The Doomsday Zone

Sonic & Knuckles

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The Doomsday Zone

The Doomsday Zone
Final Zone, Sonic & Knuckles
Number of Acts: 1
Level theme: outer space
Boss: Final Weapon
Maximum rings: 194 + 0
Prerequisite: Obtain 7 Chaos Emeralds as Sonic (Super Emeralds in S3K)
Non-English names: JP: ザドゥームズデイ DE: Doomsday ZoneMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf FR: La Zone du Jugement DernierMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf ES: Zona del Juicio FinalMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf IT: Zona del Giorno del GiudizioMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf SE: DomedagszonenMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf NL: De zone van de Dag des OordeelsMedia:Sonic And Knuckles 16-Bit EU Multi.pdf
← Death Egg Zone

The Doomsday Zone is the eighth and final Zone of Sonic & Knuckles (the fourteenth Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles). Only Sonic may play the level normally, and only after collecting at least 7 Chaos Emeralds (i.e. only in Super or Hyper form). He transforms into his Super form (Hyper if the player has collected all of the Super Emeralds) as the Death Egg is falling apart to catch Dr. Eggman as he tries to escape with the Master Emerald.

Overview

The Doomsday Zone is set in asteroid-filled space above the planet. The player must fly through the asteroid belt and fight Eggman to recover the Master Emerald and foil his plans again.

Because Super Sonic must play this stage, the player starts out with 50 Rings instead of 0, and loses Rings at the traditional Super rate of one per second. There are extra Rings along the course of the level, but if the player's Ring total drops to 0, Sonic will fall out of Super form and lose a life. When the player is down to 10 Rings, the music tempo will increase to raise tension and warn the player to collect Rings. This tempo increase does not occur in Sonic Jam.

To defeat the first form of the Final Weapon, the player must drive the missiles it fires into the cockpit of the ship. After 8 hits, Eggman returns in a flying mecha, resembling the Death Egg Robot boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The player should keep their Ring supply up by hanging back when needed, but when they feel comfortable with their Ring total, they should hold and hit any of the face buttons to begin ramming into Eggman. Hitting his bombs and the asteroids slows the player down. After 8 hits, the Master Emerald is freed and Eggman is beaten again.

Also, if one looks back at the fight Sonic and Knuckles had at Hidden Palace Zone, they will see a mural hanging on the wall. It displays Super Sonic and one of Eggman's spaceships in outer space. This method of foreshadowing is also used in Sonic Adventure, where Sonic reaches the depths of the Lost World and finds a mural displaying Perfect Chaos.

Quotes

“	Sonic unleashes incredible Emerald forces in this final shattering showdown with Robotnik!	„
— Sonic & Knuckles US manualMedia:S&K MD US SonicJam manual.pdf

Successors

The Doomsday Zone set a precedent that would become the template for most final boss battles in future games. Among them, in chronological order:

• Sonic Adventure — Perfect Chaos
• Sonic Pocket Adventure — Chaotic Space Zone
• Sonic Adventure 2 — Finalhazard
• Sonic Advance — The Moon Zone
• Sonic Advance 2 — True Area 53
• Sonic Heroes — Metal Overlord
• Sonic Advance 3 — Nonaggression
• Shadow the Hedgehog — Devil Doom
• Sonic Rush — Exception
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) — Solaris
• Sonic and the Secret Rings — Alf-Layla-wa-Layla
• Sonic Rush Adventure — Deep Core
• Sonic Unleashed — Perfect Dark Gaia
• Sonic and the Black Knight — Dark Queen
• Sonic Colours — Nega-Mother Wisp (DS version only)
• Sonic Generations — Time Eater
• Sonic Mania — Egg Reverie Zone
• Sonic Frontiers — The End