Sonic the Hedgehog 2: All 7 Special Stages (HD)

Sonic 2 set the true stage of how Chaos Emeralds are found and used, since its Special Stages have been reused throughout the series more than any other.

This game adds another emerald for a total of 7. Getting them all not only lets you see this game's better ending, but they also allow Sonic to transform into Super Sonic after he jumps into the air with 50+ Rings in tow.

Sonic 2's special stages take place in endless, different-colored halfpipes. They'll rise, dip, and turn left and right.

The goal of these Special Stages is to pass 3 tasks, which is to get a certain number of Rings before you pass through each checkpoint, including the last one, which is just you getting the Chaos Emerald itself. If you fail at any point of these, you get kicked out of the Special Stage.

You have to watch out for bombs that will also be in these Special Stages. They'll knock some Rings out of you, which might make you lose the level. If you have Tails following Sonic, he can help gather some Rings that Sonic misses, but that also means that you might lose because he crashed into a bomb!

To enter one, touch a Star Post with 50+ Rings, or 20 Rings in Knuckles in Sonic 2. In Sonic 2 by itself, you'll lose all of the Rings you took into the Special Stage after you exit. In Knuckles in Sonic 2, however, you get to keep them like you would in any separated or merged version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

The emerald color order is: Cyan, Purple, Red, Pink, Yellow, Green, Grey

You won't always see the emeralds on the tally screen, but they're there. They're constantly flashing "on" and "off" by 1 frame each, which is faster than what this 30FPS video is able to show.
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Sonic 1's Special Stages:

Sonic CD's Special Stages (+1):

Sonic 3 & Knuckles' Special Stages (All 14+2):

Sonic Mania's Special Stages:

Sonic Mania Plus' Encore Mode Special Stages:

[wes]

I don't need to study for finals I need to study this.

[Yoshikarter]

Those bittersweet moments where Tails actually saved your ass in the special stages.

[diddyknux]

Geez, I'm not even playing and I'm still yelling at Tails.

[RejectedSpiritX]

The final special stage was not only easy to complete, but the background flashing upon getting the final gem made you feel like a winner in life

[MusicDecomposer]

Sonic, you're kinda blocking my view, here. Wait, Sonic, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU WERE GONNA TURN LE-- *CRASH*

[AlgodooTails]

6:00 *When someone plays as tails*

Tails: Shut up Sonic I get all the rings!
6:19 *CRASH*
Sonic: What did you say?
Tails: *DAMN* I HAD IT GOOD THERE
Sonic: *Never get in front of me and that won't happen.*

[keshawnshelton]

you make it look so easy. it's really hard

[deathmagnetic]

Oh my god. Reliving The nostalgia of watching these special stages I used to play as a 8 year old kid(now 37) brings tears to my eyes. My childhood was the best times in my life. I didn't have to get up early for work like I do now. Sega had some of the best games of the early 90's. I feel blessed for having such a epic childhood. Sega/sonic, blockbuster, roundtable pizza on a friday night after school was the shit.

[christopherpolanco]

When you jump tails ALWAYS has a delayed reaction

[GeckoHogheadIncOfficial]

It’s because of these special stages that people have grown toward hating Tails. While he means well, having him curiously follow you through not just the regular stages, but basically become the whipping boy-trailing behind in these special stages, thus messing up your run to the end.
Moments like these definitely require a second controller handy, growing up with this game from 1992 (I am defiantly NOT one of them as I was introduced to Sonic in 2007 via Megacollection on PS2) to hone well-timed reflexes for the best ending, or you can just cheat-even THEN the bad ending is more worthwhile than the normal ending (defeats what the value of friendship this game is trying to convey as Tails tries to prove himself as a friend worthy of Sonic’s Trust).
In the end, just CHEAT! Unless you are playing via digital download/special emulation that eliminates the sound test needed for this cheat to work, then screw you: have fun babysitting this 2-tailed fox kit!

[TheNatkidd]

Very cool dude, Sonic 2 is actually pissing me off a lot with these strategic bonus levels. Actually, these make me want to hate the game. They're so crazy to beat in a negative way, I'll try to collect them all successfully because of this video. The showing of how to avoid the spike bombs, and yeah. Cool dude, cool. ;)

[ianbattles]

I'm just amazed that all seven special stages take less than thirteen minutes.

[quanmichel]

Idk how kids in 1992 beat these when they dont have save settings

[JollyGiant]

Finally. I've got all the Chaos Emeralds! MARIA!

[LuigiTheMetal]

These zones are insanely hard. These rings and mines pop out right in front of you, giving you less than a second to react. Pausing the game would've helped, and it's best that you try to get all the gems in the beginning zones.

[nuvi]

5:57 Tails just ran through the bombs wtf

[imamakeit]

At six years old can just about beat theses without looking at the tv. How? by timing with the music

[Pinkio]

i love how the automated chapters on this video are just

"GET 160 RINGS!"

[BR-jwpm]

just watching the sprite work is amazing. Sega was able to create such a 3D feeling environment with just really good pixels and programming. Such a feat of technical awesome!

[nono]

7:56 these are what the special stages should have been IMO. No bullshit bomb placements; just a bunch of rings and a limit.