Egg Gauntlet Zone is a Zone that was set to appear in the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It was meant to serve as a boss rush mode, but was scrapped in favor of the original boss arenas that became Boss Attack Zone.
Description[]
Egg Gauntlet Zone was the first attempt at a boss rush mode for the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The Zone featured an original mechanical scenery with a drab gray color palette. Sonic Team, however, preferred the original boss arenas, and so the Zone was replaced by a Zone in which the original arenas were placed back-to-back with no significant changes.[1] The zone notably does not contain any Star Posts, and challenges the player against all bosses except Brass Eggman. Compared to the final Boss Attack Zone, there are also platforming sections with Badniks that must be overcome before they can face the boss.
This stage is largely complete and can be finished normally, although it can't be normally accessed without modifying the game. The stage, alongside its object coding (bytecode) was removed from the original 2013 release of the game starting from version 3.0.9. However, its data is still included in the code of the Sega Forever release, alongside in Sonic Origins. Completing the zone will send the player to Boss Attack Zone in the original 2013 version, or to the otherwise inaccessible Proto Palace Zone in Sonic Origins.
Overview[]
The player character starts at part of the Zone's base, where they will first encounter three airborne Rings before heading into a plateau of palmtrees with two Coconuts and two Buzzers. After bouncing on a spring, they will slide down a hill, through a loop, and then face the Egg Drillster. After defeating the Egg Drillster, they will head through a set of pipes from Chemical Plant Zone, alongside various Grabbers. The path will split, and the player may choose to head to the right to quickly reach the boss after a set of moving blocks, or continue left through a loop and into a set of pipes; from the left of the end of the pipe is an Invincible monitor guarded by a Grabber and a Dash Panel. There is also a Super Ring monitor in a separate platform before the Egg Poison, alongside a singular wall-Spiny. The arena of the Egg Poison is mostly the same as the normal encounter, but there is no Mega Mack below the platform.
After defeating the Egg Poison, the player will continue right until they hit a spring and where they will be launched from a slope and into a Grounder and two Whisps. There is a Jump Panel just before a set of spikes. The player will head downwards and encounter a Shield monitor before the battle against the Egg Hammer. The next area doesn't contain Badniks, and instead relies on the player being able to maneuver around pinball flippers and bumpers. At the bottom right of this area is a hidden Shield, but the player must be careful not to hit the Eggman Mark directly behind it. Once the player has bounced on the bumpers and onto the top of the platform, they can enter the room to challenge the Egg Claw. After defeating the mechanism, they will be able to proceed to the next area, which consists of gondolas suspended over lava, with a few Spikers in the way, with the Egg Scorcher Mark II at the end.
After destroying the fire submarine, the player will encounter moving boxes as they descend down. Despite having no Badniks, the player needs to be careful, as near the Jump Panel and the spring is the stage's only bottomless pit. There is also another Eggman Mark near the entrance to the Egg Digger, but it is easily avoided by bouncing on the spring. Destroying the Egg Digger, the player will move on a set of cannons that will send the player to a platform guarded by an Octus. If the player misses, they must push onto a spring to launch themselves back. There is another Super Ring monitor protected by two Aquis and another Octus. The chamber for the Eggmarine will await below.
Defeating the submarine will allow the player to continue onto a set of spring bumpers, which is followed by two sets of Asterons from Metropolis Zone. Continuing on from the top, there is another Asteron and a Slicer, followed by box platforms with giant spears. Higher on the left side, there is a switch near the top of the spear platforms that opens a gate earlier in the level. If the player presses the switch and backtracks to the now open gate, they will find a shortcut that skips both this section's boss, Egg Bouncer, and the next section (based on Wing Fortress Zone) altogether.[2] Otherwise, if they keep going to the right, they will engage the battle against the Egg Bouncer.
Upon conquering over the Egg Bouncer, the player will enter a section based on Wing Fortress Zone, where they will encounter several bullet cannons with a hook at the end, alongside another Dash Panel to send the player backwards if they don't jump over it. There will be another set of rotating platforms, which the player needs to land on a set of retracting spikes and a Clucker. Right after that is the Laser Prison. As the barrier gets destroyed, the player can jump to the area where the pilot seat was to get another Super Ring; the last set of rings before the player heads downwards and then finally fight Mecha Sonic and the Death Egg Robot. When the player defeats the Death Egg Robot, the base will "explode" but they will exit the laboratory and into a cityscape with a Goal Plate to end the Zone.
Music[]
Name | Length | Artist(s) | Music track |
---|---|---|---|
"StH2 Death Egg Zone (Part 1) ~Mega Drive Version~" | 2:10 | Masato Nakamura |
Trivia[]
- The mechanical scenery of Egg Gauntlet Zone seems to use graphics similar to the ones used in one of the levels of the scrapped Sonic Crackers.
- This Zone is the most complete of the scrapped Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Zones, as it contains a full level layout complete with objects, suggesting that it was removed late in development.
Gallery[]
Sprites[]
Screenshots[]
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Video[]
References[]
- โ Sonic 1 and 2 getting the Sonic CD treatment by Taxman and Stealth. Sonic Retro forums. Retrieved on 10 May 2021. "The Taxman: Regarding Egg Gaunlet: Basically during development, we tried something different for the Boss Attack mode. Instead of the original bosses back to back, they were all in the one zone with connecting platforming sections - the idea being that it was a testing facility, with mechanical palm trees, flashing lights etc etc. It was fairly close to completion (it just needed a few graphical effects, replacing placeholder graphics, and general polish), however Sonic Team didn't agree with changing the location, colours or graphic style for the Bosses. So in the end we respected the wishes of the team and put together the Boss Attack you see today."
- โ Egg Gauntlet Restored! - Sonic Origins Mod. YouTube, uploaded by Metal Shadow Productions, 25 June 2022. Retrieved on 17 Dec. 2023.
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