View source for Wing Fortress Zone

{{Breadcrumb|noitalics=yes
|Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|l1=''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' (16-bit)|:Category:Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit) levels|l2=Levels|{{PAGENAME}}}}
{{LevelBob
| levelscreen=wingfortress.png
| levelno=Tenth
| game=Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
| theme1=flying fortress
| acts=1
| location=Above [[West Side Island]]
| boss=Barrier Eggman
| rings=196 + 100
| icon=WFZiconS2.png
| name_jp=ウィングフォートレス ''Wingu Fōtoresu''{{fileref|Sonic2 MD JP manual.pdf|page=39}}
| name_de=Flugfestungszone{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=42}}
| name_fr=Zone de la Forteresse Volante{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=42}}
| name_es=Zona de la Fortaleza Alada{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=42}}
| name_pt=Zona da Fortaleza{{fileref|Sonic2 MD PT manual.pdf|page=21}}
| name_it=Zona Fortezza Alata{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=43}}
| name_se=Flygande Borgens Zon{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=43}}
| name_nl=Vliegend Fort Zone{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=43}}
| name_fi=Siipilinnavyöhyke{{fileref|Sonic2 MD EU manual.pdf|page=43}}
| name_zh=
| name_kr=윙 포트레스 지역{{fileref|SonicClassics MD KR manual.pdf|page=28}}
| prev=Sky Chase Zone
| next=Death Egg Zone
}}
'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is the tenth [[Zone]] of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'', set aboard [[Dr. Eggman]]'s airship. Like the [[Sky Chase Zone|previous Zone]] and [[Death Egg Zone|the next]], this Zone only has one Act.

==Overview==
This level features two of the three cutscenes in the game (the third being the end sequence), with the [[Tornado]] first being shot down by the airship's lasers as [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]]/[[Miles "Tails" Prower|Tails]] hops on to the flying ship. From here on out, Sonic/Tails must continue the attack on the battleship alone.

Due to being an airship, the top of the Zone consists of straightaways along the deck and wings of the ship, which bear Eggman's insignia, while the bottom routes consist of perilous platforming sections where one false move will result in the player plummeting to their death, which will become easy to make if the player becomes [[Super Sonic]]. There is even a section where the player is blown about by strong winds, with breakable panels for the player to latch onto if they need to better position themself.

Dr. Eggman has placed various hazards around the ship to ward off intruders, such as [[Clucker]]s and spherical turrets that shoot slow-moving projectiles at the player, and a cluster of gun turrets that can be used as platforms if the player jumps across them while they are open. [[Speed Booster|Speed Launchers]] will also catapult the player in a given direction at high speed, though the player must be careful not to hold {{right}} or {{left}} when using them, as doing so will kill the player's momentum and possibly drop them into danger.

Due to the Zone's design, there are numerous shortcuts the player can take which will allow them to bypass large portions of the entire Zone. One example of a shortcut they can take is after the first bottomless pit section, where the player can take damage from the spinning propellers, then use their temporary invincibility frames to pass through the blades, skipping the deck entirely.

[[File:TornadoWithBoosterInWFZ.png|frame|Right|Tails gives a ride to Sonic on the repaired Tornado (which now features a booster) to help Sonic reach [[Death Egg Zone]].]]
After defeating [[Barrier Eggman]], the second of three cutscenes plays at the end of the Zone, when Sonic/Tails runs to catch Eggman's spaceship as he flees to the [[Death Egg]], with the Tornado returning, fully repaired after the damage it withstood at the beginning of the Zone and sporting a new rocket booster. The booster reappears in the opening sequence of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'', but not in the ending of ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2''. The booster gives the Tornado enough speed for Sonic/Tails to grab on to the shuttle as it exits the stratosphere and docks at the Death Egg, leading to the [[Death Egg Zone|final Zone]].

==Quotes==
{{quote|A massive aerial battleship that has appeared before you.<br/>If you take one wrong step, you’ll be tumbling head-over-heels into the sky!<br/>Watch out for rotating propellers and catapults.|2=''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' JP manual|ref={{fileref|Sonic2 MD JP manual.pdf|page=39}} (translation by Vertekins){{ref|https://greenyvertekins.tumblr.com/post/612747350792896512/i-said-i-was-gonna-share-my-most-recent}}}}

{{quote|1=You've found Robotnik's secret stronghold - a flying battleship. Could this be Sonic's final fight?|2=''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' US manual|ref={{fileref|Sonic2 MD US manual.pdf|page=18}}}}
{{quote|1=This stage is the same as what appears in Sky Chase, so you can see that the entire thing is in the shape of an aircraft. Making the stage into the shape of an aircraft was particularly difficult. When playing as Super Sonic, making delicate movements becomes a bit difficult, but it still seems too bad that you can't fight the last boss with him.|2=[[Naoto Ohshima]], ''[[Sonic Jam]]'' Strategy Guide|ref={{fileref|SonicJamOfficialGuide Book JP.pdf|page=53}}}}

==Enemies==
{| style="width:auto;"
|style="text-align:center;"|{{spriteImage|Clucker sprite.png}}
|'''[[Clucker]]''' — Chicken enemy. Sits in a podium and fires eggs at the player.
|}

==Development==
[[File:Sonic2 MD WFZConveyorBelt.png|thumb|right|320px|This conveyor belt seems to have no functionality for whatever reason.]]
Wing Fortress Zone was known as '''Sky Fortress Zone''' for much of its development, although out of all known prototype builds in which the Zone exists, the [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (pre-beta)|September 14th pre-beta]] is the only known build to mention it by that name on its title card; all known builds that succeed it ([[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (CENSOR prototype)|CENSOR prototype]] to [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (beta 8)|Beta 8]]) mention it as '''Wing Fortress Zone''' on the title card, though the original name was still used on the level select screen until its final design was implemented into [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (beta 7)|Beta 7]]. It was one of the last Zones in the game to be added and likely the last to be finished, alongside Sky Chase Zone. The original name for this level would much later be repurposed for a [[Sky Fortress Zone|similar Zone]] in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II]]''.

Questions have, in fact, been raised as to whether Wing Fortress ''was'' finished. During the second half of the stage, the player encounters a suspended cable with seemingly no purpose, passes a diagonal conveyor belt which despite being animated, has no effect on gameplay, and is introduced to an area filled with hooks and dead ends which serve no other purpose than to slow the player down. The use of boosters to propel the player past some of these elements may suggest the development team perhaps did not want to draw much attention to these areas.

In addition, the boss also lacks a sound effect for its laser. This, combined with the oddities above, leads the Zone to appear noticeably less polished than others in the game. The [[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2013)|2013 remake]] addresses this particular issue by importing sound effects from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles]]''.

According to ''[[Yasushi Yamaguchi]]'' the inspiration for Wing Fortress is based on the air ship, Gigant, that appears at the end of Miyazaki's animation "Future Boy Conan".{{ref|1=https://note-com.translate.goog/beep21/n/n98e2ac3214bd?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_hist=true}}

===Early layout===
A small piece of the Wing Fortress Zone appears in Sky Chase Zone, but the player will not be able to see it completely. 

This piece of the Wing Fortress has several differences from the final version. It is possible to notice that some windows have been removed and others added, as well as rivets, a long metal frame in the left and a small platform near the propellers of the lower left corner.
<gallery>
File:Early WFZ.png|The early WFZ layout.
</gallery>

==In other media==
===''Sonic the Comic''===
[[File:STC006 WingFortressZone.png|thumb|right|200px|Wing Fortress Zone as it appears in [[Sonic the Comic 006|''Sonic the Comic'' #6]].]]
In the ''[[Sonic the Comic]]'' series, Sonic and Tails would return to the Wing Fortress which has been abandoned since the events of ''Sonic 2''. There, they would search for a means of boarding the [[Death Egg]], only to discover that the airship's defense systems are still functional and fully automatic. After overcoming them all, the heroes find a shuttle, which they use to board the Death Egg.{{intref|Sonic the Comic 006}}

==References==
<references/>

{{S2MDOmni}}