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Green Hill Zone (グリーンヒルゾーン Gurīn Hiru Zōn?) is the first Zone of Sonic Mania. It is a re-imagination of Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, being the only Mania stage to come from that game. It consists of two Acts, like the other levels in the game: Act 1 combines the original level's Acts 1 and 2, while Act 2 introduces a mountainous theme. Both Acts end in a boss fight, with Act 1 featuring the DD Wrecker, a robot loosely based off of the Egg Wrecker from the original Green Hill, and Act 2 culminating in a fight against the Death Egg Robot from Sonic 2. In Sonic Mania Plus's Encore Mode, Green Hill is the second Zone, following Angel Island Zone, and is set at sunset.
Description[]
Green Hill Act 1 in Encore Mode
Green Hill Zone Act 1 looks virtually identical to the original Green Hill Zone, presented as a tropical area on South Island during daytime with oversized flowers, totems, palm trees, and checkered soil. In Green Hill Act 2, the mountains in the background are now much closer and smoother, with numerous visible waterfalls and caves underneath, pointy mountaintops, and giant totems in front of them. Both Acts also feature brown, underground caves with water pools and rock formations in the background, potentially based off of similar caves seen in the 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Generations.
In Encore Mode, Green Hill is set at sunset, sporting an orange sky.
Story[]
Mania Mode[]
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are all transported to Green Hill Zone–with Knuckles ending up in an underground cave–by the Hard Boiled Heavies after an attempt to stop them from using the Phantom Ruby found on Angel Island. After racing through the Zone, and overcoming the DD Wrecker along the way, they defeat Doctor Eggman in his Death Egg Robot and follow him into a hole he falls into upon his defeat. There, they see Eggman take the Phantom Ruby from the Hard Boiled Heavies after they refuse to obey him and hand over the Ruby. With the Hard Boiled Heavies having fled the scene, the doctor uses the Ruby to transport the trio to Chemical Plant Zone.
Encore Mode[]
Having lost the Phantom Ruby to the Hard Boiled Heavies, Sonic and Mighty/Ray find themselves transported to Green Hill Zone with the Hard Boiled Heavies by the Ruby's power after the Heavy King used it to resurrect himself and his associates. Upon their arrival, the newly-restored Hard Boiled Heavies flee with the Phantom Ruby, leaving Sonic and his partner to chase after them. Along the way, Sonic and his partner reunite with their allies, who join them on their adventure. The subsequent series of events is virtually identical to Mania Mode.
Gameplay[]
Most gimmicks in Green Hill Zone (especially in Act 1) are taken from its counterpart from Sonic 1. Common elements in the Zone are rocks that can be pushed aside to reveal secrets, similar to Angel Island Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The rotating spiked bridges also return, with the player being able to burn them with a Flame Shield and access secret paths. The stage features many types of platforms; some scroll vertically or horizontally, while others fall briefly after being stepped on.
Across the landscape are various loops from the original Zone, as well as tunnels. There are also corkscrew paths, initially introduced in Emerald Hill Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, that appear in the upper section of the Zones. There are also bridges leading over waterfalls, where the player has to watch out for Choppers that pop up from below.
Caves introduce floating, moving platforms with Springs on them, akin to the same gimmicks in Quartz Quadrant in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, and shallow underwater areas with no air bubbles in them that have Choppers and Crabmeats. These caves also feature Batbrains, enemies from Marble Zone in Sonic 1. Act 2 makes more use of the new gimmicks than Act 1, introducing Zip Lines to travel over high areas and more frequent puddles of water, both returning from Angel Island Zone in Sonic 3, as well as loops that lead down a tunnel like those in Hill Top Zone in Sonic 2. There are also many walls that can only be destroyed by Knuckles, although some of them can also be broken through by the Fireball Spin Dash.
Overview[]
Act 1[]
The first part of Green Hill Zone Act 1 is very similar to the first Act of the original Green Hill Zone, with slightly different objects, Badnik placements, and alternative pathways. What would have been the end of the original Act 1 continues with areas taken from the original Act 2. Eventually, the player will use a tunnel to be taken to a cave where the battle against the DD Wrecker begins.
An underground cave section in Green Hill Act 1
If the player is controlling Knuckles in Mania Mode, Act 1 begins in a cave. Here, the player will have to use Knuckles' abilities to continue. Eventually, they will be taken to the surface of the Zone, where they will be able to continue the Act as with any other character. The player can return to the underground caves at later points, such as by jumping off a gap below the first loop where there would have been a bottomless pit in the original Green Hill; some parts are taken from Sonic the Hedgehog CD's Palmtree Panic.
In Encore Mode, Act 1 uses a similar layout, except that it starts on the surface for all characters. Some gimmicks are either modified, added or removed to make the Act slightly harder. Also, at the start of the Act, there is an area Mighty can burrow through with the Hammer Drop to gain access to where Knuckles would have begun in Mania Mode.
Act 2[]
Act 2 begins in the cave at the end of Act 1. After that, the player will go to the surface, which begins with a replica of the first half of the original Green Hill Act 3. The player can even find a 1-Up Item Box in the spot where Sonic would have started that level. After that, the Act will make heavy use of the gimmicks that were introduced in the new pathways of Act 1, as well as Zip Lines. Act 2 is divided into several different paths, the lower ones being slower and more dangerous, and the top ones having more items and being more open.
In Encore Mode, the level layout of Act 2 remains mostly the same, except that some parts have been slightly modified.
Bosses[]
Act 1 boss[]
The DD Wrecker
The boss of Green Hill Zone Act 1 is the DD Wrecker, a robot consisting of two Eggman-like spheres linked by a chain. This boss attacks by swinging around its spheres. During its attack patterns, one sphere and swings around the other one, similar to the Egg Wrecker from the original Green Hill. Both spheres alternates in heating up, becoming immune to damage. Each sphere takes three hits to defeat. After destroying either, the remaining sphere will bounce around until the player destroys it too.
Act 2 boss[]
The Death Egg Robot
The boss of Green Hill Zone Act 2 is the Death Egg Robot, originally from Sonic 2. When the boss fight begins, it will slam down into the ground, and then it starts chasing the player across the plains of Green Hill, occasionally launching out its claw or bombs. It takes eight hits to defeat, and it speeds up after the sixth hit. If the player takes too long to beat this boss, they will arrive at a cliff that ends with a bottomless pit.
Giant Ring locations[]
The final Giant Ring in Green Hill Act 2
Across its two Acts, Green Hill features six Giant Rings in Mania Mode–one of which is only accessible as Knuckles–and four in Encore Mode.
Act 1 Giant Rings (Mania Mode)[]
- As Knuckles, the player is able to enter a Giant Ring above the first climbing section.
- At the bottom of the Act, accessible by falling into a pit below the first loop, there is a hidden room with a Giant Ring above a water pond.
- Near the end of the Act, there is a Giant Ring right next to a crumbling platform that leads to the bottom of the Act.
Act 2 Giant Rings (Mania Mode)[]
- At the very top of the Act, the player can enter a room with a Giant Ring near the first section with the Zip Lines.
- By following the lower path of the Act, the player can find a hidden room that has a Giant Ring. Its entrance to this room is below a Shield Item Box.
- At the very top of the Act, right next to the end, there is a tunnel that leads to a circular room with the Giant Ring.
Act 1 Giant Rings (Encore Mode)[]
- By breaking through a breakable floor as Mighty early on, the player can enter a hidden section that resembles that of Knuckles in Mania Mode. Above the second water pond, the player must make their way through a series of platforms to end on a wooden bridge, on which they can move to the left and find a Giant Ring.
- By taking the very top path of the Act near the end, the player will find a room with a Giant Ring below a rock they can push to fall into the Giant Ring.
Act 2 Giant Rings (Encore Mode)[]
- By burning the first spiked bridge using a Flame Shield (found where the first Giant Ring would be in Mania Mode's Act 2), the player can find a Giant Ring.
- A Giant Ring can be found in the same place the third Giant Ring can be found in Mania Mode, using the same method.
Trivia[]
- In addition to those said above, Green Hill Zone features several references and Easter eggs:
- Green Hill Zone Act 1 and 2 have hidden paths with rectangular windows, like those in Emerald Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
- Green Hill Zone Act 2's background is heavily inspired by the earliest takes on Green Hill Zone shown at the Sonic the Hedgehog Tokyo Toy Show 1990 Demo.
- A few sections of Green Hill Zone feature various wooden bridges connected to each other, resembling those in Emerald Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Bridge Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit).
- At the beginning of Sonic and/or Tails' Green Hill Zone Act 1, a glitch allowed the player to travel into Knuckles' beginning segment if they fell into pit at a certain spot next to a row of spikes. This has been fixed in the 1.03 update and falling into the pit now results into losing a life.
The crumbling platform in Act 2 with Choppers underneath it, from Sonic Mania.
- There are fewer bottomless pits in this version of Green Hill Zone than in the original; in Act 1 especially, all of the pits from the Sonic the Hedgehog-inspired layouts have been replaced with either rows of spikes or simply new areas to explore, and even the new areas do not have any pits.
- Above one of the pits seen later on in Act 2 is a unique crumbling platform. Unlike other platforms of this type which will start crumbling instantly, this one will take a few seconds. This is likely to balance out the Choppers jumping from underneath (which could cause the player to spend more time in that spot and potentially endanger themselves), as well as the sideways spring to the right.
Music[]
| Name | Artist(s) | Length | Music track |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Green Hill Zone Act 1" | Tee Lopes | 0:56 | |
| "Green Hill Zone Act 2" | 1:37 |
Video[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ McAleeCh (29 August 2017). Sonic Mania: Hacking Diccussion. Sonic Retro Forums. Retrieved on 31 August 2017.
- ↑ Sonic Mania - Green Hill Zone Act 2 Raw Gameplay. YouTube. Sega (10 March 2017). Retrieved on 7 September 2017.