Submission declined on 8 February 2026 by Zxcvbnm (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the subject in detail, not just brief mentions or routine announcements; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the subject, such as interviews, press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by Zxcvbnm 6 months ago. Last edited by Angryman101 3 months ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: The mentions of it in sources are trivial mentions, I don't see evidence of WP:SIGCOV as a standalone video game level. It's better off being discussed within the game article. ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ) 19:34, 8 February 2026 (UTC)

* The page IceCap ZoneIceCap Zone in the mainspace is currently a redirect to Sonic the Hedgehog 3. This is a draft article. It is a work in progress open to editing by anyone. Please ensure core content policies are met before publishing it as a live Wikipedia article. Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs · Article logs · Draft logs. Last edited by Angryman101 (talk | contribs) 3 months ago. (Update) Finished drafting? Submit for review or Publish now

IceCap Zone^[a][1] is the fifth level of the platform game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which was released for the Sega Genesis in 1994.

IceCap Zone is the fifth level of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Located on Angel Island, it is an arctic landscape featuring snow-covered mountain slopes, treacherous icy caverns filled with sparkling, deep-blue glaciers, and treacherous frozen waterfalls. Like all other levels in the game, IceCap Zone consists of two acts, with a miniboss in the first and a main boss in the second. After defeating Robotnik, Sonic moves on to the final level, Launch Base Zone.^[1]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI). The game's level design was leaded by Hirokazu Yasuhara.^[1] The original theme of IceCap Zone is an instrumental version of the then unreleased song "Hard Times" by the Jetzons.^[2] In the Sonic Origins version of Sonic 3, the original theme was replaced by the prototype version due to legal issues.^[3][4][5] The prototype track could also be heard in Sonic & Knuckles Collection.

After its debut, IceCap Zone has reappeared sparingly within the Sonic series. It is available as a track in Sonic Drift 2 (1995).^[6] It reappears in Sonic Adventure (1998). It makes a cameo appearance in Sonic Mania Adventures (2018) in the episode, "From: A. Rose". It is referenced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022).^[7][8][9]

IceCap Zone is a well-known level in the Sonic series, widely regarded for its music. Chris De Hoog of Comics Gaming Magazine lists the level as one of "Top 5 Ice Levels in Games", praising the gameplay and music.^[10] K. Thor Jensen of PCMag lists it as one of "The Coolest Video Game Ice Levels", praising the level design.^[11] TheGamer lists it as one of the best Sonic the Hedgehog levels.^[12] Katharina Wunder of GameIndustry.biz praises the music, stating, "it is my personal goal in every play session to reach at least the Ice Cap Zone in order to be rewarded with what is undoubtedly the best song of the game."^[13] Benjamin Richardson of WhatCulture, ranking every classic Sonic level, placed Ice Cap at 6, calling the level "a beautifully glistening glacier with the perfect rhythm to match its rime."^[14]

In the Sonic Origins version, which scrapped the original theme of the level, fans were upset that the original song was replaced, and more so with how the prototype theme was rendered.^[5][15]