HEDGEHOG HEAVEN VS HEDGEHOG HELL
INSPIRED AND INFURIATING LEVEL DESIGN MOMENTS FROM SONIC’S HISTORY
HEAVEN MOMENT REEL GOOD TIME SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
The slot reels in the background of Casino Night Zone could so easily have just been a bit of background detail, but the fact that you could use them to gamble for more rings really added something to the stage – as did the fact that you had to play pinball with Sonic to do so.
HEAVEN MOMENT FALSE FINISH SONIC GENERATIONS
Just as in Sonic The Hedgehog (2006), Crisis City Act 1 takes place during an ongoing disaster. Right as you think you’ve escaped the apocalyptic city, the traditional end post gets swept up by a tornado and flies away, forcing you to push just a little further through the devastation to finish.
HEAVEN MOMENT BURNING BRIDGE SONIC MANIA
When you first try to cross a bridge in Green Hill Zone with the fire shield, it will instead burn and collapse beneath you. It’s a special moment that not only opens up a new route, but shows that the development team can conjure up new tricks from the raw material of the classic games.
HELL MOMENT DEATH PIT SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
This nasty little area represents one of the few places in a Sonic game where you can get truly stuck, with no way out except death, as you can’t jump high enough to get out. Pity those who fall down here as Super Sonic – the wait for your rings to run out feels endless.
HELL MOMENT BARREL OF DOOM SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3
You have to press up and down on the d-pad to move this barrel. That isn’t explained anywhere in the game or manual, and it reacts to jumping enough to trick you into thinking that’s how it works. It isn’t, and a whole generation of kids fell at this particularly ill-considered hurdle.
HELL MOMENT FINAL HAUNT HERO MISSION SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG
All you have to do here is reach the goal ring – but if you use Shadow’s Hero power, Chaos Control, you can inadvertently activate switches for the Dark mission and cause the goal ring to disappear. Finishing the stage requires you to backtrack and turn them all off again.