SONIC THE HEDGEHOG POCKET ADVENTURE FAQ Version 0.5 -final version (probably)- Written by GurtyGurt (gurtygurt64@yahoo.com) Last updated: 31 May 2000 You can find my homepage at: http://www.emutech.net Contents: _____________________________________________________________________________ 0.0 Introduction 0.1 FAQ History 1.0 Quick Guide 2.0 (Guide to the) NeoGeo Pocket Color only features 3.0 How to beat the bosses 4.0 Zones, Acts and Bonus Levels 4.1 Photo piece locations 4.2 Chaos Emeralds 5.0 Scoreboard (Trial Room scores) 5.1 Time Trial 5.2 Advanced 6.0 Miscellaneous Thingos 6.1 Game Review 6.2 weird Things 6.3 Rumors 7.0 About the Author 8.0 Outroduction 8.1 Credits 8.2 Disclaimer _____________________________________________________________________________ 0 . 0 I n t r o d u c t i o n _______________________________ Welcome to the Sonic Pocket Adventure FAQ. This FAQ was started simply because there wasn't so much as a hint for the game on any site, apart from on GameSages where it said 'get 50 rings for a bonus level at the end of the act' which is in the manual and is not FAQworthy at all. I'm sure most people want to know how to get photo pieces. Well I hope my directions are clear enough to you. Maybe some ASCII art diagrams may be in this some day! ^_^ 0.1 FAQ History --------------- v0.1 > The first version. (12 Jan 2000) v0.2 > The second version. (19 Jan 2000) > Extended boss guide and photo piece guide slightly (although no new photo pieces were found). > Added Chaos Emeralds section. > Added Rumors section. > Added the first times to the Scoreboard! > Swapped 6.1 and 6.2 around because it made more sense to have the review first. > Added these little greater than signs so people wouldn't get confused by all the new additions. Hope it works :P > This version has been rushed so if there's any errors, v0.21 will be out as soon as I find them :P v0.5 > Probably the final version (already!). Released 31 May 2000. > Skipped 0.3 and 0.4 because this was basically completed in 3 bursts! > Added the following photo pieces: * Secret Plant, Act 2, Piece 6 * Secret Plant, Act 2, Piece 7 * Aquatic Relix, Act 2, Piece 11 * Gigantic Angel, Act 1, Pieces 7 and 8 * Gigantic Angel, Act 2, Piece 8 * Gigantic Angel, Act 2, Piece 9 * Gigantic Angel, Act 2, Piece 10 Only 3 remain! > More stuff added to the Scoreboard. A lot more. Expanded maximum amount of scores per level from 3 to 5, since it's the final version. > More 'weird Stuff'. > Altered 'Rumours' slightly, including on how to get Tails because about 70% of emails about the FAQ were saing the only way to get Tails is in 2 player! I shoulda released it sooner! > A number of people asked about the flowers in the Special Stage. I tried to address the answer FROM MEMORY. :) > FAQ as good as finished, due to NeoGeo Pocket Color being stolen when I was playing Dance Dance Revolution in the arcade! I am sorry for my tardiness when it comes to replying to emails. Not one has been attended to all this time! Note I haven't replied to any emails - what would you think if you suddenly got a reply after 3 months? Most information has been posted. Sorry. (also note a lot of this FAQ was typed up in February - many people told me about the 2 player thing with Tails. Too many to list.) Trust me, it was hell just catching up on all the emails! I -did- read them all still... I'm just sorry I couldn't reply. I hate it when my letters get ignored, myself... Also a quick reminder to SPREAD THIS FAQ! Put it on your site! Go for it! And since this FAQ is essentially finished...feel free to borrow and rephrase the instructions for getting puzzle pieces IF you are making a FAQ and intend to complete the work...but REPHRASE IT! This FAQ may end but another begins. I've started a Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage FAQ! 1 . 0 Q u i c k g u i d e _____________________________ The aim of the game is basically progression. Guide Sonic from start to finish without being killed. You're also supposed to collect all 7 Chaos Emeralds, but that's not essential. Sonic must not collide with enemies (they are all moving robotic looking creatures) or spikes, or he'll die - unless he has 'rings' in his posession. Rings can be collected simply by touching them. There is no limit to how many rings you may posess. If you are hit when you have rings, you simply lose all your rings - some of them, however, can be picked up as they bounce around before they disappear. 100 rings will give you an extra Sonic. You still die, however, if you fall down a hole off the bottom of the screen, drown (you'll know you're drowning when jaws type music plays and a countdown beginning from 5 appears above your head - and you have to be in water, you can't drown from being in outer space or anything in this game :P) or get crushed by moving objects. However, if you touch 'start posts' - which look like old gas lamp posts - you can continue from that point instead of the start of the level. Levels are grouped in 6 groups of two - the 6 groups are called 'zones' and each have a different theme (sky, underwater, etc), and are made up of two 'acts' (different levels) and both acts must be cleared in order to get to the next zone. At the end of the second act in each zone is a boss which must be defeated by jumping on it, or rolling into it - you can roll into enemies by pushing down on the control stick, or holding down and pushing jump, then letting go of jump. Most normal enemies can be defeated in one hit using these methods, however bosses require 6 hits or so. At the end of Act 1, you will always find a signpost which falls down from the sky, and if you have over 50 rings CURRENTLY, a giant ring will hover in the sky - jump into it for a bonus stage with on-screen instructions. At the end of the second act, you will always find a metallic dome shaped case with a plunger on the top. Jump on the plunger to complete the act and the zone. You can also obtain objects from television set looking contraptions called item boxes. The picture on them reveals its contents - 10 rings, speed shoes (power sneakers), a 1-up (extra sonic), invincibility (it looks like stars), or a shield (looks like a bubble). Each zone features different contraptions to the last - some of which can be manipulated to your advantage by jumping on them or running on them. Experiment! And that's all! 2 . 0 N e o G e o P o c k e t C o l o r O n l y F e a t u r e s _________________________________________________________________________ * You can contunue from any act you have already played at any point in time - select 'continue' for this. * 'go to room' screen - you can go to the 'trial room', 'duel room' and 'puzzle room' from here, as well as select the options screen. * Options screen - select difficulty (does this have any effect?), turn on or off the 10 minute time limit per act (you may want to turn it off if you are hunting for photo pieces!), and enable/disable 'auto power off', which will turn off your NeoGeo Pocket Color after a period of inactivity. * 'trial room' - offers two modes of time trial - 'time trial' and 'advanced'. 'Advanced' is the same as time trial' except you MUST collect 50 rings for your time to count. The main purpose of time trial is to compete with friends who own the game, or to simply keep score of your own achievements. * 'duel room' - If you have a friend and you can link this up with them, you can play them in two modes: 'sonic rush' and 'get the rings'. In Sonic Rush, you basically race to complete the act. In Get the Rings, you have to both try to get a set number of rings first to win. * 'puzzle room' - collect pieces of photo from each act to make one of six 16 piece puzzle pictures! 3 . 0 H o w t o b e a t t h e b o s s e s ___________________________________________________ Neo South Island ---------------- This Robotnik creation is similar to the drill in Sonic 2. Except the hammer doesn't launch (or it hasn't yet anyway! :P) - so just jump on him as you would any other enemy - but only hit him twice at a time, because the delay in Sonic Pocket Adventure for his invincibility flashing afterwards is longer and thus you can only bounce twice at once. Secret Plant ------------ Use the spike platforms to jump on his head - but make sure you hit him at the top. Nowhere else will do damage. Cosmic Casino ------------- From the top left or top right platform, jump on Robotnik and CAREFULLY make sure you don't hit any bumpers. Note that you can hit him from underneath - that is NOT a spike under him! I also got this email regarding a possibly better tactic that I can't test (damn!): ----- From: "Mark R." To: Subject: Sonic FAQ Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 09:35:45 +0100 Good FAQ! I'll use it for the photo bits, and when my times are good enough, I'll send them. Anyway, the reason for this message; Cosmic Casino, Act 2, Boss. I found it a very tricky boss to beat without losing my rings until I found the following - and it works EVERY time. Stand on the top left platform, fairly close to the edge. Go into a stationary super-spin, and stay that way. Robotnik will eventually find you and keep coming in, but he bounces off hurt each time. This way, you can finish the level with loads of rings. Hope this helps, M ---- I hope it does too :) Aquatic Relix ------------- It's best to hit Knuckles in flight. Jump into his butt (no comment!) for a fairly straightforward victory. Alternatively, you could try to jump on him when he stops rolling/gliding and pauses and avoid his fists when he throws punches. This seemed harder to me, though... Aerobase -------- Metal Sonic seems to be a lot easier than he was in Sonic 2. Just jump when appropriate and beware of his jump spin which happens after a little while. You shouldn't have any troubles at all with this boss. Gigantic Angel -------------- Either wait until Robotnik dives down, or jump off the mushroom created by his bombs (they don't hurt you) into him. The greatest danger here are the shots fired. This boss is similar to the boss for Secret Plant, although a lot harder. Last Utopia ----------- Your greatest danger here is getting hit, then getting grabbed by the giant hand move. This is instant death. The giant hand move basically means you can't get your rings back, too - they all go out the screen since you hit the border! Since you only have 9 rings and a photo piece, you have to be careful and play defensively. Hit Robotnik's head, as usual, for a fairly easy victory. If you have 6 chaos emeralds, jump on the chaos emerald he puts on the back! After a few hits, it gets knocked out and you can add it to your collection and after you beat him, this will allow you to progress to... Chaotic Space ------------- The main thing in this stage is you're invulnerable. Nothing will hurt you. Your rings DO deplete, however, so make sure they don't go down to 0 or you die, since you're Super Sonic. To hit Robotnik, simply press the A or B button when holding towards him to charge into a missile which will deflect and hit him. Do this for a little while to win! 4 . 0 Z o n e s , a c t s a n d b o n u s l e v e l s _______________________________________________________________ 4.1 Photo piece locations ------------------------- Currently, not all of the photo pieces have been found. If you know of any more, please send an email to the address up the top of this document with clear instructions on where the piece is and how to get it. You will be listed in the credits in section 8.1 for your efforts. Sorry, only the first person who notifies me for each photo piece will receive credit. Photo pieces missing: 3 NEO SOUTH ISLAND ZONE Act 1 1) Go down the first hole at the start and do a spin dash through the wall on the left, but stop once you're through it or you may fall down a hole further along! go left, jump the hole and collect the piece. 2) From 1), go right along the waterfall and spin through the wall at the end. Slow down here because you don't have too much room to stop on the other side, which is where the photo piece is! 3) On the upper route by the first red diagonal spring, jump over the spring and go -under- the ledge ahead. At the end, jump into the corner of the wall on the other side and walk through it to the photo piece on the other side. 4) On the upper route past the spring is a pair of power sneakers. Get them and run through the two loops to the right, and keep running up the ramp at the end. Land on the platform in the sky and jump to the next moving platform, then jump to the left. collect the extra life and the photo piece! 5) Just below the moving platforms at 4) is a waterfall - stand above it on the left side, then spin off the edge (not a spin dash, not a jump, just a regular spin) - you should JUST make it into an invisible hole which you cannot jump into, canno spin dash into, or anything else - IF you have enough momentum. Now, go right and get the piece of photo there! This may take practice, but it's the only way in! If you make it give yourself a pat on the back! That is quite possibly the hardest to reach piece of photo in the game! 6) Near the end of the act there is a ramp if you take the lower route. Use the ramp to launch to the upper left platform, or simply jump from the opposite side - a piece of photo is right next to where you land. Of course, you could also use the 2nd corkscrew to get here. *shrug* :P 7) Left of the second corkscrew and a loop is a tree with a yellow spring in it. Use the spring to jump to the right. On top of the loop are two photo pieces! 8) Right next to 7). You could also jump right from the loop onto a red spring and get two Super-Rings, but if you hit the spring and aren't ready for it, you could land on one of the enemies below. Nasty! Act 2 1) On the upper route, jump on the first red spring. A photo piece hovers directly above it. Too easy! 2) On top of the second loop, jump off the diagonal red spring. Jump onto the yellow spring near where you land then jump from all 3 red diagonal springs where you land. Walk off the left of the ledge you land on (if you make it to the ledge! :P) and hug the right side. Two more pieces await you below! 3) Next two 2). 4) Use that funny vertical running thing to launch onto the loop to the right of where you come out from it (or take a running jump if you miss - use the power sneakers, it's easier!) - jump onto a moving platform to the right. It's tricky to see. You'll see a funny looking loop to land on if you look down - jump to it and you'll probably land on the 4th photo piece without realising it! 5) Use the diagonal red spring next to it to land on a moving platform (it's easier). Jump right and get the rings and the photo piece! 6) When you land from the huge tunnel, go right through the post, get the Super-Ring box, go onto the ledge above, then jump left as far as you can. With luck, you'll land on a moving platform (I only seem to make it if I go left as far as I can). Jump left when close enough to get another piece of photo. 7) Just past the corkscrew right before the end of the level on the top path is another piece of photo. 8) Just before the huge tunnel mentioned in 6) is a red spring. It's easy to find because the vertical running thing goes by immediately to the left of it. Use the spring to jump left into the wall, avoiding the spikes carefully, walk through it and get the piece of photo there. (you can see this from the big vertial running thing) SECRET PLANT ZONE Act 1 1) From the start, go on the ledge with the Super-Ring box. Continue as normal until you reach the first start post. Spin right from here, as running right will make you miss the objective...launch in the air on the ramp in the end, land on the right platform and collect the photo piece. You can use a spin dash if you miss, it has enough momentum to get to the ledge. 2) Continue along the path until you go through the first tube. Go right and up along the moving platforms and down the tube. When you come out, use the spring (it covers the tube) to launch and get another piece! 3) Take the lower path at the start (run straight ahead). Keep running to launch into the air at the end and land on the right to land straight on the next piece of photo! 4) Go through the tube on the left. Continue along until you come to a baddie and another tube. A piece of photo is right next to the tube! 5) Very eays to miss...take the lower path at the start but DON'T land on the upper ledge. Continue right until you get to a tube - go down it and hold right on the joystick. When you come out, you should move over and onto a piece of photo which you would miss if you did not hold right! Act 2 1) Spin through the big run from the start. You should land on a platform at the end (if you move right to land on it :P) from the first spring, jump to the left to get a Super-Ring box and a piece of photo! 2) Go back to the right, and ever-so carefully spin through the bad guy. A door should seal you in this area. Simply use the rotating platforms to get a photo piece which is to the upper right of here! 3) Continue past the start post and you'll enter a vertical 'shaft' (no better way to describe it I guess). Jump and hug the left hand side of this 'shaft' to land right on a photo piece. 4) Go through the path immediately to the right. After you pass the 2nd start post, continue along and take the BOTTOM route when you get to the next ramp - don't try to make it up the top! Go through the pipe. Go right down the folding step things and under the blue worm thing, then use the 2 moving platforms to get to the upper left area to get a shield and a piece of photo. 5) Down the bottom of the 'shaft', go alllll the way right until you get to the pipe at the end. Jump off that ledge to the left and get another piece of photo. 6) Towards the end of the level, past the 'shaft' and -just- past the final 'jump over water on moving platforms' section is a place with 2 or 3 sets of clockwise rotating square blocks, the topmost one being very close to the top and too close for Sonic to fit in without being crushed (although there is a little part in the middle to jump up) - on the topmost block platform, hold left and you can walk through the wall into a room with two Super-Ring boxes and a photo piece! Thanks to ANTDelita@aol.com for locating this piece (which incidentally is the lower right part of Tails, which now completes that puzzle!). 7) In the 'shaft', go in the second hole on the right from the top (excluding the top). Continue along through the loop and you'll reach a small mound - don't go past the wall on the other side because a door will come down and you can't go back. Use the mound to launch up to the right. There's a photo piece right above! COSMIC CASINO ZONE Act 1 1) From the start, go right past the first pinball set then jump far to the right from the top of the second. You should land on a flipper. Use it to land on the moving block above, then bounce from the nearby yellow spring to the bumper, to the platform above it to the right (phew!) - the first photo piece should be in clear view. 2) 'Simply' use the bumpers to bounce to the left. From the leftmost bumper, take a flying bump into the second piece of photo. 3) Go right from here and you'll see some flattish looking bumpers. Bounce off these to the right and you'll see a diagonal, almost horizontal tunnel. Where it turns to a 45ø angle, jump through the top. You'll see an invincibility box there - ignore it for now. Jump through that green mesh looking wall and run right to find a hidden piece of photo! 4) Now go right and take the upper right route ahead (the lower route has a loop, FYI) Try to land on the moving boxes first go, because there is messy network of bumpers below which can be VERY hard to get out of, and you can only go up, which is where you're going. Continue until you reach the start post. Use a spin dash from the flat ground here, then JUMP when you touch the post. You will catapault yourself into a piece of photo! 5) Next time when you're where 1) was, take the lower route through the loop. In the pinball area, go down the bottom of the field and you should fall through an invisible hole onto the photo piece below! 6) If you continue past 5, you should see a pinball area with conveyors up the top. Ride the top one and fall down, avoid the spikes (forgot to mention those...oops!), then you should see a hole going down. Fall, and you should land on one of two platforms near a piece of photo...don't slip because there's no way to get back up the top that I know of! At least not backwards! This is VERY tricky to get. It may look as simple as getting onto the bottom platform, but it's not. If you land on the bottom plaform, JUMP RIGHT STRAIGHT AWAY! Don't line up! Don't run up! JUMP NOW! ^_^ 7) Just past 6) is another pinball set. At the right side are 2 bumpers which disappear after being bounced on a number of times and a regular circular one to their left. Use the circular one to bounce on these two and to the photo piece on the right! Walk through the wall on the right at the end here, if you like (what's the point of it being there? :/) 8) Very tricky. Right before the end of this act is a pinball area. On the lefthand side, where you come out, is a flipper. Above that is another flipper. Make it to the upper flipper, then flip yourself when you're about to roll off it...you should land on another pinball area! Jump, and you should land on some of the bumpers which disappear after time. This is the tricky part! You have to make it onto one of the flippers nearby, and flip yourself into the slot machine starting gizmo in the middle, where a piece of photo awaits! 9) Right before 6), if you take the lower route, you'll see several moving blocks. Jump on the far right one and you'll notice IN the wall is a piece of photo! Act 2 1) From the start, head right. If you jump from the ledge after the spring you'll see a photo piece. Don't bother trying to jump to get it from here. Continue going right. Take a big jump from the upper ledge after the spring here to land on a conveyor - jump carefully onto the next conveyor (beware, it carries you to the right!) - use the flipper above it to launch to a fipper which is about -1 flippers length right of the wall-. Use this flipper to get onto the right side of the top of the wall. Avoid the spikes and jump to the conveyor above. Go to the next conveyor (it moves left, beware) and then continue left. Jump over the lift and keep going left. The next lift shaft has no lift in it so ignore it and keep walking left. At the end, drop straight down to fall through several 100 point gizmos and finally onto the photo piece you saw soooo long ago! 2) Go back to the lift you jumped over before. This time, use it, go left and take the lift there too. Go left from where you come out and get the speed shoes. Go to the ledge on the right, take a flying leap to the left side and run left to get a piece of photo! 3) You may have figured this out for yourself, but why should you have to? :P Go right along the top route for a bit until you get to a few moving boxes and from here, take the lower path - there should be a lift. use it and you'll come out near a Super-Ring box. Take it, then go on the legdge to the right. See that photo piece? Use a spin dash followed immediately by a jump to reach it! 4) Right from here somewhere is a start post - you'll be able to identify it because it's near the bottom of the map, and there's a long vertical shaft filled with bumpers which can be destroyed after a few hits, with a spring at the bottom and an extra life hidden in the right wall at the bottom (no really!) - and there's also a flipper just above the shaft to the left which you can't miss. Go right from here, jump the 3 sets of spikes and go through the first pinball table. Then, go through a curvy tunnel and you will come out by a pinball table thing again. Carefully jump down below and OVER the hole at the very bottom, then spin dash up to the other side. From the right hand side of the platform, jump up onto the ledge with the photo piece and um...get it. :P (You can make the jump) 5) From 1) continue right you'll pass an empty lift shaft and come to a long funnel shaped drop (the funnelhead can only be seen if you look up) - ignore the funnel, jump down and hug the left wall. See that diagonal bumper there? Use it to bounce into a photo piece opposite. Not hard at all. 6) Near the end is a gigantic pinball table - avoid falling down it at all costs! Near the upper left hand side is a little bumper filled room with a photo piece in it. It may take several attempts to get it. You'll need to use the flipper on the upper right side, and you will have to launch Sonic from the middle, not the tip. 7) Drop down the left side and through the hole into a second table. Drop down the hole in that one too and you'll land on a moving box. Go left here. Ride the first box up and under the second is a photo piece. Don't kill yourself getting it if you can! 8) From 2), go right and stay as high in the level as possible. When you get to a pinball table with a hole in the middle that goes to a ball launcher you know you're on the right track. spin up the right wall and keep going right until you see two moving boxes. Drop down from these...now jump to the platform on the left for an easy photo piece! 9) Go back up from 8) And go right over the conveyor belts, and be VERY careful of the spikes. On the other side are bumpers. These are harder to bounce over on than normal because you're so close to the top of the play area! If you fall don't worry, there's a spring below. Now take a fairly big leap to the right...you'll land on one of two conveyor belts so beware, the left one moves left and the right one moves right. Take a VERY CAREFUL run-up to the right and jump...you'll probably land on bumpers so steer to the right and avoid the spikes. At the end of the platform is another bumper. Bounce on it just to the right of the middle and you'll go flying up and right and smack-bang into a photo piece! AQUATIC RELIX ZONE Act 1 1) Take the upper route from the start. Just before the first loop, do a spin dash which will launch you from the ramp just past the loop. Once you got the Super-Rings box, which you undoubtedly will (heheh :P), use the springboard nearby, and just continue right and up and you'll come to a piece of photo soon enough... 2) After this, go right and walk off the ledge and be ready to jump into the baddie waiting for you below. Continue right, jump over the first two gaps and fall down the bigger third gap and hug the left side! You'll land right on a piece of photo! Carefully avoid the two arrow shooters on your way out... 3) Run right over the mound once you get out of the underwater ditch at 2). Keep running until you go through the loop and bounce off a yellow spring. When you land, go left, through the loop, jump up onto the ledge, roll up the hill (beware of the grounder here!), then jump onto the platform above to the right. Use the springboard at the end and land just past the rings. You should land on a Super-Ring box...kill the enemy hovering above and get the box, then walk right off the edge and get the piece of photo. 4) Take the lower route from the start. Continue past the first spinning platform array and get the shield past the second spinning platform array. Continue right up the ramp at the end and you should see two blocks moving up and down with a platform in the middle. Simply go under one of the moving blocks to collect the next photo piece! 5) Continue right to the end of the water section where there is a springboard - from here, do a spin dash left and jump, then hold left on the control stick - you should reach a piece of photo! Act 2 1) Go right from the start and bounce off the spring. Continue along the high route (note that the large gap has swinging platforms which may not be in view when you arrive at the edge) and progress right/upwards until you come to a loop. Just before it is a hole - fall down it and use the red spring below to bounce onto the platform above the column to a right, jump to the top of the loop and get the piece of photo! 2) From the top of the loop, run at the springboard on the right...you should land on or near a Super-Ring box. Hit it, then take a run-up to the right and jump. You should land on another platform. Tag the start post to the right, then go back left to the very edge of the platform. If you look directly below it, there's another platform with a photo piece on it. You will probably have to jump to get this one...a red springboard to the right should put you back by the start post. 3) Run right and just past a Super-Ring box on a mini platform, you come to the edge of the platform - take a running leap from here and you'll land on flat ground. Go back left, drop off the edge and you'll land on a lower platform going right - so go right, through a loop and you'll come to an edge. Look carefully and you'll see a moving platform disguised here! Use it to get to the other side where there is a red spring. Jump on it. You should land by a Super-Ring box. Get it then go left past the spikes...a piece of photo is hidden just off screen! 4) From the start, go along the upper route and at the first swinging platform, drop straight down to land on an invincibility box right next to a photo piece! 5) Continue right from 4) - After you reach a part with a curved ramp going up which has a platform right above it to prevent you from rolling back down the way you came, you will see a platform floating in the water. Jump onto the platform, and jump left quickly, as it falls - you should go behind the wall and be able to collect a photo piece! (watch your head coming out - running straight out will make you hit the spikes) 6) Go right and take the lower route where possible. Go past a start post and through a narrow diagonal tunnel right and you'll come out at a part with blocks falling from pillars. Get to the other side then by the air bubble outlet is a platform - use it, then jump to the left (ignore the moving platform). Continue left above the falling pillar parts to get a photo piece. 7) Now use the moving platform you ignored before to reach the upper right platform to get a piece of photo again. :P DROP BACK DOWN TO GET AIR! Air is hard to find if you go straight ahead. 8) Continue right until you see a long, almost vertical ramp. Spin dash up it, then jump somewhere on it and you'll be sent soaring upwards and slightly right. You should land near a grounder. Defeat it then go left and jump the gap for yet another piece of photo! 9) Past the long, almost vertical ramp mentioned before is an air bubble outlet in a little dimple shaped ditch. Spin dash to the left and up the side of the ditch, and jump so that it sends you flying into the air. (yes, there is another way to do this but this way is more fun and safer with the air there!) You should easily be able to land on a moving platform here. Position yourself on the left side of the platform facing right and start a spin dash. when the platform moves as far right as it can, let go of the button and jump so you get sent soaring over to the platform on the other side. Jump through the platform above and get the photo piece there! 10)From the start, go to swinging platform #1 (again!) and jump on it. Now, jump down right where the little ball thing that it swinging off is. You should land on a platform. Continue right, use the springboard if you like, ride the moving platform to the right, ride the next moving platform for a few seconds then jump off and get yet ANOTHER photo piece! 11)AND ANOTHER! Near the end is a loop. Just before it is a very slight hill. Spin dash up it and JUST before it levels out, JUMP! You should land on top of the loop and there is a photo piece here! This is PROBABLY the last one on this zone... SKY CHASE ZONE 1) Go up from the very start and jump. 2) Appears up the top at 0:50. Bounce off the incoming enemy to get the piece! 3) Right under 2) is another piece! 4) Appears near the top at 1:08. Beware of the spikes under the photo piece! 5) An enemy appears up the top at 1:45. Bounce off it to get the photo piece! AEROBASE ZONE 1) After the first start post, go left, up over the retracting platforms, then continue left past the first set of revolving narrow white platforms to a second set. Go up here, then roll left under the blade and try to steer right, and you'll find another piece of photo. 2) After the second start post, go right until you get to a blade which can't be rolled under. Go over it then go up the right angle ramp on the other side. Jump over the launching gizmo, go down the hole and walk left. Hug the left hand wall because there's retracting spikes to the right which you won't see yet. Fall of the edge and hug the left wall as there's a spring to the right of it...walk left through a hidden passage and on the far end is a piece of photo and a Super-Ring box! 3) After you go through a passage with 3 sets of retracting spikes, you go down a hole and there is a walk-through passage to the right - on the other side, there are strong winds where Sonic has to grab onto plates which look like this: [X]. Go through and when the wind starts blowing, hold up. Continue going upwards with the wind and at the very top, at the very end, is an easy to get piece of photo! 4) There are moving platforms past 2) - continue right from here and you'll get to some more retracting platforms. Just at the end of the retracting platforms, jump up to the platform above. Now, jump up one more time and you'll find a photo piece suspended in the air. 5) After this are some rolling platforms. After the first one, continue right and walk off the platform carefully. Drop down again and you'll land over a big air duct thing. Float to the left CAREFULLY...you have to drop to a ledge directly to the left of this. Do so with extreme care, then when you reach the lower ledge, take a jump right - not too high or you will get sucked into the vent and back up the top, not too low or you'll fall and die. Make the jump and you can reward yourself with a piece of photo - not so hard really! 6) Go back up and go to the second spinning platform. Jump on it and jump to the regular platform to its left. Jump to the left set of rotating platforms - they rotate every 6 seconds or so. Get the timing right and you can make it to the other side where an easy to find and easy to collect piece of photo sits. GIGANTIC ANGEL ZONE Act 1 1) Go right from the start and after the ramp go right and up the spring tunnel thing. From here go right and past the crushers, down the first hole, then right. You will be in a U shaped tunnel. On the opposite side of where you enter the U shaped tunnel is a photo piece which easily can be collected. 2) Go through the transport device to the right. When you come out you'll be sent into another spring tunnel - once you reach the top, drop back down and go right through the start post. Run right through the ) shaped loop but just before the spring at the end, jump down. Walk left and collect the next photo piece! 3) Go up from here then jump over the spear boxes carefully. Jump over the spikes on the other side then go up to the conveyor belts above them. There's a teleport device just past them - use it, tag the start post and continue on. Go past the first set of conveyored platforms (the ones on belts which move around like a conveyor belt) and on the second set to the right, drop down to the left for a shield and a photo piece. 4) Go right. When you pass the third set of conveyor platforms, you can drop down a few levels - there's an extra life here. Continue down and right, being careful of the lava. At the lowest point you'll find a start post on the left and a Super-Ring box with a photo piece on the right! 5) From the start, go right and when you get to the spear boxes, cross over on them to the left. Use the ramp, then the spring, then the transporter device on the left. Use the springs just ahead to bounce up and on the left is a shield, Super-Ring box and a photo piece. 6) Go right, up the right angle ramp, left, around the 180ø loop, up through the springs, over the spear boxes over the lava, down through the passage the switches open up and over the spring tunnel, through the first opening on the right, launch off one of the pistons onto the platform above and take the right route and go through the transport device, and you'll come out at a photo piece! 7) From the start go right until you to get to a pulverizer (which pulverizes upwards) - go past it, down the gap, past the next pulverizer, through the half-pipe up to the springs above, right, up at the springs, then take the lower right path, take the moving platform down, then go right and fall approximately straight down underneath the spear block - a photo piece awaits! 8) Go right and you'll see a sinking platform again. Ride it down and there is a photo piece there! Act 2 1) After the extremely Scrap Brain Act 2-esque start, hold right. You'll hit a spring which will send you into a room with a photo piece which you will probably land on top of :P (don't take the transporter out, walk off the ledge and hug the left wall for an extra life!) 2) At the bottom, go right and when you see a platform rotating on two cogs, jump onto it and jump to the ledge to the left for another photo piece. 3) Go back down and take the bottom right route. You'll come to a switch with a stationary red platform next to it. Press the switch and it'll move. Drop down to the photo piece below which you'll have noticed by now. 4) By a start post later on in the level which has a platform directly above and a loop to the left (easy to spot), jump onto the platform above the post and go over on the platforms to the left to get on top of the loop. Continue left and get the photo piece! 5) Go left and jump onto the platform there and quickly jump up, because it falls. You'll hit two springs and land on a ledge - right up from where you land is a red platform with a photo piece on it. Simply jump up through the platform as it's not a solid one. 6) Go left and past the crusher to find a start post. Continue going up/left and you'll reach a closing trapdoor thing which prevents you from going back down - go left for a rather unhidden photo piece. 7) Go right, through the transport device, over the springs, onto the upper ledge where the red platform comes in and out of the wall, right off the ledge at the end, jump over the gap, run down the hill, onto a revolving conveyor platform at the end, onto the conveyor belt on the upper right side, then onto a platform right of that which has a photo piece on it. 8) From the start post at the bottom of where you begin, go right and take the upper right path. go past the pulverizer, spin dash up the 180ø reverse loop so you land on the baddie on the other side, go left and use the rotating platforms to get onto the conveyor above and then go on the second set of rotating platforms. Go right through the transporter at the top here, then drop down the first gap onto a conveyor. Drop down again and roll into the enemy straight away when you land. You should see an almost vertical drop to the right - fall down onto the top part of this ramp, then jump into the gap on the right from it (it's tricky). There's a photo piece here. 9) From the boss room door, go left and down. You should see nearby a spring tunnel thingy which has a ledge above it so you can't fall down. Go left and down. You should see lava if you continue this way - jump over it to the left for a photo piece! 10)Go through the transporter next to 9) and it'll spit you out right by a photo piece. LAST UTOPIA ZONE 1) You automatically run over a photo piece when you start. CHAOTIC SPACE ZONE 1) There are no photo pieces in this stage. 4.2 Chaos Emeralds ------------------ There's no real tactics to use during the bonus levels in which you get the chaos emeralds, giving instructions on what to do would be too confusing to read while you play and drawing maps would take some time. What I might suggest, however, is that you pause when you think some rings or bomb things are about to come up and memorize the patterns or write them down. However, note that you don't nessecarily have to collect them in order - each zone has a different emerald. Do Gigantic Angel's one last, however, because it's insanely difficult and unlike any other bonus stage in this game OR Sonic 2! You will NOT make it without playing it several times over because it's deliberately set to trick you. My advice for the last bonus stage is: Make sure you get the rings ABOVE the half-pipe too, don't get greedy, and try to memorize what's coming up next. You can only afford to be hit once or so. The 7th Chaos Emerald is on the back of the boss of Last Utopia - dislodge it by hitting it several times then beat the boss. You can now play the Chaotic Space level. People claim that you get a sound test if you beat the game this way - I didn't, at least I never found it THAT way! (see the Rumors section) Oh, and the flowers in the bonus levels appear to be continues or extra lives. 5 . 0 S c o r e b o a r d ___________________________ Please submit your times to the email address up the top of this FAQ! I have not received too many emails at this stage, so it's fine for you to send all the times you like. This will probably contain the top 5 for each act. The times are set out as follows: Zone Act Time/Rank Recorded by Name This system is pretty simple to follow...note I have no way to check if times are legitimate, however if your time is ludicrously short in comparison to others times and my own estimation for the minimum time for the level, then maybe I'll remove it. I don't see why anyone would lie anyway! Note that the name doesn't have to be the 4 letter nonsense in the game itself. To give everyone a fair go, I'm not gonna include any tips here. :P Ranks: P - Platinum G - Gold S - Silver B - Bronze Time Trial ---------- Zone 1 Act 1 0'26"87/P Recorded by marcb48@indigo.ie 0'29"42/P Recorded by Adam Reed 0'29"48/P Recorded by SayainTom 0'35"36/G Recorded by Erik Christiansen 0'38"72/G Recorded by RalphTail@aol.com Zone 1 Act 2 0'57"72/P Recorded by Adam Reed 1'21"03/S Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 2 Act 1 0'50"87/P Recorded by Adam Reed 0'54"03/P Recorded by marcb48@indigo.ie 0'54"39/P Recorded by Albert Ying 0'58"27/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 1'22"87/B Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 2 Act 2 1'44"48/P Recorded by Adam Reed 1'48"45/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 1'52"51/? Recorded by Albert Ying 2'34"30/B Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 3 Act 1 0'31"54/P Recorded by marcb48@indigo.ie 0'38"54/? Recorded by Albert Ying 1'11"87/B Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 3 Act 2 1'24"36/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 1'37"33/P Recorded by Albert Ying 2'14"69/S Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 4 Act 1 0'36"21/P Recorded by Albert Ying 0'38"12/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 0'53"21/S Zone 4 Act 2 1'04"15/P Recorded by Albert Ying 1'16"66/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 1'35"12/G Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 5 Act 2 2'41"47/? Recorded by Albert Ying Zone 6 Act 1 0'49"12/P Recorded by GurtyGurt 0'57"54/? Recorded by Albert Ying 1'26"45/S Recorded by Erik Christiansen Zone 6 Act 2 2'02"41/? Recorded by Albert Ying Final Zone 0'35"53/P Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 0'40"77/G Recorded by Erik Christiansen Advanced -------- Zone 2 Act 1 0'57"87/G Recorded by Xianpu2709@aol.com 6 . 0 M i s c e l l a n e o u s T h i n g o s _________________________________________________ 6.1 Game Review --------------- If you go to the site up the top of this FAQ you'll see it's a review site for emulated games - however I don't follow modern emulation nor do I support it. I don't care if you like it or not...so don't email me asking for the Sonic ROM. I don't have it and from what I've heard it isn't emulated yet anyway (good! :P) - I paid for this game. You probably won't listen if you are one of those types, but...you should too. Okay. In Emutech review style, here we go! SONIC THE HEDGEHOG POCKET ADVENTURE For the NeoGeo Pocket Color Review by GurtyGurt Well, there's no mention of plot in the manual. So let's make something up. Um...Robotnik's been naughty again, so go get those chaos emeralds yet again. This is basically the same deal as its predecessors in gameplay style, except for a few new features. There are photo pieces for you to collect - 80 of them or so, and they reveal 5 different pictures. There's also time trial modes which record your times, and linkup modes which allow you to compete with friends. Um...and that's basically it. GURTYGURT: After reading a review by GameFan which failed to mention the sound at all and gave it 98% or something, I was highly sceptical if this game was as good as people said it was...since they were all based on the GameFan review. When new reviews popped up and it still got good ratings, I went and bought Sonic and a NGPC. It took almost a month to arrive here. Was it worth it? I dunno. It's exactly what I was afraid of. This is the easiest Sonic ever! The continue mode ruins the game somewhat...since you can continue from any stage you've played. The option should have been disabled until you complete the game! Also, I think the graphics have been overhyped a bit. They're not that much better than the screenshots, even when they're moving. And the sound? Instead of a different tune for each zone, they seem to have different tunes for each act - and they are repeated sometimes. The music is only average, too - recompositions of old songs from Sonic 2, 3 and Knuckles...nothing fancy. But yes, there are good points about this game too! Collecting the pieces of photo - the pictures themselves might be dumb once finished, but the point of it is, it's a challenge to explore every single inch of the game! Some parts are so riddled with secret walls that they remind me of Spring Yard Zone from Sonic 1 on Genesis...there are no scrolling problems in Sonic. The screen size is fine and you won't be running into enemies because you didn't have time to react...no more than the other versions, anyway! People complain about the lack of parallax scrolling with the backgrounds, but personally, I was concentrating on the gameplay the whole time and they were fine. As for the bonus stages, they play identical to Sonic 2 - and personally, I didn't like them in Sonic 2 because I thought they were only made for showing off and really had limited gameplay. The original Sonic had the best bonus games...Sonic can either be a good game or a bad game - it's a bad game if you aren't a fan of the series and like picking at every detail, but if you ARE a fan of the series, Sonic is an excellent addition to the series and the best handheld version yet, and I'm sure a lot of people will be impressed just because it has the traditional Sonic hallmark - after you turn the NGPC on, you get heralded with the beloved "SEEEEEEGAAAAAAA" introduction, complete with digitized speech! Beware, however - it's also the easiest Sonic ever, even for Sonic fans! Presentation: 88% Ruined by a horrible continue mode which saves your progress from any act thus virtually giving you infinite continues! Graphics: 91% Very good graphics for the NGPC, however they are not amazing. Scrolling is more than adequate. Faultlessly converted simulated 3D in Bonus stages. Sound: 87% Straightforward conversions of 16-bit version tunes and SFX which sound borrowed from the Master System version - excluding the excellent digitized speech at the start. Hookability: 94% It's Sonic - simple, but effective! And it also has a certain nostalgic feel to it with all the things borrowed from its 16-bit cousins! Lastability: 91% The photo piece collecting mode will stretch the lifespan of the game out for a long time - unless you don't like it, in which case you won't like the Time Trial either and you're stuck with yet another 'once completed, never retry' Sonic game. OVERALL: 90% A great game which is an essential purchase, but if you're the kind of person who buys games, beats them in 2 days then never touches them again, think twice before buying Sonic Pocket Adventure! 6.2 weird things ---------------- * Ever notice there's a smiley face made of bricks in Aquatic Relix Act 1 just under the first photo piece described in the photo piece section? * The six Chaos Emeralds gained in bonus stages all look like the ones from Sonic 3. The seventh Chaos Emerald, the one Knuckles has, looks more like the diamonds in the game Bubble Bobble. But, when Sonic gets circled by them at the end, they all look alike. Why did they do two sets of drawings for the same emeralds? (this is not a conspiracy theory) * That's all I've found. If you find anything weird, submit it to the email address at the top of this FAQ. I don't think there's anything within the visible areas of the map, though - if there's a debug code there's bound to be more. 6.3 Rumors ---------- After some people had started asking me questions about my FAQ, I noticed there seemed to be one or two rumors spreading about the game. So, I'm listing rumors here as they get asked or as I see them. Credit will be given where possible, however at least one rumor is so widespread that I have no idea of the origin and nobody reported it to me first. Rumor: When you beat the game with all the Chaos Emeralds, you can access a Sound Test in the options screen. Answer: When I beat the game with all the Chaos Emeralds, I -didn't-. The Sound Test is enabled when you finish 3 of the 6 puzzles. It does not matter which 3 you finish, despite rumors. Rumor: There is something you can do which will let you play as Tails. (rumor brought to my attention by Xianpu2709@aol.com) Answer: I hadn't heard this one myself, but apparently lots of gaming magazines say you can (Game Informer was named as one). Screenshots were shown. You can play two player linkup and the second player will control Tails in one or two of the modes, but you can also play as him in one player IF you turn on the debug mode. Nobody knows how to do this, however the emulator apparently has it enabled. It is possible that the emulator has altered routines which automatically activate the debug mode which very well might not be normally available AT ALL. It is also possible that the ROM image that some people use has been altered. Knuckles is NOT available. (A lot of people have emailed me telling me that Tails is only playable in 2 player. And you were wrong! Hahaha! But thanks anyway. I can't give credit though because there's too many people to mention this time around. Find the debug mode in the REAL cart and credit will be given!) 7 . 0 A b o u t t h e a u t h o r _______________________________________ Eek. This is MY bit :P um...I'm GurtyGurt. This is not my first FAQ, but it's the first FAQ I've written in recent years...the last time was in the BBS days when I wrote something about Strife which probably never even made it onto the net. I'm a video game collector, you see. I run a website, www.emutech.net, which some of you may be familiar with - Emutech's goal is to review old games, largely to help people with emulators to enjoy old systems by finding games they like on them. (at the moment Emutech hasn't been updated in a month cos' I've been distracted...but life goes on!) So that's about it really. I don't wanna start talking about stuff nobody cares about! 8 . 0 O u t r o d u c t i o n _______________________________ Thank you for reading my FAQ, I hope you've enjoyed it. 8.1 Credits ----------- Thanks to: Xianpu2709@aol.com for telling me about the Tails code story (which subsequently started the rumors section). Kulock for informing me about the debug mode information in a very detailed form. Erik Christiansen for pointing out several silly errors. They were very silly. A few others pointed some out too, but Erik told me the most! Eek! 8.2 Disclaimer -------------- This document is copyright 2000 by Peter Hegedus. Nor this document or any part of it may not be printed in magazines or sold for profit either by itself or on a form of media bundled with other things (ie CD-ROMs) without my written permission. You may, however, put this FAQ on websites, give it to friends, or use it for your own personal use. This FAQ may only be distributed if it is un-edited - nothing may be replaced or removed. And you don't need my permission to put this on websites. SPREAD THIS FAQ! :) Sonic the Hedgehog, Robotnik, NeoGeo Pocket, NeoGeo Pocket Color and soforth probably remain the registered trademark, trademark or copyright of their authors, although I could not find anything in the majority of cases in their respective manuals. Please do not send questions on what to do in certain places - these will be answered in future versions of the FAQ. I have to leave SOMETHING for later, right? Comments, flames, praise, etc. can go to the normal address up the top. If you wish to criticise, I suggest you make it positive criticism instead of just abuse and then I'll probably read it. Steve, why are you more impressed by this disclaimer than you are by the FAQ itself? :P I refuse to use a NGPC emulator, even now. If I get a new NGPC...I'll be back!