The Evolution of Hill Zones in Sonic Games

[@SuperZombieBros]

Can’t forget the classic “Hill” stage where Tails runs down a flat pathway with absolutely nothing strange going on.

[@ChaseyBOIDude]

if its flat then there is no hill so it's called __ "Can't wait to play __ Zone!"

[@nachoburger3098]

Making sure to have exactly 420 coins to maximize the level of Green Hill Zone appreciation is exactly the kind of attention to detail I subscribe for

[@lpnp9477]

For some context on pluralizing "Hills", in Japanese there is no distinction between single and plural inanimate objects. "Green Hill" and "Green Hills" are both valid translations of the original Japanese name. Why they didn't sync up on the translation I don't know, but this is early 90's Sega we're talking about here.

[@kirotalksyt]

Such a weird error...but yeah Sega in the 90s was wild.

[@redtoons]

Mystic Cave Zone was never called Dust Hill Zone, Mystic was just a replacement for its scrapped "sibling".

[@netmeister7941]

i was thinking the same thing

[@kirotalksyt]

Mystic Cave was called Dust Hill in some early builds of the game like the Simon Wai prototype.

[@netmeister7941]

@@kirotalksyt a few of the sonic 2 developers actually said it was a scraped desert level

[@PyroLuigiOG]

@@netmeister7941 sand=dust I guess

[@netmeister7941]

@@PyroLuigiOG well it used to be sand shower zone then eventual sand hill zone

[@CSS-Tails_Forever]

Great video! My favourite "Hill" zone is Seaside Hill, because it was actually my first time going through a "Hill" zone, also Sonic Heroes was my first Sonic Game. (Also thanks for the likes guys! 😊)

[@kirotalksyt]

Seaside Hill holds a special place in my heart too 😁

[@CSS-Tails_Forever]

@@kirotalksyt that's nice to know :D

[@gameshowsforeverofficialch3462]

@@kirotalksyt Love the music of it to I have played a little bit of sonic heroes but I remember I used to run out the time just to listen to the whole track of seaside hill

[@benjaminon00b90]

Such a great game

[@CSS-Tails_Forever]

@@benjaminon00b90 agreed.

[@spongebobmaster]

Dust Hill wasn't the original name for Mystic Cave, It was a whole zone that got scrapped. The Idea was reused for Mirage Saloon in Sonic Mania.

[@shibalienelite5247]

IT WAS CALLED DUST HILL

[@Freezerboy69]

@@shibalienelite5247 yes it was called that in the Simon wai prototype because it replaced the desert level dust hill. Does mystic cave really scream a dusty hill?

[@Sybry605]

They also had a whole new stage for the remaster of sonic cd called desert dazzle

[@GamingintheAM0801]

Regarding "the pit," if you play Sonic Jam's version of Sonic 2 on anything other than "Original" difficulty, there will be a yellow spring on one side of the pit so you can get out of it if you fall in. Sonic Jam made a lot of little tweaks to some of the more infamous level elements across these games, such as removing "the barrel" from Carnival Night Act 2.

[@pkthedefinitelymatureperson]

Ive got a feeling the "New Green Hill" name could mean that Aquatic Ruin is some ancient city area, similar to how when some areas were hit by earthquakes or destroyed new areas were made, using the same name but usually with new.

[@ChaseyMcChaseyHead]

Aquatic ruin is the most under appreciated sonic 2 level, it made water levels fun!

[@Hynotama]

Pumpkin Hill was so great. With "ceeepy" elements and secrets, hidden treasures and all. And living in a country where we don't have Halloween makes it even more appealing.

[@TrailDave]

Kiro talks is great. I wish you nothing but success with this channel. Keep the good stuff coming bro

[@kirotalksyt]

Appreciate the support 😀

[@electroamp]

Sunset Hill is gorgeous, I love the melancholic twist that bids farewell to the classic games. There was definitely a shift in style after Advance 3.

[@spongebobfan78]

I get that this is for the zones that have "Hill" on the name, but Lost World's Frozen Factory is actually just Windy Hill but snow and some factory stuff. Also, for Speed Battle, the name of the stages are basically just Act names on an area, kinda similar to Forces where the stage names are always different even on the same area like Lost Valley or Guardian Rock takes place in Green Hill.

[@LsAdventurer]

I love how Mushroom Hill's colours transition from like, 'summer' to 'autumn' (the colours I prefer), and I also think the act 2 boss is really good.

[@IceBeamTetsuno]

This is great and hilarious! Really fun stuff.

[@OneAndOnlyDanky]

You can do anything is actually a remix of Green Hills Zone, rather than the other way around

[@spongeman3090]

Green Hill is looking a lot more like Green Hill right now.

[@lorenzorafael4600]

Hill…Hill…Hill…Are You Done Yet? SEGA:NO! Hill,Hill,Hill,Hi-Wait Is Everything Hills? SEGA:Yep.

[@KingTvlip]

Windmill Isle Act 1 being re-skinned as Green Hill Cyberspace in Sonic Frontiers means that Windmill Isle is officially a Hill Zone and no, I won't elaborate further.

[@zekromfan1]

Dust Hill Zone/Sand Shower Zone was a zone that was intended but scrapped from the game during development, and it’s name/place on the level select is a remnant of that. Mystic Cave Zone simply took over the spot, although it was never intended to be called Dust Hill Zone, for more information on the actual Dust Hill Zone/Sand Shower Zone I’d recommend looking at the Sonic 2 art and sprites that were released by the Video Game History Foundation earlier this year, it’s rather interesting, and we actually have a playable rendition of the intended Genocide City Zone/Cyber City Zone too because of them.

[@4ny7h1n9]

This is Sonic CD's birthday, maybe tomorrow for hill appreciation day?

[@CSS-Tails_Forever]

Yeah

[@MegaSombra]

Honorable mention: Sonic Blast's Green Hill

[@ElectrikStatik900]

2:06 character assassination at its finest Great video!

[@MyklesChannel]

This was one hill of a video!

[@arehch569]

4:14 THE PIT

[@lylelylecrocodile2538]

Now I want an evolution of polis levels in sonic games

[@ninjasonic_]

Dude, in the movies it’s called Green Hills

[@HistorysLegends]

YoU MiSseD GReEN hIlL fRoM sOniC mAnIa!!!

[@Placeholder501]

Sand Hill existing makes Sonic’s comment about Green Hill looking like Sand Hill more amusing.

[@sanicsanic6890]

Dust Hill was actually never implemented in any known prototypes, and when it was scrapped the level ID was already reserved for it, so instead of creating a new level slot for Mystic Cave, the slot for Dust Hill was simply reused. There's also evidence that the level would be called "Sand Shower Zone" in the final game

[@extremmefan7305]

"and the worst part is, it's not even using the original Green Hill Zone music!" That's actually the best part lmao. Also might as well call Sonic 2 "Sonic the Hillhog" with all those "Hill" zones lmao. My favorites are Seaside Hill and Sunset Hill, the former is an amazing tutorial type stage (if you don't play Sea Gates first you still perfectly understand most of the game by going through Seaside Hill) and is aesthetically distinct, and the latter is just a big blast of nostalgia for me as Advance 3 was one of my first Sonic games (and this is also my first encounter with the iconic Green Hill Zone theme; except here it's actually used accordingly and given a remix that matches the ambiance!). I halfway expected this video to go over all the different versions of the ACTUAL Green Hill though. You would've had more than enough material between 8bit Sonic 1, the Adventure games, Generations, and ESPECIALLY Forces. XD

[@dreamcastdazia4753]

Green HillS came out before CD so you can do anything is a remix of that. The mecha green hill is a remix of both

[@bargtv53170]

We need a hill hill zone Who agrees

[@bahamut1169]

Hill yeah

[@bargtv53170]

@@bahamut1169 glad someone agrees that would have been a hill of a zone

[@kirotalksyt]

Definitely!

[@arehch569]

5:22 Neo green air bubble zone

[@Placeholder501]

That Didj game sounds like it uses the Heroes level style of having paired levels using matching themes and different names with each acting as an Act 1 and 2 respectively.

[@Temmy_12]

Bruh your content is the Best Can't Wait for more👍

[@Temmy_12]

@@DinoRicky thx lol

[@kirotalksyt]

Thanks a bunch. More videos are on the way 👍

[@6ProZach9]

mushroom hill zone was originally called mushroom valley zone and in sonic 2 dust hill was indeed mystic cave zone's early name thats what we see in the simon wai prototype the zone that people think that it was unused is not dust hill rather its called sand shower zone which was a cut zone that became an easter egg in sonic cd it was a screenshot with the zone assets and it was called desert dazzle which was a cut stage from sonic cd that got its assets reused in sonic mania's mirage saloon zone

[@rasyagaming-roblox]

You gotta love it when kiro uploaded a commentary video

[@jeffowens9536]

"Alright. Next is Walmart Brand Green Hi- oh- i mean- Emerald Hill Zone." bro holdin back anger

[@gamerestboi]

"Dust Hill" was a scrapped zone, which was meant to be a desert stage. In one of the betas, SEGA accidentally put "Dust Hill" instead of an Early Name for/"Mystic Cave". yeah

[@crashslysonic777]

You were happy about them using the melody of You Can Do Anything for Mecha Green Hill in Chaos, but not using the full song in Green Hiils Zone in Sonic 2?

[@Estaguy24]

Have you heard of Faded Hills from Forces ?

[@-Cat9-]

lmao the silence when he needed to say "The Pit" and "didj" and showed an image of those words

[@jamiegioca9448]

10:31 As someone who prefers "Kick the Rock" (the Wild Canyon theme), I say "Fair enough"

[@rvght_]

2:49 Hill top is a palette swap of Emerald Hill because there was originally gonna be time travel in sonic 2

[@CrimsonStorm197]

Watch the whole video before commenting

[@ihtscarter568]

Sonic Battle has a green hill zone arena, i think you get it after beating the game, it can be played on training and free battles

[@LeafDreams]

the pit.... the flashbacks

[@20000dino]

5:28 I think they initially called it "Neo Green Hill Zone" as an allusion to the cultural and artistic movement of Neoclassicism from the XVIII and XIX centuries, which drew heavy inspiration from the Classical Period (aka the Greco-Roman period). I do, however, think that it was a smart choice to change it to "Aquatic Ruin Zone" since a lot of people wouldn't get the reference (and it still wouldn't at all be obvious to those minimally well-versed in the artistic world since 1 - as you said, "Neo" literally means "new"; 2 - Even in an artistic context, there are literally dozens of artistic movements throughout history designated by "Neo____"; and 3 - looking at the stage, one would instinctively think of the original Classical Period and not the much later Neoclassical Period).

[@Skypatroller_BenCD]

07:38 technically You can do anything is the remix and Sonic 2 Green hill is the original because both Sonic 2 where released before Sonic CD

[@rickrollercoaster9436]

Where is the "Hill" which is absolutely flat with some ketchup?

[@kinfumetsuokami8084]

I really liked this video style, hey kiro, how about make another video in this style but talking about the final stages from each game? It could be splitted in 2 parts (or more if needed)

[@ChastasticGaming]

Green hill(s) uses the Toot toot sonic warrior tune.

[@alwaysasn]

Sonic Lost world is way underrated. It’s got the same beginners jank of any sonic game. But I think it’s super fun.

[@CeliMew]

Green Hills had a remix of "You Can Do Anything" from CD as well and i'm surprised you forgot to mention that

[@JuliRocket]

I always thought hilltop was at the very tip top of emerald hill because it looks like there are clouds in the background.

[@jennyholiday88]

Here's my hottest take: Seaside Hill > Green Hill Zone I will not explain my reasoning

[@GamepadStudios]

Nah

[@JuliRocket]

I love emerald hill because of the music. Emerald hill is called emerald hill because you can get all 7 emeralds in that zone alone.

[@Placeholder501]

Wait, Sandy Hill is a Sand Hill lookin’ Green Hill and High Hill Park is Sunset Heights but instead of sunset the sun is set high in the sky making it high noon.

[@vulpeiren]

00:01 first thing that caught my attention was the coin counter lmao

[@owendinostudios1200]

You forgot about Sonic Triple Trouble’s Great Turquoise, Drift 1&2’s Green & Emerald Hill, and Blast’s Green Hill

[@brickmaster-the-og]

You forgot Faded Hills from Sonic Forces, but awesome video!

[@ChaseyMcChaseyHead]

Less than a month until hill appreciation day!

[@zoa1-99.......]

Green Hills from Sonic 2 for Master System is actually supposed to be a different zone from Green Hill, it even uses the opening music from Sonic CD! Also, it was released BEFORE Sonic 2 for Genesis, not a spin off, this is where Sonic first meets Tails before Genesis Sonic 2.

[@Sly88Frye]

In Sonic and All Stars racing transformed as well as team Sonic racing there is a racetrack that's at that seaside level in Sonic heroes so you can almost say that counts as a hill level because it's the second act of that Hill zone at the beginning of Sonic heroes. And by the way Sonic forces speed battle is completely different than the Sonic forces you get for PC and console. What Sonic forces speed battle is similar to is Sonic dash which is also on smartphones. The difference is Sonic dash actually has more obstacles and I'd say it's more difficult while Sonic forces speed battle is more focused on trying to beat actual human opponents on the internet to be the first of the finish line which therefore they made the obstacles easier to avoid not to mention you get power-ups to mess up your opponents. I haven't played either of the games in a long time but I used to livestream them every once in a while but I played them a lot more than I live streamed them, and this may sound like a brag but I mean in my opinion I think it's what just makes Sonic forces speed battle really easy. I get first place to vast majority of the time. Although I think I noticed as I was leveling up more my opponents started to get more challenging so I think as you just get better at the game you start having better competition but I still would win the majority of the time.

[@BKRproductions6468]

*T H E P I T* Also, if we're getting REAL technical, Chemical Plant is TECHNICALLY a hill zone too, as it's the FUTURE version, of Emerald Hill, or more accurately Dust Hill AKA Hidden Palace AKA location of *T H E P I T* leading to Hidden Palace. Or if you're not an *ELITE* then it's just spikes. Chemical Plant's music is a *BOP.* That's all I have to say.

[@CalTheHogNosedBat]

What if, now hear me out, Neo Green Hill Zone might've originally been called Neon Green Hill zone?

[@lagpostg.r.y9955]

Dust hill is not an early name for mystic cave zone but an cut desert stage

[@vittosphonecollection57289]

Also Dust Hill is the name of Classic Green Hill's theme from Forces...

[@D1abolosMemez]

Werehog is dabbing in the Background as his game doesn't have any levels with the word Hill in them (That I know of)

[@jckstudios7693]

In sonic heroes, knuckles says "we have mushrooms on my island, but not this large", nothing related, just wanted to say this

[@JuliRocket]

I call THE PIT a beginners hidden palace zone.

[@skweekersstudios5161]

mystic cave wasn't called dust hill it was a replacement for the now scraped dust hill which you can see prototypes of online and what it was gonna be like. remember sonic mania? mirage saloon was the reworked dust hill that they decided to finish and put in the game. mystic cave isn't dust hill the devs just didn't take the name out of the prototypes until the actual release. its the same for hidden palace too.

[@asocos]

Sand shower was the desert level not dust hill

[@Real_Deadphilium]

Bro fell in "the pit" as super sonic... with 100 rings!

[@mighty_king92]

Aquatic Mine is sooo chill I agree that it's kinda better than Pumpkin Hill

[@shalpp]

So you got the Green Hills/sonic cd bit backwards Sonic 2 (8 bit) came out first, then hayata decided to turn that into the game's theme Mecha sounds similar because it's supposed to be a mechanized version of the same stage from Sonic 2 8bit

[@BenjiOSC]

Sonic 2 [GG/MS] released before sonic cd btw

[@mariaandreinaaranareggeti9239]

9:24 Green Hill’s looking a lot more like Sand Hill right no-

[@OnlineKILLER_rip]

HILL APPRECIATION DAYYY!!

[@staryolo6947]

I know this might be a scratch but here I go. "Hilltop Heights Zone from the fan game called Sonic the Hedgehog: Before the Sequel created by LakeFeperd." Just wondering does this count or is it a no go.🤔

[@leonsgameplays5804]

Translation in the 80s and 90s was pretty new so today, the translation error of Green Hill to Green Hills is pretty confusing why it happened

[@themissingbits6375]

Im fine with that they change the name of Green Hill. Sonic 2 takes place on another Island. So i get the idea that it was origanaly intented to take place in the same Island as Sonic 1. Also Can you talk about almost every final level in a Sonic game?

[@Zenesitywastaken]

i feel like emerald hill was called that because you can get all emeralds in that zone

[@AB-bb4le]

Hill top zone, dust hill as supposed to be the western canyon zone full of sand and cactuses

[@themissingbits6375]

Are you saying Mushroom Hill is just “good” This is an fantastic level. Yes the seesaws is a bit anoyying but the rest of the level is amazing

[@DanielAntovski]

You missed sussy hill zone in sonic 3 & k

[@schemar17]

😳😳

[@nilixstar830]

There is no sussy hill zone.

[@radioffIine]

Dude just completely glosses over Dust Hill Zone being a scrapped desert level (with screenshots) and Mystic Cave zone just being its replacement

[@harrybest2041]

The desert zone was called Sand Shower Zone.

[@GoofyGooberX]

how on earth did you add something as obscure as leapster sonic but forgot green grove

[@luiluiruirui]

Someone make clayhill zone as like a sonic web series thing where he goes thru portals and enters clayhill, it can be a game too, idk just yes.

[@gogetasupersaiyajin4840]

I think marble zone was originally called marble hill zone but in the final product it called marble zone only

[@pablothemosasaurus21]

Kiro you should probably make Sonic the hedgehog 2 iceberg

[@ColorsWasChit]

don't forget your schizo pill zone

[@NIGHTBLOODUSAGI]

i never fell in that pit and i dont fear it, is something wrong with me or is there something wrong with you?

[@turnerjmulletboy]

why did you use the game gear version of green hills zone? it looks bloody terrible. the master system version at least had good resolution...

[@Syuurp]

YOOOOOOO WE GOT THE DIDJ

[@Latoshajsinspiration]

I played the mobile version of sonic 2 and feel in the pit

[@fireyfan54]

ahh yes my favorite zone WALMART BRAND GREEN HILL ZONE

[@ich4446]

Wasn't there at least one zone in Sonic fighters with "Hill" in its name?

[@mirek190]

Actually I had Sonic mobile game endless runner where we were running on the green hill zone

[@Zuon94]

Don't knock Brown Hill. Brown is still a shade of green, if you neglect it long enough.

[@BoomMcQueen]

You Missed Gray Hill Zone From A Fan Game Called Sonic 2.5 for Pico-8

[@GavinArtster]

Honestly I hate- *the pit.*

[@SMPandanic]

pumpkin hill the first time I played it.. took me HALF AN HOUR to beat.. it's F tier for me