Line #30 ThatOneLevel/SONICTHEHEDGEHOG


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4	[[quoteright:320:[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LabyrinthZoneSuuucks_7047.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:320:Sonic's drowning, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yw5jkAHgME drowning]] [[HellIsThatNoise music]]... Labyrinth Zone brings quite the [[NightmareFuel/SonicTheHedgehog (bad)]] memories.]]
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7	[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog The Blue Blur]] has gone through many [[GrowingTheBeard ups]] and [[AudienceAlienatingEra/SonicTheHedgehog downs]] and [[Memes/SonicTheHedgehog all-arounds]] as a [[LongRunners Long-Runner]], but it's always home for [[ThatOneLevel infamous levels ready to put Sonic and friends to a screeching halt]].
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10	[[foldercontrol]]
11
12	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog 1]]
13
14	* The Marble Zone can be hard to some players. Not only it is full of traps and tough obstacles, but it comes right after Green Hill Zone, which is much faster paced compared to this one. It is not "difficult" so much as "annoying"... between the [[OneHitKO tricky-to-time pounding things]], the lava chase, the surprise flames during the lava block rides, and [[GoddamnedBats the Caterkillers]], it actually ''is'' kind of hard. Still not as bad as Labyrinth or Scrap Brain Zone, but it ''is'' earlier in the game.
15	* As pictured above, the Labyrinth Zone earned infamy for its steep DifficultySpike, a strict OxygenMeter (that after 18 seconds without air - either by surfacing or breathing in an air bubble - the player has to endure [[HellIsThatNoise the dreaded countdown music]], and that after a total of 30 seconds, Sonic drowns and instantly loses a life, even if he has Rings) and for having traps that Sonic hasn't seen yet. The maze-like designs in both Acts 2 and 3 certainly seal this level's fate for this trope. Despite the fact there's no "real" boss battle in the Labyrinth Zone, there are traps strewn about, wasting Sonic's time as he deals with [[RiseToTheChallenge rising water and not a ring in sight]] [[GetBackHereBoss while chasing after Robotnik/Eggman]]. It could've been worse -- the original level order was to have ''Labyrinth Zone'' '''right after Green Hill'''. Even Sonic Team thought that was too harsh!
16	* Scrap Brain Zone. The first two acts are one giant death trap from start to finish. There are countless [[OneHitKill crushers]], valves that shoot fire, electric coils that shoot electricity sporadically, flipping platforms, [[GoddamnedBats Caterkillers]], sawblades, conveyor belts to make avoiding said sawblades worse, and not to mention two death pits ''at the very beginning''. After suffering through two whole acts of torture, [[JerkAss Robotnik]] sends you down to Act 3, which is a water level like Labyrinth Zone, but the air bubbles are so far and few in between that the countdown music is practically ''guaranteed'' to haunt you; and if that weren't enough, the air bubbles actually take '''dramatically''' longer to spawn.
17	[[/folder]]
18
19	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]
20	* Chemical Plant Act 2 and the damned BottomlessPits, rotating block platforms that can easily crush careless players, and [[RiseToTheChallenge Mega Mack]] (purple water that has ''not a single air bubble in it''). Made worse in that it is only [[EarlyGameHell the second zone]] in the game. Arguably more of a DifficultySpike than a true ThatOneLevel, but easily the hardest part of the first half of the game. [[http://www.soniczone0.com/games/sonic2/chemicalplant/#miscnotes Sonic Team themselves had trouble beating this part of the level.]]
21	* Mystic Cave Zone, aside from being home to [[EverythingTryingToKillYou several dangerous platforming hazards and two irritatingly pervasive badniks]], is also home to the notorious ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20181102160817/http://sonicmysticcave.ytmnd.com:80/ spike pit]]'' in its second act: In contrast to every other pit in the entire game, falling into it means that instead of an immediate death, you'll have to wait until you run out of rings to die. Bad enough if you're regular Sonic or Tails; but outright infuriating if you fall in as [[SuperMode Super Sonic]], since his invincibility means the player's forced to wait until Super Sonic de-powers back into regular Sonic, which only happens once he runs out of rings. It's also dangerously easy to fall into the pit, since it's placed underneath a tricky platforming segment that requires jumping onto a lever suspended in mid-air in order to lower a raised drawbridge. Averted in the Christian Whitehead remake; this spike trap is removed, and the "bottomless pit" will actually lead you to Hidden Palace Zone.
22	* Oil Ocean Zone has tons of enemies that shoot projectiles at you, crumbling ledges, slides covered in oil, and fans that blow you this direction or that. On top of that, the boss fight is pretty hard.
23	* Metropolis Zone is pretty easily the most infamous of the zones in the Genesis ''Sonic'' games. Not only are [[MarathonLevel the stages massive]], but it's the only Zone in the game to have ''three'' acts instead of two[[note]](in reality, this is because the game was supposed to have an extra Zone which was cut, and thus the nearly completed act was included in Metropolis Zone)[[/note]]. It also features three dangerous Badniks that [[GoddamnedBats can attack the player very easily]] when not paying attention, and their placements are infamously cheap, being placed near ledges and even guarding doors that is required for progression. There are also loads of crushers in the level, including the elevator bolts if you run too fast by mistake. The boss fight can potentially be very long and difficult too(unless you can find the exact right time to jump and hit them without getting hit yourself).
24	* Wing Fortress Zone, because the whole level [[BottomlessPits is in the air]], meaning if you fall down, you die. The stage is also quite lengthy, there are many traps and there is tricky platforming which can get very unforgiving.
25	* And the difficulty only ramps up even ''more'' in Death Egg Zone, the game's final level and a BossBonanza; it is ''extremely'' unforgiving, since it has no Rings, checkpoints or an invincible AI partner to cheese with...meaning you have to fight two different and notably challenging boss fights in a row with Mecha Sonic and the Death Egg Robot without ''any'' kind of safety nets. And it only gets ''even more difficult'' if you're playing as Knuckles, due to his lower jump height compared to Sonic and Tails making it easier to get clipped. Somewhat averted in ''Sonic Jam''; playing Sonic 2 on Easy mode will give you up to 16 rings in the Death Egg Zone as well as reduce the number of hits required to defeat both bosses.
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog CD]]
29	* Wacky Workbench features a flickering checkered floor that bounces Sonic upwards at very high power, and the upper parts of the stage are covered in booby-trapped background graphics that surprise first-time players and frustrate veteran players. There are also those slowly snaking block platforms, air vents under most major jumps, and elevators that spin you and make you jump off oddly. Additionally, when you get thrown to the top of the stage, you have to work your way down, slowly, through the killer background, to the bottom of suspended pillars JUST NEAR the bouncy floor. At least the crushers don't actually kill you.
30	* The very last act of the game, Metallic Madness Zone 3, is rather maddening even by the game's standards. In order to reach the FinalBoss, the player has to get through an odd assortment of rows of rotating platforms, placed over a {{Bottomless Pit\|s}}--the only one in the entire game. This pit covers a surprisingly wide distance, each row of platforms rotates on a different cycle from the rest, and there are floating bumpers and springs (with one sending you up towards a row of spikes) to throw you off-course. The final kick in the pants is the reveal of a giant crusher placed right at the ledge of the platform, so you'll have to hope that you get a window to get through or get killed trying to get through it. Getting past this section may very much boil down to how much luck you've got on your side. It comes as a relief that the actual boss battle is [[AnticlimaxBoss a relatively breezy affair]]--all of the challenge instead comes from ''getting to the boss rather than actually fighting it''.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder: Sonic 3 and Knuckles]]
34	* Carnival Night Zone Act 2: this level is [[MarathonLevel designed to waste time]]; with all the bumpers and the sheer length of the level, odds are when you reach the boss, you'll only have 3 minutes or so left on the clock. And of ''course'' this boss is one who uses a strategy where you can only get a hit on him once every 30 seconds or so. So unless you can somehow get a lot of hits on him at once (which is only possible if you've learned the timing on Sonic's insta-shield attack, or you're willing to bleed rings in order to get those extra hits in while you have MercyInvincibility, or if you managed to hold on to a lightning shield -- which is tricky with all the water in the level), then odds are you'll time out before finishing the fight. On top of that, if a player is playing as Sonic and/or Tails, this is the level where the infamous "Barrel of Doom" is located. The barrel is in a small room about halfway through the stage with only one way out, but the obstacle is one that the game [[GuideDangIt gives the player no indication as to how to pass]], leaving a player to waste even more time and/or lives trying to figure it out.
35	* Marble Garden Zone features very steep hills, out-of-control tops, spikes everywhere, hideously placed spiked maces and crushing spiked pillars, and enemies that like to pop out of nowhere. And both the sub- ''and'' main-bosses of the zone like to collapse the level on you, midway through each act.
36	* Sandopolis Zone. Both acts are exceptionally long by the games's standards; and Act 2 has annoying ghosts that attack you if you don't turn on the light switches across the level, as well as rising sand/timed switch door puzzles. Act 2's even worse as Knuckles, since the ghosts are present from the start and the level starts out in the dark, meaning you've only got a few short seconds before they pounce on you. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Luckily, if you die right at the start here, the lights will start at the brightest level when you respawn]]. Knuckles also has to deal with a difficult puzzle that involves raising and lowering the floor in conjunction with the aforementioned timed doors.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog 4]]
40	* ''Episode I''[='s=] Mad Gear Zone is a rehash of ''Sonic 2'''s Metropolis Zone and shares many of its annoying gimmicks and tricky platforming sections, including the three {{Mooks}} with hard to dodge attacks. Special mention goes to Act 3, sporting an abnormally fast AdvancingWallOfDoom that requires quick reflexes to outspeed.
41	* ''Episode II'' has Oil Desert Act 1, mainly because of the section where you must fly over a huge BottomlessPit near the end of the stage.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder: Sonic Mania]]
45	* Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1 (unless you're Knuckles) is a CallBack to [[spoiler:Sky Chase Zone]], and it's just as difficult and awkward to control as the latter. Just like in Sky Chase, you can spin dash off the Tornado to an instant death (which is easy to forget as there is a Shield monitor halfway through the ride that the game will guide you away from, forcing you to move the Tornado down to break said monitor and risk charging a Spin Dash if you get reckless) and you have to survive almost two minutes riding the plane before you even have a chance at boarding Eggman's train and checkpointing just before you disembark to fight the act's boss. Said checkpoint is on a solid platform which comes in at a very high speed with little to no warning, and if you're low enough on-screen, can ''[[http://imgur.com/NFg2EF8 shove you off-screen]] and kill you''. Time to watch Heavy Magician introduce herself again!
46	* Oil Ocean Zone Act 2 is rather difficult due to its mazelike structure, and the toxic gas that fills the level, which both obscures your vision ''and'' slowly drains your rings to zero (but thankfully doesn't kill you) unless you vent it at set switches.
47	* The final zone, [[spoiler:Titanic Monarch]], is a new contender for being one of the hardest Sonic levels of ''all time'', right up there with [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Cannon's Core]], [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sandopolis Zone]], and [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Eggmanland]]. It is extremely long (both acts can take upwards of '''[[MarathonLevel eight minutes]]''' to complete and the timer doesn't stop for the Act 1 boss), confusing, packed to the brim with [[DemonicSpiders dangerous]] and [[GoddamnedBats difficult to hit]] enemies, is filled with spikes, and has [[PlatformHell some of the nastiest sections of platforming]] since Scrap Brain Zone from ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Sonic 1]]''. And since this game doesn't checkpoint at the end of each Act, if you game over during the fairly difficult final boss or any part of Act 2, [[ContinuingIsPainful expect to go through the whole thing all over again]].
48	* The special stages become more difficult with each stage. Special mention goes to stage 4 and stage 5, with additions of more spikes and adding bombs that reduce rings even more, along with tricky paths to cause Sonic to fall off course. With each mach increase, Sonic becomes tricky to control and making one mistake could cause a player to fail the stage. Mercifully, the seventh and final stage dials back on the difficulty considerably, but getting there in the first place is not easy.
49	* As far as Blue Sphere layouts go, one in particular deserves mention: a spiral-like maze that was initially DummiedOut of ''Sonic 3''. Much of the level is spent going forward, and occasionally jumping over bumper spheres while grabbing blue ones and rings. However, there is ''zero'' room for error, as you can easily jump over one of the blue spheres by accident, and the spiral layout of the stage makes it near-impossible to correct your mistakes. Add in the standard DifficultyByAcceleration and the fact that the turns become closer as you near the end, and you've got a very frustrating Blue Sphere level.
50	* While Encore Mode is generally no more difficult than the main game, the Encore Special Stages are ''much'' more punishing than the original Special Stages, with less rings and blue spheres the introduction of bumpers, some of which are required to get across certain gaps, and precise jumps and tight turns.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder: Sonic Adventure]]
54	* If you're playing as Sonic, Sky Deck. The entire first half is suspended above the clouds, requiring careful platforming around moving metal cylinders with questionable collision detection. Also, the camera is very problematic in this level, ''especially'' in ''[[PortingDisaster DX]]'' where it can completely freak out if it's set to Free Camera.
55	* Sky Deck when playing as Knuckles, mainly for his second mission where you have to find the emerald pieces without touching the hint balls. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the fact that to open certain doors where emerald pieces might be, you have to use the central lever, which is extremely near a hint ball and the hitbox for the lever is extremely finicky, meaning that it is very likely for you to accidentally jump into the nearby hint ball and start the mission all over again.
56	* Sonic's version of Lost World heads into this territory. Particularly bad are the room with the water and the giant wooden snake, where you have to ride said snake at several points while the game's odd physics cause Sonic to vibrate at best and cause him to glitch off of the snake and die at worst, and the wall tile puzzle, where Sonic tends to fall off of the tiles and there's an enemy positioned right next to both a ledge and a checkpoint, which can easily knock you back down to the start of the puzzle when you triumphantly leap for the checkpoint.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder: Sonic Adventure 2]]
60	* While the emerald-hunting levels in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' had a mixed reception for the most part, Mad Space, an extremely large level with [[TheComputerIsALyingBastard uncooperative hints]] and SelectiveGravity, is almost universally hated. Trying to get an A-Rank on it is pain incarnate. Hard mode is especially bad; the emeralds may be in the same locations each time, but the process of getting them is the worst. The first one is beneath a planet with no gravity below it, and the third is beneath the planet with the ''worst'' gravity problems, but the second one is the worst. You have to Screw Kick up to an out-of-reach emerald shard, with the space beneath it located between two spinning traps and a meteor that can't be busted for whatever reason. And on a keyboard, that is especially annoying.
61	* Security Hall isn't ''too'' bad once you know it well, but it introduces Chaos Emeralds located behind locked safes. The only way to unlock them is to become acquainted with a fairly complicated switch system. The strict five-minute time limit (or ''two''-minute, for the fourth mission) also makes a lot of players panic.
62	* Mission Street is a decent level that most players probably won't have much issue with... unless you're playing the 100-Ring bonus mission. The stage just ''barely'' has enough Rings to qualify at 103, meaning you have to grab every single Ring you see and not get hit once. This is difficult because the stage has a lot of enemies, hazards, and booby-traps, as well as a [[DemonicSpiders Vulkan Fighter]] if you're too slow.
63	* Aquatic Mine is a ridiculously-spacious, vertical cavern filled with water. Switches exist to adjust the water level but they're spread out across varying heights of floors. Each floor has small enclosed rooms, several of them are branched away from the main area by long, winding narrow tunnels, which are structured to almost always be submerged underwater thanks to the water level settings, which are peppered with GUN robots. Navigating these routes, especially in the search for emeralds shards, runs the chance of drowning if you don't reach the surface of the water or find an air bubble soon enough aggravatingly high. The only solace is that this level features the [[SuperNotDrowningSkills Air Necklace]] upgrade...but even ''that'' is located past a spot where you're guaranteed to almost drown.
64	* Crazy Gadget. It's bad enough that the first three-fourths are jammed with GravityScrew, BottomlessPits, and [[DemonicSpiders Artificial Chaos]], but the real kicker is the final segment. It takes place in space, so the whole place acts like a BottomlessPit, the camera is at uncomfortable angles, and there are no directions on where to go when you flip the gravity-switches, so you might as well be flipping a switch or attacking an enemy on another wall only to fall to your death.
65	* Final Rush takes place almost entirely over open space, so there's a lot of opportunity to plunge to your death. That said, if you master this stage it lives up to its name as all the grinding above the Earth's atmosphere is exhilarating. Shadow's equivalent level, Final Chase, replaces most of the metallic grind ribbons with cylinders you can run up (similar to the rotating cylinders from Carnival Night Zone in ''3''), which can induce GravityScrew.
66	* There's a reason why EternalEngine has its own trope, and that's mainly because this level is long, difficult, and extremely frustrating, especially when you're trying to get the A-Rank emblems. And then there's its [[FromBadToWorse hard mode, which is a whole different story altogether.]]
67	* The hard mode version of Route 101 is so difficult that you literally cannot beat it with anything less than an A-Rank. You will always beat it with 1 or 2 seconds to spare if you are really really good.
68	* Meteor Herd is a large and sometimes confusing stage that wouldn't be quite so bad if it weren't for one factor: Meteorites striking all over the place, and sooner or later, one of them will be headed your way, and you probably won't see it until right before it hits you. Even the ''soundtrack'' tries to warn you about it. "Don't let it hit you, move!" indeed.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder: Sonic Heroes]]
72	* [[BigBoosHaunt Mystic Mansion]]:
73	** The level is [[MarathonLevel even longer than this game's standards]] and is plagued by hundreds of BottomlessPits, [[GoddamnedBats dangerous Mooks]] everywhere, and an [[CameraScrew unhelpful camera]].
74	** The Team Chaotix version of Mystic Mansion, which requires you put out torches scattered throughout the entire mansion, is reviled for being ''the'' longest level in the game. At one point, you have to traverse a spider web by grinding across the strings, but it involves TrialAndErrorGameplay, as the paths can lead either to torches or a BottomlessPit. And if you miss a single torch when you reach the end of the level, it sends you all the way back to the beginning.
75	** Team Sonic and Team Dark's versions of Mystic Mansion have a segment where you pilot a trolley down a spiraling rail rigged with laser tripwires that you have to jump over, but the layout of the rail and the awkward camera angle mean that you only have a split second to react to each one.
76	* Final Fortress, for its multitude of mandatory enemy gauntlets involving the strongest enemies in the game. The rail sections with the lasers have also been known to induce ire, especially when the action escalates the closer the player gets to the end of the stage.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder: Shadow the Hedgehog]]
80	* The missions where you have to destroy a vehicle before it gets away are outrageous, particularly the Dark mission of Air Fleet and the Hero mission of Iron Jungle. Every single shot counts, some vehicles can retaliate, and God forbid you die; you reset to the last checkpoint touched, ''but the target vehicle doesn't'', meaning that by the time you respawn, the vehicle will be so far ahead and so close to escape you may as well restart.
81	* Central City is the only level in the game to not have a goal ring; instead, both missions involve you detonating/disposing of bombs. Thing is, the level design is confusing, with the Dark and Hero paths overlapping and criss-crossing, and it is easy to find yourself going around in circles and unable to find where the next bombs are. That wouldn't be so bad except ''both missions are timed''. Eight minutes doesn't seem so generous when you don't know what the right way through the level is!
82	* Mad Matrix, especially the Dark mission. It is painfully easy to get lost in the mazelike circuit that connects the towers; on the Dark mission, you have to spend pretty much ''the entire level'' in that circuit, as it involves detonating bombs that are in the circuit. And there are no less than '''30''' bombs to set off, and you pretty much need to go through every last inch of the circuit as the bombs are distributed pretty evenly.
83	* The two [[WholeEpisodeFlashback ARK stages]], ''The Doom'' and ''Lost Impact'', are incredibly frustrating. They have two things in common; they are {{Marathon Level}}s, and it's easy to get lost and go in circles due to the ARK's layout.
84	** The Doom has you either killing soldiers or saving researchers. Regardless of which mission you pick, the soldiers are ''very'' aggressive and will rush at you at the drop of a hat. In the Dark mission, you have to take down ''every last one'', and in the Hero mission, you'll lose points if you kill them. On the mission with the researchers, there's a [[GameBreakingBug glitch]] that can make it UnintentionallyUnwinnable [[note]]the item you need to heal them can get suspended in mid-air, making it impossible to pick up[[/note]] if you haven't unlocked the [[HealingShiv Heal Cannon]]. While the maze-like nature of the ARK is mitigated slightly by a map, it's hard to read and you'll just end up wasting time looking at it. Interestingly, The Doom is virtually unchanged for Expert Mode; perhaps the developers realized how difficult this stage was and that making it harder would have been overkill.
85	** Lost Impact is somehow ''even longer'' than The Doom, and has no maps at all. The Hero mission has you exterminating all of the Artificial Chaos, and you have to scour the whole stage to get every last one; there's nothing worse than spending 20+ minutes on the stage only to realize at the end that you missed one. Additionally, there's a lot of them on the paths of the GUN Rails, which can't slow down or stop while Shadow is manning the gun, and some might hide in shadows. The one upshot to all this is that the soldiers here actually don't attack Shadow and sometimes assist in taking down the Chaos. This level has been perfectly described by Lewis from WebVideo/BrainScratchCommentaries: "Imagine three dimensional except badly designed ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' where you can't miss a single Missile Tank and you have this level, only the [[ChestMonster Missile Tank]] shoots back." Oh, and if you take the Normal mission to avoid all of this, your next stage is Cosmic Fall.
86	* Space Gadget. This level has [[GravityScrew gravity-changing fields]] that you fly into which affect the controls in...[[InterfaceScrew weird ways]]. Sometimes it seems like the game can't differentiate between two different gravity directions, and so you'll end up doing things like light-dashing ''backwards'' even if you're facing forwards. If you're doing the Hero mission, you're put on the clock and you have just five minutes to clear it.
87	** The Dark mission, on the other hand...hoo boy. You had better be used to those gravity fields because there are a lot more on this path and you need to go around destroying the ARK defense units. The first few are easy enough to destroy, but the later ones are behind barriers which require you to either waste all your ammo destroying them or get around them via platforming and/or GravityScrew for a better but still not optimal angle. In addition, there's some particularly awkward platforming that involves having to jump to sideways doors with no solid ground underneath them.
88	* Black Comet. It is pretty long, the GUN mechs and Black Arms alike are very aggressive, and a lot of time is spent on the Air Saucer over some substance that cannot be touched. The Saucer has rather slippery controls and you can only shoot forward on it. And ''God help you'' should you lose the saucer, in which case death is pretty much the only option. And on the Dark mission you have to kill almost every GUN mech.
89	* Cosmic Fall. The level is timed and there are a lot of falling platforms as well as tricky sections that require you to Homing Attack off chains of enemies to small platforms; to add insult to injury, this will tank your score if you're going for the Dark mission. There is also a handful of Artificial Chaos throughout the level, more so on the Hero mission. Speaking of which, the Hero mission (which is basically the same as the Dark one but longer) also has a long section that requires use of a walker bot, which hampers your movement speed. Through all of this, you have Vector and his Muppet-esque voice constantly telling you to hurry up.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis]]
93	* While the PortingDisaster definitely made every level harder, Labyrinth Zone deserves a special mention. While it was hard enough in the original game, ScreenCrunch, poor controls, poor physics, and lag are put on full display in this level when it comes to making the game harder. The end result makes Labyrinth Zone in the GBA port nearly impossible to beat.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder: Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)]]
97	* "Radical Train":
98	** In Sonic's story, the camera screws with you ''constantly'' in the platforming segments where you need to bound jump up to higher platforms; and entering the loop-de-loop after the first train bomb too far to the right will cause you to overshoot past the loop and be launched to your demise. The most aggravating part is the Mach Speed section, which punishes any small mistake by making the player lose a life, and features very hard-to-dodge explosions as an obstacle in its second half.
99	** Shadow's version of this level doesn't fare much better. The premise is now reversed. In the first half you have to hit switches to ''slow down'' the train, and then have to damage it, before it moves on. This has the same problems as Sonic's section, but the switches thankfully haven't moved. In the second half you have to chase the train with a motorbike and destroy it. This would be simple, but the motorbike has terrible controls, and you need to hit narrow boost pads with timing to get between moving obstacles. The motorbike also occasionally takes damage from an unknown source (possibly collision damage from the ground you are driving on), and if it is destroyed (which is very likely) you may as well give up. Even without these problems, the train is difficult to keep up with, and you have a very limited amount of time to destroy it before it escapes and you have to try again. The whole thing is basically one big LuckBasedMission.
100	* Aquatic Base. While not as difficult as Radical Train for the most part... until you get to the metallic sphere hanging over a BottomlessPit; you jump on the sphere and (attempt to) ride it to the other side of the room. It takes longer than it should to get it to start or stop moving, and if the sphere takes even one hit, it pops and you fall to your death.[[note]]Of course, this can be avoided by buying the [[GoodBadBugs Purple Gem]] beforehand. [[/note]] The ending portion of the stage also bathes everything in a red glow, making it impossible to see some of the enemies.
101	* Dusty Desert when playing as Silver has some puzzles that involve knocking balls into holes in order to open a door. The problem with that, ''especially'' on the second [[note]]of two, fortunately[[/note]], is that you can only move it with your normal attack (which has next to no range), you only get so many attacks, and sometimes the amount of attacks you have left ''will decrease FOR NO REASON AT ALL.'' And the second puzzle involves sending the ball down a ''very'' long corridor and it is very much a race against time; you have to get the ball in the ''correct'' hole before it blows up and before ''you'' blow up in rage!
102	* Crisis City:
103	** Sonic's version is a nightmare, especially in the Mach Speed segment, in which the game can randomly [[GameBreakingBug glitch out, pushing you to the right for no reason]], and where it's all but impossible to avoid taking hits because there is so much debris on screen.
104	** Shadow's version of Crisis City has an infamous section where you're supposed to homing attack multiple enemies in a chain, only you'll fail and fall into a bottomless pit until you know to hover slightly higher and skip that enemy to hit the next one. The Chaos Snap can skip this, but is prone to just glitching you into the pit at the other side, for some reason. Luckily, other than that it's mostly a MarathonLevel and not a particularly difficult one, but that one section is a tricky bitch.
105	* Kingdom Valley:
106	** Shadow's version deserves a mention for being a hell of a wake-up call for a ''second stage'' in his storyline. First, you play as Rouge, where you find three keys to open up the next pathway, only you're without a radar and without hints. And then, there's Shadow's hovercraft section where you have to avoid the collapsing pillars that are instakill on impact, but [[EventObscuringCamera the camera doesn't change to let you know where each pillar will fall]], leaving you to get blindsided.
107	** Silver's Kingdom Valley isn't any better. It [[MarathonLevel goes on for an eternity]], and generally has loads of enemy fighting segments, only half of them are the [[DemonicSpiders yellow robots that shoot away dropped rings]], making you easy pickings for other enemies. The very end pits you against several of these and the blue robots who aren't much better as well. The only reprieve you get is that you get to play as Sonic for a short time.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder: Sonic Unleashed]]
111	* Eggmanland, ESPECIALLY the [=360/PS3=] version, where you're forced through 45+ minutes of non-stop NintendoHard suffering. The stage seems like a normal (if incredibly difficult and requiring pitch-perfect timing) daytime Sonic level at first, but then [[UnexpectedGameplayChange you hit the first hourglass and switch to Werehog form]] -- and that's when it hits you that you're going to be switching between Sonic's two forms a lot during this level, and given that Werehog levels on average take about 15 minutes, you can tell this is going to take ''ages'' before you finally hit the goal ring. Indeed, given the number of times you switch between Sonic's forms in the final level, it's really something like five or six levels in one. Even subsequent runs, after you've learned the stage, can take upwards of 20 or 30 minutes. To add insult to injury, the very last challenge (after some insane platforming, difficult combat sections, and instant death [=QTEs=] which are ''hard'') in the gauntlet from hell is a Werehog brawl against ''[[DemonicSpiders two Dark Titans]].'' Eggman ''really'' didn't want you getting through this one.
112	* The [=Wii/PS2=] version can also be a pain in the arse -- instead of one MarathonLevel, it's split into one Sonic stage (and subsequent missions) and ''five'' Werehog stages. The latter can actually be somewhat enjoyable, but the day stage is ''flat-out ridiculous'' at times.
113	* It's just one bottomless pit after another in Adabat's Werehog levels. The last act in the SD version ([[{{Irony}} Heavenly]] [[TempleOfDoom Ruins]]) can be brutal, particularly the battle at the end[[note]] Waves of [[EnemySummoner Fright Masters]], set over an area comprised mainly of floating platforms [[BottomlessPit that drop after you step on them]][[/note]]. It's quite easy to fall off, and lord help you if you want to climb up and collect the secret item while all of the Dark Frights are dogging you.
114	* Then there's the daytime level of [[SlippySlideyIceWorld Holoska]] in the [=X360/PS3=] version, specifically the parts where you have to run on water, but you have to make sure to hit almost every single dash panel to not end up drowning.
115	* Jungle Joyride Act 1 in the HD version. It is [[MarathonLevel one of the longest stages in the game]], and serves as the last stage before Eggmanland. It is filled to the brim with BottomlessPits, precarious platforms, crushing ceilings, collapsing pillars, quick-time events, and running-on-water segments that give the ones in Cool Edge and Dragon Road a run for their money. The level is also frequently marred by severe framerate drops, especially during the chase sequences.
116	* [[UnexpectedGameplayChange The Tornado Defense acts]], due to the unintuitive controls, enemies swarming on all sides, and the [[TimedMission time limits for the Egg Cauldron battles]]. These stages are easier if you resort to PauseScumming since the QTE prompts aren't hidden when you pause. If you pause the moment the prompt shows up, that gives you more time to see it and nail hitting the correct buttons when you unpause. The Egg Cauldron fights can still be tricky due to the amount of stuff being thrown at you, but it makes them more manageable.
117	* Savannah Citadel Day Act 2 is built around teaching Drift mechanics and speed control and to that end, the majority of the curves are either too wide or too sharp to take while maintaining a boost. [[GuideDangIt Unfortunately the hints in the level only ever tell you generically to drift through corners, never really making it clear that you're supposed to let up on the boost in order to turn more precisely]], leading to a LOT of players having a rough time of not launching themselves off the track, let alone completing the stage with a decent time.
118	* Rooftop Run Act 2. It’s 3-6 from the ''[[VideoGame/SonicFrontiers Frontiers]]'' folder below, which is already one of the hardest Cyberspace levels in that game. Now put it in a game that moves much faster, doesn’t have precise air movement, doesn’t have [[GoodBadBugs Homing Dashes]] to skip chunks of the level and has an Air Boost that will send you hurtling to your death instead of being a lifeline. It’s ''much'' harder here.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Sonic Colors]]
122	* Asteroid Coaster, the last of the 6 main levels:
123	** In the DS version, the main obstacles are pools of green goo that function like BottomlessPits, and giant dinosaur heads that chase Sonic and OneHitKill him. Some of these chase sections also contain obstacles that can only be avoided by sliding or jumping, but they appear so suddenly that a player is unlikely to dodge them on the first try.
124	** In the Wii version, some acts have gravity changing mechanics that can screw up your controls and cause you to unintentionally guide Sonic into a BottomlessPit. The sixth act also ends with a battle against the game's only miniboss, which can only be defeated with ''very'' precise timing of the Homing Attack.
125	* Act 3 of Planet Wisp in the Wii version can be annoying towards the end as it is incredibly easy to either miss the small platforms, or have the Cube power run out while you're standing on the solid blue boxes, leading to you plummeting into the toxic waste to your death. It is actually a really short level, but having to do this part over and over again (as well as several of the Red Rings being all over that particular area) can ruin your score, because the timer doesn't reset to what it was at the checkpoint when you die.
126	* Terminal Velocity Act 1 in the Wii version. The level involves dodging all of those robots that have chased you throughout past levels. The primary problem is there are [[CheckpointStarvation no checkpoints]], and the hardest part near the end has you dodging the fists or lasers of one robot while a bunch of other robots obstruct your path.
127	* Sweet Mountain Act 2 in the DS version. It’s built around using the Burst Wisp to navigate through explosive balloons, but the Wisp is hard to control (especially if you’re going straight up, in a game built around going vertically) and the balloons often come out of nowhere. Add that with a lot of spikes that come out of nowhere and the return of the [[ScrappyMechanic lovely rockets from]] [[VideoGame/SonicRush Dead Line Zone]] and you’ve got a pretty big DifficultySpike for an otherwise pretty straightforward game.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder: Sonic Generations]]
131	* Crisis City:
132	** The last part of Act 1 has Classic Sonic traversing the level by jumping on irregular platforms, including cars and parts of buildings, while a strong gust blows you back. It's very easy to miss a jump and fall into a BottomlessPit.
133	** Act 2 (the Modern Sonic act) is particularly tricky the first time due to bottomless pits and a lot of lava, as well as enemies being sometimes difficult to hit. It culminates in a section where Sonic must boost forward while dodging fire eruptions, as well as cars and rocks being hurled by a tornado.
134	* Planet Wisp is challenging, but that's more a case of being a MarathonLevel than actually being ridiculously hard. Act 1 does have its issues, though, mostly because it's 90% reliant upon the Spike Wisp from ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', only it handles a lot worse than it originally did in that game.
135	* The 3DS version has Radical Highway. Regardless if you're playing as Classic or Modern Sonic, the level is really hard, as it has lots of bottomless pits that lead to cheap deaths and is really confusing to navigate.
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	[[folder: Sonic Lost World]]
139	* Frozen Factory:
140	** Zone 2. Sonic turns into a giant snowball with enormous inertia and the turning speed of a brick. You don't get rings until you touch a checkpoint while having rings stuck on the ball (fortunately, it doesn't matter if the checkpoint has been used or not), so you can get one shotted easily. The whole level also takes place above a bottomless pit on small platforms, which is problematic given the stage obstacles: There are bombs that explode and send you hurtling into one direction; yeti who bounce you away from them (some are stationary and don't try to hinder you themselves, but big ones will run toward you); and chickens who blow gale-force winds. And if you go after Red Rings, the last one requires you to hit all the snooker balls you come across. You only get one shot, since you're immediately flung into a checkpoint after this section.
141	** Zone 3 on the 3DS. Most of the levels past Desert Ruins in the 3DS version of the game are widely considered to be awful, but this is usually singled out as outright incomprehensible. Most of the stage sees you rolling around/building up giant snowballs to fill holes or hold down switches that act as progress gates; all the while dealing with ice physics, giant moving gears, and Penguinators along the way. Later on, the level introduces [[DemonicSpiders the snowman head]] to give the player more problems. An [[ImplacableMan implacable enemy]] that is free to grow in size, freeze you in ice, and destroy the snowballs you're rolling around to solve puzzles for, but ''can't be destroyed or evaded''; it helps this Zone's infamy as the most widely-maligned stage from the entire game.
142	** Zone 4. The 2D sections aren't too bad and the boss fight is pitifully easy, but the 3D sections are frustrating beyond belief. They consist of long, narrow ice roads chock full of [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]], Penguinators, and giant stone balls which inexplicably home in on you. If Sonic is moving fast on the ice, his jump turns into a fancy ice skater spin that covers a ridiculously long distance and takes away the player's control of Sonic's movement in the air, so nine times out of ten it will cause Sonic to [[BottomlessPits go flying off the stage and die]].
143	* Sky Road
144	** Zone 3 is one of the more gimmicky levels in the game, as Sonic is shot up into the sky and forced to glide through the level. The stage is littered with enemies who can only be hit while Sonic is curled into a ball to lower his altitude, as well as large missiles that have to be avoided entirely. The latter hazard can make the miniboss at the end somewhat unintuitive, as now Sonic is ''supposed'' to collide with the missiles it fires to send them back, and the time limit is strict if you take too long to figure this out. Red rings are also a one-and-done deal given the sidescrolling.
145	** Zone 4 alternates between uphill 2D segments where [[RatchetScrolling any area even slightly offscreen]] = BottomlessPits, and 3D segments on sand slides where Sonic cannot jump to correct his trajectory if he's heading toward a hazard or off the slide into the void. The level also ends with the [[ThatOneBoss infamous second fight with Zavok]] which assumes that you have not only learned the charged Homing Attack, but that it can suddenly be charged more than usual.
146	* Lava Mountain
147	** Zone 1 is an odd case. It's technically just a BossRush against Zazz, Zomom and Zik, each of whom can be [[AnticlimaxBoss beaten in seconds]] with the charged Homing Attack. The issue is the level itself; random portions of the ground that will suddenly collapse into lava under your feet and get you instantly killed, meteors constantly raining down, and you'll need to drag out the fight if you want all the red rings to spawn.
148	** Zone 2. Sonic spends the entire level grinding on rails. You have to be REALLY precise with the jumps you make, or you will plummet into the abyss or collide into a cart of explosives that can instantly kill you. If that wasn't enough, there are also moving doors that'll kill you if you aren't fast enough to reach them before they close. And good luck trying to nab the Red Rings, the placement of them within the level can make going for one feel like a suicide run.
149	** Zone 3. The 2D sections are vertical shafts that must be completed quickly, since there is lava rising up from beneath. At the end of each section, a member of the Deadly Six must be fought. Zeena requires precise timing of the Homing Attack if you don't want to hit the spikes on the ceiling, Zor can knock you into the lava, and Zavok goes OneWingedAngel for his second form.
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder: Sonic Forces]]
153	* Out of all the game's levels, a lot of people have it out for Stage 28: Iron Fortress. For starters, the level has these red boxes (which can be destroyed, thankfully) that fire out homing missiles on Classic Sonic strewn across the level. A few minutes in, you'll see some rotating platforms with [[GravityScrew weird gravity mechanics]], upon which jumping off of them must be timed carefully to avoid electric shocks. These platforms return in the autoscrolling section (which also gets faster as it progresses) and will cause a lot of your deaths if your timing is off. Once that section has ended, you'll be back to platforming. At least one area requires you to make a precise jump over an electric pit and avoid the red missile boxes now placed in tight spaces. Just keep in mind that Classic Sonic's lackluster controls don't help you and will probably be the other factor in any deaths you suffer during the level.
154	* Stage 14: Aqua Road also garnered a lot of ire for its water-sliding sections. The Custom Hero is absolutely difficult to control in them due to the fast-moving currents in the slides, which can cause them to easily slip off and fall out of them. The Motobug badniks that later show up in these slides only make things worse due to how they can bump the Custom Hero around.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Sonic Frontiers]]
158	* Portal 1-2... but only if you're trying to get the S-rank. It's not hard if you're just going through the level (all the Cyberspace levels are relatively short). However, this is not the case if you want to actually get the S-rank on that level, all thanks to the S-rank time not only being so strict for how long of a level it is, but for requiring a '''ludicrous''' level of precision for so early in the game. It's so infamous that [[https://youtu.be/W7HVq4nN0tQ an episode of the Speed Strats miniseries]] actually acknowledges it as such and mentions a few speedrunning techniques to beat it much faster. It's also the only Cyberspace stage whose S-Rank requirement ''doesn't'' change in [[HarderThanHard Extreme Mode]].
159	* Portal 3-4, due to a bevy of tricky-to-avoid lasers and spikes, especially annoying when attempting complete the missions.
160	* Portal 3-6 is easily one of the more difficult Cyber Space stages, as it is designed around using various gimmicks such as accelerator guns and rainbow rings, and is ''filled'' with iron balls and bottomless pits, where one wrong move can send you plummeting.
161	* Chaos Island, for its confusing layout- there are several areas you can't get to until solving certain mysteries to make rails appear, but the [[GuideDangIt game doesn't guide you to which one]]. Getting to some of the chaos emeralds can take several minutes of navigating the various up and downs of the map. There's also an overabundance of forced 2D sections that can kick in while you're trying to do something else, and halfway through the level is a large river of lava that can be tricky to get past.
162	** The mission to lower the bridge later in the main story missions for the island is an aggravating spike in difficulty for what should be a simple mission. The mission has Sonic skydiving and having to reach the ground within a time limit while avoiding springs and other obstacles that will slow you down. The problem is that the time limit is pretty short leaving very little room for error, forcing you to be at full skydiving speed for practically the whole mission which makes your steering really stiff and harder to dodge the springs that send you back upwards. In addition, Sonic has a very bad habit of targeting enemies with the homing attack that you're not aiming for (causing him to waste precious seconds with realigning himself with the correct enemies you need to take out) and the gold rings you pass through which are supposed to carry you to the next section of the fall tend to take way too long with their animation thanks to the unnecessary loops they do, which can actually be long enough to rob you of victory at the very end of the mission when you're about to reach the ground. To make matters worse you have to rewatch the mission's startup cutscene every time you restart, which only serves to delay you from your next attempt.
163	** The pinball segment at the end of Chaos Island is also aggravating, mainly for the fact that, in order to complete it, you need to get an insanely high score of 5,000,000 points, then fling the ball through the opened door at the top. The ball's physics are finicky, and it's common to watch it get bounced down into the sides and down into the empty pit at the bottom while you're struggling to get enough points. It doesn't help that getting a whopping 5 million points can take a very long time, even with the Rings and Red Rings to increase your point multiplier (which goes away when you get a Ball Out). It's also a common sight to watch it refuse to get through the damn door until it ''finally'' bounces off a bumper and actually goes upward. On top of this, you only get three tries before having to start all over with no way of getting another attempt. And if you managed to get enough points, but run out of attempts, you'll have to do the entire thing over again. At least the music's nice.
164	** Also, the mission where Tails requires you to pick up 600 machine parts is an absolute ''pain'' to complete. For starters, the time is extremely strict leaving no room for error. However, the main problem with this mission is the fact that in order to collect the parts, Sonic must bust open the many metal boxes that contain them. Some can be taken down with one attack, but others require more effort and combos to break open. There are two other major issues on top of it that makes this mission so tedious: One, breaking the boxes with combos could often lead Sonic into locking on a further away box causing him to lose out on precious machine parts. And two, the machine parts don't automatically get collected once you break them open. You have to ''manually'' collect them yourself. Sounds annoying right? Well, how about the fact that if you take too long on a platform, it actually will sink into the lava causing Sonic to bounce off in pain and lose a life making this easy to lose all three should he fall from a higher platform. Like with the bridge lowering mission, this one leaves ''no'' room for error and will most likely take numerous amount of tries in order to complete. It's definitely safe to say that Chaos Island is easily the most difficult of all of the islands.
165	* For a given definition of "level", some of the towers you have to climb on Rhea Island are daunting. They include (among other things) moving walls, frequent placements of spikes, pathways that require precise timing, and an enemy type that hasn't been seen up to now (and can kill Sonic if you don't know how to defeat it). Also, due to the nature of these towers, falling off them means climbing back up from the beginning. Thankfully, the towers makes shortcuts as you climb, making it easier to get back up.
166	** The Towers in the "Final Horizon" update, however? Very much That One Level, due to the incredibly difficult and precise platforming where a minor mistake could send you plummeting back to the bottom. And with no checkpoints or pulleys, falling to the bottom means you'll have to climb all the way back up again. That said, a lot of the precise platforming is in play if the game is set to Hard difficulty. Adjusting it to Normal or Easy will add more objects for the player to be able to homing attack, skipping over most of the preciseness required to scale the Towers.
167	* The Snake Trial from the The Final Horizon DLC has already become notorious for getting players stuck, since Sonic is locked in at Level 1 on all of his stats and his only useable skill is the Cyloop, and the trial involves defeating several shielded enemies within a strict time limit. The easiest way to beat it is to have the enemies throw their shields as far as possible, attack them while you still have the chance, parry the shield, rinse and repeat until the enemy is defeated, then move on to the next one and repeat the process until they're all down. This is STILL ''far'' easier said than done. [[note]]The description essentially tricks players by saying the only available ability is the Cyloop, causing players to think they'll have to use the Cyloop to damage the enemies, which grants a very brief opening to damage them. It's doable, but way harder than the parrying method.[[/note]]
168	* Portal 4-H. The others may be hard to do the missions and get S-ranks on, but this one is hard to minimally complete due to making you balance on a lot of tricky small platforms, and it is very easy to under-or-overshoot your jump and fall to your doom.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder: Sonic Superstars]]
172	* Press Factory Zone Act 2. There's crushers here, there's crushers there, crushers galore! There's also a timer gimmick similar to Sandopolis Zone Act 2 from ''& Knuckles'' and Oil Ocean Zone Act 2 from ''Mania'', but with a nasty twist; if you let the timer count down to 0, the entire factory '''explodes, ''[[OneHitKill which kills you instantly]]!'''''
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Spinoff/Handheld Games]]
176	The portable and spinoff Sonic games have annoying levels of their own. Case in point:
177	* Labyrinth Zone in the Master System/Game Gear version of ''Sonic 1''. As if the original wasn't evil enough, Sonic actually feels ''slower'' than in the original.
178	* The Sky High zone in ''Sonic 2'', mainly due to an '''extremely''' [[GuideDangIt counterintutive]] control scheme for the hang gliders. To wit: once you run off a ledge while wielding a hang glider if you press the right d-pad button ''at all'' you immediately let go off the glider and fall. What you must do is instead gently press the left d-pad repeatedly in order to ascend. Also the chaos emerald can only be obtained by bouncing off a cloud which acts like a spring but looks exactly like the other clouds, meaning the only way you would find it without looking it up is by accident.
179	* Scrambled Egg Zone from ''Sonic 2'' (UsefulNotes/GameGear and Master System). Unless you know the layout of all the vacuum tubes, it is essentially TrialAndErrorGameplay at its worst.
180	** Coming before that is Green Hills Zone Act 3 which, in comparison to the rest of the zone; is a poster example of PlatformHell with hills, springs, and spikes, with the final approach to the boss being completely unforgiving in its timing. And no checkpoints means you have to do this again if the boss kills you.
181	* ''VideoGame/SonicChaos'' is generally a very easy game, but it has Electric Egg Zone. Electrified floors, high-speed vacuum pipes that lead to suddenly-dropping platforms, and a mesmerising background that may distract you until it's too late.
182	* Robotnik Winter Zone from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble''. Apart from some slippery flooring and nasty speed-traps, the updrafts you need to use to climb up vertical shafts are notoriously unreliable, which often results in plummeting into an icy chasm.
183	** Tidal Plant Zone is even worse, as it takes place almost entirely underwater, it has a tricky section where you have to navigate a giant bubble up past spikes and enemies, and it is extremely easy to get hit and have to start the section all over. This is notably easier with Tails because he has the Sea Fox, but not by much.
184	* Showdown, the final level in ''VideoGame/SonicSpinball'', is utterly horrendous; all the required Emeralds are heavily guarded, there is virtually no safe ground below you, the climb up to the end boss is a nightmare, and the end boss itself is actively trying to (and can easily) knock you back down to the bottom of the stage. Compared to it, the rest of the game is a cakewalk.
185	* Blue Marine Zone in ''VideoGame/SonicBlast'' takes not just the cake for frustrating water stages in the series, but '''the whole bakery'''. The Zone is almost entirely underwater with precious little dry land (and literally ''all of it is submerged with no land'' in Act Two), the air bubbles are spaced far apart, and the twisting pipes can be very confusing to navigate. The aforementioned Act Two is especially bad in this regard; being a labyrinthine nightmare of water and pipes that more often than not lead to traps, with a ''very'' well-hidden exit.
186	* ''Videogame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy''
187	** Egg Rocket Zone from the first game. A long vertical level with enemies everywhere, blindsiding spikes and bottomless pits asunder, gravity shifts up the wazoo by the third section of it, and a god-forsaken tricky portion right before the end of it where you have to bounce off a wall at just the right moment to reach a platform, which can be utter hell for any characters except Tails. And top it all off, there are only three checkpoints in the stage... and if you [[TimedMission don't reach one in under 5 minutes, YOU DIE.]]
188	** Cosmic Angel Zone, technically the second act of Egg Rocket, is not any better. It's definitely more straightforward, just having to head right, but to, uh, compensate, this stage has ''more'' annoying enemy placements, ''more'' spikes, ''more'' bottomless pits, ''more'' gravity shenanigans, and at the end, you fight the Egg Snake, which is a ''deceivingly'' [[ThatOneBoss challenging boss]].
189	** The second game has Sky Canyon, in which the game starts to really become a minefield of bottomless pits, especially when playing as Sonic, and if you don't know about [[GuideDangIt R-Button Tricks]], you won't be able to beat it. And when you reach the boss, you have to hope it doesn't pull its OneHitKO.
190	** TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of the third game, Chaos Angel. First, all three acts are exclusively bottomless pits, and extremely long. The first two stages are filled to the brim with tiny platforms that either collapse without reforming (even if its your partner that lands on them), or move in bizarre diagonal routes unlike anything else in the game. The rare few spots that don ''not'' have bottomless pits have spike traps at the bottom. Many times your jumping goal is just beyond your sight, so you can only see the next platform you can jump to but nothing else. The enemies are positioned so the already tight platforming requires even more precision. Going in those two stages without a flying team is practically suicide, but making blind high jumps is ''also'' suicide. And then the third stage is a special kind of hell. You are on a wide-ish platform that move through extremely narrow passages over a bottomless pit. Said passages mostly compromise of hidden spike traps that can knock you off the platform. Where there is ''nowhere'' to land, and no second platform coming behind you to rescue you. Overall, you WILL die in this zone. A lot.
191	* ''VideoGame/SonicRush'': Altitude Limit. Lots of instant death lasers that act as bottomless pits, long acts, sections where you float upwards on rocket platforms avoiding spikes and enemies, and a section in each act where you have to jump up areas of falling platforms.
192	* ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'': Sky Babylon Act 2. There is fire everywhere (you need to be careful as Sonic, though Blaze can just run right through it) and all of the hardest obstacles are immediately before the end of the stage, and dying more or less resets your score. This gets even more difficult when you realize that this stage has an obstacle that kills you instantly, in the form of a zig-zaggy purple line, whether or not you're holding rings, ''collecting'' rings, using a shield, or '''invulnerable'''. In most places, this would be less important, as it appears over bottomless pits, but at this point they surround incredibly touch sensitive rising platforms, enemies that both move and shoot, and the usual falling platforms. Even getting a good score on this stage is harder, as score and time requirements are harder than the last stage.
193	* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'':
194	** Dinosaur Jungle. It feels so out of place, and the egg mission doesn't help.
195	** First, take a level which is literally a [[BottomlessPit giant, bottomless pit]], then add some visually interesting platforms, ''lots'' of grind rails, strong winds, and for good measure, toss some spiked Air Launchers among regular ones, so that the player has to learn where the lethal ones are, lest they want to see Sonic fall to his doom. Finally, add a couple of tricky platforming sections, combine it with a fiddly control scheme, and ta-da!: You have the Levitating Ruin levels from ''Sonic and the Secret Rings''.
196	* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'':
197	** The first Dragon's Lair stage. Fall away floors to bottomless pits that are impossible to see coming. Endless swarms of enemies whose sole purpose in life is to block all of your attacks and then knock you into said bottomless pits. Giant armored titans surrounded by those endless swarms of enemies whose sole purpose in life is to knock you into the bottomless pits. The level also has time limit, too.
198	[[/folder]]
199
200	[[folder:Rom Hacks]]
201	* ''VideoGame/Sonic2XL'' is a ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' rom hack that makes the game significantly harder as a whole, but two levels in particular stand out:
202	** Casino Night has lots of unavoidable rings throughout it (mainly in Act 2), and you won't always be able to find a ? Monitor in time if you go through, so it's very easy to get Sonic fat enough to die by going into one of the pinball launchers.
203	** The fat gimmick already makes the game harder, but Hill Top Zone will make you tear your hair out trying to beat it. The biggest challenge is that there is a lot of tight jumping involved in the level, and even the first level of Fat Sonic can make it extremely hard or even impossible to clear certain ledges. This can also get you trapped in the lava pits inside the mountains. This level forces you to take your time, and it will punish you if you try and rush through it.
204	[[/folder]]

Context ThatOneLevel / SONICTHEHEDGEHOG