Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Manuals

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This article contains information on the manuals that were included with copies of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

English

The English story prologue found in the original North American and European manuals:

Sonic's Adventure Continues

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes place on the mysterious Floating Island which holds many special powers. The source of these powers are Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic and Tails thought that they had destroyed the Death Egg, which was Dr. Robotnik's heavily armored ship. Instead, Dr. Robotnik managed to crash land on the Floating Island. After learning that the island is able to float in the sky by harnessing the power of the emeralds, the Doc decides to steal the Emeralds so he can repair his Death Egg ship.

To obtain the emeralds, Dr. Robotnik tricks Knuckles, the guardian of the Floating Island's Chaos Emeralds. He also tells Knuckles that Sonic and Tails are the ones trying to steal the emeralds.

Between battling new types of Badniks and trying to outsmart Knuckles, Sonic and Tails have their work cut out for them once they arrive on the Floating Island and search for Dr. Robotnik.

You'll soon discover that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is packed with Zones which are three times larger than those found in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Each Zone is made up of two Acts, and each Act contains dozens of challenges and obstacles for Sonic and Tails to overcome.

Meet Knuckles the Echidna

• Age: 15 Years Old
• Species: Echidna
• Favorite Foods: Fruit (especially Grapes)
• Special Abilities: Discovering hidden passageways and using his knuckles to dig.

Knuckles was born and raised on the Floating Island and he knows all of its secrets. He's strong, athletic and clever. Because Knuckles knows every hidden passageway on the island, it's easy for him to block Sonic's path, create extra obstacles, set traps, and steal Sonic's gold rings.

Long ago, an ancient civilization lived on the Floating Island. Before this civilization mysteriously disappeared, it left behind many secrets and mystical powers. Being the only living descendant of this lost civilization, Knuckles has become the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, which are the source of the island's special floating power.

Zone descriptions

Zone	Description
Angel Island	Welcome to the Floating Island. Things will really heat up once Dr. Robotnik sets fire to this area of the island. Beware of the Flying Battery blimp.
Hydrocity	Keep Sonic's lungs filled with air as you explore the underwater regions of the island.
Marble Garden	Use Sonic's Spin Dash Attack to crash through marble barriers and propel Sonic up steep hills as he explores this ancient city.
Carnival Night	Night life on the Floating Island is exciting. Bounce and flip your way across this colorful Zone which is filled with anti-gravity platforms.
IceCap Zone	Things will get pretty chilly as Sonic and Tails slide their way through this arctic wasteland. Be sure to smash open blocks of ice to reveal power-ups and hidden passageways.
Launch Base	You're getting close to where Dr. Robotnik is repairing his Death Egg ship. This is your last chance to stop the Doc's evil scheme.
Azure Lake	Race around 360 degree loops and leap into the air as you run off of ramps in this waterfront region.
Balloon Park	You'll have a lot to celebrate after completing this Zone. Jump onto the top of colorful balloons and you'll shoot Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles upwards.
Chrome Gadget	Ride moving platforms, bounce along bumper walls and use the fans to blow your character upwards.
Desert Palace	Trek across a desert which is lined with dry sand. You'll have to leap off of falling platforming and avoid sinking in pools of quicksand.
Endless Mine	While visiting this old mine shaft, use your Spin Dash attack to smash rocks in order to clear your path.

Gallery

Gallery

Japanese

A translation of the story prologue from the Japanese manual:

Prologue

As we speak, Dr. Eggman's fortress "The Death Egg", which had been totally destroyed by Sonic, is on a collision course with the Earth. And it just so happens that right in the Death Egg's line of descent floats a single giant mass of clouds. Quietly hidden in those clouds is a shadow...

A rise of mountains, a spread of forests. That shadow is an island. It's the great "Floating Island" that drifts through the sky. Like a falling star, the Death Egg crashed smack into the Floating Island. Mountains crumbled and trees toppled. The incredible impact tilted the whole island, and gradually forced it to drop in elevation. Finally, it plunged into the ocean. The Floating Island sent out what looked like a tidal wave, but it didn't sink in the water. Cradling the Death Egg, the island went on floating in the sea as though nothing had happened.

A few days later...

On an island far away from where the Death Egg and the Floating Island crashed down, a two-tailed fox named Tails suddenly detected a strong Chaos Emerald reaction on the Jewel Radar he had invented.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with that huge tidal wave we just had..."

With that on his mind, Tails turned toward the beach where Sonic was. Sonic, who had been taking a nap, found a small ring washed up on the shore around that same moment. The ring had what appeared to be ancient letters carved into it. As he held this ring, Sonic remembered an old legend he had heard about an island. A long time ago, when this island had still been a part of the continent, people of a great civilization lived there. This civilization had created a society of peace and abundance with the energy of the "Stone of Power". However, one day a sect of wise men attempting to take the energy of the "Stone of Power" for themselves accidentally let the energy run out of control. The civilization collapsed in an instant, and it disappeared from history altogether. After the incident, the gods, descending from the sky, rebuilt the civilization's land as an island and released the "Stone of Power" into the sky... or so they say.

The ring and this legend... If only for the sake of nostalgia, Sonic decided to set off an another journey right then and there.

Dr. Eggman, who had escaped from his fallen Death Egg, noticed that there is a Chaos Emerald on the Floating Island. From a fissure that the Death Egg had opened up in the ground, he could pick up the reactions of a huge Chaos Emerald. If he uses that energy, it may be possible for him to launch his Death Egg into outer space once more. To get hold of the Emerald, Dr. Eggman started building a base on the Floating Island. He also kidnapped animals and remodeled them into robots, and made the nature of Floating Island more severe with his environment-changing machines.

"Dahhh-ha-ha-ha! Sonic, even if you come to this island, you'll be too late! This time, both the world and the Chaos Emeralds will be mine!"

The stage is set once again. From here, Sonic the Hedgehog begins his new adventure.

Guardian of the Floating Island

This story examines events from Knuckles' perspective

Knuckles the Echidna

- The guardian who protects the Chaos Emeralds on the Floating Island.

- Species is echidna (harimogura). Nickname is "Knuckle."

- He is the short-tempered type, but he is a kind and nice guy.

- He's a bit naive and innocent, and easily deceived.

- He doesn't dislike girls, but he is not very good with them?

- Special gloves let him dig holes, and he can break through walls.

- His hobby is, of course, digging. 'cuz he's a mole (mogura).

- Finding secret routes is his specialty.

- He can also fly in the air for a little bit.

- Likes: Fruit. Dislikes: Bright sunlight

That day, as he always seemed to, he was making his patrol around the altar on the island. Protecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds who sleep and control the power of the "Pillar" is the mission he has been charged with.

His name, Knuckles the Echidna. But to inhabitants of the island, he is an echidna called "Knuckle." Born and raised on the island, all of nature and the animals who live in it are his friends. And that which protects his friends is none other than the Chaos Emerald's crystaline "Pillar."

Suddenly something awoke.

Just as he was verifying that that not one Chaos Emerald was out of place, the Chaos Emerald right before his eyes rose and a strange vibration started.

Knuckles was confused by this phenomenon, which had never occurred before. In the blink of an eye, violent shaking occurred within the Chaos Emeralds. Then, as the shaking reached its climax, a "kiiiin" sound was heard along with a brilliant flash. The next thing Knuckles remembered was his own body, seeming to be lightly floating, and at that moment he was interrupted.

When Knuckles regained consciousness, he found his body thrown outside of the altar. He slowly go up, and what entered his eyes as he looked around was the Chaos Emerald altar—partially destroyed. In a flurry, Knuckles flew into the altar. However, in place of the emerald that should have been there, were fragments left of what had dissappeared...

In a daze, Knuckles left the altar. He gazed off into the distance, powerless... it seemed like a peculiar thing had appeared around the lake. The sight of the giant, round, egg-like body that Knuckles beheld sent a shiver down his spine.

"That big egg is the dragon in the legend's..."

That egg appeared in the legend depicted in the Chaos Emerald altar—there was no doubt that it was the egg which would bring disaster to the island.

Some days later, Knuckles was patrolling the altar of the island's seven Chaos Emeralds, but all traces of the Emeralds had vanished. While in his relentless investigation of the island, Knuckles encountered an unfamiliar man in the woods.

The man called himself Dr. Eggman, and already knew Knuckles was the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. He said to Knuckles:

"I am a scientist who came here to stop (?) that egg. Uumu, since you are the Chaos Emeralds' guardian I knew I had to inform you. The truth is, there is an evil hedgehog named Sonic that has been interfering in my research, he is the one who has stolen this island's Chaos Emeralds."

"The Chaos Emeralds were stolen...!"

With Dr. Eggman's ingenous lies, Knuckles was very easily tricked. That is how Knuckles' challenge to Sonic was started.

Zone descriptions

Zone	Description
Angel Island	A green Zone like a tropical paradise.
Hydrocity	A Zone of underground waterways with intricate routes.
Marble Garden	A Zone where the ruins of a legendary civilization remain.
Carnival Night	An amusement park-like Zone that shines in the night sky.
IceCap	An icy Zone that runs through caves and ice fields.
Launch Base	A huge fortress Zone created for the reconstruction of the Death Egg.
Azure Lake	A high-speed lake course with a continuous loop
Balloon Park	Balloon jumping is the point of the game
Chrome Gadget	A technical course with lots of tricks
Desert Palace	Watch out for the sand bridge in front of the goal
Endless Mine	Go up and down in the tunnel that spreads up and down

Gallery

Gallery

Portuguese

A translation of the story prologue from the Portuguese manual:

The Adventure of Sonic Continues

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes place on the mysterious Floating Island that possesses many special powers. The Chaos Emeralds are at the origin of these powers. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic and Tails thought they had destroyed Death Egg, Dr. Robotnik's armored ship, but Dr. Robotnik managed to land hastily on the Floating Island. And upon learning that the island can float in space by capturing the energy of the emeralds, he decided to steal them to fix the Death Egg.

To obtain the emeralds, Dr. Robotnik tricks Knuckles, the guardian of the Floating Island Chaos Emeralds. He tells Knuckles that it's Sonic and Tails who want to steal the emeralds.

Sonic and Tails must fight the new Badniks and try to get the better of Knuckles when they reach the Floating Island to search for Dr. Robotnik.

You'll find that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is full of zones three times larger than those found in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Each zone is composed of two acts, and each act contains numerous obstacle challenges that Sonic and Tails must overcome.

Meet Knuckles the Echidna

• Age: 15 Years Old
• Species: Echidna
• Favorite Food: Fruit (especially Grapes)
• Capabilities: Discover secret passages and use your knuckles to dig.

Knuckles was born and raised on the Floating Island, knowing all its secrets. He is strong, athetic and smart. As he knows all the secret passages of the island, he can easily block Sonic's way, create new obstacles, set traps and steal his Golden Rings.

Long ago, an ancient civilization lived on the Floating Island. Before mysteriously disappearing, this civilisation left behind many secrets and mystical powers. Being the only living descendant of this lost civilization, Knuckles became the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, who are the source of the island's special powers.

Zone descriptions

Zone	Description
The Angel Island	Welcome to the Floating Island. Things will heat up as soon as Dr. Robotnik sets fire to this area of the island. Pay attention to the flying batteries.
The Hydrocity	Crush Sonic’s lungs full of air as you explore the island’s submerged regions.
The Marble Garden	Use Sonic’s Spin-Dash attack to break through the marble barriers and propel Sonic through the hills above as he explores this ancient city.
The Night Of Carnival	The nightlife of the Floating Island is fascinating. It makes its way through this colourful area full of anti-gravity platforms.
Ice-Covered Zone	The temperature will drop as Sonic and Tails glide through this glacial land. Don’t forget to break the ice blocks to discover energy elements and secret passages.
Launch Base	You’re approaching the site where Dr. Robotnik is repairing his Death Egg ship. This is your last chance to step into Robotnik’s diabolical scheme.

Gallery

Gallery

References

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

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Main article (Sonic 3 & Knuckles) · Staff · Manuals · Glitches · Beta elements · Gallery · Pre-releases (November 3, 1993)

*Appears in Competition mode only · **Appears in re-releases only
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