Sonic CD (Mixed Music Run) Part 3: Tidal Tempest Zone
67As obvious as it is, Tidal Tempest is Sonic CD's surreal version of Sonic 1's Labyrinth. Because writing songs into this Sega CD game is done differently from the Genesis Sonic platformers, there is no drowning theme to worry about, and it's replaced with a rather quiet, eerie, ghostly siren when the countdown starts.
You get said ghostly siren WHILE you're about to drown, but it's much less intense and the music continues on as is. It's also easier to grab air bubbles in this game, because Sonic won't have to jump to get them if he's standing right on the clusters of them.
(11/13/16 NOTE: This is reversed in the 2011 remake, where you do have to jump like in the Genesis games. The remake also brought back the missing 3 warning sirens that proceeded the countdown.)
There are some hacks I've seen that bring Sonic CD's drowning siren AND the Genesis games' drowning theme on the same plate, though, such as Sonic Zeta Overdrive. Watch out for those hacks if you managed to find them.
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The zone's Present version is a semi-flooded ruins, with ancient technology, and an intense feel of mystery. Its Japanese theme is my favorite song in the entire game across BOTH soundtracks because of its... "beauty". If I were to use it as a character theme, it would be for beautiful characters that have a misunderstood impression of themselves towards others. An enigma, a mystery, an... aloof shirking violet of sorts...
(1/3/21 NOTE: The FoxEye games that I've encountered and played before would work PERFECTLY with this song! Perhaps... too much???)
I like being imaginative about this. The music is just that damn good to me, and I've been listening to it more than any other song in this game!
Overall, the presentation of this zone makes it one of my top favorites among all of the most-hated form of level to find throughout the entire Sonic franchise. I find it easier than Labyrinth, and just around the same difficulty as Aquatic Ruin and maybe even Hydrocity.
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In the Present, the water is tinted green, and its level here is at its medium. Act 1 has an outdoors background at the very start, where there are active volcanoes in the background. This doesn't exist in any other time frame. Maybe some rain would be a nice little touch to this.
The Past is a deep cave, untouched by man. Yet we learn that its technology existed further back than we originally thought. Its water is tinted brown and is at its lowest level.
The Good Future is what happens when that old technology becomes upgraded and advanced. It turns the entire zone into an aquarium swimming with fish. Its water is a clean cyan tint and at its highest level.
The Bad Future is what happens when the technology ages and ends up harming the zone instead. It decimates the safety of Tidal Tempest, wears out what's left, and pollutes all of the water. The water in question is pinkish, and is also at its highest level just like Good Future's. Despite that, Sonic drowns in it in the exact same amount of time as the others despite it looking more toxic, like Chemical Plant's "water" in Sonic 2, which also, nonetheless, had the same time limit, anyway.
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When you first meet Eggman in Act 3, you have to chase him and keep hitting him until his Eggmobile starts to pop. He'll then open a wall that eventually leads to the true boss fight of this zone.
Taking place underwater, Sonic has to breathe through the shield of air bubbles Eggman protected himself with. One single hit to his mobile is all it takes to beat him for this boss. It's one of the easier bosses in this game, since you have to beat him if you don't want to drown.
This is probably the one and only zone in the entire video game series where Sonic rescues fish. They're usually either swimming along or nowhere to be found in other games.
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Mixed Music Info:
Tidal Tempest Present - Japanese
Tidal Tempest Good Future - Japanese
Zone Clear/Special Stage Clear - American
Special Stage - Japanese
Invincibility - Japanese
Boss - American
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