General notes on the characters

Speed, Fly, Power teams

At the top left corner of your screen, you will see an icon depending on your team: Sonic's foot on a blue circle, Knuckles' fist on a red circle, or Tails' tails on a yellow circle. They mean that your team is Speed, Power or Fly, respectively. What does it mean, does it work like in Sonic Heroes, how are types determined?

Speed: Every team with Sonic in it, whether he is the leader or the partner, is a Speed team. Speed teams have the ability to go into Boost mode, by running at top speed for a period of time (the more Rings you have, the less time it takes), hitting a dash panel, or by using Sonic's Tag Action (see the Partner section).

Power: Every team with Knuckles in it, whether he is the leader or the partner, is a Power team. Power teams have access to special attacks that can destroy particular barriers, which only clink if hit by normal attacks. These barriers hide shortcuts, goodies or even Chao. Power attacks are usually Knuckles' fists and his ground Tag Action (see the Partner section).

The one exception to this is Fighting Buddies, the name for both S/K and K/S. Since Sonic is in the team, the game indicates it as a Speed team; however, you can still destroy Power barriers. Therefore, you can see it as a Speed/Power hybrid.

Fly: Teams without Sonic and Knuckles are Fly teams. This category is the least defined of the three, which is why I left it for last: generally speaking, Fly teams are more air-oriented, and have access to actual flight or Tag Actions that allow the player to soar in the air.

General notes on the characters:

Sonic: Sonic is one of the most consistent characters in the game, rarely losing moves and always gaining them, but generally speaking he has the simplest move-set. Sonic’s main feature, both as the leader and as the partner, is going into Boost Mode. Sonic’s usual attack is the Skid, the melee attack with the longest range (bar the Fire Sliding and Cheese). Note that using the Skid while in Boost mode will cancel it.

Tails: Tails is the character that changes the most, the “standard” version being the one in T/S. Tails can fly with anyone except T/K, but his flight is different every time. In T/S and T/A he lasts around 5 seconds, and in T/C he lasts around 3 seconds. Virtually the same as his “standard” flight, his usual swimming style is the Dog Paddle, which is actually tied to his “fatigue period” when he flies. With the exception of T/K and T/A, his usual attack is the Tail Swipe, a quick, moderate-range attack that can be used even while running and in Boost mode.

Knuckles: Knuckles’ abilities always change with each team, but almost never drastically. With the exception of K/S, his main ability is gliding and climbing walls. Virtually the same as his gliding, his swimming style is the Breast Stroke; he can also float on water surfaces. Knuckles’ usual attack is the Double Punch, slightly shorter but longer-lasting than the Tail Swipe (note that using it in Boost mode will cancel it); more importantly, it’s a Power attack, meaning it can break the toughest barriers. Sadly, he’s the only character that has no chance to perform Trick Actions.

Cream: Cream was a game breaker in Advance 2, and she’s no better (or worse) in this game, except that now you can’t play as her until you’re almost done with the game. Her flight never changes (C/T is the only team in which she can’t fly at all): it always lasts 5 seconds, gains more height than horizontal velocity, and she can cancel it, being able to hit enemies below after doing so. While their characteristics change with every team, her main attack is sending Cheese: she’s the only character who has always a long-range attack, and she can attack even while running and in Boost mode. Note that they need to be closer to a target compared to how they were in Advance 2.

Amy: Amy offers an interesting, slightly more challenging but more rewarding gameplay style. With the exception of A/S, she always jumps without curling: her jump is more precise (read: less slippery) than the others, making her better suited for platforming. The Mid-Air Hammer Attack, her only way to protect herself while jumping, can be considered an Insta-Shield with a much wider range, but be careful since as soon as she stops spinning, she’s vulnerable to attacks and can’t spin further. Her only weapon is her hammer, slightly quicker than Knuckles’ punches and with about the same range (and another attack that cancels the Boost); however, it offers a lot of benefits. The best way to use it is to hit vertical and diagonal springs: they launch you twice as high into the air, great for shortcuts. It’s also pretty good for switches and those contraptions in Ocean Base where you have to keep pressing a button to go up – it does not work, however, for those “chargeable” springs in Sunset Hill and Cyber Track, where you have to jump at a precise time to be sent high in the air. With A/T and A/C, she has her Leap from Advance, which makes her hop forward like a bunny: good for flat terrains and gentle slopes, but terrible for curved walls, and sadly, unlike Advance 1, very few levels are built to accommodate this moveset. Its only advantage over the Spin Dash is that it never loses momentum as long as you keep pressing. With the Leap comes also the Head Slide, but its timing has been so delayed that it’s next to useless. As a side note, the Hammer Attack destroys barriers in 2 hits instead of 4.

Skyline

This layout is based on the layout skyline from CreateBlog.

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