SONIC TRIPLE TROUBLE
Sega Game Gear 1994
FAQ/walkthrough by William Walker

Copyright 2003 William Walker. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

A month... my sincere apologies to all those who hoped I would send out my FAQ for Sonic
Triple Trouble sooner. My life has been very busy lately, and I have not been able to find time to
work on FAQs as much. I am still planning on doing FAQ/walkthroughs for the Genesis Sonic
games in the future, though when is not clear. Hopefully I will have gotten started by this summer,
but I cannot guarantee anything. Anyway, this is my FAQ/walkthrough for Sonic Triple Trouble,
which may also be called Sonic & Tails 2 (I don't know why, just that I clicked on Sonic & Tails
2 on game sages and it took me to the same game). This is the last Sonic platform game that was
made for the Game Gear, an old, portable system perfect for use on trips or light entertainment. I
have seven Game Gear games, six in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, five of which I have already
submitted FAQ/walkthroughs for. At least four have been posted.

Sonic Triple Trouble is most similar in gameplay to Sonic Chaos, but much better. Sonic Chaos
was a decent game, but it was too easy, had no real story, and the fact that Tails could not collect
the chaos emeralds was frustrating. Sonic Triple Trouble corrects many of these faults. It is an
engaging game, with huge levels, almost like a Genesis game in that regard. It has an advanced
special stage and both characters can now collect the chaos emeralds. The large levels requires
you to do substantial exploring even if you don't find the levels themselves that hard (although
many of them are). The controls in this game are more complex than in some Sonic games (the
basic controls are the same, but there are more moves, plus cool new gadget power-ups). Also
many of the boss characters are substantially more difficult than in other Game Gear games. All in
all, this is an excellent game, one of my two favorite Sonic games for Game Gear (my other
favorite is Sonic 1) and the crowning achievement of the whole series.

This FAQ/walkthrough was written for the purpose of helping you complete Sonic Triple Trouble
as quickly and easily as possible. Do NOT use it for any other purpose (selling it for profit, etc). If
you wish to post it on another site, by all means, as long as you notify me first (it is probably just
fine, but notify me anyway) and give me credit where it is due.

If you wish to write me an e-mail for any reason related to this game (question, suggestion, wish
to point out something I missed, complement) I very much encourage it! It reminds me some
people still play this game, which is nine years old right now, and I love getting mail! All I ask is
that you specify what you want, and no stupid e-mails or ads, thank you. Drop me a line at j-d-
[email protected] .

This FAQ/walkthrough was begun March 25, 2003.


2. Control and Basic Information

Sonic Triple Trouble is named because in this game Sonic or Tails (whoever you decide to play
as) faces three menaces on your adventure. The first is Robotnik the mad scientist, the main bad
guy in almost every Sonic game, who wants to steal the chaos emeralds and conquer the world, as
always. Robotnik has obtained the Master Emerald and you must get it back from him to win the
game. The second menace is Knuckles the echidna, an ancient inhabitant of wherever this game
takes place (in Genesis, it's the Floating Island) who as in Genesis has been tricked by Robotnik
into thinking that you, not Robotnik, are the one trying to steal the emeralds and has set up traps
and obstacles all over the island. The third menace, unique to this game, is Nack the weasel (I
don't have the game's manual; I am relying on an old Sonic the Hedgehog web page for this
information). Nack is a treasure hunter with designs on the chaos emeralds. He knows the best
way to get the emeralds is to steal them from somebody else, and he is cunning and has a flying
airbike to help him get around.

Sonic Triple Trouble has six zones of six acts each. You play each act as Sonic or Tails (in the
screen after the title screen you select your character). The characters are fairly similar, the only
difference being some moves and gadget power-ups unique to one character. The third act of each
zone is very short usually and ends in a boss battle (standard fare in Sonic Game Gear games). All
acts of the game have rings (though in act 3 the rings may only be in one place, and be a bit
concealed). Rings are your character's sustenance; when you have any rings at all you cannot die
from a normal hit, although you can still die from falling off the screen, drowning, or running out
of time (you get 10 minutes per act, usually more than enough time to complete it). When you
take a hit, you don't lose all your rings like in most Sonic games. Instead, you lose: 30 rings if you
are in zones 1, 2 and 6, or any act 1, or 50 rings if you are in act 2 of zones 3-5. I don't know
why. Some rings fly into the air and you can re-grab them if you're quick. If you get hit with less
than 30 or 50 rings, you lose all that you have. If you get hit with zero rings, you die. When you
lose a life you return to the beginning of the act, unless you have activated a Check Point power-
up. You begin the game with four lives. If you lose all your lives, you get a chance to continue if
you have continues left. You begin the game with one continue and get another every 50,000
points you earn. If you opt to continue you return to the act you lost your last life in with four
lives. If you lose all your lives and continues, your game is over and you must start the game over.

Sonic Triple Trouble is not too difficult to control although trickier than some other Sonic games.
Both characters have the same basic controls. The directional pad makes you move, duck/look
down and look up. Pressing down while you run makes you roll into a ball, which is one way to
defeat enemies. (To defeat enemies, and damage bosses, either roll into them or jump into or onto
them). Buttons 1 and 2 have the same function: jump. The start button pauses/unpauses the game.
To execute a spin dash, a cool move where your character revs up then shoots off like a torpedo,
duck and press 1 or 2. Release down to blast off. Another move that is only available in this game
and takes some getting used to, is the air roll. To air roll whenever you are in the air but not
rolling (from running or rolling off a ledge, or hitting a spring) press the jump button. You will
roll briefly, long enough to hit an enemy rather than being hit yourself. The roll lasts only briefly
and can only be done once per jump, but it is a useful technique in many situations.

Sonic and Tails differ in one way in control. When you stand still and press up and 1 or 2, you will
do either a super peel out or a tailicopter, depending on if you're Sonic or Tails. The super peel
out (also available in Sonic CD) gives you a burst of speed, but dissipates quickly if you don't
hold in the direction you're running. You don't roll either like you do when you spin dash. This is
a rather useless move, and I don't know of any time in this game when you need to use it. The
tailicopter (name made up), though, is a very useful move that enables Tails to get to locations
Sonic cannot or finds it more difficult to reach. When you do a tailicopter, you can fly for a short
time. Use the directional pad to fly in the direction you want (you continue going in one direction
if you release the directional pad). When you run out of time you don't fall out of the tailicopter;
you just lose power and float back to the ground. It's also possible to do a tailicopter in the air, by
pressing up and 1 or 2 when you're in the air but not rolling, though this isn't as powerful as
doing it from the ground - you just get a brief burst of energy, then start gliding back down
immediately. Also note that you cannot do the tailicopter underwater.

There are a lot of power-ups in this game. All power-ups are found in monitors; jump on them or
roll into them to break them open and gain their contents. I divided power-ups into two
categories: normal and gadgets. Normal power-ups are the ones found in many other games.
Gadgets provide you with vastly increased movement abilities for a short time The normal power-
ups are:

Super Ring - Looks like a ring. Worth 10 rings.
Invincibility - Looks like three stars. Makes you invincible to enemies for a short time.
Speed Shoes - Looks like a red shoe. Increases your running speed greatly... for a short time.
Check Point - Looks like a red arrow pointing down. Saves your place in the act if you lose a life
later on.
1-UP - Looks like your character's face. Worth an extra life. (Getting100 rings and 200 rings are
also worth 1-UPS).
Clock - Found only in special stages. Looks like a clock. Resets the timer.

Gadgets are:

Jet Turbo (Sonic only) - This is very similar to the Rocket Shoes in Sonic Chaos. Activate it to
gain access to a large red rocket that propels you rapidly in any direction you wish. You usually
use it to fly right very quickly, thus flying over a large part of an act without having to avoid
obstacles. It only lasts for a short time, so fly as fast as you can. The power-up looks like a small
picture of the rocket
Pogo Spring (Both characters) - This is also borrowed from Sonic Chaos. It is a spring that
remains attached to your character's foot and allows you to bounce up and down until you get hit,
jump or land on a normal spring. It enables you to bounce higher and (combined with jumping)
reach areas you couldn't otherwise reach. The power-up looks like a spring.
Snowboard (Sonic only) - This is only in Robotnik Winter Zone, as you probably guess. It gives
you a snowboard you can use to slide down slopes like nothing else. To go in one direction just
press and hold in the direction you wish to go. Press 1 or 2 to make a small hop. To get off the
snowboard, make a small hop and jump again while in the air. This is not ever necessary, but it's
fun to play around with. The power-up looks like a snowboard.
Super Tails (Tails only) - This appears in place of all Jet Turbos and Snowboards. It allows Tails
to fly faster than normal, any way he wants, for a short time. It is like a Jet Turbo in that it is
usually used to get across a portion of an act, but you can't fly as fast or as far as a Jet Turbo can.
The power-up looks like a picture of Tails flying (I think).
Swim Fin (Sonic only) - This is like an underwater Jet Turbo. It is only in Tidal Plant Zone, of
course. If you are Tails, these are Speed Shoes instead. It lets you swim very fast any way you
want for a very short time. It can do more harm than good since there are a lot of dangers
underwater and when you're swimming you don't really have control of yourself. The power-up
looks like a red fin of some sort.
Submersible (Tails only) - This is Tails' ultimate cool power-up. It's not really a power-up at all,
but a small blue machine Tails can jump into to use. There is one in every act of Tidal Plant Zone.
Once inside it, the music of Tidal Plant stops playing, replaced by a much happier, but repetitive
tune. When inside this as Tails you have unlimited air. You can move in any direction you want by
just using the directional pad. To get power-ups just steer onto them. Same for defeating enemies,
just steer over them. Press the jump button (either one) to launch a bullet out of the front of the
Submersible. This won't hurt enemies, but will destroy breakable blocks (some can only be
destroyed this way) and damage the boss. You lose this for good if you get hit even once, and
cannot travel out of the water or into pipes. This is a way cool power-up for Tails.

Your goal in this game is to recapture the Master Emerald from Robotnik, but you also want to
find the five chaos emeralds hidden somewhere on the island. There is no Super Sonic or Tails
like in Genesis, so your only reward for getting all the chaos emeralds is the bonus points and a
better ending. However, this task is not easy; getting all the chaos emeralds is in fact very hard in
this game. For one thing, entering special stage is not easy. There is a power-up that has a chaos
emerald on it somewhere in every act 1 and 2 (twelve total in the game). It is usually out of the
way and well hidden. This power-up can only be gotten once. If you collect it, lose a life and find
it again, it will become a Super Ring. If you get it with under 50 rings, nothing will happen and
you'll have lost one opportunity to enter the special stage. If you get it with 50 rings or more,
though, a ring of stars will appear above it. Touch that to be teleported to the special stage. (If
you already have all the chaos emeralds, these power-ups become Super Rings)

You will enter the next special stage you have not successfully completed. The first time you go
to special stage, you go to the first one. You continue to go to the first one until you collect the
chaos emerald, at which point you go to the second one the next time you enter special stage.
There are five different special stages. One, three and five are level stages; you will have to
negotiate a difficult maze with springs, breakable blocks, moving and invisible platforms and
maybe even pits, racing against the clock to find the chaos emerald. Two and four are plane
stages; you will fly in Sonic's red biplane and try to collect 80 rings along a course while avoiding
bombs. A complete guide to special stages can be found after the walkthrough. All the special
stages except the first end with a boss battle with Nack the weasel. If you can defeat him you will
get a chaos emerald. You will then return to the same place you left the regular game, with no
rings (although you can immediately collect the Super Ring that appears in place of the emerald
power-up) and the timer rest to 0:00.

At the end of each act 1 and 2 is a turnstile. Run past it to complete the act. The turnstile will
show a picture, one of five, randomly selected. The pictures are Sonic's face on a red background,
a ring, a chaos emerald, Sonic's face looking more triumphant on a yellow background and Tails'
face. Sonic's face on red and a chaos emerald appear to give you no extra bonus. A ring is worth
10 rings, and Sonic's face on yellow or Tails is worth a 1-UP if you are playing as the character
whose face is displayed. Otherwise it's nothing.

At the end of every act and special stage in this game you get bonus points. Scoring is one area of
the game where my information is rather patchy; forgive me. You get 100 points per ring in your
possession, up to a maximum of 9,900 points, plus a time bonus (not in act 3) of up to 9,900
depending on your speed. I believe the time bonus goes down 100 points for every time a set
number of seconds have elapsed after a certain time, like 0:30. Special stage time bonuses
probably work in a similar way, and if you run out of time, you get nothing. You also earn points
in acts, I'm not sure why or how many, but it's usually a matter of a couple hundred points at the
most. I thought it had to do with defeating enemies but checked and found no correlation. You
will also get 5,000 points for every boss you defeat (in addition to your normal act 3 scoring).

3. General Tips

-Don't go too fast. This game can be rushed through very quickly, but you'll miss out on a ton of
rings, 1-UPS and other goodies, and are very vulnerable to ambushes or traps, even if you have
quick hands. It's much better to go slowly and plot out where you need to go before rushing
ahead. You will score more points and do better.

-Use gadgets carefully. They are only available once and are very fragile, and difficult to get the
maximum use out of. Sometimes they are necessary or helpful in reaching hidden areas.

-Recognize in each zone what breakable blocks look like (they sometimes stick out like a sore
thumb, other times blend in well with normal blocks). There are a lot of breakable blocks in this
game and are the key to entering many hidden areas.

-Be aware of collapsing ground. Ground that is only one layer thick and looks different from
normal floor, will usually crumble when you set foot on it. Watch out.

-Retain control of yourself if possible. With all the springs all over this game it's very easy to lose
control of yourself, and this can lead to missing important items are secrets.
-Explore each act thoroughly. There are a lot of secrets in this game, even if they are just extra
Super Rings, they are good to find and add up. So explore everywhere and go over the same area
many times.

-Avoid taking hits. Many hits are the result of going too fast or too recklessly, and hits are very
damaging, especially if you are going for all the chaos emeralds. Remember, you need 50 rings
before you can enter special stage.

-Master the game's controls, especially the air roll, as soon as possible. That air roll can be really
handy or a lifesaver in certain places.

-Be aware that falling off the screen causes instant death. There aren't too many death pits in this
game, but enough to keep you on your toes.

-The special stages can seem overwhelming at first. Keep in mind that they are quite hard - harder
than in most Sonic games, especially the fifth and last one. Completing them will require patience,
persistence and dumb luck, even knowing where all the emerald power-ups are. Getting all the
chaos emeralds in this game will take many attempts.

-If you are wondering which character to play as, don't worry too much since the characters are
very much the same (unlike Sonic Chaos). Tails is a bit easier to play for beginners due to his
tailicopter, which is very handy if you use it right. Play as Tails if you're unsure of yourself or are
playing for the first time.

-Don't get worried or stressed too much about this game. If you're having trouble with a part of
an act or a boss, taking a break and recharging may be a good idea. Try not to think of this game
as something that must be conquered at all costs. It was intended for light entertainment, not
much more. Getting worried or stressed about this game is not what it was intended for at all.

-Played the game a couple times and want a jump-start? Here is the level select (the only code for
this game that I know of): Turn the game on and press and hold up on the directional pad. You
must press it before the Sega logo appears and hold it throughout the logo. When the five chaos
emeralds appear, and Knuckles starts collecting them, continue holding up. At the exact moment
Knuckles touches the third (red) emerald, press start. This is hard to time and you have a very
small window to press start in, so it will likely take several attempts. Try not to get frustrated. If
you do it correctly you will hear the sound of a ring being collected. After selecting your character
the level select screen will appear. Choose the act you wish to begin playing on. I don't use this
level select usually (I don't like to cheat) but it was necessary for writing this FAQ/walkthrough.

4. Walkthrough

This walkthrough is written for a Sonic player, but if you are Tails, you can follow the
walkthrough just as easily, since Tails and Sonic are virtually the same. Just remember you can
use your tailicopter to get to places more easily.

This walkthrough was hard to write, since acts in Sonic Triple Trouble are huge, and have many
different paths you can take. The later zones are more maze-like, adding another dimension. I try
to follow the route that is the easiest with the most rings. This walkthrough does not cover where
every single power-up is located; you are encouraged to explore areas not mentioned in the
walkthrough if you have played the game several times. The walkthrough tries to also guide you
to the major secrets, and it's pretty obvious those secrets are the Emerald Boxes (the power-ups
that allow you to enter special stage) 1-UPS I tried to point out as well, but they are difficult to
find, and I did not check every nook and cranny for them. If you know of 1-UPS that I do not,
please let me know!

This is my first walkthrough written in over a month, so it may be lacking in some areas.

4a. Great Turquoise Zone

This is the lush, tropical paradise that begins nearly every Sonic game. This laid-back place is ideal
for getting used to your abilities, which you will need to master later on. Be sure to check out the
springs on the top of most trees, since rings are above many of them. Note that these springs are
very weak and don't bounce you high at all.

Act 1

Go right collecting rings. You can jump into the trees to fool around if you wish, collecting more
rings. Note that in the top left corner of the act on a floating ledge is a Super Tails power-up.
Only Tails can reach it by flying up. I do not recommend grabbing it, however, as you will miss
out on a lot of rings. Continuing right, you find a Pogo Spring and farther right, an enemy with a
spring on his back. This enemy is very similar to ones in Sonic Chaos. Jumping on him will
bounce you up; roll through him to defeat him but do not walk into him. You can use the Pogo
Spring to bounce up and collect more rings, including a Super Ring on a high ledge, but it isn't
necessary. Continue right to a loop. You can run or spin dash through it, or jump in the trees and
get on top of it - you'll find another Super Ring. Continue right and defeat another spring enemy.
You'll come to an area with a low road and a high road. The high road is slightly easier so go up
there. Keep going right and jump over the waterfall. You'll come to an area with four trees. If
you've been collecting all the rings so far and haven't gotten hit, you may have over 100 right
now. Continue right and you come to a large waterfall.

Jump to the right as far as possible. You'll probably land near a Super Ring and a wall. There are
some springs that can bounce you up the waterfall if you fall down for some reason (these springs
aren't visible unless touched - there are a lot of springs like this in this game). Get the Super Ring
and spin dash right, standing where the Super Ring was. You'll break through the wall (breakable
blocks are also very common in this game) and on the other side, find some Speed Shoes. Get
them and go right but not too fast. You don't want to go too fast or you might run off the cliff.
When you get to the cliff after a long line of rings (taking the high road) jump to the right. You
should find some steps that lead up to two Super Rings, guarded by an enemy who hovers back
and forth above them. Jump and hit him to defeat him but do not walk under him; that will cause
him to drop his mine and fly away. Get the Super Rings. To the right will be a long line of trees.

These trees require you to do something tricky; you must bounce across them to the right without
falling. Some of them are far apart and other times your next tree will not be visible. I hope you
have been practicing on the trees earlier in the act. If you fall, there is no way to get back up on
the ground; you will have to head back to the left and climb up to where you found the Super
Rings again. Between two of the trees is a mine-dropping enemy; you must do an air roll to beat
him and land on the next tree (this is quite tricky). Take it slow and concentrate. On the last tree
you'll see a ledge to the right, but it seems you can't quite reach it. You can but it requires you to
be moving right at the time you hit the tree-spring. This can be quite frustrating. On this ledge is
the Emerald Power-up. You should have 50 rings at this point, although in the future you will
need to be careful not to get hit if you want to enter special stage. After returning from special
stage you can drop down and go right to the goal. However, it may be worth your while to drop
down and head back left, and drop down the first hole you see. You'll hit a spring at the bottom
of the shaft in waist deep water. To the left of the spring is a 1-UP.

Act 2

Go right and run down the hill. You'll see a Jet Turbo in plain sight. I would not recommend
grabbing it since you will miss a large part of the act, but it's your choice. After the hill comes a
ramp that will flip you up. Continue right (there is a Super Ring high to the left but it's hard to
get). Jump over the two waterfalls (they just have springs below them if you fall) and go down the
hill and through the tunnel (don't take the high road) After the tunnel jump over the spring
pointing left. Between the two springs, if you jump you'll break through the ground and uncover a
Super Ring. Hit the spring on the right. You'll go sailing up another ramp and near a Super Ring,
but you just can't reach it from the spring (this Super Ring is very hard to reach). Drop back
down and go right, taking the low road into the pool of water. You'll find a spring enemy but
don't defeat him; jump on him and land on the moving platform. Ride it up to a Super Ring. Take
it and drop back down. Go right and climb out of the water. Eventually you come to a wall with a
diagonal spring pointing up and left. Hit it and press no buttons as you bounce up a series of
springs. When you hit the spring pointing straight up, don't get the rings in the trees, but drop
down and go right. Drop down to find an area with quite a few rings and invisible springs. Get
them all (remember, you need 50 later on) and continue right. Drop down the waterfall and hit the
Check Point.

Continue right into a large pool of water. Go right (note that you can 'skim' the surface of the
water by air rolling, bouncing along the surface) and be careful not to hit the spring enemy in the
water. At the other side of the pool is a small ledge designed to boost you up. However, ignore it,
stand just to the right of it and spin dash. You will break through the wall and enter a hidden area.
Continue right and after a while you'll come to the Emerald Power-up. The problem is that it is at
the top of a steep hill that you can't spin dash up and hit it. It is right below the level of the main
path so you must be very careful not to jump too high and land on the main path. The only way to
get it - although it is very tricky - is to get a running start and jump at just the right time so that
you don't land on the main path but hit the power-up from the side. This will take many attempts,
but you have all the time in the world. Just don't land on the main path or you'll have to head
back left and loop around. After you finally hit it and play special stage, just run right to the goal.
If you don't have 50 rings because you got hit or didn't collect enough, obviously don't touch the
power-up but go back and get 50 rings. Rings are not too plentiful here so try not to get hit if you
can help it. There is a 1-UP in a tunnel at the bottom of a cliff above and to the left of the Emerald
Power-up, but it is VERY difficult to reach.

Act 3

Go right. Be sure to bounce around the trees overhead. One tree has six rings above it; these are
the only rings in this act. Get them all and run right until you come to an apparent dead end.
However, jump and you'll break through the ground. Run right, drop into the water and go right
to the...

Boss

This first boss cannot be defeated without using the air roll and that's probably exactly what
you're meant to learn from the encounter. It is a yellow and blue pod that flies overhead. It does
nothing to attack you so just jump and hit it four times. Then it flies up and off the screen, and
spring enemies will appear. You can defeat them if you wish but to continue you'll need to jump
on one to bounce up to the next level. Now the pod will continue flying overhead, but now it's
too high to reach. To hit you must jump on one of the spring enemies that come in a constant
stream from the sides of the screen. You can jump on one when it is directly under the pod and
quickly press button 1 or 2; this will cause you to air roll and hurt the pod instead of getting hit
yourself. You can land back on the enemy and hit it multiple times, and in this way end the battle
very quickly, but this is also rather risky as you must press the button quickly and accurately. You
can air roll any time in your bounce as long as you are rolling when you come in contact with the
pod. Remember you can only roll once per bounce and it only lasts a brief time. The pod will take
four more hits to defeat. After it blows up, run right (automatically) to meet Knuckles. He laughs
and presses a button which leaves you in a frenzy to get away from an ocean of flame.

4b. Sunset Park Zone

Your next zone is quite a change from Great Turquoise. It's a huge industrial mess with ramps,
railcars and all sorts of machinery and sneaky traps. You'll want to take the high road as much as
possible here since that is usually the easiest, and there are some death pits here, so watch out. A
common object here is a rotating pole that, if you jump in front of it, will grab you and send you
somersaulting back to the ground. It seems to pose no threat, but beware that when you are
somersaulting you are vulnerable to attack and cannot move until you hit the ground. Little flying
drones are often found near these poles, so be careful.

Act 1

You immediately encounter an enemy in a railcar rolling back and forth. Jump on him to defeat
him and hop in his railcar. Using this railcar is a little difficult. First press down, then 1 or 2. If you
do not press down you will jump out, but if you do press down, you'll roll forward and accelerate.
To steer, hold down, the direction you want to go (left or right) and 1 or 2. Roll right and down a
series of ramps. You'll drop to a lower level and smash through some spikes, and hit a spring.
Bounce back left, bash some more spikes, and when you hit another spring, stop. Jump out of the
railcar. Go left and jump over the spring. Get the Invincibility and hit the spring pointing up.
You'll bounce through the level you rolled down on the railcar up to a higher level with another
railcar. Defeat its occupant and jump in and roll right.

You will roll up a hill and then cross a bridge which will explode (!) as you roll across. On the
other side is a spring which bounces you right back, right into the explosion (which only lasts a
second). You'll get hit but won't lose rings; your railcar will disappear instead. Below the bridge
you'll find... five Super Rings! Grab them all (you'll get 3 automatically as you fall back from
being hit) but don't break through the wall to the left or the blocks below the far right Super
Ring. Both lead to lower routes. Instead, jump back up to the spring on the right (you can just
barely make it) and jump over the spring being careful not to touch it. On the other side continue
right. You'll see another spring pointing right, but do not hit it (you might slam right into the next
railcar enemy if you do). Defeat the aforementioned railcar enemy and get in his ride and roll right
through the wall (which isn't solid) and down the ramp. You'll land on an exploding bridge; just
keep going right full speed. Hopefully you know how to steer one of these things. You'll hit a
spring and be bounced back, through the gap where the bridge once was. You will land in a long
line of rings on a lower level. Roll right and you'll get a Check Point and come to a stop next to a
spring. You can get a few more rings to the left if you want. Bounce on the spring to the right.

Break through a few blocks and head right. You'll pass a spring, go through a loop, and then have
to jump quickly to avoid hitting another spring which will send you back through the loop. Now
comes a tricky spot; you must defeat a small white drone dangerously close to the poles that send
you spinning downward. He will try to drop on you when directly above you, as well. When you
get him, continue right, drop down to the spring, and break through some blocks at the bottom of
the wall. Further right comes a tricky spot. You must cross a large spiked bed via a series of small
platforms, each with an invisible spring that bounces you only a little bit. If you take it slowly and
carefully you can make it without a scratch. There is a death pit on the far left, so be very careful
of that. If you fall in the spikes there are some springs that can get you back up. After crossing
this obstacle continue right and watch out for another white drone. After a while you come to a
spring. Use it to break through the ceiling. To the right is the goal, but not so fast. Go left through
a loop. You'll see the Emerald Power-up on the top of the loop as you run through it. To the left
is a spring which you can use to bounce to the top of the loop, and get the Emerald Power-up.
There are 10 rings with it and 8 above the spring, to help you if you don't have enough. When
you return from special stage just go right to the goal.

Act 2

This is a long act but we'll do it the quick and dirty way: we'll zip across most of it with a gadget
power-up and still get the Emerald Power-up with enough rings. You begin in a railcar sliding
down a ramp. Press no buttons and you'll fly off and crash into a wall, and fall back onto a spring.
Bounce up and get the Super Ring to the right, then go left. Get two more Super Rings, and note
the moving platform guarded by an enemy above you. Jump and defeat the enemy and ride the
platform up. At the top, jump again, to the ledge on the left. Get the Super Ring and Jet
Turbo/Super Tails (depending on your character). As soon as you touch it, fly right as fast and
high as you can. How far you get will depend on your character; the Super Tails has less power
than the Jet Turbo so Tails won't make it as far. If you're Tails and fly as far as you can you
should land on a steep hill; climb it and jump onto the ledge at the top. Then go right to find a
railcar (guarded of course) Sonic should land right around here as well.

Do not jump in this railcar; jump over it and go right. You will come to an exploding bridge. Spin
dash across it or jump over it, always being careful of the flying drones around here. Then go
right up a hill to a spring. If you jump in the railcar it is very hard to jump out and over this
spring, so you'd probably hit it and fly back down, into the gap where the bridge used to be. You
should still be careful to jump over the spring even without the railcar. Once you jump over it, go
right down two small hills. Hit the spring and jump up to the far right ledge. There you find the
Emerald Power-up. You should have enough rings (there were 46 before the gadget and a few on
the way to the Emerald Power-up) but if you got hit, it'll be really hard to get the needed rings
and come back here. After the special stage go left to an exploding bridge (which you bounced
over on the spring). Spin dash across it to safely destroy it, then drop down. Now comes a very
tough spot; you'll land on another exploding bridge, and must jump instantly upon landing on it to
avoid being hit. You need to get to the ledge on the right; on that one is the goal. If you get hit
just get onto that ledge ignore everything else. Once you make it to the goal, though, something
very odd happens. You get NO end of act points for act 2, instead the goal just disappears, and
you start running to the right for...

Act 3

This is a very unique act, but it's not too hard if you keep your cool. You'll be running along a
long track which is perfectly flat, and have to avoid mine dropping enemies from Great Turquoise
Zone and gaps in the track. Your only controls are move forward, move back, and jump (your
jump is much shorter than normal). You can only run in the left half of the screen. Falling in a hole
will kill you. You begin with five rings, but there are NO more for the rest of the act, and if you
get hit it is possible but very unlikely that you will retrieve any rings. Thus avoid getting hit at all
costs; you'll need your rings for the boss. To defeat the mine droppers is very easy; as they
approach, just jump and hit them from the side. They bob up and down in the air and make easy
targets. You get stay forward or back; it doesn't matter. Just don't get below them; that will
allow them to drop their mine on you. The gaps are most easily jumped over by jumping and
pressing right so you move forward in the air. Here's the sequence: five mine droppers, three gaps
(the first one comes right after the fifth mine dropper so be careful) eighteen mine droppers (the
last six or so are farther apart than the first twelve), boss.

Boss

This boss is really easy, yet kind of hard. It's a tank with a large gun aimed right at you. The
screen constantly shifts back and forth so you'll find it very hard to control yourself or hit the
tank. To defeat it you must simply hit the gun three times. If you move as far forward as possible
right before the boss you can get one hit in immediately. Then you must move back and forth with
the screen, jumping over the cannonballs the gun fires, and hitting the gun. You have to move far
forward to get a hit in. When you get a hit, you bounce back to the left. Be ready to jump over a
shot right as the screen starts moving right. Also move forward so you can get a hit in. If you
mistime your jump and get hit by the shot you will be unable to hit the boss, and lose all your
rings beyond retrieve. So, you can only take two hits before dying. The sooner you get this battle
over, the better.

4c. Meta Junglira Zone

Odd name for a zone, but this zone is in fact a jungle setting. The bottom of it is completely filled
with a brown muck. Whether this is a river at the bottom of the jungle polluted by Robotnik's
industrial waste, I don't know. This is much like the oil in Oil Ocean Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog
2 Genesis: if you sink too low in it, you die. Keep that in mind. You'll find this zone is also quite a
bouncy place, with springs and bumpers to bounce you who knows where. It has nice music, too.

Act 1

You begin this act in a large area full of apples. The apples will bounce you off them when
touched and disappear. There are some springs you can use to bounce around in them with. After
you have your fun bounce up to the spring on a small ledge jutting out from the wall to the right.
Don't go through the tunnel at the bottom of the wall. Bounce up, collect the Invincibility, and hit
the spring pointing up and left. When you land on a ledge go left and jump to the higher level. On
this higher level go right, collecting all the rings and defeating two yellow robots who jump at
you. To the far right is a tunnel sloping downward. Go down it and you'll come out into a great
expanse. You'll probable land on one of a series of small steps leading up and right, with small
springs to boost you up. However, do not go right at this point; go left and drop down. You'll see
a moving platform above some brown ooze. To the left of this moving platform is a small tunnel,
difficult to spot, that leads to a tiny room with the Emerald Power-up. The problem is, you don't
have enough rings. So, skip the tunnel for now, ride the platform up to the ledge, and go left.
Defeat a jumping enemy who isn't facing you and continue left. You find an area with a lot of
rings and three barrels floating in the muck. Jumping into these barrels fires you up a la Donkey
Kong Country. Use them to collect all the rings, or just 50. Then go back right, bounce up the
small steps, back to the moving platform. Go in the tunnel and get the Emerald Power-up.

After special stage, go right, out of the tunnel, and jump right to a spring. Use it to bounce up to a
series of steps, each with a small spring on it. Bounce up to the top with them and at the top, hit
the device that propels you right. Go through the loop. You'll come out in another area full of
apples. There are just springs below them so don't worry. After breaking as many apples as you
wish, go right on ground level. You'll see a speed booster, with a moving platform above it. Jump
on the moving platform to access a higher level with a Check Point. Activate it and continue right
to another loop. You may need to spin dash to get enough velocity to go through it. At the
bottom you'll fall into the polluted river, but do not panic. Instead, allow yourself to sink just a
little, and get UNDER the low ledge to the left. Jump continuously when under the ledge to avoid
sinking too low and dying. Jump to the left under the ledge to access a secret room with a 1-UP.
Get it and get back out of there (this is easier than it sounds). Then continue right through the
brown gunk. You find a large row of barrels with a huge number of rings above them. Collect
them all if you wish, but you find your way right is blocked by a wall.

To continue, bounce up and left, either in one of the barrels or by hitting the spring to the far right
and running left along the ceiling. You'll land on another series of steps leading up and left with
small springs on them. At the top you come to an apparent dead end. However, spin dash through
the left wall; it will crumble and you'll come out on some springs which will bounce you up in
sequence. At the top, hit the speed booster and go right, but make a stop where the ground looks
off color. Jump there and you will break through it, and can enter a hidden area below the tunnel
with a Super Ring and Speed Shoes. Then jump back out and walk on top of the tunnel - there's
more rings above it. Watch out for the jumping enemy though. Keep heading right and you come
to a loop. Run through it and you find another area full of apples. Bounce around if you wish. To
the right of it is a wall which can be ascended through a series of springs on little ledges jutting
out. One such ledge has spikes on it so be careful. At the top of the wall go right to the goal.

Act 2

Go right to some spring steps. Bounce up them. The fourth step has a 'normal' spring which will
bounce you up much higher. Collect the Super Ring on the next ledge and hit the spring below it.
You will bounce up the wall, run along the ceiling and land on a spring to the left. Bounce up to
the ledge on the right and walk right. Defeat a jumping enemy and go right to a spring. Do not hit
it (it will bounce you into a field of apples) but get the Super Ring right below it. The ledge the
Super Ring is on does not jut out far so you'll have to kind of wrap around your jump. Then drop
down through a field full of rings which can be grabbed through several springs, some on the
walls, some on ledges below. If you fall past the springs there are barrels below that can fire you
back up. Spend some time here grabbing most of the rings. When you wish to move on it is better
to take the low road down in the black muck. On the ledge on the right is a speed booster which
will propel you through a loop. When you come out of the loop you'll hit a spring and may crash
into one of the moving platforms guarded by enemies. I recommend getting back in the brown
goo and jumping right, until you come to more barrels. Jump in one and shoot up. Hit the enemy
on the moving platform and then land on the platform. To the right is another moving platform;
jump over to it and defeat its occupant. Then comes a third one, but this one is a little higher up in
comparison to the second one so it may be a stretch.

From the third moving platform jump right to a ledge with a speed booster. Hit it (or spin dash)
roll up the hill and break through some blocks. On this new level, go right and jump over the
spikes. Try not to hit the speed booster, or if you do, hold down on the directional pad. If you
don't you'll be send right into a jumping guy lying in ambush. Defeat him and run right to a tunnel
sloping down and left. Slide down and at the bottom you'll find another area of apples. There's
not much of interest to the left except a Super Ring, so go down, again into the brown river, and
jump to the right. When you see a moving platform (this one is not guarded) ride it up. Get the
Super Ring and hit the spring beneath it. You'll bounce to the right and land on another spring.
Bounce up but hold to the right. You want to avoid coming up under another, guarded moving
platform (the enemies who guard these re-appear when you leave the screen, just to let you know)
and land on the small ledge on the right. From there jump, beat the enemy and land on the
platform. Jump to the left to find a Check Point in an alcove in the wall. Then jump back right to
the moving platform .Ride it up to a ledge. Jump off and go right to a Pogo Spring.

Now for the aggravating part. For Sonic players, this Pogo Spring is the ONLY way you can
reach the Emerald Power-up, and it's very difficult. Tails players can just tailicopter over to each
ledge you must jump to. Sonic players, take a deep breath and grab the Pogo Spring. You only
get one chance at this (unless you die on purpose). Bounce from the ledge the Pogo Spring is on
to the ledge on the right over a wide chasm. If you miss, you're done. The ledge is tiny - only as
wide as you are - so it is very difficult to land on it, and not go careening to the right but remain in
control. You must judge how far you can bounce and time pressing right perfectly or you will
miss. If you make it, bounce up and land on another tiny ledge, floating, too high to reach without
the Pogo Spring. Once on this ledge take a deep breath and jump as far as possible to the right.
It's a very long jump but hopefully you'll land on a tiny piece of land outside a tunnel in the cliff.
The land outside crumbles instantly so continue holding right to run into the tunnel. The tunnel
leads to the Emerald Power-up. This is one of the hardest to reach in the game, so don't get
frustrated.

When you return from special stage, or if you messed up and don't want to die to try again, the
goal isn't much farther - just keep heading right. There aren't that many secrets, and I don't want
to carefully map out what should be fairly simple for you. Just keep heading right and taking the
high road if possible, and eventually you'll arrive at the goal.

Act 3

I hate this act. You only get one shot at getting any rings for the boss. Go right through two
tunnels, the second one sloping down and left, and as you go down all and HOLD LEFT HARD.
You'll hit a spring and land in a field of apples. If you hold left *hopefully* you'll be bounced by
the apples over to a ledge on the left. From there run through the tunnel to find a Super Ring.
These are the only rings in this act and if you fall - either by not holding left or if you get an
unlucky bounce - there is no way to get back up, so you must face the boss with zero rings.
Luckily, this is the only act 3 in the game with this problem. You usually will make it if you roll
and hold left - it seems to be in the dynamics of how you bounce. At the bottom go right over the
uneven ground, and you'll soon meet the boss.

Boss

This battle has two phases. The first involves you battles the giant robot worm in the tree. The
worm will stretch out and swing back and forth very rapidly. Its vulnerable point is its head. There
are many strategies. You can stay in a corner and spin dash into it as it goes back and forth, jump
on it, just about anything. This battle is mostly about just having quick reflexes and knowing what
the worm will do next. I prefer jumping on it and then pressing no buttons - it's possible to get
into a rhythm of continually hitting it this way, hitting it over and over. It retracts into the tree for
a second every time you hit it. This part of the fight is pure skill, so much more advice won't do
much good.
After about eight hits the worm will break up and flaming debris starts falling from the sky, but
this is where it gets easy. Run to either far corner and just stay there, pressing no buttons. The
flaming debris tries to fall directly above you and will get you, but as long as you stand against the
side of the screen, you'll always retrieve your one ring automatically - it'll just pop right up and
land on you again. Hopefully you have rings in the first place, of course. The bombardment is
pretty unnerving but as long as you stand in a corner and always have at least one ring you'll be
OK. After a while the bombardment ceases and you automatically run right... to meet Knuckles
again. Again he pulls that same dirty trick and presses a button which causes you to get torched
by a sea of fire.

4d. Robotnik Winter Zone

Brrrrr! This is the snow and ice zone for this game. The only other Sonic games with a similar
zone are Sonic 3 and Sonic 3D Blast, both for Genesis. Luckily you don't have to worry about
slipping and sliding here. You will have to worry about more breakable blocks - they stand out
like a sore thumb, though, as blocks of ice - and falling off the screen (which is more a problem
here than any other zone). There are many snow pits here that act like the polluted river in Meta
Junglira Zone - you sink in them if you don't jump. However, below them you don't always die;
there are often secrets below them.

Also, before we begin, a few notes to those of you who are collecting the chaos emeralds. I will
continue to write in my walkthroughs how to find the Emerald Power-up in each act. However, if
you already have all the emeralds (there are five emeralds and you've had six chances to enter
special stage so far) these will be Super Rings instead. In that case you do not need to bother with
them; just get through the acts and find 1-UPS if you can. Read ahead so you don't follow a long
path that leads to the Emerald Power-up. Hopefully you've collected all or most of the emeralds
by now; it is much more difficult to enter special stage from here on. The reason is not so much
that the Emerald Power-ups are harder to find, but that rings are scarcer and it is much harder to
avoid getting hit, so having 50 rings when you touch the power-up is rather challenging,
especially if it's early in the act. Getting hit will cost you a whopping 50 rings from now on, so to
enter special stage you basically need to avoid getting hit entirely. Go very slowly and carefully if
you want to do this.

Act 1

I think this act is fairly easy. You begin standing right in front of a Snowboard/Super Tails. You
can get it if you wish but for this walkthrough jump over it and move on. Run down the long hill
collecting rings. At the bottom is a spring and below that, a snow pit. Your natural inclination
would be to avoid it but jump in it and drop down. Drop down as close to the middle as you can.
Below it you'll find a Super Ring situated on a small block of ice in the center. When you fall to
either side of it (as you must once you get the Super Ring) you won't die; a stream of ice crystals
will grab you and suck you upward, back into the daylight. Pretty nifty, huh? Anyway back on the
surface go right and you come to a choice of a high road or a low road. Take the high road and
when you come to a snow pit, don't drop through it. To the right of it are eight rings, but the top
two are out of reach. Get the bottom six but go no further. Instead go left and jump to the
walkway right above the snow pit. Go left and up. Keep climbing and at the top you'll find several
Super Rings if you explore. (There are a few enemies around here who are dressed for the cold,
but they pose so little threat I won't mention them) Get as many Super Rings and normal rings as
you can find, then drop down to the bottom, and this time take the low road.

Drop through the first snow pit you come to on the lower level. You'll enter a hidden area with a
Super Ring just to your left. (You should have up to 93 rings now). To the right are a series of
ledges floating over an abyss. The jumps aren't too difficult but if you miss one you'll lose a life.
Take it slow and easy and you should be okay. One jump is tricky, though: You must jump onto a
vertically moving platform with an enemy on it (like the ones in Sunset Park and Meta Junglira).
The key is to land on the enemy squarely and not let your momentum make you miss the platform.
This is tricky, so watch it. A little bit further on is the Emerald Power-up. After you get another
crack at special stage, jump to the right and spin dash through the tunnel blocked by ice. You'll
see some spikes on the other side but resist the impulse to slow down; instead hold to the right.
There is an invisible spring right before the spikes that will bounce you over them if you hold
right. Once across the spikes spin dash through some more ice and you'll fall into a shaft, but ice
crystals will carry you up, back to the main path.

Spin dash right through the wall of ice and go down the hill. You'll pass a Check Point, then find
a curved wall which you can roll up with a spin dash. On the top is a spring which will propel you
up another curved wall. Go right through the narrow tunnel. You'll come to another stream of ice
crystals which will carry you up. You'll find a nice gift of three Super Rings awaiting you at the
top. Nab them (you may obtain a 1-UP from 100 rings at this point) and go left. You'll find some
more rings; grab them too. Go through the loop and continue left. When you come to a chamber
with a spring on the right wall, hit it, but you won't bounce to another spring on the left. You will
see another spring but it's too high. To reach it you must air roll at the right time to increase the
height of your bounce. It's a little tricky but you have unlimited attempts. Once you hit the spring
bounce right and go right. Jump over the snow pit (falling through it leads back to the level
below) and spin dash through the ice blocking the path. Then comes another snow pit, but for this
one you must spin dash at it and jump right before you sail into it. If you do it right you'll break
through the ice blocks above it on the right. Again, this may take a few tries. Once through the ice
slide down a very steep hill and go right to the goal.

Act 2

This is a really long act. Get the Super Ring and go right. Keep going right for a while and
eventually (spin dash through the enemy you meet on the way - if you jump you'll clip your head
on the spikes) you'll come to a snow pit at the end of the corridor. Drop down and get the Super
Ring at the bottom, and spin dash through the ice to the left. When you come to an ice crystal
shaft jump down and let the ice carry you up. Try to land on one of the ice ledges hanging out
from the walls after you can control yourself. If you miss, just go back around and try again. Once
you land on a ledge climb up. At the top is a Snowboard/Super Tails. Get it and go right, but
don't go too fast or lose control of yourself. Go down the hill and hit the spring at the bottom.
Now you can take the high road or the low road. Stop snowboarding or let your Super Tails run
out about here (you don't want to lose control). Jump to the high road and spin dash across the
bridge with rings above it. It will crumble under your feet so you must be going quite fast to avoid
falling through. After crossing it continue right, collecting rings, until you come to another
crumbling bridge. Run across it and on the other side is a spring. It is difficult to avoid hitting this
spring so just run into it and fall down where the bridge once was.

On the level below is another crumbling bridge. Spin dash across to collect the tings above, but
instead of going further right (there's not much more to the right) drop down below the bridge.
Below it are more rings and a spring pointing left. Hit it and go left (you should have a lot of rings
by now). Go down the hill, ignoring the breakable blocks above. Run over another crumbling
bridge, this one without rings above. To the left is a spring. Jump onto the block behind it and
wait for a moving platform to come. Jump onto it (there's an enemy on it but he poses no threat
to you) and ride up. Go left at the top, into a tunnel. You encounter some spikes blocking your
path that appear and disappear very rapidly. The best way to cross these are by spin dashing over
it and timing it very carefully. The Emerald Power-up is just behind it, but getting hit by the spikes
will prevent you from entering special stage. Hopefully, you won't get hit though!

After special stage backtrack out of the tunnel to the last collapsing bridge. Drop down below it
and go right. When you come to a wall, wait for a moving platform to come, and ride it up. At the
top go right, through a loop and up a curved wall. Now for a nasty spot. There is a Check Point
on the path but chances are you'll run over it on the ceiling and land on a bridge which crumbles
instantly, preventing you from getting it. Activating this Check Point requires very good luck, so
don't worry if you miss it. After dropping through the bridge to the right of the Check Point,
willingly or unwillingly, drop down through another level, then a snow pit, and you come out by a
Super Ring. Get it and move on to the two snow pits to the right. This is a really tough spot; you
must cross both these pits with spikes above them without falling through. Falling through will kill
you. The way to make it is to tap the jump button rather than press it hard, so you don't jump into
the spikes, and jump constantly as soon as you land in the pit. Hopefully you'll make it through,
but remember to jump into the spikes if necessary, since taking a hit is better than dying outright,
and while you flash after being hit you can often cover some ground.

Once you leave these maddening snow pits behind, you come to a vertical spring with a tunnel to
the right blocked by ice. Spin dash into the tunnel to find a Super Ring. When you bounce out,
though, slow down to avoid going back into the snow pits. Bounce on the spring and you see two
diagonal springs above you, one on each wall. You now must make a choice. Hitting the right
spring will send you breaking through a wall of ice (you don't even need to air roll) and to the
'main' path. However, I recommend hitting the spring on the left. It bounces you right, over a bed
of spikes. To cross these spikes without touching down at least once is very difficult. If you're
Tails and really have mastered your moves, you can do a tailicopter in midair (sometimes I even
do this by accident) and cross them that way. Sonic players will have to air roll to float as far as
possible, hold right and hope for the best. If you get hit do not try to retrieve rings, just keep
running right. On the other side of the spike bed is a spring that bounces you up to a 1-UP. I feel
an extra life outweighs the risk of taking this path (and the main path is dangerous as well) but it's
your decision.

After getting the 1-UP spin dash right through the ice. Ignore the springs lining the shaft you
come out in and drop down, through a snow pit. Get the Super Ring and go right. As you go
through the ice blocking the way you release an enemy, but then hit a spring which bounces you
back and into him immediately. Go back through the tunnel, jump over the spring and spin dash
through the ice above it. You come out in an area where ice crystals will grab you and carry you
up, above a snow pit. There are also two moving platforms here, each with an enemy on it. To
climb up go to the right wall, wait for the moving platform to come, then jump on. Jump
constantly as you wait to avoid falling back through the snow pit (though the ice crystals will just
carry you back up if you do). After landing on the first platform, jump to the second, and finally to
the ledge on the left. Go through the loop. Now spin dash up the curved wall to the left, and land
on top of the loop. Do NOT land on the second tiny step on top of the loop - that one has some
appearing/disappearing spikes on it. Land on the first small step, then jump over the second step
and go right to the goal.

Act 3

This is an odd act. It's a series of steep hills you must climb while battling a never-ending stream
of enemies (the kind who are native to this zone) who run quite fast and are really annoying. The
hills are a pain too, especially the steeper ones, which can be very difficult to ascend. The enemies
you can try rolling through, spin dashing through, or anything else, but they still might get you.
It's harder than it looks, trust me. There are plenty of rings in plain sight, but be aware: once you
scroll the screen ahead in this act, you can never go back, so be sure not to go too fast or you may
miss some rings. Make sure you have some rings when you make it to the top where you will
meet...

Boss

I found this boss to be fairly hard. It is a large, blue and yellow droid that looks like something out
of Mega Man that floats in the top right quadrant of the screen. It has a gray panel which enemies
come out of throughout the battle. It also has three thrusters below it that also protect it from
attack from below. You must hit it from the side. For the first hit it stays still. Stand below and to
the left of it so that the enemies jump over your head but you are not below the thrusters. When
you are ready, jump and hit it being careful of the thrusters, timing to avoid hitting an enemy
jumping out. If you get hit then hit it while you are flashing (always retrieve a ring first). Then it
gets much harder because the machine begins rocking back and forth and the screen scrolling
right. Now you need to constantly walk right to stay in the right position and time your jump so
that you hit it when it is coming forward, or you will get hit by the thrusters. It is necessary to hit
it at the very peak of your jump to avoid the thrusters and time it perfectly. Be very careful and
always retain at least one ring.

After two more hits, it gets MUCH easier. The front thrusters turns off, giving you much more
room to hit it from below and to the left rather than having to jump high, although it continues
rocking back and forth. Keep being careful and avoid the constant stream of enemies. After two
more hits, the far right thruster turns off (this should have no effect on your strategy since it is out
of the way). After another two hits (seven total) the machine begins to fly to the right, and hitting
it at this point does nothing. It floats above a pit covering the right half of the screen, and falling
in will kill you. It no longer releases enemies so just jump and deliver the final hit once it stops
moving. After it blows up and falls into the pit, jump in yourself. You'll fall a long way down...
and meet Knuckles again. He presses another switch, this one covering you with a sheet of ice.
You'll get the last laugh at your next meeting, though.

4e. Tidal Plant Zone

Although a snow and ice zone is relatively rare in Sonic the Hedgehog, an underwater zone of
some sort is in nearly every game. Sometimes, though, you weren't really forced to go beneath
the waves - the landlubber's route was often easier, especially since in all Sonic games, you have
to breathe underwater. But this zone is 90% underwater, so you'll have to get very used to the
deep. Other things you should be aware of are as follows. One, this zone and the last one are
much longer than zones 1-4. Do not be put off by the length of my walkthroughs. I wrote a lot
only to be exceedingly detailed. Secondly, it is also much more maze-like, with tubes, secret areas
revealed by breaking blocks in the right place, and more. The breakable blocks here look much
like normal ones, only with small cracks, so look carefully at any suspicious blocks. This zone is
quite a maze, so avoid going in circles. This zone also, because of its length, allows you the
opportunity to rack up a lot of rings if you go slowly and don't take hits.

Now, the information about water. One, water slows your movement drastically, so you'll need to
get used to that. Second and more important, you need to breathe, unlike most games. Wait to
long underwater without a breath of air and a countdown appears above your head. If the
countdown reaches zero, you drown and die. To replenish your air jump out of the water (usually
not a viable option) or gulp down air bubbles. A few air bubbles just rise from locations on the
floor every so often and their only purpose is to replenish your air. Most bubbles, though, are
created by jumping on a switch on the floor (these switches are everywhere, so don't worry too
much about running out of air in most places). When you touch the switch a bubble floats up from
the floor. Touch it to become engulfed in it. Tails looks pretty funny when he's in a bubble; he's
upside-down and is making a weird face. The bubble steadily floats upward, but you can change
the speed at which you float up by holding up or down on the directional pad, and can move by
pressing left or right. Press jump to hop out of the bubble and continue on your way. Unlike the
bubbles that work similarly in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Game Gear, these bubbles don't pop when
they touch a wall or ceiling. When inside these bubbles, you have infinite air and are fully filled up
when you jump out. Getting hit will cause the bubble to pop. Much of this zone is about steering
up tall shafts using these bubbles, and these shafts cannot be climbed any other way.

Tails and Sonic players will have a real difference in gameplay here; Tails players will have the
advantage of the Submersible, an absolutely amazing underwater exploration device. Please see
the power-ups section for information on using it. This zone, or at least the parts of it you can
traverse by Submersible, will be much easier for Tails if you can keep the machine intact for a
long time. Sonic players will likely have a harder time, although you will have the short use of
Swim Fins sometimes.

Act 1

Nice music, eh? Anyway go right and get the Super Ring. Head down into the water. You can
jump to the ledge to the right if you wish; it has two Super Rings on it above the water. Once you
collect them drop back into the water and drop down the shaft to the right. At the bottom go left
to a series of conveyor belts with rings. They move right, so getting to the left may be a bit more
tricky; just hold left and you'll be okay. Watch out for the purple tubes on the ceiling with mines
on the bottom; they drop on you when you walk underneath. This is a very common obstacle in
this zone (in fact it's the biggest threat while you're underwater) and in some places very tough to
avoid, especially if you're floating up below one of these, so be very careful. To the left you'll see
(if you're Tails) a Submersible - the only one in the act. Jump in and you can ride in it for the
entire rest of the level if you're careful. The remainder of the walkthrough is written for Sonic,
but if you're Tails, you can still follow it, but you'll need to take different paths in many places or
give up your Submersible because the Submersible cannot travel on dry land. You'll have to
experiment and blaze new paths since these are not mentioned in my walkthrough; it is way too
long as it is and I figure some Tails players will get hit and lose the Submersible early, after which
point Tails plays just like Sonic.

Drop down to the bottom and you find your first bubble switch. Jump on it to restore your air and
float up to the hole in the ceiling you saw a minute ago but couldn't access. At the top is a Super
Ring. Once you get it, drop back down (back to the switch) and go right to find the path blocked
by blocks. Spin dash through them, collect the Super Ring buried in them, and come out the other
side. You encounter the only enemy in this zone - a nasty, four-section robot eel that is quite
electric. To defeat it you must hit its head. Do so as it swims back and forth and jump on the
bubble switch nearby. There's a passageway in the wall to the right but it leads nowhere, so float
up and collect the rings. Jump to the ledge on the right and jump out of your bubble. Climb the
steps to the right but watch out. On the top step is a mine dropper that is very hard to avoid. It's
best to trigger it and get back to the left rather than try to run under it. This one often gets me.
Farther right is another mine dropper, this one easier to handle. You may be short on air now,
especially if you go hit, so climb the steps to the right. At the top, jump out of the water for a
breath of air and collect the two Super Rings to the left.

To the right is another Super Ring but watch out; to the right of it is a moving cannon that shoots
energy balls to the left and moves up and down on a conveyor belt. Hopefully you'll dodge it and
get into the water in front of it. Go right and down into the water. You'll find a Swim Fin here, if
you're Sonic. It lets you swim super-fast for a short time but I wouldn't recommend grabbing it,
as you may lose control and get hit by some obstacles ahead. Ignoring the Swim Fin, go left.
Cross the conveyor belt and drop down the shaft with the mine dropper situated above it. The
mine will be falling right behind you so when you hit the bottom, run to the right to avoid that
mine. Drop down into the column of rings. At the bottom is an electric eel and four vacuum tubes.
Sometimes you can hit the eel away from the head and still defeat it; but try to hit it in the head if
you can. In this case, you won't see it until you land on it so just hope for the best. The vacuum
tubes are a more serious problem; they will make you sink, much like the snow pits in Robotnik
Winter and the black river in Meta Junglira. Sink too far, and you die. Avoid this fate by jumping
continuously when over these tubes. You'll have a choice of going left or right. Left is pointless
so go right.

When you dropped down, if you were observant, you may have noticed some breakable blocks on
the ceiling and on the right wall. Only Tails can break these blocks, and only with a Submersible.
By all means break them if you're Tails - both lead to a 1-UP, surrounded by blocks, that only
Tails can obtain. You may be low on air but don't worry. When you come to four breakable
blocks, spin dash through them and you come to a bubble switch .Step on it to get a breath of air
but jump out immediately; you want to get the three Super Rings to the right. Once you've
collected them, jump on the switch and float up and right. Avoid the spikes on the ceiling and stay
in your bubble until you come to the water's surface. Once past the spikes stay as far to the right
as you can to avoid a mine dropper on the ceiling above the water, over to the left. This one is
particularly nasty since it regenerates constantly. To the right will be a Super Ring just above the
water. Jump to the left or from where the Super Ring was, spin dash and 'skim' the surface of the
water to get to the ledge on the left. Then enter the pipe.

The pipe rapidly takes you to a room with a Check Point and two Super Rings. Get them and
enter the pipe to the right; it drops you back in the water onto a narrow ledge between two ledges
that collapse. Mine droppers are also to either side of you. This is trickier than it seems; you must
obviously drop down either side, but below you is a menace. If you drop down on the right you'll
slide down a steep hill and come out right above an electric eel. Your only way to defeat it is to
air roll and hit it in mid-air. If you drop down on the left you'll actually be in an even more
precarious position, since you won't see the eel until he's right below you. I recommend going
down the right and rolling just as you come off the hill. Below the eel are some vacuum tubes so
watch out for those as well. To the right is a bubble switch. You can use it to collect all the rings
to the left if you wish, but to continue go right. Before activating the bubble switch get the two
Super Rings to the right (watch out for the vacuum tube between them). Then go back left and
get in a bubble. Float straight up, altering your course when needed to avoid hitting spikes, until
you come to the water's surface. Jump out of your bubble. To the right is a conveyor belt but
from the piece of land right before it, jump to the left, to a small ledge jutting out from the wall.
From there jump right, to a high ledge with a critical Invincibility.

Drop back down to the conveyor belt and run right. On the right side is a bed of spikes but since
you're invincible, they are not matter. Jump to another conveyor belt and go right. On both of
these conveyor belts, DO NOT JUMP. You may think it's cool to jump into the spikes above
them since you're invincible, but actually there's a secret hole in one of the two banks of spikes on
the ceiling that, if you touch it while invincible, sucks you up into the ceiling and traps you
forever. I think this is a game bug, but it can be avoided by not jumping into the spikes. Once past
the conveyor belts you come to another moving cannon but you should still be invincible. Drop
down into the water and go right. Drop down to a steep hill you slide down, and once on the
bottom, go left. Ignore the breakable blocks and the path in the ceiling, and drop down again.
Avoid the cannon to the left and go right, through a small passageway. On the other side, jump on
the bubble switch and float in a bubble up. When you see a Super Ring, jump out, collect the
Super Ring and defeat the electric eel above. To the right is a pipe in the floor. Before jumping in
it, jump over it and get the two Super Rings to the right. Then jump in the pipe and you'll be
propelled through some loose blocks, and drop down to land on a bubble switch. Ride a bubble
up, past the loose blocks, all the way to the water's surface. Jump out and go right to the goal.

NOTE: There is another 1-UP you can obtain here. To get it ride a bubble from the second to last
bubble switch up, past the electric eel and the pipe, right and up the shaft. Hold down so you
don't float up too fast and get caught to the left of the outcropping (if you do that you'll have to
try again). The shaft narrows to one block wide and goes above the surface of the water. Tails
players will have to lose the Submersible at this point by getting hit on purpose if you kept it this
long (which is very unlikely). At the surface, jump out of your bubble and into the pipe above the
surface. The pipe takes you to a room with a 1-UP. Once you get it you can either jump back into
the pipe you came in through (I think - it might be so high it's out of reach, or only reachable to
Tails who can tailicopter) or down through a passage to the right, which leads to the top of the
steep hill, shortly after the Check Point. Also, I have no idea where the Emerald Power-up in this
level is, which is too bad, since you'd probably have 50 rings most of the time unless you take a
lot of hits. If you know where it is please let me know! Also this is an extremely long act;
congratulate yourself on finishing it but remember that most of the acts to come are just as long!

Act 2

This act is the hardest in the game apart from the final battle, in my opinion. You lose 50 rings per
hit here, not 30 like in act 1 (I'm not sure why). You begin in the air falling down into the water.
Jump over the ledge to your right and drop down a long way, through a shaft full of rings. At the
bottom is a bubble switch that you can and should use to go back up, collecting as many rings as
possible. Hold down to go as slow as possible and move back and forth, collecting rings. You can
get 60 rings in this shaft if you get them all, and there's also an obvious passageway to the right,
near the top, in plain sight. Swim through it in a bubble (it may take you several bubbles to
retrieve all the rings but that's fine) and you find a Super Ring and a 1-UP (the latter situated
midway up a small side shaft, on a weak block). This has to be one of the easiest 1-UPS to get in
the game. Another Super Ring can be found just above the surface by jumping out of your bubble.
After getting everything, go right at the bottom of the shaft. Jump over the spikes very carefully (I
recommend floating over them in a bubble, although beware of spikes on the ceiling to the right) -
you don't want to lose all the rings you just got. On the other side you find a Swim Fin (Sonic
only) and a spring that takes you up to a ledge which has a Submersible (Tails only). The Swim
Fin serves little purpose and may in fact be dangerous to get (since you can't control yourself) but
the Submersible is excellent, and you should try to retain it as long as you can.

Right of the spring is a conveyor belt. Run across it and drop down the shaft with rings. A mine
dropper is above it but the mine will be far enough off the screen it won't follow you once you
reach the bottom. Near the bottom of the shaft are some breakable blocks but only Tails can
destroy them with the Submersible. They lead to a major shortcut, to the Check Point room (see a
few paragraphs ahead) if you decide to take them. At the bottom of the shaft go left, down the
steps, to a bubble switch. Get in a bubble but do NOT float back up the shaft you just went down
collecting the remaining rings - you'll get a hit from the mine which will reappear. (Some mines
reappear and some don't). Ride your bubble up to the ledge on the left. Jump out of your bubble,
although you could float farther up, and drop down to the left instead. You land near two Super
Rings, one on either side of a bubble switch. Get the Super Rings but don't get in a bubble except
to refill your air. Instead, spin dash to the right where you see some weak blocks leading
downward. Break through them and drop down.

(This next part must be done quickly, to avoid running out of air). Once through the blocks, go
right and jump to the right at the bottom of the small incline. Get the two Super Rings on the
ledges on the right and drop down. Go right and defeat an electric eel, then amble right over some
vacuum tubes to a bubble switch. Activate it and float straight up. You'll see spikes on the ceiling
but one clear spot; aim for that (it might be a little to the side). When you look closer you'll see it
is a pipe that you should enter. The pipe leads to a room with a Check Point, two Super Rings,
and a bubble switch. Now for the tricky part. Get the power-ups and jump on the switch. You can
float up either to the left or the right. Left is a booby trap so head right. Go slowly by holding
down and collect the rings by moving back and forth. Initially there will only be two columns of
rings, but then it widens to four. At the top of this shaft are two mine droppers that will get you
unless you swiftly move to the left into the next passageway when possible. Move left away from
the main shaft as soon as you float above the level of the spikes to the left btu be careful - there is
another set of spikes to the left, slightly higher, that you may scrape if you don't watch it.

Go left, floating slowly by holding down to give yourself more time. There are spikes on the
ceiling as well. To the far left is another bubble switch. Float up but stick to the far left. There is a
mine dropper located over the right-hand side of this shaft that guards the path as it continues to
the upper right. If you try to float up under it, it will get you. It will also get you if you try to float
under it once you can see it. Trigger it by tapping right so you move under it, then quickly move
back to the left to get out of the way and jump out of your bubble. This mine regenerates, but it
won't if you follow the mine down to where it hits the spikes below. After triggering the mine,
jump out of your bubble and hold to the far left, so you land on the switch below and not the
spikes. Now float up again. This time, the mine should be gone, so float up and right over some
conveyor belts, and more spikes. Avoid the mines and the spikes in this area at all costs. You
don't need your bubble at this point but it is very helpful, and prevents you from worrying about
air. Float right, ignoring the rings right above the conveyor belts, and don't head up the first shaft
up you see - it is a dead end - but go up to the far right instead. You'll see a moving platform
(ignore it) a Super Ring (ignore it; more trouble than it's worth) and to the left, a precarious
bridge of two blocks. You can just float over it in your bubble, but if you're not in a bubble, jump
over these two blocks because they collapse so quickly they aren't really solid.

Float over some more spikes and you come to a place where bubbles float up from the floor - be
sure to wait for one and take a gulp to replenish your air if you need to - and two pipes, one
above you and one to the left. Tails players will have to abandon the Submersible here if you kept
it to this point (which is unlikely). Take the pipe above you. It will spit you out into a room with
an electric eel - whom you'll immediately defeat - and you'll land on a Super Ring just to the right
of a thin piece of floor that you may have a feeling will collapse. Avoid that piece of floor like the
plague. If you step on it, it'll collapse and you'll fall onto the spikes below (the ones you last
jumped over before entering the pipe). To the left is a bubble switch. Float up and you'll see the
Emerald Power-up, surrounded by breakable blocks - I hope you haven't gotten hit too much, or
you won't have anywhere close to 50 rings. Also be very careful; if you hit the Emerald Power-up
and then fall down, the ring of stars that you must touch to enter special stage will disappear. Be
very careful as you collect the power-up and jump into the ring of stars. After returning from
special stage float up and left, jump out of the water, and enter the pipe on the ceiling over to the
far left.

Now for the home stretch. You need to head down, down, down, a long distance, and avoid a
nasty trap at the end. After coming out of the pipe, drop down the crevasse to your right. Spin
dash right at the bottom through the weak blocks, then keep going right until you find a Super
Ring. Ignore the Invincibility above it and break through the blocks below it. Then slide down two
ramps, the second with a mine dropper above it. You come to a pair of bubble switches. Get a
gulp of air and drop down again, being mindful of the mine droppers. Drop down to the left side
to land on two more bubble switches. Jump out of a bubble as soon as you get in one, and go
down and to the right. From here on go AS FAST AS YOU CAN! Drop down, get the Super
Ring in your way and enter the pipe. When you get out spin dash or run left, running under the
mine droppers. When you get to the left you'll drop down one last shaft; a mine will be following
you down so as soon as you hit the bottom take a step right. To the right will be three crumbling
blocks over a pit that will KILL you in one shot if you fall in. You can either jump over these
blocks, although you may hit the low ceiling, or spin dash across, hold right and hope for the best.
If you make it climb the steps to the goal and hit it as fast as you can. You run low on air really
quickly as I'm sure you know, and you can still drown after the goal comes down! Good luck!

Act 3

Get ready for your battle with Knuckles. This act has nothing worth mentioning; it is underwater
and just has a Super Ring in plain sight, then the boss. Tails players begin in a Submersible, while
Sonic fights on foot.

Boss

This is a weird battle. Knuckles will be driving a large underwater machine, that floats more or
less in the top right corner of the screen, though it bobs up and down. He attacks you as follows:
first he launches two bullets that fly in an arc across the screen and land, one at the far left, the
other closer to the center. Then he drops a small torpedo which drops a little bit from the bottom
of his machine and then flies to the left very rapidly. Another two bullets and a second torpedo
follow, with him floating up off the screen after dropping the second torpedo. A bubble will then
float up from the floor, which you should get, of course. Then he comes back and repeats the
pattern. The screen constantly scrolls to the right in this battle, like in the last battle.

Your battle plan depends on your character. Tails will be in a Submersible, and should stay at the
top left corner of the screen all the time if possible. From here just shoot your bullets from your
Submersible at Knuckles; they will hurt him. The torpedoes will all miss - they are much too low.
The first two bullets will usually miss if you stay at the top left corner, though you may not want
to be in the very top left corner as your bullets may go over Knuckles' head. The second two
bullets are higher than the first two, but if you time a shot of your own well, it will destroy the
bullet as it comes flying at you. If you mistime it the bullet sometimes deflects off the front of
your Submersible, but sometimes hits you and knocks you off the Submersible. If you can survive
long enough and keep shooting at Knuckles, especially while he launches torpedoes, eventually
you will win. If you get hit, just revert to Sonic's strategy. (Tails players who retain the
Submersible have no need to collect bubbles, of course). Sonic players have a more challenging
task - you must hit Knuckles from below (if you hit him from the front you bounce back to the
left) to damage him while avoiding the torpedoes which can be very difficult to do. The bullets
won't hurt you if you're below Knuckles. When he's going to launch a torpedo move to the left.
When the torpedo appears jump and hopefully it'll fly under you. Then keep hitting Knuckles
from below. Sometimes you get more than one hit at once if you're lucky. Since you often get
multiple hits I'm not sure exactly how many hits it takes to beat Knuckles, but it's a lot - maybe
sixteen or so, or even more. After a few tries you should have his pattern down though. After his
machine blows up, Knuckles appears to drown (he's okay, though; you rescue him at the end of
the game) and you're off to the last zone...

4f. Atomic Destroyer Zone

This zone is a major disappointment if you want a challenge. In my opinion, the hardest zone of
the game has to be Tidal Plant, because there are a lot of nasty traps underwater and you
constantly need to get air. Atomic Destroyer is kind of the metallic mayhem zone that ends nearly
every Sonic game, but it's missing the nasty traps and devices that can instantly kill you that make
other zones in other games so hard. The main challenge here is navigating the myriad of pink
tubes, complete with four-way junctions, that make up this place, and knowing where you are and
where you should go... but not with a handy-dandy walkthrough sitting right next to you, of
course. Breakable blocks in this zone stick out like a sore thumb - they're bright blue.

Act 1

Go right until you come to a wall of blue blocks. They are breakable, so spin dash through them
and bounce on the invisible spring on the floor. Don't bounce on the visible spring and enter the
pipe above it. Instead, get onto the ledge to the upper left, and go left, picking up rings. You
come to a Super Ring with a spring below it that sends you into a tube. At the first junction, go
up. At the second junction, go right. You land on another Super Ring, this one also with a spring
below it, so bounce off it to avoid going back into the tube (if you do, just go right again when
you go back to the junction) and land on the small ledge below and to the right of the Super Ring.
Don't drop down; instead jump right to another Super Ring with a spring below it that bounces
you into another tube. In this one, when you come to the first junction, go left and you'll be sent
on a brief but thrilling ride that culminates in you landing on a blue switch. These blue switches
are very common in this zone and are to be avoided if possible: they either cause enemies to jump
out of red pads on the floor (one switch can cause several enemies to appear) or control the firing
of laser beams. This switch causes an enemy to jump out of the pad above and onto you. Either
defeat him quickly or get out of his way, but be aware that there are small, invisible springs on the
seemingly flat floor to the left. Don't drop down the hole to the left. Get by the enemy (it may
take several tries) and onto the next switch.

This one causes a laser beam to fall to the right of it. Stand on the switch and don't rush and the
beam will miss, then continue to the right. Get two Super Rings (watch out for the spikes between
them) and jump into the tube in the floor you see ahead of you. You land in an isolated junction (a
junction without tubes leading out from it in any direction, just shooting you right out). Go right
back up. Now HOLF LEFT HARD. You'll go through a series of tubes that eventually take you
back to the junction from the right, but if you hold left, as you pass between two tubes, you can
alter your fall just enough to grab a 1-UP. You aren't supposed to get this 1-UP this way but you
can. After landing back in the junction, go down. You land on a switch that causes the immediate
release of six enemies into the chamber! This is a really tricky spot, but try to avoid getting hit and
go right (it may be wise to jump to the left first, since the enemies there will be jumping away
from you - they jump out of the pads to the left). Whatever you do, act fast after you hit the
switch. After escaping this chamber (DON'T touch the switch again if you can at all avoid it) go
right to a Check Point. Then comes a bed of spikes. Wait for a moving platform to come and
jump on it, and ride over the spikes and a death pit.

On the other side is an enemy bouncing VERY rapidly between two springs. To beat him I
recommend hitting the spring and holding down - that means you'll roll and should get the hit on
him as he bounces back and forth. After this comes another enemy in the same setup. Defeat him
the same way, trying not to spend much time bouncing between the springs - it is pointless and
difficult to get out of. After the second enemy come some blue blocks, break through them and
bounce on an invisible spring into the tube above. This tube has no junctions and deposits you at a
location where your only choice is to go left. So go left onto a long series of switches. These
switches all cause something to happen BEHIND you, so they pose no threat as long as you're
trying to get to the left. After the switches drop into the tube and you come to a junction. Go
down and you land on a small, floating ledge. Jump to the similar ledge to the right, then jump
right and enter the tube. When you regain control of yourself (hold left as you do this and you'll
get a Super Ring as you fall) you are standing on a switch that controls the release of enemies
from ceiling pads to the left. That's where you need to go, so carefully head down and left and
defeat the enemies.

Drop down and run past the strange gray device. This device simply never allows you to go back
- it is one-way. Hit the spring (below it is a death pit, so be careful) and bounce right. If you enter
a blue transport tube, when you come out, go back in and back down. Standing to the right of the
pit, you see a ledge high up to the left. You can just barely reach it by jumping from the highest
part of the floor. Tails players can just tailicopter up there. The ledge has the Emerald Power-up.
Hopefully you have 50 rings or all the emeralds by now. After you're finished here, go right and
enter the bleu transport. It will carry you up to another level. Go left and you'll see another blue
transport, but don't enter this one, instead jump to the floating ledge above you. From that ledge
jump right into the tube. When you come to the first junction, go down. Then in this isolated
junction, go right, and you'll go right to the goal.

Act 2

This act is even more complicated than act 1. Get the Super Ring at the start and descend through
two transports. Go down, collecting four Super Rings on steps (each has a small, invisible spring
beneath it). At the bottom try not to fall into the little alcove between the Super Rings and the
switch - it can be very difficult to get out of there. To get out you must land on the switch but it
can't be done directly; you need to hold back to the left a little and then move right to land on the
switch. The switch causes enemies to jump out of the steps above. Be very careful or you'll lose
the rings you just got. Jump over the switch if possible and climb the steps. At the top enter the
tube. It leads to an isolated junction. Right or up leads to some free rings, down is the way you
came, left is the way ahead. Go left when you're ready (you may well spot the Emerald Power-up
down/right of this junction but you can't get it yet). You go on another tube ride. Go right at the
first and second junctions. You get two Super Rings and bounce back to the second junction. Go
left to return to the first. Now go down. You land on a switch that causes enemies to fall on either
side of you. Stay still for a moment, then drop down to the left. Get he Super Ring, defeat the
enemy, destroy the blue blocks and enter the tube below them. You land in a four-way junction
(let's call this Junction A for future reference). Go down twice to get two Super Rings; this
should bring you up to 100 unless you got hit earlier. Do NOT go down a third time because
below the Super Rings is a death pit.

Go left at Junction A now. When you come out of the tube, go right and through a transport.
Then go left, get three Super Rings, then you come to the Emerald Power-up. You have 50 rings
right now of course so this is one last chance to collect a chaos emerald. After special stage you
can jump left into the junction, but that'll make you retrace your path, so instead go back right,
retracing your steps back to Junction A. Once back there, go right to come to a three-way,
isolated junction. From here, down just sends you back into the junction, so go up. When you hit
a ceiling, hold to the right to land on a spring. Bounce up and land on the switch to the right. This
switch causes a laser beam to fall to the right of it, so don't go too fast. Ignore the Super Ring
you know is below the switch, and instead jump right to where you see another switch. This is a
really tricky spot; this switch also causes a laser beam to fall to its right, but your momentum will
likely carry you right and get you hit. I recommend jumping to the switch (which is also rather
tricky) and jumping again as soon as you land, and holding left to kill your momentum. Once it is
safe to proceed, jump right and enter the transport.

At the bottom, go right and ride the moving platform right. In that hole between the spikes is a
spring, not a death pit. Bounce or jump up, get the Super Ring, and climb up the series of ledges.
One has a switch that causes a laser beam to fall just to its right, so be careful. From the switch
jump right and run past the one-way device. Continue right to a switch and a spring. Jump over
them both and land in the tube, one block over from the left. If you don't land in it jump into it.
This tube drops you onto some breakable blocks. Below them is a spring of no interest to you, so
bounce to the left and go left. You come to two springs that bounce you between each other;
ignore them and break through the wall of blue blocks to their left. Get the Super Ring embedded
in them, and on the left, drop down and get another Super Ring. There is a tube to the right of
this Super Ring but don't enter it; drop down and enter that tube instead. You now come to a
confusing mess of tubes and junctions. This tube takes you to an isolated junction hanging from
the ceiling. Go left and you get a 1-UP. This is one of the easiest 1-UPS I've ever seen. From the
1-UP jump right (don't fall into the tube) and you get a Check Point. Jump back in the junction
and go right. You land on a tiny ledge. Being very careful not to fall, jump to another tiny ledge
to the left, then jump in the isolated, four-way junction. Go right and you land on a switch.
Ignoring both paths to the left and right, jump and you'll land in a three-way junction (you appear
not to be able to jump high enough, but the junction sort of sucks you in). Go up, and in this next
junction, go right and you go right to the goal! Now wasn't that easy? You didn't even have to
worry about that whole mess of tubes, junctions and spikes near the end!

Act 3

This is the final act of the game. It features very little platform area (non-boss sections) but five
(!) boss battles. Battle 1 is fairly difficult but luckily you only must fight it once; there's a Check
Point after it that you can use (make sure to re-activate the Check Point after each time you lose a
life) unless you need to use a continue. Battles 2-4 are relatively easy and 2 and 4 are extremely
short. The final battle, though, is extremely difficult.

Begin by heading right and collecting the rings. Then climb up a shaft via some small ledges on
each side, like steps. At the top run past the spinning gray wheel device. You come to a Jet Turbo
or Super Tails. Collect it and you automatically fly right. Robo-Sonic will fly up behind you and
knock you out of the air, but you won't be hurt. Walk right and prepare to fight Robo-Sonic.
He's pretty tough. He uses a simplified version of his attack pattern in the Genesis games. He
begins by diving across the screen four times very quickly. You must jump and hit him but he
does it so quickly it's hard to get in position. After four fly-bys, he turns bright gold and flies
across the bottom of the screen six times. While he is gold he is invincible. You must jump over
him as he flies, which he does very quickly and with no warning. You must get used to the timing
so you jump at the right time. If you get hit, recovering a ring is your first and utmost priority.
Tails will find this easier since he can tailicopter and stay near the ceiling for a short time, but even
then you're not totally safe. After six fly-bys when gold he returns to blue and dives across the
screen like before. He takes twelve hits to beat, so you'll need to survive two rounds of him being
gold. Luckily if you miss a hit or two, he will do one or two 'extra' fly-bys when blue to give you
a few extra chances. It's an odd break, but don't worry about why you get it! After defeating him
run right and jump on the teleport.

After teleporting, go right and get the Check Point and six rings. Go right to one final platform
section, this one with switches and red pads that release enemies you can negotiate by going
slowly. After this you meet Nack the weasel one last time. He shakes his finger at you, but then
the screen begins to shake and he runs away, leaving you to face Dr. Robotnik's Piston Machine.
It is actually very easy to defeat; just jump and hit it, preferably from above. It only takes eight
hits to beat and hops around on its enormous piston. You won't die if you get crushed, just hit, so
don't worry. After beating it go right into another lab. Here you face Dr. Robotnik's Flame
Thrower Ship. It flies back and forth above you, just barely within hitting range. Jump and hit the
blue portion at the bottom, but be aware that it sometimes shoots a column of flame straight down
when you walk below it. Stay out of the way of that. It maneuvers to fly above you but you
should get many hitting opportunities. After sixteen hits (!) the bottom portion falls off (jump over
the fireball it sends along the floor - unlike most boss explosions, this one hurts you!) And it
becomes Dr. Robotnik's Electric Field Ship. This one floats above you, bobbing up and down,
protected by an electric field at its bottom that won't hurt you if you touch it. When it goes over
to the right it will release the electric field and drop a few sparks. Before it releases the sparks but
after the electric field disappears jump and hit it from below. ONE hit will cause it to blow up but
like its predecessor, the explosions hurt you so stay out of the way. If you've kept all your rings
until now, you are good! Run right to the final battle.

The last fight is in a blue lab. The lab has two areas on either side where Robotnik in his machine
flies up (on the right) and down (on the left). At first he flies up and down very quickly, then
slower and slower, until he finally stops on one side or the other. All this time in the main area in
the center sparks are constantly falling from the ceiling, randomly (I think - they might try to fall
above you) and very quickly. You get hit about a dozen times in this battle. Think you can do
better? Standing in either side area is unfeasible because Robotnik will hit you; it's not possible to
hit him at the same time he flies by if you're standing there. The only way you can do this is by
standing in the main area and hitting him from the side as his ship flies up or down. This is almost
impossible to do at first, but later becomes easier as he goes slower. However, most often you
won't be afforded the chance to, because the sparks that constantly fall from the ceiling are almost
impossible to avoid (they have a large 'hit box' - you can get hit just from brushing one) and fall
mercilessly. It's extremely difficult to avoid one if it falls above you or where you're heading
toward. Your TOP PRIORITY is to retain a ring at all times. This isn't actually that hard; just
hold in the direction your ring is, luckily they stay 'live' for some time. When Robotnik moves
slower, try to hit him from the side if the sparks allow you. When he stops moving,
IMMEDIATELY RUN TO THE OTHER SIDE and get in the area outside the main area (where
Robotnik flies up and down). Nothing will happen, but if you don't do this, he'll send an electric
current through the whole area, which will kill you since you won't be able to reach your ring in
time. When the cycle resumes Robotnik will hit you since you're standing where he'll be flying,
but you get hit so much here it doesn't really matter. Robotnik takes about six hits to beat; I'm
not sure since whether or not you actually register a hit is often unclear.

When and if you beat him, run to the right into a hallway. Robotnik jumps onto a platform, but
you automatically jump and hit him, knocking away from him the Master Emerald. Then he and
the platform fall into the pit. Some 'victory' music plays, and you jump to the right, run right and
meet Knuckles, in a cage. You free him, shake hands, and then jump off the ledge to the right into
the unknown. If you got all the emeralds the credits play as you fly Sonic's biplane through the
sky. If you didn't get all the emeralds, a screen appears with Nack shaking his finger and the
emeralds you did not get, and the words 'Try Again'. Congratulations, you have completed Sonic
Triple Trouble! If you want more, you can replay it and try to get all the emeralds, get as high a
score as possible, or whatever else you want to try.

5. Special Stage Walkthroughs

5a. Special Stage 1

This first special stage gives you a chance to get used to the format and is not too hard. Begin by
going right, collecting the rings. Above you are pillars with springs on top of them, but they serve
no purpose. Continue right until you come to a spring; bounce up to a Super Ring on top of a
pillar. All the pillars except the ones with Super Rings have yellow springs - the kind that only
bounce you very low. But, below each Super Ring is a pink spring, the kind that bounces you
quite high. Be aware of this. Keep going right and eventually you come to a curved wall and a
ledge above it. You need to reach the ledge to continue, but to do so isn't that hard - either spin
dash up the curved wall and bounce over to the ledge by means of one of the small springs, fly
over from a pink spring under a Super Ring farther left, or even tailicopter up there. On the ledge
is a Clock that resets the timer to 1:30 (the time is the same in special stages 1, 3 and 5). To the
right is an area with two curved walls on either side, a device that is simply two sideways springs
pointing in either direction (you can destroy this device by jumping on it) and some pillars. The
key is the one pillar with a Super Ring; get the Super Ring and use the spring below it to reach the
higher pillars. From those bounce across to the right, to a ledge. You now face a huge mass of
circular blocks. They are breakable, so merely spin dash through them. Don't jump, though; spin
dash along the floor since there's a Clock sitting in a small depression in the floor.

Continue to break through the blocks until you come out in a new area. This one has four springs
on the floor with two columns of rings above each. Collect all the rings, but do so before you get
the Clock to the left to get maximum use out of it. To exit this area stand where the Clock was
and walk right, in front of the springs (don't jump on them) and exit through the tunnel on the
right at ground level, with a Super Ring in it. The next area contains a lot of sideways springs,
including two devices that have two springs on each side. To get past this area just keep heading
right but go slowly so you don't run into springs that bounce you back. Try not to lose control by
bouncing between two springs. After a while of going carefully you come to a shaft with springs
at the bottom. The springs don't bounce you high enough to reach the ledge to the right; to do
that you must make use of the diagonal spring below the ledge. This is kind of tricky - the spring
is pointing away from the ledge, so land on it and hold right hard, and press the jump button as
soon as you hit the spring. If you press it soon enough after hitting the spring you will air roll and
break your leftward momentum, and if you hold right hard, you just might make it. It's a tricky
spot but if you mess up you can try again any number of times.

Once on the ledge, run right... and you meet up with Nack the weasel. However, you're spared a
fight with him for the time being since he presses a button that ends up burning him. Once he runs
away, run right and collect the first chaos emerald - congrats!

4b. Special Stage 2

This is a completely different type of stage from special stage 1. You'll be flying a red biplane
(found also in Genesis games) forward into the sky (your view is from behind the plane). You can
use the directional pad to move in any direction you want. You need to move to collect rings,
which will come flying at you from out of the blue. They come in groups, often in a pattern, and
unfortunately I can't give you the exact pattern or sequence - that would be too long and
confusing. You need to collect 80 rings by a certain point, at which point, if you haven't collected
80 rings, the stage ends. Luckily there are many more than 80 rings by then! Simply steer to
collect the rings. This stage requires a quick reflex and predicting what's coming next, so more
advice won't help much. Just get as many rings as you can and if you fail to get 80 in time, do not
worry; you'll probably make it easily the next time. Some ring formations are Y or V-shaped,
meaning you can't get every last ring (you'd need to be in two places at once) but that's fine.
Black bombs will sometimes appear in batches of two, but if you hit them you don't lose rings -
you are just immobilized for a few seconds. There are two spirals of rings that will help you make
up big rings if you can follow the spiral and always be at its end point. That's about all I can say
for the main stage. Once you get 80 rings, at the instant you get 80, you are teleported to the
'mystic hall' that stages 1, 3 and 5 are. You will confront Nack, but this time you must fight him.

This first fight with Nack isn't so hard. Nack rides in his airbike with a spring attached to the
bottom of it. He bounces along the ground, low when you're on the ground, high when you're in
the air, toward you. He is easy to hit - just jump on him and keep bouncing on him. If you get hit,
you have 80 rings for backup (although in special stage, you lose ALL rings when you get hit). He
does take quite a bit of hits though - 16. Once you win, run right to get the chaos emerald.

4c. Special Stage 3

This is much harder than what you've encountered thus far. It is like special stage 1 but has no
clocks, so time is critical, and you really need to hurry up and can't afford to fall or waste time. It
also has some especially tricky parts. Begin by running right and jumping up the steps. You see
what appear to be yellow waterfalls in the background, sometimes with what look like black
gumdrops or bowling balls appearing out of them. These appear to have no effect and I
recommend ignoring them. At the top of the steps you'll see some circular (breakable) blocks to
the right. Get ready for the first tricky part. You need to spin dash through three blocks and then
time a jump absolutely perfectly to avoid hitting a spring right beyond them that will bounce you
back to the left and cost you considerable time. Taisl players can and should avoid this by
tailicoptering up and over the wall these blocks tunnel under. If you are Sonic, you must time
your jump perfectly. Climb the ledges above the spring. You now face a wall with ledges that
stick out at regular intervals. Climbing up requires 'in-and-out' jumping - you must jump out
away from the wall, and then back in to land on the next ledge. It is also quite hard. There's a
Pogo Spring to the left - if you use it to reach the ledge to the upper left, you may be able to
bypass some of the difficult jumping.

At the top of the ledges, jump up and left. Spin dash up the curved wall and hold right, to land on
some springs to the right. Bounce up and right. Spin dash up another curved wall, up a narrow
area. Land on the ledge to the left which has two Super Rings. Now for another aggravating part:
to the left is a huge expanse that can only be crossed by means of four tiny, invisible platforms.
The background has a grid of yellow and plain background (normal background) and at the
junctions are what appear to be stone blocks. The top set are empty space, but on the bottom set,
at the intersection, is a tiny, invisible ledge. By tiny I mean less wide than you are. The ledge will
appear when you land on it. Aim for the tiny junction and pray. Tails players will want to
tailicopter over, which is possible once you reach about the second tiny ledge. If you miss a jump
and fall you need to climb back up; it is very difficult to complete this stage successfully if you fall
here. You can skip the fourth ledge and jump directly to the ledge on the other side if you jump
far enough from the third. When (and if) you make it across, go left and spin dash through the
breakable blocks (at ground level).

You now face for the final section a series of curved walls that you spin dash up. The first one is
just left of the breakable blocks. There is a spring above it that will bounce you back down so
hold right after you begin sliding up the wall (pressing right too early will kill your momentum).
The next curved wall goes to the right. Land from the first one on the flat ledge below it, not on
the curved wall by any means - you don't want to slide down the wall and back to the left. After
landing on flat floor, spin dash up the curved wall. Use the same procedure to ascend the one
above it. This time you see on your landing area five breakable blocks arranged in a T blocking
your way to an area below it. That's where you must go; aim for the middle block and burst
through. Once you destroy the blocks, roll down, hit the spring, and ascend two more curved
walls the same way you did the ones before. At the top of the second one run right into the open
area and you've made it to Nack. Depending on how well you got through the various obstacles,
you may have as many as 30 seconds left over, or may just barely make it, or may (all too often)
just not have quite enough time. This stage takes several attempts to complete, and will give you
preparation for special stage 5 (which is absolutely horrendous).

Nack flies around in his airbike, this time with nothing added to it. He flies back and forth a bit
like Robo-Sonic, but at varying altitude (he seems to aim at you) and more slowly. He alternates
his direction, going from one side of the screen to the other and then back again the following
pass. His movements are hard to predict, but if you stay near the middle or on the side away from
where he's coming from, you'll have plenty of time to prepare for his pass and hit him. He only
takes three hits to beat, and shouldn't be too much trouble. After winning run right to snag the
emerald.

4d. Special Stage 4

Sandwiched in between two very hard stages, special stage 4 is fairly easy. It's a plane stage
exactly the same in format as special stage 2. The only exceptions are you're flying in outer space,
bombs are red instead of black (but have the same effect) and the rings are a little sparser and
tougher to get. Don't be put off by this - the sequence is similar to special stage 2, just slightly
different, and it still has two ring spirals. Be sure to maneuver your plane quickly and predict
where the rings will appear, since once you can see them it's often too late to move into position
to get them. You need to get 80 rings again, and there are plenty more than that. Once you get
80, you teleport to the main stage, and Nack will be waiting for you...

This is the hardest fight with Nack in the game (or maybe the last one is). Immediately, once you
can move, run to the right as far as possible. Nack will appear in his airbike toting a large yellow
missile which he releases, and then just floats in the top center of the arena. You need to avoid the
missile, which flies back and forth along the bottom of the screen, and has an annoyingly large hit
box. If you get hit recovering one ring is your top priority. You can get hit a hundred times and
still be fine as long as you recover your one ring each time. Luckily this isn't that hard. You don't
need to hit Nack at all - eventually, the missile will fly into his airbike and blow it up. If it doesn't
seem to do so after a while, try jumping right before the missile appears (although this is risky;
you often land right when the missile gets to you). Keep jumping over the missile and hang on.
After Nack's airbike blows up, run right and get the chaos emerald, as usual.

4e. Special Stage 5

This took me ever so long to finish. It is still one of the hardest levels or bonus levels in any Sonic
game I've ever seen. The waterfalls in the background are now red. This stage's main problem is
not time - although that can become a problem quite easily - but the many, many death pits that
require lightning reflexes and a lot of luck to stay out of. Falling into a pit ends the stage
immediately. In this walkthrough, BB stands for Breakable Block. The first section is rather
sedate. Go right a ways, until you come to some BBs. Ignore them and get the Super Ring on the
floor. The ledge to the top right has a 1-UP on it - to get it, you can either tailicopter, or, if you're
Sonic, you need to get a boost from one of the BBs sticking out on either side of the ledge.
Jumping on the block will break it, but below the Super Ring is a spring that you can use to land
on the block without breaking it, and from there jump to the 1-UP. There's another Super Ring
on the other side. Once you obtain the 1-UP, burrow through the BBs - any place is good, just go
down and sideways by spin dashing if necessary. Once you reach the floor below, go right but
slowly. Jump over the springs pointing left (there are several of them).

After this you get to a tall chamber where you need to climb up. The way up is via invisible
platforms that are located at some of the squares of red waterfall in the background. The rest are
empty space. Jumping to these platforms shouldn't be that much of a problem by now, since
you're going up and not sideways (that helps) and you're not under as much time pressure. There
are seven rows of three squares in the background, and one invisible platform (that becomes
visible when you land on it) is located in each row. The sequence is as follows: center, right,
center, left, center, right, center, jump left to ledge (it's a tough jump because of the low ceiling).
As you see, there is a definite pattern. Once on the ledge go left, get the Super Ring, and ride the
moving platform up. Then jump to the ledge on the right, and get the Clock (boy, that helps). Go
right a ways down a small incline. Now the fun begins.

To the right is a huge area of what look like stone half-circles that bounce you off like pop
bumpers and disappear when touched, exactly the same as the apples in Meat Junglira Zone.
Below this mess are alternating small pillars and pits. Falling in any of these pits will end the stage.
You don't cross the abyss though - there is one pit you must fall into, that has a BB between in
and the hole. Luckily the tiny target is identifiable because it's the hole right below the tall red
waterfall. Tails has it MUCH easier here - just tailicopter right from the ledge at the left and stop
and hover in front of the first waterfall in the background you see. Sonic will have it much harder
- he has to hit the diagonal spring at the end of the ledge and sail right, air rolling for more air
time, until you see the waterfall. Then drop down it. You must aim exactly below it since any of
the other holes are death pits. You also must not be spinning as you go down the hole since what
you're landing on is a BB that must not be broken under any means. Both players must be careful,
as they fall, to fall virtually in line with the waterfall - on either side of it are stone bumpers that
will likely bounce you away, into a death pit. This is extremely hard; it is the hardest part of the
stage, so please don't get frustrated if you miss it many times.

Once on the BB, you face another obstacle, this one equally difficult for both players. To the right
are three walls of BBs, death pits between them. You can't spin dash at ground level - you'd fall
into the pits - what you must do is spin dash, standing on the BB, and jump as soon as you spin
dash - within a split second - to jump and blast through the walls of BBs. I usually just spin dash
and slam on the jump button instantly after releasing down. If you make it here as well, you face
another obstacle, this one requiring more wit than dexterity. To the right is a shaft you must climb
up by means of several small ledges on each side. Each ledge has a BB that you must use to boost
yourself up to the next ledge. However, your impulse is to destroy the BBs - you've been doing
that so much in the stage and in the game - but if you destroy even one, you can't get up and have
to cast yourself into a pit. (At least Sonic must - Tails might be able to tailicopter, but he might
not be able to tailicopter up the whole shaft). There is a small, yellow spring next to each BB (the
first two are under Super Rings) you can use to bounce on to it without breaking it. Just be super-
careful not to air roll - don't even have a finger near the jump button. The jumps are also rather
challenging. Go slowly and keep control of yourself. At the second spot, you actually have to
jump over the BB to reach the spring - do so with great care.

Once at the top, go right and get the Clock. Your next problem is crossing a death pit on a bridge
of stone bumpers. They disappear on touch so you will get only one chance. I recommend against
trying to cross in one shot by spin dashing and jumping - that is very hard and you may get
bounced back left when you land. Instead, cross slowly, landing on each bumper squarely and
using as many as possible - there's no point in not using them. Pause the game constantly if it
helps you concentrate. Crossing these bumpers requires concentration above all - do it very
carefully. Tails can once again escape the worst of it by using the tailicopter, although you may
not be able to get all the way across on one tailicopter. After the first death pit is small ledge with
a Super Ring. To the right are four bumpers, then a wall. If you are Tails, tailicopter over to the
top right corner and just sit there, and hold right hard. If you are Sonic, spin dash and jump
(rather tricky - you must jump instantly after releasing the spin dash) to fly up against the right
wall, and hold right. Either way, you'll break through the far right bumper and fall down. If you
hold right hard, you'll land on another bumper, which will bounce you into a corridor to the right.
Run right and you've made it to Nack.

Relax. After all this hard work you don't want to lose to a weasel. Nack's final ingenuity is to
attach a drill to the bottom of his airbike. He flies out of your reach, moving toward you, diving
down at you after a while and hitting the floor, then bouncing back up. You can hit him but it has
no effect. Beating Nack requires only one hit but it's very hard to land. Stand in one spot and wait
for Nack to stop moving. Then scoot out of the way of him and turn around. As he flies down,
you must hit him at the exact moment he hits the floor. This is quite hard. It may take several hits
before it's possible, I'm not sure. It takes a lucky hit at just the right time, and obviously you can't
hit him from below, but if you miss, you'll just bounce off or at worst, lose your rings. You have
no time limit, so take as long as necessary. Always hold onto a ring if you get hit. Eventually you
should land the necessary hit at the exact moment Nack pounds the floor, and cause him to stick
in the floor. Then you are basically done; just jump on Nack from above about six times. He's
immobilized so you don't have to do it very quickly. (He may unstick himself if you take too long,
though - I'm not sure). You will pound him and his airbike into the floor. After about six hits they
will be gone and there will be a flash of light. Run right and you've completed one of the most
feared special stages in Sonic history! And you have all the chaos emeralds - great job!!!

6. Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed Sonic Triple Trouble. Despite how tough my FAQ/walkthrough makes it
sound, it's not too hard. I did take much longer than expected in writing this FAQ/walkthrough -
I could only work on it a few days a week. I expect it to be some time before I begin a
FAQ/walkthrough for a Genesis game - perhaps by this summer, I hope. In any event good luck
with Sonic Triple Trouble, one of the best Sonic Game Gear games ever made!

Once again, this FAQ/walkthrough is copyright William Walker, all rights reserved. Do not
reproduce it or sell it, ever. Do not post it on another website unless you notify me first (it is
probably A-OK). This FAQ/walkthrough was completed April 26, 2003. Once again, feel free to
e-mail me at [email protected] with questions pertaining to this or any other Sonic
game.

Enjoy Sonic Triple Trouble!

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