoint the player comes across, he/she is given more time to complete the mission. Upon completing the mission, the player is rewarded with a Moon Medal.

Gather Rings at Top Speed!
This mission takes place in about the middle of the "Head for the Goal!" mission act, enclosed in the jungle section. Here, the player has to collect 130 Rings within fifty seconds. Once that is done, the mission is completed, and the player is rewarded with a Moon Medal.

Act I: Starry Night
This act takes place in a stilt village on the sea and across some submerged ruins. At the beginning of the act, the player moves through a stilt house village while taking out incoming enemies and using switches in order to proceed. After getting through the village, the player then arrives in a section with submerges ruins that form platforms, where the player has to climb ledges and poles, swing on swinging poles, and ride Dark Bats through midair to get across the bottomless gabs between the ruins. After then taking out a wave of enemies on a platform and crossing a passage with a conveyor belt, the player will arrive at the Goal Ring.

Act II: Restless Coastside
This act takes place at one of the coastsides in Jungle Joyride and at the sea close by. At the beginning of the act, the player has to get across a large section of bottomless waters with whirlpools, by riding on rafts that encircles the different whirlpools; when having gotten as far as the player can by riding one raft, the player step off it to another platform/grabs onto a pole, until another raft that will take the player closer to the other side comes floating by. After having gotten to the other side and used some Dark Bats to reach the exit pier, the player continues down the pier and arrives at a beach. Then player then has to defeat the incoming enemies to gain access to the Goal Ring.

Act III: Deep Jungle
This act takes place inside the jungle on one of the islands. At the start of the act, the player proceeds down a path through the jungle, taking out enemies and avoiding spiked balls at the same time. At the end of the path, the player has to climb to the top of a large tree, where he/she has to defeat another wave of enemies. After that, the player travels across branch-like platforms, until he/she arrives at a stone platform. From there, the player has to ride some Dark Bats and a Thunder Bat (which is recommended to be timed correctly as the Thunder Bat can send the player plummeting into a bottomless pit) over to some ruins. There, the player then has defeat some enemies before gaining access to the Goal Ring.

Act IV: Heavenly Ruins
This act takes place in the ruins of an ancient city high above some waterfalls, with bottomless pits being a near constant danger. At the beginning of the act, the player has to climb along the walls, while avoiding protruding spikes. Once on safe grounds, the player has to call an ancient lift with a leaver. Once the lift has arrived, the player has to get on it, where it then will take the player to an area where he/she has to defeat a Red Titan and some Red Killer Bees. After that, the player enters a room where he/she has to position a lift with a leaver so that he/she can cross a grab. From there, the player enters an area, where he/she has to defeat a wave of enemies and then two Titans. After that, the player has to climb to an area with several collapsible platforms over a bottomless pit, where he/she has to defeat a series of Fright Masters and Dark Frights before gaining access to the Goal Ring.

Act 1
This act takes place across the majority of Jungle Joyride, with the player first traveling through a village, before moving into the jungle and crossing different islands. At the beginning of the act, the player runs down a pier section, where he/she has to use the Quick Step to change to different rows of piers when they abruptly end. After this, the player enters a 2.5D gameplay section, where he/she has to continue traveling through the village and down the piers. Following this, the player enters the jungle, where he/she has to make it through a gorge, before being confronted by a group of Aero Chasers.

After getting through the jungle, the player enters a water skimming section, where he/she has to make it across the sea to the next island. Once on the next island, the player is faced with the Interceptor while having to avoid bombs. After making it through the island's jungle, the player enters a new water skimming section, before getting to the next island.

From the start of the new island, the player ascends and crosses the cliffs and waterfalls using various gimmicks, such as springs (some of which have spikes on the bottom), Quick Time Event Springs, Cannons, Rainbow Rings and Ramps, before entering an ancient city. After leaving the city, the player enters a valley with waterfalls that he/she has to cross by grinding on grind rails and by using the Homing Attack on enemies to cross gabs, before arriving at the Goal. It is in this act that Sonic and Chip are looking for one of the halves of Adabat's Gaia Key.

Act 2
This act takes place inside the jungle, on a circular race course comprised of ancient temples. Here, the player's objective is to complete a total of three laps on this course before reaching the Goal Ring. During the course of this act, the player has to use the Wall Jump and can utilize several gimmicks, such as grind rails, springs and Rainbow Rings. For each completed circuit, the course changes shape and becomes more difficult, being given more enemies, more obstacles, such as spikes and spiked balls, and gimmicks in new places. This whole act is played in 2.5D.

Act 3
This act takes place across the piers along the stilt house villages and the coast. The path for the whole act is composed on rows of piers that the player has to reach the end of, before arriving at the Goal Ring. During the course of the act, the player has to use the Quick Step to change to the different rows of piers when they abruptly end or risk falling into the water, much like the beginning of daytime Act 1, while avoiding obstacles, such as swinging axes, spikes and enemies on the narrow paths.

Act 1
This act takes place across a few small islands and the coastline of Jungle Joyride, and features much platforming across moving stone slabs, while bottomless waters are a constant looming threat. At the beginning of the act, the player starts out on a small island and has to travel to the next island through a pier. From there, the player has to use a slingshot pole to send Sonic flying to the next island, where the player has to take out a few waves of enemies. After that, the player travels further down the following pier to the next slingshot pole and sends Sonic the next island. Here, the player has to defeat a Big Mother to access a switch in order to proceed. From there, the player then has to scale the cliffs of the coastside, while avoiding waterfalls that starts and stops, to reach a switch that will bring forth swinging poles further down the path, which will allow the player to proceed. After arriving in the new area, the player then has to bring a Key Stone to its pedestal to open a gate on the cliffs. Inside the gate, the player has to defeat a Titan and then press a series of switches in the right sequence in order to open the path to the Goal. It is in this act that Sonic and Chip are looking for one of the halves of Adabat's Gaia Key.

Act 2
This acts take place across some partially submerged ruins in the sea and the cliffside of Jungle Joyride. At the beginning of the act, the player has to travel across the sunken ruins through platforms that sink and rises from the bottomless waters and Dark Bats. Once the player arrives at the first island, he/she has to defeat several waves of enemies before being allowed to proceed. From there, the player has to make it across a gab through some platforms and a few Dark Bat. After that, the player arrives in an area where he/she has to press some switches in the right sequence to make a path of Dark Bats appear, which the player has to use to cross a grab. While looking for one of the switches, the player has to defeat another long series of enemies, before being allowed to use it. After having pressed the switches correctly and used the Dark Bats to cross the gab, the player arrives at the cliffs, where he/she has to defeat several waves of enemies, before gaining access to the Goal Ring.

Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack DLC
The downloadable content pack for the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, the "Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack", introduced three additional daytime acts and two additional nighttime acts for Jungle Joyride 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 and on the PlayStation Network for $3.00 on 11 June 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 a generally harder layout with more gimmicks, more enemies and more hazardous and abundant obstacles, such as spikes and swinging axes. Towards the end of the stage with the waterfall section, however, the player has to run across the waterfalls, before returning to the course, but then has to play the area in reserve from the presumed end of the act to the beginning of the waterfall section, where the Goal Ring is.

Act 4
This act takes place out the sea with submerged ruins everywhere. At the beginning of the act, the player has to skim across the water surface while avoiding water sprouts, falling pillars and bombs. Once the player gets sent into the air by a spring on a large circular platform, the player begins moving between the ruins and rock formations as well, while avoiding flying axes, enemies and spikes, before arriving at the Goal Ring.

Act 5
This act takes place out the sea with submerged ruins and large rocks forming walls that encloses the path. At the beginning of the act, the player starts out by skinning across the water surface, while avoiding obstacles such as spikes and bombs, until the player is confronted by a group of Aero Chasers. After facing the Aero Chasers, the player enters a full pipe where he/she can run on the roof of it to avoid obstacles. After exiting the pipe, the player has to make it through narrow water-filled gorges and ruins, before eventually arriving at the Goal Ring.

Act 1-2
This act is basically the same as the nigttime Act 1 in the game, except the player starts out on the island in front of the waterfall cliffs and plays the level backwards. At the beginning of the act, the player is instantly confronted by a Titan and some minor enemies. After then using a slingshot pole on the other side of the rocks to get to the piers and getting to the next island, the player has to use some platforms to get to an island next door. There, the player has to pull a leaver that will allow the player to use a climbing pole to cross a gab to the next island. Once on the next island, the player has to defeat another Titan and more minor enemies, before being able to proceed to the next island. Once on the next island, the player has to defeat two Titans and two Lightning Masters to make the Goal Ring appear.

Act 3
This act mainly takes place inside a water-filled recess in an ancient city. At the beginning of the act, the player is positioned in the bottom of the recess. Here, the player has to solve a puzzle, where he/she must use leavers scattered over the recess to control the water level inside the recess to raise platforms that can take the player to the door at the top. After getting through the door, the player enters a staircase with a platform on top, where he/she has to defeat a wave of enemies to make the Goal Ring appear.

Trivia

 * The background music for Jungle Joyride's daytime stages is derived from Sonic R's "Back in Time," the music for the course Regal Ruin.
 * In the Wii/PS2 version, should the player pause the game near a body of water, all movement in the game will be paused except that of the water.
 * In the Wii/PS2 version, the rocky paths found in the Special Mission that is unlocked when all the other collectibles (bar the secret movie found in this stage) are found, look remarkably similar to the the platforms found in Seaside Hill in Sonic Heroes.