Sonic Adventure/Sonic

Sonic Adventure is a great game to speed run in a live race or otherwise. It is full of glitches[1], some of which are useful for sequence breaking. The risk vs reward nature of different skips makes it a great game to race as the route can change in real time depending on one's risk tolerance and standing.

This page will refer to all versions of Sonic Advenuture and Sonic Advenuture DX. Skips that only work in certain versions will be noted and work in all versions if not noted, and will be listed in order from most difficult to easiest when one section has multiple options to skip.

Techniques

Spindash Jumping

Performing a jump after spindashing on a slope produces absurd height and distance.

Camera Locking

With the default camera option, L+R will lock the camera behind Sonic. This is useful in getting the camera to behave for many skips. In Sonic Advnture DX there are multiple camera modes which are useful for in-level times and a couple of very specific skips, but in a race it's an optional time-waster.

DX Collision

In the DX version certain seams on walls can be passed through with the right speed and direction. For Sonic this includes an area at the beginning of Emerald Coast, a high area in Casinopolis, and just before snowboarding in Ice Cap.

Light Speed Dash

If you upgrade Sonic's light speed dash with the crystal bracelet (?) it will allow Sonic to charge twice as fast and will hit Chaos 6 for twice the damage when fully charged. Three light speed dashes are required in all the levels making the crystal bracelet a real time-saver.

The light speed dash can also be used to go through certain pieces of level geometry such as in Ice Cap.

Hovering

Tutorial by gamepro011:

Pause Phasing

Tutorial by gamepro011:

Story Mode

Emerald Coast

(DX only) At the start, there is a tiny island to the left. A spindash-jump-homing attack through the right spot in the invisible wall can get Sonic onto the geometry where the sand touches the water. You can also get behind the invisible wall easily near the wooden bridge, but this doesn't save any time.

On the first wooden bridge near the beginning, a spindash-jump takes you to just before the first loop.

Right after the checkpoint following the first boost ramp, before turning right and running up the wall, you can stand on top of the barrier to the left and spindash-jump left to the loops just before the whale. This jump is one of the trickier ones.

During the whale scene, lock the camera and spindash repeatedly.

You can spindash up the left face of the mountain with springs next to the lighthouse.

In the second section of the level, before the tube Sonic runs around, jump off to the shallow water to the left. The boost ramp is just ahead.

After that boost ramp, a dash-jump angled rightward can get Sonic on the next island (near a 1-up) leading toward a spring and an upward curve near some boost pads (see below)

At the boost pads that take you up a straight track, go right to the beach and take the spring at the end. Look at all those jump panels you skipped.

Mystic Ruins

You can spindash jump from the train tracks to the area where the boss loads.

Egg Hornet

When you first homing attack the boss, just furiously mash the homing attack button to kill him in one cycle.

Windy Valley

Station Square

The dumb looking bracelet takes about 10 seconds to get. It will save time by decreasing the 3 forced light speed dash charge up times and can also kill Chaos 6 in 2 hits.

Casinopolis

(DX-only) There is a very difficult skip that lands you straight in the Emerald room.

Take the NiGHTS pinball machine since it's easier to lose faster. Tilting can help if done well but take more time if done poorly.

In the sewers go forward in the first large vent room. Part way through turn around and go back, then make a left in the first large vent room. At the second large vent room go forwards. This route should get you the needed 400 rings.

Ice Cap

After the first room there's a big hillside. There are two ways to get up on the ledge to the second area: - You can spindash to the top and and then spindash-jump to the ledge. - Or you can go straight for the second-to-last jump panel and jump there. - (It's also possible to hit the second jump panel, reachable at the bottom-right of this section; it is somewhat more reliable but slower than the other options.)

In the second area there are three skips to get to the third area immediately after hitting the first checkpoint: - To the right (Sonic's left) of the ledge and cave exit, there is the door that will drop open when the giant icicle falls. You can spindash-jump-homing attack through the left half of this door. The collision is a little wonky. - You can jump on top of the cave exit and spindash-jump upwards off of it. Sonic will go up and over the small fence on the upper track. This is easier in the DX version - You can light speed dash to the rings through the ground on the left (Sonic's right) which will take you on the upper track.

(DX only) In the third area before going through the wooden barrier to ride the snowboard, you can go through a specific spot in the wall to the left. The spot is the second or third "angle" away from the barrier, and when standing facing it Sonic's right foot should be on or near a particularly long line in the floor texture. Line it up and lock the camera, then just hold all the way forward. If Sonic is clipping into the wall you are doing it correctly, just keep running at it full strength and eventually Sonic will phase through the wall and fall. Fall a little left and forward for best results. Rotate the camera a bit so you can see the geometry load pop in and position landing. Then you're in the Snowboard section on foot which is just awesome.

The above technique is essential for optimizing in-game time since the clock is stopped before the scripted sequence where Sonic hops on the snowboard, but since that's where Sonic starts from if the stage is reset or if Sonic dies, it's imperative to land (lest you hit a kill plane). That is to say, you only get one chance to do this since death places Sonic on the snowboard automatically.

Chaos 4

Chaos 4's behavior is particularly erratic, making him a major foil for full runs. His pattern can be slightly manipulated into making himself vulnerable by keeping Sonic in the air near to where he is. (Knuckles and Tails' ability to stay in the air longer means they will have an easier time with this, but the strategy works for all 3 characters.)

Twinkle Park

Since the acceleration of the karts in the first segment are controlled by Sonic's ring count, it's important to collect rings before starting a single-segment run; the best place to do this is with the ring trail leading toward the entrance to Casinopolis; your ring count will not be set to zero on stage entrance. Be careful not to take a hit at the start of the level!

Sonikkustar is a real G and drives the car on the wall at certain points for a better time.

After getting out of the car you can jump in the hole just right and hold a direction to avoid entering the roller coaster.

Before Sonic exits the roller coaster start holding either up and right or up and left. Sonic will not go down the hole. Run on the tracks and fall down to a platform.

The next three spindash-jumps comprise a route after riding the coaster, but there are more routes and skips in this level:

Up against the wall there is a ramp or guard rail. Get on it and spindash-jump upwards. There is a roof ahead and on the left with a spring on it.

Spindash-jump from one big ramp with a spike ball to the other. From the second you can spindash towards the ledges on top of the castle. The spring to the right takes you to the last opening in the level.

Speed Highway

When the path splits in two right by the start, heading toward the right path and then onto to the building next to it is recommended; using a few spin dashes should get Sonic to the top of it (you should see a 1-up). Getting close to the top and angling a dash-jump rightward should get Sonic to the portion of the level after the helicopter ride, but this is quite tricky to pull off!

to do: three ways to skip to the helicoptor

to do: three ways to skip to last rocket

During the long cinematic run down a building start rolling. Now you can just go through fences! In the Dreamcast versions this is a little harder and you have to use the right parts of fences, otherwise Sonic will stop spinning or even get hit. It's also recommended to hit the speed shoes, which are on the middle-right section of the stage (shift over to the row of windows to the right of where Sonic is to hit them) to make the segment a little faster. Note that while the fences can be rolled through without much difficulty, this is not true for the other stage hazards.

In the last section of the level where it's daylight run up the ramp/wall on the right at the beginning and use it to get on top of the building. On the right there is an upper walkway which has a slope on part of it, and on the left there is a building with a curved roof. Spindash-jump from the walkway's ramp to the curved roof, and from there spindash-jump forward towards the goal. Sonic will still go through the top parts of the building with no roof if you go too low to clear them entirely. Try to land in the fountain which will place Sonic at the ending pod. Another route is to aim left of the fountain and spindash on the ground to a spring left of the belltower. This spring also takes Sonic to the ending pod.

Red Mountain

This is a simple Red Mountain route and it can be improved on in many ways, and entirely different from what to expect in world record attempts.

At the start after grabbing onto the first rocket hold right to land on the upper part of the the plateu. Spindash-jump to the button enabling the second rocket. After grabbing onto the second rocket hold straight forward and while descending alternate between 12 and 1 o'clock once or twice.

On the mountain with the steam there are two ways to jump ahead to the mountain with the zip line: Spindashing to the top of the mountain gets you to a spring that does it. One of the patches of steaming dirt that reacts when you stand on it does it.

Spindash-jumps are your friend in this level, get creative.

For the last rocket which is right next to its button, hold left after grabbing onto it. After crossing the bridge when you first run down the track, fall off the edge right when the stone pillar in the background comes into view. It appears earlier in Dreamcast versions. Then hug the stone pillar and you can fall right on the ledge where the entrance to the second section is. It is easy after a little practice.

In the second section (underground), the lava level rises according to where Sonic is in certain portions of the level. Accordingly, by reaching some of the lava triggers early it's possible to skip through most of the level. Since the floating platforms tilt as you stand on them, they make for excellent locations to perform dash-jumps; it's possible to jump up from the first set of platforms to a small overhang, and from there do another spin dash heading backwards to ward a spring that jets Sonic toward the last part of the level. This cuts out almost all of this section of the stage and is fairly low-risk to perform. There are some other slopes in the level geometry near these platforms from which this can be attempted, but it's trickier since the lava can cover them up (the platform positions are always fixed to float on the lava)

Sky Deck

to do: "this must be the way to the sky deck!"

Sky Deck is interesting, as it's a level that has significant potential optimizations over the game's expected "good" times, though it has a few segments that are influenced by RNG and can be tricky to manage.

In the second section of the level, taking the path that starts from the left is probably a bit faster as it has fewer hazards in the way (such as the electrified spinners, which can be hard to get across, especially if the ship is changing altitude) and so can be crossed by spin-dash spamming. The climbing bars leading toward the next potion of this level (where the floor collapses and fighter jets are launched) can be ignored entirely by jumping, but staying toward the right side is advisable. This way Sonic is closer to the middle rocket which, if accessed quickly enough, can hit the cannon at the end of this segment as it rises up, preventing RNG shenanigans from affecting the cannon's behavior.

In the third section, dash-jumping from the elevator can skip everything through the hook that Sonic must grab. The entire last portion of the stage can be skipped by dash-jumping on the small slope after the rolling conveyor -- it's possible to land on the capsule from there -- but even if the capsule is missed it's possible to land on the switch that rights the ship again, leading to a potential loss of only a few seconds.

Lost World

You can get on top of the large decorative snake's head before the circular room with rising water levels. From there a spindash jump using the slope, but turning around and going back through the wall in midair, can get you up to higher levels of the stone snake room early.

If you enter the stone snake room normally, go left but do not press the button to raise the water level. Keep going around the circular track and you will spawn both the first door light button and the second water level rising button.

At the end of the stone snake room if you do not light up all three lights on the door you can still pass through it by using a well placed spindash-jump-homing attack on the right side of the door.

You can run from the boulder faster by spindashing repeatedly, but this will also speed up the boulder.

In the room with the button and wall walking panels, press the button twice. Run or spindash up the wall where there is a clear track and jump or spindash to the right of the dropping spike platform to get on top of it.

To minimize in-game time, hit the checkpoint before the rock chase. Ignore the checkpoint after this, and step onto the lighted panels mentioned in the previous line (from hitting the button twice) and then hit the reset option. Gravity isn't reset from the panels, so Sonic will fall into the screen (rather than straight down). Since the walls of the rock-chase room aren't solid, it's possible to guide Sonic from here into the trigger for the next segment by guiding him leftward. Because of the need to reset to the previous checkpoint, this will not optimize real-time runs!

Final Egg

to do: elevator death skip

As soon as you enter the platforming section, turn around and do a spindash up the slope. You should be able to get up within one spindash. After you get to the top, jump off and immediately turn around towards the tube.If done correctly, you should land in the section that leads straight to the elevator.

Note: It's best if you do this skip in Free Camera mode.