Wild Canyon

Wild Canyon is the second stage in the Hero storyline of Sonic Adventure 2 and the first stage playable with Knuckles. It represents Knuckles' attempt to find Master Emerald pieces that were scattered after he smashed it.

Plot

The Master Emerald has been stolen again from Angel Island, this time by Rouge. Knuckles follows her and the two fight for it in a desert area near Eggman's base. Just as the two are mindlessly talking and throwing taunts to one another, Eggman shows up on his way to his base after his confrontation with Shadow, mistaking the Master Emerald’s sign for a Chaos Emerald. Even though Eggman recognizes it as not being the emerald he’s looking for, he still tries to take it away with him, figuring that he could use it for something. Knuckles jumps and smashes the Master Emerald to pieces, before Eggman manages to escape and the doctor flees the scene befuddled. After a small squabble with Rouge, Knuckles then sets off to find the Master Emerald shards so he can restore it later, as seen in Sonic Adventure.

Level Layout

Appearance

Wild Canyon is a desert and wind themed level, with sand ground, Egyptian references, wind currents and windmills.

The major gimmick of this level is the "Altar of Wind," a giant air tunnel with a strong wind to blow Knuckles upwards.

Other level-specific objects are ribbons that fly with the wind, stone apartments that hold various items, giant statues holding boxes that can be dug into, rocks that are floating in the upwards currents that can be destroyed, stone blocks that can pushed along tracks and old purple treasure chests that can be smashed.

Level sections

Wild Canyon is divided into two major sections plus four secret rooms.

The first section is called "Chamber of Wind" and it’s where Knuckles first starts. It’s located inside some ancient ruins and is composed of two major level heights, with small ledges along the walls between them. The bottom floor is where the Altar of Wind is located, surrounded by high pillars and statues holding boxes. The upper floor (also called the "Wild Canyon Track") is a ledge all around the room, very close to the ceiling. In the southeast part of the upper level there’s a painting that leads to secret room 1, which contains mystic shrines and a warp to secret room 3 (except in hard mode). Riding the wind current at the Altar of Wind will allow Knuckles to reach the section above, which is unreachable otherwise.

The second section is a dry and reddish canyon setting and is composed of three sub-sections.

• The central section is called "Stone Dance Hall" and it’s where Knuckles ends up after being blown upwards from the room below. There are four statues holding boxes (numbered 1 through 4, indirectly, by a count of swirl panels above each one's head) and two raised platforms, along with some ledges. Behind where Knuckles is facing after heading straight ahead from the start and being blown upwards, there’s a painting below the raised platform, which will lead to secret room 2. This secret room has nine paintings: the large one leads back to the panel that sent you here, seven of the small ones are "traps" that send you back to the Chamber of Wind, and the last small one (the central painting on the right side) takes you to secret room 3. Also in the Stone Dance Hall, there are holes in the ground level that will drop Knuckles back to the Chamber of Wind. There are two passageways that branch from here, opposite to each, the second and third area.
• The second is called the "Lonely Statue" area and it’s to the left if you head straight ahead from start and get blown upwards. There are stone apartments filled with wooden containers, a raised X shaped platform and at the end, a giant statue holding a box. High above this statue there’s a painting, which leads to secret room 4 and the Mystic Melody upgrade. You can return from secret room 4 with either the painting, returning you to the lonely statue, or the mystic shrine here, which creates a warp hole that leads to the Chamber of Wind.
• The third is called the "Sphinx Head" area and it’s to the right if you head straight ahead from start and get blown upwards. There are broken pillars stuck on the ground and the walls, and at the end there are some ledges and a statue’s head buried in the sand.

Other versions

Wild Canyon mirrors Rouge’s Dry Lagoon in many ways: both are Egyptian themed to a certain degree, both are near the beginning of the story, and except for one extra side path in Dry Lagoon, the two stages are shaped identically.

Wild Canyon also shares some of it’s Egyptian themes with Sonic's Pyramid Cave, Eggman’s Sand Ocean and Tails’ Hidden Base.

Enemies

• Beetle Series: Gold Beetle
• Rhino Series: Rhino Jet (Normal Mode), Rhino Spike (Hard Mode)
• Hawk Series: Gun Hawk

Locations

Animals

Animal	Number	Location
<iimg>Cheetah!</iimg>	1	Chamber of Wind: By the foot of the statue, northwest.
<iimg>Condor!</iimg>	2	Lonely Statue area: Above the middle pillar stuck on the wall. Lonely Statue hallway: In the southeast beam of the X platform.
<iimg>Dragon!</iimg>	1	Lonely Statue area: In the southwest corner of secret room 4 (reachable by digging through the painting located above the head of the Lonely Statue).
<iimg>Peacock!</iimg>	1	Sphinx Head area: Behind the statue's head.
<iimg>Ram!</iimg>	2	Chamber of Wind: Behind the stone block at the right corner, on the platform where Knuckles first starts. Chamber of Wind: Inside a treasure chest located in the eastern wall ledge.
Random	3	Chamber of Wind: In a pipe located in the south wall ledge. Stone Dance Hall: In a pipe on the foot of statue, southwest from how Knuckles is first blown upwards. Lonely Statue area: In a pipe by the last pillar before the pit with the two Rhino Jet.
Total	10

The level specific animal (third Chao container) is a Dragon.

Big the Cat

At the beginning, ride the wind up to the top, then turn around 180° and glide to the wall. When Knuckles hits the wall, climb up and right next to the windmill, where Big can be seen hanging onto the wall and facing away from Knuckles.

Chao containers

• Chamber of Wind: On the northwest highest pillar.
• Sphinx Head area: To the left of the statue's head.
• Lonely Statue area: By the statue's foot.

Gold Beetle

The Gold Beetle can be found behind the head of the statue, in Sphinx Head area. Its location (if it exists) is currently unknown in hard mode.

Lost Chao

• Recommended Upgrades: Hammer Gloves, Shovel Claw, Mystic Melody

From where Knuckles first starts, climb the south wall and in the southeast corner, there will be some steel containers that broken will reveal a painting. Dig through it into secret room 1, activate the two Mystic Melodies and jump into the warp hole to secret room 3.

There's another path that leads to secret room 3 and that bypasses any need for the Hammer Gloves or Mystic Melody. For details on this path, see the directions to the second piece in hard mode.

Master Emerald shards - Hard Mode

Emerald shard	Hints
#1	"X" marks the spot. Behind something. Right below the suspended ceiling in front of a lonely statue.
#2	A secret room. The other side of a wall painting. If you dig into a wall painting, there is a new path to...
#3	A very windy area. You can't use your technique to get it! Try wearing your sunglasses on a pillar somewhere.

• Piece 1 is in the Lonely Statue area, under the X shaped raised platform. Jumping and gliding from the closest stone apartment will make it easier to grab.
• Piece 2 is in secret room 3, the same room that the lost Chao was in, but the mystic shrine and warp hole from secret room 1 have been removed so you'll have to find another way in. Dig through the painting in the Stone Dance Hall, and you'll emerge in secret room 2 with many small paintings, only one of which leads to the desired room. Using the Sunglasses here will make a vertical line of rings appear, and these rings point to the correct panel (from the way you came in, it's the central panel on the right side).
• Piece 3 is at the bottom of the vertical wind tunnel, at the Altar of Wind. It's most readily obtained by using the Sunglasses while standing on the lowest pillar to the right, which will relay you from one spring to another spring to the piece.

Upgrade

Knuckles' Mystic Melody upgrade can be found here, though the Shovel Claw will typically be a prerequisite to obtaining it. It's in secret room 4, accessed by digging through the painting above the head of the Lonely Statue.