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The Maze of Madness (alternatively referred to as the Roller Skates stage or Rocket Skate Maze) is an stage that first appears in the original Space Ace arcade game, in which Dexter and Kimberly must successfully navigate using rocket-powered Roller Skates in order to progress closer to Borf's Command Center.

Space Ace (Arcade)[]

The maze consists of a metallic (or stone) pathway with many branching pathways with several twists and turns as sharp as 90 degree angles. Some sections of the pathway crumble as the heroes roll over them. After completing the Maze successfully, Ace and Kimberly must contend with the "Water Tank" hazard after Borf presses a button to flood the area they occupy.

Falling off the pathway with result in the heroes plummeting into the depths of the stage before landing in a pit of fluffy enemies which presumably tickle them to death.

Space Ace (SNES)[]

Named the "Rocket Skate Maze," the stage appears as four "vehicle-based" challenges played from a top-down perspective in which the player fully controls Ace as he must make sharp turns and perfectly-timed jumps. Special ramp platforms appear which will cause the players to perform a "mega jump" to progress across larger gaps in the pathway. The US Instruction Manual notes "Dexter can now steer in mid-jump but not if he hits a ramp and does a mega jump."[1] After rescuing Kimberly, she also appears in the latter two Maze challenge stages, following behind Ace with noticeably delayed responses to his movements. To complete the stages, players must ensure that both Ace and Kimberly remain safely on the pathway until finding the exit portal. Unlike the arcade game, a new animated cutscene shows Ace being teleported into the portal as opposed to entering a doorway. Also in contrast to the arcade game, the Maze appears both before and after the Water Tank stage.

Trivia[]

  • Based on the fact that Ace and Kimberly are not seen traveling to any other planets in the arcade game, it is implied that the Maze of Madness, Water Tank, and Borf's Command Center are subterranean areas of the Yellow Planet. In the SNES version of the game, however, the stage could be interpreted as taking place in an alternative dimension accessed through the use of portals, rather than than as a defensive obstacle surrounding the Command Center.
  • Magicom Promotional Kits for the arcade game dedicated a page for a "Maze of Madness Contest".[2]
  • The ReadySoft Sega CD US manual simply referred to the stage as the "Roller Skates" stage.[3]
  • Around 2012, Kimberly was commemorated as a statue in Electric Tiki’s line of “Animated Ladies” Series 2, which focused upon notable redheads, alongside characters owned by the Walt Disney Company. Kimberly's statue utilized her Rocket Skates from the Maze of Madness.[4]

References[]

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