Blog:Top 5 WORST Sonic Special Stages

Here are my Top 5 WORST Sonic Special Stages.

Number 5
Number 5: Sonic 4 Episode 1's Special Stages.

I find this game to be mediocre, and the Special Stages are one reason why. This game's Special Stages are a carbon copy of those from Sonic 1, and you access them the same way: collect 50 Rings and head to the goal.

Number 4
Number 4: Sonic CD's Special Stages.

Again, all you need to do is collect 50 Rings and head to the Goal. This is an uncreative method that is easy to do. Anyway, the stages themselves are annoying. Because of Mode 7, it's hard to tell when you're supposed to jump. What bother me the most is the water, because as soon as you touch it, your timer drops like an anvil. You need all the Time Stones to get the good ending. Either that, or you can destroy all the generators.

Number 3
Number 3: Sonic Advance's Special Stages.

The Sonic Advance trilogy undoubtedly has the worst Special Stages in Sonic history (to me, at least). Of the three games, I'd say Sonic Advance has the least problematic Special Stages. To access the Special Stages in this game, you have to go to a certain act and find a Special Spring. The Special Spring can be well hidden, so you'll have to memorize the stage very well. Accessing the Special Stages isn't the problem though. It's the stages themselves. These stages are annoying for the same reason as Sonic CD's Special Stages.

Number 2
Number 2: Sonic Advance 2's Special Stages.

I like this game, but it has one of the most painstaking ways of accessing the Special Stages. Throughout every act, there are seven Special Rings to find. Collect them all, and get to the end without dying. This may sound like a cakewalk on paper, but it's harder than it sounds because you can easily miss most of these Rings or die if you don't memorize the stage. The stages themselves aren't that bad, but they're still rather hard to complete. You have to collect 300 Rings within 2 minutes. The biggest pill to swallow is that you need to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds as every single character.

Number 1
Number 1: Sonic Advance 3's Special Stages.

If you think Sonic Advance 2 has a ridiculous method of accessing the Special Stages, Sonic Advance 3 has an even worse method of accessing the Special Stages. First, you have to find all ten Chao in a Zone. That includes all three acts and the hub world, and these Chao can be well hidden. Second, re-enter a level to find a key and exit the level. Finally, go to the hub world to find the zone's Special Spring that takes you to the Special Stage. What possessed Sega to design this drawn out process is beyond me, and the Special Stages themselves are even worse. Like Sonic Advance and Sonic CD, you are in Mode 7, but instead of falling on a snowboard, you're on the Tornado 2, which takes up a good portion of the screen. Collecting the Special Rings is difficult, not just because of the perspective, but also the dark graphics. Though the GameBoy Advance SP was released in 2003, the year before Sonic Advance 3 came out, it barely improves the experience. It's understandable for Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2 to have dark graphics, because those two games came out before the GameBoy Advance SP was released, but this is inexcusable for Sonic Advance 3. To me, Sonic Advance 3 has the worst Special Stages in the entire series.

Dishonorable Mentions

 * Sonic Chaos's Special Stages.
 * Knuckles' Chaotix's Special Stages.
 * Sonic Blast's Special Stages.
 * Sonic 1's Special Stages.
 * Sonic 3D Blast Genesis Special Stages.
 * Sonic Lost World 3DS Special Stages.
 * Sonic 4 Episode 2's Special Stages.

