------------------------------------------------------- Sonic Advance Special Stage Spring Guide ------------------------------------------------------- Sonic Advance Special Stage Spring Guide Written by Organoid Slayer lordenerjak3@hotmail.com This document Copyright 2003 Nick Burchell (Organoid Slayer). For full legal details, see the legal section of this FAQ. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: 1: Introduction 2: Characters 2.1: Sonic the Hedgehog 2.2: Miles "Tails" Prower 2.3: Knuckles the Echidna 2.4: Amy Rose 3: Controls 4: Spring Locations 4.1: Neo Green Hill Zone 4.2: Secret Base Zone 4.3: Casino Paradise Zone 4.4.1: Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 4.4.2: Ice Mountain Zone Act 2 4.5: Angel Island Zone 4.6: Egg Rocket - Cosmic Angel Zone 5: Credits 6: Legal Info 7: Contact Info --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1: INTRODUCTION Hi, welcome to my Sonic Advance special stage spring location FAQ. I made this guide because many other guides that I have read that give the locations of the springs are a little confusing. So I decided to make a no-nonsense, step by step guide to the locations of every spring. Although I give the locations of the springs, once you use them, you're on your own. I hope you make good use of this guide. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2: CHARACTERS There are four characters to choose from in Sonic Advance. Each has their own unique ability, as well as a few shared ones that everyone has. A short description of each character follows. 2.1: Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic is the coolest, fastest blue hedgehog that ever lived. Sonic has a real problem with anything that takes time. At normal power, Sonic can run at the speed of sound, but as Super Sonic, he runs at the speed of light. 2.2: Miles "Tails" Prower Miles, or Tails as he likes to be called, is a cute 13 year old fox with 2 tails. His twin tails give him the ability to fly for short distances. Tails is obsessed with proving himself to Sonic, and will stop at almost nothing to do it. 2.3: Knuckles the Echidna Knuckles may seem cold but he is really a warm hearted character that has had an uneasy past with Sonic. Knuckles' dreadlocks enable him to glide across large spaces of open air. 2.4: Amy Rose Amy is considered a liability by Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Amy is desperately in love with Sonic, and considers herself his hero, as she sets out to save him, but always ends up needing to be saved. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3: CONTROLS The controls are similar for every one, but each character can execute a move that no one else can. Below are the moves for each character. Sonic: Left: Move left Right: Move right Up: (Held for a few seconds) Look up Down: (Held for a few seconds) Look down A: Jump. A+A: Sabre Jump (Slightly increases Sonics' attack radius) B: Somersault B+B: Somersault + Somersault B+B+B: Somersault + Somersault + Sliding Kick A + left + left: Air Dash left A + right + right: Air Dash right Down + A: Spin dash (let go of A and down to move) Tails: Left: Move left Right Move right Up: (Held for a few seconds) Look up Down: (Held for a few seconds) Look down A: Jump A + A: Begin flying A + A, then repeatedly tapping A: Continue flying up until Tails gets tired. A + A + Left: Fly left A + A + Right: Fly right B: Tail Flick Down + A: Spin Dash (let go of A and down to move) Knuckles: Left: Move left Right: Move right Up: (Held for a few seconds) Look up Down: (Held for a few seconds) Look down A: Jump A + A: Begin gliding (If in water, this action will make Knuckles swim) A + A (Held down): Glide, or swim. B: Punch B + B: Double Punch B + B + B: Double punch + Flaming Uppercut Glide into a wall + Up: Climb up the wall Glide into a wall + Down: Climb down the wall Down + A: Spin Dash (let go of A and down to move) Amy: Left: Move left Right: Move right Up: (Held for a few seconds) Look up Down: (Held for a few seconds) Look down A: Jump B: Piko Piko Hammer Attack B + B: Double Piko Piko Hammer Attack A + B: Jump + Piko Piko Hammer Attack Down + B: Leaping Piko Piko Hammer Attack Down + A: Long Jump Down + B: Jumping Piko Piko Hammer Attack (also a high jump) (Hint: Hit any spring with your Piko Piko hammer to jump much higher) --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4: SPRING LOCATIONS Now, I will go over the location of each and every special stage spring in the game. This will be a comprehensive guide, and the directions will take you from the beginning of the act, right though to the spring. As mentioned in the introduction, once you jump on that spring, you will have to use your skills to obtain all 7 chaos emeralds from the special stages, and that's no small task. Good luck! 4.1: Neo Green Hill Zone: Act: 1 Difficulty: Very easy Preferred character: Tails Reason: Although it's possible to get to the spring with any character, it is far easier to reach it with Tails. Walkthrough: From your starting location, run along the beach until you reach a yellow spring in front of a double loop. Pass the spring and go though both loops, down the hill and across the flat area. At the end of the long flat area you should run up the side of a wall, and land next to a star post. From here, at every fork go straight ahead, not up or down. You should quickly come to an area with bouncing platforms and a waterfall. Straight ahead is a container with a life in it, get it if you want to. Again, go straight ahead, killing the robot, and opening the container with 5 rings in it. Shortly after this, you will slide down a waterfall and land on a spring. If you land in the tunnel in the wall, you can go out the other side for an invincibility container, but it's not necessary. Go back out of the tunnel from the side you came in from and jump onto the spring, which will make you grab a pole and get flung into the air. Follow the path straight ahead, going up the ramp, and through the spin disks, which takes you through another two loops. You will be stopped by a wall with a yellow spring in front of it. Hit the spring and jump down next to the star post. Continue through the star post, watching out for the robot and the spikes on the wall once you go up the ramp. From here, go across the bridge and hit the red spring and let it take you up to the arrow of rings. That arrow hints where the spring is, so land on the ground to the right of the ramp. Now, fly back and up, following the brown sloped wall as a guideline to a patch of grass with a yellow spring on it. Watch out for the flying robot hovering above your head. Instead of taking the spring, fly up and to the right. You should see a platform moving up and down. Get onto it, and when it gets as high as it goes, jump and fly forward onto an island with a pole, a ramp and the spring. Good luck getting that chaos emerald! 4.2: Secret Base Zone Act: 2 Difficulty: Fairly easy Preferred character: Anyone but Amy Reason: Spin dash is essential to getting to this spring, so Amy cannot easily get to this one. Walkthrough: From the start, pass the first man hole cover-like object, and jump onto the second one. When it lifts off, jump onto the sideways moving platform. Jump onto the platform opposite, and continue jumping up the steps until you get to a mole robot. Kill him by jumping onto him as he pops out, and fall down the gap. You will grab onto a wire, and move forward as well as swing around. You can get the shield container by timing your jump correctly, but unless you know what you're doing, don't try. At the end of the wire, try to jump up onto a platform. If you jump down, don't worry you'll still get to the next part by hitting the spring and launching up onto the bouncing platform. If you did jump up, continue down the slope, and onto the bouncing platform mentioned in the paragraph above. From here, hit the yellow springs, and continue along the narrowing corridor. Be careful of the enemies on the roof, they spit out 2 energy balls and in this narrow corridor, they can be hard to avoid. From here, drop off the ledge, run to the opposite side of the room, and jump on the yellow spring for a new pair of sneakers. Grab onto the hook swinging on a chain, and onto the next one. Jump off next to the star post. Hit the yellow spring, run across the flat surface and down the ramp. If your speed shoes are still working (you can tell by the faster music) run as fast as you can through the loop, and onto the moving platform. If your speed has worn off, just spin dash through the loop to get a similar effect. Jump onto the two bouncing platforms, and continue forward. Watch out for the withdrawing spikes and jump on the spring-like platform. Continue forward and over the man hole things again. This time, instead of going up, go down. Go through the 2 loops, and jump over the conveyer belt. If you fall down the gap, just jump back up and keep going. Drop down onto the wire and spin across to the right. Jump up onto the platform and spin dash up the left wall. Jump off the wall and onto the bouncing platform. From here, just bounce up the 2 yellow springs to the right, and off the 2 bouncing platforms, to land on a flat surface with the spring. Good luck! 4.3: Casino Paradise Zone Act: 1 Difficulty: Easy to moderately easy Preferred character: Anyone but Amy Reason: Spin dash comes in handy, so once again, Amy is not really an option for this one. Walkthrough: From the start, go forward and down the hill. Get as much speed as you can, as this is a big jump. Jump passed the rocking ship, and drop next to the yellow spring. If you fell a long way down, restart the level and repeat the process. From the yellow spring, spin dash up the right wall, and grab the flag. Move forward slowly, watching out for the bombing robot. When you see a fork with a path leading up guarded by a bouncer, and a path leading down, take the lower route. Walk very slowly, because if you touch the pipe at the bottom, you will have to restart the level. Jump over the pipe and do a small spin dash up the ramp. Turn around and do another small spin dash over a moving bouncer to get a pair of sneakers. Jump back over the bouncer and take another leap over the gap. Go over the conveyer belts and hit the spring. Let the spring take you into an alcove with 2 stationary bouncers and a moving one. Fall down the hole the moving bouncer guards onto a platform. Drop off the edge and onto the spring. Don't worry if you fall down, you can jump back onto the spring. When you get onto the platform, stop immediately. You should see the string of a balloon on the top of the screen. Jump up and into the balloon, then onto the blue one and finally onto the invincibility container. Take the spring up and grab the flag sticking out of the wall. Run to the right, passing the star post and taking hold of the flags as you continue moving. After you go upside down, you will get to the top of a hill. Go down the other side, and up the other side. Stop and go back, jumping onto the flipper above you, flip up and slightly back and hopefully onto the spring. Good luck! 4.4.1: Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 Act: 1 Difficulty: Dead easy Preferred character: Tails Reason: Choosing Tails is the easiest choice, but only because it saves you about a minute or two of game play. Walkthrough: From the start of the level, move forward and jump/fly over the gap. Take the yellow spring up to the next platform with one of Sonic's grinding rails. Use the rail as a guide line to follow as you fly down. Crack the ice boulder for a magnetic shield container, and then continue forwards to the edge. Drop off, run down the hill that you land on, and then run through the double loop and up the ramp, continuing right passed the star post. Take the top rout as you get to the end of the ice tunnel, jump up the ledge and stop. From here, fly up and slowly to the left, hugging the wall. If you hit a small roof jutting out of the wall, fly back down to the ledge and do it again, this time missing the roof. Hug the wall all the way up, and you will land on a small platform with the spring, just as Tails gets tired. After you land, jump onto the spring. Good luck! 4.4.2: Ice Mountain Zone Act 2 Act: 2 Difficulty: Moderately easy Preferred character: Tails Reason: Tails is a good choice because if you fall below the path taken in this guide, you can usually fly back up. Walkthrough: From the start, run forward to the end of the platform and jump over the gap. With the momentum you have, keep running down the hill and through the loop. When you hit the wall, turn around and spin dash up the wall, jumping off it and onto the spring. Bounce up to the other spring and take the left route. There is a normal shield container here. Open it, and take the right path. Run through the spin disks and then through the loop. When you get onto the flying fox, prepare to jump as soon as you touch the ground. Your timing has to be perfect for this; otherwise you will get bounced off the platform. If you made it over the spring, miss this next paragraph. Since you fell down, you might as well hit the star post, and try to get back up. Head left of the star post and break the boulder on the left. Bounce on the spring, and land on a moving platform. When the platform moves to the right, jump on the moving spring. From the corridor you land in, try to jump out and fly back up the right wall. You should land where the flying fox landed. Move forward until you find a boulder. Break it and jump on the yellow spring it was hiding. From the platform you land on, grab the 5 ring container and take the red spring, you should land to the left of some spin disks or a loop. Hit the spin disks and go through the loop and you will shortly be stopped by a yellow spring. Take the yellow spring up to get a bubble shield, and then jump onto the moving platform to your right. Jump onto another moving platform which leads to a block of ice with a red spring on the right wall of it. Take it and you should land on a platform with a flat and sloped surface. If you didn't then restart the level, as it is very hard to get back up most of the time. Drop off the left wall and onto the spring. Good luck! 4.5: Angel Island Zone Act: 2 Difficulty: Slightly difficult Preferred character: Tails Reason: A lot of aerial work to be done, so Tails is naturally a good choice. Walkthrough: From the start of the level, walk forward, and bounce across the bouncing platforms. Be careful not to fall down, or you will die. Walk forward and take care of the two robots and then continue on. Slide down the sand slide and fall down on the left wall to grab a shield container. Hit the yellow spring and continue forward, watching out for the retracting spikes and the crushing platform. Jump on top of the crushing platform and quickly jump off onto the ledge to the right. Take the springs up and turn around so that you are standing on top of the ramp. Fly up and to the right and land on the thin moving platform. From here, take the top route and continue forward, watching out for the spiked platform. Keep going and you will reach a star post, run through it and keep running. Run down the hill, and hit the red spring, and keep going. Run up the ramp, and slide down the sand slide, watching out for the retractable spikes. When you hit the ground, you will hit a red spring; hold forward, so that you land on the moving platform. When it moves as far right as it goes, jump up and to the right, to grab onto a pole. Keep moving right and drop off onto the platform, jumping and flying over the spikes. Grab hold of the hand hold on the chain, and then take the path to the right. Run into the tunnel and come out the other end. If you had enough speed, you will launch up and onto a platform with a star post on it. Head right, even if you didn't make it and take out the robot on the long platform. Get some speed and go through the loop, and catch the hand hold on the chain above the ramp. Jump on top of the loop, and roll into the invincibility container. Hit the red spring to your left, which should land you onto a moving platform. If you fell off, just repeat the steps above, as you'll land near the loop. From the platform, jump up to the ledge to your left. Take the yellow spring and land on the treadmill wheel, and run to the right. When you reach the top, jump onto the next wheel, and also run to the right. When you reach the top, jump on top of the ledge. If you still have your invincibility, you can jump onto the retracting spikes and continue, if it wore off already, just time your jump so as not to land on the spikes, or just fly over them. Walk slowly to the right, and DO NOT hit the spring. If you do, you will most likely get pushed all the way down. Jump over it and onto the moving platform. From here, jump onto the next one and then onto the ledge to your right. Hit the yellow spring, and land on another wheel. Again, run to the right. Jump onto the platform with the downwards pointing arrow on it. As it sinks down, jump onto another wheel and run to the right. When you get to the top, jump onto another platform with a downwards pointing arrow on it, and quickly jump off onto the ledge on the right. Keep moving right and collect the 5 ring container. Jump onto the final wheel and run as fast as you can to the right. If you did it right, a ball of energy from a robot will just miss you. Or you could just fly over the enemy and avoid the risk of being shot. Either way, you will come to a wall with the spring against it. Good luck! 4.6: Egg Rocket - Cosmic Angel Zone Act: 2 Difficulty: Slightly difficult Preferred character: Any Reason: It's just as easy to get to the spring with any character, so you choose who to do it with. Walkthrough: From the start of the level, run forward and collect the 5 ring container. Kill the robot, and jump onto one of the three spinning platforms. Watch out for the bombing robot at the top of the platform's movement. Jump onto the platform to the right. Jump onto the moving platform, which will take you up. From here, jump onto the moving red spring. Continue to the right, picking up the container with 10 rings inside it. Jump onto the yellow spring and continue right, watching out for the retractable spikes. Keep jumping up and to the right, dodging all the robots until you reach a yellow spring on the ground, take it up to a moving red spring. It doesn't matter which way you go now, as going left will take you through a barrel, which will take you to the top of the hill if you went to the right. Move passed the conveyer belts, watching out for the bombing and the mole robot as well as the spikes. This part can be slightly frustrating, so take your time. Continue right and take the yellow spring over some spikes, but not too far as to hit the crystal like enemy. (I have noticed that sometimes the crystal enemies are not there, but I'm not sure what makes them appear) There are two more jumps like this, so don't worry if you lose your rings a few times, just try to pick up as many as you can. After the third jump, you will see a red spring against a wall. Take it and try to land on the moving platform. Take as much as a run up off the platform once it gets to its full height, and jump to the right. If you fall down, restart the level, as you cannot get back up. If you made it, pass through the star post, kill the bombing robot and hit the red spring on the right. Press down to curl up into a ball, so you can get a needed extra boost up to the top platform, or you can just hit the red spring on the left wall. Now just head right across the conveyer belts and the spring is up against the wall. Good luck getting that final emerald! Once you have all 7 chaos emeralds, and have finished the game with every character, play the Final Zone with Sonic and finish it for a little surprise..... --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5: CREDITS I would like to thank the following: Nintendo, for licensing a great platform game. Sega, for bringing Sonic to the Nintendo-loving crowd Sonic Team, for creating one of the best games on GBA GameFAQs, for showing me the approximate locations of the springs And you, for reading my guide --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6: LEGAL INFO This document copyright 2003 Nick Burchell (Organoid Slayer). It may not be reproduced or altered, either electronically or otherwise, in any way, shape or form without written extent of the author. The only sight that may use this is: www.gamefaqs.com If you would like to use this guide on your site, sent me an email to lordenerjak3@hotmail.com. Most of the time, I'll let you use it, unless I state otherwise. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- 7: CONTACT INFO If you have any suggestions, contributions or comments, e-mail me at: lordenerjak3@hotmail.com. I WILL accept helpful comments, as well as positive contributions, and even constructive criticism. But I WILL NOT, under any circumstances, accept spam and/or flak in any way, shape or form. As long as you don't send me flak or spam, I'll usually send you a reply. This is Organoid Slayer, signing off. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------