Dropping platform

The dropping platform^[1], also known as Rotating Platforms,^[2] is a gimmick that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a type of platform that spins around itself in certain intervals, dropping any playable character standing on them.

Description

The dropping platforms are rather small floating platforms that start spinning around clockwise in certain intervals; after having spun around for a few seconds, they will stop moving and lie horizontally for few seconds, allowing the playable character to stand on them, before starting to spin again, repeating the pattern. They are usually featured in industrial-themed Zones.

When the playable character is standing on a dropping platform, they will be dropped from the it once it starts to spin. Unlike regular platforms, the player is unable to jump below dropping platforms when they stop spinning in mid-air, meaning that they have to jump at the right time when these platforms are rotate around once. Because of this, jumping on dropping platforms can be very tricky, as some of them can spin at the same time while others can be spinning at a different time.

Game appearances

Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)

In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Rotating Platforms^[2] are designed as yellow, blue, and silver rectangular platforms. In this game, they are featured in Scrap Brain Zone Act 1 and 2.

Besides the standard floating Rotating Platforms, Scrap Brain Zone Act 1 also features Rotating Platforms attached to moving chain loops, which stand still when moving torward the top of the chain loop, but will start spinning constantly once they move back towards the bottom of the chain loop.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, dropping platforms are colored dark blue, and appear as both regular dropping platforms and platforms on chains. In this game, they are found in Metallic Madness.

In gameplay, the two types of rotating platforms function just like they did in the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic Advance 2

In Sonic Advance 2, dropping platforms are featured as attachments to the Egg-Go-Round, where they are two gray-colored platforms. In battle, whenever the Egg-Go-Round is about to make a dropping platform spin for a couple of seconds, the orb in the middle of the dropping platforms will turn red.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Didj)

In Sonic the Hedgehog for LeapFrog Didj, dropping platforms^[1] appear as both regular dropping platforms and platforms on chains. In this game, they are featured in the game's fifth Zone, Scrap Brain Zone

Sonic Mania

In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, dropping platforms are orange-colored. In these games, they appear in Metallic Madness Zone

In the gameplay of these games, they serve to make the player access higher (or secret) paths and to block Winding Tunnels.

Trivia

Dropping platform-like gimmicks in Mad Gear Zone Act 3, from *Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I*.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, there exist similar type of platforms in Mad Gear Zone Act 3, which functions differently from the dropping platforms. For these platforms, the player uses D-pad or joystick to incline the platform left or right, when Sonic is using the Spin Attack on them and curls into the incline direction.

Gallery

Screenshots

Gallery
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Sonic the Hedgehog CD Sonic Advance 2 Sonic Mania

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Sonic the Hedgehog (Didj) game design document, pg. 44.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 (in English) Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2: Sega's Official Player's Guide. Compute; Expanded edition. 1993. p. 53. ISBN 1-55958-335-5.

Navigation Templates to Dropping platform

Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)

Playable characters	Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails (Super Tails) \| Knuckles* (Super Knuckles*)
Non-playable characters	Dr. Robotnik \| Animals (Flicky, Pocky, Pecky, Cucky, Ricky, Picky, Rocky)
Zones	Green Hill Zone \| Marble Zone \| Spring Yard Zone \| Labyrinth Zone \| Star Light Zone \| Scrap Brain Zone \| Final Zone \| Special Stages
Enemies	Ball Hog \| Batbrain \| Bomb \| Burrobot \| Buzz Bomber \| Caterkiller \| Chopper \| Crabmeat \| Jaws \| Moto Bug \| Newtron \| Orbinaut (Uni Uni, Unidasu) \| Roller \| Spikes \| Splats
Bosses	Egg Wrecker \| Egg Scorcher \| Egg Stinger \| Labyrinth Zone boss \| Egg Spiker \| Egg Crusher
Moves/Techniques	Climb* \| Crouch \| Glide* \| Insta-Shield* \| Propeller Flying* \| Spin Attack \| Spin Dash* \| Spin Jump \| Swim*
Gimmicks and obstacles	Bomb \| Bumper \| Capsule \| Chaos Emerald \| Color Block \| Conveyor Belt \| Crusher \| Dropping platform \| Electrical emitter \| Elevator \| Fan \| Fire Statue \| Fireball Cannon \| Flywheel \| Giant spear \| Goal \| Goal Plate \| Giant Ring \| Iron ball \| Jump Stand \| Lamppost \| Movable box \| Reverse \| See-saw \| Spikes \| Spring \| Switch \| Up and Down
Items	Air Bubble \| Ring \| Video Monitor (Aqua Shield, Extra Life, Flame Shield, Invincible, Power Sneakers, S, Shield, Super Ring, Thunder Shield)
Music	Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack
Other	Continue \| Blue Sphere \| Debug Mode \| Loop \| Madonna \| Sonic the Hedgehog Band (Max, Mach, Sharps, Vector) \| Secret Bonus \| South Island \| Sonic the Hedgehog (promotional comic) \| Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic \| Time Attack* \| Time Over \| Totem pole \| Tunnel \| Water Exclusive to the 2013 re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog*.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Playable characters		Sonic \| Tails*
Non-playable characters		Amy \| Dr. Robotnik \| Metal Sonic \| Animals (Flicky, Pocky, Ricky, Pecky, Robin, Sheep)
Rounds		Palmtree Panic \| Collision Chaos \| Tidal Tempest \| Quartz Quadrant \| Wacky Workbench \| Stardust Speedway \| Metallic Madness \| Special Stage \| Bonus Stage \| R2 \| Desert Dazzle* \| Final Fever*
Enemies		Amenbo \| Antlion \| Bigbom \| Dango \| Ga \| Hotaru \| Kabasira \| Kanabun \| Kemusi \| Kumo-Kumo \| Minomusi \| Noro-Noro \| Robot Ant \| Robot Bee \| Robot Beetle \| Robot Butterfly \| Robot Mantis \| Robot Mosquito \| Sasori \| Scarab \| Semi \| Taga-Taga \| Tamabboh \| Tentou \| Tonbo \| Yago
Bosses		EGG-HVC-001 \| Egg Tilter \| Egg Bubble \| Egg Conveyer \| Egg Razer \| Metal Sonic \| Egg Spinner \| Final Fever*
Moves/ Techniques	Playable characters	Duck \| Propeller Flying* \| Spin Jump \| Super Spin Attack \| Super Spin Dash \| Super Peel Out \| Swim*
Moves/ Techniques	NPCs	Ring Spark Field \| V. Maximum Overdrive Attack
Gimmicks and obstacles		Bumper \| Capsule \| Chopper Block \| Conveyor Belt \| Crusher \| Dash Zone \| Dropping platform \| Electrical conduit \| Electrical emitter \| Emerald Block \| Fan Block \| Flipper \| Flywheel \| Goal Plate \| High-speed warp tube \| Iron ball \| Lamppost \| Seesaw \| Shrink ray \| Snowblower \| Sphere \| Spikes \| Special Ring \| Spring \| Spring Pole \| Switch \| Time Warp sign
Items		Air Bubble \| Goal Signpost \| Little Planet flowers \| Metal Sonic Projector \| Monitor (1-UP, Invincible, Power Sneakers, Super Ring, Shield) \| Ring \| Robot transporter \| Super Ring \| Time Bonus \| Time Stone \| UFO
Voice actors		Masato Nishimura (Sonic)
Music	Songs	"Brand-new World" \| "Cosmic Eternity - Believe in Yourself" \| "Love you "Sonic"" \| "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" \| "Sonic Boom" \| "When we reach for you~Could it be right~"
Music	Albums	Sonic CD (vinyl album) \| Sonic the Hedgehog - Remix \| Sonic the Hedgehog Boom \| Sonic the Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition
Other		Debug Mode \| Game Over \| Freeze \| Little Planet \| Loop \| Never Lake \| Time Attack \| Time Over \| Time Warp \| Tunnel \| Water *Appears in the 2011 re-release only

Sonic Advance 2

Main article | Staff | Glitches | Beta elements | Gallery

Playable characters		Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails \| Knuckles \| Cream \| Cheese \| Amy
Non-playable characters		Dr. Eggman \| Vanilla \| Guard Robo \| Chao \| Animals (Deer, Elephant, Flicky, Gorilla, Koala, Kangaroo, Lion, Mole, Parrot, Peacock, Penguin, Rabbit, Robin, Sea Otter, Seal, Skunk)
Zones		Leaf Forest \| Hot Crater \| Music Plant \| Ice Paradise \| Sky Canyon \| Techno Base \| Egg Utopia \| XX \| True Area 53 \| Special Stages
Enemies		Balloon \| Bell \| Buzzer \| Circus \| Flickey \| Geji-Geji \| Gohla \| Hammerhead \| Kiki \| Koura \| Kubinaga \| Kura-Kura \| Kyura \| Madillo \| Mon \| Mouse \| Pen \| Piko-Piko \| Spina \| Star \| Straw \| Yado
Bosses		EggHammerTankII \| Egg Bomber Tank \| Egg Totem \| Aero Egg \| Egg Saucer \| Egg-Go-Round \| Egg Frog \| Super Eggrobo Z \| True Area 53 boss
Moves/ Techniques	General	Amy Dash \| Boost Mode \| Bound \| Chao Attack \| Chao Rolling Attack \| Crouch \| Double Spin Attack \| Drill Claw \| Double Punch \| Flying \| Grinding \| Hammer Attack \| Head Slide \| Homing Attack \| Jump Dash \| Mid-Air Glide \| Mid-Air Hammer Swirl \| Propeller Flying \| Spin Attack \| Spin Dash \| Spiral Attack \| Skid Attack \| Step Attack \| Super Hammer Attack \| Super Skid \| Super Sonic Boost \| Super Tails Swipe \| Swim \| Tail Swipe \| Wall Climb
Moves/ Techniques	Mid-Air Trick Actions	Big Air (Happy Spring, Hop Jump, Petit Step, Spiral Upper) \| Long Wind Jump (Burning Straight, Humming Top, Sweet Roll, Window Jump) \| Stop 'n' Slam (Bound, Drill Claw, Mid-Air Hammer Swirl, Propeller Descent, Soft Bomber) \| Quick Reverse (Back Attack, Back Rotor, Back Star, Milky Turn)
Gimmicks and obstacles		Bumper wall \| Cannon \| Checkpoint \| Dash Panel \| Dropping platform \| Fan \| Gravity Control Switch \| Grind Rail \| Iron ball \| Jump Panel \| Pole \| Spikes] \| Spin ring \| Spring
Items		Box (1-Up, 5 Ring Bonus, 10 Ring Bonus, Attack, Brake, Confusion, Invincibility, Maximum Speed, Mosaic, Random Ring Bonus, Ring Magnet, Shield, Warp) \| Chaos Emerald \| Ring \| Special Ring
Other		Auto Running \| Chao Bounce \| Chao Search \| Corkscrew \| Freeze \| Loop \| Time Attack \| Time Over \| Tiny Chao Garden \| Tube

Sonic the Hedgehog (Didj)

Main article | Credits | Gallery

Playable characters		Sonic
Non-playable characters		Bubbles \| Dr. Eggman \| Animals (Becky, Flicky, Churps, Johnny Lightfoot, Locky, Mouse, Porker Lewis, Rocky, Sally Acorn, Tocky, Tux, Wocky)
Zones		Grass Hill Zone \| Hydropolis Zone \| Scrap Plant Zone \| Space Egg Zone \| Curricular Gadget
Enemies		Buzzer \| Coconuts \| Grabber \| Grounder \| Masher \| Sandworm \| Skorp \| Spiny
Bosses		Drill Eggman \| Graviton Mobile \| Water Eggman \| Eggman Mech
Moves/Techniques		Duck \| Jump \| Roll \| Spin Dash
Gimmicks and obstacles		Cannon \| Catapult \| Conveyor belt \| Dropping platform \| Electrical emitter \| End Act Sign \| Glove on a stick \| Pneumatic tube \| Poison water \| Spikes \| Spring \| Star Post \| Switch \| Upward fan \| Word Wheel
Items		Chaos Emerald \| Gold Ring \| Flying Egg Craft \| Teleport Ring \| TV Monitor (Invincible, One-Up, Shield, Super Ring, Super Sneakers)
Other		Corkscrew track \| Eggman Mech \| Game Over \| Loop-de-Loop track \| S-shape tube

Sonic Mania

Playable characters		Sonic (Super Sonic) \| Tails (Super Tails) \| Knuckles (Super Knuckles) \| Mighty* (Super Mighty) \| Ray (Super Ray*)
Non-playable characters		Cluckoid \| Dr. Eggman \| Egg-Robo (Hard Boiled Heavies (Heavy Gunner, Heavy King, Heavy Magician, Heavy Rider, Heavy Shinobi)) \| Jimmy \| Metal Sonic (Giga Metal) \| Phantom Heavies (Phantom Gunner, Phantom King, Phantom Magician, Phantom Rider, Phantom Shinobi) \| Rock Drill \| Animals (Becky, Cucky, Flicky, Locky, Micky, Pecky, Picky, Pocky, Ricky, Rocky, Tocky, Wocky)
Zones		Angel Island Zone* \| Green Hill Zone \| Chemical Plant Zone \| Studiopolis Zone \| Flying Battery Zone \| Press Garden Zone \| Stardust Speedway Zone \| Hydrocity Zone \| Mirage Saloon Zone \| Oil Ocean Zone \| Lava Reef Zone \| Metallic Madness Zone \| Titanic Monarch Zone \| Egg Reverie Zone \| Special Stage \| Bonus Stage \| Pinball Stage*
Enemies		Aquis \| Armadiloid \| Asteron \| Ball Hog \| Batbrain \| Blaster \| Blastoid \| Bloominator* \| Bugernaut \| Bumpalo \| Buzz Bomber \| Cactula \| Canister \| Catakiller, Jr. \| Chopper \| Clucker \| Crabmeat \| Dango \| Dragonfly \| Fireworm \| Flasher Mk. II \| Gohla \| Grabber \| Hotaru \| IceBomba \| Iwamodoki \| Jawz \| Jellygnite \| Juggle Saw \| Kabasira \| Kanabun \| Madmole \| Matryoshka-Bom \| Mega Chopper \| Mic Drop \| Monkey Dude* \| Motobug \| Newtron \| Octus \| Pointdexter \| Rattlekiller \| Rexon \| RhinoBot* \| Robot Bee \| Robot Beetle \| Roller Mk. II \| Scarab \| Sentry Bug \| Shutterbug \| Silver Sonic \| Spiny \| Splats \| Sweep \| Technosqueek \| Toxomister \| Tubinaut \| Turbo Spiker \| Turbo Turtle \| Vultron \| Woodrow
Bosses	Mini-bosses	DD Wrecker \| Amoeba Droid \| Heavy Gunner \| Big Squeeze \| Shiversaw \| Hotaru Hi-Watt \| Dive Eggman \| Uber Caterkiller \| Meter Droid \| Drillerdroid \| Egg Pistons mk.II \| Crimson Eye
Bosses	Zone bosses	Death Egg Robot \| Mean Bean Machine \| Weather Globe \| Spider Mobile \| Heavy Shinobi \| Metal Sonic \| Laundro-Mobile \| Heavy Magician \| Mega Octus \| Heavy Rider \| Heavy King \| Gachapandora \| Phantom Egg \| Phantom King and Klepto Mobile
Moves/Techniques		Air Glide* \| Bounce Jump \| Climb \| Crouch \| Double Jump \| Drop Dash \| Fireball Spin Dash \| Glide \| Hammer Drop* \| Insta-Shield \| Propeller Flying \| Ring Spark Field \| Spin Attack \| Spin Dash \| Spin Jump \| Super Peel Out \| Swim \| V. Maximum Overdrive Attack
Gimmicks and obstacles		Beanstalk \| Bomb \| Bumper \| Bungee Rope \| Bumper wall \| Cannon \| Capsule \| Conveyor Belt \| Crusher \| Dash Panel \| Dropping platform \| Electrical conduit \| Fan \| Fireball Cannon \| Flipper \| Flywheel \| Glove on a stick \| Goal Plate \| Hang Glider \| High-speed warp tube \| Ice Spring \| Iron ball \| Jump Panel \| Platform-raising Wheel \| Pulley \| Ruby Mist \| Seesaw \| Sinking pool \| Shrink ray \| Snowblower \| Spikes \| Spring \| Star Post \| Switch \| Transport \| Vine \| Zipline
Items		Air Bubble \| Chaos Emerald \| Giant Ring \| Giant spear \| Item Box (1-UP, Blue Shield, Bubble Shield, Character, Hyper Ring, Eggman Mark, Fire Shield, Invincible, Lightning Shield, Player Swap, Power Sneakers, Random, S, Super Ring) \| Little Planet flowers \| Master Emerald \| Metal Sonic Projector \| Medallion \| Ring \| Robot transporter \| Schrodinger's Capsule \| Sphere \| Star Circle \| Time Warp sign \| UFO \| Warp Point
Music		Sonic Mania (vinyl album) \| Sonic Mania Original Soundtrack (Selected Edition) \| Sonic Mania Plus Original Soundtrack
Other		Angel Island \| Auto Running \| Continue \| Corkscrew \| Death Egg Robot \| Debug Mode \| Egg Mobile \| Freeze \| Game Over \| Klepto Mobile \| Level Select \| Little Planet \| Loop \| Mega Mack \| Phantom Ruby \| Perfect Bonus \| Popgun \| Sonic Mania Adventures ("Sonic Returns", "Sonic and Tails", "& Knuckles", "Mighty and Ray", "Metal Mayhem", "From: A. Rose", "The Complete Mini-Series") \| S pipe \| Time Attack \| Time Over \| Time Warp \| Tornado \| Water Appears in Sonic Mania Plus* only

[Didj-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Sonic the Hedgehog (Didj) game design document, pg. 44.

[Sonic_1-2] 2.0 ^2.1 (in English) Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2: Sega's Official Player's Guide. Compute; Expanded edition. 1993. p. 53. ISBN 1-55958-335-5.

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