You can also come in on the upper path after the two(?) loops and time a jump off the ramp and up through the rotating floor. From there, it's a straight shot to the boss. That's what I always try to do. Didn't even learn about the path behind the wall until a year or two ago.
This. First figured this out on my own way back in 1993/4. Discovered the hidden wall path that more people know about some years later after learning about and messing around in debug mode. On that note, back then at my daycare center we got a Sega Genesis with Sonic 2, and there was only one kid there who could actually complete the rising mega mack section on his own. Everyone else got stuck there, and often asked him to complete it for him. Although I remember the daycare staff discouraging that, because they wanted everyone to be able to play on their own. Then I came in and wow'ed them with spindash trickery and skipping it all together. />
Wouldn't you still have to cross two water pits on the way? Both of them being bottomless, with one being showed in your face while you run at max speed?
No, just the one right before the boss. The area where you will launch straight up is to the left of the first one.
Thanks Josh, and yes I did mean Chemical Plant. That's what I get for dividing my attention at work I suppose. I'd be lying Josh if I said I hadn't been influenced by the video of yours I watched yesterday. In particular, the idea of balance when "barreling forward". Perhaps I am getting off topic, but I think Josh or someone else should make an in-depth video focusing on the aesthetic of the Sonic The Hedgehog Universe in general. That's another crucial aspect of the game which seems to have been lost, and I don't see people ever discuss it or give it the attention it deserves, aside from peripherally such as we are discussing now. Mario, for example, has retained a fairly consistent look since Mario Bros 3, but Sonic never seemed to define any particular aesthetic post ~Sonic 3D Blast (?). Obviously, in large part the Genesis Sonic aesthetic was an attempt to make the hardware look more capable, three dimensional, almost as though pre-rendered in similar fashion to Donkey Kong Country for Snes. While on the one hand Sonic was to reflect the natural environment, this natural environment was distinctly artificial and synthetic itself... crystalline, modular, dare I say art deco. Sonic had an edge, classic Sonic was very "Modern" really. Mario by contrast was very soft and flat at the time, while improved upon it never really lost that character . It seems, however, Sonic developers simply pursued realism, how realistic can we make the environments look and at high speed. The gaming industry is always pushing for more and more realistic graphics in part to drive new hardware, but that does not correlate with a better gaming experience necessarily, hence why Nintendo games continue to rank among the highest with critics even with inferior hardware. That is why we ended up with bland mannequin-like people in Sonic Adventure and a similar look in Sonic 2006. Only by Sonic Unleashed did I finally begin to see some semblance of a renewed aesthetic for the Sonic Universe. Nonetheless, the Sonic Universe is still sort of bland, sort of Ratchet and Clank-esque but not unique. I could make a similar argument concerning the music, but I digress... Sonic also seems to have lost its narrative, the nature v. technology idea I referenced previously. Miles became some sort of techno-genious on par with Eggman, epitomized by the classic biplane becoming a purple fighter jet, so... technology v. technology? And then things moved even further with attention on magic and the supernatural and the narrative digressed into merely chaos v. order (?) which is nebulous code-speak for unspecific good v. bad... For that matter what is the technology of the Sonic universe? What is the character and aesthetic of this technology? Is it ultra-modern, or steampunk, for example? I have yet to EVER see ANYONE address this VERY IMPORTANT question. Again, I fail to see consistency within the franchise. Making Eggman ultra-modern, again, seems like a direction chosen without any thought, and likewise seems soulless. This is a criticism I cannot make of the Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki, anime. I love these films because they always seem to have fully considered the "sociology" if you will. Consider the film, Castle in the Sky, one of my favorites which I suggest you watch if you never had, and of which the Sonic franchise has borrowed heavily from. Gee whiz, that looks sort of familiar... Wing Fortress Zone, perhaps, or maybe Flying Battery... But what does the technology of this airship and its mechanisms tell us about the world it inhabits? But you see how this airship is impressive and modern but has a unique look to it, it is charming. It isn't just "ultra modern" and therefore we should just suspend all other thoughts because it's on par with magic. Compare this airship with the Egg Carrier of Sonic Adventure. A similar change occurred with the bosses and robots, all tough and scary, but not memorable or unique to the Sonic Universe. As a result the series became bland aesthetically. I wish they would return to the roots, or at least consider a more realized world and aesthetic. Anyway, cutting it short as I sort of went on a rant. I should start a thread on this topic maybe. (I'm still a pending member) Thoughts?
I'd say it's still the hardest level in the game, honestly. When I was younger I could almost never get over that platform section and finish Act 2 off - however if I level selected past it to Aquatic Ruin Act 1, I could from there get to Death Egg (and finish that, if I had debug mode on to have rings). It's no issue now to me of course, but still.
I never had that kind of issue with Chemical Plant Zone. I mean, for a little while that last bottomless pit before the boss would trip me up because I'd forget about it, but besides that Chemical Plant was pretty cake to me.
I've always really liked Chemical Plant. I remember the infamous trap in Act 2 with the mega muck causing me quite a few problems when I was a kid, but nowadays that's nothing. It's such a thrilling level, I love how fast it is; it's iconic and I'm not at all surprised that it ended up being in Sonic Generations. It used to be quite a challenging level, but I wouldn't say it was the hardest in the game by any means - for me, that honour belonged to Metropolis and its bloody trolling Badniks ;P
Honestly, I didn't even know about the hidden wall pathway in CPZ2. I figured for a while you could launch off a ramp and bypass the platforming area, but it was only recently that I figured out how. Difficulty-wise, the platforming area was one of the only two parts that got me in CPZ - the other being the fact that the boss had bottomless pits on either side. I dunno how, but I'd always manage to bounce off of him and fall in the pit. EVERY SINGLE TIME ... You know, I must've watched Laputa like, over a dozen times, and I never made the airship connection. Damn.
It's not just the airship, parts of the island look like Hydrocity and Sky Sanctuary and other levels. There was an old comparison page, I don't know by who - Iceknight maybe.
God I couldn't agree more. Everything since Sonic Adventure has been so, so bland. I really can't remember a single level that surprised me or stood out as unique. So many of the levels just seemed like... generic rehashes of classic level tropes. The art in all Genesis and CD era sonic games was amazing. Even if each game's art was a little different, there was a sense of consistency, and each level managed to be interesting. Nowadays it all feels the. Even in Sonic Generations... city, city, city. The remake of CPZ was incredible, though, part of why this topic exists.
Despite Generations horrible trope reuse, I thought it did a pretty good job making said city levels varied and interesting. I think that they have made a few gems in the modern era. Pretty much all of Sonic Colors, Eggmanland, and Sky Sanctuary Generations stand out as winners to me.
Was the comparison page on SRZ, by chance? I remember reading that many years ago. The one comparison that always stuck with me was Sky Sanctuary (I can see the Hydrocity connection but it didn't strike me as being quite as pronounced as SSZ), especially after seeing Generations' rendition of the "inside" of the ruins.
Sure, I can agree although I did think the Death Egg was really cartoonish in Sonic Generations Sky Sanctuary. The Genesis version communicated so much more detail and menace, while the Generation version looked like a toy.
I'd like to take this moment to point out how much better the Death Egg recreation in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II is to me compared to the Death Egg recreation in Sonic Generations. The former conveys so much more of a grandiose, threatening and technically detailed appearance akin to the classics, compared to the latter. In fact, I wish that Sonic Team had used a model more like this one below in Sonic Generations, honestly....
