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Act 2 of Studiopolis Zone was the first level developed for the game. The level was presented to Sega to showcase the developers' capabilities.[2]
Overview
This Zone is set up in a high skyscraper city decorated with studio equipment and theater objects. Later on the action moves into a large television studio-like environment.
Story
Having arriving in the Studiopolis Zone from the Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles continued their hunt for Dr. Eggman. Along the way, the heroes warded off the Heavy Gunner, one of the Hard Boiled Heavies, when he and his battalion of Egg-Robos attacked them. When they finally found Eggman, he managed to escape when they defeated him. Still, Sonic and co. continued to pursue Eggman by hitching a ride on the Flying Battery when it flew through the Studiopolis Zone.
Gameplay
Description
Act 1
Here, the player runs down a neon sparkling broadway that includes gimmicks unique to this Zone: the Hornet TV broadcasting cars and Sonic-themed popcorn machines. In the second half of this Act, the gameplay changes to a chase battle between the player and a helicopter.[3]
Act 2
In this act, the player is sent down a golden pathway filled with a variety of springs exclusive to this Zone, into a lottery machine, and from there is sent into a funnel leading into a blue checkered tube.
The Heavy Gunner comes out flying with the Egg-Robos and his own Police Copter. The objective of this fight is simply to knock back the blue missiles that are shot at the playable characters. The Heavy Gunner will shoot three missiles, two which actually harm the player and one that can damage the Heavy Gunner himself when knocked back at him with a simple attack. Knocking back four missiles will defeat this boss.
The battle against Dr. Eggman begins as the playable character arrives in front of a large television monitor that reads "Egg TV". Dr. Eggman descends into the arena as the image of a Cluckoid appears on the monitor. On the monitor, a small panel will spin and reveal one of three attacks that Eggman will conduct while he floats back and forth across the arena. Hit Eggman eight times to claim victory.
Trivia
Studiopolis Zone was the first new Zone revealed for Sonic Mania.
Coincidentally, Studiopolis is also the name of the post-production studio that records voices for the Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Boom series. Christian Whitehead himself said that the developers had alternate names, such as Opening Night Zone and Fame Plaza Zone, if the studio would not like their use of the studio's name.[4]
When Sonic Mania was being presented to Takashi Iizuka under the name "Sonic Discovery", Studiopolis Zone was the only Zone made at the time.
There are varous references and Easter eggs found around this Zone:
The popcorn machine gimmick is based on the SegaSonic Popcorn Shop, an arcade vending machine released in 1993.
The words "COPE" and "CPU" seen on a train in the background of the Zone are references to the similar neon-colored words originally seen in Spring Yard Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991).[5]
Television vans with the words "High-Class Hornet" and the lottery machines with the names "Gallop Lotto" are references to the NR2003 Hornet from Sega's arcade racing game Daytona USA.
Neon signs with the words "Pink Bot" refers to the similar "Pine Pot" signs featured in the first stage of Sega's side-scrolling beat'em up game Streets of Rage.[4]
The advertising sign with the words "Club Spin AGES" seen in the background of the Zone (see the screenshot) is a callback to numerous Japanese arcade clubs under the title "Club Sega". The part "AGES" itself refers separately to the playable character with same name from Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed[4] whose name is a reference to a past Sega motto.
Large vintage televisions are shown having red, green and blue marks on them. These marks resemble the ones featured in the official logo of Sega Game Gear. The small red switch light on the left side is identical to the power light seen on the previously mentioned handheld console.[4]
There is a section with a board containing the time that has passed in the level, the SEGA Logo with the initials CW, HC and PWG, which stands for Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PagodaWest Games respectively (the developers of Sonic Mania).
There is a screen saying "GOOD GREAT AWESOME OUTSTANDING AMAZING", a reference to the announcer from Sonic Colors.
The "Genesis Does" message in Studiopolis Zone.
In Act 2, there are various panels that when touched will show one of three messages that reference previous SEGA material;
"Genesis Does", a throwback to the quote "Genesis Does What Nintendon't".
"Lock On", a throwback to the Lock-On feature for the Genesis cartridges for Sonic & Knuckles.
"Welcome To The Nex Level", a throwback to the tagline used in SEGA commercials between 1992-1994. Due to how the panels are set, the "t" in Next is absent.
On a side note, these panels are similar to the guessing game from the TV show, Wheel of Fortune, where a contestant has to guess a message.
The unused UFOs from Marble Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) are incorporated into the design of the street lamps.
The animation sequence at the end of Act 2 of Chemical Plant Zone has the character going through a tube that leads to this Zone, which could likely mean this Zone's location is possibly on West Side Island.
↑Tee Lopes on Twitter. Twitter (23 June 2017). Retrieved on 24 June 2017. "Tee Lopes: So many people talking about how much brighter and clearer Studiopolis sounds! That my friends, is the @baldfalk magic..."
