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Sonic Spinball
Toxic Caves
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Explore the super polluted caverns of the Veg-O-Fortress, where Dr. Robotnik dumps industrial waste. A wrong move here could mean being smothered in green slime, or - worse yet - chomped by a Rexxon!

Bash into barrels of waste, Cluckbirds, and Magma Worms. Getting one of the Emeralds could be draining. A Robotnik-faced killer bug named Scorpius bosses this level. Go for his stinger first!


— Description, Sonic Spinball[1]

The Toxic Caves (トキシックケイブ[2] Tokishikku Keibu?, lit. "Toxic Cave") is the first level in the 16-bit version of Sonic Spinball. It is a cave located at the lowest point of the Veg-O-Fortress, where toxic waste is dumped. Three Chaos Emeralds have to be found to defeat the boss and advance.

Description[]

The Toxic Caves consists on a dark cave located at the lowest point of the Veg-O-Fortress. As this is where toxic waste is dropped,[1] this place is very polluted and dangerous. Most of the area is covered in a toxic slime that is either green or blue in color. The Toxic Caves are also full of machinery, which is in a poor state.

Story[]

After falling out of the sky outside Mount Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog is saved by his animal friends at the last moment and makes his way into the Toxic Caves. There, he manages to get the area's three Chaos Emeralds, thereby destabilizing the volcanic activity in the area. Afterward, he defeats Scorpius before advancing to Lava Powerhouse.

Gameplay[]

Collecting all the Rings on the tables will activate the Bonus Gate to enter the Bonus Stage for extra points.

Overview[]

When beginning Toxic Caves, Sonic surfaces from the water and shakes off what is still on him before he begins his journey. To start, the central pinball table has sewer pipes that lead off into the upper side tables, but they are currently sealed until the cork for the vat containing one of the Chaos Emeralds is released, draining the toxic sludge out of the vat. Once the vat is drained, the sewer pipes open, allowing Sonic to access the upper side tables. Using the barrel under the flippers there, if he rolls safely into it, Sonic can paddle it to the vat and jump in to collect the Chaos Emerald. However, beware if Sonic lands on the platform beneath the flippers in the bottom center table, as if he does not jump in time to get back into the table, the Rexxon will attempt to eat him.

On the side tables, Sonic needs to take out the barrels with Robotnik's face on them to clear the sewer pipes leading up above the Worm Loops, throw the switch in the Switch Loop to raise the rail bridge that would cause the mine cart to derail back in the table instead of proceeding down to lead Sonic to another Chaos Emerald, and enter the Worm Loop three times to destroy the one-way gate to access the flipper that leads into the Scorpius' boss table.

If Sonic has not collected all three Chaos Emeralds yet, the entrances to Scorpius' table will be blocked by rocks, sending Sonic down into a mine cart that leads down to where a Chaos Emerald can be found, depending on which way Sonic pushes the cart to get it rolling, and if the flippers are used to detour him onto the other route. If the Switch Loops are triggered, Sonic will proceed unhindered, but if they have not, he will derail back into the side table to throw the switch so it will not disrupt his journey next time. If those Chaos Emeralds have already been collected, Sonic will drop straight down to the bottom center table, collecting the Chaos Emerald in the vat he drained earlier to unlock the boss table.

Once inside Scorpius' table, the only way out of it is to destroy the boss's tail, as the bottom center drain is blocked by a launcher until Scorpius' tail is destroyed. The four targets above Scorpius can be used to deal damage to him via a rockslide, and the Sewer Warp underneath him will transport Sonic above him to attack from there.

Boss[]

Main article: Scorpius
SpinballToxicCavesBoss

Scorpius, the boss of the Toxic Caves, from Sonic Spinball.

The boss of the Toxic Caves is Scorpius, a giant scorpion-like robot with Dr. Robotnik's face. He sits at the top of the level, periodically spitting drops of green toxicity out of his stinger. To defeat him, the player has to simply leap into the gap between his body and its tail. Eventually, he will lose his tail, making him even more vulnerable.

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

Main article: Toxic Caves (Archie)
Archie Toxic Caves

The Toxic Caves, from Sonic the Hedgehog #6.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Toxic Caves was a part of the Veg-O-Fortress built by Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Sonic passed through there while trying to attack the fortress.

Trivia[]

  • The Toxic Caves is the only level in Sonic Spinball in which the very bottom is not the only place where lives can be lost, as the middle section of it is also dangerous for the green sludge below the flippers. However, this does not necessarily make the Toxic Caves the most dangerous level of the game.
  • After collecting all three Emeralds in this opening zone, the barrels in the middle section start to move, so they will not save the player from draining the ball (Sonic) unless lucky enough for them to be in the right place at the right time. Magma Worms stop appearing at this point.
  • A glitch in the Toxic Caves will sometimes allow Sonic to pass through the covers that block the way to the middle section until the slime is drained from the tank in the middle, although the central Emerald cannot be collected while the slime is still there.
  • The music for the Toxic Caves appears as an unlockable music track in Sonic Generations.
  • The music for the Toxic Caves is the only one that is heard throughout the entire game in Sega Smash Pack for the Game Boy Advance.

Music[]

Name Artist(s) Length Music track
"Toxic Cave" Brian Coburn, Barry Blum, Howard Drossin 3:03

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis) United States instruction booklet, pg. 15.
  2. (in Japanese) ソニックメガコレクション最強攻略ガイド. Shogakukan. 1 March 2003. p. 226. ISBN 978-4091060907.

External links[]

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