Sonic The Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis Tips, Walkthrough Version 1.0, 10/29/00 William Walker email J-D-Walker@worldnet.att.net This document Copyright 2000 William Walker. Reproduction and distribution without permission is okay, as long as (1) I am given credit for my work, and (2) it's not done for commercial purposes. Hello! Did you know that the most popular games for Sega Genesis were the Sonic the Hedgehog series? In this FAQ I'll cover Sonic 2, the second and one of the best games in the series. I'll include walkthroughs for some of the tougher levels, plus a level select if you can't seem to beat a level. That last part is important; this file includes a controller code that lets you start at any level you want. That can be very important if you're stuck. Look for it at the end of the file. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get started! Welcome to Sonic! Ivo Robotnik, the demented scientist, has plans for a giant sky station called the Death Egg (aka Star Wars) with which he plans to conquer the world. So he's captured all the animals on Floating Island, the magical island that floats in the sky due to the power of the chaos emeralds, giant gems with amazing powers. Anyway Robotnik's has put them in prison eggs and plans to turn them into robots. Some of the animals have already met this horrible fate and will never stop trying to defeat you. In Sonic 1, we won't see the Death Egg yet, as Robotnik's robot army works to build it at his current lair, the scrap brain. Robotnik also knows how to build traps, obstacles and many other things to prevent anyone from stopping him. The only thing that can stop him is our hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic's best ally is his sneakers that enable him to outrun any trap, and his spiky skin that will give him the upper hand against most of the slew of robots he's going to face. The animals are on his side, and it's guaranteed that he'll be able to find some stuff on the island that'll help him out. But even Sonic may need protection sometimes. That's where he'll need gold rings. Sonic usually can't die as long as he has a ring, and rings are plentiful, appearing everywhere, often in groups. Unfortunately there are some things that kill Sonic even if he has rings. One of these would be running out of time. Sonic always has only ten minutes to complete a level. In Sonic 2, despite being foiled once, Robotnik has completed his Death Egg ship and can take over the world if he gets his hands on the priceless chaos emeralds. To stop him Sonic will need to destroy the death egg. He also wants to get all the emeralds. Even though you don't need them to win the game, if you collect them all you can become an all new Super Sonic, who's invincible and is also super fast! You can collect the emeralds in Sonic 1 too, but you can't become Super Sonic. Also Sonic 2 has a new character named Tails, who is a two-tailed fox who can fly using his tails as a helicopter. Tails is Sonic's sidekick and you can even play as Tails if you wish. To battle back, Robotnik has created a Sonic robot called Robo-Sonic, and he's going to put up a hard fight. Besides many more new zones Sonic 2 also has a competition mode in which Sonic can compete against Tails in three of the zones. Sonic 2 promises loads of fun. In Sonic 3, Dr. Robotnik's Death Egg was apparently destroyed. But what really happened was that it crash landed on floating island. The only way Robotnik can repair it is to get the seven chaos emeralds. The emeralds are faithfully guarded by Knuckles the Echidna. But Dr. Robotnik tricks him into thinking that Robotnik is a good guy. So Knuckles hides the emeralds away and prepares to give them to Robotnik while Sonic and Tails try to destroy the Death Egg ship again. You can become Super Sonic, play as Tails, and do everything in the old game, plus there are now three kinds of shields instead of one, a new bonus stage, and six new zones that are all about 50% bigger than Sonic 2. There is also a save feature, found only in this game. This game also has a tipbook out for it. There's also a new competition mode. The last Genesis platform game in the series is Sonic & Knuckles. It is almost identical to Sonic 3, because they were originally one game, but made into two games in order to get them out on time. In this one Knuckles is a good guy, and you can play as him if you want! If you do, you can use Knuckles's special moves, which are gliding, wall climbing and wall bashing. Tails, however, is not present in this game. If you play as Knuckles your mission is to destroy the new Robo-Sonic, who tried to drop a bomb on you. Knuckles can get to power-ups that Sonic can't or has a difficult time getting to, and can also use new routes through levels. Since he can't jump as high as Sonic, sometimes he has to take a route that Sonic can't. This happens in both acts of Lava Reef zone. These other routes are often harder then the route Sonic would take and will require perfect use of Knuckles's special moves. Knuckles's game ends when he beats Robo-Sonic in Sky Sanctuary zone. This means his game is shorter than Sonic's. If you play as Sonic you must destroy Robotnik once and for all. Robotnik has found the existence of a giant emerald called the master emerald. It is hidden somewhere in a hidden palace, guarded by Knuckles. If Robotnik gets his hands on this emerald, his Death Egg will be able to conquer the world and floating island will be destroyed! Robotnik plans to follow Knuckles to the place where this giant gem is hidden. As Sonic, you must not let that happen! Despite having a longer game, Sonic will probably have an easier time of it. The final zone takes place inside the Death Egg, and you can bet there's some pretty tough characters around there. Sonic will have an easier time getting the emeralds because when Knuckles plays, he goes on a different route then Sonic and can't get to some of the giant gold rings. If you get all the emeralds you'll not only have the ability to become Super Sonic, but also can play a final zone with you as Super Sonic. If you succeed, you'll destroy Robotnik for good! (Well, until he comes back on Dreamcast). Also S & K has two new bonus stages, but that's only the half of it. S & K has an even more astounding feature. On the top of any S & K cartridge is an top that can be opened. When it's open, you can put any other Genesis cartridge into it! This is called the lock-on feature. If you put Sonic 1 into S & K, you'll get a screen with the characters all saying 'No Way.' Hold down Buttons A, B, and C, and press start and it'll say special stage. Now you can play through stage after stage after stage, trying to collect chaos emeralds. I hear that there are over 32,000 of them! Astounding, huh? And you can lose the stage unlimited times, and it doesn't matter. If you collect all the rings in a stage you'll warp ahead ten stages. If you collect the emerald you can move on to the next stage. You can play until you get bored, or until your game gets shut down because you never paid your electric bill. Great, huh? Well, the next thing will make you jump out of your skin! If you lock-on with Sonic 2, you'll play all of Sonic 2 - as Knuckles! There will be no Tails or competition mode, but you can use Knuckles' special moves in the levels of Sonic 2! Unfortunately you cannot win the game, as Knuckles' low jump prevents him from beating the boss in Metropolis zone. If you lock on with Sonic 3, you can do the following: -- Play the zones of Sonic 3 and S & K one after another, as Sonic, Tails, Sonic and Tails or even Knuckles -- Use Tails in the zones of S & K -- Use Knuckles in the levels of Sonic 3, with new levels, routes, and bosses galore -- Collect 14 emeralds -- Become Hyper Sonic or Hyper Knuckles, who is always surrounded by stars, glows white, and can jet forward as if he had a flame shield. Hyper Knuckles isn't as glamorous, but when he moves he becomes a blur. Both also have all the powers of Super Sonic or Knuckles. -- Have fun, fun, and more fun I'm done now, right? WRONG! I've done all the Genesis Sonic games, but there's one more I like: Sonic CD. Sonic CD takes place between Sonic 1 and 2. There is no Tails, Knuckles or Death Egg, just Sonic, Robotnik, and a new and improved Robo-Sonic. In this one Sonic's girlfriend, Amy, has been abducted by Robotnik in an attempt to lure Sonic into a trap. Sonic, of course, says that no trap can beat him and goes off to rescue Amy. This game is basically the same as Sonic 1 with one major difference: time travel. To travel through time, you must first touch a past or future lamppost and then travel at ultra-fast speed for about 8 seconds to warp through time. If you slow down at the wrong time, you may lose the time warp and have to find another lamppost. A good strategy would be to find two springs that bounce you back and forth at a fast speed. Your goal is to go to the past and find and destroy the animal cage for that level to create a good future. Also you collect time stones instead of emeralds and if you get all the time stones, you get an automatic good future in each level. If you get all the time stones plus good futures in every level you get a bonus ending. Another change from Sonic 1 is that there's a save feature. Well that's all the games. It's now time to go through the individual zones and tell you what to do. This is a very long FAQ, but very detailed. I hope this FAQ helps you master Sonic 2, the second of one of the best sets of games in the world. Good luck! Basics of gameplay 1. Upper left corner & controls 2. Power-ups 3. Stuff new to Sonic 2 4. 2 player mode UPPER LEFT CORNER & CONTROLS* *If you've already played Sonic 1 you can skip this part. I know it's a silly name, but this stuff is very important, so listen up. To control Sonic, press left or right to move that way, down to duck and A, B, or C to jump -- that's all there is to it! There's one more move you should know: the Super Spin Attack. To do that simply press down while you're running. This makes you roll into a ball as you run and can bust through enemies and a few walls. In the upper left corner it tells you how your score, how much time you've used up and how many rings you have. You only have ten minutes to complete each level. If you go over that time you die. You score 100 points for each robot you smash, 1,000 points for each of Robotnik's ships that you blow up and 100 points for each ring you hold at the end of a level. After you hit the flag, jump around in that area to reveal the invisible bonus icons, each with its point value on it. There is only one 10,000 icon at the end of each stage. Can you find it? There are more ways to get points too. In Spring Yard zone, you score 10 points for each bumper you hit. After enough hits, a bumper no longer gives points. You also score a time bonus for each act you complete in a certain amount of time. You'll score: Time used Points <30sec 50,000 <45sec 10,000 <1min 5,000 <1min30sec 4,000 <2min 3,000 <3min 2,000 <4min 1,000 <5min 500 As for rings, each ring you pick up stays with you until you get hit. If you get hit while you have rings, you lose all of them, but some will fly into the air and you can re-grab them if you're quick. Having a lot of rings has other advantages, too. We'll get to them soon. In the lower left corner is your lives. To gain a life: -- Smash a 1-Up monitor -- Collect 100 rings -- Collect 200 rings -- Get 50,000 points Do NOT do the following things which cause you to lose a life: -- Get hit with zero rings -- Fall off the screen -- Run out of time -- Get into a position where you are squished -- Drown (spend 20 seconds underwater without getting an air bubble) All of those things except for the first kill you even if you are invincible, and will kill even if you have rings! It's a dangerous world, but remember that you'll almost never run out of time, you can only drown in Chemical Plant zone or Aquatic Ruin zone, and you can only fall off the screen in certain places in some zones. If you lose all your lives, it's game over, unless you have a continue. If you do, press a button before the countdown reaches zero to begin the level you were last in with three lives. To get a continue, have 100+ rings at the end of a level. POWER-UPS* *If you've already played Sonic 1 you can skip this part. Bust open monitors to get stuff that will help you defeat Robotnik and will give you advantages in the levels. The power- ups are: -- Super ring (ten rings) -- 1-Up (a new life) -- Speed shoes (super speed) -- Invincibility (30 seconds, can still be killed by drowning, getting squished, etc) -- Shield (the next time you get hit, you lose the shield instead of rings) The icon on the monitor tells which power-up it is. A ring indicates a super ring, Sonic's face is a bonus life, a sneaker means speed shoes, stars indicate invincibility, and a shield is indicated by a white and blue thing I can't describe. You'll recognize it easily. STUFF NEW IN SONIC 2 There is another move that you can do only in Sonic 2. If you press down while standing still and then press jump, Sonic starts revving up like an engine. Keep pressing the jump button for more power. Release down to spin away. The special stage is also completely different. Now, there are starposts instead of lampposts and not only do they save your place, but a halo of stars appears above the post if you have fifty rings or more. Jump into the stars and you are transported to special stage. In this one, you run down a chute trying to collect rings as they come at you. At the beginning you are given a number of rings to collect. You must have those rings at the next checkpoint. If you touch a bomb you lose ten rings, so watch out. Most bombs are either in groups of four, or giant circle that you must leap through. If you don't have enough rings at a checkpoint the stage ends. If you do, you'll be given another number to get. You must get that number by the next checkpoint or the stage ends. Pass three checkpoints and you get a chaos emerald. At the end of the stage you get 100 points per ring, plus a bonus 10,000 points if you got the emerald. There are now seven emeralds instead of six. WARNING: IF YOU'RE GOING FOR ALL THE EMERALDS, BE SURE NOT TO USE TAILS. If you're playing with Tails the rings required are higher, and an uncontrolled Tails will keep hitting bombs, and you'll both lose rings. So don't use him. If you do get all the emeralds, which is very difficult, the rewards are immense. In Sonic 1 all you got was a bonus ending. Now, if you have all the emeralds all you have to do is get 50 rings and jump. You'll transform into Super Sonic, who has the following capabilities: -- Super jump -- Super speed -- Invincibility from badniks (but not from getting squished, falling, running out of time or drowning)! Super Sonic looks cool too. Unfortunately he has a weakness: he loses one ring each second. If he runs out of rings he becomes regular Sonic again, with zero rings. Also, his speed can be a handicap when he must jump across small platforms. Nevertheless, always become super sonic if you can. WARNING: IF YOU'RE PLAYING AS TAILS ALONE, YOU CAN GET THE EMERALDS BUT CANNOT BECOME SUPER TAILS BECAUSE THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS SUPER TAILS. Tails the orange fox is supposed to be Sonic's friend. However, he's more trouble then he's worth. He distracts you, prevents you from getting all the emeralds, and doesn't do any good. Whenever you play you should play as Sonic alone. To do that, press up once at the title screen and on the bottom the options menu is selected. Press start and set it to Sonic alone. Now you'll play without Tails. You can also play as Tails alone. Also the game structure is different. Zones 1-7 have two acts. Zone 8 (Metropolis zone) has three acts. Zones 9-11 have 1 act. 2 PLAYER MODE You can also play competition mode. Just select 2P vs at the title screen and choose the zone you want to play. Now the screen is split; the player controlling Sonic is at the top and Tails is on the bottom. You play against your opponent in Emerald Hill zone, Casino Night zone and Mystic Cave zone, and a special stage. The zones are identical to the way they are in the normal game, except for a few minor changes to the acts. There is no boss at the end. If one player gets a ring, kills a badnik or smashes an item box that thing isn't available to the other player. Also, item boxes have question marks on them. The item inside are random. There are a few new items, besides the ones in the normal game. They are: -- Tails 1-Up - gives Tails an extra life, even if opened by Sonic. Tails can also open Sonic 1-Ups. -- Robotnik - If you open this you lose your rings. Ouch! -- Teleporter - makes Sonic and Tails switch places. Can be god or bad, depending on their positions. If you choose the Teleporter Only option in the options screen, all items are teleporters. At the end of each act, the two players are rated in five categories. They are: -- score - whoever has the highest score (from beating badniks) wins. -- rings - whoever has the most rings at the end of the stage wins. -- total rings - whoever got the most rings in the entire stage wins. -- time - whoever finished first wins. -- item boxes - whoever opened the most item boxes wins. Whoever wins three categories wins the act. It is possible for a category to be tied, and even possible for the whole act to be tied. After both acts of the zone are played, if the acts are split, one player having one each act, a special stage is played to determine the zone winner. In 2P mode, Sonic is 1P and Tails 2P. Besides the three zones you can also play special stage. The two stages you play are identical to stages five and six in the normal game. In these stages Sonic starts in front of Tails. If the player in front jumps, he goes back. If the player in back jumps, he moves forward. If both players jump they stay in place. The player in front generally gets more rings, as he gets them first. At each checkpoint the player with the most rings wins. The player who wins two checkpoints wins the stage. In a regular zone, when one player finishes, the other must finish within 1 minute. If he fails, the other player automatically wins the act. If a player loses all of their lives, they have a game over and the other player automatically wins the zone. Walkthrough In Sonic 2 I'll give walkthroughs for all the levels. EMERALD HILL ZONE Act 1 Start off the game by going right and you meet the first enemy, a monkey in a tree that throws coconuts at you. Jump and bop him, then continue and get the shield. Now either jump or spin dash across the bridge so as not to be hit by the piranha fish. Drop down and hit the red spring to shoot right. Press down to spin and not go any faster and you'll fly off a ramp and land on a platform above. If it doesn't work, go back to the spring and try again. Now grab the speed shoes to your left, but watch out for the monkey. Run up the hill to the right. There's a starpost on a floating platform up/left of that ring. If you don't have 50 rings yet run right through a loop and a corkscrew. Run fast to avoid falling through. Keep running to shoot up to some rings. Fall down back to the path and jump over the piranha. Go right to a starpost. You should have 50 rings by now, so play a special stage and go right to a yellow spring. Hit it and go through two loops. Try to get into the secret passageway next to the red spring on the top. If you go too fast you'll hit the spring. Inside the secret passageway is a 1-Up. Grab it and drop down, hitting the yellow spring on the ground. Bounce to another spring which propels you up to a platform. Run right, watching out for the bees above that shoot fireballs at you. Run through a loop and spin dash across a corkscrew. At the end of the corkscrew jump to avoid the spring that knocks you back. Continue right to the exit. Act 2 Go right and stay on the lower path. Jump or spin dash across the bridge and you find two monkeys with spikes between them. Jump over the spikes and watch out for the coconuts. Jump to the higher path and collect the speed shoes. Race right, watching out for bees, and slow down to collect the super ring monitor. Take the high path right (use the moving platform) and jump over the spikes. Use the spring to bounce up and head right, but not too fast. Jump on top of the loop, being careful not to fall off. Go right and jump to another loop (with a starpost on it), and hit the spring to bounce right. Jump on the platform over a waterfall and it falls. Fall with it to a 1-Up. The jumping room above it is limited, so you must spin dash through it to get it. You'll hit some spikes from the side and drop down. Hold left to avoid landing on more spikes that pop out of the floor. Next to the wall is a hidden spring. Use it to bounce up and head right to a monkey and starpost. WARNING: FALLING INTO THE WATERFALL TO THE LEFT KILLS YOU. Head right, taking the low path, but watch out for bees and grab the super ring. Spin dash right when the spikes are down. Hit another hidden spring and go right, spin dashing across the corkscrew and hitting a starpost. If you played a special stage be sure to go back and get some rings, and head right to the boss. Don't worry, Sonic 2 bosses are easy. Wait on the left side of the screen until Robotnik's helicopter pod lowers into his armored car, then hit it from above. It moves back and forth across the screen. Hit it once each time on the top, but watch out for the drill at the front. After seven hits he shoots the drill at you. Jump over it and hit him one more time to beat him. Run right and jump on top of the prison egg to free some animals. Robotnik escapes, however, and sees you again at the end of the next zone. CHEMICAL PLANT ZONE Act 1 Cool! Looks like we're in a city with a polluted river. The background is much neater then the last zone. Okay, go right and get the super ring. This is important: spin dash right from where the super ring was, and not through the tunnel under it. You should come out on top. Head right to a spider that grabs you and squeezes out your rings. He's tough to kill and tough to run under. These guys are a real pain in the neck. Right of him are two badniks that shoot balls out their tops. Spin dash through them and head right for a short ride. At the end you hit a spring. Go left and run by the bubbles after they move. You go through a door which means you can't go back. Bounce on the spring and kill the floor badniks. Hit the spring to the ride for a neat ride. Now you should be next to a block on the floor. Bash it and shoot into the tube below, watching out for the wall badnik. At the end of the tube and get the super ring. Go left and step on the blocks to make them move. Go right, jumping over the bubbles, and continue right to the exit. Act 2 This is a really bad ass act. Okay, go right, kill the floor badnik and spin down the long ramp and you shoot into the air and get some rings. Land on the left platform and jump through the wall for a 1-Up. Go right, jumping over the gap, and then another one. Spin dash up the hill and if you want, grab the shield and two super rings to the left but watch out for the spiders. Use the moving platforms to reach the tube in the upper left corner. I cannot give a walkthrough for the middle of the act, because the tube can shoot you out in either of two places. Just use your intuition until you find two yellow moving platforms over a pit of purple chemical. Now, things get really tough. The chemical doesn't kill you, but if you stay in too long you'll drown. You may have seen it before on one of the paths. Use these yellow platforms to cross, but if you're mad for live you can drop into the chemical and hope you don't land in a spiked pit. To the left is a 1-Up, but if you get it you may fall off the screen and die. The strange spring at the left helps you get up. After crossing the platforms use the speed generator to shoot right. You go through a door. Now the chemical rises, and you must use the sets of blocks and individual blocks to climb up before you drown. One false move and you probably will drown. If you make it to the top, go left and use the two platforms to cross the chemical. If you fall, you're screwed. Next you find four floor tiles that flip. You must jump on them when they are up (only then can you stand on them) and use the moving platforms to get to a track up/right. Hit the speed generator to go through a starpost. Slow down and go through the loops. You must be going slow in the next part. When you see the red spring, hit it to fly over the pit of chemical. Run right, but go slowly. When you see flipping tiles ahead, jump over them and land in between the two sets of tiles, and prepare to fight the boss. Dr. Robotnik's new machine will hover on the left side. Hit him but be sure to bounce back to the solid platform in the center. Falling through the flipping tiles kills you. Hit him again before he fills up the cup of chemical. Now duck and he drops it on you. If you're ducking it won't hurt you. Hit him twice before he fills up his cup again. After eight hits he's beaten and you can jump over the tiles on the right and bash another prison egg. I'm very glad that's over. AQUATIC RUIN ZONE Act 1 I like this zone. It's not too hard and it is visually pretty, with nice music. To start, go right and you find a small gray thing on a tree that shoots an arrow at you when you pass it. After you pass it hurry, as the arrow comes after you. Jump on top of the pillar to smash it and continue right through a log. Get the super ring and take the upper path, bashing the badnik. Important: always take the high road in Aquatic Ruin zone as the lower path is usually filled with water. You drown if you stay in water too long, but there are patches of bubbles that, if you stand in front of them, will release big bubbles. Gulp these bubbles to stay alive longer. Of course, it's best to stay out of the water altogether. Run through a loop to a starpost. Go through a log and smash a pillar. Now make a flying leap to the upper platform (try again if you miss). Run past another arrow object, past a weird spring, and through the center of a loop. Just run right through and kill the badnik. Also kill the three flies that attack. Get the super ring and hit the starpost. Now run behind the wall. This is a bit tricky. You must jump to the higher platform and switch paths. There's a shield nearby. Jump from behind the wall as far as you can right to land on the upper platform. Go right to a red spring. Hit it to shoot through a loop, through a log, and to the exit. Act 2 Go right, past two arrow objects, to a cliff. This is tough. Wait for the swinging platform to come to you and ride it. If you fall, you're on your own. Be careful not to fall as the lower path is harder then the upper. Jump to another swinging platform and jump to the cliff quickly before it breaks. Go right and jump the gap. Jump to the higher platform and then jump to another. At the third strange spring drop down and go right to a starpost. Drop down and go right, past an arrow object to a yellow spring. Shoot up to a cliff and go right. If you miss, try again. Run right, jumping on top of the loop, and continue right and go through the center of another loop. Now watch out for the broken pillar and proceed right, smashing a pillar, and go past an arrow object and another broken pillar to a starpost. Ride the moving platform right, and then ride one up to a platform. Continue right, pats a badnik to a red spring. Ignore it and smash two pillars, and run by three arrow objects. Drop down and go left, jumping into the left wall. If you jump high enough you reach a hidden passageway with a 1-Up. Now go right, past an arrow object to a red spring. Hit it to be shot, through a starpost, to the boss. To beat Robotnik, jump on one of the totem poles as they rise, and hit Robotnik, but bounce back to the pole. Keep this up until Robotnik is about to hit the pole you're on with his giant hammer. Now drop down and jump over the arrow that comes out of the pole Robotnik hits. When it hits the other pole jump on top of it and use it to boost yourself up to Robotnik. Hit him from below, and after 8 hits he's down for the count, and so is another prison egg. CASINO NIGHT ZONE This is my favorite zone. Like a real casino, lights and more lights are everywhere. In the background there's a city in the distance, and this zone happens at night. There's only one kind of badnik, which makes it one of the easiest zones yet. Due to the fact that screens in this zone are very similar, I cannot give a walkthrough. In a harder zone I would - but this zone is not only easy, you can earn massive points and lives. Objects include bumpers, which give you 10 points for each hit. After a while they no longer give points. Also there are flashing hamburgers, which disappear after three hits and award 10 points a hit. You get 500 if you destroy three hamburgers in a set. The badniks here are slow, floor badniks. The only way to beat them is to hit them from behind with special springs. Another cool thing is the slot machine. Some slot machines give about 700 points. When you go into the ones with pictures below them, the pictures rotate, you get rings if they match, and you get 2 rings for each bar. If you have a lot of rings, you may not want to use them if you have a lot of rings, as if you get three Robotnik pictures you lose 100 rings! (But if you have less then 100, you don't die). The big prize is three jackpots - 200 rings! Other objects include flippers, elevators and power springs. If you land on a power spring, hold the jump button until it's all the way down, and release it to go flying! The flippers make this zone a bit like a pinball machine. The orange flippers are automatic, while the green flippers flip when you hit the jump button. Unfortunately there are dangers too. The main danger is getting crushed by the blue blocks. Whenever you're near them beware. Just stay alert and they aren't a problem. In one big hole in act 1 it looks like you can't get out, but if you spin dash up the right wall you can go through an invisible passageway with a 1-Up. Have fun! The boss is a bit tricky. Robotnik's ship comes out of the right wall and hovers back and forth. Hitting him from below is out because of the electric field. He also drops spiked balls on you. To beat him, spin back and forth along the ground and on the walls, and then jump off the walls and hit him. Try revving up a spin dash near one wall, and when Robotnik stops above you to drop a bomb, release the spin dash and jump off the wall, hit him and roll back down and away from the bomb. Be sure to keep rolling. After eight hits, the right wall opens and you can bust another prison egg. HILL TOP ZONE Act 1 This zone is odd. The music is strange, and in the background are clouds which you are above. Later in the game, we'll have more action above the clouds. Also, the difficulty starts to pick up here. Start out by going right. Jump on the platform and it moves down the track. Jump off at the end. If you fall you will die. Now go right and you meet a spike badnik, with a spike on its head. Move close and it releases the spike, then kill it and cross the lava via the two moving blocks. Now jump on the side of the catapult without the red ball and then move to the other side, as the ball lands on the opposite side from where it started. Use it to catapult up and go right. The ball is actually an undefeatable badnik. Jump over the lava and shoot down a tunnel. You shoot up in the air. Drop down, but don't land on the spikes. Run right and catapult up, and hit the yellow spring to bounce over the lava pit. Use two catapults and a spring to bounce up. Grab the super ring, and ride the platform down. If you fall you land in the lava. Now go right, jumping over the spikes, and spin dash through the loop to go underground. Grab the shield to the right, and go left. Use the two catapults to cross the lave pit. Don't bounce up, just jump across them. Ride the platform down, and then ride another one down and right. Jump over the spikes that appear and disappear, and use a hidden spring to bounce up. To the right of the bunch of rings, go into a secret passageway and grab an invincibility. This is very important. Now drop down, and hurry right as the invincibility lasts. An earthquake starts and the ground rises. As soon as the ceiling rises enough for you to get through, run right, an while you're invincible run over the lave pit and through the passageway. If you're too slow the invincibility will wear off, or the lava will rise enough to block the hole, and then you're in trouble. Run right down a tunnel. Catapult up, spin dash through a loop to go down, and go right to the exit. Act 2 Spin dash up the hill and go right, jumping over the lava pit and shooting down a tunnel. Use the spring to bounce up the hill and then you come to a lava pit. Jump onto the floating platform and it disappears. Quickly jump to solid ground and go right. In the lava is a dinosaur thing that's head shoots fireballs at you. Avoid it. Now spin dash through the loop to break through the ground. Run up another hill and then you come to another hill. Spin dash up, but drop back down to avoid the fireballs the ball shoots. Wait about ten seconds and then spin dash up. The ball should have used all its fireballs, so kill it and go right to a shield. Ride the platforms down the track and jump off, hitting the starpost. Now go right and underground. When an earthquake starts and the lava rises, you must quickly jump up on the platforms. Go fast but watch out for dropping platforms. About midway up, run right and into the wall for a much-needed invincibility. At the top, grab the super ring if you dare and run into the passage at the upper right to escape this rather nasty part. Run right until you're outside, then run down four small hills and jump over the two springs pointing at each other, as they accomplish you nothing. Now watch out for the retracting floor spikes and bounce up on a hidden spring. Go right and jump on the platform. do not ride it, instead jump off and fall down, hugging the left wall to land on a hidden 1-Up. Below the 1-Up is a spring that bounces you up. Land on a small platform about midway up. With any luck another platform is next to it. Ride it down the track and at the end, jump off and go right, collecting the super ring. Watch out for ceiling badniks that drop their spikes on you. When you're outside again, bounce up on two springs, hit a starpost, and go right to the boss. This boss is strange. Jump over the first lava pit and wait for him to come out of the right one. If you want to get done ASAP, or have a shield, just jump on him and don't hold down the jump button, and Sonic bounces up and down on top of him, hitting him continuously. After eight hits he's beaten, but you fall in the lava and get hurt. The other way to beat him is to hit him from above, holding down the jump button and you bounce high. Hit him at least three times before he goes back down, and bounce back to solid land. Watch out for the two fireballs that he shoots which start a fire on the side he was on for a second. Then he'll come up on one of the sides and repeat the pattern. Also watch out for the fireball he shoots at you while he's up. Keep this up until he's beaten, and bust another prison egg. MYSTIC CAVE ZONE Act 1 This zone is a bit tough. Start out by going right and drop down at the wooden platforms which collapse when you touch them. Grab the partially hidden shield and go right. You must jump and grab onto the vine, which makes a platform appear. Then jump off and go right on the platform, avoiding the spikes below. Now watch out for the worm, which you can only kill by hitting its head. Drop down and grab a shield, and grab the vine to go up. Jump off, hold right to hit the spring and bounce to the top. There's a super ring there, but watch out for the worm. Now go right to three moving crates. Drop down, hit the starpost, and grab the vine and the floor opens. Go down, grab the super ring, and hit the spring to shoot right. Go right to two moving platforms. You must use them to climb up. Watch out for the wooden platform which collapses and go right, but watch out for the platforms with spikes that come out of the wall. Use them to climb up and go right, you can only kill the dangerous lightning bugs when the aren't flashing. Watch out for the moving pillar that can crush you and grab the vine to go down. Drop all the way down and go right to the invincibility. Go over the crates but don't let them crush you. Run past two more springs and spin dash up the hill. Run over the pillar and go right (starpost to the left). Watch out for the worm and drop down, grabbing the partially hidden invincibility and go right to a super ring. Hit the spring to shoot up. You must grab the vine to make a platform appear. If you miss, try again. Now jump to the platform and go left, watching out for a worm. Grab the shield, jump to the vine to make a platform appear. Jump to this platform and then to another vine that takes you up. Jump over the two pillars and don't let them crush you. Drop down for two super rings, and run right to the exit. Act 2 Go right and grab the vine to move the platform in front of you. Drop down and go right. Grab another vine to make the platform move and go right, watching out for the pillar. These pillars are a major danger, as they can crush you. Run past a lightning bug and drop down to grab the invincibility, but watch out for the spikes! Bounce back up on the spring and go right, past some worms and up two hills. Watch out for two lightning bugs. Grab the vine to go down and try not to land on the spikes. Now you must go past three moving crates. To the left are a super ring and another invincibility. Grab both but be careful not to let the crates crush you! You'll have to make some quick dashes to get through. Go down, left, and grab the vine to open your way. Go deft, drop down, and go right past a lightning bug. Don't go too fast, as there's a pillar coming up. Be careful. Also try not to fall in the spiked pit. Bounce on the spring, and grab the vine above the pit to pull yourself up. You can go right, but that route is hard. jump off the vine and bounce up on another spring. To the left are three crates, and a starpost with a super ring in front. You must jump and grab the vine by jumping off one of the crates (again, be careful not to get crushed). Once you grab it, the way opens. When you jump off you drop straight down. Hold right to land on the spring. Bounce back up and this time, jump right to the path right. Go right, and spin to kill the two worms when they attack. Rather then tangle with the spinning spiked ball, drop down but hold left. This next part is important: If you fall down into the pit to the right you cannot get out and will die. To escape this nasty peril, jump and grab the vine to make the platform appear to make a bridge. By careful - if you miss the vine you may fall. Do not jump off until the platform has come to a complete stop. Now go right, dropping down but hugging the right wall. You land on a 1-Up, which will come in handy, as the zones are getting tougher. Below the 1-Up is a spring that bounces you back up. Now there's another pit, this one with a swinging spiked ball above it. Jump over it but be very careful. If you fall in hug the right wall and you land on a spring that bounces you back up. Now use the spring or vine to go up, and go left to a shield. Jump up the blocks and use the spring or vine to bounce up. Go right, taking the low path, and watch out for a pillar and lightning bug. Grab a super ring, and go left, down, and right. There's a starpost below you. VERY IMPORTANT WARNING: DON'T TOUCH IT! If you do you can't go back and get rings, and the boss is coming up, so if you die you'll have to fight him with zero rings. You'll have to fight him with zero rings unless you have a game over, which may happen. So don't touch it. Understand? Anyway, go right to the boss. This boss is a bit tough. The ground shakes and rocks and spikes fall from above. Ignore the rocks but watch out for the spikes. When Robotnik appears hit him from below three times. You may get hit. His flame doesn't hurt you. When he lands, the falling stuff stops. Now he moves toward you. Jump and hit him from above. Try to get in two hits. When he starts going up again, hit him from below until he's scrap metal. If you don't hit him quick enough, it starts over. Now, bash another prison egg. OIL OCEAN ZONE Act 1 Oooh.., this is a tough zone. It's also a long zone. Before you start, know this: if you fall into the oil, jump up and down to keep from sinking and dying. Jump back up to solid land, sometimes using a fan to blow you up. Also note that gold floors collapse. So - go right and hold right to run across the two gold floors. After the second, spin and you'll beat a badnik, a pink octopus that spits bullets at you. There's now an oil slide. You can't spin dash when on one. Run right and use the fan to cross the small gap. Beat another octopus and you find a green top that, every 3 seconds, blasts off the vent it's on. You must jump on it and use it to carry you up. If you want rings there's a platform up/left of here with a super ring. Make a leap right over the gap and head right. Now there are two gold floors which you must quickly jump across. If you fall, you must use the three fans to get back up. Go right, scrapping the octopuses and use another green top. Grab the shield to the right before using the top to reach the ledge. Go right and when you come to a gap, leap or use the fan to get across. If you fall you must take the low route which is hard. if you do fall you're unfortunately on your own, as my tips can't cover every last path. Now go right, shooting up on a top, and you meet the flying sea horses, which also spit bullets and are deadly. Go right, killing them or passing them, ride up on the elevator, and go left, running right off the gold platform and the fans will lift you to the next platform. If the fan stops you, wait until it's off, and run onto the elevator. At the top go right, but watch out for sea horses. The fan will get you across the gap. When you reach the elevator, ride up and go right, crossing another gap with a fan, and jumping on the slide. You'll stop riding near a starpost. Now drop down the gap, and you go for a ride to the bottom. When you fall into the oil, jump out and go right. Bust the octopus and grab the super ring with a spin dash. Now bounce up on a series of tops, busting octopuses. To the right of the first one is an elevator - don't use it. After the fourth one (getting up there could be tricky) go right on the ledge, running over the gold floor and jumping the spikes. Run down the ramp, but watch out for sea horses. Now go up on the elevator. This is tough: A sea horse is going to ambush you, and when the fans in the floor are blowing you up, he'll hit you. Run by and scrap him when the fans are off, and you come to a strange green thing. Get the invincibility next to it, and jump on it to smash it. The vent below shoots you through a series of balls, the last of which shoots you up. Now go right, and now you have a choice to make: if you are Super Sonic right now, run right and make a great leap up to the ledge above the elevator to reach a ledge. Run right to find that 1-Up you saw going through the balls. If not, drop down and go right to an elevator shaft. At the bottom is a starpost. Grab it and then go left, jumping over spikes and pulverizing octopuses. Smash the green thing for another ball ride. At the end, go right and ride the elevator down. Run by when the fan is off, jet up on a top, and go right to finally reach the exit. Act 2 This act is shorter then the previous one. Go right and run over the gold floor. Now, quickly stop, as at the next gold floor there's a spring which bounces you back. Make a big jump over the gold floor and go right, beating an octopus and two sea horses. Ride up an elevator, and go right to four green tops. The second and fourth ones have strange contraptions above them. There are several ways to go here, and I'll only cover one. Jump on the fourth top and you'll shoot through two balls and up through a gold floor, collecting some rings. As you fall, hold right so you won't fall through the gold floor. Now head right, bashing two octopuses, and cross a track, but watch out for the two spike things. Now, beat three sea horses and ride four elevators down. On the last one run by the fan when it's off. You must jump to the next ledge to get away from the fan. Beat two octopuses and ride five oil slides down all the way to the bottom. Now there's a nearby starpost. Hit it and go right, busting the sea horse. Jump over the gold floors and kill some octopuses. Now, ride the swinging cup over the oil. If you fall, just jump across to the right. Use the fan in the oil to reach the ledge. Go right, jumping over spikes and scrap a sea horse. Jump to another gold floor, and continue right. There are now four tops that you must jump up. To the up/left of the second and fourth tops are a super ring and an invincibility. After these tops go right, smashing the sea horse and ride up on the elevator. Go left, killing an octopus and sea horse, and grab the super ring. Ride the oil slide and continue left. Stop quickly, jump to the gold floor, and ride the elevator. If you fall, you must to the tops again. From the elevator go left, jump the gap, kill the octopus, and smash the green thing. If you fall you'll have to do a lot over again. You'll shoot through some balls and be shot out on a platform. Go right, crossing the track being careful of the spike things. Now ride down three oil slides and go right to the boss. Robotnik is easy. When he pops out of the oil, jump down and hit him. Don't hold the jump button, and just keep bouncing up and down on him. Four hits or more is good. Now get under one of the platforms, and keep jumping to avoid sinking in the oil. This way Robotnik's claw and lasers won't hurt you. When he pops back up, hit him until he's scrap metal. If you don't hit him enough times the pattern repeats. Now smash the prison egg! METROPOLIS ZONE Act 1 This zone is the toughest in the game. Luckily, by the time you get here you'll have played a while and learned many things. During this zone I will rarely say that something is tough - if it's here, it is tough, believe me. You'll need plenty of lives to get through here. Okay, let's go. Go right and you find two steam springs. If you jump on them they'll bounce you up to rings and a super ring, but rings aren't that important in this zone as you'll have a million opportunities to lose them. Go right and through a grid tube. Now run up the ramp and grab the shield. When you come near the star badnik in the wall it explodes and the five points fly off, ready to hurt you. They always shoot in the same direction so if you know where they go you have a better chance of avoiding a hit. Jump on the gray button and a platform appears to the left. Jump on it and go left on the platform above. Use the steam spring to go up and go right, jumping over the lobster. The lobster's claw makes a frontal attack suicide. You must hit it from behind or simply ignore it. Slow down fast because there are two pistons coming up. They go up and down and crush you. The best way to go past them is to rev up a spin dash and spin dash by when they are down. To the right hit the button and go down. Do this two more times but be careful of the four stars in the vicinity. Now you can grab a shield to the right by spin dashing under the spikes. Now drop between the platforms and go up the ramp and right. Jump over the gap, if you fall spin dash back up. Go right, and use the button to open the gap and drop down. Slow down fast to avoid another two pistons. After the pistons hit the red spring by spin dashing up to it and shooting through the bowl in the floor and up. You'll go up a shaft via yellow bumpers. From the top of the shaft go right, and through a grid tube. Spin dash up the curved wall and use the yellow bumpers to go up a shaft. Now go left to a nut on a screw. You have a new skill to learn here. Jump on the nut and run right. You'll stay in place but the nut moves up the screw. Beware. If you don't slow down at the top the nut could crush you against the ceiling, as if the pistons weren't bad enough. You must ride up on two nuts. Then go right and hit the button to make a platform cover the gap. Jump up via the platform and bounce on the spring. Jump on the gray button to make a platform appear. Then hit another button on the left and go right to a nut. If you fall, go back left and try again. Jump up to the nut and ride it up. Now go right to another nut. For this one run left to ride it down. At the bottom you'll find two arrow blocks. Arrows regularly shoot out of these blocks every two seconds. They move in a clockwise manner. Drop between them and go left, into the transport tube. On the other side of the tube go left to a platform which sinks when you touch it. Grab the super ring first, then ride the platform down. Drop between the arrow blocks and at the bottom of this shaft, go right to a nut which you can ride up or down. Ride it up (if you fall, you're on your own) and go right. Drop through the gap and you hit a starpost. Slow down quickly to avoid falling down the shaft to the left and spin dash back up the gap. Go right and into an infinite shaft. If you're lucky you'll be able to reach one of the platforms and can go right to the exit. If you're unlucky you'll get stuck on the bumpers and have to wait there until the time expires. This is incredibly frustrating. Good luck. Act 2 Start off by going right to the lava pit. Press the button to make a platform appear. Run out on the platform and jump to the conveyor belt. You must cross the pit via platforms that sink when you touch them and on conveyor belts. On the right is a lobster and a transport tube. At the end of the tube you'll bounce up a shaft. With any luck you won't bounce into a praying mantis, which ambushes you by throwing its teeth at you. These guys are tough nuts to crack. Now you can go right or left. Go right to a giant gear. Don't worry, it can't crush you. Go down by the gear to another gear partly in a wall. Below it is a shield which you can grab with a spin dash. Now go right to a lava pit which you must jump across via two arrow blocks. Be careful of the arrows and go right again. Make a big leap up to the ledge. If you fall, you'll have to do part of the level over again. >From this ledge go right and ride the nut up. See those rings in the wall? Ignore them and go up on the nut. At the top go right to some steam springs. Bounce up to the platform and then jump onto the conveyor belt. Ride it up and ignore the passage to the left. Jump to another conveyor belt and grab the invincibility on the tiny ledge. Jump back onto the conveyor and ride it up. At the top go right to another conveyor belt. Ride it down to a lava pit. Jump to another conveyor belt to the right and then go right on the ledge. Bounce up on a steam spring and go left to a lobster in a small corridor. It's almost impossible to avoid getting hit here, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what rings are for. After the lobster grab a super ring and bounce up on a steam spring. Now go right, being careful of a lobster, to a really tough part. You must cross the lava via gears, platforms and arrow blocks. It takes some skill to get through this tough part of the game, so be prepared to die a few times. At the far right jump on the gear and quickly jump to the shaft above before the teeth push you into the lava. At the top of this shaft is a starpost. Hit the gray button and a platform covers the gap. Run left and into a grid tube. On the other side spin dash up the curved wall to get up to the platform above. On this platform run right to a nut. Ride the nut up to a praying mantis. Chances are you'll get hit. If you fall, leave the screen and come back and the nut reappears. Now ride another nut and beat another praying mantis, this one accompanied by an exploding star. Run right, tangle with another praying mantis, and you find a conveyor belt. Below is a lava pit. Drop down holding left and you land on a much-needed 1-Up. Bounce back up and ride the conveyor belt. Now go left via arrow blocks. Jump in the transport tube and then go right. This is tricky but not dangerous. Spin dash up the wall, revving up several times and landing on the platform. If you miss just try again. Now jump left and hit the button, being careful of the exploding star. Now go right, jump on the platform and head right on the ledge. Bounce up two shafts but be careful of stars! Midway up is a shield. At the top go right, beat a praying mantis, and go up on a conveyor belt. Ride two conveyor belts and go left, through a grid tube, and you'll have to spin dash up the hill and land on the platform again. Go right on the ledge and bounce on the spring to go up the shaft. Now go right to the exit. Why no boss? Well, one of the reasons Metropolis zone is extra tough that there are three acts. Act 3 Go right and you'll meet a praying mantis. Scrap him and go onto the two platforms. They move erratically, so jump right to the bar spinning between the two gears. If you fall, bounce back up on the steam springs. Now go right on this rod, and drop off the right side. You'll land on another rod. Go right on this rod, and jump to the transport tube. Go through it and then run left as fast as you can to escape the stars. Ride the platform down and go right to two rods that go up and down and crush you. Run under them when they are up. Now there's a mantis on the ceiling who shouldn't bother you. Drop down by a gear and ride a platform down. Go right to a super ring and bounce up the shaft. A platform appears under you. Now jump up to the rod above and then to the platform above it. Hit the red spring to the right of this platform for a short ride. You'll stop by a starpost. Hit the spring and bounce up to the ledge. Go through the grid tube and at the end you'll drop down and ride a platform down. Go right and don't jump or the stars will explode. Run up the nut and jump into the left wall for a shield. Ignore the passage to the right and ride the nut up. Then jump to another nut and run up it. This is tricky - at the ledge jump onto it but stay at the edge because arrows shoot up through the floor. Once they shoot up run by the arrow zone. Jump to the rod above. WARNING: THIS ROD CAN CRUSH YOU AGAINST THE SPIKES. Quickly jump to the ledge at the right and run right. Watch out for the praying mantis and bag the super ring. Bounce up the shaft. There's a praying mantis above and you might hit him a few times before you get past him. Ignore the shield to the left and drop down, and spin dash up the ramp. Run right and watch out for mantises and stars. Ride the nut down and run left, going quickly to escape the stars. Hit the button and drop down to a platform that moves right. Don't jump or you will activate the stars above. Jump right and jump in between the gears' teeth and cross to the next ledge. If you fall bounce back up on the spring. At the ledge drop down to a starpost and a super ring. Go back left and cross the gears again. Now bust the lobster and run into the transport tube. At the end go right but watch out for mantises. Ride the nut up a long way. Eventually jump to another nut, watching out for stars. At the top of this nut go left to a transport tube. Go in and at the top go right, hit the starpost, and onto the moving platform. Be careful; if you fall you die. At the end go right to the boss. Robotnik is tough. He comes down and then moves back and forth across the bottom of the screen. You cannot hit him, as he is surrounded by white orbs. Jump over him twice and he moves to the center of the screen. Run to one side of the screen to avoid the orbs as they fan out from him. Now, hit him from below and one of the orbs turns into a mini-Robotnik. Jump and smash it. You must repeat this for all eight orbs. If you don't have much time left you may run out, as this boss takes a while. After all the orbs are destroyed he moves to one side of the screen and shoots lasers across the screen. Hit him from below to beat him and bash the final prison egg! Good luck. SKY CHASE ZONE Remember how in Hill Top zone I said there would be more action above the clouds? Well, here we are. This zone is incredibly easy. You'll be walking on the wings of a red biplane, with Tails the fox as your pilot. You can't fall off because the plane moves under you (unless you are super sonic). The screen scrolls right in this zone, and you must grab the rings and avoid the badniks above the clouds. About 3/4 of the way through you'll fly by a giant battleship. It won't hurt you. The badniks here are turtles that spit balls at you, balls that drop balls on you, and birds that fly at you from the right. For the turtles just knock out the badnik on top of them and you can stand on them. For balls just bounce on them. For birds just jump and hit them. At the far right the zone ends. You'll get no time or ring bonus. WING FORTRESS ZONE This zone has only one act, but it's very long so beat with me. Lasers will fire at you. When one hits you the plane goes down. Jump right onto a platform on that battleship you saw in Sky Chase zone and let Tails go. He'll be okay. Now run right, and jump over the metal slider which limits the rings you get. At the far right drop down and then go left and drop down again. Run right until you find your first badnik. He's the only badnik here, and he pops out of a bump in the floor and shoots balls at you. Hit him on the head and jump on the bump he was on. Now jump up to the platform up/right of it. It may take several tries to reach this shortcut. On this platform go right to a shield. Jump up from the shield and the fans catch you and thrust you up to a higher platform. Isn't that neat? You just skipped that nasty part with hanging from bars and jumping across platforms. Go left and there are several sticks that flip from vertical to horizontal. You must jump on them when they're horizontal to reach the platform above. Don't touch the propellers or you'll be hit. On this platform go left to a power sneaker. Don't grab it yet; jump to the platforms going on a vertical conveyor belt and ride them up. Jump to the stick when it's horizontal, and hit the 1-Up from below and it falls all the way down. Grab it and hit the power sneaker. Race right through a starpost. Continue running right and kill the badnik. Race right, and grab two super rings and an invincibility while watching out for the cannons above. Run left and jump on the conveyor belt to ride it up. At the top jump off and run right, beating two badniks and hit the metal slider. You'll fly off the platform into the air. When you come back down, press down to spin. You'll shoot into the air and find three super rings in the sky. Bounce on them one after another and fall back down. Make your way down/right but watch out for badniks. There's a shield in this area. At the bottom go left and through the wall. When you come out you'll be being blown left by an air current. When Sonic grabs the boxes with the letter X on them press the jump button to let go. Do this three times to end this ride. Now go down via three conveyor belts. On the bottom one jump right to a platform which recedes in and out of the wall. Hurry across these platforms to avoid falling. If you fall you die. This is very tough. On the last platform jump to a stable platform with a starpost. Hit the slider to jet across the gap. Quickly jump to avoid another slider that sends you back. Run up the conveyor platform and you find four platforms moving in a circle. Use them to reach the platform above with the help of a hook that pulls you up. Go left to another hook. On the next platform run left two find a super ring behind the wall. Get it and jump to the slider which shoots you through a wall. When you land go left to another slider that shoots you through another wall. Go back left and climb up the platforms. Go right to a starpost. Hit the gray bump on the floor to open a hole in the floor. Drop down and go right to the boss. The boss is another tough one. Robotnik himself is behind a laser and he's operating the laser. A hole opens in the ceiling and three platforms come out. These platforms move around the room and they are tiny with spikes on the bottom. Then a laser appears. After a few seconds it opens. Now jump up onto a platform being careful of the spikes and hit the laser before it fires. When it fires move away from the beam. This is pretty hard. After eight hits it is destroyed. The laser beam protecting Robotnik breaks. Before you drop down the hole jump to the right to a small compartment over there. There's a 1-Up in there. Then drop down the hole and Robotnik's starts flying away in an escape ship. Tails appears with a repaired plane and Sonic jumps on. He then grabs onto the ship as it flies away. Eventually it docks at the Death Egg and you'll be ready for your final battle. DEATH EGG ZONE Just run right to the first boss: Robosonic. He will lower on the left side of the screen and stay there for a few seconds. WARNING: YOU ALWAYS HAVE ZERO RINGS HERE, SO YOU DIE IF YOU GET HIT. Jump and hit his forehead twice but be careful of the spikes on the back of his head. Then we turns into a spiked ball and dashes at you. Jump over him and hit him again. This time, he'll jet across the screen twice without turning into a spiked ball. You should try to take him out quickly, as eventually he starts jumping and even shooting his spikes at you. After eight hits he's headed for the scrap heap. Now run right and chase Robotnik. He'll jump into a bump in the floor. This little bump rises up to a giant robot four times as tall as Sonic. The main danger are those spiked fists at the bottom of the head. The robot is basically a giant ball on two legs. Jump and hit him above the fists. You must hit him at the peak of your jump or you'll hit the fists and die. He then advances toward you very slowly. Don't hit him now. He'll stop and take one ste back. Jump and hit him again before he launches. Now you'll see cross hairs on Sonic that follow him. Run to the far left corner and wait for the cross hairs to lock on. This is shown by a smaller circle appearing inside the bigger one. Now run right to avoid Robotnik because he's about to smash down, hopefully not on you. Now run to the right corner because he's going to shoot those arms at you. They'll miss if you're in the corner. He launches again and you have to do the cross hairs again. When he comes down hit him once, and hit him again before he launches. That's the safe and time consuming way to beat him. If you want to hurry it up you can try hitting him as we walks toward you, but this is more dangerous then hitting him while he's still. After twelve hits the giant robot is destroyed. Run right through a tunnel that's been opened. Hurry because the death egg ship is exploding behind you. At the end of the tunnel jump out of the ship which presumably gets blown to smithereens. Now you'll get to see a few screen shots of Sonic and Tails, and then you see Sonic on his plane with the animals he's rescued behind him, followed by the credits. Great job - you've foiled Robotnik and beaten Sonic 2! CHEATS There's only one cheat I know of, the level select. Go to the options screen by pressing up at the title screen. Go to sound test and press A to advance ten sounds. Go to sound 19 and play it by pressing C. Then go to sound 65 (tiny sound) and play it. Then go to sound 09 (Casino Night music) and play it. Finally go to sound 17 (invincibility music) and play it. You'll hear the sound of a ring being collected. Hold down A and press start to go back to the Sega logo. Hold down A and start until you reach the title screen. Then press start while holding down A to go to the level select screen. Choose where you want to go and press start to go there. Have fun! Well, time for me to go now, but if you enjoyed Sonic 2 you should get other Sonic titles, including Sonic 1, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. Also try ordering Ristar and Aero the Acrobat. These games have Sonic-style action. Good luck!