Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)/Glitches

This article contains a list of glitches from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Unless otherwise noted, all glitch names are conjectural. Many of them have not been confirmed by Sega.

List of glitches
In the opening cutscene for Sonic's story, the video will begin to lag and will play later than the audio. This glitch occurs very often in many copies of the game. This is supposedly due to the game's rushed development, as this glitch wasn't fixed before release.
 * Opening cutscene lag:

To perform this glitch, during the first part of the Sonic episode when he's in the Castle Town, the player should go near the ring trail and try to jump to make Sonic go around onto the other side of the bridge nearby. If he jumps far enough around it, it will allow him to keep going. The player should then try to reach the other side. If Sonic gets to it, he can go everywhere else in Castle Town that is normally restricted. Unfortunately, no gates will be open and there won't be any mirrors.
 * Get to the inaccessible area in Castle Town:

Normally, Sonic is the one who finishes Flame Core in his story, but through a glitch in Knuckles' section of the level, Knuckles can finish the level in Sonic's place. To achieve this, the player should glide to the uppermost section of the area (right next to the door where the player switches back to Sonic) and press the jump button. If performed correctly, Knuckles will end up in a black section between the two rooms. If the player glides too far away, Knuckles will die. After gliding into the other room (with Sonic in front of the door), the player can finish the stage with Knuckles. It is also possible for Rouge to finish Flame Core in a similar manner.
 * Knuckles finishes Flame Core:

When the player first starts Wave Ocean as Omega, they should turn to the small pier and walk as close to it as possible, then hit the jump button to hover. Normally, the boundary it will not let Omega pass, but if he hovers from a high enough starting point he will be able to get around it. Next, the player should go to the rocks where Sonic ran through the loops and land on each one (the player must repeatedly tap the jump button to hover in order to avoid falling to their death). When Omega reaches the small island, the player needs to walk to the small pier and repeat the earlier process from the first pier.
 * Omega finishes Wave Ocean:

They should then go to the nearby rock and stand on it. From there, the player should hover to the cliff (where Sonic runs down in his stage) by hitting the jump button multiple times. When Omega lands on the bottom, the player needs to jump to the other side of the loop and walk up the cliff. When they get to the top, they should walk to the first house on the right, then hit the jump button multiple times to hover over it. When Omega gets past, the player needs to keep hovering toward the Goal Ring to finish as Omega.

When playing as Blaze in Wave Ocean, there is a glitch that causes Blaze to fly outside of the map. When grinding on the lighthouse, the player should have Blaze stop and stand behind its wall. Once she is standing directly in front of the wall, the player needs to press. This will cause Blaze to fly forward so quickly that motion blur effects distort the screen until she flies out of sight. Once this happens, she will lose a life.
 * Blaze's lighthouse hyperdrive:

This glitch can occur many times when playing as Knuckles or Rouge. If the player is on a wall and is trying to jump off, Knuckles or Rouge may stick to the wall, and the player may be forced to die on purpose or climb back down (if there is any land below them).
 * Stuck on walls:

In Soleanna New City, the player should play as Sonic, jump on a box, and start performing repeated spin kicks. The box will start to fly and, if kicked for long enough, will eventually reach the atmosphere. If the player stops using the spin kick, Sonic will begin to fall back to the ground and will land in the sea, on one of the buildings, the abyss, or sometimes even safely on land.
 * Flying box:

In rare cases, if the character runs off-screen with their amigo stuck, the amigo will regenerate in his/her death animation.
 * Friendly suicide:

When Sonic is in Soleanna New City and he has the Sky Gem equipped, the player should throw it up toward the roof of a building. Sonic will fly upwards, start falling, and will go through the roof. He will then be inside the building (which is completely empty) and will still be able to see outside. He is able to walk through stone walls in some cases and if he falls into the water, the background will be entirely dark.
 * Shallow construction:

Near the entrance to White Acropolis, the player can throw the Sky Gem upwards and Sonic will go through the stone with the ability to walk on a limited amount of water. If Sonic goes outside the shaded area, he will die.

When switching to Tails in White Acropolis, the player can go back through the door Sonic came from by flying onto the door to their left and then flying through it (otherwise the door will close). They can then go back to the laser gate near the beginning of the area, and fly over it. Tails will be in the final section of the stage and be able to reach the Goal Ring.
 * Tails finishing White Acropolis:

In Wave Ocean as Blaze, she can use her tornado move to bounce on the water, making her able to enter areas she's not supposed to. The player can extend the tornado move by 10 seconds by jumping when releasing the Square/X button.
 * Water strider:

In Kingdom Valley or Tropical Jungle as Silver, the player can press / button just before hitting the water. When doing this precisely, Silver will be able to keep bouncing and entering areas the player is only supposed to access as Sonic.

As Sonic, the player can use the Sky Gem in the corner of a door. As Shadow, the player should stand near the corner of a closed door and press jump, followed by pausing right away. They should then jump again right after pausing to perform a homing attack through the door, which can be used to skip entire sections of stages. As Silver, the player should place a box near a closed door, stand on it, and use Psychokinesis to raise it. From this point, the player can jump and Silver will sometimes clip through the top of the door. As Knuckles, at the highest jump near a door's corner, the player should glide into the corner and move the control stick to different angles (still in the same general direction) so that the camera vibrates, and Knuckles will slip into the edges of the door toward the other side
 * Go through closed doors:

By using the Sky Gem in the VS Silver battle as Sonic, it is possible to go through the barriers. There is a catch, however. If the player were to jump towards Silver and was still in the air, Sonic would break through the top barrier and head up into a dark area, referred to jokingly as "space," which is dark due to there being no lightning placed that high in the scene. A video of this can be seen on the Gun Drive page
 * Fun with Silver:

The player can go out of bounds again, then use the Green Gem to attack Silver. This can be repeated to achieve faster clear times on the boss fight.

The player should switch to the Sky Gem as soon as the battle starts and first jump in the air, then at Silver. They should then throw the Sky Gem, and as soon as Silver grabs Sonic, the player should fly to wherever the Sky Gem landed, thus being free from Silver's hold. Sonic can then use a Homing Attack on Silver while he's stunned, throw the Sky Gem when he gets up, and repeat for a faster time.

Sonic can also be thrown out of bounds by standing at the corner between the small passageway that leads to a bridge. The player must stand there and let Silver attack Sonic. When Silver throws him the first time, he will be hurt, but will likely recollect a ring. He will then throw Sonic again and Sonic will land out of bounds, able to explore Castle Town to the player's content. Note that some of the bridges will be invisible, but still solid.

When Shadow is asked to do a Town Mission involving vehicles, the player must say "yes" and hold down /, while in the loading screen. When the mission starts, Shadow should spin around, dismounting his vehicle. This makes getting an S rank on these stages much easier.
 * No vehicle for Town Missions:

Alternatively, for the Car Festival Town Mission, one must press and hold /, Start, and down on the analog stick. After going to the pause menu, the player should release Start and /, then press Start again.

To perform this glitch, the player can play through the stage normally until they get out of Blaze's section of Crisis City. They should then jump off the platform and back on to a small block, then pass Silver. The player will then be able to go through Crisis City as Blaze.
 * Finish Silver's Crisis City with Blaze:

Each character in the game (except Knuckles, Amy and Blaze) has some method of hovering over large gaps via one of their abilities.
 * Behold, everyone can fly?!:

As Shadow, the player can use Chaos Spear repeatedly while in midair. As Silver, the player can tap the levitate button as fast as possible. Unlike the other methods, this one is finite, as Silver will eventually run out of energy. As E-123 Omega, the player can tap the jump button quickly so that Omega won't descend, allowing him to explore the stage he is in. As Tails, just before he gets to the point where he won't go any higher, the player should release the fly button and press it again, which can be repeated.

As Sonic, the player can use Purple Gem to scale to small size, then repeatedly press the jump button and jump to where they want to go. As Rouge, the player should tap the jump button then hold /, then disconnect the controller. When the pause menu appears, the player should reconnect the Controller, release the button, and resume the game. After resuming, the player will see Rouge still in the air in the position to drop bombs but not actually attacking, and she cannot move until the player taps /. This can also be done in with Shadow.

First, the player must have the Purple Gem, then quickly tap /. Because the camera should zoom in when the player shrinks, and vice versa for growing, it will zoom out depending on how long they tapped the action button.
 * Zoomed out camera angle:

During the Egg Wyvern battle, the player should pull out the Sky Gem and wait for Eggman to charge at them. They should then throw the Sky Gem at the platform and grab on to the antenna of the Egg Wyvern. If done correctly, Sonic will fly onto the platform and, a few seconds later, the screen will freeze and he will win the battle. This allows an automatic S Rank, as well as normally impossible scores.
 * Kamikaze Wyvern:

In End of the World during Knuckles' segment, the player should head over to the first Wind switch in the stage and wait for the first two black holes to appear. If Knuckles hits the wall between the black holes correctly, he will be forced up towards the eagle.
 * Stuck between a rock and a hard place:

During Silver's segment in End of the World at the starting area, a black hole should appear after waiting a few seconds. The player should head near this black hole, then get on the platform next to it and fall off, staying close to the platform. If done right, Silver will not fall through the quicksand as he is being forced up by the black hole.
 * Hard quicksand:

In Sonic's Wave Ocean right after the first loop, if the player hits the landing platform properly, they may go under it and die.
 * Under the water:

In Silver's Crisis City just before Blaze's section, in the area where the player must use a pipe and a car to progress, they should tap the Jump button slowly while falling towards the platform instead of using the pipe and car. When Silver is on the platform, if he uses his Telekinesis, a cyan aura will still surround the car, but it will not be picked up.
 * Heavy car glitch:

In Sonic's version of Crisis City, if the player hits the rail in the boarding section properly, Sonic will act as if he hit a wall when he hits the rail. He will continue to bounce until the player leaves the rail or restarts the stage.
 * Bouncy rail glitch:

When heading to White Acropolis as Silver, the player should go towards the warehouse, where there are two boxes. They must then bring one of the boxes to the laser gate blocking White Acropolis. When it is up against the laser gate, they should jump on it and levitate it up as high as it can go. From there, they need to jump and levitate over the gate. If done correctly, the player will see Blaze trying to catch up with Silver on the other side.
 * Skipping the shock bracelet:

If Silver skips the Shock Bracelet, his Teleport Dash can be extended in two ways. The first method can be done by pressing the action button on the final frame of the Teleport Dash. If done correctly, Silver will go about twice the distance while keeping his speed. The other way can be done by holding the action button on the final frame of the Teleport Dash. If done correctly, Silver will shoot off and cover a large distance. The second method can be used to travel through walls without a box, but it can only be done without the Shock Bracelet.
 * Go through walls without a box as Silver:

Occasionally, the first gem the player picks doesn't show up on the power gauge but is still usable.
 * I don't need a gem!:

On some occasions, if Sonic performs a homing attack on the Egg Cerberus, he'll be launched to space above the stage.
 * Egg Cerberus out of bounds:

When the player gets out of the dark room in Sonic's section, they should go on the springs, then go through the flying ring onto the rail. While grinding, the player must repeatedly press the X button. When they exit the rail, Sonic will run past Knuckles.
 * Knuckles Flame Core with Sonic:

To perform this glitch, the player must use the Purple Gem to evade Silver on the last segment of the stage. The player can then finish the level without using him.
 * Finish Silver's Kingdom Valley with Sonic:

Sometimes when running around, Sonic's max speed will be slower than normal. This happens mostly in Radical Train and White Acropolis.
 * You're too slow!:

While using the Chaos Boost, sometimes when Shadow uses his Homing Attack onto rails he'll be randomly be transported to "space" and fall for some time until he loses a life.
 * Homing Attack into space:

In Wave Ocean, if the player uses the Purple Gem to skip the section where Sonic rides the whale and moves on to Tails' section and then hits the switch, Sonic will say his line as normal but will not jump over the gate, and the screen will stay fixed on the whale. As the game is not actually frozen, the player can leave the stage or restart it to fix the glitch.
 * Whale glitch:

Sometimes when playing as Rouge, flying for a long period of time before landing on the ground will cause Rouge to jump very high in the air.
 * Super jump:

Omega can also perform a Super Jump, but in a different way. If the player makes E-123 Omega hover in the air and pauses the game when he is nearing the ground, he will jump high in the air. Each consecutive time the player uses this technique will cause Omega will jump higher and higher.

In the XBOX 360 version of the game, there is a major glitch that allows the player to "complete" the game early. To accomplish this, they must complete the Silver the Hedgehog boss battle in Sonic's story and head towards a woman named "Galienna". Once there, they should quickly use a homing attack on her, and start talking to her immediately after. Doing this correctly will cause her to move forward a little. The player should repeat this process until Galienna and Sonic are positioned by the body of water behind them. Sonic should then fall into the water and die, and the player must cycle through the dialogue until the "Yes - No" box appears. Once Sonic dies and the "Yes - No" box is visible, they should hold. Once Sonic respawns, the "Yes - No" box should still be visible.
 * Early game completion:

Next, the player needs to head to the captain. While in front of him, they should pause the game, release and immediately open the Xbox Home button, press it again to close the menu, and hold  again. The game will unpause and go through the captain's dialogue. He will ask Sonic to do a mission for him, so the player should accept the mission, then press "Yes" on the "Yes - No" box that is still visible. This will instead take Sonic to another mission instead of the captain's mission. While it loads, the player must hold the start button so that the game will automatically pause once the mission begins. The player then needs to select "Quit Mission", which will result in the player being warped to the credits screen of Sonic's story. Even though Sonic's story is technically 100% completed, Shadow's story hasn't been unlocked, and many Acts in the game are inaccessible.

This glitch can also be done with Silver in his story; before entering "Dusty Desert", the player must head to a man named "Porta", then do as said above. After respawning, the player should go to Lord Regis and repeat the above steps. If done correctly, Silver will be brought to an unknown area and fall into an abyss (this takes about 20–30 seconds), and the player will then be warped to the credits screen of Silver's story.

It is possible to finish White Acropolis with two Sonics. Only tested on the Xbox 360 version, this glitch requires the Purple Gem and Sky Gem to work. Firstly, the player should go through the snowboarding section as normal, then make it to the first laser barrier. From there, they should use the Sky Gem to go into first person view and aim against the rock face on the right-hand side of the barrier. Once on the other side, the player should make their way over to the second laser barrier near the left (on the other side should be a checkpoint the player would later reach if they went through the stage normally as well as the second Sonic). They need to use the Bounce Bracelet to gain height and get over the gate.
 * I found you, faker!:

When the player sees the other Sonic waiting at the checkpoint, the player must not go near it as the game will think they are switching Sonics. They instead should use the Sky Gem to get over the other side of the door. After landing, the game should switch to the Sonic on the other side, where the player has to use the Sky Gem again. After landing once more, the player needs to make their way back to Tails, using the Sky Gem and Purple Gem to gain height over the ledges as Sonic is not supposed to make it through this section. At one point, the player will come across a chasm that requires the Purple Gem to make it across. After the chasm, the player will see Tails, and can simply walk over to him to make the second Sonic appear.

After getting the second Sonic, Tails can still be controlled, but going back to the Sonic that is not being controlled will softlock the game. Moreover, the door the player jumps over to get to Tails' section cannot be jumped over again.

In the Silver boss fight, it's possible for him to grab the player and throw them in a place where they constantly lose and recollect the same ring in an endless loop.
 * Unlucky Ring:

In Sonic's version of Wave Ocean, just barely stepping in the water results in death.
 * Death by paddling:

In Sonic's version of Wave Ocean just before the whale smashes the pier, it's possible for Sonic to miss the Dash Panel that changes his direction towards the edge of the pier. As a result, he will pass through the fence and die.
 * Through the fence: