Studiopolis Zone

Sonic Mania

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Studiopolis Zone

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Studiopolis Zone
Third Zone, Sonic Mania
Number of Acts: 2
Level themes: urban, carnival/casino
Sub-boss: Heavy Gunner
Boss: Studiopolis Zone Boss

Studiopolis Zone is the third zone of Sonic Mania, and the first completely original zone in both gameplay and reveal order, making Studiopolis the flagship zone of Sonic Mania.

Studiopolis is a theater/cinema themed level, with the first Act being set outside in a colourful city with tall skyscrapers and buildings, street lamps with spinning rings inside, fragile shop windows filled with TV sets, giant popcorn machines, vans that "transmit" the player through satellite dishes and out of TVs, extending director chairs, and giant clapperboards that catapult the player upwards. Dotted around the zone are LED marquees with phrases on them such as "BY THE MANIA, FOR THE MANIA" and "LOCK-ON TECHNOLOGY".

Act 2 is set inside Dr. Eggman's giant television studio, featuring stacks of monitors with Eggman's face on them, falling stage lights that the player can stand on, electrical cables that act as transport tubes, and panels that reveal words and phrases such as "EGGMAN PIRATE TV" when flipped. There are also giant glass spheres that function as lottery machines when entered, dispensing four lottery balls that make up a sum equating to how many rings the player will earn. If an Eggman ball is dispensed, the player will instead lose rings equal to the sum of the other three balls.

Enemies

• A Badnik resembling a microphone, swinging from left to right.
• A flying Badnik with a camera in its mouth.
• An orange Orbinaut with 3 balls the player can jump on to destroy them.
• A Badnik resembling a snail, shooting film stock from its shell.

References

Reference	Appears in	Source Game	Source Level
Neon signs reading "PINK BOT", a reference to the "PINK POT" signs in Streets of Rage.	Act 1	Streets of Rage	Stage 1
"COPE" and "CPU" graffiti on train cars.	Act 1	Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)	Spring Yard Zone
News vans labelled "Hornet".	Act 1	Daytona USA
Popcorn machines labelled "SegaSonic Popcorn Shop".	Act 1	SegaSonic Popcorn Shop
LED sign reading "GOOD! GREAT! AWESOME! OUTSTANDING! AMAZING!"	Act 1	Sonic Colors
LED sign reading "BY THE MANIA, FOR THE MANIA".	Act 1	Catchphrase used during the development of the game to refer to a product "from fans to fans".
LED and neon signs reading "LOCK ON TECHNOLOGY".	Acts 1 & 2	Sonic 3 & Knuckles
LED sign reading "TO BE THIS GOOD TAKES AGES...TO BE THIS GOOD TAKES SEGA".	Act 1	UK Sega Mega Drive advertisements.
Rotating UFO-like lamps.	Act 1	Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)	Marble Zone (unused)
Game Gear logo on TV monitors.	Act 1	Game Gear
Billboards reading "CLUB SPIN: AGES".	Act 1	Club Sega
Flippable tiles that spell out "GENESIS DOES".	Act 2	The "Genesis does what Nintendon't" slogan used for the Genesis in the US.
The Gallop logo on the lottery machines.	Act 2	Daytona USA
Clapperboards with the initials: CW, HC and PWG, and of course the word SEGA.	Act 1, Act 2	Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PagodaWest Games. Respectively the companies that are behind the development of Sonic Mania.
Cluckoid as a weather reporter.	Act 2	Sonic & Knuckles	Mushroom Hill Zone
Buzzing sound and numbers 072216 on the test card shown on the TV screen at the end of Act 2.	Act 2	The buzzing sound heard during Sonic the Hedgehog's disastrous 25-year anniversary livestream, as well as numbers representing the date of the event on 07/22/2016.

Trivia

• Studiopolis Zone was the first zone ever made for the game, back when it was initially pitched to SEGA as Sonic Discovery.

Gallery

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