_________ .__ __ .__ / _____/ ____ ____ |__| ____ _/ |_| |__ ____ \_____ \ / _ \ / \| |/ ___\ \ __\ | \_/ __ \ / ( <_> ) | \ \ \___ | | | Y \ ___/ /_______ /\____/|___| /__|\___ > |__| |___| /\___ > \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ ___ ___ .___ .__ ________ / | \ ____ __| _/ ____ ____ | |__ ____ ____ \_____ \ / ~ \_/ __ \ / __ | / ___\_/ __ \| | \ / _ \ / ___\ _(__ < \ Y /\ ___// /_/ |/ /_/ > ___/| Y ( <_> ) /_/ > / \ \___|_ / \___ >____ |\___ / \___ >___| /\____/\___ / /______ / \/ \/ \/_____/ \/ \/ /_____/ \/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Guide version 1.0a Last updated: 30th of September 2000 Created by: Clement Chan Zhi Li E-mail address: souleq@hotmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- Table of Contents ----------------- <1> Introduction <1> [1.1] About Sonic the Hedgehog 3 [1.2] Copyright info [1.3] How to Best View this Guide <2> Things You Should Know <2> [2.1] Item Boxes and Things [2.2] Description of Bonus Stage [2.3] Something to Beware and Know [2.4] Controls <3> Sonic the Hedgehog 3 <3> [3.1] Angel Island Zone [3.2] Hydrocity Zone [3.3] Marble Garden Zone [3.4] Carnival Night Zone [3.5] Icecap Zone [3.6] Launch Base Zone <4> Tricks, Secrets and Cheats <4> <5> Credits <5> <6> History <6> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <1> Introduction <1> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi! I'm Clement Chan and I'm proud to present you with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Guide to help you out when you have troubles with this Genesis game. If you find more info that I don't have or you just want to comment, feel free to do so at souleq@hotmail.com . You may be sure that I will read every single mail I receive so tell me your opinions. ------------------------------------- [1.1] About Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ------------------------------------- If you're new to Sonic, let me explain. Sonic was created by SonicTeam and it first appeared in 1991 in his own game, Sonic the Hedgehog. Later, several more games came out and one of the awesome games are Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Sonic is naturally a strange, blue hedgehog with super-cool speed. He ahs also his best buddy and sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower and in this game, you CAN control him. What does Sonic the Hedgehog 3 have? They have lots of levels and newly enhanced graphics that you can notice if you bought Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Of course, other than that, there are new item boxes and more enemies and more challenging levels (some may be annoying to you). Best part, you can save the game too so you don't need to start all over again when you off the Genesis! Play this game, now! ------------------------------------- [1.2] Copyright info ------------------------------------- This FAQ is copyright 2000 Clement Chan Zhi Li. You can distribute this FAQ as long as its contents are not changed. No. Not even a single letter. Only Clement Chan Zhi Li can make changes and updates to this FAQ. Any unauthorized changes and updates without my permission is prohibited by law. ------------------------------------- [1.3] How to Best View this Guide ------------------------------------- If you view this guide of the Internet and noticed that some words are filled in with spaces and etc., it's because your browser did not view it at the right width. Save the guide and open it up with WordPad (recommended). Click File, then Page Setup. At the section where they put Margins (inches), look for Right and type 0.8" in it. That way, you could view this guide neatly as it is meant to be! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <2> Things You Should Know <2> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before you start the game, read this section first to understand more about things that you must know to make the game easier. ------------------------------------- [2.1] Item Boxes and Things ------------------------------------- Yes, more things than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 so I list all of them here: Item box with stars - Invincibility for a short time. Item box with Sonic or Tails' picture - Extra life Item box with ring - Ten rings Item box with bubble - It's a shield and you can bounce it by pressing the A button. It can make you breathe in water so you need not worry about trying to get out of water quickly. Item box with fire - Fire shield and can protect you from fire. Will disappear if get into water. Item box with electric - Best shield since it can attracts rings to Sonic. Will dissapear if get into water (it's logic). Item box with shoe - Speed up character's speed for a short while. Item box with Robotnik's picture - Makes you get hit by something, be sure NOT TO HIT THIS or you'll lose your rings. Lamppost (red colour with star) - Save point, you'll return here when your character die. If you have 50 rings and above, go past this lamppost and a red, circular thing will appear. Jump into it to enter the bonus stage to take item boxes. Red Bumper - Makes you jump higher. Yellow Bumper - Makes you jump lower. Big Ring - Different than Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It will let you enter the Special Stage to collectt the Chaos Emeralds. ------------------------------------- [2.2] Description of Bonus Stage ------------------------------------- When you have 50 rings, go past the star lamppost and stars will appear. Jump into it to enter the Bonus Stage. Basically, it's like a gumball machine. Use the yellow bumpers and jump to turn the lever to make the gumballs fall down. At the bottom will be red bumpers to let you jump up. You'll lose when you go to the bottom. Grey Gumball with ring in middle - 10 rings. Red Gumball - Fire Shield. Blue Gumball - Bubble Shield. Electric Gumball - Electric Shield. Pink Gumball with the word 1-Up - You guess it right, Extra Life! Green Gumball with the word Rep - When the bumpers vanish, use this gumball to make it appear again. Black Gumball - You can jump on it. Transparent Gumball - Nothing. ------------------------------------- [2.3] Something to Beware and Know ------------------------------------- I've written this in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Guide but since they're almost similar, I put this down. Try to take caution everytime and every moment. When you touch or get hit by an enemy, it will cause your rings to come out. So, try and get at least one ring for safety. If you get more than 100 rings, you will automatically get an extra life. If you succeed in all special stages, you have the seven Chaos Emerald and therefore, you can become Super Sonic. To become Super Sonic, get at least 50 rings and jump twice. In the water, try not to go in too long or Sonic will die. There will be a group of bubbles and Sonic must grab the biggest bubble to breathe in. Most importantly, there will be a ten minute limit where you must get to the end quickly or it will be a 'Time Over' so don't waste your time too much. There's one time when Sonic freezes itself in Launch Base Zone in the circular, rotating thing. So, what I need to do is to wait for Time Over. ------------------------------------- [2.4] Controls ------------------------------------- The controls are quite easy and simple. A, B and C button to jump and hold down the down button and press the A, B or C button to spin. Enemies can be hit by Sonic's spinning ball. Tails' moves are almost the same as Sonic's. Additional moves for Tails is flying. To fly, double jump and continue pressing A, B or C to fly higher. If you fly too long, Tails will be tired and fall down. You can also carry Sonic too. Fly and use Sonic to jump on him, then Tails will carry him and fly to your place of destination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <3> Sonic the Hedgehog 3 <3> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the beginning, select whether you want to save or not when you play the game. You can choose between Sonic and Tails, Sonic or Tails only in any of the save files. This wonderful game start off with Sonic on the plane, Tornado with Tails controlling it. Then, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and dash through the area when he knocks onto something, letting all the Chaos Emeralds fall. Knuckles will appear in his grinning face and grab all the Chaos Emeralds. Then, the adventure starts. ------------------------------------- [3.1] Angel Island Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - A basic stage where you can learn everything here for the future. Robots everywhere for you to hit and hidden item boxes too. There will be a Big Ring for you to go to enter the Special Stage. In the beginning, after the swings, land down and spin off to the left to destroy some rocks. There will be the ring which you can enter the Special Stage. Also, there will be a robot that appears in the middle of the game and burns the whole level. NOTE: You can actually hit him several times and it will be destroyed without burning the whole level! Try it, ask your friend to control Tails and both of you co-operate and hit that robot! Mini-Boss - Fire Shooter - 5 Hits ----- That robot will appear at the end of the stage. It will have fire underneath him so hit the top of him 5 times and you will win. This should be easy. Act 2 - Almost the same as Act 1 except that there are more traps here with some grey buttons. Also, at the end, when a green airplane shoots fire-bombs at you, press right until it was gone to avoid being shot. At the end, Robotnik will appear in the background so run to the right and chase him. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Fire Shooter - 8 Hits ----- In the beginning, Dr. Robotnik will appear on the left so take that chance and hit him two times but be sure not to stand on the yellow bridge because Robotnik will burn it up. If you happen to stand on it, Sonic will fall and die. Then, continue hitting him 6 more times while avoiding his fireballs. If you have a fire shield, it will be much easier since you will not get hit by the fire. After that, Dr. Robotnik's invention will go 'KABOOM!' and he will escape. Hit the flying capsule and the animals will escape. Knuckles will appear after that and press the grey button to make Sonic fall. You can try and jump to the left IMMEDIATELY after the yellow bridge vanished. Even when you can jump on the ground, there's nothing to do there really. ------------------------------------- [3.2] Hydrocity Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - When Sonic fall, press the left button to land on a ledge. Ask Tails to carry Sonic to the high platform on the right side. A hand will appear and make Sonic run quickly. Here, it's much easier not to go INSIDE the water, that's why I ask you to jump to the left. You can go inside the water but just make sure not to stay there to long and find some bubbles to make Sonic breathe. If you're quickl enough, you can spin right ON TOP of the water without entering it. If you have an electricity shield, it won't disappear if only you spin on top of the water. There's more enemies and traps here, including the annoying piranha-like robot in the water which can lower down your rings. At the end, fight a water-robot. Mini-Boss - Water Spinner - 5 Hits ----- At the beginning of the battle, spin to the right because he will come from the left and land in the middle. Then, spin to the left and land back again in the middle. When it is about to spin and create a water-tornado, quickly hit him 5 times, even better, ask your friend to control Tails and hit him. If you cannot hit him 5 times, just proceed with the above process and you should win. Act 2 - After that, Sonic will be going underneath and the wall will begin to move to crush Sonic. Try and spin quickly and move in the right direction. Don't pay attention on the rings, lives are more important. After that, you must spin on top of the rotating platform, the continue your way. There are spikes here and lots of enemies too. At one point, you will spin to the water so when Sonic comes out of the water, quickly press right to reach the land. Then, after all the trouble, Knuckles will be at a blocked wall while you are standing on a bridge. He will press the button and let you fall. After that, water will rush out and Sonic will have to hang on poles. Go to the top of the pole and press the A, B or C button to destroy them. Continue doing this and you will reach the lamppost. The water will go down and Dr. Robotnik will appear in his creation. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Water Machine - 8 Hits ----- In his nasty water machine, he will have all sorts of attacks so beware. When he comes down, attack him immediately a few times if you can. He will also throw down a few 'pill-like water shooter'. When it explodes, quickly jump on the gushing water to bring Sonic up to hit that annoying Robotnik. Make sure you face at the right direction to hit him. When he comes down, he will spin a tornado so try and avoid it while hitting him. Just try and avoid his water attacks and hit him 8 times and you should win. After hitting the capsule, water will gush up on where Sonic stands and bring him up in the air. ------------------------------------- [3.3] Marble Garden Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - Sonic will fall and runs down a steep slope and you can control him. There will be a ring somewhere here in the beginning, after the moving platforms. There will be a series of badniks here, all good and clever espeacially the grasshopper badnik which can jumps up anytime and hurt you and also, the false-spike badniks which are annoying too. You will learn to control the spinning blue top which are easy to control. Just run to the right and that should do it. Sometimes, the driller machine will appear to lead a way out for Sonic. Also, the 'tribe-like darts shooter' can be hit three times to lead a way down there. Mini-Boss - Driller Machine - 6 Hits ----- Avoid the sharp things that come down but the circle ones won't hurt. Hit him (not on top of his spikes) 6 times and that should destroy it. This mini-boss is easy and should not be that hard. Act 2 - This time, Dr. Robotnik will appear and although you can hit it, it doesn't effect it later on. Just continue as usual until the second time when Dr. Robotnik appear. On the second time he appears, quickly spin to the left as everything will move and tumble and if you're slow, you'll be 'eaten up' by the crushing platforms. It should not be much problem unless you're a new gamer. Try and memorize the way you should go and be quick enough and you will get past that part. After that, jump to the right for the lamppost then continue to the left side as normal. At the end, Dr. Robotnik will appear from up. Hit him several times if you can. Better still, just control Tails and use him to hit Robotnik and that will make the following battle easier. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Flying Drill Machine - 8 Hits ----- If you hit him several times before, it will be much easier. Tails will carry you (of course, as I said before, if you had a friend to help, it will be easier since computer-controlled Tails will always fall, making it harder). Try and hit him when he's on the right. Then, he'll appear on the left and etc. It's a continuous pattern when he will appear and it should be easy to notice: right, left, down, up. You must also avoid his drill when he appears. Try not to get hurt as when you lose your rings, you will likely not to get any of them back. After that, a flying capsule will appear so destroy it to release animals. ------------------------------------- [3.4] Carnival Night Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - The name suits the zone very well since it's almost like a carnival, but with deadly spikes and robots. There are balloons which you can jump on them to jump higher. This part should be easy and you should not have any problem. After continuing all the way, prepare for a battle. Mini-Boss - Spinning Spike - 5 Hits ----- Quite an easy battle if you know what to do. Try and hit the main machine (not the spinning spike) to extend it. The spinning spike will hit it thus 'hurting' it. Continue doing this 5 times and it will be destroyed. Then, all the bricks will fall down. If you don't destroy it in time, the spinning spike will destroy the brick-floors and Sonic will fall and die. Act 2 - After Act 1, go to the right and continue your way. You'll encounter the usual things as above except for some new stuffs which you can know. In the middle of the game, Knuckles will appear with his usual grins and pressed a button to raise the water. That means you will have to play in the water for a while. But, before you enter it, use the spinning thing and jump to the ledge on the right to get a bubble-shield or use Tails to carry Sonic up. Getting a bubble-shield will make it all together easier for Sonic. Try to avoid stepping on spikes and the controls will be slightly slower since you're in water, not to mention the electric robots. After that, the water will go lower and Sonic can continue his journey. After going to several places, Sonic will have to press a grey button and spin to the left underneath the spikes to continue. Now, continuing the level is easy but once you're stuck in the bouncing ball area, it will drive you mad like me and other gamers who have the same problem. After playing that same level for a while, I've discovered that it's actually simple and you don't need to jump about on the bouncing ball. Okay, listen carefully. Just jump on the red, bouncing thing and press the up button when it goes up and the down button when it goes down. Then, when it leave enough space for Sonic to jump off, do it immediately. Breathe a sigh of relief and continue your way quickly as the time are going 9.59. At the end, quickly finish off Dr. Robotnik. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Electric Ball Machine - 8 Hits ----- *sigh* After the annoying bouncing area, this boss will be a bit hard so just be quick with care. When Robotnik drops his green ball, avoid it. He will come down with his machine so quickly hit him. Then, he will power up electricity and Sonic will be trapped in there if you're not careful so don't try and hit him when he's using that electric. Do this 8 times and he will be destroyed. Then, jump on the capsule to release the animals once more. Then, head right and you'll see a cannon. Jump into it and shoot Sonic to the top-right and you will continue into another stage. ------------------------------------- [3.5] Icecap Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - See and enjoy the wonderful scenary of Icecap, after all that hard work, you reached here at last. Sonic will snowboard here and you can only jump. After all that, Sonic will bump automatically into a wall and snow will come down, covering him up. Then, spin through the three ice blocks and you can continue your journey. Although the graphics are amazingly beautiful, the level can be hard. Most of the things here are frozen like the grey button and even item boxes! You need to hit the ice covering it then only you can hit the item that you want. When you reach the place with the frozen grey button, don't jump on it yet. Try and jump over it and then head right to reach the ring. When Sonic slides down a slope (when he's coming down from the right), jump to the left to land on an ice platform. It will bring Sonic to a place while destroying things on the way. Another part is where Sonic must be quick enough to have the strength of speed to move the blue platform up. When it goes up, quickly jump on the nearest platform or you'll fall. You can also make use of the yellow bumpers to help you easily. Another part is where you must push a platform (near the lamppost), then quickly jump on top of it so you can continue easily. Then, prepare for a mini-boss at the end of the stage. Mini-Boss - Ice Shield - 5 Hits ----- This robot will have ice shields over it and you must be careful not to hit the ices. You can hit him but you may also get hit by the ice shields always. Easier, use Tails to hit him while Sonic just avoid it when it attacks. Continue 5 times and the robot is gone. Act 2 - Continue as usual and it has most of the elements of Act 1. There's also the Robotnik item box so be sure NOT to hit it. There will be swings which you must repeatedly jump on it to gain enough height to continue. Go through the level and before you know it, you'll fight Dr. Robotnik. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Freezing Ice - 8 Hits ----- A bit hard to deal with this eggy guy. He will use his 'ice breath' when he extends his weapon. Jump on it if you want but you may get frozen too when he shoots underneath himself. Keep at least one ring to be alive and be sure to collect it IMMEDIATELY when the ring falls off from you. 8 hits at him and say 'Goodbye' to him. ------------------------------------- [3.6] Launch Base Zone ------------------------------------- Act 1 - This zone will be much difficult so collect all the rings when possible. In the beginning, be careful not to pass over the light siren or you'll the siren will riing, making robotic birds coming to attack Sonic. You will find more enemies that you never see before too. You can jump inside the lift and must avoid traps and spikes. In certain parts, you must jump into the circular, rotating thing to make it move and bring Sonic up. There will be a red, box thing which can be destroyed to lead a way. Almost the end, after going to the circular, rotating thing, Knuckles will appear and throw a bomb at you. Sonic will quickly jump out to avoid it. The whole building on the left will sink. Then, continue until you see Robotnik. Follow him and he will leave a mini-boss for you to fight. Mini-Boss - Rotating Spike - 5 Hits ----- This boss can be quite easy, just see the style of it and you can win. Hit the part where there are no spikes since he will turn and move around. Do this 5 times and Sonic will win. Act 2 - Next, another place which is almost the same as Act 1 except for more features and enemies here. Avoid the Robotnik item box. You also need to hit the red box to lead a way to continue. You will also enter the water but that should be easy to go out. Try to avoid the new laser trap in certain areas. At the end, Dr. Robotnik will appear in his new machine. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Bowling Ball Machine - 7 Hits ----- This battle will be easier if you know how to do it. Hard way: Jump to avoid the balls that Robotnik shoot, then stand on the ledge and hit him. Easy way: Use Tails to fly straight on the place where Robotnik is. Then, hit him a few times and his machine will be destroyed. After that, Sonic will jump into Robotnik's Egg-o-Matic and float across the ocean. Then, Knuckles will appear and stops Sonic while he stands on a red platform. Then, the platform collapsed and Knuckles fall underneath. Sonic will continue floating for a long time and at last reached Robotnik's floating base. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Laser Machine - 8 Hits ----- Hit on top of him while avoiding the ball that 'travels' around the machine. You must avoid the lasers too. Just hit him a few times then quickly come down. Then, continue hitting him in the middle. A few hits and his first part will be destroyed, follow by second part and his Egg-o-Matic. All this makes 8 hits. That's the easy part but here comes the hard part. Boss - Dr. Robotnik's Robot - 8 Hits ----- Thankfully enough, you just need 8 hits to destroy the mean, old egg-creature. It's a bit hard but fairly easy if you know what to do. When he comes down 2 times, hit the side of him. If you go too high or too low, you'll either get hit by the spike on top of him or get caught in his hands which he'll bang you later on. That's why you must get ready at least a ring. Sometimes, he may come too high or too low and you must get ready to hit him at the right height. That's part one. Next, he'll float around then falls down which you must avoid. Jump over the spikes when he moves. After a few movements, he'll stop suddenly and jump away. If you're facing his direction, prepare to jump and hit his middle while avoiding the spikes and hands. That will be his pattern and he will continue to do the same thing. Continue hitting him 8 times all together and you can say a last 'Goodbye' to Dr. Robotnik. There's a bit of ending but I won't tell to spoil the fun. Find out yourself. Congratulations, you finish this game! Sit down and watch the credits roll down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <4> Tricks, Secrets and Cheats <4> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to this section. You'll find tricks, secrets and cheats which will help you though I have only a few now. If you have any of them that I don't have, send them to me at souleq@hotmail.com and you will be credited. ------------------------------------- [4.1] Level Select ------------------------------------- In order to do the stage select code, you'll need a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 cartridge. Go to Options and play the musics by pressing C in this order: 19, 65, 09 and 17. Press Start to return to title screen. Then, hold A and press Start and you'll enter the stage select for Sonic 2. Then, hold A and take out the cartridge from the Genesis without turning the Genesis off and quickly insert Sonic the Hedgehog 3 cartridge. Then, reset the Genesis and release the A button. In the main title screen, press the down button twice. ------------------------------------- [4.2] Slow Motion ------------------------------------- Do the level select code and enter any stage. Pause the game and press A to restart the level, B to enter the slow motion mode and C button for frames. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <5> Credits <5> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clement Chan - (souleq@hotmail.com) Creator of this Guide. Eugene Chan - (eugenechan90@hotmail.com) He helps me a bit on this Guide and play this game of course! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <6> History <6> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0 - 13th of March 2000 This Guide was created. ----- Version 1.0a - 30th of September 2000 Added [1.3] How to Best View this Guide