Ranking Every Classic Sonic The Hedgehog Level From Worst To Best
16. Hidden Palace Zone
After being excised from Sonic 2, the Hidden Palace Zone was finally unearthed in Sonic & Knuckles, and it's quite a gem (in fact, it's seven massive ones).
As Knuckles, this is the worst level in the game, though 'level' is being generous; it's really just a room. For Sonic, on the other hand, it's the apogee of his adventure, the literal and metaphorical summit of the game where some serious s**t goes down.
First there's the showdown with the antagonistic echidna, all set before a portentious mural foreshadowing a probable future in space (and this is a video game, where all prophecies are 100% accurate). Then, after knucklehead Knuckles has finally had the sense knocked into him, there's a shocking moment as Robotnik zaps his gullible stooge only to steal the Master Emerald.
There's not much to it, but it's as good as Sonic storytelling gets - and it's super-cool being able to visit the Angel Island's reliquary after tantalising glimpses before special stages.