Laser field

The laser field^[1] is an obstacle that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a wall of laser beams that serve to block the player's path.

Description

The laser field is a wall made of red laser beams. They primarily consist of several slots set in parallel rows that generate the lasers, forming a close grid.

In gameplay, touching a laser field will damage the playable characters. Because of this, they typically serve as hazardous grids meant to hinder the player's progress. In some cases, they appear in fence-like formations that the player must dodge while making their way through the levels. In most cases, however, they appear as barriers that cannot be passed through under any circumstances (even when the playable character is invulnerable to damage), making them ideal for blocking passages and areas that the player is not allowed to enter. When used as barriers that cannot be passed through, they serve to help mark the boundaries of the levels.

Over the course of the series, The laser field has maintained its overall appearance, albeit with some minor changes. They can also sometimes be deactivated with Switches or by destroying enemies.

Games appearances

Sonic Adventure

In Sonic Adventure and its remake, Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, the laser field only appears in Final Egg. The field's lasers come from small floating objects called "Spark Units", which shoot horizontal-aimed lasers rapidly. These Spark Units sometimes appear independently, but they can also appear in vertical rows, thereby forming fields of laser beams. However, it is still possible for the player to slip in-between these laser grids.

The Spark Units can be destroyed with a Homing Attack or Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, which will break up their laser field (note that only one unit is enough to break a field).

Sonic Adventure 2

In Sonic Adventure 2 and its remake, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the laser fields consist of slots which shoot out lasers either vertically or horizontally. The lasers generated by the laser fields in this game are somewhat unstable though. In Cannon's Core, the lasers can all be stopped by the Time Stop Switches, but only for a short time.

Sonic Heroes

In Sonic Heroes, the laser fields have the same design they had in Sonic Adventure 2.

In gameplay, the laser fields serve as barriers that the player cannot pass through. They sometimes block passages, but also sometimes appear as harmful "fences" that a careless player can collide with. However, there are instances where the player can pass right through them (although not without taking damage), like when driving into them with a Trolley or Bobsled.

Laser fields in Sonic Heroes are more stable compared to those in Sonic Adventure 2. They can be turned off in certain instances by finding an associated Switch or by destroying nearby enemies. Espio can also walk straight through them unharmed after he turns invisible with the Leaf Swirl technique.

In some cases on the PC version of the game, the player can use the Jump Dash repeatedly on some of laser fields to get through them (due to the lack of a falling animation for the Speed Formation character in order to hinder the move), but it is not recommended.

Shadow the Hedgehog

In Shadow the Hedgehog, the laser fields are sits of horizontal lasers generated by small slots between two walls, some of which move and some of which do not.

Laser fields are mostly encountered in the Black Comet and Final Haunt. In gameplay, they serve as barriers that the player cannot pass through. As such, they can often be found blocking passages.

Laser fields in this game can sometimes be turned off by destroying nearby enemies. They can also be blocked by pulling blocks from the walls into the lasers' paths with the Vacuum Pod. Alternatively, they can be bypassed using Chaos Control.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the laser fields are given a slight upgrade in design, receiving two poles to hold the slots generating the lasers so that laser fields can be formed in any place, and not just between walls. Those laser fields are always seen emitting horizontal lasers.

In gameplay, laser fields serve as barriers that the player cannot pass through. They can be found in both Action Stages and Town Stages where they keep the player from accessing the wrong areas. However, there are certain laser fields that can be turned off by finding a nearby Ball Switch. Conversely, in Shadow's version of Radical Train, the player must activate the right laser field with Ball Switches in order to halt the Egg train's progress.

There are also laser fields which have the same design from previous games, except their slots create both horizontal and vertical lasers which turn on and off in intervals which make them hard to evade. However, the player can slide under these lasers using the Sliding Attack and Spin Kick. Sometimes, the laser fields can also be bypassed using Shadow's wall glitch or Sonic's Scale.

In Team Attack Amigo, one of the paths that Tails can go through in Kingdom Valley activates an automatic laser field; prompting them to destroy a lot of Egg Rounders for the laser field to disengage. During the same stage, several Dash Rings are also provided with a laser field that activates/deactivates for several seconds inside them.

Sonic Unleashed

In the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version of Sonic Unleashed, the slots for the laser fields can be attached to both walls and two parallel poles.

The laser fields are most prominently featured in Eggmanland and Spagonia's Entrance Stage. In gameplay, the laser fields serve as barriers that the player cannot pass through and keep the player from accessing certain areas and passages. However, they can be turned off with Switches, Levers and by destroying Badniks.

The laser fields also appear during the skydiving and bobsledding segments in Eggmanland. Unlike the impenetrable laser fields though, these laser fields can be passed through while the player moves forward. However, they will still inflict damage when the player touches them.

Sonic Generations

In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, the laser fields have the same design they had in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

In gameplay, the laser fields mainly serve as impenetrable barriers. They are also only encountered in the game's Challenge Acts. Usually, they cannot be turned off and serve mostly as blockades along the player's path that cut them off from the leftover parts of the Acts.

Sonic Forces

In Sonic Forces, the laser fields only appear during the skydiving segments in Arsenal Pyramid and Network Terminal.

In gameplay, the player is able to pass through the laser fields, but not without taking damage, like the laser fields encountered during the skydiving and bobsledding sections in Eggmanland in Sonic Unleashed. It is also worth noting that it is possible to slip in-between the lasers in Arsenal Pyramid.

The laser fields in Arsenal Pyramid start off by only covering portions of the way into the factory, but the last few rotate in an attempt to hit Sonic or the Avatar before they get inside. The ones in Network Terminal also rotate, but once they hit Sonic, they break apart.

References