Red Mountain


 * Not to be confused with Lava Mountain.

Red Mountain (レッドマウンテン) is an action stage in Sonic Adventure and its remake, Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. It is a stage located on Angel Island in the Mystic Ruins adventure field and is the seventh, third and fourth stage played by Sonic, Knuckles and E-102 Gamma respectively.

Overview
The entrance to the stage is guarded by a caged KiKi, which must be destroyed before it can be accessed. In Sonic's level, the player must get the Ancient Light upgrade and perform a Light Speed Attack on the Kiki. For Knuckles, the player must get the Monkey Destruction Switch from a cave near the Mystic Ruins Chao Garden. If the player plays as Gamma, he should simply attack it like any other enemy. The mountain appears to have been industrialized by Doctor Eggman, as the area is strewn with not only Badniks, but also crates, bridges, zip-lines, and construction equipment. This indicates that, perhaps, this is where Eggman harvested the resources to build his army. It's a very fast paced and tricky stage that can quickly lead to Sonic plummeting into the bottomless canyon if one isn't careful.

The second section of Red Mountain is located within a volcano. This area is filled with flowing lava, collapsing rocks, and dangerous enemies. A watchful eye is needed here, as the landscape of the level can change in a matter of seconds. If the player pays attention to the surroundings, it can be seen that prison cells have been built within the walls of the area. Inside, ghosts of doomed men sway to the beat of the heavy music that plays. There appears to be two electric chairs in both cells, and tombstones can be found nearby, suggesting that this volcano area was once some sort of prison. Only Sonic and Gamma are able to explore this area.

Sonic
Sonic's version is the longest version of the stage. The first part takes place in the large mountainous region the stage gets its namesake from, and the second part dives into what appears to be an active volcano, before rocketing back up to the surface of the mountain. Right after Sonic finishes the stage, he spots Tails upgraded bi-plane; the Tornado 2, and he hops aboard to continue his chase after the Egg Carrier.

Acts

 * Level C - Chase the Egg Carrier!
 * Level B - Collect 50 rings and destroy the capsule!
 * Level A - Destroy the capsule within 3 minutes.

Knuckles
Knuckles travels here to find more of the missing Master Emerald shards. He only visits the first section of Red Mountain, never venturing into the volcano. Knuckles has a major advantage in this stage compared to Sonic, as his climbing and gliding abilities allow him to traverse the terrain much more easily.

Acts

 * Level C - Find the three Emeralds!
 * Level B - Find the Emeralds without using any hintballs.
 * Level A - Find the Emeralds within 1 minute.

E-102 Gamma
Gamma's mission in this stage is to "rescue" E-104 Epsilon. His version is the shortest of the three characters that travel through it, his area of operation being a small section of the volcano. As with most of Gamma's stages, this Red Mountain is much more enemy heavy than either Sonic or Knuckles' versions.

Acts

 * Level C - Destroy "E-104"!
 * Level B - Collect 50 rings and destroy "E-104"!
 * Level A - Destroy "E-103" with more than 180 seconds remaining!

Archie Comics
Red Mountain Zone also appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. It debut in Sonic Universe #66, where it, like its game counterpart, is located on Ange Island.

After the New Black Comet's destruction, Eclipse the Darkling and the eggs of the Dark Arms had escaped the explosion and were heading straight to the Red Mountain Zone. After crash landing, Eclipse realized all but four eggs of the Dark Arms were crushed from the attempted-landing. He had then trained and raised the remaining four Dark Arms–Blurk, Cyzer, Cregal, and Rhygenta, feeding them with Angel Island natural berries. Eventually, Team Dark–Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, and E-123 Omega–traveled to Angel Island to find and destroy Eclipse. With the help of Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge, Omega, and the Rad Red himself traveled to Red Mountain Zone to search for Eclipse. Eclipse, however, eavesdrop on the three heroes, and after hearing Shadow being name dropped, he immediately went to the Shrine Isle to get his revenge on Shadow.

Trivia

 * The music in the volcanic area is a remix of the theme "Crying World" from Ristar. The theme is played during the Planet Automation stage. Furthermore, it samples "Ghetto Red Hot (Hip Hop Mix)" by Super Cat.
 * Although he can't glide or climb like Knuckles, Sonic's Spin Dash, combined with the game's questionable physics, allow him to take many major shortcuts by jumping over pits and lava. This is highly recommended in Sonic's A-rank mission, since the time limit is very tight.
 * It is possible to skip to this stage after unlocking the Mystic Ruins. If the player goes to the big rock near the entrance the cave leading Ice Cap, he will see another small rock nearby. Using precise Spin Dashing, the player can cause Sonic to glitch through the rock and get to Red Mountain.