Giant Ring



Giant Rings, also called Warp Rings, are large gold rings that appeared in many early games of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Unlike regular rings, which are usually collected by the players, giant rings instead serve as transportation, taking the player to other locations such as the Special Stage.

Game appearances
In the original Sonic the Hedgehog, giant rings appear if Sonic has at least 50 rings on reaching the end of the first two Acts of the first five zones. The Giant Ring will appear above and behind the Goal signpost. If Sonic jumps into the Giant Ring, he will be transported to a Special Stage, where he will have the opportunity to collect one of the Chaos Emeralds. Giant Rings were used in the same way in Sonic the Hedgehog CD (but allowing Sonic to collect Time Stones) and Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

Giant Rings did not appear in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in which passage to the Special Stages were via Star Posts instead, but they returned in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. In these games, giant rings do not appear at the end of an Act but are hidden throughout the levels, and they do not require any number of rings to enter. They transport the player to the Blue Sphere special stage, again to try and collect a Chaos Emerald. In the lock-on game Sonic 3 & Knuckles, when playing the Sonic & Knuckles levels (Zones 7-14) after collecting all the Chaos Emeralds, the Giant Rings will flash multicolored instead of remain gold, and they will transport the player to the Emerald Shrine (in the Hidden Palace Zone), where players can enter new Blue Sphere levels in an attempt to "upgrade" their Chaos Emeralds to Super Emeralds. If all of the Emeralds are collected, the player can access a Hyper Form rather than a Super Form if playing as Sonic or Knuckles, or simply a Super Form as Tails. The Giant Rings will no longer transport the player anywhere, but can instead be collected for 50 rings (which is enough to transform).

The Sonic 3-style Giant Rings also appear in Sonic Blast, although in this game there is only one giant ring per level.

In Sonic 3D, the gameplay mechanic requires Sonic to collect Flickies from throughout the levels and then deliver them through a giant ring. Once all Flickies are collected, Sonic himself can then pass through the giant ring and move on to the next section of the game.

In Sonic Heroes if you were Team Dark, Team Rose, or Team Chaotix and you got to the end of the level on a side mission and you had not completed the required objective you could touch the Goal Ring and it would act like a Warp Ring and send you back to the start of the level to complete the objective. In Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, the Warp Rings are at the end of the level if you have 50 rings, like Sonic the Hedgehog.

Giants rings make appearance in Sonic Advance 3, renamed as Factory Rings. It contains the portals to each Zone, the Chao Playground, and the Character Selection Screen. To access the Factory Ring, simply jump into it. There, the player can access what has been already said: The Zone Portals, Chao Playground and Character Selection Screen. The Factory Rings are seen on the Zones' starting area; the area where the player can enter one of the three Acts in that Zone. It is larger than all of the rings, and it is like the ring portals shown in the very first Sonic games.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, several items appear that are based on the Giant Rings from the games.

Sonic uses a Sonic 1-style giant ring as a short cut to instantly travel from the Green Hill Zone to the Marble Zone, but accidentally collects too many rings and finds himself sent to the Special Zone. The use of Giant Rings (and rings in general) was quickly phased out of the series. The Giant Rings' role of providing instantaneous travel between Zones was taken over by Star Posts.

Following an attack on the Floating Island by the Death Egg, Knuckles uncovers a large ring covered in ancient Echidna writing. He accidentally activates the ring and is sucked inside, transporting himself to the Special Zone.

Another type of Giant Ring, called the Mobius Ring, was created by the Drakon Empire, and allowed travel between Mobius and the Drakon homeworld.

Much later, Amy and Tekno uncovered a sentient Giant Ring called the Ring of Eternity, which transported them across time and space to help other worlds in danger.

Archie Comics
The Archie Comics continuity also feature Giant Rings, which are known as Warp Rings. The Warp Rings were created by Doctor Finitevus and when charged up with Chaos Energy allow instantaneous transport for anyone who uses them. They can seemingly penetrate any security measures and allow travel to any location, regardless of distance. There is also the Super Warp Ring used by Silver the Hedgehog and Rob'O the Hedge to get to Moebius. When Silver followed a Prelate into the Fractured Mirror Zone, the portal it travelled through looked similar to a corrupted Warp Ring.

Sonic Adventures
In the French comic Sonic Adventures volume 1, "Dans les griffes de Robotnik", a Sonic 3-styled Giant Ring is depicted hovering over the boiling magma in a volcano in the hidden city of the Echidnas. Sonic, Amy Rose and Princess Alucion fall through the giant ring when Doctor Robotnik tries to throw them into the volcano. They are transported to the Blue Sphere Special Stage, where Sonic gets the highest score, wins the Seven Magical Emeralds and the Golden Armor.