SONIC CHAOS for Sega Game Gear FAQ/walkthrough by William Walker This FAQ/walkthrough is copyright William Walker, begun January 14, 2003. All rights reserved. If you wish to use it or part of it on your site, be sure to contact me by e-mail first. It is probably quite alright. Do not sell it or use it for commercial gain. Thank you very much. 1. Introduction So far I have done two FAQs recently: one for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Game Gear version) that has already been posted, and another for Sonic the Hedgehog, the original (also known as Sonic 1) that I sent only recently. I'm planning on doing a FAQ for every one of the thirteen Sonic titles I own, starting with the Game Gear ones. To this end, the next game I decided to do a FAQ for was Sonic Chaos. This game may also be known as Sonic & Tails, I just thought of this because I clicked on Sonic & Tails and it brought up Sonic Chaos. There is currently only one FAQ available for this game and it is rather brief, only 11KB, but effective. However, I thought a more lengthily FAQ/walkthrough for the game would be in order, so I submitted my own. I hope it gets posted. I may have submitted other FAQs by me for this game in the past but I haven't found any. I hope this does not create confusion. Sega Game Gear is a fairly little-known hand-held game system of which I own almost exclusively Sonic games. I like to toy around with them despite the fact that they were made almost twelve years ago. I imagine other people might like to as well. I hope this FAQ helps you with what it was intended for: helping you complete Sonic Chaos. Sonic Chaos was the first Game Gear game that introduced the spin dash, the special stage, and allowed you to play as Tails. It was a very compact and solid game, which could be quite fun, but lacked a lot of replay ability because it was very easy. In fact, this is the easiest of the six Sonic games (Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Blast and Sonic Triple Trouble) I own for Game Gear, and would be a good choice for a novice gamer, or one who is new to the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game's gameplay is a little awkward and hard to get used to, but it's not too bad. You can play as either Sonic or Tails, and each character has their own advantages and disadvantages. Sonic is the only one who can collect the chaos emeralds, by collecting 100 rings in each level. Since I think most of you will want to go for the chaos emeralds sooner or later, getting 100 rings in each level is the main focus of the walkthrough. Overall, this is a good game, though not my favorite, and I think you will enjoy it. If you wish to mention something I missed, complement my work, make a suggestion, or anything of that type, by all means do so! I love getting mail, and besides, I need to remember that some people out there still play these obsolete games. Just be sure to specify what it is you want as clearly as you think needed, and no stupid e-mails or ads, thank you. My e-mail address is: j-d- walker@worldnet.att.net . 2. Control and Basic Stuff Sonic Chaos has no real story, except that Robotnik the mad scientist is after the chaos emeralds and his robots are causing more trouble around Sonic's peaceful world. So Sonic the hedgehog and his sidekick, Tails the two-tailed fox, are back to their adventures. Sonic Chaos has six zones. Each zone is divided into three levels. For the purpose of avoiding confusion I refer to each level as an act, although that term is not used in this game. The third act of each zone is shorter than the other two, but unlike previous games, does have rings. The rings are usually only a few and are sometimes somewhat hidden. Act 3 always ends with a boss fight; the other two acts just end with a turnstile you must pass to complete the act. Rings are your sustenance in this game. They function the same as in other Sonic games: if you get hit, you lose all your rings, but some fly into the air and you can re-grab them if you're quick. If you get hit with no rings or fall off the screen, you die. When you die you have to go back to the beginning of the act you died in. If you run out of lives, your game is over, unless you have a continue, in which case press button 2 before the timer runs down to return to the beginning of the act you lost your last life in with your original complement of lives. Sonic begins with three lives, Tails with five. Sonic begins with no continues and gets one for every 50,000 points he earns, and one for each chaos emerald he gets. Tails begins with three continues and gets one more every 30,000 points he earns. Points are earned as follows: You get 100 points for each enemy you destroy, and 5000 points for defeating the first boss. For each additional boss you receive an additional 5000 in addition to you regular end-of-act bonuses: 10,000 for the second boss, 15,000 for the third, and so on. Whenever you complete an act (transporting to a special stage does not count as completing an act) you get 100 points for each ring in your possession. Plus, you get a time bonus. You time bonus is expressed as a percentage from 1 to 1000 which appears above the turnstile. You get in points your percentage times 10. At the end of a special stage, you get 100 points per ring in your possession and 1000 points for each second remaining on the timer. Control in this game is simple, though a bit more complicated than earlier games. Use the directional pad to move or duck. Press down while walking or running to roll into a ball, this is one way of defeating your enemies, the other being jumping onto or into them. Press button 1 or 2 to jump. Button 2 also selects your character at the character selection screen, speeds up your scoring at the end of an act, and allows you to skip by the screen at the beginning of each act. Start pauses/un-pauses the game. A new move in this game is the spin dash, a really useful move. To perform a spin dash, duck while standing still, then press button 1 or 2. Instead of jumping your character will begin to rev up, release down on the directional pad to shoot ahead at great speed. This is really useful for smashing through enemies or blocked passageways. Tails only can use another move. When standing still on a flat surface, press up, then button 1 or 2. Tails will use his two tails to fly. He can fly anywhere by using the directional pad, but only for a limited amount of time. If he hits a ceiling, he falls back to the ground. This is very useful to avoid danger or reach otherwise inaccessible areas. If you collect 100 rings, what happens depends on who you're playing as. If you're Sonic, you get a 1-UP and are immediately transported to a special stage, a bonus area where you must try to find a chaos emerald before time runs out. You have one minute to complete each special stage. Whether or not you are successful, you will resume play after the special stage in the next act of the regular game. If you are Tails, or Sonic and have already collected all the chaos emeralds, getting 100 rings returns you to 0 and rewards you with a 1-UP. There are five special stages and you can only access the next one by getting all the emeralds before it; the first time you enter special stage, you go to the first one. If you don't get the emerald, you will again enter the first one the next time you get 100 rings. Collecting each chaos emerald is worth an extra continue, and getting them all gives you a slightly better ending. Also in each act, you will find power-ups in the shape of monitors. Jump on them or roll through them to collect them. Here are the power-ups in Sonic Chaos: Super Ring - This has a ring on it. Collect it to get 10 rings. Invincibility - This looks like a mass of stars. Collect it to become invincible for a short time. Speed Shoes - This looks like a red shoe. It temporarily increases your running speed. Rocket Shoes - Don't confuse this with Speed Shoes. It looks like something red, but not a shoe. It allows you to fly around quite fast, but rather uncontrollably, for a very short time. Use the directional pad to steer yourself, although be warned that it is almost impossible to turn around quickly, and it is impossible to stop. This only appears if you are Sonic. If you are Tails, this will be a Super Ring. It is only in zones 1, 4 and 5. Clock - This only appears in some special stages. It stops the timer temporarily. 1-UP - This has Sonic or Tails' (depending on who you're playing as) face on it. It is worth an extra life. On average there is one of these in every act, except act 3. Also sometimes the end of act turnstile will show, instead of Sonic's face, either Tails' face or Sonic's face on a yellow background and looking a bit different. If you are lucky enough to get one of these results, and you are playing as the character whose face is displayed, you get an extra life. 3. General Tips -Above all, it is imperative in this game to TAKE THE HIGH ROAD. The high road is almost invariably easier than the low road, especially in later levels when you need to avoid falling off the screen. Always go as high as you can unless there is a good reason not to do so. -As for which character to choose, I recommend Sonic, and the walkthrough is written for a Sonic player. I think playing as Tails is too easy, and doesn't have the element of getting the chaos emeralds, which makes the game a lot more fun. But, if you're playing for the first time, you may want to play as Tails. When I play as Tails, I typically just speed through the game as fast as possible, and it gets a little boring. The walkthrough is written for Sonic (though you can partially follow it as Tails) so if you play as Sonic, you may have an easier time reading it. -Get used to the momentum and jumping aspects of this game. In this game, you can go quite fast, due to the spin dash. Also when you go off at upward curving ramp, you seem to fly up unnaturally high. Finally, when you land and are rolling, you seem to accelerate a bit unnaturally quickly. Jumping is rather awkward in this game, especially when you're going quickly, and requires you to know what's ahead and make split-second timed jumps. Be careful not to go too fast or you may take hits or miss out on bonuses. -What looks solid may not be. A lot of blocks in this game will crumble into dust as soon as you land on them. Learn where these blocks are, and how to jump very quickly off them. Also, a lot of blocks in this game are breakable, and will get smashed when you jump on them or spin dash into them. A lot of walls have hidden passages in them, so try spin dashing into them. Also be careful not to jump excessively or you may destroy the very blocks you're standing on. Be alert to the various possibilities of the blocks around you. -Always hold on to your rings if there are no rings nearby. This is crucial in some boss battles. You need to position yourself so you can re-collect at least one ring every time you get hit. -It is possible to get 100 rings in most acts, though in some acts there are either unnaturally few rings, or the rings that are there are too hard to get. In these acts in is not recommended to go for 100 rings, as stated in the walkthrough. If you are Tails, or aren't trying to get all the chaos emeralds, getting rings isn't as important, but the walkthrough is written so you can get 100 rings as much as possible. Super Rings in this game are very often found in large batches, and you can increase your ring total rapidly by collecting these. Don't try to get every last ring you see if you are confident you can get 100 rings ahead, the rings are dangerous to get, or you are in a hurry. -Above all, don't take the game too seriously or stress yourself unnecessarily over it. It was meant to be fun, not frustrating, but if you are having trouble with a section or a boss, it may be a good idea to stop the game and try again at a later time. The game is in general very easy, though some of the special stages and the final boss are quite hard. If you find the challenge or lack of it frustrating, you may not like this game. It's one of my least favorite parts about it, and why I don't play it as much as other Game Gear Sonic games. And now, without further ado... 4. Walkthrough This walkthrough is written from the viewpoint of a Sonic player who wants to get all the chaos emeralds. If you don't wish to play this way, that is fine. Just remember that I try to tell you how to get 100 rings, not how to complete an act as quickly as possible. Most acts can be completed by just going right as far as you can. If you get hit or miss some rings, or collect all the emeralds early on, you may not be able to stop reading when, in the walkthrough, you pass 100 rings. If this is the case, just try to do what you can and complete the act as quickly as you can. Same goes for Tails players, but also remember you can use your flying move to go places Sonic can't or has a harder time getting to. Also writing a walkthrough for this game was not easy since there are a lot of different paths and ways you can go, so I did the best I could. I haven't covered every last 1-UP; if you know of some that I don't mention, you may not wish to e-mail me if you think I already know about them and omitted them because explaining how to get them would deviate too much from trying to get 100 rings. 4a. Turquoise Hill Zone As usual in Sonic games, the first zone is a lush, temperate area that shouldn't pose much challenge to you. There are some secrets here, as in all the zones. This zone should be a warm-up for more difficult sections of the game. Act 1 Get the four rings at the start and go right. Get the eight rings on top of the land mass and jump on the moving platform above and right of it. Ride it up to another ledge where you can find 16 rings and a Rocket Shoe. Don't collect it; it may be possible to take a shortcut to a later point, but this walkthrough takes you back down, and further right. Further right at ground level is an enemy, and further still, a spring. Jump on the spring to be bounced up. Land on the floating ledge. Now jump to the right. You will see a floating platform. Aim for it. Keep jumping to the right along several of these floating platforms. They don't drop so you have all the time you need. If you miss a jump, go back to the left until you find the spring again, and go back up and try again. Eventually, after four floating platforms you find a floating ledge with eight rings and a Rocket Shoe. To the right is a long row of rings. You can get them by jumping on the spring of the enemy below them, but it's much more convenient to simply fly into them on the Rocket Shoe. Spin dash into it from the left (don't try to get the rings directly above it) to fly at the right height). Then, press no buttons and you will go right through all the rings. At the end of the row of rings you will hit a flying enemy and fall to the ground, but you won't lose your rings. Go left and collect all the rings there (spin dash through the enemy or avoid him). Then go right to the loop. Jump on top of the loop from the left, avoid the enemy on top of it, and collect the rings. That should put you over 100. Act 2 Go right, collecting the four rings (and the Speed Shoes if you want). Eventually you come to a cliff and a column of rings. Jump into it and you'll land on a moving platform going up. Drop down for the time being and collect the six rings here as well. Now go left, jump over the spikes, and stand next to the wall. Spin dash into it to uncover a hidden passage with a 1-UP. Get it and go back out. Wait for the moving platform to come (it may take a while) and ride it up. When you see a cliff to your right, jump to it. The edge will collapse, so beware. Go right, beat the enemy, and jump on top of the loop from the left (it's a long jump). Get the sixteen rings and the Invincibility on top, then drop down and continue right. You'll come to a ramp. Ignore it just for a moment and continue right. Watch out for the enemy at the bottom of the small hill, and collect the rings. When you come to a spring pointing left, go back left. Spin dash up the ramp to fly up into the air, landing on the floating ledge with four rings (you should currently have 60). To your right is a floating platform. Jump on it and make a long jump to the right to land on the ledge. Go right, getting the rings, until you come to a twisting speedway. This thing is like the corkscrew speedways in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Genesis. For the time being just spin dash onto it and you'll go down it and two more of them. You will get some more rings on them, and a Speed Shoe between the second and third ones. When you get off the third one, jump and slow down quickly because there's a spring that could bounce you back left. Jump over the spring and also the spikes beyond it. Get the twelve rings in the air by means of a hidden spring to bring your total to 91. Then jump off the cliff to your right, following the trail of rings. You will get nine, enough to bring you to 100 if you got every last one so far. Act 3 Go right and ignore the first spring you come to. There are some appearing/disappearing spikes on the upper level, but on the lower level there is nothing to hurt you. Go right and cross the columns blocking your way by means of hidden springs (which only appear when you touch them and are embedded in the ground). After that, jump over the boulder and when you come to another spring, don't jump on it. Instead, Spin dash right through another weak wall. You come to an area with a Super Ring. Below it is a hidden spring you can use to bounce right. After that prepare for an encounter with your first boss, the Armored Ladybug. See section 6 for information on boss strategies. Once you defeat it, go onward, toward Gigapolis Zone. 4b. Gigapolis Zone This zone is set in a city. There are a few more spikes and enemies here than for comfort, but you cannot fall off the screen, a major worry in all future zones. This zone isn't really that difficult, either. Act 1 Get the three rings at the start. Go right, down a hill, and past a spring. Directly past the spring is a blue tunnel. Go through it to find four Super Rings. Take them and go back through the tunnel. Jump on the spring. Get the Invincibility to the left and head right. Defeat the enemy and you come to a long blue road. This road is very odd; if you walk across it quickly you'll be okay but if you don't run at full speed, you'll fall through. Falling through takes you back to where the Super Rings were; just go back to the left and go up again in that case. Spin dash onto the road, hold right, and jump when you see the end of it ahead. This may take a few tries. Then jump to the moving platform you see above you. From it jump to the left, and go left. You can go either inside or on top of the blue tunnel, just be very careful not to run into the enemy at the other side. After the tunnel jump to the higher level and go left to find five Super Rings; that will put you over 100. Act 2 Get the eight rings and run through the loop. On the other side of the loop be careful; there are some spikes at the bottom of the drop. Once on the ground don't go through the next loop; jump left over the spikes. There you'll find another blue road. Drop through it and go left. Ge the three Super Rings, destroy the enemy, and spin dash left through the wall. You'll break through and will find some Speed Shoes with a hidden spring below them. Bounce up and get the four Super Rings to the left. The last one is barely visible off the edge if the screen. Go right (avoiding the spikes) and back to the blue road. You must now run back and forth along the road, at full speed (spin dash to achieve this easily) jumping so you get the rings above the road. You don't need to get them all, just enough to have 95 total (all but four). This can take a while. After getting 95 rings, go right, jump over the spikes, and go through the loop. It has five rings in it, bringing you to 100. Act 3 Get the Super Ring behind you (barely visible, off the edge of the screen). Then go right and hit the spring to get up the steep hill. Go right, through the loop. Hit the spring on the bottom. To the right are three tunnels. Which one you go through does not matter. After that you will face the Giga Worm (see section 6 for information on boss strategies). When you win, go to the next zone, Sleeping Egg Zone. 4c. Sleeping Egg Zone This is an unusual zone. First of all, it has a large number of breakable blocks. They often appear in large areas. Also, this zone introduces the pogo item, which is an orange thing you see on the ground. Jump on it and you start bouncing up and down until you jump or hit a wall. They are used to jump higher. They can be tricky to use especially in small spaces, so get used to them as soon as possible. They reappear if you leave the screen and come back. Finally, in this zone you will face the greatest threat from falling off the screen, not from the few enemies who inhabit this place. This zone seems more open than some other zones. Act 1 Getting 100 rings here is not recommended (although it can be done). Thus, you will finally complete an act by crossing the goal! Okay, get the six rings and go right. You will find a large area of breakable blocks which have hidden springs below them. They can be destroyed by bouncing into each column of blocks one at a time using the springs. However, once you hit the first spring, break the blocks on the left, and land on the ledge on the left (above ground level). Jump to the next ledge on the left, then up to the ledge above. Jump on the pogo to bounce up to the ledge above. When you see it, jump off and get the 1-UP. Below the 1-UP is a hidden spring you can use to get the rings above. Go right, spin dash up the hill, and get the four rings and the Super Ring. Now jump as far as you can to the right. You should land on a steep hill, or right before one. If you land before the hill, quickly get on it because the blocks at the bottom collapse. Go up the hill and get the four Super Rings (guarded by an enemy). Then drop straight off the edge. You'll land on a pogo. Bounce up and right and when another ledge comes into view, jump off the pogo and onto the ledge (it's a somewhat long jump). Go right and get on the moving platform. Don't try to get any rings by jumping. On the ledge to the right after jumping off the platform, you'll see some rings below and to the right of you. Do not try to get these (the ground below them will collapse). Right after them are some appearing/disappearing spikes. You can clear them with a long jump to the right. Go right until you come to an enemy who jumps towards you. Defeat him and go right further. You will see a very small pillar of blocks to the right. Jump onto it and several more pillars to the right. If you fall at any time in this don't try to get back up, just go right as far as you can and beware of breakable blocks. After making several of these difficult jumps you see an expanse ahead of you. Jump blind into it, as far right as possible. You will land on or near a Super Ring. All the blocks left of it will break when jumped on; the blocks right of it are safe. Drop down to the right and go right to the goal. Act 2 Go right, collecting the eight rings, until you come to a pogo. Ignore it and stand next to the foot of the wall to your right. Spin dash through. As soon as you break through three blocks, stop quickly. If your momentum slides you onto the pogo to the right, jump off it immediately to the left. If you go too far right, you may fall into a bottomless pit. You will see a 1-UP surrounded by blocks, but they're all breakable. After you get it go back left to the pogo. Jump on it and then jump on the pogo on a shelf coming out from the wall. Use that one to get to the top. Get the three Super Rings and go right until you come to a wall of blocks. Spin dash through at ground level (don't jump). You'll break through and on the other side get two more Super Rings. You'll hit a speed booster and go over a collapsing bridge, then get sent upwards on a ramp. Land on the upper level and get the four Super Rings to get 100. Whoa, that was easy! Onward... Act 3 Ignore the pogo at the start and go right, collecting a Super Ring in plain sight. Jump over the gap in the ground; it leads to death. Then just keep going right and after a while you will arrive at the Pogo Robot, it is a pain. See section 6 for information. When you defeat it, it's onward to Mecha Green Hill Zone. 4d. Mecha Green Hill Zone This grayish zone is one of my least favorite, because it has a lot of those blue roads that you fall through if you aren't running at full speed from Gigapolis Zone, only now they are gray. It is more important than ever to stay high in this zone; the low road is extremely dangerous. Do not jump excessively in this zone as sometimes the floor can hide a series of breakable blocks that will make you fall down. Act 1 I wouldn't recommend going for 100 rings here, as there are more than enough other acts where you can get 100 to justify skipping one. At the beginning, jump straight up and you will break through the floor. Ordinarily doing this is very dangerous as it takes you downward, but here you will find a good reason at the bottom - a 1-UP. Get it and go right. Jump over or destroy the spring enemy and spin dash through the blocks. Slow down quickly and drop into the hole that the gray platform opens when it falls (as it does when you touch it). This is the first gray platform you see - not the second (below that one is a death pit). The hole below the first has a spring inside it which you can use to bounce up, to another spring. Bounce up on that one as well and you'll go through a gray road. Land to the left of it but be careful of the enemy with a spring on his back walking back and forth. Jump over him and get on the top of the hill. Avoid the mechanical coconuts that will fall from the tree. Now spin dash down the hill. Instead of beating the enemy, you will hit the spring on his back due to the incline and fly right, over the gray road. Hold to the right as you fly and you should land on a ledge, near the top of the screen with a Rocket Show on it. Get it by spin dashing into it from the left. You don't want to be at the very top of the screen as you fly to the right, as there are some coconuts you would crash into. However, if you spin dash into the Shoe and press no buttons, you will fly at exactly the right height and get by unscathed. When it runs out of power you will see a spring pointing up and right to your right at the bottom of a small hill. Spin dash down and hit the spring. Hold to the right and you will go over a gap, landing with the goal just to your right. Now wasn't that easy? You didn't even have to worry about that whole mess of gray roads, platforms and enemies! Act 2 Get the six rings at the start, and go right until you see a moving platform. Don't jump on the ground directly below the platform; it is weak. Ride the platform up and get the four rings. Drop back down, go right and get eight rings. When you see a gray, inside area ahead of you, stop and jump up. You should see a column of rings leading up. Wait for a while and a moving platform should appear. Jump on it (it may take a few tries) and ride it up. You'll increase you ring total to 26, and can jump off at the top. Go right and jump over the spikes. Two coconuts will fall from the tree; land right in front of the tree to avoid them as they fall a bit outward. Jump over more spikes, and the spring pointing left. You will find more rings and a hill. Run down it and hold right; there's a gray road coming up. Run across it and don't try to jump for the rings. At the end don't jump off to the ledge. Instead, keep on running straight into the wall. There is a somewhat hidden tunnel there. At the other end of the tunnel is a twisted road like the ones in Turquoise Hill Zone, but this one curves downward. Spin dash down it so you don't fall off. Ignore the spring above the right end of the tunnel. After the road go right until you come to a gray platform in the air. Stop and jump onto the platform. You should have 48 rings at this point. The platform will start moving up, but you need to jump repeatedly to smash the blocks above you (or you'll get smashed against them and die). Ignore the Super Ring you see to the left partway up. Keep jumping quickly and eventually you should come out on the top. At the top, go left and get the eight rings, ignoring the pogo. Then go right and ignore the spring. Watch out for another coconut trap. Further to the right is another gray road. There are rings above it, but not so fast. To the right of this road is the goal, but not so fast. Drop through it at any point except the far left side (which has spikes below it). You will come to an area with a lot of rings. Collect them using the two spring enemies who pace back and forth below. Also get the rings above the spinning road with the spring guys. Be extremely careful not to get hit by them! There are exactly 100 rings here but be very careful not to land right next to either enemy or on the spikes on either side. If you do get hit, just bounce above the road and go right to the goal. Take it slow and you should be able to accumulate 100 rings. There is a 1-UP high above the gray road. Spin dash from the left side and jump right at the bottom of the hill to get it. Act 3 This is the hardest act 3 in the game. Okay, go right until you come to a pit. Jump across with the help of the platform in the middle. It drops, so jump quickly. Going further, you see three platforms in the air. Use them as stepping stones to reach the level above, but be aware that they, too drop, so you will only have one chance to climb up. On the top level go right until you come to a gray road. Falling through it or the next one will make you lose a life. Run across it at full speed and jump reflexively as soon as you see the other side come into sight. You must make that jump quickly. Farther right is another gray road. Run across it full speed, not stopping for anything. You will pass a platform above it that has a Super Ring. That is the only source of rings in this act. I recommend ignoring it and jumping to the right as soon as you see the end of the road ahead. If you're so ridiculously bold as to try to get the Super Ring by timing a jump from the road or spin dashing from the right, you might get the Super Ring, but how, for one, do you get off? I recommend facing the boss with no rings; while not a very attractive prospect it is probably safer than trying to get the Super Ring. After the second gray road go right to meet the Tree Climber (see section 6). Once you win go to the next zone on Sonic's visit list: Aqua Planet. 4e. Aqua Planet Zone This is supposed to be the water zone of Sonic Chaos. However, the water in this zone can be avoided completely. In all the other Sonic games I know of, you had to explore underwater for a while, and you used vents on the floor to restore your air. In sonic Chaos, The water is so shallow no bubbles are needed. You can avoid the water by just taking the high road. If you stay underwater too long, a countdown will appear above your character's head. If it reaches zero, you drown and die. Jump out of the water to avoid meeting this fate. Water also slows you down and makes it harder to lose momentum. You can skim the surface of the water like in Sonic 2 Game Gear, by the way. I found this zone to be pretty easy. Act 1 Go right and collect the eight rings. When you come to a four-block bridge be aware that the two blocks on the right are breakable; don't jump on them. Further on you encounter three small bird- like enemies; defeat them and keep going. Run down the hill and you cross a bridge that collapses under your feet. Run across quickly. Defeat another trio of enemies and cross another collapsing bridge. Now for a tricky part. You must cross over to the far right via three two-block ledges that collapse instantly. Do not try to get the rings on these ledges - just land on them and jump immediately to the right. On the third ledge, jump right as far as you can. You will hopefully clear the spikes on the next ledge. Right before the spikes is a block that will collapse. If you fall go to the left, where you'll find a Rocket Shoe in the tunnel. Use that to try to get back up. Once you are above the ledge brake; if you keep going full speed you'll sail off too far right. On the ledge to the right, go right but jump over the speed booster (you don't want to go too fast) and get the three Super Rings (you should have around 65 rings now). Drop off the ledge. You land on another group of three enemies. Defeat them and go right to a spring. Get ready for one more tough jump. Don't hit the spring and instead jump to the platform above and to the right of it. This platform drops once you land on it, so jump to the right quickly. Ignore the Rocket Shoe above and left of the platform. If you jump far enough to the right from the platform (it's a tough jump) you'll land on the top of a loop with four Super Rings. That should put you above 100. If you miss, there's no way to try again. Act 2 Get the eight rings at the beginning and go right. Bounce up on the spring. Bounce up on another spring and get the eight rings above it. On the highest level, go right and defeat the three enemies. When you come to a spring, spin dash into it and press right for part of the time. Release it as you start falling down so you don't go too far, but press it for some time so you go far enough. You should land in an area with six Super Rings (wow!) And eight rings. Get them all bringing you to 84 total. Then hit the spring to the right and hold right. You should land beyond the weak blocks and can go right and collect five more rings. Go right until you come to the end of this land mass; drop down and go right. Spin dash up the hill collecting five rings, then hold right to land on the high level with some Super Rings. That's all. Whoa, that was easy. Onward... Act 3 Go right until you enter a long corridor with diagonal springs that bounce you through it. Carefully weave in between the springs until you come to an Invincibility. If you hit a spring by mistake turn around and go back through the corridor. Once you get to the Invincibility, spin dash through the blocks to the right of it. They will break, and you will hit a spring and bounce onto a level above the spring corridor. There you will get a Super Ring, the only rings in this act. Go right until you are face to face with the boss, the Bouncing Egg (see section 6). After you defeat it it's on to the final zone, Electric Egg Zone. 4f. Electric Egg Zone Although this is the final zone of the game, it isn't that hard. It's really interesting, more of a maze than anything else. The main aspect of this zone are the red pipes that criss-cross it, you can maneuver through these pipes the same way as in Sonic 2 Game Gear. Once you enter a pipe it carries you forward unless you hold the directional pad in another direction. If you pass a pipe that branches off from the one you're in you will ignore it unless you hold the direction it goes in, in which case you go through that pipe. If you come to a T-junction, you bounce back and go back the way you came unless you hold in either direction of the T. You will probably have all the emeralds by this point (at least you better!) or you aren't playing to get the emeralds. Either way, my main objective in this zone is simply to get you to the goal as fast as possible. If you know which way to go in the pipes, that is actually quite easy and you can bypass most of the troublesome spots. Act 1 Go right and you'll encounter a laser that shoots beams down onto the floor. The recommended way to deal with it is by spin dashing by, this is safer than running by (time it so you go by between shots). Also, the laser will adjust itself to move above you and shoot a beam down, so don't stick around here very long. Spin dash through the block on the right and enter the pipe. Press no buttons (you don't want to take the branch to the right) and you'll pass three small areas between pipes that serve no purpose, and eventually be shot out onto a platform below a ledge. The platform will drop shortly after you touch it, so quickly jump onto the ledge. Go right and you come to a conveyor belt patrolled by two laser guns. Spin dash under them and hope for the best. Once you get past the conveyor belt stop quickly. Don't touch the speed booster; you don't want to be going too fast. To the right is a sheer drop and a pipe leading right over an abyss. This abyss has six Super Rings arranged in a row across it on a pipe (the pipe you can't stand on; you just fall through it). Below these Super Rings is a large area filled with normal rings, with springs below them you can use to bounce into them. There are at least 100 rings there, and you can jump back to the springs from the floor below if you fall off. You cannot, however, reach the Super Rings from the springs, so you must get them all by jumping off the ledge to the top left. Drop STRAIGHT off the ledge and pull to the left; there is a spring on the wall pointing up and right. If you press no buttons after hitting the spring, you should land on the Super Rings. Collect them one at a time carefully. After collecting them drop down and get the rings there. If you already have all the emeralds, though, I need to explain how to get to the goal from here. From the level below the springs go right. When you come to a drop, jump right onto the platform. Be careful not to fall or you will lose a life! The platform will drop so quickly jump into the pipe above it. Once inside the pipe immediately press and hold right. You'll enter a side branch, then keep holding right and you'll enter another side branch. You'll be shot out into a tiny room with an Invincibility, get it if you like and enter the next pipe. Hold right again and you will take a pipe to the right. You're coming up on a T-junction so now hold up. You'll take the upper fork and when you get shot out, go right to the goal. Act 2 Getting 100 rings here is almost impossible, and not recommended. Jump on the spring right next to you at the start and bounce up into the pipe. Hold right since there is a T-junction immediately upon entering this pipe. You'll be shot out onto a moving platform. Ride it up and when possible, jump off to the right and go right. Hit the speed booster and you come to a very long bridge of purple blocks. This bridge is inhabited by laser guns, enemies who explode when you come near them (found in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2) and parts of it collapse as soon as you touch them. However, just keep holding right. Do nothing but hold right. You will get hit like four times, but should make it to the other side in one piece. On the other side are a series of gray pads on the floor. When you touch one of these pads, a laser beam is fired on to them. Spin dash across and hold to the right and you should speed under the lasers and make it to the pipe. Press absolutely no buttons to avoid going into one of the many side branches. Eventually you will be deposited onto a moving platform. Ride it up to the ledge, and go right to the goal. That wasn't so hard, was it? Act 3 This act is critical to get down pat because the final boss takes usually about 10 lives to beat on your first try, and each time you'll have to go through this act. Go right and get in the railcar thing. It will slide down the hill and fly off the bottom. Jump off and hold to the left to land on the stationary platform. There is a bottomless pit below it, so be very careful and time your jump out of the flying railcar perfectly. Once on the platform jump into the pipe above quickly (it drops). You are done with this act, difficulty wise. In the pipe hold down on the directional pad. You will be dropped out to a room with a Super Ring, the only rings in this act. Jump back into the pipe and hold right at the T-junction (holding left will take you back the way you came and drop you into the bottomless pit). You will be dropped out onto a moving platform. Ride it up and when a ledge comes into view, jump onto it. Go right to face the final boss, Robotnik's Walker (see section 6). When and if you defeat it, you've won the game! Congratulations! 5. Enemies and Traps This section of my FAQ covers everything that can harm you in this game, with the exception of bosses and falling off the screen. Spikes (Traps) - Found in most Sonic games, spikes are the typical needles on the ground that hurt you if you land on them. Luckily, if you push against spikes from the side, you won't take damage. These can be a threat when they come in large beds. Found in all zones except 3. Spring Guys (Enemies) - This guy paces back and forth on a set area. He has a spring on his back that can be used to launch you to new heights. Roll through him to defeat him, if you want. Found in zones 1 and 4. Planes (Enemies) - This annoying fellow flies around quickly, suddenly stopping when you come close by, then flying off again erratically. Jump into him or on him to defeat him. Found in zones 1, 2 and 6. Disappearing/Reappearing Spikes (Traps) - Like normal spikes, but pop up and down every second or so. Found in zones 1 and 3. Blue Tanks (Enemies) - This guy just rolls back and forth. Found in zone 2. Blue Pogo Guys (Enemies) - These guys jump at you in long jumps. Found in zone 3. Yellow Tanks (Enemies) - Move slowly, and a little up and down. Found in zone 3. Coconuts (Traps) - These are mechanical coconuts that fall from a tree when you get close enough. They fall away from the tree so stand directly in front of the tree and you'll be safe. Found in zone 4. Spears (Traps) - Constantly extend and retract to take a bite out of you. Pass with care. Found in zone 5. Bird Robots (Enemies) - These guys just jump back and forth. They are usually found in groups of three. Found in zone 5. Laser Guns (Traps) - These traps have a range. When you're inside the range, they move directly above you, fire a laser beam down into the ground, and then relocate to be above you and fire again. Move past them quickly. Found in zone 6. Laser Pads (Traps) - Gray pads that have a laser gun pointed at them. When you touch the pad, the laser fires. It can only be triggered once. Spin dash by quickly and you won't get hit. Found in zone 6. Bomb Guys (Enemies) - A common enemy in the series, these guys are completely invincible and explode when you get close to them, sending out four pieces of shrapnel. Dodge the shrapnel if you can. Found in zone 6. 6. Bosses My manual has long since disappeared and I have no idea the real names of the bosses. So I apologize for that. Anyway, here is a guide to each fight. Turquoise Hill Zone The Armored Ladybug is very easy to defeat. All it does is roll back and forth along the ground. It has a spring on its back so spin dash or roll, hitting its head or rear. Do not jump on it (you'll just be sprung off). Five hits is all it takes. Gigapolis Zone This is sort of hard. The Giga Worm is made up of a head and three sections. You must hit his head six times while avoiding the sections which he launches at you. The first section he launches in an arc; stand on the ground and not too close to him to avoid it. The second he launches on the ground; jump over it. The third he launches the same as the first. After that he gets a whole new compliment of sections. Get your hits in between when he launches his sections at you, and always keep at least one ring in your possession. Sleeping Egg Zone Get ready for the fight of your life with the Pogo Robot. This is quite hard! The Pogo Robot lowers himself down on the right side of the arena, then starts bouncing up and down and firing lasers like there's no tomorrow. If you stand on the far left side of the screen, his lasers will hits you, but if you keep standing there, your ring will always fall back into your hands. His lasers will hit you before your ring gets back to you, but you will be flashing at this point from taking a hit, so you will be alright. Keep a ring in your possession at all costs. Hit him frontally when he bounces high and you can hit him between shots. Bounce back to the left. Always remain on the left side, unless you are hitting him (which you should do right after retrieving your one ring). Only a hit that makes him flash white counts. He takes six hits to defeat. Mecha Green Hill Zone This is pretty hard, considering you're probably going at it with no rings. The Tree Climber boss does just what he says - he climbs up and down the tree on the right, firing fireballs and energy balls to the left. You must jump on his head to hurt him, and cannot hurt him when he is near the top of the screen or going down rapidly (when he does the latter, the yellow portion that usually sticks out of the top of him isn't there). Jump on him and hold right hard, as you annoyingly get bounced back left each time you hit him. You will have to land several times in this fight. Hopefully you can keep bouncing on him several times and avoid falling into a fireball or energy ball. When you land, wait for him to lower down, then jump on him again and hold right, avoiding his projectiles. He takes nine hits to defeat. Aqua Planet Zone The Bouncing Egg takes a while to beat, but is fairly easy to defeat. When the battle begins six bird robots will attack from the right. Jump on them to defeat them and bear in mind that they take two hits to defeat. After destroying them the Bouncing Egg appears in the center of the screen, and then bounces around, launching fireballs from the side sometimes. Jump on top of it to damage it. It can take a lot of punishment - seventeen hits, I counted. It is easy to hit though, if you can get into a good rhythm of bouncing on top of it. After seventeen hits, it will fly up off the screen. Rockets will be launched - three from each side of the screen. They are very hard to avoid but don't worry about getting hit. When you can, look up at the point where he left the screen - you'll see the bottom of him there. Quickly hit him from below one time to defeat him. If you are not quick enough, he will disappear and the rockets will launch again. Electric Egg Zone Robotnik's Walker has two forms. The first is a large walking machine that fires lasers. When the battle begins, immediately jump over him. He will never, or very rarely, walk to the right corner. Now jump on him, but bounce back to the right. He can only be injured by jumping directly on top of him. This will cause him to fire a laser that reflects off the floor, walls and ceiling and disappears the second time it hits the floor. Bounce back to the right corner and duck. The beam should miss you, but if it hits you hold to the right to retain your ring. Don't try to hit him more than once at a time unless you like taking risks. He sometimes fires a larger bolt directly left, but this isn't much of a threat, as you should be to the right of him. Be patient and take few risks, and always hold on to at least one ring. Sixteen hits defeats him - but it's not over yet. After destroying the walker, Robotnik will jump into a flying ship and start flying around the screen very quickly. This final form will take only one hit to destroy. Easier said than done. Only a direct hit from above him will defeat him - any other contact with him will kill you instantly, even if you have a ring left over! Stand at the corner opposite where he's about to come and jump when you think the time is right. If you jump at exactly the right time, you can hit him on the head. Angle towards jumping later because an early jump often results in you hitting him in the wrong spot and dying. This will take many, many lives, but since you only need one hit, eventually you should get lucky and hit him once. After destroying his ship, Robotnik will make a run for it. Chase him to the right and he escapes on a moving platform. If you collected all the chaos emeralds an emerald will float down from the sky. Collect it. Congratulations, you have just completed Sonic Chaos!! If you got all the emeralds Sonic will be inside a large emerald and will do various things as the credits roll. Otherwise you'll just be running in place, and after the credits all the emeralds you did not get appear with the words TRY AGAIN. Congratulations! 7. Special Stages You can only enter a special stage if you are Sonic, and only by collecting 100 rings in one act. When you get 100 rings, you immediately teleport to the first special stage you have not successfully completed (gotten the chaos emerald in). This means that you keep entering special stage 1 until you collect the first emerald, then you enter special stage 2, and so on. Each special stage is a mini-act in which you must find and touch a chaos emerald before one minute elapses. After ending the special stage, you go to the next act of the regular game after the one you collected 100 rings in. Once you collect all the emeralds, you cannot enter the special stage. You get 100 points for each ring you get after a special stage, just like a regular act, and if you get the emerald, you also get 1000 points for each second remaining on the timer. Special Stage 1: You begin this stage standing on a Rocket Shoe. Immediately jump straight up and land on it (doing anything else will end the stage immediately). Start flying to the right. You have a long way to go, so don't stop for anything. Keep going right at full speed (this Rocket Shoe lasts infinitely). You'll fly by normal and giant rings. The giant rings are worth 10 rings each. Get as many as you can. Don't stop or slow down, though. The giant rings are arranged in letters, but I can't pick out what they spell. After a while with normal rings alternating on the top and bottom of the screen, the chaos emerald is in the center of a circle of giant rings. It is a little below halfway on the screen. Position yourself there are fly at it. You only have enough time for a few passes so get it right quickly. Don't miss it, as there is a lot more stage to the right. If you are having trouble seeing it, try pausing the game as you fly by the circle of giant rings. Special Stage 2: This stage requires you to climb as high as possible. Do not go too fast, though, or you might fall. Also note that the chaos emerald is at the top, but it can only be reached from the right. Go to the right at the beginning. Jump onto the elevated land on the right to find a pogo. Bounce up and if you don't see a floating platform immediately, try bouncing a little bit to one side. You should find a platform eventually, and you must jump to it when your pogo is at its highest point. There you'll find another pogo. Do the same and keep climbing up until you come to a platform that has no pogo. Jump back down to the previous platform. Use the pogo to bounce up but don't jump off it. Instead, land on the next highest platform and bounce up again. Jump off and go left to find the chaos emerald. There is a clock you can get near the top, and there is a whole other set of floating platforms on the left, but it is completely unnecessary to use. Special Stage 3: This stage involves going through a series of tubes. They have the same rules as the pipes in Electric Egg Zone. This stage is ridiculously easy if you know what to do. Just enter the first tube, and keep going, entering each tube you see. You'll get four Invincibilities which are completely pointless. When you enter the fifth tube (count them) press and hold up on the directional pad. This tube leads to a big maze of tubes, but before you enter there, if you hold up you'll enter a side branch which takes you right to the chaos emerald. It's that simple! Special Stage 4: These last two stages are much harder. You really have to hurry here because you have a lot of ground to cover and no clocks. There are some Rocket Shoes to help you though. Begin by running right as fast as possible. Ignore the first spring you see and jump over the horizontal ones. You come to a large are of tiny valleys with ground sticking up between them. Jump carefully through them. The last valley has a hidden spring that will bounce you up and out. Now stop. Stand on the elevated piece of land right after the valleys. Spin dash right and press jump almost immediately (before you start spinning down the hill). You need to get on top of the next land mass which has a Rocket Shoe on it. If you overshoot, go back and get it. The ground in front of it is breakable so be careful. Get the Rocket Shoe and fly up and right. When the shoe runs out of power, run back to the left. You probably briefly saw another Rocket Shoe on the ground while you were flying; go back and get it. Fly right as high and far as possible on this one too. When you come down, you should be near a large bank of springs pointing left. The only way to clear them all is by going left and spin dashing, and then jumping immediately. You need to fly over the top. Keep running right. You will pass a spring that points diagonally up and right. There is a Rocket Shoe below it but ignore it; it does not have enough distance to get you to the chaos emerald. Keep going right. When you come to a spring that bounces you up and into another spring that points left, do another spin dash jump to clear it. Keep going right. When you come to another up/right spring, stop, drop down. You should see two springs that point at each other, and to the right, a Rocket Shoe. Get it and fly up and right. When it runs out of power at the far right of the screen, drop down, and get the emerald. The emerald is on an elevated platform that can only be reached with a Rocket Shoe. This stage is much harder to complete than I described, and I hope that my description doesn't cause too much confusion. Remember to hurry at all times - you usually complete this stage with under ten seconds remaining. This will take many attempts before you can complete it consistently, but keep trying! Special Stage 5: This stage is another maze of tubes. This time, though, you need to negotiate the maze. There are plenty of clocks around to help you. All you need to complete this stage is a quick finger and knowing where to go. Get the clock behind you and enter the tube at the right. Press no buttons for a while. When the tube goes upward, wait to pass the first branch to the left, then hold left. You want the second branch to the left. As soon as you enter it, press and hold down. There is a tube that goes down almost immediately, and that's the one you want. It takes a quick finger to switch from left to down like that, but it can be done. Now press no buttons (this tube has no side branches) and you'll be spit out and hit a spring, which will bounce you back into the tube. You need to time a jump so that you jump as soon as you hit the spring, or right before you do. In this way you can avoid going back into the tube and jump over the spring. The final chaos emerald is just beyond it. If you go back into the tube, press no buttons and you'll hit a T- junction and bounce back, so you can keep trying as many times as you have time on the timer for. It takes a quick jump to make it, but it is possible. Keep trying. 8. Cheats Level Select: At the title screen, press up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left, start. If it doesn't work, try pressing the buttons faster or waiting until the words Press Start Button appear on the title screen. Choose the level you wish to begin playing on. Sound Test: Press down, down, up, up, left, right, left, right, 1, 2, start at the title screen. You'll come to a screen where you can play all of the sounds and music themes in the game. 9. Conclusion I hope you enjoyed Sonic Chaos. It's an old game and pretty easy, but it's fun too. Again, if you wish to e-mail me about this game, you're very much encouraged to. My e-mail address is j-d- walker@worldnet.att.net . Again, this FAQ/walkthrough is copyright William Walker, all rights reserved. It was completed on January 26, 2003. Good luck with Sonic Chaos!