Panic Puppet Zone

Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island

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Panic Puppet Zone
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Seventh Zone, Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island
Number of Acts: 3
Location: Flicky Island
Level theme: industrial
Boss: Panic Puppet Zone boss
Maximum rings, Act 1: 102
Maximum rings, Act 2: 68
Maximum rings, Act 3: 18
Flickies, Act 1: █ 2 █ 1 █ 1 █ 1
Non-English names: DE: Zone der PanikpuppenMedia:Sonic3D Sat EU manual.pdf^[1] FR: La zone des marionnettes terriblesMedia:Sonic3D Sat EU manual.pdf^[1] ES: Zona de las marionetas despavoridasMedia:Sonic3D Sat EU manual.pdf^[2] IT: Zona dei burattini del panicoMedia:Sonic3D Sat EU manual.pdf^[2] NL: De paniekpoppenMedia:Sonic3D Sat EU manual.pdf^[2]
← Gene Gadget Zone \| The Final Fight →

Panic Puppet Zone is the seventh Zone of Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Saturn, coming after Gene Gadget Zone. Considered the "last level" of the game, this Zone features the only non-boss Act in the game without any Flickies, as well as one of the only real challenges in the entire game.

Overview

The pause screen for this Zone in the Saturn version.

As Dr. Eggman was in a hurry to prepare his final weapon, he had no time to trap the Flickies in robots, so he put them in cans which can be found in the corners of Act 1. Unusually, Act 2 breaks free from the ordinary routine of using the Goal Ring to end the level. Instead, Sonic must make his way to a giant statue of Eggman's body. Sonic must then enter the pipe that sticks out of "Eggman's" nose. This will transport Sonic to the Boss stage. The boss is a multi-layered showdown against Robotnik's head, which uses various tactics to take Sonic down. When defeated, Sonic flies away from the exploding ruin and to the final battle, depending on whether all the Chaos Emeralds were obtained or not.

There are several different obstacles in this level. There are Badniks that act similar to ones in earlier levels, however no Flickies are present when they are broken. In Act 1, there are obstacles similar to the ones found in Gene Gadget Zone, shooters that activate when Sonic gets close to them, electric zappers that will hurt Sonic if he walks on them, fans that blow Sonic upwards, and elevators that bring Sonic to another part of the act. Also, Act 1 also has conveyor belts. Pulling a nearby lever will change the direction of the conveyor belt. And like most levels, there are Flickies that must be found to go onto the next act. Act 2 is very different. There are similar obstacles, with the addition of trapdoors that will kill Sonic if he was to fall through, and as stated above, there are no Flickies to collect.

Tails and Knuckles are not present in this level, nor can the player find any Sonic Medals.

The music for Act 1 of the Mega Drive version is the same as the music used in the opening cutscene which outlines the story (not the one shown when first turning the Mega Drive on), with the exceptions of an early end and two "Sonic beat an enemy" sounds added to align with the story shown on screen. The music was reused in Sonic Adventure as the theme for Twinkle Cart. The Saturn version has no such cutscene (although it had a short rendered video before the title screen with unique music); choosing Start at the main menu goes right to the game. The Saturn version also features a number of visual upgrades including a metal grate pattern on the floor. Some tunes from the PC/Saturn version of the game were reused in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

Quotes

“	Looks like Robotnik hasn't even had time to place the Flickies into robots here. Sonic must be catching up to that evil genius! Bounce on the containers to free the Flickies inside, and make sure to avoid the bubble guns infesting the area.	„
— Sonic 3D US manualMedia:Sonic3D Sat US manual.pdf^[3]

Enemies

Panic Puppet includes two different varieties of Badnik, neither of which are named in official media, but are named in development tools:

	Walker — A walking robot outfitted with four cannons.
	Whirl — A robot with a propeller on its head.

As stated in the sections above, neither of these Badniks contain Flickies as Eggman didn't have enough time to put them in.

In other media

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW comics)

Witchcart's base in Panic Puppet Zone.

In the Tails' 30th Anniversary Special one-shot from IDW Publishing, Panic Puppet Zone is the fifth and final location on Flicky Island to be visited by Tails. Since its abandonment, Witchcart had converted the Zone into her base, laying railway tracks everywhere and altering the giant Eggman statue in her own image. Using gadgets and weapons crafted from the parts he had salvaged from the Witchcarters, Tails took on Witchcart, eventually defeating her and rescuing Sonic.