Hints and Tips for Sonic Gems Collection
(GameCube)

First of all, I emphasize the "nearly every game" part, because this works an almost all of the games except: Sonic the Fighters, Sonic CD (not really a necessary thing in this one if you ask me), and Sonic R. The rest of these games are eligible for my cheat. Okay, now, for this to work you need to some filespace on your memory card. So here's what you do with the extra filespace:

whenever you save a game --- for example let's say you are saving a game from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Game Gear --- all you have to do is simply save game before every level or before and after a major event (like a boss battle or after finding a chaos emerald), and whenever you lose a life, simply pull up the LOAD DATA screen and reload the level.

If you were smart enough to save right before the boss battle or the start of the level, act, zone, or wherever it was that you chose to save the game at, you will be returned to that exact point in time with all your lives, health, points, rings, etc., exactly as they were when you last saved.

It's actually very simple and less time consuming and frustrating. This is actually a very good practice since you were never able to save game originally when these games first came out for Game gear and sega Genesis. I learned this skill from playing Pokemon a lot.

It's always wise to save game before doing something that can cause irreversable damage to you and your hard work, and it's always good to have another chance to succeed without losing everything you worked hard to earn.

Well, hope you gamers out there learned a thing or two. Happy gaming SuperCheaters!!! And remember: It's just a game! >8^D

Muhahahaha! I doctor Robotnik, have some useful information when battling the CPU in the Arcade mode of Sonic: the Fighters. (Sonic the Hedgehog will be the main character to assist me with my examples and tips.)

Tip #1: Barriers; good or bad?
Barriers can be both a good thing and a bad thing for both you and your enemy. Though it seems barriers can protect you, they are not as efficeint in the protection department.

For instance, let's say you are blocking sonic's Punch Rush attack with your barrier, all of a sudden he pulls a fast one and uses the Sonic head spin on you at close range, which not only destroys your shield, but you end up taking damage, even though you have a shield up. The shield doesn't seem to be very helpful for you, but your opponent should also suffer from the same problem.

Tip #2: Using the barrier against your opponent!
When attacking most CPU opponents head-on with sonic's Punch Rush attack, many of them feel inclined to block your fury of fast fists with their barriers. This can work against them by using the same example used earlier.

You are close enough to use any of your array of close-up attacks on the CPU enemy with little worry of the opponent's countering attack. A barrier counts as a move, and it takes a little less than a second to drop the shield and go on the offensive, but that's all the time you need to deal some heavy damage on the unsuspecting opponent. There is a split second opportunity every time you finish the sonic rush and smash the opponents shield to use the Sonic head spin and deal a chunk of damage to that opponent's health. But be warned as well, because some opponents have the nack of being quick on their feet and fists, and can counter attack much faster and sometimes it's best to stay out of range.

Tip #3: Surprise! Patience can be key in some battles!
For some opponents, just a single attack can cost you half your health gauge. For example, Bark the Polar Bear has some serious bite to his fists and feet.

The easiest way to beat him is in his way of attacking. Bark tends to wait for you to attack first, then catches you off gaurd with his powerful triple scissor punch or any of his other power attacks. Not only that but his fists are so huge that it's nearly impossible to avoid them just by dodging. To beat him, simply take a leaf out of Bark's book.

Wait for him to come close enough to you, THEN HIT HIM WITH THE SONIC HEAD SPIN! YEAH! WOOHOO!! Talk about your surprise attacks. When he runs to you it's like he's walking right into a trap, just have him close up and use your sonic head spin, he falls for it every time, and he has very little reaction time since he's coming to you.

Tip #4: Taking down the shields! Breaking Castle walls for the treasure within!
Taking down the opponents shields can sometimes be the smartest move you can make. By taking down all their shields, any attack you make will sent them flying and they cannot block your powerful attacks, just don't get to close to them because they can still attack YOU, they just can't defend anymore (and they can technically dodge them too)!

Now when I say send them flying I don't mean that they will all be like a wind up punch, I just mean that since they cannot block your attacks, moves like sonic's Punch Rush will be much more effective since they can't stop your flurry of blows to their noggin! Now, one way to take them out is to use Sonic's dodging move. Now don't give me that skeptical look, sometimes dodging can be just a effective as a punch to the face. When you dodge three times in a row, or basically, I mean pressing the Z button 3 times in a row, sonic goes in to fast spin attack mode and automatically charges after the opponent in an attempt to go from defensive to a quick offensive.

In most reactions, the opponent will automatically switch to defensive and put up a barrier. This is the biggest mistake they can make, because potentually, at the speed and range of Sonic's attack, all five of their shields can be broken all at once. Believe me, I've done it, AND IT FREAKIN' ROCKS!! Anyways, I find this to be the most effective manuevre because it can take out all five shields at once IF done at a reasonable distance and speed.

Just as well though, some opponent's can still stop you just by sending a punch or kick your way, so though it is effective, it is just as equally risky! Be careful. You have to be a real button masher to pull of those split second dodges sometimes. After that, polishing off your opponent will be a little easier and gives you an advantage.

I hope this helps you fellow gamers out there, have fun. And remember: It's just a game!

After selecting it from the game select menu, hold up on the control pad.

Continue to hold it during the game's intro, where Knuckles bounces onto the screen and grabs the Chaos Emeralds.

Just as the red Emerald (third to disappear) disappears, press Start. You'll hear a chime if you do it correctly.

After you start the game and choose your character, you'll find the level select menu.