Sonic and Knuckles FAQ/Walkthrough
For Sega Genesis
Version 2.1
Written by CNash
August 2000

This is a FAQ and walkthrough for Sonic and 
Knuckles, on the Sega Genesis/Megadrive.
My other FAQs, Genesis Streets of Rage 2, 
and Golden Axe, can be found online at 
http://www.gamefaqs.com or the About.com game
guides archive (not sure of the address).
This FAQ is much nicer to read in Wordpad or
Write, than in your browser or Notepad.

Copyright Blurb:

This FAQ must not be re-typed, corrected, added
to, or changed in any other way without express
permision of CNash.
If you wish to link to this FAQ, don't link to 
the copy archived at GameFAQS, instead, e-mail 
me first at chris_1256@yahoo.com,
then download it and store it on your own system.
If you want to include this FAQ on a magazine 
cover disk or in the text of a magazine itself, 
e-mail me and we'll talk shop.

---------------------------------------------------

Contents
--------

i.) What's new in this version?
1.) Introduction
2a.) Special Attacks
2b.) Character-specific special attacks
3.) Zone Guides:
a.) Mushroom Hill
b.) Flying Battery
c.) Sandopolis
d.) Lava Reef
e.) Hidden Palace
f.) Sky Sanctuary
g.) Death Egg
h.) Doomsday
3.) Linkup Capabilities
4.) Special and Bonus Stages
5.) Cheats
6.) The FAQ in a FAQ.
7.) Credits and copyrights.


i.) What's new in this version?
-------------------------------

-Repaginated the whole thing. Properly this time.
-Added note on the level select cheat.
-Corrected grammar errors.
-Removed ASCII Art. It really did look crap...
-Revamped "Copyright Blurb".
-Removed "Conventions in this document".
-Added "FAQ in a FAQ" section.

--------------------------------------------------

1a.) Special Attacks:
----------------------

Spin Dash: Hold Down and press Jump. You'll start 
spinning in place. To blast off, release Down, and
to get more power, repeatedly tap the Jump button.

--------------------------------------------------

1b.) Character-specific special attacks:
----------------------------------------

Sonic:
Force Fields: Do a double jump (press A, B or C twice
quickly) and you'll perform a special attack related
to the shield you hold. You can also do this without
any shield at all!

Knuckles:
Fly and Bash: Do a double jump and you'll start 
flying. You can then simply fly through robots 
or over obstacles.
Wall-Climber: Fly into a wall to grab onto it 
and press Up or Down to move along it.
Wall-Basher: Simply run into any breakable wall
to knock it down. Sonic can do that too, but he
has to use the Spin Dash.
Another important point to note is that Knuckles
has a slightly lower jump than Sonic. This 
creates problems when the cart is linked to Sonic 2.
See 'Linkup Capabilities' at the end of the Zone 
Guide.

----------------------------------------------------

2.) Zone Guides:
----------------

a.) Mushroom Hill (1)
Quite simple. Get the hang of Sonic's attacks and 
learnhow to go around loops (use the Spin Dash) 
and get away from vines (again, use the Spin Dash).
Practice climbing and gliding (for Knuckles) Pull-up
machines can be tackled by, um, pulling down!

The Mini-Boss: Woodcutter.
Dodge his flying logs, then hit him from the side.
Made easier by use of the Fire Shield, as you can
simply stand below him and hit. (If you don't use
the shield and try this, you'll get hurt by his 
engine(?) flames).

Mushroom Hill (2)
Like the first act, but Knuckles makes an appearance 
and blows you up to another season (presumably Fall).
If you're Knuckles, you can go past the switch and 
get into Fall later. This level is quite overabundent
with special stage Giant Rings, and it is possible 
to get about four of the seven emeralds required. 
Cross seasons again and you'll see a transmitting 
device of some sort. Bounce on it and keep bouncing,
as the device is resting on Dr. Robotnik's head!

The Boss: Dr. Robotnik.
Take the number of hits you got in after the 
transmitter was destroyed, and subtract it from 
eight. This will give you the number of hits needed
to destroy this boss. (I got it down to three, 
email me if you get any more). The boss itself is 
a simple case of dodge the spiky mines. Between 
jumps, hit him the calculated number of times and he
slams into a tree. Now, free the animals and jump 
onto the Flying Battery...

----------------------------------------------------

b.) Flying Battery (1)
Both of these are quite hard levels. First, get 
used to running on the purple machine-loops, and
work your way through the battery. To get rid of 
the missiles while you're in the open air, go to
the far right end and let three missles slam into
the floor, creating a hole. 

The Mini-Boss: The animal-trap that isn't.
This thing looks like a standard animal cage, 
but once you push it's button it'll grow arms 
and eyes. The trick to do this is to stand on 
the button, then wait until his eyes flash and 
quickly jump off. Do this about 5 or 6 times.

Flying Battery (2)
More or less the same as act 1, but a one new 
point to note. Beware of the first animal trap 
that you encounter, as it contains robots!

The Boss: Dr. Robitnik.
The first phase of the doc's attack uses a 
powerful laser-death beam hanging from the 
ceiling. This is deja-vu time for Sonic 2 players,
as it is identical to the one he used in the second
level of Wing Fortress Zone, but this time you can't
destroy it. Just dodge it's beams and it'll destroy
itself!
The second phase, after avoiding getting crushed by 
the platform, is a new machine, the spiky
flame-thrower.
Avoid the spikes and the flames and hit him when he 
swings up. This is slightly harder for Knuckles.

-----------------------------------------------------

c.) Sandopolis (1)
This is, I think, the second hardest level in the 
game. Timing is essential when attacking the Skorp 
(the thing with the tail), and don't stay in the 
quicksand too long (duh!)

Mini-Boss: The Rocky Bear Thingy
Don't try and hit it, just lure it over to the 
quicksand pit on the left and it'll fall in.

Sandopolis (2)
Inside the pyramid, use the light switches to get 
rid of the ghosts (for a while). If they get very 
large, they'll start attacking you, and they're 
invincible! Try and keep one step ahead of the 
pouring sand.

The Boss: Dr. Robotnik (again!)
When is he ever going to quit? He's back, and 
he's brought a big spiky Egyptian laser shooting
thingy. Dodge the spikes, hit once to reveal 
Robotnik, and once more to damage it. Do this
eight times.

------------------------------------------------
d.) Lava Reef (1)
The reason I like this zone is because of it's
cool music, and not it's hot lava. Fire shields
are good here. Break through the rocks, learn 
how to cope with the overhead spike smasher 
things and go off to face the mini boss, which is:

Mini-Boss: The Laser-aided Big Hand.
For each laser cannon, hit three times. The hand 
can only be hit when it's closed (i.e. after 
trying to hit you).

Lava Reef (2)
First take a good look at the flame throwers, 
and how they work. They'll cause you problems 
later. Now avoid (if you can) the spinning 
spiky landmine things on a pole (they have a 
belt of spiky things that rotate round a big 
pole). If you don't have a single clue what 
I'm talking about, forget it.

The Boss: Dr. Robotnik (who else?)
Starts off by launching missles and destroying
platforms. Make sure it's not the one you're 
on. After the starpost, jump on the platforms 
and take the last one down to the boss, 
picking up goodies on the way. Don't try and 
get the boss directly, this is one of the 
'dodge the spikes and it'll destroy itself' 
bosses. Simply let the mines slam into his evil
machine. After the points tally has run down 
and the fire turns blue, it's safe to walk on 
it. Go on through.
(If you're Knuckles, you don't have to face a 
boss at all!)
----------------------------------------------

Past this point, Sonic and Knuckles' levels are
completely different. 
I'll start with:

e.) Hidden Palace (Knuckles)
Just jump up the stairs and onto the teleporter.

Hidden Palace (Sonic)
Jump up the stairs and collect rings.
The Boss: Knuckles.
Finally, something different! Don't hit Knuckles 
head on, jump on him from above about eight times
and dodge his flying and spinning attacks.
After saving him from Dr. Robotnik, he'll be your
friend and open doorsfor you.

-------------------------------------------------

f.) Sky Sanctury (Knuckles)
This is the final level for Knuckles. Let the 
machine grab you, then watch as RoboSonic completely
misses you and destroys the flying robot.

The Big Boss: RoboSonic.
This is an exact replica of Sonic, but robotized.
Snash it's face in eight times, then it'll start 
flashing. Don't let your guard down, as it's not 
over yet! RoboSonic will then jump on the big 
Emerald, and turn into Super RoboSonic! While 
it's gold it's invincible, so always dodge it's
tackles and power balls and hit it three times
once it goes back to blue and needs a recharge.
After you've hit it about five times it'll shoot
rings at you, but these rings hurt you!
Avoid them and hit hit three more times to 
finally destroy him and finish the game.

Sky Sanctury (Sonic)
Not the last level for Sonic. Go up the clouds
and towers, beware of the animals coming out 
as they're followed by a robot, and then find
a blast from Sonic's past!

1st Mini-Boss: Deja-vu, Sonic 1 style!
This boss is the RoboSonic in a machine exactly
the same as the Sonic 1 Green Hill boss. Avoid
the ball and hit it. Fairly simple.

Up the towers again, for a second match-up!
2nd Mini-Boss: Deja-vu, Sonic 2 style!

This is the same as the Sonic 2 Metropolis Zone
boss. Hit it eight times, destroy the baby 
Robo-Sonics and hit it once more to destroy it.

Once more, climbing up the clouds to face the 
last incarnation of RoboSonic:

The Boss: RoboSonic.
Just hit it's face eight times to destroy it.
Very easy.

----------------------------------------------
g.) Death Egg (1)
Very hard to get the hang of. Try and master 
upside-down walking, and the 3-2-1 neon race
tracks.

The Mini-Boss: The Eye.
Up till now, all the mini-bosses have been a 
bit cheesy, but the eye is quite hard. You 
might end up using nearly all your lives on 
it, but by this time you'll have collected 
so many continues that you won't care anymore.
Hit the eye until all the spiky things have 
been destroyed, then stay on the spinning 
platforms and dodge the death ray, hitting 
the eye periodically.

Death Egg (2)
Exactly the same as act 1, but more in the 
open air. 

The Mini-Boss: Dr. Robotnik.
Did I say Mini-Boss? Yes, that's right, 
there are *two* Mini-Bosses in the Death Egg.
You can't hit it directly, this boss is mastered
by use of the anti-gravity booths. Let the bombs
rain down upon the evil sphere, as you reverse 
the gravitational flow. Note that they can only
damage the machine if the spikes are facing it.

The Boss: Evil Robotnik Emerald-Powered Machine.
Make a big effort on your first try if you have 
rings availible, because if you die the first
time you won't have rings the second time. Run
ahead of it and destroy the fingers, Lava Reef 
style. Now dodge the flamethrower and hit it. 
Next, hit the emerald and dodge the beam by 
jumping at exactly the right moment. Timing has 
to be impeccable on this zone, as one false move
can cost you your life!
Do this a sufficient number of times, then hit 
Robotnik in his flying machine a further five 
times to complete this boss.

-----------------------------------------------

If you have collected all the emeralds, read on!
It's not over yet!
If you haven't, you can miss out this next bit.

h.) Doomsday Zone (Super Sonic, all Emeralds only).
This is a flying boss, and you can't die! But keep 
an eye on your ring counter, as it's slowly ticking
away, and when it reaches 0 you'll drop out of the 
sky! And to make matters worse, there is still the 
zone clock to watch!
Collect rings to boost your time, dodge rocks and 
missles as they slow you down. When you catch up 
to the machine, let the missles hit the cockpit. 
Remember that you must do this very fast. Now dodge 
more missles. Finally, fly into his cockpit another
eight times.

----------------------------------------------------

3.) Linkup Capabitities
-----------------------
One of the great features of Sonic & Knuckles 
is that you can link Sonic 1, 2 or 3 to it and
play new levels.

Sonic 1
"What?" I  hear you cry, "You can't link Sonic 
1 to Sonic & Knuckles! You get all that No Way 
stuff!" Now this is probably the worst-kept secret
in the whole of video gaming, but if you link 
S&K to Sonic 1 and press A+B+C together, you'll 
get to play with secret Special Stages that 
aren't in the actual game! You can also do this
with any other Sega cartridge, and the stage differs
with each cartridge!
Actually, for a challenge, put in any cartridge 
made by Electronic Arts. Their special stages are
quite hard, especially the FIFA Soccer series. 
But NEVER try this with a cartridge with memory 
back-up as this will totally erase all saved games!
This rules out Shining Force, Soliel, PGA Tour Golf
and others. Passwords are unaffected.

Sonic 2
Once you link S&K to S2, you'll be able to play all
of the Sonic 2 stages..with Knuckles!
This means you can get to parts of levels that 
you wouldn't be able to get to with Sonic alone.
One downside to this is that Knuckles has a 
slightly lower jump than Sonic or Tails, which 
makes some levels harder than they should be, 
especially Death Egg Zone.

Sonic 3
You can now play all the S3 and S&K levels 
consecutively (one after the other)! And this
means you can play S3 levels with Knuckles 
and S&K levels with Tails!  Plus you can save 
your game. When you collect all the Chaos 
Emeralds, the Giant Rings start flashing 
multi-colored. Jump in, and all your emeralds
will float up and become gray ememeralds on 
flowery platforms. Jump on and you'll enter 
S&K Special Stages. You can choose what order
you play them in!

---------------------------------------------

4.) Special and Bonus Stages
----------------------------

The special stages are pretty straightforward. 
All you have to to is navigate around a giant
3D ball, collecting Blue spheres and avoiding 
Red ones. If you touch a Red you exit the stage,
so beware! And if you touch a Blue, it'll turn 
Red! A neat trick is to collect around the 
outside of a square of Blues, and they'll all
turn into rings! The star spheres are bumpers 
which make you change direction (run backwards)
and the yellows are springs. Get all the blue 
spheres and you get an emerald.

Bonus Stage #1 is a slot-machine thing. Get 
inside it and you win rings or mines depending
on what your combination of pictures is. To get
out, touch a goal tile.

Bonus Stage #2 is a weird electro-sphere game.
Work your way up the spheres to get to the top,
and watch out for the forcefield trying to get 
you from below. Prizes are in the little spheres,
and get better as you move up the playing field. 
Expect some 1-Ups at the top. The game will warn
you with an alarm when the forcefield gets close
and if it touches you, you exit the stage.

Bonus Stage #3 can only be entered if you link up
S&K to Sonic 3, or play Sonic 3 on it's own. 
First, drop down to the bottom and bounce up
on the springs, touching the lever of the machine.
A prize will fall out. You have to bounce on the
yellow bouncers at the side to work your way up 
to it.
(REP) spheres replace the springs at the bottom.

-------------------------------------------------

5.) Cheats
----------

The secret Level Select

To gain a level select, start a game with Sonic 
and go to a pull-up machine. Grab on and quickly
tap in:
Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Up, Up, Up.
You should hear the sound of a ring being collected.
Now pause the game and press A. This should reset
the game to the title screen. Now hold A+Start on 
the title screen until the level select pops up. 
You will notice that all the levels from Sonic 3 
are there too. This is because Sonic 3 and Sonic and
Knuckles was originally going to be one game, but the
idea was scrapped in order to get the game out on 
time. If you select one of these levels you'll go 
back to Mushroom Hill. 
To carry this over to Sonic 3, hold Reset and 
insert the S3 cartridge into S&K, then release 
reset. There should be a new option called Sound 
Test. Select it and you go to the level select 
screen, and you can now select the S3 levels.
On both games, press C to change the number 
under Angel Island 1. This selects your 
character. 0=Sonic and Tails, 1=Sonic, 2=Tails 
and 3=Knuckles.

UPDATE: I've had reports from a few people 
(including myself) that their saved games on 
both S&K and S3 have been wiped using this 
cheat. I'm not exactly sure how to stop this 
happening, but try not to make the S3 cartridge
glitch the first time you try and insert it into
S&K.

------------------------------------------------

6.) The FAQ in a FAQ.
---------------------

1.) Can you connect linked cartridges to a
Game Enhanceing device like a Pro Action 
Replay or Game Genie?

Yes. I don't have any codes at the moment,
Version 2.2 will probably have them.

2.) Is it possible to use the Master
System Converter or 32X with S&K?

I tried to connect my system like this:

  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System)
  |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
       Master System Converter
       |||||||||||||||||||||||
     Sonic and Knuckles Cartridge
     ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
         Genesis system unit

It didn't work.
It wouldn't even give me "No Way!"
I haven't tried it with a 32X yet, but
I doubt it'd work.

3.) Does the "secret area" in Mushroom
Hill (2) exist? How do I get to it?

I have been there. Ever played as Knuckles and
got to just before the boss of MH2, climed up 
and discovered an impassable object with a Running
Shoes TV on the other side? I don't have the precise
details on how to get to it, but it involves
pressin a certain button combination on the D-Pad
while going round the wall next to the final pull-
up machine. I'm not sure what it contains,
but in addition to the Shoes I think there is a life
and some invincibility.


7.) Copyrights and Credits
--------------------------

Remember, if you want to correct me on anything 
I've said, or give me new info, the address 
to e-mail is:
chris_1256@yahoo.com.
Heed the words of the Copyright Blurb, and 
farewell!

All work copyright CNash, 2000.
Sega, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and all related
characters or other things are copyright
Sega Enterprises LTD.
Electronic Arts and PGA Tour Golf
are copyright Electronic Arts inc.
All other copyrights are acknowledged to their
holders.

=====
This message sent by chris_1256@yahoo.com.

