- This article is about the stage in Shadow the Hedgehog. For the space station, see Space Colony ARK.
The ARK (ジ・アーク Ji Āku?) is one of the fifth Stages in Shadow the Hedgehog. It is reached by completing the Dark mission of either Central City or The Doom.
Description[]
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True to its name, this stage is a tour of the outer sections of the Space Colony ARK, requiring the use of a Black Volt throughout most of it. Assets, layout, and even the music of The ARK is heavily reminiscent of Final Rush.
The stage is very disjointed owing to the ARK's rapidly decaying nature during the events of Shadow the Hedgehog, and walkways seem to lead to and from nowhere, even in comparison to previous stages set on the ARK's exterior walkways seen in Sonic Adventure 2.
Story[]
This level can only be accessed by evil means; either by destroying Central City with the five blockbuster bombs or reliving Shadow's massacre of G.U.N. troops half a century ago in The Doom. Whichever method is used, Black Doom seems satisfied enough at Shadow's pure dark leanings to place him in the vanguard of the attack on the Space Colony ARK. Warping both of them into space, Doom orders Shadow to go ahead of the main army and take out the ARK's defensive matrix, thereby ensuring the Black Arms forces will have a clear path to the Eclipse Cannon.
The exterior of the ARK is choked with mechanical rubble, presumably shaken off the superstructure during the events at the end of Sonic Adventure 2. Making matters even more difficult is G.U.N., who is continuing their orbital defensive strategy; floating military robots and the ARK's own defenses also impede the Black Arms' progress. Shadow can either follow Doom's orders and clear a path, or bypass the defenses and fly into the space station alone.
Regardless as to which route Shadow takes, he must face G.U.N’s defensive mechanism: the Blue Falcon.
Gameplay[]
| This section requires an expansion. | |
At the start of the stage the player is presented with a Black Volt they can ride, which can be ridden through the entire stage. GUN mechs and large turrets are stationed throughout, which can very quickly drain the Volt's health bar. There are sparce sections of walkways that hold the stage's checkpoints, but a player can easily find their mount destroyed and themselves falling to their deaths, so avoiding rockets is key here.
If a player does land on a walkway, or respawns, a new tamed Volt will appear so they can continue.
Several ARK Defense Units are located throughout the stage, often surrounded by shielding. These units must be destroyed for the Dark mission of this stage. Most of the units are placed where it is impractical or impossible to reach them with standard weaponry, so use of the Black Volt's homing projectiles is required to clear that mission.
It is possible to complete this stage without riding a Volt by exploiting a narrow hole in the death plane that allows Shadow to fall from the start of the stage to the end, however this technique requires careful maneuvering, and often some trial and error.
Weapons[]
The following weapons can be found in The ARK:
- 4-Shot RPG
- Environment Objects
- Gatling Gun
- Heavy Machine Gun
- RPG
- Semi-Auto Rifle
Secret Key locations[]
- At the very start of the Stage, turn around and the Key will be right there.
- Drop down to the fourth platform with the turrets and the squadrons of Gun Beetles. Just below the level with two turrets is the Key.
- After the fourth Save Point, go through the energy core towards the small platform with the Key.
- After the second Defense Unit is a floating platform. Jump to it and the Key will be at the end of the connected tunnel.
- Go past the Chaos Emerald at the end of the Stage, the Key is at the very back.
The Secret Door, which is located just past the fifth Save Point, houses three 1-Ups.
Overview[]
Story Mode[]
Dark mission[]
| Guide | Mission | Objective |
|---|---|---|
|
Destroy the ARK's defenses! | Destroy the four Defense Units. |
The Defense Units are triangular-winged, slightly cone-shaped, and green. Either a Black Volt or a weapon can be used to destroy them.
Ranking[]
| Rank | Score[1] |
|---|---|
|
≥ 36,000 |
|
33,000 |
|
26,000 |
|
10,000 |
|
< 10,000 |
- Final quote: "The Eclipse Cannon is nearby. Say your prayers, you disgusting humans."
Normal mission[]
| Guide | Mission | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Get aboard the ARK! | Reach the Goal Ring. |
Don't disembark from the Black Volt once on it. Just try to keep its health full, with there being two locations in the stage where it's health can be refilled.
Ranking[]
| Rank | Score[1] |
|---|---|
|
|
≥ 37,000 |
|
|
34,000 |
|
|
27,000 |
|
|
10,000 |
|
|
< 10,000 |
- Final quote: "The ARK, yes. This is where it all began."
Expert Mode[]
The ARK's Expert Mode is just like the Normal mission, except for the fact that the player cannot destroy Defense Units to remove the barriers. Just stay on the Black Volt and fly as fast as possible through the stage to reach the Goal Ring. Luckily, the player can refill the Black volt's health two time during the stage. If the player gets off Black Volt, they must restart the stage at the first chapter as no Black Volt reappears once the player gets off of a one.
Boss[]
The boss of The ARK is the Blue Falcon, a G.U.N. mech. The guide for this battle is Doom's Eye.
The player should grab the Pistol out of the weapon container and use the spring to reach the upper level. From here, attack the Blue Falcon's missile launchers, then use the dropped launchers when they are destroyed.
- Final quote: "The planet piercing Eclipse Cannon. There's no escape for you now."
Trivia[]
- This is the only Stage in Shadow the Hedgehog without a Hero mission.
- The ARK's level structure bears a great resemblance to Final Rush and Final Chase, the respective final levels of the Hero and Dark stories in Sonic Adventure 2. As a further reference, the music for this stage is a remix of "Highway in the Sky" (the theme for Final Rush).
- When the player hits the Goal Ring, a Chaos Emerald can be seen. However, Shadow does not collect it until after the boss is defeated.
- At the beginning of the Stage, the Eclipse Cannon can be seen in the background.
- The boss for this stage, the Blue Falcon, is also the name of Captain Falcon's racer in the F-Zero series.
Music[]
| Name | Artist(s) | Length | Music track |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Ark" | Tomoya Ohtani, Jun Senoue | 2:49 |
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kaizen Media Group (22 November 2005). "Stage Rankings". Shadow the Hedgehog: Prima Official Game Guide. Prima Games. p. 94. ISBN 978-0761551959.
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