Sonic the Hedgehog/All Emeralds

Timing Note

This run, unlike other Sonic runs, should be timed in real time. The game timer doesn't run during the special stages, and they can have significant variance in time. This means you'll have to wait for 30 seconds if the timer is above 23 and a third when you get to the end, which will always happen in Green Hill 1 and can sometimes happen in Marble 2, Marble 3, Spring Yard 1, Labyrinth 2 and Star Light 2.

Special Stage Order

Levels you should take the special stages in:

• Green Hill 1 (costs no time, have to wait for 30 seconds anyway)
• Green Hill 2 (collect 20 rings and shield at start plus 9 rings on final ramp, costs 2 seconds)
• Spring Yard 1 (collect on-the-way rings, costs no time as you have to wait for 30 seconds)
• Spring Yard 2 (an ideal run of this stage gets over 50 rings anyway)

For the other two stages, there are three decent options: Marble 1, Star Light 1 and Star Light 2:

• Marble 1 (two ways to do this: either collect every loose ring at the top of the stage, or take one or more of the ring boxes hidden under the ramp. Costs about six seconds (or one cycle of the platforms that allow the zip))
• Star Light 1 (take 10 rings from the pit at the start, you can finish the stage from here in 31 seconds which loses one second to no-wrap strategy, or about 9 seconds to the level wrap)
• Star Light 2 (there are 50 rings on the upper path near the end, but they cost quite a bit of time: it's difficult to finish the stage in less than 35 seconds with these rings, losing 5 seconds to no-wrap or 19 seconds to a first-try wrap)

I recommend taking Marble 1 and Star Light 1, SL2 costs the most time on average and it can also act as a safety in case you miss any of the others. Spring Yard 1 in particular is a risk for this, as there are multiple ways you can get hit near the end.

Any level not listed here should be played identically to the any% run, unless doing so would cause you to end a stage between 23.33 and 30 seconds, in which case you should wait for the timer to hit 30.