Sandopolis

Sandopolis, the third level of the game "Sonic and Knuckles", is yet another set of ruins on the Floating Island, which is just covered with them. In this case, it is a huge, deadly collection of pyramids, tombs, slides, levers, platforms, rope-swings, and giant glittering glass towers. The outside is full of deadly scorpions and quicksand, as well as sand-snakes and other nasty things.
Indoors, the walls are covered with ancient inscriptions and lit by torches that can light up any time when a visitor pulls the switch, day after day, year after year and no-one can tell how or what they get their fuel from, and the dangers change from creatures to man--well, animal--made traps. Such as crushing walls, ceilings, and floors, smothering sand-dunes that can come out and bury you if you are foolish enough to hit a cork on the ceiling, spikes that pop out of almost any surface at practically any time, and ghosts. Yes, you heard me, ghosts. These tombs are quite literally haunted, and the darker it gets, the more dangerous and strong the ghosts become. You can drive them away by finding a light-switch, but they are few and far between, hard to get to and hard to find...
This next bit is my own interpretation from my story, NOT the game itself--these particular ruins were NOT made by the Echidna-people. They were ancient when Knuckles' people first moved to that section of Mobius, long before they ripped it out of the ground to become a Floating Island. The ruins of Sandopolis are to the ruins of, say, Marble Gardens as the Egyptian Pyramids are to the ruins of the ancient Romans on Earth. They're both OLD, sure, but they're thousands of years apart!
At least--that's what I USED to believe. Then I played Sonic R for the first time, and got a really good look at the Regal Ruin Zone. It is OBVIOUSLY Sandopolis (Act One) in 3D; what else COULD it be? And the Sphinxes have ECHIDNA HEADS! So there goes THAT theory...
Oh, one more thing about this, on the game--first of all, the music KICKS TAIL, and secondly, it is a VERY VERY HARD level! A lot of fans hate it because of this, or think it is easy but "too long and pointless"; me? I love to explore, wander around the ruins, look at them, and wonder. It's great for fanfic inspiration--and frankly a lot of fun.





Click HERE to return to the Floating Island Tour Route.

Click HERE to return to the Chaotix Clubhouse.

Click HERE to return to Sandopolis.



curious tourists have decided to tour the ruins of Sandopolis since June 27, 1999. Of course, they were all sucked under by the quicksand or stung to death by the giant scorpions, but hey...