2.1:Pipe Towers Zone

Single Player levels
Secret levels
MAP30: Pipe Towers Zone
NiGHTS MAP58	Mario MAP30	Hyper MAP40 MAP41
SRB1 Remake
Special Stages
Capture the Flag stages
Match stages

MAP30, Pipe Towers Zone, abbreviated as PTZ, is a secret level in Sonic Robo Blast 2 v2.1, which is unlocked by collecting 60 emblems. The level is a tribute to the Super Mario Bros. franchise and features many typical elements from these games, such as coins, ? blocks, pipes, Goombas, Koopa Shells and the Fire Flower power-up. It is a mixture of the Overworld and Underworld themes from the Mario games, and features gimmicks such as bouncy mushrooms and Thwomp blocks. Pipe Towers Zone utilizes SRB2's own Mario mode to emulate the Mario gameplay style.

The stage was originally entered into the Single Player division of the July/August 2011 OLDC, where it placed second with a score of 8.19. It was subsequently added to SRB2 in Version 2.1, where it replaced SRB2's previous Mario-themed zone, Mario Koopa Blast Zone.

Walkthrough

The level is divided into four sections, which are separated from each other by one-way pipes. Once you enter a section through such a pipe, you can't go back to the previous sections anymore.

First section

You start the level in an outdoor room with a brick structure in front of you. Run around it and go through the pipe that leads into the next room. This room is suspended above a death pit, and you must make your way to the pit. Jump across the platforms in front of you until the path turns left. The orange platforms will fall if you stay on them for too long, so jump across them quickly. Jump into the pipe, which contains yellow springs that propel you upwards. Both to your left and to your right are platforms you can land on. Continue along either of those two routes until you reach a platform with a yellow spring on it. Use the spring to reach the platform above. From there, you must jump across two platforms (one of which will fall) to reach a ledge with a red spring. This spring will take you to the top of the room, from which you can reach the exit.

You will enter a hallway with the first Star Post, which in turn leads into an indoor room with a waterfall. Turn left to enter an outdoor room with a vertical pipe in the center. Use the steps to jump into the pipe, which leads to the second section.

Second section

After being dropped down from the pipe, go forward until you reach a split in the path: You can either enter the room in front of you or go left.

Forward

In the center of the room you entered is a pool of water with a death pit underneath. Walk around the pool until you reach a red button. Press the button to raise the water in the pool, flooding the room. Next to the button is a platform with a yellow spring. Use that spring to propel yourself up to the orange platforms that float on the water, and jump over the platforms to reach a door to the outside. Jump to the ledge on the far side of the outdoor area. From there, turn right and jump over an orange platform to another ledge with a diagonal red spring on it. The spring will propel you to the tower in the center of the room, where you fall into a pipe that leads to the third area. Should you have fallen down at any point in the outdoor room, you will reach the area of the other path. Refer to the section below to continue.

Left

After turning left, jump over the pit and go through the pipe to your right. You will enter an outdoor room with a tall tower in the center. Your goal is to reach the top of that tower. Go around the right side of the tower and look for a ? block with a trail of coins leading to it. Hit the block to reveal a yellow spring, which you can use to reach the top of the brick platform next to it. From there, you must jump across several platforms that go around the edge of the room, until you come to a ledge with a diagonal red spring on it. The spring will propel you to the tower in the center of the room, where you fall into a pipe that leads to the third area.

Third section

You will land in a shallow pool of water. In front of you is a hallway with the second Star Post. Turn right to find a waterfall with three mushrooms placed along the edge of it. You must make your way across by bouncing on the mushrooms. Bounce multiple times on the same mushroom to gain additional height. Avoid falling into the water, since it has a strong current that will push you into the pit. Here the path splits threeway: You can either bounce across the mushrooms normally to reach the door directly in front of you, where the path will again split into a central path and a path to the right, or you can bounce off at the second mushroom to reach the platforms floating over the pit to the left, which will lead to another door.

Left

After bouncing off the second mushroom, immediately turn left and land on the platforms floating over the pit. Jump across the platforms to enter a hallway which leads to another outdoor room. In this room, you must jump across two more platforms and into a pipe. The pipe is filled with water and contains red springs, which will propel you to the top of the room. From there, enter the hallway in front of you and jump down the hole in the floor in the next room. You will fall into a pipe, which leads into the fourth area.

Center

After bouncing across the mushrooms and reaching the door on the other side, walk through it and continue forward. You will come to a mushroom over a bottomless pit. Use the mushroom to bounce up to the ledge in front of you. The ledge contains three springs that lead to a red spring, which will lead you to the top of the room. Here you will find a pipe. Use the steps to jump into the pipe, which will take you to the fourth area.

Right

After bouncing across the mushrooms and reaching the door on the other side, walk through it and turn right. The path will lead you up some steps to a yellow spring in front of a pipe. Use the spring to get into the pipe, which contains red springs that take you up further. After climbing up a few more steps, you will reach a pipe. Use the steps to jump into the pipe, which will take you to the fourth area.

Fourth section

You will land in an underground area. Walk forward until you see a pipe leading to the next room. In that room, the path splits: You can exit either through the door in front of you or through the door to your right.

Forward

You will enter a room with a death pit. Jump onto the platform in front of you and across the small platforms to your right to reach a hole in the wall. You will reach a room with columns of platforms that move up and down a wall. The columns alternate between platforms that move upwards and platforms that move downwards. Jump across the platforms carefully, as there is a death pit below. While on a downwards-moving platform, it can be difficult to see when the next upwards-moving platform will reach you. The columns are synchronized, so look to columns that are further ahead to anticipate the next platform in front of you.

After exiting the room with the moving platforms, turn right in the following hallway to reach a pipe that leads into the final room. Here, jump up the steps to the castle and enter it to finish the level.

Right

You will enter a room with a death pit to your right and a platform that leads around it. Continue forward and turn right to see three Thwomps floating in front of you. Walk under them quickly to avoid getting hit and jump across the pit. Follow the U-turn and jump across the small pillar to reach a platform with a fourth Thwomp. Trigger the Thwomp by standing close to it, but avoid getting crushed by it. Once it touches the ground, jump on top of it and wait for it to rise back up. Once it reaches the top, jump off quickly to the platform with the yellow spring in front of you, which will take you to a door.

Walk through the door and the corridor behind it to reach a pipe. Jump down the pipe to reach another underground hallway with a horizontal pipe in front of you, which leads to the final room. Here, jump up the steps to the castle and enter it to finish the level.

Points of interest

Since this a Mario level, all power-up items are hidden in ? blocks. Jump into a ? block from below to obtain its item.

Extra lives

• Directly behind the starting point, on the rim surrounding the room, there is a ? block containing an extra life. There are several ways to reach it, but the simplest is to bounce on one of the small mushrooms until you gain enough height.
• Where the path splits in the second section, instead of walking into the rising water room, turn to your left. In front of you will be a small mushroom. Bounce on it repeatedly to reach a ledge that allows you to enter small cave in the ceiling. The cave contains a ? block with an extra life.
• At the beginning of the third section, where you must bounce over three mushrooms, look up at the ceiling directly before the first mushroom. You will see a hole in the ceiling. Use the mushroom to bounce up through that hole to reach a small cave with an extra life. This may require a few tries, since you need just the right amount of forward momentum during your jump to reach the hole.
• In the third section, take the left path. After entering the next room, look to your right to see a ledge with a ? block containing an extra life.
• In the fourth section, go forward at the path split. On the far side of the room with the moving platforms, you can see a pipe hanging down from the ceiling and very narrow pillar extending from the pit. As Tails or Knuckles, if you fly or climb around that pillar, you will see an opening in the wall to your right, leading into a small cave with an extra life. To reach it as Sonic, you need to jump down on the rim of the pipe from the exit of the room. Then, walk around the pipe and jump down to the pillar. From there, turn around to see the hole and jump towards it.
• In the fourth section, turn right at the path split. In the next room, when you reach the three Thwomps, trigger the third one and jump on top of it. When it is at its highest point, jump around the corner to your left to reach a small cave with an extra life.

Shields

• After entering the second room of the level, turn around and look to your right. On the corner of the platform you are standing on is a ? block with a Whirlwind Shield.
• In the room with the first Star Post, there is a pipe next to the exit of the room. If you jump on top of it and look inside, you will see that it contains several red springs. Now turn around and look up at the wall to your left. You will see a small ledge protruding from it. Use the red springs to land on that ledge and then walk through the hole in the wall to enter a small cave with a Force Shield.
• After falling through the vertical pipe into the second section, turn left immediately. Jump over the pit to reach a platform on the other side. On that platform, go towards the wall in the corner. Obscured by a part of the wall is a small passage that leads into a room with an Armageddon Shield.
• After pressing the button in the rising water room of the second section and riding the platforms to the top, turn around to see a hole in the wall that leads to a room with an Elemental Shield.
• After entering the room with the waterfall and the three mushrooms in the third section, turn to your left and jump behind the pipe. In the corner is a red spring that leads up to a hole in the wall. Walk through the hole to enter a room with an Attraction Shield.
• In the third section, take the left path. After being propelled upwards by the underwater red springs in the pipe, turn around. In front of you should be a tall pillar. If you look down, you should see a platform attached to the pillar with a ? block on it. Jump down there and hit the ? block to obtain an Elemental Shield.
• At the start of the fourth section, before walking through the pipe into the next room, look to the right behind the pipe to see a ? block containing a Force Shield.
• In the fourth section, go forward at the path split. After entering the room with the moving platforms, look to your left. Next to the platform you are standing on, you will see a small ledge. Jump on that ledge and walk along it to reach a Whirlwind Shield

Invincibility

• In the last room of the second section, instead of jumping into the large pipe in the center of the room, look down towards the entrance from the rising water room. Next to it is a ledge with a ? block. Jump down there and hit it to obtain invincibility.
• In the fourth section, turn right at the path split. When entering the next room, you should see a high ledge with three coins to your left. In front of you to your right is a brick structure that forms three steps. Use these steps to reach the ledge. The ledge leads into a small cave with ? a block containing invincibility.

Fire Flowers

• From the starting area, you can see a ? block in front of you to your right. This block contains a Fire Flower. To reach it, you can bounce off the nearby mushroom, for example.
• After entering the room with the first Star Post, jump down and look to your left. You will see a ? block framed by two blocks made of bricks. This block contains a Fire Flower. To reach it, stand on the slightly elevated brick floor and jump back up to the ledge with the Star Post. From there you can jump down to the Fire Flower.
• After entering the room with the waterfall and the three mushrooms in the third section, turn to your left to see a ? block next to a pipe which contains a Fire Flower. To reach it, stand on the pipe and jump from there.
• In the next-to-last room of the level, there is a vertical pipe attached to the right wall. Next to it is a ? block with a Fire Flower. To reach it, jump from the steps next to it.