Post by Sunflora Azumarill on Mar 13, 2011 20:22:34 GMT -5
Arena Stages
Episode 1:
Rainbow Reef: This stage is based off the Tropical Tide stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a rainbow reef barely breaching the ocean's surface. How the stage gets its name is from whirlpools that form on the surface every few moments at various points and can suck you under. However, don't worry too much as they only send you to the bottom of the stage, which you can also swim down to. On the surface are several items floating in the water, but better ones such as Fake Items are found at the coral's bottom. You can also go onto the coral that is sticking out of the water if you please, where a few more items are found.
Music Notes (Day): The La Razza Canal (Sunny) theme from Wave Race Blue Storm.
Music Notes (Night): The La Razza Canal (Stormy) theme from Wave Race Blue Storm.
Size Ranking: **
Episode 2:
San Diales: This stage takes place in the San Diales hub, but all pedestrians and other people have been removed to avoid casualties. Also, the cars don't stop for you like they would normally and all the shops are closed, even the Upgrade Shop is missing. You have the whole hub except the Alpha Gate to explore here, including the mansion area. To get there, two busses without anyone inside them will take a player to there (you don't have to pay the fare). Each of the mansion gates are open, allowing for matches to take to their front lawns. This size of the hub makes for some interesting matches.
Music Notes (Day): The San Diales hub daytime theme.
Music Notes (Night): The San Diales hub nighttime theme.
Size Ranking: *****
Episode 3:
Frigid Crater: This stage is based on the Flarice Valley stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a large area split into two halves, the left side consisting of fire and lava, the right side consisting of snow and ice. Both sides contain hazards that relate to that kind of environment such as ice twisters, fire twisters, ice geysers, lava geysers, ice jets, flame jets, frigid water (both kinds), lava pools, and more. A system of tunnels connects both halves of the arena and various powerups can be found on both sides. Try taking a Fake Item from one half and placing it in the other to throw off your foes.
Music Notes (Fire Side, Day): The Flame Core: Volcano theme from Sonic '06.
Music Notes (Fire Side, Night): The Freezeflame Galaxy (Flame) theme from Super Mario Galaxy.
Music Notes (Ice Side, Day): The Flame Core: Cavern theme from Sonic '06.
Music Notes (Ice Side, Night): The Freezeflame Galaxy (Freeze) theme from Super Mario Galaxy.
Size Ranking: ***
Episode 4:
Treetop Village: This stage is based on the Mazuri stages from Sonic Unleashed and takes place along walkways and platforms suspended high in tall trees. The pathways are very complex and falling to the ground here means instant death, so it's best to watch your footing here. You can use special rope-lift platforms to get up to the higher levels, especially since the best items, including Fake Items are up there. There are also a few small huts containing more powerups that could help out in battles in the trees.
Music Notes (Day): The Mazuri Savanna Citadel day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Mazuri Savanna Citadel night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ***
Episode 5:
Jungle Ruins: This stage takes place in the Tropical Mazeway stage from the Story Mode and includes everything from the beginning of the stage to right before the Lost Woods-esque maze. The lasers and teleporters making up the first maze have been removed, making traversing through there easier. Other elements have been put in to make backtracking through the stage possible as well. There is also a strange Pokémon that drops down from time to time and leaves powerups for the players to grab; this is the only way to get Fake Items in this stage.
Music Notes (Day): The Adabat Jungle Joyride day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Adabat Jungle Joyride night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 6:
Great Aqueduct: This stage is based on the Spagonia stages from Sonic Unleashed and takes place along one of the city's most well known structures, the Great Aqueduct. The stage itself consists of two aqueduct levels, one below the other, and both operational; the top one flows forward, the bottom one flows back. There are a few dry areas along both levels where powerups can be found, but the only way to retrace your steps in this stage is to take a water flow to the start of the other. Due to the linear state of this stage, it doesn't get a good size ranking.
Music Notes (Day): The Spagonia Rooftop Run day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Spagonia Rooftop Run night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: *
Episode 7:
Mega Shopping Mall: This stage takes place in the Electric Mall stage from the Story Mode and consists of the areas starting with the first food court you go through and ends at the entrance to the super mall's amusement park. Anything such as lasers and barrier lasers have been removed to allow full traversing of the area. The blue conveyor belts are also active this time, allowing you to quickly get from one area to another. The vending machines are also operational, so look for money items (the only multiplayer stage to have them) to pay for the snacks you desire.
Music Notes (Day): The Nu Beat theme from Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 (PS2).
Music Notes (Night): The Chaos theme from Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero (PS2).
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 8:
Egg Fortress: Remember the flying fortress Eggman used to escape from the Egg Juggernaut before Tyson (TR) destroyed it? Well, now we get to see what it looks like from the inside as this stage takes place there. The Egg Fortress is constantly flying through the air, occasionally rising up into space and eventually coming back into the atmosphere. This happens to be a large stage, consisting of all sorts of Eggman related hazards and gimmicks like high-speed warp tubes, sets of satellite platforms, gravity switches, electric liquid pools, and giant cubes that teleport you to other cubes depending on which side you enter.
Music Notes (Day): A remix of the Egg Rocket Zone theme from Sonic Advance.
Music Notes (Night): A remix of the Cosmic Angel Zone theme from Sonic Advance.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 9:
Golden Plaza: This stage takes place in the Golden City stage from the Story Mode and consists of most of the ancient city for you to battle in. The hazards that you faced in the stage normally are still around, but some areas have been retooled to allow backtracking and exploration of the stage. Just remember that it's harder to swim in golden water that it is in normal water. There happens to be a unique item in this stage only called Golden Coat, which coats the player in golden armor for a limited time, not only making him or her invulnerable to damage, but also sending ranged attacks back at the attacker.
Music Notes (Day): A remix of the Rusty Ruin Act 2 theme from Sonic 3D Blast on the Sega Saturn.
Music Notes (Night): A remix of the Rusty Ruin Act 1 theme from Sonic 3D Blast on the Sega Saturn.
Size Ranking: *****
Episode 10:
Grand Library: This stage takes place entirely in the Grand Library in the middle of the Hidden Ruins stage from the Story Mode. This place happens to be the Pokémon world equivalent of the Library of Alexandria and has knowledge and books on almost every Legendary Pokémon and even tomes pertaining to Chaos, Solaris, and Dark Gaia. However, there's no time for reading as this place is used for matches. You got the entire library to fight in, and it's not small whatsoever (there are more books and scrolls in the library than a person could read in a lifetime). Try to lure an opponent into an alcove to corner them.
Music Notes (Day): The Shamar Arid Sands day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Shamar Arid Sands night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 11:
Draco Starjet: Now, this is interesting. This stage is based on the interior of the Draco Starjet robotic craft, except this time there's no danger of getting sucked back outside or Team Draco robots attacking us, and since we're stuck inside there's no worrying about the energy bullet waves, laser satellites, electromagnetic beams, or reflective lasers that plagued us "Danmaku" style on the outside. However, hazards such as laser grids, energy pools, and gravity cubes make for a interesting stage, and since the interior was rendered in 3D like normal, unlike the Hunter Hydroplane, the Draco Starjet can take advantage of every element.
Music Notes (Day): The second Mororian base theme from Space Channel 5.
Music Notes (Night): The Area 6 ver.2 theme (Star Fox 64) from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Size Ranking: ***
Final Episode:
Chemical Lake: This stage is based on the Chemical Maze stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a massive octagonal chamber with a huge lake of chemicals taking up most of it. The lake itself is divided up into three equal sized areas. One is filled with green chemical (which you sink in, much like Mega Mack), one is filled with purple chemical (which reverses your directional controls), and one is filled with ice blue chemical (which saps your health at 2 a second when in it). There are dry areas along the edge of the lake and in between the three parts. There are also platforms on various shapes and sizes under the lake, floating on its surface, and also above it. Under the surface are passages and tubes that connect the three sections. Every minute, the compositions of the chemicals rotates, making things more interesting.
Music Notes (Day): The Eggmanland day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Eggmanland night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ***
Episode 1:
Rainbow Reef: This stage is based off the Tropical Tide stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a rainbow reef barely breaching the ocean's surface. How the stage gets its name is from whirlpools that form on the surface every few moments at various points and can suck you under. However, don't worry too much as they only send you to the bottom of the stage, which you can also swim down to. On the surface are several items floating in the water, but better ones such as Fake Items are found at the coral's bottom. You can also go onto the coral that is sticking out of the water if you please, where a few more items are found.
Music Notes (Day): The La Razza Canal (Sunny) theme from Wave Race Blue Storm.
Music Notes (Night): The La Razza Canal (Stormy) theme from Wave Race Blue Storm.
Size Ranking: **
Episode 2:
San Diales: This stage takes place in the San Diales hub, but all pedestrians and other people have been removed to avoid casualties. Also, the cars don't stop for you like they would normally and all the shops are closed, even the Upgrade Shop is missing. You have the whole hub except the Alpha Gate to explore here, including the mansion area. To get there, two busses without anyone inside them will take a player to there (you don't have to pay the fare). Each of the mansion gates are open, allowing for matches to take to their front lawns. This size of the hub makes for some interesting matches.
Music Notes (Day): The San Diales hub daytime theme.
Music Notes (Night): The San Diales hub nighttime theme.
Size Ranking: *****
Episode 3:
Frigid Crater: This stage is based on the Flarice Valley stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a large area split into two halves, the left side consisting of fire and lava, the right side consisting of snow and ice. Both sides contain hazards that relate to that kind of environment such as ice twisters, fire twisters, ice geysers, lava geysers, ice jets, flame jets, frigid water (both kinds), lava pools, and more. A system of tunnels connects both halves of the arena and various powerups can be found on both sides. Try taking a Fake Item from one half and placing it in the other to throw off your foes.
Music Notes (Fire Side, Day): The Flame Core: Volcano theme from Sonic '06.
Music Notes (Fire Side, Night): The Freezeflame Galaxy (Flame) theme from Super Mario Galaxy.
Music Notes (Ice Side, Day): The Flame Core: Cavern theme from Sonic '06.
Music Notes (Ice Side, Night): The Freezeflame Galaxy (Freeze) theme from Super Mario Galaxy.
Size Ranking: ***
Episode 4:
Treetop Village: This stage is based on the Mazuri stages from Sonic Unleashed and takes place along walkways and platforms suspended high in tall trees. The pathways are very complex and falling to the ground here means instant death, so it's best to watch your footing here. You can use special rope-lift platforms to get up to the higher levels, especially since the best items, including Fake Items are up there. There are also a few small huts containing more powerups that could help out in battles in the trees.
Music Notes (Day): The Mazuri Savanna Citadel day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Mazuri Savanna Citadel night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ***
Episode 5:
Jungle Ruins: This stage takes place in the Tropical Mazeway stage from the Story Mode and includes everything from the beginning of the stage to right before the Lost Woods-esque maze. The lasers and teleporters making up the first maze have been removed, making traversing through there easier. Other elements have been put in to make backtracking through the stage possible as well. There is also a strange Pokémon that drops down from time to time and leaves powerups for the players to grab; this is the only way to get Fake Items in this stage.
Music Notes (Day): The Adabat Jungle Joyride day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Adabat Jungle Joyride night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 6:
Great Aqueduct: This stage is based on the Spagonia stages from Sonic Unleashed and takes place along one of the city's most well known structures, the Great Aqueduct. The stage itself consists of two aqueduct levels, one below the other, and both operational; the top one flows forward, the bottom one flows back. There are a few dry areas along both levels where powerups can be found, but the only way to retrace your steps in this stage is to take a water flow to the start of the other. Due to the linear state of this stage, it doesn't get a good size ranking.
Music Notes (Day): The Spagonia Rooftop Run day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Spagonia Rooftop Run night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: *
Episode 7:
Mega Shopping Mall: This stage takes place in the Electric Mall stage from the Story Mode and consists of the areas starting with the first food court you go through and ends at the entrance to the super mall's amusement park. Anything such as lasers and barrier lasers have been removed to allow full traversing of the area. The blue conveyor belts are also active this time, allowing you to quickly get from one area to another. The vending machines are also operational, so look for money items (the only multiplayer stage to have them) to pay for the snacks you desire.
Music Notes (Day): The Nu Beat theme from Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 (PS2).
Music Notes (Night): The Chaos theme from Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero (PS2).
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 8:
Egg Fortress: Remember the flying fortress Eggman used to escape from the Egg Juggernaut before Tyson (TR) destroyed it? Well, now we get to see what it looks like from the inside as this stage takes place there. The Egg Fortress is constantly flying through the air, occasionally rising up into space and eventually coming back into the atmosphere. This happens to be a large stage, consisting of all sorts of Eggman related hazards and gimmicks like high-speed warp tubes, sets of satellite platforms, gravity switches, electric liquid pools, and giant cubes that teleport you to other cubes depending on which side you enter.
Music Notes (Day): A remix of the Egg Rocket Zone theme from Sonic Advance.
Music Notes (Night): A remix of the Cosmic Angel Zone theme from Sonic Advance.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 9:
Golden Plaza: This stage takes place in the Golden City stage from the Story Mode and consists of most of the ancient city for you to battle in. The hazards that you faced in the stage normally are still around, but some areas have been retooled to allow backtracking and exploration of the stage. Just remember that it's harder to swim in golden water that it is in normal water. There happens to be a unique item in this stage only called Golden Coat, which coats the player in golden armor for a limited time, not only making him or her invulnerable to damage, but also sending ranged attacks back at the attacker.
Music Notes (Day): A remix of the Rusty Ruin Act 2 theme from Sonic 3D Blast on the Sega Saturn.
Music Notes (Night): A remix of the Rusty Ruin Act 1 theme from Sonic 3D Blast on the Sega Saturn.
Size Ranking: *****
Episode 10:
Grand Library: This stage takes place entirely in the Grand Library in the middle of the Hidden Ruins stage from the Story Mode. This place happens to be the Pokémon world equivalent of the Library of Alexandria and has knowledge and books on almost every Legendary Pokémon and even tomes pertaining to Chaos, Solaris, and Dark Gaia. However, there's no time for reading as this place is used for matches. You got the entire library to fight in, and it's not small whatsoever (there are more books and scrolls in the library than a person could read in a lifetime). Try to lure an opponent into an alcove to corner them.
Music Notes (Day): The Shamar Arid Sands day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Shamar Arid Sands night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ****
Episode 11:
Draco Starjet: Now, this is interesting. This stage is based on the interior of the Draco Starjet robotic craft, except this time there's no danger of getting sucked back outside or Team Draco robots attacking us, and since we're stuck inside there's no worrying about the energy bullet waves, laser satellites, electromagnetic beams, or reflective lasers that plagued us "Danmaku" style on the outside. However, hazards such as laser grids, energy pools, and gravity cubes make for a interesting stage, and since the interior was rendered in 3D like normal, unlike the Hunter Hydroplane, the Draco Starjet can take advantage of every element.
Music Notes (Day): The second Mororian base theme from Space Channel 5.
Music Notes (Night): The Area 6 ver.2 theme (Star Fox 64) from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Size Ranking: ***
Final Episode:
Chemical Lake: This stage is based on the Chemical Maze stage from the Story Mode and takes place in a massive octagonal chamber with a huge lake of chemicals taking up most of it. The lake itself is divided up into three equal sized areas. One is filled with green chemical (which you sink in, much like Mega Mack), one is filled with purple chemical (which reverses your directional controls), and one is filled with ice blue chemical (which saps your health at 2 a second when in it). There are dry areas along the edge of the lake and in between the three parts. There are also platforms on various shapes and sizes under the lake, floating on its surface, and also above it. Under the surface are passages and tubes that connect the three sections. Every minute, the compositions of the chemicals rotates, making things more interesting.
Music Notes (Day): The Eggmanland day theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Music Notes (Night): The Eggmanland night theme from Sonic Unleashed.
Size Ranking: ***