Emerald Hill Zone

Emerald Hill Zone is a tropical paradise on the shores of Westside Island. Plains of verdant grass and beautiful beaches draw instant comparisons with South Island's Green Hill Zone, but Emerald Hill has a character all of its own (although only small parts of the soil have checkered pattern, for one!). Although the Emerald Hill Zone is not visited by Sonic and friends quite as often as is Green Hill, the zone remains nonetheless a frequently recurring locale within the super-speedy hedgehog's adventures.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
&lt;&lt; Previous game — Sonic 2 (Mega Drive) — Next level &gt;&gt;

Emerald Hill Zone is the first level of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive, coming before Chemical Plant Zone. As with most other stages in this game, Emerald Hill consists of two standard Acts with a boss fight at the end of Act 2.

The level is a grassy, green zone with plenty of easy obstacles and secret passageways. Idyllic waterfalls cascade amidst the tropical meadows, and the coconut palms of Westside Island rise amidst natural gardens of red and pink flowers. Wooden bridges and ring-filled mobius strips are the only signs of artificial intrusion... aside from Robotnik's retracting spike beds. And badniks!

It is possible to obtain all 7 Chaos Emeralds in both Acts; there are three Starposts in the first Act, and five Starposts in Act 2. While this requires time and extensive travelling of the Zone to regain Rings, it is possible to reach Robotnik the first time as Super Sonic!

Badniks

 * Buzzer: These are bees that shoot a dot from their stinger. This dot can cause you to die. These can be very annoying, as they often show up in groups.
 * Masher: These hop out of the water beneath bridges. They are not much of a threat, as long as you remember to jump before crossing the bridge.
 * Coconuts: These are the most dangerous enemies in this level. They throw coconuts at you that can hurt you. They are always on trees and climb down slightly before throwing a coconut. They are annoying, because you don't expect them and because most of the bad jumps aim you for them.

Boss


The boss is Dr. Robotnik in a drill car, which he docks the helicopter-bladed Egg-O-Matic to. This is not very challenging as it is easy to dodge his attacks and jump on him. After the 7th hit, Robotnik will fire his drill like a missile; jump over the projectile to deliver the final hit.

Video Playthrough
With the first Special Stage shown also:

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Sonic Drift 2
 Sonic Drift 2  << Title Screen — Purple Grand Prix 1st track — Next track &gt;&gt; &lt;&lt; Previous track — White Grand Prix 6th track— Next tournament &gt;&gt;

Emerald Hill also appears as a racecourse in Sonic Drift 2 for the Sega Game Gear. This stage (as "Emerald Hill 1") is the very first race in the game, before Hill Top 1 in the Purple Grand Prix; and the races re-enter the region during the White Grand Prix, where "Emerald Hill 2" is the sixth and final track, coming after Mystic Cave. As with most other races in the 2nd Chaos Grand Prix, you have to complete three laps of the track to proceed, and the fastest racer gets a Chaos Emerald.

Sonic the Comic
The Emerald Hill Zone appears in the UK publication Sonic the Comic as the home of Sonic the Hedgehog and the setting of many stories. A large number of Mobians, known as the Emerald Hill Folk, live in the Emerald Hill Zone (until temporarily relocating to the Floating Island).

Tails left his home in the Nameless Zone and traveled to Mobius because he believed (incorrectly) that the Emerald Hill Zone was literally paved with real emeralds.

Unlike other continuities, STC places the Emerald Hill Zone on South Island, along with the other "Hill Zones" like the Green Hill Zone. (This is presumably to explain away continuity errors in early issues of the strip, in which the Green and Emerald Hill Zones were used almost interchangeably.)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The background music from Emerald Hill Zone is available in the Green Hill Zone stage of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Trivia

 * This zone has seven Star Posts, meaning that every single Chaos Emerald can be earned in this zone.
 * In the Sonic Jam strategy guide, Yuji Naka said that Emerald Hill Zone got its name from a town called Emerald Hill just south of San Francisco. The team had noticed the name on a location test and decided to use it. The neighbourhood is in fact referred to in the plural as Emerald Hills, and is part of a larger area called Emerald Lake Hills.