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The Death Ball[1] (デスボール[2] Desubōru?) is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a remote-controlled sphere-based Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik, who used it during the second part of the Angel Island incident.
Appearance[]
The Death Ball is a large, spherical robot with purple metallic armor and red eyes in the center. Its bottom part also contains an opening compartment. It is also surrounded by yellow shield(s) with red and gray edges.
History[]
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles[]
In Sonic & Knuckles and the lock-on game Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the Death Ball was remote-controlled by Dr. Robotnik, who used it to fight Sonic and Tails onboard the Death Egg while the heroes were trapped between two anti-gravity devices. Utilizing the gravity against it however, Sonic and Tails managed to destroy the Death Ball, forcing Robotnik to escape to the Giant Eggman Robo.
Relationships[]
Friends/allies[]
- Dr. Robotnik (creator)
Enemies[]
Powers and abilities[]
The Death Ball is capable of flight, and it is armed with yellow bumper shield(s), which can deflect any straight physical attacks. It can also generate endless amount of small mine tanks,[1] which have wheels for locomotion and spikes on their tops.
Battle[]
The Death Ball is the sub-boss of Death Egg Zone Act 2 in Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the fourteenth and twenty-seventh boss overall respectively. In Sonic & Knuckles, it is battled with Sonic, while in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, it can also be battled with Tails either alone or as Sonic's partner. In Sonic Origins Plus, it can also be fought with Amy.
Boss guide[]
The Death Ball floats from side to side between the two anti-gravity devices. Sonic or Tails can use either of them to reverse gravity. The Death Ball's yellow bumper shield always positions themselves between the Death Ball and the player, making it impossible to be damaged directly by the player. When playing as Sonic with Tails as the partner, the Death Ball is seen having two yellow shields.
The only means the Death Ball has of attacking is by using the mine tanks that it drops from its generator on its underside. If gravity is normal (so objects fall downwards) they will move around on their wheels, but if gravity is reversed, they will become lodged on the ceiling and not move at all. In addition, the mine tanks that have landed on their wheels can also be destroyed without releasing its spikes by using the Spin Jump on them. They explode after a delay of about ten seconds by releasing the three spikes in different directions, effectively capping a maximum of three mine tanks on the arena at any time during the battle.
The player must cause the mine tanks to accumulate on the floor, then enter one of the anti-gravity devices to reverse gravity and have the character walk about on the ceiling. A Spin Dash is then required to throw the tanks off of the ceiling. If one make a contact with the Death Ball spike-first, a hit is scored. Otherwise, the mine tank will move along the floor/ceiling. A hit is also scored if the playable character enters the anti-gravity device at a certain moment such that a moving mine tank on the ceiling/floor is positioned above/below the Death Ball and hits it spike-first as gravity is inverted. Eight hits are required for the Death Ball to be destroyed where gravity returns to normal and the anti-gravity devices destroyed, allowing the player to chase Robotnik towards the next boss of the zone.
Amy is able to damage the boss without the mine tanks via the hammer throw from her hyper transformation.
Trivia[]
- While it can only be fought by Sonic or Tails under normal circumstances in both games, it can also be fought by Knuckles in both games if Level Select and Debug Mode is enabled. Despite this, the EggRobo is not seen remote-controlling the Death Ball (unless playing on Sonic Origins).
- Hyper Tails proves to be a hindrance in this boss fight - the super transformed Flickies will destroy the mine tanks necessary to damage the Death Ball, and are unable to damage it themselves.
Music[]
Name | Artist(s) | Version | Length | Music Track | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Boss 2" | Sega | Sonic & Knuckles/Sonic 3 & Knuckles | 1:14 | ||
Sonic & Knuckles Collection | "FM Synthesizer" | 1:09 | |||
"General MIDI" | 1:05 |
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Gallery |
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 56. ISBN 978-1506719276. "Bosses: Act 2 - Death Ball. Its orbiting shields can't be damaged. Use the shifting gravity to use its own deployed mine tanks against it."
- ↑ (in Japanese) ソニックメガコレクション最強攻略ガイド. Shogakukan. 1 March 2003. p. 189. ISBN 978-4091060907.