Sonic News Network:Sonic Level Tournament/Week 7

Today begins the seventh week of the Sonic Level Tournament! Inspired by the Sonic News Network's extremely popular 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 we continue Sonic Adventure 2 duel between Hero and Dark and Sonic Advance vs. Sonic Battle. 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!



Get ready to take a space ride in the Sonic Adventure 2 level, Meteor Herd. In the fourteenth stage of the Hero story and the last stage playable by Knuckles, find the final pieces of the Chaos Emerald on the vast ARK. The Sunglasses are also found here. This stage has many platforms that rise up, and a main base at the bottom. Some sections are built as storage areas, and others are attachments to the colony itself. Finding the pieces will be extremely hard here. After this, combat Rouge in a climatic boss battle.

Just ride through gravity in the famous Sonic Adventure 2 stage, Mad Space. The level takes place just outside the ARK, featuring moons, planetoids, gravity effects, a deep drop, the Iron Boots upgrade, wide exploration, backwards hints, "supposedly reversed" radar, storage areas, attachments to the ARK, and after this, combat Knuckles in a climatic boss battle. This level is near impossible to complete in a short time.

Which is the better stage? Meteor Herd Mad Space



Cosmic Wall is the thirteenth level in the Dark Story of Sonic Adventure 2. It is only playable by Dr. Eggman. Dr. Eggman's sensors have located two chaos emeralds belonging to Sonic. One is real, but one is fake. Eggman tries to get through the exterior of the Space Colony ARK to find Sonic. This stage has very low gravity. Because of this, Eggman has the ability to jump really high, and can even fly while using his boosters. Eggman can find his Protective Armor in this stage. Once he gets in the ARK, he captures Amy, which he uses to blackmail Sonic with. He is asked for the Chaos Emerald in order to save Amy's life. Eggman encapsulates Sonic, tricks Tails into admitting that that was the fake emerald, and shoots Sonic into space. Sonic supposedly dies and Tails is angered and fights Eggman to avenge Sonic. That is when Eggman will have to fight Tails.

Eternal Engine is the thirteenth level in the Hero story of Sonic Adventure 2 and it's the fifth and final level where Tails is playable. After the heroes boarded the Ark, Tails decided to head forward to make way for Sonic so he can place the Fake Chaos Emerald inside the Eclipse Cannon. This level is similar to the other Ark levels with the GUN robots, the Artificial Chaos and the exploding chemical tubes, except that there are various dynamites placed around hatches. If Tails blows up those dynamites by mistake and gets to close, he and the Cyclone will be sucked into outer space. At the very end, Tails must destroy the Ark's power generator in order for Sonic to complete his mission. The upgrade in this level is Tails' Bazooka, which allows him to break steel containers.

Which is the better stage? Cosmic Wall Eternal Engine



Final Rush is the final level of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Hero Story and is playable with Sonic. After escaping from certain death by using Chaos Control with Tails' Fake Chaos Emerald, Sonic reappears inside the Space Colony Ark and he must head over to the Eclipse Cannon to put the Fake Emerald inside in order to save the world. This entire level takes place right outside the Ark with various platforms floating in place. Most of them have rails that Sonic must use to get around, or else it's one burning two thousand mile fall back to Earth. This entire level is patrolled by several G.U.N. robots and Artificial Chaos. This is also the place where Sonic can find his Mystic Melody. Meanwhile...

Final Chase is the final level of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dark Story and is playable with Shadow. After Shadow confronted Rouge about his true identity, Dr. Eggman contacts him and tells him that someone is sneaking into the Eclipse Cannon and orders him to go there and stop the intruder. Final Chase and Final Rush are almost completely identical to each other in terms of environment. They both take place outside the Ark, they both have rails that must be used to progress, they both have similar enemies and they both have Mystic Melodies to find. The only real difference is that Final Chase has magnetic gravity cylinders that Shadow must use to move on forward. When both space levels are conquered, the hedgehogs meet again (with Shadow surprised that Sonic is still alive) and they both have one final battle together as they race to the Eclipse Cannon. A battle that will truly determine the fate of their world...or perhaps not.

Which is the better stage? Final Rush Final Chase



Crazy Gadget is the fifteenth level of the Hero story of Sonic Adventure 2 and it's playable by Sonic. Just when he was about to place the Fake Chaos Emerald, he suddenly receives contact from Dr. Eggman who has kidnapped both Tails and Amy and forces Sonic to come and save them. To do so, Sonic must run trough the interior of the Ark trough various rooms with pools of green chemicals. There various switches that Sonic must pull in order to change the gravity and thus proceed. He must also fight more robots, grind on rails and find the Flame Ring, which allows him to perform a Fire Somersault to break steel containers. Near the end, Sonic finds himself in space jumping from large block to large block using gravity switches to finally reach the end.

Cannon's Core is the true final level of Sonic Adventure 2. Every playable character in the game (except Shadow) must work together in order to beat this intensely long level in order to prevent the Space Colony Ark from crashing into Earth. First, Tails must blast through various patrolling G.U.N. robots and Artificial Chaos to reach and deactivate a security door by blowing it up. Next, Dr. Eggman steps in to do the same thing, but this time in an area full of green chemicals. After that, Rouge must sneak around some sort of water pumping area to press a switch that drains all the water from the Core. This allows Knuckles to swim in to find another switch that opens the final security door, thus allowing Sonic to speed right through the fifth and final section of the level to finally reach the Cannon's Core...

Which is the better stage? Crazy Gadget Cannon's Core



Neo Green Hill Zone is a Green Hill-esque zone to start Sonic Advance but has its own traits such as a beach at the beginning of Act 1 which resembles Emerald Coast and a dense forest area in Act 2. It's possible to move through the shuttle loops and slopes so fast that even the camera can't keep up with you in the first act.

In Sonic Battle, you can enjoy a fight or two in the coastal beach of Emerald Town, otherwise known as Emerald Beach. Obviously, it is mainly a beach area with rocky platforms somewhat resembling the beginning of Neo Green Hill Zone. During the storyline of the game, this is where Sonic and Emerl first meet each other.

Which is the better stage? Neo Green Hill Zone Emerald Beach



“Secret Base Zone, more like Exclusive Party Zone” This is the second zone of Sonic Advance and Sonic N. Located in somewhere in the middle of a city at night, Secret Base is an exclusively accessible headquarters for Dr.Eggman with search lights all around the perimeter. However once the stage begins you soon realize that getting in there is the easy part, due to a series of zip lines. From there one must navigate through the mechanical, lava filled industrial party of a headquarters. Then just when think the party is over Dr. “The guest of honor” Eggman comes bouncing down literally, on the classic Spring, normally used for getting higher up in the air. With Jazzy fast paced spy type music this stage is one heck of a wild ride through an atmospheric exclusive party.

“Well where else is he going to make everything”? Tails' Lab is an arena in the game Sonic Battle for the Game Boy Advance, although also a cameo in Sonic Adventure, Sonic the Fighters, Sonic Lost World and Sonic Rush, and is an accessible area in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Talk about a large resume, Tails’ Lab is practically a unacknowledged series staple. While throughout the series Tails' Lab is usually there, this voting choice is primarily the Sonic Battle version.In Sonic Battle one can come over to Tails’ Lab to find him for some tips and Fighting Practice. Appearance wise it is a machinery filled battle ground with very simple music as it's found pretty early in the game. It gives off a very "this is a friendly stage you can practice at" vibe, to show you that such an area belongs to the friendly and full of knowledge Miles “Tails” Prower, where he does his everyday work.

Which is the better stage? Secret Base Zone Tails' Lab



Casino Paradise Zone is the third zone in Sonic Advance. Despite the name, the zone bears little resemblance to a casino, and more to a carnival. Complete with balloons, flippers, fireworks, and castles this zone is one to visit often. There is a bouncy barrel, similar to the Barrel of Doom in Sonic 3, and flexible flags to help boost your speed. This could be one of the prettiest zones in the Sonic series.

Club Rouge is an arena in Sonic Battle located in Night Babylon. As the name implies, it's a club owned by Rouge and also works as her own personal stage. The entire arena is based on a large pinball machine a la Casino Night Zone with lights, flippers, bumpers and even a flashing scoreboard. This arena has five upper sections : Four walls and a big bumper in the middle.

Which is the better stage? Casino Paradise Zone Club Rouge



Ice Mountain Zone is the fourth level of Sonic Advance. This level is a vast snowy mountain area that is very similar to the Ice Cap Zone. Unlike the Ice Cap Zone, this level also has underwater segments. Tails and Knuckles can get through those parts with no problem, but Sonic and Amy might have some difficulty. This area also features breakable piles of snow, lumps of snow on the ground that slows the heroes down and, of course, Badniks. Eggman's mech this time is a ceiling driller that bores through the frozen ceiling to drop chunks of ice downward in a room where the water level keeps changing. Again, Tails and Knuckles are the most useful characters in this fight.

Holy Summit is an arena from Sonic Battle that is the main territory of Chaos. It is located on top of the mountain of the same name. Near the end of the story, after Eggman reveals the new Death Egg, the summit's crater suddenly floods and freezes and Chaos shows up for Emerl to fight. Unlike the other arenas, this one has no upper sections, but has two big holes on the ground. When Emerl defeats Chaos once, the latter becomes playable.

Which is the better stage? Ice Mountain Zone Holy Summit