Special Stage (Sonic the Hedgehog) (16-bit)

Special Stages, also called as Secret Zones in American instruction manual, are first seen in original 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, where the player has to collect 50 rings on the hand and head to the end of the zone's first or second act. Here, the player has to then jump to the Giant Ring right above behind of the signpost. If the player misses, he / she has to try again in next act. The player is unable to access to the Special Stage after getting to the Scrap Brain Zone.

There are six different Special Stages in the game and where goal for the player is to find out through the Special Stage to the end, where the player has to collect one of six Chaos Emeralds.

Description
After results from previous zone being calculated, the screen flashes to the Special Stage, where the player finds himself on his Spin Attack animation at the mystical and colorful dimension, where the camera keeps rotating around 360 degrees all the time, while the background features floating bird models with clouds and which changes to floating fish models with large bubbles.

As the camera keeps rotating, the player has to balance on the tunnel and keep pushing to D-pad to certain direction, while also jump at the same time in order to move at the tunnel. When the player jumps, he / she will fall to the direction where the camera rotates during the time and thus pulling Sonic to the certain direction, however the player can utilize the camera's moving. Like in normal zones, there are rings floating around at tunnels. If the player collects 50 rings, the player has gotten Continue and getting 100 rings gives extra life. Because of lack of any enemies, the player is not able to lose rings at all in Special Stages. Some of ring lines and formations will lead the player to the right way on labyrinth tunnels of the Special Stages.

There are numerous gimmicks and features in Special Stages to be utilized in order getting to the end of maze or middle of the arena, where the Chaos Emerald can be found. There are flashy Goal blocks on rows to be found at small wells, which by touching it will transport out the Special Stage without getting Chaos Emerald. There are also bumpers from Spring Yard Zone to be found, which don't earn points, but deflects the player back after hitting it. There are also two kinds of red and white colored Jump Stand posts, as the first one works similarly to normal square blocks, but the player is able to use them to halt his downward movement and as launching points for jumps. The second variant are transparent, which usually blocks the way after the player goes through of it. The Chaos Emerald and some of the sections on Special Stages are surrounded of Diamond-shaped blocks, that the player is able to break. At first it can be found colored as blue, while touching it once changes its color to green, while touching it twice makes it turn on yellow. By touching it third time turns it to red and the last touching makes it to disappear.

The player is able to control camera's moving by touching "Up" or "Down" blocks. The Up block increases the rotation speed, while at the same time Down block will decreases the speed. The other block known simply as "Reverse" is namely able to reverse the camera's rotation to the opposite direction.

When the player has got all six Chaos Emeralds from each Special Stage, the result screen stating "Sonic got the all" and the cinematic ending changes to different one, where Sonic gets to the Green Hill Zone after defeating Robotnik and Chaos Emeralds start rotating in the air and disappear, leaving the place with full of new kinds of flowers.