Guess the Sonic Generations Stages

[The Doc]

Besides Green Hill Zone? OK.

Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 6
Stage 7
Friend Zone

[gr4yJ4Y]

Friend Zone?

[Delphine]

Yes, the deadly Friend Zone. And I gotta tell ya, the chance of it happening to us lesbos is 88% higher. Frickin' straight women.

[Crisis]

Gay men tend to have the opposite problem. The only guy with whom I've shared a mutual interest turned out to only be in it for the sex.

the sex was pretty lousy too

[Radrappy]

I should probably change Lava Reef, but I just want it so bad.

I picked Lava Reef because I think it's really likely. Lava levels are a stereotype but it makes sense to include one to keep things diverse, and it's a really good pick imo out of S&K, whereas most other games I would pick other stages over the lava ones. It's also a really neat stage, they could do transitions in and out of the "cool" act 2 version, show the crashed Death Egg, and maybe even integrate elements from Hidden Palace (like the Mural). And I want it so bad.

Lava reef is the only stage that I want, really.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

The GHZ: Hot for Lava Reef.

[Esrever]

All right, time's up! Casino Night has been confirmed for the 3DS version. And also, arguably, Launch Base, at least in the form of a boss fight.

Muddying the waters a little, it's a 3DS exclusive, which means at least some versions of the game are going to have different stages. I guess we'll just have to see how everyone's guesses compare to each distinct version!

[cjmcray]

Bah. I hope Launch Base is only on the 3DS version. I thought that was one of the weakest zones from the 2D era.

[Ritz]

From a guy who does flats for Archie with an inside scoop, apparently:

sonic 1 - ghz (derp)
sonic 2 - chemical plant
sonic 3 - sky sanctuary

sonic adventure - speed highway
sonic adventure 2 - city escape
sonic heroes - either seaside hill / bingo highway

sonic 06 - crisis city
sonic unleashed - unknown (source didn't remember)
sonic colors - planet wisp

Three classic zones, six modern levels, three of which are cities. And I don't care about any of them!

[cjmcray]

Only three classic levels?

Sooo.. No Spring Yard? No Lava Reef? No Hydrocity?

..What is wrong with these people!?

Only Sonic Team could take a concept that's so damned near impossible to screw up.. and screw it up. All they had to do was re-create the best levels from Sonic's 20 year history, and they pick the worst possible choices. Sky Sanctuary sucked balls. (And the whole point of the level was to act as a lead-in to Death Egg, which is also absent from this game) Green Hill has been re-made dozens of times. Sonic 2006 was an embarrassment that should never be referenced, especially in a game that tries to only include the best of Sonic's 20-year history. And who wants Colors/Unleashed levels in this game anyway? Those games just came out! not to mention, those games feature both 2D and 3D gameplay, unlike the classic and Dreamcast era, so what's the friggin' point?

I mean, yeah, the graphics in this game look nice and all, but.. GAH.

I am so.. I could just..

BHREFOQNBJRINBJOFSNBVJDSONVJOFNGDENVBJSFD;NV dcxzbsdfbbvczb c
BFSDANBJVOFDSANJBVO MDKVMNB FXSDMN BVFDSxzBcbcxzBCb vCXZb ccb
BV FCDSIAOB FUCKSHITASSBITCHFUCK NFDAOJM NBFJDSONAB VDFSMA BVDFSAt5
432646u65jhfn rehhdf BV FNDELO BNFEJcxVzBVcZVBbfdjghreipgmnperhnmdefrmhbrlonmhorwg875

Please let this be just some sort of cruel joke.

[cjmcray]

Also, what is the point in including Seaside Hill? It's (pretty much) the same thing as Green Hill!

This guy better be fucking with us.

[Radrappy]

This is pretty much the worst list possible. I can't believe they had the nerve to collapse sonic 3 and S&K into one, not to mention all the other heinous choices on there.

[Cuckooguy]

Speed Highway is probably one of my least favorite Sonic Adventure levels, if not my least. Still pretty good though.

Methinks a good representative level from Sonic Adventure would be Lost World, since it contains the Mayan influences the title largely had.

Ah well, it's to be expected.

[gr4yJ4Y]

Let's hope that guy's list is wrong (or maybe just the tip of the iceberg in stag............

Nah, I'm being way too optimistic. It's probably an accurate list, knowing Sega these days (Sonic Cycle, etc). But at least Episode II has some appeal again!

...

[Dr. BUGMAN]

three of which are cities.

Chemical Plant counts too, surely. Do they plan on recycling skylines or do they just like making a shitload of 'em that much?

[Radrappy]

I keep thinking there might be a chance the list is fake. But really, it's too bad to be fake. Long live sonic team.

[Ritz]

Chemical Plant counts too, surely.

Let's include Bingo Highway too, while we're at it!

[Esrever]

Nine levels, three from each of the "three eras" they keep talking about in interviews, sounds like a pretty plausible template to me. And assuming they were forcing themselves to follow that model, I actually think these stage choices make a certain amount of sense. The part that doesn't make sense is following that model at all, because it is stupid.

I mean, OK, to be fair... I think the three classic stages in that line-up are good. Maybe not the same stages I'd have picked, but they're three pretty memorable and distinct environments. Tropics, factories, and ruins... if you're reserving your casino stage for heroes, then these choices cover the three other most common archetypes of the classic series in arguably their most famous iterations.

For the middle era, a Casino stage really seems like the most logical choice from Heroes (what else is it good for?), and since suspended nighttime highways were a pretty defining element of the Adventure games it's not surprising to see one in there. (Although I was SO SURE they'd pick Radical Highway over Speed Highway!) So OK. Fair enough.

And yes... I suppose if they HAD to include a stage from '06, Crisis Core is the best choice. Planet Wisp is one of the better stages in Colours. And Unleashed... I don't know, I suppose we'll either see Spagonia or Holaska, depending on whether they want to work in a snow stage. But that doesn't change the fact that it's silly to represent those games at all! One JUST came out, one is universally reviled, and one is effectively a game which Generations is following as a direct sequel and which uses the exact same graphics and gameplay engine. What's the point?

I don't know. I suppose this isn't really that different from what I expected... I figured there would be seven stages, and all this line-up really does is just bump that up to nine with stages from Unleashed and Colours. I guess the inclusion of '06 and exclusion of 3 is the part that feels like the biggest kiss off. It seems believable, though. If the list is a fake, then at least you can say the faker did a good job of assembling a plausible line-up.

[P.P.A.]

Crisis City…? You all know I like Sonic 06, but Crisis City, along with Wave Ocean, is about the most generic and unremarkable stage in the whole game. If they wanted something apocalyptic and lava-ridden they should have taken Flame Core instead!

Considering the selection of stages, I am rather glad that they did not include anything from Sonic CD, however. It shows how they still haven’t understood anything about Sonic or his (true, pure-blooded, superior) fans, so they would just have soiled the game’s splendour with shame and mediocrity.

[Radrappy]

To me the most insulting part of this supposed list is that it's 1/3 classic sonic and 2/3 modern sonic no matter how you spin it. You can claim that the DC games warrant their own "era," but the truth is that those games still starred the lanky, green eyed bugger. Every trailer and bit of info thus far has emphasized the game's duality, that it would be representing classic and modern fans equally. If this list is true, that ideal pretty much goes out the window. It's just so painful to think we've had beautifully rendered versions of some of our favorite zones (mushroom hill, hydro city, lava reef, hilltop zone, starlight zone, etc etc) replaced by what are essentially rejects no body asked for. As Iizuka had a direct hand with most of the latter games and had limited involvement with the classics, this line up reeks of well, narcissism.

[FlashTHD]

But at least Episode II has some appeal again!

Unless it's been quietly cancelled.

Mega Man Universe, as a reminder, underwent months of media silence before they finally made it official that the plug had been pulled. E3 may be coming up, but as embarrassingly long as it's been taking them to make this little multi-part downloadable game, much less say anything about it, it's beginning to look a little like that kind of suspicious...

I keep thinking there might be a chance the list is fake. But really, it's too bad to be fake. Long live sonic team.
---
To me the most insulting part of this supposed list is that it's 1/3 classic sonic and 2/3 modern sonic no matter how you spin it. You can claim that the DC games warrant their own "era," but the truth is that those games still starred the lanky, green eyed bugger. Every trailer and bit of info thus far has emphasized the game's duality, that it would be representing classic and modern fans equally. If this list is true, that ideal pretty much goes out the window. It's just so painful to think we've had beautifully rendered versions of some of our favorite zones (mushroom hill, hydro city, lava reef, hilltop zone, starlight zone, etc etc) replaced by what are essentially rejects no body asked for. As Iizuka had a direct hand with most of the latter games and had limited involvement with the classics, this line up reeks of well, narcissism.

I may not like green eggs & ham, sir, but the chef and the waiters have convinced me to sample enough putrid crap that I would just as soon be wary of his next dish.

[Wombatwarlord777]

I don't even know if I can get this game, so my reaction to this, if it's for real, is "eh".

The only thing I will say is that the diversity of level tropes seems really narrow. Why not have an icy level (Ice Cap, or perhaps Cool Edge) or a desert-y level (perhaps Sandopolis or the area around Eggman's pyramid in SA2)? And there's no space station, in a series where such is almost considered the norm? No Death Egg? No ARK? Really?

The reason I give a care at all, aside from aesthetic diversity, is that such a narrow range of tropes doesn't make it immediately obvious how the levels are supposed to differentiate significantly in terms of novel level design or gimmicks, which are conceivably more important now that we have a form of slower-paced gameplay which I assume features both prominently. I was really impressed that Sonic Unleashed's daytime stages were as novel as they were when it's a half-truth to say that most of the level themes in that game could be summarized as "urbanized areas, set in differing cultures".

Of course, maybe I'm underestimating the creative spark of the development team. Or maybe this list is just fake.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Also, nothing from the dark horse that is Sonic CD?! Wah!

[The Doc]

OK, going by their stupid model, here's the stages I'd have gone with:

1) Sonic the Hedgehog: Green Hill Zone
Already confirmed; no point in changing it.

2) Sonic the Hedgehog CD: Tidal Tempest Zone
Since it's my damn list, I'm going to skip over Sonic 2 for one rather selfish reason: I don't like it. Oh, initially, I loved it, played it a lot. Then, I got older and, in retrospect, I don't know what I was thinking. For a game that has stages that you can finish in less than two minutes, it sure gets boring quickly.

*shrug* I just don't like it. Besides, if the 3DS version's going to exclusively get the Casino Night Zone, maybe the console versions should get this one exclusively.

I chose Tidal Tempest because it's one of the better water stages in the franchise. Also, if the timeline's fucked up, they can do a great thing where time goes really wonky and, at random points during the levels, FLASH! You go from Tidal Tempest Present to Tidal Tempest Bad Future. At seemingly random intervals, because the timeline has been fucked with, you're randomly flashed to that very spot in any one of the three other versions of that act, and whichever one you're taken to, again, is random. You're in Tidal Tempest Zone, Act 1, Good Future, and you're suddenly taken back to the Present, or the Past, or even Bad Future. Any combination of those is possible.

3) Sonic the Hedgehog 3: Marble Garden Zone
It was a toss-up between doing this or taking the Carnival Night Zone and replacing BINGO Highway with something else. I was also initially going to forego this game entirely and give this slot to Lava Reef Zone but, let's face it--Lava Reef Zone is as good as it's ever going to be.

The Marble Garden Zone, while not the most fun level of the game, has the most potential in terms of graphical improvement. While it's nice enough as it is in Sonic 3, I think Marble Garden would look the best out of the six with improved backgrounds and such, with the POSSIBLE exception of Launch Base Zone (what with the Death Egg looming in the background). You may disagree and switch the two but, as I said, this list is mine and I'll do what I want with it.

4) Sonic Adventure: Sky Deck
I can sense some of you pulling away from me, but just hear me out. I was originally with agreement with Cuckoo about putting the Lost World in, but since we already have Marble Garden with its ancient ruins-type theme, it would have been redundant. Also, the less I need to go through that middle flooding/stone serpent chamber, the fewer people I'll kill.

Instead, I'm going with Sky Deck here because it's a level that can be improved, this time physically. In all versions of Sonic Adventure, this is a very bad level in terms of the physics--since the environment is constantly changing and was as authentic as was possible to program at the time to traversing the bridge of a careening airship, no level in Sonic Adventure could benefit more from the physics upgrade that the Hedgehog Engine provides. Not just when you're on top of the ship when the air picks up, but at the very end when the ship tilts. Making that section actually PLAYABLE would be enough of an accomplishment for the team.

5) Sonic Adventure 2: Radical Highway
This one was the hardest choice to make. I'll be honest--I really like Sonic Adventure 2. Yeah, in retrospect, the plot is incredibly shaky (borderline retarded, in fact), but I still like nearly all of the gameplay (the Tails stages can still suck my pucker).

I had to narrow it down between Radical Highway, City Escape, and Final Rush. City Escape's out because there's already too much daylight on this list. Final Rush was narrowly beaten by the fact that it was either that or Radical Highway, and I selected another space-like stage (sort of) later.

6) Sonic Heroes: Mystic Mansion
If you're gonna bring this game in, make it the awesome stage and be done with it. Y'know, I remember a time when we thought this game was terrible; then Shadow the Hedgehog came out, and everyone said, "Sonic Heroes? Eh, it was OK." Then Sonic 2006 came out and everyone said, "Shadow the Hedgehog? Eh, it was OK."

Anyway, back to this. I actually prefer Hang Castle (and Final Fortress when I'm feeling especially suicidal), but Mystic Mansion seems to be the most popular, and a haunted stage would be nice.

7) Sonic Rush: Dead Line
Fuck Sonic 2006. I mean it, dude--fuck it in the nostril. The only way to fix any of those levels, in my opinion, is to start from scratch. Instead, surprise people a bit by bringing this in.

Dead Line is the main "Eggman's base" level from Sonic Rush, and not a whole lot would need to be changed, with the possible exception of the Trick mechanic. Also, since it would be an unmitigated disaster if the levels were put in order by their era, I say make this an early level to save room for another, bigger factory/base level toward the end.

8) Sonic and the Secret Rings: Night Palace
It was either this or Evil Foundry, and Night Palace is purdier. Night Palace is the last stage in Secret Rings; not only is it a challenge for the player, but it has the benefit of being stuck in a dimensional rift, another hitch that the team can use to their advantage since they already have an anomaly all ready for them. What's more, the second dimension version of this stage is beautiful with starry skies and floors made of glass. The rails mechanic can easily be removed.

9) Sonic the Hedgehog: Aquatic Base
Yes, I'm a hypocrite (and a bit of a whore), but I REALLY don't want to include any Sonic Unleashed levels because they would look PRECISELY the same. At least this has the potential for SOME graphical and physical improvements.

No, I'm not suggesting Flame Core, and no, for those who've noticed this list's trend, I'm not suggesting White Acropolis, either. No primary fire levels, no primary ice levels. It's a cliche that EVERYBODY uses and, while the argument can be made that it'd be a welcome cliche for some due to this game mostly being a $60 nostalgia trip, it's still my damn list and I'll do whatever I damn well please with it. If you don't like it, then I defer you to the immortal words of Thomas Jefferson when he said, "Tough titties".

Aquatic Base is (by the narrowest of margins) the most tolerable level in the game. Can't do Wave Ocean because it's a Green Hill Zone clone. Can't do Dusty Desert because A) Sonic's turn through that level involved him carrying Elise around and B) it'll bring flashbacks of those fucking giant billiard balls. Can't do White Acropolis for reasons stated above. Can't do Crisis City because it's a bit boring (though it is my #2 choice after Aquatic Base). Can't do Flame Core, again, for reasons stated above. Can't do Radical Train because it's basically Green Hill Zone with a fucking train. Can't do Tropical Jungle because fuck Tropical Jungle, that's why. Cant' do Kingdom Valley because fuck Kingdom Valley double, that's why. So, Aquatic Base is left.

I will state, for the record, that not only do I not like this structure, I doubt that it's actually what they're going to be doing. Only time will tell.

[Crazy Penguin]

Hope this list is a fake. I don't see why Sonic Heroes would be included as a Dreamcast era game. Excluding Sonic 3 and Sonic CD would be criminal. And the most distinct stage from Sonic Heroes is clearly the castle.