Special Stages

Information about the Zone

First appearance : Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

Game appearances : Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 8-bit (1991), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 16-bit (1992), Sonic CD (1993), Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994), Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (1994), Knuckles’ Chaotix (1995), Sonic 3D Blast (1996), Sonic Blast (1996), Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), Sonic Heroes (2003), Sonic Advance 3 (2004), Sonic Rush (2005), Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009), Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 (2010), Sonic Colors (DS) (2010), Sonic Generations (3DS) (2011), Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 2 (2012), Sonic Lost World (3DS) (2013), Sonic Mania (2017).

Type : Special Stage.

Zone description : Pocket dimensions that disrupt the course of time and space and do not follow any rules, Special Stages are mostly difficult to reach places with no specific location in the world and are repositories for ancient artefacts of enormous power – the Chaos Emeralds. Special Stages do not follow the laws of physics and logic. They are volatile and unstable. Anyone who comes must adapt and focus their mind in order to move around. Usually the only way to enter the Special Stages is through interdimensional portals in the form of giant rings, but there are other ways to get there as well. For example, in Sonic Advance (2001), the characters would get there by jumping up to a great height, and in the blink of an eye they would travel to the Special Stage, falling in which they would eventually return to the natural world. Also, apparently, Flickies from Flicky Island can move to the Special Stages on their own volition. However, entry into the Special Stages, like everything else associated with them, remains variable and unstable.

OSTs used in this Zone

Sonic the Hedgehog 16-bit (1991)

Sonic the Hedgehog 8-bit (1991)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 16-bit (1992)

Sonic CD (1993) [jp]

Sonic Cd (1993) [us]

Sonic Chaos (1993)

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994)

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (1994) [2D]

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (1994) [3D]

Knuckles' Chaotix (1995)

Sonic 3D Blast (1996) [Genesis/MD]

Sonic 3D Blast (1996) [Saturn]

Sonic Blast (1996)

Sonic Advance 1/2 (2001/2002)

Sonic Heroes (2003) [Bonus Challenge]

Sonic Heroes (2003) [Emerald Challenge]

Sonic Advance 3 (2004)

Sonic Rush (2005)

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 (2010)

Sonic Colors [DS] (2010)

Sonic Generations [3DS] (2011)

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 2 (2012)

Sonic Lost World [3DS] (2013)

Sonic Mania (2017)

Events

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

One unfortunate day, the evil genius Dr. Ivo Robotnik decided to build his evil empire with the might of an army of robots. The Doctor goes to South Island to find six Chaos Emeralds and use them to build the ultimate weapon – the Death Egg, a space station that would become the capital of the evil empire. Once on the island, Robotnik used his army of robots to capture animals who live on the island and put them inside the robots, charging his machines with the energy of the animals.

Soon, the supersonic hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, arrives on the island and begins rescuing the animals by destroying the robots and searching for the Chaos Emeralds. It was here that Sonic first visited the Special Stages, moving into them through portals in the form of giant rings, where he found the Chaos Emeralds. After Sonic defeated Robotnik and restored freedom to South Island, the six Chaos Emeralds returned Green Hill Zone to its former glory and returned to the Special Stages as if of their own free will.

Sonic CD (1993)

Dr. Robotnik chains up the Little Planet, a mysterious formation inhabited mostly by plants and where time has no power. Using the power of Time Stones, Dr. Robotnik returns to the past of the Little Planet and takes it over. Soon after, Sonic arrives at the Little Planet to stop the villain. He is pursued by Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog and a big Sonic fan. Once on the Little Planet, Amy finds Sonic, but he shows no interest in her until she is kidnapped by Robotnik’s powerful new robot, Metal Sonic. Sonic chases his metal replica while also collecting Time Stones and destroying the robot-producing machines of the past. It is in the Special Stages that Sonic finds the Time Stones, moving into them through the same portals in the form of giant rings.

After winning the race against Metal Sonic, Sonic saves Amy from captivity and after defeating Dr. Robotnik, the two leave the mysterious place together while leaving the Time Stones on the Little Planet and earn the gratitude of the inhabitants of the rescued world.

Sonic Chaos (1993)

Using the power of the Chaos Emerald he found, Dr. Robotnik recaptures South Island and creates weapons based on Chaos energy. Later, Sonic and Tails arrive on the island, find 5 Chaos Emeralds and fight to retrieve the remaining Emerald from Dr. Robotnik, thus freeing the South Island. To find the Emeralds, Sonic visits the Special Stages again, but this time it seems that Sonic does it of his own free will, because he moves to the Special Stage as soon as he gets 100 rings.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)

After his defeat, Dr. Robotnik lands on Angel Island, where he finds an energy source even more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds, namely the Master Emerald. However, it was protected by the powerful guardian Knuckles the Echidna. Despite his power, Knuckles is rather gullible, so Robotnik convinces the echidna that Sonic and Tails are trying to steal the Master Emerald, thus turning Knuckles against the heroes. Soon, Sonic and Tails arrive on Angel Island and are immediately attacked by Knuckles, who takes the Chaos Emeralds from the heroes and hides them in Special Stages portals around the island. Sonic and Tails have to search all over Angel Island to find the portals in the form of giant rings, but in the end they recover all seven Chaos Emeralds.

After destroying the Launch Base Zone, Sonic and Tails followed Knuckles into one of the portals, but it did not lead to the Special Stage. Instead, it led them to the Master Emerald altar. After placing the Chaos Emeralds around the Master Emerald, Sonic and Tails find the portals to the Special Stages again, where they energize the Emeralds, turning them into Super Emeralds with the power of the Master Emerald. Using the power of the Super Emeralds, Sonic and Tails finally defeat Knuckles and Robotnik.

Sonic & Knuckles (1994)

After the defeat of Dr. Robotnik, however, many of the evil doctor’s robots and machines remained on the island. One robot, called Egg Robo, had enough intelligence to replace Dr. Robotnik and rebuild an army of robots and weapons itself. After dropping bombs on Knuckles, Egg Robo steals the Master Emerald, forcing the echidna to pursuit the robot. On the way, Knuckles finds seven Chaos Emeralds using the giant ring portals around the island and applies them, activating the form of Super Knuckles. After destroying the Launch Base Zone, Knuckles enhances the Chaos Emeralds on the Master Emerald altar, turning them into Super Emeralds by visiting Special Stages again. Using their power, Knuckles transforms into Hyper Knuckles and with this power manages to retrieve the Master Emerald from Robotnik’s robots.

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (1994)

Robotnik has finally collected six of the Chaos Emeralds but during the experiment, the Chaos Emeralds had exploded with energy and scattered around the world. Robotnik was able to stop only one of them while the other five flew away. Soon, a the thief named Fang the Sniper discovers the event and decides to play the situation to his advantage. He finds all five scattered Chaos Emeralds and hides them in his own Home Dimension (which is few of the Special Stages) with the purpose to sell them. Unfortunately for him, Sonic and Tails found his Home Dimension by using the portals in specific monitors. The two defeated Fang (several times) and took all five Emeralds from him.

Knuckles' Chaotix (1995)

A mysterious island suddenly appears in the middle of the ocean. Wanting to discover the nature of this event, Knuckles visits the island, but he didn’t expect it to be already captured by Robotnik, who was searching for the Master Emerald. After exploring a bit, Knuckles finds Espio the Chameleon, captured by a mechanism named Combi Catcher and releases him. Together, Knuckles and Espio releases other heroes, such as Mighty the Armadillo, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and robots Heavy and Bomb. Together, they make multiple attacks on Robotnik’s bases, destroying his robots powered up with Dark Rings and collecting Chaos Rings in the process. It is in the Special Stages, in which the heroes enter using portals in the form of giant rings, that they find the Chaos Rings. After being defeated several times, Robotnik uses his best robot – Metal Sonic to defeat the heroes. After Metal Sonic was defeated, Robotnik decides to power him up with a Dark Ring, and with that Metal Sonic transforms into Metal Sonic Kai. Even so, he was defeated by the heroes.

Sonic 3D Blast (1996)

Dr. Robotnik learns of the existence of Flicky Island, home of little Flickies, who, according to legend and rumor, are the key to finding the Chaos Emeralds. Upon arriving on the island, Robotnik learns that Flickies are capable of opening portals to Special Stages in the form of giant rings. Wanting to enslave the Flickies’ power, Robotnik creates the Dimension Ring Generator and begins to robotize the vulnerable birds.

Soon, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles arrive on the island, also attracted by rumors of Chaos Emeralds. Shortly after arriving, they are faced with the atrocities on the island and begin to battle the evil doctor. While Sonic rescues Flickies and battles Robotnik, Tails and Knuckles search for passes to the Special Stages. After giving his friends 50 rings, Sonic can go to the Special Stages and find the Emeralds. Finally, after saving all the Flickies and finding the seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic faces off against Robotnik in his Final Weapon and defeats the villain, freeing Flicky Island from captivity.

Sonic Advance (2001)

Dr. Robotnik (recently nicknamed Dr. Eggman) once again begins searching for the Chaos Emeralds and capturing animals to power his robots. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy embark on an adventure to free the animals, find the Chaos Emeralds and defeat Eggman. The heroes find the Chaos Emeralds in the Special Stages, which they enter by flying to great heights with Special Springs. If they fell from that height, they might have died, but the heroes work together. While one catches the Emerald in the Special Stages, Sonic or Tails catch them by using the Tornado plane. Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds, the heroes defeat the evil doctor and restore peace again.

Sonic Advance 2 (2002)

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and the new heroine Cream the Rabbit once again pursue Dr. Eggman, who again kidnaps animals and puts them in robots in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Also, this time, the evil doctor has also kidnapped Cream’s mother, Vanilla the Rabbit. The heroes find the Special Stages, where they are getting by gathering seven Special Rings, and encounter the robot Zero, who tries to prevent them from gathering the Emeralds. However, Zero is unable to stop them and the heroes collect all the Chaos Emeralds. Using their power, they defeat Eggman and save the animals and Vanilla.

Sonic Heroes (2003)

Metal Sonic decides to avenge his defeat by Sonic’s hands by capturing the Eggman Empire and all its robots, taking the doctor himself as a prisoner in the process. Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose and Team Chaotix go into battle with Metal Sonic, all for their own personal reasons. Along the way, the teams collect seven Chaos Emeralds from the Special Stages, which they reach using Special Stage Keys. After collecting all the Emeralds and defeating the mighty fleet of robots, the heroes use the power of the Emeralds to finally defeat Metal Sonic and restore peace.

Sonic Advance 3 (2004)

Using the power of Chaos Control, Dr. Eggman splits the planet and with his strongest robot, Gemerl, sets out again to find the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Cream embark on a journey through the shards of the world, collecting Chaos Emeralds as they battle Eggman and Gemerl. In order to find the Emeralds, the heroes seek out the little Chao creatures, which allow them to find the Special Stages Keys that open a passageway to the Special Stages. After collecting the Emeralds, the heroes defeat Eggman and Gemerl and return the planet to its integrity.

Sonic Rush (2005)

Sonic meets a mysterious female stranger with fire powers as well as a certain twin of Eggman who calls himself Eggman Nega. Tails also discovers that the very existence of their dimension is in danger for unknown reasons. Sonic and Tails pursue the female stranger, gathering Chaos Emeralds and fighting Eggman Nega in the process. To obtain the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic finds Special Generators and uses his new Super Boost ability, which gives him tremendous speed, to get to the Special Stages where the Emeralds are contained.

The stranger turns out to be a visitor from a parallel dimension, Blaze the Cat. Blaze is the princess of the Sol Dimension as well as the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, but recently the Sol Emeralds were stolen by Dr. Eggman and she is trying to get them back. Eggman Nega is also a visitor from the Sol Dimension and appears to be on the same side with Eggman. Sonic offers to help, but Blaze rudely refuses. Sonic insists and in the end, Sonic and Blaze end up fighting. After the fight, Blaze finally accepts help and Sonic, along with Blaze, defeats Eggman and Eggman Nega. Soon, however, Sonic’s dimension and the Sol’s Dimension begin to merge. Using the energy from the spatial rift, Eggman and Eggman Nega build the perfect robot. Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds, Sonic and Blaze become Super Sonic and Burning Blaze and work together to defeat Eggmans. After the battle, Blaze returns to her dimension, calling Sonic her friend.

Sonic Colors (2010)

Dr. Eggman has built an amusement park in space and by using special generators, has hooked the worlds of the race of the Wisps into this park, preventing these worlds from unhooking themselves. Eggman captures the Wisps and places them in special capsules. He drains their life energy, (which is called Hyper-go-on) in order to use that energy to seize control of the minds of those living in Sonic’s world. The Wisps that had been sucked out of their energy turned into Nega Wisps, dark versions of themselves, becoming unstable with the pain. Soon, Sonic and Tails enter the park, deciding that a park in space built by Eggman is suspicious. After looking around a bit, Sonic notices Eggman’s robots capturing the Wisps and decides to rescue the aliens from the evil machines. During his adventures, Sonic collects Chaos Emeralds, finding them in the Special Stages, where he gets after collecting 50 rings.

In the end, Sonic shuts down all the generators and fights Eggman in a final battle, allowing Tails to evacuate from the park. Sonic wins and Eggman is blown out into outer space. Sonic and Tails have already begun to think they won, until Nega-Mother Wisp, the mother of all the Wisps, defiled by Eggman’s machines, appears. Sonic, using the 7 Chaos Emeralds, transforms into Super Sonic and defeats Nega-Mother Wisp in combat, which restores her sanity. After the battle, all Wisps and their worlds leave Sonic’s world and the heroes have to say goodbye to them, but even after this introduction to Sonic’s world, many Wisps enjoyed it and decided to stay there, many times helping Sonic in battles with Eggman and other villains in the future.

Sonic Generations (2011)

All Sonic’s friends are making a birthday party for Sonic, when suddenly, a huge black creature appears and captures all the heroes into unknown dark portals. In the next second, Sonic wakes up in some mysterious white room. He explores the area and finds places he visited throughout his life. Later on, Sonic, to his surprise, encounters himself from the past. It turns out that along with Sonic from the past, the Tails from the past is also in this world, as well as many of Sonic’s friends from the future. Together, the two Sonics rescue their friends and collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds (which are placed in Special Stages again), finally meeting the dark entity in battle. It turns out that it’s named the Time Eater and is controlled by Dr. Eggman along with his version from the past, Dr. Robotnik. Using the Chaos Emeralds, the Sonics take the form of Super Sonics and defeat the evil Doctors, after which all the heroes return to their own time.

Sonic Mania (2017)

In a parallel dimesion of Classic Sonic from Sonic Generations (2011) Dr. Robotnik finds a mysterious artefact capable of changing reality through illusion – the Phantom Ruby. With this mighty artefact, Robotnik strengthens his Egg-Robos into Hard Boiled Heavies and creates a mighty army of giant robots. Sonic, with Tails and Knuckles’ help, defeats Robotnik in battle. During the adventure, the heroes find the Chaos Emeralds in the Special Stages, which are accessed using portals in the form of giant rings.

However, one of the Egg-Robos, the leader of Hard Boiled Heavies, Heavy King, has gained intelligence thanks to the Phantom Ruby and steals the Ruby. Sonic, using the 7 Chaos Emeralds, becomes Super Sonic and fights Dr. Robotnik and the Heavy King for the right to possess the Ruby. Super Sonic wins the battle, but the Phantom Ruby suddenly opens a portal when it comes in contact with the Chaos Emeralds, pulling Sonic into it.

Sonic Mania Plus (2018)

Back in his dimension from his earlier adventure in the main timeline with the Phantom Ruby, Classic Sonic finds the captive pods of Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel. After freeing them from the capsule, Sonic lets his guard down and allows the Hard Boiled Heavies’ surviving robot, the Heavy Magician, to catch him vulnerable, resulting in the Heavy Magician taking possession of the Phantom Ruby. Using the artefact, Heavy Magician recovers the Hard Boiled Heavies and teams up with Dr. Robotnik in another battle with Sonic. Sonic, Mighty, Ray, Tails and Knuckles work together to find all 7 Chaos Emeralds (by getting to the Special Stages through the giant ring portals again) to fight the villains and win, but the tense battle results in an unstable opening of a huge portal by the Phantom Ruby. Using their Super forms, the heroes manage to escape while Robotnik is pulled into the unknown by the portal.