This will be the guide to winning the game of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Master System, containing what you must know about the zones, acts, enemies, monitors, chaos emeralds etc.

Contents
1. Story
2. Rings
3. Monitors
4. Zones, Acts and enemies
5. Act Complete signposts
6. Special Stages
7. Boss Battles
8. Chaos Emeralds
9. Ending

1. Story

This is quite simple. As every die hard Sonic fan will know, Dr. Robotnik plans to take over the Planet Mobius, turning every animal into robots as part of his plan for domination. Sonic can't, just can't, let him succeed, and will travel alone to defeat the many plots Robotnik intends to carry out as part of his plans. Sonic will travel through many zones and acts, encountering several different things along the way. The gathering of Chaos Emeralds will Restore the Mobius island and lead to peace, for now.

2. Rings

During the entire game, Sonic must collect rings to survive damage he may take. Rings can also lead to rewards, such as 100 for an extra life or 50 to unlock a special stage after passing the final signpost. Should Sonic take damage, unless he has protection, he will lose every ring he is carrying. Taking damage whilst having no rings and Sonic will lose a life. Falling off screen, such as falling into water, is worse, as even with rings, Sonic will lose a life.

3.Monitors

As well as rings, Sonic will find monitors during his quest through the acts.  There are several different types of monitors which gives Sonic special powers or rewards.

(a) The ring monitor - Get this monitor and 10 rings will be added to your ring total.
(b) The shield monitor - Get this monitor and Sonic will be protected by a shield, until he takes damage.
(c) The invincibility monitor - Get this monitor and Sonic will be invincible, for a limited time.
(d) The power sneakers monitor - Get this monitor and Sonic will be able to run faster, for a limited time.
(e) The Sonic monitor - Get this monitor and Sonic will earn an additional life.
(f) The arrow monitor - Get this monitor and, should Sonic lose a life, he will re-start from that position.
(g) The continue monitor - Get this monitor and Sonic will get a continue (Only in the Special Stages)

4. Zones, Acts and Enemies

During his journey, Sonic will be faced with various different routes that he must take in order to get to the signpost at the end. The various robot enemies will differ, from appearance to strengths.

(a) Green Hill Zone - Like many games, the first levels are usually straight-forward. Avoid the prickly sets of spikes and Sonic should be okay. The enemies that Sonic will encounter here are:

(aa) Motobug - These will move slowly from one direction, stop, then go the opposite direction. Those shouldn't be a problem.
(ab) Crabmeat - These will move slowly, stop, then fire small bullets in both directions. Get them before they have the chance.
(ac) Buzzbomber - These flying hornets will stop, target Sonic, and fire a bullet. Jumping at them whilst static will take care of them.

(b) Bridge Zone - Here, you will travel over a number of wooden log bridges, some of which fall when stood on. Be sure to run over those quickly and avoid falling into the water. The second act of this zone is a moving act, that slowly moves to the right, so Sonic, standing still, will move when the screen moves. The enemies to be wary of here are:

(ba) Buzzbomber - See Greenhill Zone
(bb) Crabmeat - See Greenhill Zone
(bc) Chopper - These piranha robots will jump from the water and try to bite you. Jump at them will defeat them.
(bd) Spikes - These will slowly move towards Sonic, and have sharp shell spikes. Spin attack by moving and pressing down will defeat them, but sometimes it also results in Sonic taking damage.

(c) Jungle Zone - You are now in the green area, and will have to be wary of the falling vertical and horizontal logs at the waterfalls. Logs also occur as floating on the water, or as moving from side to side. Several wooden spikes will make life slightly more difficult, so avoid them. In the second act, it moves in a vertical direction whenever Sonic moves up, and you can't go backwards, or you'll lose a life. Best finding an arrow monitor here. The enemies to watch out for are:

(ca) Crabmeat - See Greenhill Zone
(cb) Chopper - See Bridge Zone
(cc) Invisible buzzbomber - Like a normal buzzbomber, but will turn invisible after firing a bullet. You can still attack them after they have fired.

(d) Labyrinth Zone - The underwater zone, and Sonic will be travelling below the surface. He can't hold his breath forever, and so will have to find oxygen bubbles to help him breath. Underwater, Sonic's ability to jump and run will be slower, so time is a big factor here. Avoid the spikes and moving spheres.  Enemies to challenge here are:

(da) Chop Chop - These are harmless fish swimming through the water. They shouldn't be a problem.
(db) Orbinaut - These protect themselves by spike balls. They will throw them slowly at Sonic, so avoid those, but without them, they are easy to defeat.
(dc) Burrobot - These robots will jump at Sonic when he is near, so a jump attack will have to be used.

(e) Scrap Brain Zone - Now Sonic is getting closer to Robotniks fortress, as the surroundings are industrial buildings, factories etc. Sonic can use teleports which can take him to different areas within the zone. Avoid the overhead flamethrowers and electric transmitters, and be careful when riding the moving conveyor belts. Enemies to tackle here are:

(ea) Caterkiller - They will slither along the ground and can only be attacked by spin attack. Avoid the sharp spikes on their back.
(eb) Ballhog - These pig robots will fire bullets when untouched, but a quick attack will take care of them.

(f) Sky Base Zone - The final zone, and Sonic is almost at the airship. The first act will be electric lightning strikes on the many electrodes appearing in the level per few seconds, so Sonic must watch those and time his movements accordingly. The moving platforms mostly have propellers attached, and will move only when Sonic is boarding them. The second act is much more difficult, as there are more platforms and no rings, and Sonic will be getting shot at a lot more by rotating bullet guns and giant cannon guns. Enemies here are:

(fa) Orbinaut - See Labyrinth Zone, except these won't throw their spike balls at Sonic.
(fb) Bomb Bot - Will move slowly and will shoot bullets in each direction when Sonic is near, though this will take a few seconds, giving Sonic time to get away.

5. Act Complete Signposts

At the end of every Act, except Act 3, Sonic will pass a signpost and this will show up as something.

(a) Robotnik - If Robotnik appears, you get nothing.
(b) Ring - If a ring appears, you get 10 additional rings, usually if Sonic has a ring number with 0 at the end.
(c) Exclamation mark - If an exclamation mark appears, Sonic enters a special stage, unlockable by ending an Act with 50 rings or more.
(d) Sonic - If Sonic appears, you get an extra life, usually if Sonic collects all rings and can't unlock the special stage.

6. Special Stages

If Sonic has collected more than 50 rings at an end of an act, a special stage is unlocked. These can be used to get continues or extra lives. There are eight in total and will appear at the end of acts 1 and 2  of the first four zones, assuming 50 or more rings is achieved at the end. They last one minute to begin with. For every stage, rings gathered will be multiplied by an additional 100, so for stage 1, its 1 x 100 and stage 2 is 1 x 200 etc. Hitting the twister bumpers or star bumpers will rebound Sonic into a different direction, so best to avoid those if possible. For the last 4 stages, additional moving bumpers are added and time is reduced. Get to the signpost at the end to complete the stage. You will always get a Robotnik sign no matter what you do.

7. Boss Battles

At the end of Act 3, Sonic will have to fight Robotnik in a battle, to advance to the next zone. Each battle will involve different weapons and fire explosives to attack Sonic. For each battle, except the last two, it takes 8 hits to defeat him. Robotnik will usually appear in his egg-mobile when fighting.

(a) Green Hill - Sonic walks to the right and Robotnik will appear up above, floating one way then another. When he is at the end of the screen, he will descent down slowly, giving Sonic the opportunity to attack. When he is at the ground, he will charge at Sonic, so you must jump when he does this.

(b) Bridge Zone - There are two pools of water, and Robotnik will frequently appear out of one, firing bullets on one direction. Sonic will have to hit him slap bang in the middle to avoid the firing bullets, but Robotnik will only appear for a short time before disappearing.

(c) Jungle Zone - Sonic will fight Robotnik on the top vine, that peaks at each end. The egg-mobile will appear from above, and will fire large bombs that move along the wine and explode. Sonic will have to attack him when he is floating at the end of the vine, as the peak will give him leverage. Attack for a short time before moving away as Robotnik launches another bomb.

(d) Labyrinth Zone - Sonic will be underwater, and will be able to breathe (strange?). Move to the right and Robotnik will appear in three areas. In the bottom middle of the screen, Robotnik will fire bullets either side. When he is at the top left and right-hand corners, he will fire moving torpedo's. Attack when he is in those positions, before he launches the torpedo. Attacking him from the middle can be more difficult.

(e) Scrap Brain Zone - All you do here is chase Robotnik onto a moving platform, which will come back, so that Sonic can board. Dead simple.

(f) Sky Base Zone - The final boss, Robotnik will be in a glass container and will activate moving lightning sensors and electric missiles at Sonic. Time will be a huge factor here, so attack the glass when the sensors are off and avoid the missiles Robotnik activates when he jumps. After the first six times, the sensors will go on/off for two seconds in-between, but the missiles remain the same. You know that you have defeated Robotnik when the glass breaks and he starts running. Chase him into the teleporter.

8. Chaos Emeralds

There are 6 chaos emeralds to collect in the entire game, and some, but not all, will appear in the second act of the zone. Collecting them all will not result in Sonic transforming into his super form, but will merely restore the island and add to your score when you complete the game.

(a) Green Hill Zone - In the second act, start from the bottom of the cave and use the first spring upwards. Avoid the second spring and go into the cave on the left. Attack the crabmeat and continue going left until you reach the waterfall. Go down and the emerald will be there.

(b) Bridge Zone - In the first act, at the final wooden bridge, go on the first falling plank of wood and as you fall, jump to the platform on the left with the emerald.

(c) Jungle Zone - In the first act, roughly halfway through the act, navigate down the large waterfall with the falling vertical and horizontal logs and go to the platform on the left. There is a floating log at the end, use it to move to the other end where the emerald is.

(d) Labyrinth Zone - In the second act, get the invisibility monitor and go right, then upwards out of the water. Then go to the far left and the emerald will be within the spikes.

(e) Scrap Brain Zone - In the second act, halfway through the act, go to the sloped walkway and go up through the door. Then travel up the steep pathway where there are overhead flamethrowers and steep falls. Jump over the first two but at the third, fall down and travel right to the teleporter, and go into the teleporter that will take you to the emerald.

(f) Sky Base Zone - In the second act, get on the moving propeller platforms and go to the far right. Jump onto the platform moving up and down. Then jump over the twisted corkscrew to the emerald.

9. Ending

The story ends when Sonic defeats Robotnik and is back in Greenhill Zone. If Sonic has collected all the emeralds, he will release them up into the air, which will clear all the polluted air on the island caused by Robotnik and return Mobius back to normal. Sonic's final score is totalised and the game ends with Sonic seemingly singing with the microphone and the credits.

n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n 

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