The Peel Out has been re-named the "Strike Dash", but it performs the same function. (Apparently, you're invincible for a short time immediately after dashing off, but I was never able to confirm this.) A new incredibly handy new move is the Flying Spin Attack, whereby you can curl into a Sonic Spin for a few seconds after bouncing off a spring. (The first boss is designed to take advantage of this maneuver.) It's a wonder it was never worked in to later titles, as it really is quite functional. I rank it right up there with the Spin Dash.

   Tails gets access to a special vehicle in Tidal Plant: the Sea Fox, a mini submarine complete with drill head (for mining through certain walls) and torpedo gun (for taking out Badniks with style!). While in the Sea Fox, Tails' air supply is unlimited; and it also has a special "dash" move. On the surface, you can leap in and out at will, but if you take damage, it's gone for the remainder of the Act. So don't take damage.

   This time, there are only two kindsa Special Stages: three 2D stages and two "3D" stages. You enter all of 'em the same way...pop open a Chaos Emerald monitor with at least 50 Rings in the bank. Then leap into the Star Circle that appears (first 8-bit Sonic title to use Star Circles!). And hey, don't freak out too much about your Ring tally...now when you take damage, you don't lose all of your Rings.

   The 3D ones are just poofy, impossible-to-lose rounds where you're flying into Ring clusters via the Tornado. The object is to collect 80 Rings by the end of the flight. (The first one is daytime, the second is under the stars.) The 2D ones are the real deal: massive labyrinthine arenas filled with springs, bumpers, invisible platforms, and all that good stuff. The object, of course, is to make it to the end within the time limit, and that is NO cakewalk. (Bust open clock monitors for extra time.) At the end of each (2D and 3D alike), you get to wail on Fang, whose air-bike seems to have as many hedgehog-hurting attachments as Robotnik's Egg-Mobile. Defeat him, and you get... [insert Chaos Emerald chime] A Chaos Emerald!

   There are monitor item's a-plenty this time around:

• Super Ring -- Worth 10 Rings
• Power Sneakers -- Temporarily raises your speed
• Invincibility -- Makes you invincible for a short time
• 1-Up -- You get an extra chance
• Chaos Emerald -- If you've got at least 50 Rings, it opens the gate to the Special Stage
• Marker -- Holds your spot in the level
• Time Bonus -- (2D Special Stages only) Gives you extra time
• Rocket Shoes -- (Sonic only) Sends you rocketing through the air for a brief period. Hit 1 or 2 to cut a spin for no apparent reason.
• Hyper Heli-Tails -- (Tails only) Sends you flying at double-speed for a brief period. Has essentially the same effect as Sonic's Rocket Shoes.
• Jet Board -- (Sonic in Robotnik Winter only) Use it to snowboard at super speed! Press 1 or 2 to jump, or press twice quickly to jump off the board. You also lose it if you take a hit.
• Propeller Shoes -- (Sonic in Tidal Plant only) Works just like Rocket Shoes, only underwater. Like Sonic's Jet Board, there's only one of these in the whole game.
• Pogo Spring -- Just like from Sonic Chaos, only now you get 'em in monitors!

   And once again, you get different effects by spinning different pictures on the Bonus Panel:

• Flicky -- Nothing happens
• Ring -- You get 10 Rings
• Sonic -- Sonic gets an extra life, Tails gets 10,000 points
• Tails -- Tails gets an extra life, Sonic gets 10,000 points
• Knuckles -- You get a continue
• Chaos Emerald -- You start the next Act with 50 Rings
• Blank -- Spin it again, binky!

   The new set of Zones aaare:

• Great Turquoise -- Love them tropics, dude! Pretty lagoons, dancing flowers, and springs in the palmtrees!
• Sunset Park -- It's a wild roller coaster against an orange sunset sky. Perfect spot for a date, except maybe for the exploding platforms and stuff, but hey... It's got a really cool train boss, too!
• Meta Junglira -- The second of only two jungle-themed Zones in all of Sonic history! Jump into the baskets to be shot upward, and don't sink in the mud. Because I said so, young mister!
• Robotnik Winter -- It's a wintery wasteland, but I think the blue flames are really cool... Sonic gets to snowboard over the first chunk of Act 1.
• Tidal Plant -- This ain't your ordinary underwater Zone, kids...it's HARD. A massive underwater labyrinth with too many dead ends and not enough air bubbles. It's not such a hassle as Tails in the Sea Fox, provided you don't suck and can keep the sub for awhile.
• Atomic Destroyer -- Visually it's quite similar to Electric Egg, but in terms of design, it follows the gimmick of Scrambled Egg: a massive maze of pipes. I guess this is what they'd call a pipe nightmare! *snicker*

• Triple Trouble was the first 16-meg Game Gear cartridge.
• In the Japanese version (Sonic & Tails 2), there was an option to play the 3D Special Stage right from the title screen. This option was shown in the US instruction manual, but for some reason was knocked out of the final domestic version. And to think of the countless hours I wasted pressing random button combos at the title screen trying to unlock it...
• The music for the train boss of Sunset Park is a revamped version of an unused tune from Sonic Chaos.