Setting
CENTRAL HUB...
When characters first arrive, they'll find themselves in a large hub area. The central room resembles the Chao Lobby, though much larger and with a Sonic motif rather than a chao-themed look. All around this room are large warp rings that will lead characters to a number of different areas.
If characters choose to explore the hub instead, they'll find a hallway that leads to a number of sub areas. These include...
Chao Gardens:
Surprise! There is in fact a Chao Lobby, which leads straight to the Chao Garden, Hero Garden, and Dark Garden. Each garden provides a unique environment for chao raising, and there are plenty of eggs to go around.
Who knows? Maybe they'll discover small animals and chaos drives when they visit the warp areas.
Food Court:
Everything your character could dream of eating and more. Chili dogs, ice cream, you name it. As well as having various food stands, there are also tables and benches to sit at. Feel free to build upon this in any way you like!
Music Room:
Complete with a stage, stands, and tons of musical gear, this is the perfect place to get in a jam session. There are turntables, a sweet sound system, and a cd player to boot. An ideal place for a concert or dance party.
Other:
Go ahead and have characters discover something new in the main hub! You don't have to stick with these rooms.
SIMULATED ZONES...
So what happens when characters enter the warp rings? Well, they'll end up in one of the many simulated areas listed below. These include areas from the classic games, the Adventure era, and some of the cartoons. Best of all, there are many warp rings within these areas, making for quicker travel across otherwise vast terrain.
The areas are devoid of their normal inhabitants, other than badniks and other threats. Luckily, the robots from the game settings tend to release small animals and chaos drives. So, without further ado...
South Island...
South Island is one of the most prominent areas in the classic games. Sonic's very first adventure took place here, as he journeyed from the lush Green Hill Zone to Robotnik's Scrap Brain Zone. All the different areas from the first Sonic the Hedgehog game can be found here, giving characters plenty of turf to explore.
Other areas include the zones of Sonic 2 (8-bit), Sonic Chaos, and the 8-bit Sonic 1. Detailed information can be found right here!
Westside Island...
Westside Island appears in the 16-bit Sonic 2. Like South Island, all zones are accessible except for Wing Fortress, Sky Chase, and Death Egg. Your characters can relax in the peaceful Emerald Hill Zone, gamble in Casino Night, or fight their way through Robotnik's Metropolis Zone. Though the island is full of dangers, there's a little something for everyone.
More info here.
Little Planet...
It appears for only one month during the year, but here you can visit it any time! Little Planet is unique because time moves freely, and while characters won't really travel through time, the Past and Future sign posts certainly create that impression. Also strange is the fact that the badniks release flowers rather than small animals. So much for eco friendly.
Areas on Little Planet include Palmtree Panic, your standard tropical zone, Collision Chaos, a pinball themed stage, Tidal Tempest for all your aquatic needs, and Wacky Workbench, a place notorious for its annoying floor and ice machines.
You can find information here and here.
Note: The time travel posts work, but it's mostly for aesthetics. If your character goes back to the central hub, they won't be in the past or future-- time hijinks are exclusive to the Little Planet area. Think of it as an alternate skin/difficulty level.
Angel Island...
Knuckles' home, Angel Island is home to not only the Master Emerald shrine, but many different environments. There's a tropical shore with palmtrees galore, an underwater city, an icy mountain, and even a haunted pyramid. The island appears as it did at the start of Sonic 3, meaning that everything is intact. It also means that the island's in the water. Now what could have caused this...?
More information here.
Knothole Village...
Finally, a place without badniks! Knothole is a peaceful village in the middle of the Great Forest. It's not the most advanced place, but it's a safe haven for the Freedom Fighters, hidden from Dr. Robotnik and his army of SWATbots. It mostly consists of cosy cottages, but if one looked hard enough, they might find the Lake of Rings. Power Rings appear frequently, though they work much differently than the gold rings in the games by providing a temporary power boost and briefly returning the free will to Robians.
More information here. Saturday Morning Sonic also provided a map on their website!
Robotropolis...
Once the proud city of Mobotropolis, this place became a dump the minute Robotnik took over. Pollution fills the air, filth fills the streets. Factories churn out nauseating waste, while SWATbots patrol the area. Even without Robotnik and Snively around, these bots mean business and will attack on sight. And if they don't get you, the buzzbombers will...
More information here. There's not a lot about the locations, so I'll probably add more details later!
The ancient relics...
A ruined city on the surface of Planet Freedom. These ancient relics reside in the land of darkness, a place hidden by the cloud cover of the land of the sky. Though the city itself lacks badniks, the submerged sections of the city are threatening enough on their own. And should one wander outside the city, they'll come across Eggmanland and the land of darkness itself. Unlike the relics, these areas do have badniks.
More information here.
Station Square...
A booming city with plenty of attractions. Want to hang by the beach? Head on down to Emerald Coast! Want to gamble without all those pesky badniks? Casinopolis might be the place for you! If you're a fan of roller coasters and race tracks, there's no place better than Twinkle Park. As well as housing three fun stages, Station Square has its own hotel with a Chao Garden inside.
Maps and other information can be found here.
Conveniently, there's a train that can take characters to the next area, which is...
The Mystic Ruins...
What a peaceful place! Compared to Station Square, the Mystic Ruins is the perfect place to get in-tune with mother nature. There are caves to explore, a lake to swim in, and a thick forest, just to name a few spots. Within the forest, there's a Temple full of traps and puzzles. All you have to do is hitch a minecart ride to find it!
Other locations include Tails' workshop, the Master Emerald's altar, and the many zones that fill the area. Windy Valley might appear peaceful at first, but watch out for that tornado! Ice Cap may be chilly, but the peak's great for snowboarding. Lastly, Red Mountain my look fun on the outside, but inside there's lava and falling debris. It's not for the faint of heart.
Want maps and other info? Click here!
Egg Carrier...
A formidable flying fortress created by Dr. Robotnik. There are many different places to explore here, including the dangerous Sky Deck, complete with unpleasant wind currents and a high altitude. Other zones on this ship include the Hot Shelter and Final Egg. That's not all, though. This ship contains plenty of other rooms, including the captain's quarters, a swimming pool, and Eggman's personal study.
Maps and other info here. Since the Egg Carrier has two forms, feel free to work with either one. Whatever floats your boat!
Prison Island...
The GUN military base appears as it did before Eggman blew the place to smithereens. But for those worried about the military, never fear! While GUN mechs guard all the zones, there are no human inhabitants. Explore to your heart's content.
Notable locations include the old prison cell where Gerald Robotnik was executed. To get there, just take a stroll through Prison Lane. Want to see the capsule where Shadow was imprisoned? Iron Gate is your best bet. All the levels from Sonic Adventure 2 are here for your enjoyment.
More information here.
Space Colony ARK...
The space colony where Shadow the Hedgehog was created, where Maria Robotnik died, and where Eggman plotted to blow up the world. The ARK is vast, with several nooks and crannies and highly advanced machinery. It also contains many dangers, such as the Artificial Chaos and GUN mechs. The greatest danger of all, however, is the Eclipse Canon. It holds the potential to destroy planets if powered by the seven Chaos Emeralds.
But since the emeralds aren't there, no worries. It probably wouldn't do much to the simulations, anyway!
More information here.
Special Stages...
So, what about if your character finds a giant ring or hops into the sparkles above a star post? Well, they might not find Chaos Emeralds, but they're sure to end up in one of the many Special Stages throughout the series. You don't have to stick to the area's stages, either. Want to play Sonic Heroes special stage, but you're on Little Planet? Go ahead.
These special stages are pretty vast, and characters aren't limited to the confines of a 16 bit console, so while you don't want to touch the red spheres or spike bombs, they can take it at their own pace.
Other:
Though many of the areas are based on levels in the games, you don't have to take it literally and stick to the game layouts 100%. After all, they're in a three-dimensional space, not a 2D sidescroller. You can interpret these however you'd like, though Marble Zone is still going to have traps and lava, and that whale in Emerald Coast would just love to chase characters around.
Just think of them as part of a world, rather than a video game!
Also note that we will be adding more areas later on. Want to see something that isn't listed? Go ahead and tell us on our suggestions post!