Knuckles, by this point, is getting a little peeved and decides it's time to stop taking down names and start handing out punishments. So while Knuckles is doing the rounds with Sonic and Tails, who's keeping an eye on Robotnik? The Death Egg's pretty smashed up now, but there is one final hope for the Eggman: the legendary Master Emerald, which keeps Angel Island afloat. This puppy would be fuel enough for the Death Egg and then some. All parties arrive at the same place at the same time: the Hidden Palace Zone, resting spot of the Master Emerald. Sonic and Tails wail on Knuckles, but it's too late...Robotnik's made his move and snatched the Master Emerald, right in front of rad red. The farce is over and the villain in this story is made clear. Angel Island, meanwhile, has begun its rapid descent into the ocean without the Master Emerald keeping it afloat. Knuckles leads Sonic and Tails to a hidden teleport that warps them up to the floating ruins of an ancient time: the Sky Sanctuary. There, it's a race to the revived Death Egg, which is gaining altitude every second. Unfortunately, Robotnik's sent back an old friend to slow their progress: it's none other than Silver Sonic, complete with a makeover and a couple new tricks up his metallic sleeve. After sending Silver to his final resting spot in the crumbling ruins of Sky Sanctuary, Sonic and Tails leap aboard the Death Egg and move in to Robotnik's control deck.

   Outer space serves as the arena for the final showdown, on a platform outside the Death Egg. The giant mechanical Eggman is back, this time powered by the Master Emerald. Uh-oh. After Sonic & Tails turn the Death Egg into space junk, the Doc makes off with the Master Emerald in the remains of his giant Eggman mech. Not quite that easy. Transforming into Super Sonic (or Hyper Sonic, if you got all the Super Emeralds), the blue blur gives chase, which would not normally be a big deal except that they're zooming the wrong way through a meteor shower. After trashing Robotnik's escape pod, the Doc makes one final run for it in his Egg-Mobile. (Man, is he running on Energizer or what?) Sonic lays the smack down, reclaims the Emerald, and falls back into the atmosphere...where he's picked up by Tails in the Tornado. After depositing the Master Emerald back onto the island, Sonic and Tails head off toward the horizon. As Angel Island begins its ascent, Knuckles dashes up to the Master Emerald and sees his new friends off with a smile and a wave. And they all lived happily ever after until Sonic Adventure, the end! Now go to bed.

• Mushroom Hill -- A lush forest full of, that's right, mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. Jump on the freaky fungi for a boost up. Home to Butterdroid (Tefutefu), Cluckoid (Kekou), Mushmeanie (Hidoun), Madmole (Mogumogu), and Dragonfly (Tonbaa).
• Flying Battery -- It's Robotnik's airship, but unlike Wing Fortress, this one's mostly on the inside. Home to Blaster (Bonbon) and Technosqueek (Chu-chu).
• Sandopolis -- It's a big, nasty Egyptian-style desert at sunset. Act 1's not too bad on the outside world, but Act 2 finds you playing 2D Tomb Raider inside a pyramid. Find a switch to flick on the lights, but it never lasts long, growing consistently darker until you pull the next light switch...which wouldn't be so bad if there weren't these darn ghosts gaining strength with every increasing shade of darkness. The clock, once again, turns out to be your worst enemy in this massive Zone. Home to Sandworm (Naaru) and Skorp.
• Lava Reef -- It's into the heart of the volcano, and Act 1 gets pretty steamy. Things cool down in Act 2 to reveal some hidden ruins sprinkled into the stony walls. Home to Toxomister (Puwazoon [Poison?]) and Fireworm (Anbaa).
• Hidden Palace -- It's just a dinky little area with no enemies and a few sets of spikes as the only obstacle. At the end, though, comes the showdown with Knuckles followed by Robotnik's big move on the Master Emerald.
• Sky Sanctuary -- Up those crumbling ruins in the sky! A greatly modified Silver Sonic returns to make your day miserable with a couple of classic boss fights: the ball-swinging machine from Green Hill and the duplicate-producing Metropolis machine. For the final battle he performs all his same tricks from Sonic 2, only now you've got Rings at your advantage. Home to EggRobo. (As Knuckles, this area consists of a couple of boss fights, including Super Silver Sonic.)
• Death Egg -- Finally get to see what this Death Egg thing we've been hearing about since Sonic 2 is. And it's BIG. Act 1 is played on the inside while Act 2 is on the outside. Act 2 has some serious gravity issues... Home to Spikebonker (Gaatei) and Chainspike (Kurou). (This Zone is only playable as Sonic and Tails, unless you use the cheaty level-select.)
• Doomsday -- It's the ultimate showdown: Super Sonic (or Hyper Sonic) against a fleeing Robotnik in his giant Eggman mech. The stage: outer space, against a meteor shower...cool! (This level is only playable as Sonic, and only if you've obtained at least seven Chaos Emeralds.)

   One big enhancement is the addition of two new bonus stages: the Slot Machine bonus and the Glowing Spheres bonus. The Slot Machine bonus opens up when you hit a Starpost with 20-35 Rings. (It's denoted by an orange Star Circle.) It's a blast from the past inside: they work on the same schema as the original Sonic 1 Special Stages. You're in a 360° rotating maze, complete with Rings, bumpers, and GOAL spheres. Right smack in the middle, there's a slot machine...pop in and make a match to score (or lose) some Rings.

   He's done pinball, he's done slot machines, now Sonic does pachinko courtesy of the Glowing Spheres bonus, which opens up when you hit a Starpost with 35-50 Rings (denoted by a red Star Circle). The object is to grab all the gusto you can get on your journey upward, while keeping one step ahead of the laser teleport crawling up the bottom. You'll find the same "bubble" items as in Sonic 3's gumball machine bonus, plus Rings and large glowing spheres which act like hedgehog magnets. There are also flippers on the sides and various bumpers scattered around the middle.

   There are also seven brand new Special Stages following the Sonic 3 formula...and they're even tougher than the first set. New to the mix are yellow spheres, which act like springs and send you flying ahead five squares.

   When playing S&K alone, you can choose to play as either Sonic or Knuckles. Although the levels they play are mostly the same, each has access to certain areas and bosses the other can't reach. It should also be noted that while Knuckles' game is shorter, it's much more difficult. Sonic's got the exact same set of moves sported in Sonic 3, while Knuckles has his own unique abilities: gliding and climbing. Too bad his jump is somewhat shorter than Sonic and Tails'...

   Okay, that's all good and well, but the real beauty of S&K comes when you pop open the top and suggestively "Lock-On" another game. Stick Sonic 3 up there, and you get Sonic 3 & Knuckles...the real deal, baby! Thirty-two whopping megs of Sonic goodness. When locked-on with Sonic 3, you can use 3's save feature (which is absent from the stand-alone S&K)...with three added slots, making a total of nine game saves (which turned out to be just enough for me, ya know). Also, now you can play as Knuckles in the Sonic 3 levels and Tails in the S&K levels! All three characters have access to their own unique areas the others cannot reach. You'll also note that some of the object placement in the Sonic 3 levels has changed slightly. Oh, and don't worry if you've already got a cleared Sonic 3 save...lock S&K on and you'll find your save ready to roll in Mushroom Hill!

   Then there's the Special Stages...obtain all seven Chaos Emeralds in Sonic 3, then Lock-On to S&K to gain access to the Super Emerald stages. You lose all your Chaos Emeralds (and your ability to transform into Super Sonic), but your reward for collecting all seven Super Emeralds is even greater: Sonic becomes Hyper Sonic, Knuckles becomes Hyper Knuckles, and even Tails becomes Super Tails. As Hyper Sonic, you've got the Hyper Dash, which is like a double-jump that also destroys all the Badniks on-screen. Every time Hyper Knuckles claws into the side of a platform, the screen quakes and all the on-screen baddies go bye-bye. Super Tails gets the assistance of four Super Flickies, who track and destroy any Badniks in the vicinity. Sweet!

   There's even more goodness to be had when you pop yer old Sonic 2 cart on top: you can now play as Knuckles in all the Sonic 2 levels! Aw yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about! You'll find some new items at odd places that only Knuckles can reach, so it pays to explore the nooks and crannies you could never get to before. (But what the HECK is up with the gray shields?)

   Hey, the fun don't end there! Pop on just about any Sega Genesis cartridge in existence and you'll gain access to a randomly-generated S3&K-style Special Stage! You get an extra special treat when you Lock-On the original Sonic 1: unlimited randomly-generated Special Stages! And they're even harder than the original fourteen. (Dear God, have mercy.) Now that's what I call some serious-ass bang for the buck.

-- Lock-On --

Secret Special Stages: Lock-On Sonic & Knuckles with just about any Sega Genesis game cartridge. You should get a screen with an off-color Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik. The scrolling message "No way! No way! No way! No way?" should appear at the top of the screen. Press A+B+C to play a secret Special Stage.

Unlimited Special Stages: For unlimited hidden stages, Lock-On Sonic & Knuckles with Sonic 1. A screen should appear with a properly colored Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik. The message "No way! No way! No way! No way?" will scroll at the top of the screen. Press A+B+C to get a password and some instructions. Hope you've got alot of time on your hands!

Sonic 2 & Knuckles Level-Select: When Sonic & Knuckles is "Locked-On" with Sonic 2, you can access a level-select by pressing the following sequence at the title screen: Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A + START. You'll hear a Ring chime if you've done it correctly. Now you can select your Zone as Knuckles.

Sonic 2 & Knuckles Construction Mode: At the Sound Test on the level-select screen, play the following tracks: 1, 9, 9, 4, 1, 0, 1, 8. You should hear a Ring chime if you've put the code in correctly. Now hold down "A" and select your Zone. Controls are as follows:

Sonic 3 & Knuckles Level-Select: When Sonic & Knuckles is "Locked-On" with Sonic 3, start a normal game as any character. Grab onto one of the swinging vines in the Angel Island Zone and press: Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Up, Up, Up, START. You should hear a Ring chime. (NOTE: To get this trick to work with Sonic Jam, simply pause the game and select "Restart Game". You should be brought back to the title screen. Now select the third "Sound Test" option.)

Level-Select: (Sonic & Knuckles Collection) Choose "Sonic & Knuckles", then choose any character and go to the Angel Island Zone. Grab onto one of the swinging vines and press: Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Right, Up, Up, Up. You should hear a Ring chime. Now return to the title screen and select the new "Sound Test" option.