Fans of the classic Sonic the Hedgehog game will be running faster than the blue speedster himself to a Brazilian Sonic-themed playground that has brought the game's iconic Green Hill Zone to life. It's not quite Super Nintendo World, but it's a pretty good birthday present for the world's most recognizable speed freak.
The Green Hill Zone has a particular status among fans of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, as it was the very first level in Sonic's introductory 1991 gane. SEGA needed a mascot, and Sonic was there to deliver: his debut game catapulted the series into legendary status in the thirty years since he first ran onto the scene. But the Green Hill Zone has its role as well, and is frequently cited, recreated, or referenced in a majority of Sonic's promotional material, films, and subsequent entries in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. If it's Sonic-related, odds are, the Green Hill Zone is featured, too.
Ahead of Sonic's 30th birthday this year, an appropriately named Sonic Adventure Playground has opened up inside Brazil's Vila Vella shopping mall. As YouTuber Badnik Mechanic reports, the playground uses Green Hill Zone as its inspiration,. Cutouts of Sonic, Tails, and Dr. Robotnik watch over children who jump through the familiar rings, run through checkered tubes, and slide down the pixelated slides. The terrain and the overall environment use images and colors lifted straight out of the original Green Hill Zone, so while kids won't be running upside down or bashing robots, they'll still be getting a taste of Sonic's first official adventure.
It's unclear whether or not Vila Vella had the go-ahead from Sega to build the park, but regardless, there is one Eggman-sized elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. Like the rest of the world, Sonic is celebrating his birthday during a the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic. Tragically, Brazil is one of the top three countries in the world when it comes to coronavirus cases and deaths at present. While leadership in Brazil has been cavalier at best about the virus, it's still remarkable that a park in an indoor mall like this was allowed to open, and as can be seen in the video, there's quite a few maskless faces milling around, which does nothing to help the situation.
But kids want to have fun, and keeping them occupied and happy during a difficult time is important to parents. Hopefully the citizens of Brazil who bring their children to the playground are exercising more caution, so that Sonic (and everyone else) can have a safe, pandemic-free birthday next year.
Source: Badnik Mechanic
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/36rZvYy
0 Comments