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Date:   Thursday 14 January 1904 11:42:33
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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

For the Mega Drive

FAQ by [email protected]

Version 2: 08 -  04 - 2005

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Revision History

Version 2 (08 - 04 - 2005)

Tidied it up and clarified stuff because someone was whinging on the  message
board.

Contents

1 Items
2 Baddies
3 Robotnik's  Attacks
4 Walkthrough
5 Bonus Stages

1  Items

Rings

Pick them up so that you will not die if you are hit.  Getting 100 or 200 will
get you an extra life (getting 50 000 points will do  the same). If you are
hit, your rings will scatter over the screen, so try  and retrieve some.

TV sets

These contain:

Super ring: Gives  you 10 rings

Speed shoes: Gives you a burst of speed

Shield: If  you get hit, yo won't lose your rings, but you will lose your
shield

Invincible: Makes you temporarily invincible (but you can  still be crushed,
or fall off the screen).

Sonic: Gives you an extra  life

2 Baddies

Moto Bug (Green Hill Zone)

Simply runs back  and forth, making it the easiest baddie in the game to avoid.

Crabmeat  (Green Hill Zone, Spring Yard Zone)

Slightly harder, as this baddie will  occasionally open its claws to fire
energy balls at you.

Buzz Bomber  (Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Spring Yard Zone)

Flies overhead and spits  a fireball at you.

Chopper (Green Hill Zone)

Whenever you see a  bridge, there is likely to be at least one of these fish
below, ready to  snap at you.

Newtron (Green Hill Zone)

These will appear out of  walls; the ones with red eyes will fly at you, while
the ones with yellow  eyes will appear briefly to fire a ball bomb at you.

Caterkiller (Marble  Zone, Scrap Brain Zone)

It looks harmless, but you can only attack its  head as all its spikes are
poisonous. If you hit a spike, the Caterkiller  will break up and bounce
around the screen, threatening to inflict further  damage.

Batbot (Marble Zone)

Found underground, this baddie will  simply fly at you.

Roller (Spring Yard Zone)

Almost a clone of  Sonic himself, these are (thankfully) very rare. As you run
along, they will  roll up behind you, uncurling for a few seconds, before
rolling on. They are  only vulnerable while uncurled.

Spikes (Spring Yard Zone)

Like  Caterkiller, avoid their spikes. Fortunately these don't break up and
bounce  over the screen.

Orbinaut (Labyrinth Zone, Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain  Zone)

This guy has four spiked balls, and it practically invulnerable  when guarded
by them. Only the ones on the Labyrinth Zone and Scrap Brain  zone will
release their missiles, leaving them open to attack.

Chop  Chop (Labyrinth Zone, Scrap Brain Zone)

These will swim through the  water. Be careful when dropping down a shaft, but
not much of a hazard  otherwise.

Burrowbot (Labyrinth Zone, Scrap Brain Zone)

These are  only visible by their noses, before they burst out of the floor to
attack  you, usually in groups.

Bomb Bot (Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain  Zone)

When you go near to these bad guys, they will explode into  shrapnel, which
you should avoid like the plague.

Ballhog (Scrap  Brain Zone)

Very rare, these pigs are found in groups at the end of  levels. Their only
attack is to throw bouncing balls at you (but in narrow  passages).

3 Boss Fights

Green Hill Zone

Jump onto one of the floating platforms and  attack Robotnik a few times,
before retreating into the corner. He will  produce what looks like a giant
bauble, which he swings back and forth. When  it swings away from you, jump up
and hit him. Eight hits will see him  packing.

Marble Zone

Jump up and hit Robotnik and he will fly  across the lava. Stay where you are
as he will set fire to the platform on  the other side, before heading back
your way. Hit him and jump away, over  the lava, before he sets light to this
platform (the fire on the other side  will have subsided). Keep this up and he
will be defeated  quickly.

Spring Yard Zone

Robotnik looks harmless, but this  usually means he's up to no good. Stand on
the far left block of the bridge  and he will hover over you, producing a
spike. Run out of the way and he  will tug the block you were standing on. Hit
him a few times (if you're  good, you'll manage about four hits). Keep doing
this, each time standing on  the furthest left block, otherwise you may end up
falling to your death  after beating Robotnik (very frustrating).

Labyrinth Zone

This is  an unusual boss. After a very steep climb up a shaft, you will meet
Robotnik, who promptly flies away. Chase him up the hardest section of the
level, avoiding the spikes and flame spitting dog heads. Try not to be too
hasty, or you will make a mistake, even though the water is constantly
rising. When you reach the top, Robotnik will run away, leaving you free to
get to the prison egg.

Star Light Zone

Robotnik will drop  bombs on to the see saws, and Sonic can attack him either
by standing on  other end of the see saw before the bomb is dropped and being
catapulted up  to Robotnik, or jumping on the see saw after the bomb is
dropped and  catapulting the bombs at him. Be warned that if you die, you will
be sent to  the lamp post (restart point) immediately before Robotnik, and you
will not  be able to collect ANY rings or shields.

Scrap Brain Zone

There is  no boss; see the:

Final Zone

You have no rings, but it's not  actually that hard. You will be in a room with
six pressers (three in the floor
and three in the ceiling), and two - at random - will pop out to try and
squash you flat. One has Robotnik inside, and this is the one you must hit.
After that, four energy balls will now be released at the
top of the  screen and will home in on you. Make sure you avoid them or they
will kill  you.
It's a good idea to stand to the right of the screen, as this is best to  avoid
being squashed, and only go for Robotnik if you can actually reach him.  Don't
take any foolish risks.
After eight hits, chase Robotnik to his flying pod, and - to
make  things a bit more satisfying, ram him and it'll blow up (although this
isn't  necessary).

4 Walkthrough

Green Hill Zone

The easiest zone,  this has only a few hazards. Watch out for the spikes that
are found down  pits, as falling on these will usually spell instant death
even if Sonic has  rings and a shield. Also, watch out for the rotating logs
with spikes on  near the end of act three.

It is possible to get every ring on act two by  simply running along to the
first swing, going past it to kill the fish,  then coming back and going down
and left, then spin attacking through the  false wall to the left to reveal a
secret passage. Then, go down and right  and cross the spikes and use the
spring at the end. Go left and collect all  the remaining rings, then head
right. Before you enter the last tunnel, go  down and left and along the
passage at the bottom of the screen.  Voila!

Also, there is a very secret area on act 3, which can be accessed  by running
along the bottom of the level until you find what appears to be a  wall in the
way. Spin attack it to break the false wall and take the bottom  passage,
which will end with a set of spikes - or does it? Jump over the  spring and
spikes and you will enter a secret area containing five super  ring boxes and
one 1 up. Leave the area, using the spring on the right, but  do so quickly as
hanging around will actually cause the screen to scroll up  automatically,
killing Sonic at the bottom.

For those of you who have  trouble beating Robotnik on this level, there is an
invincibility box hidden  in a tall palm tree near the end of act three. In
fact, there are several  boxes hidden in this way throughout the zone!

Marble Zone

This is  tougher; watch out for the pits of lava, and the platforms that sink
into  it. There are several ways to be crushed, too, including the pillars
that  move up and down and the spiked chandeliers and lead weights on chains
that  rise and then crash to the floor. You can also use there to reach higher
levels.

Also, watch out for the grey blocks that you can break with a  spin attack.
You get points for attacking them and - like bad guys - hitting  multiple ones
without stopping will earn you extra points (at one point in  act two, you can
accumulate 100, 000 points doing this).

Each act has  a secret extra life. On act 1, this is in the first shaft
leading up to the  open air. As you rise on the chandelier, jump into the wall
on the left.  There are four super ring boxes too.

On act two, you will cross a lava  pool on a grey slab at one point. At the
far end is another grey slab, which  you should jump onto, rather than to the
raised platform on the left. Enter  the wall on the left for a 1 up and twenty
rings.

Finally, on act  three, follow the level and you will come to a point where
you ride across a  lava pool on a slab and get fired up to the next section.
Go right, until  you come to a wall and three chandeliers. Jump in the wall on
the right,  instead of heading downwards, and you will find a 1 up. Continue
right for a  short cut.

Spring Yard Zone

For the most of this act, you should  keep to the bottom of the area, as there
are more opportunities to grab items.  Watch out for Rollers sneaking up behind
you, and hit them as soon as they  uncurl. Do rolling attacks on the Spikes
enemies (the pink guys with spikes),  and be careful with the rotating spike
balls. There are some secrets on act two.  First of all, take the lower route
to the
shaft where it looks like you must  go up. Use the spring and enter a passage
to the right, in the wall. Avoid  the moving blocks and get the 1 up at the
end.

The act also has TWO  exits! When going down the final ramp, make a large jump
to a platform high  overhead and you will get some extra rings and there will
be a second  signpost!

At the end of the act is a bottomless pit, so be careful when crossing it  to
the fight against Robotnik (see Bosses section).

Labyrinth  Zone

This is arguably the hardest level in the game, being the first one  to be
almost completely full of water. When underwater, you must keep  grabbing
large air bubbles, or you will drown (a five second countdown will  begin if
you leave it too long).

Act One has a brilliant short cut!  Continue right past the first underwater
section and drop into the second  one. There are two switches; get the one on
the left, and stand on the  platform below it, which rises. Stand there and
jump before you are impaled  to death on the spiked ceiling, and you should
land on a platform, and you  can now climb out of the water. A tiny platform
will have appeared, so use  it to cross the lake, quickly jumping off at the
end. You are now in a short  cut to the end of the act. Be careful attacking
the Burrowbots. I've found  myself prone to taking accidental hits at this
point.

Act Two has no real short cuts, just a straightforward path. Watch out for  the
invincible in the act; don't be too hasty in getting it as a swinging chain
guards it, and it's not immediately obvious.

Act three begins with a  seemingly endless waterfall (N.B. there is an
interesting graphics SNAFU in  this part, as you can see into some of the
rooms ahead, which contain Chop  Chops, but NO water. The fish are,
nevertheless, swimming in mid air. When  you reach these rooms, however, they
will be filled up. To escape the  waterfall, wait until you are falling to the
left and time it to leap to the  platform with the switch (also find the
platform with a shield on), allowing  access to the right. This may take some
trial and error, but watch out for the  platform and try to jump when you see
this.

There is also a short cut  here; go down from here to a platform with some
spears on and a sinking  cork, which will take you to a secret passage.

If you choose to go the  long way, however, there is a hidden life. When you
get to the first large  pulley, drop down and jump left and you will find a
secret room (also  containing four super rings).

If you have trouble with the boss on this  level, I suggest you miss out the
final lamp post (which - if you took the  short cut - will mean starting from
the beginning again), as restarting from  here will mean you can't collect
rings (but you can get a shield).

The "boss" is a bit unconventional, and can be a nightmare for beginners  (see
Boss section).

Star Light Zone

This level has the best music  in the game, and is (thankfully) also one of
the easiest levels (I only lost  two lives getting through it on my first go).
The only real danger is  falling off the bottom of the screen. Sega, realising
this, put only one  restart point in the entire level (the one just before
Robotnik, which we  could easily do without - see Robotnik section). Unlike
the previous level,  where you generally had no more than two options per act,
this level has  multiple routes you can take (to a far greater extent than any
other level!  At the start of act 1, be aware of the false wall on the right
spin  attack it for forty rings and a 1 up. Otherwise, try and keep to the top
of  the level, as there is less danger of falling off the screen.

When you reach the see-saws, jump on the side WITHOUT a spike ball on, and
your weight will throw it up in the air. Stand there and it will land,
propelling you into the air. You can stay still and you'll gain momentum and
you  can use the direction pad in the air to manoevre Sonic.

The only other tip I can give is that it is best not to attack the  orbinauts
unless you are invincible, as you will probably end up getting hit as  they
DON'T throw their spikes. I have occasionally managed to successfully kill
them, but it's hard to time right.

Scrap Brain Zone

This is one of  the best levels in the game. Act 1 takes place outside the
factory, with  about three different routes available (warning: don't take the
bottom route  unless you're an expert, or suicidal, as it leads to the hardest
section in  the entire game!) Hitting the ring at the start will cause the
"wheel" (hard to  give it a proper name) to change the direction of the
rotation; going directly  into it would take you on the hard route. After that,
it's a good idea to go up  using the platforms (these "fold" in and out of
existence, so time it  carefully), then try and stay near the top for a
generally easier route that  also avoids more of the Ballhogs.

Act two takes you inside the factory.  There are two routes to take, and the
best option is probably the lower one,  as it is easier and leads to a chance
to grab a 1 up, in the room just  before the ballhogs. Wait patiently (this
could take some  time) and some
platforms will appear to the left, which you must  quickly get to and climb up
before they vanish. At the top are four super  rings and a 1 up. The lower
route also includes and interesting (and weird)  feature you may like to check
out; after the first warp tube, get an extra  life in a small pit, then ram
the corner of the floor to the right of this.  If you're on target, you will
hear a pop and it appears that you killed a  caterkiller (although none were
visible previously).
Another feature of this lower route is a secret area accessed from the  second
warp pipe, if you have 50 rings when you use it (not easy, as rings are
scarce); this takes you on a quicker route, but will miss out the goodies I
mentioned above.

At the end of act two, you will meet Robotnik, but he'll press a switch  which
makes the floor collapse. Don't try and avoid falling, as you can't.  You will
drop into act three, which - despite being labelled Scrap Brain -  is actually
in the Labyrinth Zone (only everything is a different colour  (the water is
pink, ugh!) Make your way through here for the final showdown;  the quickest
route is to press the first switch, then overtake the moving  platform and
continue down. Then head right, avoiding swinging chains and  killing enemies,
jump and go up the next shaft, and head along the top
of the screen until you are forced to go down. Go up the shaft on your  right,
avoiding the swinging ball - and chains and use the spring to reach  the final
fight. If you take the long route, all I can suggest it to use  every set of
air bubbles that you find, and don't waste too much time getting  rings - you
won't actually get any bonuses at the end of this act.

Final Zone

Run to the right and fight Robotnik (see boss section). There are no rings,  to
add extra challenge. Afterwards, chase Robotnik and spin attack him  (optional,
but satisfying), and watch the end sequence.

5 Bonus  Stages

When you get 50 rings on a level, a giant ring will appear at the  end. Jump
into it to enter a bonus stage, which takes place in a rotating  maze. You
must collect the chaos emerald to win, and avoid touching the red  spheres
with "GOAL" written on them. Note that the "R" pads reverse the  direction of
rotation, the "UP" ones speed it up and the "DOWN" ones slow it  down.

To get the emerald, you will have to keep bashing againsy the coloured  blocks
guarding until they  vanish. They usually start off blue, before  turning
green, yellow and pink,
then vanishing on the next hit.

Most of the acts take the form of a long passage that you must  navigate
through, avoiding routes that lead to goal spheres. It's best to take  your
time, and look at where the rings are. If there's a fork in the path, most  of
the time the correct route is in the direction of the rings; this is a good
tip for the 4th and 5th special stages. With Special Stages 3 and 6, Sonic is
in  one huge arena, with the chaos emerald in the middle, surrounded by
breakable  blocks. All I can suggest here is to try and keep Sonic in the
centre as much as  you can; that way you won't go near the goals.

Be warned that you can only enter the ring on acts one and two and you  cannot
do so in the Scrap Brain Zone. Interestingly enough, if you get 50  rings and
ignore the giant ring while in the Star Light zone, the sign post  at the end
will start flashing. If you get less than 50 rings and haven't  got all the
emeralds, the ENTIRE sign will flash (very odd!)

END OF  FAQ If you spotted any mistakes, or things that were missed out, write
to  the address at the top.

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