Sonic 3 & Knuckles

Explore all 14 levels, playable characters, and endings in Sonic & Knuckles. Learn about Special Stages and zone music.

Available Levels: You can play through Angel Island Zone, Hydrocity Zone, Marble Garden Zone, Carnival Night Zone, Icecap Zone, Launch Base Zone, Mushroom Hill Zone, Flying Battery Zone, Sandopolis Zone, Lava Reef Zone, Hidden Palace Zone, Sky Sanctuary Zone, Death Egg Zone, and The Doomsday Zone.

Playable Characters: You can play as Sonic & Tails, Sonic Alone, Tails Alone, and Knuckles Alone. It is possible to play as Knuckles in the Sonic 3 levels and as Tails in the Sonic & Knuckles levels.

Boss Fights: In Launch Base Zone, Sonic and Tails fight two bosses, skipping the Spiked Grabber, while Knuckles skips the Ball Launcher boss.

Save System: The game features 8 save slots that store your progress, lives, continues, and collected emeralds, displayed on the HUD (Heads-Up Display).

Forms: There is a Super Form for Tails and a Hyper Form for Sonic and Knuckles.

Bonus Stages: There are 3 Bonus Stages. The Sonic 3 Special Stages have been made easier, with long rows of blue spheres now turning into Rings when passed through, fixing previous lag issues.

Mushroom Hill Zone: Act 1 of Mushroom Hill Zone has an expanded opening area with a Giant Ring that is always visible, regardless of Chaos Emerald collection.

Music: In the Sonic 3 levels, the theme music for Knuckles and Mini-Bosses now corresponds with their Sonic & Knuckles counterparts. The music for Mushroom Hill Zone has also been slightly changed with a few more beats.

Knuckles' Gameplay: Due to his lower jump, Knuckles can explore more challenging, new areas and faces different or tougher bosses.

Endings: You can achieve the bad, normal, or best ending depending on whether you collect all 7 Chaos/Super Emeralds.

Transitions: After finishing Launch Base Zone, your score is totalled and a cutscene (a non-interactive cinematic the game plays automatically) plays to transition you to Mushroom Hill Zone.

Item Box and Badnik Changes: Item Box and Badnik placements have been altered; for example, there are no Robotnik Boxes and fewer Orbinauts in Launch Base Zone.