5 Sonic Stages That Deserve Remakes Before Green Hill Zone for the 100th Time

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.

Metropolis Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)

While not quite as hard as Labyrinth, Metropolis Zone was still kind of a bitch and a half. It was the gatekeeper that separated the wheat from the chaff in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. If you could clear its three acts, you were rewarded with the game’s end game series of stages.

Between pistons crushing you, falling into molten metal, and enemies launching projectiles at you from off screen, everything in Metropolis Zone is designed to kill you. Any long time player should remember getting into Mexican standoffs with those starfish and mantis like enemies. You’d be just a few rings away from a life, or just trying to survive, and BAM you walk right into one of those jerks and whoops there goes 94 rings onto the ground.

As frustrating as it was though, it would still be nice to relive the challenge a second time in the modern age.

Stardust Speedway (Sonic CD)

Yes, we know Stardust Speedway technically was sort of remastered in Generations, however that was just the race with Metal Sonic. There’s a whole level beyond the race that would also be great to run through again. Sure, it kind of has that highway aesthetic that got a bit played out from the Adventure games onward, but it certainly stood out back in the Genesis/CD era.

Rather than seeing it pop up in Forces though (we don’t want another Green Hill issue), we’d love to see what Christian Whitehead (project lead of Sonic Mania) could do with the classic level. Sonic CD doesn’t get enough love as it should, and Whitehead would be the right person to bring the classic zone to a bigger spotlight.

Ice Cap Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog 3)

Honorable Mention: Hydrocity Zone

Seriously, with all the love this zone gets from nostalgic Sonic fans, how has it not gotten remastered yet? No, the lame, slow Sonic Adventure version of the zone does not count.

It was the first true snow level in the mainline series and that alone makes it memorable, but also fans remember it for its fantastic music, snowboarding section, and like Star Light Zone, being a reprieve from the horrendous Carnival Night Zone that preceded it and its barrel of doom.

It got hosed in Generations since SEGA decided to count S3 & K as one game, and was only represented by Sky Sanctuary Zone. That wasn’t a bad choice, Sky Sanctuary is a cool zone, but enough already, Ice Cap needs a proper remake.

We have to mention Hydrocity Zone as a very worthy honorable mention though. Yes it’s kind of a cop out sneaking another zone from S3 in here, but it really is a fantastic level. It’s rare to hear “fast-paced” and “water level” together in the same sentence but Hydrocity actually pulls it off extremely well. If Ice Cap got passed over again for Hydrocity, I could live with it. Just listen to that Act 2 music.

Lava Reef Zone (Sonic & Knuckles)

We’re going to go ahead and count the lock-on titles as separate games, even if they kind of aren’t, and give it credit for another zone that is at least equally worthy as Ice Cap, and that’s the much hotter Lava Reef Zone. Lava Reef Zone might go down as one of the most visually appealing zones in the series, taking place in a scorching hot magma mine.

However it’s the second act that puts Lava Reef over the top. The mine suddenly appears to cool and the hot and cold colors clash creating a feast for the eyes.  The music also takes a dramatic turn, sending a message to the player that the game is gearing up for its final act and you had better get ready.

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Tell us Sonic fans: How’d we do with our list? What do you want to see brought back? Let us know in the comments.