Palmtree Panic: the first level of Sonic CD

Tropical hills, a magical planet, and revolutionary mechanics for 1993: Palmtree Panic opens Sonic CD and subtly teaches you how to time travel. First steps on the Little Planet.

🪐 Little Planet and the Time Stones.

🏁 Stardust Speedway.

The first zone of Sonic CD

Palmtree Panic is Round 1 of Sonic CD (1993, on Mega-CD), on the Little Planet. It is the direct spiritual successor to Green Hill: green hills, loops, and tunnels. A small vocabulary subtlety: Sonic CD refers to "Round" for the level and "Zone" for its three parts (the boss being in Zone 3).

🏖️ Palmtree Panic lines up palm trees and cliffs, but Sonic CD keeps the water for another Round, Tidal Tempest. On holiday, you get both on the same beach: spread out one of our Sonic beach and bath towels between the sand and the waves.

Learning time travel

This is where we discover Sonic CD's signature mechanic: time travel. It's not enough to just touch a "Past" or "Future" sign: you have to spin it, then maintain maximum speed for a few seconds. Each zone then exists in four versions (Past, Present, Good and Bad Future). To achieve a Good Future, you must go into the past and destroy Eggman's robot generator.

⏳ The "Future" sign asks Sonic for a few seconds at top speed; you reach tomorrow every single night without needing any run-up at all, and our Sonic duvet covers make that particular journey far cosier.

CD Spirit

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An unusual boss

The game's first boss, the EGG-HVC-001, is out of the ordinary. Forget the wrecking ball Egg Mobile from the first Sonic games: this is a bipedal walking mech, with spiky legs and arms ending in bumpers, with Eggman seated at the top. Three well-placed hits—one per arm, then the body—are enough to destroy it.

🤗 The EGG-HVC-001 walks on spiky legs and takes three hits before it goes down; on your bed, our Sonic plushies and cuddly toys let themselves be hugged with both arms, without a single spike.

Two soundtracks

Like all of Sonic CD, Palmtree Panic has two soundtracks depending on the region: a Japanese/European version (Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata) and a North American version (Spencer Nilsen). And each era has its own arrangement.

Its reappearances

Palmtree Panic returns in all re-releases of Sonic CD, from the 2011 remaster to Sonic Origins. Its Japanese "Present" theme is even reused in several spin-off games, including Sonic Generations.

Summary sheet

FAQ

• In which game is Palmtree Panic found?
  In Sonic CD (1993), it is the very first level (Round 1), on the Little Planet.
• How do you travel through time?
  You have to spin a "Past" or "Future" sign, then maintain maximum speed for a few seconds to be projected into the chosen era.
• How do you get a Good Future?
  By going into the past to destroy Eggman's robot generator (or by collecting all 7 Time Stones).
• Is the boss the classic Egg Mobile?
  No: it's the EGG-HVC-001, a bipedal mech with bumper arms, to be defeated in three hits.
• Does Amy Rose appear in Palmtree Panic?
  No: Amy is kidnapped by Metal Sonic later, in Collision Chaos (Round 2).

🔎 To go further: Collision Chaos.