Hidden Palace Zone


 * This page deals with the Hidden Palace Zone of Sonic & Knuckles. For details on the scrapped level from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that was eventually finished for its 2013 re-release, see Hidden Palace Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 2).

"Some mysteries are solved! Robotnik makes his big play, and Knuckles finds out who the REAL bad guy is!"

- Instruction manual

Hidden Palace Zone is a transition between Lava Reef and Sky Sanctuary, making it the fifth zone in Sonic & Knuckles (and the eleventh of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles). It consists of a single act, and is the shortest zone in the game. It is also the only zone in any of the Mega Drive-era Sonic the Hedgehog games that is devoted to plot progression. It is based on a deleted zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, although that is considered a separate location as it would have likely been located on West Side Island (as the 2013 mobile re-release of the game reveals).

Sonic's Story
In Sonic's storyline (which can also be played as Tails if Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is locked-on to Sonic & Knuckles), Sonic arrives in Hidden Palace Zone within the Lava Reef Zone. He encounters Knuckles the Echidna, who still believed Robotnik's claims that Sonic is bad, and there is a boss battle in which the two fight each other. The room of the boss battle is particularly notable for the prophetic mural in the background, presumably created by the defunct Echidna society, which foreshadows the final battle between Doctor Robotnik and Super Sonic in The Doomsday Zone.

After Sonic wins, a cutscene is shown in which Robotnik steals the Master Emerald from the Emerald shrine, thus revealing his true intentions to Knuckles, who, in turn, tries to stop him. Knuckles gets electrocuted, and Robotnik is able to get away without any further resistance. The floor then crumbles beneath the characters, sending them plummeting to a lower level of the palace. When Knuckles recovers, he leads Sonic to a teleporter, which transports them both to Sky Sanctuary Zone. There is no Act clear screen at the end of either version of this zone.

Knuckles' Story
In Knuckles' storyline, the level is completely shorter. It contains no enemies or obstacles, and no other objects besides the teleporter used to teleport to Sky Sanctuary, the final zone in the game for Knuckles (which, again, is much shorter).

The Hidden Palace Zone also appears throughout the second half of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (after the beginning of the Mushroom Hill Zone), when the player collects one of the Super Emeralds. After entering the first Special Stage after completing the Launch Base Zone, a cutscene is shown in which any collected Chaos Emeralds are transported to the Hidden Palace Zone's Emerald shrine and transformed into Super Emeralds, although they have lost power and are grey. Jumping on a greyed-out Emerald will transport the player to that Emerald's special stage, the completion of which will grant the player a Super Emerald and turn the greyed-out Emerald into its original bright color.

Music
350px

S&amp;K Collection
Act 1 (FMS)=350px Act 1 (GM)=350px

Trivia

 * The player cannot beat Dr. Robotnik while he is stealing the Master Emerald. However, if the player can somehow get to where the trap is without Knuckles, the player character can hit Robotnik as many times as they want. Strangely, when the player hits him 256 times, he poofs into a Flicky; like Robotnik's Badniks. This triggers a glitch, whereas if the player uses Debug Mode and put something in, Dr. Robotnik will be on it.
 * In Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog #139, Sonic, Knuckles and the Chaotix arrive at the Hidden Palace Zone where the Dark Legion are stationed with the echidnas. The mural of Doctor Eggman and Super Sonic is also present. Sonic sees the resemblance and inquires about it, but Lien-Da claims that it has been there for a long time.
 * After the first teleporter, there is a secret area that only Tails (or Sonic with Tails) can reach without using Debug Mode, consisting of two ledges either side of a large gap. This contains 20 rings, invincibility, an extra life, a speed boost and all three kinds of shields.
 * If the player plays as Knuckles, the Death Egg is gone from the background, most likely due to the fact that Sonic's story takes place before Knuckles', thus the Death Egg had already been destroyed at that point in time.
 * In the Sound Test option, it is considered the fourth act of Lava Reef (the Lava Reef boss fight area is coded under "Lava Reef 3").