General notes on the partners and Tag Actions

Tag Actions

Tag Actions are your main way to use your partner in gameplay. By pressing the R button for about a second and a half, your partner will be called in your leader's arms. Releasing the button on the ground or in the air produces different effects.

General comments on the partners and Tag Actions

Sonic: Sonic gives the leader his own momentum, making them go slightly faster than if they were paired with anyone else, and he tends to give them more forward-directed moves, at the expense of their verticality. His only Tag Action allows you to immediately go into Boost mode, both on the ground and in the air (if you pause, you can actually see him Spin Dashing to boost you forward, which is a nice detail). It’s essentially a stronger version of the Super Peel-Out, and it’s mostly useful if you want to speedrun a level, if an alternative path is hidden above a long, steep ramp, and if the level isn’t too labyrinthine or cheap with obstacles. A very fun move nonetheless. You can also turn it into a super Spin Dash by pressing Down as soon as you release R (even in the air), or use an easy speedrunning trick by pausing the game while you’re holding R, releasing R, pressing A, and then unpausing the game: you will jump and Boost at the same time.

Tails: Tails, as expected, gives the leader a little more verticality, from Tag Actions to double jumps. His Tag Actions, however, are straight up broken. His ground Tag Action launches you extremely high in the air and pushes you a little forward – its only disadvantage is that you aren’t curled so you’re vulnerable. In the air, he lifts you up like he could do in S3&K, which is a more reliable move if you don’t need to go too far; he stays in the air for about 7 seconds, and unlike in the previously mentioned game, he’ll even carry you underwater. Even in the worst cases, he’s by far the best partner – and you have him since the start of the game!

Knuckles: I personally find Knuckles the least useful partner. Generally speaking, he gives the leader stronger melee moves, which could be helful against bosses but see little applications in levels. His ground Tag Action, throwing him like a ball, is mostly to be used against a Power barrier; it can also be considered a very long-ranged attack (he can even destroy enemies offscreen), that can come in handy if you don’t have any Rings, you’re dealing with a particularly nasty enemy, or you don’t have any better offensive moves, but it takes a lot of time to call him, so you’ll likely won’t think of it. His gliding, while it can cover a lot of ground and can also be used as an attack, has the nasty catch that Knuckles can grab on walls, but your character can’t – at best you could latch just right on the corner and manage to land, most likely you could miss a ledge, but at worst you could fall down a bottomless pit. Use it with caution.

Cream: Cream doesn't have a specific effect on the leader: her standout effect are the Tag Actions. She lets you “borrow” Cheese for 10 seconds both on the ground and in the air, which is more than enough with a WMD like them. Of course, until they return to Cream, the playable character can’t use their own attack, which can get annoying with Knuckles (he can’t destroy Power barriers) and Amy (she can’t use her hammer); Cheese can, however, hit switches, something they don’t do when Cream uses them. What’s more important, though, is the aerial Tag Action: not only the leader’s attack is replaced by Cheese again, but Cream gives you a handy air boost. While it may look much less impressive than Tails’ and Amy’s Tag Actions if used casually (at the peak of your jump), it’s actually a momentum-amplifier, meaning that, if you use it as soon as you jump, you’ll be flung much higher in the air, always curled (except for Amy), and carrying the velocity you had at the beginning of your jump; still not as high as Amy’s Tag Action, let alone Tails’, but the tradeoff is worth it as it’s more malleable. To make it even more impressive, use it as soon as you’re launched by a spring, even the chargeable ones, and watch as you get skyrocketed into the sky. Note, however, that it doesn’t work quite as well underwater, unlike Tails’ and Amy’s Tag Actions and the hammer. She also gives everyone but Amy the ability to Homing Attack: while it’s not 100% accurate, it’s a great way to gain speed, if performed at enough distance the character will go into Boost mode, and with it you can even quickly attack bosses. Too bad you unlock her so late in the game…

Amy: Amy has an interesting effect on the leader in that that they lose their ability to spin while jumping and have to use a hammer to attack. The major differences between controlling Amy and having her as a partner is that everyone else can manually spin in the air by pressing the attack button (except Cream) and can still use the Spin Dash, but no one can do a Mid-Air Hammer Attack (so they can’t extend their hitboxes or hit springs in the air). Both of Amy’s Tag Actions propel you in the air like Tails, but the trajectory is purely vertical and it doesn’t go quite as high. The difference between the ground one and the aerial one is that the former flings you higher, but uncurled, while the latter flings you lower, but curled, which makes it a useful upward attack. You can even use her aerial Tag Action while already in the air to gain even more height (possibly going higher than Tails could send you), and it’s useful to quickly correct a missed jump – I suggest keeping her ready to use as much as possible. As when playing as Amy, using the hammer on a vertical or diagonal spring launches you into the air. In short, she is just as much of a flying partner as Tails.

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