A Sonic Generations preview from Digital Spy and SEGA’s latest batch of screenshots left us wondering if Sonic & Knuckles‘ Flying Battery Zone would feature partially within the game’s Rooftop Run stage. Now, thanks to a new preview from PlayStation Universe, we know that is not the case.
Before we talk about Classic Sonic, I want to clear something up. Other previews have been vague on what happens at the end of the Classic Sonic version, and some fan sites have suggested that you may see other old levels within levels due to this. This is simply untrue in Roof Top Run, which we’ll explain in due time.
The preview then goes on to detail exactly how the section with the airship plays out.
Due to the amount of classic and even modern levels that Sonic Team has not been able to directly include in the game, recreating all these stages from scratch for each Sonic allows them to take inspiration from other sections. In City Escape and Roof Top Run, Classic Sonic sees the return of the floor springs from Sonic 2 (the ones where you run over them and they cause Sonic to spring up and do a barrel roll in the air), and a platforming section reminiscent of the boss in Labyrinth Zone of Sonic 1 awaits the Blue Blur as he makes his way up the Clock Tower.
Some Sonic fans may remember you had to do this with the Werehog in Unleashed, but let us assure you, it is nowhere near as frustrating or fiddly. Once at the top, the “airship” is in range, and you rev up a Spin Dash to go into it, only to exit it a moment or so later, the camera tracking Sonic from outside the airship as he zips around it from left to right, implying he’s damaging it as he goes. As he steps onto a platform at the base of the airship, he sprints towards the goal post in a set piece based on the bombing run in Sonic 3’s Angel Island Zone.
It certainly sounds like an interesting set piece. Hopefully we’ll see footage of it soon at any of the various upcoming gaming events Sonic Generations will be playable at in the next month.
Source: PlayStation Universe