This article is about the Zone in Sonic & Knuckles. For the overall location, see Lava Reef. For other uses, see Lava Reef (disambiguation).

Lava Reef Zone (ラバーリーフゾーン^[1], Rabā Rīfu Zōn^?) is the fourth Zone of Sonic & Knuckles, and the tenth of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. It is set inside of a giant volcano on Angel Island. Lava Reef is divided into two acts, though the game refers to Act 2's boss fight as Act 3 because of the way Act 2 transitions to it.

Description[]

Lava Reef Zone takes place inside an active volcano on Angel Island, spanning through an network of tunnels that lead to the volcano's crater.^[1] As such, almost the entire area is filled with lava.^[1] The ground here is made of various large rocks, while some machinery can be found quite often.

Lava Reef Zone Act 1 comprises an area set in a cave. Large, dark green pillar-like formations of rock dominate the foreground, and speleothems dot the background amongst an eerie reddish glow. A vast plain of freshly-cooled magma stretches far beyond into the horizon. Pipes festoon the walls and floor, and the inactive Death Egg can be seen on the chamber's roof during Sonic and/or Tails' playthrough, sitting beside a pillar in the near background. However, the Death Egg is absent during Knuckles' playthrough. In addition, a flowing lava fall makes up the background of the site where the player fights Heat Arms.

Lava Reef Zone Act 2 is, again, mainly composed of a network of tunnels with the corners and walls being curved and smoothed out. The stones that make up the environment are all blue, with various crystals on them that glow in several colors. There are also various signs of light blue machinery, and the ground is covered in green platforms. At the very top, the Death Egg can be seen in Sonic and/or Tails' playthrough, even closer to the camera than in Act 1. However, the Death Egg is absent during Knuckles' playthrough. At the end of the Act in Sonic/Tails playthrough, the boss site undergoes a few major differences: the Death Egg is now extremely close to the player's perspective, taking up nearly the whole top of the screen. When the Death Egg activates its eye laser attack, the background gains a fiery red tint, with most things taking on a red or orange tint; a mirage effect caused from the extreme heat also causes the image of the background to "wiggle" from side to side, just before the Egg Inferno fight begins.

Story[]

Having fallen into a hidden pit in Sandopolis Zone after defeating the Egg Golem, Sonic and Tails find themselves falling into and landing in Lava Reef Zone. There, they make their way through the magma-filled mouth of the volcano before facing off against Heat Arms. With the magma cooling after defeating the robot, Sonic and Tails make their way further into the volcano, until they reach an area where the magma has been warmed up again. There, they are sent tumbling into the inner magma chamber by Knuckles with a large boulder, where the Death Egg itself reactivates, superheating the magma again. Eggman then appears to eliminate the duo with his Egg Inferno. After Sonic and Tails defeats the Egg Inferno however, the magma cools for good, and Sonic and Tails proceed into Hidden Palace Zone.

A while later, Knuckles enters Lava Reef Zone from another direction and makes his way through said Zone, dealing with Heat Arms at the halfway point. After that, he proceeds through the Zone until he reaches Hidden Palace Zone.

Gameplay[]

In Act 1, common gimmicks include platforms that break and fall away (often into magma) if stepped on, spirals and ramps that propel the player over magma pits, wall cannons that shoot damage-inflicting fireballs horizontally in a straight line, and doors that can only be opened by pressing a nearby Switch. A section of Act 1 includes a long, slanted path that releases a large iron ball if the player travels through it. There are also Transports that require the Spin Dash to operate them to allow the player to travel up or down.

Gimmicks found in Act 2 include geysers that shoot streams of fire every few seconds, pads that launch small spiked balls into the air at audible time intervals, large steel blocks that move up and down or side to side, high-speed warp tubes, and rotating blue rods with bars on them. If the playable character grabs these bars, they will latch on and move around and around with the rod; Spin Jumping propels them either up or down, depending on if they were moving up or down when the player presses //.

Overview[]

Act 1[]

This section requires an expansion.

Act 1 begins with Sonic and/or Tails falling into the Act itself, landing on several breakaway platforms before reaching the bottom and proceeding into the Zone proper. When navigating the Act, watch out for machines armed with spikes on their underside that will rise up before crashing back down, which can crush the player, along with stalactites that will drop to try and crush the player as well. When the player encounters the Rock Drill, they can wait for it to finish collapsing the floor to progress, though if the player backs up and does not jump into the pit, they can attain an Invincibility just behind the Rock Drill.

When arriving at the slanted path with the iron ball coming down it, the player cannot resort to Spin Jumping over the iron ball as it is impossible to get over the iron ball without taking damage. Instead, the player must dodge it by crouching in the small pit at the end of the path and waiting for it to pass.

After navigating through the Zone, the player must then face the Act's boss, Heat Arms.

Knuckles' version of the Act is different from Sonic and Tails, with the Act being overhauled to utilize the character's climbing abilities. In the area where the echidna encounters the first Rock Drill, the player take the upper path behind the robot (by first moving to the left after the Rock Drill has finished collapsing the ground to scroll the robot off-screen) to a secret barrier tied to a switch which leads into Sonic and Tails' section just below a Transport which he cannot backtrack past. Both routes will eventually merge just before the last stretch of the Act leading to the Heat Arms fight.

Act 2[]

This section requires an expansion.

After the player defeats Heat Arms, much of the magma hardens and cools into a solid state, rendering it safe to touch and walk on.

After moving through the complex system of caves, the player proceeds up a staircase followed by a large, flat platform that breaks away when stepped on, and another set of stairs. There, the player again encounters Knuckles, who laughs smugly and pushes a large boulder into the playable character, taking them with it as it falls into the boss room.

Sonic and Tails then fall into the boss room, where the Death Egg awaits; suddenly, the once inactive spacecraft activates the laser cannons in its eyes, engulfing the entire screen in a bright flash. When the flash dies down, the once solidified magma has reheated into a molten state by the Death Egg's attack, which has also caused some of the ground to become fragile. Afterward, Dr. Eggman appears in the Egg Inferno and releases a barrage of missiles. Now, Sonic/Tails must make his way by jumping from platform to platform while avoiding the raining missiles as the screen forcibly advances forward as Eggman watches in the background before retreating into the magma for the boss fight later. After reaching a Star Post, Sonic/Tails then has to traverse across sparse footing down a fall of magma, where he can find a Lightning Shield and a Flame Shield positioned on stationary ledges. At the foot of the magma fall, the player encounters Dr. Eggman in the Egg Inferno. After the boss is defeated, the lava will once again cool down, allowing access to Hidden Palace Zone, but only once the Capsule is opened.

Knuckles also takes a much different route from Sonic and Tails early on, due to his inability to jump high enough to get on top of the moving platforms (which also cannot be climbed). Instead, he must travel into the wall past the two Eggman Mark monitors to destroy an invisible barrier leading into a warp tube which commences his exclusive route for the Act. Eventually, Knuckles proceeds past the site where he drops the boulder on Sonic/Tails during their stories and travels through a tunnel into Hidden Palace Zone. The tunnel eventually forks, one route going right and the other downward to the left; the right route leads directly into the next Act. The lower route to the left leads the player into a wind tunnel just outside, placing them in danger of falling into a bottomless pit due to the high speed; if they avoid this, however, and climb up the wall, they will find two Ring Monitors and an Extra Life monitor.

Bosses[]

Act 1[]

Main article: Heat Arms

The boss of Lava Reef Zone Act 1 is Heat Arms, a giant robotic hand. During the battle, Heat Arms will use two tentacles to attack the player from the edges of the screen. Each one takes four hits to destroy, and each one fires three shots in three different angles before both retreat off-screen. Heat Arms itself will then track the playable character's movements before slamming down to crush the playable character. This is when Heat Arms can be damaged before it recovers and retreats to repeat its attack pattern. Six hits are needed to destroy Heat Arms. If the tentacles are still active when Heat Arms is destroyed, they will be destroyed as well.

Act 2[]

Main article: Egg Inferno

The boss of Lava Reef Zone Act 2 is the Egg Inferno, a modified Egg Mobile that can be submerged in magma. This boss can only be fought with Sonic and/or Tails, as Knuckles goes straight into the next Zone. In Sonic Origins Plus, Amy can also fight this boss. It is thoroughly protected by protruding spikes. Dr. Eggman will appear on the right and left sides of the screen, rising from the magma. Creating a sloping current in his direction, he will attempt to make the platforms the playable character is standing on run into his protected machine, while constantly shooting spiked mines in order to add another danger to the player hopping from platform to platform; ironically, his own mines will follow the current's flow and damage him. Eventually, after fourteen mines hit his machine, the scientist will be defeated.

Trivia[]

• The level background music and aesthetics of Act 2 are recycled for the succeeding Zone, Hidden Palace Zone.
• In Sonic 3 & Knuckles' Level Select, the boss segment for Lava Reef Zone Act 2 is listed as "Act 3", whereas Hidden Palace Zone is referred to as "Act 4".
  • In the game's remaster in Sonic Origins, Act 2's boss segment is listed as "Act B" in the Level Select.
• Lava Reef Zone appears as a part of the Sonic the Hedgehog Level Pack in Lego Dimensions.
• This is the last Zone in Sonic & Knuckles (and by extension, Sonic 3 & Knuckles) to feature Giant Rings and Super Rings.

Gallery[]

Concept artwork[]

Concept art of the Zone's map, along with Hidden Palace Zone's cutscene. Taken from Sonic Origins.

Artwork[]

Gallery
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Screenshots[]

Gallery
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Music[]

Videos[]

• Act 1 (Sonic)
• Act 2 (Sonic)

References[]