Spring Yard is probably the closest the game gets to feeling like Green Hill again. Block puzzles, vanishing blocks, lava-raft blocks. There are still secrets hidden behind fake walls, but there aren't the two distinct paths, and there isn’t speed. The problem with Marble Zone is that the slow-down is forced, for the entire level. There are still slow, platforming-orientated areas in Green Hill, between the loops and springs. Green Hill Zone was also designed with “chances to breathe” in mind. I understand the sentiment, to give players downtime between high-action stages, but that is exactly where Marble Zone fails. I think that’s a testament to how good of a first level Green Hill is.Īccording to the former head of Sonic Team, Yuji Naka, Marble Zone was intended to “give players a chance to breathe” between the speedy stages. Green Hill Zone is the peak of Sonic 1, a peak that the game would get very close to reaching again, but it's never quite enough. Hardly a soothing lullaby, the music is fast-pitched, with a tempo not dissimilar to that of racing games of the time. Just item monitors, grass, and deadly metal critters. There are no power-up boxes, no life tanks, no question blocks. There are enemies, but they are robotic, lifeless versions of forest critters that shoot lasers at Sonic. The entire level is covered in checkerboards. Green Hill’s grassy fields aren’t quite like one you’d find in, say, Super Mario Bros. Sonic CD will be excluded because it sucks. Sonic Mania will be excluded because it’s considered a modern take on the classic games, not a direct classic game. I’m going to go through all the zones from Sonic 1, 2, 3 & Knuckles and talk about what I like, or dislike. Ranking (Almost) Every Classic Sonic Zone

Sonic zone tier list