#49: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, Mega Drive, 1991)

Part IV: Ariadne’s Thread (Labyrinth Zone)

The word ‘labyrinth’ is largely thought of as just a fancy word for ‘maze’, but in truth, the original labyrinth of Greek legend was not a series of branching paths with multiple dead ends, but in fact a single winding path, spiraling inexorably inwards to a centre point, in which a monster was housed. And the Labyrinth Zone, lying at the centre of Sonic the Hedgehog, is quite a monster.

The Labyrinth Zone represents a major difficulty spike in the game, that always made it feel impossibly huge, practically never-ending. Indeed, for all I knew, it might have been. When I played Sonic as a child, this was, inevitably, the end of my journey. I journeyed to the centre, and the monster defeated me, every time. Even now, having beaten it several times over, it still feels larger than it is, it still exerts a huge gravity on the rest of the game.

Part of this comes down to the setting; a colossal network of underwater caves, dank and eerie, and it’s elevated to no end by one of the greatest musical compositions in gaming history. I’m not talking about the actual Labyrinth Zone theme, which is oddly cheery for such a claustrophobic level. No, I’m talking about the tune that plays when Sonic is underwater and running out of air. If the purpose of music within a game is to evoke a certain mood in the player, there is little that is more effective at this job than the blind panic evoked by those four notes repeating at increasing tempo.

And this panic led to careless mistakes, which led in turn to my demise. The monster at the centre of this labyrinth was always my own failings. To defeat it I would have to achieve a measure of control over my emotions. I would have to bury my panic and focus my mind. I would have to face my inevitable death not with terror, but with acceptance. And now, stripped of all delusions, I can finally start my journey back outwards. The monster has been defeated.