***====SONIC & KNUCKLES====*** FAQ VERSION 2 This guide was written by Cyber Predator, who resides at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/1301 and can be e-mailed at Cyber_Predator@hotmail.com This document is copyrighted by Cyber Predator, as of its original release date (detailed in the Version Information). Any entities used in this document that are copyrighted by anyone else remains the property of the original owner; Cyber Predator is simply giving information about these copyrighted entities that the copyright owners aren't making very public. 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GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) always shows the most up-to-date copy of this document. Authorised copies are ONLY posted at Video Game Strategies at About.com (http://vgstrategies.about.com), Game Winners (http://www.gamewinners.com), GamersXchange (http://www.gamersxchange.net), Sonic's Site (http://www.angelfire.com/az2/SonicAdv) You'll note that as playing Knuckles, the name next to his lives reads as KTE; literally, Knuckles the Echidna. That's the same abbreviation I'll be using during this FAQ. ====CONTENTS==== INTRODUCTION Version Information Author's Note The Super Sonic Story So Far.... THE MOVES Sonic Spin Attack Super Spin Attack Spin Dash Shields Flash Flame Electric Water Knuckles Spin Attack Super Spin Attack Spin Dash Gliding Wall Climb Shields THE ZONES Mushroom Hill Flying Battery Sandopolis Lava Reef Hidden Palace Sonic's Game KTE's Game Sky Sanctuary Sonic's Game KTE's Game Death Egg Doomsday Special Stages Items Bonus Rounds Cheats LOCK-ON TECHNOLOGY Why the cartridge looks funny KTE in Sonic 2 Sonic 3 & Knuckles Cheats Who (and WHAT) is Knuckles? ====INTRODUCTION==== ***VERSION INFORMATION*** VERSION 1 - 0207 GMT, 17-Oct-1999 Contains the customary Author's Note and Credits, along with the usual taglines and the game's story. Includes a list of moves for both characters and the effects of the different shields is also included, the hidden things in the zones and guides to the bosses, with different guides written where major differences in the levels exist, and a list of cheats. An explination of the effects of the Lock-On technology is also included, along with a guide to Knuckles's game in Sonic 3. Cheats for the revamped Sonic games are also included. VERSION 2 - 2154 GMT, 29-Feb-2000 Made the copyright info more in-depth. ***AUTHOR'S NOTE*** The Sonic Series may well be a simple platformer where you run around and jump, but if there's one thing that can't be denies is that they're a beauty to play. But there is no guide for this game posted to GameFAQs, and there's plenty of requests for a FAQ on the game coming through. Well, after consultation to my aging games magazines, here's your FAQ, world! ***THE SUPER SONIC STORY SO FAR....*** When Ivo Robotnik first tried to take over South Island and transform its inhabitants into robot slaves, Sonic the Hedgehog covered half his homeland in order to find and defeat him. Robotnik himself escaped, and soon returned with a plan to build and use the orbiting Death Egg to take over the entire planet Mobius. Sonic and his two-tailed foxy friend Miles 'Tails' Prower persued Robotnik to the ends of the planet and even into orbit in an effort to defeat him. As the Death Egg crashed onto the planet Sonic and Tails found themselves on a long-lost Floating Island, but Robotnik managed to repair his Death Egg and it became active again. Now he is begining to enslave the animals of the Floating Island as well, and through deception has gained the allegience of Knuckles the Echidna, the only living decendant of a lost civilisation which existed to protect the omnipotent Master Emerald. In a race against time, Sonic and Tails must convince Knuckles of the truth and stop Robotnik from gaining the Master Emerald and infinite Death Egg fuel. ====THE MOVES==== ***SONIC*** Sonic is the main part of the game, and can travel a lot faster than Knuckles. He can also take full advantage of the shields' powers and fights through more levels of the game. SPIN ATTACK While moving, press Down to curl Sonic into a ball. He can now damage enemies at any angle. SUPER SPIN ATTACK Press any of the fire buttons to jump while performing the Spin Attack. You can damage enemies from all sides. SPIN DASH Hold Down and tap any of the fire buttons to rev into a Spin Dash; while revving, enemies that touch you will be damaged. Release Down to fire into a fast Spin Attack. SHIELDS There are three powered-up shields in the game. If Sonic wears one, projectile attacks thrown by enemies will reflect away and he will gain limited invincibility. Powered-up shields also prevent Sonic from losing Rings if he gets hit, but only protect against a single attack. FLASH SHIELD: If Sonic isn't wearing a powered-up shield, press one of the fire buttons while jumping for a split-second of invincibility. FIRE SHIELD: The Fire Shield makes Sonic immune to all fire and lava danger. Press a fire button while jumping and Sonic will be propelled foward in a Fireball Spin Dash. Don't jump into the water or the flames will be doused. ELECTRIC SHIELD: Sonic is immune to all electrical attacks and nearby Rings will be pulled towards him. Press a fire button in mid-air for a second jump, and to unleash four electrical sparks which are deadly to nearby foes. If you go into water, this shield will be lost. WATER SHIELD: Allows Sonic to survive for endless periods underwater. If you press a fire button in mid-air, Sonic will slam into the ground and bounce up. You can repeat this attack as many times as you like. The Water Shield is the only shield which can be sustained underwater. ***KNUCKLES*** Knuckles goes through fewer levels than Sonic, and some of them are easier than in Sonic's game. If Knuckles comes to some rocks which can be destroyed, he will destroy them simply by walking up to them thanks to the sharp claws protruding from his knuckles. SPIN ATTACK Knuckles's ground assault is the same as Sonic's. SUPER SPIN ATTACK Basically the same as Sonic's, only Knuckles doesn't jump as high. This is a way of preventing him from reaching areas where a Sonic-exclusive cinematic sequence occurs. SPIN DASH Exactly the same move as Sonic's, with the same controller commands. GLIDING Press a fire button while jumping and Knuckles will start to glide. This allows him to cover long distances, but he cannot travel up and he will slowly sink to the ground. Knuckles can turn left and right while he glides, and can take out enemies directly in front of him. Press a fire button again to drop from the sky. If you Glide into a wall, Knuckles will perform the wall climb. If you fly into an enemy you will take it out without dropping, but if you fly into a stronger enemy such as a Boss you will cause the Boss damage but will drop to the ground. WALL CLIMB Glide into a wall, or jump and press a fire button again when next to a wall. Knuckles's claws will dig into the wall and you can press Up or Down to climb. Press the fire button again to jump off the wall; you can Glide or Climb during this jump. SHIELDS If Knuckles has a shield on, it will prevent him from losing Rings or a life when he's next hit by an attack. All shields will cause smaller projectile weapons from robots to reflect away, and Knuckles retains his Glide and Wall Climb moves while wearing one. However, Knuckles cannot use the attacks Sonic can use with a shield on. FLAME SHIELD: Provides immunity to fire attacks and lava, but will be lost when going into water. ELECTRIC SHIELD: Enables invincibility to electrical attacks and allows distant rings to be drawn towards Knuckles. It's useless underwater. WATER SHIELD: The only shield which can be maintained in water and allows Knuckles to have an endless supply of oxygen. ====THE ZONES==== ***MUSHROOM HILL*** Overall it's best to be wearing a Flame Shield in this Zone, in preparation for the end-level baddies. If you get caught in a vine use a Spin Dash to get enough momentum to break the hold. Attack dragonfly-like robots in the head otherwise you'll take damage. Use mushrooms as springs. ACT 1 At the begining you'll come to a falling orange mushroom platform. Climb up and you'll come to a Super Ring and Invincibility monitor. At about the middle of the level you'll come to an orange mushroom you grab and use to float down a shaft. Use it as a hand hold to reach the far wall, where a hidden passage contains a 1-Up. Halfway through the Act is a double loop-the-loop. Use it to gain momentum for the trapese at the bottom to hoist yourself to a high ledge with a hidden Giant Ring. One point in the level has a boxed-in dead end with a lever-operated elevator and a yellow horizontal spring. Use the elevator to reach the top area of the wall, which is actually a hidden passage leading to a Giant Ring. To defeat the tree-chopping robot, jump and hit him in between each log chop. If you have a Fire Shield, simply attack him from below and his attacks won't even come close. ACT 2 At the lowest part of the level, after spinning down two bars, you'll come to a wall on the left with a horizontal yellow sping. Jump above the spring for a Giant Ring. There's one lever-operated elevator with a chook-like robot on the right; below is a horizontal yellow spring rocketing you up to the chook's platform. Behind the chook is a Giant Ring. When you reach the satellite transmitter, use a Spin Attack or Spin Dash to reveal Robotnik. You must now attack him on the run while avoiding the spiked barriers. If you have the Flame Shield you can blindly attack whenever he's in range, but if not you'll have to be wary of the flame jets. ***FLYING BATTERY*** The Fire Shield is the best one to use here. When you come to flame-throwing pillars, stand on them and wait to spring into the air. You'll find many Prison Eggs in this zone, like the ones you get after defeating Robotnik at the end of each zone. Most contain Rings or captive animals, but others contain enemies. When you reach the exterior of the ship, go to the far right where the para- bombs are. Wait on the absolute far right for the bombs to blow a hole in the ship. Eventually you'll come to the point where you grab the propellers. Climb up and to the right for a Super Ring and a 1-Up. To escape this area, jump down and to the right and you'll come to a small object which launches you foward if you step on it with a seemingly solid wall on the left. Head left through the wall....not so solid, is it? The Act 1 boss is a robot disguised as a Prison Egg. Stand on the release button on his head until his eyes flash, at which point you should get off him. He'll bring his spiked ball down on himself, which is the only way to damage him. Once it's safe, get back on his head and repeat the tactic. When you first encounter Robotnik at the end of Act 2, just keep avoiding the laser beam until its control computer overheats. Now persue Robotnik along the moving platforms until you're outside the flying fortress. Now all you have to for part two of Robotnik's attack is to peg him when he rises above the ground. If you have the Flame Shield, bounce off the very top of his head rather than the side for multiple hits. ***SANDOPOLIS*** ACT 1 This act opens by falling into the sand from the collapsing Winged Fortress jump up to escape and continue foward. Now keep climbing up and to the right and through the metal dors for a 1-Up. You can climb certain sand waterfalls by jumping rapidly. It leads to easier routes and hidden power-ups. The scorpion-like robots are tricky; when the tail wavers, jump up and onto him. By the time you get there, the dangerous sting will be far away. Observe the background carefully; if you're high in the level and you come to a large area of quicksand, sink into it and you'll come to hidden power-ups. When you reach the large empty space at the end of the act, a step-pyramid will slowly rise from the ground. The entrance to this pyramid opens to reveal a large creature of stone; lure him to the far left of the battle area and to the quicksand. Sucker him to the edge, then use a Super Spin Attack to knock him in and clear the level. ACT 2 This act takes place inside the pyramid, where four ghosts follow you around if it's completely dark. Use a Super Spin Attack to make a ghost vanish for a time, but they will reappear. Grab the hand-holds that seemingly lead nowhere to turn on the lights and make the (dangerous) ghosts vanish, but as they lights dim they will reappear and attack again once it's completely dark. The black metal objects you can push are actually switches. Push them to open necessary passages, but you must move fast before the switch slides back to its original position and closes the passage with it. Objects hanging from the roof are actually plugs which release sand. The sand will soon pile up allowing you to reach higher passages, but you must move fast before you get crushed in the moving sands. Robotnik attacks using a large statue. When the arm extends foward, jump onto it to reach the head. Robotnik will appear for a few seconds, at which point you need to hit him as many times as you can. Repeat the process from the top to defeat him, but beware of beam attacks. ***LAVA REEF*** Use the Flame Shield throughout this zone so you can walk on the lava, and prevent most attacks from harming you. If you get caught in the gas some robots release, Spin Dash to remove the cloud before it drains all your Rings. ACT 1 As Knuckles, from the begining proceed to the second falling spike platform. Use the Wall Climb and Glide to reach a 1-Up. There's a hidden springboard to the right of a large lava area; use it to go up and to the left for a 1-Up. Only Sonic can reach it, though. After Sonic successfully out-runs the the spiked ball that breaks free, go left for a 1-Up. The attack pattern of the Boss sees two round balls on the end of tentacles release energy beams. Next a hand comes up and tries to crush you. Attack the balls to stop their attack and concentrate on the hand. When you see the hand lock on target, get out of the way and attack it when it comes down. ACT 2 There are spinning horizontal pillars with spikes a horizontal bars during this Act. Grab the bars (actually ladders) to move up and continue during the act. After you pass the second set of spinning spillars, jump onto one of the platforms. Now, while holding left, jump up and away to a hidden room with plenty of power-ups. From the same location, jump to the far right for a Giant Ring. As Knuckles, when you reach the moving spikes platforms that look like buckets, go to the left for a Giant Ring. Knuckles soon comes to moving spiked platforms with two Robotnik monitors, but he can't reach the platforms to proceed. Instead, burst through the wall to the right of the Robotnik monitors, just under the set of spikes. Knuckles doesn't fight Robotnik at the end of Act 2, but Sonic does. When you see the Death Egg above, jump from collapsing platform to collapsing platforms while avoiding the missiles. You can see the heads-up display where the missiles lock on, and it's a good idea to have the Fire Shield to avoid taking damage to the lava. Note that as you proceed, if you fall off the screen it's instant death. When you finally meet Robotnik at the lava lake, he'll be in a secure capsule you can't damage. Jump from platform to platform as Robotnik launches mines; the mines will hit Robotnik and eventually knock him out. Remember that the platforms will suffer the same fate unless you jump to the next one as it appears. Periodically, Robotnik will change sides of the screen. ***HIDDEN PALACE*** SONIC'S GAME Basically, let the springs propel you through the level while you grab Rings. When you reach Knuckles, simply attack his head whenever he's not performing an attack. If you attack him from below when Knuckles Glides, Knuckles will repeat the attack and become easy pickings. You'll now come to the Emerald Shrine as Robotnik steals the Master Emerald; you can do nothing save attack Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic (which is invincible) and watch the cinema. KNUCKLES'S GAME Knuckles only needs to jump onto the teleporter platform to reach the Sky Sanctuary. ***SKY SANCTUARY*** SONIC'S GAME Knuckles will accompany you during the start of the act, but will be too exhausted from his injuries to continue. All you need to do is race accross the collapsing gantries and get your jumps right during your climb up. The only robots here are easy pickings....until you reach Mecha Sonic in Robotnik's Egg- O-Matic. Mecha Sonic uses the same stunts as Robotnik used in previous Sonic games; first he uses Robotnik's attack from the Green Hill Zone in Sonic 1, then the Metropolis Zone attack from Sonic 2. If you don't know these tactics, here's a recap. When Mecha Sonic uses the pendulum, jump over it and onto one of the two platforms to reach the Egg-O-Matic. From here, keep attacking him until the pendulum swings back, at which point you scramble to the opposite platform and repeat the attack. When Mecha Sonic makes his second appearence, avoid the Egg-O-Matic as its satellites will cause you damage. Mecha Sonic will herd you into one corner of the screen, so jump over him and he'll herd you again. Jump over him again and retreat to the corner of the screen as the satellites are unleashed; follow the satellites back in attack attack the Egg-O-Matic from below. One of the satellites will be released and will form a decoy Mecha Sonic; touch the decoy to make it vanish and Mecha Sonic will repeat the attack from the top. Repeat this until all the satellites are gone, as there are less you can just attack the Egg-O-Matic without waiting until the satellites expand. When all the satellites are gone, Mecha Sonic will go to the far side of the screen and use a laser beam; just attack him from below and he wont' even come close. When you face off Mecha Sonic without the Egg-O-Matic, only attack his face or stomach as his spines will cause you damage. When Mecha Sonic curls into a ball, jump over him or duck and wait for him to reach the other side. If Mecha Sonic has his back turned when he comes out of a ball, it means he'll dash at you with his back facing you. Jump over him and you can hit him while he attacks. KNUCKLES'S GAME This is the final level you can play as Knuckles. A very funny piece of cinema leads Knuckles into the final round of Mecha Sonic. Following this battle, Mecha Sonic recovers and must defeat him as Golden Mecha Sonic. Defeating GMS involves hanging around the Master Emerald until GMS's power falters; it'll either be a temporary falter where GMS dips, or permanent in which case he'll fall to the ground and dash to the Master Emerald. Keep attacking GMS until he starts absorbing the Master Emerald's power, when you'll sustain damage if you touch him. Repeat the attack from the top. ***DEATH EGG*** Only Sonic can access the Death Egg Zone. Use the Electric Shield here for immunity to most attacks, and especially the electric floors in Act 2. ACT 1 There's a hidden room with an Electric Shield that's pretty easy to find here. After getting the shield you can drop into a hidden room for plenty of Rings. You'll come to a point in the Act where a group of six Rings aren't far from a right wall. Walk through the wall for your choice of Shields. To escape the zero-gravity chambers, hit the centre device until all the yellow lights turn red. I like to consider the boss of this zone the Death Egg's power core. Beware the surrounding orbs as you hit the eyeball; one of the orbs will detonate and shower spikes. When all the orbs are gone, jump onto one of the platforms orbiting the eyeball and at your convenience hit the eyeball. Now wait on the platform and you won't be harmed as the eyeball goes into a drunken rage. Repeat the attack until the power core is destroyed. ACT 2 You go through most of this Act upside-down, and it can be difficult getting used to fighting from the roof. Make sure you have the Electric Shield as often as possible to avoid taking damage on the electric floors. When you reach Robotnik at the end, you won't be able to to attack his ship directly. Wait until it releases the little robots, then enter the upside-down chamber. If your timing is right, the smaller robots will hit the floating ship. Repeat the process until the machine goes down. You must now battle Robotnik inside his Mecha Robotnik suit. Lure the fingers close together and when they rise, get between them. Charge up a Spin Dash and when the fingers come down you'll be rebounding off them and causing untold damage. Repeat the tactic until the fingers are gone and the Death Egg begins to collapse. Now Robotnik persues you from behind. When he fires the flame, jump over it and attack the machine's nose. The Master Emerald will now be revealed, so run in and hit it repeatedly. Listen for the whining sound, though, to know when the laser is about to fire. Just jump over the blast and repeat the attack from the top. Finally, Robotnik escapes his suit and escapes with the Master Emerald aboard the Egg-O-Matic. While avoiding the debris, run after him and keep attacking him to get back the Master Emerald. ***DOOMSDAY*** This is a hidden Zone that only Sonic plays through, and only with all of the Emeralds; Sonic will automatically morph into his Super version and fly after Robotnik. You must keep grabbing Rings to stay alive, as if your Ring count runs out the morph will end and you'll fall to certain doom. Avoid the asteroids and missiles so you don't slow down. Keep hitting Robotnik's head to destroy him; you must first destroy the booster rockets, then the Mecha-Robotnik to recover the Master Emerald. ***SPECIAL STAGES*** In order to recover the Chaos Emeralds, you must look for Giant Rings that transport you to Special Stages. When you grab all of the Blue Spheres, you'll earn a Chaos Emerald. If you touch a Red Sphere, you'll be transported back to the main game with nothing. As you collect Blue Spheres, they become Red ones. If you come to a block of Blue Spheres, encircle them with Red Spheres to convert both Red and Blue Spheres into Rings. Collect 50 Rings to earn a continue, collect all the Rings in a stage for a massive bonus. Yellow Spheres are springs which bounce you accross for a distance equal to five spheres. White spheres with red stars are Bumpers; hit them and you'll walk backwards, but press Up on the Control Pad to move in the right direction again. Once you have all of the Chaos Emeralds, your character can become a Super version of themselves; collect 50 rings or more, then press a fire button while jumping. Sonic turns gold while Knuckles flashes white, the two gaining a permanent speed-up and invincibility, and in Sonic's case greater jumping ability. As Super Sonic/KTE, your Ring counter becomes a timer; grab rings to keep the timer going because once it goes, so does your character's increased abilities. COOL TIP: with all Chaos Emeralds, all Giant Rings are now worth 50 rings. ***ITEMS*** Power-ups for this game are enclosed within monitors looking suspicously like the Apple Classic. The picture on the monitor determines what it yields: RED SHOE: Move at double your usual speed for a limited amount of time. BLACK WITH STARS: Cannot be harmed by attack for a limited amount of time, but don't stay underwater for too long, fall too far or get crushed. If you touch an enemy, it'll sustain damage. RING: Gain ten rings immediately. SONIC/KNUCKLES: Extra life. FIRE: Flame Shield. LIGHTNING: Electric Shield. WATER DROPLET: Water Shield. ROBOTNIK: It's not a power-up, it's more like a power-down. Has the same effect as touching an enemy; you'll lose either your shield, all your rings or a life. ***BONUS ROUNDS*** If you have 50 Rings when you touch a Starpost, a circle of stars will appear and you will enter a Bonus Round. Here you can gain all sorts of goodies, including Shields and continues. The Slot Machine bonus is a hybrid of the Special Stages in Sonic 1 and the Casino Night Zone in Sonic 2. Jump into the glass below the three panels and to spin the panels, and you'll get a number of Rings depending on your result. Only chance determines what you'll win, but here's how the winnings are determined: READING RINGS 1 Bar 2 2 Bars 4 3 Bars 8 3 Tails 20 3 Knuckles 25 3 Sonics 30 3 Jackpots 100 3 Robotniks -100 The second type of Bonus Round involves you grabbing energy spheres and using pinball flippers in an effort to climb up for more rings. If you reach the top you'll exit, but if you fall too low you'll get caught in an energy barrier and exit with nothing. Throughout this stage are many Rings but also various gumballs. Grab the gumballs for power-ups; here's a list of them all. PATTERN PRIZE 1-Up Extra life Black Bounce off these Blue B Water Shield Clear Nothing Red B Flame Shield Ring 10 Rings Yellow B Electric Shield ====CHEATS==== ***EXTRA GOODIES*** When the End-of-Act signpost falls down, keep jumping at it to stop it reaching the ground and earn 100 extra points. Since the timer is off, repeat this process for as long as your patience holds out to earn more points and thus lives and continues. ***LEVEL SELECT*** Play as Sonic and enter the Mushroom Hill Zone. Proceed to the first lever- operated elevator (where you hold Down to get leverage and release it to move up). Grab the elevator and press Left Left Left Right Right Right Up Up Up. A chime sounds if successful and you must pause and press A to reset. At the Title Screen, press A+Start for the Level Select menu. ====LOCK-ON TECHNOLOGY==== ***WHY THE CARTRIDGE LOOKS FUNNY*** OK, so you've just bought the latest in the Sonic series, and based on the reviews and screen-shots it looks pretty cool. Hang on....how come the box looks funny? Don't worry, there can't be anything that much wrong with....Hey, what's wrong with the cartridge?! It looks as though you could put another cartridge through the top! Sonic & Knuckles plays fine all on its lonesome, but if you plug a Sonic 2 or Sonic 3 cart into the top of the S&K cart you'll be able to put a brand new spin on either of these adventures. If you plug any other cart into S&K, you'll get the team screaming NO WAY! in your face, indicating the cart has been rejected. HINT: Plug an incompatible cart into S&K and press A+B+C; you'll warp to a brand new Special Stage! Not only does this give you a break from the rest of the game, you can also use it to practise maneuvering through the Special Stages to help win the Emeralds. ***KTE IN SONIC 2*** With the Sonic 2 cart plugged in, you'll play through Sonic 2's levels playing as Knuckles, able to use all of his moves to reach new hidden areas. The only other major difference in the game is that when you pass a Starpost your score, time AND number of rings is recorded, so when you die you don't restart unprotected! KTE IN SONIC 2 CHEATS LEVEL SELECT: At the Title Screen press Up Up Up Down Down Down Left Right Left Right, and chime indicating success. Until you next turn the machine off, you simply need to press A+Start at the Title Screen. IDENTITY SWAP: Enter the Level Select's sound test menu and play tracks 01, 09, 09, 04, 01, 00, 01, 08 (the date the game was made, 18-Oct-1994). Select any level and press A+Start. NIGHT-TIME MISSIONS: Enter the options menu and play the Level Select tunes as normal. Now press C+Start. ***SONIC 3 & KNUCKLES*** When you have Sonic 3 locked into Sonic & Knuckles, the two games are melded into one. When you first start the game you'll come to the Saved Games screen; all your Sonic 3 saved games will be carried through, you don't have to save your game if you like, and there are more save slots! Scroll to the far right and select Robotnik icon to delete any unwanted data. When you select your desired slot press Up and Down to choose between Sonic and Tails together, Sonic or Tails alone, or Knuckles alone. With your character/s selected press Start and you'll start the saga from the begining of Sonic 3. When you clear the Launch Base Zone, you'll get a new cinematic sequence leading into the S&K levels. The slots will save your score and number of lives and continues at each game. When you complete the game, select the saved file and press Up and Down for a Level Select. Sonic's game is standard, whether or not Tails accompanies him, only the S&K version of Knuckles's theme is played instead of the Sonic 3 version. If Tails goes alone he will go through Sonic's levels; he retains his flight and swimming abilities and if accompanying Sonic, the CPU's control of him will be overruled by using Controller 2. Tails can hoist Sonic as usual, and can damage enemies by flying up to them from below. Knuckles goes through altered versions of the Sonic 3 levels and cinematic sequences, but his version of S&K remains unchanged. Throughout the Sonic 3 levels, you can still enter the hidden Giant Rings to enter the Special Stages and recover the Chaos Emeralds, and once you have all of them Sonic or Knuckles can become their Super versions. Once you enter a Giant Ring on the S&K levels, however, you will warp to the Emerald Shrine at the Hidden Palace Zone. Here you will lose all of your Chaos Emeralds (and hence the ability to become Super Sonic/Knuckles) but for every Emerald you lose you can go through the S&K Special Zones to obtain the Super Emeralds. Once you have the Super Emeralds you can become Hyper Sonic/Knuckles or Super Tails. Hyper Sonic/Knuckles is basically the same as the Super version, only he can breathe underwater. Super Tails has the abilities of Hyper Sonic/Knuckles but also has a group of golden birds circling him, who seek out enemies and damage them from a distance. If you don't have all of the Chaos Emeralds when you warp to the Emerald Shrine, you will have to collect them all before you can play for the Super Emeralds. If you are warping to the Emerald Shrine or an S&K Special Zone, the Giant Rings will flash pretty colours. If you have 50 Rings when you pass a Starpost, a circle of stars leading to a bonus round appears. You will enter one of three Bonus Rounds; either an S&K Bonus Round or the Sonic 3 Bonus Round. In the Sonic 3 Bonus Round, bounce up to the crank on the gumball machine for a power-up gumball to appear. Use the yellow bumpers at the side of the shaft or the springboards at the bottom to reach it, but your stepping stone will vanish after you use it. Grab green REP gumballs to make the springboards reappear, and use the black bumper gumballs to reach the crank as well. As the yellow side bumpers vanish, the gumball machine will fall down the shaft gradually. KTE'S SONIC 3 LEVELS This is a full list of the alterations Knuckles faces during the Sonic 3 levels. ANGEL ISLAND: At the end of Act 1 Knuckles can't jump high enough to reach the Boss Arena. Go back down to the springboard used to fly up and burrow through the rocks on the right to reach a new Boss Arena but the same boss. Act 2 is completely different, but the end-level Boss hasn't changed. HYDROCITY: Essentially the same, but use Knuckles' Wall Climb to avoid the water. Towards the end of Act 2, Glide to avoid the spikes and catch plenty of Rings. To jump high enough to defeat Robotnik at the end of the Zone, use the water blasts from the bombs he drops to leap high in the air. MARBLE GARDEN: Use the arrowed signposts to reach alternative routes, reaching them using the Glide and Wall Climb. The Act 1 Boss is the same, but you need to use the spiked pillar to jump high enough to reach the robot. Act 2's earthquake sequence is more difficult than before; take advantage of a Speed Shoe to the left of the sequence's begining and try not to get cocky when you come to Spin Dash Switches or arrow-toting Eye Statues. Robotnik's final appearence here sees him unleashing two barbed chains before following along the second chain; attack him when he appears. CARNIVAL NIGHT: Knuckles faces an entirely different Act 1 of the Carnival Night Zone, though the boss hasn't changed. There is literally no boss during Act 2. ICE CAP: Burrow through ice blocks or use the Wall Climb to reach new areas. Later you'll come to an area filled with floating ice crystals; Glide to avoid them and grab the Rings. LAUNCH BASE: Use the Wall Climb to reach hidden areas and to find easier routes. At the end of Act 1 you must face two machines instead of one. Act 2 is very frustrating as you navigate a brand new (and seemingly impossible) underwater stretch. When you reach a point where you must jump into a swirling elevator, Knuckles can't jump high enough to reach; burrow through the right wall but your lungs may not hold out. Knuckles only battles the last two Bosses, not the one before you board Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic. SONIC 3 & KNUCKLES CHEATS All Sonic 3 codes are retained for Sonic 3 & Knuckles, but some new ones are thrown in as well. INSTANT HYPER SONIC/KNUCKLES AND SUPER TAILS: Enter the Level Select and Identity Swap cheats and become a Monitor with an 'S' on it. You'll immediately have 50 rings with which to summon the power of the Emeralds. NIGHT-TIME MISSIONS: Enter the Sonic 3 level select, highlight the desired level and select it with C+Start. WHO (AND WHAT) IS KNUCKLES? Though bright magenta in colour and with long hair, Knuckles is actually male (check the pronouns in the Sonic 3 manual, mate). His species are the echidnas (say Ee-kiD-Na), a group of spiny marsupials from Australia not dissimilar to an English hedgehog. He is the only living decendant of a lost civilisation which lived on the Floating Island and has so become Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles' game sees a robot in Robotnik's image in place of Robotnik himself, and ends with the final destruction of the Mecha Sonic, so is that reason enough to believe that Knuckles's adventure takes place after Sonic has left Floating Island? ====CREDITS AND TAGLINES==== SWATPro provided many of the listings of hidden items throughout the zones and GameSages provided the cheat codes for both the standard game and the locked-on versions of Sonic 2 and 3. KTE's Sonic 3 game was from experience, as were my reccomendations with the moves for each character and the listings of Bonus Rounds and Special Items. Also thanks to the readers of GameFAQs for pointing out this game needed some kind of guide. The existence of South Island is from Sonic 2 for the Master System. {signed} Cyber Predator 123-926 "Anyone who seeks fame need only become familiar with all that I have acheived." - Claudius Galen The Force will be with you, always