Mirage Saloon Zone

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Sonic Mania Mirage Saloon Zone

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Mirage Saloon Zone
Overview
First appearance	Sonic Mania
Description	A large western-themed desert filled with cacti and totem poles.
Location	West Side Island
Stage theme(s)	Desert theme Sky theme (Act 1; Sonic and Tails only) Canyon theme (Act 1; Knuckles only)
Statistics
Players (story mode)	Sonic the Hedgehog Miles "Tails" Prower Knuckles the Echidna
Level number	8
Number of acts	2
Enemies	Armadilloid Bumpalo Cactula Cactonaut RattleKiller Roller mk.II Vultron
Sub-boss fight(s)	Uber Caterkiller
Boss(es)	Heavy Magician
Level order
Previous level	Hydrocity Zone
Next level	Oil Ocean Zone

Out in the wild west deserts, the outlaws roam. Can Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles survive the cadre of hooligans lurking in the shadows? Even Eggman's ice cream parlors can't withstand the heat.

— Theme Trailer description

Mirage Saloon Zone (ミラージュサルーン, Mirājusarūn^?, lit. "Mirage Saloon") is the eighth Zone for Sonic Mania.

Overview

This Zone takes place in a vast desert, filled with cacti and huge mountains in the distance. Act 2 of the Zone features multiple saloon-like indoor areas filled with large, piano-like platforms.

Story

Continuing their hunt for Dr. Eggman and the Phantom Ruby, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles arrive in the Mirage Saloon Zone onboard the Tornado. While in the air however, the Heavy Magician, one of the Hard Boiled Heavies, ambush them, knocking Knuckles off the Tornado in the process. As such, while Sonic and Tails ward off Eggman and the Heavy Magician's tricks in midair, Knuckles is left to catch up to his friends from the ground. Eventually though, Sonic and Tails are forced down to the ground too when a familiar face causes the Tornado to crash.

Reunited, Sonic and his gang continue their trek through the Zone. At the end, they are attacked by the Heavy Magician, who is revealed to be able to disguise herself as the three hooligans. After defeating the Hard Boiled Heavy, Sonic and co. use one of Mirage Saloon Zone's contraptions to shoot themselves to the Oil Ocean Zone in the horizon.

Gameplay

The Mirage Saloon Zone features gimmick mechanics reminiscent of western play. These include seltzer bottles to guide paths, a pistol to launch the player to new heights, piano keys that the player can bounce on, and the return of the pinball gimmick.

When this Zone is played as Knuckles, the Mirage Saloon Zone takes on a different Zone configuration compared to that of Sonic and Tails'.

Description

Act 1

Sonic and Tails

In Sonic and Tails' playthrough of this Act, the player must use the Tornado to fly across the zone. This is similar to Sky Chase Zone, avoiding enemies to progress. Soon, the player has to get of the Tornado and progress on a train until the player can jump into the trains' pistol.

After defeating the Act 1 boss, the player is encountered by by what appears to be either Fang the Sniper, Bean the Dynamite, or Bark the Polar Bear riding on one of the Armadilloid Badniks. They will then attack the Tornado, causing it to crash and transitioning to Act 2.

Knuckles

Knuckles takes a different route in this Act after being knocked down into a canyon. In this version of the Act, the player travels through various tunnels and cave-like areas. Several Seesaw gimmicks are present throughout as well as sections that force the player to utilize Knuckles' gliding and wall climbing abilities in order to progress.

Bosses

Act 1

Sonic and Tails

The boss of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1 for Sonic and Tails.

This battle is fought aboard the Tornado. The Heavy Magician will reappear and make a RattleKiller Badnik appear out of her hat. The caterpillar transforms into a giant purple and yellow version with spikes lining its body. The caterpillar will leap out of the sand at the Tornado from various angles and it must be hit in the head to do damage.

Knuckles

The boss of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1 for Knuckles.

Knuckles' boss battle is heavily inspired by the battle against the Bead Worm from Gigalopolis Zone in Sonic Chaos, albeit against the same giant caterpillar that Sonic and Tails fight. The caterpillar will launch its segments at Knuckles either by rolling them or bouncing them along the ground and Knuckles must avoid these and hit it in the head to do damage. When the caterpillar runs out of segments, it respawns three new segments and the fight continues.

Trivia

File:CvtRSAgWgAAENma.jpg large.jpg

The wanted poster of Fang the Sniper found in Mirage Saloon Zone.

• The overall aesthetic of Mirage Saloon Zone is identical to the scrapped Desert Dazzle that was intended to be featured in the 2011 re-release of Sonic CD. Christian Whitehead later confirmed that Desert Dazzle was the inspiration for the Zone. Both levels also seem to bear similarities to Dust Hill Zone, another scrapped Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• This Zone contains multiple references to the rest of the Sonic series:
  • Multiple wanted posters of Fang the Sniper, Bark the Polar Bear, and Bean the Dynamite can be seen in the background. This trio of characters originally appeared on wanted posters at City Escape in Sonic Generations.
  • The "EG" Eggman symbol previously seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 appears on multiple objects in the Zone, much like it did on the popcorn machine gimmicks at Studiopolis Zone.
  • The gun-like launchers use the same design as the guns wielded by the Eggrobos in Sonic & Knuckles.
  • The piano key gimmicks that can launch the player like springs were similar to those featured at Music Plant in Sonic Advance 2.
  • The Roller mk.II Badniks that appear throughout the level have a color scheme similar to Mighty the Armadillo. Similarly, the Vultron Badnik has a similar color scheme to Wave the Swallow.
  • Act 1 for Sonic and Tails is based on Sky Chase Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Both Zones feature the player riding the Tornado and feature similar Badnik designs. The music for this Act also incorporates elements of Sky Chase Zone's music.
  • The Act 1 boss for Knuckles is based on the Bead Worm Boss of Gigalopolis Zone in Sonic Chaos.
• The animation sequence at the end of Act 2 of this Zone has the character jumping into a gun-like launcher that launches him towards Oil Ocean Zone. This could lead to the likely conclusion that this Zone's location is on West Side Island.
  • During Act 1, the train includes oil tanks with "OOZ" on the side and the Oil Ocean color scheme, hinting at the zone that follows Mirage Saloon.
  • Being located in West Side Island also references the scrapped desert Zone from Sonic 2.

Music

Name	Artist(s)	Length	Music Track
Wildstyle Pistolero	Tee Lopes		1:17
Skyway Octane	Tee Lopes		1:05
Rogues Gallery	Tee Lopes, Falk Au Yeong		1:09

Gallery

Act 1

Gallery
The Heavy Magician pushing Knuckles off from the Tornado. The Heavy Magician greeting Sonic and Tails at the beginning of the Act. The Heavy Magician at the end of the Act. The Heavy Magician releasing the Uber Caterkiller. The Heavy Magician morphed into the form of Bean the Dynamite.

Act 2

Gallery
The Heavy Magician fight. The Heavy Magician's box. The Heavy Magician stunned. The Heavy Magician entering in her box. The Heavy Magician as Fang the Sniper. The Heavy Magician in the form of Bark the Polar Bear. The Heavy Magician in the form of Bean the Dynamite. The Heavy Magician defeated.

References

Sonic Mania

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Main article · Staff · Glitches · Manuals · Beta elements · Gallery · Re-releases (Plus)

*Appears in Mania Mode only · ^Appears in Sonic Mania Plus and/or Encore Mode only
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