- For Special Stages in general, see here.
Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit) are a series of eight extra levels. To enter them, the player must be holding fifty to one hundred Rings when running past the Bonus Panels that appear at the end of the first two Acts of each Zone. It should be noted that holding more than one hundred Rings at that point will reset the player's ring count to zero and grant an extra life instead of sending the player to the Special Stage.
Unlike its 16-bit counterpart, the Special Stages do not award a Chaos Emerald after completing them. Instead, they are used for getting extra points, lives and Continues.
Overview
Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog feature a night-themed background with a large yellow crescent moon and differently-sized stars. The terrain tiles are purple with numerous differently-colored Springs, Bumpers and colossal pillars set everywhere.
Gameplay
Upon entering a Special Stage, the player will find Sonic bouncing around the area by numerous Springs. From when entering them, the Special Stages have a time limit; 1:00 on the Master System version and 2:00 on the Game Gear version. In a Special Stage, the player's objective is to reach the Bonus Panel at the end of the stage before the time runs out, all while obtaining points via Rings. Like in regular Zones, collecting 100 Rings in a Special Stage grants an extra life, but it will also reset the Ring counter.
Special Stages include several features. They have a number of bouncy yellow and green pillars, Bumpers, and Springs whose bouncing height depends on their color: Green Springs bounce the highest, yellow Springs bounce with medium-height and purple Springs bounce the lowest. The Stages also have floating Video Monitors containing either extra lives or Continues. The fourth and eighth Special Stage also include Flippers for launching the player.
There are a total of eight different Special Stages, but only the first four include a (mostly) linear level design. The fifth Special Stage is like the first, but with moving purple platforms which also appear in the last three Special Stages. These plaforms make completing the Special Stages much tougher. Although Special Stages are mostly optional, the final score at the end of the game will be affected by how many Special Stages the player has cleared perfectly (clearing one Special Stage adds 50,000 points to the final score).
Trivia
- In the first and fifth Special Stages, one of Ring formations (where the Continue monitor can be found) form the word "SEGA".
Gallery
Screenshots
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Maps
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See also
Console | Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit) | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog CD | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles | Knuckles' Chaotix | Sonic 3D Blast | Sonic Heroes | Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (Episode I, Episode II) | Sonic Colors (Ultimate) | Sonic Mania (Plus) | Sonic Superstars |
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Handheld | Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit) | Sonic Chaos | Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble | Sonic Jam (Game.com) | Sonic Blast | Sonic Pocket Adventure | Sonic Advance | Sonic Advance 2 | Sonic Advance 3 | Sonic Rush | Sonic Colors | Sonic Generations | Sonic Lost World | Sonic Mania |
Media | Sonic the Hedgehog (manga) | Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog | Archie Comics (Pre-Super Genesis Wave) | Sonic the Comic |
Playable characters | Sonic | |
Non-playable characters | Eggman · Animals (Flicky, Pocky, Pecky, Cucky, Ricky, Picky, Rocky) | |
Zones | Green Hill Zone · Bridge Zone · Jungle Zone · Labyrinth Zone · Scrap Brain Zone · Sky Base Zone · Special Stages | |
Enemies | Ball Hog · Bomb · Burrobot · Buzz Bomber · Caterkiller · Chopper · Crabmeat · Jaws · Moto Bug · Newtron · Orbinaut (Uni Uni, Unidasu) · Spikes | |
Bosses | Green Hill Zone boss · Bridge Zone boss · Jungle Zone boss · Labyrinth Zone boss · Sky Base Zone boss | |
Moves/techniques | Crouch · Spin Attack · Spin Jump | |
Gimmicks and obstacles | Bomb · Bumper · Capsule · Conveyor Belt · Crusher · Electrical emitter · Fireball · Flipper · Giant spear · Goal Plate · Iron ball · Seesaw · Spikes · Spring · Switch | |
Items | Air bubble · Chaos Emerald · Item Box (1-Up, Continue Monitor, Marker, Invincible, Shield, Super Ring, Power Sneakers) · Ring | |
Other | Continue · Egg Mobile · Game Over · Life · South Island · Time Over · Teleporter · Totem pole · Water |