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


 * For Special Stages in general, see here.

Special Stages, also called Secret Zones, are extra levels in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), where the player can get the Chaos Emeralds. The player can access these levels through the Giant Rings which the player can summon at the end of the first or second act of the game's first five Zones by holding fifty Rings.

There are six different Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog. In each of them, the goal is to reach the end of their mazes and collect one of the six Chaos Emeralds. Collecting all six Emeralds unlocks the good ending of the game.

Overview
The Special Stage is a mystical and colorful dimension. The background features floating bird models with clouds which changes to floating fish models with large bubbles.

Gameplay
Upon entering a Giant Ring, the player is sent to the Special Stage after their score from the previously cleared act is tallied. Here, the playable character is constantly using the Spin Attack and the camera continuously rotates in a 360 degree angel. However, the Spin Jump is still usable.

As the Special Stage's maze rotates, the player has to move through the tunnels using the. At the same time, the direction of the gravity in the Special Stage changes according to the maze's rotation, which the player can manipulate using the Reverse, Up and Down blocks. Like in normal Zones, Rings float around in the Special Stages' passages. Collecting fifty grants a Continue, and collecting one hundred gives an extra life. Some Ring formations also help lead the player through the Special Stages' mazes.

The player's goal in each Special Stage is to reach the end of its maze. Along the way, the player has to avoid touching blocks with Goal signs on some of the mazes' walls, as touching them makes the player exit the current Special Stage. Upon reaching the end of a Special Stage there will be a Chaos Emerald, usually surrounded by Color Blocks. These blocks will disappear if the playable characters touch them enough times. By touching the Chaos Emerald, the player exits the Special Stage with the Emerald, and the Special Stage's result screen showcasing Ring Bonuses will be depicted. The game then progresses to the next Act of the Zone.

Endings
Getting all the Chaos Emeralds changes the cinematic ending of the game after clearing the Final Zone. Should the player complete the game with less than six Chaos Emeralds, Robotnik appears after the credits, where he throws the six Chaos Emeralds around in his hands with the words "Try Again" next to him.

When the player gets all six Chaos Emeralds from the Special Stages, the result screen reads out "Sonic got them all." The cinematic ending also changes to Sonic arriving in Green Hill Zone where the Chaos Emeralds emerge from him and rotate in the air before disappearing, leaving the Zone full of new flowers. Afterwards, the player sees Robotnik repeatedly stomping on the word "End" in anger.

Trivia

 * There several leftovers and unused sprites that are not used in final version of the game (see Beta elements sub-article). Many of them include six different "Zone" blocks that mark each area, an unknown W-block and a collectible extra life block. All of these can be found with Debug Mode.
 * Sprite01.gif North American and European instruction manual still list the 1 Up item, showing that it was supposed to be collected from the Special Stage.
 * The 2013 re-release of the game for iPod and Android features a seventh Special Stage with seventh, cyan-colored Chaos Emerald. The only way to enter this Special Stage is by activating the Level Select code and edit the Chaos Emerald count from six to seven and then enter to the Special Stage from the Level Select menu. Collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds in the re-release enables the Super Form of Sonic, Knuckles and even Tails.
 * If the Max Emeralds is left at 6 and the player plays 06 in the Sound Test before selecting Special Stage, he/she is treated to an incomplete Special Stage with the blocks spelling out "custom".
 * In Sega Genesis Collection, there is a glitch: if Sonic collects an Emerald, the typical emerald sound will not be emitted.