_________ .__ .___ / _____/ ____ ____ |__| ____ _____ ____ __| _/ \_____ \ / _ \ / \| |/ ___\ \__ \ / \ / __ | / ( <_> ) | \ \ \___ / __ \| | \/ /_/ | /_______ /\____/|___| /__|\___ > (____ /___| /\____ | \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ ____ __. __ .__ | |/ _| ____ __ __ ____ | | _| | ____ ______ | < / \| | \_/ ___\| |/ / | _/ __ \ / ___/ | | \| | \ | /\ \___| <| |_\ ___/ \___ \ |____|__ \___| /____/ \___ >__|_ \____/\___ >____ > \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ Title of Game: Sonic & Knuckles Name of System: Genesis/Mega Drive Type of Guide: FAQ/Walkthrough Number of Version: Version 4.9 Last Revision Date: 09-09-16 Name of Writer: Tails333 Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Introduction 2. Version History 3. Characters 4. Lock-on Technology 5. Game Overview 5.01 - Game Controls 5.02 - Save Feature 5.03 - Game Screen 5.04 - Item Boxes 5.05 - Special Stage 5.06 - Transformations 5.07 - Bonus Stages 5.08 - Hints and Tips 6. S&K Walkthrough (Sonic) 6.01 - Mushroom Hill Zone 6.02 - Flying Battery Zone 6.03 - Sandopolis Zone 6.04 - Lava Reef Zone 6.05 - Hidden Palace Zone 6.06 - Sky Sanctuary Zone 6.07 - Death Egg Zone 6.08 - The Doomsday Zone 7. S&K Walkthrough (Knuckles) 7.01 - Mushroom Hill Zone 7.02 - Flying Battery Zone 7.03 - Sandopolis Zone 7.04 - Lava Reef Zone 7.05 - Hidden Palace Zone 7.06 - Sky Sanctuary Zone 8. S3&K Walkthrough (Sonic/Tails) 8.01 - Angel Island Zone 8.02 - Hydrocity Zone 8.03 - Marble Garden Zone 8.04 - Carnival Night Zone 8.05 - Icecap Zone 8.06 - Launch Base Zone 8.07 - Aftermath 9. S3&K Walkthrough (Knuckles) 9.01 - Angel Island Zone 9.02 - Hydrocity Zone 9.03 - Marble Garden Zone 9.04 - Carnival Night Zone 9.05 - Icecap Zone 9.06 - Launch Base Zone 9.07 - Aftermath 10. Giant Ring Locations (Sonic/Tails) 11. Giant Ring Locations (Knuckles) 12. Badniks 13. S3&K Bugs 14. S3&K 2-Player/Competition Mode 15. Frequently Asked Questions 16. Credits 17. Contact Infomation 18. Copyright Information TIP: If you want to find a section in the Table of Contents more quickly and easily, press Ctrl + F simultaneously to bring up the 'Find' function menu. Type or paste the name/number of the section into the menu. Click on 'Find Next' to go to the section you've typed or pasted. NOTE1: This FAQ was written using the original game, but it can be used with other versions as well. Some elements of the game may differ from the original version, though. NOTE2: Since the gameplay in Sonic & Knuckles is similar to Sonic 3's, some stuff is copied and pasted from my Sonic 3 guide. ############################################################################### 1. Introduction ############################################################################### Thank you for choosing to read my Sonic & Knuckles FAQ. I've written comprehensive Walkthroughs, Hints and Tips, Giant Ring Locations, and much more. Beware of the spoilers, though. sonic & Knuckles is the fourth game in the main Sonic the Hedgehog series and the story picks up straight after Sonic 3's ending with Dr. Robotnik's space station, the Death Egg, falling back down to the Floating Island (AKA Angel Island) due to Sonic's interference. This game marks the first time that Knuckles is a playable character with his own storyline. In Sonic's story, Robotnik decides to make a second attempt at re-launching the Death Egg, this time by using the Master Emerald to fuel its engines. Sonic can't let Robotnik get his hand on the Master Emerald, so he explores new zones as he continues his mission to stop Robotnik and destroy the Death Egg for good while once again contending with Knuckles, who still believes that Sonic is trying to steal Angel Island's emeralds. In Knuckles' story, Knuckles finds himself in conflict with a new adversary, EggRobo, who is causing trouble on Angel Island. Knuckles goes through most of the same zones as Sonic as he does his part to keep the island safe. Sonic & Knuckles was a revolutionary kind of game and considered ahead of its time when it was released in 1994, as it utilized "lock-on technology" that allowed the cartridge to access data from most other Genesis/Mega Drive games, making certain new games playable. S&K is a decent game on its own, but it really shines with the lock-on feature. The gameplay in Sonic & Knuckles is similar to Sonic 3's because they were originally supposed to be one game. However, time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split the game in two, so Sonic 3 was released in North America and Europe in February 1994 and Sonic & Knuckles worldwide in October 1994. Sonic designer Yuji Naka said the combined game called Sonic 3 & Knuckles is what Sonic 3 was originally intended to be. ############################################################################### 2. Version History ############################################################################### Version 1.0, 4th September 2004: Completed Walkthrough. Version 1.1, 30th October 2004: Updated Table of Contents. Version 1.2, 15th January 2005: Added Credits Section and updated Copyright Information. Version 1.3, 19th Februry 2005: Updated Copyright Information. Version 1.4, 25th February 2006: Updated FAQ. Version 1.5, 15th April 2006: Updated FAQ. Version 1.6, 22nd April 2006: Updated FAQ/Walkthrough. Version 1.7, 6th May 2006: Updated Glitches section. Version 1.8, 27th May 2006: Began rewriting the Walkthroughs. Version 1.9, 3rd June 2006: Updated Giant Ring Locations section, rewrote the Game Overview section, finished rewriting the Walkthroughs, and added the Lock-On Feature section. Version 2.0, 17th June 2006: Changed formatting and rewrote the Table of Contents. Updated Giant Ring Locations section. Version 2.1, 24th June 2006: Updated Giant Ring Locations section. Updated Knuckles' S&K Walkthrough. Version 2.2, 1st July 2006: Updated Knuckles' S&K Walkthrough. Version 2.3, 15th July 2006: Updated Glitches section and added information regarding the Death Egg to Lava Reef Zone. Version 2.4, 19th August 2006: Added a note under the Table of Contents. Version 2.5, 26th August 2006: Updated the Game Overview section. Version 2.6, 2nd September 2006: Changed the Credits section and updated S&K Walkthroughs. Version 2.7, 9th September 2006: Added info about controlling Tails. Version 2.8, 16th September 2006: Updated Glitches section. Version 2.9, 23rd September 2006: Fixed the necessary Hits to defeat Bosses. Version 3.0, 30th September 2006: Removed the Introduction sections from the S&K and S3&K Walkthroughs. Version 3.1, 21st October 2006: Updated Glitches section and FAQ. Version 3.2, 13th January 2007: Updated Knuckles' S&K Walkthrough. Version 3.3, 28th April 2007: Added more information about the infinite loop of slides in Sandopolis Zone. Updated the Game Overview section. Version 3.4, 5th May 2007: Added more information about the Chaos/Super Emeralds. Version 3.5, 12th May 2007: Added more information about the Save Feature. Changed "Computer Monitors" section to "Item Boxes" section. Version 3.6, 19th May 2007: Updated the 2-Player/Competition Mode section. Version 3.7, 26th May 2007: Merged the Game Overview sections. Version 3.8, 3rd June 2007: Updated the Game Overview section. Version 3.9, 4th August 2007: Added more information about the Save Feature. Version 4.0, 8th March 2008: Added the locations of two Giant Rings in Act 2 of Sandopolis Zone for Sonic (thanks to Blitz256). Version 4.1, 16th August 2008: Fixed a mistake about the Save Feature. Version 4.2, 8th May 2008: Added more information about the Save Feature. Version 4.3, 16th September 2015: --------------------------------- *Updated "Frequently Asked Questions". *Rewrote some of "Lock-on Technology". *Removed "Differences" section. *Changed "Glitches" to "Bugs". Version 4.4, 20th September 2015: --------------------------------- *Added a bit more info to "Lock-on Technology". *Removed "Codes and Secrets", as they're already available on many websites. Version 4.5, 6th October 2015: ------------------------------ *Reorganized the Table of Contents. *Rewrote "Introduction". *Added a bit more info to "Lock-on Technology". Version 4.6, 11th October 2015: ------------------------------- *Rewrote "Characters" and "Game Controls". *Updated "Frequently Asked Questions". Version 4.7, 27th November 2015: -------------------------------- *Added a bit more info to "Aftermath" in the walkthroughs. Version 4.8, 5th September 2016: -------------------------------- *Changed "Hydro City" to "Hydrocity". *I found out that S3&K actually finishes saving in 15-20 seconds, so I updated the "Save Feature" section. Version 4.9, 9th September 2016: -------------------------------- *Changed "Ice Cap" to "Icecap". ############################################################################### 3. Characters ############################################################################### Sonic the Hedgehog ------------------ The blue blur needs no introduction. He's the series' main protagonist and can run very fast. In this game, Sonic explores new zones as he continues his mission to stop Robotnik and destroy the Death Egg for good while once again contending with Knuckles. Miles "Tails" Prower -------------------- Better known by his nickname Tails, Miles is a two-tailed fox. He's Sonic's sidekick and best friend, though he isn't a playable character in this game. He can twirl his trademark tails to fly or swim for a short time. He's also a mechanical genius and skilled pilot. Knuckles the Echidna -------------------- Knuckles has lived most of his life on Angel Island and is the guardian of the island's emeralds. He is the only living descendent of an ancient civilization. The echidna has been duped by Robotnik into thinking that Sonic is trying to steal the emeralds. He's quite a trickster, using his knowledge of Angel Island to disrupt your progress. Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik ------------------------- Also known by the more common nickname of Eggman, Robotnik is the series' main antagonist. He's a mad scientist with an IQ of 300. His personal means of transportation is the Egg Mobile which doubles as an attack vehicle that can be fitted with a wide variety of machines. He has tricked Knuckles into thinking that Sonic is tring to steal Angel Island's emeralds. In this game, he decides to make a second attempt at re-launching his Death Egg, this time by using the Master Emerald to fuel its engines. ############################################################################### 4. Lock-on Technology ############################################################################### Sonic & Knuckles utilizes "lock-on technology" that allows the cartridge to access data from most other Genesis/Mega Drive games, making the following games playable: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Knuckles in Sonic 2, and Blue Sphere. To play these combined games, you must flip open the flap of S&K and place the second game inside. Note that cartridges should only be inserted or removed when the power is off. Also, keep your second game's edge connector and S&K cartridge slot clean. If you turn the power on when they are dirty or contaminated, this may cause the loss of saved data or other game malfunctions such as freezes and resets. The combination of games needed to play the above games are as follows: Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 3 = Sonic 3 & Knuckles Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 2 = Knuckles in Sonic 2 Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 1/Sonic Compilation or most other Genesis/Mega Drive games = Blue Sphere (the title is taken from Sonic Mega Collection) The most notable points about each game are as follows: Sonic 3 & Knuckles ------------------ 1. You can play the following levels: Angel Island Zone, Hydrocity Zone, Marble Garden Zone, Carnival Night Zone, Icecap Zone, Launch Base Zone, Mushroom Hill Zone, Flying Battery Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Lava Reef Zone, Hidden Palace Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone, Death Egg Zone, and The Doomsday Zone. 2. You can play as Sonic & Tails, Sonic Alone, Tails Alone, and Knuckles Alone. 3. You fight 2 Bosses in Launch Base Zone. Sonic and Tails skip Spiked Grabber, while Knuckles skips Ball Launcher. 4. In addition to saving your progress, the game saves your lives, continues and emeralds (Slots display this information). 5. There is a Super Form of Tails and a Hyper Form of Sonic/Knuckles. 6. There are 8 save slots. 7. You can play as Knuckles and Tails in the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles levels, respectively. 8. Item Box and Badnik placements have been somewhat changed. For example, there are no Robotnik Boxes and fewer Orbinauts in Launch Base Zone. 9. It's possible to see the bad, normal and best endings, depending on if you collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds or not. 10. There are 3 Bonus Stages. 11. The Sonic 3 Special Stages are much easier to complete, as the long rows of blue spheres will turn into Rings when you pass through them. This fixes the lag that was in Sonic 3. 12. Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1 has been expanded a bit with a new opening area containing a Giant Ring. This Giant Ring is always shiny, regardless of whether you've collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds in Special Stages. 13. In the Sonic 3 levels, the theme music of Knuckles and Mini-Bosses correspond with their Sonic & Knuckles counterparts. 14. The music of Mushroom Hill Zone has been changed slightly with a few more beats. 15. Mostly due to his low jump, Knuckles explores more challenging, new areas. He also faces tougher or different bosses. 16. When you finish Launch Base Zone, your Score is totalled and a cutscene plays to provide an adequate transition from Launch Base to Mushroom Hill. Knuckles in Sonic 2 ------------------- 1. This game is nearly identical to Sonic 2 but with Knuckles playable instead of Sonic or Tails. 2. The title screen features Knuckles and the only option is "Press Start" (Options and the 2-Player mode have been removed). 3. You can explore once inaccessible areas. 4. Some areas are easier because of Knuckles' climbing and gliding abilities (Wing Fortress Zone, for example). 5. A few bosses are harder because of Knuckles' low jump (the Aquatic Ruin Zone Boss and the Final Boss of Death Egg Zone, for example). 6. You retain your Rings after a Special Stage. 7. Special Stages have reduced Ring quotas for Knuckles. 8. Metropolis Zone Act 3 is harder because Knuckles is slower and can't jump as high as Sonic or Tails. 9. If you lose a life, you retain the Rings that you had at the last Starpost you passed. 10. You can become Super Knuckles. Blue Sphere ----------- 1. The title screen shows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Robotnik underneath scrolling text that repeats "No Way? No Way!" supposedly meaning that the game is unplayable. 2. If you press the A, B and C buttons together, a minigame based on the Special Stages from S3 and S&K will be unlocked. 3. There are millions of unique levels in this game. 4. You can only play through all the levels and receive passwords to record your progress if you lock-on S1 or SC. The other Genesis/Mega Drive games will just play one specific level each. 5. Playing these levels via a game with an in-built battery save will erase saved data. 6. Games made after S&K was released will not work. ############################################################################### 5. Game Overview ############################################################################### This section overviews everything you should know prior to starting Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. =============================================================================== 5.01 - Game Controls =============================================================================== +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ | Common Controls | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ Move left/right: Press Left/Right to move. Hold down Left/Right to speed up. Look down/Crouch: Press Down while standing still. Look up: Press Up while standing still. Rolling Spin Attack: Press Down while moving. Jump/Spin Attack: Press A, B or C. Spin Dash: While crouching, press A, B or C to rev up. Let go of Down to take off like a rocket. Pause/Resume a paused game: Press Start. +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ | Sonic's Controls | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ Insta-Shield: Press A, B or C quickly, once to jump and again to generate enough energy to protect Sonic with a shield for a split second. +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ | Tails' Controls | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ Fly/Swim: Press A, B or C quickly, once to jump and again to start flying/ swimming for a short time. +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ | Knuckles' Controls | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ Glide: Press A, B or C quickly, once to jump and again to start gliding. Use the +Control Pad for direction. Wall Climb: Press A, B or C quickly at a wall, once to jump and again to grab onto it. Press Up/Down to climb or A, B or C to jump off. ############################################################################### 5.02 - Save Feature ############################################################################### Sonic 3 & Knuckles has a save feature that allows you to record data in the 1-Player and 2-Player/Competition modes. The latter's save process follows a simple format. The game saves your Best Times in each zone. Regardless of S3 or S3&K being played, Best Times are updated simultaneously to both games, as S3 and S3&K 2-Player saved data is kept together. When you access the 1-Player Data Select screen, there are eight save slots for recording game data. The word "NEW" is initially marked on them. To start a game, select a slot and press Up/Down to choose one of the following characters: Sonic & Tails, Sonic Alone, Tails Alone, and Knuckles Alone. Once you have chosen a character, an image of the character will be displayed on your save file and you can only use that character to progress through the zones. After you start a game or clear a zone, an image of the zone you're currently progressing through will be shown on your save file. In addition to saving your zone progress, this game also saves your lives, continues and emeralds (Files display this information). The Chaos Emeralds initially surround your character, but they will be replaced with Super Emeralds when you acquire them. If you want to delete a file, select Robotnik (far right slot) and move the cursor to the file that you want to delete. If you want to play without recording game data, select the "NO SAVE" slot. If you access the Sonic 3 & Knuckles Data Select screen and already have Sonic 3 save files, these will be copied to the corresponding blank slots (S3&K's two new slots are to the right of S3's). You can pick up from where you left off in S3. For example, if you cleared Launch Base Zone, you can begin S3&K in Mushroom Hill Zone with any emeralds collected. All saving is accomplished through an auto-save. Auto-saves are performed when you clear a Zone, end a Special Stage or are in the Emerald Chamber. When the data is being saved, a message will not be displayed to notify that such action is taking place (I believe the game finishes saving in 10-15 seconds). If you turn the power off while the game is saving, you may lose all your saved data (with the exception of S3 save files, as they are kept separate from S3&K). Therefore, I recommend waiting about 20 seconds before resetting or powering off just to be safe. If you select a completed save file, the word "CLEAR" will be marked on it. If you press Up/Down, you can cycle through images of the zones and choose which level to start from. If you don't select a level, you'll see a picture of a character on the screen, depending on which character you're playing as. If you're Sonic Alone or Sonic & Tails, pictures of Regular Sonic, Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic will be shown, when you have 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, 7 Chaos Emeralds and 7 Super Emeralds, respectively. If you're Knuckles, pictures of Regular Knuckles, Super Knuckles and Hyper Knuckles will be displayed, when the above actions are done. If you're Tails, pictures of Regular Tails and Super Tails can be viewed, when you have 0-7 Chaos Emeralds and 7 Super Emeralds, respectively. If you collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds and complete the game once again, a picture of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles will be shown. ############################################################################### 5.03 - Game Screen ############################################################################### When you control your character, it is important to know the basics when you are on the Game Screen. Rings ----- Rings give protection to your character. As long as you have at least 1 Ring, you'll be safe from enemy hits or obstacles. You lose all your Rings, when your character hits an obstacle or gets attacked by a Badnik/Mini-Boss/Boss. If you have no Rings, you'll lose a life if an enemy hits you. When you collect 50 Rings in Special and Bonus Stages, you'll earn a Continue as your reward. If you grab 100 or 200 Rings, you'll get an extra life for doing so. Time ---- When your character starts each Act of every Zone, there will be a time limit of 10 minutes. If you spend more than 10 minutes in an Act, you'll get a Time Over and you'll have to repeat the Act. If you go past Starposts during the Act, you'll only need to repeat from the last Starpost you passed. Score ----- When you complete each Act of every Zone, your Score is totalled. The score is made up of points gained by destroying Badniks (100) and defeating Bosses (1000). It also consists of a Time Bonus (how much time you spent in one Act) and a Ring Bonus (how many Rings you had upon completing an Act). Lives ----- When you start the game, you'll begin with 3 lives. If your character loses a life, you'll have to repeat the Act from the last Starpost you passed. If you have no Rings, you'll lose a life if an enemy hits you. If you crush yourself, drown, fall into bottomless pits, or get a Time Over, you'll also lose a life. If you lose all your lives, the game ends, unless you have earned Continues. Continues --------- When you collect 50 Rings in Special and Bonus Stages, you'll earn a Continue as your reward. Continues are worth 3 lives each, so it's worth it to earn them. When you lose all your lives, but have earned Continues, you'll have 10 seconds to press the Start Button on the Continue screen to have another chance at completing the game. Sign Posts ---------- When you destroy a Mini-Boss at the end of Act 1 of every Two-Act Zone, a Sign Post will descend from above. If you hit the Sign Post multiple times before it lands, you may uncover random Item Boxes. Prison Eggs ----------- When you defeat Robotnik/EggRobo at the end of every Two-Act Zone (with the exception of Death Egg Zone), you'll come across a Prison Egg shortly afterwards. Once you touch its plunger, you'll free the animals trapped inside. ############################################################################### 5.04 - Item Boxes ############################################################################### As you go through the zones, you'll come across various Item Boxes. If your character jumps on top of Item Boxes or Spin Dashes into them, you can grab prizes. The pictures of Item Boxes indicate the prizes contained within them. Super Ring ---------- Shows 1 Ring. Gives you 10 Rings. 1-Up ---- Shows your character's face. Gives you an extra life. Invincibility ------------- Shows 3 stars. Makes your character invincible for a short time. If you crush yourself, drown, or fall into bottomless pits, you'll still lose a life. Water Shield ------------ Shows 1 drop of water. Encloses your character in a bubble and allows you to use the bubble to do a bounce jump. This ability can make you jump higher than normal. The shield also prevents you from drowning and deflects projectiles. If you get hit, you'll lose this shield. Lightning Shield ---------------- Shows 1 lightning bolt. Absorbs all energy-based attacks and makes your character draw rings towards him. When you're playing as Sonic, you can press the A, B or C Button twice to double jump. The shield also deflects projectiles. If you touch water or get hit, you'll lose this shield. Flame Shield ------------ Shows flames. Absorbs all fire-based attacks and makes your character immune to fire-related obstacles. Examples include flamethrowers, thrusters, lava, etc. If you're playing as Sonic, you can press the A, B or C Button twice to perform the Fireball Spin Dash. This ability allows you to blast across the screen as a fireball. The shield also deflects projectiles. If you touch water or get hit, you'll lose this shield. Super Shoes ----------- Shows 1 red shoe. Makes your character run twice as fast for a short time. Watch out for Badniks and obstacles in case you bump into them. Robotnik -------- Shows Robotnik's face. Makes your character lose all your Rings or lose a life! Avoid opening these Item Boxes at all costs. ############################################################################### 5.05 - Special Stage ############################################################################### Depending on whether Sonic & Knuckles or Sonic 3 & Knuckles is being played, the gameplay in Special Stages will differ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic & Knuckles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Special Stages are where you can collect Chaos Emeralds. Since there are seven Chaos Emeralds in this game, you must play and complete 7 Special Stages. There are at least 2 Giant Rings located in each Act of every Two-Act Zone, but Death Egg Zone is the exception. If you jump through a Giant Ring, you'll be transported to a Special Stage. Note that you can only use Giant Rings once, as they disappear once you enter Special Stages. When you enter a Special Stage, your objective is to grab all the blue spheres to win a Chaos Emerald. If you collect 50 Rings, you'll earn a Continue. If you collect all the Rings, you'll earn a Perfect (an extra life). It is not necessary to earn Perfects in the Special Stages, as they are not required to win Chaos Emeralds. Getting Perfects can be a new challenge for players that have already beaten the game with all 7 Chaos Emeralds, so I advice beginners to concentrate on collecting the Emeralds first, as it is hard to get a Perfect on your first try, since it is an advantage to know the layout of the Special Stages. After spending a few minutes in Special Stages, the music will speed up and you'll start moving much faster, making your character more difficult to control over time, so be careful. Grabbing a yellow sphere catapults you 5 spheres ahead. Star spheres sent you back in the opposite direction. It's best to dodge them, as they can cause you to bump into a red sphere. Red spheres exit you out of the Special Stage, so you avoid them at all costs. Blue spheres turn into red spheres when you pass through them, so don't go back in the opposite direction. You can jump over rows of red spheres, but it can be hard to pull off, so try only jumping over 1 row of red spheres in case you don't time your jumps correctly. To make Rings appear, look for square formations of blue spheres, then grab the spheres along the outer edge of the square. All of the blue spheres that make up the square will turn into Rings. If you fail to complete a Special Stage, the next time you start one, you'll cycle through them in a sequence. For example, if you failed to complete Special Stage 1, you'll play Special Stage 2 the next time you enter a Special Stage. After Special Stage 7, the sequence will be repeated, so you'll have another chance to beat uncompleted Special Stages. When you have collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, you'll no longer be able to access the Special Stage. Your reward is the Super Forms of Sonic and Knuckles. However, I advice still searching for the Giant Rings, as they will now give you 50 Rings when you jump through them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Stages Chart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chronology | Taken From | Emerald ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Stage 1 | Sonic & Knuckles | Green Special Stage 2 | Sonic & Knuckles | Orange Special Stage 3 | Sonic & Knuckles | Purple Special Stage 4 | Sonic & Knuckles | Blue Special Stage 5 | Sonic & Knuckles | White Special Stage 6 | Sonic & Knuckles | Red Special Stage 7 | Sonic & Knuckles | Cyan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic 3 & Knuckles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Special Stages are where you collect Chaos/Super Emeralds. Since there are 14 Emeralds in this game, you must play and complete 14 Special Stages. Chaos and Super Emeralds are collected in the Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles Special Stages, respectively. There are at least 2 Giant Rings located in each Act of every Two-Act Zone, but Death Egg Zone is an exception. If you jump through a Giant Ring, you'll be transported to a Special Stage. Note that you can only use Giant Rings once, as they disappear once you enter Special Stages, unless you re-play the zones via a completed save file's zone select. When you enter a Special Stage, your objective is to grab all the blue spheres to win a Chaos/Super Emerald. If you collect 50 Rings, you'll earn a Continue. If you collect all the Rings, you'll earn a Perfect (an extra life). It is not necessary to earn Perfects in the Special Stages, as they are not required to win Chaos/Super Emeralds. Getting Perfects can be a new challenge for players that have already beaten the game with all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds, so I advice beginners to concentrate on collecting the Emeralds first, as it is hard to get a Perfect on your first try, since it is an advantage to know the layout of the Special Stages. After spending a few minutes in Special Stages, the music will speed up and you'll start moving much faster, making your character more difficult to control over time, so be careful. Grabbing a yellow sphere catapults you 5 spheres ahead. Star spheres sent you back in the opposite direction. It's best to dodge them, as they can cause you to bump into a red sphere. Red spheres exit you out of the Special Stage, so you avoid them at all costs. Blue spheres turn into red spheres when you pass through them, so don't go back in the opposite direction. You can jump over rows of red spheres, but it can be hard to pull off, so try only jumping over 1 row of red spheres in case you don't time your jumps correctly. To make Rings appear, look for square formations of blue spheres, then grab the spheres along the outer edge of the square. All of the blue spheres that make up the square will turn into Rings. If you fail to complete a Special Stage, the next time you start one, you'll cycle through them in a sequence. For example, if you failed to complete Special Stage 1, you'll play Special Stage 2 the next time you enter a Special Stage. After Special Stage 7, the sequence will be repeated, so you'll have another chance to beat uncompleted Special Stages. When you have collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, your reward is the Super Forms of Sonic and Knuckles. If you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds in the Sonic 3 Special Stages prior to Mushroom Hill Zone, you can jump through the zone's first Giant Ring to access the Emerald Chamber of Hidden Palace Zone. Once you arrive there, the Chaos Emeralds will be taken from you and transformed into grey Super Emeralds. This causes the other Giant Rings in the Sonic & Knuckles levels to become shiny, allowing you to jump through these Giant Rings to access the Emerald Chamber. If you step on the grey Super Emeralds, you can play new Special Stages (taken from Sonic & Knuckles) to acquire all 7 Super Emeralds. If you haven't collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds prior to Mushroom Hill Zone but have obtained some Chaos Emeralds, you can jump through the first Giant Ring in the zone to access the Emerald Chamber, as that Giant Ring is always shiny, regardless of whether you collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds in Special Stages. When your Chaos Emeralds are transformed into grey Super Emeralds, you'll have an opportunity to acquire one Super Emerald. However, you won't be able to access the Emerald Chamber again until you complete the game, as the non-shiny Giant Rings can only be used to play the Sonic 3 Special Stages. When you have completed the game, you can use your Save File's Level Select to re-play Mushroom Hill Zone and jump through the zone's first Giant Ring to teleport to the Emerald Chamber. If you want to acquire all 7 Super Emeralds, you must collect the remaining Chaos Emeralds and transform them into grey Super Emeralds via accessing the Emerald Chamber. When you complete the Sonic & Knuckles Special Stages, the grey Super Emeralds will be transformed into coloured Emeralds. The Super Emeralds are laid out from the far left to the far right in this order: Red, Blue, Orange, Green, Purple, White, and finally, Cyan. Once you have collected all 7 Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald will cast a light over the Super Emeralds and it will become shiny. Your reward is the second transformations of Sonic and Knuckles as well as the only transformation of Tails. You can't access the Special Stage from this point. However, I advice still searching for the Giant Rings, as they will now give you 50 Rings when you jump through them. The respective colours of Chaos Emeralds in the Sonic 3 Special Stages correspond with their Super Emerald counterparts in the Sonic & Knuckles Special Stages. For example, if a blue Chaos Emerald is transformed into a grey Super Emerald, that Emerald will be transformed into a blue Super Emerald. The yellow Chaos Emerald is the exception. When it transforms into a coloured Super Emerald, it becomes orange. Check the chart below for more information. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Stages Chart ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chronology | Taken From | Emerald ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Stage 1 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Green Special Stage 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Yellow Special Stage 3 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Purple Special Stage 4 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Blue Special Stage 5 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | White Special Stage 6 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Red Special Stage 7 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Cyan Special Stage 8 | Sonic & Knuckles | Green Special Stage 9 | Sonic & Knuckles | Orange Special Stage 10 | Sonic & Knuckles | Purple Special Stage 11 | Sonic & Knuckles | Blue Special Stage 12 | Sonic & Knuckles | White Special Stage 13 | Sonic & Knuckles | Red Special Stage 14 | Sonic & Knuckles | Cyan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ############################################################################### 5.06 - Transformations ############################################################################### Depending on whether Sonic & Knuckles or Sonic 3 & Knuckles is being played, the number of transformations will differ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic & Knuckles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Transformations allow you to play as powered up versions of characters. There are two transformations (Super Sonic and Super Knuckles) in this game. It is required that all 7 Chaos Emeralds are obtained first to transform into the Super Forms. When you collect 50 Rings, you can double jump to enable the transformations. Note that you lose Rings for every second that your character is in his Super Form, so you must collect them to increase your Rings gauge. Otherwise, you'll turn back into your regular character. If you crush yourself, drown or fall into bottomless pits, you'll still lose a life, so be careful. Each transformation can destroy Badniks by touching them. If you're Sonic, you can become Super Sonic. He runs much faster than regular Sonic and breaks through barriers that would require Spin Dashing. If you're Knuckles, you can become Super Knuckles. He runs and climbs much faster than regular Knuckles. The characters' transformations make Mini-Bosses/Bosses much easier, so it's worth it to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Collecting the Chaos Emeralds unlocks better endings for both characters. As an added bonus, you can access The Doomsday Zone to fully complete the game as Sonic. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic 3 & Knuckles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Transformations allow you to play as powered up versions of characters. There are five transformations (Super Sonic, Super Knuckles, Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Tails) in this game. It is required that all 7 Chaos and Super Emeralds are obtained first to transform into the Super and Hyper Forms, respectively, but Tails' transformation is the exception. He needs 7 Super Emeralds to transform into Super Tails. When you collect 50 Rings, you can double jump to enable the transformations. Note that you lose Rings for every second that your character is in his Super/Hyper Form, so you must collect them to increase your Rings gauge. Otherwise, you'll turn back into your regular character. If you crush yourself, drown or fall into bottomless pits, you'll still lose a life, so be careful. Each transformation can destroy Badniks by touching them. If you're Sonic Alone or Sonic & Tails, you can become Super Sonic and Hyper Sonic. The former runs much faster than regular Sonic and breaks through barriers that would require Spin Dashing. In addition, the latter can also breathe underwater and double jump to unleash a lightning attack, destroying all Badniks on the screen in the process. If you're Knuckles, you can become Super Knuckles and Hyper Knuckles. The former runs and climbs much faster than regular Knuckles. Additionally, the latter can also breathe underwater and glide into a wall to destroy all Badniks on the screen (similar to Hyper Sonic's lightning attack). Super Tails can fly up faster and remain in the air longer. The 4 Flicky birds surrounding him can automatically attack all enemies on the screen, including Mini-Bosses and Bosses. The characters' transformations make Mini-Bosses/Bosses much easier, so it's worth it to collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. Collecting the Chaos/Super Emeralds unlocks better endings for characters. As an added bonus, you can access The Doomsday Zone to fully complete the game as Sonic Alone or Sonic & Tails. When you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds, you can transform into Super Sonic/Knuckles. However, once you go to the Emerald Chamber of Hidden Palace Zone and transform the Chaos Emeralds into grey Super Emeralds, you'll no longer be able to transform into the characters' Super Forms. ############################################################################### 5.07 - Bonus Stages ############################################################################### Depending on whether Sonic & Knuckles or Sonic 3 & Knuckles is being played, the number of Bonus Stages will differ. =============================================================================== Sonic & Knuckles =============================================================================== When you pass a Starpost and have at least 20 Rings, a Star Circle will appear. Jump through the circle to enter a Bonus Stage. The stage that you'll enter is determined by the colours of the Star Circle. If you collect 50 Rings in either Bonus Stage, you'll earn a Continue. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Slot Machine Stage =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= In this stage, you'll start circling around a slot machine. The slot machine is similiar to the ones from Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone, and the playing field resembles Sonic 1's Special Stages. Like Sonic 1, you'll exit the Bonus Stage if you touch the GOAL bars. "R" Bars rotate the field in the opposite direction. If you hit the Blue Bars 3 times, they'll change into GOALs, so watch out. You can jump into the slot machine to win or lose Rings, depending on the combinations made when the tumblers roll. The combinations you can get are listed below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + Slot Machine Combination Chart + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Combo | Prize | ---------------------------------+ | 1 Bar | Win 2 Rings | | 2 Bars | Win 4 Rings | | 3 Bars | Win 8 Rings | | 3 Tails | Win 20 Rings | | 3 Knuckles | Win 25 Rings | | 3 Sonics | Win 30 Rings | | 3 Jackpots | Win 100 Rings | | 3 Robotniks | Lose 100 Rings | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Glowing Spheres Stage =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= In this stage, you'll start on a magnetic sphere. You must jump to higher spheres and activate the flippers to reach the top. If you do this, you'll complete the Bonus Stage. The force field that is rising from below will exit you out of the stage, so try to stay ahead of it. On your way up, you'll come across various balls containing prizes. The prizes you can get are listed below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + Slot Machine Combination Chart + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Gumball | Prize | ---------------------------------+ | "B" | Win Shield | | Super Ring | Win 10 Rings | | 1-Up | Win 1 life | | Clear | Win nothing | +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ =============================================================================== Sonic 3 & Knuckles =============================================================================== When you pass a Starpost and have at least 20 Rings, a Star Circle will appear. Jump through the circle to enter a Bonus Stage. The stage you enter is determined by the number of Rings you have. There are 3 Bonus Stages in this game, namely Slot Machine (20-34 Rings required), Glowing Spheres (35-49 Rings required) and Gumball Machine (50-65 Rings required). If you collect 50 Rings in Bonus Stages, you'll earn a Continue. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Gumball Machine Stage =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you appear in a shaft, use the yellow bumpers to move your character upwards. Once you bounce off the bumpers, they will disappear. The set of springs at the bottom of the shaft will also disappear when you bounce off them. If you turn the crank of the gumball machine, balls will be released and you can grab these balls to receive prizes. The colours of balls indicate the prizes contained within them. When you fall out of the shaft, the Bonus Stage ends. Grey ---- Shows 1 Ring. Gives you 10 Rings. Pink ---- Shows the word "1-UP". Gives you an extra life. Blue ---- Shows the letter "B". Gives you a Water Shield. Brown ----- Shows the letter "B". Gives you a Lightning Shield. Orange ------ Shows the letter "B". Gives you a Flame Shield. Green ----- Shows the letters "REP". If the set of springs at the bottom of the shaft have disappeared, a new set will replace them. Black ----- Propels you up or down. Clear ----- Gives you nothing. =============================================================================== 5.08 - Hints and Tips =============================================================================== *Always be on the lookout for hidden rooms and passageways. Look for different patterns in the walls. Your character can smash open some barriers by Spin Dashing. *Beware of Badniks that shoot projectiles. Even if you keep your distance from the Badnik, their weapon can reach you and cause you to lose a life. If you must get past a series of Badniks, spend a few moments watching them and learn how they move. Be sure to time your attack perfectly. *Prepare yourself to travel underwater in the various Zones. Remember, your character can't last too long under water without breathing, so jump into the giant air bubbles that rise from the ground. If you wait too long, you'll drown. *When you lose all your Rings, you'll start flashing and become temporarily invincible. If you re-collect your scattered Rings, you can safely attack enemies while you're invincible. As long as you have at least 1 Ring, you won't lose a life when the invincible effect wears off. *When you are in a Special Stage, the music will eventually speed up and you'll start moving much faster, making your character more difficult to control over time. If you're having trouble, pausing the game and taking a break may be a good idea. That way, you can plan routes to journey through a Special Stage. ############################################################################### 6. S&K Walkthrough (Sonic) ############################################################################### When the Title Screen appears, you'll see the Death Egg plummeting back down to the Floating Island. As the space station lands on top of Lava Reef Zone's volcano, Sonic and Knuckles will appear on a cliff. You can use Up or Down to decide which character you want to play as. If you're playing as Sonic, read this Walkthrough. If you're playing as Sonic & Tails or Tails (via Lock-On with Sonic 3), you can also read this Walkthrough, but you may be able to follow different paths, due to Tails' flying ability. Note: Since this section is primarily a walkthrough, I won't be giving much detail on the locations of the Giant Rings, as they're covered elsewhere in this guide. =============================================================================== 6.01 - Mushroom Hill Zone =============================================================================== Mushroom Hill Zone is a good training level for practicing and mastering Sonic's moves. Be on the lookout for badniks such as Cluckoid and Dragonfly. The Cluckoid can blow you back in the opposite direction, while the Dragonfly usually appears when you least expect it. If you get caught in vines, Spin Dash to get free. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Head right and go past the Butterdroids. Run through the loop de loop and roll down the hill. Collect the Super Shoes for a speed boost. Ignore the pulley lift nearby and proceed right. Climb up the poles and run through the loop de loop. Use the pulley lift above you to go up. Press Up and Down to make the pulley lift go up and down, respectively. Use the two mushrooms to raise Sonic higher, so you can access the spring above you. Bounce on it and speed through the loop de loop. Use this swing lift to send Sonic over to the right. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and drop the pole at the bottom right. You'll land next to a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Exit the passageway by going right, and use the swing lift to hoist Sonic up to a vine-shaped bridge. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Run down the hill and drop down again to find a pulley lift. To the right of it is a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Exit the passageway and use the pulley lift. Run through two loop de loops. When you nearly reach a mushroom at the top, stop running left and drop down to the right. Continue onward to find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. When you exit the passageway, watch out for the Dragonfly on patrol. Run down the loop de loop and climb up the poles to find a Starpost. Go past it and head right to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Woodcutter Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ The machine will throw logs at you in a vertical direction. If you have the Fire Shield, hit it from below to destroy. Alternatively, wait for it to come down before jumping on top of it to attack it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and run down the hill to meet Knuckles. He pulls a lever, sending you hovering upwards. When you land, you'll notice that the seasons have changed and that it's Autumn/Fall now. Collect the Invincibility and go right. Use the mushroom seesaws and run through the loop de loops. Drop through the gap nearby and use the pole to hoist Sonic upwards. Use the spring to go up the loop de loop and find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. Drop down and use the pulley lift nearby. Go right and use the mushrooms to send Sonic up to a Super Ring and an Invincibility. Use the spring to go over to the right. Go up the loop de loop and use another spring. When you land near a spring and a mushroom, drop down to the left and head right to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Now exit the passageway and use the seesaw to land on a spring above. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and bounce on the red spring to catapult Sonic over to the swing lift. If you can use the springs to bounce Sonic over to the right, you'll land near a loop de loop. When you come across a Cluckoid, go past it to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Run through the loop de loops and use the pulley lift to go upwards. Before you do so, go past the Cluckoid and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. When you make it to the surface, go right and use the mushroom seesaws. Go past the Starpost to see a satellite dish emitting signals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Speed Booster Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Jump on the satellite dish to destroy it, revealing Robotnik's machine in the process. If you can hit him a few times, the Boss Battle will be easier to win. When Robotnik flies off to the right, chase after him and follow him through an obstacle course. When you are running through the obstacle course, jump to avoid the spikes. If you keep running, you'll catch up with Robotnik. When he switches off the boosters, you can hit him. If you have a Flame Shield, the boosters won't hurt you, so you can attack Robotnik repeatedly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robotnik's machine starts to explode, but Robotnik still isn't worried. However, his machine soon crashes into a tree and it falls apart. When you've opened the Prison Egg, Sonic will look up and you'll see the Flying Battery Blimp fly past. Robotnik flies up in his Egg Pod and enters the battleship. Sonic immediately jumps up and grabs onto it. =============================================================================== 6.02 - Flying Battery Zone =============================================================================== Flying Battery Zone is a remade version of Sonic 2's Wing Fortress Zone. It's quite the change from the nature of Mushroom Hill Zone. Obstacles include flame blasters, Prison Eggs, mines, and crushing platforms. In Act 1, you'll be underneath the battleship for a while, so be ready. I think Act 2 is easier. If you follow this Walkthrough, you should be prepared for the many obstacles in this level. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head through the purple cylinder. Go down the platform and head left. Go past the flame blasters and head right. Outside the Flying Battery, hop across the platforms and use the levers. Jump onto the ledge and go up to re-enter the Blimp. Go past the Starpost and make your way through the purple cylinders. Spin Dash up the slope and position Sonic on the flame blaster. After being catapulted upwards, go right and use the moving platforms to go over to the flame blaster. If you open the Prison Egg, Badniks will emerge from it, so watch out. Use the flame blaster to go upwards. Go past the mines and use the poles. Drop down and go left. Jump over the speed boost and go past more mines. Go down the platform and head right. Wait for the platforms to rise to avoid getting crushed. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Drop down and go left. Spin Dash up the slopes and jump on the Prison Egg. Run through the purple cylinders and drop down. Go right and head past the Starpost. Go up the slopes and use the moving platforms. Jump on the Prison Egg and use the spring. Go right and wait for the missiles to uncover an opening for you to drop through. When you drop down, run through the purple cylinder and head past the Starpost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Fake Prison Egg Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When you come across the machine, it will be disguised as a Prison Egg. Jump on the plunger to reveal two spiked arms. To destroy this Mini-Boss, you make it attack itself. Position Sonic on the plunger and wait for one of the spiked arms to proceed to hit you. When it does so, run off the plunger. The machine will be hit instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head up the purple cylinder. Jump on the springs and go past the mines. Drop down and head through the purple cylinder. Press the switch and go down. Head right and press another switch. Go down the whole way and head left. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Go up and use the spider to go across the purple cylinder. Run past the mines and press the switch. Drop down and go through the purple cylinder. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Go right and jump on the flame blaster to undo the cork screw. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Press the switch and Spin Dash to avoid getting crushed. Press two more switches and drop down. Go right and use the platforms. Go past the mines and use the spider. Go down and press the switch. Go past the Starpost and head left. Go up and head through the purple cylinder. Use the moving platforms to get to the top and meet another Mini-Boss. Yes, there are two Mini-Bosses in the Flying Battery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Laser Machine - 0 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Robotnik unleashes a laser machine on you. It is similar to Sonic 2's Wing Fortress Zone Boss. This time, however, you can't destroy it. You must make it destroy itself. Each time it fires a laser, it will damage itself and cause the room to cave in. If you have a Lightning/Water Shield, you can hit the machine, but it won't have any effect. Eventually, the machine will explode and Robotnik will run off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow the path, and a platform will start ascending. Keep running until you arrive at the final spikes. The platform will take you up and it'll eventually stop rising. When it does so, Robotnik will swoop down and appear in the centre of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Spiked Swinging Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears, he'll swing up and down. When he's doing this, you can attack him. After swinging for a moment, Robotnik will move his machine towards you. If you position Sonic underneath it, Robotnik will fire a flamethrower at you. When Robotnik approaches you, jump over to the opposite side of the screen. When Robotnik starts swinging again, you can hit him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Prison Egg is opened, you'll automatically run right and go through a hallway. Sonic jumps off the battleship and lands in Sandopolis Zone. =============================================================================== 6.03 - Sandopolis Zone =============================================================================== In my opinion, Sandopolis Zone is the hardest level in the game. Obstacles include quicksand, slides, locked passageways, and ghosts. I find that Act 1 isn't too hard, but Act 2 is difficult. In Act 2, you have to push blocks to unlock passageways, but you have a time limit for you to do this. In addition, once you release the ghosts, you'll need to press the levers to lighten the place up. If it becomes very dark, the ghosts can hurt you, so watch out. As long as you press the levers and continue onward, you shouldn't have to worry. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land in the sand, jump up. Go right and push the yellow block. Ride it and go down the slides. Run down the slope and grab the pulley lift. Go right and run through the loop de loop. Push the yellow block and ride it. Use the swings and go left. Collect the Invincibility and go up. Go past the Starpost and head down the slides. When you land in the quicksand, jump over to the right. Push the yellow block and ride it. Spin Dash up the slope, and use the platforms to go up the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the pulley lift. Push the yellow block and ride it. Go right and then up. Use the swing and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and push the yellow block. Ride it. When you drop down, go right and head down the slopes. Use the swings and go left. Run through the loop de loop and go up. Go right and use the pulley lift. Go past the Starpost and head right. You'll see a pyramid rise from underneath the sand. When the entrance opens, the fight with the Pyramid Guardian begins. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Pyramid Guardian - 0 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the Pyramid Guardian approaches you, you can hit him, but it'll have no effect. To defeat this Mini-Boss, you must trick it into entering the quicksand nearby. You can jump into the quicksand and wait for the Guardian to head towards you. If you keep jumping in the quicksand, the Guardian will jump into it, destroying the Mini-Boss in the process. Alternatively, you can go to the right side of the screen and hit the Guardian constantly. Eventually, the impact of your attacks will send it into the quicksand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and pull the levers to turn on the lanturns. Head right and push the black block to the right. Go through the opening and go up. Go left and collect the Invincibility. Push the black block to the left and leave. Run through the loop de loop, and you'll release the ghosts from the Prison Egg. Push the black block to the left and go through the opening. Press the lever and go down the slides. When you see a swing above a particular slide, jump onto it and go past the Starpost. (If you don't jump onto the correct slide, you'll go down an infinite loop of slides instead. To continue through the level, wait for Sonic to land near the correct slide again and try to jump onto it this time.) Push the black block to the left and go up. Push the yellow block and ride it. When you get through the opening, jump on the swing and use the pulley lift. Push the black block to the right and go up the opening. Go right and run through the loop-de-loops. Go past the Starpost and push the black block to the right. Jump on the swing and press the lever. Go through the opening and break the container. When the sand rises, go left and then up. Jump on the swing and push the black block to the left. Go right and head through the opening. Break the container and press the lever. Go right and then left. Push the black block to the right to reveal an opening. Go through the opening and push the black boulder to the right. Go right and jump on the swing. Press the lever and push the black block. Jump down the opening and go right. Jump on the swing and use the pulley lift. Go right and press the lever. Run through the loop de loop and go left. Use the pulley lift and head right. Go past the Starpost and head down the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the spring to land on the slide. Go down the slide and run through another loop de loop. Go right and use the lever. Use the moving platforms and go right. Push the black block to the right, and press the lever. Use the swing and break the container. Go through the opening and press the lever. Go past the Starpost and push the black block to the right. Jump down and go right to meet the Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Egyptian-Themed Robot - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the Egyptian-Themed Robot moves towards you, Robotnik will charge up his laser cannon and fire a small laser at you. If you stay away from the robot, you should be able to dodge it. Robotnik will use his 2 hands to crush you, but you can use them to climb up the robot and hit the laser cannon. The armour of the robot will fall apart, revealing Robotnik in the process. Hit him a few times and jump off the robot, as the armour will cover it up again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you have opened the Prison Egg, you'll automatically head right and Sonic will fall into the depths of Lava Reef Zone. =============================================================================== 6.04 - Lava Reef Zone =============================================================================== Lava Reef Zone is easier to complete than the Sandopolis Zone, but it can still be hard. Obstacles include lava, moving platforms, flamethrowers, spiked balls, and spiked platforms. A Flame Shield is very useful to have in this level, so try to hang onto it as long as you can. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land, drop down the two ledges and Spin Dash through the boulders. Press the switch and go through the opening. Hop across the rocks. If you fall into the pool of lava, you'll get hurt. Go right and climb up the steps. Avoid the flamethrowers as you do so. Collect the Invincibility and go right. Run down the slope and go across the pool of lava. Press the switch and go through the opening. Spin Dash through the boulders and run through the brown cylinder. Run left and go past the pool of lava. The Death Egg can be seen in the background. It seems Robotnik is repairing the space station in this level (a la Launch Base Zone). When you reach the waterfall of lava, wait for an opening to appear before crossing it. Use the spring and jump over to the Starpost. Collect the Flame Shield and go left. Destroy the switch and go through an opening. Jump on the black platform and position Sonic to the left. Spin Dash to lower the platform. Go right and press the switch. Go through the opening and make your way down the steps. Head across the waterfall of lava and press the switch. Go through the opening and head right. You can attack the drilling machine if you want to, but it'll fall into the pool of lava, destroying it. When you land, hop across the rocks and press the switch. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash up. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the moving spiked platform. Go left and use another platform. Climb up the steps and press the switch. Go through the opening and use the platform. When the moving platform rises, jump down and head right. Spin Dash through the boulders and go past the Starpost. Run down the slope and collect the Flame Shield. When the ledge collapses, go down the steps and head right. Go across the bridge and run down the black tunnel. Go left and destroy the switch. Run through the opening and head down the slope. Watch out for the spiked ball as you drop down the gap. Go right and climb up the steps. Head across the waterfalls of lava. Press the switch and go through the opening. When the lava rises, wait for it to sink before crossing the platforms. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the boulders. Use the moving platforms and press the switch. Go through the opening and climb up the steps. Press the switch and run through another opening. Spin Dash through the boulders and go down the slope. Press the switch and go through the last opening. Head past the Starpost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Hand Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Although the Mini-Boss is the Hand Machine, there are also two wheels for you to contend with. They will fire small projectiles at you, so run back and forth to dodge them. Each wheel takes 4 hits to destroy. If you concentrate on destroying one wheel, you can deal with the other one during the next attack sequence. You don't need to take the wheels out, but their attacks can be a nuisance, so I advice doing so. When the wheels leave the screen, the Mini-Boss will make an appearance. The hand will copy your movements in an attempt to pound the ground and crush you. If you keep running back and forth, you should be able to dodge it. When it pounds the ground, hit it once. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When the pool of lava freezes over, go right and head across it. Press the switch and go through the opening. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes. Dodge the Robotnik Boxes and use the moving platforms to go to the top. Head right and run down the slope. Drop down and go left. Drop down the ledge and go down the steps. Spin Dash through the walls and use the spring. Jump onto the moving platform and go left to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Drop down and go left. Head past the moving spikes and run down the slope. Go right and jump over the flamethrowers. Press the switch and enter the opening. Use the spiked platforms and go right. Head past the Starpost and use the spring. Jump across the platforms while dodging the spikes. Go left and press the switch. Enter the opening and head past the flamethrowers. Use the spiked platforms and go right. Press the switch and enter the opening. Use the blue cylinders as pulley lifts. Go left and use the spring. Collect the Flame Shield in the hidden passageway and jump across the two platforms. Enter another hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. Leave the passageway and go right. Go past the moving platforms and Spin Dash through the walls. Go down the black tunnel and Spin Dash over the flamethrower. Head past the spikes and drop down the collapsing ledges. Go left and press the switch. Run down the slope and head past the Starpost. Press the switch and enter the opening. Hop across the ledges and go up the platforms. Head past the flamethrowers and use the spring. When you land on a platform, go right and climb up the steps. As you do so, you'll see the Death Egg in the background once again. It seems the repairs are complete, and Robotnik plans to use the Master Emerald as a power source to launch the space station. When you reach the end of the steps, you'll meet Knuckles. He pushes a boulder down the steps, causing you to fall into the abyss below. When you land, you'll see the Death Egg in plain view. After Robotnik demonstrates its blasts and heats up the lava, he'll appear in the background. Robotnik fires eight missiles at you. Hop across the platforms to dodge them. When the screen continuously scrolls to the right, jump across the collapsing ledges one by one. This is a difficult area to get through, as you can lose a life, by moving too slowly or falling off the platforms/ledges. When you reach the Starpost, go past it and hop across the platforms. When the screen stops scrolling to the right, go back the first platform to find a Flame Shield nearby. Collect the Flame Shield. It'll make the Boss Battle coming up much easier. Position Sonic on a platform and wait for it to descend. When you reach the waterfall of lava at the bottom, Robotnik will emerge from the lava on the right side of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Mine Launcher Machine - 14 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears, he'll tilt the lava in his direction. If you've collected the Flame Shield, you can go left and hop across the platforms to avoid sliding into Robotnik. When Robotnik launches 3 mines, jump on the platforms to dodge them. If you get hit, you'll lose the Flame Shield, making this Boss Battle harder to win. The 3 mines will hit Robotnik one after another. When Robotnik sinks into the lava, he'll emerge in the opposite direction and repeat his attack pattern. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a Prison Egg starts to descend from above, be aware of the lava that is still around you. If you fall into it by mistake, you'll lose your Rings or lose a life, so wait for the Prison Egg to reach your jumping distance first. Once it's at a reasonable height, jump up to hit its plunger. After the lava freezes over once again, you can safely go across it and enter Hidden Palace Zone. =============================================================================== 6.05 - Hidden Palace Zone =============================================================================== "Some mysteries are solved! Robotnik makes his big play, and Knuckles finds out who the REAL bad guy is!" The above statement is the Instruction Manual's description of this Zone, and that's generally what happens in the Hidden Palace. It is the shortest Zone in the game, due to the fact that its purpose is to show Robotnik's true colours to Knuckles. On a side note, when you go to the Level Select menu, you don't actually see the Zone's name on the screen. It's referred to as Act 4 of the Lava Reef Zone instead. Anyway, back to the Walkthrough. Go right and head up the steps. If you're playing as Tails, you can fly up to find every type of Item Box at the top left and right. Use the teleporter and go past the Starpost. Head right to meet Knuckles. The echidna finally challenges you to a battle. The ancient stone tablet displayed above shows a picture of Sonic unleashing incredible Emerald forces in a showdown with Robotnik. This event takes place in The Doomsday Zone. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Knuckles the Echidna - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ In comparison to your recent Boss Battles, Knuckles is easy to defeat. If you Spin Dash towards him, he'll block it, so don't bother. If Knuckles Spin Dashes, jump over him. Don't Spin Dash to counter Knuckles' Spin Dash, since you'll still get hurt. When he glides, hit him from behind. If you Spin Dash towards Knuckles the moment he lands, you can hit him, but it's tricky to do. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the battle, a series of explosions occur. When Knuckles runs off to investigate, chase after the echidna and you'll see Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald from the Emerald Chamber. (If you're playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles, you may notice grey/coloured Super Emeralds here, depending on whether you have collected the Chaos/Super Emeralds in Special Stages.) Knuckles realises that Robotnik is the true villain, but it's too late - the mad doctor has stolen the Master Emerald! As Robotnik flies off, you automatically head right. Knuckles attempts to stop Robotnik, but he electrocutes the echidna and makes his escape. Robotnik can take infinite hits, so don't bother attacking him. When the floor around you collapses, you'll land in another area. Knuckles awakens and breaks down a wall. He runs left and shows you a teleporter. Sonic jumps onto it and is transported to Sky Sanctuary Zone. =============================================================================== 6.06 - Sky Sanctuary Zone =============================================================================== Like Hidden Palace, Sky Sanctuary is no ordinary Zone. There is only one Act in this Zone, and it is divided into three Boss Battles. They're a blast from the past for players of Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. When you arrive, you'll see the Death Egg rise from underneath the clouds. It is powered by the Master Emerald and piloted by Robotnik. He dispatches an armada of EggRobos to patrol the Sky Sanctuary Zone, so be ready for them. Knuckles presses a switch to create a bridge for you to cross. Jump on the vines and go right. Run down the slope and head up the green tower. Jump across the black pillars and go left. After the fountain, go past the EggRobo and hop across the black pillars. Jump over the clouds. You'll fight Metal Sonic of Sonic CD. It seems Robotnik dispatched him to stop you from reaching the Death Egg. The robot will battle you on three separate occasions throughout this level. The first two Bosses are carbon copies of Sonic 1's Green Hill Zone Boss and Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Metal Sonic's Chained Ball Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Metal Sonic appears on the right side of the screen, jump on one of the two platforms and hit him twice. As Metal Sonic reveals his chained ball, stay underneath the western platform to avoid getting hurt. When he swings the ball to the left, jump on the platform and hit him. You should bounce off him and land on the platform without getting hurt. Repeat this strategy to win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use the teleporter and go right. Head past the Starpost and grab the vines. Hop across the black pillars and use the vines. Collect the Flame Shield and go right. Jump across the clouds and go past the spiked swing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Metal Sonic's Sphere Cloning Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Metal Sonic appears in the centre of the screen, use Sonic's Insta-Shield to hit him. Although eight spheres are protecting Metal Sonic, you'll still get score hits against him and you won't get hurt. If you're Tails, you can fly up and hit him. As long as Metal Sonic remains in the air, you won't get hurt if you attack him. This is due to a glitch, which wasn't in the original Metropolis Zone Boss. When you hit Metal Sonic, he'll release one of the eight spheres and stay in the air. If you destroy the spheres, Metal Sonic will descend, so I advice ignoring them and concentrating on hitting him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Use the teleporter and go left. Head past the Starpost and use the spiked swing. Go up and jump across the clouds. Go right and head past the spiked swings. Use the teleporter and apprach the tower. When you see the birds, wait for a moment and take out the EggRobo that appears. Go up the bridges and head past the Starpost. Use the teleporter to transport Sonic to an arena where you have a showdown with Metal Sonic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Metal Sonic - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Metal Sonic's attack pattern is similar to that of Silver Sonic from Sonic 2's Death Egg Zone. Fortunately, this battle is much easier, since you have Rings and Metal Sonic's pattern isn't difficult to predict. He will spin around the screen and he will do two attacks. If he charges towards you, jump to dodge the attack. If he spins towards you, learn his pattern, so you can avoid the attack. You can only hit him when he isn't spinning. Once you get the hang of countering Metal Sonic's attacks, this battle should be over soon enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Metal Sonic short-circuits, the arena falls apart and Sonic jumps onto a tower. He runs up the collapsing spiral pathway and jumps onto the rising Death Egg. =============================================================================== 6.07 - Death Egg Zone =============================================================================== Death Egg Zone is the final level of Sonic & Knuckles if you haven't collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Obstacles include electric bridges, electric walls, collapsing platforms, conveyor belts, sound wave machines, anti-gravity passageways, and reversed gravity. While this Zone isn't easy, it isn't too hard either, in comparison to Sonic 1's Scrap Brain Zone and Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone. If you follow my Walkthrough, you should be able to complete this level without too much problems. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Take out the Spikebonker and go across the electric bridge. Use the collapsing platforms and head right. When the electric wall is active, use the speed boost and grab the pulley lift. Go left and collect the Water Shield. Use the moving platform and head through the anti-gravity passageway. Use the moving platform and go right. Head up the steps and go across the conveyor belt. When you arrive at the Starpost, jump up the electric bridges and climb up the steps. Grab the pulley lift and head right. Use the sound wave machine and go down the steps. Run through the anti-gravity passageway. Go down the conveyor belt and head across the electric bridge. Go left and cross another conveyor belt. Watch out for the rockets that are launched at you, when you ride the next one. When you reach the Starpost, jump over to the right immediately to avoid falling into the gap and losing a life. Climb up the steps and go through the anti-gravity passageway. Press all six switches on the moving platform and go through another passageway. Use the speed boost and go left. Use the sound wave machines and climb up the steps. Go past the Starpost and head right to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Eye Machine - 16 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ In my opinion, this is the hardest Mini-Boss in the game. When the eight balls circle around the machine on the floor, you can hit the eye. Unfortunately, each time you do so, one of the balls will explode, scattering tiny spikes everywhere. It can be difficult to avoid them. If you lose your Rings, try to get them back quickly, so you can hit the eye constantly. When the balls extend themselves, wait for them to circle around the machine again, so you can hit the eye. When all the balls are destroyed and you've hit the eye 8 times, there will be an explosion and the eye itself will attack. It looks like this Mini-Boss Battle is far from over. There are now 2 spiked platforms circling around the eye. You must jump on these platforms to hit the eye. Unfortunately, the eye fires a laser underneath it at different times. You need to wait for the laser to disappear before attacking the eye. If the eye fires the laser and hovers towards you, the rotating spiked platforms can hurt you. If you go to the opposite side of the screen, you can duck to try to avoid the spikes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After the armour of the Death Egg is destroyed, you'll be sent hovering upwards. You'll notice that the background has changed. It seems the space station has been orbiting around Sonic's home planet Mobius for some time now. Anyway, go right and head across the electric bridge. Go through the anti-gravity passageway. From this point, there will be reversed gravity at different times throughout the level. Head across the electric bridge and go through the anti-gravity passageway. When you have to choose which direction to go in next, take the eastern route, as it's the easiest path to get through. Climb up the steps and go right. Head across the conveyor belt and climb more steps. Go left and use the elevator. Go right and head across the electric bridge. Hop across the moving platforms and go down the conveyor belt. Head past the Starpost and go down another conveyor belt. This one is much harder to get through, as it is on the ceiling. Try to dodge the rockets by jumping constantly. Go left and use the springs. Go right and use the elevator. When you reach the dropping platforms, stand on the last one to the left and wait for the last one to the right to rise. When it does so, hop onto it and jump over to the right. Watch out for the electric ceiling as you go past the Starpost. Head across the conveyor belt and use the elevator. Go left and use the sound wave machine. Go right and use another machine. Go through the anti-gravity passageway and use the machine. Climb up the steps and take the elevator. Board the next one and go down the steps. Ride the conveyor belt and go past the Starpost. Take the elevator to face another Mini-Boss. Like the Flying Battery Zone, there are two Mini-Bosses in this level. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Shielded Sphere Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When you appear on the right side of the screen, you'll see Robotnik behind a wall, controlling his machine. You can't destroy this Mini-Boss by yourself. You must use the 4 elevators to change the gravity and cause the spiked robots to hit the machine. If you are on the ceiling, you can Spin Dash to change the position of the spiked robots, so the spikes can hit the machine. This can be tricky to do, though. When a spiked robot damages the machine, tiny spikes will be sent around the screen. If you enter the elevators, you can avoid getting hurt by them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the machine explodes, the wall behind Robotnik crumbles and Sonic chases after him. Like the finale of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, you'll now have to fight 3 Bosses one after another. If you lose a life from this point, you'll start the Boss Battles without any Rings, so try to make your first play through count. When Robotnik locks himself inside a giant robot, the floor to the left will start to collapse, so run right to avoid falling off the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Giant Robot, Part 1 - 18 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the floor starts shaking, you'll see Robotnik's Giant Robot appear on the left side of the screen. He uses the robot's six fingers to pound the floor. You must hit the fingers 18 times, as each finger takes 3 hits to destroy. You can Spin Dash between the two sets of fingers to take them out more quickly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When all the fingers are destroyed, Robotnik's Giant Robot will sink beneath the floor. As the floor starts to collapse again, you'll see the Giant Robot surface on the left side of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Giant Robot, Part 2 - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the Giant Robot appears, the floor will start collapsing continuously from this point. As Robotnik fires a flamethrower at you, jump to dodge it. Hit the robot to reveal its power source - the Master Emerald! When Robotnik begins charging up the laser cannon, hit the Emerald once and wait for the cannon to charge up. When it does, jump up IMMEDIATELY to dodge the huge laser. If you're playing as Sonic & Tails, Tails will copy your moves, so you can probably hit the Master Emerald more than once during each attack sequence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, Robotnik isn't going to go down that easily. As the exploding Giant Robot leaves the screen, he grabs the Master Emerald and tries to escape. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Emerald Grabber Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ As Robotnik flies off, the floor will start collapsing continuously again. You must run right and chase after Robotnik. Hold Right to keep running fast. If you're move too slowly, you'll fall off the screen. You'll probably only be able to hit Robotnik once each time you get near him, so be patient. If you're playing as Sonic & Tails, you may be able to hit Robotnik more than once. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Robotnik flies off, he'll drop the Master Emerald and make his escape. The Death Egg explodes, causing the space station's destruction. Sonic will enter The Doomsday Zone, assuming you have collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds. If you haven't, the game will end at this point. If you're playing as Tails, you'll have completed the game. Congratulations! =============================================================================== 6.08 - The Doomsday Zone =============================================================================== When the Death Egg exploded, Robotnik stole the Master Emerald while Sonic was distracted. You can only access this zone if you have collected all seven Chaos Emeralds. As Super Sonic, you must fly through the asteroid field to retrieve the Master Emerald from Robotnik. Note that you lose Rings for every second that your character is in his Super Form, so you must collect Rings to increase your Rings gauge. Otherwise, you'll turn back into your regular character. Consequently, you'll lose a life and have to repeat the level. (If you're playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles, you can access this zone, even if you have transformed the Chaos Emeralds into grey Super Emeralds. As long as 7 Emeralds are displayed on your Save File, you can play this zone. Once you've collected all 7 Super Emeralds, you can still access this zone. The only difference is that you'll be Hyper Sonic instead of Super Sonic. You'll also see an extra scene before the credits as a sign of completing the objective of restoring all of Knuckles' Emeralds back to the Floating Island.) Upon transforming into Super Sonic in outer space, make your way through the level while avoiding the asteroids and missiles. I haven't written a walkthrough for this level, as it is difficult to write one, since it would be hard to understand, in my opinion. Instead, I've written some general hints and tips. Try to fly up and down to collect the Rings that you see as you progress through the level. If you remember the layout of this level, it's possible to collect a lot of Rings. I've often managed to get 100 Rings here. If you follow the paths of rows of Rings, you'll be able to dodge most of the asteroids and missiles. Both asteroids and missiles can slow down your movement, but this only lasts for a few seconds, as you can break through the latter and destroy the former. Eventually, you'll leave the asteroid field and catch up with Robotnik's spaceship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Spaceship - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ If you've got nearly 100 Rings, you'll have plenty of time to win this Boss Battle. If you've got around 70 Rings, it's best to win as soon as possible. Robotnik fires tiny projectiles and launches three missiles at you. You must trick the missiles into hitting the upper right grey part of the spaceship. Lead the missiles into the grey part, damaging the spaceship in the process. The projectiles and missiles can stop you for a moment, but the latter will be destroyed if they hit you. Use the A, B or C Buttons to speed up, so you can lead the missiles towards the spaceship quicker. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the spaceship explodes and falls down to Mobius, Robotnik will appear in a giant robot (not again?) and try to escape with the Master Emerald. You must enter another asteroid field to stop the mad doctor once and for all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Final Boss: Dr. Robotnik's Giant Robot - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ This Boss will look familiar to Sonic 2 players because it is the same design as the Final Boss from Sonic 2's Death Egg Zone. This time, however, Robotnik will only shoot missiles and spikes at you, and he will be constantly trying to run away from you. If you fly at your normal speed, you won't get to Robotnik in time to defeat him, so press the A, B or C Buttons repeatedly to catch up with him. Since you can collect Rings, this final fight is actually easier than the previous battle. Simply charge into Robotnik to hit him. If he launches missiles or spikes at you, ignore them. Since you're Super Sonic, they can't hurt you. They may pull you back a little, but if you concentrate on attacking Robotnik, this battle should be over soon enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the Giant Robot explodes and falls apart, Super Sonic will grab the Master Emerald. Congratulations! You have completed Sonic & Knuckles! Now enjoy the ending. If you collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic will bring the Master Emerald down with him from outer space. When Super Sonic enters Mobius' atmosphere, Tails appears in the Tornado and grabs the Master Emerald. You turn back into regular Sonic and land on the biplane. Sonic and Tails return to the Floating Island and leave the Master Emerald in Angel Island Zone. As Floating Island rises into the sky, Sonic and Tails leave in their plane. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, Sonic will fall from outer space, but the Master Emerald will remain there. When Sonic enters Mobius' atmosphere, Tails appears in the Tornado. You'll land on the biplane and return to the Floating Island. The island remains in the sea as Sonic and Tails leave in their plane. When you complete the game, watch the credits roll and you'll eventually see a short scene at the end, depending on whether you collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds. If you did, you'll see the wreckage of the Death Egg and one of Robotnik's EggRobo Badniks emerging from it. This is the same EggRobo that drops a bomb in Knuckles' intro scene and pilots the vehicles in his adventure. If you didn't, you'll see Robotnik with the Master Emerald. ############################################################################### 7. S&K Walkthrough (Knuckles) ############################################################################### When the Title Screen appears, you'll see the Death Egg plummeting back down to the Floating Island. As the space station lands on top of Lava Reef Zone's volcano, Sonic and Knuckles will appear on a cliff. You can use Up or Down to decide which character you want to play as. If you're playing as Knuckles, read this Walkthrough. Note: Since this section is primarily a walkthrough, I won't be giving much detail on the locations of the Giant Rings, as they're covered elsewhere in this guide. =============================================================================== 7.01 - Mushroom Hill Zone =============================================================================== Knuckles' adventure begins with a bang, when an EggRobo (this is the same EggRobo that emerges from the wreckage of the Death Egg at the conclusion of Sonic's adventure) drops a bomb where Knuckles is resting with his animal friends. As Knuckles notices the bomb, it explodes, causing the echidna to be knocked unconscious and his friends to run away. After regaining his senses, a furious Knuckles sees EggRobo hovering down from above and chases after the Badnik (if you're playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles, you'll skip this scene and begin this zone immediately). Mushroom Hill Zone is a good training level for practicing and mastering Knuckles' moves. Be on the lookout for badniks such as Cluckoid and Dragonfly. The Cluckoid can blow you back in the opposite direction, while the Dragonfly usually appears when you least expect it. If you get caught in vines, Spin Dash to get free. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Head right and go past the Butterdroids. Run through the loop de loop and roll down the hill. Collect the Super Shoes for a speed boost. Ignore the pulley lift nearby and proceed right. Climb up the poles and run through the loop de loop. Use the pulley lift above you to go up. Press Up and Down to make the pulley lift go up and down, respectively. Use the two mushrooms to raise Knuckles higher, so you can access the spring above you. Bounce on it and speed through the loop de loop. Use this swing lift to send Knuckles over to the right. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and drop the pole at the bottom right. You'll land next to a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Exit the passageway by going right, and use the swing lift to hoist Knuckles up to a vine-shaped bridge. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Run down the hill and drop down again to find a pulley lift. To the right of it is a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Exit the passageway and use the pulley lift. Run through two loop de loops. When you nearly reach a mushroom at the top, stop running left and drop down to the right. Continue onward to find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. When you exit the passageway, watch out for the Dragonfly on patrol. Run down the loop de loop and climb up the poles to find a Starpost. Go past it and head right to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Woodcutter Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ The machine will throw logs at you in a vertical direction. If you have the Fire Shield, hit it from below to destroy it. Alternatively, wait for it to come down before jumping on top of it to attack it. Watch out for the logs it throws at you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head down the hill. This is where Knuckles pulled a lever in Sonic's adventure, but now you can break through the wall and continue onward. When you see a Dragonfly, climb up the cliff beneath it. Take out the Dragonfly and grab an Invincibility. Drop down and run through the passageway to end up in an Autumn/Fall version of this level. Glide back and forth to safely descend to the bottom. Break through the walls and bounce on the hidden spring. Glide across the spikes and grab onto the blue mushroom lift. Controlling a mushroom lift is similar to gliding. Press Left/Right to move it. Earlier on in the Act, when you see a pulley lift and a Madmole, drop down. Run through the loop de loop and bounce on the hidden spring. Grab onto the blue mushroom lift. Press Left/Right to move it. Use the pulley left and go past the Starpost. Bounce on another spring and use the spring nearby to send Knuckles over to the right. You'll land near a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Use the mushroom seesaws and run through the loop de loops. Drop through the gap nearby and use the pole to hoist Knuckles upwards. Use the spring to go up the loop de loop and find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. Go back up and use the pulley lift nearby. Go right and use the mushrooms to send Knuckles up to a Super Ring and an Invincibility. Use the spring to go over to the right. Go up the loop de loop and use another spring. When you land near a spring and a mushroom, drop down to the left and head right to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Now exit the passageway and use the seesaw to land on a spring above. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and bounce on the red spring to catapult Knuckles over to the swing lift. If you can use the springs to bounce Knuckles over to the right, you'll land near a loop de loop. When you come across a Cluckoid, go past it to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Run through the loop de loops and use the pulley lift to go upwards. Before you do so, go past the Cluckoid and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. When you make it to the surface, go right and use the mushroom seesaws. Go past the Starpost to see a satellite dish emitting signals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Speed Booster Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Jump on the satellite dish to destroy it, revealing EggRobo's machine in the process. If you can hit him a few times, the Boss Battle will be easier to win. When EggRobo flies off to the right, chase after him and follow him through an obstacle course. When you are running through the obstacle course, jump to avoid the spikes. If you keep running, you'll catch up with EggRobo. When he switches off the boosters, you can hit him. If you have a Flame Shield, the boosters won't hurt you, so you can attack EggRobo constantly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EggRobo's machine starts to explode, but EggRobo still isn't worried. However, its machine soon crashes into a tree and it falls apart. When you've opened the Prison Egg, Knuckles will look up and you'll see the Flying Battery Blimp fly past. EggRobo flies up in his Egg Pod and enters the battleship. Knuckles immediately jumps up and grabs onto it. =============================================================================== 7.02 - Flying Battery Zone =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head through the purple cylinder. Go down the platform and head left. Go past the flame blasters and head right. Outside the Flying Battery, hop across the platforms and use the levers. Jump onto the ledge and go up to re-enter the Blimp. Go past the Starpost and make your way through the purple cylinders. Spin Dash up the slope and position Sonic on the flame blaster. After being catapulted upwards, go right and use the moving platforms to go over to the flame blaster. If you open the Prison Egg, Badniks will emerge from it, so watch out. Use the flame blaster to go upwards. Go past the mines and use the poles. Drop down and go left. Jump over the speed boost and go past more mines. Go down the platform and head right. Wait for the platforms to rise to avoid getting crushed. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Drop down and go left. Spin Dash up the slopes and jump on the Prison Egg. Run through the purple cylinders and drop down. Go right and head past the Starpost. Go up the slopes and use the moving platforms. Jump on the Prison Egg and use the spring. Go right and wait for the missiles to uncover an opening for you to drop through. When you drop down, run through the purple cylinder and head past the Starpost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Fake Prison Egg Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When you come across the machine, it will be disguised as a Prison Egg. Jump on the plunger to reveal two spiked arms. To destroy this Mini-Boss, you make it attack itself. Position Knuckles on the plunger and wait for one of the spiked arms to proceed to hit you. When it does so, run off the plunger. The machine will be hit instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head up the purple cylinder. Jump on the springs and go past the mines. Drop down and head through the purple cylinder. Press the switch and go down. Head right and press another switch. Go down the whole way and head left. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Go up and use the spider to go across the purple cylinder. Run past the mines and press the switch. Drop down and go through the purple cylinder. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Go right and jump on the flame blaster to undo the cork screw. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Press the switch and Spin Dash to avoid getting crushed. Press two more switches and drop down. Go right and use the platforms. Go past the mines and use the spider. Go down and press the switch. Go past the Starpost and head left. Go up and head through the purple cylinder. Use the moving platforms to get to the top and meet another Mini-Boss. Yes, there are two Mini-Bosses in the Flying Battery. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Laser Machine - 0 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ EggRobo unleashes a laser machine on you. It is similar to Sonic 2's Wing Fortress Zone Boss. This time, however, you can't destroy it. You must make it destroy itself. Each time it fires a laser, it will damage itself and cause the room to cave in. If you have a Lightning/Water Shield, you can hit the machine, but it won't have any effect. Eventually, the machine will explode and EggRobo will run off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow the path, and a platform will start ascending. Keep running until you arrive at the final spikes. The platform will take you up and it'll eventually stop rising. When it does so, EggRobo will swoop down and appear in the centre of the screen. (Robotnik's sprite is shown, but it's really EggRobo that you're fighting. Apparently, Sonic Team decided not to replace Robotnik's sprite with that of EggRobo, as it may have been difficult to programme EggRobo's sprite, since this Boss has a different sprite than all the others.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Spiked Swinging Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When EggRobo appears, he'll swing up and down. When he's doing this, you can attack him. After swinging for a moment, EggRobo will move his machine towards you. If you position Knuckles underneath it, EggRobo will fire a flamethrower at you. When EggRobo approaches you, jump over to the opposite side of the screen. When EggRobo starts swinging again, you can hit him. As Knuckles, this Boss Battle will be harder, as EggRobo fires flamethrowers continuously, so watch out. If you hit the left or right side of EggRobo, you'll have a better chance of avoiding getting hurt. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Prison Egg is opened, you'll automatically run right and go through a hallway. Knuckles jumps off the battleship and lands in Sandopolis Zone. =============================================================================== 7.03 - Sandopolis Zone =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land in the sand, jump up. Go right and push the yellow block. Ride it and go down the slides. Run down the slope and grab the pulley lift. Go right and run through the loop de loop. Push the yellow block and ride it. Use the swings and go left. Collect the Invincibility and go up. Go past the Starpost and head down the slides. When you land in the quicksand, jump over to the right. Push the yellow block and ride it. Spin Dash up the slope, and use the platforms to go up the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the pulley lift. Push the yellow block and ride it. Go right and then up. Use the swing and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and push the yellow block. Ride it. When you drop down, go right and head down the slopes. Use the swings and go left. Run through the loop de loop and go up. Go right and use the pulley lift. Go past the Starpost and head right. You'll see a pyramid rise from underneath the sand. When the entrance opens, the fight with the Pyramid Guardian begins. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Pyramid Guardian - 0 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the Pyramid Guardian approaches you, you can hit him, but it'll have no effect. To defeat this Mini-Boss, you must trick it into entering the quicksand nearby. You can jump into the quicksand and wait for the Guardian to head towards you. If you keep jumping in the quicksand, the Guardian will jump into it, destroying the Mini-Boss in the process. Alternatively, you can go to the right side of the screen and hit the Guardian constantly. Eventually, the impact of your attacks will send it into the quicksand. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you appear in the pyramid, you'll notice that it's dark and that the ghosts have been released. Quickly, pull the lever to activate the lanterns. Go right and pull the levers to turn on the lanturns. Head right and push the black block to the right. Go through the opening and go up. Go left and collect the Invincibility. Push the black block to the left and leave. Run through the loop de loop, and you'll land on the opened Prison Egg. Push the black block to the left and go through the opening. Press the lever and go down the slides. When you see a swing above a particular slide, jump onto it and go past the Starpost. (If you don't jump onto the correct slide, you'll go down an infinite loop of slides instead. To continue through the level, wait for Knuckles to land near the correct slide again and try to jump onto it this time.) Push the black block to the left and go up. Push the yellow block and ride it. When you get through the opening, jump on the swing and use the pulley lift. Push the black block to the right and go up the opening. Go right and run through the loop-de-loops. Go past the Starpost and push the black block to the right. Jump on the swing and press the lever. Go through the opening and break the container. When the sand rises, go left and then up. Jump on the swing and push the black block to the left. Go right and head through the opening. Break the container and press the lever. Go right and then left. Push the black block to the right to reveal an opening. Go through the opening and push the black boulder to the right. Go right and jump on the swing. Press the lever and push the black block. Jump down the opening and go right. Jump on the swing and use the pulley lift. Go right and press the lever. Run through the loop de loop and go left. Use the pulley lift and head right. Go past the Starpost and head down the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the spring to land on the slide. Go down the slide and run through another loop de loop. Go right and use the lever. When you see two moving platforms, drop down and break through the eastern wall (you can't take Sonic's route due to Knuckles' low jump). After a while, you'll arrive in a room where the exit is locked. If you push the black block, it will go back to its original position too quickly for you to progress. Fortunately, there is a container nearby. Smash it to fill the room with sand. Push the yellow block over to the black block. When the wall rises to its zenith, head for the exit. Press the lever and go right. Push the black block to the right and position Knuckles on it. Quickly glide over to the western wall and then glide right. Break through the eastern walls and go past the exit. When you reach a Starpost, push the black block and drop down to battle the Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Egyptian-Themed Robot - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the Egyptian-Themed Robot moves towards you, EggRobo will charge up his laser cannon and fire a small laser at you. If you stay away from the robot, you should be able to dodge it. EggRobo will use his 2 hands to crush you, but you can use them to climb up the robot and hit the laser cannon. The armour of the robot will fall apart, revealing EggRobo in the process. Hit him a few times and jump off the robot, as the armour will cover it up again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you have opened the Prison Egg, you'll automatically head right and Knuckles will enter Lava Reef Zone. =============================================================================== 7.04 - Lava Reef Zone =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you arrive, go right and head past the stalitites. The moving spiked platform can be difficult to cross, but if you Spin Dash after it rises, you should be able to pass it. While avoiding the spiked balls, climb down the steps. When you come across the waterfall of lava and a drilling machine, stay on the left side of the screen. When the ground in the centre of the screen collapses, you're supposed to drop down and follow the southern path. Instead, you can take the northern path to end up on Sonic's route through this Act. If you go left for a while and then head right, you'll see that the drilling machine is gone. You can jump over to the right and climb up the steps (avoid the flamethrowers as you do so). Press the switch to reveal a hidden exit to the right. Go right and press the switch. Go through the opening and make your way down the steps. Head across the waterfall of lava and press the switch. Go through the opening and head right. You can attack the drilling machine if you want to, but it'll fall into the pool of lava, destroying it. The Death Egg can't be seen in the background. It seems Robotnik repaired the space station and launched it, but Sonic finally destroyed it. When you land, hop across the rocks and press the switch. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash up. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the moving spiked platform. Go left and use another platform. Climb up the steps and press the switch. Go through the opening and use the platform. When the moving platform rises, jump down and head right. Spin Dash through the boulders and go past the Starpost. Run down the slope and collect the Flame Shield. When the ledge collapses, go down the steps and head right. Go across the bridge and run down the black tunnel. Go left and destroy the switch. Run through the opening and head down the slope. Watch out for the spiked ball as you drop down the gap. Go right and climb up the steps. Head across the waterfalls of lava. Press the switch and go through the opening. When the lava rises, wait for it to sink before crossing the platforms. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the boulders. Use the moving platforms and press the switch. Go through the opening and climb up the steps. Press the switch and run through another opening. Spin Dash through the boulders and go down the slope. Press the switch and go through the last opening. Head past the Starpost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Hand Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Although the Mini-Boss is the Hand Machine, there are also two wheels for you to contend with. They will fire small projectiles at you, so run back and forth to dodge them. Each wheel takes 4 hits to destroy. If you concentrate on destroying one wheel, you can deal with the other one during the next attack sequence. You don't need to take the wheels out, but their attacks can be a nuisance, so I advice doing so. When the wheels leave the screen, the Mini-Boss will make an appearance. The hand will copy your movements in an attempt to pound the ground and crush you. If you keep running back and forth, you should be able to dodge it. When it pounds the ground, hit it once. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When the pool of lava freezes over, go right and head across it. Press the switch and go through the opening. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes. Dodge the Robotnik Boxes and head right to break open a few boulders (you can't take Sonic's route due to Knuckles' low jump). Go through the orange pipe and jump over the hidden spring. Break through the boulders and grab a Flame Shield on the platform nearby. You can bounce on the bottom right spring to have an easier time getting to it. Drop down the collapsing ledges and head past the exploding rocks. When the eastern platform moves left, jump right to continue onward. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes, but beware of the overhead spikes. Bounce on the hidden spring to catapult Knuckles up to a Starpost. Activate it and drop down. Press the switch and go through the opening. Take out the 2 Toxiomisters and use the spiked platforms to descend. Watch out for the flamethrower. Break through the boulders and go through the pipe. Climb carefully up the walls to avoid getting hit by the flamethrowers. When you reach a platform, press the switch nearby to reveal an opening. Grab the Flame Shield and activate the Starpost. Go past the Toxiomisters and spiked balls. Press the switch and head through the opening. Break through the boulders and go through the pipe. Head past the flamethrowers and spiked balls. When you reach some steps, climb up them and break through more boulders. Jump up the moving platforms and go right. Glide over the long row of spikes. Press the switch and go through the opening. Break through the boulders and glide over to the right. Head past the flamethrowers and break through more boulders. The Death Egg can't be seen in the background. Apparently, the space station crashlanded on top of the ceiling above you, but Sonic finally destroyed it. This is where Knuckles pushed a boulder down the steps in Sonic's adventure. As Knuckles, you only have to continue going right to finish the level. =============================================================================== 7.05 - Hidden Palace Zone =============================================================================== Hidden Palace Zone is a shadow of its former self in Knuckles' adventure. Climb down the steps and use the teleporter to transport Knuckles to the Sky Sanctuary Zone. Sonic Team probably programmed the Zone this way, since you would battle another Knuckles if you were able to take Sonic's route. Unfortunately, this means you can't see the Chaos Emeralds in the Emerald Chamber as Knuckles, but you will see the Master Emerald in Sky Sanctuary Zone. =============================================================================== 7.06 - Sky Sanctuary Zone =============================================================================== When you arrive at Sky Sanctuary Zone, you'll automatically collect 3 Rings and see EggRobo fly towards you. It's impossible to avoid getting captured, so let him grab you and take you over to Metal Sonic. As Metal Sonic spins towards you, Knuckles breaks free of EggRobo's grasp, causing the Badnik's destruction instead. Although one enemy has been destroyed, another has taken its place, so you must defeat Metal Sonic to restore peace to the Floating Island again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Metal Sonic, Part 1 - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Metal Sonic will spin around the screen and he will do two attacks. If he charges towards you, jump to dodge the attack. If he spins towards you, learn his pattern, so you can avoid the attack. You can only hit him when he isn't spinning. Once you get the hang of countering Metal Sonic's attacks, this battle should be over soon enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, Metal Sonic isn't going to go down that easily. The robot comes back to life and rushes towards the Master Emerald. Knuckles follows him and witnesses Metal Sonic using the power of the Master Emerald to transform into Super Metal Sonic. The Floating Island can be seen in the background. It seems EggRobo stole the Master Emerald and brought it here. This explains why Floating Island is descending, since the Master Emerald is the source of its floating power. Apparently, Sonic thought that he had defeated Metal Sonic, but the robot teamed up with EggRobo, who tricked Knuckles into following him to Sky Sanctuary Zone. It's up to Knuckles to stop Metal Sonic once and for all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Final Boss: Metal Sonic, Part 2 - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Super Metal Sonic will fly across the screen and he will do three different attacks. If you stay underneath Metal Sonic, he'll spin down towards you. When you stay near the Master Emerald, he'll charge towards you or fire three energy balls at you. If he charges, jump left to dodge the attack. If he fires energy balls, jump to dodge them. While he's in his Super Form, Metal Sonic is invincible. When Super Metal Sonic fires three energy balls, he'll turn back into regular Metal Sonic. This is your chance to attack. However, once he jumps onto the Master Emerald and becomes his Super Form, he'll be invincible again. It's possible to score 4 hits against Metal Sonic before he lands on the Master Emerald. While he's recharging or spinning, you can't hit him. After six hits, Super Metal Sonic will not return to the Master Emerald for recharging. Instead, he will float across the screen while shooting rings in eight directions. You can then only hit him when he turns back into regular Metal Sonic for a few seconds. Hit him twice to win the final fight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Metal Sonic explodes, Sky Sanctuary Zone is destroyed. Congratulations! You have completed Sonic & Knuckles! Now enjoy the ending. As long as you don't get a Time Over, you'll be able to return to the Floating Island, regardless of how far it descended. If you collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles will appear on Sonic's biplane, holding the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles return to the Floating Island. As the island rises higher into the sky, Sonic leaves in his plane. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, an exhausted Knuckles will appear on Sonic's biplane, but he won't have the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles return to the Floating Island. The island descends into the sea as Sonic leaves in his plane. When you complete the game, watch the credits roll and you'll eventually see a short scene at the end, depending on whether you collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds. If you did, you'll see a view of outer space where Knuckles faces the screen in front of the Sonic & Knuckles logo. If you didn't, you'll see a short-circuiting Metal Sonic with the Master Emerald. He somehow repaired himself, despite exploding to pieces. The robot comes back to life and jumps onto the Master Emerald, but nothing happens. This ending proves that Metal Sonic is still alive, allowing him to return in future games. ############################################################################### 8. S3&K Walkthrough (Sonic/Tails) ############################################################################### After choosing 1-Player on the Title Screen, select a Save File and choose which character(s) you want to control. You can choose the following character(s): Sonic & Tails, Sonic Alone, Tails Alone, and Knuckles Alone. You can select the No Save File if you don't want to save your progress. This walkthrough is written for Sonic and Tails. Note1: If you're Sonic & Tails, Tails will follow you throughout the game, including the Sonic & Knuckles levels (with the exception of The Doomsday Zone). If another player controls Tails, you can team up with him/her to defeat Mini-Bosses/Bosses. Tails can collect Rings that are added to your total, but he can't open Item Boxes. If Tails loses a life or you run ahead of him, he'll fly back to the screen. Unlike Sonic, Tails is invincible. This makes the game much easier to beat. Note2: Since this section is primarily a walkthrough, I won't be giving much detail on the locations of the Giant Rings, as they're covered elsewhere in this guide. =============================================================================== 8.01 - Angel Island Zone =============================================================================== Angel Island Zone is the first level of Sonic The Hedgehog 3. It's a good training level to master Sonic's/Tails' controls. In the opening scene, Sonic and Tails are approaching the Floating Island in their airplane. Sonic jumps off the plane and transforms into Super Sonic. Super Sonic surfs across the ocean and runs onto the Floating Island. As Super Sonic goes past a tunnel, Knuckles digs out of it, and the pair collide with such force that Sonic drops his Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles steals the emeralds and runs off. If you're playing as Tails, you'll skip this scene and begin the game immediately. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Run right and go past the Monkeydude. After the RhinoBot and the two spikes, drop down and Spin Dash through the boulders to the left. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. When you reappear in the level, run through the loop de loop. In the water, jump on the spring to be catapulted over to the right. Push the small boulder to the left, and break through the passageway. Grab the Invincibility and use the hidden spring to return to the surface. Run through the loop de loop, and go up the tunnel. When you hear the Mini-Boss theme music, an armada of Bomber Ships will set fire to Angel Island. If you can hit the main Bomber Ship eight times, nothing will happen. In order to do this, you must be playing as Sonic & Tails. If a second player controls Tails, you can team up with him/her to destroy the Bomber Ship. Go past the Starpost and run down the hill. Jump across the ledges and grab onto the gravelling hook. Run through the loop de loop, and use the spring to jump up. As you climb up the ledges, watch out for the Bloominator. Go right to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Bomber Ship - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Your first Mini-Boss Battle is easy. When the Bomber Ship descends, jump onto it and keep bouncing off it to score hits. If the Bomber Ship flies up, jump off it and wait for it to descend again. The boosters underneath it can hurt you if you touch them, so be careful. When the Bomber Ship fires a flamethrower, watch out. If you've grabbed a Flame Shield, it won't hurt you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Spin Dash through the tunnel and hold Right to break through the boulders. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. When you re-appear in the level, drop down and head right. Go across the bridge, and Spin Dash through the boulders. Collect the Water Shield and run down the hill. Go up the hills, and Spin Dash through the tunnel. Jump up to the switch via the spring. Press the switch to drain the water. Drop down and head right. Go past the Starpost and head across the wooden bridge. Climb up the ledges and head right. Take out the Bloominator, and run through the loop de loop. You'll roll over a slope and two springs will catapult you onward. When you go left, wait for the platforms to appear before attempting to cross the waterfall. Spin Dash through the boulders, and collect the Water Shield. Head right and go across the bridge. Run past the Starpost, and Spin Dash through the tunnel. When you emerge from the tunnel, run right. The Flying Battery Blimp will drop bombs onto the ground. If you keep running, you should dodge all of them. As you go through a series of trees, you'll see Robotnik in the background. When you reach a waterfall, he'll appear on the left side of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Fireball Shooter Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears, hit him once before running over to the right. Robotnik will drop a fireball onto the bridge, causing it to collapse. Robotnik will now disappear behind the waterfall and materialise on the right-hand side of the screen. Once Robotnik shoots his fireballs at you, jump to dodge them. After Robotnik shoots fireballs vertically and horizonally, attack him. If Robotnik appears by the eastern waterfall, be careful when hitting him, as Robotnik might disappear behind the waterfall and you'll fall into the ocean, causing you to lose a life in the process. If you have a Flame Shield, this Boss Battle will much easier, since the fireballs won't hurt you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a Prison Egg starts to descend from above, wait for it to reach your jumping distance first. Once the Prison Egg is at a reasonable height, jump up to hit its plunger. When you go across a bridge, Knuckles will appear. He presses a switch, which causes the bridge to collapse. If you jump to the left at the right time, you can avoid falling into the ocean. However, you can't confront Knuckles, since he's too high up. In addition, Tails can't fly up there. Drop down into the ocean to enter Hydrocity Zone. =============================================================================== 8.02 - Hydrocity Zone =============================================================================== After Angel Island, Hydrocity ups the difficulty level of the game. The Zone is a remake of Sonic 1's Labyrinth Zone. Obstacles include conveyor belts, air fans, speed hand catapults, and spinning pillars. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land, go right and activate the switch. Go through the passageway (press A, B or C Button to let go of the bars) and drop down. Head right and inhale the bubbles to avoid drowning underwater. Whenever you see some bubbles, inhale them to avoid losing a life. Grab the Water Shield in the passageway at the end. Take out the Badniks and drop down. If you have the Water Shield, you won't be affected by their weapons and you won't drown underwater. Go through the passageway and let go of the poles. Hold Right to arrive at a Starpost. Run through the loop de loop and go left the second time you pass through it. Run across the water, and hold Right to appear by a Turbo Spiker. Run through the loop de loop and go right. Drop down and head right. Press the switch to activate the air fans. Climb up the conveyor belts and jump up via the spring. Go left and head into the Giant Ring. When you return, go up the slope and go past the Starpost. Spin Dash through the tunnel to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Whirlpool Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the machine charges towards you, Spin Dash in the opposite direction to evade its attack. After a while, the machine will connect itself to the pillar directly above you and start creating a whirlpool. Attack the machine now to destroy it. If the machine takes off again, wait until it reconnects itself to the pillar before finishing it off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Spin Dash through the walls and go past the Starpost. When a wall starts moving towards you, Spin Dash through more walls and proceed to drop down. If you've played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on its own, you'll notice that the spring has been replaced with a 1-Up! Grab it and drop down. Spin Dash through the last series of walls, and the wall will stop moving. Spin Dash onto the spinning pillar above and use the air fans to go up. Run down the slope and go left. As you go up the next slope, go past the Starpost, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slopes, and Spin Dash onto the pillar. Go up via the fans, and run down the slope. Spin Dash through the walls, and run up the slope. Grab the Invinibility in the passageway to the left. Go down the slopes. Climb up the moving platforms and go up the pillars. Use the fans as platforms, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slope and run across the bridge. Go past the Starpost and use the pillars as platforms. Run down the slopes, and hold Right to come across a few walls. Spin Dash through them and drop down. Knuckles will press a switch, causing the bridge you're standing on to collapse. Drop down and go through the passageway. Let go of the bars and head past the Starpost. Robotnik will appear in the centre of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Water Suction Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears, he'll position his machine over the water and create a water suction around it. You'll be pulled towards the water, so run in the opposite direction to avoid getting hurt. When Robotnik releases the water, you can jump on it and hit him. I advice waiting for him to drop a few bombs on the floor. If you jump on top of them as they explode, the impact will catapult you upwards. If you time it correctly, you can hit Robotnik and bounce off him. Your best bet is to position Sonic/Tails underneath Robotnik, so you'll be catapulted upwards and you'll hit him at the same time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you've opened the Prison Egg, a burst of water will catapult you into Marble Garden Zone. =============================================================================== 8.03 - Marble Garden Zone =============================================================================== After being underwater in Hydrocity, Marble Garden returns the player to the surface of the Floating Island. In this Zone, you'll be Spin Dashing a lot to uncover platforms and passageways. Earthquakes will be caused by the TunnelBot and Robotnik in Acts 1 and 2, respectively. Obstacles include platform-rising wheels, flying spinners, rotating platforms, pulley lifts, overhead spikes, arrow-shooting machines, chained spiked balls, and mud pits. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land, run down the slopes and drop down. Spin Dash through the wall and jump over the chained spiked ball. Ignore the Tunnelbot, and wait for it to drill up. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover a series of platforms. Hop across them, and use the blue flying spinner to go up and then left. Follow the directions on the signs, and Spin Dash again. Climb up the platforms and run down the hill. Spin Dash through the wall and use the flying spinner to break through the next one. Go past the Starpost and run up the hill. Head right and wait for the maize to go up before Spin Dashing through the wall. Hit the arrow-shooting machine three times to drop down. Run down the hills and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Use the flying spinner to break through the walls. Go right and Spin Dash through the wall to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: TunnelBot - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------- When the TunnelBot appears, it'll drill up to cause an earthquake. It's difficult to avoid the stalatites, so watch out. The other types of debris won't hurt you. When the TunnelBot returns, wait for its drills to point upwards before attacking it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Spin Dash through the wall and climb up the hills via the pulley lifts. Go right and Spin Dash through the wall. After seeing Robotnik (you can hit him if you want to, but it won't make a difference in the Boss Battle), head right and go down the hills. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Drop down and enter the passageway to find a Giant Ring. Go up and head right. Use the spinning top to continue onward. Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Go left and climb up the hills via the pulley lifts. Go past the Starpost and follow the directions on the signs. Hit the arrow machine three times to uncover two platforms. Head right and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Go right and run down the hill. Use the flying spinner to break through the walls. Go right and Spin Dash through the wall. Hit the arrow machine three times to drop down. Head left and go past the Starpost. Spin Dash to reveal a passageway. After meeting Robotnik again, Spin Dash through the walls and run down the hills. As the scenery sinks, keep running to avoid getting crushed and losing a life. When you arrive at a Starpost, go left and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Head right to meet the Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Jet Drill Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ Go over to the left, and you'll see Robotnik descending from above. If you can score a few hits, you'll have an easier time winning this Boss Battle. Robotnik will flee to the skies. If you're playing as Sonic & Tails or Sonic Alone, Tails will grab Sonic and the two heroes will chase after Robotnik. If you're playing as Tails, he'll follow Robotnik on his own. If you're playing as Sonic, attack Robotnik's head to score a hit against him while avoiding the drill and thrusters. If you fall, Tails will grab Sonic, so don't worry. If Sonic gets hit, you'll probably lose all your Rings, so be careful. If you're playing as Tails, you'll have to use his twirling tails to hit Robotnik. Wait for Robotnik to go across the screen before launching an attack. This is the best time to strike. It is difficult to hit Robotnik at any other time, since he goes in different directions, so wait for him to repeat his attack pattern. If Tails gets hit, you'll probably lose all your Rings, so make sure to time each attack perfectly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like Angel Island Zone, a Prison Egg descends from above. It can be somewhat tricky to open, as you must use Tails' twirling tails to hit the Prison Egg's plunger. Once you've done this, Tails will fly Sonic to Carnival Night Zone. =============================================================================== 8.04 - Carnival Night Zone =============================================================================== After the boring background of Marble Garden, the player enters Carnival Night, a colourful Zone. This Zone is a remake of Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone. Obstacles include balloons, dropping platforms, rotating drums, spinning wheels, and bumpers. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you're playing as Sonic, Tails will fly him down. If you're playing as Tails, he'll fly down on his own. Go right and jump across the balloons. Go up the slope and float across the anti-gravity platforms. After the two moving spikes, go down the slope and up the rotating white cylinder. Go right and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Hover upwards and go head left. Make your way past the bumpers and rotating drums. The drums can crush you if you run too fast or too slowly, so be careful. Go left and head past the bumpers. Jump on the dropping platform to make it rise, so you can jump over to the right. Collect the Water Shield and go right. Hover upwards. Use the dropping platform to jump onto the spinning wheel. When you run around the wheel and reach the top, jump over to the right. Go past the Starpost and head down the slope. Spin Dash through the wall and go down the yellow tunnel. If you emerged from the tunnel on the right side, go right and use the spinning wheels to continue onward. Collect the Invincibility and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Go down the yellow tunnel and head right. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go past the rotating white cylinders. At the top, collect the Water Shield and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. Drop down and go right. Hover upwards and go left. Hover upwards again and go past the Starpost. Head right and drop down to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Drill Blade Machine - 4 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------- To beat this Mini-Boss, you must trick it into destroying itself. When the drill detaches itself from the blade, it'll move around the screen and start destroying the floor you are standing on. If you fall off the floor, you'll lose a life, so it's important to end this Mini-Boss Battle as quickly as you can. To destroy the Mini-Boss, you must hit the blade to open and extend it. When the drill attempts to re-attach itself to the blade, you'll score a hit. Watch out for the energy that appears around it at different times. If you touch it, you'll get hurt, so be careful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head down the slope. Make your way past the bumpers and enter the water. After the two rotating drums, go right and jump onto the drum. From there, go past the Starpost and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Go left and use the dropping platform. Go left again and jump up to hover upwards. Spin Dash up to the slope, and jump to land on the platform above. Jump across the balloons and go right. Drop down and break through the floor. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and use the bumpers to go right. Go past the rotating drums and the anti-gravity platforms. Hover upwards and go right. After more drums and platforms, go past the spikes and the Starpost to meet Knuckles. He presses a switch to turn off the lights. After Knuckles leaves, go right and collect the Water Shield. Enter the water and go left. Break through the floor and Spin Dash through the wall. If you're running out of air, you can pop the balloons to inhale bubbles to stop Sonic/Tails from drowning. As you drop down, you'll notice that the water is being drained. Go left and drop down. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and enter the water. Head right and make your way past the bumpers. Hover upwards and go left. After the rotating drums, hover upwards and use the spring to run to the top. Spin Dash through the wall and go down the slope. Go left and head past the rotating white cylinders. Press the switch to turn the lights back on. Spin Dash down the slope and go past the Starpost. After a while, you'll come across the most difficult obstacle to get past in the entire game. You've probably gone past these rotating drums earlier, but now you have to get underneath this rotating drum to continue through the level. When I first saw the drum years ago, I didn't know what to do. I read Egmont Fleetway's Sonic The Comic and it said to push Up and Down rapidly when you are standing on the drum. Well, that solution wasn't working for me, so I jumped up and down, and somehow Sonic/Tails was able to get underneath the drum, after months of trying. There is, of course, a better way. Simply press Up and Down when the drum goes up and down, respectively. When the gap is big enough for Sonic/Tails to jump down, do so immediately. Drop down and collect the Invinibility. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go down the slope. Make your way past the rotating drums and hover upwards. Go left and hover upwards again. Go down the slope and float across more platforms. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the wall. Run through the speed boosts to see Knuckles once again. He presses a switch, causing you to hover upwards. Head right to meet the Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Energy Suction Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears from the right side of the screen, he'll drop a ball on the floor. As it bounces towards you, jump to dodge it. When Robotnik positions his machine over the ball, he'll create an energy suction around it. You'll be pulled towards the energy, so run in the opposite direction to avoid getting hurt. When Robotnik is in the air, your jumps will be too low to hit him. As Robotnik proceeds to pick up the ball, you'll have a chance to attack. Hit him once and wait for him to repeat his attack pattern. Alternatively, you can use Sonic's Insta-Shield to hit Robotnik repeatedly without getting hurt, when he isn't creating an energy suction. If you're Tails, you can fly up to hit Robotnik, but the ball and energy suction will hurt you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you've opened the Prison Egg, go right and jump into the cannon nearby. Once the cannon catapults you into the sky, you'll be sent to Icecap Zone. =============================================================================== 8.05 - Icecap Zone =============================================================================== After the annoying Act 2 of Carnival Night, Icecap compensates with a short scene at the start and great music throughout the level. Obstacles include ice blasters, ice blocks, ice pillars, spring boards, stalactites, and swing lifts. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you're playing as Sonic & Tails or Sonic Alone, Sonic will land on a skateboard and ride it through the level for a while. Eventually, you'll crash into a wall and fall into a hole. When the alavalance occurs, jump up to emerge from the snow. If you're playing as Tails, you'll start the level at this point. At the start, when you go down the slopes, Tails can lose all his lives, causing a Game Over to appear on the screen. This glitch can prevent you from completing the game as Tails, but if you can fly past the slopes, you can avoid triggering the glitch. Spin Dash through the wall and continue onward. Go past the Starpost and jump on the spring. Head right and break the ice surrounding the switch. Press the switch to cause the ledge to collapse. Drop down and run past the ice blasters. If you get hit, you'll be frozen in ice. When the ice breaks, you'll lose all your Rings or lose a life. If a second player is controlling Tails, he/she can break the ice to free Sonic. Slide down the slopes, and jump onto the platform to the left. Use the platform to break through the walls. Smash the ice surrounding the springs and jump up them. Spin Dash to move the swing lifts. At the top, go down the slope. Hop across the stalactites one by one to avoid being hit by them and knocked into the frozen spikes. Go past the Starpost and push the platform to the right. Use the ice block to break through the walls. Run right and press the switch. Drop down and Spin Dash to move the swings. Go past the Starpost and head right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Snowball Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------- When the machine encircles itself with snowballs, make sure Sonic/Tails is on the right side of the screen. After a while, the ice balls will fly into the air and drop down shortly afterwards. Attack the machine, and you might be able to destroy it. If not, wait for it to repeat its moves. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Run down the slope and grab the Insta-Shield. Run through the loop de loops and head across the bridge. Go through the next series of loop de loops, and Spin Dash through the tunnel. Hop across the ice blocks while avoiding the ice blasters. Go past the Starpost and head right. Jump over the Robotnik items. If you break them open, you'll lose all your Rings or lose a life, so be careful. Use the purple spring boards to go to the surface. Run through the loop de loops and go past the Starpost. Go through the passageway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Ice Blaster Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ As Robotnik flies towards you, he'll fire his ice blaster. Jump onto the platform and hit Robotnik quickly before jumping off it. Now wait for Robotnik to fire the ice blaster underneath his machine to attack him again. If you get hit, you'll be frozen in ice and you'll lose all your Rings. If a second player is controlling Tails, he/she can break the ice to free Sonic. If not, try to grab the Rings before attempting to hit Robotnik again. After hitting Robotnik six times, the platform will fall apart, but the Boss Battle isn't over yet. Robotnik continues to fly towards you. Hit him two more times to win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you have opened the Prison Egg, head right and Spin Dash through a tunnel to enter Launch Base Zone. =============================================================================== 8.06 - Launch Base Zone =============================================================================== Launch Base Zone is the final level of Sonic The Hedgehog 3. Although there are many dangerous obstacles, such as flamethrower machines and lasers, this Zone isn't too difficult to complete in comparison to Sonic 1's Scrap Brain Zone and Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone. This is probably due to the fact that Sonic & Knuckles was originally supposed to be part of Sonic 3, so Launch Base isn't too tough, as Sonic Team had planned to release the "Sonic 3 Complete version" (AKA Sonic 3 & Knuckles), but they decided to release Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles separately instead. Obstacles in the Launch Base include laser walls, overhead lasers, rotating gold cups, red sirens, rotating magnetic drums, and flame blasters. Watch out for the Orbinauts that are above or underneath the magnetic drums. When laser walls block your progress, wait for a moment to see an opening. If you run through it quickly, you'll pass through the opening and avoid the lasers. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After emerging from the ground, head right and go past the alarms. You'll set them off, causing a group of Flybot767s to fly towards you. If you destroy them one after another and keep setting off the alarms, the score counter will increase, so it's a good way to improve your score. The Death Egg can be seen in the background. It seems Robotnik is repairing the space station in this level and is preparing to launch it soon, so it's up to you to stop him. Anyway, go right and use the gravelling hook to come across an elevator. Take the elevator and jump into the rotating gold cup. After riding it, destroy the switch and jump into another cup. At the top, go right and down the slope. Go left and head past the Starpost. Ride the cup and go right. Destroy the switch and drop down. When you reach an elevator, take it and the next one. Go left and drop down. Destroy the switch and drop down. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the pipes. When you enter a building, you'll see Robotnik fly off. Ride the two cups to confront Knuckles. He throws a bomb into the building and runs off. Drop down to the right, and you'll see the building start to collapse. After it collapses, go right and head past the Starpost. When you enter another building, Robotnik will set a Mini-Boss on you and fly off. You can hit him if you want to. It doesn't matter if you don't. The Mini-Boss will reveal itself to you, so it's time to fight. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Spiked Rotating Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------- The machine will copy your movements, so your best bet is to take out the spikes individually. Each spike takes 3 hits to destroy. If you are patient and hit them one at a time, 1 of the 2 spikes will be destroyed soon enough. This makes the Mini-Boss Battle much easier. If you can hit the machine 3 more times, you'll win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ride the cup and go right. Jump up the spring and go left. Go past the Starpost and use the gravelling hooks. Hop across the platforms and go past another Starpost. Avoid the flame blasters as you drop down. Go left and enter the small passageway. Destroy the switch and drop down. Enter the water and Spin Dash through the wall. Go right and head through the pipe. Go down the slopes and ride the cup. If you go right instead, you'll trigger a glitch that stops Sonic/Tails from moving. If you want to continue the game, you'll have to wait for a Time Over. To avoid this glitch, ride the cup and enter the water. Go right and ride the cups. On the last one, you'll be sent flying to the right, so jump off it to avoid this. Head past the Starpost and go right to fight the 1st of 2 Boss Battles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Ball Launcher Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When Robotnik appears, he'll jump into his machine and reveal a ledge below. As he launches a ball at you, try to dodge it. It'll be launched on the floor or fired into the air, so watch out. Robotnik's attack pattern is usually north first and then south, but he may change it. There are three different methods to hit Robotnik. You can climb onto the ledge and jump right to hit him. You can use Sonic's Insta-Shield to attack without having to use the ledge as a platform. If you're Tails, you can fly past Robotnik and hit him from the far right. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the machine explodes, Robotnik falls into the ocean. Go right and drop into the Egg Pod nearby. When you ride it, you'll fly to the east. Knuckles will be waiting for you on a platform, but as he tries to stop you, he falls into the ocean as the Death Egg is launched! After a while, you'll land on a platform underneath the space station where Robotnik appears on the right side of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: Dr. Robotnik's Laser Shooter Machine - 9 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ As Robotnik flies up, he'll shoot lasers at you. Jump up to dodge his attacks. Hit him 4 times to destroy two of the four lasers. When Robotnik appears again, hit him another 4 times to destroy the two remaining lasers. If you touch the spike that is circling around Robotnik, you'll get hurt, so be careful. Once all 4 lasers are destroyed, hit Robotnik one more time to cause the mad doctor to retreat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Due to Sonic/Tails' interference, the Death Egg is damaged and falls back down to Angel Island. Congratulations! You have completed the first half of Sonic 3 & Knuckles! =============================================================================== 8.07 - Aftermath =============================================================================== Tails airlifts Sonic to Mushroom Hill Zone. If you're playing as Tails, he'll fly there on his own. Act 1 has been extended slightly with a new opening area. Go right a bit to see a short cutscene of Knuckles locking away something in a hidden passageway. After he leaves, enter the passageway and jump into the Giant Ring inside. You'll be transported to the Emerald Chamber of Hidden Palace Zone. Check the Special Stage section for more information. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic & Knuckles Continuation =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Upon returning to Mushroom Hill Zone, exit the passageway and go right for a while to end up in the area that you start from in Sonic & Knuckles alone. There is no difference between the levels in S3&K and S&K from this point, so read the S&K Walkthrough for help on progressing through the second half of S3&K. Any other differences will be mentioned in that walkthrough. Since you can play as Sonic & Tails and Tails Alone, there are many routes you can take through the levels that were not possible in Sonic & Knuckles alone. For example, Tails can fly or airlift Sonic to once unreachable areas. The final Zone is The Doomsday for Sonic or Sonic & Tails and Death Egg for Tails. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Endings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds as Sonic, Super/Hyper Sonic will bring the Master Emerald down with him from outer space. When Super/Hyper Sonic enters Mobius' atmosphere, Tails appears in the Tornado and grabs the Master Emerald. You turn back into regular Sonic and land on the biplane. Sonic and Tails return to the Floating Island and leave the Master Emerald in Angel Island Zone. As the island rises into the sky, Sonic and Tails leave in their plane. If you acquired all 7 Super Emeralds, Knuckles will see Sonic and Tails leave. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds as Sonic Alone or Sonic & Tails, Sonic will fall from outer space, but the Master Emerald will remain there. When Sonic enters Mobius' atmosphere, Tails appears in the Tornado. You'll land on the biplane and return to the Floating Island. The island remains in the sea as Sonic and Tails leave in their plane. If you collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds as Tails, Regular/Super Tails will bring the Master Emerald down with him from outer space. When Regular/Super Tails enters Mobius' atmosphere, Sonic appears in the Tornado and grabs the Master Emerald. If you're Super Tails, you turn back into Regular Tails and land on the biplane (Regular Tails simply lands on the Tornado). Sonic and Tails return to the Floating Island and leave the Master Emerald in Angel Island Zone. As the island rises into the sky, Sonic and Tails leave in their plane. If you acquired all 7 Super Emeralds, Knuckles will see Sonic and Tails leave. When you complete the game, watch the credits roll and you'll eventually see a short scene at the end, depending on whether you collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. If you got 7 Chaos Emeralds, you'll see the wreckage of the Death Egg and an EggRobo emerging from it (this is the same EggRobo that Knuckles fights instead of Robotnik). If you acquired all 7 Super Emeralds, you'll see Sonic, Tails and Knuckles standing in front of the Sonic 3 & Knuckles logo. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, you'll see Robotnik with the Master Emerald. ############################################################################### 9. S3&K Walkthrough (Knuckles) ############################################################################### After choosing 1-Player on the Title Screen, select a Save File and choose which character(s) you want to control. You can choose the following character(s): Sonic & Tails, Sonic Alone, Tails Alone, and Knuckles Alone. You can select the No Save File if you don't want to save your progress. This walkthrough is written for Knuckles. Note: Since this section is primarily a walkthrough, I won't be giving much detail on the locations of the Giant Rings, as they're covered elsewhere in this guide. =============================================================================== 9.01 - Angel Island Zone =============================================================================== Angel Island Zone is the first level of Sonic The Hedgehog 3. It's a good training level to master Knuckles' controls. In the opening scene, Sonic and Tails are approaching the Floating Island in their airplane. Sonic jumps off the plane and transforms into Super Sonic. Super Sonic surfs across the ocean and runs onto the Floating Island. As Super Sonic goes past a tunnel, Knuckles digs out of it, and the pair collide with such force that Sonic drops his Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles steals the emeralds and runs off. If you're playing as Knuckles, you'll skip this scene and begin the game immediately. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Run right and go past the Monkeydude. After the RhinoBot and the two spikes, drop down and Spin Dash through the boulders to the left. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. When you reappear in the level, run through the loop de loop. In the water, jump on the spring to be catapulted over to the right. Push the small boulder to the left, and break through the passageway. Grab the Invincibility and use the hidden spring to return to the surface. Run through the loop de loop, and go up the tunnel. When you hear the Mini-Boss theme music, an armada of Bomber Ships will set fire to Angel Island. If you can hit the main Bomber Ship eight times, nothing will happen. In order to do this, you must be playing as Sonic & Tails. If a second player controls Tails, you can team up with him/her to destroy the Bomber Ship. Go past the Starpost and run down the hill. Jump across the ledges and grab onto the gravelling hook. Run through the loop de loop, and use the spring to jump up. You can't climb up the ledges due to Knuckles' low jump, so drop down and break through the boulders to the right to meet your first Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Bomber Ship - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ This Mini-Boss Battle is much harder for Knuckles than for Sonic/Tails. When the Bomber Ship descends, it'll fire three missiles at you. If you dodge the first missile and then walk in the opposite direction, you should be able to avoid the remaining ones. This can be tricky to do, so keep practicing to get the hang of it. It's best to hit the Mini-Boss once during each attack sequence to have a better chance of avoiding the flamethrower that it fires at you. Unlike Sonic/Tails, you can't get a Flame Shield before this Mini-Boss Battle, so be careful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and break through the tunnel. Walk down the slope and drop down. You'll land on a moving platform. Grab the Flame Shield nearby and then head right. Watch out for the spikes as you do so. Use the moving platform and go past a Caterkiller Jr. After the RhinoBot, hop across the platforms, but beware of the spring at the end. You'll be sent back towards the spikes if you run into it, so be careful. When you come across 2 moving platforms, take out the Bloominator nearby and grab the Lightning Shield (if you've lost the Flame Shield). Go past the Starpost and run through the loop de loops. Climb up the tall wall and deal with the Bloominators. Fortunately, the Shields will repel its weapons, so you'll have an easy job destroying them. Break through a boulder and roll down the tunnel. When you emerge from it, ignore the springs and use the moving platform to continue onward. Head across the bridge and break through the boulders to find a Starpost. Go past the Starpost and head right. After the RhinoBot, break through more boulders to meet the Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Fireball Shooter Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When EggRobo appears, hit him once before running over to the right. EggRobo will drop a fireball onto the bridge, causing it to collapse. EggRobo will now disappear behind the waterfall and materialise on the right-hand side of the screen. Once EggRobo shoots his fireballs at you, jump to dodge them. This Boss Battle is harder for Knuckles, since he shoots twice as many fireballs at you, so you'll need to jump a lot to avoid them. After EggRobo shoots fireballs vertically and horizonally, attack him. If EggRobo appears by the eastern waterfall, be careful when hitting him, as EggRobo might disappear behind the waterfall and you'll fall into the ocean, causing you to lose a life in the process. If you have a Flame Shield, this Boss Battle will be much easier, since the fireballs won't hurt you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a Prison Egg starts to descend from above, wait for it to reach your jumping distance first. Once the Prison Egg is at a reasonable height, jump up to hit its plunger. When you automatically head right, Knuckles will approach a bridge and jump off it to enter Hydrocity Zone. =============================================================================== 9.02 - Hydrocity Zone =============================================================================== After Angel Island, Hydrocity ups the difficulty level of the game. The Zone is a remake of Sonic 1's Labyrinth Zone. Obstacles include conveyor belts, air fans, speed hand catapults, and spinning pillars. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land, go right and activate the switch. Go through the passageway (press A, B or C Button to let go of the bars) and drop down. Head right and inhale the bubbles to avoid drowning underwater. Whenever you see some bubbles, inhale them to avoid losing a life. Grab the Water Shield in the passageway at the end. Take out the Badniks and drop down. If you have the Water Shield, you won't be affected by their weapons and you won't drown underwater. Go through the passageway and let go of the poles. Hold Right to arrive at a Starpost. Run through the loop de loop and go left the second time you pass through it. Run across the water, and hold Right to appear by a Turbo Spiker. Run through the loop de loop and go right. Drop down and head right. Press the switch to activate the air fans. Climb up the conveyor belts and jump up via the spring. Go left and head into the Giant Ring. When you return, go up the slope and go past the Starpost. Spin Dash through the tunnel to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Whirlpool Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the machine charges towards you, Spin Dash in the opposite direction to evade its attack. After a while, the machine will connect itself to the pillar directly above you and start creating a whirlpool. Attack the machine now to destroy it. If the machine takes off again, wait until it reconnects itself to the pillar before finishing it off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Spin Dash through the walls and go past the Starpost. When a wall starts moving towards you, Spin Dash through more walls and proceed to drop down. If you've played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on its own, you'll notice that the spring has been replaced with a 1-Up! Grab it and drop down. Spin Dash through the last series of walls, and the wall will stop moving. Spin Dash onto the spinning pillar above and use the air fans to go up. Run down the slope and go left. As you go up the next slope, go past the Starpost, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slopes, and Spin Dash onto the pillar. Go up via the fans, and run down the slope. Spin Dash through the walls, and run up the slope. Grab the Invinibility in the passageway to the left. Go down the slopes. Climb up the moving platforms and go up the pillars. Use the fans as platforms, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slope and run across the bridge. Go past the Starpost and use the pillars as platforms. Run down the slopes, and hold Right to come across a few walls. Spin Dash through them and drop down. This is where Knuckles pressed a switch to cause the bridge that you're standing on to collapse in Sonic The Hedgehog 3, but now you can break through the wall to enter a new path. Head past a Turbo Spiker and use the moving pillars to climb up. At the top, glide across the spikes and use the speed hand catapult. You'll come across a LONG row of spikes. The row is too long to glide across from the floor, so you must climb up the western wall and glide to the right from there. You should make it to the eastern wall in no time. When you drop down, watch out for the moving pillars and the spikes. Go past the Starpost and break through the walls. EggRobo will appear in the centre of the screen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Water Suction Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When EggRobo appears, he'll position his machine over the water and create a water suction around it. You'll be pulled towards the water, so run in the opposite direction to avoid getting hurt. When EggRobo releases the water, you can jump on it, but it is tricky to do, due to Knuckles' low jump. I advice waiting for him to drop a few bombs on the floor. If you jump on top of them as they explode, the impact will catapult you upwards. If you time it correctly, you can hit EggRobo and bounce off him. Your best bet is to position Knuckles underneath EggRobo, so you'll be catapulted upwards and you'll hit him at the same time. This Boss is harder for Knuckles than Sonic/Tails, but if you're patient, you'll finish him off eventually. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you've opened the Prison Egg, a burst of water will catapult you into Marble Garden Zone. =============================================================================== 9.03 - Marble Garden Zone =============================================================================== After being underwater in Hydrocity, Marble Garden returns the player to the surface of the Floating Island. In this Zone, you'll be Spin Dashing a lot to uncover platforms and passageways. Earthquakes will be caused by the TunnelBot and EggRobo in Acts 1 and 2, respectively. Obstacles include platform-rising wheels, flying spinners, rotating platforms, pulley lifts, overhead spikes, arrow-shooting machines, chained spiked balls, and mud pits. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you land, run down the slopes and drop down. Spin Dash through the wall and jump over the chained spiked ball. Ignore the Tunnelbot, and wait for it to drill up. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover a series of platforms. Hop across them. When Knuckles' low jump stops you, glide over to the left and climb up the wall. Follow the directions on the signs, and Spin Dash again. Climb up the platforms and run down the hill (climb up the wall nearby when you have trouble jumping onto the last platform). Spin Dash through the wall and use the flying spinner to break through the next one. Go past the Starpost and run up the hill. Head right and wait for the maize to go up before Spin Dashing through the wall. Hit the arrow-shooting machine 3 times to drop down. Run down the hills and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Use the flying spinner to break through the walls. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the wall to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: TunnelBot - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the TunnelBot appears, it'll drill up to cause an earthquake. It's difficult to avoid the stalatites, so watch out. The other types of debris won't hurt you. When the TunnelBot returns, wait for its drills to point upwards before attacking it. Due to Knuckles' low jump, you must use the moving spiked platform to hit the Mini-Boss. This can be hard to do, but if you keep practicing, you'll get the hang of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Spin Dash through the wall and climb up the hills via the pulley lifts. Go right and Spin Dash through the wall. After seeing EggRobo (you can hit him if you want to, but it won't make a difference in the Boss Battle), head right and go down the hills. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Drop down and enter the passageway to find a Giant Ring. Go up and head right. Use the spinning top to continue onward. Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Go left and climb up the hills via the pulley lifts. Go past the Starpost and follow the directions on the signs. Hit the arrow machine three times to uncover two platforms. Head right and Spin Dash to uncover two platforms. Go right and run down the hill. Use the flying spinner to break through the walls. Go right and Spin Dash through the wall. Since Knuckles can't jump as high as Sonic/Tails, you can't hit the arrow-shooting machine. Go left and stop at the bottom of the hill (there are two signs nearby). Use the signs to guide you as you climb up the walls. After the spiked ball, go past the Starpost and break through the wall. After meeting EggRobo again, Spin Dash to reveal two platforms. Hit the arrow-shooting machine 3 times and then climb up the wall. After a Pointdexter and 2 Mantis, break through the walls and run down the slopes. As the scenery sinks, keep running to avoid getting crushed and losing a life. Spin Dash to uncover exits. When you come across an arrow-shooting machine, quickly hit it 3 times to reveal an exit. Use the pulley lift and go past the Starpost to face a Boss that is entirely different to the one that Sonic/Tails encounters. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Drill Chain Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ In my opinion, this can be a tricky Boss Battle to win, since EggRobo will drill two spiked chains in random directions. After he does so, he moves his machine through the first spiked chain and then through the other one. This is your chance to hit him, so be ready. Avoiding the spiked chains is hard, as EggRobo can launch them from anywhere on the screen. When he drills them, the debris that falls won't hurt you, but the spikes can, so watch out. Your best bet is to position Knuckles in the centre of the screen, as EggRobo rarely drills there. When you are hitting him, make sure you don't touch the thrusters by mistake, unless you have a Flame Shield. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you've opened the Prison Egg, you automatically go right, entering Carnival Night Zone in the process. =============================================================================== 9.04 - Carnival Night Zone =============================================================================== After the boring background of Marble Garden, the player enters Carnival Night, a colourful Zone. This Zone is a remake of Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone. Obstacles include balloons, dropping platforms, rotating drums, spinning wheels, and bumpers. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and hover upwards. Break through the walls and run down the slopes. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go past the white cylinder. This part can be tricky. You must use the two cannons to catapult Knuckles upwards, since the cylinder will sent you down, if you grab onto it. When you manage to use the cannons to go up and then right, make your way through the 4 white cylinders and break through the floor. Go past the Starpost and break through the wall. After the spinning wheel, drop down and head right. Jump over the spring and land on the moving drum nearby. It can be difficult to jump onto, since there are spikes underneath it and it moves very fast, so be careful. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and glide over the row of spikes. Go slowly past the moving drums to avoid getting crushed by them. Head down the dropping platform and jump onto the moving drum nearby. Go past the Starpost and head right to find a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Now use the dropping platform and go right to meet the Mini-Boss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Drill Blade Machine - 4 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ To beat this Mini-Boss, you must trick it into destroying itself. When the drill detaches itself from the blade, it'll move around the screen and start destroying the floor you are standing on. If you fall off the floor, you'll lose a life, so it's important to end this Mini-Boss Battle as quickly as you can. To destroy the Mini-Boss, you must hit the blade to open and extend it. When the drill attempts to re-attach itself to the blade, you'll score a hit. Watch out for the energy that appears around it at different times. If you touch it, you'll get hurt, so be careful. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and head down the slope. Make your way past the bumpers and enter the water. After the two rotating drums, go right and climb up the eastern wall. At the top, break through the walls and run through the speed boosts. Spin Dash up the slope and glide carefully across the bumpers. Jump onto the moving drum and climb up the wall. Grab the Lightning Shield on the platform nearby and head right. Make your way past the bumpers and glide to grab onto the edge of a platform. You can use the moving drums instead, but it's harder. Use the cannon to catapult Knuckles over to the right, but watch out for the spikes on the edge of the wall. Make your past the bumpers and head past the Starpost. After the anti-gravity platform, go up the slope and head through the hidden passageway. Run through the speed boosts and open the three Boxes at the end. Drop down the invisible hole and run through more speed boosts. Eventually, you'll hover upwards and see a Prison Egg nearby. Open it to finish the level. Yes, there was no drum to get underneath or a Boss to fight as Knuckles. Perhaps Sonic Team realised how much trouble a lot of players had getting past the rotating drum and decided to programme a different version of the level for Knuckles? (It is, however, possible for Knuckles to enter Sonic's/Tails' version of Carnival Night Zone. Check the Glitches section for more information.) Anyway, go right and use the teleporter to transport Knuckles to Icecap Zone. =============================================================================== 9.05 - Icecap Zone =============================================================================== After the annoying Act 2 of Carnival Night, Icecap compensates with a short scene at the start and great music throughout the level. Obstacles include ice blasters, ice blocks, ice pillars, spring boards, stalactites, and swing lifts. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When you arrive, go right and drop down. This is where Sonic ends his snowboard ride and where Tails starts the level. Spin Dash through the wall and continue onward. Go past the Starpost and jump on the spring. Head right and break the ice surrounding the switch. Press the switch to cause the ledge to collapse. Drop down and run past the ice blasters. If you get hit, you'll be frozen in ice. Slide down the slopes, and jump onto the platform to the left. Use the platform to break through the walls. As Knuckles, you can break through them if you're having trouble jumping onto the platform, due to his low jump. Smash the ice surrounding the springs and jump up them. When you come across a few Penguinators and a Star Pointer, break through the wall to the right, as Sonic's/Tails' route is blocked off. This part of the level is tough to get through. You must glide back and forth to reach the bottom. Since there are frozen spikes everywhere, it can be difficult to avoid them, but there is a Lightning Shield nearby. If you can grab it and drop down, you'll probably lose your Shield, but you won't have lost any Rings. When you land, break through the walls and slide down the slope. Hop across the stalactites one by one to avoid being hit by them and knocked into the frozen spikes. Smash the frozen spring and slide down the slope. Break through the walls and climb up. Run past the moving platforms quickly to avoid getting crushed. Smash the frozen switch and press it. Drop down and slide down the slope. Run past the moving platforms and the ice blasters. Ignore the swing lifts and use Knuckles' climbing skills to go up the walls. When you come across an ice blaster, go past it and head across the bridge. Smash the frozen switch and press it. Drop down and go past the Starpost. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Snowball Machine - 6 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When the machine encircles itself with snowballs, make sure Knuckles is on the right side of the screen. After a while, the snowballs will fly into the air and drop down shortly afterwards. When you attack the machine, you'll probably only be able to hit it 2 times during each attack sequence, due to Knuckles' low jump, so be patient. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Go right and smash the frozen spring. Jump on it, but watch out for the Star Pointer patroling the area. When you go past the small stalatites, they'll fall on top of you, so be ready. Run through the loop de loop and go down the frozen passageway. Use the swing lift and head right. Go through the loop de loop and break the tunnel underneath it. Beware of the Star Pointer nearby. When you drop down, let the moving platform take you to a spring underwater. Jump on it and go left to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Use the spring to return to the surface. Go past the Penguinators and glide across. After the ice blasters, use the swing lift and the purple spring boards to reach another ice blaster. Head across the bridge and Spin Dash through the loop de loops to avoid being crushed by a moving platform. You should come across a frozen switch. Smash it open and press it. Drop down. Go past the Penguinators and run through the loop de loop. Head across the bridge and avoid the Star Pointers. Hop across the dropping platforms. Watch out for the ice blasters as you do so. After the two Penguinators, let this dropping platform send you down to a spring. Find the Giant Ring in the hidden passageway to the right, and use the spring to catapult Knuckles upwards. Go past the Starpost and jump over the Robotnik Boxes. If you break them open, you'll lose all your Rings or lose a life, so be careful. Use the purple spring boards to go to the surface. Run through the loop de loops and go past the Starpost. Watch out for the moving platforms and a Star Pointer as you go through the passageway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Ice Blaster Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ As EggRobo flies towards you, he'll fire his ice blaster. Jump onto the platform and hit EggRobo quickly before jumping off it. Now wait for EggRobo to fire the ice blaster underneath his machine to attack him again. If you get hit, you'll be frozen in ice and you'll lose all your Rings. EggRobo will rise and lower the platform, so wait for him to lower it first. After hitting EggRobo six times, the platform will fall apart, but the Boss Battle isn't over yet. EggRobo continues to fly towards you. Hit him two more times to win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you have opened the Prison Egg, head right and Spin Dash through a tunnel to enter Launch Base Zone. =============================================================================== 9.06 - Launch Base Zone =============================================================================== Launch Base Zone is the final level of Sonic The Hedgehog 3. Although there are many dangerous obstacles, such as flamethrower machines and lasers, this Zone isn't too difficult to complete in comparision to Sonic 1's Scrap Brain Zone and Sonic 2's Metropolis Zone. This is probably due to the fact that Sonic & Knuckles was originally supposed to be part of Sonic 3, so Launch Base isn't too tough, as Sonic Team had planned to release the "Sonic 3 Complete version" (AKA Sonic 3 & Knuckles), but they decided to release Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles separately instead. Obstacles in the Launch Base include laser walls, overhead lasers, rotating gold cups, red sirens, rotating magnetic drums, and flame blasters. Watch out for the Orbinauts that are above or underneath the magnetic drums. When laser walls block your progress, wait for a moment to see an opening. If you run through it quickly, you'll pass through the opening and avoid the lasers. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= After emerging from the ground, head right and go past the alarms. You'll set them off, causing a group of Flybot767s to fly towards you. If you destroy them one after another and keep setting off the alarms, the score counter will increase, so it's a good way to improve your score. The Death Egg can't be seen in the background. It seems Robotnik was repairing the space station in this level and was preparing to launch it, but Sonic/Tails blasted it to smithereens. Anyway, go right and use the gravelling hook to come across an elevator. Take the elevator and jump into the rotating gold cup. After riding it, destroy the switch and jump into another cup. At the top, go right and down the slope. Go left and head past the Starpost. Ride the cup and go right. Destroy the switch and drop down. When you reach an elevator, take it and the next one. Go left and drop down. Destroy the switch and drop down. Go past the Starpost and Spin Dash through the pipes. When you come across a tall wall, climb up it. As you enter a passageway, you'll drop down. Ignore the switch nearby and go left. When you have passed the Starpost, head back to the switch and destroy it. Drop down to fight the Mini-Bosses. Yes, unlike Sonic/Tails, you have to battle two of them at once! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mini-Boss Battle: Spiked Rotating Machines - 12 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ While this Mini-Boss Battle may seem intimidating, having two Mini-Bosses to deal with, it's not too difficult if you stay calm. The machines will copy your movements, so your best bet is to take them out individually. Each spike takes 3 hits to destroy. If you are patient and hit them one at a time, two of the 4 spikes will be destroyed soon enough. This makes the Mini-Boss Battle much easier. If you can hit the machines 6 more times, you'll win. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= When the platform you're standing on explodes and you land on the floor, go right and use the hidden spring. Run through the speed boosts and head up the pipes. Glide across the gap and go past a Ribot and an Orbinaut. When you notice a waterfall, use the gravelling hook and hop across the platform. Run down the pipes and Spin Dash the yellow pipe. Enter the water to be sent through the pipe. There's a Starpost to your left, so pass it and then head right. When you do so, watch out for 2 Ribots and an Orbinaut. After the waterfall, use the gravelling hook and jump over to the right. Avoid the flame blaster and climb up the wall. Destroy the switch and ride the cup down. Once the flame blaster fires a flame, leave the cup and grab the Water Shield. A large part of Act 2 is underwater, so try to hang onto that Water Shield as long as you can. Use the speed boosts to go up the pipes and Spin Dash through a yellow pipe. This fills the area full of water. When you go left, watch out for a Ribot. Fortunately, the Water Shield will repel any projectiles that are fired at you. When you come across an Orbinaut, it can be difficult to get past, since it can move faster than Knuckles underwater. If you go left and Spin Dash to the right, you can continue onward. When you use the speed boost, a wall will block your progress. Fortunately, the switch that unlocks it is nearby. If you destroy it, you can go up and then right. Ride the cup and jump off it afterwards. When you notice another cup, you won't be able to ride it, due to Knuckles' low jump, so break through the wall nearby. Spin Dash through the pipes and enter a yellow pipe to emerge beside a Starpost. Activate it and go right. After the speed boost, go past a Ribot and head right to battle not one but two Bosses! On the plus side, you won't have to fight the first Boss that Sonic/Tails encounters, but you'll have to battle the tricky Final Boss of Sonic 3 instead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Laser Shooter Machine - 9 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ As EggRobo flies up, he'll shoot lasers at you. Jump up to dodge his attacks. Hit him 4 times to destroy two of the four lasers. When EggRobo appears again, hit him another 4 times to destroy the two remaining lasers. If you touch the spike that is circling around EggRobo, you'll get hurt, so be careful. Once all 4 lasers are destroyed, hit EggRobo one more time to cause the Badnik to retreat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EggRobo flies up in his Egg Pod and returns in his most dangerous machine yet! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boss Battle: EggRobo's Spiked Grabber Machine - 8 Hits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Notes and Strategy ------------------ When EggRobo approaches you, try to hit his face without touching the spikes by mistake. It may take a while to hit the right part of the machine, so keep practicing to get the hang of it. As Knuckles, you can glide into EggRobo's face to have a better chance of hitting him. Watch out for the hands which can grab Knuckles and take your Rings. When EggRobo goes back and forth on top of the screen, he'll swoop down. As EggRobo goes left and right underneath you, jump back and forth to avoid the spikes. He'll repeat his attack pattern after a while. After 8 hits, EggRobo's machine will explode and the Badnik will retreat... for good. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Like Angel Island Zone, a Prison Egg descends from above. Use the same method to open it. EggRobo returns in his Egg Pod and drops a bomb where Knuckles is standing. As the Badnik flies off, the bomb explodes, causing the area to be engulfed in flames. Knuckles tries to get away, but he trips and falls into the zone below. Congratulations! You have completed the first half of Sonic 3 & Knuckles! =============================================================================== 9.07 - Aftermath =============================================================================== You land in Mushroom Hill Zone. Act 1 has been extended slightly with a new opening area. Go right a bit and break through the walls to find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. Jump into it to be transported to the Emerald Chamber of Hidden Palace Zone. Check the SpecialStage section for more information. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Sonic & Knuckles Continuation =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Upon returning to Mushroom Hill Zone, exit the passageway and go right for a while to end up in the area that you start from in Sonic & Knuckles alone. There is no difference between the levels in S3&K and S&K from this point, so read the S&K Walkthrough for help on progressing through the second half of S3&K. Any other differences will be mentioned in that walkthrough.The final Zone is Sky Sanctuary for Knuckles. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Endings =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds, Regular/Super Knuckles will appear on Sonic's biplane, holding the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles return to the Floating Island. As the island rises higher into the sky, Sonic leaves in his plane. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, an exhausted Knuckles will appear on Sonic's biplane, but he won't have the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles return to the Floating Island. The island descends into the sea as Sonic leaves in his plane. When you complete the game, watch the credits roll and you'll eventually see a short scene at the end, depending on whether you collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. If you got all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds, you'll see a view of outer space where Knuckles faces the screen in front of the Sonic & Knuckles logo. If you acquired all 7 Super Emeralds, you'll also see Sonic, Tails and Knuckles standing in front of the Sonic 3 & Knuckles logo. If you obtained 0-6 Chaos Emeralds, you'll see a short-circuiting Metal Sonic with the Master Emerald. He somehow repaired himself, despite exploding to pieces. The robot comes back to life and jumps onto the Master Emerald, but nothing happens. This ending proves that Metal Sonic is still alive, allowing him to return in future games. ############################################################################### 10. Giant Ring Locations (Sonic/Tails) ############################################################################### This section lists the locations of the Giant Rings. =============================================================================== ANGEL ISLAND ZONE =============================================================================== Angel Island Zone is an excellent level for finding Giant Rings. If you're having trouble locating them in later levels, I suggest re-starting this Zone once you complete the game, as it's the easiest place to find Giant Rings. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Run right and go past the Monkeydude. After the RhinoBot and the two spikes, drop down and Spin Dash through the boulders to the left. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Run through the loop de loop. In the water, jump on the spring to be catapulted over to the right. Run through the loop de loop, and go up the tunnel. When you hear the Mini-Boss theme music, an armada of Bomber Ships will set fire to Angel Island. Go past the Starpost and go down the slope. When you see the four springs, break through the tunnel to below you. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the spring to enter the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Spin Dash through the tunnel and hold Right to break through the boulders. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Drop down and head right. Go across the bridge, and Spin Dash through the boulders. Collect the Water Shield and run down the hill. Go up the hills, and Spin Dash through the tunnel. Jump up to the switch via the spring. Press the switch to drain the water. Drop down and head right. Go past the Starpost and head across the wooden bridge. Climb up the ledges and head right. Take out the Bloominator, and run through the loop de loop. You'll roll over a slope and two springs will catapult you onward. Go left and drop down into the water. To the right, enter the hidden passageway to find the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== Hydrocity ZONE =============================================================================== Finding the Giant Rings in Hydrocity Zone can be much harder than in Angel Island Zone. You can easily miss them if you run fast through the level. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you land, go right and activate the switch. Go through the passageway (press A, B or C Button to let go of the bars) and drop down. Head right and inhale the bubbles to avoid drowning underwater. Whenever you see some bubbles, inhale them to avoid losing a life. Grab the Water Shield in the passageway at the end. Take out the Badniks and drop down. If you have the Water Shield, you won't be affected by their weapons and you won't drown underwater. Go through the passageway and let go of the bars. Hold Right to arrive at a Starpost. Drop down to the left and go down the slope to come across another Starpost. To the left of the Starpost, you can find the Giant Ring in the hidden passageway. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Run through the loop de loop and go left the second time you pass through it. Run across the water, and hold Right to appear by a Turbo Spiker. Run through the loop de loop and go right. Drop down and head right. Press the switch to activate the fans. Climb up the treadmills and jump up via the spring. Go left and head into the hidden passageway to find the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Spin Dash through the walls and go past the Starpost. When a wall starts moving towards you, Spin Dash through more walls and proceed to drop down. If you've played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on its own, you'll notice that the spring has been replaced with a 1-Up! Grab it and drop down. Spin Dash through the last series of walls, and the wall will stop moving. Spin Dash onto the spinning pillar above and use the air fans to go up. Run down the slope and go left. As you go up the next slope, go past the Starpost, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slopes, and Spin Dash onto the pillar. Go up via the fans, and run down the slope. Spin Dash through the walls, and run up the slope. Grab the Invinibility in the passageway to the left. Go down the slopes and climb up the moving platforms. As Sonic, use them to go left and jump through a fake wall to discover a passageway containing the Giant Ring. As Tails, you can fly there. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Before you Spin Dash through the walls to meet Knuckles, go left and head across the bridge. When you see two moving pillars, jump on the eastern one and use it to go up. Jump through the fake wall to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== MARBLE GARDEN ZONE =============================================================================== The Giant Rings of Marble Garden Zone are hidden in passageways throughout the level. In Act 1, you'll have to use the flying blue spinner to break through them. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you land, run down the slopes and drop down. Spin Dash through the wall and jump over the maize. Ignore the Tunnelbot, and wait for it to drill up. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover a series of platforms. Hop across them, and use the blue spinning top to go up and then left. Follow the directions on the signs, and Spin Dash again to uncover platforms. Climb up the platforms and run down the hill. Spin Dash through the wall and use the spinning top to break through the next one. Go back to where the spinning top is/was and drop down to the right. Go left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Go right and head across the oil. Run down the hill and go past the Starpost. Head down the loop de loop and go left. If you're playing as Sonic, you'll need to be very fast to run onto the moving platforms above. If you're playing as Tails, fly up to them. Jump across to the right to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Spin Dash to reveal a passageway. Grab the Invincibility and go right. Hit the two arrow machines three times each to drop down. Go left through the moving spikes and grab the Invincibility. Jump across to the left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== CARNIVAL NIGHT ZONE =============================================================================== The Giant Rings are much easier to find in Carnival Night Zone. They're always hidden in secret passageways throughout the level. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- If you're playing as Sonic, Tails will fly him down. If you're playing as Tails, he'll fly down on his own. Go right and jump across the balloons. Go up the slope and float across the anti-gravity platforms. After the two moving spikes, go down the slope and up the rotating white cylinder. Go right and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Hover upwards and go head left. Make your way past the bumpers and rotating drums. The drums can crush you if you run too fast or too slowly, so be careful. Go left and head past the bumpers. Jump on the dropping platform to make it rise, so you can jump over to the right. Collect the Water Shield and go right. Hover upwards. Use the dropping platform to jump onto the spinning wheel. When you run around the wheel and reach the top, jump over to the left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Jump over to the right and go past the Starpost. Spin Dash through the wall and go down the yellow tunnel. If you emerged from the tunnel on the right side, go right and use the spinning wheels to continue onward. Collect the Invincibility and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Go down the yellow tunnel and head right. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go past the rotating white cylinders. At the top, collect the Water Shield and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Go right and head down the slope. Make your way past the bumpers and enter the water. After the two rotating drums, go right and jump onto the drum. From there, go past the Starpost and float across the anti-gravity platforms. Go left and use the dropping platform. When you see a cannon and a few balloons, go through the wall to enter a hidden passageway. After opening the 3 Computer Boxes in the room, drop down to find the Giant Ring underneath it. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you've got underneath the rotating drum, drop down and collect the Invinibility. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go down the slope. Make your way past the rotating drums and hover upwards. Go left and hover upwards again. When you are in the air, use the balloons to go up and jump through the eastern fake wall to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== ICE CAP ZONE =============================================================================== The difficulty level of getting the Giant Rings is increasing, but you may have collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds by now. In Act 2, follow the bottom path to find the Giant Rings. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Spin Dash through the wall and continue onward. Go past the Starpost and jump on the spring. Head right and ignore the switch. Go through the wall to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you are going down the neverending slope, there is a fake wall to your right. Ignore the platform to your left and keep holding Right and jumping east to go through the fake wall. You'll discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you pass a Starpost and come across the Robotnik Boxes, go back to the Starpost and let the dropping platform nearby take you down. You'll see a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Use the purple spring boards to go to the surface. Run through the loop de loops. As Sonic or Knuckles, you must be fast enough to jump onto the spring boards at the end. As Tails, you can fly there. 64 Rings will be floating above you. Go right to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== LAUNCH BASE ZONE =============================================================================== Surprisingly, the Giant Rings in Launch Base Zone aren't too difficult to find. It's possible to collect 4 Chaos Emeralds in this Zone. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- After emerging from the ground, head right and go past the alarms. You'll set them off, causing a group of Flybot767s to fly towards you. When you pass an Orbinaut, jump off the magnetic cylinder to drop down. Go left and enter the tunnel to find the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you come to the first Starpost, go left and jump off the magnetic cylinder to drop down. Head left and enter the tunnel to find the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Ride the cup and go right. When you enter the water, go left and head into the tunnel behind the spring to find the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you go to enter the water, don't ride the cup. Instead, go right and head up the slope. If you go through the tunnel at the end, you'll find the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== MUSHROOM HILL ZONE =============================================================================== Mushroom Hill Zone has the largest number of Giant Rings in this game. If you can find them all, you may be able to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds in this Zone, assuming that you can complete the Special Stages. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 (S3&K only) ------------- After seeing a short scene of Knuckles locking away a Giant Ring in a hidden passageway, you can enter the passageway and walk into the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 2240043F Access Difficulty: Hard Head right and go past the Butterdroids. Run through the loop de loop and roll down the hill. Collect the Super Shoes for a speed boost. Ignore the pulley lift nearby and proceed right. Climb up the poles and run through the loop de loop. Use the pulley lift above you to go up. Press Up and Down to make the pulley lift go up and down, respectively. Use the two mushrooms to raise Sonic higher, so you can access the spring above you. Bounce on it and speed through the loop de loop. Use this swing lift to send Sonic over to the right. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and drop the pole at the bottom right. You'll land next to a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 2D3F06C1 Access Difficulty: Easy Exit the passageway by going right, and use the swing lift to hoist Sonic up to a vine-shaped bridge. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Run down the hill and drop down again to find a pulley lift. To the right of it is a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #4 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 38C20742 Access Difficulty: Easy Exit the passageway and use the pulley lift. Run through two loop de loops. When you nearly reach a mushroom at the top, stop running left and drop down to the right. Continue onward to find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 104203C0 Access Difficulty: Hard Go right and run down the hill to meet Knuckles. He pulls a lever, sending you hovering upwards. When you land, you'll notice that the seasons have changed and that it's Autumn/Fall now. Collect the Invincibility and go right. Use the mushroom seesaws and run through the loop de loops. Drop through the gap nearby and use the pole to hoist Sonic upwards. Use the spring to go up the loop de loop and find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1CC00640 Access Difficulty: Hard Drop down and use the pulley lift nearby. Go right and use the mushrooms to send Sonic up to a Super Ring and an Invincibility. Use the spring to go over to the right. Go up the loop de loop and use another spring. When you land near a spring and a mushroom, drop down to the left and head right to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 294002C1 Access Difficulty: Hard Now exit the passageway and use the seesaw to land on a spring above. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and bounce on the red spring to catapult Sonic over to the swing lift. If you can use the springs to bounce Sonic over to the right, you'll land near a loop de loop. When you come across a Cluckoid, go past it to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #4 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 39C00642 Access Difficulty: Easy Run through the loop de loops and use the pulley lift to go upwards. Before you do so, go past the Cluckoid and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. =============================================================================== FLYING BATTERY ZONE =============================================================================== In this Zone, it can be very easy to miss the Giant Rings. Go slowly through the level. There are fewer Giant Rings in this Zone than in Mushroom Hill Zone, but you can find 4 Giant Rings here. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1D4305C1 Access Difficulty: Easy Go right and head through the purple cylinder. Go down the platform and head left. Go past the flame blasters and head right. Outside the Flying Battery, hop across the platforms and use the levers. Jump onto the ledge and go up to re-enter the Blimp. Go past the Starpost and make your way through the purple cylinders. Spin Dash up the slope and position Sonic on the flame blaster. After being catapulted upwards, go right and use the moving platforms to go over to the flame blaster. If you open the Prison Egg, Badniks will emerge from it, so watch out. Use the flame blaster to go upwards. Go past the mines and use the poles. Drop down and go left. Jump over the speed boost and go past more mines. Go down the platform and head right. Wait for the platforms to rise to avoid getting crushed. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Drop down and go left. Spin Dash up the slopes and jump on the Prison Egg. When you run through the purple cylinders, you'll stop on top of a ledge that collapses instantly. Before it collapses, proceed left and use the flipping platforms above you to go up. Head past the flame blaster and move the spikes nearby to uncover a hidden hole. Drop down to find a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 24C007C0 Access Difficulty: Easy When you are running down a purple cylinder before the last Starpost, jump down and go left. Proceed past the Prison Eggs and Spin Dash left to enter a tunnel. There is a Giant Ring at the end of it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 18410740 Access Difficulty: Hard Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 25BF0740 Access Difficulty: Easy When you go up the last purple cylinder before the Mini-Boss Battle, hold Left to send your character over to a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. As Sonic, you can use the Lightning Shield to jump higher. As Tails, you can fly there. =============================================================================== SANDOPOLIS ZONE =============================================================================== Sandopolis Zone's Giant Rings can be very hard to find, especially in Act 2. There are some Giant Rings that only Knuckles can access, due to his climbing ability. If you follow my guide, it will be much easier to find the Giant Rings in Act 1, but it seems impossible for Sonic to locate them in Act 2. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 2541012E Access Difficulty: Easy When you land in the sand, jump up. Go right and push the yellow block. Ride it and go down the slides. Run down the slope and grab the pulley lift. Go right and run through the loop de loop. Push the yellow block and ride it. Use the swings and go left. Collect the Invincibility and go up. When you go past a Starpost, head left for a while. When you see the spikes at the bottom of the waterfall of sand, jump over the swing and proceed past the quicksand. You'll eventually find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 28BF050 Access Difficulty: Easy Go past the Starpost and head down the slides. When you land in the quicksand, jump over to the right. Push the yellow block and ride it. Jump onto the swing and use it to go up. Climb up the small waterfall of sand to find a hidden passagway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 3E220401 Access Difficulty: Easy Spin Dash up the slope, and use the platforms to go up the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the pulley lift. Push the yellow block and ride it. Go right and then up. Use the swing and go past the Starpost. When you go down the slide and push the yellow block across, sink down the quicksand and go left. After a Skorp, head past the quicksand to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This part was written by Blitz256. Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 154005B4 Access Difficulty: Hard At the start of the Act, head right until you pass the quicksand and open the door by pushing the switch. Make sure you push it all the way. Now head right until you are bounced into a small waterfall of sand. Take it to the top and instead of taking the usual right, go left (if you pushed the switch all the way and weren't too slow, the door should still be open). Head left and you should find an electrical shield underneath a small sand waterfall. Take this and make sure you keep it as you'll need it. If the door has shut by now use the nearby switch to open it. Now, head right as usual and release the ghosts. Push the switch to pass through the room and reach the sand slides. Take the slide and when you drop to another, use your electric shield effect to make your way up this slide instead of down. You'll reach the top where another slide heads left. Take this down and you'll reach a secluded room with the Giant Ring. Note: When using the electric shield effect to climb the slide, it will prove to be much more effective if you wait until your falling back down to use the double jump effect. You will head right a lot easier. However, the electric shield is the hardest way to do it. If you're lucky enough to have gained your Super form by now (and are going for your Hyper Sonic form or just want an extra 50 rings), your enhanced jumping ability that you have while transformed will be more than enough to make it up the slide. Also the fire shield works even better if you managed to keep one from the previous act. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 50420340 Access Difficulty: Hard Head left down the holes and you'll end up back on the slides. Just keep sliding until you see the swinging platform, then you should jump to the other slide (don't worry if you miss it, it'll appear again). Slide down the slide you just switched to and you should hit a checkpoint. Continue right and push the switch all the way. Hurry left and bounce up to the kart and push it onto the tracks. Ride to the door and get through before it closes (if you still have the electric shield, you can shortcut this by just using your shield effect to climb the wall next to the bouncer after pushing the switch). Use the swinging platform to get to the bungee cord to get to the platform below. Push the switch all the way, then head right, than up the swinging platforms, then left and up through the door before it closes. Now continue right to the loop which will send you into a bouncer which sends you into another loop which will throw you up the ceiling and to a checkpoint. Head right over the gap and push the switch all the way. Then duck under the spikes and ride the swinging platform up so you can get to the ledge before the door closes. Now you'll need to bust open the sand stream on the roof to fill the room with sand so you can continue. Let the sand take you up, then run left, then take the sand up until it stops. Jump onto the swinging pillar so you can reach the switch to open the door. Head right and break open the next sand stream. Let the sand lift you up to the ledge, then head right, then ride the sand past the pillar to get to the ledge on the right. Push the switch to open the ceiling and get up there. Duck your way under the spikes and through this narrow passageway before the sand crushes you. Push the switch to the right to open the doors. If you have enough time before the sand reaches you, feel free to grab the extra life behind the left door. Either way, head through the right door. The sand will still be rising so ride it to the top until it stops. Use the swinging platform to head right and push the switch to open up the floor so you can drop down. Duck under the pillar and go right to reach the swinging platform. Use it to grab the bungee cord to take you to an opening in the wall below. Jump over the spikes to get behind a sand waterfall. There's a spring hidden from view at the foot of the wall that will bounce you to the top of the wall. Keep going right over the spikes to go through a loop and be sent hurtling into quicksand. Make your way over the quicksand and pillars to the left to reach a bungee cord. After riding your way through 20 rings, you'll reach a ledge to the right with a breakable rock on it. Head right over the pillar to reach yet another checkpoint. Ride the slide to a loop that sends you flying to another, much longer, slide. Reach the bottom and you'll enter another loop that sends you up the wall to a ledge. Use the pillars to the right to reach the above platform with the bouncer on it (don't worry if you fall, just break the rock and use the spring to be sent back up). Use the bouncer to be sent flying along the path to a switch. Don't push the switch yet. Jump to the swinging platform and ride it to the ceiling to find a blocked sand stream. Break it open and jump back down to the floor. Now push the switch all the way to the right. Now quickly run to the right, over the sand and over the ledge. Jump down the steps and go under the pillar. Stop before you drop down. On the right of the room is a closing door. Duck into it before it closes and you'll reach a room with the Giant Ring. After using it use the switch to exit the room and drop down to the final checkpoint before the boss battle of the act. =============================================================================== LAVA REEF ZONE =============================================================================== After the difficulty of finding the Giant Rings in Sandopolis Zone, this Zone is a nice level to journey through. There are 4 Giant Rings in the level, and they aren't as hard to reach as the ones in Sandopolis Zone. Unfortunately, Giant Rings won't appear in later levels, so this is your last chance to find them and collect the Chaos Emeralds. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 114206BD Access Difficulty: Easy When you land, drop down the two ledges and Spin Dash through the boulders. Press the switch and go through the opening. Hop across the rocks. If you fall into the pool of lava, you'll get hurt. Go right and climb up the steps. Avoid the flamethrowers as you do so. Collect the Invincibility and go right. Run down the slope and go across the pool of lava. Press the switch and go through the opening. Spin Dash through the boulders and run through the brown cylinder. Run left and go past the pool of lava. When you reach the waterfall of lava, wait for an opening to appear before crossing it. Use the spring and jump over to the Starpost. Collect the Flame Shield and go left. Destroy the switch and go through an opening. Jump on the black platform and position Sonic to the left. Spin Dash to lower the platform. Go right and press the switch. Go through the opening and make your way down the steps. Head across the waterfall of lava and press the switch. Go through the opening and head right. You can attack the drilling machine if you want to, but it'll fall into the pool of lava, destroying it. When you land, hop across the rocks and press the switch. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash up. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the moving spiked platform. As the platform reaches its zenith, jump right to enter a fake wall. You'll discover a hidden room containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1A41023D Access Difficulty: Easy Go left and use another platform. Climb up the steps and press the switch. Go through the opening and use the platform. When the moving platform rises, jump down and head right. Spin Dash through the boulders and stop at the Starpost. As Tails or Sonic & Tails, you can use Tails' flying ability to fly up and find the Giant Ring. It's impossible for Sonic to get to this Giant Ring alone. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 16C105C2 Access Difficulty: Easy Run down the slope and collect the Flame Shield. When the ledge collapses, go down the steps and head right. Go across the bridge and run down the black tunnel. Go left and destroy the switch. Run through the opening and head down the slope. Watch out for the spiked ball as you drop down the gap. Now jump up and head left. Beware of the flamethrowers as you do so. Bounce on the spring to break through the ground. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash to move the machine. When you reach the top, go left to enter a fake wall. You'll discover a hidden room containing the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 15C106C2 Access Difficulty: Easy When the pool of lava freezes over, go right and head across it. Press the switch and go through the opening. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes. Dodge the Robotnik Boxes and use the moving platforms to go to the top. Head right and run down the slope. Drop down and go left. Drop down the ledge and go down the steps. Spin Dash through the walls and use the spring. Jump onto the moving platform and go left to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1BC00841 Access Difficulty: Easy Drop down and go left. Head past the moving spikes and run down the slope. Go right and jump over the flamethrowers. Press the switch and enter the opening. Use the spiked platforms and go right. Head past the Starpost and use the spring. Jump across the platforms while dodging the spikes. Go left and press the switch. Enter the opening and head past the flamethrowers. Use the spiked platforms and go right. Press the switch and enter the opening. Use the blue cylinders as pulley lifts. Go left and use the spring. Collect the Flame Shield in the hidden passageway and jump across the two platforms. Enter another hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 26410642 Access Difficulty: Easy ############################################################################### 5. Giant Ring Locations (Knuckles) ############################################################################### This section lists the locations of the Giant Rings. =============================================================================== ANGEL ISLAND ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Run right and go past the Monkeydude. After the RhinoBot and the two spikes, drop down and Spin Dash through the boulders to the left. Go into the Giant Ring to enter the Special Stage. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Run through the loop de loop. In the water, jump on the spring to be catapulted over to the right. Run through the loop de loop, and go up the tunnel. When you hear the Mini-Boss theme music, an armada of Bomber Ships will set fire to Angel Island. Go past the Starpost and go down the slope. When you see the four springs, break through the tunnel to below you. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the spring to enter the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== Hydrocity ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you land, go right and activate the switch. Go through the passageway (press A, B or C Button to let go of the bars) and drop down. Head right and inhale the bubbles to avoid drowning underwater. Whenever you see some bubbles, inhale them to avoid losing a life. Grab the Water Shield in the passageway at the end. Take out the Badniks and drop down. If you have the Water Shield, you won't be affected by their weapons and you won't drown underwater. Go through the passageway and let go of the bars. Hold Right to arrive at a Starpost. Drop down to the left and go down the slope to come across another Starpost. To the left of the Starpost, you can find the Giant Ring in the hidden passageway. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Run through the loop de loop and go left the second time you pass through it. Run across the water, and hold Right to appear by a Turbo Spiker. Run through the loop de loop and go right. Drop down and head right. Press the switch to activate the fans. Climb up the treadmills and jump up via the spring. Go left and head into the hidden passageway to find the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Spin Dash through the walls and go past the Starpost. When a wall starts moving towards you, Spin Dash through more walls and proceed to drop down. If you've played Sonic The Hedgehog 3 on its own, you'll notice that the spring has been replaced with a 1-Up! Grab it and drop down. Spin Dash through the last series of walls, and the wall will stop moving. Spin Dash onto the spinning pillar above and use the air fans to go up. Run down the slope and go left. As you go up the next slope, go past the Starpost, and run through the loop de loop. Go down the slopes, and Spin Dash onto the pillar. Go up via the fans, and run down the slope. Spin Dash through the walls, and run up the slope. Grab the Invinibility in the passageway to the left. Go down the slopes and climb up the moving platforms. As Knuckles, you can climb up the walls. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Before you drop down and break down the wall leading to the room full of spikes, go left and head across the bridge. When you see two moving pillars, jump on the eastern one and use it to go up. Jump through the fake wall to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== MARBLE GARDEN ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you land, run down the slopes and drop down. Spin Dash through the wall and jump over the maize. Ignore the Tunnelbot, and wait for it to drill up. Go right and Spin Dash to uncover a series of platforms. Hop across them, and use the blue spinning top to go up and then left. Follow the directions on the signs, and Spin Dash again to uncover platforms. Climb up the platforms and run down the hill. Spin Dash through the wall and use the spinning top to break through the next one. Go back to where the spinning top is/was and drop down to the right. Go left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Go right and head across the oil. Run down the hill and go past the Starpost. Head down the loop de loop and go left. If you're playing as Sonic, you'll need to be very fast to run onto the moving platforms above. If you're playing as Tails, fly up to them. If you're playing as Knuckles, you can climb up. Jump across to the right to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Spin Dash to reveal a passageway. Grab the Invincibility and go right. Hit the two arrow machines three times each to drop down. Go left through the moving spikes and grab the Invincibility. Jump across to the left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== CARNIVAL NIGHT ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Go right and hover upwards. Break through the walls and run down the slopes. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and go past the white cylinder. This part can be tricky. You must use the two cannons to catapult Knuckles upwards, since the cylinder will sent you down, if you grab onto it. When you manage to use the cannons to go up and then right, make your way through the 4 white cylinders and break through the floor. Go past the Starpost and break through the wall. After the spinning wheel, drop down and head right. Jump over the spring and land on the moving drum nearby. It can be difficult to jump onto, since there are spikes underneath it and it moves very fast, so be careful. Float across the anti-gravity platforms and glide over the row of spikes. Go slowly past the moving drums to avoid getting crushed by them. Head down the dropping platform and jump onto the moving drum nearby. Go past the Starpost and head right to find a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Go right and head down the slope. Make your way past the bumpers and enter the water. After the two rotating drums, go right and climb up the eastern wall. At the top, break through the walls and run through the speed boosts. Spin Dash up the slope and glide carefully across the bumpers. Jump onto the moving drum and climb up the wall. Grab the Lightning Shield on the platform nearby and head right. Make your way past the bumpers and glide to grab onto the edge of a platform. You can use the moving drums instead, but it's harder. Use the cannon to catapult Knuckles over to the right, but watch out for the spikes on the edge of the wall. Make your past the bumpers and head past the Starpost. After the anti-gravity platform, go up the slope and head through the hidden passageway. When you are running through the first series of speed boosts, hold Left to stop Knuckles from entering the next area. If you stop running, you'll see a high slope. Glide repeatedly to make your way up it. Run through the speed boosts here. When you drop down, you'll descend into a room containing the Giant Ring. Hold Left to make sure you jump through it. =============================================================================== ICE CAP ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Spin Dash through the wall and continue onward. Go past the Starpost and jump on the spring. Head right and ignore the switch. Go through the wall to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you are going down the neverending slope, there is a fake wall to your right. Ignore the platform to your left and keep holding Right and jumping east to go through the fake wall. You'll discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Go right and smash the frozen spring. Jump on it, but watch out for the Star Pointer patroling the area. When you go past the small stalatites, they'll fall on top of you, so be ready. Run through the loop de loop and go down the frozen passageway. Use the swing lift and head right. Go through the loop de loop and break the tunnel underneath it. Beware of the Star Pointer nearby. When you drop down, let the moving platform take you to a spring underwater. Jump on it and go left to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you pass a Starpost and come across the Robotnik Boxes, go back to the Starpost and let the dropping platform nearby take you down. You'll see a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Use the purple spring boards to go to the surface. Run through the loop de loops. As Sonic or Knuckles, you must be fast enough to jump onto the spring boards at the end. As Tails, you can fly there. 64 Rings will be floating above you. Go right to discover a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== LAUNCH BASE ZONE =============================================================================== =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- After emerging from the ground, head right and go past the alarms. You'll set them off, causing a group of Flybot767s to fly towards you. When you pass an Orbinaut, jump off the magnetic cylinder to drop down. Go left and enter the tunnel to find the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- When you come to the first Starpost, go left and jump off the magnetic cylinder to drop down. Head left and enter the tunnel to find the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== MUSHROOM HILL ZONE =============================================================================== Mushroom Hill Zone has the largest number of Giant Rings in this game. If you can find them all, you may be able to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds in this Zone, assuming that you can complete the Special Stages. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 (S3&K only) ------------- When you land in the Mushroom Hill Zone, you'll see a Giant Ring in a hidden passageway. You can enter the passageway and walk into the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 2240043F Access Difficulty: Hard Head right and go past the Butterdroids. Run through the loop de loop and roll down the hill. Collect the Super Shoes for a speed boost. Ignore the pulley lift nearby and proceed right. Climb up the poles and run through the loop de loop. Use the pulley lift above you to go up. Press Up and Down to make the pulley lift go up and down, respectively. Use the two mushrooms to raise Sonic higher, so you can access the spring above you. Bounce on it and speed through the loop de loop. Use this swing lift to send Sonic over to the right. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and drop the pole at the bottom right. You'll land next to a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 2D3F06C1 Access Difficulty: Easy Exit the passageway by going right, and use the swing lift to hoist Sonic up to a vine-shaped bridge. Drop down and go past the Starpost. Run down the hill and drop down again to find a pulley lift. To the right of it is a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #4 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 38C20742 Access Difficulty: Easy Exit the passageway and use the pulley lift. Run through two loop de loops. When you nearly reach a mushroom at the top, stop running left and drop down to the right. Continue onward to find a passageway containing a Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1CC00640 Access Difficulty: Hard Drop down and use the pulley lift nearby. Go right and use the mushrooms to send Sonic up to a Super Ring and an Invincibility. Use the spring to go over to the right. Go up the loop de loop and use another spring. When you land near a spring and a mushroom, drop down to the left and head right to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 294002C1 Access Difficulty: Hard Now exit the passageway and use the seesaw to land on a spring above. Head across the vine-shaped bridge and go past the Starpost. Use the pulley lift and bounce on the red spring to catapult Sonic over to the swing lift. If you can use the springs to bounce Sonic over to the right, you'll land near a loop de loop. When you come across a Cluckoid, go past it to find a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 23C10841 Access Difficulty: Easy When you reach a handle by a Dragonfly, drop down to the right and break through the walls instead of following Sonic's route. Drop down the bars. When you land on the ground, jump on the spring here and head left to discover a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #4 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 39C00642 Access Difficulty: Easy Run through the loop de loops and use the pulley lift to go upwards. Before you do so, go past the Cluckoid and enter the hidden passageway to find a Giant Ring. =============================================================================== FLYING BATTERY ZONE =============================================================================== In this Zone, it can be very easy to miss the Giant Rings. Go slowly through the level. There are fewer Giant Rings in this Zone than in Mushroom Hill Zone, but you can find 4 Giant Rings here. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 1D4305C1 Access Difficulty: Easy Go right and head through the purple cylinder. Go down the platform and head left. Go past the flame blasters and head right. Outside the Flying Battery, hop across the platforms and use the levers. Jump onto the ledge and go up to re-enter the Blimp. Go past the Starpost and make your way through the purple cylinders. Spin Dash up the slope and position Sonic on the flame blaster. After being catapulted upwards, go right and use the moving platforms to go over to the flame blaster. If you open the Prison Egg, Badniks will emerge from it, so watch out. Use the flame blaster to go upwards. Go past the mines and use the poles. Drop down and go left. Jump over the speed boost and go past more mines. Go down the platform and head right. Wait for the platforms to rise to avoid getting crushed. Go past the Starpost and press the switch. Drop down and go left. Spin Dash up the slopes and jump on the Prison Egg. When you run through the purple cylinders, you'll stop on top of a ledge that collapses instantly. Before it collapses, proceed left and use the flipping platforms above you to go up. Head past the flame blaster and move the spikes nearby to uncover a hidden hole. Drop down to find a secret passageway containing a Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 24C007C0 Access Difficulty: Easy When you are running down a purple cylinder before the last Starpost, jump down and go left. Proceed past the Prison Eggs and Spin Dash left to enter a tunnel. There is a Giant Ring at the end of it. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 18410740 Access Difficulty: Hard Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 25BF0740 Access Difficulty: Easy When you go up the last purple cylinder before the Mini-Boss Battle, hold Left to send your character over to a hidden passageway containing a Giant Ring. As Knuckles, you can climb up to there. =============================================================================== SANDOPOLIS ZONE =============================================================================== Sandopolis Zone's Giant Rings can be very hard to find, especially in Act 2. There are some Giant Rings that only Knuckles can access, due to his climbing ability. If you follow my guide, it will be much easier to find the Giant Rings in Act 1, but it seems impossible for Sonic to locate them in Act 2. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- When you land in the sand, jump up. Go right and push the yellow block. Ride it and go down the slides. Run down the slope and grab the pulley lift. Go right and run through the loop de loop. Push the yellow block and ride it. Use the swings and go left. Collect the Invincibility and go up. When you go past a Starpost, head left for a while. When you see the spikes at the bottom of the waterfall of sand, jump over the swing and proceed past the quicksand. You'll eventually find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Go past the Starpost and head down the slides. When you land in the quicksand, jump over to the right. Push the yellow block and ride it. Jump onto the swing and use it to go up. Climb up the small waterfall of sand to find a hidden passagway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #3 ------------- Spin Dash up the slope, and use the platforms to go up the slide. Run through the loop de loop and use the pulley lift. Push the yellow block and ride it. Go right and then up. Use the swing and go past the Starpost. When you go down the slide and push the yellow block across, sink down the quicksand and go left. After a Skorp, head past the quicksand to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #4 ------------- When you pass the last Starpost, climb up the walls above it. After climbing up the western wall first, glide over to the eastern one and climb that wall. When you reach the end, climb back down a bit, so you'll have enough space for Knuckles to glide over to the left to find the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Access Difficulty: Easy At the start of the Act, press the lever nearby to turn the lights on, so you don't have to worry about the ghosts for a while (Knuckles' adventure takes place after Sonic's, so the ghosts have already been released). Now go back to the start and climb up the western wall. There are two spiked platforms in your way. When they move right, you must climb very fast to continue going up. Otherwise, you'll fall down. After getting above the two spiked platforms, head right and press the lever. You now have to climb up the walls here. When you see some walls, break through them (watch out for the spiked platforms above you as you do so). Go left and bounce on the spring. Glide over to the right and break through the walls to find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 154005B4 Access Difficulty: Normal Push the black block and climb up the walls to find a Starpost. Go past it and press the lever. Slide down the first sandslide until you reach an intersection. Jump over to another sandslide and glide repeatedly to go up this sandslide and head down another one. You'll find a hidden passageway containing the Giant Ring. =============================================================================== LAVA REEF ZONE =============================================================================== After the difficulty of finding the Giant Rings in Sandopolis Zone, this Zone is a nice level to journey through. There are 4 Giant Rings in the level, and they aren't as hard to reach as the ones in Sandopolis Zone. Unfortunately, Giant Rings won't appear in later levels, so this is your last chance to find them and collect the Chaos Emeralds. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 114206BD Access Difficulty: Easy When you arrive, go right and head past the stalitites. The moving spiked platform can be difficult to cross, but if you Spin Dash after it rises, you should be able to pass it. While avoiding the spiked balls, climb down the steps. When you come across the waterfall of lava and a drilling machine, stay on the left side of the screen. When the ground in the centre of the screen collapses, you're supposed to drop down and follow the southern path. Instead, you can take the northern path to end up on Sonic's route through this Act. If you go left for a while and then head right, you'll see that the drilling machine is gone. You can jump over to the right and climb up the steps (avoid the flamethrowers as you do so). Press the switch to reveal a hidden exit to the right. Go right and press the switch. Go through the opening and make your way down the steps. Head across the waterfall of lava and press the switch. Go through the opening and head right. You can attack the drilling machine if you want to, but it'll fall into the pool of lava, destroying it. When you land, hop across the rocks and press the switch. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash up. Spin Dash through the boulders and use the moving spiked platform. As the platform reaches its zenith, jump right to enter a fake wall. You'll discover a hidden room containing the Giant Ring. Giant Ring #2 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 16C105C2 Access Difficulty: Easy Run down the slope and collect the Flame Shield. When the ledge collapses, go down the steps and head right. Go across the bridge and run down the black tunnel. Go left and destroy the switch. Run through the opening and head down the slope. Watch out for the spiked ball as you drop down the gap. Now jump up and head left. Beware of the flamethrowers as you do so. Bounce on the spring to break through the ground. Climb up the steps and Spin Dash to move the machine. When you reach the top, go left to enter a fake wall. You'll discover a hidden room containing the Giant Ring. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Giant Ring #1 ------------- Debug Coordinates: 14410B41 Access Difficulty: Easy When the pool of lava freezes over, go right and head across it. Press the switch and go through the opening. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes. Dodge the Robotnik Boxes and head right to break open a few boulders (you can't take Sonic's route due to Knuckles' low jump). Go through the orange pipe and jump over the hidden spring. Break through the boulders and grab a Flame Shield on the platform nearby. You can bounce on the bottom right spring to have an easier time getting to it. Drop down the collapsing ledges and head past the exploding rocks. When the eastern platform moves left, jump right to continue onward. Head across the blue cylinder while avoiding the row of spikes, but beware of the overhead spikes. Bounce on the hidden spring to catapult Knuckles up to a Starpost. Activate it and drop down. Press the switch and go through the opening. Take out the 2 Toxiomisters and use the spiked platforms to descend. Watch out for the flamethrower. Run left to enter a fake wall. You'll discover a hidden room containing the Giant Ring. ############################################################################### 12. Badniks ############################################################################### Dr. Robotnik has captured the animals of Angel Island and turned them into enemy robots. These robots are classified as "Badniks" in this game. This section lists every Badnik. =============================================================================== ANGEL ISLAND ZONE =============================================================================== RhinoBot -------- This is a rhino-like badnik that charges towards you when you come across it. Jump over it to dodge its attacks. Monkey Dude ----------- This is an upgraded version of Coconuts from Sonic 2's Emerald Hill Zone. Avoid the coconuts it drops on top of you. Bloominator ----------- This is a flower-like badnik that shoots fireballs at you when it gets a chance. Wait for it to launch a fireball before you destroy it. Catakiller, Jr -------------- This is an upgraded version of the original Catakiller from Sonic 1. It simply hovers and can easily be destroyed by Sonic/Tails. =============================================================================== Hydrocity ZONE =============================================================================== Turbo Spiker ------------ This badnik always appears when you least expect it when you are running very fast. It has a rocket connected to itself, so wait for it to shoot the rocket upwards before attacking it. Bugernaut --------- These are usually found in groups of twos or threes. They are easy to dispose of when you are on the surface, but if you are underwater, they can bite you and prevent you from jumping, thus stopping from Sonic/Tails from grabbing air bubbles to avoid drowning. Avoid these badniks at all costs. Jawz ---- This is a shark-like badnik that moves nearly as fast as Sonic. Jump to avoid it when it charges towards you. Mega Chopper ------------ This is a fish-like badnik that appears to bite you. Be on the lookout for them as you go across bridges and passageways. =============================================================================== MARBLE GARDEN ZONE =============================================================================== Pointdexter ----------- These are found in groups of twos or threes. When spikes are covering them, don't attack until the spikes disappear. Mantis ------ These are usually found in groups of threes. They come out of hiding to annoy you. Jump across them to avoid their attacks. TunnelBot --------- This badnik appears twice in the Marble Garden Zone. Simply avoid its attacks and ram it to destroy it. Spiker ------ This badnik is usually found near spiked traps. You can't destroy it, but you can use it as a platform for continuing through the Marble Garden Zone. Watch out for the fireballs that it shoots at you. =============================================================================== CARNIVAL NIGHT ZONE =============================================================================== Batbot ------ This bat-like badnik flies around the Carnival Night Zone to annoy you. Jump over it to avoid its attacks. Blaster ------- These are found in groups of threes or fours. They shoot projectiles at you. Clamer ------ This oyster-like badnik fires its cannon at you. Jump over it and attack from behind to destroy it. =============================================================================== ICE CAP ZONE =============================================================================== Penguinator ----------- This penguin-like badnik slides towards you when you come across it. Jump over it to avoid its attacks. Star Pointer ------------ This badnik launches ice blocks against you. Dodge them all and it will be defenceless. =============================================================================== LAUNCH BASE ZONE =============================================================================== Blastoid -------- This badnik shoots a cannon at you. TechnoSqueak ------------ This is a mouse-like badnik. Flybot767 --------- These appear in groups of threes or fours. When you set off the alarms in the Launch Base Zone, they will fly towards you. Orbinaut -------- This spiked badnik is similar to Star Pointer, except you can't trick it into launching its spikes. Corkey ------ These are found in groups of twos or threes. They shoot projectiles at you. They are similiar to Blasters. Snale Blaster ------------- This is a snail-like badnik that shoots projectiles at you. Ribot ----- This frog-like badnik extends its body to hurt you. =============================================================================== MUSHROOM HILL ZONE =============================================================================== Butterdroid ----------- This butterfly-like Badnik flies back and forth. They come in groups of twos or threes. They usually show up at loop de loops, so be on the lookout for them. Mushmeanie ---------- This mushroom-like Badnik pops out of the ground if you approach it. It uses a mushroom as cover to surprise you. Dragonfly --------- This fly-like Badnik flies up and down. It usually patrols areas where you are running fast and don't know what's around the corner. Avoid the spikes on its body and hit its head to destroy it. Cluckoid -------- This cluckerel-like Badnik can blow you in the opposite direction. When the wind stops blowing, you can approach it and destroy it. Madmole ------- This mole-like Badnik shoots fireballs at you and hides in a hole afterwards. If you can dodge the fireballs, you can approach it and destroy it. =============================================================================== FLYING BATTERY ZONE =============================================================================== Blaster ------- This Badnik uses its cannon to fire small projectiles at you. They come in groups of twos or threes. Technosqueek ------------ This mouse-like Badnik moves on the floor or ceiling. They come in groups of twos or threes. In my opinion, they're the easiest Badniks to destroy. =============================================================================== SANDOPOLIS ZONE =============================================================================== Skorp ----- This scorpion-like Badnik swings its spiked chain at you. In my opinion, it's the hardest Badnik to destroy in the game. When it swings the spiked chain, you must stay away from it to avoid getting hurt. You must time your attack perfectly to destroy it. Sandworm -------- This Badnik is similiar to Sonic 1's Catakiller, except it resides in the quicksands. They can emerge from quicksands at anytime, so watch out. =============================================================================== LAVA REEF ZONE =============================================================================== Toxomister ---------- According to the Instruction Manual, this Badnik poisons the air. The cloud around it can cause you to lose Rings one by one if you touch it. Fortunately, if you can destroy the Badnik, the cloud will disappear. Fireworm -------- This Badnik flies back and forth. They usually appear on steps or at waterfalls of lava. =============================================================================== SKY SCANCTUARY ZONE =============================================================================== EggRobo ------- This Badnik shoots lasers at you. They'll fire the lasers quickly, so jump to dodge them. If you're playing as Knuckles, you'll fight an EggRobo instead of Robotnik in nearly each Boss Battle. =============================================================================== DEATH EGG ZONE =============================================================================== Spikebonker ----------- This Badnik swings a spike at you, but the spike returns to it immediately. If you wait for the Badnik to swing the spike, you can destroy it. Chainspike ---------- This Badnik zooms towards you and attempts to unleash its spikes on you. There are only a few of these, so it's best to run past them. ############################################################################### 13. S3&K Bugs ############################################################################### Although Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a great game, there are some bugs that are interesting to look for. You can use the Debug Mode to find these bugs, or cause them to happen. For example, you need to use Debug Mode to take Sonic/Tails to Knuckles' part of the Launch Base Zone. I have listed the bugs in the order that I discovered them. Boss Battle Music ----------------- When you are playing as Knuckles in the Launch Base Zone, you can't access Sonic/Tails' first boss normally, but you can hear the boss battle start. As you run over the point where Sonic/Tails fights Robotnik, press down on the +Control Pad and the boss music will start. You can hardly see Knuckles now since the game thinks you're fighting Robotnik. Double Trouble -------------- This glitch requires that you use the Debug Mode. When you are in the Debug Mode, play as Knuckles or Sonic/Tails in Act 2 of Angel Island Zone. If you're Knuckles, take Sonic/Tails' route. If you're Sonic/Tails, take Knuckles' route. When you reach the end of the level as Knuckles, you'll hear the boss music. Use the Debug Mode to go down, and you'll face Robotnik. However, two EggRobos will then appear in their Fireball Shooter Machines. As Knuckles, you have to defeat two of them at once. Once you defeat one, the level will end. As Sonic/Tails, you battle two Robotniks in their machines. Rolling Boulder --------------- In Act 2 of the Lava Reef Zone, use Debug Mode as Sonic/Tails to make it to the end of the level without alerting Knuckles to your presence. If you go down the stairs, you'll hear Knuckles' theme start. Use Debug Mode to go over the boulder, and you'll hear the boulder rolling down the level forever. Frozen in Time -------------- As Sonic/Tails, if you don't enter the water in Act 2 of Launch Base Zone, the game will freeze if you run to the right. In order to continue the game, you'll have to wait for a Time Over. Access Knuckles' Launch Base Boss --------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, you can use Debug Mode to go to Knuckles' battle with EggRobo in Launch Base Zone. When you arrive there, the boss battle music will begin for a moment and then start again. When Robotnik appears, you'll fight his Laser Shooter Machine. After defeating him, you'll see the Death Egg plummet back to Angel Island and your character will be at the top of the screen. Access Sonic's/Tails' Launch Base Boss -------------------------------------- As Knuckles, you can use the Debug Mode to go to Sonic's/Tails' battle with Robotnik in Launch Base Zone. When you arrive there, you'll fight Robotnik's Ball Launcher Machine. After defeating him, you can go over to an Egg Pod and it'll fly you over to the east. Interestingly, Knuckles will be looking in the opposite direction when he's riding the Egg Pod. After getting knocked back a bit by an invisible Knuckles, the invisible Death Egg will be launched! After landing on a platform, you'll fight EggRobo in his Laser Shooter Machine and Spiked Grabber Machine. Once you've defeated him 2 times, EggRobo will drop a bomb, and the screen will shift over to the right. Afterwards, you'll enter Mushroom Hill Zone. Access Sonic's/Tails' Marble Garden Boss ---------------------------------------- As Knuckles, you can use the Debug Mode to go to Sonic's/Tails' battle with Robotnik in Marble Garden Zone. Go past the final arrow-shooting machine and go through Sonic's/Tails' part of the level. When you confront EggRobo, he'll flee to the skies. Tails grabs Knuckles and the two heroes chase after EggRobo. After defeating him, Knuckles will go to his version of Carnival Night Zone as normal. Access Knuckles' Marble Garden Boss ----------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, you can use the Debug Mode to go to Sonic's/Tails' battle with Robotnik in Marble Garden Zone. When you arrive at the final arrow-shooting machine, go left and take Knuckles' route. At the end, you'll fight Knuckles' boss, except your battling Robotnik instead of EggRobo. Access Sonic's/Tails' Carnival Night Boss ----------------------------------------- As Knuckles, you can use the Debug Mode to go to Sonic's/Tails' battle with Robotnik in Carnival Night Zone. Before you arrive at the end of the level, go up and head right to confront EggRobo in his Energy Suction Machine. After defeating him, you can use the cannon to go to the Icecap Zone, but you will go to Knuckles' version of the Zone. It is possible to battle this Boss without using the Debug Mode if you go slowly through the speed boosts at the end. Access Sonic's/Tails' Death Egg Zone ------------------------------------ As Knuckles, you can simply use the Level Select to go to Sonic's/Tails' Death Egg Zone. However, it's impossible to defeat the Mini-Boss, since Knuckles can't jump high enough. You can, however, select Act 2 on the Level Select to continue. After defeating Robotnik's Giant Robot, you'll see EggRobo fly off with the Master Emerald. After defeating him, he'll drop the Emerald and you'll be sent back to the Title Screen. Access Sonic's/Tails' Lava Reef Boss ------------------------------------ As Knuckles, you can simply use the Level Select to go to Sonic's/Tails' battle with Robotnik in Lava Reef Zone. After defeating Robotnik, Knuckles will go to his version of Hidden Palace Zone as normal. Access Knuckles' Sky Sanctuary Boss ----------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, you can simply use the Level Select to go to Knuckles' battle with Metal Sonic in Sky Sanctuary Zone. Interestingly, Robotnik will appear in his Emerald Grabber Machine and he'll take you over to Metal Sonic. After Metal Sonic destroys Robotnik by mistake, you can fight him and complete the game. Access Sonic/Tails' Sky Sanctuary Boss -------------------------------------- As Knuckles, you can simply use the Level Select to go to Sonic's/Tails' battles with Metal Sonic in Sky Sanctuary Zone. Interestingly, when you arrive in the Zone, there will be two Knuckles. After defeating Metal Sonic three times, Knuckles will go up the spiral pathway and jump onto the Death Egg. You'll enter Death Egg Zone afterwards. Team Tails ---------- As Sonic & Tails, go to the battle with Robotnik in the Sandopolis Zone. Use Debug Mode to paste the Monitor Template. Open it to transform into Hyper Sonic. Use Debug Mode to go behind Robotnik and try attacking him. While Tails is hitting Robotnik at the front and Sonic is hitting him at the back, the two characters' sprites will merge together, creating another Tails instead of Sonic. This "Tails" is really Sonic. You'll notice that Hyper Sonic isn't invincible anymore. After defeating Robotnik, you'll enter the Lava Reef Zone as normal. Stop Robotnik in Hidden Palace ------------------------------ As Sonic/Tails, you can use the Debug Mode to stop Robotnik from stealing the Master Emerald in the Hidden Palace Zone. After defeating Knuckles, go right to see the scene. Use Debug Mode to go right, and you'll see Robotnik without the Master Emerald. He electrocutes an invisible Knuckles, but he doesn't leave. If you hit Robotnik exactly 100 times, his Emerald Grabber Machine will explode. Falling Metal Sonic ------------------- As Knuckles, go to the Sky Sanctuary Zone and defeat Metal Sonic the first time. When Metal Sonic comes back to life, transform into Hyper Knuckles via a Monitor Template. When Metal Sonic uses the Master Emerald to charge up, he'll fall off the screen. After 10-20 times of doing this, he'll transform into Super Metal Sonic and you can battle him as normal. Access Knuckles' Launch Base Mini-Boss -------------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, you can use the Debug Mode to go to Knuckles' battle with the Mini-Boss in the Launch Base Zone. When you see the Starpost above the Mini-Boss, switch from Debug Mode to Normal Mode. Activate the Starpost and lose a life on purpose. (You can't go right and then down to access the Mini-Boss area if you don't do this). After losing a life, you'll be back at the Starpost. You should now be able to go right and then down to access the Mini-Boss area. When the Mini-Boss Battle begins, you'll see that you're fighting two of them instead of just one. If you destroy one, the Act will end, but the other one will still be there. You'll start Act 2 afterwards in Knuckles' version of the Launch Base Zone. Rising Death Egg ---------------- As Sonic/Tails, you can use the Debug Mode to see the Death Egg rise up in the Sky Sanctuary Zone. If you choose a Monitor Template and go up to the first battle with Metal Sonic, you'll notice that he's not there. If you go down, you'll see the Death Egg rising up. After a while, Knuckles presses a switch to create the bridge. If you lose a life while choosing the Monitor Template, Sonic's/Tails' sprite will be changed into a Monitor! You still have Sonic's/Tails' abilities, but now they look like Boxes, even if you switch from Debug Mode to Normal Mode. Invincible Ghosts ----------------- As any character, you can use the Debug Mode to see invincible ghosts at the end of Act 2 of Sandopolis Zone. When it is dark and the ghosts can attack you, use Debug Mode to go past the arena where you fight Robotnik/EggRobo. You'll notice that it's still dark and his Egyptian-Themed Robot isn't covering his Egg Pod. If you can defeat him, the level will end, but the ghosts will still be floating around. Since there are no lanturns nearby, they are now invincible. When your points are totaled, you won't see the numbers, as the ghosts seem to be blocking them. You'll then go to the Lava Reef Zone as normal. Invisible Characters -------------------- As any character, you can use the Debug Mode to become invisible during the Mini-Boss Battle in the Lava Reef Zone. When you start the level, use Debug Mode to quickly go to the Mini-Boss. It seems your character is invisible, but he is actually behind the waterfall of lava. If you can defeat the Mini-Boss, you can go right and start Act 2. As you do so, you'll see your character become visible again. Copies of Zones --------------- If you use the Debug Mode to go right in a Zone, you can go under the Mini-Boss/Boss and enter a copy of the Zone. You can't collect anything here, but the obstacles won't hurt you. You can go left to end up back in the original Zone if you want to battle the Mini-Boss/Boss. Triggering Music ---------------- When you are starting Act 2 of a Zone or have just beaten the Boss, you can use the Monitor Template to trigger the previous music. For example, if you have just started Act 2 of Death Egg Zone, you can transform into Hyper Sonic/Knuckles or Super Tails to trigger Act 1's music for a moment. If you do this glitch on Sky Sanctuary Zone as Sonic/Tails, you can listen to the Boss Battle music as your character runs up the circular platform and jumps onto the Death Egg. Emerald Chamber --------------- As Sonic/Tails, if you have collected the Chaos Emeralds, but haven't collected the Super Emeralds yet, you can use Debug Mode to trigger this glitch. If you go to the Hidden Palace Zone and head past the battle with Knuckles, you can jump on the grey Chaos Emeralds to enter the Special Stages of Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic The Hedgehog 3. Interestingly, when you complete or fail a Special Stage, you'll be taken to the location of the first Giant Ring in Act 2 of Angel Island Zone. You'll suddenly be taken to the Sonic 3 Special Stage. When you are sent back to the level, you can continue through it as normal, but you won't have to fight the Mini-Boss, since you've bypassed it. You can explore some of Act 1 if you go left, though. Moving Death Egg ---------------- As Sonic/Tails, use Debug Mode to make it to the end of the level without alerting Knuckles to your presence. The image of the Death Egg will copy your movements. Frozen in Carnival Night ------------------------ As Knuckles, go to the end of Act 2 and destroy the Prison Egg. As your points are being totalled, use Debug Mode to go up to where Sonic/Tails fights Robotnik. If you can defeat EggRobo's Energy Suction Machine, Knuckles will become frozen. Access Sonic's The Doomsday Zone -------------------------------- As Tails/Knuckles, you can simply use the Level Select to go to The Doomsday Zone. Their sprites will look weird, but you can play the level. If you've collected all the Chaos/Super Emeralds via the Level Select, you'll see a weird ending once you beat the Final Boss. As Knuckles, you'll take the Master Emerald down and land on Sonic's airplane. The airplane is coloured black and white. When you see the extra scene, Sonic and Knuckles will leave the Floating Island in the airplane, while another Knuckles sees them leave. The Master Emerald is on the Floating Island and the airplane. Clones of Metal Sonic --------------------- As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go to the final battle with Metal Sonic in Sky Sanctuary Zone. After Metal Sonic destroys the teleporter, use Debug Mode to paste a teleporter onto the screen. Since the game is programmed to trigger the appearance of Metal Sonic when a teleporter is destroyed, another Metal Sonic will appear and destroy it. If you keep pasting teleporters, you'll end up fighting 2 clones of Metal Sonic as well as the original Metal Sonic. If you can defeat one of them, the level will end as normal, but as you run up the spiral pathway, you'll see that the Death Egg appears to be short-circuiting and its armour seems to still be damaged, since it crash landed on top of Lava Reef Zone's volcano. Change Flying Battery's Background ---------------------------------- As any character, activate Debug Mode and use it to go right very fast through Act 1 of Flying Battery Zone underneath the battleship. When you reach the end, you'll notice that the background has changed and you can now see the exterior of the battleship. See Chaos/Super Emeralds ------------------------ As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go to Knuckles in Hidden Palace Zone. If you paste a teleporter, you can fight Knuckles and go right to see the Chaos/Super Emeralds at the same time. This glitch is useful for looking at the Emeralds, without having to trigger the scene with Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald. If you can trick Knuckles into gliding right, you can fight him in the Emerald Chamber. Access Sonic & Knuckles ----------------------- As any character, activate Debug Mode and defeat Robotnik/EggRobo in Flying Battery Zone. After your score is totalled, paste loads of Monitor Templates on the floor. If you Spin Dash through all of them, you'll enter Sandopolis Zone, but the level is unplayable. If you press B to exit, you'll be sent to the Title Screen of Sonic & Knuckles alone. Oddly enough, Debug Mode and Level Select are still active, so you can now use the former to go through the Sonic & Knuckles levels as Sonic or Knuckles. The Sonic & Knuckles levels are now playable again, but you can't access the Sonic 3 levels, since the game thinks you are playing Sonic & Knuckles alone. You can hear music from Sonic 3 in the Sound Test, though. Fight Robotnik in Mushroom Hill ------------------------------- As Knuckles, go to the battle with EggRobo in Mushroom Hill Zone. If you lose a life and fight the Boss again, Robotnik will be piloting the Speed Booster Machine instead of EggRobo. Access Black Screen ------------------- As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and finish The Doomsday/Death Egg Zone. If you've collected all 7 Super Emeralds, an extra scene will be shown. If you use Debug Mode, Sonic and Tails will go left and end up where Angel Island's Mini-Boss set fire to the level. Consequently, the screen goes black. Easy Final Boss --------------- As Sonic, activate Debug Mode and proceed through The Doomsday Zone. When you've destroyed Robotnik's spaceship, he'll appear in a giant robot. If you use Debug Mode, you'll appear in front of the robot and score a hit every time you do this. Oddly enough, the eighth hit won't cause the Giant Robot to explode and fall apart. You must charge into it to finish Robotnik off. Follow Robotnik/Knuckles ------------------------ As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go through any zone where Robotnik/Knuckles runs off. Angel Island Zone, Carnival Night Zone, and Flying Battery Zone are examples. In Angel Island, when Knuckles steals Sonic's Chaos Emeralds, you can follow him. In Flying Battery, when Robotnik runs off as his console explodes, you can do the same action. Change Carnival Night Boss' Colour ---------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go to Carnival Night Zone. When Knuckles prepares to press a switch to send you hovering up to Robotnik, use Debug Mode to go up immediately. When Knuckles' theme music ends, the Boss Battle music will start for a moment, but then the Carnival Night music will begin instead of it. Oddly enough, in the transition between music, Robotnik's Energy Suction Machine has changed colour. It is now blue instead of green. Change Carnival Night's Background ---------------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go to Carnival Night Zone. When Knuckles turns the lights off, use Debug Mode to go right. When you reach the end of the level, you'll notice that the background is now full of water. If you confront Knuckles at the end, he'll be coloured blue instead of red. Keep Sonic's Snowboard ---------------------- As Sonic, activate Debug Mode and go to Icecap Zone. When you land on the snowboard, use Debug Mode to go right. When you go past where the avalanche usually happens, it won't occur, since you're in Debug Mode. If you proceed through the level, you can turn off Debug Mode to see Sonic on the snowboard. Bypass Angel Island Mini-Boss ----------------------------- As Sonic/Tails, activate Debug Mode and go to Angel Island Zone. When you are proceeding through the level, use Debug Mode to go down and then right. If you do this correctly, you'll bypass the Mini-Boss and enter Act 2. Interestingly, the game thinks you're still in Act 1, so when you defeat Robotnik, the score is totalled for Act 1 and the title card for Act 2 is shown. Since you've completed Act 2, you'll be sent to Hydrocity Zone instead. ############################################################################### 14. S3&K 2-Player/Competition Mode ############################################################################### If you want to begin the 2-Player Mode, select Competition and you'll be sent to the Main Menu. With the exception of Time Attack, one or two players can play the 3 modes. Exit takes you back to the Title Screen. Main Menu: When you press the Start Button at the Title Screen, select Competition. You'll be sent to the Main Menu. There are 3 modes (Grand Prix, Match Race, and Time Attack) to choose from. You can press Left and Right to switch the usage of Item Boxes on/off in the two-player zones. Grand Prix ---------- If you want to race in all five of the two-player zones consectively, select Grand Prix. When one player wins 3 out of 5 races, the game ends. Match Race ---------- If you want to race in one of the two-player zones, select Match Race. When one player wins 1 race, the game ends. Time Attack ----------- If you want to practice your skills for the two-player zones, select Time Attack. Unlike Grand Prix and Match Race, only 1 player can play this mode. You can choose any of the zones. The game saves your Best Times in each zone. The character that you choose to achieve a Best Time is also recorded. When you have 3 Best Times and achieve a better one, your lowest time will be erased to save your higher one. Characters: When you play the 3 modes, there are three characters (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles) to choose from. You can press Left and Right to switch between the characters. Sonic ----- Sonic is the fastest character and his speed is excellent for clearing most zones quicker, most notably Desert Palace and Chrome Gadget. In Azure Lake and Balloon Park, Sonic's speed can be a disadvantage, as he can miss shortcuts, so be careful. Tails ----- Tails is a great character for beginners. His average speed is beneficial for shortcuts. Although Tails can fly, his ability is only useful in Balloon Park and isn't helpful for finding shortcuts. Knuckles -------- Knuckles is best used by experts, but he is good for clearing three zones (Azure Lake, Balloon Park, and Endless Mine). Although Knuckles is the slowest of the three characters and doesn't have his abilities (gliding and climbing), his slower speed helps to use shortcuts. Zones: When you start a zone, you must wait for the timer to count down to zero. Once the timer becomes 0, the word "Go!" appears. You can then begin a race on your own or with a friend. If you proceed right before "Go!" appears, your action is labelled as a "Fault" and you have to repeat the countdown. Records: Zone Character Place Best Time ---- --------- ----- --------- Azure Lake Sonic 1st 0'30"56 Azure Lake Sonic 2nd 0'31"48 Azure Lake Sonic 3rd 0'31"52 Balloon Park Tails 1st 0'37"31 Balloon Park Knuckles 2nd 0'46"72 Balloon Park Tails 3rd 0'47"57 Chrome Gadget Sonic 1st 0'38"14 Chrome Gadget Sonic 2nd 0'39"27 Chrome Gadget Sonic 3rd 0'40"12 Desert Palace Sonic 1st 0'36"15 Desert Palace Sonic 2nd 0'36"16 Desert Palace Sonic 3rd 0'36"62 Endless Mine Tails 1st 0'52"68 Endless Mine Knuckles 2nd 0'54"51 Endless Mine Sonic 3rd 0'54"59 ############################################################################### 15. Frequently Asked Questions ############################################################################### Q: How do I get past the round, red drum in the Carnival Night Zone? A: Simply press Up and Down when the drum goes up and down, respectively. When the gap is big enough for Sonic/Tails to jump down, do so immediately. If you unlock Debug Mode and select your Save File, you can use the former to go past the drum. When you select your Save File, hold the A Button to begin the Carnival Night Zone in Debug Mode. Q: After completing the game, can I re-enter the levels to obtain the Chaos/Super Emeralds? A: Yes. If you want to obtain the Chaos Emeralds quickly, select Angel Island Zone as your starting level and go to the zone's first Giant Ring. Use that Giant Ring repeatedly until you collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds. If you want to acquire all 7 Super Emeralds, you can select Mushroom Hill Zone and use the above method repeatedly until you succeed in doing this. Q: I completed the game, but I didn't collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. Can I go to my Save File and re-enter the levels that I have cleared to obtain them? A: Yes. If you were playing as Knuckles, you've have completed all his levels, so you can re-enter them to find the Giant Rings and collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. If you were playing as Sonic/Tails, you've have completed all the levels up to Death Egg Zone, so you can do the same actions to collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds. Once you've collected all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds, you can complete Death Egg Zone to access The Doomsday Zone if you were playing as Sonic. Q: What are the Super Emeralds? A: When you collect all the Chaos Emeralds in the Sonic 3 Special Stages and access the Emerald Chamber of Hidden Palace Zone, your Chaos Emeralds are taken from you and transformed into grey Super Emeralds. Once you complete the Sonic & Knuckles Special Stages, the grey Super Emeralds will be transformed into coloured Emeralds. When you have collected all 7 Super Emeralds, the Master Emerald will cast a light over the Super Emeralds and it will become shiny. The Super Emeralds were programmed into Sonic 3 & Knuckles, since Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles have their own set of Chaos Emeralds, although they were originally supposed to be one game. Having two sets of Chaos Emeralds in Sonic 3 & Knuckles would have been impossible, so the second set were called Super Emeralds. In my opinion, one set of Emeralds were originally supposed to be in the complete version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (AKA Sonic 3 & Knuckles), but time constraints and cartridge costs forced the developers to split the game into Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, programming two sets of Emeralds instead. Hyper Sonic/Knuckles and Super Tails were probably intended to be the characters' respective Super Forms when the player collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds, but the developers split Sonic and Knuckles' Forms into the Super/Hyper Forms and decided not to implement Tails' Super Form in Sonic 3 alone in order to finish programming the Sonic 3 levels and include Super Sonic in that game. This explains why the Super Emeralds and Hyper Sonic/Knuckles have not appeared in future games, since the developers were not forced to split them into two halves. Q: When does Knuckles' adventure take place? A: Knuckles' adventure takes place shortly after the conclusion of Sonic's adventure. This is evidenced by the following points: *The backgrounds of Angel Island Zone and Sky Sanctuary Zone show Angel Island floating in the sky. *The image of the Death Egg has been removed from Launch Base Zone, Lava Reef Zone and Hidden Palace Zone. *Sonic's adventure ends with a short scene showing the wreckage of the Death Egg and one of Robotnik's EggRobo Badniks emerging from it. This is the same EggRobo that drops a bomb in Knuckles' intro scene and pilots the vehicles in his adventure. *EggRobo takes Robotnik's place as the Boss of each level prior to Hidden Palace Zone. In addition, Metal Sonic is the Final Boss, not Robotnik. *The ghosts have already been released in Sandopolis Zone. *The water in Angel Island Zone, Carnival Night Zone and Launch Base Zone has been drained due to the fact that Angel Island is now floating in the sky. Q: If Knuckles' adventure takes place shortly after Sonic's, why does Robotnik appear instead of EggRobo as the Boss of Flying Battery Zone? A: Robotnik's sprite is shown, but it's really EggRobo that you're fighting. Apparently, Sonic Team decided not to replace Robotnik's sprite with that of EggRobo, as it may have been difficult to programme EggRobo's sprite, since the Flying Battery Zone Boss has a different sprite than all the others. Q: How do I get past the infinite loop of slides in Sandopolis Zone? A: When you see a swing above a particular slide, jump onto it and go past the Starpost. If you don't jump onto the correct slide, you'll go down an infinite loop of slides instead. To continue through the level, wait for your character to land near the correct slide again and try to jump onto it this time. Like the infamous rotating drums in Carnival Night Zone, it took me years to find out this method. Prior to that, I jumped onto random slides until I eventually picked the correct one. This would cause me to get a Time Over depending on how much time I spent jumping onto random slides. Q: When I play as Knuckles, why are the letters "KTE" displayed alongside my Life counter instead of Knuckles' name? A: This is due to the limited text capabilities of the Genesis/Mega Drive. Since Knuckles' name was too long to be used, his initials were programmed into the game instead. Q: What are the most notable points about S&K when playing it by itself? A: *You can only play the following levels: Mushroom Hill Zone, Flying Battery Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Lava Reef Zone, Hidden Palace Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone, Death Egg Zone, and The Doomsday Zone. *There is no save feature. *You can't play as Tails. *It's not possible to see the best ending, since you can't collect the Super Emeralds. *There are 2 Bonus Stages. *There is no 2-Player/Competition Mode. *In Knuckles' story, a cutscene plays at the start to give him some backstory. ############################################################################### 16. Credits ############################################################################### - Thanks to me for writing this FAQ/Walkthrough. - Thanks to you for reading this FAQ/Walkthrough. - Thanks to Sonic Team for developing this game. - Thanks to Sega Technical Institute for collabarating with Sonic Team. - Thanks to GameFAQs for hosting this FAQ/Walkthrough. - Thanks to Egmont Fleetway's Sonic The Comic. I used their Sonic The Hedgehog 3 guide as a reference for the names and battle strategies for the bosses, and for the official names of obstacles. - Thanks to Instruction Manual for information regarding Hints and Tips, Game Overview, etc. - Thanks to WWalker. I used his Sonic & Knuckles FAQ as a reference for information regarding the Special and Bonus Stages. I also discovered the existence of the glitch in Metal Sonic's Sphere Cloning Machine from looking at WWalker's FAQ. - Thanks to Janus Operative. I used his Sonic 3 Giant Rings FAQ as a reference for the Giant Ring Locations. His FAQ seems to have disappeared from GameFAQs, but while it was still posted there, I used it as a reference. - Thanks to TurboKiller and Warrior of Zarona. I used their sections of the Sonic & Knuckles Quest for Emeralds Guide as a reference for the Giant Ring Locations. - Thanks to www.network-science.de/ascii for the ASCII art at the top of this FAQ/Walkthrough. - Thanks to PJRandallChevik for information regarding this game's save feature. He said that you should wait a few minutes after every level starts to avoid corrupting your Save Files when you turn off your Genesis/Mega Drive. - Thanks to sonic.wika.com for information about this game. This walkthrough uses info from the following articles: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_%26_Knuckles http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Super_transformation - Thanks to Strawhat. He suggested that I remove the Introduction sections in the separate games. I took his advice. Strawhat also suggested that I remove the Story and Character sections, merge the Game Overview sections, and make the same walkthrough for the three characters, but I've decided to only merge the Game Overview sections. - Thanks to Blitz256. He stated that one Giant Ring in Act 2 of Mushroom Hill Zone doesn't exist. He also gave directions for two Giant Rings in Act 2 of Sandopolis Zone for Sonic. - Thanks to mbollige. He said saved data you had in Sonic 3 is retained if you boot up "Sonic 3 & Knuckles" so you DO NOT have to go through the Sonic 3 stages again in Sonic 3 & Knuckles if you already beat Sonic 3 alone. ############################################################################### 17. Contact Information ############################################################################### If you have any questions, comments or corrections regarding my walkthrough, I can be contacted by posting a topic on the GameFAQs message board of this game (I prefer not using an e-mail address). Contributions to this guide are appreciated. ############################################################################### 18. Copyright Information ############################################################################### This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. GameFAQs and its affiliates are the ONLY websites that have permission to host this document. Copyright 2004-2015 David Lucey