Star Light Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 1)
This week, we saw our first glimpse of Green Hill Zone in Sonic Forces and I couldn’t possibly be any more bored about it. Yes it’s the most iconic zone, but is there a rule that it needs to kick off every Sonic throwback game ever from now on? It recently appeared in Sonic Generations (which will likely be quite similar to Forces at least in aesthetic and gameplay) and is also making an appearance in Sonic Mania. Seriously how much different can they possibly make the Sonic Forces version from what we had a few years ago with Generations.
There is a huge roster of underappreciated classic Sonic zones ripe for the picking that SEGA could be choosing instead, including the first area on this list: Star Light Zone.
Star Light Zone, for those that played the very first game, was your reward for suffering through one of the the most brutal zones of all time, Labyrinth Zone. Star Light Zone was easy (much appreciated after Labyrinth), beautiful, and its stage music near the top of a very stacked list of best Sonic songs ever. Seeing it finally get the fresh coat of paint it deserves would make the blue blur’s oldest fans giddy with glee.