Evil of the Dark Ring's Design

Appears in the Sonic The Hedgehog 20th Anniversary Tribute Art Book: [link]
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Newtrogic High Zone - vs. Metal Sonic Kai

Eggman works diligently on turning the Special Ring he was able to obtain into a perfect Dark Ring, but as he does so, Metal Sonic bursts into the room, heavily damaged. Realizing that Knuckles' group of interlopers is approaching, Eggman hastens the Ring transforming process. A prototype is developed, and put to immediate use to repair Metal Sonic and transform him into the gargantuan beast that lies before the heroes. Now, with the six Chaos Rings in hand, can the Chaotix conquer the foe placed in front of them, and after it is over, may the final destruction of the dangerous Chaos Rings bring about the island's salvation?...

Production Notes:
- Metal Sonic was an... odd build, to say the least. Essentially, I tried to take his standard side view sprite and turn it towards the player without just mimicking the front view sprites he already had. For some reason, I feel like the process changed some of his proportions, and he just looks a tad off.
- I really think there's a major error in the final game with this battle. The original BG had gray as its back most color, but I edited a screen shot to make that color black, and I was surprised with what it did to that BG. The effects made sense, everything blended better, and it just looked right. So that version of the BG is what I recreated here.
- I know I drew Espio for my last Chaotix piece, but he and Knuckles had story significance (Espio being the first combi partner you rescue) so I thought it would be fitting to have them tackle the final boss.

Concept - Sonic Team
Piece - *Hazard-the-Porgoyle