10 Best Underwater Zones In The Sonic Series

Few 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic The Hedgehog level archetypes are as divisive as the water stage. For every player who loves the rush of low-air underwater platforming, there are 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:three more who hate it. Despite the fanbase's bickering over whether underwater zones should even be in Sonic games, they've been included in every 2D Sonic title to date.

Underwater zones bring a fresh take on the Sonic platforming formula, and are a flavorful way to have the iconic hedgehog slow down for a second amidst a game's worth of speeding and dashing through zone after zone.

10 Labyrinth Zon🎀e (Sonic The Hedgehog)

Sonic and Tails stood at the beginning of Labyrinth Zone

The first Sonic game saw Sega finding their feet with developing levels for the now-iconic hedgehog. The inexperience is at its most glaring in Labyrinth Zone. While it's an okay result for the first experiment in underwater Sonic stages, it's plagued by a storm of Sonic The Hedgehog's worst features.

Spikes, crushing traps, and slow level design drag Labyrinth Zone down to the bottom of the list by creating a level full of artificial difficulty and tedious platforming. There's a reason why the horrors of Labyrinth zone are burned into players' minds.

9 🍌 Scrap Brain Zone (Sonic The Hedgehog)

The last proper zone in Sonic The Hedgehog is a much better attempt at crafting an underwat꧂er environment. There are many more above-groun🥂d areas, which helps speed up the gameplay, and there are far fewer insta-death spikes to collide with.

Water isn't introduced until the third act in Scrap Brain Zone, giving you much-needed time to get familiar with the overall vibe of the stage before throwing you into the deep end. This proves essential in making the water a good time, as your experience with the stage helps offset the original Sonic's sluggish movement.

8 Seaside Hill Zone (Sonic Generatio𝓡ns)

The modern version of Seaside Hill Zone from Sonic Generations

Sonic Generations' take on Seaside Hill Zone is a re-imagining of the opening minutes of Sonic Heroes. If you're someone who loves Sonic Heroes, this is likely to be one of your favorite stages in Generations. If not, the overall charm and solid level design of Generations should keep you invested throughout.

The water areas in Seaside Hill Zone are exclusive to the Classic Sonic act, a level that splits its high and low ground between land and water, respectively. Unfortunately, it's slightly let down by the reliance on slow-moving platforms that you have to wait around for to progress.

7 ℱ Aquariumꦍ Park Zone (Sonic Colors)

Like most zones in Sonic Colors, Aquarium Park Zone is split across six acts, each of which applies the zone's general theme in different ways. Aquarium Park's main theme is just that - a water park, with aesthetics based around ancient Japanese shrines.

While Aquarium Park is somewhat slow thanks to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:its inclusion in Sonic Colors, its aesthetic and water sections keep it feeling fresh all the way through to act six. It is one of the many hig𓃲hlights of one of the best 3D Sonic games.

6 ꦍ Tidal Tempest Zone (So✤nic CD)

Sonic stood at the beginning of Tidal Tempest Zone Act 1

Tidal Tempest Zone is Sonic CD's dedicated water stage. It had the most water of any stage when it was released, and marked Sega's new willingness to create almost entirely underwater levels.

Tidal Tempest Zone is one of Sonic CD's best, making use of the game's signature time travel mechanics to add a ton of extra depth to the stage. Despite its once-mixed reception among fans, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sonic CD has gained more recognition lately thanks to this mechanic. Here's hoping that CD's inclusion in the Sonic Origins Collection will get more people to play through this excellent zone.

5 Hydroc༒ity Zone (Sonic 3)

Sonic running on water in Sonic The Hedgehog 3's Hydrocity Zone

Hydrocity Zone may be the most iconic water level in the entire Sonic series. The original version is the one that everyone remembers, and it's not just because it's in the most beloved game in the classic trilogy. Water doesn't feel like a gimmick or an afterthought in Hydrocity Zone, nor does it feel like it was placed there just to make things difficult.

Instead, the water is baked into the identity of the stage itself - from the first seconds of the level, you're dunked into a huge pool of water and tasked with escaping. Even when you are above ground, pressurized water flies from pipes, and waterfalls crash in the background, keeping the whole stage themed around water.

4 Hydrocity Zone (Sonic Mania) ▨

While the original Hydrocity Zone may be the most famous, its Sonic Mania re-imagining has a few minor changes that improve the overall experience. The most obvious is Mania's world-class pixel art, which revamps the zone with an amazing hi-bit look.

New features such as a flying bubble segment and an act one mini-boss spice up this new rendition of Hydrocity Zone, as does a much-improved level flow that is typical of Mania's remakes. Here's hoping that every other Sonic 3 zone will get the Mania treatment in the future.

3 Chemical Plant Zone (Sonic 2) ꦬ

Sonic running through the Chemical Plant Zone in Sonic The Hedgehog 2

While Chemical Plant Zone is a primarily above-ground stage, there's no denying that its few underwater segments are by far the most famous in any classic Sonic game. That infernal underwater column section is the Soni🧸c water section, and the reason why the Sonic drowning theme is so ingrained in our subconscious minds.

Chemica⛄l Plant Zone also tops off with an excellent boss fight, - a flying Eggﷺ contraption that drops toxic sludge from its hull onto the unsuspecting hedgehog below.

2 ﷽ Chemical Plant Zone (Sonic Mania)

Sonic and Tails travel through the Sonic Mania Chemical Plant Zone

Chemical Plant Zone followed the trend of other levels that Sonic Mania re-imagined by being better than the original in just about every way. The graphics are greatly impr🧜oved upon, controls are sharper, and levels flow much more smoothly from one section to the next.

The reason that Mania's incredible Chemical Plant Zone doesn't quite top the list is that its above-ground areas still beat out its underwater sections, mostly thanks to Headcannon's incredible speed-focused level design.

1 Aq🃏uatic Ruin Zone (Sonic 2)

Sonic and Tails running through Sonic 2's Aquatic Ruin Zone

Aquatic Ruin Zone is the best underwater zone in Sonic history, and it's easy to see why. As the dedicated water level in arguably the best Sonic game, any other stage would have a hard time beating it.

About 80 percent of the entire stage is submerged in water, making it near-impossible to avoid for all but the very best of Sonic 2 players. This forces you to get comfortable with the water, and focus on finding the next air bubble at all costs. It also lets you get into a flow while you're underwater, rather than just panic to get out as quickly as possible.

Aquatic Ruin Zone also caps off with a g🌞reat boss fight, something that many of tﷺhe other great water zones struggle to achieve.

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