Hint (Sonic Boom)

The Hint Ring is a gimmick that appears in Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. It is a type of advice box which provides the player with additional help during gameplay.

Description
The Hint Ring is designed as a floating golden question mark surrounded by a ring of dots in different colors. In gameplay, they can be found in several places across the adventure levels. When touching a Hint Ring, Q-N-C appears on the Nintendo 3DS's lower screen and briefly provides the player with information about the surroundings, gimmicks, objects, enemies, how to play etc. While the Hint Ring's contents are being relayed, the player can move around freely.

Trivia

 * The Hint Ring's design is derived from its counterpart in the main Sonic video games series.