Labyrinth Zone, the fourth zone in Sonic the Hedgehog, is a ruin-like maze zone, most of which is underwater. It features many spikes and water-driven contraptions. The greatest hazard of this zone is not the enemies or the traps, but the water. Sonic, being a hedgehog, is terrible at swimming. After staying underwater for a limited amount of time (18 seconds, with warning bells at 5, 10, and 15 seconds), a countdown begins (5 breaths/about 12 seconds), at the end of which Sonic automatically drowns. Collecting air bubbles found in certain points resets the counter and prevents Sonic from drowning. This element has found its way into many more Sonic games, much to the dismay of most players.
At the end of Act 3, Dr. Robotnik does not attack Sonic. Instead, the hedgehog has to follow him through an ascending passage filled with poison-spitting statues and tridents that is soon after flooded with water, with no air bubbles in sight. To complete the level, Sonic must climb to the top without dying or drowning. However, if Sonic does manage to land 8 hits on Dr. Robotnik, he will be defeated nonetheless.
Instruction Manual Description
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Explore an intricate maze filled with water. A countdown begins to let you know when you are running out of oxygen. Breathing in air bubbles keeps you from drowning.
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As for the air bubble idea, we were thinking of ways to make the character more unique, so we thought giving him some sort of weakness would be a good idea, and since there was a water stage, why not have him sink? So what to do when he gets in the water stage, we wondered, and after some deliberation we came up with the air bubbles.
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| — Yuji Naka
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Enemies
- Burrobot — Mole bots that leap from the ground and then simply move back and forth in a small area.
- Jaws — Piranha bots that troll around underwater.
- Unidus — Simple, pissy-looking sphere bots that move back and forth very slowly. The catch is that they're circled by four spiked balls, making them virtually impossible to hit until after they've spotted you.
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