IceCap Zone (アイスキャップ Aisukyappu?), also known as Ice Cap or Icecap, is a frozen region of Angel Island known to be extremely cold and somewhat dangerous. It is a large piece of land covered in ice and icy mountains. Ice Cap Zone is known to have ice caverns with spiky icicles, crushers, sliding sections and many other gimmicks. There are occasional times been many winter-themed Badniks as well.
The most well-known theme of Ice Cap Zone is the snowboarding section, where the playable characters are utilizing snowboards to slide downhill at high speed. So far, Ice Cap Zone had made appearances in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic Adventure.
Game appearances
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic snowboarding down in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
IceCap Zone first appeared as the fifth zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and its locked-on version as well. After being shot out of a cannon from Carnival Night Zone, Sonic and Tails land on a mountain. Sonic rides down it on a snowboard and then enters the interior. Act 1 takes place on the labyrinthine ice cavern, while Act 2 takes both outside while the lower pathways are located in the cavern sections with cold water pits.
At the end of Act 1, Big Icedus that spins ice cubes at Sonic or Tails tries to crush them. Dr. Robotnik attacks in Act 2 in an Egg Mobile contraption that that has a spiked platform drop down and fires the freezing bursts in a pattern at Sonic.
Sonic Drift 2
Eggman on a free run in Drift 2's Ice Cap.
Ice Cap also appears as a racecourse in Sonic Drift 2 under the name Ice Cap. In this game, it is the third course of the White Chaos GP (White being the intermediate of the three available tournaments), coming after Rainy Savanna and before Hill Top.
Sonic Adventure
Sonic snowboarding down Icecap in Sonic Adventure.
In Sonic Adventure, the Floating Island (now known as Angel Island) once again falls into the ocean. Sonic and Tails get onto the island and climb up an icy passage to the Icecap. After fighting Eggman's Badniks on the outside of the mountain, Sonic and Tails enter inside to where they must get up to the top to escape. To do this they must climb ice spikes coming out from below the "floors" of the mountain. Once out of the mountain, an avalanche occurs, forcing Sonic and Tails to snowboard down the mountain to escape. Once on the other side of the mountain, Sonic and Tails find the Chaos Emerald they were seeking. Big also comes across the mountain after his friend Froggy runs inside of it, and fishes for Froggy in a pool inside. If Big throws the boulder or jumps on the ice, he can get an upgrade.
Trivia
- In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Flying Battery Zone was originally meant to be before this Zone and the hatch Sonic uses to escape the zone would have been used as a snowboard. Presumably, the cannon would have shot Sonic onto the airship.
- The music for the original Genesis version of this stage is most widely known in the gaming community alongside with various remixes.
- The snowboarding section at the end of the Sonic Adventure version of this stage is likely a homage to the Mega Drive stage, in which Sonic starts out snowboarding. Also, it may be the basis for the beginning of City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2.
- Also, at one point in the middle and end of the in the snowboarding stage, you can see houses, windmills, and hot-air balloons. This possibly indicates that Knuckles is not the only inhabitant of the Angel Island, besides the Animal friends.
- This is the first ever ice-themed zone in a console Sonic game.
- If the player touches the star post before the miniboss in either Sonic 3 or Sonic 3 & Knuckles and dies, the level will restart with Act 2's music, even though the zone card has said IceCap Zone Act 1. This is due to the game loading the necessary assets for Act 2 by the time the player has gotten outside towards the end of Act 1.