Games - Angel Island

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	Games - Angel Island

:For other uses, see Angel Island.

Angel Island (formerly called the Floating Island) is a fictional island floating high in the air in the world of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It was first introduced in the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

The island is the home of the Master Emerald, a large and powerful green gem that is protected by Knuckles the Echidna and also keeps the Angel Island itself suspended in the sky. The Master Emerald is able to control the Chaos Emeralds, which are an important plot device in many Sonic the Hedgehog stories and games. In some continuities, there is a selection of Chaos Emeralds on the island itself.

History

According to most versions of the story, when Dr. Eggman's Death Egg crashed on Angel Island at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, he tricked the Master Emerald's guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, into thinking that Sonic wanted to steal the Master Emerald, when it was actually Eggman who wanted it. Sonic managed to convince Knuckles of his innocence, after which they stopped Eggman together and became friends.

The Angel Island has served as a location for several events in many Sonic the Hedgehog games, and has also appeared in other related media. It was an important location in the Fleetway comic, Sonic the Comic, though its introduction occurred much as it did during the games themselves.

The Angel Island has fallen to sea level several times since its first appearance. It fell for the first time when Eggman stole the Master Emerald in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and has fallen several times in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 when the Master Emerald was shattered. Both games involved long stretches in which Knuckles (and later, Rouge the Bat) searched for fragments of the Master Emerald. The reasons behind the island's dependency on the Master Emerald to remain floating, as well as its existence on the island in the first place, was mostly explained in Sonic Adventure.

The idea of a levitating island goes back at least as far as Nephelokokkygia ("Cloud Cuckoo Land"), the airborne city of birds from Aristophanes' play The Birds; another example is Laputa from Johnathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels. The Angel Island is likely to have been inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's interpretation of Laputa - a lost city, like a flying Atlantis - seen in his animated movie Castle in the Sky.

The floating islands in both Castle in the Sky and Sonic the Comic
are home to ancient robots. Apart from tentacle-like arms the designs are quite different; it could be argued that the comic's authors were aware of Miyazaki's film and its likely influence on Sonic, and included another nod.

Archie Comics

The Archie Comics have a more developed storyline on Angel Island. According to history, the Island was once a part of the continent of Downunda, and home to the Echidna city of Echidnaopolis. However, a massive body known as the White Comet came towards the area on a collision course. In order to save themselves, the Echidnas used 14 Chaos Emeralds to raise their city and a portion of the surrounding area into the sky, thus creating the Floating Island and the Great Crater. The Island was renamed Angel Island after the Echidna Angel-La.

Appearances as a zone

Sonic 3

Angel Island Zone is the name of the first zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where Knuckles is introduced. The environment of the stage is that of the tropical beach resort similar to Green Hill Zone (of Sonic 1) and Emerald Hill Zone (of Sonic 2) with the exception that halfway through, the zone gets firebombed by Eggman and ends up in flames. However, the entire game of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (as well as its immediate follow-up, Sonic & Knuckles) was set on what is now known as the Angel Island (but was then known generally as the Floating Island).

Sonic Advance Series

Angel Island Zone is also the fifth zone in Sonic Advance. This time, however, the zone is not a beach area but one of mountains and ancient ruins most similar to Marble Garden Zone from Sonic 3.

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