Pit Master

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Pit Master

Game: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
Level: Under Ground Zone
Hits to defeat: 7 (self-defeating)

Pit Master^[1], known as Arijigoku Mecha (アリジゴクメカMedia:Sonic 2 GG JP Manual.pdf^[2]) (meaning "fire-ant robot") in Japan, is the first boss of the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, fought at the end of Under Ground Zone. In the middle of Act 3, Sonic rolls down a huge ramp only to find himself flying straight towards a lava pit; but at the last second, Dr. Eggman comes to the hedgehog's rescue, catching him in the Egg Mobile's pincers and depositing him "safely" by Pit Master.

Strategy

The boss battle takes place on a ramp which has Pit Master positioned at the bottom to bite the player if they get too close. Eggman will release six silver balls down the left ramp from off-screen. As they bounce down the ramp, Sonic will need to jump to avoid them and let them hit the mech. It is easy to slide down the ramp so the directional pad will see constant use during the battle. The Game Gear version's smaller screen size, coupled with more erratic ball bouncing heights, makes doing this infamously difficult on the handheld; players of the Master System version should not have too much of a problem, due to the larger screen resolution and the more predictable height of the ball's bounces.

After the sixth ball strikes the mech (or sometimes before it can strike the mech), Eggman himself charges at Sonic in the Egg Mobile. At this point, the player should just jump over him and let him destroy the mech by ramming into it, while taking care not to jump into the ball if Eggman charges early.