This article is about the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit) Zone. For the location in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, see Green Hills.

Not to be confused with Green Hill Zone.

Green Hills Zone (グリーンヒル^[1], Gurīn Hiru^?, lit. "Green Hill") is the fourth Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit). As with all other Zones in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Green Hills Zone consists of two standard Acts followed by a shorter, third Act which contains the Zone's boss at its end.

Description[]

This Zone, like the original Green Hill Zone, is filled with rolling plains of green and loop-de-loops. It also contains a couple of flip-ramps that appeared in the Green Hill Zone of the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog. The main visual difference between the Zones comes from the trees, which seem more of the deciduous variety than the usual palm trees.

Story[]

On his quest to rescue Tails from the clutches of Dr. Robotnik, Sonic passes through Green Hills Zone, and locates the Chaos Emerald hidden atop a tall pillar. Then, after a brief battle with one of Dr. Robotnik's Master Robots, Dohyo Master, Sonic destroys the Prison Egg located in the Zone and runs off towards Gimmick Mountain Zone to continue his journey.

Gameplay[]

Green Hills Zone is noticeably more flat and straightforward than the preceding Zones, although it still features some vertical platforming, especially in its second and third Acts. Ramps and loops are also abundant in this Zone. In addition to lines of Rings. Breakable blocks are also featured, albeit only appearing in two small sections of Act 1.

Overview[]

Act 1[]

The first Act begins on a flat stretch of ground which descends into a a bumpy path, before ascending again, which leads up a large hill with a ramp at the bottom. Should the player gather enough momentum when rolling down said hill with the Spin Attack, it can launch them up to the top of a loop, where a 1-Up monitor lies. Additionally, if the player manages to carry their momentum to the edge of the loop and jump, they can potentially land on top of another loop, and find another 1-Up monitor. Alternatively, the player can just run through both loops, and continue onward.

After the loops, the player will reach an area where they can either jump to the top of the top path, or go under to reach a lower path. Along the top path, the player will run across flat areas that are plentiful with Rings. On the bottom path on the other hand, the player has to break through several breakable blocks to reach a Spring that will bounce them up to the top path, which is where the two paths merges with each other. Continuing onward from there, the player will reach a cliff that is too tall to jump up of, with a 1-Up monitor at its top, forcing the player to travel down a pit to a series of breakable blocks and Springs. Although navigating the Springs will lead the player to the Bonus Plate, the player can also take a small detour backwards after the final Spring to collect the aforenoted 1-Up monitor on the cliff.

Act 2[]

The second Act begins at the foot of a steep incline, which has a small pit of spikes and a ramp at its top. The incline in question overlooks a much larger pit of spikes with a small platform slowly moving across it. After crossing said pit, the player must reach a Spring which they can use to ascend to a pathway, although they can alternatively continue forwards and jump across a spike pit to collect a 1-Up monitor. By continuing from the pathway, the player will encounter a large downwards ramp which, should they get enough momentum when rolling down of, can launch them up on top of a loop where a 1-Up monitor lies. The player can then reach a series of Springs which they have to navigate in order to avoid pits of spikes. This leads to a small path split, as the player can either take the higher path with an abundance of Rings on it, or the lower path with a small spike pit. Regardless, both paths will soon conjoin and lead to another series of Springs and a small cliff, which, when safely navigated, grants the player access to the Bonus Plate.

Act 3[]

The third Act begins on a flat area, which quickly leads to a long series of Springs over spike pits. Navigating these Springs will lead to a steep downwards ramp and a few more Springs, which, when successfully navigated, will launch the player to Dohyo Master's boss arena. After defeating the boss, the player can move past the boss area to destroy the Prison Egg and complete the Act.

Boss[]

Main article: Dohyo Master

The boss of Green Hills Zone is Dohyo Master, a robotic pig with an inexplicable penchant for sumo posturing. Sonic's porcine adversary will curl up into a ball and either roll or float from one side of the screen to the other. When he unfurls, the player has a brief window of time to damage him before he attacks again.

Chaos Emerald location[]

The white Chaos Emerald in Green Hills Zone is located in Act 2. Here, the player can find the Chaos Emerald by finding a specific group of two Springs partway through the Act, and bouncing on them with enough momentum to allow them to reach a second set of Springs atop a pillar. The player can then reach the Chaos Emerald atop an even higher pillar by bouncing on one of the Springs here while moving right.

Trivia[]

• The name is a reference to Green Hill Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, which it also heavily resembles.
• The music that plays in this Zone was remixed into "Sonic - You Can Do Anything", the intro theme in the Japanese/Europe version of Sonic the Hedgehog CD. The music was also remixed for Mecha Green Hill Zone in Sonic Chaos. A sped-up version of the music plays while a character is under the effects of the Invincible power-up in Sonic Drift. A remix of part of the music plays as part of the invincibility theme in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2.
• Green Hills Zone's position as the fourth Zone is somewhat surprising, because the easy platforming (as well as its several opportunities for maxing out Rings and collecting extra lives) would make one expect that (as usual with Green Hill-themed Zones) this Zone would come first in the game.
  • This anomaly also exists in Sonic Chaos, where Mecha Green Hill Zone is also the fourth Zone of the game.
  • This stage is artificially made more difficult on the Game Gear port due to the system's limited display size, resulting in "blind jumps" that the Master System port does not have.
• In the Japanese manual, the katakana for this Zone directly reads "Green Hill," suggesting that Green Hills may possibly be a typographical error on the part of the developers.
• Near the start of Act 1, the name "Tom" can be seen engraved in the rocks underground. Although the significance of these is unknown, the same name can also be seen in the rocks near the end of Sky High Zone Act 1.
  • Coincidentally, years later in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series, there would be a character called Tom Wachowski who lives and works in Green Hills, Montana.
• A group of Rings in the formation of the word "End" can be seen at a point in Act 1. Strangely, the Rings in question appear roughly halfway through the Zone, and not at the end.

Music[]

See also[]

• Green Hill (disambiguation)

References[]