Know something we don't about Sonic? Don't hesitate in signing up today! It's fast, free, and easy, and you will get a wealth of new abilities, and it also hides your IP address from public view. We are in need of content, and everyone has something to contribute!
The Combine Ring (コンバインリング,Konbain Ringu?) is a recurring monitor power-up and a silver[1] type of Super Rings that first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix. When obtained, it combines the player's collected Rings.
The Combine Ring's icon on a monitor's screen is represented by a dark blue ring. When obtained, this power-up causes the Rings the player hold upon taking damage to merge together into larger Ring(s) as they are dropped. Should the player then re-obtain such Rings, they will regain Rings equivalent to either the entirely of the Rings they lost or just a portion of it, similar to a Super Ring.
Game appearances
Knuckles' Chaotix
The Combine Ring first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix. When picking up the Combine Ring, its icon appears at the bottom of screen and stays there until the player receives damage. At that point, the player will only lose a single, larger Ring which will return all the Rings the player just lost after taking damage. If the player does not obtain the large Ring within a few seconds though, it will burst into the usual shower of regular Rings when the player takes damage.
In Sonic Mania, the effect of the Combine Ring is slightly different compared to the effect in Knuckles' Chaotix. Instead of an icon appearing at the bottom, when a character is holding a Combine Ring the Ring counter will turn blue and the Combine Ring icon will appear next to the total. Also, instead of one large Ring being dropped upon taking damage, a few large Rings are dropped, each returning a small portion of the original Ring count when re-obtained.
Trivia
In the Debug Mode of Sonic the Hedgehog CD, one of unused items found in the game is a Monitor with a blue Ring symbol on it. However, it has no effect on the player.
Gallery
Gallery
After breaking monitor, the player activates the Combine Ring. The Combine Ring icon can be seen at the bottom center of the screen to indicate that they are holding it.
Getting hit once by Badnik or Spikes, the large ring contains all collected Rings in one.
Sonic taking damage while holding a Combine Ring in Sonic Mania. Note the presence of multiple large Rings as opposed to a single Ring.
Sonic with the Combine Ring active. Note the blue Ring counter and Combine Ring icon.
References
↑"Combine Ring is silver instead of gold. It combines into one all the Rings you lose if you touch a Badnik or hit dangerous terrain. If you grab that one Ring, you regain all the Rings you have collected before." - American instruction manual of Knuckles' Chaotix, page 18.
