Special Stage (Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II)


 * For Special Stages in general, see here.

Special Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II are a series of special levels. Like many previous Sonic games, the Special Stages in this game are rounded, half-pipe tracks littered with a certain number of Rings to collect to pass through two segments. After passing through those two segments will award a Chaos Emerald to the player and if the player has all of the Chaos Emeralds (by completing all of the Special Stages), Sonic is able to transform into Super Sonic at any point during any stage (including boss fights).

Gameplay
Special Stages are entered in the same method as with those on Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I: Sonic must jump into a Giant Ring hovering above the goal which will only appear if Sonic has collected at least 50 Rings before reaching the Goal. Sonic and Tails will need to collect enough Rings to traverse through the two segments. The player can press a secondary button (/for Xbox 360, /for PlayStation 3) for a boost which can be useful for attracting Rings. There is also a special item that ties Sonic and Tails together in a rope, allowing them to cover more area and collect separate group of Rings.

There are obstacles in the way such as red mines which damages Sonic on contact, causing him to lose some of his Rings while there are green mines that slows Sonic down but it does not take Rings away from him. Note that in Single Player mode, Tails will not lose Rings if he is damaged by the mine unlike Sonic 2. He however does in multiplayer mode. There are gimmicks such as a dash panel which boosts the characters along the stage and a spring which launches the characters to a different half-pipe, which usually leads to more Rings. When Sonic and Tails pass through a yellow arch, it activates a mode which a set number of Rings appear. If they collect that number of Rings, they will be awarded with more bonus Rings.

Unlike Sonic 4: Episode I, Special Stages are not to be completed within the time limit but rather a time bonus is given out at the end based on how long the player took to finish the stage. In the iOS and Android versions, some obstacles in the Special Stages have been removed, possibly for an easier gameplay experience.