Big Arm

Big Arm (known as the Squeeze Tag Machine in Sonic the Comic) is the final boss of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It is the last of three bosses fought in the second act of Launch Base Zone.

If Sonic 3 is locked on to Sonic & Knuckles (i.e. in the game Sonic 3 & Knuckles), then Sonic (or Tails) will skip this boss completely, but Knuckles will still have to fight this boss with the Egg Robo piloting it.

The Big Arm is a large modified Egg Mobile piloted by Doctor Eggman with spikes on its top and two big hands for grabbing Sonic (or Tails or Knuckles), rolling them into a ball, and slamming them down. Normally the player's only real chance to attack this boss is when it swoops across the screen. The player must make a well-placed Spin Attack to attack the cockpit - too high and the character will hit the spikes, too low and they will be grabbed by the hands.

Attack Pattern
The Big Arm will usually just swoop over either left or right from offscreen and try to grab the character, but after doing this 2 times (4 times with Knuckles), it will fly to the top of the screen where it can't be hit. It will come down and sweep the bottom of the screen so the player has to jump in order to avoid it.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, Robotnik pilots the machine, here referred to as the "Squeeze Tag Machine", when he invades Sonic's Secret Underground Base in the Emerald Hill Zone. The machine is built so solidly that Sonic cannot damage it. Luckily, he is helped by Knuckles, who cracks the small windscreen with a punch, weakening it enough for Sonic to tear the top of the machine off with a Spin Attack.

Sonic Generations
For the boss of the game, please go to: Launch Base (Sonic Generations).

Big Arm makes an appearance in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, as the classic-era boss. The boss fight is similar to Sonic 3, with new attack patterns. It can now strike from above by punching down on the platform, and rocketing across the arena trying to impale Sonic with the spikes on its head. After half its health is depleted, more spikes emerge from the forearms, making it trickier to attack the cockpit. In phase two, it can also attack from the background and attempts to grab the player.

Trivia

 * If the Big Arm grabs a character while in their Super form (not Super Tails), the character will lose their rings, and thus lose their Super form. But if a character is in their Hyper form (or Super Tails), it will create a Spring sound effect.
 * If playing as Super Tails the Spring sound effect will play and you will not lose your rings. This is due to the fact that Super Tails, in the games mechanics, is really Tails' Hyper Form, technically not his Super Form.
 * If a character is in their Super or Hyper form, they will be able to damage the Big Arm when it comes down to sweep across the platform. This can also be done without transforming, requiring a well timed spin dash.
 * When playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles, this boss fight doesn't appear (If playing as Sonic and/or Tails) and the player will move on to Mushroom Hill Zone.
 * In the 3DS version of Sonic Generations, while battling this boss, the music was originally going to be a rock remix of Doomsday Zone. This remix was only used in E3 2011 version of demo but in Gamescom 2011 demo, it was replaced by a remix of its own theme (the final boss theme) from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
 * Big Arm is the first boss in Sonic Generations to ever be officially confirmed.
 * This is the only boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 to appear in Sonic Generations.
 * Since Sonic Generations is grouping Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles as one game, Big Arm is currently the only known direct reference to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 rather than its add-on. Although other Stages from Sonic Generations add references to Sonic 3, such as the Classic Rooftop Run which includes the unexpected arrival of Flying Battery Zone like that of Sonic 3, Seaside Hill with Rolling Boulders chasing Classic Sonic and underwater sections similar to Hydrocity Zone stage and the Sky Sanctuary which has spinning tops similar to those in Marble Garden Zone.
 * In Sonic Generations, the front armor plating on Big Arm resembles an Egg Robo's face.
 * Like the Death Egg Robot in the console version, it is somewhat difficult to tell which version of Doctor Robotnik is piloting Big Arm during the boss stage, at first. The glass is tinted but it is still possible to see Classic Eggman manning the controls.