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Walkthrough for: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Game: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle	Format: Gamecube	Ratings Good
Posted by: WelshMiyamoto
+++++++++++++++++ 2.3.1) Hero Story +++++++++++++++++ It is just another ordinary day...until Sonic, hero of justice, is accosted by a secret military force code-named GUN. Escaping the confines of a high-security helicopter, Sonic leaps down into the city streets in an effort to flee from his captors. Suddenly, a mysterious black hedgehog appears in front of him, grasping a Chaos Emerald in his hands. Meanwhile, across the globe, unexplained incidents occur following the declaration of world conquest by Dr. Eggman himself. Once aware of the connection between Shadow and Dr. Eggman, Sonic begins his quest to stop their evil plan, helped along the way by his old friends: Tails and Knuckles. +++++++++++++++++ 2.3.1) Dark Story +++++++++++++++++ While searching for a top secret weapon known only as "Shadow," the evil genius, Dr. Eggman, penetrates the security of a high-level military base. Deep inside the compound, Dr. Eggman discovers that the weapon is actually a black hedgehog claiming himself as the "ultimate life form," a creature known as "Shadow." Shadow invites Dr. Eggman to Space Colony ARK and reveals the Eclipse Cannon - an enormous weapon capable of destroying the world, more than enough to entice the evil genius to help out Shadow in his quest to conquer the world. Just as they begin to revel in their plan for destruction, the villains are startled by a menacing bat named Rouge who offers her help as well. Thus, the plot to conquer the world begins... ========================= 3) Hero Story Walkthrough ========================= You start off with a cutscene where a GUN chopper, codenamed Sigma-Alpha 2 (SA2), is escorting Sonic to a military base on Prison Island. It is revealed, however, that Sonic took out everyone on board and he soon escapes on a makeshift snowboard. ---------------- 3.1) City Escape ---------------- Background Music - Escape From The City A Rank Cap - 18000 points Personal Best - 20200 points You start out falling from the sky on a snowboard made out of a piece of metal. Your first batch of rings is in front of you, then to the right, then to the left. After that last string of rings, there's a ramp off of which you can jump. Do so by hitting A when you're close to the top of the ramp. A slow 180 boardspin is worth 200 points, a 720 boardspin is worth 500, and a half-backflip 900 boardspin is worth 1000. It progresses like this for the first 30 seconds, then you hit some boosters and lose your board. Run up the stairs to your left and Homing Attack the Hunter that falls down. Since you don't have the Flame Ring or the Light Shoes yet, go on the lower path and run up the wall. When you run out of wall, there will be a Hunter in front of you. Homing Attack it, then Somersault into the wooden crates to get them out of your way. Jump on the rail to grind it, then jump again at the end of it to link the grind to the next rail for another 300 points. Hit the booster and run up the vertical wall. When you land, turn left and Homing Attack the 10-ring capsule, then Homing Attack to the other side of the pit. Run through the first checkpoint. You're back on the street, but you don't have a board this time. There's still ramps, but doing tricks off of them gets you 200 points every time. On the last ramp, if you jump through the two ring loops, you'll pull a Nice, worth 200, and a Tight, worth 800. Work your way up the stairs and watch out for the Beetle robot at the top, because it shoots at you. You probably won't have much speed coming off the stairs, but try to pull a decent trick off the ramp to your right. Hopefully you'll hit Speed Shoes, which speed you up and will let you get to the next rail faster. Grind down it, then screech to a halt. Charge up a Spin Dash (Hold B) for just about a second, then let it loose up the vertical wall. When you're coming down, you should see a golden robot, called the Gold Beetle. Homing Attack it quickly for 1000 points. Run into the spring to your right, then let it take you to the next checkpoint. Run through the grassy knoll, watching out for the Hunters lying in wait (if this isn't reenacting history, nothing is) and go through the loop at the end of the path. After your run down the building, let the springs take you to the poles. Hit A when you see the red streak to launch to the other pole. Do the same on that one to get to the high platform. You don't have the required upgrades at this point, but come back here when you do for... U P G R A D E Magic Gloves Required: Bounce Bracelet, Flame Ring Priority: None; though they're fun To get the Magic Gloves, go down to the four iron crates embedded in the ground just in front of the elevated platform. Bounce Attack on them to break them, then hit the green ring to pick up the Magic Gloves. To use them, get close enough to an enemy so that the words "Magic Hand" appear in the B menu. Then hit B to form the enemy into a ball. Hit B again to launch them. I have not once used these in a practical way, so they're definitely nonessential to the game. Make your way across the pit ahead by Homing Attacking the Beetles if you're on the top path or Homing Attacking the one beetle and making your way across on the pillars if you're on the bottom path. Above the next doorway, hit the spring and make your way down the rails, linking the grinds as you go. Let the rail launch you to the poles, then swing up to the final checkpoint. This next part is all running. There's no real big hazards...well, except for that HUGE TRUCK TRYING TO RUN YOU DOWN! Stay on the right side of the road at all times, because you can't see the ramps this time around and you'll just fall off and kill all your speed. And if that truck hits you, you're in trouble. Just keep running forward and you'll get to the goal ring. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.1.1) BOSS - F-6t Bigfoot ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ As Sonic comments that "this game of tag is boring", F-6t Bigfoot, a huge robot, appears and engages Sonic in a battle. Because he's the first boss of the game, he's naturally not going to be too hard. Run around to dodge the machine gun fire, then when Bigfoot lands, run around to dodge all the semi-homing missiles. After the missiles stop, jump up and Homing Attack the see-through part on his front. When he takes off, watch out, because the jet engines hurt. Three more cycles of that and Bigfoot falls. ---------------- 3.2) Wild Canyon ---------------- Background Music - Kick The Rock! A Rank Cap - 16000 points Personal Best - 17470 points After a brief confrontation with Rouge and Eggman, Knuckles is off to Wild Canyon to search for shards of the Master Emerald. These hunting levels are a lot harder to write walkthroughs for because there are literally hundreds of locations which may house the shards. Fortunately, this level is a lot smaller than most of Knux's other ones, so if your radar doesn't come up with anything after a quick sweep of the ground floor, make a beeline for the Airlift and glide to the left. If nothing else comes up, double back and go right. The Gold Beetle is located to the left of the Airlift, near the weight in the canyon. All directions are relative to the starting point. U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Shovel Claw Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission The Mystic Melody is found in a room behind a wall panel high above the statue when you go right from the Airlift. Dig into the oval of the panel and pick up the Mystic Melody. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. ---------------- 3.3) Prison Lane ---------------- Background Music - This Way Out A Rank Cap - 26000 points Personal Best - 27540 points Following a boss battle with Dr. Eggman (covered next), Tails in his Cyclone Walker must storm into Prison Island to bust Sonic out of jail. Most of the prison doors in this level don't open until you shoot every enemy in the room. After you blast the three Beetle robots in front of you, you enter a short hallway which then ends and comes into an open area. There's going to be a Gun Beetle rushing at you from the end of the short hallway, so be ready. Keep moving forward, blasting enemies as you go, until you get to the steel grate in the ground. Stand still on it for a second and it will lift you up to the next platform. Do that again on the next elevator, then blast the two Hunters in the jail cell. When you're about halfway through that hallway, you'll see a Beetle in the foreground. Lock on to that one and the one at the end of the hall to get the next door open. Keep moving forward until you get to the hallway filled with wooden boxes. Be careful at the end of this hallway because a Hunter will drop in from above onto the elevator. Take the aforementioned elevator up to the next platform and target the Hornet-3 and all his bombs for 4 separate lock-ons. Traverse down the short hallway, being wary of the two sneak-attacking Gun Beetles, and hit the first checkpoint. Keep moving deeper inside the compound and target all three Hunters. The door above the elevator on the right wall will open, and you can continue. After another short hallway, you'll come to a room with four Beetles just hovering there. Kill them all to open the door on the left wall. A twisting hallway riddled with enemies leads to an elevator ride. There's 11 Beetles along the way, and the most you can target is 8 at a time before your laser dies out. Knock out the last four at the top (there's one behind you) and pass the second checkpoint. After this hallway, there's an elevator just to the right of the next hall. It's wiser to take this path because you can get an extra life, 20 rings, and a shield, plus you don't have to deal with the insane Gun Beetle whipping around the tight spaces in the hall. Drop down from the hall's roof and target everything on the Hornet-3 again. Go up the two elevators and target the Hornet-3 again. There's two Hunters way in the back that you have to destroy to make your way further. In this long chain of hallways, it's point-and-shoot. When you reach an elevator below two moving Gun Beetles, look to the right on your way up with your laser at the ready. Shoot the Gold Beetle when it appears and continue upwards. The two Hunters up here shouldn't pose a problem, and once you've dealt with them, continue on along the hallways. Shoot every robot you see. When you reach a seemingly dead-end, look to the right to find a door and a single Beetle. Hit the third checkpoint after a few more hallways. You're as deep in the compound as you can get right now, but it can get tricky. To bypass the doors following the third checkpoint, you'll have to target each and every robot past the doors, and most of them you can't see. When you take care of all of them, move forward to the next mechanical room. Three Beetles are there when you begin, then move right and three Hunters fall down. Destroy the six of them, then go behind the half-wall in the center of the room to get on the elevator there. Jump and use your laser to target one last Beetle and open the door behind you. It's one long hallway here, but at the end there's a Hornet-3, a few Beetles, some inactive Hunters, and a Hunter that drops down when you get close enough. Target and kill them all to open the door and...hold up a second. U P G R A D E Laser Blaster Required: Bazooka Priority: Medium; really helps in big swarms of enemies Move to the back of the room with the goal ring and target the right corner (relative to the entrance). There's a Beetle there which you have to kill. Do so, and the gate in front of six iron containers opens. Break them open with the Bazooka and move forward. Kill the two Hunters on either side of you to open the gate in front of you. There's your laser blaster. It's automatic, and it replaces your normal laser missile. The shots explode on contact and destroy any surrounding enemies. Now you can go back and hit the goal ring. ++++++++++++++++++++ 3.3.1) BOSS - Eggman ++++++++++++++++++++ Tails is flying by in his Tornado 2 when he notices Eggman advancing on Amy on an aircraft carrier. Eggman is a pushover. Just lock on and shoot when he starts to move in a circle and fire his Volkan Cannon. Three or four good pops will kill him. Of course, he'll come up with an excuse, as his dying grunts are, "Ugh...I let my guard down...", when he just won't admit that he sucks monkey eggs. ----------------- 3.4) Metal Harbor ----------------- Background Music - That's The Way I Like It A Rank Cap - 20000 points Personal Best - 21560 points Thanks to Tails' help, Amy got into the military complex and unlocked Sonic's cell. He must now escape from the compound by way of conveniently placed loops, tracks, and jumps. Keep moving forward until you get to the ramp where you can see a Beetle beneath you. Jump off at the top of this ramp and Homing Attack on that Beetle, then the other Beetle, then land on the roof ahead of you. Homing Attack the three Beetles ahead of you and land on the roof again. You can't do anything about that long row of rings just yet, so keep moving forward through the first checkpoint. As you pass through that checkpoint, you'll run right into a series of springs. You'll ultimately end up on a platform with a lot of Beetles ahead of you. When you hit the fourth Beetle in the chain, hold back on the control stick and Homing Attack that Beetle there. Next, hit the extra life, wait until the Gold Beetle appears, and Homing Attack it. Homing Attack your way to the next platform. U P G R A D E Light Shoes Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Jump onto the pulley above the upper-left-hand corner of the platform you're on. When you reach the top, jump to the platform with the green light on it. The Light Shoes allow you to Light Dash across any row of rings at supersonic speeds. When you run into a row of rings, just hit B. Next, jump off the platform with the Light Shoes and land on the one below. Line yourself up with the row of rings and hit B to dash across and land on the aircraft carrier. Run to the end, watching out for the bombs the Blue Eagles drop, then hit B at the rings to dash across to the second checkpoint. As opposed to jumping across from platform to fuel tank to platform, Light Dash across the rings and run through the loop, where you'll hit springs at the top. Somersault under the bar to grab the pulley, then do that again on the next platform. At the top of this pulley, jump off, run through the loop, and keep going. Do. Not. Somersault. The game tries to trick you by putting a shadow halfway through there, but if you Somersault like you'd expect a bar, you won't get enough speed to make it over the jump and you'll fall to your watery grave. After you land safely, keep running towards the end, and this time, Somersault. Hit the boosters and Homing Attack across the water via the Beetles. Run to the end of this short pier and hit the checkpoint. Here's where the fun starts. Grab on to the rocket after the checkpoint and run up the catwalks to the spring below the missile handle. Or, if you want to get a big point bonus, jump off before you activate the missile timer and hit the far right spring on the central platform. Run up as usual, but don't hit the spring at the top. Instead, jump off and Homing Attack the Beetles quickly. Hit the booster, then Light Dash across the rings to hit the three springs, which launch you to a spring below a second handle. You get a 1500 point bonus, which really comes in handy if you're trying to score an A. But remember, you'll have to move quickly because you only have 15 seconds. No matter which path you choose, you'll drop from the missile and enter a short snowboarding portion. Hit the capsules to get 10 rings, 20 rings, an extra life, and 5 rings, in that order. Run through the loop and land on the goal ring. ----------------- 3.5) Green Forest ----------------- Background Music - Won't Stop, Just Go! A Rank Cap - 15000 points Personal Best - 16450 points Prison Island is primed to explode, thanks to the actions of Eggman, Shadow, and Rouge, and now Sonic has to escape the island in eight minutes or less. This is something that's very easily done, because Eggman's plans suck and they're not all that challenging to best. You start in a big snakerun which ends in a jump panel. A few Hunters will drop down on the pathway, and if you're not careful they'll take you down. Press on, going underground, and watch out for the Rhino Spike lying in wait near the exit. Hit the jump panel and land in front of the first checkpoint. Light Dash across the rings in front of you and hit the spring, which launches you to a vine. In this tunnel, there are several Beetles and Hunters, so be on your toes. When you reach the end, hit the spring, which launches you into another vine. This empty tunnel leads into a snakerun. At the end of the snakerun, you will be launched into a tunnel containing three Hunters that drop from above. The Gold Beetle is within Homing Attack range from Homing Attacking off a Hunter. Run up the boosters, then make your way through the loop. U P G R A D E Ancient Light Required: Nothing Priority: Medium; really helps in big swarms of enemies At the top of the loop, you'll land on a large platform. Move towards the camera so that it pans out, then Homing Attack the Bomb Beetle and link it by Homing Attacking the 10-ring capsule and the extra life. The Ancient Light is right next to you. To use it, hold down the B button until Sonic says "Ready!", then release the B button near a swarm of enemies. If you come across a P-100 Artificial Chaos, you'll be in the air for a good 30 seconds, making for some good fun. Coming back from the platform with the Ancient Light, run back up the loop and through the door to hit the second checkpoint. Leaving this checkpoint, you'll enter another snakerun. At the end, bounce from the spring and skid to a halt. Homing Attack the Beetle in front of you, link it to the Beetle ahead of that, then finish it off by Homing Attacking the spring close by. As your bouncing chain ends, you'll land on a booster and fly through the third checkpoint. Run through the loop and the short snakerun to wind up bouncing off a spring. Work your way up, spring by spring, until you get to a platform with a Hunter and a Beetle. Kill them both, then keep bouncing up. At the peak, before you hit the fourth checkpoint, drop down behind you and pick up the extra life. Jump back up and bolt through the fourth checkpoint. As usual, there's a long snakerun after the checkpoint. You'll soon come to a booster and enter a Spring Shaft. At the end, you'll bounce onto a bungee vine. Hold A while going down to hit the balloon and get five rings, but release A before you hit the spike balls at the very bottom. Charge up a Spin Dash when you land on solid ground again and let it take you to the fifth and final checkpoint. Once again, run all the way to the end of the snakerun and bounce off the spring. After you land from the vine swing, rush forward and keep jumping to stay on solid ground and avoid the sinking earth. The last portion stops at the bottom, so run forward into the spring at that point. You'll find yourself in front of the goal ring. ++++++++++++++++++++ 3.5.1) BOSS - Shadow ++++++++++++++++++++ You'll land in the arena and instantly notice that faker Shadow perched on a log in front of you. He may call himself the ultimate life form, but he's really very simple. Dodge Shadow's movement until he stops, then jump up behind him and Homing Attack. Repeat twice, but beware: If you attack him from the front, he'll jump up, deflect it, and Homing Attack you. Your only danger aside from that is bouncing off the arena when you ricochet from a Homing Attack. ----------------- 3.6) Pumpkin Hill ----------------- Background Music - A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup A Rank Cap - 12000 points Personal Best - 12590 points First things first. Pumpkin Hill is made up primarily of three mountains. To the east is Ghost Train Mountain, to the west lies Church Mountain, and to the southeast is Pumpkin Mountain. All directions are relative to the starting point. A problem you may encounter lies in the clue, "A sad-eyed pumpkin". Don't go looking around Pumpkin Mountain for it. Instead, check one of the large pumpkin pillars with a sad face. Also, if you come across a clue which goes something like, "Step back from the platform and wait for the next arrival", head to the bottom of Pumpkin Mountain. The emerald shard is cargo on the train which goes by there. U P G R A D E Shovel Claw Required: Nothing Priority: Essential Not too hard to find, it's directly in front of you from the beginning. When clinging to a wall, hit B to dig into it. Also, when gliding, hit B to dig into the ground. You can also hit Y until Dig appears in the B menu and dig from a standstill. ------------------- 3.7) Mission Street ------------------- Background Music - Rumbling HWY A Rank Cap - 25000 points Personal Best - 25570 points Tails has a price on his head for breaking into the prison complex, and now he's got to elude the military to escape. When you land, move forward, watching out for the dropping Hunters. When turning the corner, stay to one side of the road, because some Blue Eagles will drop bombs from behind and you'll be hit if you stay in the center. Turn the next corner, shooting the Hunters and the Hornet-3, and press onward. Behind the second set of boxes lies two Hunters that are difficult to lock on to, but you have to do it quickly or they'll shoot. At the end of the tunnel, two additional Hunters will drop down behind the first one. Shoot them, then fall with the fragment of highway. U P G R A D E Booster Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Walk forward to the purple arrow sign, then turn left and jump over the barrier. The Booster is right in front of you, and it allows you to hover over wide gaps by pressing A in the air. Jump over the barricade again and hover over the large gap in the road. Shoot the Hunter in front, then move to one side to make two more drop. Shoot them, then jump on top of the weight when it's lowered. Coming up, keep your laser ready to target the dynamite packs and the Hornet-3 all in one swoop. Hit the pulley in the back, then jump on the pillars to the top. On the fifth pillar, the Gold Beetle will appear in front of you. Quickly shoot it. At the top, pass through the first checkpoint. Stay to one side on the following road, but be wary on the second falling section, because Blue Eagles will launch bombs right in front of you. At the bottom, shoot the Hornet-3 and turn left. Step on the missile button and hover back across. Shoot the Hunter, then aim high to take out the snipers on the beam. Move forward across the breaking bridge and target every dynamite pack in sight. When you blast them all, you should take out a Blue Eagle and a Hunter. Move forward, being careful not to be crushed by a falling pillar, and take out the two Hunters that perch themselves on the support beams. Get rid of the last Hunter and jump while firing your Volkan Cannon to hit the balloon and give you full health. Take out the pillar on the left, then jump on it and jump on the box...thing. Kill the two Hornet-3s and hover across to solid ground again. Destroy the two Hunters and jump on the pillars to the right. Shoot the wooden box and hit the switch to suspend the weights. Run up this long stretch of road, being careful of Hunters positioned on the tops of pillars, and hover across at the top from the weights. Shoot the Hornet-3 and work your way up the pillars to the top. Turn right and pass the second checkpoint. There's going to be a long stretch of fallapart road that you'll have to hover over. When you reach the bottom, shoot both pillars, then jump on the one with the flat top. Hover from the end of that pillar to the angled road segment ahead of you. After this relatively clear stretch of road, you'll come across an earthquake. Jump and hover to the other side from the first segment, taking down the Hunters while in flight. In the following tunnel, there's some robots hidden behind boxes. You can easily target the first two, but the Hornet-3 hiding behind the last set is harder to get. The two Hunters around the corner shouldn't pose a problem, so just run through and blast them. In this last section, there are two falling pieces of highway. You'll notice them by the fact that your camera points upwards. Just run by, because they don't fall very quickly. Shoot only what's in your path and bolt to the goal ring. ----------------- 3.8) Aquatic Mine ----------------- Background Music - Dive Into The Mellow A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 16340 points Somehow, from Pumpkin Hill, Knux made his way into an old mine filled with water. As Omochao so kindly tells you, the big thing in the center is called the Water-Powered Lift. The water can be raised or lowered depending on which switch you hit. Water Level One, the highest level, and Water Level Two, the middle level, can be changed via the switches behind you from the start. Water Level Three, the lowest level, can be changed from the pulley at the top of the level, which is only accessible when the water level is at one. Frequently, an emerald shard is hidden in the mine shaft in the southeast (relative to the starting point) among the ghosts. U P G R A D E Air Necklace Required: Nothing Priority: Medium; helps a lot in Cannon's Core From the starting point, there is a mineshaft in the northwest. To get to it, you have to lower the water level to three via the switch up top. Drop down the shaft and start swimming for your life. The demon of sucky camera angles will rear its ugly head in the first tunnel, and there's also boosters which you'll have to watch out for. At the end of the first tunnel, turn right and swim around all the wooden bars to get through the next opening and tunnel. Resurface as soon as possible when you're in the vertical shaft to pick up the Air Necklace. It allows you to breathe underwater, so you can take your jolly old time getting back into the main room. It also enables itself automatically, thankfully. -------------- 3.9) Route 101 -------------- Background Music - Chasing Drive A Rank Cap - 2:45:00 Personal Best - 2:42:99 Eggman is plotting to take over the world and Tails needs to catch the President's limousine to cancel the deal. This is a pleasant change of pace from Tails' normal levels, but there's still some things you need to follow to get an A. The controls have changed, first off, so hold down A to accelerate, B brakes, and Y gives you a speed boost with every 20 rings. Power slide around every turn. To power slide, start turning a corner, let go of the A button, then turn a little more and gun it. It sounds complicated, but it's actually easy to pull off. Only use speed boosts on straightaways, because if you hit a wall when you're moving too fast, you'll bust through it. Be cautious of the few hairpin turns in this level, and always power slide around them. Successful completion of this level unlocks 1P Kart Racing. ----------------- 3.10) Hidden Base ----------------- Background Music - Down In The Base A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 20640 points The negotiations with the President have been cancelled, but the gang still needs to stop Eggman from firing the Eclipse Cannon again. This means Tails needs to locate Eggman's Hidden Base. When you drop to the lower platform, keep your laser at the ready to lock on to and shoot the hidden Hawk robot. Go to the left and shoot the wooden boxes to make your way up the steps. Hover across the row of rings, with or without shooting the other Hawk to the right, and blast the dynamite packs. Shoot the Eggman Wall until it breaks open, then lock on to and shoot all nine dynamite packs for a big point bonus. Break open the Eggman Tank and climb up the newly formed steps. Break the Eggman Wall up top, shoot the two Hawks lying in wait, then keep moving to the end of the dark hallway, shooting Eggman Walls as you go. Only worry about the Hawk directly in your path, because the other two can't shoot you from inside the walls. Behind the Eggman Wall to your left in this room, there is another Hawk waiting to ambush you. Stay to one side to avoid his bullets. On the left side of this walkway, there is a Sphinx Block. Destroy it, then descend to the first pulley. The Gold Beetle materializes just off-center from the top of the pulley. Work your way back up and hit the first checkpoint ahead of you. Blow up the three dynamite packs in front of you, then break the two Eggman Walls down. Before you make your first pillar jump, a Hawk will descend, cannon firing. Take care of it before you hover to the next pillar. Shoot the dynamite packs under both of the large blocks to advance to the next walkway. After your pillar jump, two Hawks will rise from the sand. Finish the two off, then turn right and blow up the dynamite packs. Grab the pulley, walk forward, turn left, and grab the other pulley. Spin around with your laser activated while still on the pulley. If you target the six dynamite packs and the four Kikis, you'll earn an Extreme, worth 1500 points. Jump onto the large platform you just lowered, ahead of you. At this point, you don't have the proper requirements for the upgrade, but when you do... U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Bazooka Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission Fall down from the large platform and land on the walkway. Shoot the four iron containers with your Bazooka and walk forward. Hover to the pillar holding the Mystic Melody. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. To leave this room, play the Mystic Melody at the Ancient Shrine in front of you. If you picked up the Mystic Melody, turn right after you leave the Melody room and destroy the Eggman Tank to reach a pulley which takes you to the second checkpoint. If you didn't, hover to the pillar in front of you from the large platform. Hover from there to the platform with the Eggman Wall. Destroy the Walls in front of you, then hover across the gap to the second checkpoint. Make your way across the pillars to the pulley. At the top, six Kikis lie in wait, so be careful. When they're all destroyed, make your way to one of the two pulleys on either catwalk. This brings you to the next Eggman Wall which you have to break open. There will be two Kikis waiting for you, throwing bombs, when you enter the next room, so hang back a while and wait for an explosion before you shoot them. There's a few Kikis on the elevated area to the right, so take care of them. Hit the spring and shoot the Eggman Wall from the pillar you're now on. Hover over, then enter the maze. Here, it can get confusing. The shortest path is as follows: Shoot the two Sphinx Blocks on the left, then make your way around the pillar that juts out and shoot the Eggman Wall there. Shoot the Sphinx Block, go up the stairs, and hang left to hit the third checkpoint. On the last block, there is a pulley. The camera angle will automatically change when you reach the top, so hover over to the pulley you see and shoot the Kiki staring you in the face at the top. Jump off onto that catwalk, shoot the wooden box between the two metal boxes, and use them as stairs to get to the pulley. After shooting this Eggman Wall, turn left and target the centers of the two Unidus enemies. Jump on the precariously placed blocks ahead of you, target and kill all the Kikis, and make your way to the large platform. Shoot all the dynamite packs, then burst your way through three Eggman Walls. You have three paths you can take here; I find the simplest one is reached by jumping, hovering, and turning a tight right. Remember to not touch the wall while you're hovering. Once you make it to the end, shoot the Eggman Wall and hover from pillar to pillar, making your way to a pulley on either side of the room. Destroy all the dynamite packs, then jump from pulley to pulley to get to the top. Hit the spring, shoot open the Eggman Wall, and there's the goal ring. ------------------ 3.11) Pyramid Cave ------------------ Background Music - Keys The Ruin A Rank Cap - 15000 points Personal Best - 15410 points Now that Tails has located Eggman's Hidden Base, it's Sonic's turn to infiltrate it. You fall from a hole in the ceiling and land just behind some boosters. Hit the boosters and run up the right wall. You'll hit another booster and at that point you'll have to jump through the ring. Jump through the next three rings, then hit the booster and run up the right wall again. Jump through the ring that soon follows, then drop down, hit the booster, and run up the right wall once more. Jump through the two rings in one jump, then take the boosters out of the tunnel. You should have a decent amount of points by now as you hit the first checkpoint. Light Dash uphill and jump on top of the hourglass to open the door. Run through, hit the spring which launches you to a pulley, then jump on the platform. Light Dash the row of rings to your right, then jump on the red bar and swing. When you hit the next bar, do the same thing. You should land on an hourglass behind a row of rings. Light Dash those rings and keep running forward through the loop and off the jump panel. Move downhill, picking up rings, and Homing Attack the E-1000 robot to get to the next ledge. U P G R A D E Bounce Bracelet Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Just run forwards into the Bracelet. Hit B in mid-jump to slam into the ground in a ball. Keep hitting B to attain maximum height. Destroy the two E-1000s in front of you, then Bounce to the next ledge. Do the same on this ledge, then bypass the hourglass and Bounce up to the platform. Kill the E-1000 here, then drop down and hit the hourglass. Bounce back up and hit the spring, then run downhill into the mechanical room. Here, you'll need to grab the glowing apple...thing...and put it on the big glowing circle. It'll automatically move to the center and open the door. Run through the second checkpoint. Here, grind down the rail and go through the short tunnel at the end. Kill the E-1000, don't worry about the Attack Boo, and grind the rail to your right. At the end, drop off the ledge and destroy the E-1000 nearby. Run forwards up the winding hallway, Bounce up on the white blocks, and kill the two E-1000s. This way, if the Attack Boo grabs you, you don't need to worry about getting shot. Pick up the glowing apple and backtrack. Hit the hourglass, run forwards into the alcove and through the door, and keep jumping up the blocks to the top. Hit the boosters behind the ramp and place the glowing apple on the glowing circle. In the snakerun beyond, hit the hourglass and rush to the end. There are several Attack Boos in this tunnel, however, who will hold you still and eat up time. If you get caught by just one of these Boos, you will have to run to the end and fall down the hole to restart the snakerun. However many tries it takes you, make it under the door and hit the third checkpoint. Hit the hourglass and gun it to the end to make it under the three doors. If you don't make it, there are rails on either side of all three buildings upon which you can grind. Any way you slice it, somersault under the bar at the end and hit the jump panel to make it to the next loop. Hit all the boosters to make your way to a hallway which ends with an E-1000 and a springboard. Homing Attack the springboard and hold A on your way up to get high enough to Homing Attack the Gold Beetle. Bounce to the top of the white blocks, take care of the E-1000, and Homing Attack the extra life. Run to the end and grind over the pit. Hit the hourglass, charge up a Spin Dash for a very short time, then let it loose up the hill to get through the door. Zip through the boosters, go all the way through the loops, and you'll wind up at the goal ring. ------------------- 3.12) Death Chamber ------------------- Background Music - Deeper A Rank Cap - 12000 points Personal Best - 12070 points Tails found the base, Sonic penetrated the defenses, but the door's still locked. This calls Knuckles in to get the three Gate Keys and let the heroic trio inside. The only real tip I can give you is that you cannot leave the Red Room without picking up the Hammer Gloves. The rest of this level is pretty much luck. The Gold Beetle can be found in the first hallway to the west of the Red Room. There's a missile on one side and a stack of cages on the other. The Gold Beetle is behind these cages. U P G R A D E Hammer Gloves Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level From the starting point, go north, hit the hourglass, and enter the hallway there. Turn right and you'll see some wooden crates with Eggman's mug on them. Break them open to get to the Hammer Gloves. You can now break open iron containers. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.12.1) BOSS - King Boom Boo ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ After a torturous trek through Death Chamber, the king of all ghosts decides to stop by and take Knuckles out. Your arena is a big circular platform with a large pillar in the center. His first attack is throwing fireballs, which aren't hard to avoid. Don't move too fast or he'll double back and chase you in the opposite direction. Keep running until you hear the King inhale and spew fire. At that time, sprint behind him and punch the ghost holding up the hourglass. In an attempt to avoid the light, the King ducks into the ground. Stand on his shadow and Drill Claw into it. When King Boom Boo emerges, chase after him and punch him. Follow the same routine again until you turn on the lights for the second time. This time around, he'll go up the pillar. Again, keep doing the same thing. Four hits will bring this high-class pile of ectoplasm down to a harmless Slimer. =P ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.12.2) BOSS - Egg Golem ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A short cut scene, in which the Sonic team finally gets into the base, reveals the Egg Golem, a giant rock monster. You're, once again, on a circular arena, but with every punch the Egg Golem deals out, the segment he hits will lower until it falls into the quicksand. After he punches twice (as in both his fists are on the platforms), run behind him and jump up the red steps on his back. Homing Attack the yellow things in rapid succession, then Homing Attack the control unit to take out some of his health. When electricity surges through him, one of two things could happen, both of which are easily avoided. The first possible thing is that he puts both his hands out and spins around. Get on a low section of the arena to have him pass over you totally. The second possibility is that he will slam both his fists down simultaneously, then headbutt the arena. Stand to one side of a fist to avoid the headbutt. No matter what happens, keep following the same pattern and take Rocky out of commission. -------------------- 3.13) Eternal Engine -------------------- Background Music - On The Edge A Rank Cap - 35000 points Personal Best - 40200 points Eggman took off into space, and Sonic hitched a ride on the rocket. Tails and Knuckles also got on, somehow, and now everyone's in space. Yaay. Let all rejoicing cease, though, because Eternal Engine is just one rear pain after another. In front of you are two Beetles, so shoot them and move on. Two Beetles, a Gun Beetle, and a Bomb Beetle await you in this hallway, so destroy them all. Turn right, destroy that Bomb Beetle, then turn left and blow up the two Gun Beetles there. Swerve right, shoot the wooden box, and use the spring to reach the pulley in this next room. Destroy the Bomb Beetle between you and a pulley, then jump to aforementioned pulley. On your way up, the horrible camera angles return. Jump to solid ground when the camera zooms out, then take out the Hornet-6s on this path. Go through the door and hit the first checkpoint. Here, run into the 5-ring capsule and do nothing else. Dynamite was your friend in Tails' last level, now it's out to get you. Turn left and traverse to the end of the hallway where a Hornet-6 awaits you behind the door. Keep moving forward, but walk behind the wooden boxes rather than shooting them, because there's a hidden dynamite pack behind the boxes. Hit the switch, then leave the small room and turn to the door to the camera's right. The locked door here is now unlocked, so progress into space...which makes no sense whatsoever because Tails' head would exploderate the second he walks out. Which could only improve his voice. Anyway, target and destroy the Hornet-6 and the two dynamite packs for an Awesome, plus you should also take out the swooping Gun Wing en route. Keep going forward, through the short hallway (keeping a lookout for TNT on the floor) and you'll emerge in space again. Denying every law of nature, shoot the two rotating Gun Wings and drop down to the narrow strip of land. Hit the green button to launch the missile, then jump on one of the moving platforms to either side of you. When you hit the middle platform, watch out for the Gun Wings swooping in from the right. At the extreme of the platform's movement, jump and hover over to solid ground. In this following room, destroy the Gun Wing coming in from the top and blow up the canister in front of you from afar. Make a sharp left or right around the shadow, then hit the switch to suspend the giant weight. Jump on the spring on the left to launch yourself up to the weight. Grab the pulley, then jump and grab the other pulley. At the top, hit the second point marker. Proceed through this door and you'll catch a glimpse of the Artificial Chaos series. The best way to deal with the Guard Chaos is to continually shoot at it, ever moving closer, until you're close enough to Propeller Punch it and destroy it. Practice this tactic on the Guard Chaos in front of you, then turn left and perfect it on the second Guard Chaos there. Hanging off the ceiling are Laser Chaos who, quite appropriately, shoot lasers from their eyes. Deal with them and proceed through the door. Tangle with the trio of Beetles awaiting you, then jump onto the wooden boxes and, from there, onto the steel platform above the acid. Stand between the laser beams to avoid being hurt, and don't worry, Tails fits. Jump and hover to the next platform, shoot the balloon for full life, then jump and hover down to the third checkpoint. Ahead of you will be a locked door which you don't need to worry about right now. Turn right, kill the Beetles behind the door, and keep moving. Again, you're in space, but there's a lot more explosives and a lot more narrow walkways for you to navigate. Gun Beetles and Gun Wings wait around every turn. Make your way up via pulleys, and if you blow up a platform below a pulley, don't worry. You can hover to grab on. On the last stretch of walkway, three Gun Wings will swoop in from behind and below, then rise. Two more Gun Wings will come down from above at the end. Hovering above the last turn is a Bomb Beetle, which you don't need to destroy but it's slightly easier if you do. Behind the following door is the fourth checkpoint. You enter a room with a veritable treasure chest of explosives and Gun Wings. Being very cautious, work your way around either side of the room without shooting anything you don't need to. Most of the Gun Wings will miss, and the few that do make a shot across...well, they also miss. Pick up the shield in the next room and get ready to fire at the Gun Beetle waiting to take it away from you. Out in space once more, a Hover Chaos waits for you at the end of a long walkway. Two more Hover Chaos float in from the left and right, but you should be down below by now. There's a large platform below you with a switch on it. Hit the switch, double back behind the metal boxes behind you, and destroy the boxes guarding the springs. Up here, a platform will take you up to the door which was formerly locked. U P G R A D E Bazooka Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Just go forward, through the door, and pick it up. You can now break open iron crates. Jump back down to the wall of metal and iron crates. With your newfound bazooka, tear the iron crates apart and advance forward. In this room, there are explosives in every possible place, plus the added challenge of many dropping Gun Wings. Destroy as many Gun Wings as you can, then get just close enough to the door so that it opens. In the room ahead, a Tentacle Hover Chaos awaits you. True to their name, they unleash tentacles and can get you from halfway across a small room. Target and destroy it. You most likely took out the dynamite packs under the pulley in the process, so just jump for it. The gravitational force of space isn't strong enough to pull you downward. From the top of this pulley, hover to the next one, then jump onto the adjoining platform. Progress forward to the end of this hallway, picking up the full health pack, and turn right to hit the fifth checkpoint. From beyond this door, you're hovering wildly. The Gold Beetle appears to your left right after you start your psycho gyrations. Hornet-3s, Gun Beetles, and other assorted Hunters litter your path through space. When you reach solid ground again, a Hornet-3 is right there waiting. Through this next door is a Tentacle Hover Chaos, so take care of it before you start your Mission: Impossible parody. Hover down the shaft, dodging the lasers, Tentacle Hover Chaos, and Beetles, and land on the moving platform below. You'll be locked in place and ready to destroy the generator. Those two red...dealies...will be shooting pink spheres at you the whole time. It's really an opportunity for a helluva lot of points. Lock on to several parts of the generator at once, and when they're all blown up, run towards the goal ring. There's a safety net, so you can just walk off. ------------------- 3.14.1) Meteor Herd ------------------- Background Music - Space Trip Steps A Rank Cap - 13000 points Personal Best - 14550 points If you were watching some past cutscenes, you would know that Sonic drove the rocket into a meteor and let all the Master Emerald pieces out of the cargo bay. Knuckles, in his last level, has to gather three of those pieces (wonder who picked up the rest?) and fight his second boss. Meteor Herd is riddled with...well, meteors. Not only will you have to punch meteors out of your way to get to several things, you'll have to contend with an infinite amount of falling meteors which seem to track you wherever you go. Some quick tips: The "inverted blue tower" is the tip of the ARK at the top of the stage. When on the ground floor, the floors with blue lasers tracking them can be walked on. "Rotating beacons" are the small, gray-and-yellow rotating pillars. U P G R A D E Sunglasses Required: Hammer Gloves Priority: Required for many Hard Mode emblems On a part of the central tower, there's a meteor on a platform hovering above the ground. Punch that meteor as hard as you can and get it to slam into the door in front of it. Hit that switch, then take a spring so you go between the four pillars of the central tower. Drop down, platform by platform, until you get to the Sunglasses. To put these on, hit Y until Sunglasses appears in the B menu. Put them on where you got them and look around for some surprises. To take them off, just jump. ++++++++++++++++++++ 3.14.2) BOSS - Rouge ++++++++++++++++++++ Apparently Rouge was tracking the rocket and had to wind up in the same place as Knuckles. Since Knux won't just hand over the emerald shards, Rouge decides she has to take them. Pick up a couple rings at a time in this fight, and try to get over Rouge and Drill Claw her. It's the fastest way to take care of her. When the floor opens up, try to land on the same rafter as the bat so you can Drill Claw her easily. Watch out for her Black Wave attack, which is easily identifiable by the quick close-up on her face as she says Black Wave. Four smacks will make her give up. -------------------- 3.15.1) Crazy Gadget -------------------- Background Music - Unstable World A Rank Cap - 17000 points Personal Best - 18610 points This level is going to drive you nuts. Gravity switches, Artificial Chaos, and of course, deep space. Anyway, follow the rings from your starting point to the door. Destroy the two Hunters and don't get hit by their shots, because they will hold you in place as a sitting duck. Press onward some more and a Hunter will drop from the ceiling. Destroy it, take the ring capsule, and turn left. You'll come across a nasty Tentacle Laser Chaos, so destroy it. Move up to the gravity switch and hit B to invert gravity. On the ceiling, you'll find an ordinary Laser Chaos, so you can deal with it or just ignore it. Behind it, there is another gravity switch, so flip it and go into the next room. As soon as you open the door, a Hunter will be right there. Further on, there will be another Tentacle Laser Chaos underneath a pulley. Destroy it and try to bounce off its head to grab on to the pulley. If you miss, just Bounce up to it. At the apex of this pulley lies another pulley. Jump to it, then jump off at the top and hit your first checkpoint. Wheee! High-speed warp tube! Homing Attack the glass; you'll be sucked into deep space and from there into the next section. Homing Attack the Beetles to get across the acid pit, then hold forward as you're bouncing off the spring to hit the bomb and destroy the enemies in front of you. If you miss, you know how to deal with them. Hit the gravity switch, jump over the boxes, and hit the spring. Somersault under the tight space, then find your way through the hallway (More bad camera angles! Yay!) and hit the second checkpoint. Jump onto the rail (lucky for that checkpoint) and you'll enter a large, black, vertical room. Hit the gravity switch pointing right and run down to the rail. Light Dash the rings to make it on easier. At the end of the rail, a Tentacle Laser Chaos will be waiting for you, so make a quick right turn to avoid it. When you drop down to the narrow platform, you get to use the Light Attack for once! Charge it up, then let it loose on the Chaos Cells released by the Capsule Chaos (Just to let you know, these aren't their official names). Once they're all dead, take out the head of the Capsule Chaos and go through the door to the third checkpoint. Run down the hallways to the first Shield Hunter. Somersault its feet to take it out. The end of the next hallway has a Shield Hunter as well. Destroy it in the same fashion, then make your way up the boxes and to the Spark Beetles. Wait until their shields are down, then Homing Attack them in rapid succession and try to land on the rail below. Grind that to the spring, which takes you to a door and the fourth checkpoint. More warp tube fun! When you emerge this time, you'll be inverted. Make your way to the gravity switch at the end of the room, but be sure to take out the trio of Laser Chaos guarding the boxes. U P G R A D E Flame Ring Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level From hitting the gravity switch and righting yourself, go back towards the camera and move to the left or right corner. A spring will launch you to the elevated ground above. Trace back to the place where the Laser Chaos hung and pick up the Flame Ring. It lets you break open iron containers with a Somersault or a Bounce. Flip gravity again, then Somersault into the iron crates blocking your exit from this room at the end of the room. Somersault under the tight space, then you'll enter a room with more bad camera angles. Take out the Spinning Laser Chaos on the ceiling, then hit the springboard to make it to the next hallway. Here, take out the Laser Chaos and hit the springboard, but make sure you only move forward enough to just get stable ground. Here, you need to edge closer and closer until Light Dash appears on the B menu. At that time, Light Dash across. Somersault into the iron crate in the center of this ceiling to unveil a spring which will launch you downward so fast and so far that gravity switches. Ignoring all impossibilities of this happening, advance forward and destroy the Tentacle Laser Chaos. At this door, you'll need to Light Dash across the arc of rings to make it to the next room. Charge up your Light Attack here and take out the Capsule Chaos. Turn right, make your way down, and stop. The Gold Beetle materializes just in front of the two Shield Hunters. Destroy it for a hefty 1,000 points, take out the two Shield Hunters, and go through the next warp tube. Take out the Tentacle Laser Chaos here, then the two Laser Chaos on the ceiling. Make your way across the narrow beam, being ever careful of the spike balls, and destroy the Beetle at the end to open the door. Here, grab the rings and don't hit the gravity switch. Instead, jump off and Homing Attack to make it to the other side with the springboards. Hit one, then destroy the Shield Hunter guarding the door. Through this door lies the last checkpoint. Here's the part that'll drive you out of your gourd. Hit the switch before you do anything, then use all the boosters to get into deep space. Hit the gravity switch to get to the purple block. Go left, then forward. Take out the Gun Beetle and hit the Gravity Switch behind it. Make your way forward on the green block, then down. When you reach the two metal boxes, you have to Bounce on them while holding down so you can make it to the next platform. Hit the switch there to make it to one of the faces of the yellow block. Move away from the camera, then up, then take a leap to the blue block. You don't need to do anything about the Beetle there. Light Dash the rings on this face of the blue block, then flick the switch to cure your vertigo for about ten seconds. Take out the Tentacle Laser Chaos, then flick the switch he was guarding. When you hit the spring, hold down to get to the third face of the yellow block. Hit the spring behind the rail and let "gravity" take you back to the green block. Here, just run upwards, avoiding the Spark Beetles, until you reach a spring. Take the spring to the second face of the purple block, then Light Dash across the rings to land on the second face of the blue block. Hit the gravity switch there and you'll be taken to the third face of the purple block. Move away from the camera, then down. It is IMPERATIVE that you hit the switch here before you flick the gravity switch. After hitting the switch, flick the gravity switch and you'll be taken to the underside of the red block. A Spinning Laser Chaos greets you, so take him out before you move away from the camera and hit the gravity switch there. You're back on solid ground again, and the missile to open the final barrier should be emerged. If it's not, you probably don't know what imperative means and you have to go back and repeat the process all over again. Hit the missile button to dissolve the acid barrier and dash to the goal ring. I hope you had as much fun playing this stage as I did running through it over and over trying to get all As. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3.15.1) BOSS - Dr. Eggman +++++++++++++++++++++++++ When Eggman vowed that next time, you wouldn't be so lucky, he was right. This fight is a lot harder than your previous one. You can blow up the canister moving up the middle when Eggman gets close to it and he will be hurt by the resulting explosion. If, after a zoom on Eggman's face, you hear a charging sound (trust me, you'll know it), run. Run like hell. His Power Laser is coming around, and once you're inside, there's no escaping. Keep running around, pulling off shots when you're close to him, and you should make it by fine. ---------------- 3.16) Final Rush ---------------- Background Music - Highway in the Sky A Rank Cap - 13000 points Personal Best - 14200 points Yaay! Sonic's alive! The power of Chaos is strong in this one, yes? Anyway, all fake Yoda quotes aside, you now need to rush to the tip of the Eclipse Cannon to stop it from firing once more. You start off on a rocket, which explodes over a rail. At the bottom of this rail is a green line, followed by a green X. Hit A between those two points to score a big trick. On the purple rail in front of you, just grind down it and don't worry about the Tentacle Hover Chaos. Here, try to Homing Attack the Hornet-6 at the end of the pathway. Jump on the red rail on the platform you land on and grind all the way to the first checkpoint. When you get to the rail split just beforehand, don't worry. You'll catch the rail if you're close to it. Now, run down the hill, grab the rails and hit the spring. A long downward grind commences, but you don't need to do anything except keep your balance. At the end, Homing Attack the bomb capsule to get rid of the two Tentacle Hover Chaos. Hit the rail here, then at the end hit the springboard and run through the second checkpoint. Here, run down the hill and don't catch the rails. Instead, hitch a ride on the rocket and land on the purple rail far ahead of you. Grind down this, hit the springboard, and get to the next platform after the metal boxes. Here, you'll have to Homing Attack the vertical rails to get up. The Gold Beetle lies above the second platform with the single rail on it. Jump at the top of your vertical grind to nail it. Take out the Hornet and grind across deep space. Jump over all the gaps in the rails and hit the boosters to take you to the third checkpoint. Make your way up the vertical rails, be careful of the Tentacle Hover Chaos on top, and use your Bounce attack to break through the center boxes. Take the rail to all the other vertical rails. The first one you have to Homing Attack to get up, but for the next one just hit a booster and you go up it. Homing Attack all the vertical rails and just land on the horizontal ones until you get to the fourth checkpoint. Now, continue Homing Attacking up the rails until you reach a solid blue catwalk again. Turn right and Homing Attack up that rail, then jump over to the platforms with the Tentacle Hover Chaos on them. Destroy them both, then Homing Attack up the two rails. After some more platform jumping, Homing Attack up a rail to a spring. The springs will launch you to another rail. Grind upon that to the next checkpoint. Here, jump over the yellow sign and land on the rail below. Let all the following rails take you to a platform with a single vertical rail on it. Homing Attack up that one, then take the boosters up the long vertical rail. Be sure to crouch or you won't have enough speed going up. Now, you're faced with a choice. If you want to continue, take the purple rail on this catwalk, then run forward and hit the sixth checkpoint. If you want the upgrade, however... U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Nothing Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission Grind down the orange rail, then when you come off at the end, hold forward to land on the platform with the rocket. Take the rocket to another platform, then jump across the platforms to a spring. Grind up the vertical rail ahead of you and the Mystic Melody is right there. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. After a series of rails, you will eventually hit a spring which brings you to a series of platforms. Make your way up to the vertical rail, then grind up and land on the rail in front of you. At the end of this rail, make your way up the vertical rails and hit the bomb capsule to take out the Hornet, and, if you hit the springboard in time, the Tentacle Hover Chaos ahead of you. Use the springboard to get up to the next platform, then just jump up the blocks with rails on them. Take the springboards at the end of the hallway, then Bounce on any of the three stacks of boxes to bust through. Run all the way down the wall, staying ahead of the debris, and you'll launch right into the goal ring. +++++++++++++++++++++ 3.16.1) BOSS - Shadow +++++++++++++++++++++ Shadow and Sonic meet up racing to the point of the Cannon, where Shadow comments that he can't let Sonic live. For the final boss of the Hero Story, he's not all too difficult. For the first two or three hits, you can just Homing Attack Shadow. However, when you damage him enough, he'll start countering your attacks. At this point, let him advance far enough forward so that he mutters, "Time to put this to rest". At this point, Homing Attack to get out of the way of his oncoming Chaos Spear. Homing Attack him while he's standing still after he unleashes it. Your main hazard in this level is the narrow platform on which you fight. If you miss with a Homing Attack, you'll more than likely go flying off the edge. Also, parts of the path you've already passed crumble and fall to the Earth below. The point: Keep moving and aim. When Shadow fails to withhold his position as the ultimate life form, have fun watching the Hero ending. ========================= 4) Dark Story Walkthrough ========================= You open with the insidious Dr. Eggman trying to break into a top-secret military base. As the guard computer notifies the base that there is an intruder, Eggman is already halfway inside. -------------- 4.1) Iron Gate -------------- Background Music - Remember Me? M.F.M. A Rank Cap - 20000 points Personal Best - 21620 points After you drop from above, the camera angle will slowly change to behind you. Lock on to and destroy the four Beetles in front of you, then follow the hallway to the Hunter and two more Beetles. Take them out, then move to the door. You'll encounter several of these doors in Iron Gate; to destroy them, you have to target all four locks on the corners of the door and shoot them. Once this door is taken care of, move forward to the first checkpoint. In this next room, be careful of the three Hunters that drop from the ceiling. Destroy them and turn right. Step on the metal plate to be taken to the alcove above. Shoot the wooden boxes in your way, then drop down and destroy the robots in front of you. Turn left into the hallway on the back wall of the room. Make your way through, shooting the Hunters, and destroy another security door. Go down the elevator. The Gold Beetle appears on your right, but you have to destroy the other Beetles to make it appear. At the bottom, blow away another security door and hit the second checkpoint. Here, destroy the security door in front of you. In the next room, a good 20 rings awaits you. U P G R A D E Laser Blaster Required: Large Cannon Priority: Medium; really helps in swarms of enemies Destroy the two large canisters in front of you, then break the iron crates behind them. Make your way down the dead-end and pick up the Laser Blaster at the end. It's automatic, and it replaces your normal laser missile. The shots explode on contact and destroy any surrounding enemies. Turn right (left if you're picking up the Laser Blaster) and go into the hallway there. Destroy the security door at the end and you'll enter a large mechanical room. Turn right onto the catwalk, then make your way down until you see another catwalk branching off to the left. Destroy the Hunters in front of you and go down the series of large steps, being wary of the Beetles. Move forward into a smaller mechanical room and destroy the Hunters in front of you. Follow the catwalk to the third checkpoint. Destroy the security door in front of you, then keep moving forward to the second elevator of the level. At the bottom, destroy another security door. Now that you've penetrated the deepest part of the base, it has entered lockdown mode. There will be no open hallways, as they will all be locked with security doors. Proceed through all the rooms, destroying the security doors in your way, until you reach a room with a metal plate and an elevated platform. Move forward so that you lock every door ahead of you, then go to the plate and go to the elevated platform. Lock on to and shoot the control panel to activate the missile. When it launches, just run forward through the hallway and land on the Goal Ring. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4.1.1) BOSS - B-3x Hotshot ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Robotnik, commenting that it was too easy, has broken into the area where his grandfather's research was kept. He confuses Shadow, the ultimate life form, for Sonic, his arch-nemesis. Shadow decides to prove his power by calling in and dispensing of a guard robot. Since this fight is so similar to that of Sonic's, I'll just copy the strategy. Run around to dodge the machine gun fire, then when Hotshot lands, run around to dodge all the semi-homing missiles. After the missiles stop, jump up and Homing Attack the see-through part on his front. When he takes off, watch out, because the jet engines hurt. However, there is one major difference in this battle. After each hit, Hotshot will charge up one huge laser. Keep moving to avoid being locked on to. --------------- 4.2) Dry Lagoon --------------- Background Music - Bright Sound A Rank Cap - 15000 points Personal Best - 15060 points After a brief confrontation with Knuckles and Eggman, Rouge is off to Dry Lagoon to search for shards of the Master Emerald. This level consists of a little oasis and a big oasis. To get to the larger of the oases, destroy the Hunters guarding the turtle to the right of the little oasis. Stand on its back and hit B to submerge. In the big oasis, to the left lies Three Head Wall and to the right lies the Statue's Pool. The clue "A red flower in the water?" refers to the two springs in the Statue's Pool. U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Pick Nails Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission On the right wall of the little oasis (relative to the starting point), there is a painting. Dig through it to get to the Mystic Melody. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. --------------- 4.3) Sand Ocean --------------- Background Music - Way to the Base A Rank Cap - 25000 points Personal Best - 25000 points Robotnik has pulled a Chaos Emerald, and now he has to return to his hidden base. One question: If his base is so hidden, how come there's GUN robots everywhere? Nevertheless, your goal is to traverse the desert to get to your pyramid. Do not land in quicksand, as it will kill you. Go forward from the starting point onto the spinning disc. U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Jet Engine Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission When the spinning disc's arms are pointing to the left, jump and hover across the quicksand. Destroy the Bomb Beetle there, then pick up the Mystic Melody. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. If you picked up the Mystic Melody, activate the shrine and go through the portal. Then, go to the part of this text that says "WARP POINT". If you didn't, go back on to the spinning disc. Take out the Bomb Beetle hovering above, then jump to the next accessible platform in front of you. Take out the Bomb Beetle soon ahead and jump onto the moving platforms to make your way across the quicksand. Work your way up the blocks and destroy the dynamite packs on the pillar. Move forward on the fallen pillar, watching out for Hawks and Gun Wings, and shoot the balloon. Now, destroy the canister and drop down. Go up the step, then down it on the other side of the fence. Fell the pillar on the other side of the quicksand, then go across and destroy the three canisters there. Quickly dispose of the Hawk behind them, then go up the steps and knock down the pillar there. Follow the pillar to a series of steps, two Gun Wings, and the first checkpoint. Jump on to the spinning disc and navigate the chain of moving platforms to get to solid ground once more. Knock this pillar over and use it to get to the other alcove. The Gold Beetle appears here. Turn left and try to take out the two Hawks before you land on the large rectangular platform. Jump on the spinning disc and jump off when it's facing right to get to the second checkpoint. Once more, navigate the platforms to get to another alcove. Fell the pillar here and walk across to the next room. Fall down, defeat the Rhino, and destroy the canister to get up the steps. WARP POINT Destroy the two Rhinos up here and jump to the next pillar on the side. Move down the pillar steps to the platform with spike balls and a Bomb Beetle. Eliminate the Bomb Beetle and use the wooden columns to get to the next platform, where 40 rings await you. Again, use the columns to get up, take out the swooping Hawk, and go down on the other side of the fence. Use the columns to get to the stone hallway and start destroying canisters. There is only one in the first column, but three in the second. Navigate the platforms below to get to the spinning disc. Jump off when it's facing left and hit the final checkpoint. Near the end of this platform, three Gun Wings swoop down on you. Destroy them and hit the jump panel at the end. Here, you'll need to knock down three pillars to form a large staircase to the top. Once you have accomplished that feat, jump on the small weight at the top and ride it to the runway ahead. Being careful of the various enemies in wait, run to the end and to the goal ring. -------------------- 4.4) Radical Highway -------------------- Background Music - Vengeance is Mine A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 14590 points The military is pursuing Shadow! You've got to break away from them on one of the craziest highways on Earth! Grind down the rail at the start, then jump off and hit the springboards. Here, dash under the tollbooths and down the hill, being cautious of the bombs being dropped by the Blue Eagles. Take either fork and go through the loop. Center yourself again and hit the booster to make your way through the tunnel. At the end, launch to the next platform, where a Hunter is waiting for you. Take it out and use the pulley on your right to get to the top. Again, a Hunter waits for you, so destroy it and take the springboard to the next piece of highway. U P G R A D E Flame Ring Required: Air Shoes Priority: High, though nonessential On this strip of road, double back and somersault under the roller. Light Dash across the rings, hit the springboard, and pick up the Flame Ring. It lets you break open iron containers with a Somersault. To get back, destroy the iron containers at the end of the segment you're on and hit the switch. Grab on to the rocket to launch yourself to the main path. If you didn't pick up the Flame Ring, go forward to the next pulley, which a Hunter guards. Take the pulley up and grab the rocket to launch yourself to the first checkpoint. Somersault under the roller and dash down the hill. When you exit the loop, hit the springs and go down a spring shaft. At the end, move to the peak of the highway shred you're on. Somersault under the roller and Homing Attack the four Beetles to get across. Some Blue Eagles will take out a piece of highway soon, so get moving and avoid the bombs. Going downhill, you'll encounter a trick ramp, not unlike those of City Escape. Trick off it to grab the pole and swing upwards to the next platform. If you missed the ramp or the pole, destroy the Hunters and somersault into the wooden box to take a spring to the pole once more. On this platform, hit the spring on the far side (ignoring the Hunters) and launch yourself up to a pulley. Take it up, grab the rocket, and move forward a little bit to pick up 20 rings. When you land, move forward, avoid the bombs, and hit the second checkpoint. Run down the hill, through the double loop, and jump off the ramp to hit the spring. Destroy the Hunter, then jump on to the pole and launch yourself to the elevators. Work your way up them very carefully, then Homing Attack across the Beetles when the Spark Beetle in front puts his shield down. Take out the Hunter that drops from the sky on the next strip of land. Hit the springboard and Homing Attack the Gold Beetle perched in the center. Follow the rings down the left bridge support and grind to the bottom. Somersault under the roller, then run down this strip of highway to the third checkpoint. In this tunnel, jump over the barricades by any means, then somersault under the roller and run down the hill. After you go through the loop, be cautious. If you miss the spring at the end of the segment, you'll go hurtling to your death. Once you hit it, swing by the poles to the top of the highway. On this last strip of highway, there are banked turns with no guardrails. If you avoid all those, just have some fun here. Loops, speed, and a double corkscrew! When the thrill ride is over, hit the boosters, launch to the last platform, and run forward to the goal ring. ----------------- 4.5) Egg Quarters ----------------- Background Music - Lovely Gate 3 A Rank Cap - 12000 points Personal Best - 16150 points Rouge is ordered by her mysterious "boss" to infiltrate Eggman's hidden base. In order to do this, however, she has to find three gate keys which oh-so-conveniently happen to be hidden in the general vicinity. The big trap in this level is the Giant Beetle patrolling the halls. If it sees you, you only have a few seconds to get into a shadow or get out of there before it blasts you. Like Knuckles' Death Chamber level, this is made of three rooms: a red one, a blue one, and a green one. Mechanical halls and rooms are also dotted here and there. The Gold Beetle for Egg Quarters lies in the left alcove of the green room (facing the giant statue). An Attack Boo will be waiting to surprise you, and it will stun you for so long that the Beetle will disappear, so be ready. U P G R A D E Pick Nails Required: Nothing Priority: Essential In the blue room, a mechanical room is blocked off by some cages. Hit the missile button aimed at the cages to open the room. The Pick Nails are literally right in front of you. When clinging to a wall, hit B to dig into it. Also, when gliding, hit B to dig into the ground. You can also hit Y until Dig appears in the B menu and dig from a standstill. ---------------- 4.6) Lost Colony ---------------- Background Music - Trespasser A Rank Cap - 34000 points Personal Best - 35830 points Eggman needs to find the central control room so he can give the Chaos Emerald to Shadow. Since ARK was shut down 50 years ago, everything is very dark and only GUN robots remain. When you come up from below, destroy the two dynamite packs on the door in front of you to advance. Go down this hallway, destroy the Beetle at the end, and turn left. Kill the Gun Beetles in this room, then in the next room, jump off and hug the north wall. Destroy the dynamite packs when you land, then progress forward and take care of the Hornet-3 and the Beetle. At the end of the hallway, two Gun Wings will swoop down when you open the door. They don't pose a threat, so don't bother unless you need the points. Open the wooden crates in the corner of this room to expose a switch. Hit it, then move to the next room. There is a Rhino hidden on the floor of this room, so shoot it and go down the hill. Again, a Rhino haunts the floor. Take the left platform up, then hit the switch up there and go through the door to the first checkpoint. In the maze ahead of you, walk around until you see a Hornet-3. Dispose of it, then look to the side for a stack of metal boxes against the wall. Use them as stairs to get to the top. U P G R A D E Jet Engine Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level On the platform you're on right now, it calls to you. It allows you to hover over wide gaps by pressing A in the air. Hover across to the next platform and hit the missile there. Hover to where the missile hit and progress into the next room. Take either platform up to the high rise (I'm running out of synonyms, so sue me) and take out the Beetle there. Move to the arm of the platform and jump on. Destroy the three Gun Beetles at the top and hover across. If you go too far, you'll miss the second checkpoint. The two Beetles in front of you and the Rhino in the next room don't pose a threat, but shoot them anyway. Turn left, destroy the Beetle and the Rhino, then blow apart the wooden containers to form a crude staircase. Take it to the switch, then leave the room through the now- open door. A Hornet-3 hides in the shadows at the end of this hallway. You enter space for the first time in the next room. As usual, there are several Gun Wings coming around. Look out for one in particular; it comes down in front of the gap between the catwalk and the exit door. 10 rings are in the next room, then you enter space once more. Lock on to and destroy all the Beetles as quickly as you can. The Gold Beetle appears in front of you on your descent via the elevator. At your stopping point, hover across to solid ground and go through the door. Watch out for the two Gun Wings that come down just before you hit the third checkpoint. Go to the end of the hall, open the door, and target all the Hornet-3 parts you can. Once everything is down, step on the secure platform at the end of the catwalk and ascend up a shaft of Beetles. A great opportunity for points lies here. At the top, open the door by shooting the dynamite packs. In this short hall, pick up the rings and exit into space. Destroy the Hornet-3 hidden in front of you, then hover down to the missile. Hit the button, then go forward to the door (wary of any enemies) and open it. Make your way through the final hallway, open the door at the end, destroy the Hornet-3, and hit the goal ring. Some Gun Wings will be shooting in the background during your cinema, causing for a cool drama effect. ---------------- 3.7) Weapons Bed ---------------- Background Music - Crush 'em All A Rank Cap - 30000 points Personal Best - 32650 points The Eclipse Cannon, a weapon of total annihilation, is the reason Shadow wants the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman plans to grab all the Emeralds, when Rouge drops down and offers her services. Cut to the Prison Island coastline, where the Dark side has regrouped. Eggman's task is to break in and distract the military. The first thing you'll notice in this level are the hordes of deactivated robots which are points for the taking. Destroy as many as you need, remembering it only takes 11 to get 2000 points. Go to the garages on the end of the aircraft carrier and take out the nearby Hornet-6. U P G R A D E Large Cannon Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Break open the door of the center garage and pick up the Large Cannon. You can now break open iron crates. Use the Large Cannon to break down the iron crates and form a makeshift staircase of metal boxes. Jump the fence and hit the first checkpoint. From this platform, hover all the way over to the far left platform. Two Hawks will drop down and shoot rapidly, so take care of them as fast as possible. A large block of iron crates blocks your progress, so break them all to advance. Work your way up to the gap in the catwalks. A Hawk will drop between you and the crates on the other side, so destroy it. Break open the crates on the other side, hover across, and hit the springs to launch upwards. Break the iron crates here, then target and destroy the Hawk shooting upwards at you before advancing. Hover across to the platform ahead, destroy the Hawk, and take the pulley up. Eliminate the Hawk up here, then stick to the right all the way down this aircraft carrier. Destroy the Hornet-6 here, then keep your laser at the ready as you hover to the next platform. On the next platform, after the Hornet-6 you just blew up, hover across to the catwalk and hit the second checkpoint. A Hawk will swoop down behind the stack of iron and metal crates, so don't stick around long enough for it to hit you. Break the iron containers between the metal boxes, then hover to the next catwalk and hit the springs behind the crates. If you need rings, hit the three capsules, then hover to the catwalk to the right. It gets tricky here, as many robots are shooting at you at once. Take out as many as you can, go to the catwalk on the right, and shoot the Hawk that drops down to your left. Break the green box to the right of the next catwalk for a better chance to get to that catwalk. Run forward to the checkpoint. Grab the pulley and destroy the Hornet-6 at the top. When you jump off, three Hawks will drop down and ambush you. Ignore them and run to the end of the carrier. Hover to the next platform, but watch out for the Blue Eagles dropping bombs. When the bombs all explode, another Hawk will come up from in front of you. Destroy it, hover to the next catwalk, and work your way up again. Destroy all enemies and crates in your way to get to the goal ring. +++++++++++++++++++ 4.7.1) BOSS - Tails +++++++++++++++++++ You've successfully distracted the military and allowed Shadow and Rouge passage into the island, but that still doesn't stop Tails from coming in. However, fox-boy is a pushover. Just lock on and shoot when he starts to move in a circle and fire his Volkan Cannon. Three or four good pops will kill him. ------------------ 4.8) Security Hall ------------------ Background Music - I'm A Spy A Rank Cap - 12000 points Personal Best - 15450 points For some reason, Eggman is convinced that his 30-second fight with Tails calls for a 15-minute reduction of schedule. This may prove to be one of the more difficult levels for Rouge, because she thinks highly of herself and sets the timer to five minutes. Your first problem in this level will involve the numerous safes. First off, you have to unlock them to open them. To unlock the safes, take the spring on top of the large platform in the center of the red level. From that platform, take the pulley to the second floor. Incidentally, the Gold Beetle happens to appear on your way up. On the second floor, the red and blue safe switches can be found to the left and right, respectively. The yellow safe switch is on the large platform in the center. To open the safes, dig into the black center. If you're close to some giant fans and your radar is flashing red, try Drill Driving into the abyss near the fans. U P G R A D E Treasure Scope Required: Mystic Melody, Iron Boots Priority: Needed for many Hard Mode missions On the far end of the yellow level, you'll see an ancient shrine. Play your Mystic Melody there, then take the platforms to the iron crates. Kick them open, then move forward to the Treasure Scope. To put this on, hit Y until Treasure Scope appears in the B menu. Put it on where you got it and look around for some surprises. To take it off, just jump. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4.8.1) BOSS - R-1/A Flying Dog ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Despite her best attempts, Rouge is still caught in the security hold. Flying Dog is sent in to take care of the intruder. Aside from the fact that he never lands, R-1/A Flying Dog is almost the same as B-3x Hotshot. If you plan to hit him, you'll need to climb onto the gates on either side, then glide into the cockpit when he stops shooting missiles. After four hits, his only attack will be shooting the laser. One more hit will kill him. ----------------- 4.9) White Jungle ----------------- Background Music - Rhythm and Balance A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 15250 points Shadow picks up a transmission from Rouge; it turns out she got trapped anyway! The bombs go off in ten minutes, and if you will not have gotten to the safe, Rouge will die. Your mission in White Jungle is to blow through it in ten minutes or less. You drop from a waterfall onto a booster, then run down a snakerun with a spring at the end. The spring takes you to a vine, which in turn takes you to a springboard. Homing Attack the three enemies, then take the launch vine to the upper platform. Roll under the blockade and take the next launch vine up to a snakerun and the first checkpoint. Run down this hill, through the loop, and to the jump panel at the end of the snakerun. Hit the springs to launch yourself into a 20-ring capsule, then dodge the Rhino Spikes on your way down. Roll under the barrier and hit the Bomb capsule to destroy the enemies in your way. Hitch a ride on the launch vine to the next platform. Wait until the weight falls down and jump on it. Homing Attack the Hunter, then link it to the spring. Again, dodge the Rhino Spike on your way down and hit the launch vine to be sprung upwards. Destroy the Hunter on the small platform you land on, roll under the gate, and run to the end of the tunnel to get the next checkpoint. Head down this snakerun, through the broken loop, and hit the jump panel. Ahead of you, two Hunters will drop down. Destroy them, roll under the barricade, ignore the Spark Beetle, and go up and through the loop. Destroy the two Hunters at the very top, break through the wooden crates, and run through the third checkpoint. After hitting the spring at the end of this snakerun and landing on solid ground again, you'll need an important item to progress. Destroy the Rhino Spike first. U P G R A D E Air Shoes Required: Nothing Priority: Required to finish level Break the wooden crate to your right and drop down the revealed hole. It doesn't get much easier. The Air Shoes allow you to Light Dash across any row of rings at supersonic speeds. When you run into a row of rings, just hit B. Roll under the blockade to your left and Light Dash across the many rings you see. When you emerge near the spring, take it up to the boosters. Run through the snakerun to the spring at the end. When you land, the Gold Beetle will appear right behind the Hunter. Hit the launch vine to get to the next platform, on which your only hazard is the Gun Wing coming around the corner that the weight lies on. Roll under the gate, hit the spring, and follow the launch vines to the goal ring. +++++++++++++++++++ 4.9.1) BOSS - Sonic +++++++++++++++++++ You'll land in the arena and Sonic will soon come up behind you and instigate a fight. Dodge Sonic's movement until he stops, then jump up behind him and Homing Attack. Repeat twice, but beware: If you attack him from the front, he'll jump up, deflect it, and Homing Attack you. Your only danger aside from that is bouncing off the arena when you ricochet from a Homing Attack. --------------- 4.10) Route 280 --------------- Background Music - Chasing Drive A Rank Cap - 3:20:00 Personal Best - 3:15:30 You have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, thanks to a noble effort on Shadow's part, and you've put off a demonstration of the power of the Eclipse Cannon. Unfortunately, to bring it to full power lest the world not submit to the Eggman Empire, you need all the Emeralds. Fox-boy still has one from the last game, so it's Rouge's job to chase and catch him. This is a pleasant change of pace from Rouge's normal levels, but there's still some things you need to follow to get an A. The controls have changed, first off, so hold down A to accelerate, B brakes, and Y gives you a speed boost with every 20 rings. Power slide around every turn. To power slide, start turning a corner, let go of the A button, then turn a little more and gun it. It sounds complicated, but it's actually easy to pull off. Only use speed boosts on straightaways, because if you hit a wall when you're moving too fast, you'll bust through it. Be cautious of the few hairpin turns in this level, and always power slide around them. Successful completion of this level unlocks 2P Kart Racing. -------------- 4.11) Sky Rail -------------- Background Music - Mr. Unsmiley A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 14100 points The Tornado has crossed the path of Shadow, and now he must track it. I like this level, simply because there's many paths you can take and you'll never get lost. When you're done on the rail in the beginning, hit the boosters and launch off the springboard. Move forward to a Propeller Spring. To activate these, you have to repeatedly Homing Attack them until you reach the orange circle at its peak. At the top of this one, hit the 10-ring capsule in front of you and follow the path to the rocket. If you're going for the fastest way, take the rocket right here. U P G R A D E Ancient Light Required: Nothing Priority: Medium; really helps in big swarms of enemies Homing Attack across to the platform beyond the rocket and go to the ledge with the Chao Box on it. Jump off here and two Beetles will appear. Homing Attack them, then Homing Attack the Spring Beetle to get to the top where the Ancient Light lies. To use it, hold down the B button until Shadow says, "There's no time to play games!", then release the B button near a swarm of enemies. If you come across a P-100 Artificial Chaos, you'll be in the air for a good 30 seconds, making for some good fun. From the upgrade, Homing Attack the Beetles as far as you can, then get to the first checkpoint by any means possible. Here, grind all the way down the long set of rails until you reach the bottommost ledge. Homing Attack the spring in front of you to bounce up to a ledge with a Propeller Spring. Work your way up in the same fashion as before and hit the second checkpoint. This set of rails curves around a pumpkin pillar, then ends above an outcropping with a Rhino on it. Head to the left, Homing Attack the Beetle, and make your way up on the Propeller Spring. Up here, go up once more. Homing Attack the capsule and move to the steel platform with another Propeller Spring on it. Keep going up and hit the third checkpoint right before the rails. This Gold Beetle is probably the trickiest of all. When you see two Beetles off to the side, jump off the rail. Homing Attack the Gold Beetle in front of and below you, then try to make it back to the rail. At the big rail split, just keep on your straight path and you'll land safely. When you launch off, run to the end of the outcropping to the Propeller Spring. Keep going upwards via the enemies and hit one of the two rails at the top. Grind all the way down, keeping your balance, and run to the end of this platform to the goal ring. Be sure not to run under it and off the edge. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4.11.1) BOSS - Egg Golem ++++++++++++++++++++++++ You've realized that the Tornado is heading straight towards you, and now Eggman is heading the gang off at the pass. One big problem - Sonic destroyed the control mechanism of the Egg Golem, and now it's set on destroying its creator. There's a very easy way to beat this boss, but it's kind of tricky. When you start, drop down and land on a block with a pulley above it. Grab the pulley and shoot like a madman when you see the Golem. If he lunges for you with a fist, hold back on the control stick and jump off. Hover down slowly and grab the pulley again when it's safe. After the three cracks in his chest open up, lock on to and destroy the flashing lights. Destroy all nine of them to fell the beast. --------------- 4.12) Mad Space --------------- Background Music - 34 Degrees N, 12 Degrees E A Rank Cap - 14000 points Personal Best - 15750 points This will certainly make your Top Three Most Hated Levels list. First off, Mad Space is just huge. Second, all the hint computers are reversed in unique ways which will soon be explained. Third, two of the three large meteorites have very distinct gravitational fields that will piss you off badly. Like I said, the hint computers are reversed. The first one is written backwards (ie diuqil live is evil liquid) and the next two are opposites of the actual one (ie the highest place means the lowest place). On the central space station, there are three rockets. One takes you to the Spherical Planet. This is the one with the most confusing gravity. If you drop below the center line, your controls are immediately reversed. Hopefully, you won't need to spend much time on this planet. Another one takes you to the Capsule Planet. This one, quite aptly, looks like a capsule. If any Emerald Shards are hidden on this one, they're going to be at the ends. The final one takes you to the Holy Planet, which is blue and has a huge crater in it. If you take the rocket on the Holy Planet upward and keep going up, you'll reach the tip of the ARK. The Gold Beetle is located up here, between two ledges at the very top. U P G R A D E Iron Boots Required: Nothing Priority: Essential On the Spherical Planet, the Iron Boots can be found in the central pillar-type structure. You can now break open iron containers. +++++++++++++++++++++++ 4.12.1) BOSS - Knuckles +++++++++++++++++++++++ Somehow, from Mad Space, you made it into Meteor Herd and a confrontation with Knuckles. Quite typically, it's over the possession of the Emerald Shards. Pick up a couple rings at a time in this fight, and try to get over Knux and Drill Drive him. It's the fastest way to take care of him. When the floor opens up, try to land on the same rafter as the echidna so you can Drill Drive him easily. Watch out for his Thunder Arrow attack, which is easily identifiable by the quick close-up on his face as he says "Take this!". Four smacks will make him give up. ----------------- 4.13) Cosmic Wall ----------------- Background Music - Soarin' Over Space A Rank Cap - 80000 points Personal Best - 109120 points Sonic and gang have infiltrated the ARK and Eggman decides he has to be the one to stop them. You have to travel into space once more to accomplish this in what may be the longest level in the game. The game allows you to hover upwards because of the weak gravity. I don't believe it for a second because there's no gravity in space, but physics be damned, let's get on with it. You'll start off in front of two ring capsules. Snag them and hover upwards to the next platform. You move a lot faster if you're in front of the arrows. Up here, destroy the green guard robots and the Tentacle Hover Chaos. Hover up again to the next platform and take out the enemies hovering over space. Turn left to realign yourself, move to the end of the platform, and hover upwards again. Turn right, destroy the enemies onto which you can lock and jump over the perpendicular gap. When hovering up to the catwalk above, be careful of the Tentacle Laser Chaos clinging to its underside. Target and destroy the guard robots and the Hornet surrounding this platform, then hover upwards once more. Jump on top of the weight, then hover to the next catwalk when you reach the apex. Again, wipe out the guard robots and the Hornet surrounding this platform, then hover upwards. Destroy all five Beetles ahead and run forward through the first checkpoint. After jumping up the platforms, use your Volkan Cannon on the tent structure. Try to stay a decent distance away from the next platform as you hover up, for two Tentacle Laser Chaos await you on the underside. In front of you on this platform are four guard robots; destroy them and advance forward. Destroy the Hornet to your left, break the tent, and hover upwards again. Destroy the tent while in mid-hover, land on the platform, and hover to the next one. There are three Tentacle Laser Chaos at the end of this platform, but you're able to target and destroy them. Once they're taken care of, run to the end of the platform, up the steps, and through the second checkpoint. Hover up, break the tent in mid-hover, and land safely on solid ground. The two Hornets on either side should either be sitting idly or getting ready to launch. Lock on to and blow up as much as you can. Destroy all the Tentacle Laser Chaos in front of you, walk up the steps, and hit the springs. Hover to the platform with the tent (no need to destroy it) and follow the rings upwards to the next platform. In this vertical shaft, you'll be making your way upwards by means of platforms and pulleys, then downwards by any means possible. These sections are pretty much self-explanatory, and the camera often focuses on the next place you need to be, so I'll only be pointing out places of significance. U P G R A D E Protection Armor Required: Nothing Priority: Medium, helps in the fight against Tails When dropping down from the top of the shaft, stick to the far left corner. You should land on a platform with a missile on it. Hit the missile, then hover between the two platforms in the far right corner. You should pick up the Protection Armor, which adds another level to your health gauge, meaning you can sustain more damage before dying. After you drop from the shaft, move forward and destroy the Artificial Chaos. Jump onto the elevated area and hit the third checkpoint. Here's where you get to ride the rails. To those thinking a score of 80000 points is impossible, I'm about to prove you wrong. After a few Beetles, you'll come across a group of canisters. Your first instinct is to lock on to them all; do NOT do that. Instead, shoot them individually for a nice 3500 points a pop. Do this technique on every group of canisters you see. After the canisters, you'll come across a field of guard robots and Tentacle Hover Chaos. Your first priority is the Chaos, as they can easily reach out and cause you to lose all your rings. There are only two in this field, thankfully. Proceeding the field of guard robots is a long straightaway which leads you back into the space colony. Run forward off the platform and into the fourth checkpoint. After destroying a Hornet-9, you'll start to go up a slightly trickier vertical shaft. Here, there are two Tentacle Laser Chaos positioned in strategic places: one under the first platform (after you start ascending) and one on top of the third. Dealing with these, work your way to the top. Stick to the corner at which you are positioned to pick up a good supply of rings. Drop down the shaft, don't worry about the Chaos and guard robots, and hit the fifth checkpoint in front of you. In order to advance, first destroy the Hornet-9 ahead. Jump and hover all the way across to the platform with the spike balls on it. If you get shot down or miss your mark or anything else happens, just make your way up via the platforms. From the spike ball platform, destroy the Hornet and hover upwards. Watch out for the Hornet-3s on either side, head to the platform in front of the hover arrows, and take care of the Tentacle Hover Chaos. Be sure to stand back, because he's closer than it seems. Coming up to this platform, you'll encounter a Tentacle Laser Chaos and several brown guard robots. These robots take two hits to destroy, but they make for easy Perfect! point combos. Lock on to and destroy all the robots and the Chaos here, then hover upwards to the next platform. Take care of the Beetles, destroy the Tentacle Laser Chaos hanging from the underside of the next platform, and hover up. A Hornet greets you, so make that your first priority. Then, lock on to and destroy as many enemies as you can see to your left. From here, all the platforms are clean up to the second platform with a tent on it. Shortly after destroying the tent, two Hover Chaos will fly in from behind you. Destroy them both and take the low route across the asteroid field and to the sixth checkpoint. Aside from an abundance of enemies, this vertical shaft is the same as the other two. When you reach the top, a Hover Chaos and two guard robots will be behind you. They don't attempt to attack, so vaporize them while you can. When dropping down the shaft, stick to the near left hand corner. Destroy the enemy in front of you at the bottom and run forward through the seventh and last checkpoint. Your second and last rail trip starts in an asteroid field which soon clears up. Again, seek and destroy any and all Tentacle Hover Chaos. Just so you don't get confused, that's EVERY Chaos here. As you go through the loop, shoot wildly in any direction. If you're lucky you'll hit a canister or two. After coming out of the loop, the next set of canisters is in front of you, but to your left when the camera straightens out. Going up the hill, canisters appear everywhere. At the top of the hill, some canisters will appear on either side of you. Once you descend into the tunnel, turn around and face the drill-bot coming towards you. Lay into the B button like a madman. If you hold off the drill long enough, you'll launch off your platform and into the goal ring. ++++++++++++++++++++ 4.13.1) BOSS - Tails ++++++++++++++++++++ You've blown up Sonic, so what's a faithful sidekick to do? Avenge his death, of course! This battle is much harder than the one on the aircraft carrier, but if you picked up the Protection Armor in the preceding level, you'll have an obvious advantage. You can blow up the canister moving up the middle when Tails gets close to it and he will be hurt by the resulting explosion. If, after a zoom on Tails' face, you hear a charging sound (trust me, you'll know it), run. Run like hell. His Power Laser is coming around, and once you're inside, there's no escaping. Keep running around, pulling off shots when you're close to him, and you should make it by fine. ----------------- 4.14) Final Chase ----------------- Background Music - The Supernatural A Rank Cap - 12000 points Personal Best - 13680 points Rouge has done her homework, all right, and she's found that Shadow may not be the true ultimate life form. However, Shadow's done his as well. He realizes that Rouge is actually a government spy sent to steal the Chaos Emeralds! Eggman, however, requires Shadow's assistance with the Eclipse Cannon, for he has picked up the seventh Chaos Emerald. Shadow dismisses Rouge with a threat to her life as he rushes off to assist Eggman. As you grind down the rail in the beginning, you may believe this level to be the same as Final Rush of the Hero story. When you finish the rail and bounce off the springboard, the first checkpoint is in front of you. If you find yourself desperate for points, jump off the top of this hill and Homing Attack the Tentacle Hover Chaos, then off the 20-ring capsule. Otherwise, just run down and avoid the meteors. At any rate, when you reach the bottom of the hill, a Tentacle Laser Chaos will be there in front of you. Once you destroy it, a gravity drum will be next up. Get close to it so its gravity sucks you in. Run up it to the springs on either side. Hit either spring and Somersault into the Shield Hunter on the platform ahead. Hit the springboard, Homing Attack the capsule, and try to destroy the Tentacle Laser Chaos. Hit the springboard here and enter the tunnel. Somersault into the Shield Hunter, run to the end, and stick to the gravity drum. Navigate to the central platform with the spring, hit the spring, and jump off the drum to the next platform. Avoid the tentacles of the Tentacle Hover Chaos up ahead, Homing Attack it, and land on the platform below. Hit the springboard and launch yourself to the vertical drum. Run up and grab the pulley, then jump to the next platform. A meteor ahead will explode, leaving clear passage up the drum. Hit the spring and get launched to the jump panel. This string of drums requires no jumping whatsoever. Your two hazards are the exploding meteors on the horizontal drums and the bombs from the Hornet-6 chasing you up the vertical drums. When you reach the top, hit the spring for 300 points and the second checkpoint. To get the Gold Beetle, you have to jump off this hill and angle to the right. You'll see some drums ahead; latch on to them, then transfer to the lower group. At the very end of the last drum, the Gold Beetle will appear. Make a blind leap of faith to the platform far below. Rush past the Hornet-6 and hit the third checkpoint inside the tunnel. Go up either drum in the corners and Homing Attack the Tentacle Hover Chaos. Drop down the center tunnel and try to stay centered. The boosters will often shove you off into space if you're not centered. Grind down the rail to the springboard and bounce off to the drum. Homing Attack from capsule to Chaos to drum from the top. Up top of this drum, Homing Attack from Chaos to drum and make your way up again. Once more, Homing Attack from Chaos to drum and go up. Finally, do it once more. U P G R A D E Mystic Melody Required: Nothing Priority: Needed for every Lost Chao mission Make your way to the top of the drum on which you are. At the top of this drum, you should see another in front of you. Jump above the electric fences to the top of that drum, then jump over to the platform. The Mystic Melody is in front of you. It allows you to activate Ancient Shrines which cause objects to appear or doors to open. In nearly every case when you come across an Ancient Shrine, you will need to use your Mystic Melody to reach the Lost Chao. Otherwise, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. Play the Mystic Melody at this shrine to cause a warp to appear. Take the warp to the platform far below and destroy the Shield Hunter by Somersaulting into it. Ahead, every step counts. Homing Attack the Tentacle Hover Chaos, then Homing Attack onto the drum. Keep moving upwards thusly until you come to a platform with a spring ahead of you. Jump to that platform, hit the spring, and grab the all the rings on the rail above for 500 points. Hold back on the control stick to hit the fourth checkpoint. Grind down this rail to the hill. Run down the hill, follow the rails ahead, and you'll land on a green platform. Jump down to the next green platform, then take either side of drums to the other side. You'll have to jump from one to the other, and at the end, to the Tentacle Hover Chaos. Once you're back on solid ground, hit the fifth checkpoint ahead of you. Take the boosters up the steep incline, then jump off the top of the hill in front of you. If yo