https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Mike89&feedformat=atom SDA Knowledge Base - User contributions [en] 2024-03-28T13:58:47Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.23.9 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2017-12-13T04:02:39Z <p>Mike89: /* Current Fastest Time */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://youtu.be/BTrtIg4aXJA 14:40 by werster]. Sonic 2 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *The piston clip works slightly differently to with Sonic - you need to grab onto the small wall below the piston. When it comes back down, it can't crush you, so it pushes you into the ground instead. Then simply jump off, and once Knuckles appears from behind the wall, glide and hold the glide until you land on the cylinder.<br /> *3 tap spindash out of the first teleporter, then do three sweeps on this next spindash to a) make sure you get good speed, and b) make sure the platform has moved high enough that you actually land on the next one.<br /> *Hold jump for the first bounce off the yellow springs, let it go just after the second, then hold left and glide and hold jump again for the fourth bounce, which should clear the mantis enemy ahead. Hold down as you land on the ramp so you aren't stopped by the cog.<br /> *The moving platform above the red spring is on the universal timer, which means that if you hit the red spring before about 33 and a half seconds, it will block you on your way up. To avoid this, try to hit it at about 34, by which time it should be out of the way.<br /> *Charge the spindash after the second teleporter a little longer, which should get you enough speed to get through the mantis enemy without getting hit. Then hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down. Let go of down and immediately full jump and tap right, the screen should start scrolling very fast, but it will slow down when you land. Do another mid-sized jump when you see it slow down.<br /> *Two things to look out for here: first, the bolt should be running down the middle of the screen, and secondly, watch the block that looks somewhat like a face in the background. As it moves off the top of the screen, jump a third time and you should drop through the ground to the final stretch where the boss is.<br /> *This boss takes three rounds. For the first round, you want to spindash from here and release it as soon as Robotnik turns to face right.<br /> *For the second round, the two eggs that are alongside each other should be behind Robotnik when you release, regardless of whether you're attacking from the left or right.<br /> *For the third round, simply roll into Robotnik once he reaches ground level, and jump for the last hit.<br /> A good time here is between 1:19 and 1:21.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *After taking the hit on the propellor, three tap spindash and do a full jump. Once you land on the second conveyor belt, jump immediately, wait until you're definitely past the platform above you horizontally, and start gliding across the pit. Land on the zipline, which is just beyond the three rings on the ground.<br /> *The slope glitch does work in this stage, but using it to get hits on the boss doesn't, at least not in the same way as Sonic. So just carry on these ziplines as normal.<br /> *Let the final spindash go until you hit the side of the button, then immediately jump and glide and hold down to break it.<br /> *Getting the one round boss here is very difficult. To start, line up on the left of the laser to force it left, then as soon as it moves move over to the right. Time the jump onto the first platform to appear with the music, then make the first hit, and tap glide to land back on the platform. You should get three more hits from this platform, then land on the second platform after the fourth hit. For the fifth hit you want to wait until the platform has moved directly under the laser, then hit the right half of the laser with your jump. This should knock you onto another platform, from which you can get the final three hits before it folds up again. You should actually delay the jumps for the last two hits slightly so that you get a quick enough bounce off the laser to get the following hits in time.<br /> *If you miss any hits, just follow the laser wherever you need to to get the remaining hits.<br /> *As the boss is exploding, stand near, but not too near, the laser and hold down. After the screen scrolls all the way down, quickly spindash and you can jump through the laser, saving a second.<br /> If you hit everything in this stage, you get 1:46. Missing the one round kill on the boss costs at least four seconds, and a further half second for every additional hit you miss in the first round.<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *Every jump on the final boss should be a full jump. The first two are entirely standing still, on the next three you should start moving as Robotnik's back foot starts moving and jump when the gap opens up, for hit 6 give yourself plenty of room and jump clear over the flame, then line up next to the back foot and jump straight up three more times. The last three hits are simply a case of jumping from the right position on the ground.<br /> This should be either 0:50 or 0:51 depending on how Silver Sonic went.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Sonic 2017-12-13T04:01:50Z <p>Mike89: /* Forewords */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://youtu.be/Z-q8d3xyIS0 14:58 by mike89]. Sonic 2 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> All acts here have an accompanying video that serves as examples of the routes described. These videos were made using Gens11 and all GMV's are available for download [https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1wj783fnkkv2dw/S2%20vids.7z here] if there's a certain set of inputs you're interested in. If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzO4NtvTGZiEGRqRjRb6N3FBtt9bLNtGR TeeNTee314's] and [http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1B30A5902E6F1AA Wersterlobe's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> If you download the GMV's, a recommendation is to check out the [http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8827 Gens version on TASvideos] which allows you to check solids, hitboxes, angles, what's happening offscreen etc.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the ingame-timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Emerald Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout as your roll out of the Death Egg. If you don't feel like adding all the times together yourself you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Any use of level select/debug mode functions are prohibited and runs should not be done with these enabled. Since the timer doesn't increment when frame advance is used, this will void the run even if accidental. Do note that this also means that a run where you game over without continues is lost.<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgeDiuemh5o Emerald Hill 1] ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good and you get this jump over the first yellow spring then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvGRPi2RrNQ Emerald Hill 2] ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *The ideal case is, after the speed shoes, to do a full jump on one of the following two frames, such that you pass by the right hand side of the moving platform in this gap (use the pink flower in the background as reference):<br /> [[Image:EH2-1.png]] [[Image:EH2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Unlike the older method for this jump, this will never cause your momentum to come to a dead stop when you land. If you get a low jump (ie. you jumped off the downslope), just pull back and go through the gap slowly on the left, 0:38 is still very attainable from here.<br /> *After the checkpoint, jump off the quarter-pipe, letting go of the jump slightly above the top of the ramp, then holding it again before landing on the invincibility box. If done correctly, you should be able to hold right and bounce on the buzzbomber up ahead, land on the spikes and hold right to the boss.<br /> Typical run here is 0:38, but 0:37 is possible with very clean execution.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFZ-3cXy5bM Chemical Plant 1] ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop, as you want to activate the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] when jumping over the spring.<br /> *The yellow blocks here are a [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Universal_timer|universal timer]] object that always clear the way at 0:11, so any time lost up to this point doesn't matter, as long as it gets here for 0:11. It's actually possible to beat this block cycle and save two seconds but nobody's done it in a SS before - however, Paraxade has in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_cp1_020 this IL] of the stage.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp, as you pass behind it, jump, hold right to activate the speed cap and hit the gap in the wall. If you hit the ceiling of the hallway you jump into you keep a fair bit of speed which makes 0:22 much more likely.<br /> This typically gets 0:23, but by using sinewave jumps and hitting the ceiling at the end, 0:22 is possible. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage and get 0:20, but it's very difficult and not considered worth attempting at this time.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZJu5DV0nmQ Chemical Plant 2] ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and just hold right. You should bounce off the enemy, hit a wall and take off down the slope, and just as you're about to land Tails should jump.<br /> *You should see three cross-ramps as you go down this slope - jump anywhere between the second and third ramps you see, then jump off as you approach the top of the vertical slope such that you land in the gap where the door is. If done correctly, the door should open. Make sure to stand on the ramp on the left of the door to activate the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Path_switchers|path switcher]] that lets you go to the bottom path ahead.<br /> *After a loop comes the big jump up to the top of the stage, which can be made significantly easier by jumping with no direction pressed, and then holding right to activate the speed cap. If you hold right as you jump, your jump will be significantly smaller.<br /> *For the last jump in the stage, just mash the buttons after you go off the platform before it.<br /> This strategy typically yields 0:40, but with flawless execution 0:39 is possible.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHuEhsmWjzI Aquatic Ruin 1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5LIoh7SerA alt. strats]==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the springboard up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too, as you don't want to be rolling for the upcoming jump.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. Another consistent method that still yields 21 if done correctly is to jump at the last pillar and bounce on the first shark located just at the right of the waterfall. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it. An alternative to this is to jump off the rotating platforms and bounce on the whisps (flies) which works very well if you didn't touch the water at any time (these platforms use a [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Camera_timer|camera timer]]).<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWjXVzmhBjs Aquatic Ruin 2] ==<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. The exact frame you have to jump on depends on at what pixels you hit the spring at. There are situations where there are 1 frame, 2 frames grouped together and 2 frames spaced out. The exact position you have to jump from also varies slightly meaning this jump is essentially luck. A visual cue you can use is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump. This does have the disadvantage of taking your eye off Sonic, which means you won't know if you've missed the jump - if you jump too high and you notice it early, you can let the jump go and do a spindash from the raised platform after the four arrow shooters. If you don't find the jump worth it you can do a safe strat as demonstrated [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XXGuRbcu3c here] without too much of a time loss.<br /> *On the spindash to the springboard to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here since the height you get is roughly proportional to the speed you enter it on.<br /> *At the end of this stage is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though. An audio cue you can use here is to release the final spindash on the fourth of five ascending notes in the boss music.<br /> *Make sure to jump on the incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:41-0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs anywhere from 2-5 seconds depending on how you miss it. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds over those times, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXjq7WqTNYQ Casino Night 1] ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block at 0:05 is on the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Camera_timer|camera timer]], so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper at 0:12 is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. Immediately after landing, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. There's a few ways this can happen with the bumpers: if you miss all of them, or only hit the very right edge of the bottom one, the jump through the gap is easy. However, if you get bumped upwards by the bottom bumper, the top one will shoot you at a difficult angle giving you very little time to make the next jump. This is easily noticed however and a &quot;piano roll&quot; as you land should help you make it through.<br /> *Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *When rolling down the flipper at the top of the stage, release right then very quickly hold it again, and keep it held all the way through the fall. This will, more often than not, make Sonic fall through the left-facing flipper at the bottom. Missing it depends on subpixels and cannot be manipulated in real-time.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:27 or 0:28.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQRx3jnXy5k Casino Night 2] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq2F2zEoSeg alt. strats] ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the top path or fall through to the bottom path. The top path is roughly 1-1.5 seconds faster but also harder. If you take the bottom path, when holding the second spring down, release as the spring reaches this height (watch for the top of the spring to come into line with the top of the blue section of the wall immediately to the left), and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_CN2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you take the top path, try to jump onto the spring and then hold a jump button to instantly start charging and also avoid accidentally jumping if you happen to pass over it. About a third of a second for a charge is enough to get you up. If you see Tails flying as you shoot up it's worth it to wait an extra half second for him to catch up to you and help break one of the three bouncy things, while it's not if you don't.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_CN2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spring stays in this position for eight frames and only four of them will give you the best result: falling straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom. From here (or wherever you end up), spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:56 and 1:00. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsXLQ4DcE8M Hill Top 1] ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it. If you land on the right you should make a small jump onto the platform moving up and down in the lava (which is roughly in a vertical line with the rightmost ring in the set of nine up above). This platform will be at its highest point if the stage has gone well so far. Alternatively you can do a small jump to the other side of the seesaw, then as you walk off tap left then piano roll a jump on the platform below.<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off. This is why you should not spindash on the first seesaw just in case since a spindash will be stored in the air and thus you have to burn it on the ground before the spring in order to not accidentally spindash off the platform later.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through anywhere between the first and the third ring, facing left as you land in the lava to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. The zip is possible to do between the following frames:<br /> [[Image:HT1.png]] [[Image:HT1 2.png]]&lt;br /&gt; <br /> *A tiny tap to the left to get some pixels between Sonic and the right wall before falling through the lava will increase the chance of getting a good zip where you don't have to bounce on the spring in order to proceed.<br /> *The most common and consistent methods of timing the zip is as soon as the bottom of the lava passes between &quot;RINGS&quot; and &quot;TIME&quot; or when the right rectangle hits the top of the screen (left picture).<br /> *After getting up on the correct floor, spindash and jump into the corridor roof in order to trigger the earthquake as soon as possible.<br /> *In the ideal case, the third door in the underground section closes behind you just as the clock ticks to 0:30. Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you got to the third door by 0:30, jump in this hallway and roll off the platform in the lava, which should be at the top of its cycle, and you should roll through the gap without touching the lava at all. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, you can reach them by doing a 6-tap in the hallway then cancel your roll as you won't have enough height to reach them otherwise. If you're not confident in the speed you can simply do a jump at the right time to reach them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:40 if the stage is more or less flawless. If your start isn't quite perfect, or you miss being launched over the ball of the seesaw at 0:10, or you don't luck out and get the extended jump height, it's impossible to do the fastest strat in the underground section, and 0:42 is the result.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsXLQ4DcE8M Hill Top 2] ==<br /> The early platform cycle is quite attainable in this stage, but it depends on one particular jump at the start.<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump almost immediately after releasing it. This should clear the initial ramp. As soon as you do, let the jump go because if you let it go too long, you'll land on the downslope and take too long to stop and spindash again. Ideally you hit the yellow spring at a very low 0:06. If you miss the initial jump, you can still make the regular cycle - but you still have plenty of time for that.<br /> *As long as you make it to the checkerboard patterned background by 0:17 you can make the early cycle here - that should give you just enough time to catch the platform at 0:21 as it's moving up. If you miss this, it's possible to catch it on the way down and still make it to the higher platform before it moves out of reach at 0:24, but this obviously costs two seconds over the &quot;full&quot; early cycle.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. The jump should also be as small as possible. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump. A piano roll will help you get the jump off the platform but depending on your subpixels it's possible to clip through it.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, slow down a bit to avoid hitting the wall next to it as you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *The most consistent method to kill the boss is to simply continue your roll until you get stopped by the platform. Then you jump up on the platform and stop holding right until you stop (for 1 frame if possible) then continue to hold right and roll off the platform. Alternatively you can also do a mid-jump and then roll off.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:57 on the early cycle, 0:59 on the half early cycle, and 1:01 on the regular cycle.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK8jOgN4U1I Mystic Cave 1] ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XITYKwkolNE TeeNTee314's video] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets at worst 0:33 consistently.<br /> *Beating the crusher at the start can save some time. A consistent way to beat it is to slow down a tad after the middle ring of the first triple set, jump and release when you're just above the second set of rings. Do a tiny brake at the platform and continue on. The jump in the first slope is not recommended if rolling.<br /> *The spiked platform that comes out of the wall won't move until you're a bit into the platform on which it rests, so a 3 tap off the stair where the spikes come out then a timed tiny jump is recommended.<br /> *If you're going too fast or slow you'll miss the vine that opens up the path below you after the moving spiked sideway pillars, say aim for a middlepoint of speed by doing a small jump to get out of rolling after a 6-tap.<br /> *When jumping on top of the unlowered bridge, you can either do a 1-tap and 3 tiny jumps to climb up or a 6-tap to save a few frames by skipping a jump, but this is not recommended unless you're already behind.<br /> *When reaching the final 2 crushers you can do a 6-tap to get to the goal post fast which could net you a 31 flat with an otherwise perfect stage. However this is quite inconsistent as you'll usually fall into the hole right before the goal post. The recommended method is to jump over them both then do a 6 tap with a jump into the ceiling to keep your speed plus avoiding this hole.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=304LOAvdXOc Mystic Cave 2] ==<br /> *A 6-tap followed by a tiny jump can earn you half a second if you get it right, but this is quite hard to get right so a simple 6-tap up the slope is recommended.<br /> *You cannot pass the bridge until it's fully lowered, so spindash and make a spindash across it as soon as it it. Then do a piano roll to jump off the crumbling bridge into the spikes to stop you, and finally a 3 tap to get down to the crushing platform from which you do a 6-tap.<br /> *When you bounce up, hug the left wall, do a 3-tap off the crumbling bridge followed by a jump and run up to the whisps (flies). If you feel this is hard, a simple jump to the ring box followed by a spindash is sufficient.<br /> *Stop at the first whisp and spindash off the ledge. Hit the speedcap as you come close to the slope and do another spindash on top of it. Hold right as you go off the platform to consistently hit the platform below. A 3-tap plus full jump as Sonic will make it across this gap, alternatively you can do a 6-tap and a half-jump.<br /> *Do 3 taps the whole way until the final spindash before reaching the boss room.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 4 hits, spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:42-0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eot_rwpyjrM Oil Ocean 1] ==<br /> *Do a 6-tap and roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *Jump on top of the cap of the fiery thing and spindash off it as it goes up. Alternatively jump to the platform just right of it and spindash off of that.<br /> *Hold down as you come with speed and you should clear the first obstacle, after which you either do 2 tiny jumps followed by 1 big one or 2 big ones to get up the ledge without getting stopped.<br /> *The IL strat here is to spindash and do frame perfect, subpixel dependent jumps across. However you should simply run and rolljump off the last upside down U shaped platform.<br /> *If your speed is good, either roll or hit right as you hit the oil to keep your momentum and try not to jump until you're under the oil canisters as this will save time (though if you think you're close to dying, don't refrain not to jump).<br /> *As you get to the 2nd stop, do a slow 3-tap and a late jump to clear it, then another slow 3-tap to clear the 2nd one. You might want to brake slightly as you climb the stairs. Then do a full jump to get stopped by the solid canister to the right of the green cap and do a 6-tap off the rising platform.<br /> *As soon as the last cannon reaches the score/time/rings, do 2 full jumps to clear the final fan. If you're low in the oil or passed the cannon while in the air you can make adjustments however.<br /> *Missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:32 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fozh69qyY4Q Oil Ocean 2] ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last sign post at which point you should start holding left. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and time a spindash as mashing might make you accidentally jump. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:41 and 0:42.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 10 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 10 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A83ISl_WTx0 Metropolis 1] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRjgWSgiRTQ safer alt. strats] ==<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap if Tails didn't follow you or your spindash was slow and spindash up this ramp. Otherwise just jump up with your momentum.<br /> *Run off the green ledge above the two brown moving platforms rather than jumping. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up. Keep an eye on Tails here: if he appears while you're bouncing upwards, he should appear at the bottom of the next ramp, so you want to make the speed cap kick in after exiting. If he doesn't, he should appear at the top, so don't activate the speed cap and go up the ramp, where he should be waiting below another set of yellow springs.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 6-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue (as the last asteron is reaching the top of the screen) is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. If you can see the second arrow platform facing left, then the third one will be facing up. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 4 seconds.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wttC145NuQ Metropolis 2] ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing. Alternatively, stand on the left of the platform, then start holding right as you see the bottom of the lava, then jump as soon as you see the platform.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Releasing right on any of these four frames will cause the level wrap to work:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met2-4.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> NOTE: Testing on Gens reveals that the window on that emulator is actually different - the four frame window occurs two frames earlier (so the first two frames will still work, as well as the two before those, but the latter two will not).<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDwApyrc2DU Metropolis 3] ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *Releasing right at the right time is the tricky part. As usual there's a multitude of frames it will work on, but they're separated into two 2-frame windows, as shown here:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-4.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-5.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-6.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you happen to pause on one of the three frames in between, hold right, release it as soon as possible after unpausing, and pray.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-111.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_Met3-112.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *If it's one of the following, holding right on any frame as close to the unpause as possible (except by holding right as you unpause in the case of the left picture since that'd trigger the speedcap) will make you wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:44 and 0:49. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs 8-10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> If you don't want to do the wrap, you can play through [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WGwBYqeflY this route] instead.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8qmnIR84A Sky Chase] ==<br /> Don't die. Be at the right side of the stage at the end to ensure 2:06.<br /> *There is a way to get a 2:05, but it's not consistent and the risk of dying is large. Simply do a 6-tap and jump off the plane just as the transition is due and you'll hopefully get it.<br /> <br /> You can keep a combo going by not jumping or standing on the turtles. Simply roll or spindash into all enemies and you can gain a lot of lives. This is recommended if you have problems defeating the last boss.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mikyrgtrk4s Wing Fortress] ==<br /> *As you start the stage, do a 6-tap that is released on exactly 3 seconds ingame time, then do another 6-tap on the booster as it sends you right.<br /> If you do a 6-tap in the corridor and jump to the ceiling to cancel it, you can jump to the ceiling above the Clucker and then trigger the speedcap on the &quot;long&quot; step of the stairs, trigger the speedcap as you run off that then tap left while falling down to make sure you hit the platform to make a jump. The platforms are on a universal timer and thus your time reaching this will influence the timing of your jump immensely.<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off. On the zipline after the checkpoint this will cause you to die.<br /> *On the second last zipline of the stage, quickly 1-tap spindash as you pass through the first of the 3 rings it takes you through and you should trigger the slope glitch. If you stop in the middle of the platform up ahead, you've succeeded.<br /> *Try to hit the steepest part of the slope up ahead, and once you begin zipping, rather than hold left simply tap it over and over - doing this means you'll consistently be able to spindash to land hits on the boss. You have to move into the middle of the arena to start the fight, then you want to a) make the boss move to the left (optional) and b) move into one of these two positions:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_WF-2.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_WF-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Then, as you see Sonic's feet change state, charge and hold a spindash.<br /> *After getting 8 hits, release the spindash and hold left. Once out of the wall, tap right and then left to stop rolling, and do a full jump as close to 7 seconds after you got the first hit on the boss to trigger the cutscene as soon as possible.<br /> If you do this correctly you'll get 1:44-1:47 consistently, depending on platform luck.<br /> <br /> == [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry-wZVbx3Gc Death Egg] ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50 (0:49 if done flawlessly), and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles Sonic 3 and Knuckles 2017-06-14T05:33:59Z <p>Mike89: /* Categories */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVk9NoulUiv62JVTJN4nNi5 Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Tails|Tails]] - Beat the game using Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK8e8sO9OE3hhzAIJAJS8LnCVANYkNsMO Video tutorial for Tails category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVZQACREnIZ0szOgyMhg4ob Video tutorial for Knuckles category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Game Mechanics and Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [https://github.com/Sophira/LiveSplit.RealTimeMinusBonuses|RTA-TB LiveSplit module] - A plugin developed by Sophira to automate timing for this game.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles Sonic 3 and Knuckles 2017-04-16T04:49:39Z <p>Mike89: /* Categories */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVk9NoulUiv62JVTJN4nNi5 Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Tails|Tails]] - Beat the game using Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK8e8sO9OE3hhzAIJAJS8LnCVANYkNsMO Video tutorial for Tails category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Game Mechanics and Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [https://github.com/Sophira/LiveSplit.RealTimeMinusBonuses|RTA-TB LiveSplit module] - A plugin developed by Sophira to automate timing for this game.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Co-op Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Co-op 2017-04-16T04:49:22Z <p>Mike89: Blanked the page</p> <hr /> <div></div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles Sonic 3 and Knuckles 2017-04-16T03:32:14Z <p>Mike89: /* Additional Information */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVk9NoulUiv62JVTJN4nNi5 Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Tails|Tails]] - Beat the game using Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK8e8sO9OE3hhzAIJAJS8LnCVANYkNsMO Video tutorial for Tails category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Co-op|Co-op]] - Beat the game with two players using Sonic &amp; Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Game Mechanics and Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [https://github.com/Sophira/LiveSplit.RealTimeMinusBonuses|RTA-TB LiveSplit module] - A plugin developed by Sophira to automate timing for this game.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles Sonic 3 and Knuckles 2017-04-16T03:32:01Z <p>Mike89: /* Additional Information */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVk9NoulUiv62JVTJN4nNi5 Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Tails|Tails]] - Beat the game using Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK8e8sO9OE3hhzAIJAJS8LnCVANYkNsMO Video tutorial for Tails category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Co-op|Co-op]] - Beat the game with two players using Sonic &amp; Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Game Mechanics and Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources.<br /> [https://github.com/Sophira/LiveSplit.RealTimeMinusBonuses|RTA-TB LiveSplit module] - A plugin developed by Sophira to automate timing for this game.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles Sonic 3 and Knuckles 2016-03-12T04:32:48Z <p>Mike89: /* Categories */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiF75JoAs0OVk9NoulUiv62JVTJN4nNi5 Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Tails|Tails]] - Beat the game using Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK8e8sO9OE3hhzAIJAJS8LnCVANYkNsMO Video tutorial for Tails category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Co-op|Co-op]] - Beat the game with two players using Sonic &amp; Tails.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Game Mechanics and Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-12T04:27:40Z <p>Mike89: </p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:53 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Act 1 of each stage links to a tutorial video by mike89 for that zone. Because the two acts of each stage are contiguous, having the two acts together in a tutorial shows how you would do both stages together, and preserves the context for some of the things you can do in act 2s. The times in these videos are towards the upper limits of what is possible with what we currently know, and the total time of all of them is 29:36, which gives you an idea of how much improvement there still is.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVa_jPy2Q4 Angel Island 1] =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you tap left just before going through the first ramp, so you hit the bottom of the spring up ahead rather than the side.<br /> *The vines at the start are based on how much time you've spent in a stage while the game is powered on, which is essentially random after your first attempt. You can hard reset them back to their initial position, but that one isn't really favourable.<br /> *When the screen stops scrolling for the boss, take a look at your time. It takes almost exactly 7 seconds from the screen stopping to defeating the boss if you do it ideally, but depending on when it ticks over to the next second determines whether the last hit is worth going for. If it's in the middle of a second, just wait for the fire to dissipate before attempting the last hit, but if it's close to a change in the second, then you need to make sure all the insta-shields go off perfectly. If done just right, the last one will make you invincible just before the fire goes off, after which you'll get the hit and then have the fire hit you.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> *It's possibly slightly faster to charge a spindash on the first crumbling platforms rather than bounce down, but there's not much in it and bouncing is much easier.<br /> *After the second pipe, simply mash the buttons and hope you get a bounce. There's two ways up: a bounce straight onto the spring, or off the slightly raised portion of ground, up to the slightly lower part of the platform.<br /> *The bounce to the lightning shield is important. The two jumps are both short (if the second one is too big, you'll hit the enemy above) but you also can't hit any walls, because the revolving bridge is on the camera timer and it has already started by the time you reach the checkpoint. Then you have to bounce to your maximum height or else you won't reach the above platform with the bounce.<br /> *The last pipe has a habit of slowing you down at multiple points, if you do a 2 or 3-tap spindash this tends to occur less often.<br /> *Again, you can tell what time you're going to get before the end: as the first step goes off screen to the left, add 40 seconds to your time and that's what you'll end up if you do the spindash at the end. The way that works is: after all the bombs have dropped, brake, then quickly turn right and spindash, and you'll be dragged along by the autoscroller. Once the trees appear, follow the pairs of trees in the foreground. As the 9th pair hits the left edge of the screen, the autoscroller will end and releasing the spindash will send you off at full speed. Once you hit the right edge, turn left, pause slightly and release a 3-tap spindash, then full jump once you hit the left edge. Ideally you just bounce the same amount on odd and even hits, but sometimes your odd or even hits will be too low; if so, you need to move over to the right on the second low bounce (either the 3rd or 4th hit).<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phB8SDe2VZU Hydrocity 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash off the spikes is a bit tricky. It has to be timed so you just catch the fan just as it starts again: line Sonic up with the third spike on the left, and wait for the fish to run into you. Then release a 2-tap spindash, tap left a little to land on the second set of spikes up ahead, then hold left once you move off of those, with the objective of hitting the enemy up ahead from the side: if you hit it on the top you'll bounce up and lose a second or so.<br /> *Land on the set of spikes at the bottom. You have to be at a dead stop before you can spindash off these, so try and line yourself up while falling.<br /> *Turning around after the second set of three rings over the water lets you slow down just the right amount so you can clearly see where to land on the platform. Once you land on it, the fastest way to progress is a 3-tap spindash and -very- quick jump. This is a fairly difficult (and risky) move; if you don't feel comfortable doing it, simply wait for the second platform to fall and jump across.<br /> *If you spindash while standing up against the boxes on top of the loop, you'll break into a run as soon as you do, stopping you right in front of the second box. So stop before the boxes instead.<br /> *The boss of this stage is really stupid. To get a good time, you need at least four hits while the boss is in the middle of the screen, all while you have no idea where you are relative to it. My method is basically as follows:<br /> *Start at about the middle, do a full spindash up the left wall, trying to time it so you go off the top of the screen just as the boss music starts. Once you go off the top, hold right, and you should get the first two hits. At some point between the second and third hits, release right for a fraction of a second and press it again. Sometimes you'll get hit and you'll have to do the fight in a slower way, but that's manageable. If you get the third hit, then between that and the fourth hit, release right twice in the same way, then do this again to attempt to get a fifth hit (you'll often get hit at the same time yourself: watch the HUD, if it flashes you got a hit).<br /> *The next part can go a few different ways depending on how many hits you got. If you have 4 or more hits, you will be waiting down the bottom while invincible, and regardless of which side you're on should be able to get two hits as it moves across the bottom.<br /> *If you have three or less, listen for the spindash sound as the boss moves down the left side: once you hear it, spindash up the left wall. On the flat ground at the bottom, jump and insta-shield for a second hit, and you'll get hit in return. Then spindash up the right side for hit 5, and quickly insta-shield for hit 6 before becoming vulnerable again.<br /> *Make sure you're facing right when the stage ends!<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> *As you approach the ramp, short jump and insta-shield. The checkpoint time actually doesn't matter, what matters is the time when you get crushed by the wall. Spindashing here actually makes your hitbox expand slightly horizontally, meaning you get crushed sooner.<br /> *When you respawn, do a quick 1-tap spindash and immediately do as short a jump as possible. You should bounce off the ramp. Hold down to roll down the ramp, then, as Sonic is over the top of the dark green tile in the ground, do a small jump and insta-shield. This one's kind of tricky, but your aim is to just pick up a ring from the set of three at the height of your jump. It takes a fair bit of practice to understand just what the height needs to be, and often it'll feel like it should work and it doesn't, but this is the best setup I've come up with. This should push you into the ground.<br /> *Hold right. The screen should pan to the left, then back to the right, and eventually downwards as well. Once this happens, switch to holding left, and the screen should &quot;bounce&quot;, and a short while later you should hear the braking sound.<br /> *While facing left, charge a spindash, and as you see the second ramp come onto the screen (at around 19 seconds), release it. Jump off the ramp and hold the jump for as long as you feel you need to - you should see the last current go past on your way up, that's about the height of the boss room.<br /> *For the boss, line yourself up on the dark green tile just below and to the right of Robotnik, and jump when the bottom of the ship lines up with the bottom of the pink section of the background. Then just continue to insta-shield for the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxarLsjAeXc Marble Garden] =<br /> <br /> *Hold right all the way down the initial fall, then switch to left as soon as you hit the ground. Use the wall below to guide your fall onto the steepest part of the upcoming ramp, then jump off both of the next two ramps as soon as you hit them. The platform at the bottom of the second ramp will sometimes just let you straight through, as well as the one at the bottom of the third ramp but this is much rarer.<br /> *Charge a spindash on the crumbling platform, release it on the ground and jump into the ceiling, then jump and insta-shield through the upcoming ball and chain.<br /> *Wait for the platforms just past the driller to move - REACT, don't anticipate, if you're too early you'll just fall.<br /> *Next is a screen wrap - hold down until Sonic is right next to the top of the screen, then quickly release and jump. Tap right just after jumping just to stabilise yourself, since you need to spindash next thing. After spindashing, hold right until the screen scrolling slows down, then switch to left and do a short jump, and you should land on the speed shoes when the camera re-centres on you.<br /> *The platform just after the spikes can be just about anywhere depending on how the stage has gone. If the stage has gone really well so far it's right up the top and you can jump underneath it and insta-shield off one of the ring boxes, but if it's further down the cycle you can either roll off it and bounce off, or if it's right at the bottom, roll underneath the ceiling and skip all of them.<br /> *Jump down out of the loop and hold against the left wall, then come to a stop and hold down to do another screen wrap. Sometimes you'll stop right behind this pillar, so if you can't tell which way you're facing, make sure you tap right before doing the next spindash. Full spindash to the right, then when the scrolling slows down, you're up against a wall, and if you stay there a spring is going to appear where you are. In order to progress from here, you need to spindash, then jump a few frames later - sweep all three buttons to give you three attempts at this jump. Once in the wall, hold left until you appear on the ramp.<br /> *Once you see yourself on the ramp, hold right and roll. You should detach from the ramp and then land on it again, switch back to right before hitting the ground.<br /> *Stop at the dip in the ground nearest the left side of the spikes above, and hold down for a third screenwrap. This time, hold right just a fraction before jumping - you'll find it helps both in making the next part go slightly faster, as well as preventing you from doing a spindash instead of a jump. Continue holding right, then once the screen starts scrolling faster for an extended period, switch to holding left. Sometimes you'll get stuck on a ledge up top, if this happens just jump down from it and carry on.<br /> *Jump down the slopes as you would have at the start, except that this time as you go down the second one, hold left slightly, this will keep you away from the opposite facing slope. Once at the bottom, make your way into the pit (where the spikes are in the normal stage), hold down, and prepare for the hardest part of the run.<br /> *The safest way to make your way into the middle here is to do spindashes; however, you've gotta do them pretty quickly, otherwise the drill hits you, and any hit here ends the run because it changes the screen position. You need to do nine spindashes here, the 6th one gets the first hit, then do two more, and HOLD the 8th one until you hear the sound for a hit, then release it and do a 9th spindash, which you hold until the boss comes all the way back up. That should get five hits. Now hold right so you move to the left edge, and charge another spindash. Hold it and get hit - you're OK to get hit if you're on the very left edge of the screen - and tap left to move towards the middle and hold one more spindash for the last two hits.<br /> *Now, it's still not over! You should be able to see a silhouette of Sonic as the boss explodes, remember your position in the wall and, as the capsule passes over it, jump. If you jump at the wrong time, you can no longer complete the stage, so be very careful!<br /> *Finally, in order to end the stage safely, hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down, then hold right and quickly switch back to left (if you hold right for too long, you can run right underneath the crusher that appears and die). After the bonus tally the game will play the transition to Carnival Night, adding three seconds to your time.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmePHdfBS14 Carnival Night 1] =<br /> <br /> *Tap left a bit to slow down before approaching the bumpers after the first spindash. If you hit it too quickly you'll bounce all the way back to the barrel, losing time.<br /> *As soon as you land on the boxes here, the game thinks you're standing on the wheel and changes the physics accordingly, that's why this stage plays the way it does. In order to get off the wheel normally, you jump. The lesson here: DO NOT JUMP or the effects of the glitch will end, and you need to keep them well into act 2.<br /> *After landing on the boxes, brake slightly so you land on the platform before falling; the gravity doesn't take effect until you land on something else. Face the ramp, charge a 2-tap spindash and release it just as the spikes retract. Hold left a little after you go over the lip of the ramp, you should land on the edge of the platform with the fire shield. Now hold left and roll as you go around the corner, but LET GO OF EVERYTHING before you hit the spikes. For some reason this makes the next part much more consistent than anything else we've tried. Now, once the spikes have retracted, but not before, start holding left again to go around the other side of the platform. Sometimes, instead of going around the corner you'll just fall towards the ceiling - the requirements are too precise to eliminate the chance of this happening entirely, but around 80% of the time you should go around the corner.<br /> *Continue holding left until you go past the ring boxes, then do a 1-tap spindash. It helps to imagine that, essentially, you're on a very steep slope similar to a backslash, and by holding left you crawl slowly up it, and you can spindash but only if you start charging quickly; if you leave it too long you'll just roll and jump and have to set the glitch up again.<br /> *Once you pass the left edge of the screen and it starts panning back to the right, you need to do two more 1-tap spindashes, except this time you can't see where you are. So it's a little more difficult, but the same premise as the first spindash should get you through.<br /> *Try to aim at the yellow block in the left wall before the boss starts. From here, hold left until the boss releases its spinning top and you see it hit the bottom of the screen twice while moving left. On the second bounce, hold down and you should roll down the wall and land on the top as it reaches the left wall. Continue holding down and charge a spindash, do NOT release it. Hold it all the way until you get hit, then let go of down. Move to the right edge of the top as it reaches the right wall, then as the top bounces off the boss start moving left, and roll off it as it reaches its highest point. Now continue to bounce on the boss and wait for the top to deliver the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> *Full spindash, don't jump into the ceiling even though the temptation is there, and switch to holding left as soon as you hit the boosters. Now you should land on a barrel - jump off it, while you're on a barrel is the only time you can without breaking the glitch - and ever so slightly edge to the right, landing on the clam below. Bounce over to the left and hit the side of the barrel moving away, then do a 2-tap spindash as soon as you land. Two things can happen as you go through the corner: ideally, you fly off the corner and end up alongside the barrel, or you stay on the wall, and after a second fall back down it and get pushed up into the wall. In both cases, the input is the same: press right to move right up against the barrel, then tap left. As the barrel moves to the lowest point in its cycle, do a 3-tap spindash to go past it.<br /> *From here, hold right and you will move left off the platform you're on. Then press left to go right off the second one, and stop at the edge of the gravity tube, and instead of letting it take you up, spindash. Now the screen scrolls up quite slowly, but you need to hold left to move to the right edge of this platform, and as soon as you're off it, do a 3-tap spindash and you should roll around the wall, going through a 10 ring box and into some antigravity platforms. Controls finally go back to normal!<br /> *A 1-tap spindash should hit the first two balloons, then use the yellow and red ones to get up to the next platform. Just run off the second one at full speed and you'll hit a balloon, turn straight around and stop dead on the third platform, 1-tap spindash and tap left slightly and you'll hit a balloon clearing the spring.<br /> *As soon as the barrel starts moving up you get extra jump height from it - enough to get up to the second barrel. For the second barrel you need to move it down and up four times, switching from down to up and vice versa as you pass the centre of the pendulum. As you go up the fourth time, jump as you go past the centre, then hold the jump button as you bounce off the bat, and the 10 ring box, and let go just as you make contact with the ramp in the ceiling. When you see Sonic stand up on the wall, switch from right to left and run into the wall. Hold left until you're most of the way down, then quickly switch to right so that you stop in the wall for a fraction of a second, then back to left again, and the booster should push you into Knuckles's area. If you don't switch to right at all you'll get stuck in the wall instead, this is really important!<br /> *The next spindash really should be timed so that you can get past the bumpers up ahead, but it's really tricky because what time they open up like this isn't something you can tell just from the act 2 timer. All these objects actually started rotating at the start of act 1! If you get past all three sets of bumpers, you can line yourself up on the side of the cannon platform, tap right three times to wait for the next set of bumpers to open up, and do a full spindash. DON'T HOLD RIGHT, if you do you'll just get thrown into the spikes. More likely though you'll get stopped by a bumper somewhere and just have to take the cannon up to the top.<br /> *Spindash up the hill, jump to start running again, then after you go through 12 boosters, jump and release all directions and you should fall through the two boxes like this. Then 1-tap spindash and jump. The next section has 25 boosters - I count them in lots of four, and in the middle of the 6th set of four I jump, then move left towards Knuckles.<br /> *Knuckles will only notice you if you're facing right, so if you just walk through this cutscene trigger the game softlocks. So jump just before you reach it and tap right in the air.<br /> *Jump and insta-shield at the top of the jump and you'll land the first hit as early as possible. If all the hits go well, the last hit should be just as Robotnik drops the ball - you actually want to do your last insta-shield a bit earlier than the others to avoid getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbXkeULmwvY Ice Cap] =<br /> <br /> *What you're aiming for with the pause on the falling platform is to land on one of three frames. Watch Sonic's head and try to get the top of it to line up with the bottom of the spikes: the perfect frame is where they're lined up nicely, but one frame either side of this one works too. While paused, hold right and keep it held after unpausing and you should be standing in mid-air alongside the wall. Next, do a short jump, don't press any directions yet, let Sonic get about halfway down the first slope and then jump twice. Because you're slightly offset from the actual ramp here, the first jump will merely put you back on the ramp, so you need the second one to get off it and onto the right-facing slope below.<br /> *As you land on the second slope, hold down. As you enter the wall, hold left, then switch to right for one beat in the music, then back to left. Keep holding left for about five seconds until you hear some rings and a checkpoint - you won't always hear the checkpoint but it's good to know where it is - then quickly switch to right for another beat in the music and back to left. Now keep your eye out for a pit that appears at the end - this is the pit in Knuckles's end to this stage, which is covered by a bridge. If you stand on that bridge, you lose the effects of this glitch, so wait until after you're certain you are horizontally past this pit and then jump. There's a few different places you can end up here; sometimes you end up in a wall and all you need to do is hold right to zip out of it, then jump down and you end up roughly here anyway.<br /> *Now jump on the right side of one of the mounds of snow with four little dimples on it (aim for between the two on the right) and hold right to zip. Once the screen starts scrolling to the right you'll see one of two things: a checkpoint or a switch encased in ice. If you see the switch, it's really easy, just hold right for a second or so, wait for the final corridor of Ice Cap 2 to appear, then hold left and jump and you appear in the boss room. If you see the checkpoint, it's a little more involved.<br /> *As soon as you see the checkpoint, move your eyes over to the clock. Hold left for two seconds, right for one, and left for one. Start attempting to jump on this last second, and as soon as you hear the jump sound, switch to right. Keep jumping while holding right until you don't notice the screen moving down any more. Then, when you see the top path with the large ring, jump again and you should fall into the boss room. Move all the way to the left.<br /> *As the boss music starts, short jump and hold right, landing on the upslope on the ground. Before reaching the right edge of the screen, jump up and insta-shield to grab a hit. With good timing you can get two more from the ground before the platform falls.<br /> *Dodging the ice blast as you go for hit 6 is actually trickier than it looks, the hitbox is much wider than it appears to be, particularly at the top. If you consistently get caught by it, it may be worth waiting half a second before jumping on the platform, which will put you at the top of your bounce when it's firing.<br /> *If for whatever reason Robotnik ends up on the left side of the screen after this fight, make sure you delay hitting the capsule by a couple of seconds. If Robotnik is still on the screen when the bonus tally is being loaded, it won't do it properly (the numbers just won't appear) and you won't get back control after it finishes.<br /> *Also remember that &quot;act 2&quot; will count towards your time if you let it tick over to one second.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXr08NUMz1w Launch Base 1] =<br /> <br /> *There's a certain beat in the music you can time the first jump with. You need to trigger the alarm but also not catch the lip of the ramp.<br /> *At exactly 8 seconds, step onto the rotating cylinder. Move a little way out to the right, and again use the music to time your jump off. Hold right down to the ground, then line up with the tiles on the platform above while waiting for the flybot to come down and attack you. Try and set it up so Sonic's toe is in the middle of the first tile. If you overrun it, you can turn and face the other way, and line up Sonic's heel with the line between the first and second tiles. You also have to give yourself enough time to scroll the screen all the way up - hold up until you get hit, then hold right as you fall and you should zip.<br /> *Once the screen scrolls back to the right, tap left and then hold down. You should see the screen scroll down after a couple of seconds, you need it all the way down or you don't stop at the boss. Once you see Sonic appear, release down and jump, then do a 3-tap spindash and fall.<br /> *You have no rings for the boss, but there's nothing to it really. Just insta-shield for every hit and it shouldn't be any trouble.<br /> *The second boss can still kill you after the first one dies! The spindashes are to dodge it but also to make sure that it kills you immediately after the bonus tally. If you kill the second boss too, in the time it takes you to fall to the kill plane here, the timer will start and you'll lose two seconds.<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> *The spindash at the start is frame perfect in two ways. First, you have to release a 6-tap spindash the very frame after making the last button input, and you then have only one frame to jump off the pipe to get embedded in the ground. Unfortunately there's no real way to make this easier, you just have to learn the timing. If you miss it, you can't go back up to the top and do it again because the positioning required is subpixel-accurate, so the best thing to do is to die to the flybots on the lower level, respawn at the top and try again. Hold right all the way down the pipe and if you land in the floor you should zip immediately.<br /> *Once the screen starts panning to the right, hold right for a little longer, then release all directions and jump. Tap left once you land, then charge a spindash. As soon as Sonic appears, release it, then do a new spindash for each remaining hit. Remember that the boss is invulnerable for half a second at a time, and if you do a spindash too quickly you'll hit the invisible wall on the left and stand up, and you'll die when it becomes vulnerable again!<br /> *Once you land on the platform, line yourself up with the curve on the bottom of the platform. It looks like the laser will hit you, but it won't. After the first four hits and the top part breaks off, leave the fifth hit just a little longer, so that the spike ball won't get in the way when going for hit 7.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQDfUmDiN4 Mushroom Hill 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash after the cutscene should be a full spindash. If you only do a 3-tap here you won't land on the switch. Switch to holding left as soon as you hit the wall and you should land on it.<br /> *Short jump onto the switch and hold left. There are three pauses on the way under the door, you probably don't need all of them but the last one is highly recommended. The first pause should be as you pass the black mushroom, then release everything. As you pass about halfway under the door switch to right, then on the last pause, switch to left, and you should get pushed into the ground like so. Hold left until you drop, then switch to right. Hold right for about a second, and as you get close to the edge of the wall, edge your way closer with 1-tap spindashes. Once you see the thin orange tree appear in the background, do one more spindash and then hold right. If set up this way, this zip has a 95% chance of working - you can consider yourself very unlucky if it doesn't work.<br /> *Move over alongside the tree to dodge the flames of the boss. For the third hit, jump out to the right and insta-shield, then after spindashing, wait until you hit the right edge then jump back to the left for hit 4.<br /> *The lightning shield is a bit tricky to pick up, because there's not a lot of room for the signpost to land. You want the post to land in line with the dark brown log in the foreground.<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> *When falling from the wind, tap left slightly during your fall but otherwise be holding right. You should land at the edge of the platform, jump immediately on landing.<br /> *You only have a couple of frames after landing on the mushroom to jump before it bounces you off itself. If this happens you can just do three bounces off the mushroom, and the third will be high enough for you to reach the red spring to the left, at the cost of about two seconds.<br /> *Hold down as you go through the loop, then jump out of the top left to switch to running, and do a second jump from quite low in the loop; if you jump from too high you'll lose speed before running through the tunnel. Jump off the unfolding bridge, and then again just as you go into the ramp that tries to run you underneath. When you see the ground below, lightning shield to clear the ramp.<br /> *Jump out of the next loop when Sonic passes behind the vertical section, you should land on this spring. Hold back slightly and you'll land on this ramp, clearing the enemy. Leave the jump from the unfolding bridge as late as possible.<br /> *Roll down the ramps after the tunnel, but jump out of the second and third loops because being on the ground can sometimes cause you to stop dead.<br /> *Hold jump until you get near this ceiling, then let it go and double jump when you think you can land straight on this left pulley here. If you miss it, you need to make sure you jump onto the left one rather than the right - it lets you go up to the top path ahead.<br /> *Hold down and let go to go upwards on the pulley. After 12 of these, as long as they all go up two rungs instead of just one, you have enough height to lightning jump up to the red spring and go up to the top.<br /> *Landing on the fire shield is really tricky, but you need it for an ideal boss time. If you overshoot, go back and get it.<br /> *Do a full jump from just after the last mushroom on the ground, and wait for Sonic to bounce back after hitting the radar, then do a fire dash to bounce on the boss. You should get six hits before it flies away. Jump and fire dash for the last two hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9TkEBx3K_M Flying Battery 1] =<br /> <br /> *Listen to the beats in the music, and hold right until you hear the seventh beat. Then let go for a fraction, hold down and wait until the screen goes down all the way. Press A to spindash and pause at the same time - what you're looking for is whether the top of the screen shifts at all. If it doesn't, release the spindash and hold right, and Sonic should roll all the way through the loop, then instead of entering the mesh cylinder you'll go straight past it.<br /> *Once you see both the invincibility and lightning shield boxes on the screen, do a full jump and you should land to the right of the invincibility. Continue holding right and you'll go through the wall.<br /> *At the first of the five rings on the slope, full jump again and you should land on the flat ground. Carry on holding right until you get out of the tunnel after the large ring.<br /> *When you can see the capsule below you, stop, ensure you're facing right, and spindash. Jump into the ceiling to maintain spindash speed while running.<br /> *Nothing difficult about the boss, but I take a hit deliberately to get Sonic's regular sprite back. That lets me see when I'm teetering over the edge of the button for the last hit, since that means I can just jump straight up and down and land on the corner. Once you land, don't touch anything until you get pushed out to the side, then you're safe to move over to the right. Whatever you do, don't jump!<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you start charging your spindash before the screen starts panning right, otherwise you'll move back into the teetering sprite and be unable to spindash again.<br /> *Wait about half a second, then do a full jump and hold right until you can see Sonic standing on the ramp in the ceiling. As soon as you see that, switch to left and Sonic will run into the ground. Now watch for these larger floor tiles, as the third of them leaves the top of the screen, pause, and switch back to right and unpause. You'll slow down and then &quot;drop&quot; - once this happens switch back to left and you'll zip out of the wall. DO NOT switch back to right until you see Sonic pushing against the wall outside.<br /> *Run through the cylinders, then jump from the back of the zipline and switch to left just before landing in the ramp. Land on a fairly shallow part of the ramp (so you're running about 30 degrees into the ground), and hold left to zip off to the right. Start mashing the buttons after around 3 seconds in the wall - as soon as you hear the jump sound switch to holding right and when the screen re-centres on you you should be standing somewhere on the corkscrew as it moves upwards. Jump up to the platform with the zipline and hold right all the way up the cylinder.<br /> *There are two ways to do the laser skip: one way requires the double spindash method to force the laser off screen and move through it, and the other way requires doing a spindash on a precise pixel. Both ways are shown in the video above.<br /> *When the platform gets up to the top, make sure to scroll the screen all the way to the right. The boss won't start until you do.<br /> *Stand in the middle and the moment the claws appear on screen, jump and insta-shield for the first hit, then spindash as soon as you hit the ground and you should get three more hits as it goes around. After the fourth hit though, you need to move away, because this boss will shoot fire at you if you're standing in the middle at any point when it's settled at the bottom. So as soon as you hear the 4th hit, release the spindash. You can either just take the hit, or jump over the claw - if you jump at exactly the wrong time though you'll jump straight up, if this happens then insta-shield and move away as quick as you can.<br /> *The boss now makes nine shuffling movements, after it makes the ninth one jump towards the gap, aiming to hit it just as the boss comes up over the threshold. Ideally that will get you three hits before it goes back down, then land in the gap and hold a spindash for the last hit. If you only got two, just hold the spindash a bit longer.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlWvnFFlMc Sandopolis 1] =<br /> <br /> *Watch Sonic's back spike as you push the block, as soon as it moves past the rightmost spike, you're safe to jump over the block.<br /> *Stand on the moving platform and charge a spindash, but DO NOT RELEASE it until it moves completely down to the ground. You want to use the momentum of the slide to help you get up the ramp ahead.<br /> *If you're really unlucky, once you get to the top of the ramp the moving block can actually send you back down to the ground. If this happens you need to catch it really quickly and move left to avoid going down the slide the other way, then spindash back up.<br /> *Ideally you get a really flat jump off the next ramp and go through the two sandfalls so quickly that they don't slow you down, but if your jump isn't quite perfect you can guide yourself to fall to the left of the second one and spindash. A full jump from just to the right of the sandfall should clear the rock and land you on the rising platform up ahead.<br /> *Charge a spindash and, when the spikes retract above, release it. The sandfall here will either stop you, or you'll keep a bit more speed and run up the ramp. Either way, stop at the top and do a full spindash, and jump off the flat ground to get up to the platform on the other side, jump on the rock and, as soon as you enter the sandfall, check your time. If you enter the sandfall before the timer ticks over to 24, you'll be able to make the early cycle up here. Roll after landing on the rising block to give yourself a little extra time.<br /> *After pushing the block off, line up on the left edge of it and 3-tap spindash and very quickly jump. This is like the jump in Hydrocity 1 but more difficult as the platform is smaller. Make sure the enemy in the rock is actually dead before you release the spindash.<br /> *The jump after the spring needs to be from one of the two small upramps, if you do it from flat ground or a downslope you won't reach the platform above and will have to go back to the spring.<br /> *If you get just the right angle off the jump after the loop you can sneak past the rising platform and save a few more seconds. Again, hold down after your jump so you roll through.<br /> *The fall at the end is tricky, takes some getting used to. You can just fall on the spikes and not lose much time, but unless you collect one of the rings that drops you won't have any for the boss fight, and taking a hit makes the end of the fight much easier.<br /> *Aside from the last hit, it's fastest to just have the boss jump out towards you. After the boss lands from the fifth jump, take a look at your time, then try to get hit about 2.5 seconds later. That gives you enough invincibility time to get into position and hit the boss from the right hand side. DO NOT insta-shield this hit, if you do sometimes he'll fall back to the right instead.<br /> *Depending on your time, you actually want to burn a few seconds here on the boss map to make sure the first moving block is out of the way for act 2. Each cycle of the moving blocks is 6 seconds long, and at 2:21 or 2:27 the block will be out of the way. So if you're at 2:17 or 2:23, each time you hit the signpost up adds a little more than a second, so hit it three times, and send it into the sand with the last one so it's nowhere near any of the boxes (which waste another second if they pop out). Also be sure to stand on the right edge of the screen too, as standing anywhere else will make you take longer to start the next stage.<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> *A 1-tap spindash and jump gets you over the block at its lowest point. After the next spindash, jump off the flat ground and insta-shield to give you control over landing on the light switch. Push the next block all the way since you need the lightning shield from the top left.<br /> *This is another stage where you can screen wrap - hold down while next to the door after the ghost capsule and spindash as soon as you see the scrolling slow down, you should appear on the slide. Do a sweep of the buttons as you get to the bottom of the slide, aiming to land between the two opposite facing slides up ahead.<br /> *After pushing the block past the third dot, jump over it and do a 3-tap spindash - if you mess it up, you can still save it by quickly jumping off the top of the springboard. Do a full jump off the flat ground, hold jump all the way down and hold left against the wall, and you should pass through the floor and into the sand. Jump straight out and 2-tap spindash to the right. 1-tap spindash off the next platform - you might have to wait for the spiked block to move out of the way. Hold left as soon as you release the spindash - if you touch either the sandfall or the platform on the right, when you fall you can actually end up falling straight through the door at the bottom!<br /> *Wait for the enemy to turn around or, alternatively, if it attacks you as you fall, wait for its head to retract, then jump up on the platform and spindash. The spiked block should be up and out of the way.<br /> *Using the moving block, line yourself up with the steepest part of the sandfall slope, then full spindash and jump off said slope. A lightning jump should be enough to get you up to the next platform. From here, make sure you're away from the edge, and hold down to start a screen wrap, then quickly do a 1-tap spindash, full jump and lightning jump. Then jump again as soon as you hit the ground to make the screen scroll quicker, and hit the sand switch at the same time.<br /> *After the speed shoes, ideally you want to get a high jump off the steepest part of the slope similar to the last one, which with a lightning jump will just get enough height to get you on top of this spiked block.<br /> *The jump over this rock is just to see where the platform above you is in its cycle. This particular jump is why keeping the lightning shield to this point is so important: if you lose it, you have to wait for the sand to catch up, which can take ten seconds or more.<br /> *The best way to deal hits on the boss is with the insta-shield, so the best thing to do here is to take a hit immediately to the spikes on the bottom, then when the arm extends use it to deal all eight hits. It's possible to get five hits in the first cycle, but doing so isn't any faster and will most likely just result in you getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEXDdz8ti4 Lava Reef 1] =<br /> <br /> *You can get randomly stopped by the ground at the start, right underneath one of the stalactites. Just doing another spindash gets you out of harm's way fine.<br /> *Make your way up the stairs three at a time by only moving a little right with each jump. I find the best way is to hold right and jump up to the top of the jump, then let them both go until landing on the next stair.<br /> *If you're really lucky, just as you hit the bottom of the slope here you'll get pushed into the floor and zip down to the fire shield and checkpoint. This saves between 9 and 12 seconds, but is very rare. But hold right all the way down the slope just in case!<br /> *Keep mashing the buttons all the way down on the spindash-activated elevator, until you have enough room to exit on the right. Then use the fire shield to immediately bring it to a stop.<br /> *After the miniboss comes probably the most frustrating part of the game... there's two different sections of floor just past the door switch, one with the seemingly randomly placed rocks on the left and the more seamless rocks on the right. Your aim is to do a full spindash and jump on the first frame you move onto the seamless rocks, because this section of floor is level and results in more consistent jumps, but what often happens is you just jump straight up in the air. The height you need to hit with the jump is VERY precise, Sonic needs to be almost but not quite fully above the height of the stair, so you need to hold jump for exactly three frames as well as jump from just the right spot. Takes a lot of practice.<br /> *Once you fall into the stair, hold left to zip, then tap right as you fall, 1-tap spindash and jump from the corner of the rock that juts out slightly, which should give you enough height to escape this room. Fire shield dash and hold left immediately after.<br /> *When you land on the rock in the middle of the floor, make sure you hold down - if you don't you'll run straight into the snake enemy and lose your fire shield.<br /> *When the spike platform moves up so that the top of it is in line with the ceiling of the corridor you just came in through, fire dash to the right. This will cause the next spike platform up ahead to start its cycle, and even if you miss the slope jump on the next platform you can still make it on comfortably. Move back to the left a little bit though, because there's a slight overhang on the right side, so if you're holding against the right wall you'll just fall back down. That applies to the second spike platform too!<br /> *Losing the fire shield isn't strictly necessary, but I find it faster because it gives you an effectively larger range on the boss. The arms normally sit just out of range of your jump but insta-shield makes it much easier to defeat them in one cycle.<br /> *Starting this fight from the left instead of the right also ensures the shots from the arms don't get in your way nearly as much.<br /> *When the hand is on screen, move to the rock on the left as seen in the video - if you kill the boss here the signpost will drop onto another fire shield, invaluable for act 2. Watch as it moves slightly up and down - as it moves down for the fourth time, do a mid-sized jump aiming to land on it as soon as it hits the ground. If in doubt, make your jump larger rather than smaller, because getting hit means you'll get no hits on that cycle, which loses 8-9 seconds.<br /> *There is an immensely difficult trick you can do to get stuck underneath the fire shield box as it appears. You have to roll underneath the box as it bounces, and stop Sonic's momentum and stand up at just the right time. If you can do it, you can skip all of act 2 all the way to the final outside section, and save a minute. However, nobody's ever done it in a single segment run. If you can, more power to you. It doesn't cost any time to attempt anyway, so why not?<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> *Take your time after hitting the first switch to see just where the spikes are. A lot of this level is seeing where in a cycle you are and responding accordingly.<br /> *With the rotating handles you want to jump when you're in the middle of the cylinder, which will give you the most height upwards.<br /> *Jumping from the first block with an X on it after spindashing should land you on the rock and run past the springs at pace. Then jump, hold left to line yourself up, and importantly, roll under the snake. Same reason as act 1, you'll just take a hit if you don't.<br /> *The next spindash is 2 taps, and hold nothing, to squeeze under the ceiling. Most of the time you'll lose your shield here, it doesn't really matter whether you do or not.<br /> *Ideally the insta-shield through here avoids damage entirely, but you have to react to where the spike balls are.<br /> *From the next rock enemy, again do a 2-tap spindash and hold nothing and you'll squeeze between the rock and the ceiling. Having no shield helps here because you can react to however the spikes are laid out on this cylinder.<br /> *Jump from the X furthest to the right after the checkpoint and you should land on the spike platform and run along past the cloud enemies. Again, these enemies will hit you if you're running but not when you're rolling, so you can either jump through them or roll under them.<br /> *Wait for the flamethrower to wave upwards before doing this jump. This way you can get bounced to the right. If you still have your shield you obviously don't have to wait at all.<br /> *To collect the lightning shield, you actually have to be much further to the right than you think you do. If you're a full box to the right of it, there's no chance of you hitting the 10 ring box instead. After hitting it, hold the jump button for a fraction otherwise you'll simply fall on the spikes.<br /> *As you go through this tunnel, picture Sonic in the middle of the screen as he would normally be, and in between the third and fourth sets of rocks, jump into the ceiling and you should land on the button. If you try to do it by slowing down instead you'll end up in the special stage, which just looks embarrassing.<br /> *As the second flamethrower appears on screen, jump off the ramp and to the switch.<br /> *Another stair clip here - spindash from the third X on the platform and jump from the fourth. The jump height is the same, but it's easier here because the entire ground is flat. Once you fall into the stair, tap left only for a couple of frames. About a second later tap right so you're facing right as you go through the tube.<br /> *Here you need to do a double spindash to exit the tube. This isn't as hard as it sounds, but the timing is a bit strange: you need to wait about a quarter of a second after the camera appears to have stabilised, otherwise Sonic won't be against the wall yet and will simply jump. If you miss, just tap left and spindash down the pipe, then tap right and spindash back up it and try again.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd7OyN_0tQo Hidden Palace] =<br /> <br /> *You don't get control until about the middle of the third set of tiles, so hold left until then, then switch back to right and spindash.<br /> *Once you hit the spring on the right, hold left. Once you hit the spring in the floor, switch to right, and when the spring sound ends switch back to left. This should carry your remaining momentum up to the top floor.<br /> *3-tap spindash off the teleporter and stop and spindash again at the checkpoint. As you pass behind the second purple pillar, do a full jump. You want to hit Knuckles from the left hand side, adjust as you feel necessary. Then just sit slightly to Knuckles's left and insta-shield every time he starts gliding, trying to keep knocking him to the right edge.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmF6lZM0hBU Sky Sanctuary] =<br /> <br /> *Stay put until Knuckles moves. The first vine you're going to jump on is on the camera timer, and moving over to the right is close enough to get it to start its cycle. If you just wait and release the spindash as Knuckles begins to move, it will be in the perfect position when you can move to it.<br /> *As soon as the screen unlocks, release the spindash on the bridge, wait to hit the side of the spikes, then hold left and jump, then as soon as you attach to the vine, hold right and jump.<br /> *Make the next jump from as close to the spikes as possible, and hold left as you're falling to try and land next to the spring. Ideally, it will launch you as soon as you hit the ground.<br /> *Jump from the flat ground where the pillar is, insta-shield the lightning shield box from below, then hold left to be launched by the spring, switching to right as soon as you hit it.<br /> *As a matter of habit I make sure I face left on this pillar here, since if you're facing right and accidentally spindash instead of jump after this screen wrap, you'll go straight into the pit and die. For additional safety, do the same as in Marble Garden 1 where you switch directions to right just before jumping. This should only be a short jump, you don't want to hit the wall or you're dead. Hold right all the way down, and lightning jump once you're safely underneath the pillar.<br /> *Full spindash from near the teleporter and short jump from behind the pillar over the spikes.<br /> *Jump onto the spring that appears. 1-tap spindash to the right and immediately jump, and lightning jump at the peak. If you miss, just hit the spring at the bottom and go around normally.<br /> *Metal Sonic is home to the only true randomness in the game - whether he stays still on one side or slides to the other is not in your control. However, by taking hits before the start of each vulnerability period, it actually doesn't matter which pattern you get. Time a jump so you'll be at the peak as Metal Sonic passes over the middle of the screen and get hit. Tap left and start insta-shielding. If Metal Sonic stays still, you should be able to get five hits before he curls back up again. If he slides, you can get three, then spindash and jump into him for three more if you're quick. Either way, take another hit while he's invulnerable and get the remaining hits in the same way.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7nZ7uRYk8w Death Egg 1] =<br /> <br /> *Once the entire torpedo cannon sprite has appeared, turn left and double jump and you should just make it up to the platform above.<br /> *Tap right slightly on the way left in the gravity tube, then switch to holding right just before reaching the turn. If you turn too late, you can still save it by mashing the buttons, this will keep you to the outside of the tube.<br /> *After the zipline, switch to holding left as soon as you go through the door, then switch to right just before going through the turn again.<br /> *When you land on these conveyor belts after jumping they change direction, so after two jumps it will be moving left and you'll get a little boost away.<br /> *Try not to hit the top corner where the door is, because it's a little slow in retracting sometimes and can stop you if it's not all the way in.<br /> *In the large gravity tube you can only move up and down. Move down slightly just before the second hit, and move back up slightly just before the third. Then move up, lining yourself up with the bottom of the blue bumper, then up slightly once you pass it to hit the orange spring. Move down a little to hit the top switch, then up again to hit the spring again and hold down to hit the middle switch. After hitting the last switch, hold up and line yourself up with the middle of the exit tube. Escape by holding right, jump a couple of times at the top of the rotation to make sure you go through.<br /> *The jump on this platform is to dodge the trigger for the light tunnel in the middle. Hitting this costs around ten seconds of going around in circles.<br /> *For the first phase of the fight, double jump so you're bouncing on the eye and line yourself up so you bounce straight up and down. This will give you the best chance of dodging any spikes that come straight up at you. The objective is to bounce like this for all eight hits, and ideally keep the shield on the way back down, although this isn't essential.<br /> *In the second phase, you can control which way the platforms rotate by which side of the boss you're on - if you're on the right, the platforms will rotate clockwise, and if you're on the left they'll rotate anticlockwise. The optimal strategy here is to bounce on the eye again, but this time to keep shifting from the left to the right so that the platforms remain on the sides and the spikes can't hit you. It's very difficult to adjust to on the fly so normally what happens is you'll get hit at some point, but you have the insta-shield and a ton of rings so you can just get the remaining hits from the ground.<br /> *If the fight doesn't go so well, learn to use your invincibility time wisely. Depending on your ring situation this can mean going all out for hits or prioritising getting rings first. I recommend going for rings if you only have one or two and you have more than two hits left to kill the boss - if you have two or less hits to go you can usually get those before your invincibility runs out. Also, if you have only one ring, it will always fall left, so try to be on the left side of the boss so you get hit that way.<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =<br /> <br /> *Delay the first spindash a little bit - do 3 sweeps of the buttons instead. If you go too quickly, the screen won't pan quickly enough and you can stop dead in front of the enemy who will gladly kill you.<br /> *Sometimes you'll fall straight into the tube. If that happens, then press down at the intersection, where there's another lightning shield, then go right.<br /> *Wait on releasing the next spindash until the platforms have moved all the way down, otherwise the star enemy is very likely to hit you.<br /> *You need to go most of the way into the tunnel to unload the stair platforms. Tap right after touching the left wall (and left after the next one) so you're ready to spindash immediately upon landing. 3-tap spindashes will get you through, even though the second one looks kind of close!<br /> *Always jump over the pit after the teleporter, even if you think the temporary platform will be on. If it's not, you'll land on a water shield, which will cause you to lose significant time.<br /> *On the upside down conveyor belt, you can hold up against the spikes because sideways spikes don't hurt you under reverse gravity. After bouncing away from them for the second time, switch to left and double jump out of the pit.<br /> *It's possible to do a very small jump off the slight decline, clearing the gap and not hitting the spikes, but quite difficult. Slowing down and jumping off the platform in the middle works most of the time instead - it'll only fail if the platform is at the highest point in its cycle.<br /> *After appearing in the top teleporter, do a 2-tap spindash and jump to kill the spike enemy.<br /> *Stop on the far left blue platform, this will cause the right side to move up fastest. As soon as the torpedo above you fires, double jump so you land on the far right platform, then double jump out of the pit.<br /> *Hold left on the spring in the pit until you hear the one you're about to land on pop out, then switch to right and you should catch the right half of the spring, giving you just enough distance to make it to the pop-out spring on the right side.<br /> *Release the spindash after the tubes as soon as you get enough room so that you clear the trigger for the light tunnel. This one costs about 15 seconds if you get caught in it!<br /> *Full spindash and immediate jump to kill the spike enemy, and do a lightning jump into the ceiling to maintain more of your speed.<br /> <br /> *On the first boss, move slightly out of the teleporter you appear in and then move back in, then simply spindash through each spike car as it lands on the ceiling.<br /> *For the second boss, move all the way to the left of the screen, and stay there until you can see the left hand appear after the 6th shake of the screen, then move across in between the two hands for the 7th. Release a full spindash facing right.<br /> *The hardest spindash is the second one, you only just have enough time to get back into the middle and set yourself. If you stop a little bit early by accident, you can still save it, just release the spindash a bit earlier, before the right hand falls.<br /> *Do the third spindash to the left, and the fourth to the right.<br /> *As the third tile falls completely off the screen, jump into the nose of the third boss and jump again into the weak point. For the third and fourth hits, jump over it and hold left all the way, this will help you dodge the laser.<br /> *If you really want to be fancy, as soon as the final boss stops exploding and the shaking sound becomes dominant again, do a full jump into the pit, and you'll bounce off Robotnik just as he comes up. This will speed the last part up, although it doesn't matter as the timer has already stopped.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-12T00:52:28Z <p>Mike89: </p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:53 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Act 1 of each stage links to a tutorial video by mike89 for that zone. Because the two acts of each stage are contiguous, having the two acts together in a tutorial shows how you would do both stages together, and preserves the context for some of the things you can do in act 2s. The times in these videos are towards the upper limits of what is possible with what we currently know, and the total time of all of them is 29:36, which gives you an idea of how much improvement there still is.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVa_jPy2Q4 Angel Island 1] =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you tap left just before going through the first ramp, so you hit the bottom of the spring up ahead rather than the side.<br /> *The vines at the start are based on how much time you've spent in a stage while the game is powered on, which is essentially random after your first attempt. You can hard reset them back to their initial position, but that one isn't really favourable.<br /> *When the screen stops scrolling for the boss, take a look at your time. It takes almost exactly 7 seconds from the screen stopping to defeating the boss if you do it ideally, but depending on when it ticks over to the next second determines whether the last hit is worth going for. If it's in the middle of a second, just wait for the fire to dissipate before attempting the last hit, but if it's close to a change in the second, then you need to make sure all the insta-shields go off perfectly. If done just right, the last one will make you invincible just before the fire goes off, after which you'll get the hit and then have the fire hit you.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> *It's possibly slightly faster to charge a spindash on the first crumbling platforms rather than bounce down, but there's not much in it and bouncing is much easier.<br /> *After the second pipe, simply mash the buttons and hope you get a bounce. There's two ways up: a bounce straight onto the spring, or off the slightly raised portion of ground, up to the slightly lower part of the platform.<br /> *The bounce to the lightning shield is important. The two jumps are both short (if the second one is too big, you'll hit the enemy above) but you also can't hit any walls, because the revolving bridge is on the camera timer and it has already started by the time you reach the checkpoint. Then you have to bounce to your maximum height or else you won't reach the above platform with the bounce.<br /> *The last pipe has a habit of slowing you down at multiple points, if you do a 2 or 3-tap spindash this tends to occur less often.<br /> *Again, you can tell what time you're going to get before the end: as the first step goes off screen to the left, add 40 seconds to your time and that's what you'll end up if you do the spindash at the end. The way that works is: after all the bombs have dropped, brake, then quickly turn right and spindash, and you'll be dragged along by the autoscroller. Once the trees appear, follow the pairs of trees in the foreground. As the 9th pair hits the left edge of the screen, the autoscroller will end and releasing the spindash will send you off at full speed. Once you hit the right edge, turn left, pause slightly and release a 3-tap spindash, then full jump once you hit the left edge. Ideally you just bounce the same amount on odd and even hits, but sometimes your odd or even hits will be too low; if so, you need to move over to the right on the second low bounce (either the 3rd or 4th hit).<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phB8SDe2VZU Hydrocity 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash off the spikes is a bit tricky. It has to be timed so you just catch the fan just as it starts again: line Sonic up with the third spike on the left, and wait for the fish to run into you. Then release a 2-tap spindash, tap left a little to land on the second set of spikes up ahead, then hold left once you move off of those, with the objective of hitting the enemy up ahead from the side: if you hit it on the top you'll bounce up and lose a second or so.<br /> *Land on the set of spikes at the bottom. You have to be at a dead stop before you can spindash off these, so try and line yourself up while falling.<br /> *Turning around after the second set of three rings over the water lets you slow down just the right amount so you can clearly see where to land on the platform. Once you land on it, the fastest way to progress is a 3-tap spindash and -very- quick jump. This is a fairly difficult (and risky) move; if you don't feel comfortable doing it, simply wait for the second platform to fall and jump across.<br /> *If you spindash while standing up against the boxes on top of the loop, you'll break into a run as soon as you do, stopping you right in front of the second box. So stop before the boxes instead.<br /> *The boss of this stage is really stupid. To get a good time, you need at least four hits while the boss is in the middle of the screen, all while you have no idea where you are relative to it. My method is basically as follows:<br /> *Start at about the middle, do a full spindash up the left wall, trying to time it so you go off the top of the screen just as the boss music starts. Once you go off the top, hold right, and you should get the first two hits. At some point between the second and third hits, release right for a fraction of a second and press it again. Sometimes you'll get hit and you'll have to do the fight in a slower way, but that's manageable. If you get the third hit, then between that and the fourth hit, release right twice in the same way, then do this again to attempt to get a fifth hit (you'll often get hit at the same time yourself: watch the HUD, if it flashes you got a hit).<br /> *The next part can go a few different ways depending on how many hits you got. If you have 4 or more hits, you will be waiting down the bottom while invincible, and regardless of which side you're on should be able to get two hits as it moves across the bottom.<br /> *If you have three or less, listen for the spindash sound as the boss moves down the left side: once you hear it, spindash up the left wall. On the flat ground at the bottom, jump and insta-shield for a second hit, and you'll get hit in return. Then spindash up the right side for hit 5, and quickly insta-shield for hit 6 before becoming vulnerable again.<br /> *Make sure you're facing right when the stage ends!<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> *As you approach the ramp, short jump and insta-shield. The checkpoint time actually doesn't matter, what matters is the time when you get crushed by the wall. Spindashing here actually makes your hitbox expand slightly horizontally, meaning you get crushed sooner.<br /> *When you respawn, do a quick 1-tap spindash and immediately do as short a jump as possible. You should bounce off the ramp. Hold down to roll down the ramp, then, as Sonic is over the top of the dark green tile in the ground, do a small jump and insta-shield. This one's kind of tricky, but your aim is to just pick up a ring from the set of three at the height of your jump. It takes a fair bit of practice to understand just what the height needs to be, and often it'll feel like it should work and it doesn't, but this is the best setup I've come up with. This should push you into the ground.<br /> *Hold right. The screen should pan to the left, then back to the right, and eventually downwards as well. Once this happens, switch to holding left, and the screen should &quot;bounce&quot;, and a short while later you should hear the braking sound.<br /> *While facing left, charge a spindash, and as you see the second ramp come onto the screen (at around 19 seconds), release it. Jump off the ramp and hold the jump for as long as you feel you need to - you should see the last current go past on your way up, that's about the height of the boss room.<br /> *For the boss, line yourself up on the dark green tile just below and to the right of Robotnik, and jump when the bottom of the ship lines up with the bottom of the pink section of the background. Then just continue to insta-shield for the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxarLsjAeXc Marble Garden] =<br /> <br /> *Hold right all the way down the initial fall, then switch to left as soon as you hit the ground. Use the wall below to guide your fall onto the steepest part of the upcoming ramp, then jump off both of the next two ramps as soon as you hit them. The platform at the bottom of the second ramp will sometimes just let you straight through, as well as the one at the bottom of the third ramp but this is much rarer.<br /> *Charge a spindash on the crumbling platform, release it on the ground and jump into the ceiling, then jump and insta-shield through the upcoming ball and chain.<br /> *Wait for the platforms just past the driller to move - REACT, don't anticipate, if you're too early you'll just fall.<br /> *Next is a screen wrap - hold down until Sonic is right next to the top of the screen, then quickly release and jump. Tap right just after jumping just to stabilise yourself, since you need to spindash next thing. After spindashing, hold right until the screen scrolling slows down, then switch to left and do a short jump, and you should land on the speed shoes when the camera re-centres on you.<br /> *The platform just after the spikes can be just about anywhere depending on how the stage has gone. If the stage has gone really well so far it's right up the top and you can jump underneath it and insta-shield off one of the ring boxes, but if it's further down the cycle you can either roll off it and bounce off, or if it's right at the bottom, roll underneath the ceiling and skip all of them.<br /> *Jump down out of the loop and hold against the left wall, then come to a stop and hold down to do another screen wrap. Sometimes you'll stop right behind this pillar, so if you can't tell which way you're facing, make sure you tap right before doing the next spindash. Full spindash to the right, then when the scrolling slows down, you're up against a wall, and if you stay there a spring is going to appear where you are. In order to progress from here, you need to spindash, then jump a few frames later - sweep all three buttons to give you three attempts at this jump. Once in the wall, hold left until you appear on the ramp.<br /> *Once you see yourself on the ramp, hold right and roll. You should detach from the ramp and then land on it again, switch back to right before hitting the ground.<br /> *Stop at the dip in the ground nearest the left side of the spikes above, and hold down for a third screenwrap. This time, hold right just a fraction before jumping - you'll find it helps both in making the next part go slightly faster, as well as preventing you from doing a spindash instead of a jump. Continue holding right, then once the screen starts scrolling faster for an extended period, switch to holding left. Sometimes you'll get stuck on a ledge up top, if this happens just jump down from it and carry on.<br /> *Jump down the slopes as you would have at the start, except that this time as you go down the second one, hold left slightly, this will keep you away from the opposite facing slope. Once at the bottom, make your way into the pit (where the spikes are in the normal stage), hold down, and prepare for the hardest part of the run.<br /> *The safest way to make your way into the middle here is to do spindashes; however, you've gotta do them pretty quickly, otherwise the drill hits you, and any hit here ends the run because it changes the screen position. You need to do nine spindashes here, the 6th one gets the first hit, then do two more, and HOLD the 8th one until you hear the sound for a hit, then release it and do a 9th spindash, which you hold until the boss comes all the way back up. That should get five hits. Now hold right so you move to the left edge, and charge another spindash. Hold it and get hit - you're OK to get hit if you're on the very left edge of the screen - and tap left to move towards the middle and hold one more spindash for the last two hits.<br /> *Now, it's still not over! You should be able to see a silhouette of Sonic as the boss explodes, remember your position in the wall and, as the capsule passes over it, jump. If you jump at the wrong time, you can no longer complete the stage, so be very careful!<br /> *Finally, in order to end the stage safely, hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down, then hold right and quickly switch back to left (if you hold right for too long, you can run right underneath the crusher that appears and die). After the bonus tally the game will play the transition to Carnival Night, adding three seconds to your time.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmePHdfBS14 Carnival Night 1] =<br /> <br /> *Tap left a bit to slow down before approaching the bumpers after the first spindash. If you hit it too quickly you'll bounce all the way back to the barrel, losing time.<br /> *As soon as you land on the boxes here, the game thinks you're standing on the wheel and changes the physics accordingly, that's why this stage plays the way it does. In order to get off the wheel normally, you jump. The lesson here: DO NOT JUMP or the effects of the glitch will end, and you need to keep them well into act 2.<br /> *After landing on the boxes, brake slightly so you land on the platform before falling; the gravity doesn't take effect until you land on something else. Face the ramp, charge a 2-tap spindash and release it just as the spikes retract. Hold left a little after you go over the lip of the ramp, you should land on the edge of the platform with the fire shield. Now hold left and roll as you go around the corner, but LET GO OF EVERYTHING before you hit the spikes. For some reason this makes the next part much more consistent than anything else we've tried. Now, once the spikes have retracted, but not before, start holding left again to go around the other side of the platform. Sometimes, instead of going around the corner you'll just fall towards the ceiling - the requirements are too precise to eliminate the chance of this happening entirely, but around 80% of the time you should go around the corner.<br /> *Continue holding left until you go past the ring boxes, then do a 1-tap spindash. It helps to imagine that, essentially, you're on a very steep slope similar to a backslash, and by holding left you crawl slowly up it, and you can spindash but only if you start charging quickly; if you leave it too long you'll just roll and jump and have to set the glitch up again.<br /> *Once you pass the left edge of the screen and it starts panning back to the right, you need to do two more 1-tap spindashes, except this time you can't see where you are. So it's a little more difficult, but the same premise as the first spindash should get you through.<br /> *Try to aim at the yellow block in the left wall before the boss starts. From here, hold left until the boss releases its spinning top and you see it hit the bottom of the screen twice while moving left. On the second bounce, hold down and you should roll down the wall and land on the top as it reaches the left wall. Continue holding down and charge a spindash, do NOT release it. Hold it all the way until you get hit, then let go of down. Move to the right edge of the top as it reaches the right wall, then as the top bounces off the boss start moving left, and roll off it as it reaches its highest point. Now continue to bounce on the boss and wait for the top to deliver the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> *Full spindash, don't jump into the ceiling even though the temptation is there, and switch to holding left as soon as you hit the boosters. Now you should land on a barrel - jump off it, while you're on a barrel is the only time you can without breaking the glitch - and ever so slightly edge to the right, landing on the clam below. Bounce over to the left and hit the side of the barrel moving away, then do a 2-tap spindash as soon as you land. Two things can happen as you go through the corner: ideally, you fly off the corner and end up alongside the barrel, or you stay on the wall, and after a second fall back down it and get pushed up into the wall. In both cases, the input is the same: press right to move right up against the barrel, then tap left. As the barrel moves to the lowest point in its cycle, do a 3-tap spindash to go past it.<br /> *From here, hold right and you will move left off the platform you're on. Then press left to go right off the second one, and stop at the edge of the gravity tube, and instead of letting it take you up, spindash. Now the screen scrolls up quite slowly, but you need to hold left to move to the right edge of this platform, and as soon as you're off it, do a 3-tap spindash and you should roll around the wall, going through a 10 ring box and into some antigravity platforms. Controls finally go back to normal!<br /> *A 1-tap spindash should hit the first two balloons, then use the yellow and red ones to get up to the next platform. Just run off the second one at full speed and you'll hit a balloon, turn straight around and stop dead on the third platform, 1-tap spindash and tap left slightly and you'll hit a balloon clearing the spring.<br /> *As soon as the barrel starts moving up you get extra jump height from it - enough to get up to the second barrel. For the second barrel you need to move it down and up four times, switching from down to up and vice versa as you pass the centre of the pendulum. As you go up the fourth time, jump as you go past the centre, then hold the jump button as you bounce off the bat, and the 10 ring box, and let go just as you make contact with the ramp in the ceiling. When you see Sonic stand up on the wall, switch from right to left and run into the wall. Hold left until you're most of the way down, then quickly switch to right so that you stop in the wall for a fraction of a second, then back to left again, and the booster should push you into Knuckles's area. If you don't switch to right at all you'll get stuck in the wall instead, this is really important!<br /> *The next spindash really should be timed so that you can get past the bumpers up ahead, but it's really tricky because what time they open up like this isn't something you can tell just from the act 2 timer. All these objects actually started rotating at the start of act 1! If you get past all three sets of bumpers, you can line yourself up on the side of the cannon platform, tap right three times to wait for the next set of bumpers to open up, and do a full spindash. DON'T HOLD RIGHT, if you do you'll just get thrown into the spikes. More likely though you'll get stopped by a bumper somewhere and just have to take the cannon up to the top.<br /> *Spindash up the hill, jump to start running again, then after you go through 12 boosters, jump and release all directions and you should fall through the two boxes like this. Then 1-tap spindash and jump. The next section has 25 boosters - I count them in lots of four, and in the middle of the 6th set of four I jump, then move left towards Knuckles.<br /> *Knuckles will only notice you if you're facing right, so if you just walk through this cutscene trigger the game softlocks. So jump just before you reach it and tap right in the air.<br /> *Jump and insta-shield at the top of the jump and you'll land the first hit as early as possible. If all the hits go well, the last hit should be just as Robotnik drops the ball - you actually want to do your last insta-shield a bit earlier than the others to avoid getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbXkeULmwvY Ice Cap] =<br /> <br /> *What you're aiming for with the pause on the falling platform is to land on one of three frames. Watch Sonic's head and try to get the top of it to line up with the bottom of the spikes: the perfect frame is where they're lined up nicely, but one frame either side of this one works too. While paused, hold right and keep it held after unpausing and you should be standing in mid-air alongside the wall. Next, do a short jump, don't press any directions yet, let Sonic get about halfway down the first slope and then jump twice. Because you're slightly offset from the actual ramp here, the first jump will merely put you back on the ramp, so you need the second one to get off it and onto the right-facing slope below.<br /> *As you land on the second slope, hold down. As you enter the wall, hold left, then switch to right for one beat in the music, then back to left. Keep holding left for about five seconds until you hear some rings and a checkpoint - you won't always hear the checkpoint but it's good to know where it is - then quickly switch to right for another beat in the music and back to left. Now keep your eye out for a pit that appears at the end - this is the pit in Knuckles's end to this stage, which is covered by a bridge. If you stand on that bridge, you lose the effects of this glitch, so wait until after you're certain you are horizontally past this pit and then jump. There's a few different places you can end up here; sometimes you end up in a wall and all you need to do is hold right to zip out of it, then jump down and you end up roughly here anyway.<br /> *Now jump on the right side of one of the mounds of snow with four little dimples on it (aim for between the two on the right) and hold right to zip. Once the screen starts scrolling to the right you'll see one of two things: a checkpoint or a switch encased in ice. If you see the switch, it's really easy, just hold right for a second or so, wait for the final corridor of Ice Cap 2 to appear, then hold left and jump and you appear in the boss room. If you see the checkpoint, it's a little more involved.<br /> *As soon as you see the checkpoint, move your eyes over to the clock. Hold left for two seconds, right for one, and left for one. Start attempting to jump on this last second, and as soon as you hear the jump sound, switch to right. Keep jumping while holding right until you don't notice the screen moving down any more. Then, when you see the top path with the large ring, jump again and you should fall into the boss room. Move all the way to the left.<br /> *As the boss music starts, short jump and hold right, landing on the upslope on the ground. Before reaching the right edge of the screen, jump up and insta-shield to grab a hit. With good timing you can get two more from the ground before the platform falls.<br /> *Dodging the ice blast as you go for hit 6 is actually trickier than it looks, the hitbox is much wider than it appears to be, particularly at the top. If you consistently get caught by it, it may be worth waiting half a second before jumping on the platform, which will put you at the top of your bounce when it's firing.<br /> *If for whatever reason Robotnik ends up on the left side of the screen after this fight, make sure you delay hitting the capsule by a couple of seconds. If Robotnik is still on the screen when the bonus tally is being loaded, it won't do it properly (the numbers just won't appear) and you won't get back control after it finishes.<br /> *Also remember that &quot;act 2&quot; will count towards your time if you let it tick over to one second.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXr08NUMz1w Launch Base 1] =<br /> <br /> *There's a certain beat in the music you can time the first jump with. You need to trigger the alarm but also not catch the lip of the ramp.<br /> *At exactly 8 seconds, step onto the rotating cylinder. Move a little way out to the right, and again use the music to time your jump off. Hold right down to the ground, then line up with the tiles on the platform above while waiting for the flybot to come down and attack you. Try and set it up so Sonic's toe is in the middle of the first tile. If you overrun it, you can turn and face the other way, and line up Sonic's heel with the line between the first and second tiles. You also have to give yourself enough time to scroll the screen all the way up - hold up until you get hit, then hold right as you fall and you should zip.<br /> *Once the screen scrolls back to the right, tap left and then hold down. You should see the screen scroll down after a couple of seconds, you need it all the way down or you don't stop at the boss. Once you see Sonic appear, release down and jump, then do a 3-tap spindash and fall.<br /> *You have no rings for the boss, but there's nothing to it really. Just insta-shield for every hit and it shouldn't be any trouble.<br /> *The second boss can still kill you after the first one dies! The spindashes are to dodge it but also to make sure that it kills you immediately after the bonus tally. If you kill the second boss too, in the time it takes you to fall to the kill plane here, the timer will start and you'll lose two seconds.<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> *The spindash at the start is frame perfect in two ways. First, you have to release a 6-tap spindash the very frame after making the last button input, and you then have only one frame to jump off the pipe to get embedded in the ground. Unfortunately there's no real way to make this easier, you just have to learn the timing. If you miss it, you can't go back up to the top and do it again because the positioning required is subpixel-accurate, so the best thing to do is to die to the flybots on the lower level, respawn at the top and try again. Hold right all the way down the pipe and if you land in the floor you should zip immediately.<br /> *Once the screen starts panning to the right, hold right for a little longer, then release all directions and jump. Tap left once you land, then charge a spindash. As soon as Sonic appears, release it, then do a new spindash for each remaining hit. Remember that the boss is invulnerable for half a second at a time, and if you do a spindash too quickly you'll hit the invisible wall on the left and stand up, and you'll die when it becomes vulnerable again!<br /> *Once you land on the platform, line yourself up with the curve on the bottom of the platform. It looks like the laser will hit you, but it won't. After the first four hits and the top part breaks off, leave the fifth hit just a little longer, so that the spike ball won't get in the way when going for hit 7.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQDfUmDiN4 Mushroom Hill 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash after the cutscene should be a full spindash. If you only do a 3-tap here you won't land on the switch. Switch to holding left as soon as you hit the wall and you should land on it.<br /> *Short jump onto the switch and hold left. There are three pauses on the way under the door, you probably don't need all of them but the last one is highly recommended. The first pause should be as you pass the black mushroom, then release everything. As you pass about halfway under the door switch to right, then on the last pause, switch to left, and you should get pushed into the ground like so. Hold left until you drop, then switch to right. Hold right for about a second, and as you get close to the edge of the wall, edge your way closer with 1-tap spindashes. Once you see the thin orange tree appear in the background, do one more spindash and then hold right. If set up this way, this zip has a 95% chance of working - you can consider yourself very unlucky if it doesn't work.<br /> *Move over alongside the tree to dodge the flames of the boss. For the third hit, jump out to the right and insta-shield, then after spindashing, wait until you hit the right edge then jump back to the left for hit 4.<br /> *The lightning shield is a bit tricky to pick up, because there's not a lot of room for the signpost to land. You want the post to land in line with the dark brown log in the foreground.<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> *When falling from the wind, tap left slightly during your fall but otherwise be holding right. You should land at the edge of the platform, jump immediately on landing.<br /> *You only have a couple of frames after landing on the mushroom to jump before it bounces you off itself. If this happens you can just do three bounces off the mushroom, and the third will be high enough for you to reach the red spring to the left, at the cost of about two seconds.<br /> *Hold down as you go through the loop, then jump out of the top left to switch to running, and do a second jump from quite low in the loop; if you jump from too high you'll lose speed before running through the tunnel. Jump off the unfolding bridge, and then again just as you go into the ramp that tries to run you underneath. When you see the ground below, lightning shield to clear the ramp.<br /> *Jump out of the next loop when Sonic passes behind the vertical section, you should land on this spring. Hold back slightly and you'll land on this ramp, clearing the enemy. Leave the jump from the unfolding bridge as late as possible.<br /> *Roll down the ramps after the tunnel, but jump out of the second and third loops because being on the ground can sometimes cause you to stop dead.<br /> *Hold jump until you get near this ceiling, then let it go and double jump when you think you can land straight on this left pulley here. If you miss it, you need to make sure you jump onto the left one rather than the right - it lets you go up to the top path ahead.<br /> *Hold down and let go to go upwards on the pulley. After 12 of these, as long as they all go up two rungs instead of just one, you have enough height to lightning jump up to the red spring and go up to the top.<br /> *Landing on the fire shield is really tricky, but you need it for an ideal boss time. If you overshoot, go back and get it.<br /> *Do a full jump from just after the last mushroom on the ground, and wait for Sonic to bounce back after hitting the radar, then do a fire dash to bounce on the boss. You should get six hits before it flies away. Jump and fire dash for the last two hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9TkEBx3K_M Flying Battery 1] =<br /> <br /> *Listen to the beats in the music, and hold right until you hear the seventh beat. Then let go for a fraction, hold down and wait until the screen goes down all the way. Press A to spindash and pause at the same time - what you're looking for is whether the top of the screen shifts at all. If it doesn't, release the spindash and hold right, and Sonic should roll all the way through the loop, then instead of entering the mesh cylinder you'll go straight past it.<br /> *Once you see both the invincibility and lightning shield boxes on the screen, do a full jump and you should land to the right of the invincibility. Continue holding right and you'll go through the wall.<br /> *At the first of the five rings on the slope, full jump again and you should land on the flat ground. Carry on holding right until you get out of the tunnel after the large ring.<br /> *When you can see the capsule below you, stop, ensure you're facing right, and spindash. Jump into the ceiling to maintain spindash speed while running.<br /> *Nothing difficult about the boss, but I take a hit deliberately to get Sonic's regular sprite back. That lets me see when I'm teetering over the edge of the button for the last hit, since that means I can just jump straight up and down and land on the corner. Once you land, don't touch anything until you get pushed out to the side, then you're safe to move over to the right. Whatever you do, don't jump!<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you start charging your spindash before the screen starts panning right, otherwise you'll move back into the teetering sprite and be unable to spindash again.<br /> *Wait about half a second, then do a full jump and hold right until you can see Sonic standing on the ramp in the ceiling. As soon as you see that, switch to left and Sonic will run into the ground. Now watch for these larger floor tiles, as the third of them leaves the top of the screen, pause, and switch back to right and unpause. You'll slow down and then &quot;drop&quot; - once this happens switch back to left and you'll zip out of the wall. DO NOT switch back to right until you see Sonic pushing against the wall outside.<br /> *Run through the cylinders, then jump from the back of the zipline and switch to left just before landing in the ramp. Land on a fairly shallow part of the ramp (so you're running about 30 degrees into the ground), and hold left to zip off to the right. Start mashing the buttons after around 3 seconds in the wall - as soon as you hear the jump sound switch to holding right and when the screen re-centres on you you should be standing somewhere on the corkscrew as it moves upwards. Jump up to the platform with the zipline and hold right all the way up the cylinder.<br /> *There are two ways to do the laser skip: one way requires the double spindash method to force the laser off screen and move through it, and the other way requires doing a spindash on a precise pixel. Both ways are shown in the video above.<br /> *When the platform gets up to the top, make sure to scroll the screen all the way to the right. The boss won't start until you do.<br /> *Stand in the middle and the moment the claws appear on screen, jump and insta-shield for the first hit, then spindash as soon as you hit the ground and you should get three more hits as it goes around. After the fourth hit though, you need to move away, because this boss will shoot fire at you if you're standing in the middle at any point when it's settled at the bottom. So as soon as you hear the 4th hit, release the spindash. You can either just take the hit, or jump over the claw - if you jump at exactly the wrong time though you'll jump straight up, if this happens then insta-shield and move away as quick as you can.<br /> *The boss now makes nine shuffling movements, after it makes the ninth one jump towards the gap, aiming to hit it just as the boss comes up over the threshold. Ideally that will get you three hits before it goes back down, then land in the gap and hold a spindash for the last hit. If you only got two, just hold the spindash a bit longer.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlWvnFFlMc Sandopolis 1] =<br /> <br /> *Watch Sonic's back spike as you push the block, as soon as it moves past the rightmost spike, you're safe to jump over the block.<br /> *Stand on the moving platform and charge a spindash, but DO NOT RELEASE it until it moves completely down to the ground. You want to use the momentum of the slide to help you get up the ramp ahead.<br /> *If you're really unlucky, once you get to the top of the ramp the moving block can actually send you back down to the ground. If this happens you need to catch it really quickly and move left to avoid going down the slide the other way, then spindash back up.<br /> *Ideally you get a really flat jump off the next ramp and go through the two sandfalls so quickly that they don't slow you down, but if your jump isn't quite perfect you can guide yourself to fall to the left of the second one and spindash. A full jump from just to the right of the sandfall should clear the rock and land you on the rising platform up ahead.<br /> *Charge a spindash and, when the spikes retract above, release it. The sandfall here will either stop you, or you'll keep a bit more speed and run up the ramp. Either way, stop at the top and do a full spindash, and jump off the flat ground to get up to the platform on the other side, jump on the rock and, as soon as you enter the sandfall, check your time. If you enter the sandfall before the timer ticks over to 24, you'll be able to make the early cycle up here. Roll after landing on the rising block to give yourself a little extra time.<br /> *After pushing the block off, line up on the left edge of it and 3-tap spindash and very quickly jump. This is like the jump in Hydrocity 1 but more difficult as the platform is smaller. Make sure the enemy in the rock is actually dead before you release the spindash.<br /> *The jump after the spring needs to be from one of the two small upramps, if you do it from flat ground or a downslope you won't reach the platform above and will have to go back to the spring.<br /> *If you get just the right angle off the jump after the loop you can sneak past the rising platform and save a few more seconds. Again, hold down after your jump so you roll through.<br /> *The fall at the end is tricky, takes some getting used to. You can just fall on the spikes and not lose much time, but unless you collect one of the rings that drops you won't have any for the boss fight, and taking a hit makes the end of the fight much easier.<br /> *Aside from the last hit, it's fastest to just have the boss jump out towards you. After the boss lands from the fifth jump, take a look at your time, then try to get hit about 2.5 seconds later. That gives you enough invincibility time to get into position and hit the boss from the right hand side. DO NOT insta-shield this hit, if you do sometimes he'll fall back to the right instead.<br /> *Depending on your time, you actually want to burn a few seconds here on the boss map to make sure the first moving block is out of the way for act 2. Each cycle of the moving blocks is 6 seconds long, and at 2:21 or 2:27 the block will be out of the way. So if you're at 2:17 or 2:23, each time you hit the signpost up adds a little more than a second, so hit it three times, and send it into the sand with the last one so it's nowhere near any of the boxes (which waste another second if they pop out). Also be sure to stand on the right edge of the screen too, as standing anywhere else will make you take longer to start the next stage.<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> *A 1-tap spindash and jump gets you over the block at its lowest point. After the next spindash, jump off the flat ground and insta-shield to give you control over landing on the light switch. Push the next block all the way since you need the lightning shield from the top left.<br /> *This is another stage where you can screen wrap - hold down while next to the door after the ghost capsule and spindash as soon as you see the scrolling slow down, you should appear on the slide. Do a sweep of the buttons as you get to the bottom of the slide, aiming to land between the two opposite facing slides up ahead.<br /> *After pushing the block past the third dot, jump over it and do a 3-tap spindash - if you mess it up, you can still save it by quickly jumping off the top of the springboard. Do a full jump off the flat ground, hold jump all the way down and hold left against the wall, and you should pass through the floor and into the sand. Jump straight out and 2-tap spindash to the right. 1-tap spindash off the next platform - you might have to wait for the spiked block to move out of the way. Hold left as soon as you release the spindash - if you touch either the sandfall or the platform on the right, when you fall you can actually end up falling straight through the door at the bottom!<br /> *Wait for the enemy to turn around or, alternatively, if it attacks you as you fall, wait for its head to retract, then jump up on the platform and spindash. The spiked block should be up and out of the way.<br /> *Using the moving block, line yourself up with the steepest part of the sandfall slope, then full spindash and jump off said slope. A lightning jump should be enough to get you up to the next platform. From here, make sure you're away from the edge, and hold down to start a screen wrap, then quickly do a 1-tap spindash, full jump and lightning jump. Then jump again as soon as you hit the ground to make the screen scroll quicker, and hit the sand switch at the same time.<br /> *After the speed shoes, ideally you want to get a high jump off the steepest part of the slope similar to the last one, which with a lightning jump will just get enough height to get you on top of this spiked block.<br /> *The jump over this rock is just to see where the platform above you is in its cycle. This particular jump is why keeping the lightning shield to this point is so important: if you lose it, you have to wait for the sand to catch up, which can take ten seconds or more.<br /> *The best way to deal hits on the boss is with the insta-shield, so the best thing to do here is to take a hit immediately to the spikes on the bottom, then when the arm extends use it to deal all eight hits. It's possible to get five hits in the first cycle, but doing so isn't any faster and will most likely just result in you getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEXDdz8ti4 Lava Reef 1] =<br /> <br /> *You can get randomly stopped by the ground at the start, right underneath one of the stalactites. Just doing another spindash gets you out of harm's way fine.<br /> *Make your way up the stairs three at a time by only moving a little right with each jump. I find the best way is to hold right and jump up to the top of the jump, then let them both go until landing on the next stair.<br /> *If you're really lucky, just as you hit the bottom of the slope here you'll get pushed into the floor and zip down to the fire shield and checkpoint. This saves between 9 and 12 seconds, but is very rare. But hold right all the way down the slope just in case!<br /> *Keep mashing the buttons all the way down on the spindash-activated elevator, until you have enough room to exit on the right. Then use the fire shield to immediately bring it to a stop.<br /> *After the miniboss comes probably the most frustrating part of the game... there's two different sections of floor just past the door switch, one with the seemingly randomly placed rocks on the left and the more seamless rocks on the right. Your aim is to do a full spindash and jump on the first frame you move onto the seamless rocks, because this section of floor is level and results in more consistent jumps, but what often happens is you just jump straight up in the air. The height you need to hit with the jump is VERY precise, Sonic needs to be almost but not quite fully above the height of the stair, so you need to hold jump for exactly three frames as well as jump from just the right spot. Takes a lot of practice.<br /> *Once you fall into the stair, hold left to zip, then tap right as you fall, 1-tap spindash and jump from the corner of the rock that juts out slightly, which should give you enough height to escape this room. Fire shield dash and hold left immediately after.<br /> *When you land on the rock in the middle of the floor, make sure you hold down - if you don't you'll run straight into the snake enemy and lose your fire shield.<br /> *When the spike platform moves up so that the top of it is in line with the ceiling of the corridor you just came in through, fire dash to the right. This will cause the next spike platform up ahead to start its cycle, and even if you miss the slope jump on the next platform you can still make it on comfortably. Move back to the left a little bit though, because there's a slight overhang on the right side, so if you're holding against the right wall you'll just fall back down. That applies to the second spike platform too!<br /> *Losing the fire shield isn't strictly necessary, but I find it faster because it gives you an effectively larger range on the boss. The arms normally sit just out of range of your jump but insta-shield makes it much easier to defeat them in one cycle.<br /> *Starting this fight from the left instead of the right also ensures the shots from the arms don't get in your way nearly as much.<br /> *When the hand is on screen, move to the rock on the left as seen in the video - if you kill the boss here the signpost will drop onto another fire shield, invaluable for act 2. Watch as it moves slightly up and down - as it moves down for the fourth time, do a mid-sized jump aiming to land on it as soon as it hits the ground. If in doubt, make your jump larger rather than smaller, because getting hit means you'll get no hits on that cycle, which loses 8-9 seconds.<br /> *There is an immensely difficult trick you can do to get stuck underneath the fire shield box as it appears. You have to roll underneath the box as it bounces, and stop Sonic's momentum and stand up at just the right time. If you can do it, you can skip all of act 2 all the way to the final outside section, and save a minute. However, nobody's ever done it in a single segment run. If you can, more power to you. It doesn't cost any time to attempt anyway, so why not?<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd7OyN_0tQo Hidden Palace] =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmF6lZM0hBU Sky Sanctuary] =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 1 =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-08T12:28:25Z <p>Mike89: </p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:53 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Act 1 of each stage links to a tutorial video by mike89 for that zone. Because the two acts of each stage are contiguous, having the two acts together in a tutorial shows how you would do both stages together, and preserves the context for some of the things you can do in act 2s. The times in these videos are towards the upper limits of what is possible with what we currently know, and the total time of all of them is 29:36, which gives you an idea of how much improvement there still is.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVa_jPy2Q4 Angel Island 1] =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you tap left just before going through the first ramp, so you hit the bottom of the spring up ahead rather than the side.<br /> *The vines at the start are based on how much time you've spent in a stage while the game is powered on, which is essentially random after your first attempt. You can hard reset them back to their initial position, but that one isn't really favourable.<br /> *When the screen stops scrolling for the boss, take a look at your time. It takes almost exactly 7 seconds from the screen stopping to defeating the boss if you do it ideally, but depending on when it ticks over to the next second determines whether the last hit is worth going for. If it's in the middle of a second, just wait for the fire to dissipate before attempting the last hit, but if it's close to a change in the second, then you need to make sure all the insta-shields go off perfectly. If done just right, the last one will make you invincible just before the fire goes off, after which you'll get the hit and then have the fire hit you.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> *It's possibly slightly faster to charge a spindash on the first crumbling platforms rather than bounce down, but there's not much in it and bouncing is much easier.<br /> *After the second pipe, simply mash the buttons and hope you get a bounce. There's two ways up: a bounce straight onto the spring, or off the slightly raised portion of ground, up to the slightly lower part of the platform.<br /> *The bounce to the lightning shield is important. The two jumps are both short (if the second one is too big, you'll hit the enemy above) but you also can't hit any walls, because the revolving bridge is on the camera timer and it has already started by the time you reach the checkpoint. Then you have to bounce to your maximum height or else you won't reach the above platform with the bounce.<br /> *The last pipe has a habit of slowing you down at multiple points, if you do a 2 or 3-tap spindash this tends to occur less often.<br /> *Again, you can tell what time you're going to get before the end: as the first step goes off screen to the left, add 40 seconds to your time and that's what you'll end up if you do the spindash at the end. The way that works is: after all the bombs have dropped, brake, then quickly turn right and spindash, and you'll be dragged along by the autoscroller. Once the trees appear, follow the pairs of trees in the foreground. As the 9th pair hits the left edge of the screen, the autoscroller will end and releasing the spindash will send you off at full speed. Once you hit the right edge, turn left, pause slightly and release a 3-tap spindash, then full jump once you hit the left edge. Ideally you just bounce the same amount on odd and even hits, but sometimes your odd or even hits will be too low; if so, you need to move over to the right on the second low bounce (either the 3rd or 4th hit).<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phB8SDe2VZU Hydrocity 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash off the spikes is a bit tricky. It has to be timed so you just catch the fan just as it starts again: line Sonic up with the third spike on the left, and wait for the fish to run into you. Then release a 2-tap spindash, tap left a little to land on the second set of spikes up ahead, then hold left once you move off of those, with the objective of hitting the enemy up ahead from the side: if you hit it on the top you'll bounce up and lose a second or so.<br /> *Land on the set of spikes at the bottom. You have to be at a dead stop before you can spindash off these, so try and line yourself up while falling.<br /> *Turning around after the second set of three rings over the water lets you slow down just the right amount so you can clearly see where to land on the platform. Once you land on it, the fastest way to progress is a 3-tap spindash and -very- quick jump. This is a fairly difficult (and risky) move; if you don't feel comfortable doing it, simply wait for the second platform to fall and jump across.<br /> *If you spindash while standing up against the boxes on top of the loop, you'll break into a run as soon as you do, stopping you right in front of the second box. So stop before the boxes instead.<br /> *The boss of this stage is really stupid. To get a good time, you need at least four hits while the boss is in the middle of the screen, all while you have no idea where you are relative to it. My method is basically as follows:<br /> *Start at about the middle, do a full spindash up the left wall, trying to time it so you go off the top of the screen just as the boss music starts. Once you go off the top, hold right, and you should get the first two hits. At some point between the second and third hits, release right for a fraction of a second and press it again. Sometimes you'll get hit and you'll have to do the fight in a slower way, but that's manageable. If you get the third hit, then between that and the fourth hit, release right twice in the same way, then do this again to attempt to get a fifth hit (you'll often get hit at the same time yourself: watch the HUD, if it flashes you got a hit).<br /> *The next part can go a few different ways depending on how many hits you got. If you have 4 or more hits, you will be waiting down the bottom while invincible, and regardless of which side you're on should be able to get two hits as it moves across the bottom.<br /> *If you have three or less, listen for the spindash sound as the boss moves down the left side: once you hear it, spindash up the left wall. On the flat ground at the bottom, jump and insta-shield for a second hit, and you'll get hit in return. Then spindash up the right side for hit 5, and quickly insta-shield for hit 6 before becoming vulnerable again.<br /> *Make sure you're facing right when the stage ends!<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> *As you approach the ramp, short jump and insta-shield. The checkpoint time actually doesn't matter, what matters is the time when you get crushed by the wall. Spindashing here actually makes your hitbox expand slightly horizontally, meaning you get crushed sooner.<br /> *When you respawn, do a quick 1-tap spindash and immediately do as short a jump as possible. You should bounce off the ramp. Hold down to roll down the ramp, then, as Sonic is over the top of the dark green tile in the ground, do a small jump and insta-shield. This one's kind of tricky, but your aim is to just pick up a ring from the set of three at the height of your jump. It takes a fair bit of practice to understand just what the height needs to be, and often it'll feel like it should work and it doesn't, but this is the best setup I've come up with. This should push you into the ground.<br /> *Hold right. The screen should pan to the left, then back to the right, and eventually downwards as well. Once this happens, switch to holding left, and the screen should &quot;bounce&quot;, and a short while later you should hear the braking sound.<br /> *While facing left, charge a spindash, and as you see the second ramp come onto the screen (at around 19 seconds), release it. Jump off the ramp and hold the jump for as long as you feel you need to - you should see the last current go past on your way up, that's about the height of the boss room.<br /> *For the boss, line yourself up on the dark green tile just below and to the right of Robotnik, and jump when the bottom of the ship lines up with the bottom of the pink section of the background. Then just continue to insta-shield for the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxarLsjAeXc Marble Garden] =<br /> <br /> *Hold right all the way down the initial fall, then switch to left as soon as you hit the ground. Use the wall below to guide your fall onto the steepest part of the upcoming ramp, then jump off both of the next two ramps as soon as you hit them. The platform at the bottom of the second ramp will sometimes just let you straight through, as well as the one at the bottom of the third ramp but this is much rarer.<br /> *Charge a spindash on the crumbling platform, release it on the ground and jump into the ceiling, then jump and insta-shield through the upcoming ball and chain.<br /> *Wait for the platforms just past the driller to move - REACT, don't anticipate, if you're too early you'll just fall.<br /> *Next is a screen wrap - hold down until Sonic is right next to the top of the screen, then quickly release and jump. Tap right just after jumping just to stabilise yourself, since you need to spindash next thing. After spindashing, hold right until the screen scrolling slows down, then switch to left and do a short jump, and you should land on the speed shoes when the camera re-centres on you.<br /> *The platform just after the spikes can be just about anywhere depending on how the stage has gone. If the stage has gone really well so far it's right up the top and you can jump underneath it and insta-shield off one of the ring boxes, but if it's further down the cycle you can either roll off it and bounce off, or if it's right at the bottom, roll underneath the ceiling and skip all of them.<br /> *Jump down out of the loop and hold against the left wall, then come to a stop and hold down to do another screen wrap. Sometimes you'll stop right behind this pillar, so if you can't tell which way you're facing, make sure you tap right before doing the next spindash. Full spindash to the right, then when the scrolling slows down, you're up against a wall, and if you stay there a spring is going to appear where you are. In order to progress from here, you need to spindash, then jump a few frames later - sweep all three buttons to give you three attempts at this jump. Once in the wall, hold left until you appear on the ramp.<br /> *Once you see yourself on the ramp, hold right and roll. You should detach from the ramp and then land on it again, switch back to right before hitting the ground.<br /> *Stop at the dip in the ground nearest the left side of the spikes above, and hold down for a third screenwrap. This time, hold right just a fraction before jumping - you'll find it helps both in making the next part go slightly faster, as well as preventing you from doing a spindash instead of a jump. Continue holding right, then once the screen starts scrolling faster for an extended period, switch to holding left. Sometimes you'll get stuck on a ledge up top, if this happens just jump down from it and carry on.<br /> *Jump down the slopes as you would have at the start, except that this time as you go down the second one, hold left slightly, this will keep you away from the opposite facing slope. Once at the bottom, make your way into the pit (where the spikes are in the normal stage), hold down, and prepare for the hardest part of the run.<br /> *The safest way to make your way into the middle here is to do spindashes; however, you've gotta do them pretty quickly, otherwise the drill hits you, and any hit here ends the run because it changes the screen position. You need to do nine spindashes here, the 6th one gets the first hit, then do two more, and HOLD the 8th one until you hear the sound for a hit, then release it and do a 9th spindash, which you hold until the boss comes all the way back up. That should get five hits. Now hold right so you move to the left edge, and charge another spindash. Hold it and get hit - you're OK to get hit if you're on the very left edge of the screen - and tap left to move towards the middle and hold one more spindash for the last two hits.<br /> *Now, it's still not over! You should be able to see a silhouette of Sonic as the boss explodes, remember your position in the wall and, as the capsule passes over it, jump. If you jump at the wrong time, you can no longer complete the stage, so be very careful!<br /> *Finally, in order to end the stage safely, hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down, then hold right and quickly switch back to left (if you hold right for too long, you can run right underneath the crusher that appears and die). After the bonus tally the game will play the transition to Carnival Night, adding three seconds to your time.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmePHdfBS14 Carnival Night 1] =<br /> <br /> *Tap left a bit to slow down before approaching the bumpers after the first spindash. If you hit it too quickly you'll bounce all the way back to the barrel, losing time.<br /> *As soon as you land on the boxes here, the game thinks you're standing on the wheel and changes the physics accordingly, that's why this stage plays the way it does. In order to get off the wheel normally, you jump. The lesson here: DO NOT JUMP or the effects of the glitch will end, and you need to keep them well into act 2.<br /> *After landing on the boxes, brake slightly so you land on the platform before falling; the gravity doesn't take effect until you land on something else. Face the ramp, charge a 2-tap spindash and release it just as the spikes retract. Hold left a little after you go over the lip of the ramp, you should land on the edge of the platform with the fire shield. Now hold left and roll as you go around the corner, but LET GO OF EVERYTHING before you hit the spikes. For some reason this makes the next part much more consistent than anything else we've tried. Now, once the spikes have retracted, but not before, start holding left again to go around the other side of the platform. Sometimes, instead of going around the corner you'll just fall towards the ceiling - the requirements are too precise to eliminate the chance of this happening entirely, but around 80% of the time you should go around the corner.<br /> *Continue holding left until you go past the ring boxes, then do a 1-tap spindash. It helps to imagine that, essentially, you're on a very steep slope similar to a backslash, and by holding left you crawl slowly up it, and you can spindash but only if you start charging quickly; if you leave it too long you'll just roll and jump and have to set the glitch up again.<br /> *Once you pass the left edge of the screen and it starts panning back to the right, you need to do two more 1-tap spindashes, except this time you can't see where you are. So it's a little more difficult, but the same premise as the first spindash should get you through.<br /> *Try to aim at the yellow block in the left wall before the boss starts. From here, hold left until the boss releases its spinning top and you see it hit the bottom of the screen twice while moving left. On the second bounce, hold down and you should roll down the wall and land on the top as it reaches the left wall. Continue holding down and charge a spindash, do NOT release it. Hold it all the way until you get hit, then let go of down. Move to the right edge of the top as it reaches the right wall, then as the top bounces off the boss start moving left, and roll off it as it reaches its highest point. Now continue to bounce on the boss and wait for the top to deliver the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> *Full spindash, don't jump into the ceiling even though the temptation is there, and switch to holding left as soon as you hit the boosters. Now you should land on a barrel - jump off it, while you're on a barrel is the only time you can without breaking the glitch - and ever so slightly edge to the right, landing on the clam below. Bounce over to the left and hit the side of the barrel moving away, then do a 2-tap spindash as soon as you land. Two things can happen as you go through the corner: ideally, you fly off the corner and end up alongside the barrel, or you stay on the wall, and after a second fall back down it and get pushed up into the wall. In both cases, the input is the same: press right to move right up against the barrel, then tap left. As the barrel moves to the lowest point in its cycle, do a 3-tap spindash to go past it.<br /> *From here, hold right and you will move left off the platform you're on. Then press left to go right off the second one, and stop at the edge of the gravity tube, and instead of letting it take you up, spindash. Now the screen scrolls up quite slowly, but you need to hold left to move to the right edge of this platform, and as soon as you're off it, do a 3-tap spindash and you should roll around the wall, going through a 10 ring box and into some antigravity platforms. Controls finally go back to normal!<br /> *A 1-tap spindash should hit the first two balloons, then use the yellow and red ones to get up to the next platform. Just run off the second one at full speed and you'll hit a balloon, turn straight around and stop dead on the third platform, 1-tap spindash and tap left slightly and you'll hit a balloon clearing the spring.<br /> *As soon as the barrel starts moving up you get extra jump height from it - enough to get up to the second barrel. For the second barrel you need to move it down and up four times, switching from down to up and vice versa as you pass the centre of the pendulum. As you go up the fourth time, jump as you go past the centre, then hold the jump button as you bounce off the bat, and the 10 ring box, and let go just as you make contact with the ramp in the ceiling. When you see Sonic stand up on the wall, switch from right to left and run into the wall. Hold left until you're most of the way down, then quickly switch to right so that you stop in the wall for a fraction of a second, then back to left again, and the booster should push you into Knuckles's area. If you don't switch to right at all you'll get stuck in the wall instead, this is really important!<br /> *The next spindash really should be timed so that you can get past the bumpers up ahead, but it's really tricky because what time they open up like this isn't something you can tell just from the act 2 timer. All these objects actually started rotating at the start of act 1! If you get past all three sets of bumpers, you can line yourself up on the side of the cannon platform, tap right three times to wait for the next set of bumpers to open up, and do a full spindash. DON'T HOLD RIGHT, if you do you'll just get thrown into the spikes. More likely though you'll get stopped by a bumper somewhere and just have to take the cannon up to the top.<br /> *Spindash up the hill, jump to start running again, then after you go through 12 boosters, jump and release all directions and you should fall through the two boxes like this. Then 1-tap spindash and jump. The next section has 25 boosters - I count them in lots of four, and in the middle of the 6th set of four I jump, then move left towards Knuckles.<br /> *Knuckles will only notice you if you're facing right, so if you just walk through this cutscene trigger the game softlocks. So jump just before you reach it and tap right in the air.<br /> *Jump and insta-shield at the top of the jump and you'll land the first hit as early as possible. If all the hits go well, the last hit should be just as Robotnik drops the ball - you actually want to do your last insta-shield a bit earlier than the others to avoid getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbXkeULmwvY Ice Cap] =<br /> <br /> *What you're aiming for with the pause on the falling platform is to land on one of three frames. Watch Sonic's head and try to get the top of it to line up with the bottom of the spikes: the perfect frame is where they're lined up nicely, but one frame either side of this one works too. While paused, hold right and keep it held after unpausing and you should be standing in mid-air alongside the wall. Next, do a short jump, don't press any directions yet, let Sonic get about halfway down the first slope and then jump twice. Because you're slightly offset from the actual ramp here, the first jump will merely put you back on the ramp, so you need the second one to get off it and onto the right-facing slope below.<br /> *As you land on the second slope, hold down. As you enter the wall, hold left, then switch to right for one beat in the music, then back to left. Keep holding left for about five seconds until you hear some rings and a checkpoint - you won't always hear the checkpoint but it's good to know where it is - then quickly switch to right for another beat in the music and back to left. Now keep your eye out for a pit that appears at the end - this is the pit in Knuckles's end to this stage, which is covered by a bridge. If you stand on that bridge, you lose the effects of this glitch, so wait until after you're certain you are horizontally past this pit and then jump. There's a few different places you can end up here; sometimes you end up in a wall and all you need to do is hold right to zip out of it, then jump down and you end up roughly here anyway.<br /> *Now jump on the right side of one of the mounds of snow with four little dimples on it (aim for between the two on the right) and hold right to zip. Once the screen starts scrolling to the right you'll see one of two things: a checkpoint or a switch encased in ice. If you see the switch, it's really easy, just hold right for a second or so, wait for the final corridor of Ice Cap 2 to appear, then hold left and jump and you appear in the boss room. If you see the checkpoint, it's a little more involved.<br /> *As soon as you see the checkpoint, move your eyes over to the clock. Hold left for two seconds, right for one, and left for one. Start attempting to jump on this last second, and as soon as you hear the jump sound, switch to right. Keep jumping while holding right until you don't notice the screen moving down any more. Then, when you see the top path with the large ring, jump again and you should fall into the boss room. Move all the way to the left.<br /> *As the boss music starts, short jump and hold right, landing on the upslope on the ground. Before reaching the right edge of the screen, jump up and insta-shield to grab a hit. With good timing you can get two more from the ground before the platform falls.<br /> *Dodging the ice blast as you go for hit 6 is actually trickier than it looks, the hitbox is much wider than it appears to be, particularly at the top. If you consistently get caught by it, it may be worth waiting half a second before jumping on the platform, which will put you at the top of your bounce when it's firing.<br /> *If for whatever reason Robotnik ends up on the left side of the screen after this fight, make sure you delay hitting the capsule by a couple of seconds. If Robotnik is still on the screen when the bonus tally is being loaded, it won't do it properly (the numbers just won't appear) and you won't get back control after it finishes.<br /> *Also remember that &quot;act 2&quot; will count towards your time if you let it tick over to one second.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXr08NUMz1w Launch Base 1] =<br /> <br /> *There's a certain beat in the music you can time the first jump with. You need to trigger the alarm but also not catch the lip of the ramp.<br /> *At exactly 8 seconds, step onto the rotating cylinder. Move a little way out to the right, and again use the music to time your jump off. Hold right down to the ground, then line up with the tiles on the platform above while waiting for the flybot to come down and attack you. Try and set it up so Sonic's toe is in the middle of the first tile. If you overrun it, you can turn and face the other way, and line up Sonic's heel with the line between the first and second tiles. You also have to give yourself enough time to scroll the screen all the way up - hold up until you get hit, then hold right as you fall and you should zip.<br /> *Once the screen scrolls back to the right, tap left and then hold down. You should see the screen scroll down after a couple of seconds, you need it all the way down or you don't stop at the boss. Once you see Sonic appear, release down and jump, then do a 3-tap spindash and fall.<br /> *You have no rings for the boss, but there's nothing to it really. Just insta-shield for every hit and it shouldn't be any trouble.<br /> *The second boss can still kill you after the first one dies! The spindashes are to dodge it but also to make sure that it kills you immediately after the bonus tally. If you kill the second boss too, in the time it takes you to fall to the kill plane here, the timer will start and you'll lose two seconds.<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> *The spindash at the start is frame perfect in two ways. First, you have to release a 6-tap spindash the very frame after making the last button input, and you then have only one frame to jump off the pipe to get embedded in the ground. Unfortunately there's no real way to make this easier, you just have to learn the timing. If you miss it, you can't go back up to the top and do it again because the positioning required is subpixel-accurate, so the best thing to do is to die to the flybots on the lower level, respawn at the top and try again. Hold right all the way down the pipe and if you land in the floor you should zip immediately.<br /> *Once the screen starts panning to the right, hold right for a little longer, then release all directions and jump. Tap left once you land, then charge a spindash. As soon as Sonic appears, release it, then do a new spindash for each remaining hit. Remember that the boss is invulnerable for half a second at a time, and if you do a spindash too quickly you'll hit the invisible wall on the left and stand up, and you'll die when it becomes vulnerable again!<br /> *Once you land on the platform, line yourself up with the curve on the bottom of the platform. It looks like the laser will hit you, but it won't. After the first four hits and the top part breaks off, leave the fifth hit just a little longer, so that the spike ball won't get in the way when going for hit 7.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQDfUmDiN4 Mushroom Hill 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash after the cutscene should be a full spindash. If you only do a 3-tap here you won't land on the switch. Switch to holding left as soon as you hit the wall and you should land on it.<br /> *Short jump onto the switch and hold left. There are three pauses on the way under the door, you probably don't need all of them but the last one is highly recommended. The first pause should be as you pass the black mushroom, then release everything. As you pass about halfway under the door switch to right, then on the last pause, switch to left, and you should get pushed into the ground like so. Hold left until you drop, then switch to right. Hold right for about a second, and as you get close to the edge of the wall, edge your way closer with 1-tap spindashes. Once you see the thin orange tree appear in the background, do one more spindash and then hold right. If set up this way, this zip has a 95% chance of working - you can consider yourself very unlucky if it doesn't work.<br /> *Move over alongside the tree to dodge the flames of the boss. For the third hit, jump out to the right and insta-shield, then after spindashing, wait until you hit the right edge then jump back to the left for hit 4.<br /> *The lightning shield is a bit tricky to pick up, because there's not a lot of room for the signpost to land. You want the post to land in line with the dark brown log in the foreground.<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> *When falling from the wind, tap left slightly during your fall but otherwise be holding right. You should land at the edge of the platform, jump immediately on landing.<br /> *You only have a couple of frames after landing on the mushroom to jump before it bounces you off itself. If this happens you can just do three bounces off the mushroom, and the third will be high enough for you to reach the red spring to the left, at the cost of about two seconds.<br /> *Hold down as you go through the loop, then jump out of the top left to switch to running, and do a second jump from quite low in the loop; if you jump from too high you'll lose speed before running through the tunnel. Jump off the unfolding bridge, and then again just as you go into the ramp that tries to run you underneath. When you see the ground below, lightning shield to clear the ramp.<br /> *Jump out of the next loop when Sonic passes behind the vertical section, you should land on this spring. Hold back slightly and you'll land on this ramp, clearing the enemy. Leave the jump from the unfolding bridge as late as possible.<br /> *Roll down the ramps after the tunnel, but jump out of the second and third loops because being on the ground can sometimes cause you to stop dead.<br /> *Hold jump until you get near this ceiling, then let it go and double jump when you think you can land straight on this left pulley here. If you miss it, you need to make sure you jump onto the left one rather than the right - it lets you go up to the top path ahead.<br /> *Hold down and let go to go upwards on the pulley. After 12 of these, as long as they all go up two rungs instead of just one, you have enough height to lightning jump up to the red spring and go up to the top.<br /> *Landing on the fire shield is really tricky, but you need it for an ideal boss time. If you overshoot, go back and get it.<br /> *Do a full jump from just after the last mushroom on the ground, and wait for Sonic to bounce back after hitting the radar, then do a fire dash to bounce on the boss. You should get six hits before it flies away. Jump and fire dash for the last two hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9TkEBx3K_M Flying Battery 1] =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlWvnFFlMc Sandopolis 1] =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEXDdz8ti4 Lava Reef 1] =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd7OyN_0tQo Hidden Palace] =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmF6lZM0hBU Sky Sanctuary] =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 1 =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-03T06:35:11Z <p>Mike89: </p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:53 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Act 1 of each stage links to a tutorial video by mike89 for that zone. Because the two acts of each stage are contiguous, having the two acts together in a tutorial shows how you would do both stages together, and preserves the context for some of the things you can do in act 2s. The times in these videos are towards the upper limits of what is possible with what we currently know, and the total time of all of them is 29:36, which gives you an idea of how much improvement there still is.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVa_jPy2Q4 Angel Island 1] =<br /> <br /> *Make sure you tap left just before going through the first ramp, so you hit the bottom of the spring up ahead rather than the side.<br /> *The vines at the start are based on how much time you've spent in a stage while the game is powered on, which is essentially random after your first attempt. You can hard reset them back to their initial position, but that one isn't really favourable.<br /> *When the screen stops scrolling for the boss, take a look at your time. It takes almost exactly 7 seconds from the screen stopping to defeating the boss if you do it ideally, but depending on when it ticks over to the next second determines whether the last hit is worth going for. If it's in the middle of a second, just wait for the fire to dissipate before attempting the last hit, but if it's close to a change in the second, then you need to make sure all the insta-shields go off perfectly. If done just right, the last one will make you invincible just before the fire goes off, after which you'll get the hit and then have the fire hit you.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> *It's possibly slightly faster to charge a spindash on the first crumbling platforms rather than bounce down, but there's not much in it and bouncing is much easier.<br /> *After the second pipe, simply mash the buttons and hope you get a bounce. There's two ways up: a bounce straight onto the spring, or off the slightly raised portion of ground, up to the slightly lower part of the platform.<br /> *The bounce to the lightning shield is important. The two jumps are both short (if the second one is too big, you'll hit the enemy above) but you also can't hit any walls, because the revolving bridge is on the camera timer and it has already started by the time you reach the checkpoint. Then you have to bounce to your maximum height or else you won't reach the above platform with the bounce.<br /> *The last pipe has a habit of slowing you down at multiple points, if you do a 2 or 3-tap spindash this tends to occur less often.<br /> *Again, you can tell what time you're going to get before the end: as the first step goes off screen to the left, add 40 seconds to your time and that's what you'll end up if you do the spindash at the end. The way that works is: after all the bombs have dropped, brake, then quickly turn right and spindash, and you'll be dragged along by the autoscroller. Once the trees appear, follow the pairs of trees in the foreground. As the 9th pair hits the left edge of the screen, the autoscroller will end and releasing the spindash will send you off at full speed. Once you hit the right edge, turn left, pause slightly and release a 3-tap spindash, then full jump once you hit the left edge. Ideally you just bounce the same amount on odd and even hits, but sometimes your odd or even hits will be too low; if so, you need to move over to the right on the second low bounce (either the 3rd or 4th hit).<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phB8SDe2VZU Hydrocity 1] =<br /> <br /> *The spindash off the spikes is a bit tricky. It has to be timed so you just catch the fan just as it starts again: line Sonic up with the third spike on the left, and wait for the fish to run into you. Then release a 2-tap spindash, tap left a little to land on the second set of spikes up ahead, then hold left once you move off of those, with the objective of hitting the enemy up ahead from the side: if you hit it on the top you'll bounce up and lose a second or so.<br /> *Land on the set of spikes at the bottom. You have to be at a dead stop before you can spindash off these, so try and line yourself up while falling.<br /> *Turning around after the second set of three rings over the water lets you slow down just the right amount so you can clearly see where to land on the platform. Once you land on it, the fastest way to progress is a 3-tap spindash and -very- quick jump. This is a fairly difficult (and risky) move; if you don't feel comfortable doing it, simply wait for the second platform to fall and jump across.<br /> *If you spindash while standing up against the boxes on top of the loop, you'll break into a run as soon as you do, stopping you right in front of the second box. So stop before the boxes instead.<br /> *The boss of this stage is really stupid. To get a good time, you need at least four hits while the boss is in the middle of the screen, all while you have no idea where you are relative to it. My method is basically as follows:<br /> *Start at about the middle, do a full spindash up the left wall, trying to time it so you go off the top of the screen just as the boss music starts. Once you go off the top, hold right, and you should get the first two hits. At some point between the second and third hits, release right for a fraction of a second and press it again. Sometimes you'll get hit and you'll have to do the fight in a slower way, but that's manageable. If you get the third hit, then between that and the fourth hit, release right twice in the same way, then do this again to attempt to get a fifth hit (you'll often get hit at the same time yourself: watch the HUD, if it flashes you got a hit).<br /> *The next part can go a few different ways depending on how many hits you got. If you have 4 or more hits, you will be waiting down the bottom while invincible, and regardless of which side you're on should be able to get two hits as it moves across the bottom.<br /> *If you have three or less, listen for the spindash sound as the boss moves down the left side: once you hear it, spindash up the left wall. On the flat ground at the bottom, jump and insta-shield for a second hit, and you'll get hit in return. Then spindash up the right side for hit 5, and quickly insta-shield for hit 6 before becoming vulnerable again.<br /> *Make sure you're facing right when the stage ends!<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> *As you approach the ramp, short jump and insta-shield. The checkpoint time actually doesn't matter, what matters is the time when you get crushed by the wall. Spindashing here actually makes your hitbox expand slightly horizontally, meaning you get crushed sooner.<br /> *When you respawn, do a quick 1-tap spindash and immediately do as short a jump as possible. You should bounce off the ramp. Hold down to roll down the ramp, then, as Sonic is over the top of the dark green tile in the ground, do a small jump and insta-shield. This one's kind of tricky, but your aim is to just pick up a ring from the set of three at the height of your jump. It takes a fair bit of practice to understand just what the height needs to be, and often it'll feel like it should work and it doesn't, but this is the best setup I've come up with. This should push you into the ground.<br /> *Hold right. The screen should pan to the left, then back to the right, and eventually downwards as well. Once this happens, switch to holding left, and the screen should &quot;bounce&quot;, and a short while later you should hear the braking sound.<br /> *While facing left, charge a spindash, and as you see the second ramp come onto the screen (at around 19 seconds), release it. Jump off the ramp and hold the jump for as long as you feel you need to - you should see the last current go past on your way up, that's about the height of the boss room.<br /> *For the boss, line yourself up on the dark green tile just below and to the right of Robotnik, and jump when the bottom of the ship lines up with the bottom of the pink section of the background. Then just continue to insta-shield for the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxarLsjAeXc Marble Garden] =<br /> <br /> *Hold right all the way down the initial fall, then switch to left as soon as you hit the ground. Use the wall below to guide your fall onto the steepest part of the upcoming ramp, then jump off both of the next two ramps as soon as you hit them. The platform at the bottom of the second ramp will sometimes just let you straight through, as well as the one at the bottom of the third ramp but this is much rarer.<br /> *Charge a spindash on the crumbling platform, release it on the ground and jump into the ceiling, then jump and insta-shield through the upcoming ball and chain.<br /> *Wait for the platforms just past the driller to move - REACT, don't anticipate, if you're too early you'll just fall.<br /> *Next is a screen wrap - hold down until Sonic is right next to the top of the screen, then quickly release and jump. Tap right just after jumping just to stabilise yourself, since you need to spindash next thing. After spindashing, hold right until the screen scrolling slows down, then switch to left and do a short jump, and you should land on the speed shoes when the camera re-centres on you.<br /> *The platform just after the spikes can be just about anywhere depending on how the stage has gone. If the stage has gone really well so far it's right up the top and you can jump underneath it and insta-shield off one of the ring boxes, but if it's further down the cycle you can either roll off it and bounce off, or if it's right at the bottom, roll underneath the ceiling and skip all of them.<br /> *Jump down out of the loop and hold against the left wall, then come to a stop and hold down to do another screen wrap. Sometimes you'll stop right behind this pillar, so if you can't tell which way you're facing, make sure you tap right before doing the next spindash. Full spindash to the right, then when the scrolling slows down, you're up against a wall, and if you stay there a spring is going to appear where you are. In order to progress from here, you need to spindash, then jump a few frames later - sweep all three buttons to give you three attempts at this jump. Once in the wall, hold left until you appear on the ramp.<br /> *Once you see yourself on the ramp, hold right and roll. You should detach from the ramp and then land on it again, switch back to right before hitting the ground.<br /> *Stop at the dip in the ground nearest the left side of the spikes above, and hold down for a third screenwrap. This time, hold right just a fraction before jumping - you'll find it helps both in making the next part go slightly faster, as well as preventing you from doing a spindash instead of a jump. Continue holding right, then once the screen starts scrolling faster for an extended period, switch to holding left. Sometimes you'll get stuck on a ledge up top, if this happens just jump down from it and carry on.<br /> *Jump down the slopes as you would have at the start, except that this time as you go down the second one, hold left slightly, this will keep you away from the opposite facing slope. Once at the bottom, make your way into the pit (where the spikes are in the normal stage), hold down, and prepare for the hardest part of the run.<br /> *The safest way to make your way into the middle here is to do spindashes; however, you've gotta do them pretty quickly, otherwise the drill hits you, and any hit here ends the run because it changes the screen position. You need to do nine spindashes here, the 6th one gets the first hit, then do two more, and HOLD the 8th one until you hear the sound for a hit, then release it and do a 9th spindash, which you hold until the boss comes all the way back up. That should get five hits. Now hold right so you move to the left edge, and charge another spindash. Hold it and get hit - you're OK to get hit if you're on the very left edge of the screen - and tap left to move towards the middle and hold one more spindash for the last two hits.<br /> *Now, it's still not over! You should be able to see a silhouette of Sonic as the boss explodes, remember your position in the wall and, as the capsule passes over it, jump. If you jump at the wrong time, you can no longer complete the stage, so be very careful!<br /> *Finally, in order to end the stage safely, hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down, then hold right and quickly switch back to left (if you hold right for too long, you can run right underneath the crusher that appears and die). After the bonus tally the game will play the transition to Carnival Night, adding three seconds to your time.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmePHdfBS14 Carnival Night 1] =<br /> <br /> *Tap left a bit to slow down before approaching the bumpers after the first spindash. If you hit it too quickly you'll bounce all the way back to the barrel, losing time.<br /> *As soon as you land on the boxes here, the game thinks you're standing on the wheel and changes the physics accordingly, that's why this stage plays the way it does. In order to get off the wheel normally, you jump. The lesson here: DO NOT JUMP or the effects of the glitch will end, and you need to keep them well into act 2.<br /> *After landing on the boxes, brake slightly so you land on the platform before falling; the gravity doesn't take effect until you land on something else. Face the ramp, charge a 2-tap spindash and release it just as the spikes retract. Hold left a little after you go over the lip of the ramp, you should land on the edge of the platform with the fire shield. Now hold left and roll as you go around the corner, but LET GO OF EVERYTHING before you hit the spikes. For some reason this makes the next part much more consistent than anything else we've tried. Now, once the spikes have retracted, but not before, start holding left again to go around the other side of the platform. Sometimes, instead of going around the corner you'll just fall towards the ceiling - the requirements are too precise to eliminate the chance of this happening entirely, but around 80% of the time you should go around the corner.<br /> *Continue holding left until you go past the ring boxes, then do a 1-tap spindash. It helps to imagine that, essentially, you're on a very steep slope similar to a backslash, and by holding left you crawl slowly up it, and you can spindash but only if you start charging quickly; if you leave it too long you'll just roll and jump and have to set the glitch up again.<br /> *Once you pass the left edge of the screen and it starts panning back to the right, you need to do two more 1-tap spindashes, except this time you can't see where you are. So it's a little more difficult, but the same premise as the first spindash should get you through.<br /> *Try to aim at the yellow block in the left wall before the boss starts. From here, hold left until the boss releases its spinning top and you see it hit the bottom of the screen twice while moving left. On the second bounce, hold down and you should roll down the wall and land on the top as it reaches the left wall. Continue holding down and charge a spindash, do NOT release it. Hold it all the way until you get hit, then let go of down. Move to the right edge of the top as it reaches the right wall, then as the top bounces off the boss start moving left, and roll off it as it reaches its highest point. Now continue to bounce on the boss and wait for the top to deliver the remaining hits.<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> *Full spindash, don't jump into the ceiling even though the temptation is there, and switch to holding left as soon as you hit the boosters. Now you should land on a barrel - jump off it, while you're on a barrel is the only time you can without breaking the glitch - and ever so slightly edge to the right, landing on the clam below. Bounce over to the left and hit the side of the barrel moving away, then do a 2-tap spindash as soon as you land. Two things can happen as you go through the corner: ideally, you fly off the corner and end up alongside the barrel, or you stay on the wall, and after a second fall back down it and get pushed up into the wall. In both cases, the input is the same: press right to move right up against the barrel, then tap left. As the barrel moves to the lowest point in its cycle, do a 3-tap spindash to go past it.<br /> *From here, hold right and you will move left off the platform you're on. Then press left to go right off the second one, and stop at the edge of the gravity tube, and instead of letting it take you up, spindash. Now the screen scrolls up quite slowly, but you need to hold left to move to the right edge of this platform, and as soon as you're off it, do a 3-tap spindash and you should roll around the wall, going through a 10 ring box and into some antigravity platforms. Controls finally go back to normal!<br /> *A 1-tap spindash should hit the first two balloons, then use the yellow and red ones to get up to the next platform. Just run off the second one at full speed and you'll hit a balloon, turn straight around and stop dead on the third platform, 1-tap spindash and tap left slightly and you'll hit a balloon clearing the spring.<br /> *As soon as the barrel starts moving up you get extra jump height from it - enough to get up to the second barrel. For the second barrel you need to move it down and up four times, switching from down to up and vice versa as you pass the centre of the pendulum. As you go up the fourth time, jump as you go past the centre, then hold the jump button as you bounce off the bat, and the 10 ring box, and let go just as you make contact with the ramp in the ceiling. When you see Sonic stand up on the wall, switch from right to left and run into the wall. Hold left until you're most of the way down, then quickly switch to right so that you stop in the wall for a fraction of a second, then back to left again, and the booster should push you into Knuckles's area. If you don't switch to right at all you'll get stuck in the wall instead, this is really important!<br /> *The next spindash really should be timed so that you can get past the bumpers up ahead, but it's really tricky because what time they open up like this isn't something you can tell just from the act 2 timer. All these objects actually started rotating at the start of act 1! If you get past all three sets of bumpers, you can line yourself up on the side of the cannon platform, tap right three times to wait for the next set of bumpers to open up, and do a full spindash. DON'T HOLD RIGHT, if you do you'll just get thrown into the spikes. More likely though you'll get stopped by a bumper somewhere and just have to take the cannon up to the top.<br /> *Spindash up the hill, jump to start running again, then after you go through 12 boosters, jump and release all directions and you should fall through the two boxes like this. Then 1-tap spindash and jump. The next section has 25 boosters - I count them in lots of four, and in the middle of the 6th set of four I jump, then move left towards Knuckles.<br /> *Knuckles will only notice you if you're facing right, so if you just walk through this cutscene trigger the game softlocks. So jump just before you reach it and tap right in the air.<br /> *Jump and insta-shield at the top of the jump and you'll land the first hit as early as possible. If all the hits go well, the last hit should be just as Robotnik drops the ball - you actually want to do your last insta-shield a bit earlier than the others to avoid getting hit.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbXkeULmwvY Ice Cap] =<br /> <br /> *What you're aiming for with the pause on the falling platform is to land on one of three frames. Watch Sonic's head and try to get the top of it to line up with the bottom of the spikes: the perfect frame is where they're lined up nicely, but one frame either side of this one works too. While paused, hold right and keep it held after unpausing and you should be standing in mid-air alongside the wall. Next, do a short jump, don't press any directions yet, let Sonic get about halfway down the first slope and then jump twice. Because you're slightly offset from the actual ramp here, the first jump will merely put you back on the ramp, so you need the second one to get off it and onto the right-facing slope below.<br /> *As you land on the second slope, hold down. As you enter the wall, hold left, then switch to right for one beat in the music, then back to left. Keep holding left for about five seconds until you hear some rings and a checkpoint - you won't always hear the checkpoint but it's good to know where it is - then quickly switch to right for another beat in the music and back to left. Now keep your eye out for a pit that appears at the end - this is the pit in Knuckles's end to this stage, which is covered by a bridge. If you stand on that bridge, you lose the effects of this glitch, so wait until after you're certain you are horizontally past this pit and then jump. There's a few different places you can end up here; sometimes you end up in a wall and all you need to do is hold right to zip out of it, then jump down and you end up roughly here anyway.<br /> *Now jump on the right side of one of the mounds of snow with four little dimples on it (aim for between the two on the right) and hold right to zip. Once the screen starts scrolling to the right you'll see one of two things: a checkpoint or a switch encased in ice. If you see the switch, it's really easy, just hold right for a second or so, wait for the final corridor of Ice Cap 2 to appear, then hold left and jump and you appear in the boss room. If you see the checkpoint, it's a little more involved.<br /> *As soon as you see the checkpoint, move your eyes over to the clock. Hold left for two seconds, right for one, and left for one. Start attempting to jump on this last second, and as soon as you hear the jump sound, switch to right. Keep jumping while holding right until you don't notice the screen moving down any more. Then, when you see the top path with the large ring, jump again and you should fall into the boss room. Move all the way to the left.<br /> *As the boss music starts, short jump and hold right, landing on the upslope on the ground. Before reaching the right edge of the screen, jump up and insta-shield to grab a hit. With good timing you can get two more from the ground before the platform falls.<br /> *Dodging the ice blast as you go for hit 6 is actually trickier than it looks, the hitbox is much wider than it appears to be, particularly at the top. If you consistently get caught by it, it may be worth waiting half a second before jumping on the platform, which will put you at the top of your bounce when it's firing.<br /> *If for whatever reason Robotnik ends up on the left side of the screen after this fight, make sure you delay hitting the capsule by a couple of seconds. If Robotnik is still on the screen when the bonus tally is being loaded, it won't do it properly (the numbers just won't appear) and you won't get back control after it finishes.<br /> *Also remember that &quot;act 2&quot; will count towards your time if you let it tick over to one second.<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXr08NUMz1w Launch Base 1] =<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noQDfUmDiN4 Mushroom Hill 1] =<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9TkEBx3K_M Flying Battery 1] =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALlWvnFFlMc Sandopolis 1] =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEXDdz8ti4 Lava Reef 1] =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd7OyN_0tQo Hidden Palace] =<br /> <br /> = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmF6lZM0hBU Sky Sanctuary] =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 1 =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-03T05:33:33Z <p>Mike89: /* Current Fastest Time */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:53 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 1 =<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 1 =<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> = Marble Garden =<br /> Go to the very bottom path and proceed as normal until you reach the sign. You'll want to perform a screen wrap here in order to despawn the collision for two mud pits. As soon as you land from your jump, quickly perform a 6-tap to the right. If done correctly, you will fall down to where the speed shoes are<br /> <br /> '''Boss''': As soon as you see Robotnik, perform 9 consecutive 1-taps to the left. It's important that you do this as if you get hit by the drill, the screen shifts down and you wont be able to finish the level. Hold down your 9th spindash untill you see Robotnik fly to the left. Quickly zip to the left and perform a spindash.<br /> <br /> TODO: Add more, and have better wording because my english is terribawful.<br /> = Carnival Night 1 =<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> = Ice Cap =<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 1 =<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 1 =<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 1 =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 1 =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 1 =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> = Hidden Palace =<br /> <br /> = Sky Sanctuary =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 1 =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles/Sonic Sonic 3 and Knuckles/Sonic 2016-03-03T05:33:16Z <p>Mike89: /* Current Fastest Time */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic3Knuckles.html#norm}}<br /> <br /> = Current Fastest Time =<br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meVLQjud6zI 30:52 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 1 =<br /> <br /> = Angel Island 2 =<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 1 =<br /> <br /> = Hydrocity 2 =<br /> <br /> = Marble Garden =<br /> Go to the very bottom path and proceed as normal until you reach the sign. You'll want to perform a screen wrap here in order to despawn the collision for two mud pits. As soon as you land from your jump, quickly perform a 6-tap to the right. If done correctly, you will fall down to where the speed shoes are<br /> <br /> '''Boss''': As soon as you see Robotnik, perform 9 consecutive 1-taps to the left. It's important that you do this as if you get hit by the drill, the screen shifts down and you wont be able to finish the level. Hold down your 9th spindash untill you see Robotnik fly to the left. Quickly zip to the left and perform a spindash.<br /> <br /> TODO: Add more, and have better wording because my english is terribawful.<br /> = Carnival Night 1 =<br /> <br /> = Carnival Night 2 =<br /> <br /> = Ice Cap =<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 1 =<br /> <br /> = Launch Base 2 =<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 1 =<br /> <br /> = Mushroom Hill 2 =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 1 =<br /> <br /> = Flying Battery 2 =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 1 =<br /> <br /> = Sandopolis 2 =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 1 =<br /> <br /> = Lava Reef 2 =<br /> <br /> = Hidden Palace =<br /> <br /> = Sky Sanctuary =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 1 =<br /> <br /> = Death Egg 2 =</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T09:05:19Z <p>Mike89: /* Current Fastest Time */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]. Sonic 2 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *The piston clip works slightly differently to with Sonic - you need to grab onto the small wall below the piston. When it comes back down, it can't crush you, so it pushes you into the ground instead. Then simply jump off, and once Knuckles appears from behind the wall, glide and hold the glide until you land on the cylinder.<br /> *3 tap spindash out of the first teleporter, then do three sweeps on this next spindash to a) make sure you get good speed, and b) make sure the platform has moved high enough that you actually land on the next one.<br /> *Hold jump for the first bounce off the yellow springs, let it go just after the second, then hold left and glide and hold jump again for the fourth bounce, which should clear the mantis enemy ahead. Hold down as you land on the ramp so you aren't stopped by the cog.<br /> *The moving platform above the red spring is on the universal timer, which means that if you hit the red spring before about 33 and a half seconds, it will block you on your way up. To avoid this, try to hit it at about 34, by which time it should be out of the way.<br /> *Charge the spindash after the second teleporter a little longer, which should get you enough speed to get through the mantis enemy without getting hit. Then hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down. Let go of down and immediately full jump and tap right, the screen should start scrolling very fast, but it will slow down when you land. Do another mid-sized jump when you see it slow down.<br /> *Two things to look out for here: first, the bolt should be running down the middle of the screen, and secondly, watch the block that looks somewhat like a face in the background. As it moves off the top of the screen, jump a third time and you should drop through the ground to the final stretch where the boss is.<br /> *This boss takes three rounds. For the first round, you want to spindash from here and release it as soon as Robotnik turns to face right.<br /> *For the second round, the two eggs that are alongside each other should be behind Robotnik when you release, regardless of whether you're attacking from the left or right.<br /> *For the third round, simply roll into Robotnik once he reaches ground level, and jump for the last hit.<br /> A good time here is between 1:19 and 1:21.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *After taking the hit on the propellor, three tap spindash and do a full jump. Once you land on the second conveyor belt, jump immediately, wait until you're definitely past the platform above you horizontally, and start gliding across the pit. Land on the zipline, which is just beyond the three rings on the ground.<br /> *The slope glitch does work in this stage, but using it to get hits on the boss doesn't, at least not in the same way as Sonic. So just carry on these ziplines as normal.<br /> *Let the final spindash go until you hit the side of the button, then immediately jump and glide and hold down to break it.<br /> *Getting the one round boss here is very difficult. To start, line up on the left of the laser to force it left, then as soon as it moves move over to the right. Time the jump onto the first platform to appear with the music, then make the first hit, and tap glide to land back on the platform. You should get three more hits from this platform, then land on the second platform after the fourth hit. For the fifth hit you want to wait until the platform has moved directly under the laser, then hit the right half of the laser with your jump. This should knock you onto another platform, from which you can get the final three hits before it folds up again. You should actually delay the jumps for the last two hits slightly so that you get a quick enough bounce off the laser to get the following hits in time.<br /> *If you miss any hits, just follow the laser wherever you need to to get the remaining hits.<br /> *As the boss is exploding, stand near, but not too near, the laser and hold down. After the screen scrolls all the way down, quickly spindash and you can jump through the laser, saving a second.<br /> If you hit everything in this stage, you get 1:46. Missing the one round kill on the boss costs at least four seconds, and a further half second for every additional hit you miss in the first round.<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *Every jump on the final boss should be a full jump. The first two are entirely standing still, on the next three you should start moving as Robotnik's back foot starts moving and jump when the gap opens up, for hit 6 give yourself plenty of room and jump clear over the flame, then line up next to the back foot and jump straight up three more times. The last three hits are simply a case of jumping from the right position on the ground.<br /> This should be either 0:50 or 0:51 depending on how Silver Sonic went.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T09:00:06Z <p>Mike89: /* Wing Fortress */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *The piston clip works slightly differently to with Sonic - you need to grab onto the small wall below the piston. When it comes back down, it can't crush you, so it pushes you into the ground instead. Then simply jump off, and once Knuckles appears from behind the wall, glide and hold the glide until you land on the cylinder.<br /> *3 tap spindash out of the first teleporter, then do three sweeps on this next spindash to a) make sure you get good speed, and b) make sure the platform has moved high enough that you actually land on the next one.<br /> *Hold jump for the first bounce off the yellow springs, let it go just after the second, then hold left and glide and hold jump again for the fourth bounce, which should clear the mantis enemy ahead. Hold down as you land on the ramp so you aren't stopped by the cog.<br /> *The moving platform above the red spring is on the universal timer, which means that if you hit the red spring before about 33 and a half seconds, it will block you on your way up. To avoid this, try to hit it at about 34, by which time it should be out of the way.<br /> *Charge the spindash after the second teleporter a little longer, which should get you enough speed to get through the mantis enemy without getting hit. Then hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down. Let go of down and immediately full jump and tap right, the screen should start scrolling very fast, but it will slow down when you land. Do another mid-sized jump when you see it slow down.<br /> *Two things to look out for here: first, the bolt should be running down the middle of the screen, and secondly, watch the block that looks somewhat like a face in the background. As it moves off the top of the screen, jump a third time and you should drop through the ground to the final stretch where the boss is.<br /> *This boss takes three rounds. For the first round, you want to spindash from here and release it as soon as Robotnik turns to face right.<br /> *For the second round, the two eggs that are alongside each other should be behind Robotnik when you release, regardless of whether you're attacking from the left or right.<br /> *For the third round, simply roll into Robotnik once he reaches ground level, and jump for the last hit.<br /> A good time here is between 1:19 and 1:21.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *After taking the hit on the propellor, three tap spindash and do a full jump. Once you land on the second conveyor belt, jump immediately, wait until you're definitely past the platform above you horizontally, and start gliding across the pit. Land on the zipline, which is just beyond the three rings on the ground.<br /> *The slope glitch does work in this stage, but using it to get hits on the boss doesn't, at least not in the same way as Sonic. So just carry on these ziplines as normal.<br /> *Let the final spindash go until you hit the side of the button, then immediately jump and glide and hold down to break it.<br /> *Getting the one round boss here is very difficult. To start, line up on the left of the laser to force it left, then as soon as it moves move over to the right. Time the jump onto the first platform to appear with the music, then make the first hit, and tap glide to land back on the platform. You should get three more hits from this platform, then land on the second platform after the fourth hit. For the fifth hit you want to wait until the platform has moved directly under the laser, then hit the right half of the laser with your jump. This should knock you onto another platform, from which you can get the final three hits before it folds up again. You should actually delay the jumps for the last two hits slightly so that you get a quick enough bounce off the laser to get the following hits in time.<br /> *If you miss any hits, just follow the laser wherever you need to to get the remaining hits.<br /> *As the boss is exploding, stand near, but not too near, the laser and hold down. After the screen scrolls all the way down, quickly spindash and you can jump through the laser, saving a second.<br /> If you hit everything in this stage, you get 1:46. Missing the one round kill on the boss costs at least four seconds, and a further half second for every additional hit you miss in the first round.<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *Every jump on the final boss should be a full jump. The first two are entirely standing still, on the next three you should start moving as Robotnik's back foot starts moving and jump when the gap opens up, for hit 6 give yourself plenty of room and jump clear over the flame, then line up next to the back foot and jump straight up three more times. The last three hits are simply a case of jumping from the right position on the ground.<br /> This should be either 0:50 or 0:51 depending on how Silver Sonic went.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:39:15Z <p>Mike89: /* Death Egg */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *The piston clip works slightly differently to with Sonic - you need to grab onto the small wall below the piston. When it comes back down, it can't crush you, so it pushes you into the ground instead. Then simply jump off, and once Knuckles appears from behind the wall, glide and hold the glide until you land on the cylinder.<br /> *3 tap spindash out of the first teleporter, then do three sweeps on this next spindash to a) make sure you get good speed, and b) make sure the platform has moved high enough that you actually land on the next one.<br /> *Hold jump for the first bounce off the yellow springs, let it go just after the second, then hold left and glide and hold jump again for the fourth bounce, which should clear the mantis enemy ahead. Hold down as you land on the ramp so you aren't stopped by the cog.<br /> *The moving platform above the red spring is on the universal timer, which means that if you hit the red spring before about 33 and a half seconds, it will block you on your way up. To avoid this, try to hit it at about 34, by which time it should be out of the way.<br /> *Charge the spindash after the second teleporter a little longer, which should get you enough speed to get through the mantis enemy without getting hit. Then hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down. Let go of down and immediately full jump and tap right, the screen should start scrolling very fast, but it will slow down when you land. Do another mid-sized jump when you see it slow down.<br /> *Two things to look out for here: first, the bolt should be running down the middle of the screen, and secondly, watch the block that looks somewhat like a face in the background. As it moves off the top of the screen, jump a third time and you should drop through the ground to the final stretch where the boss is.<br /> *This boss takes three rounds. For the first round, you want to spindash from here and release it as soon as Robotnik turns to face right.<br /> *For the second round, the two eggs that are alongside each other should be behind Robotnik when you release, regardless of whether you're attacking from the left or right.<br /> *For the third round, simply roll into Robotnik once he reaches ground level, and jump for the last hit.<br /> A good time here is between 1:19 and 1:21.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *Every jump on the final boss should be a full jump. The first two are entirely standing still, on the next three you should start moving as Robotnik's back foot starts moving and jump when the gap opens up, for hit 6 give yourself plenty of room and jump clear over the flame, then line up next to the back foot and jump straight up three more times. The last three hits are simply a case of jumping from the right position on the ground.<br /> This should be either 0:50 or 0:51 depending on how Silver Sonic went.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:37:57Z <p>Mike89: /* Metropolis 3 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *The piston clip works slightly differently to with Sonic - you need to grab onto the small wall below the piston. When it comes back down, it can't crush you, so it pushes you into the ground instead. Then simply jump off, and once Knuckles appears from behind the wall, glide and hold the glide until you land on the cylinder.<br /> *3 tap spindash out of the first teleporter, then do three sweeps on this next spindash to a) make sure you get good speed, and b) make sure the platform has moved high enough that you actually land on the next one.<br /> *Hold jump for the first bounce off the yellow springs, let it go just after the second, then hold left and glide and hold jump again for the fourth bounce, which should clear the mantis enemy ahead. Hold down as you land on the ramp so you aren't stopped by the cog.<br /> *The moving platform above the red spring is on the universal timer, which means that if you hit the red spring before about 33 and a half seconds, it will block you on your way up. To avoid this, try to hit it at about 34, by which time it should be out of the way.<br /> *Charge the spindash after the second teleporter a little longer, which should get you enough speed to get through the mantis enemy without getting hit. Then hold down until the screen scrolls all the way down. Let go of down and immediately full jump and tap right, the screen should start scrolling very fast, but it will slow down when you land. Do another mid-sized jump when you see it slow down.<br /> *Two things to look out for here: first, the bolt should be running down the middle of the screen, and secondly, watch the block that looks somewhat like a face in the background. As it moves off the top of the screen, jump a third time and you should drop through the ground to the final stretch where the boss is.<br /> *This boss takes three rounds. For the first round, you want to spindash from here and release it as soon as Robotnik turns to face right.<br /> *For the second round, the two eggs that are alongside each other should be behind Robotnik when you release, regardless of whether you're attacking from the left or right.<br /> *For the third round, simply roll into Robotnik once he reaches ground level, and jump for the last hit.<br /> A good time here is between 1:19 and 1:21.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:22:18Z <p>Mike89: /* Metropolis 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Jump from the third ring on the first ramp, then ideally you land on the platform on the conveyor belt as it comes up out of the lava. If you overshoot, you can save it by doing a glide just before you go across it, because gliding causes you to dip slightly immediately after activation.<br /> *The damage should knock you onto the platform on the right. From here, run kind of slowly off the platform, aiming to hit a gap between two platforms at the bottom of the lava pit that you can't really see. There's a guide in the tutorial video as to where these platforms are and where you should aim to be as you fall.<br /> *The next glide is actually much scarier than it appears, because there's only a very small window where you can grab the wall. Use the horizontal pipe as reference, and glide from just underneath it. Hold up and right, you'll climb up the wall and fall, then zip off to the left.<br /> *Here, like in CN2, you need to let go of right at the right time. There are four frames in a row that work: two either side of the vertical pipe, and the next two on the left from there. After holding right until one of these frames, just let go and you should get the level wrap.<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:14 or 0:15.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:08:29Z <p>Mike89: /* Metropolis 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> *All you have to do in the opening is make sure you get to the two brown platforms by the time they move off the edges at 12 seconds.<br /> *As you go up through the yellow springs, hold right for a bounce to the left, one to the right and another to the left. This should slow you down enough so that when you get to the top, you clear the corner.<br /> *The clip through the mesh is frame perfect, it requires doing a full jump and gliding just as you're about to land on the base of the cylinder. It costs 2-3 seconds for each additional attempt.<br /> *Wait for a little while after climbing up the shaft with the two star enemies, for some reason it takes quite a while before you can spindash after climbing up here.<br /> *As you hit the last set of yellow springs, you should hold jump, and let it go after clearing the corner of the pit after the second bounce. The last ramp is a little finicky, so you should move a little way beyond the edge to ensure you can spindash away properly.<br /> With a first try mesh clip, you can get as low as 0:40 on this stage!<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:03:37Z <p>Mike89: /* Oil Ocean 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> *By holding right the whole time after landing on the 2nd oil cap gives you a glitch called &quot;Mega Sonic&quot; which in a nutshell doubles your jump power, acceleration and top speed.<br /> *Land on the ramp next to the green sideways spring while facing right, then release all input. You should be pushed up inside the wall. Then simply hold right and you should level wrap to the boss.<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, specifically when you see the last ramp with four rings in it, at which point you should start holding left. Once Knuckles appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a mid-sized jump. This should get the next 6 hits; for the last, charge a spindash as soon as you land. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:40 and 0:41.<br /> <br /> If you find the boss strat too hard, you could take a look at [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0V1hAky3E this alternative route] which wastes 12 seconds compared to the wrap, but saves 6 seconds compared to not getting a 1 cycle boss.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T08:00:45Z <p>Mike89: /* Oil Ocean 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *The pattern of jumps in the last section is designed so the fan at the end doesn't have time to stop you. Once you see the first ball cannon on screen, do one large jump, then two small jumps up to the second ball cannon, then two large jumps to the wall. Climb up and quickly spindash away, then glide to land on the last platform.<br /> This route gets times between 0:33 and 0:35.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T07:56:21Z <p>Mike89: /* Mystic Cave 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *Wait for the spike ball to get to around 8 o'clock, then jump and land on the right half of it. The hit from the damage will knock you onto the platform.<br /> *Hold down to roll as you go over the bridge, you'll hit the ceiling and stop if you're forced back into a run.<br /> *Here's how you should set yourself up for the boss fight:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_MC2bad.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. The safest place to stand is here, in line with the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox as he falls. The picture above depicts one of two patterns where a spike drops here, and on those patterns you should move back into the middle once you identify it. Both patterns are characterised by the first two spikes falling on the far right and then the far left. From any position, jump for the first three hits, then spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43-0:44 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T07:37:01Z <p>Mike89: /* Mystic Cave 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. <br /> *Hang on to the first vine until you drop below the height of the ceiling, then glide over to the next platform, skipping the spike wall.<br /> *Spindash, then jump off the downslope to switch to running. If you're going too fast, then tap left to make sure the door is open enough for you to go through. Wait a fraction before jumping down, so that you don't hit the bug up above.<br /> *Spindash from behind the next rising door, jump from the ramp over the spikes and glide. After the next spindash, jump from the first ring of the set of three, then jump again as you land on the wooden blocks.<br /> *Move a little bit away from the spikes, but not too far. The objective is to have the snake pop out only a little, up and to the right. Superglide off its head and aim for the gap in the wall just above the bridge. Err on the side of gliding too high, if need be you can stall by gliding left and right until you get to the right height. If you're too low you don't get another chance to superglide up.<br /> *Land on the rising wall and quickly spindash off it to the end.<br /> The best time you can expect here is 0:33, but anything up to 0:35 is acceptable here.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T06:43:22Z <p>Mike89: /* Hill Top 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> *Start with a three tap spindash and immediately jump off another tiny ramp, and you should land on the platform above.<br /> *Again, jump off another small ramp as you approach the shield box, and superglide off the box to go up to the top path. This removes any need to worry about cycles in this stage.<br /> *Tap left to slow yourself down a little so you don't get stopped by the lower ceiling of the tunnel ahead. Right at the end, tap jump onto the first platform, then make your way across.<br /> *Tap jump from about where the spring is to clear the spring pit. This jump is much easier with Knuckles than it is with Sonic.<br /> *As you move into line with the second ring in the first chain, start a glide, which should settle just below the ceiling of the next area.<br /> *If the last spindash doesn't have good speed, then jump over the first lava pit, as the trigger for the boss is landing on the platforms in the middle.<br /> *Simply roll off the platform as the boss appears, this will give you the perfect height to get all eight hits.<br /> *When jumping for the capsule, hold back a little bit and jump from the top of the incline.<br /> This is a difficult stage to optimise, but as good as 0:53 is possible with clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T06:23:25Z <p>Mike89: /* Hill Top 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T06:21:37Z <p>Mike89: /* Hill Top 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Use the rings as a cue for where you'll end up on the first glide. You want them to be in about the bottom left corner as you start the glide, this will mean you land neatly on the corner of the platform next to the rock. Do another glide so as to land on the bobbing platform up ahead, then spindash through the tube and jump and glide out of the ramp.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *On each of the next two ramps there are tiny pieces of ground that are much steeper than the rest, and you want to get your jumps off these in order to save climbing time.<br /> *As you go through the third ring on the cable platform, hold right to run off the platform and let it drop you into the lava pit. Wait until you see the three blocks on the bottom of the screen appear as you fall (see picture), then hold left to zip.<br /> *As the tunnel opens up, glide across the rock and run across to the flat ground, then stop and spindash, and jump in the tunnel. If you picked up a ring then roll through here, if not, run and you should pick up the first ring in the air. Either way, spindash again after getting hit, and after being flung off the ramp, land just behind the 10 ring box on the loop. Spindash to end the stage.<br /> This stage can go as low as 0:37, but anything under 0:40 is still quite good.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T06:14:41Z <p>Mike89: /* Casino Night 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *The setup used in this video is a strategy Tee-N-Tee developed to limit the threat of subpixels in this stage. Two full jumps at the start, one more against the bottom bumper, then spindash and start holding right after hitting the red spring. From the top, full jump again, hold against the left wall and glide just as you're about to break the speed shoe box. The timing for the glide is frame perfect, but if timed right you'll either drop down beside it or be attached to the wall halfway inside it - either is fine but if you grab it, tap down to drop off.<br /> *Tap right against the box for either 2 or 3 frames - if it's not exactly this long you won't get enough speed out of the wall later. One tap spindash and you'll drop into the wall, then do two more spindashes once you land, then switch to holding right. At this point it's possible to get pushed down into a hollow part of the wall and be stuck (3/8 of all y-subpixels cause this result) but if you do the manipulation correctly and get the clip behind the speed shoe box first try, this should not happen.<br /> *In order to pass by the left edge and complete the level wrap, you have to let go of holding right at just the right time. The first two frames once you see Knuckles leave the wall work for this, as well as three further frames as you move off the left side of the screen.<br /> *For the boss, jump as the checkpoint goes past the left of the screen, and you should land in the ramp below. One tap spindash up the ramp for the first hit, then run over to the other side and land on the blue bumper in the middle, then bounce on Robotnik for the remaining seven.<br /> Using the subpixel manipulation at the start of the stage, 0:36 is the time you would expect. Faster times are possible by throwing caution to the wind, but the setup helps immensely for getting runs past this stage.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T06:03:51Z <p>Mike89: /* Casino Night 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by supergliding off the box to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block moving up and down is on the camera timer, so just get to this area as quickly as possible to start its cycle, then wait on the left for it to fall. Hold only up and when you jump and glide, you'll grab the opposite wall each time. Hold right after the third jump and land on the red spring - let go of right when you hit it and don't touch right again until after you've gone past the bumper in the air!<br /> *Hit jump to use the flipper as soon as you run onto it, you should clear all the bumpers here and land on the flat ahead.<br /> *One case where Knuckles' low jump comes in handy: a full jump from the shield box goes right through the angled bumpers up ahead. Jump as late as possible on the next stretch to pass the blue block without hitting the ceiling, then from as late as possible on the flat up ahead, then as late as possible again from the 10 ring box to land on one of the last two bumpers.<br /> *Tap jump as you hit the ground after that, and glide to stop your momentum just as you go past the edge. Aim to drop right between the two bumpers on the pinball table.<br /> *Launch from between the last two coils on the spring, then jump out of the ramp, land and spindash to end the stage.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:26 or 0:27.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T05:35:30Z <p>Mike89: /* Aquatic Ruin 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> *Aim to jump from the very end of the first platform, such that you get a high ramp jump, and glide across. If you go through the very top of this enemy you can hold the glide across the first springboard and should safely land on one of the two further on, but if you're too low you'll need to either stop and spindash at the enemy or at the springboard.<br /> *It's possible to do a spindash jump off the steepest part of the ramp before the third springboard and glide all the way to the boss, but that saves only one second over this method and requires a perfect spindash and perfect angle off the slope.<br /> *Instead, full jump off a slight angle on the ramp after the three springboards, then press and hold jump again to superglide off the box.<br /> *Ideally you want to have about one character's height of a gap between Knuckles and the highest of the four rings as you pass over them. If you're lower than that, you'll hit one of the rotating platforms up ahead and you'll be forced to go to the end more slowly, costing about four seconds. On the other hand, if you're too high you can hit the top platform, or more likely just run into the pillar up ahead. This, however, you can save by just turning left, then right in the air for very little loss.<br /> *As soon as you see Knuckles's position shift towards the right of the screen, drop the glide and land in the boss area. It's not necessary to do this fight from the left pillar, but it is easier, because of a glitch in the game where Knuckles won't move if he spindashes left from the very right edge of the screen.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:40-0:41. Getting the boss glitch saves a further 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T04:23:41Z <p>Mike89: /* Aquatic Ruin 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *The spindash over the springboard is kind of silly, this is one of those spindashes I recommend charging a little longer before releasing. Sometimes the springboard will fling you out of the spindash, and it doesn't seem entirely related to your speed. That being said, having more speed will help your chances of getting over it cleanly.<br /> *Just before the path drops you into the water, there's a very slight ramp - hard to see because the path is obscured - that will get you right near the speed shoes in one jump. Two possible results: either you land on the box, in which case you should grab the wall and climb up, or you land just left of it, in which case, hold down to roll through it, then jump and glide out.<br /> *Either way, from there jump over the pool of water - if you enter the water with speed shoes on they stop working - and time a jump off the steepest part of the ramp ahead. You also need to hold left a bit on this jump, otherwise the path switchers don't work properly and you have to go around the loop rather than through it.<br /> Anything from 0:21 to 0:23 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T04:06:29Z <p>Mike89: /* Chemical Plant 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> *The jump off the ramp here is essentially blind, you can do it from a number of different places and it'll still work - or from the same places and it won't. That being said, you want to aim to jump as soon as you see the second cross-ramp appear on the screen. A number of different things can happen here, but the two best cases are either getting yourself half stuck in the floor, from which you press left to zip out, gain a ton of speed and carry on, or if you just maintain your speed along the path. Both of these let you reach the first possible cycle of the yellow blocks. However, both of these are kind of rare and you can expect to get stopped on the ground a lot, or embedded fully in the ground (from which you have to zip backwards or else the door up ahead will kill you), which doesn't give you enough time to reach the early cycle and puts you on the next one, which is 6 seconds slower. This method also comes with the risk of falling through everything and dying, so if you don't want to take that chance, you can just glide off the ramp after going past the third cross-ramp, which will safely put you on the second cycle.<br /> *Ideally you want to jump off the steep ramp after the loops just after it starts to straighten back up - if you jump from the steepest point of the ramp your jump will go straight through this gap which costs 3-4 seconds.<br /> *Let go of right as you go through the last stretch - much as Sonic would have to to avoid the speed cap - this will help Knuckles make the last jump over the steps without being stopped.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you get the first cycle of yellow blocks, you can get 33 seconds here. On the second cycle you get at best 39.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the spring up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it.<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T01:48:42Z <p>Mike89: /* Chemical Plant 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets a 0:23. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage, but without a frame perfect jump after climbing the wall it won't save any time due to Knuckles's lower jump.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pTISCLHS0 this video] for this stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and just hold right. You should bounce off the enemy, hit a wall and take off down the slope.<br /> *You should see three cross-ramps as you go down this slope - jump anywhere between the second and third ramps you see, then jump off as you approach the top of the vertical slope such that you land in the gap where the door is. If done correctly, the door should open. Make sure to stand on the ramp on the left of the door to activate the path switcher that lets you go to the bottom path ahead.<br /> *After a loop comes the big jump up to the top of the stage, which can be made significantly easier by jumping with no direction pressed, and then holding right to activate the speed cap. If you hold right as you jump, your jump will be significantly smaller.<br /> *For the last jump in the stage, just mash the buttons after you go off the platform before it.<br /> This strategy typically yields 0:40, but with flawless execution 0:39 is possible as demonstrated in the video above.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the spring up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it.<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T01:47:06Z <p>Mike89: /* Emerald Hill 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *Jump from just after the right bridge post, and tap left slightly after you hit the monkey in the tree. Hold down to roll, and tap left again after you go over the ring box, which should sneak you underneath the spikes.<br /> *There's a very small ramp just underneath the spikes in the tunnel, which lets you get into the tunnel here without losing speed. You should brake slightly before it though, to improve your angle slightly.<br /> *For the boss, start holding left as the horizontal line on the Egg-O-Matic lines up with the one on the drill, and roll as you go over the first bump. After four hits, hold against the left wall and short jump. Bounce on him two more times against the left wall (don't switch to right until after hit 6!), then slide along the ground for hit 7. For this you'll need to hold the button until you see Robotnik start flashing again - once you see that, immediately let go and glide into him for the last hit.<br /> Typical run of this stage is 0:37.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets 0:23, but by rolling and jumping in the sinewaves after the yellow block cycle it's possible to get 0:22. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage and get 0:20, but it's very difficult and not considered worth attempting at this time.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;big&gt;'''ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE IS NOT READY YET'''&lt;/big&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pTISCLHS0 this video] for this stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and just hold right. You should bounce off the enemy, hit a wall and take off down the slope.<br /> *You should see three cross-ramps as you go down this slope - jump anywhere between the second and third ramps you see, then jump off as you approach the top of the vertical slope such that you land in the gap where the door is. If done correctly, the door should open. Make sure to stand on the ramp on the left of the door to activate the path switcher that lets you go to the bottom path ahead.<br /> *After a loop comes the big jump up to the top of the stage, which can be made significantly easier by jumping with no direction pressed, and then holding right to activate the speed cap. If you hold right as you jump, your jump will be significantly smaller.<br /> *For the last jump in the stage, just mash the buttons after you go off the platform before it.<br /> This strategy typically yields 0:40, but with flawless execution 0:39 is possible as demonstrated in the video above.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the spring up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it.<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-20T01:41:03Z <p>Mike89: /* Emerald Hill 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *After the checkpoint, jump off the quarter-pipe and hold it all the way up. You want to make this jump slightly earlier than you would with Sonic, because you can't release jump and press it again or you will glide instead. If done correctly, you should be able to hold right and bounce on the buzzbomber up ahead, land on the spikes and hold right to the boss.<br /> Typical run here is 0:38, but 0:37 is possible with very clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets 0:23, but by rolling and jumping in the sinewaves after the yellow block cycle it's possible to get 0:22. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage and get 0:20, but it's very difficult and not considered worth attempting at this time.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;big&gt;'''ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE IS NOT READY YET'''&lt;/big&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pTISCLHS0 this video] for this stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and just hold right. You should bounce off the enemy, hit a wall and take off down the slope.<br /> *You should see three cross-ramps as you go down this slope - jump anywhere between the second and third ramps you see, then jump off as you approach the top of the vertical slope such that you land in the gap where the door is. If done correctly, the door should open. Make sure to stand on the ramp on the left of the door to activate the path switcher that lets you go to the bottom path ahead.<br /> *After a loop comes the big jump up to the top of the stage, which can be made significantly easier by jumping with no direction pressed, and then holding right to activate the speed cap. If you hold right as you jump, your jump will be significantly smaller.<br /> *For the last jump in the stage, just mash the buttons after you go off the platform before it.<br /> This strategy typically yields 0:40, but with flawless execution 0:39 is possible as demonstrated in the video above.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the spring up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it.<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 2016-01-20T01:39:24Z <p>Mike89: /* Categories */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Category:Games]]<br /> [[Category:Genesis]]<br /> = Categories =<br /> [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Sonic|Sonic]] - Beat the game using Sonic &amp; Tails (1 player)&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVuQXqAAwos Video tutorial for Sonic category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles|Knuckles]] - Beat the game using Knuckles&lt;br /&gt;<br /> -- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qny6B7G7kfg Video tutorial for Knuckles category]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIpgtzarJHA This run] also exists as a reference for all emeralds, or 100%. Note that this run, unlike other Sonic 2 runs, is timed in real time.<br /> <br /> = Additional Information =<br /> [http://www.speedrun.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2_Genesis_Mega_Drive Leaderboards] - All the best times to date, with videos where available. '''Please note the rules on this page, particularly those regarding emulators!''' &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Game_Mechanics_and_Glitches|Game Mechanics and Glitches]] - Some explanations about how the game works, specific techniques, and glitches &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Casual_Speedrunning|Casual Speedrunning]] - Some adjustments to make speedrunning the game easier &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Additional_Resources|Additional Resources]] - Links to other helpful resources</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_2/Knuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 2/Knuckles 2016-01-18T12:57:25Z <p>Mike89: /* Current Fastest Time */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic2.html#knuckles}}<br /> <br /> == Current Fastest Time ==<br /> [http://www.twitch.tv/mike89sda/v/36108756 15:18 by mike89]<br /> <br /> Unless otherwise stated, you should start each stage with a 6 tap spindash.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 1 ==<br /> Pretty simple stage, just follow the run above.<br /> *The jump over the diagonal spring is much tighter than with Sonic, so make sure to jump from very close to it.<br /> *After collecting the speed shoes, you want to start your roll just as you go through the third ring on the ramp. Ideally you want to land on the left hand side of the invincibility box up ahead, which means you can just hold right for the remainder of the stage. If you hit the right hand side of the invincibility, you're too high and will miss the 10 ring box up ahead unless you hold back a little to adjust.<br /> *If you land on the loop with the up-right facing spring, tap left just after hitting it, then switch back to right, which will ensure you don't get stopped by the corner up ahead.<br /> This method almost always gets 0:20, but if all your spindashes are good and you get this jump over the first yellow spring then 0:19 is very possible.<br /> <br /> == Emerald Hill 2 ==<br /> Again, relatively straightforward, make sure to hold down as you cross the bridge at the start.<br /> *Instead of slowing down before the gap, it's possible to jump off the ramp into the monkey and land in the gap at full speed, this can save a second at the end of the stage if it goes very well, but sometimes you'll also stop dead upon landing.<br /> *After the checkpoint, jump off the quarter-pipe and hold it all the way up. You want to make this jump slightly earlier than you would with Sonic, because you can't release jump and press it again or you will glide instead. If done correctly, you should be able to hold right and bounce on the buzzbomber up ahead, land on the spikes and hold right to the boss.<br /> Typical run here is 0:38, but 0:37 is possible with very clean execution.<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 1 ==<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and jump.<br /> *Make sure you jump at some point so you're running through the first loop. Slow down slightly and jump over the spring.<br /> *After the yellow blocks, you go through two loops that exit downwards, and a third regular loop - behind the right pillar of this loop is a steep ramp. Slow down just before it, jump, and hold right to hit the gap in the wall.<br /> This typically gets 0:23, but by rolling and jumping in the sinewaves after the yellow block cycle it's possible to get 0:22. It's also possible to beat the block cycle with very aggressive play at the start of the stage and get 0:20, but it's very difficult and not considered worth attempting at this time.<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;big&gt;'''ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE IS NOT READY YET'''&lt;/big&gt;<br /> <br /> == Chemical Plant 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6pTISCLHS0 this video] for this stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> *Start with a 3 tap spindash and just hold right. You should bounce off the enemy, hit a wall and take off down the slope.<br /> *You should see three cross-ramps as you go down this slope - jump anywhere between the second and third ramps you see, then jump off as you approach the top of the vertical slope such that you land in the gap where the door is. If done correctly, the door should open. Make sure to stand on the ramp on the left of the door to activate the path switcher that lets you go to the bottom path ahead.<br /> *After a loop comes the big jump up to the top of the stage, which can be made significantly easier by jumping with no direction pressed, and then holding right to activate the speed cap. If you hold right as you jump, your jump will be significantly smaller.<br /> *For the last jump in the stage, just mash the buttons after you go off the platform before it.<br /> This strategy typically yields 0:40, but with flawless execution 0:39 is possible as demonstrated in the video above.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 1 ==<br /> *This stage has uneven ground throughout, so it's very important to make the jumps in this stage very accurately. The first one should be made just after the ground level dips slightly, which should clear the pillar.<br /> *After the loop, jump from behind the right pillar (similar to Chemical Plant 1) and you should land on the log up ahead.<br /> *It's worth taking a little extra time to make sure the next spindash is good, as if it's not strong you can get flipped out of it by the spring up ahead, wasting time. Learn when to start holding right again after going off this edge, too.<br /> *The next jump is the most difficult in the stage, since both Sonic and the slopes are obscured by leaves in the foreground. The ideal case is a large jump that clears the entire pool of water and lands on the speed shoes from the top, but if you miss that you can save it by landing on the second shark, or just behind the speed shoes. IMPORTANT: no matter what happens, make sure you always hit the speed shoes from the '''top''', since if you hit them from the side, a very unhelpful glitch will come into play: if speed shoes take effect underwater, as soon as you breach the water level they will stop working.<br /> *After this there's one final jump through the loop to end the stage, you need to hit the steepest part of the ramp (which is partially obscured again), and pull back slightly before hitting the side of the loop. If you touch it you get kind of &quot;stuck&quot; in the side of the loop and have to make another jump to get over the top of it.<br /> This is the first stage where the times can be quite variable, anything from 0:21 to 0:24 is in acceptable range here.<br /> <br /> == Aquatic Ruin 2 ==<br /> Refer to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7StKVSlp4yw this video] for this stage.<br /> *The key jump in this stage is the underwater one that hits the underside of the pillar and keeps speed throughout the entire underwater section. There appear to be two frames this jump works on, but they're very difficult to see at the speed you travel. A handy visual cue is to watch the bubbles you go past just before the jump: as they hit the very left edge of the screen, hold jump.<br /> *On the spindash to the spring to get out of the water, this should be a 1-tap and you should also tap left just before going up. This should regulate your speed well enough that you can hold right and sneak underneath the bugs here.<br /> *Not shown in the video above is a glitch that causes the boss to skip its blowing up animation: if you land the last hit on the exact frame the boss starts swinging its hammer it will exit the arena straight away and allow you to get to the capsule about 3 seconds quicker. It costs about half a second over an optimal boss fight to attempt, though<br /> *Speaking of which, make sure to jump on an incline when hitting the capsule. Nothing worse than losing a second due to a bad capsule jump.<br /> If everything goes well, this strat generally yields 0:42 or 0:43. Missing the underwater jump is the biggest single mistake you can make, and costs around 4 seconds. Getting the boss glitch saves 3 seconds, but shouldn't be relied upon.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 1 ==<br /> *A tap jump just as the ground becomes flat again after the first slope should put you behind the speed shoes. If it looks like you're going to hit them, you can save it by holding jump to bounce over the bumpers up ahead.<br /> *The blue block up ahead is on the camera timer, so you want to get to it as quickly as possible to make it start its cycle. As it moves upwards, time the jump when the top of the block lines up with this part of the background.<br /> *The flipper is where this stage gets tricky. The objective is to launch the flipper slightly after landing on it, such that you land on the platform on the other side of the pit of bumpers. From here, you want to do a two-thirds height jump (the really tricky part) to pass through all of the bumpers up ahead, then another jump to pass underneath the blue block ahead. Sometimes the launch off the flipper goes too high and bounces off the shield box: if this happens, you can still save it by being stopped by the top corner of the ramp in the ceiling, and moving right into the gap as you fall. You need to do this in two bounces or the blue block will stop your next jump, however.<br /> *In total you have about one second worth of error between picking up the speed shoes and the jump from the two boxes across the top of the stage. This jump has to reach the top path: missing it costs at least 3 seconds, probably more considering the unreliability of the bumpers below.<br /> *As you land from the last flipper, you should mash the jump buttons because it's possible that you will simply stop dead upon hitting the ground. Nobody knows why this happens yet.<br /> If this route is executed correctly, it finishes in 0:28 or 0:29.<br /> <br /> == Casino Night 2 ==<br /> *When jumping to the second speed shoe, pull back a little bit on the jump, otherwise it's possible to clear the box.<br /> *After the checkpoint, it's possible to bounce up to the high path or fall through to the middle path. Both are roughly equally fast. If you take the middle path, when holding the second spring down, release just as the top of the spring passes into line with the blue section of wall to the left, and be sure not to hold right to exit until Sonic is entirely over the bumper to the right.<br /> *For the last spring in the stage, you want to release jump when the bottom side of the spring is roughly halfway between the second and third last coils of the spring, and then hold nothing. If it works, you should fall straight between the two flippers facing opposite directions at the bottom and be able to spindash to the boss. You'll see two columns of lights near the edge of the platform, jump from between these and you'll make it into the right hand corner of the boss arena.<br /> *For the boss, 1-tap spindash, tap left a couple of times and run up the left hand side. Do a full size jump once you hit the vertical part of the slope on the left - if done correctly you should land on the boss and be able to bounce on it for the remaining hits. When doing this, try to make Sonic bounce back towards the middle, so you can keep bouncing on him wherever he moves.<br /> *If your bounce is too low and you think you're going to get hit by the boss's claws before you get hit 3, you can use the blue bumper in the centre of the arena to save yourself. This bounce is always sufficient height to get the remaining hits.<br /> A good time on this stage is between 0:59 and 1:01. A solid boss fight is key to this time, as the stage is fairly straightforward.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 1 ==<br /> *Start with a very fast 1-tap spindash and jump to clear the ramp. Land on the cable platform and spindash - if you spindash from the platform above a spike enemy will spawn right where you land, and you have no rings...<br /> *After spindashing into the S-tube, start holding left as you approach the ramp and hit the gap. If you get it just perfect you can land on the right hand side of the ball in the seesaw, but more often than not you should fall to the left hand side and jump over it.<br /> [[Image:HT1.png|frame|right|(1): Look for the three blocks at the bottom centre to reach this height.]]<br /> *As shown in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STFY0eakEPU this video], it's possible to get a super high bounce off the first seesaw here, such that you skip the second one and go to the platform above. This actually has to do with your actions at the start: if you can get Tails to jump straight up like this, he'll fall in the pit trying to follow you and not have enough time to respawn. The game still stores his speed in memory, however, until he drops out of his flying state when returning. When Sonic hits the seesaw, the game actually checks '''both''' characters' speeds, and uses the higher one to determine how far to throw the ball up. This saves two seconds if you can pull it off.<br /> *Land on the next cable platform, and start running off it as you go through the third ring, facing left to ensure you get knocked back to the right. As the platform falls it takes you with it in your invincibility time. As these three blocks (1) appear in the bottom centre of the screen, hold left to zip out.<br /> *Wait for the platforms underneath you to move upwards a little bit. If you stand still in the same position as the video, as the &quot;earthquake platform&quot; comes up underneath you Sonic will run on the spot, once this happens you can jump into the gap onto the rock and be safe. If you have no rings at this point, there are three at the end of this hallway, but they're in the air so you have to jump for them.<br /> Ideal time here is 0:42 to 0:43, but you can save two seconds over that with the super seesaw bounce described earlier.<br /> <br /> == Hill Top 2 ==<br /> The first half of this stage doesn't really matter for your time, you can take the top or bottom path and still make the cycles of moving platforms in the middle section quite comfortably. The top path is about 0.5-1 seconds faster where the paths converge, however, which gives slightly more margin for error.<br /> *The important part is that at 26 and a half seconds you jump up to this platform that is moving down in its cycle. If you make it up to there in time for that you lose no time no matter how the early part of the stage goes. It is possible with very aggressive play to catch an earlier cycle at about 22 seconds, but that, like Chemical Plant 1's early cycle, is very difficult.<br /> *To clear the rock just after the spring trap, you have to leave the jump very late, so that you're virtually jumping off the side of the spring. As you pass the rock you should also hold right to make the speed cap kick in so you don't run into the 10 ring box and lose momentum.<br /> *Jump over the first cable platform, let go of right for maybe a quarter of a second and then hold it again. If the whole stage has gone correctly up to this point, this platform should be at the bottom part of its cycle. You need to learn how long this drop is, because you don't have a lot of time to react to make the next jump.<br /> *When jumping on the first yellow spring up to the boss, just as you land on it quickly tap left and then right. Sometimes you'll dodge the ceiling at the top and land straight on the second spring instead of having to make an extra jump.<br /> *Simply roll onto the boss as it appears, and hold left the whole time.<br /> *When jumping for this capsule, hold back a little bit and use the incline.<br /> Ideal time here is 1:01.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 1 ==<br /> For the most part, this stage explains itself. There are a number of smaller optimisations you can do, many of which are visible in [http://speeddemosarchive.com/demo.pl?Sonic2/Sonic2_mc1_032 stanski's IL run] of this stage, but following the path in the run linked above gets 0:35 consistently.<br /> *A small jump from the very edge of the checkpoint platform should land you on the platform with four rings. A full jump from the second ring in this set of four will land you on the spikes, and a full jump from there clears the bridge.<br /> *For the last spindash, either tap left as you cross the gap or simply jump over it into the ceiling.<br /> <br /> == Mystic Cave 2 ==<br /> *The only thing that's not immediately obvious from the video in this stage: after running off the crumbling bridge, do a 3-tap spindash from the platform below and a full jump afterwards, which lands you on the platform up ahead every time.<br /> *The spikes at the start of the boss fight can fall in multiple different patterns. In time all of the different patterns will be noted here, but in general a safe place to stand is on the right edge of Robotnik's hitbox - there's only one pattern where a spike drops here, and on that pattern it's safe to move back into the middle once you see it. Sometimes Tails will get hit 2, so don't jump too soon. After 3 hits spindash and you will get the rest before Robotnik has the chance to move away.<br /> This is one of the simplest stages in the run, and really should be 0:43 every time.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 1 ==<br /> *You should roll through the start, until going through the first enemy.<br /> *When doing the last few jumps across the oil, start the second last one from slightly right of the checkered ball above, then jump as soon as you touch the oil again. The fan up ahead is on the camera timer, so no matter how the level has gone you'll always get past it. Conversely, missing the jump up to it costs four seconds waiting for it to stop.<br /> This route normally gets 0:35 if executed correctly.<br /> <br /> == Oil Ocean 2 ==<br /> TODO: add video of new route<br /> *Getting hit into this checkered ball like this causes your acceleration in all directions to double.<br /> *Once you push the spring all the way in, release all input until you stop inside the wall. Then you should hold right for just long enough to exit the wall (specifically, 6 to 9 frames). If you're just learning, you can choose to pause buffer this, if you pause on any of the four frames below, you can release all input to complete the level wrap.<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-1.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> &lt;br /&gt;<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-3.png]] [[Image:Sonic2_OO2-4.png]]<br /> *While off screen, you should hold nothing until you see the approach to the boss arena come into view, start holding left here. Once Sonic appears at the right edge of the screen, do a full size jump into the pit and roll. As soon as you hear the sound for the first hit, do a small jump. This should get at least the next 6 hits; if you have to spindash for the last one, hold down and mash the buttons to make sure it goes off in time. Then jump quickly to make sure you get out of the pit.<br /> This method should give times between 0:43 and 0:46.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 1 ==<br /> TODO: add video for this stage<br /> *When exiting the first mesh cylinder, activate the speed cap and spindash up this ramp.<br /> *When jumping past the two brown moving platforms, jump from the green ledge above, and do a full jump into the ceiling. This should ensure that you land in the gap just by holding right every time.<br /> *When bouncing up the yellow springs, hold right for about two bounces worth of time, this should let you bounce out without clipping the right edge on the way up.<br /> *After the next mesh cylinder, again let the speed cap kick in and let Tails land and charge a spindash before releasing your own.<br /> *Hold jump on the next set of yellow springs, as this makes you go up much faster.<br /> *Make sure both Sonic and Tails charge spindashes on these bolts, if both characters are on one of these their speed stacks.<br /> *This is where you can decide how much risk you're willing to take. After jumping off the second bolt, you can either do a 3-tap spindash, bounce off the mantis, land on the bolt, run left on it to bring it down to the bottom, and then screenwrap - or, duck to bring the screen all the way down, '''then''' do the 3-tap spindash which will initiate the screenwrap as you go up the ramp.<br /> *When doing the former method, you should do one small and one full jump to accelerate the screen scrolling as much as possible.<br /> *When you do the latter method though, the bolt will crush you as soon as it reappears on screen, unless you jump within a four frame window. Using a visual cue is difficult too, because the screen scrolls much faster when you're in the air than when you land, and you land just before you need to make the jump.<br /> *WARNING: The boxes with arrows sticking out are on the universal timer. If you make the spindash over the three arrow boxes at 0:47, the last platform will have the arrow pointing up and it will hit you. Hold your spindash back to prevent this from happening, if necessary.<br /> The safer screenwrap method gives times of about 0:57 to 1:00, and the risky screenwrap method saves a further 3 seconds.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 2 ==<br /> *Make sure you're facing left as you take the hit. This will cause you to bounce to the right and land on the falling platform. Move to the left of it if at all possible.<br /> *Just as the bottom of the platform appears from behind the foreground, do a full jump out to the right, then when you land do another small one, and tap left to zip upon landing.<br /> *From above the spikes, hold right and let go at the right time to level wrap. Again, the length of time to hold right is a four frame window, but it might not be consistent on emulator vs console. TODO: look into this<br /> *As this ramp appears on screen, start holding left:<br /> [[Image:Sonic2_Met2left.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should get 0:16 every time.<br /> <br /> == Metropolis 3 ==<br /> *How the zip works here is, by inching towards the edge of this platform, Tails moves off it and causes it to fall. On the first two frames that the platform falls, Sonic can initiate a zip by pressing right. This trick actually has two separate two-frame windows: holding right for 4, 5, 9 or 10 frames will cause Sonic to level wrap.<br /> *Watch the position of Sonic very carefully during the boss fight. For hit 1, you want to release the spindash as soon as Robotnik faces right. For hit 4 you want to release it when you can see the two consecutive orbs pass in front of Robotnik. For hit 7, just roll into him from the right.<br /> Getting the level wrap first try will net a time somewhere between 0:46 and 0:50. Each time you have to reset it and try it again costs around 10 seconds on top of that.<br /> <br /> == Sky Chase ==<br /> Don't die. Spindash at the end to ensure 2:05.<br /> <br /> == Wing Fortress ==<br /> *The platforms that pop out from the side of the ship ignore all the timer rules of the rest of the game and operate on a global timer from power-on instead. In practice this means you can lose as much as four seconds here waiting for them to open.<br /> *The speed cap applies to these ziplines, too, which means if you hold right on them you'll simply walk off and die.<br /> *A tap jump from the checkpoint lands on the button most of the time.<br /> *It's possible to kill this boss in a single round - the method is to delay hit 5 a little and get it just before the laser fires, which will make you rebound onto the middle platform, from which you can get the last three hits before the laser closes up again.<br /> Considering the randomness of the platforms, and the difficulty of getting a one round boss kill, this level has the most wildly varying times of any stage. Times can vary from 1:48 with a one round kill and good platform luck to 1:56 with a two round and bad luck.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> TODO: add information on slope glitch route<br /> <br /> == Death Egg ==<br /> *If you get the final hit on Silver Sonic on the exact frame he switches from standing straight up to leaning forward, he simply disappears and you can't progress to the final boss. As a result, in serious runs, it's worth delaying the last four hits by a quarter of a second to play it safe.<br /> *If you don't feel confident with getting 10 hits before leaving the ground, you can get 9 hits by only jumping over the flame in the first phase, at the cost of only one second.<br /> A 10-2 final boss results in a 0:50, and a 9-3 results in a 0:51.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T13:23:13Z <p>Mike89: /* Scrap Brain 2 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), tap left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *Jump from the very end of the flat green platform, over the two sloped platforms. Then do a full jump from the third pole in the background, and piano roll at the height of the jump to catch the top part of the rotating platform and get another jump off it.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land you just past the spiked enemy out in front, and holding right from here gets you across both spike ball pits easily.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also based on your subpixels. If your subpixels are between 0 and 159 (where 0 is the far &quot;left&quot; of the pixel), you'll get the correct speed for the level wrap, and if they're 160 or above you won't. So once you identify that you're standing on the correct pixel, tapping left once more increases your odds of being in the right position.If you don't trigger the level wrap, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, run through the first set of rotating platforms and stop, wait for one cycle of the second set, then run through the second set.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. Once in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit, and tap left slightly just as you near the bottom. It should bounce off the first of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T13:22:02Z <p>Mike89: /* Scrap Brain 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), tap left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *Jump from the very end of the flat green platform, over the two sloped platforms. Then do a full jump from the third pole in the background, and piano roll at the height of the jump to catch the top part of the rotating platform and get another jump off it.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land you just past the spiked enemy out in front, and holding right from here gets you across both spike ball pits easily.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also based on your subpixels. If your subpixels are between 0 and 159 (where 0 is the far &quot;left&quot; of the pixel), you'll get the correct speed for the level wrap, and if they're 160 or above you won't. So once you identify that you're standing on the correct pixel, tapping left once more increases your odds of being in the right position.If you don't trigger the level wrap, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, run through the first set of rotating platforms and stop, wait for one cycle of the second set, then run through the second set.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T13:01:14Z <p>Mike89: /* Star Light 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), tap left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *Jump from the very end of the flat green platform, over the two sloped platforms. Then do a full jump from the third pole in the background, and piano roll at the height of the jump to catch the top part of the rotating platform and get another jump off it.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land you just past the spiked enemy out in front, and holding right from here gets you across both spike ball pits easily.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also based on your subpixels. If your subpixels are between 0 and 159 (where 0 is the far &quot;left&quot; of the pixel), you'll get the correct speed for the level wrap, and if they're 160 or above you won't. So once you identify that you're standing on the correct pixel, tapping left once more increases your odds of being in the right position.If you don't trigger the level wrap, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T12:28:16Z <p>Mike89: /* Spring Yard 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), tap left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *Jump from the very end of the flat green platform, over the two sloped platforms. Then do a full jump from the third pole in the background, and piano roll at the height of the jump to catch the top part of the rotating platform and get another jump off it.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land you just past the spiked enemy out in front, and holding right from here gets you across both spike ball pits easily.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T12:19:11Z <p>Mike89: /* Marble 1 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), tap left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *If you get a jump from the very edge of the upsloped ramp, you can land right on the platform above the spring and save a bit of time. It's safer, especially if you verify that it's the wrong height, to let the jump go shortly after launching it, land on the lower platforms with the rings and jump up.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land on a spiked enemy way out in front. Hold jump until just after you hit the enemy, this will give you enough of a bounce to clear the two spikeballs up ahead but not waste time waiting to fall into the spring pit.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T12:18:05Z <p>Mike89: /* Green Hill 3 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial]. In this method, just before hitting the bug for the first bounce, switch to holding left, and continue to hold left for about a quarter of a second on the way back up before switching back to holding right. If you hit the left half of the invincibility box on the second bounce, you can continue to hold jump and right until bouncing for the fourth time, then release jump just before Sonic goes past the highest mountain in the background. Then simply tap left when you hit the right edge to bounce on Robotnik for hits.<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), hold left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *If you get a jump from the very edge of the upsloped ramp, you can land right on the platform above the spring and save a bit of time. It's safer, especially if you verify that it's the wrong height, to let the jump go shortly after launching it, land on the lower platforms with the rings and jump up.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land on a spiked enemy way out in front. Hold jump until just after you hit the enemy, this will give you enough of a bounce to clear the two spikeballs up ahead but not waste time waiting to fall into the spring pit.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-21T12:11:50Z <p>Mike89: /* Forewords */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uurKEe7cNg0 11:40 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial].<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), hold left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *If you get a jump from the very edge of the upsloped ramp, you can land right on the platform above the spring and save a bit of time. It's safer, especially if you verify that it's the wrong height, to let the jump go shortly after launching it, land on the lower platforms with the rings and jump up.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land on a spiked enemy way out in front. Hold jump until just after you hit the enemy, this will give you enough of a bounce to clear the two spikeballs up ahead but not waste time waiting to fall into the spring pit.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-09T07:13:20Z <p>Mike89: </p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [http://www.twitch.tv/tenebrae101/v/10154723 11:57 by Tenebrae101]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial].<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), hold left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *If you get a jump from the very edge of the upsloped ramp, you can land right on the platform above the spring and save a bit of time. It's safer, especially if you verify that it's the wrong height, to let the jump go shortly after launching it, land on the lower platforms with the rings and jump up.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land on a spiked enemy way out in front. Hold jump until just after you hit the enemy, this will give you enough of a bounce to clear the two spikeballs up ahead but not waste time waiting to fall into the spring pit.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89 https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic_the_Hedgehog/Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog/Sonic 2015-08-06T22:26:47Z <p>Mike89: /* Scrap Brain 3 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{sda run|http://speeddemosarchive.com/Sonic1.html}}<br /> <br /> == Forewords ==<br /> The current fastest known time is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPY7ix5Do2o 12:02 by mike89]. Sonic 1 has a rich speedrunning history with lots of people contributing with strats, glitches and routes. What is presented here are not necessarily the fastest routes known, but rather what is typically thought of as reasonable in a single-segment speedrun.<br /> <br /> If you are more interested in the fastest possible strats, for example for IL's, it's recommended to check out [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL195439A7DAC3F3A4 TeeNTee314's] individual level runs.<br /> <br /> == Rules and Timing ==<br /> This game uses the in-game timer as the method of timing the run. It starts in Green Hill 1 and ends during the fadeout after defeating Robotnik in Final Zone. In order to time the run this way, you can use a program such as [https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5knwujwvdfvxpx/ShitSplit04a.zip ShitSplit] made by setz, or [http://livesplit.org/downloads/ LiveSplit] by CryZe and wooferzfg1. In the instance of a death you simply add that time as you would a stage. If you respawn at a star post after dying or going to a special stage you add the delta between the death and the star post spawn time (i.e. you die at 1:00 and respawn at 0:50 by the star post, then add 10 seconds).<br /> <br /> Since the timer is framebased, 50Hz is fine to use competitively. It is however also slower in real time and gives an unfair advantage, so 60Hz is preferred.<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp after the tube is completely necessary: if you don't, the screen won't scroll down fast enough and you'll just die.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 2==<br /> *This stage starts off kinda tricky. The jump over the spikes needs to be short, but not too short: too high and you go back up to the platform above, and too low and you hit them instead.<br /> *The roll through the wall is also really tight, you have just enough room to build up the speed to get through the wall in one go, but more importantly you need to hold back your jump until you've definitely seen the last piece break. If you try and do it by the timing of the five before you'll tend to jump early and not break the last block. However, you can't leave it too long because you also need to jump early enough to hit the ceiling!<br /> *The jump after the bridge should be from about the right post, hold the jump button up to the maximum height and then let it go. A low bounce off the extra life goes straight into the invincibility above. Then piano the buttons to ensure you get a short jump off the moving platform up ahead (or the spikes, if you've been a bit slower through the stage).<br /> Target time: 0:19<br /> <br /> ==Green Hill 3==<br /> *The jump up to the spring is off a very slight incline. The kind of thing that makes all the difference in this game!<br /> *Two ways of completing the rest of the stage: either roll through the speed shoes and play the bottom path as in the video above, or bounce off them and make a series of bounces across the top as in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7g-GGqQeCQ?t=14m5s Naegleria's tutorial].<br /> Target time: 0:32 on the high path, 0:35 on the low.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 1==<br /> *Make sure you grab the shield, otherwise it'll just get in your way later.<br /> *Push against the wall on the moving platform until you're balancing inside it. From here, while the platform moves down and back up, gently tap right enough times to shift Sonic two pixels to the right. The pixel you're looking for is this one:<br /> [[Image:M1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Look particularly at Sonic's left foot - the vertical line that marks the left edge of the moving platform should basically bisect the flat part of Sonic's foot. This is kind of tricky at first, but experience will help.<br /> *As soon as you identify the pixel, stop pressing right. This is because the upcoming zip is subpixel-dependent: the subpixel range between 12 and 71 (out of 255) will let you go through the wall. So if you stop pressing right as soon as you identify this pixel, and your button presses are pretty short, then there's a good chance you'll fall in this range. The range 0-11 gets you stuck in the wall, though, from which you can only die.<br /> *When Sonic reaches this height (with Sonic's left foot roughly a third of the way up the block in the left wall), hold left, and the very next frame, hold jump:<br /> [[Image:M1-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should put you on the other side of the wall. Immediately kill both of the bats - if you don't, you won't reach the top of the spiked platform - and complete the stage.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:29 if everything goes right first try. Each additional attempt at the zip costs six seconds, and if you miss the spiked platform cycle, that's another three gone.<br /> <br /> ==Marble 2==<br /> *Line yourself up on the leftmost pixel of the moving platform, like this:<br /> [[Image:M2-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> A useful way to tell that you're on it is to line up the vertical line on the left edge of the platform with the corner of Sonic's left foot.<br /> *As the platform reaches this position, tap right for one frame, then hold jump on the next. You can use a pause buffer to separate these two inputs, but that means you have to press jump and Start on the same frame upon resumption:<br /> [[Image:M2-2.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Here, the bottom of Sonic's left foot should be in line with the bottom of the square it's hidden behind. You have to extrapolate a little bit to figure out exactly where it is, but the timing is pretty lenient to start the zip.<br /> *Hold nothing until the big wall reaches the left edge of the screen, then hold left. This should run you into the signpost as soon as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:11<br /> <br /> ==Marble 3==<br /> *After pushing against the left wall, tap right twice and then hold up. This should put you in the right position for the buzzbomber to knock you into the ground below the platforms. If you fall to the left of the left platform, you didn't move far enough to the right, similarly if you end up on the middle platform you moved too far right.<br /> *Once the left platform has moved to the very top of its cycle (which is more than two squares above the bottom), hold right and jump three frames later. You can't jump on the first two frames, so piano roll all three buttons and hope to get one on the right frame.<br /> *Stay still from then until the second of the high pitched notes in the boss music plays, then jump for the first hit. There are a number of ways to do the boss fight here, depending on the amount of risk you're willing to take. A fairly simple method is to stay on the right platform for the whole fight, getting four hits before he flies over to the left and another four as he flies back.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 1==<br /> *The jump off the ramp onto the red spring should be left as late as possible. Additionally, let go of all directions on the way down. Press down as you hit the ramp, then right to land on the wall.<br /> *The jump off the wall also needs to be held back as late as possible, which is kind of tricky because you can't see where you are! If you jump too early though, you'll just fall to the bottom which takes a long time to recover from.<br /> *If you get a jump from the very edge of the upsloped ramp, you can land right on the platform above the spring and save a bit of time. It's safer, especially if you verify that it's the wrong height, to let the jump go shortly after launching it, land on the lower platforms with the rings and jump up.<br /> *Once on the upper platform, do a full size jump from just after the last post on this platform, around here:<br /> [[Image:SY1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land on a spiked enemy way out in front. Hold jump until just after you hit the enemy, this will give you enough of a bounce to clear the two spikeballs up ahead but not waste time waiting to fall into the spring pit.<br /> *It's possible to hit the tiny gap in the right wall directly, but it needs to be hit perfectly and if you miss, the spring throws you back up, costing about three seconds and potentially getting you hit.<br /> *The speed shoes can sometimes run out on the final stretch. If you think they will, roll (and let go of right) to prevent the [[Sonic_the_Hedgehog_game_mechanics_and_glitches#Speed_cap|speed cap]] from kicking in.<br /> Target time: 0:25<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 2==<br /> *The jump over to the spring is important: hitting the left edge of the screen resets your subpixels to 0. Once you hit the edge, let all directions go until hitting the bumper - you'll always get bumped up like this.<br /> *There's no really good cue for when to jump off the ramp, but you have to get it right near the end without going down onto the steeper part in order to skip over the pit. Once you land on the stretch here, you actually want to activate the speed cap on purpose, so as to aim your jump onto the platform with four rings.<br /> *It's possible to clear the gap with the spike ball near the end with a single jump, but it needs a very tight jump, and it's so late that it appears that you pass through half of the green cylinder on the way! At the cost of about half a second, you can also just clear it in two jumps instead (one onto the platform in the middle of the pit).<br /> *For the final jump, much like the upside-down ramp in SY1, leave the jump as late as you can. Ideally you hit the ceiling and carry all your momentum to the finish, although sometimes you'll get a slower finish.<br /> Target time: 0:31<br /> <br /> ==Spring Yard 3==<br /> *Run to the left first, then when you reach the left edge of the screen switch to right and jump. This sets up the two spike balls up ahead so they are just out of your way as you go past.<br /> *A few things have to go right after you go past the spike balls: skipping over the small bump in the floor, getting enough horizontal speed on the next jump to bounce off the crab, then timing the two jumps up the moving platforms perfectly (the second, if done right, should squeeze through the gap at the top), and finally making one more jump up on top of the platform you just squeezed under and moving all the way to the right, then immediately holding down. If any of these steps fail, then don't try and make your way over there, you'll simply die. Just wait for another cycle to go past and go up there safely.<br /> *As soon as the screen shifts right, press left to zip and then right again when the zip stops. When the ground stops you (right underneath the door), let go of right, jump, then tap right just as Sonic is about to land again, and you should be moved into the wall under the door. Simply jump from here to fall, then hold left and you'll fall again.<br /> *From here, hold left for about half a second and then jump. What you're looking for is the two spike ball pits above you. In between the two of them, there's a brown section of the wall that's twice as wide as the other similar parts around it. Jump up against it so you're standing right next to it, but every time you land let go of the directions or you'll zip away again. From right next to the block, use short zips left and right to position yourself under it, like this (you should move into this position from the left hand side):<br /> [[Image:SY3-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> From here, you can hold right and, on the very next frame, jump and you'll drop down another level in the floor.<br /> *As you drop, you'll see there are double brown and green columns. Hold left after landing on the lower level and, once the third set of double columns has reached the left edge of the screen, switch to holding down and you should be rolling in the halfpipe as you reappear on screen.<br /> *As you roll up the left wall, you go through a set of 10 rings. As you make contact with the last one, do a full jump and you should land in the pocket in the wall with the invincibility and speed shoes.<br /> *The boss isn't too hard, but occasionally you'll miss one of the hits (particularly hit 6). If you do miss a hit, Robotnik actually moves a bit higher in the air so you can't reach him with a regular jump, but if you roll before you jump you'll jump slightly higher, enough to reach him even at the high point of his cycle.<br /> Target time: 0:54-0:58 on the early cycle at the start, 1:01-1:05 on the later cycle.<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 1==<br /> *Hitting the switch down here is the only way to make the platform at the top appear. Make sure you hit it before the rising platform.<br /> *When on the rising platform, just stand near enough the edge so Sonic is teetering on it and jump straight up - this will get you past the spikes, there's no need to move away from the platform.<br /> *Wait on the left side of the small platform that takes you across the top until Sonic is standing in the middle of the large tile in the background, like so:<br /> [[Image:L1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you prefer, think of that tile as a face, and the bit Sonic's standing in front of to be the nose. Do a full jump straight up, hold right near the top of the jump so as to land back on the platform, then jump back off it. You should have enough momentum to carry you over to the other side. Immediately upon landing, hold left to slow down, then do another jump over the spikes.<br /> *As you exit the water current, hold left for a short time, otherwise you'll be thrown straight into the enemies up ahead.<br /> Target time: 0:47<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 2==<br /> *After the two ball-and-chains, the jump to kill the first of the enemies up ahead is a bit earlier than you think it is. You can't do this jump short: it has to be high enough to trigger the second enemy to come out, otherwise you'll have to make an extra jump to get caught in the current.<br /> *To do the zip here, land to the left of the switch, do as small a jump as you can into the gap on the right, then jump back onto it without being stopped by the side. Hold left until you hit the wall, then hold nothing and as soon as you stop next to the wall, you'll move into it along with the door. As soon as the whole door moves into the wall on the left, hold left and you should fly past the switch and towards the end.<br /> *Once the edge of the wall has moved to about the middle of the screen, switch to holding right to kick the speed cap in. This should slow you down just in time to hit the signpost as it appears.<br /> Target time: 0:30<br /> <br /> ==Labyrinth 3==<br /> *It's not strictly necessary to get the rings here, but they only cost half a second and there's no others on your path for the rest of the stage. Ignore them at your peril!<br /> *Don't hold a direction when jumping off the water slide, as this will kick in the speed cap.<br /> *While in the water current, listen out for when the air countdown starts. If it starts before you let go of the fourth pole, you won't be able to do the strategy in the video, and should go for air first instead.<br /> *However, the bubble cycle is actually pretty random (it certainly doesn't fit usual camera timer or universal timer criteria), so even if you've done well and given yourself a few seconds, you can still die if the game decides not to give you a bubble. Part and parcel of the game, unfortunately.<br /> *As you climb up towards the boss, the climb is divided into three similar sections. Essentially you do two short jumps, then two full jumps, one short, one full, one short on each of the first two, and two short, two full, three short on the last. However, if you're playing on v1.1, the second section is modified so it's identical to the third one.<br /> *Once you reach Robotnik, the rest of the jumps should go like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ4h8PoTt8M?t=11m51s this]. Aside from the jumps that hit Robotnik, every jump is necessary (yes, even the jump straight up in the air to dodge the shot - Robotnik is blocking your landing on the platform up ahead).<br /> *The jumps under the arrows from right to left are a bit daunting at first: they need to be tiny jumps and if you miss, you can get knocked into the pit on the left which sends you all the way back to the bottom and certain death. You can wait until the arrow retracts as a safety, but it obviously costs a bit of time.<br /> Target time: 1:27<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 1==<br /> *Much like in Marble 2, you need to line up on the leftmost pixel of the platform to stand in the wall and get the zip here. What can make it harder in this stage, though, is that you only have a short time to line it up, and it's harder to use the foot as a visual cue with the wall in the way. Once you're on this pixel, though, you should wait until the platform reaches the bottom and the bomb explodes, then hold right and release it as soon as Sonic leaves the wall:<br /> [[File:SL1-1.png]]<br /> *Getting the correct speed out of the wall is also subpixel dependent, meaning you can do everything right and still only get thrown out at a slow speed which won't trigger the level wrap. From here, the platform position resets so you can attempt it again, but it costs eight seconds.<br /> *Taking the regular path through the stage only costs around 9-10 seconds against a first try level wrap here. It's a very simple route too, the only thing you really have to worry about is landing on the yellow spring after the first ramp, and even that is well marked by the line of five rings directly above it.<br /> Target time: 0:16 with the level wrap, 0:25 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 2==<br /> *TODO: explain the level wrap method<br /> *As in Spring Yard 2, touching the left wall before the spring will reset your subpixels to 0. In this case, holding right off the ramp will cause you to land on the steepest part of the ramp ahead every time and get a very fast roll. Sometimes this roll will actually cause you to go through the loop instead of around it, which costs a lot of time; to get around this, just tap left on the way down to it. It also has the side effect of making the jump off the upcoming ramp easier to hit, although you can't get the best possible result which is a jump that goes all the way to the top platform.<br /> *Aim to jump near the top of that ramp, so that you launch off at about 45 degrees. If you go too early and go over the top of the screen, you need to release the jump a quarter second after going off the top, otherwise you'll be stopped in mid-air.<br /> *Run underneath the two orbinauts and roll down the first of the sinewaves. At the steepest point of each drop, you want to jump off, holding down but not right the whole way through, to build up speed. After the third, try and get that 45 degree angle again and hold the jump all the way over the wall. Ideally, this jump should clear the dropping platform on the level below.<br /> Target time: 0:10 with the level wrap, 0:24 without.<br /> <br /> ==Star Light 3==<br /> *All the first three jumps should be full jumps. At the time the third jump would hit the ground if it continued to be flat, switch to holding left, then roll as soon as you hit the slope.<br /> *There are a number of ways to slow down and drop down to the lower level. You can either take a hit to one of the bombs, land on the platform and jump off it into the gap, or switch to running in the loop and kick in the speed cap just before reaching the gap. The last method is quickest if it goes right.<br /> *Hitting one of the bombs on its right hand side will cause you to get knocked right upon hitting it, saving a little time.<br /> *The boss here is the most technical in the game. The method in the video above is fairly easy to replicate, but if any part of it goes wrong, it takes a long time to recover from. Importantly, when you follow this method, you need to delay the sixth hit a little, so that you get a decent upward bounce. This will mean that Robotnik has dropped the bomb on the left seesaw before you drop down for hit 7, after which hit 7 and 8 go exactly like 3 and 4.<br /> *Some quick principles: If you're standing on a seesaw as Robotnik passes over it, he'll never drop a bomb.<br /> *As in SY3, Robotnik bobs up and down as he moves across the screen, which means he won't always be within range of a jump from the centre of a seesaw. You generally only do this for the first hit.<br /> *However, you can jump off the high end of a seesaw on the first frame you land, which will always reach. Doing a couple of these hits is potentially faster than the method in the video, but it can also result in Robotnik not dropping bombs which negates any advantage. The jump also needs to be frame-perfect or close to it, so it's a risk.<br /> Target time: 0:57<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 1==<br /> *Hard to describe this in text, but just after the second of the long notes in the main melody is when you should launch a full jump onto the switch. This should minimise the time the tube takes to return to you, giving you enough time to get up onto the rotating platforms with a jump immediately after leaving the tube.<br /> *Delay jumping up onto the disappearing platform at 15 seconds a little bit, if you're too quick with this sequence you'll be hit by a lightning bolt when you land down the bottom.<br /> *If you've done everything right up to the conveyor belt, the disappearing platforms will appear at a high 24. Any mistake here effectively costs four seconds, because it won't appear the next time until high 28/low 29.<br /> *This caterpillar can sometimes hit you even if you roll through it. Might be worth just jumping over it instead.<br /> *After going over both of the trapdoors, jump from the very edge of the yellow and black platform, like so:<br /> [[File:SB1-1.png]]&lt;br /&gt;<br /> This should land directly on the switch. Then make three quick jumps up these platforms, wait for one cycle of the rotating platforms, then just run through both of them.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> Target time: 0:44<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 2==<br /> *The trick with this clip here is to be at the same height as the trapdoor as it closes. The timing's a bit tricky, but you get it with practice. One in the wall, hold right until you see Sonic drop, then switch to left to zip.<br /> *After the tube, jump from the lowest part of the upslope and hold the jump all the way into the pit. It should bounce off the second of the 10 ring boxes in the pit, continue to hold the jump until you get out.<br /> Target time: 0:35<br /> <br /> ==Scrap Brain 3==<br /> *A new [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HflBa_HUF4E slope glitch method] has been found to complete this stage even quicker than the old glitchy method. Everything that happens is important, even though it looks a bit strange.<br /> *First, hit the switch and run off to the right, switching back to the left roughly on the line between the two blocks you see Sonic turn around at in the video. This causes the platform to move all the way down to the bottom immediately.<br /> *Line yourself up as close to the slope as you can and hold up until the screen has scrolled all the way up.<br /> *Press left, then switch to right and jump as quickly as you can. Because of the way Sonic's acceleration works, this actually causes Sonic to jump a bit further than he would just by holding right.<br /> *You may have noticed that the platform you were standing on disappeared - if it doesn't reappear on the bottom left of the screen when you land on the slope, you've succeeded in getting the slope glitch. Then simply run up into the ceiling, and hold right until you see the screen shift left. React to this, don't anticipate. As soon as it happens switch to left, and you should trigger the exit!<br /> *If you don't want to do that, you can play the stage normally, which costs about 12 seconds but removes the risk of missing the glitch. The one thing to note on the normal route is, as you drop into the last water pit, you should roll into it, then hold one of the jump buttons so that when you land on the enemy below, you get a full bounce off it.<br /> Target time: 0:09 with slope glitch, 0:21 without.<br /> <br /> ==Final Zone==<br /> *Don't jump at the start of the stage, just hold right.<br /> *When jumping for each hit, make sure you let go of any direction before hitting Robotnik.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> If you do both of these things correctly, Robotnik should appear in the pistons in the following order: 4-3-2-4-2-1-4-3.<br /> *For the third hit, make sure you stand to the left of piston 2 - this hit is a 2-3 pattern which is almost impossible to hit from the right side.</div> Mike89