Marble Zone


 * For other uses of the term, see Marble Zone (disambiguation).

Marble Zone is the second Zone in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. It is an ancient underground complex, flooded with boiling lava pools.

Description
Above ground, grass grows over the ancient marble buildings and there are columns and statues everywhere. Below ground, however, this fire-themed level is filled with magma flows, lava pools, platforms that burn once the player steps on them but there are other obstacles including moving platforms and spiked weights that can crush the player if they are not careful while traversing through these ruins.

Certain bricks can be destroyed for points; sometimes up to 10,000 can be obtained if the bricks are destroyed in sequence. This zone also has many shortcuts and walls that the player can break through for Rings and shields.

Boss
At the end of Act 3, Dr. Robotnik attacks with an improvement to his craft that shoots fireballs on one of the two platforms Sonic can stand on, briefly setting it on fire.

Sonic Drift
The Marble Zone appeared alongside other Sonic 1 zones as a track in Sonic Drift, though under the name Marble. It was the second track of the game, following Green Hill and preceding Spring Yard (as in its original appearance). Unlike its original appearance, the entire level is played above ground.

Sonic the Comic
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Marble Zone appeared in the story "Mayhem in the Marble Zone" in third issue. In this story, Sally Acorn's brother Tufftee ran off to Marble Zone to be a hero, only to captured by Badniks and eventually rescued by Sonic.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Marble Zone appeared during the "Genesis" story arc: Here, Sonic, Sally Acorn, Boomer, and Antoine traveled across Marble Zone to try and locate Dr. Eggman after Sonic freed the trio in the Green Hill Zone.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
The Marble Zone is also featured in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series where it appeared in the second episode, "Subterranean Sonic". Despite the location being named Marble Zone, however, it looks completely different than it did in the video game. In this media, the Marble Zone is the home of Spelunk a cranky mole who mines the underground tunnels for treasure.

Trivia

 * The statues on the temple in the background of Marble Zone resemble Mario.
 * An early version of this zone featured UFOs in the sky, but they were dropped for the final release. They can be activated through Debug Mode of the 2013 re-release.
 * Marble Zone also had a hazard which behaved similar to the dropping crushing hazards, except it shot out horizontal instead of vertical and had three spikes on the end of it. However, it was removed upon the final release.
 * At the area where Sonic needs to outrun flowing lava in a hallway, there is a spike located at that area. But the spikes won't crush Sonic against the ceiling after poking out of the floor. Sonic would be pushed to the sides and receive damage but would not show his hit sprite.
 * This is the third zone listed in the original version's level select, likely a remnant of an earlier zone order.
 * Remnants of Marble Zone can be found in the code of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Master System.

Video
Act 1 = Act 2 = Act 3 =