Sonic News Network:Sonic Level Tournament/Week 5

Today begins the fourth 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 features the remainder of Sonic Adventure stages and begins the Sonic Adventure 2 duel between Hero and Dark. 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!



Take to the skies on the Tornado in Sonic Adventure ' s Sky Chase. In Act One, fly after Eggman's battleship, the Egg Carrier. The main premise of this minigame is to shoot at the enemies and mines that Eggman launches at you on Sonic's trusty plane the Tornado. Unfortunatly, the Egg Carrier has a hidden laser beam that shoots the player out of the sky, and our heroes spiral into the clouds below. The second act has you fly with Tails's Tornado-2, which, halfway through the act, transforms into it's upgraded "X" shape, giving it greater speed. In the end, fire the Egg Carrier head-on, but watch out! Eggman will be firing those deadly lasers again. After the short fight, it's revealed you have no landing gear and crash into the hull of the ship.

Hang on to something as we blast through Sky Deck. The only way to get to Eggman is to change the ship to its normal shape, and to do that, you have to navigate the exterior of the Doctor's battleship. But it's not going to be easy! The stage is split into three sections. In the first section, cling on to canisters, but watch out on the railways, cannons are there to ensure that this will be a difficult stage. Destroy the cannon and move to the second part. Here, the changes in direction and height become unpredictable. Avoid fire from dozens of energy cannons, missiles from miniature airships, and hold on to something when the ship's direction changes. After running through the collapsing hangar, face against the largest energy cannon yet. Enter the third part of the stage, the storage bay, and the changes in altitude become more severe. Manage to get to the handrails, and the whole stage will flip over so you must use them as monkey bars. The player will eventually see the end, and the stage will be over.

Which is the better stage? Sky Chase Sky Deck



Lost World is Sonic's 9th stage and Knuckles' 4th in Sonic Adventure. It is a long stage, consisting of three parts, but overall it's a ancient echidna temple that can be found in the heart of the jungle in the Mystic Ruins. Part one is a long maze that ends in a flooding area that the player must find three switches to exit the door. Part two is a dark passage that can be lit up when mirrors are hit with beams of light so the player move around safely. Also, there is a waterfall which you can slide down (kinda fun actually) and a chase that involves a large rolling boulder (Indiana Jones reference). Finally part 3 involves a room with panels that can be walked upon when aligned correctly. This stage is not for the beginning players, it takes a lot of skill and timing to successfully master.

Speed Highway is Sonic's 6th, Tails' last, and Knuckles' 1st stage in Sonic Adventure. Part one (accessed by Sonic and Tails) takes place in the night at the skyline of Station Square with a lot of twisting roadways, one should be careful when traveling here, because it's easy to fall off if you're not careful. Part two (accessed by Sonic only) is a run down a skyscraper at an 90-degree angle while dodging helicopter blades. Part three (accessed by Sonic and Knuckles) is nothing more than a busy street with a lot of traffic (you can easily get run over here). A good stage for all of the city slickers inside everyone.

Which is the better stage? Lost World Speed Highway



Red Mountain from Sonic Adventure is the seventh level for Sonic, the third level for Knuckles and the fourth level for Gamma. Red Mountain is a large and vast mountainous area located on Angel Island. The mountains also contain volcanoes and several lava pits. There are also many railing systems placed around for transportation. This level has two parts: the outside part and the part inside the largest of the mountains. Knuckles only travels outside, Gamma only travels inside and Sonic explores both parts. The inside part also features weird ghosts that are locked in cages. Not only are there a lot of Badniks here, there are also a lot of traps like flamethrowers. In the story, Knuckles continues to search for the Master Emerald shards, Sonic travels through the mountains to chase after the Egg Carrier after Amy was kidnapped by Zero and Gamma searches for E-104 Epsilon, who fights with a pair of missile launchers.

Final Egg is a level from Sonic Adventure. It serves as this game's Eggman Base. It is Sonic and Amy's last level and Gamma's first level. As you would expect from our good old doctor, this entire facility is filled with the most dangerous traps in the game, including various spikes, spike balls, patrolling Badniks, bottomless pits, exploding Badniks and more. Whatever it takes to get rid of any trespassers. In the story, Dr. Eggman sends Gamma in this level to train so he can join the Eggman Empire. Much later, Amy enters the base with her Flicky friend in order to find the Flicky's missing parents. Then, Sonic enters the base in order to have one final showdown with Eggman. The doctor has come prepared, however, with the deadly Egg Viper, a massive contraption equipped with various rapid fire laser shooters, one big laser cannon, a pair of rotating spike discs and three massive energy ball shooters that need a few seconds to charge up. It is easily the most difficult boss in the game, aside from maybe the final boss.

Which is the better stage? Red Mountain Final Egg



Sand Hill is a sub game in Sonic Adventure. After crashing in Mystic Ruins, Tails has chased Froggy all the way to the desert of Sand Hill. Ruins and sand are everywhere, but Tails must make his way through the gates ahead and find Froggy. After completing his journey through the desert wasteland, Tails is transported to the past by Tikal, and the story continues.

Sand Ocean is the third stage in Sonic Adventure 2 ' s Dark story. After returning from Prison Island where he released Shadow, Eggman sets off to his secret base. However, the way is dangerous and fraught with quicksand and G.U.N. forces. The entire area seems to have an Egyptian theme as evidenced by large murals, hieroglyphs in small square platforms, and giant statues with an Eggman-like head on top.

Which is the better stage? Sand Hill Sand Ocean



The famous level that every Sonic fan has heard of or played, City Escape is the first level in the Hero Story in Sonic Adventure 2. Based on San Francisco, California, this stage delivers a memorable thrill of Sonic sliding down the steep highways. And who could forget the monster truck chase sequence? "Escape from the City" has become a cult classic to all Sonic fans, as well. City Escape is a memorable stage and that it will leave you singing "Rollin' around at the speed of sound!"

Radical Highway is Shadow's equivalent of City Escape. This nighttime highway is full of construction work and G.U.N. forces. Throughout the stage there are huge suspension cables of the bridge that Shadow can grind on. Performing tricks perfectly will get you far in this level, as they can allow you to cover great distances and skip large sections. This level has many enemy bots, as well as a few lightning fast (and dangerous) bomber jets.

Which is the better stage? City Escape Radical Highway



Wild Canyon is the 1st stage in Knuckles' story. It takes place in a canyon in the middle of the desert, near Eggman's base. The stage is filled with Egyptian-looking ruins, fitting the desert theme perfectly. In this stage you need to find three parts of the master emerald (thanks to rouge). The most notable part of this stage is the giant wind tunnel that takes you to the upper and lower parts of the canyon. If you are having trouble finds the shards, you will be going up and down this tunnel allot. So don't get sand in your face!

Dry Lagoon is the 1st stage in Rouge's story, and in the entire sonic series. It takes place in a lagoon oasis in the middle of the desert. Just like Wild Canyon, it is near Eggman's base. The stage has exotic marine life such as turtles (how they got there, who knows), making it a getaway from the desolate desert. You also have to find 3 emerald shards in this stage. Luckily for you, if you save the turtles from the GUN Hunters, they will help you maneuver in the water; because we all know water and Sonic games are not the perfect couple.

Which is the better stage? Wild Canyon Dry Lagoon



Prison Lane is the third stage in the Hero Story and is played by Tails. Tails is trying to find Sonic, who is locked up on Prison Island because G.U.N. is thinking he is Shadow. The stage is filled with G.U.N. robots everywhere. Tails must take down these enemies in order to advance. The level is seen to have many empty jail cells. In fact the only jail cell being occupied is the one Sonic is in. After Tails makes his way through the level, Sonic is rescued by Amy. Sonic asks where this black hedgehog is and Amy replies with a bribe that she will tell him where he is if Sonic marries her. This fails, but Amy still tells Sonic that the black hedgehog was seen with Dr. Eggman.

Iron Gate is the first stage of the Dark Story and is played by Dr. Eggman. The Doctor blows into the base on Prison Island in search of his grandfather Gerald's Project Shadow. Dr. Eggman must try to make it through the base with many G.U.N. robots in pursuit of him. He must destroy these robots in order to advance in the base. Each security level Dr. Eggman reaches, the more security there is that he has to get through. Once the Doctor finds what hes looking for, he is encountered by B-3x Hot Shot. Then it is defeated by Shadow.

Which is the better stage? Prison Lane Iron Gate