Green Hill Zone
| Sonic the Hedgehog Green Hill Zone | |
|---|---|
    Green Hill Zone as it appears in Smash. | |
| Universe | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Appears in | Brawl SSB4 (3DS) Ultimate |
| Availability | Unlockable (Brawl) Starter (SSB4 and Ultimate) |
| Unlock criteria | Unlock Sonic. |
| Crate type | Presents |
| Article on Wikipedia | Green Hill Zone |
| “ | The concave landscape and blue Point Marker are iconic to this stage. A Point Marker will twirl when the ball is hit, dealing damage to anyone nearby. The ground can collapse after attacking it, so be careful! | ” |
| —Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site | ||
Green Hill Zone (グリーンヒルゾーン, Green Hill Zone) is the stage that represents Sonic the Hedgehog in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It is unlocked together with Sonic himself in Brawl, but is available from the start in subsequent games. In both games where Sonic is unlockable, he is fought here.
Overview[edit]
The stage is a curved half-pipe, bookended by straight walk-offs on both sides. The curve's middle is split into three sections that are susceptible to attacks. These sections will crumble away if they sustain enough (125%
/100%
) damage, transforming the stage's center into a pit. The sections will naturally break after a random amount of time between 90-150 seconds, regardless of how much damage they have taken, and regenerate after 20 seconds.
Occasionally, blue checkpoint lampposts randomly spring up. When attacked, they turn red and start spinning: in this state they are able to hurt the original attacker's opponents. They only deal 10%/8% damage, but cause decent knockback with KO capabilities. After a few seconds, spinning lampposts stop and can be attacked again. They disappear on their own after a while.
The background features a giant shuttle loop with a 1-Up monitor above it. Occasionally, Tails, Knuckles, and Silver run along it.
Ω forms and Battlefield form[edit]
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, the Ω form is a flat version of the normal form's ground that has the checkpoints, walk-offs, and crumbling terrain removed. The stage also extends below the blast line.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the main platform of the Ω form and Battlefield form is similar to the Ω form in SSB4, however, it does not extend below the blast line and is resized and reshaped to match Final Destination and Battlefield, respectively. The three soft platforms of the Battlefield form are reminiscent of the grassy checkered soil of the ground and are unique to this form.
Ω form in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Ω form in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Battlefield form in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Hazards Off[edit]
The layout is the same as the standard stage. However, Point Markers will not appear and the ground will never break.
Origin[edit]
Green Hill Zone is the first stage in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Located on South Island, it is an area consisting of distinctively checkered ground with a grass surface and a lush biome, including palm trees and multiple flower species. Various other structures are found, such as totem poles, bridges, tunnels, and swinging platforms that connect its portions. As the introductory stage of the series, Green Hill Zone established numerous stage and game design hallmarks prominent throughout the Sonic series, including its first high-speed shuttle loop.
Green Hill Zone's layout in Smash is loosely based on the beginning stretch of Act 1, with additional elements generically representing the Zone as a whole. Its starting area, complete with raised cliff with a Ring Monitor on top, is modeled offscreen, and the stage itself is a condensed version of the level's following stretch, in which there is a wooden bridge followed by a curved divot in the ground.
Within the original stage, crumbling ground was a stage hazard typically found at the edge of cliffs, rather than mid-ground as in Smash. It would quickly deteriorate once stepped on. The lampposts served as Checkpoint Markers, from which the player would resume their progress after losing a life. In the game, Checkpoint Markers only appear in flat horizontal sections of the levels, while in the stage it may appear inside the half-pipe.
Green Hill Zone's design conventions and aesthetic have become a template for other stages throughout the Sonic series, succeeded by the likes of Windy Hill Zone in Sonic Lost World, Emerald Hill Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Seaside Hill in Sonic Heroes. Green Hill Zone itself has returned to represent the series and original game during crossovers, spinoffs, and throwback appearances in later mainline games.
Tournament legality[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
On March 17th, 2009, the BBR announced that the stage should be banned, as opposed to its former status as a counterpick, and the stage has since been universally banned in tournament play. Many players take issue with Green Hill Zone for its extremely campy nature: the most effective strategy when fighting here is to camp the signposts, which have a centralizing effect due to their significant defensive power for an already highly defensive game, can severely elongate the flow of the match. Another major issue with the stage is its deep slope design, which, besides being awkward to fight on, can create a cave of life effect since players can DI and tech into the ground. Furthermore, both sides of the stage have permanent walk-off edges, favoring chain throws or simply camping the edge; the frequent absence of a lower blast-line also negates any off-stage play.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Green Hill Zone is universally banned for many of the same reasons as in Brawl. While turning off stage hazards mitigates some issues like camping, other issues are left unaddressed.
Gallery[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Green Hill Zone in Brawl.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
Green Hill Zone in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Captain Falcon and Sonic on Green Hill Zone in SSB3DS.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Villager caught by the Arcade Bunny's claw on the stage in Ultimate.
Knuckles posing on the stage. Note that it is impossible to summon him here in the final game.
Steve at the base of the loop, a viewpoint normally inaccessible in-game. Screenshot from Masahiro Sakurai's Twitter account.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
グリーンヒルゾーン | Green Hill Zone |
 English |
Green Hill Zone | — |
 French |
Zone Green Hill | — |
 German |
Green Hill Zone | — |
 Spanish |
Zona Green Hill | Green Hill Zone |
 Italian |
Zona Green Hill | Green Hill Zone |
 Chinese |
Green Hill Zone | — |
 Korean |
그린 힐 존 | Green Hill Zone |
 Dutch |
Green Hill Zone | — |
 Russian |
Зеленые холмы | Green Hill |
Trivia[edit]
General[edit]
- When playing as Pokémon Trainer, they will stand on top of the loop.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
- Due to the slope being destructible and triggering hitlag, the bridge will sometimes slow down attacks like Spin Dash or Wario Bike. This is rather ironic considering that, in the Sonic series, a player would ordinarily use the Spin Dash in an area with this stage's layout in order to quickly accelerate to max speed and jump high into the air.
- A mistake currently exists in the Spanish and British English versions of the DOJO!! of this stage's page: instead of displaying the Sonic universe icon, Sonic's head's silhouette, it has the symbol of the Mario universe, which is a Super Mushroom.[1]
- Green Hill Zone is the only stage to have only one original remixed song.
- With a total of eight, Green Hill Zone has the most default tracks in a stage.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
- In All-Star Mode, checkpoint lampposts do not appear on the stage.
- Green Hill Zone is the only third party stage to use music from two separate games.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
- Knuckles, as a background element, cannot be summoned by an Assist Trophy on this stage.
- Additionally, Midna, Color TV-Game 15 and the Squid Sisters (due to the center of the stage not being a flat surface) can only be summoned on the Battlefield and Omega forms of this stage.
- The following Poké Ball Pokémon can only be summoned on this stage's Battlefield and Omega forms: Abra (because the stage has walk-offs on both sides), Entei, Suicune, Kyogre, Palkia, Giratina, Zoroark, Keldeo, and Marshadow. Lunala cannot be summoned here at all.
External links[edit]
References[edit]
| Stages in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | |
|---|---|
| New stages | Battlefield · Big Battlefield · Cloud Sea of Alrest · Dracula's Castle · Final Destination · Garreg Mach Monastery · Great Plateau Tower · Hollow Bastion · King of Fighters Stadium · Mementos · Minecraft World · Mishima Dojo · Moray Towers · New Donk City Hall · Northern Cave · Small Battlefield · Spiral Mountain · Spring Stadium · Yggdrasil's Altar |
Returning stages from 
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