Ranking Every Classic Sonic Zone (Worst to Best)

hey folks recently i've played through all the classic sonic games included in the sonic origins collection and felt like it was the perfect time to do something i've been wanting to do for a long time rank all of the zones in sonic 1 cd 2 3 and knuckles from my least favorite to my absolute all-time favorite with each zone i had to think about how much i enjoyed it the first time i ever experienced it way back in the day and balanced that feeling with how much i've enjoyed subsequent replays a big part of the decision making process when ranking zones hinged on me asking myself how much would i want to replay this particular zone right now versus all of the others we've got 36 classic zones to talk about and i want to get stuck in as soon as possible but a few quick notes first for starters a few zones are missing from this list i haven't ranked final zone from sonic 1 for example as it's not substantial enough and it basically functions as the boss of scrap brain zone similarly i've not included sonic 2's death egg or sonic knuckles is hidden palace and doomsday zone because they're not really substantial enough to talk about there's not really any level design to discuss second sonic 3 and knuckles feature different paths through most levels depending on whether you play as sonic or knuckles i'm going to be considering the sonic versions of each level in this ranking to keep things simple because i recently played through with sonic finally i've included some speed strats at the end of each zone mini review they represent how much i enjoy each zone's visuals each zone's music how difficult i find each zone and how much i enjoy the boss okay i think that's it without further ado let's get going wacky workbench is an extremely experimental sonic cd stage which revolves around one singular gimmick the central gimmick of the zone is the floor when it's powered up it sends sonic shooting wildly upwards into the upper echelons of the stage when i say the floor i literally mean the entire floor there's very few safe spots in the lowest rung of wacky workbench that won't fire you up into the air the upper areas form a metallic cobweb of walkways punctuated by electric fences and dangerous bad nets whenever you get launched upwards the challenge is to work your way back down and try your look at making some progress without getting launched straight back up again part of me appreciates what they were going for when they put together this stage but i just find it an irritating experience to play through there's no rhyme or reason to the zone's layout it's intentionally confusing and tedious and represents the worst of sonic cd's labyrinthine level design philosophy this is made even worse when you consider all of the exploring you're encouraged to do in sonic cd to find time travel lamp posts and locate robotnik's machines in the past exploring wacky workbench is a nightmare a constant battle not to be launched in a direction that you don't really want to go in also the boss of this zone absolutely sucks it makes use of the zone's bouncy floor gimmick which is good but man is it frustrating you kind of have to jump onto different platforms and chase robotnik upwards but if you fall get ready to a lose all of your rings permanently and b work your way tediously back up again sonic 1's final zone scrap brain is designed to be hard but frankly it borders on being utterly frustrating i think the idea of scrap brain was to pack as many obstacles tough enemies and platforming challenges together to test the player's skill and reflexes before the final boss but the level designers took things way too far it's impossible to build up a head of steam or gain any momentum here because there's just so many little dangers and hazards you'll find yourself constantly getting hit and getting your ass kicked if you don't like the sound of sonic losing his rings over and over again this one isn't for you the saws are gonna cut you up the flamethrowers are gonna burn you disappearing platforms will irritate you and these pig bad knicks will throw their balls at you to make things worse i'm not a fan of this zone artistically either the zone's music is evidently inspired by blade runner but it feels out of place somehow the look of the zone is incredibly drab too just a sea of greys and browns it's a bland visual direction i get the idea was to highlight the horrific threat robotnik poses to the lovely green environments of the game's earlier zones but there's too much grey here on top of that its biggest sin is act three after two acts battling through an industrial hellscape act three is a redo of everyone's favorite zone labyrinth i imagine this was done as a time saving cost during development in lieu of a more exciting act 3 being finished in time but it always felt like an antique climax and a cheap trick to pretty much end the game with another underwater section sky chase is substantial enough not for me to exclude it from the ranking but it's the least meaty zone on the list it takes place entirely in the sky big surprise with sonic standing on the front of the tornado in pursuit of robotnik's wing fortress battleship the problem is it's the only zone i find actively boring which is the antithesis of what a sonic zone should be skychase feels like an extended cutscene that you have to control but something a little shorter would have sufficed in all honesty because it's incredibly easy all you have to do is smash through a bunch of badniks the background is just sky so that's also uninspired visually at least the music has a relaxing little melody though i guess the slower pace of the zone feels like a nice breather between all of the other end game hairiness but meh i do have to say this one thing i really dislike the idea of tails being the greatest pilot on earth it might seem nitpicky but come on tails is such a skilled pilot but he manages to keep track of a constantly moving sonic on the wings of his biplane it's a little bit silly is labyrinth zone as bad as everyone says it is in my opinion yes yes it is labyrinth zone is the very first water level in sonic history underwater levels have gotten a bit of a bad rep in general but when it comes to labyrinth the bad reputation is well earned it's a nightmare unlike other watery zones labyrinth is an entirely subterranean cavern system that demands the player play by its rules and spend the majority of their time underwater while submerged you'll have to struggle against tricky bad knicks dodge nasty obstacles and keep gulping on air bubbles under threat of drowning to add to the challenge sonic's movement is hampered and slower underwater adding an extra layer of difficulty to the zone i guess the whole point of the zone is to test your skill set while dealing you this massive handicap of not being able to move around as freely but i think this leads to labyrinth feeling like a claustrophobic experience i also happen to really hate this zone's boss i'd always screw up the boss chasing him wildly through the underwater maze hoping to get that traditional eight hits to finish him off but you don't actually need to hit robotnik the usual eight times to finish this zone it's an exception simply focus on dodging the barrage of projectiles as you ascend and as soon as you reach the top of the cavern you're done whether you hit robotnik 8 times or not one of my least favorite bosses in the classic games caps off one of my least favorite levels in the classic games wing fortress is sonic 2's epic cinematic penultimate zone a giant warship that ends up flying sonic and robotnik into space wing fortress is the ultimate mixed bag on the one hand it has some fun little platforming sections that see you scaling the ship's exterior it makes for a really cool visual it's also bookended with fun little opening and ending cut scenes a real treat that makes the zone stand out when playing through sonic 2. for some reason though i've just never been overly fond of wing fortress for starters the militaristic music is a little blase then there's the rather ugly bronzed brown colour of the ship not particularly nice to look at the level is also short but very confusing there's this middle section that feels like a waste of time every time i replay it i never know exactly where to go here also if you've got all the chaos emeralds at this point please do not transform into super sonic this is the one zone where playing a super makes the zone infinitely harder his faster pace makes it really easy to fall off finally the boss is also just playing hard and annoying it's almost impossible to do without getting hit i never enjoy bosses that have you constantly scrambling for rings and this one definitely fits that description it's quite finickity trying to hit robotnik's roof laser using his floating spiked platforms that can also harm you it's never particularly satisfying to defeat so i'd say there's more bad than good in wing fortress i'm just not very enamored with it at times sonic cd feels like a weird alternate reality version of sonic 1. some of its zones are really close in design and execution to their sonic 1 counterparts this is the case with metallic madness which feels like an alternate reality version of scrap brain many of madnesses obstacles gimmicks and platforms are in fact ripped straight out of scrap brain zone i'd argue that of the two metallic madness is the better zone as this is the last sonic cd zone it's understandably difficult and describing the zone's layout as maze-like or confusing would be an understatement there's a few areas that are intentionally convoluted and hard to get through you're meant to get lost you're meant to go around a couple of times and try and find the correct way out as the game's final zone though this kind of feels acceptable what metallic madness does have is a great great look it's as if sega gave scrap brainzone an insane paint job the zone is typically busy in that sonic cd kind of way but it looks great just a mess of machinery and wires and stuff the music is a mixed bag the american soundtrack is really sinister and takes itself too seriously but the japanese soundtrack has a giddy infectious energy that works really well the dramatic tension of this zone is a little bit undercut by the preceding zone stardust speedway which is superior in every way and features an exhilarating showdown with metal sonic which is kind of better than metallic madness's final boss the thing is about metallic madness i would have loved to see some of its more interesting ideas like its chibi laser get more time and space to breathe it's used in a very limited capacity while a lot of the cheap tricks which are borrowed from scrap brain are all over the place and once again a headache inducing overall to be fair metallic madness is a decent attempt at a final zone oil ocean is a tough one to review it's got a lot going for it but it's also got some glaring folds visually it's great it's one of the best representations of what classic sonic games were all about fighting an environmentalist battle against the horrendous polluting dr robotnik oil ocean with its metallic structures and rivers of oil is an eyesore in the right sort of way i think it's meant to look kind of ugly which it does while also looking kind of cool and futuristic if that makes sense the arabian style music and scorching sun in the background is also a nice treat as well making it feel all sweaty i think it's the layout and general gameplay here that i'm not particularly fond of the zones two badniks the seahorse and the squid are always thorns in my side they're absolute nuisances that each fire off small hard to dodge projectiles that almost always get me they're absolutely everywhere the level is also hampered by a few little gimmicks that actually detract from the zone's pacing the green manhole covers you have to jump on the weird soccer balls you get fired out of the fans that you have to contend with there's just a few too many horrible little things like this that slow down the tempo momentum and flow of the level when you combine the convoluted level design with the dastardly obstacles and the sheer length of the zone you've got an endurance test on your hands this zone represents the moment when sonic 2 evolves from a really fun game to a fairly challenging and demanding one so maybe that's why i'm a little down on it sonic cd's second zone feels like a prototype version of carnival night or casino night zone a bright and colorful zone collision chaos is decorated with bumpers and countless other bouncy things galore when coupled with sonic cd's maze-like level design the springs and bumpers ensure the zone lives up to its name it's a big messy fun park of a zone in the best possible way visually it borders on being a bit overdone but sonic cd was populated with really weird abstract zones that almost have an alien appearance this one definitely fits that description how would you even describe this place it's so experimental and frankly i really like it the music here is amazing too i'm talking specifically about the japanese track which is inspired by the musical subgenre new jack swing it's one of the catchiest sonic tunes of all time collision chaos also marks a debut with metal sonic who appears to kidnap amy rose in dramatic fashion which is a nice story touch so with all the complementary stuff out of the way why is collision chaos ranked so low the big big issue is the boss one of my least favorite sonic bosses ever the boss here is dr robotnik sitting proudly at the top of a gigantic pinball machine your mission is to use the flippers to shoot yourself up and get him it sounds simple enough but the setup of this pinball area is just so annoying and difficult it's so hard just getting up there there's so many obstacles in the way it's a complete nightmare as an avid reader of ancient egyptian history sandopolis zone has a special place in my heart but even as a wannabe egyptologist i can't let sandopolis off the hook entirely act one is good but not great set in the sweltering heat of a desert temple complex sandopolis looks and sounds ancient and intense the music and the pyramids and hieroglyphs that decorate the background and foreground respectively tip the player off to the awesome egyptian theme what i love most is the hazy feel that the zone has there's a cool visual effect that makes it seem like the heat is sweltering here you can see it rising off the ground you can positively feel it coming through the screen heck even the badniks are amazing you've got this badass scorpion badnik and then this guy one of the most useless badniks of all time he's literally just a block of sand with eyes things start to turn a little sour when you reach the mini boss at the end of act one a pyramid guardian he's a cute gimmick boss but when you figure out the secret to beating him he's pretty tedious to re-fight then things get really out of hand in act 2 which takes place inside the pyramid here you'll have to contend with ghosts who spawn if you don't use the switches to keep the pyramid's lights on while the ghosts haunt you when the visibility lowers you'll also have to contend with a bunch of timed challenges getting through barriers before they close and releasing rising sand to ascend to higher areas of the pyramid it's quite full on and the act is so big and maze-like it's quite easy to get a time over here all of act 2's ideas are kind of fun but when they're combined together they make for a stressful experience metropolis is the beginning of sonic 2's end game it's where things start to get really serious it's also the only zone in that game to have three acts part of me loves the sheer audacity of sega adding a third act onto this tough zone but part of me thinks it was a bit of a mistake because metropolis zone feels like it goes on forever it's three acts of pain a metallic boot camp that puts all of your previous training to the test i sense that metropolis isn't too popular amongst fans but there's a lot to love here yes i'm an apologist and i'm being totally serious the music alone elevates metropolis up a couple of places on this list it's such a fist-pumping tune totally badass it's an industrial zone and i like how it has theme appropriate gimmicks using nuts to move up and down steam spewing machinery to fire up and cogs to navigate around it's all very fitting the worst thing i can say about the zone is that it has three of the most deadly and annoying bad knicks in the entire sonic series you have the crabs with extendable arms but are always perched perfectly to knock you off edges then you got the starfish that explode and release bullets in five different directions when you get close always placed next to the bolts that you have to move up then there's the grasshoppers that throw arms at you just like the crabs they're always put in the worst possible places they're genius in a very twisted sort of way all three are definite contenders for the most infuriating badnik of all time award i've decided though that at three acts it's simply too long a zone it does give the zone some gravitas but yeah by act 3 i'm itching for it to end as cool as it is we've reached our first zone from sonic 3 the dark amusement park that is carnival night zone this is like a spiritual successor to casino night there's absolutely loads of little gimmicks and things to interact with here balloons to pop and jump up higher barrels to ride up and down speed boost gates to whiz through at max speed it's a bag of laughs going through this place i've described it as a dark amusement park because there's something unsettling about this place it feels so empty like a liminal space or something and that feeling only intensifies in act two when the lights go out and the zone fills with water there's an uncomfortable lonely scooby-doo atmosphere at work here there's one topic we've not touched upon yet in sonic origins a few of sonic 3's music tracks were replaced due to licensing issues pertaining to the fact that michael jackson and his team worked on them back in the day the original team mj version of the music of carnival night zone is one of the zone's best qualities it incorporates melodies from michael jackson's jam and julius fusic's entry of the gladiators but beyond the circus sounding organ music is a strange sinister vibe the mj music is great because it has these moments where it pauses or where something stark like a glass shatter sound effect goes off interrupting the chugging carnival music the sonic origins version of the zone music is fairly generic happy-go-lucky circus music it sucks a lot of the atmosphere out of the zone one of the main reasons i've ranked carnival knight fairly low is because you guessed it that blasted barrel of doom in act two i'm not going to discuss it at length again here because i have a whole video on it already but i can say plenty of people have shared their testimonies with me about giving up on sonic 3 just because of this barrel so yeah it drags carnival night zone down a couple of rungs hilltop feels like the zone i always forget about when it comes to sonic 2. taking place roughly halfway through the game hilltop is a high mountainous area plagued by volcanic activity visually the game's foreground looks kind of like a recolor of emerald hill and its background feels like the least inspired in sonic 2 consisting mainly of clouds and mountain ranges in short it's not particularly memorable the music is also my least favorite of sonic 2's phenomenal soundtrack by a country mile it's annoyingly shrill and screechy what's with the high-pitched shrieking sounds still hilltop does have some merits it's got fast moments it's got some thematically appropriate and fun badniks including this dinosaur guy that lives in lava and there's a couple of memorable set pieces that create a tense atmosphere aiming to replicate the feeling of traversing an active volcano by trapping sonic in situations where he has to escape from rising lava hilltop's approach to having dynamic set pieces like this feels like a precursor to sonic 3 where this thing is more common the idea of exploring an active volcano is a pretty neat and ambitious concept and it's executed fairly well here overall hilltop is a bit of a net zone not very interesting but decent enough to play through shame about the music really i think a lot of people really dislike marble zone and that's a real shame i've often heard it cited as slowing the fast pace set by green hill zone down too dramatically this is fair criticism the catacomb-like zone is punctuated by a ton of obstacles traps and slow-moving platforms demanding the player take their time to get through it a gentler pace is recommended throughout honestly though i don't dislike this zone and i think marble zone sets the player up with a decent challenge that's enjoyable to conquer call me crazy but i like most of marble zone and i don't think sonic stages only have to be fast to be fun some platforming can be rewarding and i find revisiting marble zone to be quite a refreshing experience it's kind of simplistic in a charming way i'll admit though one or two moments feel like the level designers went a little overboard considering this is only the second level in the game there's one section in particular that punishes you if you fall off by forcing you to replay part of the level it's a section where you're asked to navigate relatively small platforms while contending with spikes and bat badniks for newcomers this can be brutal and you're almost guaranteed to mess this up on your first go what i do love and what i feel isn't appreciated enough about the zone though is the lonely dungeon vibe there's something about the graveyard-looking setting and melancholic music that creates a special atmosphere ultimately i'd probably be more fond of marble zone if it was just two acts rather than three because by the third it's outstayed its welcome a little this is an interesting one hidden palace was a scrapped zone that didn't find its way into the original release of sonic 2 in 1992. when christian whitehead and co re-released the game for mobile devices decades later they included it as a little bonus stage so hidden palace is the newest of all the stages on this list i really like the idea of bringing back an old half-finished zone and thankfully the devs showed some restraint here and tried to emulate many of the elements of what hidden palace was originally conceived to be i think more than anything else i like the newness and freshness of this stage having played sonic 2 dozens of times i've only played through this particular zone twice so it feels brand new to me still what that does mean is i'm not so familiar with the zone's layout which feels a little bit chaotic and all over the place it feels more like a playground and a treat rather than a cohesive zone but that's not a huge problem for a cute little hidden area the only thing i definitively dislike about this new zone is the boss robotnik's boss chamber has an impressive background but the fight is pretty tedious and kind of reminds me of some of the worst fights from sonic mania robotnik drops bombs on you and you have to line them up with him when they explode to hit him it's a half decent idea but it involves a lot of waiting around beyond that though decent zone the third zone of sonic 1 spring yard is one i used to be really fond of but my enthusiasm for it has cooled a little bit over the years with its bumpers and other bouncy things it feels like an early prototype version of the casino carnival style stages of later sonic games which are always fun spring yard is fun too but its bumpers and springs are a little bit less enjoyable to play around with than say casino night zones because they feel more like obstacles to overcome than fun peripherals to play around with what spring yard does have though is some of the fastest moments in sonic 1 with some impressively steep slopes and sheer drops there's some exhilarating parts and there's these cute little armadillo badnicks that give you a room for your money in the speed department i've always had a fondness for these guys spring yard also has that wonderful sonic 1 quality of being tricky to describe succinctly it's this weird park on the outskirts of a city that's filled with bumpers and neon signs it's a little bizarre but its kitsch colour palette and delightful music add to the gentle strange mood the zone creates the biggest problem with spring yard is there are a few too many moments where the level grinds to a hull marble zone often gets criticized for this but it's prevalent here too and arguably worse these big boxes for example crop up far too many times and they're a real slog demanding a lot of waiting around to get past there's no challenge here they're just a ball ultimately as fun as spring yard zone is the concept it was going for was executed much much better in future games but hey it's a good first attempt i feel like marble garden zone is pretty underrated i think it's widely regarded as the weakest sonic 3 zone but considering sonic 3 is a very strong game that's not really saying much marble garden looks fantastic that's for sure it's always reminded me of an ancient exotic temple complex buried deep within thick jungles kind of like angkor wat out in cambodia sonic 3 knuckles has a kind of indiana jones feel at times letting you explore the ancient remnants of civilizations here in the hidden palace and in sandopolis and i really appreciate that marble garden has some really exhilarating max speed moments which look awesome and feel great to play but my favorite thing about the zone is how dynamic it feels robotnik or his digging robot continually crop up and mine their way through the zone causing earthquakes and path changes right before your eyes it feels like the zone is alive and changing right there and then i will accept though that there's a few annoying things about marble garden there's a lot of moments where you can suddenly be squashed or spiked without warning the zone also has a frustrating combination of bad knicks that are more stealthy and well hidden than most other zones then there's the spinning top gimmicks used to smash through parts of the level riding them never feels like the most comfortable experience in all honesty i'm really torn on the zone's boss too it's really unique because it takes place in the air with tails gaining the power of infinite flight you'll have to jump off tails to attack the flying egg machine it makes for an impressive scene but it can be quite tricky i see marble garden as a mixed bag but it's far from a bad zone tidal tempest sonic cd's third zone is a valiant attempted water zone i've said it before and i'll say it again sonic water zones aren't bad with the exception of labyrinth tidal tempest incidentally feels like labyrinth zone done well visually it's very similar being another underwater temple complex though tidal tempest has an aura of beauty about it it's kooky colour palette and mesmerizing volcano background creates a very chilled out atmosphere it's so ambient the zone also has an excellent soundtrack the japanese variant is a hypnotic slow paced relaxing piece while the funky american variant is silky smooth both really great ultimately sonic cd puts a premium on expansive level design that encourages exploration and allows for some backtracking this sort of level design philosophy complements tidal tempest perfectly it feels like a big dangerous maze but it's nowhere near as claustrophobic as labyrinth zone you're sometimes forced and sometimes encouraged to dive into the water you can if you want stay up top and complete the level fairly easily but if you want to do all of the time travel trickery you're gonna have to go underwater unlike the rather pokey labyrinth tidal tempest more expansive tunnels keep the challenge focused on not losing your way and keeping your air topped up there's nowhere near as many dangers as in labyrinth zone which is a good thing ruins is a tropical temple that's been abandoned and engulfed by nature unlike labyrinth and tidal tempest it actually presents players with multiple branching paths through the zone play well enough and you'll be able to avoid the water below almost entirely and traverse the rugged jungles and crumbling architecture of the zone's upper path play recklessly and you'll find yourself dropping down and being forced to survive aquatic ruins watery pathways the ruins aren't as taxing as labyrinth mind but there's one or two tense moments down there so if possible it's best to stay up top generally speaking though the water sections never outstay their welcome i think with aquatic ruins sega learned an important lesson about water zones they aren't intrinsically bad if executed well enough and the key to the execution here is that having to survive underwater feels like a fitting punishment for not being careful enough to stick to the upper root on subsequent replays of the game you'll be itching to play this zone again to find another more optimal route through i do also need to give this level some credit for introducing the fan favorite badnik grounder who burst from the walls unexpectedly to attack you love this little guy the final zone of sonic 3 launch base takes an entirely different approach in terms of its look and feel than the other final zones in the series rather than having a scary ominous industrial colour palette launch base is eye-poppingly bright the vibrant yellows and purples of the zone's foreground contrasting wonderfully with the death egg lurking in the background ready to launch launch base has a hot tropical atmosphere that serves as a clever callback to the game's first zone the similarly exotic angel island the music fits that unique atmosphere that launch base has brilliantly too and yes once again i'm talking about the original version of the music presumed to have been done by team michael jackson the mj track is an absolute adrenaline rush combining tropical instrumentation with disc scratches and the ever-present repeating voice clip urging you to go go go go it's literally impossible not to tap your toes when listening to this one there's something really subversive about launch base the stereotypically sinister atmosphere of other final levels isn't present it's actually quite pleasant and summery however the challenge is still there and the challenge lies in getting through a really big rambling level with an amazing amount of twists turns and surprises it's equal part speedy and strategically demanding there's plenty of hazards here but it doesn't make you feel all choked up and claustrophobic it's got a really good balance it's also got some of the series best cut scenes of all time knitted into level my favorite moment is when the death egg finally launches in the background and sonic pops into robotnik's egomatic you can't underestimate how amazing it was to see this for the first time i lost my mind overall it's a wonderful zone but the sonic origins track for this zone is atrocious the other sonic origins music is not too bad but the launch based one is a generic upbeat track that wouldn't sound out of place in any run-of-the-mill 1990s platformer game you can imagine it in a bubsy or a mickey mouse game so much of the zone's edge and character are ripped away when you replace the original music with the origins music sonic and knuckles epic death x zone is probably the best final zone from the classic games taking place in both the interior and exterior of robotnik's death star ripoff death egg manages to find a balance between phone and challenge the previous final zone struggled with i think it helps that the zone's incredibly stylish death egg's electronic sounding music is a tense track that also happens to be really funky there's lots of little beeps and boops going on death eggs backgrounds are also phenomenal act 1 takes place inside showing off the immense scale of the place while act 2 takes place outside with a beautiful view of the planet below it's a visual and oral treat showing off the genius of dr robotnik like never before gameplay wise act one is a thrill ride full to the brim with cool looking bad knicks and plenty of unique high-tech gadgets to get to grips with crucially though death egg also throws you about at high speed at times helping to retain a healthy sense of momentum act 2 introduces a fun gravity gimmick travel through the elevators and you'll find gravity is flipped and you'll have to navigate the zone upside down a neat trick and a worthy disorienting challenge for the game's final zone i do have a couple of negative things to say the transporters in act 1 are fast but they're a little bit headache inducing but that's a minor quibble more annoyingly is the act 2 boss in theory it's a clever boss it surrounds itself with shields and belches out spikes that trail the floor you have to use the gravity switch elevators to hit him with his own spikes it's a smart concept but i always find myself losing patience with this one the timing is surprisingly tough i suppose the saving grace is it does lead to an excellent fight with the death egg robot which i think looks cooler here with a slightly more subtle color scheme than it does in sonic 2. quartz quadrant is in some ways a bit of a mixed bag it's this gigantic mining facility that marries together very high speed hijinks with big wide open spaces that encourage exploration it's sandwiched between much hairier levels tidal tempest and wacky workbench and feels like a relatively chilled out experience in contrast to those two quartz quadrant is thankfully really fun to play through it's a big old spacious complex populated by plenty of springs and lots of conveyor belts which are designed to transport quartz mined by robotnik but can be put to good use by sonic it's a zone that doesn't hamper the player with too many traps or gimmicks it's just a good old-fashioned zone that's equally as fun to blast through as it is to explore my only criticism ironically is that it's maybe too simple sonic cd levels can be a little bit too busy but quartz quadrant kind of feels empty it's one of the shorter and easier levels but it comes roughly halfway through the game so it always takes me by surprise on the one hand it's one of those zones that lets you catch your breath but on the other hand it feels a bit undercooked what i will say about quartz quadrant is that it's one of the most visually stunning levels in sonic cd the beautiful color choice and the expansive background work together to make it an absolute treat for the eyes i'm also really fond of the robotnik fight at the end of this zone too you'll have to use one of the conveyor belts offensively and wear down robotnik's machine while he drops bombs on you i love the few bosses where you have to use robotnik's own machinery to defeat him it gives robotnik this bumbling idiot side to his personality that i like finally for what it's worth i love the hard rock riff of the american version of the zone's music it's awesome and one of the few times where i think the american soundtrack well and truly outshines its japanese counterparts by the time sonic and knuckles released in 1994 the concept of every sonic games first level being a pleasant natural zone modeled off green hill zone was well established sonic 3 slightly subverted the idea by making its opening zone a thick tropical jungle sonic and knuckles also riffed on the opening zone concept making its first zone a fantastical forest populated by big bouncy mushrooms mushroom hill zone which is the first zone of sonic and knuckles follows launch base when you play sonic 3 knuckles together so it either serves as a nice introductory level or a great calm breather after a rather intense zone either way it's incredibly fun there's a lot to love here the bouncy music is fun the bright graphics give the zone a pleasant glow the bad knicks are creative and there's lots of cool gimmicks to enjoy the mushrooms themselves can be bounced off a nice little environmental detail that helps make traversing this place such a pleasure mushroom hill's real ace in the hole is act 2 the act starts with knuckles pulling a switch that sends sonic flying up into the air and into a more autumnal part of the mushroom hill here the mushrooms are an unhealthy blue color and the greenery has given way to the crinkly browns and oranges of fall the pallet switches again later after passing through a tunnel when you emerge you'll see a mushroom hill bursting with green bringing to mind an area experiencing spring and recovering from a tough autumn in winter the palette changes don't dramatically alter the way the zone is played but they're a lovely touch and make me feel like i'm experiencing three different seasons of one area mushroom hill also has one of the best bosses in the classic quadrilogy you have to chase dr robotnik while dodging all of these spiky barriers there's some really impressive use of sudo 3d here so this boss is kind of tough at times but it also looks really impressive it's a really cool end to a thumbs up zone ah emerald hill zone everything about emerald hill triggers a more nostalgic reaction in me than any other zone i played it so many times as a kid the bright summer look and cheery music makes me feel right at home emerald hill is a decent retread of green hill zone but with a brighter palette and more of a beachy coastal feel this time around it's a great little playground to get comfortable with everything that sonic 2 introduces from the spindash to tails is power of flight to the special stage lampposts i do feel like sega wanted to pack emerald hill with little subtle moments to wow the player after sonic 1. i always get a cheap thrill running through emerald hill's loop de loops exploring its nooks and crannies and tearing through its checkered half-pipes it's an undemanding jaunt and i'd say the only issue is it's length it's really easy to blast through in record time so it never feels like it lasts quite long enough in all honesty similarly the robotnik boss fight in his mole mobile is ridiculously easy a significant step down in contrast to green hill zones boss still everything from the cute badniks to the beautiful lake and mountain vistas in the background signal the start of a brilliant game my second favorite zone in the first sonic game starlight is a fun and breezy ride following the much-hated labyrinth it feels like a chilled out reward for surviving labyrinths underwater antics starlight is a definitive vibe the laid-back music coupled with the delicate pastel color palette and the signature sega cityscape in the background make this zone feel so relaxing it's got a very surreal lazy atmosphere that's not really been captured again in subsequent games on top of this it's also really well designed too there are multiple routes through each act a few satisfying speedy moments and seesaw platforming challenges over bottomless pits that feel neither unfair nor tedious you're suspended above a city or something so the bottomless pits feel warranted it's just a fun time through and through and it's a joy to explore while being lulled by that brilliant music it also has a clever boss at the end that challenges you to make use of the zone's seesaw physics to beat robotnik he'll drop spiked bombs down and you can either fire them back up or use them to launch yourself up and hit him some of my favorite sonic bosses are those that make use of a zone's prior gimmicks or those where you use robotnik's own weapons against him this boss has both of those so double thumbs up it makes me wish more end of zone bosses made use of the prior zones gimmicks because it's a pretty neat idea when you see discussions of sonic 2's best zones mystic cave's name doesn't often get thrown out there but it really should it's a massively underrated zone taking place in an underground cavern system mystic cave's dark gloomy look and menacing music give it a distinct and unsettling atmosphere befitting its slightly spooky character mystic cave strikes me as a zone that's challenging in the right sort of way there's plenty of hazards to navigate here the bad knicks particularly the firefly ones demand patience from the player to destroy at the right time the obstacles like the crushing rocks and perilous spike pits are littered all over the place but it's a zone that's really rewarding to conquer because the challenge isn't laid on too thickly it's also a great one to explore to try and figure out the optimal route through this claustrophobic place there's so many different paths to find and drawbridges to lower it's confusing but in a way that makes it fun to traverse in an adventurous sort of way i think one other reason i rate mystic caves so highly is because it's the most substantial zone to play through in sonic 2's original and limited two-player versus mode because of its multiple paths and so many hidden areas it was a perfect zone to challenge other sonic enthusiasts at it only made it more endearing the leafy first zone of sonic cd pantry panic hits all those classic opening zone beats it's got a clean green look enjoyable music and a short runtime but it represents some of the best of what sonic cd has to offer the central gimmick at the heart of sonic cd is time travel one of the aims of the game is to find a lamppost marked past in every zone build up enough speed to trigger a time warp and travel to the past in each act to destroy a roboticizer machine there in order to save the future from being overtaken by dr robotnik it's a fascinating concept and it results in sonic cd's level design being more unorthodox and sometimes more convoluted compared to the other classic games for a zone like palm tree panic though the time travel mechanic really enhances the experience like other opening stages this one is on paper really really short but when you've got to find a lamp post build up a head of steam to time travel and then find the machine in the past well that all encourages you to spend more time exploring every inch of the zone while this can get tedious in other sonic cd stages it's a net positive for palm tree panic which isn't too large too challenging nor too complicated also i happen to enjoy the american and japanese versions of this zone's music kind of equally the american variant is more tropical sounding while the japanese is more cheery and jubilant both suit the zone well in slightly different ways lava reef zone is where the drama of sonic and knuckles story really gets kicked up a notch with the ominous death egg visible in the background lava reef zone takes place in the prominent volcano that dominates the landscape of the floating island act one is a rocky semi-industrialized zone that feels like a mining facility it's flowing with lava and populated with traps and dangerous mining equipment the zone's layout and gameplay are fairly average and because this is a late game zone quite challenging but it's really the ethereal vibe of lava reef that's its best quality the music is absolutely rocking oozing the drama of the story from its every port i absolutely adore the look of the zone too the backgrounds are absolutely beautiful and i love how threatening the death egg looks lodged in the crater of the volcano getting larger as you get closer the lava also looks a lot better here than it did in hilltop zone act 2 is quite a subversive experience the music changes dramatically gaining a mysterious mystical crystalline quality and the red hot zone turns into a beautiful gleaming cool blue color it looks absolutely breathtaking i think lava roof's boss is quite divisive but i happen to love it there's an extended pre-boss sequence that sees knuckles knock you down to the depths of the volcano where you'll be besieged by robotnik and an arsenal of missiles in the steaming heat the boss itself is one of the series more challenging ones robotnik who hides out in the lava in a machine will fire off spike balls that you have to jump over and let him damage himself with unfortunately it's trivially easy if you're playing as super or hypersonic but on your first playthrough it's bound to be a bit of a tense one sonic knuckles penultimate zone sky sanctuary is a zone that's heavy on storytelling and atmosphere but unfortunately a little light on length like hidden palace and doomsday it's only a one-act zone and that's a real shame because sky sanctuary is an intoxicating place it starts off with a background view of the death egg zone launching into space and dispatching a troop of elite egg robo robots to lead an assault on the sanctuary knuckles lends you a helping hand which further cements sonic and knuckles friendship at the end of the game sky sanctuary is a place that's brimming with drama and story like this i think it's probably the prettiest of sonic zones a floating temple complex that slowly crumbles behind you as you charge through it to pursue the launching death egg what could possibly be more epic than that it's a great zone that has an aura of regality about it sky sanctuary has a wonderful soundtrack too that's simultaneously tranquil but also heady and exciting all at the same time the beautiful greens and yellows of the sanctuary complement the blue sky behind perfectly and form a great contrast to the harsh grays and reds of robotnik's robots it all looks and sounds great as for the gameplay in the zone it's pretty fun and nothing too much to write home about it feels like more of a basic and straightforward ascent than any of the other sonic and knuckle zones but that's quite refreshing considering how sprawling many of sonic and knuckles zones are the design is decent but definitely elevated by the archestry and drama that the zone exudes it's also the home of mechasonic one of robotnik's coolest ever creations when playing a sonic you'll fight him three times twice in old robotnik machines and finally in a one-on-one clash mecca is a lot easier than his counterpart in sonic 2 which is a bit of a shame but one saving grace of this guy is that he reappears as the final boss in knuckles storyline i just thought about the length of the zone again and at the end of the day i'd rather be left wanting more from a sonic zone than left bored and tired by it so the length isn't too much of an issue overall an absolute beauty of a zone in the 1990s sonic oozed cool and no zone quite captured that feeling of coolness quite like ice cap no pun intended a snowy mountainous wasteland icecap's introduction where sonic snowboards its way down a hill never gets old it's one of the greatest level introductions of all time you don't really control sonic much here but the visual just looks so awesome even though ice cap is sonic 3's penultimate zone you can tell the level designers weren't resting on their laurels it's packed with plenty of fun gimmicks set pieces and thematically appropriate environmental hazards that keep you on your toes it's a joy to blast through and most of the challenge here comes from tricky platforming which is something i always appreciate also each act is punctuated by a relatively challenging boss which is a good thing because most of robotnik's contraptions are pretty easy to beat i'd say that the act 2 boss who requires very precise timing to hit him without being frozen is amongst the series absolute hardest ultimately it's icecap's unique atmosphere that i love the most about it the gorgeous icy caverns and the music work together to exude a kind of beautiful lonely feeling which feels appropriate for an isolated zone like this we are at the end of the day exploring an island that's mostly abandoned except for knuckles i hate to repeat myself but yes it's the original music composed by brad buxer who was a member of team mj that i enjoy the origins track though decent lacks both the punch and occasional restraint of the original making ascap feel like more of a generic winter level bux's track which is based on an unreleased new wave song by 1980s band the jetsons that boxer incidentally was a part of benefits from a thumping pop song chorus it's just so dang catchy but it also has some quiet gentle moments where the instrumentation tails off and becomes quite minimalist it captures both the lonely beauty of the ice cap zone but also the various adrenaline rushes that the zone offers never underestimate music in video gaming a good track can make a level and a poor track can almost break a level stardust speedway is my favorite sonic cd zone like all of the other sonic cd zones it's a tricky one to describe it feels like a giant metallic road network with a sprawling neon city in the background visually it's occasionally stunning and occasionally a little cluttered well that is the presence of stardust speedway travel to the past and you'll see in my opinion the most stunning sonic the hedgehog backgrounds of all time the past in stardust speedway looks absolutely gorgeous it's a much more green and leafy area and it's got all sorts of temples and church-like buildings in the background it just looks so tranquil fortunately the zone's gameplay is great and it lives up to its name it's one of the fastest and most unrelentingly chaotic sonic zones of all time the layout of the zone is crazy and encourages mind-blowing speed there are seemingly endless amounts of pathways bookended with springs that fire sonic up down left and right at high speed it feels really liberating playing stardust speedway and having so many opportunities to go blisteringly fast everywhere of course i think the best thing about this place is the zone ends with a fantastic boss a race against metal sonic i'm a sucker for zones that are both fun to play and advance the game's narrative stardust speedway ticks both of those boxes the metal sonic race is a unique boss which has gone down in sonic history as one of the hedgehog's most iconic moments most bosses you have to hit a certain number of times to defeat but metal sonic you just got to beat him to the end of the speedway in a frantic race it's a simple concept but executed really well it's a great moment facing off against your robotic counterpart and equal i'm actually surprised this concept of racing a rival hasn't featured more heavily in sonic bosses it's a perfect fit you also get the great joy of freeing amy rhodes afterwards as well hooray who knew that introducing a mild gambling mechanic into a sonic game would work so well casino night is a bit of an oddity it's the third zone in sonic 2 and it's one of the game's easiest there's only one type of badnik who incidentally isn't very offensive the chances of getting hit by this guy are so low you've basically just got to run into him there's also what feels like less pitfalls and dangers than any of the other zones yeah there's spikes and a few opportunities to get crushed but in reality the threat is super low what casino night does have though is an abundance of flippers bumpers and slot machines all integrated perfectly into the level's layout this is a zone that kind of personifies why sonic games are so fun more so than beating the zone it's really fun just being here and messing about sending sonic shooting all over the screen and trying your look in the slot machines to try and get that elusive jackpot crucially casino night is a zone that no other game franchise has ever really emulated or copied successfully it's uniquely sonic-esque because it complements sonic's physics and moveset so well guiding sonic through essentially a giant pinball machine feels as smooth as it is satisfying for what it's worth i also love the gordy vega style visuals and the sleazy casino music sega really leaned in to the casino gimmick and it worked out so well no wonder these types of stages are still going strong in modern sonic games in my opinion though casino knight has never been bested it's always an absolute joy to play through and a zone i look forward to and that's how all zones should strive to be really sonic knuckles second zone is a real doozy taking place entirely on a gigantic robotnik warship flying battery is fast furious and unrelenting it's about as perfect as the sonic the hedgehog zone can get let's start with the look remember when i said wing fortress looked kind of drab not so with flying battery it's bright and colourful while also retaining a militaristic sheen its use of purples and oranges for the interior make it pop out of the screen the music absolutely rocks too an incredibly exciting track it always gets me pumped up to play and both act 1 and 2's music track rank amongst my favorite sonic tracks of all time i love the way that flying battery also has a practical purpose within the world of sonic 2. the zone is littered with capsules some of the ones in flying battery release rings or badniks rows of them can be seen in the background of act two and one of them even forms the act one mini boss capture walls have become a staple of the series at this point and it's really cool to see flying battery contextualized as this hideous warship that distributes these horrible mini prisons all over mobius flying battery also plays like an absolute dream it just flows so smoothly from one moment to the next the perfect example of a zone that seamlessly blends different elements together high-speed hijinx with precision platforming there's never a dull moment every single moment in flying battery feels well designed you're always being challenged to do something whether that's navigating corridors lined with badniks and electromagnets charging through the ship at top speed or carefully jumping your way around the ship's exterior to top off a perfect zone is a great boss as well the boss sequence starts with a fake out boss similar to the warning wing fortress which is a nice call back then that gives way to a chase as the ship begins to collapse in on itself and finally you fight robotnik on one suspended walkway in his awesome flamethrower gorilla suits the whole zone is simply perfection to put it as bluntly as possible angel island zone is one of the best opening levels in video game history sega really outdid themselves with this one angel island is the humid leafy first zone in sonic the hedgehog 3 and oh boy does it get you pumped to play the rest of the game angel island encapsulates everything that i love about sonic 3 and knuckles as a combined experience for starters the whole level tells a fantastic story throughout with a few sparse little cutscenes and scripted moments the level opens with supersonic charging over the water and onto the shores of the island before the game's new mysterious antagonist knuckles is introduced his first action uppercutting sonic so hard he drops all of his chaos emeralds and loses his super form what an undeniably badass way of introducing a new villain after that you're left to your own devices for a while angel island has a fantastic tropical soundtrack and a thick lush jungle aesthetic totally distinct from its predecessors green hill and emerald hill add to that a troop of adorable and exotic badniks and you've got a zone that you just want to jump through the tv screen to experience for yourself angel island's layout is simple but not condescendingly so the game gives you the opportunity to get to grips with the three new elemental shields it encourages you to explore in order to find big special stage rings and it even has a delightful mixture of vertical platforming underwater sections and the occasional speedy moments it feels like a really diverse zone all by itself towards the end of act 1 one of robotnik's robots will appear and set the whole place ablaze creating a fiery orange glow in the background and setting the foreground flora on fire it's a great little transition and really hammers home the fact that robotnik is a bad dude and an environmental menace destroying the beauty of the earlier part of the zone it makes you want to keep playing just to give robotnik a taste of his own medicine this transition blew my mind in 1994. sonic 1 and 2 didn't have anything that came close to this level of environmental storytelling it was and still is amazing to cap things off act 2 ends with a great little introduction for robotnik and a little bit more of knuckles seriously what's not to love about angel island zone a great look great music great storytelling great level design great everything as iconic as it is genius even though green hill zone was the first ever sonic zone it's quite rightly remembered as one of the series crowning achievements right off the bat green hill zone has that elusive x factor that other 16-bit platformers of the 1990s salivated over the visual design is instantly appealing the checkerboard patterns insectoid badniks perfectly cut grass slightly surreal flora mysterious totem poles and beautiful blue skies all combine to create a feast for the eyes that's not to mention the toe tappingly catchy music who doesn't love that and the awesome first appearance of dr robotnik whose challenging debut is unforgettable there were so many things that worked in the first sonic game and they can all be seen in this very first zone the thing about green hill zone is it's also brilliant at conveying what sonic is all about and what makes sonic stand out above the crowd there are multiple different paths through each act some taking the player higher and others lower this doesn't sound so special now blasting through the zone and realizing there were alternate routes to take next time you play was a really exciting realization green hill wisely offers the player plenty of opportunities to bounce around and enjoy the way sonic moves and has a perfect balance of ultra fast moments and little serious sections that require more careful platforming by the end of green hill you'll be more than ready to face every challenge the first game has to offer like world 1-1 in super mario brothers green hill zone is a seminal moment in video game history i'd say after green hill chemical plant has become the zone eternally associated with sonic the hedgehog and for good reason like i said earlier a lot of people felt marble zones slowed down the pace of sonic 1. for sonic 2 sega took a different approach they wowed gamers with emerald hill and then set the bar even higher with an absolutely awe-inspiring second zone the look and feel of chemical plant is an absolute perfect representation of what sonic's all about the polluted waters the blue chemicals and metal walkways creates a landscape that's heartless and industrial but somehow also bursting with futuristic life and color the music hits the right spot too it's a pumping pulsing techno beat absolutely bursting to the seams with energy it sounds at times harsh and artificial but you can't deny how catchy it is it's also a perfect zone to play it's got so many astonishingly fast moments moments where sonic has flung violently through loops and stuffed into fast-paced pipe transportation systems it's exhilarating there's so many springs and speed boosts all over the place crucially though chemical plant isn't afraid to lay out plenty of challenges too the fast-paced sections often give way to slower platforming sections that require a little patience and timing to get right the most challenging of these is the infamous chamber which fills with water demanding you navigate your way upwards on moving platforms some may say it's frustrating but i always relish this moment challenge is combined with the reward of safety and speed once you've conquered it it's a simple formula but it's executed to perfection here i think chemical plan hits an absolutely perfect sweet spot for me i love every aspect of it it's one of sega's ultimate magnum opuses of all of the sonic water zones hydro city is my favorite by a country mile unlike labyrinth tidal tempest or even aquatic ruin hydro city is as splinteringly fast as it is wet before we get to that though we've got to start with the music the music for both acts as sublimely jazzy tracks positively bursting with energy definite contenders for my favorite pieces of sonic music ever the zone also has an unforgettable look the paved stone walls feel like a callback to labyrinth but hydro city is bursting with colour the golden brickwork punctuated by splashes of turquoise and purple the vast cavernous background is both beautiful and mysterious hydro city is a zone steeped in questions what is this place it feels like an ancient cistern or waterway but its background statues of sonic and its glowing candles give it a strangely pseudo-religious vibe the background adds so much character along with the music and visuals this zone's gameplay is also out of this world yes there's a few underwater moments where you'll have to keep an eye on your air and you'll have to contend with slower controls but much more of the stage takes place above water level hydro city is a gigantic experience but neither its underwater sections nor its above water level sections feel neglected both are intricately designed you have some of that slower underwater gameplay then you've got your super fast sections they both present the player with differing challenges and keep the zone feeling continually fresh and exciting moment to moment hydro city also has two thematically appropriate bosses that use water in unique ways the mini bosses arena for example is partially submerged in water posing an instant challenge the minibus will charge at you from side to side the simple act of jumping over the robot is much harder than it should be because of course you're underwater and more sluggish than usual it's a genius little use of the environment to amplify the bosses intensity and difficulty overall hydrocity is an a plus zone and there we have it on reflection i always look forward to replaying hydro city and i think it's a worthy contender for the best sonic zone ever thanks for joining me it ended up being a little longer than anticipated but please do share with me your thoughts let me know your favorite and least favorite sonic zones and whether you think i overrated or underrated any zones of course this is all just my opinion plenty of people are bound to disagree but i'm looking forward to seeing what everyone says as ever thanks for watching and hopefully i'll see you next time

Channel: Johnny Vector

Views: 243,113

Keywords: sonic ranking, ranking sonic, ranking sonic zones, sonic zone ranking, sonic best, sonic worst, sonic best to worst, sonic list, sonic tier list, sonic origins, sonic 2 zones, sonic 2 best zone, sonic 2 worst zone, ranking every sonic, ranking every sonic zone, rating every sonic zone, reviewing every sonic zone, sonic 1, sonic 2, sonic 3, sonic cd, sonic & knuckles, sonic, sonic the hedgehog, hydrocity, stardust speedway, worst sonic zone, worst sonic level, hydro city

Id: eWje2OxOSUs

Length: 70min 42sec (4242 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 01 2022