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Diamond Dust Zone is the fourth Zone in Sonic 3D Blast. As with the other Zones in this game, Diamond Dust Zone consists of two standard Acts followed by a third Act containing only the boss fight.
Description[]
Diamond Dust Zone is an icy area. Its ground is largely covered in a checkerboard pattern consisting of blue and light green squares. The walls in the Zones on the other hand are grayish rock walls covered in ice. Some display diamonds, columns and even exposed animal skeletons. In many places, snow is also visible, but Sonic cannot walk on it. Dotting the Zone are also classic pine trees with their green leaves frost. In addition, there are streams of snow go downhill, dividing the terrain. Explosive also snowmen adorn the main path.
Story[]
Continuing on his quest of finding the Chaos Emeralds and liberating the Flickies from Dr. Robotnik's grasp, Sonic reaches the icy plains and slopes of Diamond Dust Zone.
Gameplay[]
Act 1 and 2 are divided into three sectors, where the player must find and destroy five Badniks within the available areas. Each of them contains a Flicky in a specific color, which Sonic must touch to make it follow him (seven blue Flickies are trapped in Snowman Badniks, eight purple Flickies are trapped in Bunny Badniks and fifteen green Flickies are trapped in Pengo Badniks). Each sector also has a Dimension Ring which the player must deposit the Flickies they have collected into. After collecting and depositing all the available Flickies into the Dimension Ring, the wooden hatch blocking the hatch below it will open, allowing the player to head into a tunnel that will take Sonic to the next sector. Eventually, after completing the last sector, Sonic will be warped away in a pillar of light.
Many gameplay elements in Diamond Dust Zone are either snow or ice-based. Part of the floor in the Acts are covered in ice, which Sonic will slide along while moving. Standard Zone obstacles also appear on the ice. These include exploding snowmen, which inflate and explode as Sonic approaches them. Some Springs are also covered in snowdrifts. There are as well Bumpers in the form of flattened panels on the ground. There are also Snowblowers that will freeze Sonic when he makes contact with their exhausts.
Rivers full of crushed ice appear in several places. The player usually has to get to the other side of them or head upstream of them. Their currents are strong, so the player has to jump to stay at their intended height. Another obstacle are ice crystals, which also act as spikes. However, they differ from them in the sense that the player can destroy them with a Spin Attack. Some block are also hiding passages and tunnel entrances. These passage can lead the player into dead ends with rooms containing collectibles or paths to earlier sectors of the Acts. There are also Dash Panels and loops, but only in automatic sections. A wooden bridge also appears along a hidden path. A peculiar type of dark green Springs also appear in several locations, which can bounce the player in horizontal directions.
Overview[]
Act 1[]
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This Act starts off with a huge, one-way slide, then traversing past exploding snowman into a huge drop into the lower snow-covered plains. Past the first avalanche, the Badniks begin to appear.
Act 2[]
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Act 3[]
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Sonic reaches a rather square shaped room containing only eight Rings and faces off against Dr. Robotnik.
Boss[]
The boss of Diamond Dust Zone, from Sonic 3D Blast.
The boss of Diamond Dust Zone is Dr. Robotnik in a modified Egg Mobile with eight snowblowers. Robotnik begins as usual, hovering tantalizingly above Sonic's reach, but he will soon swoop down and attempt to blast Sonic with freezing air. To spice things up a bit, Robotnik also occasionally drops exploding snowmen onto the battlefield. To defeat Robotnik, the player must hit him eight times.
Tails and Knuckles locations[]
In Act 1 and 2, the player may encounter Tails and Knuckles. They can take the player to the Special Stage for fifty Rings.
Act 1[]
- Knuckles is located in the first sector, after the semi-automatic section. By the river, the player must head upstream to the visible piece of land. Knuckles can be found standing in its depths. Another way to get to this place is to destroy the ice crystals blocking the tunnel in the Bunny section near the Dimension Ring. This tunnel leads to the beginning of the river, and the player can, by following the current upstream, jump onto the land where Knuckles is.
- Tails is located in the second sector, by the river. After getting onto an ice floe on the river, drift along with the current to its end. At that point, there will be a piece of land on which Tails is standing.
Act 2[]
- Tails is located in the second sector. After the first section with the icy ground and stairs, the player should head right instead of going left. There, the player will find a narrow passage with Tails standing at its end.
- Knuckles is located at the start of the third sector. After the icy automated section, the player is kicked right next to Knuckles, who will be standing behind the two ice crystals.
Trivia[]
- A remix of the music for Act 1 of Diamond Dust Zone from the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Saturn versions of Sonic 3D Blast plays in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in Central City and Blue Ridge Zone, respectively. The music for Act 1 of Diamond Dust Zone from the Sega Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast is present as an unlockable track in Sonic Generations. To unlock it, all challenges must be cleared. A remix of the music that plays in Act 1 of Diamond Dust Zone from the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D Blast plays in Sonic Dash in Snow Mountain Zone. This same remixed version is also an available track in Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Gallery[]
Level maps[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Act 1 map  Act 2 map  Act 3 map |
Music[]
| Name | Artist(s) | Length | Music track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Dust Zone Act I | Tatsuyuki Maeda | 2:34 | |
| Diamond Dust Zone Act II | Tatsuyuki Maeda | 2:41 | |
| Diamond Dust Zone Act 1 | Richard Jacques | 2:54 | |
| Diamond Dust Zone Act 2 | Richard Jacques | 3:07 |
Video[]
References[]
- ↑ Sonic 3D Blast (Sega Saturn) Japanese instruction booklet, pg. 18.