Sonic Forces

Welcome to the walkthrough for Sonic Forces, a semi-sequel to the highly-rated Sonic Mania and the first "Modern Sonic" game for a long time. The gameplay is similar to that of Sonic Generations, but adds in a customizable character for a third style of action to spice things up. Although it's not necessary, it'd be best to go into this game with a bit of background from the previously mentioned titles so you have at least some idea of what's going on and how some of the play styles work.

There are currently 48 achievements for the game, three of which are from free DLC released on the same day that the main game was. All 48 of the achievements take between 25-35 hours or so to obtain, so you shouldn't find too many aspects of the game to be overly difficult.

Videos have been provided for every level so you can visually see what to do if reading about it isn't your thing. Collectibles, of which there are abundant amounts of, all come in text and video guides to suit whichever preference you'd like. You can go for these as you play the story, or look for them after you've finished it, it's up to you.

The story to this game is incredibly short, ranging between 2-4 hours for the average player, but finding the collectibles is what really beefs up the time you play the game. Challenge Missions are also available, and you should try to complete those when you get them so you don't have to do as much backtracking later. As for collectibles, finding them is technically a lot easier compared to one of the previous titles that had Red Star Rings in them, Sonic Generations. Unlike that game, each set of Red Star Rings has a specific order to them, and you can see exactly which ones you're missing from the world map with ease. After collecting all five Red Star Rings, Number Rings appear, and after those are Silver Moon Rings. Thanks to this brilliant design choice by Sonic Team, you'll now have to go through each level a minimum of three times to get all of the collectibles inside of it.

S Ranks, which you need to earn on almost every level, are fairly easy to get once you know the level well enough. If you don't get one on your first try, I suggest coming back to do so after you've gotten all the collectibles so you can better work with the level and its various paths. Back to Challenge Missions, there are some stages that must be completed before a certain amount of time passes; I've included my personal best times as videos to help with this, as specifically describing what to do for each portion of those levels would be ridiculously long. I can't imagine someone would rather spend five minutes or more reading some long and winded description for every one of those challenges instead of simply watching how to do it, which would likely take less than three minutes.

Note: If you have the Episode Shadow DLC, you'll be able to start it at any time from the main menu. I suggest only starting it once you're at least 20 levels into the main story of the game to avoid any confusion plot-wise and so you're familiar with the game first.

The story to the game is 30 levels long, and to get all of the achievements, you'll also need to get an S Rank on every one. As you start the game, you'll be given with two options, Normal and Hard. Normal doesn't let you collect as many rings, but lessens the punishment of being hit. You'll need a LOT of rings for some other achievements, however, so you should stick with Hard. Normal mode also doesn't let you put your times onto the leaderboards. Cutscene descriptions will be included throughout the page, and you should naturally try to avoid reading these unless you just don't care about the story. The cutscene descriptions will hopefully be very minimal in spoilers regardless.

If you have the free Episode Shadow DLC, you'll also be able to play as Shadow in certain levels after you beat it the first time. You'll also be able to start the DLC right away from the main menu, but you should really do it later once you have a good feel for the game, or even after you beat the main story. Videos for S Ranks can be found in the playlist link below.

Sonic Forces | S Ranks

Cutscene 01

The story begins with a shot from within Eggman's lab. Orbot and Cubot (from Sonic Colors) make one of there few appearances in the story here as Eggman revels in his new creation, something that should be able to defeat Sonic for once. Soon after, you'll start the first level as Sonic, and as always, it's Green Hill Zone. Tails will call for your help in the city nearby, so dash through the level as fast as you can.

Green Hill - Lost Valley

If you've played any "Modern" Sonic games recently, you'll notice that your Boost Gauge is completely depleted. You won't be able to boost until you reach a Wisp (also from Sonic Colors) to replenish it to full, so just keep running forward. It's a really, really simple level, but built in a way to make speedrunning it very entertaining and challenging. Once you get the Wisp, you can boost with the prompt given in the hint bubbles around the stage in most places to go much faster than you normally would. About a third of the way through the level, you'll see that Green Hill has been heavily affected by by something Eggman is surely behind; there's a bunch of sand everywhere, and it's really messing up how the place used to look. A giant blue worm-like creature will also appear in the background, but he won't be any threat throughout the level. As stated before, the level is among the simplest in the entire series, so finishing from this point won't take you very long.

To get an S Rank, you need 950,000 points. You can increase your score by going faster, defeating more enemies, collecting objects like Red Star Rings, and of course, not dying.

• A New Story Begins

  Cleared Stage 1

  
  

Cutscene 02-04

Once you finish, Sonic will be treated to a big surprise in the city; Eggman has brought his new dangerous ally with him, and four others from previous Sonic games will arrive to fight Sonic as well. In a matter of seconds, Sonic will be defeated, and the Eggman Empire will have spread across the globe due to his capture. After a big gap of time, the resistance against his rule will be shown to have been reduced to many of the staple Sonic series characters, as well as a new recruit. This recruit is going to be your own avatar that you can customize on your from a list of several different options.

I personally went with a wolf, since I didn't care about looks too much and went with the reasoning that I'd be able to collect rings a lot easier. You can make more Avatar characters later, so you don't have to put that much thought into it right now. After selecting a species, you go into detail for the color, voice, and victory pose for your Avatar.

• Your Own Story

  Created an Avatar

  
  

Now that you're all ready to go, you'll be presented with the World Map. You can replay the Green Hill level now too, so you can clean up the collectibles (see the Collectibles page), get an S Rank on the level, or try to get a good time for the World, Local, and Friend Leaderboards. If you have the free Episode Shadow DLC, you'll also be able to play as Shadow, but there won't be any noticeable difference in gameplay. The next level that you're headed to is the Chemical Plant, which is at this point turning into the next Green Hill in terms of how often it appears in games. There are reports that Sonic is alive, and you're going in to rescue him. Select this level when you're ready to start it.

Chemical Plant - Spaceport

The part of the Chemical Plant that you're exploring in this level is much different than anything you've seen in a Chemical Plant stage in previous games, but it's still not hard to navigate. The default Wispon for the Avatar is a flame-based weapon, and since there's no charge or anything related to it, there's no reason that you shouldn't just use your Wispon the entire time to destroy any enemy that gets within range of its flames. There are a bunch of rings to find in the level as well, so if you happened to choose a wolf, you're in luck. After an automatic sequence with a cargo train, you'll be treated with a quicktime event of all things. Pressing the correct key/button at the right moment (when both circles align) will give you more points than if you do so earlier or later.

You need 1,400,000 points or so for an S Rank here, as opposed to the smaller score from the first level. You can increase your score with the various Red Star Rings easily found in the level, and you'll especially boost your score by holding onto your rings for the entirety of the level. Collecting all five RSR's unlocks Number Rings to find in the stage, and getting all five of those unlocks Silver Moon Rings; all three sets of collectibles can help increase your score, so don't fret about not getting an S Rank on your first few tries.

After you beat this level, you'll be able to customize your Avatar with a set of default items, as well as any that you might have from certain packs that you may have downloaded. Starting the third level activates a cutscene.

Cutscene 05

Tails will have failed to fix and reactive E-123 Omega, and in this unfortunate time, Chaos 0 creeps up on him for an attack. In the nick of time, Classic Sonic (coming straight out of the true ending of Sonic Mania) pops out of nowhere to save him. These two haven't seen each other since the events of Sonic Generations, so after a quick little reunion, you're set to take control of Classic Sonic and make your way through the abandoned city.

City - Ghost Town

The city is totally empty, and is completely in ruins, save for a few standard enemies patrolling the area. Classic Sonic, if you're unfamiliar with the gameplay of Generations or the original SEGA Genesis titles, performs a lot differently than Modern Sonic and the Avatar. The most noticeable gameplay changes are that Classic Sonic always exists in a 2D space, and cannot boost. You can charge up a spin dash to increase your speed, but there's no need for that thanks to the drop dash, a move introduced in Sonic Mania. When you're in the air, hold Space to charge up a drop dash, and continue holding it until you hit the ground. This will immediately give you a lot of speed as soon as you're on the ground, and is super useful for getting through a stage quickly.

You need 900,000 points to get an S Rank on this stage, and it's really easy to do. You get a majority of these points from the time bonus and the retry bonus, which should give you upwards of 750,000 points if you finish in under 01:50 or so.

Cutscene 06

This cutscene is a flashback to when the city was first attacked by Infinite, one of the main villains of the game. Your Avatar is the sole survivor of his onslaught, and sits on the ground in fear as Infinite taunts him.

Rouge will call the resistance to give an update on the Sonic situation. It seems Eggman's been keeping him alive just to show him the completed Eggman Empire before banishing him into space. Apparently, Eggman rebuilt the Death Egg again, and that's where Sonic is being held. Time to go to space. Before you do, though, check out the new missions menu on the world map. More information on these missions is on the next page.

Death Egg - Prison Hall

As the rest of the resistance attracts most of Eggman's defenses, you'll be able to head to the prison hall against much fewer enemies. The first few curves of the level involve the grapple, which comes out automatically. Move in the opposite direction of which you're going to try to position yourself towards ramps in the path to reach higher areas.

The S Rank for this mission requires 1,050,000 points. It's easy to make these points up by collecting rings (most effectively as a wolf) and even Red Star Rings, not to mention daily bonuses from missions that you unlocked after beating the previous mission.

Once you've finished this mission, the first boss battle will open up.

Cutscene 07

Thanks to the work done by the resistance, Sonic's electric binds break just as Zavok approaches him. Sonic's not going to go out without a fight.

Death Egg - VS. Zavok

This battle is pretty easy. Zavok will be riding a big insect-like machine and will spawn individual bug enemies on the platform you're standing on. Collect the rings that spawn as you defeat these small enemies, and then dodge Zavok's laser attack by just running away from it. After this, a horde of enemies will spawn in one after the other. Avoiding damage is easy here, too: jump when the first enemy is approaching you, and then use a double jump to stay up in the air. You don't even have to move for that attack. Next, Zavok and his machine will crash down on the platform, which will send you up in the air. Perform three homing attacks on him to inflict damage, and then repeat the whole process over again. After the second hit, most of the original attacks will not be repeated, and your main concern will be dodging Zavok's charges across the stage as smaller enemies spawn in. After he charges twice, he'll crash down on the stage again. Attack him two more times for a total of four hits to defeat the beast.

You need 1,250,000 points to S Rank this fight, and as long as you don't miss an opportunity for attack and pick up plenty of rings, you should easily get this score. You'll also probably finish the Challenge Mission for finishing the stage in 135 seconds as well.

• Sextuple Trouble

  Defeated Zavok

  
  

Cutscene 08

After Zavok's defeat, he'll faze out of existence as the strange noise heard in certain circumstances can be heard. Before Sonic can think about what that means or what happened to Zavok, he has to start his escape from the Death Egg.

Death Egg - Egg Gate

As you make your escape, the main threat won't be enemies, but energy ball turrets instead. Dodging them can be a bit of a hassle sometimes, but aren't too tough most of the time. The end of the level consists of a few QTEs as you jump from ship to ship, and getting those down right will really increase your score.

You need 1,200,000 for an S Rank. Going for an all-five Red Star Ring run should help nicely, as well as not getting hit and going with the usual tips for getting an S Rank.

Cutscene 09

Sonic will save your Avatar, and he will talk to the resistance in place of the mute rookie that was sent in to rescue him. They'll take off in one of Eggman's ships and finally be safe from the clutches of the Death Egg. Afterwards, Knuckles will send both Sonic and the Avatar to a factory in Green Hill that Eggman is using, and it has to be taken down in order for the resistance to stand any chance of success.

Green Hill - Arsenal Pyramid

This is the first of a handful of missions where your Avatar and Sonic team up to get through the level together. I suggest using a Lightning Wispon if you've unlocked one, because it'll allow you to perform a move similar to a ring dash found in many other Sonic games. When you've made it past the first area, you'll be given a few seconds to mash Shift to charge up a double-boost. Regardless of whether you take part in this QTE, you'll make it into the pyramid without any hitches. Once inside, it's just a matter of fighting enemies with the Burst Wispon, or speeding ahead over them with the Lightning Wispon if you brought that with you. The stage shouldn't take more than two and a half minutes to complete.

The S Rank score requires at least 1,450,000 points, which is easily done if you use the Lightning Wispon and don't lose any of the rings as you approach the end of the level. This level in particular is useful for grinding rings for the Ring King achievement; more on that is on the Misc Achievements page.

After you finish the level, Silver will report in that he's fighting Infinite in the Mystic Jungle. Head over to the next mission when you're ready.

Mystic Jungle - Luminous Forest

Eggman's robots have swarmed the forest, and bombs are going off everywhere. Rush past it all and make your way to the end of the level, where Silver needs your help. This stage is pretty easy, but the curved tunnel portions of the level might send you flying if you're only boosting throughout their entirety. Try to tilt yourself towards the center of the tunnels at all times to prevent this from happening.

You need 1,100,000 points for an S Rank. Performing well in the QTEs at the end of the level helps your score drastically, and you can get an S Rank without even collecting any special rings if you get those down good enough.

Cutscene 10

Sonic wil arrive just in the nick of time to swap out for Silver. After being a bit too cheesy, Sonic will be launched into the battlefield from Infinite's unusual power, and the fight will begin.

Mystic Jungle - VS. Infinite

This fight takes place along a big, snake-like set of curving pillars. You can run on all sides without falling off, and the only hazard seems to be Infinite's cube-based attacks. Dodge them and try to pick up Wisps when they appear so you can get closer to Infinite and perform a homing attack on him. It's as easy as that. Sometimes you'll be sent into the air towards a bunch of phantom illusions, all of which are defeated easily with homing attacks. Just keep homing on on them and you'll eventually hit the real Infinite in a matter of seconds.

You need 980,000 points to get an S Rank for this fight. As long as you don't die, you shouldn't have any problems with scoring this high.

• Infinite Possibilites

  Drove off Infinite

  
  

Cutscene 11

After defeating Infinite, the losing party will finally decide to go all-out and use their distorting abilities to toss Sonic flat on his face before leaving. On the world map, Tails will tell Classic Sonic that Eggman is nearby, so the two head off towards Green Hill to find him.

Green Hill - Green Hill

This level in Green Hill is a lot more reminiscent of the usual look the Zone has in previous games. The drop dash is your best friend once again, just not when there are moving platforms above pits. The stage isn't really that difficult aside from the occasional time you fall into those pits, so it shouldn't take you over two minutes to complete if you've played earlier Sonic titles.

You need 900,000 points for an S Rank. Finishing in a time under a minute and 45 seconds without dying should give you an S Rank easily, and you'll definitely get one if you're going for the challenge to beat the level in under 75 seconds.

After beating this level, your first SOS Mission will appear on the map. Replay the level, which will have differing circumstances depending on the level that the SOS comes from, which is entirely at random. If it's a dark blue symbol, then you need to play through the level and find the lost Avatar stuck in a cage somewhere in the area. If it's orange, you have to play as that Avatar instead of your own and finish the level without dying, and if it's green, you use the Avatar in distress as a rental. If it's a green SOS Mission, you don't even have to use the Rental Avatar at all.

Cutscene 12

Tails and Classic Sonic will be eavesdropping on a conversation Eggman and Infinite are having about prototype Phantom Rubies. It seems Eggman must've been trying to duplicate the one found in Angel Island in Classic Sonic's dimension. Or, perhaps, Eggman sent that Phantom Ruby there as a prototype? As Infinite leaves, Tails and Classic Sonic reveal themselves to fight Eggman.

Green Hill - VS. Eggman

This is a really easy fight. The first phase is against a more traditional form Eggman has in his carrier, similar to that of the original Green Hill Zone boss battle. Jump into his carrier five times as soon as you can, and Eggman will retreat into a much larger contraption, the Egg Dragoon. Here, Eggman will fire bullets at you, which you can easily dodge by running away from them or jumping off of the ground. The Egg Dragoon's tail is used to dig up dirt and rocks in another attack, and you'll want to hit the rocks back at Eggman to inflict damage. Do this enough times, and the Egg Dragoon will be destroyed. Eggman will fly out of it in his carrier as the Dragoon sinks into the abyss below.

The S Rank requires 950,000 points, and all that you really have to do is not die and beat Eggman quickly. There's a challenge related to this fight that requires you to beat it in under 1:15, so you may as well forget about the S Rank until you go for that time.

• Mean Egg Machine

  Drove off Eggman

  
  

Cutscene 13

After Eggman's defeat, the two heroes will get closer to his carrier. Eggman will reveal that he has a three-day plan to wipe the resistance clean before Classic Sonic and Tails just let him get away. Back on the world map, your Avatar will be placed in charge of saving the people in the city, since Sonic and Silver are recovering from their wounds they received against Infinite in the Mystic Jungle.

City - Park Avenue

Like almost every other stage up to this point, there's nothing really special about this one, and there's not much to say when it comes to difficulty either. You can use a Burst Wispon for the entire level and still manage an S Rank without having to try at all. The resistance will somehow make advances through the city thanks to your work, and will compliment you on your skill. You need 1,150,000 points for an S Rank, and you'll easily get that score without having to try too hard.

After completing the mission, you'll get some respect from the crew. Tails and Classic Sonic are headed to the Mystic Jungle to find this dimension's Sonic in an attempt to warn him about Eggman's upcoming scheme.

Mystic Jungle - Casino Forest

Nearly every Sonic game has a casino level, and this is it for Sonic Forces. There are bumpers and flippers galore to both frustrate and send you forward. There is also only one enemy in the level to be found, and it's just a single robot. Thus, the true challenge to finishing the level in a good time is just being lucky with where you're placed when you touch a bumper or some other object.

You need a flat 1,000,000 points for an S Rank. If you're having trouble with this for some reason, nearly every set piece in this level gives you points for merely touching it. You have up to an hour to complete each level (which is insane) so if you want to take the lazy route, you can always hit something a bunch of times.

With Classic Sonic and Tails running about, their presence has been picked up by the resistance. They're not sure who's out there, but the Avatar is sent to see what's going on.

Mystic Jungle - Aqua Road

This level is composed nearly entirely of water slides. They're also the most broken thing in the game thus far, surpassing even the Casino Forest. There's really no good advice to give, because you can get knocked off at a moment's notice and die. Fortunately, the level is SUPER short for an Avatar stage, so it won't last too long.

You need 1,050,000 points for an S Rank, and it's actually pretty easy to get, assuming you make a somehow-deathless run of the level. You should get it on your first try through the level if you can manage to not die.

Cutscene 14

At the end of the jungle, your Avatar will pick up an object similar to the Phantom Ruby, unless it is; it might just be a prototype. The Avatar will take Tails and Classic Sonic back to base. Tails will be very relieved to see Sonic alive, who will comment that it's been "generations" since he's seen Classic Sonic. You know you would've made the same joke if you had the power to.

For whatever reason, finding Tails and Classic Sonic marks a victory for the resistance, as they've now taken back the Mystic Jungle from Eggman's grasp. You'll unlock your first Secret Stage, which you can find more on in the respective page in the walkthrough, as well as an achievement.

• For the Future

  Liberated a world

  
  

Another problem has arisen: Shadow is tearing down resistance fighters like nobody's business. Sonic's finally back in good condition, and is determined to figure out why Shadow is helping Eggman. He hasn't been on Eggman's side in a long time.

City - Sunset Heights

Almost all of this level is cut from City - Park Avenue, so you should absolutely zero trouble navigating the area, and will likely not need any tips on anything in particular aside from collectibles, which are of course on another page.

The S Rank requires only 850,000 points, so just go fast and keep a good grip onto your rings at the end of the level. If you can't seem to get to that high of a score, try grabbing some Red Star Rings.

Cutscene 15

As Sonic meets up with Shadow, another Shadow, the real one, will smack the faker out of existence. How ironic. Back on the world map, Shadow will inform Sonic that Infinite can create illusions with his power. They're as strong as the real deal, and Infinite can create as many of them as he wants. As Sonic talks with Shadow, the events of the next Stage occur. The rest of the resistance is set to perform a full-frontal assault on Eggman's main city.

Metropolis - Capital City

As you run through the city, Infinite will use the Phantom Ruby to completely obliterate the resistance's forces. Lots of giant illusions of Infinite will appear, along with gravitational changes to make things even more off-kilter. Quickly escape the failed assault to complete the mission.

The S Rank requires 1,250,000 points. Holding on to your rings and collecting Red Star Rings works wonders for reaching this score.

Cutscene 16

Infinite will be overly edgy and ask for a real challenge, which is when your Avatar steps in to fight him.

Metropolis VS. Infinite

Dodging Infinite's attacks is far easier than it should be for a fight this late in the game against one of the main antagonists, but you can still easily get hit; it just won't matter that much. I suggest bringing a Burst Wispon with you so you can constantly burn Infinite whenever he's within range of the flames. This should end the fight in less than a minute.

You need a flat 1,000,000 points for an S Rank, which requires you to beat the fight very, very quickly.

• Courage in Hand

  Drove off Infinite again

  
  

Cutscene 17

After the fight, Infinite will prepare to end the life of your Avatar, but they'll use the prototype Phantom Ruby to avoid being shot by Infinite's cannons. Infinite won't know how you've avoided the attack, but will convince himself that it doesn't matter if they can't stop his and Eggman's plan anyway. Tails and Classic Sonic are then sent to the Chemical Plant to discover more about the relation between the Phantom Ruby and virtual reality.

Chemical Plant - Chemical Plant

This stage operates almost like a classic Genesis stage, but not as open and there are way fewer enemies. Traversal through the level shouldn't be confusing for anyone, so you should be out of the plant quickly.

You need 900,000 points for an S Rank. Since you need to beat the level in 70 seconds (see the Challenge Missions page), you may as well just do that and earn the S Rank that way.

Tails will discover the secrets of the Phantom Ruby inside the Chemical Plant as he talks to Classic Sonic on the world map. As they get ready to return to base, Sonic and the Avatar are about to set out to the city to fight what may or may not be a fake Metal Sonic.

City - Red Gate Bridge

As Sonic and the Avatar approach the bridge, not much will be happening until another Death Egg Robot attacks from below. This will lead to two quicktime events, with the second one improving your score depending on your performance. After defeating it and running a little further, you'll find the illusory illusion Metal Sonic. He has three types of attacks: an electric charge tackle, which you can jump over, an electric hazard trap, which you can quick step away from (the Red Star Rings are stuck between the hazards), and finally, he'll try to protect himself with smaller enemies. You can destroy the smaller enemies with either homing attacks or by using a Burst Wispon, which is what I would suggest for your first time through this fight.

The S Rank score is 1,150,000. You should be able to get it more easily on your other runs of the fight, and you'll earn even more points if you can manage to collect a few RSR's along the way. For completing this level, you'll unlock Secret Stage 2.

Cutscene 18

The Avatar and Sonic celebrate their victory against Metal Sonic, and their bond becomes much more apparent.

Tails has discovered that the Phantom Ruby runs on power provided by the Death Egg (but what about Sonic Mania?), so the plan is now to distract Eggman, disable the Death Egg's weapons while he's distracted, and then deactivate the power connection between the space station and the Phantom Ruby. The Avatar will be sent to Green Hill to initiate the first part of the plan.

Green Hill - Guardian Rock

There won't be too much to do here; the level is actually almost entirely in 3D, save for a final chase scene. Most of the level is a bunch of platforming and the legs of the mechanical spider are tossed in to shake things up. You'll occasionally run into a group of enemies, as usual, but they never take too long to dispose of.

You need 1,350,000 points for an S Rank. Getting the QTE down perfectly at the end of the level helps greatly, and so does keeping your rings and finding RSR's. You should be familiar with these standard S Rank tips by now.

Sonic will be at the entrance to the Chemical Plant as the rookie is distracting Eggman's forces at Green Hill. Finishing this mission also unlocks Secret Stage 3.

Chemical Plant - Network Terminal

This level is surprisingly quick for a Modern Sonic stage. The exterior of the facility breezes by in a very short span of time, and all of a sudden you're in the Chemical Plant. The one hazard to watch out for here is the pink chemical Mega Mack that occasionally spills down from above. This will send you downward with it, so don't jump across any gaps if Mega Mack is currently being poured down said gap.

You need 950,000 points for an S Rank. Just going fast will get you this, even without looking for Red Star Rings or the sort.

Finishing this mission unlocks the fourth Secret Stage as well as an achievement for regaining control (or rather, getting rid of Eggman's control) of the majority of the world. There are only two Secret Stages left, and they'll unlock very soon.

• Hope

  Turned the tide of the conflict

  
  

Now that the weapon systems are down, it's Classic Sonic's turn to pitch in and shut down the Death Egg's power systems.

Death Egg - Death Egg

The Death Egg's weapon systems are still active due to it having started using auxiliary power, so you're going to have to face a few threats as you approach the core. Energy turrets, beam pathways, conveyor belts, and overly-extended ray beams are what make this level unique from the rest, and none take too long to get used to. There are also occasional gravity switches in certain parts of the level. In these, moving left still moves Sonic left, but you now have to go up to charge a spin dash and to curl up in a ball.

You need 1,150,000 points for an S Rank. The scoring is extremely forgiving when it comes to time, so you might even get this on your first try, when you're not entirely sure of how the level is designed. For finishing the level, you unlock the fifth of six Extra Stages.

Cutscene 19

By finishing the level, you will have somehow destroyed the Death Egg. Eggman and Infinite will make a "tactical retreat" after they discover what's happened to the station. Now that the Phantom Ruby is much weaker, the resistance will return to the city to make another attack.

Metropolis - Metropolitan Highway

In this mission, Sonic will be looking for Eggman in the city so they can capture him and win the war. There won't really be much opposition here, but there is a new stage gimmick that you should look out for. There are panels with green arrows on them that move quickly to the side the arrows are pointing to very shortly after you make contact with them.

Getting 1,050,000 points will earn you an S Rank. Since there are some easy-to-find Red Star Rings in the level, I suggest picking a few of those up on another run to boost your score up.

Cutscene 20

After Sonic confronts Eggman, Infinite will send Sonic and the Avatar into Null Space, an area completely devoid of everything, which is to say, it has absolutely nothing in it. Tails will question how this was possible since the Death Egg was destroyed, and Eggman will reveal that a backup power source was created under Metropolis.

Metropolis - Null Space

Leaving Null Space is as easy as pie. You don't even have to touch your controller for the Double Boost QTE. You'll also get a ridiculous amount of points to start the level off, but the S Rank score is beefed up to adjust for this. Most of the level is just grind rails, and these are interrupted by the occasional section of enemies to use (preferably) the Burst Wispon on. Some groups of enemies have the spring to the next area openly ready for you to use, so you can just skip the enemies when you can find the spring.

You need 1,500,000 points for an S Rank. Boosting whenever you can is always good to improve your time, and you might want to actually destroy the robots to improve your score instead of ignoring them. Not dying and collecting Red Star Rings is always helpful.

Cutscene 21

Sonic and the Avatar will surprise Eggman with their presence. Although confused as to how it was possible to escape Null Space, Eggman and Infinite leave, and Sonic and the Avatar do absolutely nothing to stop them from doing so. On the world map, Knuckles will inform everyone that there's only one hour before Eggman's plan takes effect. Tails will also express some remorse that when the Phantom Ruby is taken care of, Classic Sonic will return to his own universe (for some reason). You'll also unlock Secret Stage 6 for completing the previous stage.

Cutscene 22

The resistance will face Infinite's ruby illusions, and E-123 Omega will arrive repaired and ready to fight alongside them. Before they can start a proper brawl, Infinite creates a giant sun that will collapse onto the earth. This is the big plan that Eggman had this whole time. The Avatar's prototype Phantom Ruby will react to him, and Tails will give him the idea of using it to get rid of the sun. You'll have to rush to the top of the tower as soon as you can.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Imperial Tower

This level has a lot of wall jumping in it. To stick to the wall properly, move in the direction of the wall that you need to stick to. Once you approach the tower itself, a giant blue laser will trail you from behind. You'll have to constantly move ahead towards the goal to avoid the imminent death provided by this weapon.

You need 950,000 points for an S Rank. You should be able to get a good enough score by using the Burst Wisps around the level and using them to avoid a lot of the wall jumping segments to improve your time, and therefore your time bonus.

Cutscene 23

At the top of the tower, the Avatar will use his prototype to destroy the sun. The prototype will shatter, and Infinite has used too much of the Phantom Ruby's power to create a new one at the moment. This is yet again a turning point for the resistance, and Sonic will head into Mortar Canyon to deal with Infinite for good.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Mortar Canyon

Mortar Canyon really is a canyon; the first few parts of the level are really screwy in that just boosting in the "wrong direction" will send you off the edge. On your first time through, be a little careful and try not to pull any crazy moves off until you know the level a bit better.

You need 950,000 points for an S Rank. As long as you don't die and finish in a good time, you should get an S Rank without too many attempts. Getting Red Star Rings wouldn't hurt, especially since some are pretty easy to spot as you play the level.

Cutscene 24

Infinite claims that although the Phantom Ruby has been weakened, he can still easily defeat Sonic. Challenging this with the usual snarky remarks, Sonic charges forward, ready to fight this menacing foe once and for all.

Eggman Empire Fortress - VS. Infinite

Get ready for a letdown. This is basically a carbon-copy fight of the one again the fake Metal Sonic from earlier. Because of this, you should know exactly what to do. The Avatar will join in halfway through the fight, but their presence won't really make any difference. You need 1,200,000 points for an S Rank.

• Bonds of Friendship

  Defeated Infinite

  
  

Cutscene 25

After the battle, Infinite will start to get all fizzy as Sonic lectures him on friendship. Infinite will fly away, and Eggman will taunt Sonic before leaving.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Iron Fortress

There isn't a whole lot here, but there are two new things to look out for. First off are some red missile-launching crates that fire spinning red missiles. You wont be able to come in contact with them until after they've stopped spinning, so you can use the gap of time you have before that happens to jump straight through them if you have to. There are also big, rotating circular pieces with their own field of gravity. To use these to progress, move "down" as if you were about to charge a spin attack, and then let go at the right moment once you have enough momentum. There's also a side-scrolling portion of the level for some reason, which makes zero sense for a Sonic level that isn't a chase or something of the sort.

You need 1,100,000 points for an S Rank. Holding onto rings and grabbing Red Star Rings would be the ideal thing to focus on, because you'll likely not finish in the best time to make your time bonus support your score enough.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Final Judgement

The approach to the center of Eggman's base is a dangerous one. Giant insta-killing spike wheels appear very early into the level, and laser bots and electrified grind rails don't make things easier. Bring a Hover Wispon to make light of the reactor by blowing the sets of enemies on either side of the checkpoint into the first two pylons, then attack the third one directly five times each between its attacks.

You need 1,100,000 for an S Rank. Since there's not a whole lot of ways you can improve your time, you should focus on collecting Red Star Rings if you're having trouble reaching this score.

Cutscene 26

Eggman will appear with his Death Egg Robot, which looks nothing like the usual Death Egg Robots that have been in the series so far. Powered by the Phantom Ruby, this new model is threatening enough that it'll take the three of you to defeat it.

Eggman Empire Fortress - VS. Death Egg Robot

Bring a Burst Wispon with you; that's going to be the most useful of the bunch for this fight. These tips will also cover how to beat the Death Egg Robot in under 270 seconds, since that needs to be done for a challenge as well. For the first third of the fight, you'll be playing as Classic Sonic. Quickly grab a few rings and jump over the laser attack. Then get as far to the right as you can, and stand still once the D.E.R. sends a bunch of rocks hurtling towards you. Jump into it to send it back into the shield, and then jump into it again once it bounces back to deal a second hit. Dodge another laser attack, move to the right, and stand still again, but this time you'll be able to hit two rocks. Make sure you hit both rocks twice, dealing four more hits, and this phase of the fight will end.

As the Avatar, quickly position yourself in front of the D.E.R.'s right hand, which will fire missiles towards you. Jump in the air and destroy at least one of these missiles, and then jump towards the cockpit and home in on it with your wire. As soon as you can, move to the right to avoid being hit by the D.E.R.'s right hand, and then hit the cockpit once again. After this, you'll be sent a few more missiles from both hands, which you can ignore completely by jumping and attacking the cockpit once the D.E.R. gets close enough to the stage again. Dodge the hand that comes down again and deal the fourth hit towards the cockpit just like before, but after landing this hit, you'll want to quickly move left as much as possible. Jump as you do so to avoid falling into the chasm that the D.E.R.'s hand makes as it crashes down, then hit the cockpit a fifth time. Then dodge a laser that will be fired towards you, and jump to attack the cockpit a sixth and final time to enter the third phase of the battle.

In Null Space, you're going to want to run into some little block piles that show up on the ground every once in a while. The middle always contains a Boost Wisp, but the other two have rings inside. You're going to have to balance collecting both of each to ensure that you stay alive, and mash Space once you can perform homing attacks on the D.E.R.'s final form until you're back on solid ground again. Keep doing this and dodging the D.E.R.'s various attacks until you defeat him, and hopefully finish in under 4:30. Beating it in this time takes a lot of practice, so try not to get upset if you're having a lot of trouble with it at the start.

This last S Rank requires 1,950,000 points. You'll easily get this many by finishing in under 270 seconds for the challenge, so don't worry about having to do both separately.

Cutscene 27

With Eggman defeated, the Phantom Ruby's illusions will dissipate, and the resistance will celebrate the victory they've been striving for. Classic Sonic and Tails will say goodbye to each other for now, and the mute hedgehog will fade back into his own dimension. The credits will roll shortly after Sonic gives a motivational speech. You won't be able to skip the credits.

• Saved the World

  Restored peace to the world

  
  

Cutscene 28

Back at HQ, the resistance will wind down. The Avatar and Sonic will do one last fist bump before they go their separate ways. After this, you'll be able to make up to 14 more Avatars, for a total of 15.

Secret Stages are unlocked by liberating worlds, which has mostly nothing to do on your part except for getting through a certain stage in the story. You don't need S Ranks for any of these six stages, and you also don't have to complete any in a certain time frame. The playlist below contains my own best times just to use as an amateur reference to completing the levels quickly if you find yourself interested in improving your time.

Sonic Forces | Personal Best Times

Mystic Jungle - Fire Cannon 1

This mission unlocks after beating Stage 14, which is Mystic Jungle - Aqua Road. It's really simple and takes about 40 seconds or so to do on your first try. Again, you don't even need an S Rank, which is 950,000 points or higher, but you'll likely get one anyway.

City - Vanish Panel 1

This mission unlocks after you complete City - Red Gate Bridge. The catch here is that the yellow panels disappear within a few seconds of you touching them. You can jump straight through the thinner ones like you'd be able to with other platforms you've seen in other stages, so you can do that to speed things up if you wanted. An Rank is earned by scoring at least 930,000 points.

Green Hill - Bomb Block 1

You can play this stage after finishing Green Hill - Guardian Rock. Bomb blocks start ticking once you touch them, so you need to focus on making your way to safety after touching one. It's a pretty straight-forward level, as are all of the Secret Stages. An S Rank requires 950,000 points.

Chemical Plant - Plasma Cannon 1

Secret Stage 4 unlocks after completing Chemical Plant - Network Terminal. There are a bunch of circular-ish machines, obviously plasma cannons, that fire plasma balls in circles every once in a while. The only challenge is learning when and where the plasma balls are fired. You need 950,000 points for an S Rank.

Death Egg - Laser Cannon 1

This stage unlocks after Death Egg - Death Egg, which is a little after 2/3 of the way into the story. The stage is simple; all you have to do is avoid being hit by the lasers. Even if you get hit, you should be close enough to safety, so it doesn't really matter all that much if you get hurt. Especially since you don't need to get an S Rank for any of these stages. For this stage, like most before it, you need 950,000 points to earn an S Rank.

Metropolis - Reverse Block 1

The last Secret Stage unlocks after finishing Stage 24, Metropolis - Null Space. Reverse Blocks are destroyed upon being hit, but they reverse themselves back into existence after a little while. The Burst Wispon is the best choice for this stage due to its reach. The stage as a puzzle is very easy to maneuver, but don't forget that you can also use wire attacks on enemies instead of jumping over blocks and such. This final stage requires 950,000 points to get an S Rank on.

• Sonic and the Secret Stages

  Cleared all Secret Stages

  
  

Extra Stages are unlocked by collecting certain numbers of Red Star Rings that coincide with the amount in the Challenge Missions. Since you'll have to collect all of the RSR's anyway, these missions will act as a sort of bonus for your efforts. Completing all seven gives you an achievement, but you'll want to S Rank them all for the Challenge Missions.

Sonic Forces | S Ranks

Some Extra Stages have Challenge Missions associated with them that require you to beat a stage in a certain amount of time. These stages are already pretty short to begin with, but you'll have to know the stage very well or have some background information to get these times down.

Sonic Forces | Personal Best Times

If you've beaten all seven levels and the achievement isn't popping, replay all seven stages in order. That should fix things and give you the achievement.

Green Hill - Flying Pod

This stage is unlocked once you have collected at least 25 Red Star Rings, and is themed with some flying machines that they copied over from Sonic Generations. These flying pods, once called sprinklers, sprinkle spike balls onto the stage every once in a while. There are only a few that sprinkle rings, but since there are rings everywhere in this game, it's never worth the time to stand by one unless you have absolutely no rings on you. The platforming is easy enough, so the real challenge to the stage is getting used to the spike balls dropping down from above. There's some weird bug with the stage that makes your jumps stop prematurely if you're jumping into a flying pod. This only happens sometimes, so when it does happen, it can really destroy your run of the level.

As you go for 900,000 points and an S Rank (if you don't already have one), you may as well shoot for finishing the level in under 30 seconds for the related challenge. Along with knowing the level, you have to pray the weird jumping glitch doesn't come into play. You should also start boosting after you've hit the spring on the final stretch to save some time, and make sure you jump at the gaps.

Chemical Plant - Bomb Block 2

This stage is unlocked after you have 40 RSR's. This mission uses blocks that explode after a few seconds once you touch them, destroying nearby bomb blocks and other weak blocks. It takes a bit of practice to even get through the stage, especially since there's no way of telling which blocks are stable near the end. The last checkpoint is placed before two long, straight stretches of bomb blocks that lead to two normal blocks placed side-by-side. Only the one on the right is going to survive the explosions, so stand on that one and jump to the last set. The block that survives the explosions in the last set is the one in the top left corner out of a group of three normal blocks. From there, you can jump to the goal, but it doesn't hurt to get a bit of a running start from the far end of the block.

This S Rank also requires 900,000 points, and it should be a lot easier to pull off compared to the first Extra Stage due to not having to avoid spike balls. You should be able to score that high pretty easily, but if not, you can always use a daily bonus or check the playlists for tips. There isn't any time-based challenge related to this mission, so once you have the S Rank, you can leave this level for good.

Metropolis - Laser Cannon 2

The third stage unlocks after collecting 55 RSR's, and is focused on lasers that are shot constantly from little circular machines. Avoiding them is pretty easy, and even if you get hit, you'll very likely be within range of your scattered rings or rings that you just haven't picked up yet. You don't have to complete the level in any specific time frame for a challenge, so once you have an S Rank (900,000 points), you can be done with this stage for good.

Green Hill - Reverse Block 2

Reverse Block 2 unlocks once you have at least 70 RSR's. Reverse blocks can be destroyed by hitting them with a stomp, a slide, or by boosting into them, and will reverse back into existence after a few seconds. Don't worry about going fast your first time through, just use your first attempt to learn the level. You'll have to worry about speed when you want to tackle the challenge to complete the level in less than 35 seconds. Two incredibly helpful level "skips" really reduce your time. The first one you can do is in the first little staircase made of Reverse Blocks; once you're at the same height as the third stair, start boosting and you should land on the ground to the side of some spikes. Jump over them and stand on the far right edge of that same platform, jump in the air to the right, and boost again at the height of your jump. This particular skip lets you completely disregard a rather long stretch of the stage to navigate, and you can jump again after you land to skip over even more stuff. If you want a visual, you can always consult the second playlist at the top of the page. An S Rank, here requires 900,000 points.

Mystic Jungle - Vanish Panel 2

After collecting 85 RSR's, you unlock the Mystic Jungle's Extra Stage. Vanish Panels disappear a few seconds after you touch them for a short while, and you can jump through the thin ones to make your movements through the stage a bit faster. You just need to earn 900,000 points for an S Rank, which is really easy to do.

City - Fire Cannon 2

When you have 100 RSR's, you'll unlock the sixth Extra Stage. There are a bunch of fire cannons all over the place and the time you need to finish the level in is 45 seconds. There are so many things to keep in mind for that challenge that you may as well just check the video included in the playlist link, but there is one very important tip to use in the small underground room with a few small platforms inside. There's a hidden path in the top left corner of the room that you can use to skip a bunch of stuff, and it's practically required to go through there if you want to beat the level in less than 45 seconds. An S Rank, which should be the least of your worries, requires 900,000 points like the rest of these missions have.

Death Egg - Plasma Cannon 2

For this last stage, you need all 120 Red Star Rings available in the base game. By this point, you will have most likely already completed all six Secret Stages, so you should be at least somewhat familiar with Plasma Cannons. You'll practically always get an S Rank by earning 900,000 points, but the real problem is finishing the stage in less than 55 seconds. There aren't really any tricks to the level, since you won't be able to boost at all and your time in the level really depends on how well you know the Plasma Cannons and when they fire.

• Sonic EXtreme

  Cleared all EX Stages

  
  

Alongside the main story missions, there are side tasks that you can complete for customization parts. Not all of them are available right away.

Challenge Missions, unlike Daily Missions, are stagnant, and are viewed in the same menu as the Daily Missions are. A list of them is down below, since you need to complete all of them. These are also pretty easy to complete, so you'll likely finish most of these just by playing the game. All customization parts are earned by completing these missions, and these parts are tied to the achievements listed underneath the chart. Several challenges stack, like completing a mission and then S Ranking it, so the chart lists only the highest forms of challenges to avoid redundancy and be more concise. Videos in the playlist link below can help with earning a good enough time for some of the more time-based challenges.

Sonic Forces | Personal Best Times

There are lots of missions for getting S Ranks on every stage, which is pretty easy to do. The playlist link for S Rank videos is on the story page if you think those will help. Following those are mission-specific tasks, like finishing a stage in a certain amount of time. There are also challenges for getting three Gold Medals for each species of Avatar; you can create more Avatars after you beat the game.

• On a Roll

  Achieved a soldier's highest honor

  
  

• Honor Roll

  Achieved highest honors with all races

  
  

• Outfitter

  Collected 50 parts

  
  

• Style Hog

  Collected 100 parts

  
  

• Fashion Unleashed

  Collected 500 parts

  
  

• You Got Them All

  Collected all parts

  
  

• Sonic Blaster

  Collected 10 Wispons

  
  

• Sonic Jammer

  Collected 30 Wispons

  
  

• Sonic Battler

  Collected all Wispons

  
  

• Up for Any Challenge

  Completed all Challenge Missions

  
  

There are two other types of missions that can be completed, but these aren't set in stone like Secret and Extra Stages are. These types of missions are random and can be repeated over and over, with Daily Missions giving actual rewards for doing so.

Daily Missions

Daily Missions are available once every day, of course, but you can complete them two days in advance to speed things up. If you're playing on April 30, for example, you can finish the Daily Missions for April 30, May 1, and May 2. If you do this, you'll only have the Daily Mission for May 3 available, since you already finished May 1 and May 2. These missions tend to be really, really easy to complete, and award you with XP bonuses that last half an hour. You only need to finish 10 for all related achievements, so the earliest you can earn these achievements would be about a week after playing if you've diligently looked at the list.

• Everyday Enthusiast

  Completed 3 Daily Missions

  
  

• Daily Devotee

  Completed 5 Daily Missions

  
  

• Constant Connoisseur

  Completed 10 Daily Missions

  
  

SOS Missions

SOS Missions appear after Green Hill - Green Hill (Stage 10) and come in three different varieties. Orange SOS Missions require you to beat the stage as the Avatar that called the SOS, green SOS Missions will have the Avatar in distress used as a Rental Avatar, and in blue missions, you use Sonic or your own Avatar to find the missing Avatar in a cage throughout the level. Dying at any point counts as a failure, and the mission will disappear. You also can't restart the mission at any time. Since the cages in blue SOS Missions vary in location, you might play through an entire level and completely miss the cage. Fortunately, the orange and green missions should be easy enough to complete, and are also nearly identical to boot. You need to finish a total of ten for the related achievements, but you need to finish 30 for the Challenge Missions, which are also related to achievements.

• Super Sonic Rescue

  Completed your first SOS Mission

  
  

• Freedom Fighter

  Completed 5 SOS Missions

  
  

• Nameless Hero

  Completed 10 SOS Missions

  
  

In every main level, except for boss battles, there are five Red Star Rings (RSR's) to find throughout the area. If you've played Sonic Colors or Sonic Generations, you should already be familiar with these types of collectibles. You can collect these in any order across multiple playthroughs, and you can also collect them again after you've gotten them before to still increase your level score. After finding all five RSR's in a level, you'll be able to find a set of five Number Rings (NR's) in that level from now on. These are usually very close to each other, and unlike Red Star Rings, have to be collected in order from 5 to 1. After you collect these, Silver Moon Rings (SMR's) appear in the stage. This last type of collectible is also usually found within close proximity to the rest and doesn't have a specific order in collecting them. The catch to the SMR's, however, is that all five need to be collected very quickly before a set amount of time passes, otherwise they disappear.

Below is a guide to finding all of the sets of Special Rings. Each level's description starts off with the Red Star Rings, and is followed by the Number Rings and Silver Moon Rings, respectively. If you prefer to see where the Rings are instead of reading about them, the playlist link below will lead you to a whole set of videos showing where they all are.

Sonic Forces | Special Rings

Green Hill - Lost Valley

The first Red Star Ring appears before you use some springs and see the giant blue worm for the first time. After making it to reach a straight path to those springs, use homing attacks on the enemies in the air above the big gap; finishing the chain will send you into the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. Once you've seen the worm, you'll soon reach a lone robot on top of a ledge with a Wisp behind it, as well as a lower path below it. Stick with the lower path now, since you can come back to the high path later, and wait for the ground below you to collapse. Falling down from here should put you straight into, or at least right next to, the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is just in sight from here. Use the spring to the right and get on top of the higher platform to the right of the swinging platform, then use the platform to get to the RSR. Jump from the left side of the platform's swing to the side of a set of spikes, and then jump over them and use a boost to return further to the left. Now that you're back here, you can use the curvature of the ground to boost up to the lone robot. Keep going to the right on the high path and use an orange boost ring to get up to an even higher area, and then use a homing attack on a spring hidden in a tree to get another (4/5) Red Star Ring. Continue with the level until Sonic says his line about Green Hill looking more like Sand Hill. Just after this is a corkscrew, and you should constantly hold D until you're on the path to the right. Staying on this path will lead you to a small (and faster) path where Sonic will automatically run on a wall of sand, and you'll get the last (5/5) Red Star Ring here. Finish the level to make sure these RSR's stay in your collection.

Return to the Lost Valley for the chance to get the set of Number Rings "hidden" in plain sight on the lower path past the swinging platform from earlier. All you've got to do is collect the rings in order from 5 to 1 to make it count.

The SMR's are on the high path at around the same area. After you use the boost ring to get to where the fourth RSR is, use the swinging platform to the right to get to another high area, and do so again to find the five Silver Moon Rings. You need to collect all five very quickly before they disappear, but that isn't hard to do in this level.

Chemical Plant - Spaceport

There's a 2D area right after the start of the level, and near the end are some springs that launch you up towards a grappling point. Use the grappling hook here from either set of springs, and you'll be sent into the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. After a little while, you'll ride some rails towards a spring that leads to another 2D area with the first Wisp power-ups in the level. Try to keep the Burst Wispon equipped to your Avatar so you can use the Burst Wisp when you get to this area. Stand right where the Wisp is and burst straight up in the air over and over until you get to the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is right in front of the checkpoint after the QTE with the cargo trains, so finding this one takes no effort whatsoever. Later on is another Wisp followed by a spring under four small platforms. To the right of the top of these are some more platforms with 10-Rings on them. Drop down before the first 10-Ring platform and you'll hit some springs; drop down to the left of the springs, though, and you'll find two grappling points. Use both of them, and you'll earn the next (4/5) Red Star Ring. The final (5/5) Red Star Ring is obtained by using the rainbow ring on the right-most rail during the final stretch. Just stay on that rail the entire time and you'll get it.

The Number Rings are in the area that the first RSR was at. Look at them carefully and make sure you get them in the right order; Ring 2 and Ring 1 can easily be confused with each other.

The Silver Moon Rings are where the fourth RSR was, except between the springs underneath the 10-Ring platforms. You'll have to jump over the springs quickly to get all five.

City - Ghost Town

At the start of the level, stay on the high path and you'll eventually come across a curved corner right before a booster. Stand at the base of the corner and charge up a spin dash so you fly high up into the air, and jump on top of the corkscrew that the booster would normally push you through. Pick up the (1/5) Red Star Ring up here and use the springboard to get ahead, and then continue on the low path, which should take you through two corkscrews before handing you the next (2/5) Red Star Ring for free. The two paths reconnect as Tails talks about how terrible the city's condition is. Use the high path that starts after a single robot blocks your path, and then use some yellow springs to get up to the next platform, which has a booster on it. Use it and hold D to get to the next set of yellow springs, and continue moving right to get to another springboard. Using it sends you into the third (3/5) Red Star Ring. After you land, return to the left side of the area you're at and drop down the left side while continuously holding D so you can fall into a small cave with a path leading towards the next RSR. Jump from collapsing panels to robots and so forth until you get to three small pits in a row. The second one has a (4/5) Red Star Ring above it, so drop down in the center of the pit to get to the springs below. Keep moving ahead until you approach the very end of the level. Once you're there, backtrack on the low path down two curved pieces. The first will be much smaller than the second one, which will be to the left; use a spin dash on the left curved piece to fling yourself up towards the fifth and final (5/5) Red Star Ring.

Simply start the level using solely the low path, and you should find the Number Rings all in order.

Remember those collapsible platforms above some pits that appear before fourth RSR? Head back there (use the little cave trick on the high path if you're lost) and you'll find the Silver Moon Rings. The timing on these is very tight, so move quickly between SMR's so you can get to them all in time.

Death Egg - Prison Hall

You can get the first (1/5) Red Star Ring by hitting the second boost ramp at the start of the level. You'll have to position yourself towards the center of the hall to get to it. Do the same thing for the third boost ramp, which will instead be more towards the left, and you'll be very close to the next RSR. Drop down below the orange boost ring and slowly approach the springs on the other side of the hall. Make sure you use the spring in the center so you can grab the (2/5) Red Star Ring floating above it. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring comes naturally through the level; there's no way to complete the stage without collecting it. After Silver says "That's one more thing Eggman will answer for!", you'll find a set of four springs. Use these to get ahead and activate the downward-moving platform above them, but jump to the right as you're descending. This will take you to a series of three sets of springs. Bounce on all three consecutively to get to a (4/5) Red Star Ring floating above another downward-moving platform. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is in the final hallway of the level. To get it, just make sure you don't fall off. As you move left and right with Q and E, make sure you move to whichever side has rings on them; those are always the safe paths, and won't be attacked by enemies. The last RSR appears before the first boost ring does in the hall, so if you passed it and don't have the fifth RSR, you must've missed it.

The Number Rings aren't really hidden at all for this mission. You'll easily spot Ring 5 floating above a Wisp as you replay the level. Jump to Ring 4 from where Ring 5 was, and then drop down to Ring 3. After having dropped down, it's just a matter of moving forward to get the remaining two rings.

Unfortunately, the Silver Moon Rings appear in the final hallway. You'll have to move to the correct side of the hall AND use both sets of boost rings in order to grab all five.

Death Egg - Egg Gate

After leaving the initial interior at the start of the level, direct yourself to the middle of three rails past some enemies using homing attacks. The first (1/5) Red Star Ring is tucked beneath a rising and falling platform; don't worry about being crushed if you're underneath it. From here, keep climbing upwards and smash a crate near the top with a yellow hexagonal symbol on it. This will reveal a spring that takes you to the platform with another (2/5) Red Star Ring on top of it. Make your way over to it SLOWLY, and then head back to to the very start of this long platform. Take a look at the left side of the platform and look at those little gray things sticking out slightly from the ground. Find the second one on the left (the first is by a robot enemy) and drop down underneath to get to one of the other paths you would've been able to take had you gone a different direction. Use the springs here to get into the next area, and by merely using a yellow spring inside, you should earn the next (3/5) Red Star Ring. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring is on the leftmost rail when three laser bots are firing at you in turns. Just stay to the left side when you approach the end of the second rail and you'll get it without any problems. In the next interior area, you'll have to smash some crates after using a boost ring. Before using the set of boost rings to the far right of the hall to continue to the spaceship portion of the mission, use the springy piece of metal to jump up to the left, and smash the crates in the corner by an energy ball turret. The final (5/5) Red Star Ring is stuck inside the one in the corner.

Back at the start of the level, direct your homing attacks towards the rail on the right side now, as opposed to the one in the middle when collecting the first RSR. Doing this should send you through the first two Number Rings, with Ring 3 just up ahead. Check the lower area on the left past Ring 3 to find a well-hidden Ring 2, and then continue climbing up the blocks to find the last ring, Ring 1.

The Silver Moon Rings are in the area that the fifth RSR is in. Collect the first SMR and quickly scale the blocks to the spring towards the second one, then smash the crates below. Boost if you can straight through the third SMR to the left side of this next room and smash some more crates to get to the room where the fifth RSR usually is. Attack the single enemy in here to get the fourth SMR, and then head up to where the fifth RSR is to get the last of the Silver Moon Rings.

Green Hill - Arsenal Pyramid

After using the booster at the start of the level, use the grappling point and swing over to a single robot on a ledge. Instead of homing in on him, wait a little bit and drop down to a hidden set of flying enemies and attack them instead, leading to a (1/5) Red Star Ring. The second (2/5) Red Star Ring is in the middle of the downward descent into the Arsenal Pyramid itself. You can literally not touch your controller and you'll get it, as well as only take one hit from the lasers. When Sonic says "It'll be Eggman's turn to be pushed around when I get a hold of him", the third (3/5) Red Star Ring should be visible on a gear to the left in the area. Once you get to the only rising-and-falling thin platform in the pyramid, defeat the enemies on the gear that you land on afterwards and jump to the gear to the right once it falls. Take this path and jump across a few more gears to get to a long hallway with another (4/5) Red Star Ring near the end of. I recommend going slow when you see it so you don't accidentally speed past it. At the end of the hallway are some boosters; if you want to get all five RSR's in one go, don't use the boosters and jump over them instead. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is hidden behind some breakable barriers to the left of the last spring.

The Number Rings are in the descent into the Arsenal Pyramid. Ring 5 is to the right side, and Ring 4 is to the left. The rest of the rings are placed somewhat in the same positions back and forth until you collect all five.

The Silver Moon Rings are also in the same area, as if there's no other good place to put them. They're placed, in order, right, middle, left, middle, and then kind of left-middle. Once you pick up the first one, dive down faster with Shift so you can get all five in time.

Mystic Jungle - Luminous Forest

For this level, you'll want to ride the high path for the entirety of the first 2D segment so that you can land on the top of the first giant corkscrew where the third (1/5) Red Star Ring is on. The first and second ones are down below, and are easy to grab in the same playthrough. Drop down below and jump over the boosters leading to the corkscrew, and then use a homing attack on the enemy underneath the first (2/5) Red Star Ring. The second (3/5) Red Star Ring is just a little to the right on a ledge below the boosters to the corkscrew, and you should easily be able to get to it from where you are after getting the previous RSR. On the second curved boosting area past the corkscrew, don't boost and instead look for a trail of flying enemies above the start of the curve leading to a tunnel in a wall straight ahead. Use these enemies to get inside, where you'll find the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring tucked away. Try to jump over the boosters at the end of this path back into the curved path below; if you don't, that's perfectly fine. Both send you to the final stretch of the level, but the tunnel will skip over some rails leading to the last RSR. If you went with the curved path, jump from the rail you land on onto the middle rail if you have to, then jump through the boost ring to get the last (5/5) Red Star Ring. If you went with the tunnel on accident, simply run back towards the rail and jump onto it; you should automatically turn around once you hit the end of it, and you'll be able to grab this last RSR.

Start the level anew and use the lowest path possible in the beginning 2D portion the level. There are some rotating platforms that have all five Number Rings positioned for you to ride the platforms in circles to collect them. Just make sure you don't go out of order, or you'll have to restart the level or die to make them reappear.

The Silver Moon Rings are in the exact same place, only to the right on some other rotating platforms. They're arranged in a line, and are a bit less time-consuming to collect, but shouldn't be too difficult to collect.

Green Hill - Green Hill

The first (1/5) Red Star Ring actually requires you to fall down to the lower path for once. After you automatically hit a spring that lets you use the high path, drop down below and go left over a set of spikes to find it on a collapsible platform. Then, continue ahead to the first checkpoint, which has a swinging platform to the left of it. Ride it over to the left, which is the end of the high path, and run all the way to the start of it. You'll have to jump over a booster near the start of the corkscrew, so get ready to do that. At the start, you should find a small rock on a ledge; jump onto it or next to it, and a hidden spring will reveal itself underneath. Take the even higher path up here across a few moving and a few collapsible platforms to get to the top of the corkscrew, where the second (2/5) Red Star Ring is. After you make your way through the vertically moving columns of rock past the first checkpoint, you'll reach another checkpoint. Use the yellow springs up and to the right of the checkpoint and jump onto the collapsible platform above, and quickly use the yellow spring on the solid ground to the right. If you've timed it right, you can move straight to some red springs that have just descended towards your position. If not, try to stay above the yellow spring so you can use it again until you can get to the red ones. After you're up there, keep running to the right to get to a springboard that sends you to the third (3/5) Red Star Ring. Next are some rows of collapsing platforms with a few enemies in-between. Near the bottom, jump from the second-lowest collapsible platform to the far right side above the ground. There's a booster there that you can use to get to the high path, which is what you'll want to do next. Keep running and jump to a small platform ahead, but make sure not to hit the well-placed yellow spring that sends you flying to the left. Bop the power-ups here if you want and then run/roll down the slope that follows, which will net you the fifth (4/5) Red Star Ring. Try to STOP as soon as you get it, and don't touch the wooden bridge that leads to the goalpost. The last RSR is a bit tricky to earn on the same run, so if you want to try to do that now instead of using the low path on another run, here's how. Stand on the ground facing left, away from the bridge, and charge up a spin dash in that direction. Jump before you touch the collapsible platform above the small set of spikes to the left, and then make your way back towards the spikes. The first set of spikes is reached by use of a hidden yellow spring in the ground. Charge up a spin dash just to the left of the spring and then jump at the ledge of the platform. This should toss you straight into the fourth (5/5) Red Star Ring and finish your collection. If this is too complicated or you can't pull it off, you can always come back and use the lower path later to reach the swinging platform this RSR naturally rests over.

The Number Rings are in the rising and falling columns area between the first and second checkpoints. They're really easy to collect in order.

The "floor"-y area behind the fifth RSR (the fourth one you collected) is where the Silver Moon Rings are. The first is in the middle of the first collapsible platform, but charge a drop dash to the left as you fall so you can easily surge into the second SMR. The third is on the collapsible platform to the far left, so jump up to it and make your way to the high path again. The last two SMR's are on the way there.

City - Park Avenue

Bring a Lightning Wispon if you have one, it'll be necessary for some of these RSR's. It's also important to note that the order of obtaining the RSR's here is a bit weird compared to normal. Early on in the mission, you'll be dropped into a circle of enemies after grappling into the plaza from a downward slope. Defeat them to reveal a Lightning Wisp, and use it to follow the ring trail leading to the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. Once you swing around an archway on the roof and drop to a checkpoint gate, run left and jump to a hidden platform with the third (2/5) Red Star Ring on it. The second (3/5) Red Star Ring is actually further ahead; use the Lightning Wisp just up ahead and follow it into the air to find it.Next, stick to the lowest path possible by avoiding a grappling point up ahead and using some boosters and rails leading downward. Pick up another Lightning Wisp and save it for later. Up above some flying enemies is a hidden ring trail; use the Wisp here and you'll be pushed through a loop with the fifth (4/5) Red Star Ring at the top of it. Running through here will automatically send you to a pulley and thus up in the air afterwards. You'll have a brief moment to use another grappling point that takes you to a rail leading to some boost rings. Jump through these to get the fourth (5/5) Red Star Ring.

The Number Rings are placed on the bottom path, a little further to the right of where the hidden ring trail was that led tot the fifth Red Star Ring (the one in a loop). Be careful about collecting them; Ring 3 is actually the highest one up instead of Ring 1, so get the first two NR's and be careful about reaching Ring 3.

The Silver Moon Rings are unfortunately way high up in the air in the first 2D section of the level, which is just after the circular plaza and after the location of the first RSR. Bring a Burst Wispon for this, because you'll have to use Burst Wisps as soon as you get one to continuously jump high in the air from Wisp to Wisp, and from SMR to SMR.

Mystic Jungle - Casino Forest

At the start of the level, you'll want to either take the low path, which sends you into the first (1/5) Red Star Ring naturally. You can also just take the high path and jump down into the RSR, then come back up. Whichever way you choose to go about it, return left on the high path and use the hidden yellow spring to hit the circular purple bumper; hitting this will place you on top of the green flipper to the left of it, and you can use it to jump to another high path where the second (2/5) Red Star Ring is placed. Progress through the level to what I would presume is the halfway point: a checkpoint with another spring that you have to charge up just ahead of it. You'll soon be greeted to another pinball type of setup. Drop down the "board" as well as the one below it, and follow this lowest path around. You should come across a booster that will send you around a curved wall with the next (3/5) Red Star Ring at the top of it. The fifth RSR is normally obtained by following the high path by scaling the first pinball board after the halfway point, but you can also mess with the game's physics to get it in the same run if you're patient enough. If you want to get it the normal way, just replay the level later and take the high path. But from where the third RSR is, you can use the pinball board up ahead to get right underneath the fifth (4/5) Red Star Ring by moving upwards and to the right. Avoid the boosters on the downward-angled slope and hold Space without letting go to charge a spin dash. Try to position yourself to be a little bit to the right from where the fourth RSR is above you, and when you let go, move right for a split second to redirect your momentum from forwards to upwards, and quickly move left and into the RSR so you don't end up moving to the right. The fourth (5/5) Red Star Ring is actually underneath this last pinball board and to the right in a vertical shaft. You have to be caught in a little point gimmicky object underneath a big green arrow to the right of a pink bumper. From here, just finish the level by going to the right and you'll secure whichever RSRs you picked up in this run.

Return to the same area that you end up in after collecting the second RSR; there will be a bunch of pink bumpers in a rounded pit and a pink flipper in the center on the floor. Use the bumper to get some momentum upwards and to the right, and then get to the booster on the lower of the two paths available to find the Number Rings. The only trick to these this time is that Ring 3 and Ring 2 are placed in the path of a moving spike ball, so you'll have to merely time your jumps carefully.

After reaching the halfway point, use the first pinball board you come across and get to the top of it. Instead of going upwards (the usual path to the fifth RSR), drop downwards while also holding D to drop onto the pink bumper on the right, avoiding an SMR so you can get it later. Falling to the right even more will put you into position to correctly get all five Silver Moon Rings in appropriate order to give you the correct amount of time for doing so. You just have to use the bumpers to ascend upwards and to the right to find them all.

Mystic Jungle - Aqua Road

Do a quick step to the right with E and use the high path at the start of the level. Using the ramps at the end gives you the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. Follow the water slide on its forward path and try to angle yourself into the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is on the path that diverges to the right on this initial water slide, so you'll have to come back for it on another run. Use a Thunder Wispon on the consecutive ring trails after you finish the first water slide all the way up the cliffs, where you should earn the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring between some boost rings. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is on the center water slide of three different paths at the end of the level. All of the RSR's on the water slides are particularly annoying to get, especially the last one, so try to keep your cool and be patient if you're not getting it so easily.

The Number Rings are easily spotted and are somehow easier to get. All five show up on the first water slide and end before the path splits.

The Silver Moon Rings are on the forward path after the path splits, where the second RSR is. These will probably take a few attempts to get unless you're fairly lucky on your first time with those annoying robots bumping you around.

City - Sunset Heights

The first (1/5) Red Star Ring appears just before the ramp to the big downward slope towards the circular plaza. You're supposed to perform homing attacks on enemies before this point to reach a pulley that takes you to it, but you can also reach it by just standing underneath it and double jumping. In the plaza, destroy all five robots that appear between you and the spring ahead, and the second (2/5) Red Star Ring will appear above the spring as a reward. Upon entering the 2D half of the level, use the first Boost Wisp you see on the curved corner just to the right of it to go upwards onto a balcony. Jump along the blue platforms to the right and use the pulley to the right of the hghest of these platforms. On the roof that this pulley takes you to, there are three more platforms, but these ones collapse after a short while. Quickly jump up all three and nab the third (3/5) Red Star Ring floating above them. Next, take the long rail that leads downward as you're supposed to, but after landing, run left to find three more collapsible platforms. Assuming you have some boost left in you, you can freely jump across all three to get the (4/5) Red Star Ring at the end of these and just use boost while in the air to return to the main stage. Shortly after you make your return, you'll run along a curved semicircle-ish wall that takes you to a spring. Jump left over the spring and onto a blue platform further to the left. Even more to the left is a suspicious wooden box with a spring inside. Using this spring takes you to the last (5/5) Red Star Ring, and from here, the end of the level isn't too far away.

Return to the curved corner used to get the third RSR from earlier, but this time, take the low path. Make your way past this first area and continue to the right to get to a half-pipe looking area. Use the spring above it to the right, where you'll find the first of the Number Rings. To get Ring 4 from where Ring 5 is, just do a double jump at the peak of the height that the spring gives you. Be careful about Ring 2 and Ring 1; Ring 1 is sneakily placed above Ring 3, so if you jump for it before looking at which number it is, you'll have to either die to restart the checkpoint or replay the level for a chance to grab these again.

The Silver Moon Rings appear just before the half-pipe, which makes finding them pretty easy. You're going to have to jump from the first SMR to the one in the air and to the right, then slam down on the booster that takes you left, picking up the third SMR on your way towards the spring in the same "room". Using the spring will take you to the fourth SMR, and from there, just use a homing attack on the enemy in front of you and them slam down towards the ground once again to pick up the last SMR before it's too late.

Metropolis - Capital City

The level starts off with two grappling points in the air; using both of them gives you the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. Not too far into the level, Infinite will flip things upside down. Entering the first 2D portion of the level and reaching the end of it will put you right in front of the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. The next (3/5) Red Star Ring is on the far left side of the upwards run on the side of a building. Once you're on the rails after this run, use the rail on the left side. On this path, you'll get a chance to snag the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring if you stay on one of the rails long enough. The timing for this is really tricky because it's right at the end of that rail, but you'll get it with enough practice. Unfortunately, if you die here, you'll be set back to a checkpoint before the third RSR, so you're going to have to collect it again. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is at the end of the rail sequence, just use a Lightning Wispon to follow the ring trails all the way to the end, and you should get it.

The Number Rings appear in the 2D area of the stage, after you're turned right-side-up. You'll naturally swing into Ring 5, but don't go too far yet, because Ring 3 tends to pick itself up if you get to close, forcing you to have to restart the checkpoint or the level. Instead, run to the left as soon as you can, dodge the first laser beam, and then jump as far to the right as you can over Ring 3, so you can stomp down between it and Ring 4. Grab Ring 4 and then Ring 3, and the other two NR's will appear in order up ahead.

The Silver Moon Rings are on the section after where the Number Rings are, the upwards run up the building. As you run up it, stay in the middle line and run back and forth between it and the line next to it as you pick up all five SMR's. They might be hard to see, so try to listen to the sound that plays when you pick them up.

Chemical Plant - Chemical Plant

To start, take the low path, which is likely what you'll always be doing due to how hard it is to skip the low path with that big jump in that ring-filled corridor. Ride the first moving platforms you come across to the right, where you'll find the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. Keep going with the level to a checkpoint before a red corkscrew, where Tails will say "Too much quiet is usually a sign of danger." Keep this place in mind, as it's going to be pretty important later. It'll be referred to as the halfway point for finding these RSR's. Past this corkscrew is a curved corner that you can use to take the high path above or the low path below; this time, you'll want to take the low path, so drop down if you've landed up top. There's a set of four moving blocks very early on in this low path, and the second (2/5) Red Star Ring is within reach of a jump if you're standing on the tallest block when it's in the correct formation. Not too long after this, the chemical levels will rise, and you'll find yourself jumping along more moving blocks to get back to fresh air. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is at the top right of this column, and you can safely get to it once you're out of the Mega Mack (the pink stuff) with a jump back down into the goop. When you cross a gap, you should find two yellow rotating platforms. Use them to take the lowest path available, which leads to another pool of Mega Mack. The fifth (4/5) Red Star Ring is underneath a collapsible platform at the bottom of the area, far to the right. Grab an air bubble as you swim over to that side and keep an eye out for it near the bottom of the screen. Once you find it, stand on the platform until it collapses and you grab this RSR, then quickly escape back to the surface.

The fourth (5/5) Red Star Ring requires another playthrough. Return to the halfway point explained earlier and use the curved area past it to get to the high path. Stand at the edge of the high path and watch for a rising and falling platform far to the left. You'll want to charge up a spin dash and use it to land on top of that platform when it's far enough below you so that you'd land on it. Ride it up to the peak of its path and enter the small pipe hidden in the wall. This will take you to a small Mega Mack-filled area. Get out of there and move on ahead to another one, which is where you'll find the RSR. Move carefully and keep your eye out for the first set of spikes in there that you see. The RSR will be just to the right of it past a fan's current. To get this one, stand on the right side of the spikes, getting as close to the spikes as you can, and then face the RSR. Charge up a spin dash and immediately jump when you start to move. This should give you enough momentum and height required to get to the Red Star Ring with the fan blowing. If you mess this up, dying is easy when in Mega Mack, and since dying has no real penalty when collecting RSR's, you may as well restart from a checkpoint instead of the entire level.

Make your way back to the halfway point, and you'll find the Number Rings in the Mega Mack pool behind it. Ring 3 appears first, so just jump over it to get to Ring 5 and Ring 4 first. Make your way back to Ring 3, and the last two NR's will show up in order as you move to the right.

The Silver Moon Rings are also in a pool of Mega Mack, but this one is at the very end of the level. Make your way through the chemicals from left to right, collecting the SMR's as you go. You should have no problems spotting the next one in the chain as you get them.

City - Red Gate Bridge

The collectibles for this level are easy to explain, although they're much easier to talk about than they are to get. Every time Metal Sonic creates those electric fields on the bridge ahead of you is when a set of collectibles appears. All five (5/5) Red Star Rings appear between these electric fences the first time he does the attack, and when you replay the level, the Number Rings show up the second time he does it. Since you can probably beat him before he uses it a third time, try to take it easy on him when you go for the Silver Moon Rings; as you would expect, they show up when he does this attack for the third time, so you need to keep him alive until he does so. Maneuvering between these fences to collect the first two sets of collectibles is made easier by simply slowing down, but you won't have that luxury when gong for the SMR's, so keep that in mind when getting these rings.

Green Hill - Guardian Rock

You're going to want to bring a Burst Wispon with you for the RSR's. Take the Burst Wisp past the first portion of the level and hold onto it; saving it for later will allow you to get all five RSR's in one go. From where the Burst Wisp is, use the booster hidden in the wall to the lower right, which shoots you upwards into the first (1/5) Red Star Ring. From here, go right and back up to the surface, and then run back all the way to the left without jumping over any grassy slopes. Stand so that you're underneath the left edge of the metal platform above and to the right of you and use the Burst Wisp to fly straight up into the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. Continue with the level, using the high path provided by the three metal platforms that appear, and keep going until you see a wooden box to the left of spring. Break open the box however you like and collect the (3/5) Red Star Ring inside, then keep going. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring should be visible no matter which of the two paths you took, because at this point the paths have converged back into one. To get this one without dying, jump to the other side of the pit so that you're on the right side of the RSR, and then jump to the first of the two metal platforms above it when it's safe to do so. Make your way back to the left of the two platforms and then jump back across when the coast is clear again. Immediately after this pit is another Burst Wisp, which you should use to fly up to the top of a sandy area (not the metal platform jetting out underneath it). Use the ramp at the other end of the sand to get the last (5/5) Red Star Ring on top of the final corkscrew in the level.

To get the Number Rings, you'll need the Hover Wispon, which is unlocked by completing Secret Stage 6, which is in turn unlocked by completing Stage 24 of the main story. Or, if you can find one, you can use a Rental Avatar with a Hover Wispon if there's one available to you when you look for one. To the left of the first Burst Wisp in the level should be a Hover Wisp. Use it to fly straight up to collect Ring 5, and then keep going upwards to find Ring 4 and another Hover Wisp. From there, go more to the right than upwards to find Ring 3. Be careful about the last two rings; Ring 2 is actually by the Hover Wisp past Ring 1, so collect that one first.

Use the high path again by using the three metal platforms, and you should find the Silver Moon Rings in the area just before the third RSR. The first three are easily visible, but the other two are in the area occasionally blocked by giant legs to the right. The fourth SMR is on the ground, so you should just run into that one accidentally if you can't see it. The last one is up in the air. Be quick about grabbing these last two, especially since the giant legs won't be up in the air for too much longer.

Chemical Plant - Network Terminal

Use the rail on the right at the start of the level, and then attack the two robots at the other end of it; you'll need the boost only if you want to pull off a neat stunt that lets you get both RSR's on two of the paths available in this first half of the level. Use the large pulley-thing ahead and quickly switch to the right-most rail ahead as soon as you can. Taking this rail pushes you to a higher rail with the first (1/5) Red Star Ring at the end of it, just make sure you switch to the other rail after you get it. If you want to go for the second RSR now instead of using a lower path later, immediately hold S on the rail to the right of the one with the first RSR and jump over and over again until you're facing backwards. Jump down onto the rail below you to the right, using a double jump if necessary to make better determination of your position. Use the boost that you have to ride the rail backwards faster until it pushes you forwards again, then jump at the end to get the second (2/5) Red Star Ring. This move is pretty difficult for some people, so if this isn't your thing you can always just replay the level later. The end of the rails here take you to another set of rails after a few seconds. Ride the one on the left all the way to the end to find the third (3/5) Red Star Ring sitting at the end in the same way the first one was. Swap over to the neighboring rail as soon as you have this one, and then enter the Chemical Plant's interior. Inside the plant, use the first set of rotating platforms and take a good trip around until you're in the top right corner of this room, which will be the perfect position to grab the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring. Finally, as you move through the level, you should find two sets of springs leading upwards. Past these are some sets of springs leading downwards instead, and there are two more sets of platforms in circles below it. Drop down to the lower one and wait for the Mega Mack to pour down so you can drop down to a hidden (5/5) Red Star Ring below the right side of these platforms.

Make your way back into the plant and use the two sets of vertical springs to get the first two Number Rings, and then look a little to the left under the Mega Mack that spills up and to the right of these springs. Ring 3 should be visible down there, and you can get to it by sliding underneath the platform. Slide underneath the next one to get out, and then the one under this one to find Ring 2 and a tube that you can use to reach the last ring, Ring 1.

The Silver Moon Rings show up before the springs leading to the Number Rings are. You have to use homing attacks on the enemies to get to the SMR's as fast as you can, and then scale the first platform circle you come across to get the fourth SMR. The last one should be a lot more visible above the springs above the platforms you rode to get up to it.

Death Egg - Death Egg

After the few conveyors at the start of the level, you'll find the first little beam path that switches between two patterns. Wait until it's horizontal and quickly make your way across. There are some yellow springs up ahead which you can use to get to a set of rising platforms above them. On your way up, there will be two platforms right next to each other, and you'll want to take the higher one on the left, so quickly jump from the one you're on to the higher one consecutively. This last platform will lead to a path leading left, where the first (1/5) Red Star Ring will be waiting for you at the end above a hidden spring. Continue through the level until you get to the next beam path and take the lower one first. Stand underneath the first platform past the red-hot metal that you come across, and then walk to the right side of it so that the stage flips you upside down. From here, jump to the second (2/5) Red Star Ring and then make your way back to the beam path. Make sure you wait for the beam path to return before using a spin dash to make it back across in time. Use the higher beam path this time, and by simply progressing through the path, you should get the third (3/5) Red Star Ring. As soon as you have it, make your way back and stand on the very edge of the beam path you used to get here so that you fall down onto the lower one, then fall again to get to the lowest path possible. This should send you through an upside-down area with a bunch of conveyor belts. You'll eventually have to use yellow springs to jump to the next conveyor, and there's a third spring sneakily placed to the left of the screen after the second one that, when used, takes you up to a hidden conveyor with the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring on top of it. Continue with the level as you normally would so that you reach the conveyor belts that move down on a projected path along a tunnel with more red-hot metal below you. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is underneath where the second of the two conveyors ends up going, so you'll have to stand on the conveyor long enough so that you get the RSR, but not too long so you can make a jump back to solid ground to the right.

The Number Rings appear on the aforementioned second conveyor's path, the one used to get to the fifth RSR. They all show up in order, so the real challenge is getting to them. Ring 4 can be fairly tricky since it shows up on the far left side of the second conveyor belt, as well as up in the air, so make a big leap left as you move from the first conveyor to the second.

The Silver Moon Rings also appear near an RSR, this time by the fourth one. The first four are easy to spot and easy to get to, but you're going to want to jump as far to the right of your screen as you can to get the last one, which is floating in the air above a big drop downward (upwards on the screen).

Metropolis - Metropolitan Highway

Starting with the initial 2D platforming area that the level begins with, use the lowest paths possible at all times until you find the first (1/5) Red Star Ring up in the corner of one of the hallways. As you continue from this RSR out to the right, you should naturally hit a spring that shoots you up to a platform that automatically moves to the right when you land on it. Pick up the (2/5) Red Star Ring just to the right of where the platform takes you, and then continue the level as usual to get outside. When the missiles start to launch out of the ground, hold the entire way down. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is cleverly placed above that inactive launcher on your way down. After running along the curved paths leading up to the swarm of hovering robots, attack the first robot when you can, and then wait for the reticle to appear over the robot underneath the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring. Attack that one when you can, of course, and keep moving with the level from there. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is fairly hard to get to. You should easily see it when you get to it, stuck in a little crevice that only a hard-to-reach shifting platform can get to. If you're fast enough with your reflexes, you can jump to that platform from the one that scoots under it, but you can also just drop off the side of the platforms above the RSR and use boost when you're sure you won't hit the spikes on the side of some nearby blocks.

Make your way back to the second half of the level and you should easily spot Ring 5 on top of the first of a few moving platforms. As soon as you land on that platform, jump up in the air so you land on Ring 4 below it, and do so again to get Ring 3. Stay on the Ring 3 platform and ride it to the right, where you'll pick up Ring 2 with a simple jump upwards. The last of the Number Rings is a bit further into the area, so just continue with the level to find it.

Prepare to find the Silver Moon Rings after you pass the hovering robots guarding the fourth RSR. Riding the first moving platform past a few standard enemies shoots you into the first SMR, so you're going to have to collect the rest of them pretty quickly. They're easy to get, so you shouldn't have to keep anything in mind for this set.

Metropolis - Null Space

Bring a Burst Wispon; these RSR's are pretty tricky, and you'll have to use the Burst Wisps to get to them. Get through Null Space (or just leave your controller on a table for half a minute) and get through to the first circle of enemies that appear around you. Defeating all of them reveals a Burst Wisp by the spring to the northeast that you can use to bounce to the area in the distance, also to the northeast. The first (1/5) Red Star Ring is on the highest of the three platforms here, so make sure you bounce as high as you can instead of just trying to land. From the first RSR, drop down to the southwest to the middle-height platform and stand to the right end of the fencing surrounding the border. You're going to want to jump off and land on the rail on the right below here, and you can use a double jump to position yourself better if necessary. Once on the rail, make sure that you switch to the new rail that appears on the left, because it's got a spring at the end of it that takes you to the next (2/5) Red Star Ring. Make sure you pick up the Burst Wisp nearby as well, and then use the enemies to get to the next platform. Instead of taking the spring, use the Burst Wisp to get to the platforms way off in the distance to the right, or at least the boost rings in the air that lead to those platforms. The rail below them won't take you to there, so don't try to land on it. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring should be on the highest of the platforms here, but you'll be able to get to it easy regardless of where you land. Use the ramp to continue with the level, and after a small break from rails with a checkpoint, you'll be grinding again towards the next destination. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring is near the end of another rail, much like in Chemical Plant - Network Terminal and Metropolis - Capital City. Immediately ahead of this is a circular area with some enemies trailing to the right with a spring at the end. Instead of running to the right, head left and perform homing attacks on the flying enemies in the air to gain height towards the last (5/5) Red Star Ring. Just make sure that you hold A when you're in the air so you can actually get to the RSR.

The Number Rings appear on the rails after the circular section with the fifth RSR. Ring 5 will come naturally on the first rail you come across, and you should ride this same rail until you pick up both Ring 4 and Ring 3. Then switch rails and grab Ring 2, and make a jump to Ring 1 without moving in any direction so that you can actually land on the rail ahead of you at the end of your jump.

The Silver Moon Rings show up on the rails right after the Number Rings. Use the boost given to you immediately, because you're going to have to grab these things fast and the first one isn't too far into this initial rail. Once you can, switch over to the next rail on the left and grab the second SMR, and do so two more times to get the third and fourth SMR's. The last of them is given by using the spring on the last rail, so boost even more to progress through the level just a bit more and grab that last SMR before it's too late.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Imperial Tower

Take a Burst Wispon with you and use the Burst Wisp when you get to it, following a trail of rings and more Wisps up and to the right, where the first (1/5) Red Star Ring is. Keep going through the level and grab another Burst Wisp. You're going to be saving this one past the point where Knuckles tells your Avatar to fall back. Keep your eyes on the top of your screen for a (2/5) Red Star Ring surrounded by 10-rings above a few standard enemies. Try to stand directly underneath it to make getting it easier. If you can, try to reach the Burst Wisp to the left and grab the (3/5) Red Star Ring very close to the previous one. If you can't get to it this time, you can always get it on another run. Scale the area up to where the massive blue laser first appears to chase you down and grab the next Burst Wisp on a small platform. You're going to have to follow another trail of rings and Burst Wisps to the upper right again to get to the next RSR. This time, watch out below for two wall-jumping areas, because after you pass the second one, there won't be any more Wisps, and you're going to want to go as high as you can so you can reach the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring in time. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is unsurprisingly obtained in the same way in the final tower climb. Take the first Burst Wisp you see and stay near the top of the area to do the same thing as before until you get to it.

You won't have to go far to find the Number Rings, as they're right at the start of the level between the first Burst Wisp and the first RSR. Do what you did earlier with the Burst Wisp and collect all five NR's, but make sure you get Ring 2 before Ring 1, as Ring 1 is placed earlier before Ring 2.

You can find the Silver Moon Rings on the platforms with little electric sparks that appear before the second and third RSR's. All of them are super easy to get to, with the last being near the very end to the left. You have a surprisingly long time to get these SMR's for whatever reason; I got hit with those spark balls twice and still had a lot of time left before they disappeared.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Mortar Canyon

By natural progression, you should get to a bunch of flying enemies in the air pretty early into the stage. The first (1/5) Red Star Ring should be visible to the right, and you can get to it by just attacking the enemies leading up to it, like you've had to do in several other situations already. Keep going and you should easily spot the second (2/5) Red Star Ring on a high platform below you as you continue to attack enemies. To get to it, just move to the right as you fall after you attack the nearest enemy to it. Keep going and you'll get to a very large room, which will be important later for the Number and Silver Moon Rings. To get the third (3/5) Red Star Ring, you need to use the ramp in the first half of the room, but you have to enter it from the very center. After moving out of this large room, you'll meet some more flying enemies. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring is to the right, but instead of being above an enemy, it's in front of it. The trick to this one is probably to wait a little bit between homing attacks after hitting the enemy right in front of it, but you can also just direct yourself into it after hitting the enemy next to the RSR. You can find the last (5/5) Red Star Ring in the same fashion a bit later, except it'll be above an enemy to the left instead of in front of it in a weird position.

In that large room with the third RSR, slow yourself down or just stop using boost when you get close, and then hop on the platforms to the left. You should find the Number Rings over here, with Ring 5 appearing in front of some springs. Ring 4 is above the springs, and the rest of the NR's should be easy to get to. Ring 1 is on a much lower platform in front of the platform with Ring 2.

The Silver Moon Rings are on the right side of the room, starting on the far right side. The first four SMR's are in a straight line, with enemies and springs separating the platforms they're on; dodge these with as much effort as you can, because attacking the enemies or using the springs will slow you down, and you don't have a whole lot of time for this set. The last SMR is to the left past the fourth one. Stomping down on it from above will get you to the ground faster, so you might want to do that if you think your time is almost up.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Iron Fortress

By starting the level, you'll be forced to go up a steep slope by use of a booster. The first (1/5) Red Star Ring will be easily visible to the left above one of those missile launching boxes. Land to the right as you normally do and jump to the RSR and down to the ground below; trying to take out the box in the same jump will likely result in getting hit by a missile as it comes back down from the air. Once you get to the first area with spinning wheel pieces, try to spin yourself to the upper left, and then directly up from there. You can find the second (2/5) Red Star Ring up on a high platform as you make your way up there.The third (3/5) Red Star Ring appears much later in the side-scrolling portion of the stage. You should be able to see it on a high ledge with a spinning wheel below it to the left, which you can use to get up to it. Once you're out of the side-scrolling area, look for a glowing red platform and stand on it until it collapses. There are three small purple platforms to the right in the lower path created by letting this platform fall, but there's a moving spike ball that you have to watch out for as you jump across them to the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring. Climb the area as usual, and you'll meet one of those metal laser robots with two collapsible platforms to the right of it. If you can help it, don't spin dash or drop dash off of the second one and just make a normal jump onto a safe part of the ground below. From here, start a spin dash, but jump at the end of the flat part of the ground so you can launch yourself onto a ledge halfway down the slope where the last (5/5) Red Star Ring is. If you didn't stop yourself, you can use the same trick mentioned for Mystic Jungle - Casino Forest: Charge up a spin dash at the bottom of the slope and jump while moving D to redirect all your momentum upwards instead of forwards. Doing this at the right time will also put you on the ledge with the last RSR, so you can go with the second method if the first doesn't work out.

You can find the Number Rings around the first spinning wheel area. Ring 5 and Ring 4 are between the first two wheels you come across, Ring 3 is between some electrical equipment to the left of the wheels, Ring 2 is to the upper left of the original two wheels (go in the path suggested to get the 2nd RSR and you'll find it on a platform), and the last NR is high up at the end of the area. You can use the last wheel to get to it, so don't worry about having to get to it from where Ring 2 was.

Surprisingly, the Silver Moon Rings here are in the side-scrolling section; on the bright side, you have a ton of time to get them. They show up near the end and they're all pretty easy to spot, so getting them shouldn't be too much trouble either. The last SMR is up at the top by the very end of area.

Eggman Empire Fortress - Final Judgment

As you know, this level is incredibly short, with the first half composed of two forward-facing areas separated by a small set of rails. There are five "lanes", or alleys, or paths, or some similar concept that you can think of the initial segment of the level of. You start off in the middle, and you should quickly quick step over to the middle-left lane so you can pick up the first (1/5) Red Star Ring there before you have to deal with the giant spike wheels. The second (2/5) Red Star Ring is a lot harder to get to, especially if your controller doesn't respond well to the bumper buttons. It's on the far right lane past the third set of spike wheels that roll by (five total), so you have to get in that lane, pick it up, and then quickly scoot back over to safety so you don't die. Since there are no checkpoints, dying will always send you to the start of the level, and you'll have to pick up any RSR's that you collected all over again. Once all of the spike wheels pass, stay in the middle-right lane and you'll pick up the third (3/5) Red Star Ring as easily as you got the first one. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring is openly sitting on the middle rail in the middle of the two forward-facing areas, and getting it shouldn't pose any problems. On the second runway, the last (5/5) Red Star Ring appears in the center lane after three spike wheels have passed in that same lane. I recommend not boosting as much here so you don't miss it.

The Number Rings are on the second runway. They appear in these lanes in order: Middle -- Far Left -- Far Right -- Middle Right -- Middle.

Like the Number Rings, the Silver Moon Rings also appear on a runway, which shouldn't be taken for granted. Imagine if they were in the final stretch of the level. They show up on the first runway, and all of them are in the middle lane. To get them all in time, you need to boost as well as weave between the two spike wheels that roll through this lane.

• Reach for the Red Stars

  Collected all Red Star Rings

  
  

• Sonic Teaches Numbers

  Collected Number Rings three times

  
  

• Don't Lose Count

  Collected all Number Rings

  
  

• Silver Moon Mania

  Collected Silver Moon Rings three times

  
  

• Our Rings are Your Rings

  Collected all Silver Moon Rings

  
  

This page contains details on achievements that don't exactly fit the mold in the other pages. None of them are overly complicated, and are usually very easy to get.

The first achievement you can get is for putting a score up on the leaderboards, which is as easy as finishing a level on Hard difficulty and then checking the leaderboards yourself.

• Rivalry Begins

  Made it into the rankings

  
  

In any Avatar mission, you can use a Rental Avatar by selecting the prompt on the mission screen. Go with whichever of the nine Avatars there are to choose from and start the level. You don't even need to finish the level; the achievement pops as soon as it starts.

• Global Allies

  Utilized the Rental Avatar function

  
  

After finishing a level, your score will add to the medal meter shown on the lower portion of the results screen after you get your rank for the mission. Five Bronze Medals make up a Silver Medal, and two Silver Medals are exchanged for a gold one. You need to get three Gold Medals for each species of Avatar to unlock these achievements. You can start with whichever you want, and you'll be able to switch over to a new species after you beat the game. I highly suggest playing Mystic Jungle - Fire Cannon 1 to do this, and there's two reasons behind it. The first is that you're able to earn 1,000,000 points or so in about 40 seconds, which is much faster than anything else out there. The second reason for playing this stage is that you're able to earn over 100 rings per run, which is definitely going to add up. You're going to need as many rings as you can carry, which you can see in the achievements down at the bottom of this page. Three gold medals requires 50,000,000 points, so if you go with Fire Cannon 1, it should take about 46 runs of the level.

• On a Roll

  Achieved a soldier's highest honor

  
  

• Honor Roll

  Achieved highest honors with all races

  
  

There are also several achievements related to Avatar customization. Once you unlock a different type of Wispon, changing to the new one will unlock an achievement, as well as saving an outfit in the Closet menu. Creating a second Avatar and equipping a part in all available slots unlocks achievements as well. You unlock customization parts by finishing Challenge Missions, all of which are located on the Side Missions page.

• Hooked on Wispons

  Changed Wispons for the first time

  
  

• Running in Style

  Used the Closet

  
  

• A New Beginning

  Created your second Avatar

  
  

• Way Past Cool

  Equipped a part in every slot

  
  

There are also a bunch of achievements related to killing enemies and collecting rings. You need to kill a cumulative total of 10,000 enemies as well as collect 100,000 rings for all of these achievements. Only the rings that you have at the end of a stage will count toward your total. There are some good methods to getting rings quick, the best of which is to use a Wolf Avatar and a Lightning Wispon in Green Hill - Arsenal Pyramid, or in Death Egg - Prison Hall with any type of Wispon. Assuming you know the level well enough and know when to use the Wisp (if you're using Arsenal Pyramid), you can collect very high amounts of rings in a very short amount of time. Don't bother grinding this achievement out until after you've done everything else, of course.

• Fighter

  Defeated 1,000 enemies

  
  

• Warrior

  Defeated 5,000 enemies

  
  

• General

  Defeated 10,000 enemies

  
  

• Ring Enthusiast

  Collected a total of 10,000 rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.)

  
  

• Ring Collector

  Collected a total of 50,000 rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.)

  
  

• Ring King

  Collected a total of 100,000 rings. (All Rings held at the end of the stage will be counted.)

  
  

You can start this DLC at any time when you have it downloaded, but it's suggested that you at least get through City - Sunset Heights in the main story first. You don't need S Ranks because all three achievements are related to collectibles, but you can always go for them if you want. Two of the levels essentially require you to pick up many other types of collectibles to get an S Rank, so you may as well focus on collectibles before you consider S Rank-ing these three levels if you wanted to.

Sonic Forces | S Ranks

One month before Eggman took over the world, causing the events of the main game, Rouge has detected a high amount of troops in a very unusual area. There has also been intel that Eggman has been developing a new weapon. Shadow will be sent in to do some recon on the enemy base.

City - Enemy Territory

As you run through the level, which is highly similar to two of the levels of the main story, E-123 Omega will start to go a bit haywire. Since you should already be familiar with how most of this level works, there's not much to say on the level design or anything in that matter.

You need 1,250,000 points for an S Rank. Collecting Red Star Rings helps a lot to reach this score. S Ranks aren't necessary for this DLC, though, so it's up to you whether you want to shoot for one.

On the world map, Infinite will confront Shadow, starting off by bragging about defeating Omega. He'll then claim that he knows Shadow, and the story takes a step backwards a couple of months to the Mystic Jungle.

Mystic Jungle - Eggman's Facility

Of all the levels that could've been copied over from the main game, they had to use Aqua Road. This version of it plays out largely the same way, but that means it's just as broken. Good luck trying to get through.

You need 1,500,000 points for an S Rank. You likely won't be able to score enough points to get it until you've unlocked the Number and Silver Moon Rings in the level, so you can pick up those and the Red Star Rings for extra points.

Cutscene 01

At the end of the jungle, Eggman will order the leader of the Jackal Squad to attack Shadow. He'll easily dispose of him before teleporting away, leaving a very upset jackal alive. This simple event is then revealed to become the catalyst to turn the fallen soldier into Infinite. Back on the world map, Infinite will use the Phantom Ruby on Shadow, sending him to a distorted Green Hill.

Green Hill - Virtual Reality

This stage is similar to Green Hill - Guardian Rock. If you know that level, then you'll do fine here. Infinite will be sung the Phantom Ruby to make some obvious hazards throughout the stage as Shadow starts to get really confused about what Rouge and Omega are telling him.

You need 1,700,000 points to get an S Rank. It's basically required to have all of the different kinds of collectibles already on the field so you can pick them up to earn points.

On the world map, Infinite will be very ecstatic that his powers are as strong as they are, and will hint that he plans on attacking Sonic before trapping Shadow in some rubble. Rouge will finally fix the connection and tell him to get out of there as soon as possible. The big cutscene where Sonic is defeated will play again, and that marks the end of the DLC's story. Now all that's left to do is pick up the collectibles.

Like the base game, there are Red Star Rings, Number Rings, and Silver Moon Rings hidden inside each of the three levels of the Episode Shadow DLC. Number Rings won't appear until you have all five RSR's, and the Silver Moon Rings won't appear until you've collected the NR's in that level, just like usual.

Sonic Forces | Special Rings

City - Enemy Territory

Boost through the initial part of the stage and you'll automatically hit some springs. Perform homing attacks on the silver balloons above the ground to reach a boost ring at the end of this short area, which takes you to a higher path. The first (1/5) Red Star Ring is here, guarded by a laser robot. Next, drop down to the circular plaza and you'll find another (2/5) Red Star Ring just floating above the center of one of the spike ball pieces. As soon as you get to the 2D half of the level, a string of flying enemies will appear. Perform a homing attack on any of them and hold Space so you blast through the entire strand, and quickly attack another silver balloon off in the distance at the end of the trail to get the third (3/5) Red Star Ring. The fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring shows up not much later between two rotating spike ball poles; all you have to do to get this one is jump into it at the right time, and then attack the spring to the right to get out of there once you have it. A little later in the level, Shadow will ask Omega what's wrong, and you'll soon reach another checkpoint. Keep an eye out for another enemy strand that shows up to the right of some rings on ground level. Attacking these puts you near some more silver balloons, and attacking the one to the far right should launch you into the last (5/5) Red Star Ring.

The Number Rings appear in the area just past the last RSR. The one ring that should give you any trouble at all is Ring 4, but all you have to do is stomp down onto it before you touch Ring 3.

You can find the Silver Moon Rings in the same area as the last RSR. They're grouped closely together on the ground, but you're barely given any time to get them. Because of this, you're really going to want to get a running start towards the first SMR. Don't be afraid to force yourself to die in a pit by the Number Rings as many times as necessary so you can try again without having to restart the entire level.

Mystic Jungle - Eggman's Facility

As you should know, the first water slide area splits into two paths; one goes straight forward, and the other goes to the right. You can find the first (1/5) Red Star Ring on the path straight ahead, so take that route instead of the other. The second (2/5) Red Star Ring is above one of the hovering enemies at the end of the first water slide. Just perform homing attacks on the enemies leading up to it and you'll get it just fine. The third (3/5) Red Star Ring is very close to this one, and is above a spike ball pole on the first piece of flat ground you get to after you get through the hovering enemies. Making things even easier is the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring. This one is stuck inside a golden robot on the higher ledge ahead. Attacking it three times will open it up and release the RSR. The last (5/5) Red Star Ring is at the very end of the level. Attack hovering enemies as far to the right and as high up as you can so you can reach the boost rings above the last bit of solid ground in the level.

The Number Rings are placed above enemies in the same area that you find the second RSR. Just move in the direction of the next NR until you get all five.

The Silver Moon Rings are on the path leading to the right on the first set of water slides. These can be particularly frustrating to collect due to the numerous robots floating around in the water, so it may end up being a test of patience.

Green Hill - Virtual Reality

The first (1/5) Red Star Ring should be clearly visible in a corner at the start of the stage. The second (2/5) Red Star Ring is plain in sight along the main path, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding that one. There are two big areas in the stage filled with Phantom Ruby energy that moves in circular paths. In the first one, you can find the third (3/5) Red Star Ring on a ledge to the far right side; don't forget that you can boost in the air to get it. After you make your way out of this area, you should be able to see a few blocks below a ramp on the ground in front of you. If you can manage to jump over the ramp and land down there, drop down to the left so you can use a spring down there to reach the fourth (4/5) Red Star Ring. If you accidentally use the ramp, you can easily jump to the right side of the blocks and you'll land on the spring at the very bottom, so you can still collect all five RSR's in one run this way. Finally, on your way to the second big room with all of that energy moving in circular paths, you should spot the last (5/5) Red Star Ring on a small platform to the right of a chunk of land. Boost on the ground and you'll safely land on the platform with the RSR on it.

The Number Rings are in that second big room. They're all easy to see, and the only thing that might slow you down as you get them is waiting for the energy to pass out of the way so you can move around to them safely.

The Silver Moon Rings are in the first big room, where the third RSR was. Don't collect the first SMR yet, but stand next to it. Look up and find the third SMR on a single, one-piece platform all by itself. You should start collecting the SMR's as fast as you can when the tail ends of the energy surrounding that solo platform meet up. If you're running a bit behind, don't be afraid to take a hit from the energy so you can use your small invincibility time given to you to continue collecting the SMR's.

• Chaos Spear!

  Collected all Red Star Rings in Shadow's Story.

  
  

• Chaos Blast!

  Collected all Number Rings in Shadow's Story.

  
  

• The One and Only Ultimate Life Form

  Collected all Silver Moon Rings in Shadow's Story.