Guide And Walkthrough - Guide for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ [ SONIC 4: EPISODE II ] ------------------------ -------------------------------- [by Ice Queen Zero] -------------------------- ------------------------------- [ PC, PSN, XBLA, IP ] ------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This will be my last FAQ for a major/modern game before I give birth. I might be able to sneak in a couple retro games but this is it for me for recent games before motherhood hits. I'll probably have one of my sisters pinch hit for me in writing FAQs. More than likely it'll be Renea or 10-year old half-sister Erica since Chigura is expecting shortly herself. After all, I've collabed with my sisters on plenty of FAQs but mostly fighters and Erica's yet to get in on the action too. Should she choose to follow the footsteps of me, my mother, my grandmother and to an extent, my stepfather then the next generation FAQer will be among us but I won't force that upon her. o---------------------o INTRODUCTION o---------------------o The next episode of Sonic 4 is out now after being hinted at the very end of Episode 1. Sega currently has no plans on making an episode 3 but with enough good feedback they'll go ahead and make it. If you are a Sonic fan, go out there and buy the game. It's worth the $15. The only drawback is that it's not available for the Wiiware due to hardware constraints. I'm the one who FAQed Episode 1 so I felt it would only be right if I did episode 2 too. o---------------------o DISCLAIMER o---------------------o Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 and its characters are trademarks of Sega and all copyrights belong to them. This FAQ/Walkthrough is the sole copyright of Andrea "Azul Fria" Castillo aka Ice Queen Zero and cannot be put on other sites or posted without my given permission nor can it be reproduced w/o proper consent. o---------------------o STORY o---------------------o From the official site: The fierce battle from Episode I was only an overture... What was Dr. Eggman searching for in the Lost Labyrinth? What was Mad Gear built for? They were all a mere puzzle piece of a grandiose project schemed by Dr. Eggman. As Little Planet, where "Sonic CD" took place, approaches Sonic's world once again, Dr. Eggman's whole scheme will be revealed! o---------------------o MEET THE CAST o---------------------o From the official site: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG A few months have passed since the battle from Episode I. However Sonic's rest comes to an end as Little Planet re-approaches. Sonic finds out that Dr. Eggman is back in action on the neighboring continent. He sets off on Tornado to inves- tigate the continent with his sidekick, Tails... MILES "TAILS" PROWER Sonic's little brotherlike sidekick who made the rocket to head to E.G.G Station and was secretly supporting Sonic in Episode I. In Episode II he's back in cen- ter stage as an active sidekick who Sonic can rely on. He can fly by rotating his two tails and will assist Sonic with the Combos in Episode II. METAL SONIC A worthy opponent who was thought to be destroyed during the battle of Stardust Speedway in "Sonic CD". He was in fact severely damaged, and left alone on Lit- tle Planet. Now as the Little Planet re-approaches, and with the close support of Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic is resurrected and back in full force. DR. EGGMAN Dr. Eggman's E.G.G Station was destroyed in Episode I. However as Little Planet reapproaches, the grand project set up by Dr. Eggman has now come into its 2nd stage, under a veil of secrecy. o---------------------o CONTROLS o---------------------o Left/Right = Move left or right Up = Look Up Down = Look Down & Crouch ><|A button = Jump (press again to use Homing attack) Down + Jump = Spin Dash []|X button = Rolling Combo/Flight Combo in air/Submarine Combo in the Water /\|Y button = Super Sonic Transformation/next act o---------------------o ITEMS o---------------------o Ring - protects you from one hit but you will lose all of your collected rings and you will have to recollect as much as you can. Collect 100 of these for an extra life. Lampost - These are checkpoints for which you will start from when you lose a life. 10-ring box - Worth 10 rings. 1-up box - worth an extra life Sneakers box - Run faster. Invincibility box - can't be harmed for a limited amount of time Shield box - protects you from one hit Hands - pinball crash (press Jump repeatedly) o---------------------o ENEMIES o---------------------o From the official site: BALKIRY A battle plane type bird robot last seen in SKY CHASE ZONE from Sonic 2. A whole bunch of them can be shot out of Metal Sonic's weapon unit, Metal Carrier in Episode II. CHOP CHOP A Piranha inspired robot which was last seen in AQUATIC RUIN ZONE in Sonic 2. It lurks underwater hunting for its next victim. Once they spot Sonic his friends, nothing will stop their rapid approach and attempt to crush them with its powerful jaw. CLUCKER A Chicken type Badnik last seen defending WING FORTRESS ZONE in Sonic 2. They'll stand in Sonic and his friends' way, deployed everywhere within the incredibly enormous Sky Fortress as fixed batteries. SNOWY A newly developed Polar Bear type robot for cold regions. It's specialty is unleashing powerful attacks with its super heavy body. Its body is also tough, and this makes it a formidable enemy that will not be taken down with just a few attacks. TURTLOIDS A Turtle type Badnik last seen in SKY CHASE ZONE in Sonic 2. It serves as a guardian of Metal Sonic's weapon unit Metal Carrier. FLAMER A new series of Sea Urchin type robots which were developed based on the Orbi- nauts & "Spike Spinners" featured in Episode I. The blasting flames of the burners are certainly dangerous, but those fires will spread widely in oily places. Take extra care. MANTIS A Grasshopper type robot which was also featured in MARBLE GARDEN ZONE in Sonic 3. Since they can suddenly jump without notice, their moves are unpredictable. Be careful not to bump into them. SANDWORM A newly developed large Centipede type Badnik designed for use in desert areas. You never know when they will suddenly emerge from quicksand, and be mindful of its robust body that is resistant to attacks. SCARABESQUE A Dung Beetle type Badnik designed for use in desert areas. It can generate an infnite amount if large boulders that explode while rolling. A troublesome enemy that is always there in undesirable places. ZOOMER A newly developed Kingfisher inspired robot. It usually flies over the water surface, but as it finds Sonic and Tails underwater, it will dart down at them. STEELION A newly developed subaquatic Sealtype robot. Its breath can freeze the water around them in an instant, creating obstacles when Sonic needs to look for air bubbles. SPIKES A Hermit crab type robot which has been newly developed for cold regions. The spines on its hard shell will repel any attacks done by Sonic alone. There must be another way to defeat it... FULLBOAR A Boar type robot newly developed by Dr. Eggman based on his research results from Episode I. They have been created with rich color variation, but Sonic should be extra careful of the formidable red ones that come charging towards him. o---------------------o ZONES o---------------------o Much like Episode 1, each zone is a throwback of a previous Sonic game level. The bosses are not throwbacks this time though Sylvania Castle boss teases it. Sylvania Castle = Aquatic Ruin from Sonic 2 with a little bit of Marble Garden Zone from Sonic 3. White Park = Ice Cap with a little bit of Carnival Night both from Sonic 3. Oil Desert = Oil Ocean from Sonic 2 mixed with Sandopolis from Sonic & Knuckles. Sky Fortress = Sky Chase and Wing Fortress from Sonic 2 with a little bit of Flying Battery from Sonic & Knuckles. There is also one gimmick from the Death Egg Zone in sonic 2. Death Egg Mk. 2 = Death Egg Zone from Sonic & Knuckles with a little bit of Stardust Speedway from Sonic CD. o---------------------o BRIEFING o---------------------o -No matter how powerful you are, you will automatically die when smashed, time runs out, drown, or if you fall down a bottomless pit. You will also die if you lose the race with Metal Sonic -They've fixed Sonic's rolling physics after they got nerfed in Episode 1. Now you can easily roll up hills when in a rolling state. -Gather 50 rings and a giant ring appears at the end of the stage. Jump into it to go to the Special Stage. -Your tag team moves are usable after you've passed through certain parts of a certain stage. The Rolling Combo for example you don't learn till you play in Sylvania Castle Act 3. -Gather all 7 emeralds to see the true ending which doesn't show the Try Again screen. o---------------------o GAMEPLAY o---------------------o Since the levels have many different routes, I'm not going to be to thorough with the walkthrough unless I have to such as with the later levels. ~~Sylvania Castle Act 1: A New Frontier~~ There are several paths to take in this level but, I'm gonna give you a little strategy for the Proof of Speed accomplishment which you must complete this level below 1 minute's time. After the plane lands, run right and jump onto the high ledge and spring up to the upper right platform. Hop over the gap, and quickly rev up the wheel to make the path clear up by spin dashing next to it just like you did in Marble Garden Zone in Sonic 3 if you played it. Run to the right again and let the speed boost do all the work for you as you are automatically bounced along the path which includes running on the water surface. Ignore the Bubbles (I will capitalize the word Bubbles to indicate the enemy and not the bubbles you get for breathing underwater) and use a Flying Combo at the apex of the final launch at the end of the predestined path to get on top of the hill faster. Continue to the right again and be sure to jump before you hit the wall while running on the water to not only avoid going underwater but you will also get the Red Ring on the ledge. Get a boost and use the Bubbles for leverage and get another boost but jump off of the loop while midway to avoid the loop and you'll land on the ground below the loop. Go through several boosts and you'll land on crates that retract if you stay on them too long so jump off to the right quickly and get the sneakers and rev up the wheel to clear the wall. Now make a break for it to the right. The end of level goal is just ahead. Be careful as you might accidentally bump into the 1-up box and risk losing your Proof of Speed bid. ~~Sylvania Castle Act 2: Sunken Ruins~~ Run down the hill and break through the walls. When you get launched, use a Swim combo to swim to the wall and drop into the area on the very right where the wall is and drop down. Since this should be your first dip in the water if you followed instructions so far, be sure to grab bubbles for air or you will drown and lose a life. The usual countdown and the music occurs when this is about to happen. At the bottom you will see a 10-ring box. Head to the top ledge just to the right of it and use a Swim combo to go to the top and you should see a boost on the left. Now go right and the Red Ring should be in plain sight during your travels. Jump to the left to get it once you see it. Now go right and use the Bubbles and Fullboar for leverage. Watch out for the spears that the statues'll spit out and use a homing attack on the platforms to flip them over and spring off of them. The water will continually rise and fall but the main objective is to stay on the highest ground as possible till you reach the end of the level. ~~Sylvania Castle Act 3: Moonlit Realm~~ You are already underwater at the start of the level so get moving quickly to get to dry land. Work your way up and use a homing attack to knock over the column. Use the boost to launch yourself next to a wall. You'll use the Rolling Combo here for the first time. Stay in the ball to move through the level faster and have a little invincibility. The ball will take you over some platforms that tilt but won't drop you. Stay rolled up till you eventually land on a spring that will bounce you then disengage and use homing attack on the tilter platform to make it horizontal. Make your way up and to the right. There are some other platforms that shift when you use Homing attack on it. As you go up, just use the homing attack on the tilters to boost your way up to the top. When you come across a column which can be knocked over to get the coins below it, fly over it because there is a Red Ring on top of the loop past it. Now you can roll your way through most of the level until you reach a tilter platform that won't budge. Swim to the top and boost your way to the hard wall and roll through them. Now it's time to be careful because you can fall to your death. Use Tails to bail you out if possible and towards the end when you see a giant row of spinner platforms, it's safer to use a Rolling Combo to get across and end the level. ~~Sylvania Castle Boss: Dueling Eggman's New Creation~~ Run to the right and collect the rings. Dr. Eggman will appear and speed off but you won't fight him just yet. Get the rest of the rings and the first boss will have you thinking that you'll be fighting a remake of the Aquatic Ruin boss from Sonic 2 but two tentacles come out and knock them away. Robotnik is encased in a flower. The only way to hurt him is to hit him while the flower is bloomed. The first two hits are free but for the rest of the fight you can only get in a hit while using the Flight Combo. Hover over Eggman when the flower blooms and don't use a Homing Attack. Drop onto him instead to get a hit and then reactivate the Flight Combo and do it again. Two more tentacles sprout from the ground after the 4th hit. Whenever you see them rear back, that means they are going to slam the ground. Pay attention to the angle of which they rear back to avoid the slap. After the 7th hit, Eggman will get angry and have his tentacles sprout some spikes and stab the machine to feed him power. From there, Eggman will fire a laser beam that sweeps across all the surfaces of the screen. Hit him before he fires the laser to stop it. Repeat the process to end the fight. ~~White Park Act 1: Snow-Blind Wonderland~~ Everything is straightforward at the beginning. When you hit your first boost, a deadly avalance comes down that kills you if it catches you. Keep running down the slope till you are launched into the air to safety. Keep moving to the right and when you run up a slope and get some airtime (you'll see a Spikes below). I will captialize Spikes to indicate it's an enemy just like with Bubbles. Anyway, when you take to the sky, use a Flying combo at the apex of your launch and fly to the upper right ledge. This will lead to getting the Red Ring the easy way. Push the snowball onto the spikes to protect yourself from them then push the other snowball and watch out because this one doesn't cover all the spikes. Once out of the area, hop across the gap and continue forward and bounce off of the springs to go upwards. Run down the slope ahead of the avalanche until you are sprung forward. Some of the Bubbles will give you leverage. Take out the polar bear enemy called the Snowy. It takes three hits to defeat it. Watch out for its claw swipe. It is a devastating move. Fans of Sonic Colors will recognize this next part as Yellow Dig power only you will use the Rolling combo to burrow through the snow. You will die if caught in the cave in when the snow repairs itself from where you dug. After that sequence, continue right and this time you can snowboard on the avalanche without getting hurt. Stay on it till launched ahead. Try to stay on the high road but if you fall, you'll have to do a lot more burrowing. Ignore the Snowy on the left and go right to the dead end. Hop over the gaps and use the springs as soon as possible and it's best to hop a foot away from the wall to clear it better. Once out of the tunnel, keep rolling and uncurl when on the slope because you have to outrun an avalanche. You'll be sprung over the first gap then get ready to jump on the spring and be bounced to the high road which lets you ride on the avalanche and use the homing attack on the Bubbles to get to the ledge. After springing over the large pit. Exit stage right. ~~White Park Act 2: Sonic Coaster Rails~~ This level will occassionally bounce you back and forth along the rollecoaster tracks in the foreground and background. Start by running through the track and you'll end up in the background. The tracks try to be slick and start moving on their own. Quickly get into the alcove on the very right and spring to the fore- ground. Go through several boosts and land on the platform that expands and de- tracts. Jump off and use the Bubbles for leverage. Wait till the platforms are horizontal as they rotate before you cross them and quickly get in that next alcove before the track blocks it off. Bounce into the background and go through several boosts and bounce back to the foreground. You will eventually come to a part of track that moves left and right. Wait for it to move right and jump down the center through the blocks and kill the Fullboar. Duck into the gap if you don't think you can get through the rising-falling track in time. When it goes up, head for the spring and get on top of the same piece of track and go to the upper left and use the springs. To get the Red Ring, ignore the boosts and hop over the spring that sends you springing back and forth between scenes. You will clear the gap in the process and get the ring. Get the 10-ring and spring onto the track again. Go through several boosts including one that helps you avoid being crushed between the tracks and the exit is just ahead. ~~White Park Act 3: Labyrinth at Absolute Zero~~ My favorite BGM in Sonic 4 Episode 2. Get a boost off the rollecoaster tracks and you'll be launched into the water and collect a load of rings on the way down. Once again, you'll need air bubbles to survive underwater. Use your Swim combo to maneuver through the terrain. You will need to swim fast to get past the Steelions who freeze themselves in iceblocks that serves as obstacles that block your path in certain areas. They can however be defeated if you attack them quickly enough. Everything is straightforward until you end up out of the water the first time. Stay on the high road using the Swim/Flying combo depend- ing where you are and hit the lampost. There are a couple platforms that could smash you if you are not platform. The first one will smash you if you stand on it and the second one will smash you if you are below it. Hop to the spring to be bounced around to the upper ledge and kill the Snowy. Fly over the ledge and you will soon bounce around to the bottom of the water and what you need to do is use the Swim combo and fly out of the water and get the Red Ring on the upper ledge. Stay on higher ground till you reach a dead end and drop down and use the Fly combo and soon the water rises. The Fly becomes a Swim combo. Use it to get through the spikes and get ready to swim fast as you got to swim through several sets of Steelions. What you do is swim along the lines of the coins to safety. Once you manage to get out of the water. You can get a 1-up before you exit. ~~White Park Boss: Metal Sonic Strikes~~ Get the coins as you go right. Metal Sonic Rides in on a rocket and attacks you. Metal Sonic's attacks comes at random but his first attack always rolls across the floor which you must jump. Run up to him and use a homing attack on him when he is not flashing purple because he will hurt you if you do so. Occasionally, the track will have springs that bounce you to the background or foreground but nothing really matters. You've already got your first hit and he swept across the floor already. Hit him again and he will retreat momentarily. This is your cue to hold Right on the D-pad as there is a spring that will vault you over a large gap and you need all the leverage to land safely. From here on out, he'll use random attacks after you hit him each time. Aside from the rolling across the ground, he can roll across the ground and jump when he is midscreen to throw you off. He may also throw a spark column on the ground that you must jump through carefully or jump over if it's low enough. Another attack which is the nastiest of all is that he can fly straight up and crash into the ground multiple times and destroy that section. You must jump over the gap or you'll fall to your death. When he is down to his last hit, he will roll across the ground for a short distance and jump high into the air and come down hard on the left side and roll back. Hit him once more and you win. ~~Oil Desert Act 1: Through the Sandstorm~~ If White Park wasn't much of a challenge, then Oil Desert is sure to be one as deaths will come easy if you don't know what you're getting into when playing the level for the first time. I know I had a lot of deaths in this one level alone towards the end. Make your way to right and let the boost take you through the upper path. Stay on the high path and watch out for the Scarabesques in this level. They are some beetle robots that roll exploding rocks at you and they damage you if you try to do a frontal attack with poor timing. Get past the first few then spring up at the end and go left and boost to roll over the wall and get the 10-ring if you want it and run down the slope and quickly run across the quicksand or you will sink and die once you are completely under. There are winds that blow you every which way. A series of Scarabesque will come arrive. It's best to hug the wall below the first one and let the rock roll past then use a Fly combo to fly over all three. At the end, you'll zigzag down a series a girders. Run past the rock rolling down and stand underneath the platform the Scarabesque is on just after the weak floor. When the previous rock blows up, jump through the weak floor. Run down the sloping girder and let the ball go by and kill the Scarabesque. Go down the slope and get sprung onto quicksand and run across and get the 10-rings and sneakers. Jump through the weak floor and get the coins. Get a boost and stay on the path it takes you through. Carefully jump onto the rising platforms without being blown off and use the boost at the top during the Rolling Combo to skip across the gaps and you will eventually come across a spot that is the bane of first time players. This section requires total concentration. Jump into the air and use the Flying combo and don't press the jump button yet. Let the storm carry you over the gap and spikes. When the line of rings start to climb upwards, that is your cue to press the Jump button to get a boost and get on the ledge. Repeat the process and press jump once to get over the spikes and let the wind carry you so you can use the Jump button to get on the next ledge. You will have one more wind-aided flight to go through. To get the Red Ring, pay attention to the coins. When you see them climb upwards, press the jump button enough times to snag it in the upper right. Now let the wind carry you the rest of the way and enter inside the opening and proceed to the exit. That my friends is the hardest level in the game in my opinion. The Flamers may give you trouble on route to the Red Ring. ~~Oil Desert Act 2: Beneath the Sands~~ I'm sure some of ya'll may have noticed the Red Ring that seems out of reach at the beginning of the level. Drop down the oil slick and jump off when you are in mid flight, use the Fly combo to clearly land on the platform with the angled spring but don't use it . Use a Rolling combo to roll up the oil slick to the left and jump onto the platform when you crash into the wall and get the Red Ring when you uncurl. Go down the oil slick to the bottom and run across the quicksand and spring up at the end. Those Sandworms are tricky to avoid so you are better off flying or rolling past them. Get the shield if you want it. One Scarabesque will show up, deal with it and hold down Right on the d-pad to carry yourself through a long stretch of the level and you will see the red spiky Bubbles that damage you if you try to attack it with spikes out. However there is an icon showing Sonic and Tails holding hands. This is the pinball crash. Use the Fly combo to get it and press Jump rapidly to bounce around the screen and it will end with a crash into the ground that kills all enemies onscreen and cause rings to appear everywhere. Pull to the right when done and let the boost carry you past the Sandworms and spring up at the end. Fly over the next set of sandworms and get a boost to run under the low spikes when running across the quicksand. The level will be straightfoward towards the end if you stay on the oil slicks all the way. Just make your way to the exit as nothing will stop you from after the last oil slick. ~~Oil Desert Act 3: A Crude Trap~~ This level contains a throwback to Sonic & Knuckles Sandopolis Zone Act 2 as the sand trap makes its epic return. The first sand trap requires no help as long as you stay well ahead of the sand. There are 3 total in this level, btw. After you get out the first sand trap, carefully jump across the oily platforms. You don't have to worry about the Flamer yet but later on in the level, they'll light up the oil on the platforms. For now, proceed to the next sand trap. This one is a little tricky since you got springs and hard walls to break as you stay ahead of the sand. You also got to break some weak surfaces. The hard walls will break in three homing attacks. Near the end of the sand trap, jump through the weak green surfaces before the sand catches up and spring your way to the top and break the hard walls quick and you are out of the second sandtrap. Now what you want to do here is instead of going down the turn, use the Fly combo to get on top of the carbo boxes and drop down to the lower right and get the invincibility box. Now the Flamers won't even hurt you when lighting the oil. When you get launched in the air, use the Fly combo to get on the upper ledge. Now head right and make your way to the bottom and to the right from there. Jump on to the spring and use the Fly combo to get the Pinball Crash to kill the Flamers and break the hard walls. Now proceed to the final sand trap. Beware of the Scarabesques and spikes that make this trip a pain. Use the Fly combo to get past Scarabesques and land on the upper left ledge. From here, use it again to get the Red Ring in the upper left and rev up your Spin Dash when you land because there are too many spikes to get through this part ahead of the sand. When the sand covers the lower spikes, unleash the Spin Dash and escape the sand trap. Exit stage right. ~~Oil Desert Boss: A Giant Born of Scrap Metal~~ After you collect the coins, you will be trapped in a small room. Eggman will gather up some parts to create his machine and throughout the whole fight, you will have to avoid the falling blocks. The arrows will display where they'll fall. The next block will fall where the arrows are boldly red. With the blocks falling you are pretty much climbing your way out of the room at the same time. You can only hit Eggman when the dome on top of the machine is open and reveals him. Use the Flight Combo to hit him with Tails' tails. Just be sure to hit him before he takes what I believe is a swipe at you with the machine's left hand. After a few hits, spike blocks will come down and harm whoever steps on them. At least they are not gory like they were in the game Catherine. Eggman will also through in some countdown bomb blocks that will explode when they hit zero and destroy any nearby blocks nearby. You will know when he is down to his last hit when he retreats to the very top and blocks stop falling. Use the Flight Combo to join Eggman up top and he'll leap back and forth across the screen. After he has leapt to the foreground a second time, run all the way to the left and get ready to use your Rolling Combo to hit his foot after he lands and that is it. ~~Sky Fortress Act 1: The Tornado Takes Off~~ Don't even worry about getting 50 rings by the end of the level. There is no end sign in here. You pass this stage the moment Metal Sonic is defeated or when he retreats. For now you are more or less in control of the plane and guiding Sonic in the direction he wants to go. The scene starts with Eggman retreating then Metal Sonic arrives in the background piloting an airship that will antagonize you throughout the whole level. You learn a new control called Tornado Boost which cause the Tornado to do a spinning torpedo that breaks hard boxes. Get the rings as you deal with Bubbles, Balkiries, and Turtloids. The first Tornado Boost will break two sets of hard boxes, kill two Bubbles and get you a 1-up. You can even use the Tornado to cause damage if you don't want to use homing attacks. After dealing with the Bubbles and Balkiries you will go through a speedy flight where you move so fast that Sonic fights to hang onto the plane. After the fifth set of rings. Do a Tornado Boost to destroy the blocks. Sonic regains his footing as Tails slows down. Get through the Turtloids and avoid the laser shots that Metal Sonic rains upon you. Do a Tornado Boost if he shoots four simultaneously to be safe. Now you will go through another speedy sequence. Relax, the missiles do not explode; they push you back. When you get the first two sets of coins, don't follow the next set. Fly over that missile that is there and then come down to get the Red Ring. Follow the rings straight and do a Tornado Boost. Follow the coins down and do another. Follow them up and do another Tornado Boost. Next, the coins dip down then up and do another one of the Tornado Boost. Now maneuver the plane to midscreen and do one more Tornado Boost. You'll see three more rings before you go to ditch the plane. You will reunite with Tails later. Defeat the Turtloids as you come across them. When you see three of them stacked vertically, kill the bottom one and get on its shell. Then leap forward and use the homing attack on the Bubbles and watch out for the Turtloid coming from the left as you take them out. Get onto the platform and get back on the plane. Now Metal Sonic will shoot cannonballs at you and send lasers and Balkiries and the Turtloids. You can ride it out or do a Tornado Boost to bounce the cannonballs back at him. Eight hits and Metal Sonic falls. ~~Sky Fortress Act 2: Infiltrating the Sky Fortress~~ Make your way to the bottom and hit the spring and let the propellers take you upwards to the top and go right and bounce on the springs and continue right and take out the Clucks and Fullboar. Continue the upward climb via propellers and when you run to the rightm you'll be running sideways on zero-gravity fence and you can move up or down to get rings and as long as you keep running, you won't fall. Take the upper road to the ledge. The next part is straightforward as long as you don't stop moving. You'll eventually "land" on propellers that will carry you so you can move right. Get the shield and make your way down. At the bottom, go right and use the springs and go right upward on the zero-gravity fence and use the boosts to zigzag upwards to the top. Get the invincibility and run your way past the Clucks, Fullboars, and jet engine fire while invincible. When you get to a ramp, wait for the jet engine fire to retract before spin dashing to the top. Head to the right and hit the pinball crash to take out the Clucks. Let the path carry you to the Clucks and defeat them then spring to the top and kill the Bubbles for leverage to get to the platform but beware of the red one. It is best to vault over it from the first two. Let the jet engine fire go out then use the Fly Combo to clear all three. Your travels will take you onto the zero gravity fence. Go upward on it then come down a little when past the wall. The Red Ring will be there but you will lose your footing on the fence. This is the time to use the Fly combo to safely land on something. Just past the jet fire is the exit. ~~Sky Fortress Act 3: Mile High Mayhem~~ Beware of the rocket fire as you jump over the gaps. Use the homing attack to knock the cap off the cannon and get inside and it will shoot you every which way. You'll go through several of these throughout the level so I won't say much about this level until you reach the spot where the jet fuel fire stars to come out in waves from above. The best strategy is to let the first few flames pass and jump down to where the orange falling signs are and use the Fly combo to fly beneath the remaining flames and get on the platform safely. The next ones will spurt in threes back and forth and use the Fly combo to clear the gap. The last set can be cleared without the Fly combo. Just time a mid-jump through the coins to make it safely. Kill the Clucks. Go through a cannon and avoid getting your- self smashed by the platforms to make it to the spring and the upper ledge. The Red Ring is gonna be hell to get without getting hit. Let the flames go out then Spin Dash off the edge to get the ring and jump down before the flames come back and use the Fly combo to carefully avoid the flames and use the springs to get on the platform. Ride one more cannon then use the Rolling Combo to bowl your way to the end. ~~Sky Fortress Boss: Showdown in the Skies~~ Gather all the rings you can and be prepared for a tough boss fight which will leave wondering how you are going to fight this boss if you play fight him the first time. The aim is to get past the lasers and hit Metal Sonic's cockpit. The lasers happen at random so I can't give an exact strategy on avoiding them but if you see all four lasers fire at the same time, that is a good time to speed up to the right quickly before they fire again and get in a hit or two and even three if you are lucky. Metal Sonic will sometimes fly to the bottom and fire the lasers upward. You can't hit him when he does that. When you hit him enough times, Metal Sonic speeds by and faces you. Watch out for the Balkiries that fly by randomly and use a homing attack when safe. You got to avoid the lasers too. A thin line will indicate where the laser is going to fire. This part gets unfair because the Balkiries and lasers attack at the same time and make things harder to avoid. If you manage to get enough hits in, the Metal Carrier starts to lose control and starts firing spiraling missiles either high or low. An arrow will indicate which level the missile will spiral in. Get through the missile storm and use a Plane Charge to finish off the Metal Carrier. ~~Death Egg Mk. II Act 1: A Duel with Metal Sonic~~ The first part of the level requires no help from me until you reach the fight with Eggman and Metal Sonic. You cannot hurt Eggman who is blocked by a shield you can't penetrate. Metal Sonic will throw a big energy ball and send it at you but it's random where it will land. You have to hit Metal Sonic when he is not emitting a purple spark. Eggman will occasionally try to bum rush you but the Rolling Combo will guard against that. When Eggman rises to the top, that's your cue to run and jump over Metal Sonic and wait for him to throw his energy ball harmlessly then homing attack him. He will fall after a few hits. The next part needs no help either but I'll tell you where the last Reg Ring is. There is a spot where you will ride the platform up and a spring on the left wall that'll bounce you to the lower right. Ignore this spring and jump over it to the left and use a Fly combo to capture the Red Ring on the upper left. Now fall down and let the path carry you to the spot where you will race Metal Sonic just as you did in Sonic CD. The only real enemy in this whole level itself is the sharp spikes which will only be a threat when you mess up your Fly combos that are prompted. The race against Metal Sonic is not as hard as it seems. Your best bet at winning is to use the Rolling combo which not only makes you faster but also break through the barriers which normally take three hits to break. The Rolling combo will slow down a little. When that happens, uncurl and redo it to regain the speed. If you lose this race, you die automatically when you touch the fence of electricity. ~~Death Egg Mk. II Final Boss: The End of the Beginning~~ Get the rings and you will eventually be sprung into a room where Eggman's final machine looks like a giant heart with three layers of rings surround him. You've got to negotiate through the three rings carefully and hit Eggman on the upper part of the heart area to score a hit safely. After each hit, Eggman will spin Sonic and Tails around and drop them back onto the first ring. Anytime that you stay on the third ring too long, Eggman will do the same time but it will hurt you this time. After the first hit, panels will start to electrify. Carefully make your way back to the heart and hit it again. After the second hit, Eggman will add some harmless lasers to the spin sequence and every thing gets a little bit trickier. After a few more successful hits, he will use the lasers again and now segments of the second ring will fall off. Safely get to the third ring and use a Rolling Combo to break the barrier. One more hit and it's all over. Enjoy the ending. o---------------------o SPECIAL ZONES o---------------------o You have to collect a certain amount of rings in each of the three phases of the seven special stages in order to pass to the next phase or collect the Chaos Emerald in the end. Hold []/A button to get a boost of speed. You gather all the rings that are close to you during the boost. You get a trophy for getting all the rings in Special Stage 1. ~~Special Stage 1~~ Phase 1: Middle, Right, Middle, Left, Middle, Middle, Middle, Left, Middle Phase 2: Right, Middle, Middle, Middle, Left, Middle, Right, Middle, Left (all the way to get the ones on the side) then try to maneuver Tails to get the other rings. Phase 3: Middle, Left, Right, Jump to get the 10-Ring, Middle all the way until the ring bonus where you collect all rings in this order (Middle, Right, Middle, Left, Middle). In all there are 294 rings + 20 ring bonus for 314 rings. o---------------------o ACHIEVEMENTS POINTS o---------------------o The Adventure Begins (5) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 Rolling Combo! (5) Activate the Rolling Combo with Sonic and Tails. Metal Sonic Falls (5) Defeat Metal Sonic in SKY FORTRESS ZONE, Act 1. A Golden Wave (10) Defeat all bosses as Super Sonic. All Stages Cleared! (10) Defeat the final foe and watch the ending. Tag Partner (10) Upload a Multiplayer score or time. I Love Tails (10) Play as Tails 50 times. Ring Collector (15) Beat Special Stage 1 after collecting every Ring. Endurace Race (25) Clear all stages without returning to the World Map. All Chaos Emeralds Found! (30) Collect all seven Chaos Emeralds. Proof of Speed (35) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 in one minute or less. All Red Star Rings Found! (40) Defeat the final foe after collecting every Red Star Ring. o---------------------o TROPHIES o---------------------o The Adventure Begins (Bronze) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 Rolling Combo! (Bronze) Activate the Rolling Combo with Sonic and Tails. Metal Sonic Falls (Bronze) Defeat Metal Sonic in SKY FORTRESS ZONE, Act 1. A Golden Wave (Bronze) Defeat all bosses as Super Sonic. All Stages Cleared! (Bronze) Defeat the final foe and watch the ending. Tag Partner (Bronze) Upload a Multiplayer score or time. I Love Tails (Bronze) Play as Tails 50 times. Ring Collector (Bronze) Beat Special Stage 1 after collecting every Ring. Endurace Race (Silver) Clear all stages without returning to the World Map. All Chaos Emeralds Found! (Silver) Collect all seven Chaos Emeralds. Proof of Speed (Silver) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 in one minute or less. All Red Star Rings Found! (Gold) Defeat the final foe after collecting every Red Star Ring. o---------------------o IP ACHIEVEMENTS o---------------------o The Adventure Begins (50) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 Rolling Combo! (50) Activate the Rolling Combo with Sonic and Tails. Metal Sonic Falls (50) Defeat Metal Sonic in SKY FORTRESS ZONE, Act 1. A Golden Wave (50) Defeat all bosses as Super Sonic. All Stages Cleared! (100) Defeat the final foe and watch the ending. Tag Partner (100) Upload a Multiplayer score or time. I Love Tails (100) Play as Tails 50 times. Ring Collector (100) Beat Special Stage 1 after collecting every Ring. Endurace Race (100) Clear all stages without returning to the World Map. All Chaos Emeralds Found! (100) Collect all seven Chaos Emeralds. Proof of Speed (100) Clear SYLVANIA CASTLE ZONE, Act 1 in one minute or less. All Red Star Rings Found! (100) Defeat the final foe after collecting every Red Star Ring. o---------------------o CREDITS o---------------------o Sega for making the game GameFAQs for hosting the FAQ The official site for the story. You for reading Check out my other guides at: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/74803.html o---------------------o CONTACT ME o---------------------o azulfria[at]hotmail[dot]com [at] = @ and [dot] = . Don't want any email bots. You can also find me at Zophar.net updating the emus on console so you can buzz me there if you have an account. http://www.zophar.net/forums/member.php?u=2683 Here is my Youtube account I share with my sisters. http://www.youtube.com/user/PurrfectTrio http://www.youtube.com/user/PurrfectTunes My facebook is at: www.facebook.com/icequeenzero Thank you for reading -Ice Queen Zero