How would you, personally, re-imagine Mine Maze, Rocky Mountain, and Blue Mountain?

As stated by the title: how would you personally re-imagine Mine Maze, Rocky Mountain, and Blue Mountain as full zones, in the 2.2 era.

You can choose to talk about any of these, and any number of these, naturally.

For me, I'll just discuss Rocky Mountain:
I feel like Rocky Mountain should use a texture set of dark browns (ala, think CEZ dirt and such) and grays (aka, MMZ rocks/CEZ rocks) for walls, with grass strewn around, but with dirt poking out.

In order to be a little bit more distinct from ACZ, this hypothetical Rocky Mountain re-imagining could, instead of focusing on platforming between mountains, could be one big climb up a mountain instead.

In terms of enemies... I wouldn't quite know what would be there, but I'd imagine there not being powerful flying enemies (ala ACZ).

If RMZ did remerge (which is very unlikely), I'd imagine it being between CEZ and ACZ, if anything.

(If this falls under a "What If" thread, inform me if you are moderation, please, lol. Just trying to start a discussion here.)

Note: If I personally had to readd all 3 into the normal level order, it'd go as such:
- Greenflower
- Techno Hill
- Deep Sea
- Mine Maze
- Castle Eggman
- Rocky Mountain
- Arid Canyon
- Red Volcano
- Blue Mountain
- Dark City
- Grand Eggship
- Egg Rock
- Black Core

Personally, I'd make Mine Maze, Rocky Mountain, and Blue Mountain connected as one, gigantic labyrinthian mountain.

Rocky Mountain is the start, with you ascending up a brown mountain base as you rise higher and higher, featuring leaps to other smaller outcroppings along the side of the mountain and occasionally entering into it for very brief moments. The mountain itself would be much like the twin peaks of Legend Of Zelda- the two mountains with a split down the center.

Mine Maze comes next, with a focus being almost entirely based in an abandoned mine that was set into the mountain halfway up, with you continuing your ascent upwards slowly. On occasion you'd come across bridges set in the split between the mountains, making you go between the two halves, in and out, up and down, until finally you reach the topmost mineshaft- exiting into...

Blue Mountain Zone. The peak of a mountain that breaks the cloud barrier, covered in snow and ice- you continue your ascent to the peak, ice and snow becoming far more cumbersome as you go higher and higher, until you finally reach...

Blue Mountain Peak
A boss battle on the peak of the mountain, circling the top as you continue your ascent to deliver each heavy blow to the boss waiting at the top.

Snowy said:

Personally, I'd make Mine Maze, Rocky Mountain, and Blue Mountain connected as one, gigantic labyrinthian mountain.

Rocky Mountain is the start, with you ascending up a brown mountain base as you rise higher and higher, featuring leaps to other smaller outcroppings along the side of the mountain and occasionally entering into it for very brief moments. The mountain itself would be much like the twin peaks of Legend Of Zelda- the two mountains with a split down the center.

Mine Maze comes next, with a focus being almost entirely based in an abandoned mine that was set into the mountain halfway up, with you continuing your ascent upwards slowly. On occasion you'd come across bridges set in the split between the mountains, making you go between the two halves, in and out, up and down, until finally you reach the topmost mineshaft- exiting into...

Blue Mountain Zone. The peak of a mountain that breaks the cloud barrier, covered in snow and ice- you continue your ascent to the peak, ice and snow becoming far more cumbersome as you go higher and higher, until you finally reach...

Blue Mountain Peak
A boss battle on the peak of the mountain, circling the top as you continue your ascent to deliver each heavy blow to the boss waiting at the top.

Click to expand...

I was personally imagining in terms of being in the 2.2 level order, but this is interesting as well, I love that base idea of Rocky Mountain.

This is kinda funny because ACZ1 is literally Rocky Mountain renamed, and ACZ2 is what became of Mine Maze. If they existed as full zones unto themselves, they'd both overlap with ACZ in totality.

The only other element is Blue Mountain, but I'm pretty sure the Kart Krew adopted it. Signed the paperwork and everything. So you could look at that to imagine what it might have been like, in a world where things had gone differently.

The Real Inferno said:

As stated by the title: how would you personally re-imagine Mine Maze, Rocky Mountain, and Blue Mountain as full zones, in the 2.2 era.

Click to expand...

A lot of "v2.2 quality" is actually about attention to micro-scale elements (namely visual polish and level of detail). I think this broad verbal discussion of macro-scale design elements by-nature likely can't capture the essential design effort that boosted v2.2's content quality.

Mine Maze is probably the only one worth revisiting, because mine maze zone sounds pretty catchy.

A true labyrinth styled maze level would probably not be much fun to play though.

I wouldn't mind seeing more minecart sections in the game overall, and that could work as the maze, having to figure out witch intersecting minecart path will actually take you out the right door.

Also the 'mine' part could be expanded with a bunch of wall/floor smashing drills.


Also I kinda want to see an 'egg mountain' as seen in the intro cutscene. jumping through a giant eggman face could be neat.