Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Bonus Stages | AntMag

Enter Bonus Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by passing a Starpost with at least 20 Rings and jumping through the appearing Star Circle.

Enter Bonus Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by passing a Starpost with at least 20 Rings and jumping through the appearing Star Circle.

Enter Bonus Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by passing a Starpost with at least 20 Rings and jumping through the appearing Star Circle.

Enter Bonus Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by passing a Starpost with at least 20 Rings and jumping through the appearing Star Circle.

Enter Bonus Stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by passing a Starpost with at least 20 Rings and jumping through the appearing Star Circle.

Walkthrough

1
Pass a Starpost with at least 20 Rings.
2
Jump through the appearing Star Circle to enter a Bonus Stage.
3
The specific Bonus Stage entered depends on the game version and, in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the number of Rings you have (20-34 for Slot Machine, 35-49 for Glowing Spheres, 50-65 for Gumball Machine).
4
Collecting 50 Rings in any Bonus Stage earns you a Continue.

Bonus Stages:

Slot Machine Stage: Similar to Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone, you circle a slot machine. Touching the GOAL bars exits the stage. 'R' Bars reverse the field direction. Hitting Blue Bars 3 times turns them into GOALs. Jumping into the slot machine can win or lose Rings based on combinations.
Glowing Spheres Stage: Start on a magnetic sphere and jump to higher spheres, activating flippers to reach the top. A rising force field will exit you if you fall behind. Prizes are found in balls: 'B' grants a Shield, Super Ring grants 10 Rings, 1-Up grants a life, and Clear grants nothing.
Gumball Machine Stage (Sonic 3 & Knuckles only): Use yellow bumpers to move upwards in a shaft; they disappear after use. Springs at the bottom also disappear after use. Turning the crank releases gumball balls with prizes. The stage ends when you fall out of the shaft.

Slot Machine Combinations:

Glowing Spheres Prizes:

Gumball Machine Prizes (implied by ball colors):

(Specific colors and their prizes are not detailed in the source text, but the mechanic of grabbing colored balls for prizes is present.)

Tips

In the Slot Machine Stage, be mindful of the Blue Bars as hitting them three times turns them into GOALs, potentially ending your run.
In the Glowing Spheres Stage, stay ahead of the rising force field to avoid exiting the stage prematurely.
In the Gumball Machine Stage, utilize the bumpers effectively to ascend the shaft.