Sonic the Hedgehog For the Genesis FAQ/Walkthrough By Ryan Harrison rharrisonfaqs(at)gmail.com and Derin Spector dspector88(at)gmail.com Last Revised: 01 January 2006 Version 1.4 This document is Copyright (c)2004-2006 Ryan Harrison and Derin Spector =============================================================================== Table of Contents 1. Guide Opening 1.01 - Version History 1.02 - Introduction 2. Game Overview 2.01 - Story 2.02 - Controls 2.03 - Basics 2.04 - FAQs 3. Walkthrough 3.01 - Green Hill Zone 3.02 - Marble Zone 3.03 - Spring Yard Zone 3.04 - Labyrinth Zone 3.05 - Star Light Zone 3.06 - Scrap Brain Zone 3.07 - Final Zone 4. Enemies 5. Bosses 6. Items 7. Secret Zone 8. Secrets 8.01 - Cheats 8.02 - Unlockables 9. Guide Closing 9.01 - Credits 9.02 - Legal Disclaimer 9.03 - Contacting Us =============================================================================== 1. Guide Opening =============================================================================== The opening to our guide. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 1.01 - Version History =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Version 1.4 - 01 January 2006 - Ryan here. A new layout and updated copyright notice for this guide, that's all. Enjoy! Version 1.3 - 26 October 2004 - Ryan here. Here's a newly reformatted version of our FAQ. Version 1.2 - 28 June 2004 - Derin here. All I did for this update was fix up the guide a tad so it looked a little nicer. Version 1.1 - 04 February 2004 - Derin here. Nothing too important in this update except that I fixed the character amount per line in the Walkthrough section (the text kept wrapping and it looked ugly). Version 1.0 - 04 January 2004 - The first version of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 1.02 - Introduction =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ryan Intro ---------- Sonic the Hedgehog was Sega's counterpart mascot to Mario from Nintendo, and has been a massive superstar of the gaming world. This game was Sonic's first as well as Dr. Robotnik's, before Tails was introduced in Sonic 2. A different game with the same name was also released on the Sega Master System/Game Gear (this guide is not compatible with those versions). For anyone who has a Genesis, this game is a must-have if you like classic speedy platformer games! Derin Intro ----------- This is the very first installment of the legendary Sonic the Hedgehog series by SEGA. The release of this game marked a very important turning point in gaming history. After all, no one thought the oh-so-superior Mario could be surpassed by a little blue hedgehog did they? Well if they thought that...they were wrong. Sonic has proven himself to be a video game legend and will continue to hold that title for years to come. =============================================================================== 2. Game Overview =============================================================================== Basics things you must know when playing Sonic the Hedgehog. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2.01 - Story =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= (Taken from the instruction manual) Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the mad scientist, is snatching innocent animals and turning them into evil robots! Only one tough dude can put an end to the demented scientist's fiendish scheme. It's Sonic, the real cool hedgehog with the spiked haircut and power sneakers that give him super speed. Help Sonic fight hordes of metal maniacs and do the loop with the Super Sonic Spin Attack. Speed down twisting tunnels and swing over dangerous booby traps. Leap across lava pits and dodge burning rocks. Then splash through the chilling waters in an underground cavern. And if you're lucky, you can warp to the secret zone where you spin around in a floating maze! Your greatest challenge lurks in a secret lab where you come face to face with Dr. Robotnik himself! Spin through space, loop 'til you're dizzy, save the animals and become the super hero. Be Sonic! Be atomic! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2.02 - Controls =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= D-Pad - Move Sonic (Left/Right, hold to speed up); look up (Up, hold to shift screen upwards); crouch; perform spin attack while moving (Down) Start Button - Begin game from title screen; pause/resume game A - Perform Sonic Spin Attack Jump B - Same as A C - Same as A =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2.03 - Basics =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Reach for the Rings ------------------- There are two different types of shield that protect you from badnik hits: the blue shield and rings. As long as you have at least one ring, Sonic will not die if he is hit by a badnik, however he will drop all the rings he is holding. You can grab the rings you drop but they will eventually disappear. When you have the blue shield on, being hit by a badnik will protect Sonic once and he will not lose any rings, but the shield will disappear. You cannot have more than one shield on at once. Lampposts --------- Lampposts that have not yet been touched have a blue lamp on the top. When you touch one, the lamp turns red. When you die in a level you will return to the last lamppost you touched (if you didn't touch any you restart at the beginning of the level). When you go back to the lamppost you will have the same score as before and the timer will be set at the time it was when you touched it, but you have zero rings. Giant Rings ----------- If you reach the end of a certain zone with 50 rings or more, a giant ring may appear just after the signpost. If you jump into this ring you will be warped to the secret zone, but do this quickly otherwise Sonic will automatically run off the right end of the screen when the signpost stops spinning. You'll find this giant ring at the end of the following acts if you have 50+ rings: Green Hill Zone, Act 1 Green Hill Zone, Act 2 Marble Zone, Act 1 Marble Zone, Act 2 Spring Yard Zone, Act 1 Spring Yard Zone, Act 2 Labyrinth Zone, Act 1 Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 Star Light Zone, Act 1 Star Light Zone, Act 2 Secret Zone ----------- The Secret Zone is where you can attempt to get one of the six chaos emeralds. There are several blocks in the maze that you can use to help get to the emerald. To access the zone you must find and jump into the giant ring. Sonic can only be controlled by maneuvering a little and jumping. More information about each Secret Zone can be found in the Secret Zone section. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2.04 - FAQs =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Q: Is Tails seen at all in this game? A: Nope. At the time this game came out, the makers hadn't even thought of Tails. He didn't come until Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Q: I can't do the Spin Dash... A: The Spin Dash move isn't in this game, that wasn't invented until Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as well. Pressing Down + A/B/C will just cause Sonic to duck then jump. Live with it, losers. Q: Is this game the same as the Game Gear/Master System version? A: No, absolutely not. The only thing that connects those games is that they have the same name and some zones have the same look and names, but the actual games are completely different, so this FAQ will be of no use for those versions, sorry. Q: Hi, I'm from CheatCC... A: Go away. =============================================================================== 3. Walkthrough =============================================================================== How to beat this game from start to finish. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.01 - Green Hill Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- From the start, proceed right and jump up to grab the 3 rings hovering just above you. Almost immediately after you obtain the rings, you'll see a platform. Jump up onto this platform and get the ring box. Next, jump down, avoid the robotic bee, and jump across the bridge to get the 5 rings there without being hit by a fish. Keep on running, and you'll eventually come to some crab robots. Kill these and continue across the bridge. When you get to a yellow spring. Jump on this to get to the suspended platform just ahead of you. Grab the rings here, and jump from platform to platform (be careful, they collapse as soon as you touch them!) until you come across the first checkpoint. Run forward, avoid the flying robot (or kill them), and go through the loop. Roll on down through the tunnel and cross the second checkpoint. Be careful though, because as soon as you go through the second tunnel and come out the other side, you'll be launched off of an incline and up to some airspace patrolled by 2 robotic bees. Try your best to avoid them, or else you'll be hit and lose all your rings. Grab as many rings as possible while suspended in mid-air, then land and proceed right up the stair-like platforms. Run across the bridge (watch out for those fish!), grab the rings, and go forward until you get to another little island with a ring box on it. Grab this and run forward until you reach the end of Act 1 (make sure to jump into the giant ring hovering in mid-air to go on to the bonus stage if you have at least 50 rings). Act 2 ----- Go right from the start, cross the bridge, and jump down onto the yellow spring to obtain the rings hovering above it. Go forward until you reach another bridge. Watch out for fish and a flying robotic bee. Keep going until you get to the swinging, pendulum-like platform. Hop on this, and when it reaches the other side, hop off and keep on running forward, cross yet another bridge, and slide down the wall littered with rings. Get these, and continue on until you get to the loop. There's a ton of rings and an extra life stationed on the top of the loop, so try and reach those. As soon as you reach a little incline, go as fast as you can so you launch off of it and hit the tree and knock down an invincibility power-up. With this newly obtained invincibility, just blow past everything as fast as you can, just make sure not to fall into any spike-filled chasms or miss too many rings. After jumping across a few platforms, you'll come across the first checkpoint, which is also on a platform. From the checkpoint, keep milking the invincibility for all its worth (if it hasn't run out already), and proceed right until you cross a bridge. When you cross the bridge, slide down the wall in front of you with rings plastered to the side of it. Next, Fly across the mini-gap in between the two platforms ahead of you. If you're too slow, the two sides will crumble and you'll fall right to the bottom. Run forward, proceed down a tunnel, roll all the way to the finish, and jump into the giant ring hovering above the finish line to go on to the bonus stage (if you have enough rings). Act 3 ----- From the start, run forward and jump on the yellow spring directly in front of you. Go forward to highest point the spring takes you, and jump onto the next spring and do the same. If you did this correctly, you should land on top of a well-elevated platform with a blue shield power-up on it. Grab this and continue on. As soon as you cross the bridge located immediately after you drop down off of the platform with the shield, you'll see yet another yellow spring. Jump on this and travel up to the platform just ahead of you with the robotic ladybug and robotic bee patrolling the air above you. Drop down from here, then run and jump to the elevator-like platform that's hovering up and down in front of you. Be careful though, because if you stand in the wrong spot for too long, the ground will crumble underneath you and you'll fall and have to take the less scenic route to the end. Jump off the mini "elevator" if you will, and run straight ahead across the bridge (don't forget to grab the rings!) and pass the first checkpoint. Hopefully at this point in the stage you have at least 35 to 45 rings obtained, (whenever you see rings anywhere, don't hesitate to pick them up just because I didn't tell you to! 100 rings earn you an extra life!) so be careful not to get hit by any Badniks. Not to worry though, because if you haven't already lost your shield, when you get hit the only thing you lose is your shield and not any of your hard-earned rings. Next, run forward as fast as you can, and you'll eventually come to a tunnel/tube if you will. Roll on down this, speed through the loop, and make sure (if you want an extra life) to hit the red spring hidden in the wall just ahead of you. When you fly back towards the loop, time your jump so you're able to land on top of the loop. Grab the extra life and continue on. As soon as you come to the red spring, jump over the rock it's attached to, and hit the second checkpoint. This is where is gets tricky. Just ahead, you'll notice a rotating pole/log covered with spikes. The trick to getting across without losing any of your rings or dying is to basically time your jumps so that you land in the bald patches of the log. You can try that, or jump onto the swinging platform just above your head to take the easy way out. If you didn't take the easy way out, keep running until you start to pass under a waterfall. Watch out because this waterfall is a potentially nasty one (it's covered with Badniks) if you make the wrong moves. Grab the rings and run until you hit a wall. Here you'll see another "elevator" moving up and down along the wall. Jump on this and ride it to the top. When you've reached the top, go forward and jump QUICKLY onto the moving platforms ahead of you and safely reach the other side. Keep going and you'll come to a swinging platform. Hop on this to safely cross the spike- filled pit and run along until you reach a little incline. Fly off this and you'll knock down a ring box from the tree. Grab this and continue on over the bridge, pass the checkpoint, and onto the first boss. For strategies on defeating this boss quickly and easily, go to the bosses section of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.02 - Marble Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- From the start, run straight ahead and grab the 3 rings hovering above you. Be careful on this next part, because you'll have to jump over a small pit of lava. When you've successfully completed the oh-so daring stunt watch out for the spiked catepillar on the other side. If you try to kill it, you'll get hurt instead and lose all your rings or die. Keep running along, jumping up and down along the platforms, clearing the mini lava gaps and avoiding or killing the Badniks that get in your way, and when you reach a downslope littered with rings, run down it and stop immediately. Go to the moving platform closest to the slope you just ran down, and as soon as it moves down, run into the cave to your left and grab the items inside. When you're done with this run back out and keep going straight until you reach another lava gap. From here, jump over the lava to the platform ahead, but WATCH OUT! Flames quickly begin to engulf the entire mini-island your on in a matter of milliseconds. With this in mind, jump from island to island until you've reached solid land. Proceed down the hill in front of you, and stand on top of the vertically-moving platform to the left. When it's at its downmost point, run from the platform into the cave on your left. When inside the cave, run past the green columns before they crush you to death. As soon as you pass these, dispose of the bats and run over the giant spiked trap attached to a chain. You will see a block on top of the trap and a switch located just to the right of the trap. Push the block from off of the trap into the mini crevace where the switch lays. The trap will now stay open rather than snap back down as soon as you step off of the switch. Proceed down the mini-steps, and drop down the level below. Run to the left, hit the checkpoint, grab the shield, and run back over to your right. When you pass the green pillar, you'll come to a HUGE lava pit. Not to worry though, you have your shield and blocks fall from the ceiling to form stepping stones across the lava. Hop across these until you reach the other side. When you get to the other side, run until you hit the wall in front of you. A spiked trap will fall from the ceiling. Hop on this and ride it up to the platform just above you. You'll also see green blocks come out of the walls. Hop on these until you reach the top. When you reach the top, avoid the falling traps and run all the way to the left. Face right, and as the traps move up, hop on them and safely reach the other side. After this, hop up to the mainland and run forward (don't forgot to avoid all lava and kill Badniks) until you reach the end of Act 1. Move on to the secret stage if you have enough rings. Act 2 ----- From the start, proceed right and enter yet another underground cave. As soon as you enter the cave. Step on the switch in front of you to lower the green pillar. Jump down, and proceed left. When you get to the enormouse pit of lava, simply push the green block into it, and it will begin to float across the pit like a raft. Jump onto this and manuever your way safely across to about mid- way across the pool, climb up on top of the blocks and hop to your right to get a ring box and a shield. Watch out for the catepillar and bats, and proceed left across the suspended blocks to the other side. Watch out for the flame shooting holes in the ceiling and wall as soon as you reach the other side. Climb down to the bottom of this area, push away the row of green blocks, and drop down to the area below. Once you push the blocks away, hit the ground running as fast as you can, because an avalanche of lava is barreling towards you. After you've outrun the lava, proceed up the ledge in front of you and then go right. You'll reach another pool of lava. Simply hop on the swinging platforms and reach the other side unharmed. Here's where it gets tough. When you cross the pool, watch out for 2 spiked catepillars, and a red spring on the wall at the end of the mini hallway you're in. Hop up the steps if you will, and hit the switch to lower the pillar. Proceed upwards and stop. If you look directly up and to your right, you'll see a shield power-up on a ledge. Grab this, then run left and push the green block into the lava. Just like before, jump on the block and manuever your way safely across the lava pool. While doing this, the lava will shoot up and give you the height you need in order to reach certain points. Make sure you pay attention to this and use the geysers to your advantage. When you reach the other side, notice the green block just sitting there. Jump on this and run forward behind the wall into a secret room with two ring boxes and an extra life! Woohoo! After you've done this, exit the room and proceed upwards to the next level. From here, go left and watch out for the catepillar. When you get to the end of the hall. Jump on the green rows of blocks that extend out of the walls to get to the mainland. Once you've reached the mainland, proceed right and cautiously jump across the pools of lava and they fireballs they shoot up at you. When you're finished with all the lava jumping, you'll find yourself at a downslope. Go down this and stop. Wait until the moving platform goes to its downmost point and run into the mini cave and grab the 2 ring boxes. Exit the cave and proceed right until you come to where there's a giant patch of green blocks on the ground beneath you. Simply jump and land in ball form to break through the stone and reach the bottom. As soon as you reach the very bottom, go left and get the shield power-up right in front of you. Keep going and you'll notice a giant stream of lava pouring down from the ceiling. Avoid this and make your way to the other side where an invincibility power-up is located. With this obtained, proceed right and just barrel through the lava without jumping on the green block raft. Manuever your way through all the upcoming traps and make your way up to the mainland. Proceed right to the end of Act 2. Act 3 ----- From the start, proceed right, as you normally would, and avoid all lava and enemies. When you drop down in front of a little cave located behind a moving platform, DON'T ENTER IT. This path will only frustrate you and probably cause you to get a game over eventually. Continue along the normal grassy path until you reach another underground passage. Grab the Super Ring to your right, then enter the passageway and continue on until you come across some booby trabs that shoot fireballs from different parts of the walls and ceilings. Avoid these and drop down to the lava pool that lies before you. Make use of the blocks and metal objects on chains that fall from the ceiling, and cross safely to the other side. As soon as you reach the other side of the pool, jump QUICKLY off of the patch of green stone, as it will crumble the moment you step on it. From here, jump up to the next level and proceed left. Avoid the enemies up ahead, and you'll soon cross another collapsing green "bridge" if you will. To your left, there's a blue shield power-up being "guarded" by a couple of slow-moving green pillars. Grab the shield and, if you want, drop down through the bridge you come across, and, once you reach the bottom, step on the switch that lowers the green pillar just below you. Drop down to the area below, and proceed right. When you come across a catepillar, you can either avoid it or kill it. I suggest you kill it. Here's where is starts to get tricky. When you come to the lava pool, jump onto the green block in front of you, and jump up onto the purple platform ahead of you, or you'll be pushed into the lava. Hop back on when it comes out the other side, and when a lava geyser propels you upwards, hop quickly over to the platform on your left. Wait until another block pops out of the wall near where you're standing. From this block, jump over to the floating platform, and then into the hallway on your right (watch out for the catepillar in here!). Once in the hallway, make sure you avoid the spikes, and when you come to 2 spike traps suspended from the ceiling, stop. From here, run past the first trap and onto the second trap. From the second trap, run into the wall which contains a concealed passageway/tunnel to your right. This leads to a room with an extra life and a checkpoint, so grab this, and continue on down the passageway until it drops out into a pit. Jump QUICKLY out of the pit, as a spike trap will come crashing down on you very shortly. Once past the trap and onto the ledge to the right of it, run quickly past the trap to your left and climb the steps with the spikes that retract every couple of seconds. Grab the Super Ring at the top of the stairs and jump onto the ledge above you, but watch out for the sentry guns, if you will, that shoot fireballs out at you. Keep on going past some spikes and a rather large amount of bats, and you'll come to a trio of chasms. Use the metal objects that fall from the ceiling on chains to cross each pit successfully. Once you're up to the third chasm however, be VERY careful as to time your jumps well or you'll be crushed against the ceiling by the metal objects on chains. As soon as you're done with the three chasms, continue right, and get back above ground. Take a good running jump over the pools of lava ahead. You'll eventually come to another checkpoint, but it's a little tricky to get, so just forget it for now, as the boss isn't at all hard to defeat. Keep going and you'll come to the boss. For strategies on beating Robotnik in this zone, go to the Bosses section of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.03 - Spring Yard Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- Oooooh, what a happy little zone this is! Too bad any part of it can kill you instantly, otherwise it'd be a lot more...happy. Anyways, from the start run forward a little and jump onto the green gizmo thing in the ground. Grab the 2 rings overhead and dismount the green thing you're on. Get rid of the crab Badniks you come across and keep going until you reach a red spring. Jump on this and it takes you up to a happy/fun area with bumpers. Grab as many rings as you can here, and when you're done hop up to the right and onto another red spring. This spring takes you up to an area filled with moving blocks. Not fun. Anyhoo, descend this blocks to the area below, and go right down a hill. Once at the bottom of the hill however, WATCH OUT, as a robotic Sonic look-alike will come up behind you. When fighting him, you can only win by hitting him when he's not rolling. Otherwise, you're done. However, if you decide to just be afraid and avoid him, you may (he'll run away after a short while). When you're done with the robotic Sonic, jump over the switch near you and continue right until you come to a sloped hallway. This hallway possesses two very large spiked balls that move back and forth. Time yourself and carefully maneuver your way past these until you reach level ground. The area you've just entered should be red (just in case you messed up somewhere and went the wrong way). Defeat the crab you see here and carefully manuever your way past the swinging death chain you see before you. Continue on, and you'll find another spiked ball trap in your way. When the ball moves towards your left, run past it, then do the same for the next spiked ball just ahead in a more narrow hallway. Dodge the swinging death chain coming up, and proceed forward until you reach the first checkpoint. From the checkpoint, jump on the spring and proceed right until you reach another spring. Jump on this, and it should take you to a set of moving blocks. Climb up, block by block, until you reach the top. At the top, run onto the platform just ahead of you. Continue on to your right and you'll come to a purple spiked enemy. Roll through it to kill it, and when you come to some pits with swinging death chains, stop. Alright, now read this carefully, because if you don't, chances are you'll probably end up dying a few times. First off, DON'T try and get the rings, they'll only cause trouble for you. Simply jump on the small platform in the middle of the two mini pits you see before you. From this tiny little platform, jump to your right and onto the next one, then jump off of this to your right again and leave this area. Just past where you just were, you'll notice a set of red springs. Jump on these to get the large amount of rings above, and once you're done, use the springs to jump up to the area on your right. Proceed right, avoid and/or kill the crabs here, and drop down into another area with some more red springs. Grab the Super Ring here and go into the little tunnel/cave thing to the right of the springs. At the end of this tunnel, hit the switch, and bounce onto the yellow spring to the right to reach the end of Act 1. Act 2 ----- From the start, go right, and when you come to a cliff, drop down off of it to the area below. You'll find yourself sliding along a curved surface which will eventually launch you high into the air. Once at the top, you'll notice you have a choice of 2 paths to take. Take the lower path and when you come to a spiked ball, carefully manuever your way around it, then go past the other spiked ball immediately after the first one. From here, proceed right, get rid of the crab you run into, and jump past the spiked pole ahead of you. When you come to 2 more spiked balls, move on past them and into the next area. Alright, now when you come to a red spring, stop. If you want to, you can simply bounce from the red spring directly in front of you to the one above you, and so on and so forth until you reach the top. What you want to do is bounce off of the first spring, and hold right on your D-pad to eventually land you inside a hidden passageway. Continue right all the way down the passage, and when you come to a small area with moving blocks, manuever your way across each block carefully until you reach the end of this not so friendly location. Note that at the end of this secret passage, there's an extra life and a spring that returns you to the normal ground level of the act. Bounce on the spring and return to the surface. Grab the shield you land next to and proceed right to the rather annoying pinball machine type area. Take your time and keep on moving to the right. Once out of the annoying place, go right, up the ledge in front of you, and right again. When you come to another hallway, move carefully past the spiked balls that lie here and keep going right past the checkpoint to the next area. Jump over yet another spiked ball (don't use the spring) and your robotic look-alike shows up again. Try your best to get rid of him, and when you've done so, keep going until you reach a small pit with a spiked ball in it. Cross the pit and continue right to the end of Act 2. Act 3 ----- Go right from the start and down a rather long hill. Avoid all the Badniks on the way down, as you don't have any rings yet. Drop down into the large gap ahead of you that contains a bunch of springs and a shield power-up. Grab the shield and bounce on a spring up to the right. Once up here, grab the Super Ring and proceed right into the hallway with 2 spiked balls. Run past these, jump over the spiked bar ahead of you, and get rid of the crap just past the bar. When you come to a series of blocks. Climb on through these, and at the top, go left. Kill the crabs here, and use the spring to bounce up to the moving platform, then from the platform, jump to the ledge in front of you. Proceed forward PAST the elevator platform, and when you come to a switch, hit it to open the door. Keep going and you'll come to 2 small pits in the ground with TWO spiked balls in them, not one like the others you've come across. Jump safely across these and onto the other side. Once past the 2 pits, keep moving until you reach an area containing a bunch of moving blocks. Just like the first area you encountered, climb up these and not down, as it will lead to a dead end. At the top, go left, and jump onto the first moving platform you come across. From the platform, jump to the ledge on your right, and proceed forward past the 2 purple enemies to the checkpoint. After the checkpoint, you'll come to a cliff. Drop down off of this cliff and slide on down the walls of the curved area here. Ignore the bumpers and platforms, roll up the opposite side, and enter the first passageway you see to your right. Run carefully past the spiked balls you come across and when you come to a large, block in your path, hit the switch that lies before you to move the block out of the way. Proceed past this and into the next area. You'll soon come to some more pits in the ground containing MORE spiked balls in them. Yeah, these pits are a tad bit repetitive, but these are the last of them. With that in mind, manuever your way past the pits and quickly run into the passageway ahead before a giant block closes up the entrance to it. Once inside, Grab the 2 Super Rings and the shield that lay here, and continue right past a spiked pole. From here, go back outside and up a hill. When you come to a spring, bounce on it, and run right across the ceiling and onto a bumper. Make sure you hit the bumper at the correct angle needed to hop onto the moving platform on your right. Don't worry if you don't get it on your first try. Most people don't, so if you do fall, proceed left at the bottom and back to the spring that takes you up to the bumper. From the platform just after the bumper, proceed right and onto 2 more platforms, and then onto the green path just past these. At the end of this path, there's a secret area with a shield and an extra life in it (sweet!). Grab these and backtrack your way out of the secret area. Drop down to the area below, and you'll find some springs and an invincibility power-up. Grab the invinicibility, bounce up to the right, and pass the checkpoint here. When you come to an area filled with rows of moving, snake-like blocks, it's very important that you take your time and plan your jumps accordingly, as it won't be a good thing if you fall. Once past the block "snakes," proceed right and onto the boss. For strategies on defeating the boss, take a look at the boss section of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.04 - Labyrinth Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- Before we get started with zone, I must warn you that it's VERY hard and VERY frustrating. But the point of this guide is to make it a more pleasurable experience so here we go. From the start, head right and defeat the 3 enemies hiding in the floor. These become a nuisance, so keep your eyes open for more of them along the way. Keep going and you'll eventually come to, surprisingly enough, a rotating spiked ball on a chain. Jump past this and onto the ledge just above it. Grab the shield here, and drop back down, run past the spiked ball again, and proceed into the ('dramatic music plays') water. Now, while in the water, it's important to keep a look-out for all air bubbles and spots where you can surface, because you'll drown after a short period of time. At the bottom, go left, kill the 2 enemies, and grab the Super Ring. Hit the switch here to open the door, and head back to your right. When you come to another switch, press it and jump out of the water. Get the 2 Super Rings on both sides of you, and jump back into the water. Once back in the water, you'll encounter some fish. Simply run past them and continue on past some spikes attached to the ceiling until you reach the bottom. Watch out for a rising platform that will try and smash you into the spiked ceiling here. Run quickly past this, and you'll come to 2 separate doors with 2 separate switches. Behind the door to your left lies a Super Ring, and behind the door to your right lies the path through the act. The jump to the switch is tough however, and it might take you a couple of tries to reach it. Once you pass through the doorway, a current sweeps you down a passageway, and you'll eventually land on a platform. Jump immediately off of this, as it will rise up and crush you against the ceiling, and jump to another platform of the same nature. Keep going until you reach a spiked ball. Time your jump, and move on past it. Proceed right until you reach a set of stairs. Jump quickly and carefully from step to step, as there is a fast-rotating spiked ball that will hit you if you don't. After the steps, you'll come to another area with a swinging spiked ball. Do the same as the first area and move on past this onto the next location. Keep going right and you'll eventually come out of the water. Once out of the water you'll notice some ledges moving along what seems to be a conveyor belt. Avoid the ledges to the left as they will crush you against some spikes above. Climb up the ledges to your right, and when you come to a switch, jump onto it CAREFULLY. Drop down from the switch and into the water. Go past the barrier you just got rid of and pass a checkpoint. After the checkpoint, proceed right and you'll notice some white objects that extend and retract out of the ground rapidly. Jump over these, but do this carefully because too high of a jump will cause you to hit the spikes on the low-lying ceiling. Once past these, go through a door, pass some more white objects, and when you come to a red spring, bounce off of it and onto some steps. Climb the steps quickly and when you reach the top, jump onto the object bobbing up and down in the water. From the object proceed left and back into the water. When you come to another conveyor belt, take note of the spikes that lie below it and the enemy who will eventually shoot the spikes at you. Ride a ledge to the top and jump off to the right. Keep going past the 2 gargoyle-like enemies you encounter and keep running to your right into a passageway. Go right and open the door. Grab the Super Ring you come across, jump past the 2 white objects, hop on out of the water, and proceed to the end of Act 1. Act 2 ----- At the start, go right and avoid the spikes you encounter. Jump onto the slide you come to eventually, and slide on this into the water below. Once in the water, grab the invincibility power-up to your right and go back to your left. When you come to an enemy that launches spikes at you, simply run on through him, grab the 2 Super Rings, drop down to the area below, and head right. Run past the spiked ball and climb the steps you'll eventually come to. Once at the top of the steps, get rid of the fish enemy and keep going until you reach a spring. Use the spring to access quite a few rings, as well as some other items, and when you're done proceed right through the door. Pass the checkpoint behind the door and continue on into the next area. When the path splits into 2, jump to the right past the spiked ball, grab the invincibility power-up, and drop down the long shaft you come across. Once at the bottom, run carefully past another spiked ball and keep going until you reach a part of the floor that's a different color than the rest of it. Step on this and it'll collapse, taking you to the area below. Blow past the 2 white objects and the enemies you come across, as you should still be invincible. When you come to the set of stairs guarded by a swinging spiked ball, manuever yourself carefully up these steps to the top (don't forget to grab some air!). Proceed right, jump across the conveyor belts you come to, and keep going to eventually reach the end of Act 2. Act 3 ----- Alright, now here's where you'll experience the true instensity of this zone. Just have patients and you'll surely reach the end in no time at all. From the start, go right into a passageway with some enemies that bounce up and down. Get rid of these, then continue on until you reach the slide ahead of you. Hop on the slide and when you reach the second slide sloping down to the left, take it a short distance down then jump off. You should land on a ledge will a shield power-up on it, so grab it, and jump off before the second ledge you see on your left. Once on the ledge, go left and hit the switch. Grab the Super Ring here and notice that the switch causes part of the slide to break off, thus creating a new path. Jump right from the ledge you're on and proceed down into the passageway. Once inside, hit another switch to open the wall below you and drop down further into the water. Once inside this new area, watch out for the spiked ball just above you. Hit the switch to your right to open the barrier below you. Drop down, go right, and hit another switch to go down another level. Proceed right at the bottom until you reach some white objects. Between the second and third objects there's a patch of floor that will break once you step on it. Jump on it, and when it breaks out from underneath you, drop down and into a nifty little secret passageway. Grab some air, and proceed up the stairs to your right. Once past the stairs a current will sweep you to the right, and you'll periodically grab onto poles along the way. You can slide up and down the poles before you let go and continue to fly along the passageway. As soon as you land in a wide-open area, proceed left down a set of stairs, launch yourself high into the air, then climb up to the red spring on one of the ledges you'll come across. Use this spring to land on a switch that opens a door you must past through to continue on. After hitting the switch, climb the stairs and proceed right. Watch out for enemies and keep going right. When you come to some ledges, carefully climb up them, keeping an eye out for all enemies that will attack you. Hit the switch at the top and climb up and out of the water. To the left is a checkpoint located at the bottom of a waterslide. Your best bet is to hit the checkpoint, even though it's intended for those who take the "normal" route through the act. To the right, you'll notice 3 floating objects. Jump from object to object CAREFULLY, as you will fall in the water and drown within a short period of time. Once past the floating objects, run VERY FAST up the staircase to your right and keep going until your reach the boss. For strategies on defeating the boss in this zone, take a look at the Bosses section of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.05 - Star Light Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- This zone is much easier than the last, so don't worry about dying at all really. The first thing you'll come to in this act, is a walking bomb. When you near the bomb, the fuse on his head begins burning. As soon as he explodes, quickly avoid the pieces that shoot out at you. After the first bomb enemy, you come to a second one. Deal with him accordingly, then proceed right to a block bridge. To get the extra life just below the bridge, DON'T STEP ON THE BRIDGE FIRST! You must roll to the right down 2 hills, and jump over the small gap in the ground and travel up the wall. Grab the extra life, and continue on. Once you've gotten the extra life, go back down the hills and up through the rather small shaft next to the wall. Once you get to this, hit the spring to your left, and you'll land on a nice little walkway. Jump over the enemy you come across and continue right. You'll eventually come to another block bridge. Step on this so it descends down to the level below, and go left. Proceed down the sets of stairs you come to very carefully, as you soon become susceptible to being hit by fireballs. As soon as you reach the bottom of this area, proceed right. Pass carefully by 2 fireball-shooting traps. Hit the block bridge you come to eventually by jumping up into it and it'll extend down to you. Cimb up it to the level above. Once at the top of the stairs, proceed left up some more stairs, jump over the 2 pointless springs, and when you go up to the next level, hit the spring here and grab the invincibility power-up above. Once you reach the next level, grab the Super Ring and watch out for the 3 bomb enemies. Proceed right over a decent amount of obstacles, then when you come to a red spring, hit it and bounce up to the left past a fan. Get the Super Rings here then go right until you reach the end of Act 1. Act 2 ----- From the start, go right until you reach a hill. Run down this hill, go through 2 loops, and drop down the bridge you'll come to eventually. Once on the level below where you just were, proceed right, down another hill, and through another loop. You'll come to a yellow spring. Jump on the spring and go right through a small passageway. Proceed right from the passageway up a hill, down a hill, and through another loop. You should come to another hill. Take the high road here and this way should eventually lead to a nice little area with a Super Ring, an invincibility power-up and an extra life. Grab these and hit the red spring just ahead of you. Land on the next ledge with a yellow spring on it. Hit this spring and go right past the 3 bomb enemies. Keep going right until you reach a rather large pit. You'll notice that there are a few catapult-like items here for your use. Jump on one side of these, and the object on the other side of it will fly up into the air. Walk to the other side of the "catapult" as the object will come down on the side you're standing on. When the object lands on the other side it'll launch you into the air. This = fun. As soon as you're launched into the air, travel to the right to the secret area with 5, count 'em 5, Super Rings. Grab these and drop down to the area below. From here, proceed right to the end of Act 2. Act 3 ----- From the start, hop over the spiked enemy and go down the hill ahead of you. At the bottom is a small pit, then a ramp to the right, with a fan. Go right and you come to a spiked enemy over a block bridge that collapses. Drop through it and you'll be at the very bottom of the act. Don't worry, there's an extra life down here. Go right and you'll notice four bomb enemies in a pit. Trigger them one by one, then move away and jump when they explode to dodge the shrapnel. After destroying them, go right past four pointless springs, to a catapult. Falling below this catapult will kill you. Hopefully you know what you're doing. Jump on the catapult and use it to bounce up. To the right is a ledge guarded by two walking bombs. But land on the catapult again after bouncing up, and the second time it should bounce you really high, high enough to reach an alcove at the top of the wall to the left. There you find a Super Ring, Invincibility and an extra life. Grab these items, as you will need everything you can get at this point in the game. Drop down and land on the ledge with the two bomb enemies. They won't pose a threat since you're invincible. Be aware that your jump down is onto a narrow ledge with death pits on each side. If you mess up you'll lose that life you just got. To the right are four platforms rotating in a circle over a pit. They aren't really hard to handle, but the pit below could cause you to fall. Ignore the rings in the middle of the circle, and to the right you must jump from one circle to another rotating in the opposite direction. Make the jump, then hop over to the right. You should land on a ledge. Two sets of block stairs extend downward ahead of you (unless you're still invincible), be very wary of the two, one on each level. Once on the lowest level go right until you reach a bridge. The bridge collapses, so run VERY FAST across it. The next spot is an almost sure hit. You come to a pit with some bomb enemies. Chances are a fan will immediately send you flying right into a bomb. To escape this, you have to jump past the right fan after it turns off. You should try to recover a ring after your first hit so you won't die if you get hit again. Once the four bombs explode, you're safe for now. Once past the fan on the right, cross another bridge and run up the walkway to the right, past another fan (there sure are a lot of these!). To the right is a platform waiting in a gap. Jump onto it, and it rises. To the left are two strings of platforms that rise from the ground in two separate waves. They disappear when they reach a certain height. Jump to the first one and right before it disappears, jump onto the ledge to the right, and the ceiling will collapse. To the right, there's 2 catapults. The first one has two bomb enemies below it (if you move to the right side of the catapult, you'll spring up and be in the air when they explode). To the right of the first one is a second catapult. Bounce over to it, then to the ledge on the right (don't bother about the block stairs on the ceiling). Go right once on the ledge, get the Super Ring and the invincibility power-up, and run up to the next level. You'll now face a whole bunch of bad things to the right, all of which can be passed while you're invincible, so like in the Labyrinth Zone run like crazy to the right. First comes a spike enemy. Then come three flame holes, then you run past a fan. Once past these, run under six bomb enemies on the ceiling and beat another spike guy in front of you. Run up the ledge to a fan and a checkpoint. The fan prevents you from going back once on this ledge. Jump over the checkpoint, (it's a trap!) but if you found the act to be difficult, and really don't want to have to play it again, go ahead and hit it. After this run over toyour right to face off against the boss. For strategies on defeating this boss, go to the Bosses section of this FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.06 - Scrap Brain Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Act 1 ----- Congratulations! You've made it to the last zone of the game! The first act is seemingly the hardest, so take that into consideration before reading on. Begin by going right to two red and white bridges that constantly open and close. The best thing to do is just jump over them one at a time and completely forget about the rings. After this first obstacle, you come to two broken pipes in the floor that periodically shoot mini geysers of fire up into the air. Jump over these. Keep note that these are common in this zone and hard to see until they flare up right underneath you. In between them is a caterpillar. To your right is a rotating metal wheel with a hub for you to get in. When you enter the wheel, the direction it is rotating determines which way you get shot out. If it's going clockwise you go right, counterclockwise you go down. The button in front of it switches the direction it is rotating in. The route down is VERY hard to survive, so press the button once before getting in the wheel. After this comes you'll see some blocks that'll constantly flip over. You can only stand on these blocks when they are still and not flipping. They're pretty useless right now, but remember how they work for later. Proceed right and into the hallway (a door will close behind you). You'll come to a giant metal machine that constantly moves in and out of the right wall and blocks your path. Here's how to deal with these things: As the machine moves right (back into the wall) hold your D-pad to the left. When it moves down, slip into the space between it and the walkway to the left. Get to the left of it - it can't crush you there - and when it goes up and back right, slip below it and go down. There are two more machines after the first one. At the third one, when you're standing in the safe area to the left, wait until there are no catepillars on the floor below before dropping down onto it. Go right through the passageway. On the ceiling are two devices that shoot out bursts of electricity to either side periodically. The three caterpillars on the floor are really bothersome, since you have to wait for them to turn around before you can beat them. You can either wait for them to do so, which requires patience, or be a bit more daring and likely take a hit as you try to get by them. I often get hit here no matter what I do, so don't worry too much. Anyway at the right side of this passageway, go through a door, and you'll have to climb a shaft using some appearing and disappearing blocks. Once at the top, get the shield power-up to the left and go right. There are two electricity-shooting devices on the floor and between them is a checkpoint. Carefully dodge the electricity bursts and go right. Watch out for the two broken pipes in the floor, and to your right is a conveyor belt with small ledges on it. The ledges can only be stood upon when at the top part of the belt. Below where you're standing is an area with several electric devices. To get back on the conveyor belt (if you end up falling somehow) you must press a switch to extend a bridge, then jump onto a ledge (make sure you time your jump!). To make things worse, you must make a leap of faith to the right where the rings are once at the top of the conveyor belt. Hopefully, you'll land on a set of appearing and disappearing blocks. Next, jump right to two more sets that appear after the first, and walk to the ledge on the right. This is a tough area to get by, but luckily if you fall you don't die, there are just electric devices below. To the right, on the ledge, is a bridge like those you saw at the beginning that open and close. Your first impulse may be to steer clear of it, but don't; drop through it. Here you'll find 2 Super Rings and 2 springs that will bounce you up to even more rings. Grab them and go right down a tunnel. You come to an bridge that opens and closes rapidly, with a ceiling above it. It's possible to make it across this bridge but the top path is no easy task, so just drop through. The bottom path, though, is very, very hard. You land nea a flaming pipe in the floor. Go right very slowwwly, spotting each pipe in the floor and walking over them. Do NOT jump, as there are electric devices on the ceiling. After about six pipes you come to an abyss spanned by two conveyor belts (falling = death). Jump onto a ledge on the first conveyor belt, then quickly to the second. Make sure you jump before you reach the top right corner of each belt, since that's when the ledge starts flipping over and will pitch you to your doom. From the second conveyor belt, jump right to a white walkway that\ collapses. Dash across it to safe ground. Run right to find 3 Super Rings. To the left though, is a weird, purple enemy who looks like a teddy bear. He looks kind of cute, but he'll drop a yellow energy orb that bounces down the path before exploding (kill him). The key in this part is to go slowly and not do anything stupid. Always assume there's a purple enemy waiting at the top of each walkway. After encountering two on their own, you come upon two together. Whack them, jump over one last death pipe and run right to the end of Act 1. Act 2 ----- This act is slightly easier than the first, but it's still a challenge. You're getting really close to Dr. Robotnik's place, so keep that in mind. The first threat you face is a death pipe, then comes a large open area with several magnetic wheel things. When you jump onto one of these you start running around it. Press and hold diagonally down-right on your D-pad to rotate faster. Jump off whenever you want to and you'll fly in whatever direction you were last running. You can really have fun whipping yourself all sorts of directions, but don't fool around too much. Also don't go down to the floor because there are electric devices down there (ouch!). About halfway up you come upon a switch which makes a bridge extend to your right. You can take the path to the right or climb to the top of the area and take a different path. This walkthrough takes you on the first path, so jump onto the bridge and go right on the ledge. Beware of two catepillars and a death pipe, and go right until you come to a tube. Walk into it and it will send you to the other side of the tube. When you come out, go left to three bridges of flipping blocks. Get the Super Ring here and try to cross the bridges without falling through when the blocks flip over. Try to get across as quickly as possible, but don't fall. Once across, avoid yet another death pipe and enter a door. You encounter a bomb enemy from the Star Light Zone on the ceiling. Try to slip in between the shrapnel when it explodes, but don't run to get out of its range. Once the enemy's gone, look to the left, as there's a conveyor belt moving right with a huge wheel in the middle, going up and down. You need to run under the wheel when it goes up, holding left on your D-pad, since you're running against the conveyor belt. Go left, past a pipe, and into a tube. Go through it. On the next level go right, past a tube to another conveyor belt with another giant wheel of death. This one is tougher since the belt is moving the way you want to go. Do not panic. Wait just off of the belt until the wheel goes up, then step on the belt and let it carry you underneath. Do not rush, because right after it is another wheel over another conveyor belt. Jump in place when between the two wheels so you don't get pushed into the right wheel (that's a lot safer than trying to run against the conveyor belt) until the right wheel goes up, then gounder it, too. Hopefully you won't get burned by the flame pipe on the ceiling. Now comes two really tricky spots. You come to two bridges that open and close, with electric devices beneath each, in a row. You can't jump across the bridges because there's a low ceiling. If possible, run part of the way and jump the rest so the bridge doesn't open out beneath you. But to compound things there are two flame jets, one above each bridge, so you have to time your move both when the bridge is closed and when the flame jet is off. Even worse, if you fall the bridge will usually close over your head, trapping you down with nothing to protect you from the electric device. These spots are rather tricky. By all means wait for a good opportunity to jump. Take as long as you want. If you do fall and you're lucky, you can jump back up immediately and will not get zapped (although that depends on whether the electric device just shot out a burst of electricity when you fall next to it). And it you do get hit, you can usually jump back up when the bridge opens again. Good luck. After these two bridges is a tube; enter it. Go right, avoiding the flame pipe on the ceiling. You come to some yellow flipping ledges over a gap. I recommend not going down there - just jump over it or cross after the blocks flip (jumping part of the way). If you go down there you find two Super Rings. But it's near impossible to get out. Avoid that hole like the plague. To the right is a door. Enter it, and kill the caterpillar. Next, move right to a series of short conveyor belts. These conveyor belts seem very hard to get by, but don't worry about them too much. With the first wheel you see, slip by it first, but then drop down. Don't bother trying to cross the belts with those grinders moving like that. You probably expect something bad below but no - just a swinging spiked ball and a red spring. Use the red spring to zoom up the hill to the right, timing it so you don't ram into the spiked ball. At the top of the wall, go right to an electric device guarding a hallway. Get a running start, and roll beneath it. When rolling you'll be just low enough to avoid the deadly electricity. This is another nasty spot. After it comes an obstacle that'll send a chill up your spine: an enormous block that moves up and down rapidly, trying to crush intruders. Simply press against it when it's on the floor, and run underneath when it retreats back to the ceiling. Now comes four MORE bomb enemies in a passageway with a death pipe. Avoiding getting hit with all that shrapnel is going to be mighty hard, so the safest thing to do is to jump over the second two and get past them before they blow up. Hit the switch on the edge to make a bridge extend outward. But first drop down to find a shield power-up, then jump onto the bridge. Don't be too hasty to jump to the ledge above (there's a death pipe guarding it). Stay on the bridge until the flame disappears. Go right to find a swinging spiked ball that doesn't touch the floor, but guards an upper walkway. That is where you want to go - carefully jump up there to avoid the spiked ball. Walk right but jump over an orb if one comes your way. Beat the purple enemy at the top and get what is behind him (an invincibility power-up!). Grab this and be prepared for the worst. Spring back down the walkway to the one below. Then run right. Go down a whole series of walkways. Don't stop for anything, not even to take out the many purple enemies you meet. Ignore all swinging spiked balls too. About the time your invincibility runs out, be on the lookout for a path to the right that leads to a different type of walkway than the ones you were just on. Go right and go very slowly to avoid the swinging spiked balls on the ceiling which scrape the floor. Go slow and you'll be okay. Eventually you come to the goal. The final battle music comes on and you meet Robotnik, but he's protected by a force field of some sort. You can do nothing as he presses a button that destroys the floor you're standing on, causing you to fall into a weird area. Act 3 ----- You seem to be in an odd version of the Labyrinth Zone. The walls and background are white, instead of yellow, and the water is an ugly purple. This is the last act of the game, and it is no pushover - rings are very scarce here for some reason, but even worse, though most of it is underwater, air bubbles are far and few between - likely your worst fear when you were playing Labyrinth Zone. But no worry; that is all for those who take the normal route. here is a huge shortcut in this act! Begin by pressing the switch to your left, which causes the large ledge to the left to begin sliding down the ramp. It hooks up with a stationary ledge to the left, which leads to the 'normal' path. But run left on the ledge once it starts moving as fast as you can. Before it moves into place, drop between it and the stationary ledge. Now you are on the secret path. Beware that as the ledge moves into place don't jump for joy - there are spikes above where you are standing, concealed by hanging vines, and if you touch them you'll die since you begin with no rings. Head left down the ramp near you, and press the switch to open the barrier. Descend into the murky water, being wary of the white objects. Grab some air at the first air pocket you see. To the right is a small section patrolled by two rotating spiked balls, each moving at a different speed. This spot is basically a sure hit so do not worry. Get past it, hopefully with at least one ring. Now comes a spot with a gap, an odd-shaped ledge in the middle of it, and two statue enemies above guarding it. You must make it to the right without falling to take the shortcut. This is challenging: Jump onto the left part of the ledge, and after two fireballs pass above you, make a short jump over to the right side. Then walk right over the gap. As long as you make a short jump you'll be alright. To your right you'll notice more gargoyle things. To get by them, jump to the step they are aimed at after they spit a fireball and quickly jump again before they spit another fireball at it. Now out of the water, go right and run under the rotating spiked ball after it goes by. You come to a large gap; jump over it. It is somewhat difficult because of the low ceiling so get a running start. Run to the right and drop into the first gap into the water. Don't get all the rings to the right in case you need them later. You come down with two enemies who jump out of the floor, an air pocket, and to the right a rotating spiked ball. Take out the enemies and get a gulp of air. When you're ready for the final stretch, go right and jump to the hub on the rotating spiked ball. Climb the staircase to the right. Above the surface are the only things between you and the final battle (two rotating spiked balls: one on the left and one on the right). Almost none of these steps are safe, however, you can make it by jumping like crazy up the steps, timing it as best as you can. Just make sure that you get hit by the top spiked ball, since it will knock you right, into the wall, rather than the bottom one, which will knock you left, back into the water (water = bad). =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3.07 - Final Zone =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Woohoo! You've made it to the Final Zone! You start on the right side of the force field Robotnik was behind at the end of act 2. Run right to the lab where Robotnik is waiting for you. You will have no rings for this battle, so any hit will kill you. You'll immediately notice that there are four pistons (two on the floor, two on the ceiling, and a red button in the top right corner). Here's how this battle works. When it begins, two of the pistons will move a little, then extend fully to the floor or ceiling (the opposite of where they come from). Always one of the pistons on the left will move, and one of the pistons on the right. Robotnik will be standing inside of one of them. You must hit him from the side to damage him. After the pistons go down the red button at the top right will shoot off four electric sparks. After they materialize on the ceiling, they move down and each moves a little bit toward you as it falls. Then the piston things move again and it keeps going on. This battle is really a total joke when you consider everything up to this point. The safe way to go about defeating Robotnik. So if you're fighting this battle for the first time, or are low on lives, the trick is to stay on the far right when the piston things move. This place is completely safe, but you only stand a 50% chance of being able to hit Robotnik. Dodging the electric sparks is very easy too: just find the two with the largest gap between them and stand in the middle of it, and they should miss you. If they are very evenly spaced out, you may have to jump straight up as they fall down since the gap between them narrows as they fall. Make sure you jump late enough so that when you land, they're gone and you don't land on them. Robotnik takes eight hits, as usual. After beating him the path to the right opens. Robotnik jumps in his ship he flies in all the other boss battles and flies away. Whether you hit him or not doesn't matter; all that matters is that you DO NOT jump into the pit on the right. Congratulations on beating Sonic the Hedgehog! If you got all six emeralds, you get to watch the SPECIAL ending! If not, try again! We won't spoil the ending for you, so sit back and enjoy! =============================================================================== 4. Enemies =============================================================================== NOTE: All enemies are worth 100 points when killed. Ball Hog -------- Found in the Scrap Brain Zone, these small mechanical pigs release exploding flashing balls from their pouches. The balls will bounce a distance then explode. Sonic can't destroy the balls, but these little porkies can be faulted with one swift spin attack. Burrobot -------- A robot with a baseball caps on caterpillar wheels. They usually hid in the ground and jump up when Sonic gets near them. You can just about see the drills poking out of the ground though. When they move along they go slowly and have no attacks, making them an easy target for Spin Attacks. Buzz Bomber ----------- Buzz Bombers are found in multiple zones, and are airborne enemies. They'll fly until just above Sonic and fire a bullet down in a diagonal direction at him. They'll then fly off rather quickly. Your best bet is to attack them while they pause to get ready to fire a shot. Just don't wait until it's too late and they hit you with that bullet! Caterkiller ----------- These mechinical caterpillars have spikes all over the body and have only one vulnerable part to attack: the head. If you attack there, it'll be destroyed. If you hit the body you'll also wreck it but Sonic will get a nasty stab! Chopper ------- Choppers are the gnashing piranha fish that jump up from under bridge to attack in the Green Hill Zone. You can take them out simply by jumping on them when they pop up, but watch below you in case one leaps up on you by surprise while you cross any bridges! Crabmeat -------- Like a crab it walks slowly sideways and is always vulnerable to attack, but watch out for the little bombs it shoots out of its claws when it pauses. Jaws ---- Jaws are found only underwater. They have jets for fins, but surprisingly don't move very fast. They don't have any means of defence and only move in one direction - forward. Taken out very easily. Moto Bug -------- These overgrown metal ladybirds are only capable of moving forward. They have a fair bit of speed but are easy to outmaneuver and take out with a simple spin attack. They don't attack back as well. Newtron ------- There are two types of Netwrons, and they both appear in walls. One type stays still and shoots a bomb at you, while the other drops to the ground and slowly follows Sonic. Both are not very tough to get past. Roller ------ In Spring Yard Zone, these are the quickest of enemies. They roll very fast and can be hit while rolling. They can jump while rolling, making it a bit even tougher to dodge. When they stop and peek out of their shell, quickly hit them to destroy them. =============================================================================== 5. Bosses =============================================================================== Green Hill Zone --------------- Scenery: On each side of the screen are two floating platforms, a medium jump height above the ground. Robotnik's Attack: Robotnik will fly down in his Egg-O-Matic in the center of the stage. He'll release a giant wrecking ball on a chain from the bottom of the Egg-O-Matic. He then flies slowly from left to right as he swings the ball. To scale, it looks like this: | | | | Position 1 \_______/ Position 2 (_) (_) (_) (_) ___(_)___ +---------------+ / \ +-------------+ +---------------+ | | +-------------+ | |<---Wrecking ball | | \_________/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Position 1 marks the highest height the ball can reach on the left side. Position 2 marks the highest height the ball can reach on the right side. Strategy: Shortly before the Boss Attack there is a high tree with an Invincible monitor in it, which can just be reached if you run down the little slope at top speed and jump while you go down. If you're quick, you can defeat Robotnik before the invincibility even wears off. If you cannot get it, what is best to do is to hide under a platform and duck while Robotnik swings the ball your way. When it moves the other way again, quickly climb the platform and jump into him. Now QUICKLY get back under the platform and repeat. You could even switch sides if you want. You need to hit Robotnik eight times to knock him out. Marble Zone ----------- Scenery: Two islands on each side of the screen separated by a pool of lava. Robotnik's Attack: Robotnik will appear on the right side of the screen. His Egg-O-Matic has a pipe on the bottom which releases fireballs. He'll drop one onto the platform and it will be set on fire temporarily. He flies in an arc to the other platform and does the same thing, then goes back to the previous platform, and repeats the process. Strategy: Start by staying on the left platform and let Robotnik flame the platform on the right. When he arcs toward you, jump over and hit him, and use the rebound to move left back onto the platform, don't fall in the lava! The other platform should have finished frying now, so leap over. Repeat as before and it's a piece of cake. Hit him eight times to finish him off. Spring Yard Zone ---------------- Scenery: 10 stepping blocks made like a bridge. Robotnik's Attack: Robotnik will hover above the block Sonic is standing on. A spike then comes out of the bottom of the Egg-O-Matic and he flies directly down to haul up the block, so you had better move! He'll then destroy the block then fly around a little more before doing it again. Strategy: Always stay near to the left and try to mak Robotnik take out each block one directly after the other. When he dives down, try to hit him twice, it's possible. You can hit him while he flies, but do not move around too much or he can go for the next block and make gaps, which is strenuous when you need to attack safely. Don't let him take out too many blocks on the right, or when you beat him, you couldn't make the jump to the animal tanker! Labyrinth Zone -------------- Scenery: Moving upward through a narrow gap between walls with spears and fire breathing gargoyles. Robotnik's Attack: He doesn't attack. He just flies directly upwards. Strategy: It is possible to take Robotnik out by hitting him eight times. Or you could just climb to the top and he'll fly away and you instantly have the victory, but you don't get 1000 points for beating him. Remember to climb quickly as you have water on your tail. And watch out for the spears and gargoyles. Star Light Zone --------------- Scenery: Three seesaws. Robotnik's Attack: Robotnik picks a random seesaw and drops a mine on it. The mine flashes red and blows up after a short amount of time. If Sonic is standing on the opposite side of the seesaw when it is dropped, he'll be propelled into the air. Strategy: There are two best ways to attack Robotnik. When he drops the mine on a seesaw you are NOT standing on, wait for him to fly above it. Then jump on the other end and the mine should fly up and hit him! Or you could stand on one end of a seesaw and when he drops the mine on the other end you'll be rocketed into the air and you can hit his Egg-O Matic. Ingenius. Scrap Brain Zone ---------------- There is no boss of the Scrap Brain Zone, but Robotnik makes a cameo in Act 2 =P Final Zone ---------- Scenery: Two crushers in the ground and ceiling (two that move down, two that move up) ______|________|________|________|________________ ^ ^ | | ___ Moves down Moves down (___ Moves up Moves up | | * _____ ________ ___V____ ________ ___V____ ________ | | | | | * = STAY HERE, ONLY MOVE WHEN THE SPARKS COME OUT! Robotnik's Attack: First of all, two random crushers will come out of the ceiling or floor. Robotnik will be in one of them. Then, four sparks will be sent out of the sparker. They start moving to the floor. Two more crushers will appear again, and the process repeats. Strategy: What I tend to do is to stay under the sparker. When the crushers move out, if Robotnik is in one of the crushers nearest to you, quickly hit him as the crushers move at a quick pace. If you cannot reach him, just wait and have patience. He'll be bound to appear in one of the closer crushers. When the sparks come out, run onto the crusher ground and find the biggest gap between the sparks. When you jump through, maneuvre right so you can safely go under the sparker again and you are not at risk of being hit by the crushers. Repeat the process and hit Robotnik eight times. When you bugger his crushers, he'll appear out of a tube and run for his Egg-O-Matic. Follow him. When he gets in it, quickly hit him to watch him go down in fashion! =============================================================================== 6. Items =============================================================================== Lamppost -------- Lampposts that have not yet been touched have a blue lamp on the top. When you touch one, the lamp turns red. When you die in a level you will return to the last lamppost you touched (if you didn't touch any you restart at the beginning of the level). When you go back to the lamppost you will have the same score as before and the timer will be set at the time it was when you touched it, but you have zero rings. Monitors -------- Monitors contain all sorts of helpful items. Break them open by using a Spin Attack on it. Here is a description of each of the things a monitor can contain inside it: Invincible - Sonic will be surrounded by stars and for a few moments be invincible (but he can still die if he falls to the bottom of the screen or gets crushed, so be careful!). One-Up - A picture of Sonic; it gives him an extra life! Power Sneakers - These will allow Sonic to run faster for a short while. Shield - This covers Sonic in a faint blue shield that protects him from one badnik attack. Super Ring - This will give you 10 rings. Ring ---- This is an item which is pretty essential for survival out in the world of Mobius. When you collect them you get protection from one badnik attack, but if you manage to get 100 you get an extra life! =============================================================================== 7. Secret Zone =============================================================================== How to find: ------------ If you reach the end of a certain zone with 50 rings or more, a giant ring may appear just after the signpost. If you jump into this ring you will be warped to the secret zone, but do this quickly otherwise Sonic will automatically run off the right end of the screen when the signpost stops spinning. You'll find this giant ring at the end of the following acts if you have 50+ rings: Green Hill Zone, Act 1 Green Hill Zone, Act 2 Marble Zone, Act 1 Marble Zone, Act 2 Spring Yard Zone, Act 1 Spring Yard Zone, Act 2 Labyrinth Zone, Act 1 Labyrinth Zone, Act 2 Star Light Zone, Act 1 Star Light Zone, Act 2 Collect the 6 emeralds throughout every Secret Zone to fully complete the game. Woohoo!!! =============================================================================== 8. Secrets =============================================================================== Weird stuff, cheats, codes, cool stuff. It's all here. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 8.01 - Cheats =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Debug Mode ---------- On the intro screen, press Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right, C, then hold A+B+C and press Start. When the game starts, the score should be all screwed up. You can change Sonic into items pressing B and returning to normal Sonic pressing B again. When Sonic is an item, press C to put one on the screen and you could use it. With this cheat you can quickly move to the end of a level or go places you couldn't normally find while normal Sonic. Very handy code. Drunk Sonic ----------- When the demo appears after the title screen, hold C and Sonic will bump into objects and get hit by enemies, and even die if you score lucky! Level Select ------------ On the intro screen while Sonic is waving his finger, press Up, Down, Left, Right then hold A and press Start. You should be taken to a screen where you can select which level to start on and Secret Zone and Sound Select. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 8.02 - Unlockables =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Different Game Ending --------------------- Get all 6 Chaos Emeralds and then beat the game. You will get to view a different ending. =============================================================================== 9. Guide Closing =============================================================================== The finishing things for our Sonic the Hedgehog FAQ. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 9.01 - Credits =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ryan Thanks ----------- Derin Spector He wrote half this damn guide! Steve "Psycho Penguin" McFadden For help, support, and being a great friend. Jeff "CJayC" Veasey, the IGN staff, and other sites whom have posted this FAQ For hosting all my work and allowing me to become a much more recognised author. Derin Thanks ------------ Ryan, he also wrote half this damn guide! SEGA and Sonic Team for making such a terrific game. GameFAQs for posting this guide (CJayC). =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 9.02 - Legal Disclaimer =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This FAQ is copyright (c)2004-2006 and exclusive property of Ryan Harrison and Derin Spector. Everything contained in this file is our own info. This FAQ may ONLY appear on the following sites: 1up.com (http://1up.com/) GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com/) GameNotOver (http://www.gamenotover.com/) GamerHelp (http://www.gamerhelp.com/) HonestGamers (http://www.honestgamers.com/) IGN FAQs (http://faqs.ign.com/) Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com/) Omega Gateway (http://omegagateway.com/) SuperCheats (http://www.supercheats.com/) If you would like to put this guide on your site, you must contact us BOTH, and get our general advance written permission. If you're going to be stupid and decide to post ANY of our FAQs, let alone this one, on your site without our permission, that's plagiarism, and it's illegal. So just don't do it. This FAQ may also NOT be sold for profit, sold for profit or reproduced for profit. This document is protected by copyright law, and we will find out if you rip us off. But if you'd like to use any info, just ask and credit us. That is all. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 9.03 - Contacting Us =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Contacting Ryan --------------- If you wish to get in touch with me regarding my work, whether you have any questions, comments or suggestions for this or any other of my FAQs, my E-Mail address is rharrisonfaqs(at)gmail.com. Please make sure that your questions have been answered within the file before you send them, because I do not have time to look and reply to E-Mails that already have the solutions posted up, and you will likely not get a reply. If the file is complete and has a version number FINAL then you should definitely re-check before you send an E-Mail to me, otherwise then I'd be glad to help you out. If you do send something helpful to me, then I will include in a future update of the file and I will give credit to you for whatever you have submitted. Please have a sensible E-Mail topic like "FAQ Question" so that I do not mistake it for something else and delete it. Thanks for reading and take care. Contacting Derin ---------------- E-Mail: dspector88(at)gmail.com AIM Messenger: Derin88 Ryan: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/22792.html Derin: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/41894.html This file is dedicated to the memory of the late Chris MacDonald, who died on May 17, 2004. Rest in Peace. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/85.html -END OF FILE-