Green Forest is hype incarnate, with the added bonus that it's terrifying. If you feel like following me: / zoomzike Source: Windii Gitlord - / channel (For those beautifully rendered cutscenes!)
Yeah the timer's not really that functional because anyone can beat this stage in less than eight minutes but combined with the music it really adds to the atmosphere. Also it's nice seeing someone appreciate all the little nooks and crannies in these stages, they have more secrets than most people realize.
the time limit in this stage is great because it's so lenient, its enough to pump up the first playthrough without being stressful. Unlike a certain other *"5 minutes should be plenty!"*
I like Sonic Forces. I have fifty hours on the game, despite it being only two hours long. I only said it because, in addition to it being true, it would also get me the top comment.
I never realised just how much thought went into SA2's level design, I absolutely adored this game since I was a kid so it's fascinating to see it's suprisng depth picked apart and explained. Definitely refreshing after the stupid counter culture idiots randomly deciding to pretend the game was never good as well, man am I sick of that crap. But yeah, I'd love to see the rest looked at like this.
10:20 in all my 20 years I played this game I always wondered what those balloons were for, and now today two decades later I learn that if I held the A button Sonic does a dive 🤯
Quick correction at 6:52 pointed out by DaSheepKiller, I correctly said the power-up is the "Ancient Light" but then allude to it being the Mystic Melody power-up instead of the light speed attack, my bad!
One more little detail : At the end, when the ground is falling down, if you're fast enough to reach the highest spring, you are rewarded with a bigger bonus score. The lowest spring gives no bonus, the second give 200 pts, the next 500 pts, then 1000 pts and the highest giving you an awesome 2000 pts.
I could honestly watch you analyze every stage SA2 has to offer like this and know for sure that every single video would be a joy to watch and show everyone things they never even knew about, like the 2-Player mode paths and the other hidden areas were totally unknown to me and I played through the game multiple times over the years.
I remember as a kid me, my brother and cousins were like "we gotta get all the little animals or they will not make it" The fact that this level does set up a thrilling run for the end before it's too late
Green Forest has always been one of my favorite levels in the game. Partly because of the actual level design and the atmosphere, but most of all, the music.
It‘s interesting to know that this stage was also the first one made, and that in SA1 there was a jungle level planned but scrapped, this stage was in the planning stages for a long time which shows.
I wonder if that sand sledding stage in SA1 was what they ended up on instead of this one. From what I remember it was pretty short compared to the other SA1 stages.
This era of games had a lot more hidden areas, secrets, and replayability. As a kid, even though open world games weren't really a thing yet, I still felt like games had unlimited possible hidden secrets because of the optional power ups and hidden ruins that made platforms.
Exactly, it’s what makes me prefer Mario Galaxy over the open world and linear 3D Mario’s, it and it’s sequel, feel like they offer me enough space and sense of scaling, but not too open to the point it feels barren and relying on generic landscaping for movement
@@whydoievenbothertryingwith6679 That's a funny thing to say, considering that Mario Galaxy's levels have always felt more barren and repetitive than those from the open world Marios to me. For instance, if you explore around you in Mario 64 can find content and secrets in every nook and cranny. Do the same in Mario Galaxy and there isn't much to see or find outside of the main path.
Exept for the Pyramide and crazy Gadget. I dont exactly what it is about the Pyramide but in crazy Gadget the last part is my cryptonite, i even manage to reguraly get softlocked there
I literally finished this level for the first time today (got the game yesterday) and it was freaking amazing. My blood was pumping so much, I love playing games blind
6:00 also white jungle’s layout is still kinda there too! 6:57 light speed attack 7:35 I always found it interesting how the area here looks so similar to the platform sonic & shadow fought on, and as a kid thought oh crap sonic went the wrong way first and had to double back I just really love this stage
Well in the cutscene as the stage starts, that’s DEFINITELY where they’re placed. You can tell by the robot and the platforms in the background of the cutscene, which were not present in the fight. They most likely did that to save on memory or processing power when loading the cutscene, but I do like your explanation too lol
It is the same platform they same platform they fought on, or atleast the platform they are standing on in the cutscene before the level begins. You can see it from the flying GUN bots that have their back turned to the platform.
"Have you ever had a moment in a video game where you felt like you were gonna crap yourself?" Not only did that trigger Green Forest memories, but also my past experiences with Wario Land 4.
Ah i have a love/hate relationship whenever i see a time limit in a game. Weather that means an explosion that will wipe out the place you're currently on or otherwise someone is about to die. Its such a highly intense moment that keeps you on edge. The mental effect time limits have on you during gameplay really does make you make mistakes that you maybe wouldnt have made otherwise since you would have the time to move on at your leisure
I never knew about the A holding on the vines! I always saw the balloon there and was like "What's the point of having this there if the vine doesn't send you far enough?"
You're like the best person ever to breakdown SA2's game design and intentions, it's almost like if you can exactly put up in words what we feel without us even saying it before lol. Awesome job! Looking forward for more stages analysis or any SA2 content!
7:35 The really funny thing about this section is that it's where the cutscene at the start of the level takes place and they didn't even try to hide it by despawning the enemies during the cutscene.
If we’re gonna keep on this track of analyzing SA2 levels, I’d like to see you analyze Iron Gate. I think it’s a really unique contrast to City Escape where you essentially go on an Eggman rampage to make up for the fact that you’re not that fast. It also gives the Dark story it’s own kind of kickstart that fits its side more. (being a destructive romp where you brazenly infiltrate a military compound as opposed to a free spirited escape from an unjust pursuit by that same military)
Over the course of 1 weekend we got a ZoomZike sonic episode, a Summoning Salt Speed Run Progression, and. A John Bois Secret Base video, I don’t think that life could get any better than this😍
I'd love to see analysis videos on some shooting and hunting stages, particularly Iron Gate in how it introduces the Dark Side story, and Security Hall if only because it's my favorite hunting stage.
That's something to consider since utmost every stage has a parallel that mirrors the goal of that player character. This emphasizes the overall theme of SA2: duality.
I remember watching this as a kid, the music blaring, the timer going. I was so excited for more action, and once I beat it, I was ready for more!..then Pumpkin Hill.
I’ve played this game 15 years ago and I have never known about “vine grinding”, time to play through this level again! Honestly I’ve never seen more than half of these secrets in this level.
@@syweb2 It's from the only video where Zike critices a level instead of praising it. Said level also comes from a bad game, unlike basically everything else ZoomZike analyzed.
It’s because they had to develop games that were multi platform after that, and had to scrap the Dreamcast adventure engine and constantly work on hardware for multiple consoles at once which meant less refine and polish.
@@TheDisarminghinkle Remastering a game already developed on a Dreamcast is different to making a game specifically for multiple platforms. It affects design decisions.
zoomzike is virtually the only youtuber i've seen who gives a REALLY strong case for SA2 being good. i also love the capstone for this video done at 11:56. this is a really good series on how to make levels with soul
In all fairness, most people (even those that dislike SA2) like the speed stages. I'd have more of a difficult time trying to convince people of the other ones. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
6:57 You're confusing Ancient Light for Mystic Melody. Ancient Light allows Sonic to perform the Light Speed Attack, which uses a fully charged spin dash to attack multiple enemies at once. Mystic Melody is located in Final Rush.
honestly with how much you were talking about the setting and urgency of the island blowing up i really hope you end up doing something similar with the final hazard boss fight considering all the dialogue from everyone aboard the ark. i always enjoy going back and checking it out, it’s such an intense and satisfying setting for the game’s climax. Stakes are hard to get higher than “giant satellite in space being steered into earth which will surely cause planetwide extinction if it collides” And that’s not even talking about how it subtly sets up what ends up happening to shadow at the end of the fight, with shadow worrying that he can’t maintain his super form while sonic notices and urges him to fall back. All that to say, I really enjoyed this video. great stuff!
Noo you forgot to mention that the "hard" difficulty of this level reduces the timer to 3 minutes! (I think) Anyways, great video as always! Love a good blast to the past.
I love these analysis videos, I've played these stages hundreds of times, and these videos make me appreciate them even more. I'm always learning something new since some of the goodies are off the main path/best path
I remember playing green forest for the first time and I legit reacted to eggman saying the island will blow up just like sonic at the same time. The entirety of the stage my mind was thinking a single thing. I was repetedly thinking "Oh shit I gotta finish this as fast as I can"
second video of yours i’ve seen now, love the content. the fact that your finish time on each level ends up matching the video length in both is such a neat touch. subscribed 👍🏾
Honestly, your enthusiasm is contagious. This game was a standout from my childhood--it *was* my childhood and growing up after the fact seeing people peel it apart for being campy and whatever is one thing, but seeing you dissect what the appeal was in spite of those things warms my heart.
This was so interesting!! I really love your level analysis videos, they make me realize things I would've never thought about otherwise. Thank you so much for making them, I never even played any of the sonic games but this keeps me captivated, it's just so interesting to see what the designers all thought about and all those little details!
The way the "Blows Up!?!" cutscene plays inside of the level is super clever. It means they can start the level immediately after you learn about the bombs, without needing to waste time waiting on a loading screen. By the way, the music only syncs with Sonic landing if you load it from mission mode. When you play it in story mode, it syncs with Shadow running away in the cutscene instead. Both ways feel very deliberate.
I admire the way you align your statements with the actions of the cutscenes and gameplay. 👌 Neat details sprinkled just like the development of SA2B👍 Nice work😉
Something I feel that can definitely be added to the video is how cleverly some of the animals are placed and hidden whistle spots! I love your videos and hope to see you eventually analyze every SA2 level!!!!!
"You bet, the adrenaline is gonna be pumping on your first playthrough" 5 yo me: HOLY S**T THE ISLAND'S EXPLODING Honestly tho, this series is amazing, keep up the good work
You teach me so much about this game that I didn’t already know. This is coming from somebody who A-Ranked Green Hill zone, and beat the main stories at least 3 times throughout my life. And somebody who very much enjoyed the multiplayer modes. And from somebody who played this game several times without actually beating it.
I NEVER KNEW ABOUT THE DIVING PART AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH i cant believe im still learning stuff about this game. ive always rly wondered what every path through the levels would look like and these videos are such a great way to experience that. thank you zoomzike for my life
Green Forest is legit my favorite stage in the game. The rush you get, and the storyline for why you are running forward and the music...everything about it is soooo good. And for a side note, I HAD NO IDEA YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HOLD THE BUTTON! I always wondered what that balloon was doing there! XD
I'm loving these adventure level videos, the Adventure games were always my favorites and these really express why that is for me, the developers really put a lot of effort and soul into these levels with the hidden pathways and overall build.
Something I don't see most people think about is, how many people actually died in that Island's explosion? In so much media you see situations like this where Cities are destroyed or such but usually our protagonists just move on trying to stop the antagonists, Sonic and Co don't take a second to worry about the Island's destruction after it happens and the game moves on ignoring the possibly thousands dead. It's a weird thing in media I don't see adressed much, helicopters and cars explode everywhere with cities leveled and next to never do the characters question the implications of that, even in Shows like Avatar where they make a big deal on not killing one singular evil person yet they wipe out Tanks filled with people left and right. Then again on second thought considering this is the same game where they just shrug off and move on from the Moon being destroyed maybe that's a bigger concern barely addressed. Obviously they weren't intending to think about those things in the game but it's weird to see such major levels of destruction ignored more often than not 99% of the time. Just something I remembered that I find interesting to overthink.
Zoom Zike: “hmm radical highway’s video title didn’t indicatively portray what I immediately wanted to convey; how do fix that for green forest?” Green forest: *subtlety has left the server*
You keep teaching me new things I haven't figured out after years and years of hundreds of playthroughs of this level. A button lets you get the balloon?
This stages song is one of my favourites in the entire series, my favourite detail is that the song is called "WONT STOP, JUST GO" which is everyones thoughts when first playing this level
the best thing about green forest's song is how it is fast paced like, in all the other songs in the game, you can feel the speed sonic is running at, but this song, you can feel the rush in sonic to get out of there and save amy and tails, and it adds so much to this level
The best thing about these classic 3D Sonic stages is that they tell a compelling story. I really wish I could revisit these experiences on Switch, but there's sadly nothing.
@@victorl3091 i love treasure hunting stages lmao. The way you have to think and use your hunter intuition is so cool. I often times turn the game on just to play Pumpkin hill and other hunting levels.
@@KOTEBANAROT oh, I almost forgot, I really love knuckle's and rouge part in the last stage, they are not exactly treasure hunting, but still, such a great stage for them
Man, watching this videos teaches me things I never even knew about these levels. I didn't know about the Ancient Light or Vine Grinding. It's amazing how you can learn new things every day, even from games over decades old.
Love your content and the way you explain your thoughts! I was gonna say putting background music into when you talk would be a nice touch but if u don’t want to that’s cool too 🤝
