SONIC BLAST
For Sega Game Gear
FAQ/walkthrough by William Walker

This FAQ/walkthrough is copyright 2003 William Walker, all rights reserved. If you wish to use it
on your site, e-mail me first; it is probably fine. Do not sell it or use it for your own profit, or
otherwise abridge my copyright. Thank you.

1. Introduction

Well, my life has undergone some changes recently, and I am afraid I am finding it harder to find
time to write FAQs. I am still planning on, ultimately, on doing a FAQ for every Sonic game I
own - about 12 - but it will take longer. Anyway Sonic the Hedgehog is one of my favorite game
series. Sega Game Gear is an old, portable game system that runs on batteries or can be plugged
in to an outlet with an adapter. Sonic Blast was one of many Sonic games made for this system.
Although its name is very similar to the game Sonic 3D Blast, which is a Genesis game, this game
has nothing to do with 3D. It's a fairly typical Sonic platformer with decent graphics, gameplay,
and a few unusual mechanics. This is a good game and I still play it occasionally. I hope you enjoy
it and use this FAQ/walkthrough for its intended purpose, helping you complete Sonic Blast as
quickly and easily as possible.

I already have a FAQ for this game posted. I want this one to be posted in addition to it or to
replace it, and I hope this does not create confusion.

If you want to send me an e-mail for whatever reason - compliment my work, make suggestions,
mention something that is missing, or just want to drop me a line - by all means do so! This is a
really old game now and I like to be reminded some people still play and enjoy it. Your e-mails
are very much encouraged, as long as they are accurate in what their purpose is, and no stupid e-
mails, thank you .My e-mail address is j-d-walker@worldnet.att.net .

You will notice two things missing from my FAQ/walkthrough that I usually have: an enemy list
and a special stage guide. I thought about adding these, but then I thought: I have already covered
the range of enemies in my walkthrough. Rather than just list the enemies and what they do, I
decided to omit this. Also, the special stages are very much the same in concept, and don't require
advice on what to do as much as a fast finger and quick wit. So I decided not to write a special
stage guide. I hope you don't find the lack of these items a problem.

2. Controls and Basic Information

Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna had finally overcome their differences (in other
games, the two are enemies, Knuckles being tricked by Robotnik into thinking that Sonic is trying
to steal the chaos emeralds) and were enjoying a nice relaxing day on Sonic's home island. Tails
the two-tailed fox was off attending to something (as he has no role in this game). Well, peace
and quiet can't last very long in the world of Sonic the Hedgehog - so suddenly, offshore, a huge
platform of iron and steel rose out of the water. It was obvious: the mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik,
was at it again! Sonic and Knuckles wasted no time - they had to travel across the island to the
platform and once on board, send it back where it belonged - all while trying to collect the five
magical chaos emeralds scattered about the island.

Not much of a story, and parts of it are made up by me (the real story in the game manual is fairly
similar) but it's good enough for a Game Gear game. Sonic Blast is a simple game to control and
play. Use the directional pad to walk in either direction, and duck. Press down while running to
roll into a ball. Another move you should know about is the spin dash, which both characters can
execute. To do a spin dash, duck and press 1 or 2. You will begin to rev up; release down to roll
off with a burst of speed. You cannot, however, power up your spin dash by repeatedly pressing
jump, like in Genesis. Use buttons 1 and 2 to jump, and press either one twice quickly, or double
jump as it will, to execute your character's special move. The start button pauses/unpauses the
game. Sonic Blast has five zones, with three individual levels, called acts, in each zone. The third
act of each zone is shorter than the first two and ends in a boss fight.

All the acts have gold rings all over the place. Rings are your life in this game; collect as many as
possible. If you have at least one ring you can't die most of the time. However, unlike other Sonic
games, you do not lose all your rings when you take a hit. Instead, you lose only ten. (If you have
less than ten, you lose all remaining rings). Five rings fly into the air and you can recollect them if
you're fast. If you're hit with no rings, you lose a life and have to restart the act you died in (or, if
you hit a Continue Point, you only have to restart from that point). You begin with three lives to
complete the game. If you lose all three, it's game over - you must restart from the beginning.

You score 100 points for each enemy you defeat (defeat enemies by rolling or jumping into them).
You score 1000 points for each boss you defeat. You get 100 points for each ring you have at the
end of an act. (Collecting 100 rings or more in a single act is worth a 1-UP). You can have more
than 100 rings in your possession, unlike some Game Gear Sonic games when you get returned to
0. You also get a time bonus - I'm not sure exactly what determines this, but you get more points
for finishing an act quickly. You score a 1-UP for every 50,000 points you earn. You get 10
minutes of game time to complete each act. If you take longer you die immediately. There is no
visible timer on the screen, and 10 minutes is usually plenty of time to complete an act. You can
also find power-ups, in the form of monitors, in each act. Some monitors have question marks on
them, meaning you can't tell what you get until you break open the monitor. The power-ups are:

Super Ring - Looks like a ring. Worth 10 rings.
Continue Point - Looks like an arrow pointing up. Returns you to the point of the monitor if you
die later in the act.
Speed Shoes - Looks like a red shoe. Increases your running speed.
Shield - Looks like a strange blue energy dot. Will provide you with one extra hit, i.e, the next
time you get hit, you lose the Shield, but no rings.
Robotnik - Looks like... Robotnik. Gives you nothing whatsoever.
1-UP - Looks like your character's face. Worth an extra life.

Also, at the end of acts 1 and 2 of each zone, there is a turnstile. Touch it to complete the act.
The turnstile will display something on it. The usual thing displayed is a ring, but you can also get
Robotnik, Sonic or Knuckles' face, Super Sonic (who looks like a yellow version of Sonic) or a
chaos emerald. A ring is worth 10 rings. Robotnik is worth nothing. Sonic or Knuckles' face is
worth an extra life if you're playing as the character whose face is displayed. If you are not, it is
worth 30 rings. Super Sonic is 30 bonus rings and an extra life. I'm not sure what a chaos emerald
is... it doesn't seem to give you a free chaos emerald. This is in addition to your end-of-act bonus
points, as a special bonus.

You can play as either Sonic or Knuckles. You choose your character on the screen after the title
screen. Who you play as makes little difference, unlike some Game Gear games. Both characters
play basically the same, and both can collect the chaos emeralds. The only difference is in the
characters' special moves. When you do a double jump - press 1 or 2 while in the air - Sonic will
execute a Boost Jump, which is virtually the same as the special move Sonic can do in Sonic 3
Genesis when he has a Lightning Shield. He releases a little spark, and gets a height boost, almost
like a double jump.

Knuckles, on the other hand, when he double jumps, glides forward, although Knuckles' glide is a
lot more awkward and difficult to use than in the Genesis version, and it is very difficult to turn
around or sustain any height. You can also climb walls as Knuckles. Glide into a wall or double
jump while next to one to attach yourself to it. Then, press up or down to climb up or down.
Jump off when you want. This works with most walls. I have a slight preference of Sonic over
Knuckles, because I find that he is a little bit more maneuverable with his ability to double jump,
but Knuckles has an easier time reaching some secret areas. It's your choice. Play as whoever you
are most comfortable with.

3. Special Stage

The special stage is a bonus level that can be accessed from the regular game. It is the only way
you can collect the chaos emeralds. Of all the Game Gear games, Sonic Blast's special stage and
how you enter it is most similar to the Genesis games.

In act 1 and 2 of every zone is one giant ring. Touching it will immediately transport you to a
special stage, the special stage you enter being determined by the act you are in. The special stage
looks like a large track that spreads out before you that your character runs down. It is not a
chute like in Sonic 2 Genesis, nor is it a rotating globe like in Sonic 3 Genesis, but a hybrid of the
two. Your goal is to collect 50 rings by the end of the stage. If you reach the end of the stage and
have 50 or more rings, you will get the prize at the end, but if you don't have 50 rings, Robotnik
will snatch it away.

The prize you get is determined by the giant ring you entered in the regular game. Act 1 giant
rings lead to a mostly green colored special stage, with a 1-UP as the prize. Act 2 giant rings,
though, lead to a purple colored stage. The prize for winning a purple stage is a chaos emerald.
You get 100 points for each ring you collected only at the end of a purple stage, and only if you
got the emerald.

In the special stage, both characters play the same. You can run back and forth to collect rings,
and jump to get rings in the air. Rings are often strewn about in odd ways to make it harder to get
them. They are often found on opposite sides of the screen at similar times (meaning you must
quickly run from one side to the other) suspended in the air (I find it particularly hard to get
floating rings, as I can never time my jumps right to get them all) or found in chains leading across
the track. Just get as many as you can. You also sometimes find speed boosters, pinball bumpers
and springs on the track. Springs bounce you into the air (this can be good or bad, because
sometimes rings are on the ground in front of the spring) boosters boost your speed temporarily,
and bumpers bounce you backward. There is no way to go back to collect missed rings, so watch
out.

After you complete a special stage you return to the act you found the giant ring in. You have to
restart it from the beginning, or from a Continue Point if you touched one. However, you will
keep all the rings you had before entering the special stage, and all the rings and power-ups in the
act will reappear. Once entered, giant rings disappear forever, so you only have one chance to
enter each special stage. You must enter each act 2 giant ring and complete each stage
successfully to get all five chaos emeralds. The special stages go from the first being very easy to
the last being quite difficult, requiring that you get almost every ring to come up with 50. Good
luck.

4. General Tips

-Do not go too fast. There are some secrets in this game, and a lot of rings, that can be missed by
a hasty player. Also many traps and enemies are easier to handle if you go slowly and carefully,
observing their movement patterns or locations. Finally, momentum in this game is difficult to lose
once you have it. So take it slow most of the time, even if you want to finish the game fairly
quickly.

-Get everything you see. There are a lot of rings and power-ups in this game, so grab everything
that you can safely get.

-Unlike other Sonic games, enemies constantly reappear after you defeat them, so be aware if you
are exploring the same area again.

-When you return from a special stage, all the rings a power-ups will be back, so you can collect
them again. This is useful if you want to max out your score or collect 100 rings. Also if you are
going to try to collect the rings and power-ups in an act twice, remember not to hit Continue
Points if possible.

-Mastering the special stage will take time. Don't feel bad if it is very hard for you at first.
Initially, be happy just to complete special stages some of the time. Later, when your experience
level has risen, try to collect all the emeralds and fight the secret boss, if you want to complete the
game completely.

-Keep in mind that there are buttons in this game, usually mounted on walls. If you can reach
them they make some barriers disappear, and they are the key to entering many secret areas.

-Having trouble against a boss? You are not alone. The bosses in Sonic Blast are usually more
difficult than the acts themselves, and many require several attempts to defeat. Don't get
frustrated.

-Do not get over worried about this game. If you're having trouble with an act, boss or special
stage, turning the game off and cooling down is sometimes a good idea. When you go at it again
you will be fresher, and less stressed. Don't get overstressed about completing the game or
finding all the emeralds. That wasn't what the game was intended for.

-Sorry but there is no level select or all chaos emerald code.

5. Walkthrough

5a. Green Hill Zone

This tropical landscape is your first stop. It is a warm-up to the other zones of the game, and
should not pose a challenge to you. The obstacles here include a few enemies and rotating
cylinders of spikes.

Act 1

Not much to say here. Just go right and take it slowly, to get as many rings as possible and avoid
taking hits. You will encounter a few enemies but none should pose a real threat to you. There are
flying robots that launch fireballs down at you, monkeys in the trees that shoot fireballs, and
piranha fish that jump from below bridges. You can defeat them all fairly easily. Watch out for a
rotating spike cylinder on the ground about halfway through the act; jump over it if possible.
Look for rings above some trees (you can stand in them). Spin dash through loops. Near the end
of the act is a large, deep pond. You can climb out using that little nub of a platform floating in
the water. You can also cross it by taking the high road, although the giant ring for this act is in
the pond. It's in a small tunnel in the bottom right corner, behind some rocks. Spin dash or jump
through the rocks to reach it. The goal is not much farther.

Act 2

Again, pretty easy stuff. Go right until you find a pipe, dealing with the same enemies as in act 1.
The pipe will take you down to another section. If you are Knuckles, climb the wall above the
pipe (on the bottom end) to access a monitor with a 1-UP. If you are Sonic, getting this 1-UP is
very difficult - you must boost jump and bounce off an enemy in the vicinity - but it can be done.
Go left and eventually you come to a loop of rock with a way downward. Drop down and you
find a Continue Point, and a spring to bounce you right. Going right you come to a fork in the
road. The high road ultimately leads to the giant ring. Keep going right (there is a Super Ring on
the way) and it is after a cylinder of spikes. It is difficult to get by the cylinder without getting hit,
though. Once you get the giant gold ring, take the low road. It leads to another shaft downward.
Jump in and you might land in a pipe. To the right are some large pools of water. You can either
get through these by going through the pipes between them, which is the simple way, or by taking
a high road that's tougher to follow but yields a Super Ring. Once you get to the end of the ponds
you'll need to use your character's special move to get over the wall. The goal is just to the right.

Act 3

Just go right for a while, collecting rings. There are no enemies here. After a while you come to a
bridge that crumbles beneath your feet. Cross it quickly (there are spikes below it). When you
come to a cliff, jump to the right. If you are Knuckles, glide right. If you are Sonic, boost jump.
Be sure to fall for a moment before you do so, since you are aiming for a button on the wall to the
right, but there is an overhang located inconveniently above it. If you touch the button, it will
open a barrier to the left (just past the spike pit, which you will have to jump over) that leads to a
room with a lot of rings. Collect them if you touched the button, otherwise just go right to the
boss.

DR. ROBOTNIK: You must hit the cockpit of his ship to damage him. Avoid his boomerangs by
jumping over them. It will take a while to get the timing down, but shouldn't be too difficult after
you've observed him for a while. Six hits will defeat him.

5b. Yellow Desert Zone

Welcome to the scorching sands. The first act of this zone is played in the broiling heat of the
desert, while the other two are in an underground cavern or Egyptian tomb of sorts. There are a
good deal of spikes in act 2. Nonetheless, this zone isn't that challenging either, especially
considering what's to come.

Act 1

This level is fairly linear, so a walkthrough won't do much good. Just proceed as normal and
collect the rings above the trees. The new enemies are bats who use a swooping motion and red
guys who crawl along the ground. The latter enemy will put a spike on his back when standing
still, so it's best to spin dash to defeat him. Take it slowly and you'll do just fine. Near the end of
the act, you come to two pipes in the ground. Both lead to an underground room with two bogs
of quicksand. Be very careful to jump as soon as you fall into either of these bogs because sinking
below a certain depth in them will cause you to die instantly! You need to get onto the ledge
above the two pipes leading into the room. The giant ring is up there. Get there by either boost
jumping (as Sonic) or jumping and gliding into the wall above the higher pipe (as Knuckles).
Either way is tricky.

Act 2

This act is longer than any previous act. The first area is a maze in which you should generally
head to the right. If you take the low road, you'll have to deal with pits of spikes that you have to
jump over, usually with a low ceiling. The high road has ceiling spikes that will fall on you. Either
way is okay. There is a 1-UP on the top near the end if you want to know. After a while you
should come to a large drop. Drop down and you'll be in another section. Keep heading right, and
notice that the sand here acts as a conveyor belt carrying you in one direction. Watch out for
spikes and enemies, and grab any power-ups you see. It's fairly simple, just keep heading right.
Eventually you come to another drop, and now you must head left. You'll come to a large wall of
sinkholes. Enter at the bottom right and you will be shot from sinkhole to sinkhole, out of control.
When you come to the first place where you can move again, go left. You will be shot around
again. At the second spot, you have a choice to make. Going left again will take you to the goal.
Jumping diagonally up and right (which is a little tricky; you need to time it so you land in the
sinkhole diagonally up and right of you) will take you to the giant ring.

Act 3

Go left. Make a long jump left glide or boost jump as well) and you can access an area to the left
with some more rings. Then drop down and if you're Knuckles, climb the wall to the left. Keep
heading left and you should find a button. If you're Sonic, after dropping down go right and run
to the very edge of the crumbling bridge. At the edge, boost jump up and right and you will, if
you timed it right, hit a button on the wall. Both these buttons open the way to an area in the
center of the act with some bonus rings and a Super Ring. If you miss the button, just drop down
as far as possible and at the bottom, go left to the boss.

DR. ROBOTNIK: He'll be riding a magic carpet here. You must jump and hit the cockpit (the top
of his machine) to damage him, as is usually the case in this game. He'll come on to the screen
slowly from one side or the other. Jump and hit him once or twice before he retreats back off the
screen. Then he flies across the screen quickly holding out a large red spear. This can be avoided
by standing at about the middle of the screen and jumping and hitting him as he flies across. You
will be bounced off to the other side but if you don't hit him as soon as he comes onto the screen,
you won't hit the spear; you might even hit him a second time if you get aided by the side of the
screen. This pattern repeats itself. It's important to position yourself correctly in this battle, as it is
with all boss battles, and anticipate what he'll do next. Ten hits will defeat him.

5c. Red Volcano Zone

Now the game starts to heat up (no pun intended). This volcanic landscape is apparently the only
way to go, but I think you'd be happier in a cooler environment. This zone is longer and harder
than the first two and has more nasty obstacles and enemies.

Act 1

The obstacles here are lava, and lots of it, and a very annoying enemy who looks like a fireball
with a flame rotating around him. You must hit his center to defeat him and avoid touching the
flame. This enemy constantly reappears when defeated so it's best to move on quickly.
Occasionally a mechanical dragon will come out of a lava pit and spit fireballs at you. You can
defeat him by jumping on his head but it's better to jump over him and move on. This act is very
linear; just keep heading right. just make your way right. Jump over lava lakes and proceed slowly
to avoid hitting an enemy you didn't see. After a while you come to a strange device that looks
like a red cap floating over a blue tile on the ground. It's actually a spring that will bounce you up
but it can be tricky to land where you want. If you bounce up you can find a Shield.

Keep heading right. You can take either a high road or a lower road in some sections. There's a
Continue Point up high, but not much else in terms of power-ups. Another thing you will find if
you take the low road is a yellow device on the edge of a lava lake. I call this device a steam
spring, and by jumping on it over and over you propel it right, enabling you to cross the lake.
There are more of these things in act 2. Eventually you come to a large lava lake which has many
platforms above it that appear and disappear. This is rather tricky - you can just try to zip across,
especially if you have a lot of rings, or go carefully, waiting for the next platform to appear and
jumping on it. It's trickier than it sounds. Sonic may have an easier time since his boost jump can
give him extra distance and is easier to control than Knuckles' glide, and it can also buy some air
time to wait for a platform to appear. The giant ring is located high in the air after this large lava
lake. To reach it you must make your way to the top right appearing/disappearing platform and
make a long jump to the right (aided by a boost or glide). If you miss, there's no way to try again,
since the goal is right after this section.

Act 2

Now the game starts to heat up (no pun intended). Act 2 begins with a vent that will release a
plume of steam every few seconds. Walk by when it is not active or jump over it. A steam spring
follows this vent. This is a very aggravating steam spring because a fireball guy is floating over the
lava lake you must cross. I recommend jumping on the spring once, then rather trying to deal with
the enemy, jump the rest of the way (gliding or boosting of course). It's no matter if you get hit.
After this comes a loop, but after you go through the loop slow down quickly. You will come to a
floating pad that will spring you up, only this one moves, with a steam vent on each side you
don't want to crash into. Your immediate impulse is to jump on the spring and see what's above
but not so fast. If you jump, you'll see a fireball enemy floating back and forth above the spring. If
you bounce up and avoid the enemy, you can access some power-ups up high, none of which are
worth the danger. Go right on the ground level.

You come to another steam spring, this one with two fireballs guarding the lava lake. The first is
very difficult to get by without getting hit. The second floats above the level of your head, so you
can either knock him out or maybe even slide beneath him fairly easily, if you're careful. Don't
ditch the steam spring though, as it is a large lava lake. On the other side is a loop. Go through it
and you come to another floating pad spring; bounce up on this one. To the right of the spring is a
tiny lava lake you can easily jump over. If you bounce up, you find a corridor of five steam vents,
alternating on the floor and ceiling. If you get past them, which isn't that difficult if you take your
time and observe their patterns, you can get a 1-UP. Snatch it and trek back out of there. Drop
back down and continue right. Drop down on the right and you come to a Continue Point.

Now go left, down the steep hill. You'll come to a large valley with a path down at the bottom.
That is the way forward, but for now climb up the left side of the valley. When you come to a flat
area turn around. Get ready for a really tough jump. You need to jump right, after spin dashing
right to give you enough momentum, and reflect off a fireball enemy to reach a ledge where the
giant ring for this act is. Knuckles can glide mid-jump and if you jump high enough, you'll hit the
enemy (and hopefully miss the flame rotating around it) and be bounced up, and can reach the
ledge. If you're Sonic getting this giant ring will be extremely difficult. You will need to boost
jump at just the right time and bounce off the enemy to reach the ledge. It will take many tries and
(all too likely) a lot of hits. Good luck.

If you finally make it to the giant ring (or even if you don't) go back down to the bottom of the
valley and drop down. Sonic players, be careful not to drop down here before going for the giant
ring if you want it because you can't get back up (Knuckles can climb the wall). Then go right to
a strange device at the foot of a wall. Standing on this device and spin dashing will cause the
machine to rise, allowing you to scale the wall. This is the only way Sonic can get up. At the top
of the wall go right to another device, this one moves down when you stand on it and spin dash.
Just drop down if you're feeling impatient. If you jump into that passageway in the left wall near
the bottom you can get some bonus rings.

At the bottom go left to a steam spring. This spring is a free ride - no enemies - so be careful and
take it slow. On the other side, go left and climb another wall with a spin dash device. Then drop
down to the left. You'll find a Continue Point nearby. You can take a high road in the next
section but it's more dangerous than the low road. Go right and cross the lava lake via a steam
spring. There is a fireball in the area but he's high up out of your way. After this comes a series of
three steam vents you must pass by when they are inactive. Take it slowly. Then comes another
steam spring ride, this one with an enemy near the end at your level. After that, a little further to
the right is, at long last, the goal.

Act 3

Go right and drop down. You'll see a gray barrier to your left. As you probably guess, behind this
barrier is a bonus room. The button to open this barrier is high above the start; you can reach it
only with great difficulty. I wouldn't bother. At the bottom right corner of this act is a spin dash
machine. Spin dash to ride it up, stopping to check out the side paths to the left if you want. After
riding it up as far as it will go, climb up a few levels and go left, to another spin dash machine.
(Keep in mind that these machines, and steam springs too, always return to their original positions
when you go far enough away and come back). Ride it up and go right. Spin dash through some
weak rocks to your right for a Super Ring if you want, then climb up to another spin dash
machine, this one on the left. Ride it as high as possible, then jump right. Boost or glide depending
on who your character is; you're aiming for a narrow ledge with an overhang above it. This jump
is difficult and may seem impossible at first, especially for Knuckles, but keep trying. After making
it, climb up a few more ledges (wall climb or boost jump to get over a wall you can't get over
with a normal jump). Eventually you see a tiny, red and blue platform floating between two
ledges. Jump on it to be taken to the boss.

DR. ROBOTNIK: This is a really tough boss! You'll be fighting on that tiny little platform but it
always adjusts to move under you. Robotnik will be in a pogo machine that bounces up constantly
and attacks by releasing a rock on a chain. Stay in the center as much as possible since he can't
bounce up there. He'll bounce up on either side if you, and drop the heavy rock on the chain; if
you stay where you are in the center, you are invincible. However, you need to hit him. The time
to do it is when he bounces up, jump and hit his cockpit (the highest part of his ship). If you
successfully hit him you'll bounce to the far side of the screen; the rock will not quite reach you as
long as you stand there. When he goes down, though, run back to the center quickly or he will
bounce up under you. Hit him at the peak of your jump and time it right so you don't hit the rock
as it comes down. If you don't score a hit (you hit him too low or in the wrong spot) you nearly
always will get hit yourself. Don't get caught under him (though the chain is not dangerous) or let
him bounce up beneath you! Eight hits will win the battle. This is a really hard boss, so don't get
frustrated.

5d. Blue Marine Zone

Before we begin, a couple of things. Firstly, these last two zones are a lot harder and longer than
the first three. My level walkthroughs are consequently longer; don't be put off by this as I only
wrote long walkthroughs to go into complete detail. Also, almost all of this zone is underwater,
so you'll need some source of air. If you wait too long underwater without getting air a
countdown timer will appear above your head. When it reaches zero, you will last another second
or so, as your rings rapidly disappear. When your rings reach 0, you die. To get air, jump out of
the water or gobble up air bubbles. Air bubbles appear periodically from certain points on the
ocean floor that have streams of small bubbles floating upward from them. Pipes also serve as a
source of air, and there are quite a lot of them here. You also move slower underwater. This zone
is quite a maze.

Act 1

Go right and jump to the right when you come to the water. You'll come to a ledge with a Super
Ring. Get it and continue right, running over a crumbling bridge. Be careful not to fall in the
water. Spin dash through the rock wall; it will crumble easily. There's a 1-UP waiting for you if
you make it to the far right above water. Take it and jump down into the water. A current will
catch you and sweep you to the left. When you regain control of yourself go left and drop down a
little. Ignore the two pipes on the right, defeat the crab enemy on the bottom, and enter the pipe
to the bottom left. When you come out of that pipe a current will flip you around and drop you
right next to a pipe. Do not enter this one. Jump up to the ledge above where there is another
pipe, but don't enter that one either. Instead climb the wall above it or boost jump to reach a high
ledge. You'll see two pipes to the right; the top one has a current coming out of it. Don't jump or
you'll be swept up in that current and carried away. Instead walk into the lower pipe.

You will now enter the second half of the level. You will be shot out going right, but slow down
quickly. To the right is the giant ring, but you can't get to it now, due to a strong current
surrounding it. Instead go left quickly. You now quickly need to climb up a series of ledges,
avoiding enemy sea creatures, and get out of the water before you drown. The first jump requires
you to boost jump or climb the wall. After that, stick to the left, avoid getting hit (which will
knock you back) and climb quickly but not carelessly. Good luck. If you make it to the surface,
the goal is just to the right. However, there's also a Continue Point there. If you jump across
some dry ledges to the left (be very careful not to fall) you'll eventually reach a switch that will
drain the entire act of water. Then you can head back down, go right at the bottom, to reach the
giant ring. Boost jump up the tiny ledges or climb either wall to get to it (it's near the top). If you
don't want to bother just go to the goal. If you do decide to find the giant ring, the act will be
flooded again after you return to the game.

Act 2

Go right and drop down into the water when the bridge crumbles. You'll land on a flat area with a
crab enemy and a bubble location on the floor. Avoid the crab (who's on the left side) since you
have no rings right now. Go right under the water and go down on the right side. Go left at the
bottom, and when you have a chance to drop down and go right, head further left. Drop down
again and ignore the pipe you see on the ceiling (it's very hard to reach anyway). At the bottom,
go right and defeat the crab. Walk over to the weak patch of floor. Collapse it and drop down,
but watch out. A crab is right below it. If you jump down, you may hit him on the head if you're
lucky, or you may land next to him and have him walk into you. Anyway get down and right to
some more weak ground. Collapse it and jump down. Don't just fall down, you need to jump
down so that you can use your special move as you fall. As soon as you can see an open area to
your right, press the jump button. You want to glide or boost jump to land on some steps to the
right. If you miss them, a current will catch you, carry you to the left, and leave you with no other
option but to enter a pipe that will take you to that pipe on the ceiling you saw earlier. Getting the
timing down is difficult. Chances are you're running low on air now, but luckily to the right on the
steps is a pipe you should jump into.

The pipe drops you into a strong current that carries you down. When you regain control of
yourself you'll be at a bubbles location. Jump up and boost jump or climb the wall to reach the
Continue Point. From here, jump up and right, smash the red jellyfish, and land on the small ledge.
If you fall climb back up. This ledge has a stream of bubbles going through it so you can refill
your air. Jump up two more ledges this way. On the fourth ledge up, look to the right. Jump on
that tiny little nub of a platform you see between the two ledges. Then jump up and right. If you
continue right on the lower level you will see a barrier; the giant ring is behind it. Remember
where it is for later since you'll come back here after finding the button.

On the top level, go right. Jump over the gap in the floor and go through some apparently solid
walls. Watch out for the crab. You come to two pipes, with a spring on the ground. Walk into the
spring and you will be sent into the top pipe. When you come out, slow down quickly, and jump
up to the ledge above you. Walk right to find a button on the wall; this is the button that opens
the wall blocking the giant ring. So backtrack into the pipe, back to the left, jumping over the first
gap in the floor. Go down the second gap carefully to avoid falling all the way down. Go right on
the level below the top one, enter the room and jump up to the tiny ledge below the ring (be
careful not to fall into the hole below). When you return from special stage you'll be back at the
Continue Point. Climb back up to where the two pipes are; I hope you remember the way. This
time, jump over the spring and enter the lower pipe.

This pipe twists back and forth, and will shoot you out into a room with a crab and two pipes to
the left. Roll immediately to smash the crab and roll right into the lower pipe. The upper pipe
leads nowhere useful. When you exit the lower pipe you will not be able to go back; be sure you
have already entered special stage if you want to. Enter the obvious pipe in this small room. It will
drop you into a strong current that carries you down. When the current stops carrying you keep
falling straight down; you'll see a lot of ledges on the left but they all are useless. As you fall,
though, press left a few times to fall away from the right wall. There's a jellyfish waiting for you
near the right wall on the bottom; hopefully you'll miss him if you're far enough to the left. Go
left on the bottom and defeat the jellyfish on the left. Defeat another jellyfish and enter the pipe on
the bottom (don't bother with the springs). The pipe takes you back up a ways and shoots you
into a Continue Point.

Climb the steps to the right. Carefully defeat the two jellyfish hiding in the little depressions. At
the edge take a gulp of air from the bubble stream and jump up. You'll see a tunnel blocks by
weak rocks to the left and a step leading up. Spin dash through the tunnel. Keep going left and
defeat the crab. At the far left you'll see a shaft with a jellyfish near the top. Jump and defeat the
jellyfish but drop down. Go right to find a button; this will partially drain the act and make your
life much easier. After touching the button go back left and bounce on the spring. Then either
climb the left wall, or do a wrap around boost jump to get to the level above. Go right and up. If
you touched the button, the remainder of the act will be on dry land. Ignore that pipe you see (it's
very tough to reach) and go left and up. Get the Super Ring in the top left corner. Then climb up
and right, to a narrow corridor with a crab who still moves even though he's stranded above
water. Spin dash through him and enter the pipe. Press no buttons and you'll go straight into
another pipe. When you come out of this pipe make a quick jump to avoid going into another pipe
(which takes you back to the unreachable pipe you saw before) Jump onto the ledge above the
pipe to find the goal. Whew! What a long act and we didn't even explore half of it!

Act 3

The top half of this act is dry, and consists of a series of crumbling bridges, pipes and rings. If you
climb all the way to the top you can reach a button in the top right corner of this level that opens a
barrier underwater. Behind the barrier is just a Super Ring. Knuckles can reach this button by just
climbing up the far right wall. Underwater, there's just some more crumbling bridges. Not much
to do here except explore for a while and get as many rings as you can. At the bottom, a current
will carry you to the boss.

DR. ROBOTNIK: This boss is fought underwater, so you will need some way of getting air. It
also takes a while to beat this guy. Robotnik will be piloting a large submarine. Only the cockpit is
vulnerable, and the hit detection for it is a bit off - even if you hit it, it does not count as a hit
unless it flashes. You have to hit it more from above than from the side. Okay, Begin by standing
on the left side. He'll come from the right, stop, pause a second, then fire a missile at you. If you
try to hit him the missile will fly straight to the left. Time your hit so that you don't hit the missile
as it comes back down. Also don't glide or boost jump - those tend to make you lose control.
After he flies off the screen he'll come back, always alternating sides. This time I recommend you
do not hit him. Instead, stand at either corner of the screen (preferably the one away from him -
the one on the right). The missile will go down into the floor and a bubble will float up; quickly
grab it and avoid hitting him as you do so. The third and fourth times he appears he goes straight
across the screen without stopping. It is hard to hit him when he does this but you can try - it
requires you time your jump so you're in the air when he appears. You may want to just stay put
and position yourself well for his next cycle. After the fourth time he does it all over again. Be
patient in this battle, retain control, and position yourself well - that's especially important as the
water slows your movement. Eight hits will do it.

5e. Silver Castle Zone

This zone is a long and twisty maze of mechanical madness. It has a lot of teleports, which add to
the confusion. The enemies here are much nastier than those in other zones, and spikes abound
here as well. This zone can get very confusing very quickly, so follow my walkthrough as close as
possible.

Act 1

You begin by falling on to a circle of tiny platforms that rotate when you stand on them. After
they stop rotating, jump off and head to the right. You'll see a lot of other paths but don't bother
with them. Go right along the high road (don't drop down). You'll walk under a teleport - it is
red, which means touching it will teleport you to elsewhere in the act. Gray ones are inactive.
Some teleports are one-way. Continue right and you meet an enemy who constantly flies back and
forth over a small area. The enemy has spikes that protect him, but you can defeat him by hitting
him from below. Continue right and you encounter another similar enemy (I don't bother beating
this one). Further right is an enemy who bounces up and down; jump and hit him from above to
defeat him but beware of the metal pillar which partially blocks your view. Ignore the teleport
above you and continue right. Jump over the gap in the floor. You encounter a flying guy (be
careful since this corridor is so narrow) and then a bouncing guy. The best way to beat the
bouncing guy is to get hit on purpose; then while you are flashing run out and get the jump on
him. It is very difficult to get by him without getting hit, due to the narrow gap between the floor
and the metal pillar.

Don't fall into the gap on the right. Boost jump or climb the wall to get at the ledge above you,
which has a teleport. Touch it to be teleported to a room with another teleport and a 1-UP. The
1-UP is behind a false pillar. Get it and touch the teleport to be sent back to the beginning. Go
back as you did before, until you come to the first bouncing enemy. This time, drop down the gap
to the right of him. You'll land near an enemy who hovers and shoots out two fireballs. Defeat
him and go right. It's best if you sneak up on these enemies from behind in the future if you can.
You'll come to two teleports, one on the floor in plain sight (you cannot avoid touching it in fact)
and one on the ceiling in a niche, with a trail of rings leading to it. Jump up and enter the top one.
You'll be teleported to a room with another teleport and a ring of platforms. To activate the
teleport on the right jump on the platforms until the six black bars in the middle turn red. That's
six moves on the platforms (it shouldn't be very hard). Once that's done, enter the right teleport.
You'll find the giant ring.

After returning to the beginning of the act, retrace your steps. This time, drop down and enter the
bottom teleport. You'll be teleported to a place where you see an inactive teleport above you, and
a way to the left. Go left and defeat the enemies (always a pain here). Ignore the spring and the
teleport on the floating ledge. Jump over the spikes you see. When you come to a fork in the path,
take the high road a spin dash through the hovering enemy. You'll come to two teleports. Enter
the active one and it takes you to a room with a Continue Point. The other teleport in this room
takes you back to the inactive one. Nothing else to do there, so backtrack and take the low path
left. Get the Shield on the ledge and drop down. You'll see a huge wall of spikes to your left. Go
right and you come to the end of the screen. Wait a second and your path ahead will open. The
spike wall will now try to impale you, so run right! You'll encounter two enemies; getting hit will
mean getting impaled, but that's not fatal since you'll be flashing from the hit. After the spiked
wall stops go right further to a teleport. Enter it. The final segment consists of a few nasty
enemies and a spike pit. Just make your way right, don't worry about a hit or two, and you'll find
the goal.

Act 2

This act has a long, long path through it, but for this walkthrough, you'll go on a secret path that
is much shorter, and has the giant ring. The secret path is a legitimate way to the goal, so don't
bother taking the normal route at all. Doing this requires you make some good jumps near the
beginning; if you mess up on these jumps it is recommended that you lose a life on purpose. Okay,
at the beginning be very careful; you have no rings and will have to face a few tough enemies
before you find any. The best way to make it through is to spin dash by; if you jump there's a
good chance you'll get hit and die. After your first rings are three rock walls; they are easily
demolished by rolling through them but do not spin dash. After the rock walls you'll have to slip
by three electric beams when they turn off. If you spin dashed through the rocks you'll probably
go too fast and take a hit. After this comes a gap in the floor guarded by a nasty hovering enemy
who shoots fireballs. Jumping over this gap is critical. The enemy is very tough to defeat; I usually
run at the gap, jump and do a special move (glide or boost). You will probably get hit but
hopefully fall to the right, onto the next ledge. Good luck.

To the right are some yellow pads that slow you down, but do nothing else. Get the Super Ring in
plain sight. Continue right and jump over the spikes between two ramps. To the right is another
rock barrier; jump through it being careful not to go too fast. Now you see a hole ahead of you.
Jump to the right and HOLD RIGHT HARD. You should just barely land on the edge of a
crumbling walkway which hangs below the ceiling. Run to the right quickly to avoid falling, and
when you're on safe ground, jump up and enter the teleport. You are now on the secret path
through this act. Hopefully you'll make these jumps on your first few tries. The teleport leads to a
room with a wide pit of spikes that can only be crossed with the help of the enemy in the middle,
bouncing off him. Try it as best you can and take a hit if need be. Enter the teleport to the right.
The next room has another spike bed, this time with spikes on a low ceiling right above it. If you
are Sonic, jump across it and do your boost right as you're about to land on the spikes. If you do
it too soon you'll hit the spikes above. If you're Knuckles you cannot pass this location without
getting hit (well, it's almost impossible). After this the giant ring is in plain sight.

When you return from special stage, you'll be back at the beginning, but this time with rings.
Retrace your steps and go back on the secret path. This time the giant ring will be gone, leaving
you free to enter the teleport. It leads to a location far ahead in the act. You'll have a spiked wall
to your right, so go left. When you come to the end of the screen stop. You'll see a bouncing
enemy partially in view at the edge of the screen. When you can, jump over him and run to the
left. The spiked wall will come flying at you so run. At the end of the walkway is a guardian
hovering guy. Jump over him or spin dash through him. Drop down and head right (you'll
probably take a hit from the flying spiked guys) and you're at the goal!

Act 3

Hmmm... very interesting act. The teleport you see at the beginning leads to the boss. Take it if
you want the easy way out. However, to the left there is a large area with a few enemies and a lot
of rings. This area contains a long series of platforms you can climb up, with a teleport at the top.
Jumping in to that teleport, you can run down the hill to the left, and at the bottom, jump to the
left and enter the teleport over there to access two bonus rooms with extra rings. Also, if you
advance the ring of platforms six times, a button will appear. Touch it to open a barrier at the top
of the act, leading to a Super Ring. (Something like that is in every act 3). There are exactly 96
rings here, but be careful not to take hits. When you're satisfied with your ring total, go back to
the start and jump in the teleport to be taken to the final battle.

DR. ROBOTNIK: This is the final boss unless you have all the emeralds. He's pretty easy. You'll
be standing on a large wheel. The screen will shift to reveal his ship, and he'll activate one side of
it or the other. The screen then shifts back down to you, and a blue energy beam will come down
from the side he activated. It will be bounced toward you and most likely hit you. If you see it
coming toward you time a jump to avoid it; it is hard to do though because there's a conveyor
belt above your head. That conveyor belt is the key to beating this guy. On it is a little platform
that slides left or right when you run. It moves the opposite direction you go; running left will
make it move right and vice versa. You must move it to the side Robotnik activated - quickly -
and if you do it before the beam comes, the beam will hit the platform and bounce back up to
Robotnik. If you're lucky he'll activate the same side of his ship several times in a row, which
means you don't have to do anything. However, when he activates the other side, it can be
difficult to quickly move the platform over there in time, so it may be good strategy to move the
platform back to near the middle after each hit. Winning this battle requires you quickly start
running in the right direction when you see which side he activates (sometimes he seems to
activate one side but then doesn't; be aware of this) having a lot of rings beforehand, and
mastering jumping over the beams as you can't hit him every time unless you're very lucky (or
skillful). Twelve hits and he's out.

But, if you collected all the chaos emeralds read on...

5f. Final Fight

This only exists if you have all the emeralds. You'll be in a secret lab and Robotnik will appear
out of the object in the middle. You can see his face hanging out of his ship, which has two horns
sticking out of it and flies back and forth. It periodically drops two small sparks which disappear
when they hit the ground. This battle will be extremely difficult, but luckily you get 99 rings to
start with (they go quickly). To hit him you must first jump on the flat object in the center; this
will freeze him and change Robotnik's head to an arrow to indicate he's vulnerable. Then you
must jump and hit him, using the object as a boost, before he returns to normal. The trickiest part
about doing this is those horns - you must hit him squarely on his head or you'll get hit, not him.
You'll be doing a blind leap (you'll jump off the screen) so you'll need a steady hand and a good
mind for distance. If you hit him he'll move to the center and release four sparks. You must stand
on the floor off to the side but not on the edge; stand between the sparks as they land. It's very
difficult and takes practice. After eight hits, he slows down and the object itself begins moving
back and forth, twice as fast as him. You use the same strategy as before - jump on the object,
then him. Remember to land on the object when he is off to the side - you need room to jump on
his head, which isn't possible if he's right above the object. Don't boost jump or glide as those
just cause unnecessary hits. Don't get sloppy or try to retrieve your rings, and don't let getting hit
disrupt your rhythm. He takes a whopping sixteen hits to defeat. Good luck, Sonic or Knuckles.

After this, you see the brief ending - Sonic or Knuckles is standing on a mountain on your home
island, watching Robotnik's big red platform take its rightful place at the bottom of the ocean.
You also briefly hold the chaos emeralds you collected in your hand. Then the credits play.
Congratulations, you have completed Sonic Blast!!

6. Conclusion

This FAQ/walkthrough was very enjoyable for me to make. I enjoyed replaying this old game
which I hadn't played in ages, and discovering its secrets. I hope you enjoy it too, and use this
FAQ/walkthrough to help complete it as quickly and easily as possible.

I have already done FAQ/walkthroughs for Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and
Sonic Chaos for Game Gear. I'm planning on doing a FAQ for Sonic Labyrinth next - look for it
in the next month. Then I'll do Sonic Triple Trouble, and move on to the Genesis games.

Once again, if you find anything missed in this FAQ, wish to ask me to use it, compliment my
work or just want to chat, I'm here and waiting at j-d-walker@worldnet.att.net . I love knowing
somebody still plays this obsolete game, so drop me a line!

This FAQ/walkthrough was completed February 9, 2003 by William Walker. All rights reserved.