West Side Island[1] (ウエストサイドアイランド[2] Uesuto Saido Airando?), also formatted Westside Island,[3] is a location that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is an island located at the westernmost point of earth and is Miles "Tails" Prower’s origin.[4]
Description[]
West Side Island, from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
West Side Island is a piece of land that, as its name suggests, is located in the westernmost point of earth, westwards of South Island.[5] Described as beautiful,[2] the island has a rather mountainous terrain with fields of green hills and grass[1] spread all over it.[2] Its fauna is mainly made out of non-anthropomorphic Animals, though its flora is not out of the ordinary.
Though West Side Island is dominated by natural areas, artificial territories can be found here as well. Noticeably, one location houses the remnants of an ancient civilization.[6] There are also many giant metropolises that are sparingly found on the island. More recently, following Dr. Eggman's invasion of West Side Island, massive industrial sites have been stationed there as well, such as chemical factories[7] and oil refineries.
History[]
Past[]
It is said that a very long time ago, there was an advanced civilization on West Side Island that used mystical stones to develop itself and achieve prosperity. However, when those people abused the stones' power, their prosperity vanished overnight, and their society was reduced to dust. It is believed that the gods then sealed the stones away within the island's depths.[1][2][8] Since then, their remnants would be found in the form of flooded, ancient ruins in what is known as the Aquatic Ruin.[6]
Classic Era[]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2[]
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic was looking for new adventures in the Tornado. Discovering West Side Island, he landed on the island to check it out and relax, not paying attention to the fact that Dr. Eggman had been following him and suspiciously landed on the other side of the island.[1][2]
A few days after, Sonic noticed a shy fox cub tagging behind him, who nervously scurried back into the welcoming shade of the still palm trees when he was spotted. When Sonic was not looking, the peculiar fox barely managed to keep up with the blue hero. The fox's name was Miles Prower, though he was known as "Tails" due to his twin-tails, which often made him the target of bullying. However, something changed in Tails when he saw Sonic come to the island, and he made up his mind that he wanted to be cool like Sonic. Realizing that the young kid was harmless and could actually keep up with him, Sonic allowed Tails to hang around as he freely explored the island.[2]
On an early afternoon, Tails discovered the Tornado stranded at the beach. Being a budding fan of machinery and vehicles, he rushed to take a closer inspection. Suddenly however, an ominous flash occurred in the direction of the nearby forest, followed by a terrific explosion. The wild fire blew away various debris, which Tails avoided by taking cover underneath the Tornado as he witnessed robots violently excavating the area. It soon turned out that Dr. Eggman had detected the Chaos Emeralds on the island after following Sonic. He thus took the opportunity to kidnap the island's Animals to rebuild his Badnik forces and finish his ultimate weapon: the Death Egg. Eggman now had control of everything except the seven Chaos Emeralds. Cursing the doctor, Sonic went off into the forest to set things right as Tails followed.[1][2]
Sonic and Tails subsequently journeyed across the Zones of the island as they chased after Eggman. Eventually, Eggman made his retreat from the island, ultimately escaping to his Death Egg in space with Sonic in hot pursuit thanks to Tails' support. Not long after, the Death Egg exploded in a bright light that could be seen above West Side Island. Tails later found Sonic with the Tornado in the middle of the sky and thus the island was freed.
Sonic Drift 2[]
Many zones of West Side Island are featured as multiple racetracks in Sonic Drift 2, although once again the island itself is not mentioned at any form. Many of these include Emerald Hill, Hill Top, Casino Night, and Mystic Cave.
Sonic the Fighters[]
In Sonic the Fighters, a section of West Side Island's Casino Night was used as a fighting arena for a fighting tournament. This arena served as the home field for Fang the Sniper. The victor of the fighting tournament eventually fought here in order to earn the right to use the Lunar Fox for a mission to destroy the Death Egg II.
Sonic Mania[]
In Sonic Mania, sometime following the Angel Island incident, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles got transported to West Side Island's Chemical Plant by Dr. Eggman with the Phantom Ruby. Making it to the end of that Zone after overcoming the Amoeba Droid and Eggman's deadly puzzle game, the trio used a tube that led them to Studiopolis. There, after defeating the Heavy Gunner, they boarded the Flying Battery just after defeating the doctor's Weather Globe.
Continuing their hunt for Eggman, Sonic and his crew eventually arrived in West Side Island's Mirage Saloon. After overcoming the Heavy Magician's tricks in the Zone, they used a gun-like launcher that launched them towards the Oil Ocean. There, they managed to locate Eggman after defeating the Meter Droid, only for the doctor to elude capture once more. Using a flying submarine however, the trio continued their pursuit to Lava Reef.
Sonic Mania Plus[]
In Sonic Mania Plus, following Sonic's return from the War to Take Back the Planet, Dr. Eggman used the Phantom Ruby to warp Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Mighty and Ray to West Side Island's Chemical Plant. After defeating the Amoeba Droid and Eggman's deadly puzzle game, the group found a pipe that led them to Studiopolis. Soon after their arrival, they defeated the Heavy Gunner when he attacked them. Afterward, they overcame Eggman's Weather Globe before hitching a ride on the Flying Battery.
While continuing their hunt for Eggman, Sonic's group arrived in Mirage Saloon. At the end of that Zone, they overcame the Heavy Magician. The group then traveled to the Oil Ocean using a gun-like launcher. There, after defeating the Meter Droid, they defeated Eggman's Mega Octus. When Eggman eluded capture however, the heroes used a flying submarine to reach Angel Island's Lava Reef.
After defeating Eggman yet again, Sonic and his friends went to an ice cream parlor in Mirage Saloon. There, they got a surprise visit from the Heavy King.
Modern Era[]
Sonic Generations[]
In the console/PC version and Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, as a side-effect of the Time Eater's time-traveling, a version of West Side Island's Chemical Plant/Casino Night from somewhere across spacetime got transported to White Space where it was drained of color and life.
After ending up in White Space, Classic and Modern Sonic separately paid a visit to Chemical Plant/Casino Night. By speeding through Chemical Plant/Casino Night, the Sonics were able to fix space, thereby restoring Chemical Plant/Casino Night from its lifeless state. When the Time Eater later got destroyed, Chemical Plant/Casino Night was seemingly return to its rightful place in the timeline.
Sonic Frontiers[]
In Sonic Frontiers, West Side Island was mentioned by Dr. Eggman, while he was temporarily trapped in Cyber Space, about how he found recreations of the said island and two other islands in Cyber Space.[9]
Locations[]
A miniature version of West Side Island, from Sonic Origins.
- Aquatic Ruin
- Casino Night
- Chemical Plant
- Emerald Hill
- Hidden Palace
- Hill Top
- Metropolis
- Mirage Saloon
- Mystic Cave
- Oil Ocean
- Studiopolis
In other media[]
Books and comics[]
Archie Comics[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, West Side Island is a location on Sonic's World under the name Westside Island. It is an island in the Acorn Archipelago, with a past virtually identical to its game counterpart's.
Trivia[]
- Some arenas in Sonic the Fighters resemble Zones from West Side Island. For example, Giant Wing bears resemblance to Wing Fortress Zone and Dynamite Plant mixes elements of Chemical Plant Zone, Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Christian Whitehead, Simon Thomley, Sonic Team (12 December 2013). Sonic the Hedgehog 2. iOS. Sega. Area/Level: Instructions, "Story"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pgs. 4-8.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog Technical Files
- ↑ TailsTube #1 (feat. Sonic). YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (24 March 2022). Retrieved on 24 March 2022.
- ↑ Sega, Headcannon (23 June 2022). Sonic Origins. Nintendo Switch. Sega. Area/level: Main menu.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 32.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 31.
- ↑ Sega . SEGA AGES SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Web Manual. Prologue. Retrieved on 19 January 2023.
- ↑ Sonic Team (8 November 2022). Sonic Frontiers. PlayStation 5. Sega. Area/level: View Fish-o-pedia Menu. "Egg Memo 3: The "terrain" here keeps shifting. I'm finding recreations of regions from South Island, West Side Island, even Angel Island! Where is this environmental data coming from?"
V·T·E · {{Sonic 2 (8-bit) info}} · Category
| Playable characters | Sonic (Super Sonic) | Tails | Knuckles | Amy | Espio | Bark | Bean | Fang | Dr. Robotnik* | Metal Sonic* | Honey* | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-playable characters | Mecha Sonic Model No.29 | RoboEgg | |
| Arenas | South Island | Flying Carpet | Aurora Icefield | Mushroom Hill | Canyon Cruise | Casino Night | Dynamite Plant | Giant Wing | Death Egg's Eye | Death Egg's Hangar | |
| Moves/Techniques | 16t | Aerial Bomb | Air Espio Spin | Air Hammer | Air Kick | Air Punch | Air Spin | Air Snipe | Airplane Drop | Airplane Throw | Back Hammer | Back High Kick | Back Low Punch | Back Punch | Backhand Chop | Bark Elbow | Bark Elbow Combo | Bark Punch | Bark Strike | Bark Uppercut | Barrier Walk | Beak Dive | Beak Rush | Beak Shot | Beak Slip | Bean Warp | Biff-Baff | Blind Fire | Blind Fire Dash | Body Dive | Bomb Shoot | Bomb Toss | Bonk Kick | Cannon Barrage | Crush Punch | Crush and Wham! | Dash Peck | Dash Spin | Dash Tongue | Dizzy Spin | Double Beak Slip | Dodge Beak | Dodge Beak Dive | Dodge Body Dive | Dodge Bonk Kick | Dodge Dive | Dodge Hammer | Dodge High Kick | Dodge Lunge | Dodge Punch | Dodge Snipe | Dodge Spin | Dodge Spin Dive | Dodge Tongue | Double Beak | Double Beak Slip | Double Cork | Double Feint | Double Hammer | Double Jump Kick | Double Kick | Double Punch | Double Scissor | Double Side Kick | Double Slap | Double Tail Kick | Double Tail Whap | Double Upperslap | Drop Kick | Dual Hyper Upper | Emerald Dive | Espio Chop | Espio Spin | Espio Warp | Fierce Attack | Fire 'Em Up! | Fist Drop | Foot Crush | Giant Swing | Girly Punch | Guard & Attack | Hammer Attack | Hammer Dive | Hammer Spin | Hammer Throw | Hammer Uppercut | Headbutt | Head's Up! | Head Slide | Head Spin | Head Throw | High Kick | Hip Attack | Hip Dive | Holding Punch | Hop Hammer | Hop Kick | Hop Punch | Horse Kick | Hyper Uppercut | Jab | Jab-Reversal | Jab, Straight | Kick | Knuckles Glider | Knuckle Special | Leg Throw | Low Hook | Low Punch | Long-Tongue | Magical Hammer | One-Two Punch | One-Two Reversal | One-Two Throw | One-Two Uppercut | One-Two Wham! | Propeller Dash | Propeller Dash-F | Propeller Dash-L | Propeller Dash-R | Pummel Combo | Pummel Punch | Punch | Punch-Kick | Punch Rush | Punch-Spin | Push Away | Rapid Peck | Rapid Shoot | Rapid Straight | Rising Uppercut | Rocket Missile | Roundhouse Kick | Rush Spin | Scissor Punch | Shadow Followup | Shadow Punch | Skip Kick | Side Kick | Sit Punch | Slap Attack | Slap Kick | Slip-Around | Smackback Kick | Sniper Set! Snipe 1,2,3,4 | Spin Attack | Spin Dive | Spin Double Kick | Spin Hammer | Spin Kick | Spin Punch Bomb Throw Combo | Spin Rocket | Spiral Feint | Spiral Spin | Spinning Uppercut Bomb Throw Combo | Stomp | Stomp Dive | Strike | Submarine Sniper | Super Cork | Super Rush | Swing Uppercut | Tabletop Flip | Tail Attack | Tail Combo | Tail Down Attack | Tail Kick | Tail Spring Kick | Tail Throw | Three-Bomb Toss | Tongue-Down | Tongue Punch | Tongue Throw | Tongue Throw + | Toss & Attack | Triple Beak | Triple Cork | Triple Hammer | Triple Kick | Triple Punch | Triple Scissor | Triple Side Kick | Triple Tail Kick | Turnaround | Twin Hammer Dive | Twin-Dodge Snipe | Twin Punch-Spin | Uppercut | Volley Toss | Wall Beak Dive | Wall Dive | Wall Hammer | Wall Spin | Wall Stamp | Wall Twin Hammer | Weapon Grab | Wheel Dash | Wheel Punch | Wimpy Punch | Windup Kick | Windup Punch | | |
| Music | Sonic the Fighters Sound Tracks | |
| Other | Chaos Emerald | Death Egg II | Difficulty* | E-Mech | Health Gauge | Hyper Mode | Lunar Fox | Mirror fighter | Ring | South Island | Tails' Lab | Tornado | Sunset Town | |
| *Appears in the 2012 remaster only V·T·E | Category | ||
V·T·E · {{Shadow Generations info}} · {{Generations (3DS) info}} · Category