Sonic Heroes 2P Battle Mode FAQ Version 1.1 Created by: knuckles_sonic8 ************************************** Table of Contents: 1. Disclaimer 2. FAQ Information 3. Game Information 4. Version History 5. Before You Begin 6. Action Race (a) Generic Information (b) Seaside Hill (c) Grand Metropolis (d) BINGO Highway 7. Team Battle (a) Generic Information (b) City Top (c) Casino Ring (d) Turtle Shell (e) Formation Advantages (f) Leader Advantages 8. Special Stage (a) Generic Information (b) Stage 1 (c) Stage 2 (d) Stage 3 9. Ring Race (a) Generic Information (b) Egg Treat (c) Pinball Match (d) Hot Elevator 10. Bobsled Race (a) Generic Information (b) Seaside Course (c) City Course (d) Casino Course 11. Quick Race (a) Generic Information (b) Road Rock (c) Mad Express (d) Terror Hall 12. Expert Race (a) Generic Information (b) Rail Canyon (c) Frog Forest (d) Egg Fleet 13. Thank You ************************************** 1. Disclaimer I give permission to www.gamefaqs.com to use my FAQ on their site. No other site, nor individual person, may use my FAQ in its entirety, or part of it, by ripping off, copying and pasting, selling, rewriting, redistributing or in any way shape or form duplicating or taking part of this FAQ without documented permission from me. To violate any of the above is a serious crime and you will be dealt with by the law. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. FAQ Information This is an FAQ created by me to help all you Sonic Heroes fanatics in beating your friends at the mini-games Sonic Team has incorporated into this great platformer found in 2P Battle Mode. Enjoy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. Game Information Title: Sonic Heroes Platform: Multi-platform Blocks: 2 Number of Players: 1-2 Simultaneous ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. Version History Version 1.0 - Has information and strategies for all mini- games. Version 1.1 - More tips added thanks to "shadowdragon7416". Fixed some formatting issues. Minor touch-ups in the tips. Added to introductory comment below. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. Before You Begin Don't forget that to unlock the following mini-games in 2P Battle Mode (with the exception of Action Race), you must collect a total of 20 Emblems for each mini-game with the last mini-game unlocked by getting 120 Emblems. Other than this, enjoy the guide and try to have fun with Sonic Heroes' Battle Mode (although, admittedly, it's quite hard to). If you feel you're quite good at Sonic Heroes in general, head on over to The Sonic Center where you'll surely be welcomed as you compete amongst many other users for World Records in Ring, Score and Time Runs. Why not head on over there? You can check out my profile as well, if you like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. Action Race (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Action Race! First one to the goal wins! Stages: Seaside Hill, Grand Metropolis, BINGO Highway Recommended for: Beginners Mission Goal: Get to the Goal Ring before your opponents! My Words of Wisdom: -Any team can be used for Action Race, especially on BINGO Highway. Don't think that Team Rose isn't as fast as the other teams. That may be true, but they can still be quite useful to you. -Avoid using your Flight characters whereever possible. They'll just lead you to your detriment. (b) Seaside Hill My Personal Level Rating: 3/5 Team Advantage: Sonic/Dark (Light Dash) Team Disadvantage: Rose/Chaotix (No Light Dash) Checkpoints: 3 Length: Average Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Music: 3/5 Strategy: Once you begin, it's easy to see where you'll be heading as far as the path goes. Head straight ahead with full speed then, if you are Team Sonic or Dark, try Light Dashing into the 5 rings in front of you. Then, head forward through the Speed Boosts then use the Light Dash once again to dash right into the flight rings, if applicable. If not, however, simply use your Flight character. As you head straight again, head under the Flapper and avoid him altogether whilst heading onto the spring. Whilst aloft from the spring, switch to Power Formation and cross the large Speed Boosts in that formation. Head straight into the checkpoint but stay in the Power Formation to collect all 3 Item Boxes found on the 3 loops in front of you. While in the loop, to save some time, instantly change to Speed Formation and, if possible, perform the Light Dash on the upcoming curved line of rings. Switch to Power Formation again to eradicate the two pawns. Then, use the same attack to destroy the two blocks in front of you, revealing a spring. Once you cross paths with the spring, whilst aloft, use your Power character's aerial shot attack (e.g - Knuckles' Fireball Dunk) to eliminate the Cannon Pawn up ahead. Then, if you didn't manage to cross it, reach the higher platform by heading onto the spring. Then, switch to Speed Formation and dash into the 5 or some odd rings in front of you and continue down the path rather than switching to the Flight Formation to head upwards. Once you cross the springs at the end of the loop at the end of the path, switch to Power Formation again to break the blocks containing the Triple Spring. Once you cross paths with the Triple Spring, perform your gliding aiblity (e.g - Triangle Dive) whilst aloft to head into the hovering Flight Ring. After crossing the Flight Ring, use your Power character's aerial shot attack to eliminate the two Pawns in front of you and use their ground attack to remove the 4 blocks from your path. Before crossing the Speed Boosts, though, switch to Speed Formation and then continue down the path. Once you reach the curved line of rings, use the Light Dash, if possible, and you should cross the checkpoint successfully. Then, cross the three loops in Speed Formation without forcing upwards on the Control Stick too much (most like1y you will fall off the loop if you do not heed this advice). After which point you will be sent to another island. By now, you should have acquired a Team Blast. Use it here on the enemies you see in front of you and your potential opponents as well (who are most likely somewhere near you). Once the Team Blast has been used, use your Speed character to perform the Homing Attack onto the spring in front of you. Then use continued Homing Attacks while aloft to get across to the other side using the Flappers but just perform one homing Attack on each enemy - destroying the Flappers is not necessary. At the very end of the level, use more Homing Attacks on the last two hovering Green Flappers, then, whilst still aloft, perform one final Homing Attack to dash right into the Goal Ring. (c) Grand Metropolis My Personal Level Rating: 2/5 Team Advantage: Team Disadvantage: Checkpoints: 3 Length: Short Fun Factor: 2/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 2/5 Strategy: Okay, you'll start off on a light blue track. Simply head straight into the loop ahead. Don't bother performing the Light Dash (if applicable) on the rings in front of the loop for you won't be able to dash through them at the angle you are at. After the loop, you'll head towards a couple of speed boosts which will send you shooting off on a straight path. Simply dodge (or eliminate if your prefer) the enemy then move one to the first checkpoint (I'd recommend you go through as your Speed character). Rather than trying to cross the gap by eliminating the enmies, simply go under them to find a Spring which will send you to the platform you'd be going towards if you eliminated the enmies, which will save a bit of time for you. Quickly change to Power formation to eliminate the Green Turtlebot up ahead and then wait a while for the path to appear, then proceed. In the next area, simply use Fireball Dunk on the Red Flapper in front of you to make the next path appear. Wait a while, let it appear, then cross the path and the upcoming checkpoint as your Speed character once again. Head down the slope and defeat the aloft Flapper to open a cage containing a spring which will send you to the enxt area. Totally dodge the enmies and head up the uphill slope and cross the final checkpoint as Speed formation again. Run right into the Giant Speed Boost to be sent over to the next path which will contain many loops, twists and turns. Go through the path to be sent to another set fo Speed Boosts which will send you to the final area where there are two Pawn's waiting for your arrival. Ignore them and dash right into the Goal Ring to claim your victory. (d) BINGO Highway My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Team Advantage: None Team Disadvantage: None Checkpoints: 0 Length: Average Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 4/5 Strategy: At the start, you'll be placed outside of where the Pinball Table begins. To get to the Pinball Table, you'll need to switch to Flight Formation and perform the following tasks. First off, jump atop the platform on the ground, then ascend into Flight to land atop a floating Dice which moves both up and down. After whcih point, you'll see another floating dice block with 4 springs atop it. Jump onto one of the springs, and whilst aloft, descend to either one of the two floating dice to your right and left. These dice will take you to the start of the Pinball Table. Head in as Flight Formation to ensure that all your Team Members get inside. From here on in, it's pretty self- explanatory. Getting BINGO is not mandatory, but you can try if you really want to just for the fun of it. Just don't waste your time too much on it. Always take the shortest route to guarantee you'll get the Goal Ring ahead of your opponent. Be advised, though, that if you and your other team members all fall off, you'll have to start from the beginning so be careful. Also, try avoiding the slot machines themselves for rings are pointless in this level and it'll just slow you down. About 3/4 to the end of the Pinball Table, you'll see three routes in front of you after the turn where you got the second last bingo chip. The left and the right routes will take you to the Pinball Table where the Goal Ring is but it'll take you much longer to get down to it. Try taking the middle route, for it contains a spring afixed at the end of it, which, when used, can send you flying right towards the area where the Goal Rings is located. But if you so happen to go onto the left or right path, simply hold left (if you're on the right path) or right (if you're on the left path) and you should still be able to reach it. In fact, this is a better route to follow as the middle path takes longer, it seems. Just remember to hold the Control stick in the direction you want to follow if you want to make it. If you don't make the Goal Ring from the flight down, simply use the flippers to destroy the panels which block the area where the Goal Ring is. Observe where your opponent is on the Table, however, for you amy end up clearing the way for them and that would lead to your loss! Once one of the panels turn from Green to Yellow to Red, there will be a small squeeze for you to get through, enabling you to reach the Goal Ring. Good luck. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. Team Battle (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Team Battle! Win by forcing your opponents off the field! Stages: City Top, Casino Ring, Turtle Shell Recommended for: Advanced Players Mission Goal: Force your opponents off of the field! My Words of Wisdom: -In this section, the Strategies provided are strategies that are proven to work. You are, however, encouraged to use your own strategies but if you would like some pointers, read my Strategies as I have found that they are quite helpful. -In this section, the Strategy Ratings are rated on how successful they will be when facing other teams. They have all been tested and you can find for yourself that my ratings aren't far from the truth. TIPS FROM SHADOWDRAGON7416: ***TIP1:*** "Team rose probably has the most attack power in team battle mode. If cream is ever your only character left, press your attack button (which varies depending on what system you use, same button to use thunder shoot) to send cheese into your opponents. This move requires you to be on the ground and costs some time (1-2 secs) but once successful, cheese will attack your opponents about 2 to 3 times in a row. The first hit will almost always cause them to lose all their rings, and the second attack can be devastating. If you repeatedly tap the attack button, cheese will attack indefinitely, and the best part is it leaves your opponents with no time to respond, because they are stunned. This move will almost always guarantee a victory. Note: this move does not work in casino ring, because cheese will target the springs instead." ***TIP2:*** "You can get team blast very quickly if you use amy and continuously tap the attack button. Instead of using rocket accel, she'll use her short range hammer attack and the gauge will rapidly increase." (b) City Top My Personal Level Rating: 5/5 Power Cores: Triple Blue (2), Triple Red (2), Triple Yellow (2) Fun Factor: 5/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Music: 5/5 Strategy: Team Sonic Strategy Rating: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 5/5 Start off by switching to Tails to collect the 3 Yellow Power Cores found within either of the two floating Item Balloons. Then, switch to Knuckles to destroy the wooden and metal containers, revealing 3 Blue and Red Power Cores for both Sonic and Knuckles respectively. When battling, it goes without saying that Power characters should take the lead the whole time you battle. However, in this battle, it would not be the case. Start off by entrapping your opponent in a tornado using Sonic's Blue Tornado ability. Once the opponents are airborne, use Tails to knock them a bit further away from you, then, switch to Knuckles and quickly jump and whilst aloft, perform the Fireball Dunk ability to inflict damage upon all 3 teammates. If not all or even some get eliminated, which is quite rare, use Knuckles' Dash Punches to finish the job. If Tails is ever the last one standing, use his Dummy Ring Bombs repeatedly as you travel in a circular motion around your opponents. This can both stun your opponents and build up the Team Blast you may need to recover Sonic and Knuckles. Strategy: Team Dark Strategy Rating: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 4/5 Use Rouge to fly up in the air, and then use her Thunder Shoot to prevent your opponents from heading towards the balloons and/or the containers found on the stage. Use her Thunder Shoot to stun your opponents, then swoop in as Omega to deliver another hard blow on them. Whilst they are stunned, head over to the wooden and metal containers to find the Power Cores for Shadow and Omega. Then top it off with Shadow's Black Tornado to finish your opponents off. If they are stubborn in falling off the edge, use his Black Tornado, and then, before you land, use his Homing Attack to force your opponents even further off the stage. Strategy: Team Rose Strategy Rating: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 3/5 People will think that by picking Team Rose, you will lose, but this is not the case. Sometimes, Team Rose can be quite useful when facing your opponents. Take this strategy: most likely, you being Team Rose, your opponents will come at you with full force. So, you do the same. Use Amy's Rocket Accel to push past your opponents when they are charging at you. If they decide to go for the containers instead, go for the containers also. Once you find Big's Power Cores, that's all you need. Press the B Button three times to start his powerful move I like to call the Iron Ball Swing. It can easily eliminate your opponents but it has occurred where not all were knocked out because they were too far away. If this is the case, use Amy's Tornado Hammer to send them flying off the stage. You may have to use it continuously since they will be running at quite a fast pace (most likely), and aiming at them successfully won't be easy. Strategy: Team Chaotix Strategy Rating: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 4/5 Espio's Rocket Accel is quite powerful so I suggest using it to break open the wooden containers. I suggest you use this strategy rather than using Vector to do so, since your opponents will probably head for the containers as well, and if they come in your way, they'll be in for a shock. Get the 3 Power Cores for him to make him Level-Up. Then perform a Homing Attack at your opponents proceeded by a Leaf Swirl. It may seem risky but it's worth risking your teammates lives with you at Level 3. Use his Shurikens continuously to stun your opponents. Once you find them stunned, perform another Leaf Swirl, and then quickly change to Charmy to get the Yellow Power Cores from the Item Balloon floating in the air, then, deliver the final blow with his Thunder Shoot. If they still won't budge, use Vector's Hammer Punch - that should give 'em a run for their money. (c) Casino Ring My Personal Level Rating: 3/5 Power Cores: Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 3/5 Strategy: Team Sonic Strategy Rating: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 4/5 Start off by using Knuckles' Dash Punches to cover some ground between you and your opponent. Then use Sonic's Blue Tornado on your opponents as well. Most likely, your opponents will head for the containers so keep a strict watch on them, making sure they don't find the Power Cores, nor, the Invincibility Item Box found in the metal container on the far left-middle of the stage. Try using the Spring's to your advantage as well, especially when up against Speed characters, use Tails to jump on the spring, then, whilst aloft, use his Thunder Shoot from a distance. If you collected the Power Core for him, you should easily be able to eliminate your opponents. Rocket Accel would also be recommended if your opponents are narrowed down to one more teammate. But, be careful not to send your teammates nor yourself off the level in the process. Try performing it when all the containers are still on the stage; they can possibly prevent you from falling off the stage, Strategy: Team Dark Strategy Rating: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 4/5 Use Omega, right off the bat, to eradicate all the containers on the stage. Once you find a spring, however, head for it and whilst aloft, use his Fireball Dunk to inflict damage on your opponents. If you found the Red Power Cores before reaching the spring, you can send them back pretty far. If your opponents still are stubborn, use Shadow's Black Tornado to finish them off or simply use Rouge's Thunder Shoot. Strategy: Team Rose Strategy Rating: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 4/5 If your opponents head for the item containers, use Big to smash them as well with the goal of finding the Red Power Cores found on the right side of the stage. Once you find the spring, jump on it, then, whilst aloft, perform his Body Slam ability and continuously perform that ability to cover some ground. It is possible to knock your opponents off just with this move. If you do not, however, after 6 or so Body Slams, switch to Amy then use her Tornado Hammer to break the remaining wooden containers. If your opponents get in the way, they'll get ht by the Tornado. Once all the containers are gone, just use Big's Umbrella continuously to force Cream and Amy into your opponents. Strategy: Team Chaotix Strategy Rating: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Use Vector to break open all of the containers with a goal of finding the 3 Red Power Cores. Once you find that, use, what I like to call, Vector's "Bubble Gum Blast" to stun your opponents, or even knock them off as the case may be. If they survive, however, just use Charmy's Thunder Shoot to knock them off (you should've found his Power Cores when you were breaking the containers). (d) Turtle Shell My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Power Cores: Single Red (3), Single Blue (3), Single Yellow (3) Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 5/5 Strategy: Team Sonic Strategy Rating: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 5/5 Right off the bat, use Tails' Thunder Shoot on the spring behind you continuously until all three lights are lit. Then, use the Team Blast once you are very close to your opponents. For the remainder of the level, if your opponents aren't eliminated, which will probably be the case, use Tails' Thunder Shoot continuously on your Speed and Power opponents, or, use Knuckles to head on the spring, then, whilst aloft, use his Fireball Dunk ability to target your opposing Flight and/or Speed characters. This should be an easy battle for Team Sonic. Strategy: Team Dark Strategy Rating: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 5/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 5/5 Right away, use Omega and run in a sideways path into the spring to light up the three lights found on the large spring. This will enable your Team Blast. I suggest using it when some of your teammates are eliminated but since this level is quite small and it is quite likely that you will fall off with them, use the Chaos Inferno when your opponent is aloft from the spring (trust me, he'll head for it once he/she realizes you can get a Team Blast from it). Before you use it, though, make sure your opponents haven't found the Invincibility Balloon yet or your Team Blast would be useless. If they do not, however, use Rouge's Thunder Shoot three times, then, for the remaining 7 or 6 seconds, continuously use a combination of Shadow's Black Tornado and his Homing Attacks to send your opponents flying once the 10 seconds are up. Strategy: Team Rose Strategy Rating: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Chaotix: 4/5 Turn around as soon as you begin and use Amy to light up the three lights found on the spring. Once you activate your Team Blast, use the Flower Festival to gain the Invincibility and use Big's Body Slam, his Umbrella and Amy's Tornado Hammer to force your opponents off the stage. Simple, yet, the most effective strategy I've used. Strategy: Team Chaotix Strategy Rating: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Sonic: 3/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Dark: 4/5 Strategy Rating - VS Team Rose: 4/5 Use Charmy's Thunder Shoot right away to prevent your opponents from getting lighting up the three lights on the spring. If they are aloft, his Thunder Shoot should send them flying. Be on the lookout for Item Balloons as well whilst in this formation for the Item Balloons carry Invincibility or Single Blue, Red and Yellow Power Cores that can help your attacks. Switch over to Vector to light up the three springs, followed by the performing of your Team Blast, then, switching over to Espio and using his Leaf Swirl for the final hit. If they go at you at the start, change strategies and try using Espio's Leaf Swirl immediately. They may hit the Tornado but don't count on it. Use his Shurikens to stun your opponents (whilst also on the lookout for Power Cores to Level-Up) and then use Vector's Hammer Punch to send your opponents flying. (e) Formation Advantages Some characters are better off against character formations. The following is a compiled list of the character formations best suited against enemies: When your opponent is in Speed Formation, switch to your Power character. When your opponent is in Power Formation, switch to your Flight character. When your opponent is in Flight Formation, switch to your Speed character. (f) Leader Advantages So, your opponent has only one team member left and you wanna show them no mercy? NO problem. Heed the following advice as I state the best attacks to use against such opponents: Team Sonic Against Sonic: Team Dark - Fireball Dunk Team Rose - Thunder Shoot Team Chaotix - Hammer Punch Against Knuckles: Team Dark - Black Tornado Team Rose - Tornado Hammer Team Chaotix - Leaf Swirl Against Tails: Team Dark - Black Tornado Team Rose - Tornado Hammer Team Chaotix - Leaf Swirl Team Dark Against Shadow: Team Sonic - Thunder Shoot Team Rose - Tornado Hammer Team Chaotix - Thunder Shoot Against Omega: Team Sonic - Thunder Shoot Team Rose - Thunder Shoot Team Chaotix - Leaf Swirl Against Rouge: Team Sonic - Fireball Dunk Team Rose - Tornado Hammer Team Chaotix - Leaf Swirl Team Rose Against Amy: Team Sonic - Dash Punch Team Dark - Thunder Shoot Team Chaotix - Thunder Shoot Against Big: Team Sonic - Blue Tornado Team Dark - Fireball Sunk Team Chaotix - Leaf Swirl Against Cream: Team Sonic - Fireball Sunk Team Dark - Black Tornado Team Chaotix - Hammer Punch Team Chaotix Against Espio: Team Sonic - Fireball Dunk Team Dark - Fireball Dunk Team Rose - Umbrella Swing Against Vector: Team Sonic - Blue Tornado Team Dark - Black Tornado Team Rose - Tornado Hammer Against Charmy: Team Sonic - Thunder Shoot Team Dark - Thunder Shoot Team Rose - Body Slam Hope that helps! If you like, you can print this part out for your reference ONLY. Authorization to the printing of this section is still subject to the Disclaimer. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. Special Stage (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Special Stage Race! First to get the Chaos Emerald wins! Stages: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 Recommended for: Advanced Players Mission Goal: Get the Chaos Emerald! My Words of Wisdom: -Avoid running up the sides of the stages. This will slow you down. -Never ever use Flight formation unless you're planning on LETTING your opponent win. -Strategies in this seciton will mainly tell you where Bombs and Speheres are located. -Use Power to gather the Red Spheres when you reach them so you'll Level-Up faster. -Avoid jumping. This will greatly slow you down. -If you hit one bombs, surrounding bombs will also explode, clearing the way for you. (b) Stage 1 My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Length: Short Fun Factor: 4/5 Emerald Difficulty: 3/5 Strategy: Simply stay on either your left or the right at the start of the stage, continously dashing into the Spheres. You'll eventually reach a set of Speed Boosts, after which point, tons of Red Spheres will begin to appear at the sides of the stage. Dash into those, which will enable you to Level-Up. If you continously dash, you'll be able to catch the Emerald by now, no problems. (c) Stage 2 My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Length: Average Fun Factor: 3/5 Emerald Difficulty: 4/5 Strategy: Bombs begin to appear on this stage but they tend to be found more so at the sides. Stay in the middle but swish to the sides for the Spheres and dash continually whilst dodging the bombs and you should do fine. About halfway into the stage, you'll find the Red Spheres. Use them to Level-Up and then take advantage of the speed boost by meeting up with the Emerald. (d) Stage 3 My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Length: Long Fun Factor: 3/5 Emerald Difficulty: 5/5 Strategy: Numerous bombs abound here so you'll need to have good reflexes in order to outmaneuver each and everyone of them whilst still trying to keep up with the Emerald. Don't expect getting the Emerald unless you're good at Special Stage for the bombs wil prove to be the biggest obstacle you'll have in this battle. Generally, though, they tend to be on the sides more so than in the middle, so, stay close to the middle and you'll do fine. Just try to stay ahead of your opponents that way if the Emerald reaches the Goal, you'll still win for being ahead of them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. Ring Race (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: Collect as many rings as you can within the time limit! Stages: Egg Treat, Pinball Match, Hot Elevator Recommended for: Beginners Mission Goal: Collect the Rings within the time limit! My Words of Wisdom: -Remember that if you use a Team Blast anywhere in the Stage you are battling on, your opponent will lose all of his/her rings giving you quite a bit of an advantage. Use your Team Blast wisely as this will also stun them for a second. -Flight characters are pretty much useless in this Battle. Don't even bother switching to Flight Formation. It'll just slow you down. (b) Egg Treat My Personal Level Rating: 2/5 Formation Advantage: Speed Length: Average Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Strategy: Remain as your Speed character and if he can perform the Light Dash on the upcoming rings, by all means, use it. Continuously use it then, run past the beach and into the second area similar to where you started. Simply use your Speed character to pop the Item Balloons rather than wasting time using your Flight character. Then, the Hawk should stop at the next beach so don't go any further. Follow the Hawk closely as him and Dr. Eggman dispense rings in a rotary motion. Once he is finished, there should be not a lot of seconds left. That would be the perfect time (and the most frustrating for your opponent) to use a Team Blast. Heh heh. (c) Pinball Match My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Formation Advantage: Speed/Power Length: Long Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Strategy: There isn't really much to say for this stage except that, first, at the beginning, you will start near a cannon which will shoot you off into the direction of the Pinball Table. If you go in the cannon as Power formation, you get to choose where your characters will end up on the Pinball Table. Go in as Speed formation and you'll simply go straight ahead onto the Pinball Table, but, notice, that all three team members will be shot straight into the middle of the Pinball Table where a slot machine is located. This is your chance to get tons of rings as your results in the slot machine will be tripled! If you head in the cannon as Flight formation, you'll simply head towards the lower half of the Pinball Table. Personally, I'd choose and recommend Speed, however, if you're good at making sure that your opponents won't fall off the Pinball Table, then I suggest Power. As for Flight, well, I wouldn't recommend it at all. Speaking of which, I almost forgot. Don't forget that if all three members of your team fall off the Pinball Table, you will be forced to start from the beginning, losing all of your rings so make sure you pay attention to all three of your team members. Also, note that by hitting panels and turning them from Green to Yellow to Red will result in you gaining 10 rings. Finally, the only time you could potentially use your Team Blast is if you fall off and are forced to start over but don't intentionally die simply for that purpose. (d) Hot Elevator My Personal Level Rating: 2/5 Formation Advantage: Speed Length: Average Fun Factor: 2/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Strategy: As you begin, you'll land atop a moving elevator, heading in an upwards direction. Rings will begin to appear in different places on the elevator. In the beginning, a single ring will appear above you so simply stand in place or use your Flight character to get it. Next, item balloons will appear at 4 seperate corners of the elevator. Use your Speed character to get them as the elevator will move quickly. Next, 2 more balloons will appear near the middle of the elevator. Again, use Speed formation to get them both, if possible. When there's about 32 seconds remaining, fireballs will appear above you along with rings. Watch out for the fireballs for they will result in you losing all your rings. Also note that once the rings appear, they will be in a line that you can Light Dash through (if applicable). Be sure NOT to Light Dash here for it may lead you to falling off the elevator and that won't do you any good, especially so late in the game. For the remaining 10 seconds, just survive the onslaught of attacks your opponents may bring forth or attack them yourself but be sure not to fall off the elevator! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10. Bobsled Race (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Bobsled Race! Stages: Seaside Course, City Course, Casino Course Recommended for: Beginners Mission Goal: Lap the course 3 times before your opponents! My Words of Wisdom: -Every time you hit an Iron Ball, you will lose one of your teammates. The first time you get hit, your Speed will decrease since you lose your Speed character. The second time you get hit, you will be unable to move at all since you lose your Power character. Then, all you'll be able to do with your bobsled will be to jump. Be careful! -Be aware that if it so happens that you lose all 3 of your teammates in one whole lap, you will be eliminated and your opponent will automatically win so be careful. -The strategies in this section are simply tips, not about maneuvering around the track itself, which may appear in a later version. (b) Seaside Course My Personal Level Rating: 3/5 Hazards: Iron Balls (7), Metal Containers (Too many to count!) Length: Medium Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Music: 3/5 Strategy: This track should be quite simple. It is impossible for you to lose all your team members so don't worry, even beginners can prevail on this track. The metal containers, themselves, can slow you down, so be sure to jump over them. Otherwise, with the exception of the line of Iron Balls near the middle and the end of the track, you shouldn't have any problems here. (c) City Course My Personal Level Rating: 2/5 Hazards: Metal Containers Length: Medium Fun Factor: 2/5 Difficulty: 1/5 Music: 2/5 Strategy: This track is surprisingly easier than the Seaside Course. That is because there is no possible way you can lose not one of your team members on this track. Only numerous metal containers and Dash Rings abound here. Be sure to jump continously to gain full advantage of the Dash Rings aloft throughout the track. Just be sure to jump over the metal containers and find Ring Boxes along the slope of the track to inrease your speed a bit. (d) Casino Course My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Hazards: Iron Balls (30), Metal Containers (Too many to count!) Length: Long Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 5/5 Music: 3/5 Strategy: It goes without saying that the words, "Slow and steady wins the race" definitely come to mind in this difficult, yet fun, bobsled race. A whopping 30 Iron Balls roam in the level posing a large threat to you and your teammates. You'd want to be careful where you're driving on this crazy stage. Although it's possible, you'll need to be quite good to get around the stage at least once so take your time for your opponents may be eliminated before you even reach the difficult parts, making you win by default. Be sure to use the B Button often here. It's not about winning first, here as your opponent will most likely be eliminated anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11. Quick Race (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Quick Race. It's short but fast. Stages: Road Rock, Mad Express, Terror Hall Recommended for: Advanced Players Mission Goal: My Words of Wisdom: -Wherever possible, avoid destroying enemies. Instead, simply dodge them. -Flight characters can be your friends here in crossing gaps and helping you reach the goal first. (b) Road Rock My Personal Level Rating: 2/5 Formation Advantage: Power Length: Very Short Fun Factor: 2/5 Difficulty: 2/5 Strategy: Right off the bat, run straight forward and in about 2 or 3 seconds, switch to your Power formation character and use them to clear the way of the rocks that stand in your path. After a while, you'll reach an end. Jump up using that same character to ascend onto a higher platform. Watch out for the weight over here, but, quickly clear the remaining rocks that stand in your path. You'll reach an end yet again but just jump and whilst aloft, switch to your Speed character and use him to dodge the swinging Iron Balls and dash towards the goal, or, if you prefer, you can use your Flight character, but it will probably be detrimental for you. (c) Mad Express My Personal Level Rating: 5/5 Formation Advantage: Speed/Flight Length: Average Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 4/5 Strategy: Use your Speed character to Rocket Accel right through the wooden containers at the forefront of the stage. Then, once you reach the Cannon Pawn, just go around him and perform a Homing Attack on the rail in front of you. Press B in a pattern to grind and at the end of the rail, use your Speed characters Homing Attack to eliminate the Gold Jellyfish-like robot who will, surely, take one of your teammates away if you're not careful. Then switch to Flight formation to ascend over the Laser Fence (or, if you get enough air, you can use Sonic's/Espio's/Shadow's Triangle Jump to get across). Remain as your Flight character, then, gain flight and use his/her Thunder Shoot to activate the pole using the Target in front of you and, simultaneously, activate a Team Blast. Then switch back to Speed formation, and, once it appears, perform your character's Tornado attack to head up the pole in front of you. After crossing the gap to the other train cart, activate your Team Blast to stun your opponents, or freeze them as the case may be. Then, switch to Power formation to eliminate the Metal containers in front of you (or you can use Flight to get across; personally, I feel Flight is better and less time-consuming). Then, to cross the next gap, you can either use your speed character's Triangle Jump (if applicable), or, you can use your Flight character's flight. Personally, whether or not your character has or has no Triangle Jump ability, I suggest using your Flight character to travel across the gap. Just step on the flipping metal platform, then, once it flips, begin your ascent. If you get a running start, you should be able to cross the gap successfully. Then, using your Flight character again, cross the second laser fence. Once you land, switch to Speed, then use his/her Homing Attack to grind the rail, then dash towards the Goal Ring. (d) Terror Hall My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Formation Advantage: Power Length: Short Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 4/5 Strategy: Once you begin, switch to Power formation and use them to eliminate the magician in front of you. Do it quickly, because he can see you from afar if you're not careful. Then, after defeating the enemy, defeat the Giant Robot using your Power character's normal attack (e.g. - Knuckles' Dash Punches). Once that's over with, a cage carrying a switch will open. Activate the switch, then perform your character's gliding ability to get up to the higher platform. Then, simply switch to Speed to defeat the Pawn, then, whilst still aloft from your Speed characters Homing Attack, perform another Homing Attack to grind the rail in front of you. Then, once you get off the rail, simply run straight for the goal (oh, and don't worry about the Pumpkin Ghost. He'll only harm you and set you back if you move too slowly but you shouldn't have a problem with that). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12. Expert Race (a) Generic Information Omochao's Information: This is Expert Race for the experienced players who like long races! Stages: Rail Canyon, Frog Forest, Egg Fleet Recommended for: Advanced Players Mission Goal: The ultimate challnge! Get to the Goal ring! My Words of Wisdom: -Although you may not want to help your opponents by getting it, get all the checkpoints you find. If not, and you end up dying, you'll have to start all over! (b) Rail Canyon My Personal Level Rating: 4/5 Checkpoints: 1 Length: Average Fun Factor: 4/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 4/5 Strategy: You will simply start in the air. As you land, head straight forwards, right into speed boosts which will force you along a rail. Hold the B Button down to crouch and accelerate whilst on a rail. Along the way, you'll reach a loop early on. Near the end of the loop, let go of the B Button and use the Control Stick to center you and your teamates into the Bonus Rings in front of you. Be sure to land on the rail, though. It's easy for you to miss the rail here. Continue along the rail, dodging the Flappers and still holding the B Button to accelerate. As you progress, the rails will slowly begin to seperate from each other. Stay on the rail you started on from the beginning of the race and as a couple of explosions on other rails occur, continue down your rail, switching ot Flight Formation once you see these start occuring. Once you reach the end of your rail, you should be able to land safely on the platform below you without any trouble. Cross the Checkpoint up ahead and rather than using Flight Formation to head into the Flight Ring ahead to cross the gap, use Flight and jump off the platform and head left and you'll see the terminal below you. Try to land on the rails here and you'll skip a time-consuming area. If you don't land it, then proceed: Simply eliminate the Pawn in front of you whilst in Power Formation which will then reveal a switch inside a gate you must activate to turn on the next set of rails. Touch the switch, then, grind the flourescent rails in front of you in Speed Formation. As you begin to grind, things will occur with Speed Boosts and Switches but don't worry about that. Just keep grinding and you'll eventually reach a whole new area. Get off the rails quickly once you see the giant train blocking your path by using Flight Formation. Simply head to the right (the left takes too much time), then switch over to Speed Formation to go along the Spring and head up the Pole using your Tornado Attack. Once you reach the final platform after the pole, remain in Speed Formation and zip past the heavy weights, ready to squish you. After passing them, however, quickly siwtch over to Power Formation and eradicate the Pawn in front of you and the Pawn that will come from the sky soon after. Once you defeat both Pawns, a cage wil open with a Switch activating the Fan. Start the Fan, then perform your Power character's gliding aiblity to Glide upwards from the current from the Fan right into the aloft Goal Ring. (c) Frog Forest My Personal Level Rating: 3/5 Checkpoints: 3 Length: Average Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 3/5 Music: 4/5 Strategy: You'll start off in the air here. Hold Up on the Control Stick to save a large amount of time by landing atop a platform. If you go too fast, however, the weight will squish you as you run forwards and with no rings, this will be detrimental, so watch your step here. Then switch over ot Flight Formation, heading through the checkpoint as that formation and through the aloft Flight Ring. Simply use Flight to head straight forward on a platform where a Pawn will begin to fire at you with his cannon. Use Thunder Shoot to get rid of him, then land. Then gain flight again and head over to the platform, dodging the gap, and landing on some sort of non-growing Mushroom which I will refer to as "Growth" for lack of a better word. :P Anyway, after hitting the "Growth", oyu'll eb sent to an above platform where you need to use your Power Character's Dash or Shot ability to swing you and your teammates over to a new path. Once you land there, switch over to Speed Formation, heading down the path before you. As the 3-Way Intersection comes closer and closer, switch to Power Formation to send all three of your teammates up the three loops containing Item Boxes at the height of each one. You should head for the left or the right intersection yourself although one member won't go up a loop. Hold Up on these loops or you won't make it. Then, you'll reach a path whereby....hey...you just passed the checkpoint! Keep going and you'll see...you just dodged a Laser Fence! Keep heading down the path as your Speed character (unless you're desperate for the checkpoint). Quickly touch the Frog in front of you and he'll cause it to rain. Continue down the path that stretches upwards and once you reach the peak of it, a platform will be revealed so don't be scared. Then, switch over to Flight Formation and cross the next gap before you. Before heading on the spring, though, light up all the three lights to get a few rings. Then, head up the Spring and you'll land on a platform whereby you need to cross the checkpoint as that same character, and then fly over the next few gaps over to the "Growth" which is on another platform. Touch the "Growth" to bounce upwards and as you land, gain Flight once again to cross the Flight ring, avoiding the gap. Then, switch over to Speed Formation and perform his/her Tornado ability to cause a Flower to start rotating. Switch to Flight Formation if your opponent isn't too close to you and THEN head into the flower. Head Up and Down on the flower (but DON'T PRESS A) to get the Balloons in the air. Now, here's the tricky part. You have two paths to go to which are coming up and you'll need to decide beforehand where you're headed. If you're good at aiming, press the A Button at the right moment to let go of the flower and land on top of a vine you need to grind as a shortcut to the alternate route whereby the Flower will automatically take you to. The flower will take you inside a Beehive and inside, there will be Balloons for you to pop for Item Boxes but those may waste your time a bit. As you descend, you'll land on Speed Boosts, sending you on a vine, the same vine you could've taken beforehand. So don't be surprised if your opponent is suddenly ahead of you because of that shortcut. Anyway, grind the vine and continue down the path and reach the checkpoint as your Flight character. Then, use your Level-Up'd Thunder Shoot to eliminate the Cannon Pawn who is guarding a case with a Frog inside of it. Eliminate him, then the cage will open and once you go close to the Frog, it'll start raining again. Then, jump up to the platform above you and wait a bit and platforms along vines will be revealed because of the rain. Obviously, use your Flight character to carefully scale these platforms without falling. Once you finally reach the other side, simply dodge the Turtlebots by using Flight once again and head straight into the Goal Ring. (d) Egg Fleet My Personal Level Rating: 3/5 Checkpoints: 3 Length: Long Fun Factor: 3/5 Difficulty: 4/5 Music: 3/5 Strategy: Okay, you'll start off in the air, so hold B instantly since you'll land on rails. Grind those rails to reach a flagship where there are 3 Triple Power Core Item Boxes on either side of the flagship. Definitely, get them! Proceed and defeat the Pawns that block your way. Perform Thunder Shoot on the cannons, as well, to protect yourself from their barrage. The gate wil then open once all enemies have been eliminated. Proceed down the path as Speed Formation to reach a Pawn who is blocking your way. Eliminate it, then use your Tornado Attack to head up the pole in front of you. Remain in Speed Formation and eliminate the Pawn that is running towards you. Proceed straight into the spring and whilst sloft, press Left on the control Stick to head towards the next area. Touch the Speed Shoes Item Box then head left and up the Spring. Use Flight to go through the Flight Ring, then, find the 20 Ring Item Box and continue forward as Speed Formation. Next, grind the rail you see before you and when you reach the end of it, grab the 20-Ring Item Box then head up the Spring. Cross the Checkpoint up ahead in Flight Formation (or with anyone else if you're still at Level 3 for all Team Members). Then, head through Flight Rings and hold Up on the Control stick to find a balloon containing a Triple Yellow Power Core. Continue down the path and use Power Formation to destroy the iron containers. Then, if possible, perform the Light Dash on the rings in front of you, then, grind the rail in front of you. Land on the platform ahead and then head forward into the next rail which will lead you to a flagship. Cross the checkpoint (as whoever you want) then proceed straight ahead and soon, a powerful robot will appear. Use Team Blast here. If you are Team Dark, don't forget to press the Z Button again to stop the Chaos Inferno so you can get going. Once the gate opens, you'll head down a path with 2 Propellers at the end of it. Perform your Speed character's Tornado Attack to start the Propeller. Don't forget to NOT PRESS THE A BUTTON or you will fall to your death! Whilst on the Propeller, you'll head into the first balloon. After which point, hold Down on the Control Stick to get some rings and the second balloon. Don't move after that to get the 3rd balloon. After which point, hold Up on the Control Stick for the fourth balloon, hold Down to get the floating rings, then Down again for another set of rings. Finally, hold Up on the Control Stick for more rings and the final balloon. The Propeller will then lead you to the final flagship. Once you get off the Propeller automatically, head staright into the Spring then use Flight Formation to cross the gap in front of you. You amy need to use Thunder Shoot to disable the cannons long enough for you to get by. Proceed upwards in Flight formation and make your way up the side platforms. Once you reach the top, eliminate the Pawn in front of you using Thunder Shoot, then use Flight to cross the gap to save valuable time, then use your Tornado Attack in Speed Formation to head up the pole before you. Then, travel around the gates at the top of the flagship and you'll fight the same red robot you met earlier. Use your Team Blast here (if you don't have it, use Thunder Shoot to eliminate him). Switch over to Speed instantly to perform the Rocket Accel so you can make a fast dash for the Goal Ring at the end of the final path. Now, that wasn't so hard, now was it? :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13. Thank You Thank you to the following people who helped made this guide possible: -SEGA and Sonic Team for creating the great game -YOU for reading it -My fingers, for typing it -"shadowdragon7416", for the new tips. :Tips for Team Battle :Tips for Races - Frog Forest, Rail Canyon, BINGO Highway Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~