Blue Sphere
From Sonic Retro
Blue Sphere is the game created by utilizing the Lock-On Technology in Sonic & Knuckles in conjunction with Sonic the Hedgehog. The name Blue Sphere comes from the name shown in its listing in Sonic Mega Collection. It is a compilation of "Special Stages" in the same style (and engine) of the ones featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles with a total of 134,217,728 levels in all. However, after level 128,016,000 some of the previous levels begin to reappear. After completing all 134,217,728 stages it restarts from the beginning.
The levels in Blue Sphere are slightly different than the special stages in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles. In Blue Sphere, the ring counter decreases rather than increases, and if the player collects all the rings and blue spheres in a level, a "perfect" score is awarded and are a screen showing the stage's difficulty shows. Then the player is advanced 10 levels. Each time the player completes a stage, a 12-number password is given for that stage. Also, each stage has a difficulty level assigned to it, represented by an icon. There are 13 difficulty levels in all. Difficulty is assigned based on the number of spheres in each region of the stage's map, so some level 13 stages might actually be less difficult than level 12 or 11.
List of icons by difficulty level
Each difficulty level contains the icon of all difficulty levels below it.
- Nothing
- Sonic
- Tails
- Knuckles
- Robotnik
- Mecha Sonic
- Eggrobo (flying)
- Chickens
- Squirrels
- Rabbits
- Master Emerald
- Sonic & Knuckles logo
- Sonic turns into Super Sonic
Contents |
Method of Accessing the Game
To access the game Sonic & Knuckles must be locked-on to another game. Once this is done a "No way? No way!" screen will pop up with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Robotnik making odd faces, telling you the cartridge is supposedly incompatible. However, pressing 
, 
, and 
simultaneously will allow this mini-game to be played. From here pressing , , or will switch characters. However, the player cannot play as Tails alone or as Sonic with Tails following like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
A single Blue Sphere stage can be created by locking on Sonic & Knuckles to any Sega Mega Drive game. The stage layout is produced randomly from information in the inserted cartridge's ROM header, along with the stage's 'code' for use in the full Blue Sphere game. Only by locking the original Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic Compilation can one play through all the stages.
In Sonic Jam, Sonic Mega Collection', and Sonic Mega Collection Plus the Blue Sphere game is playable as a separate game. Sonic Jam allows the player to access it by choosing to play Sonic & Knuckles and "lock it on" with Sonic 1. In Sonic Mega Collection, the game has to be unlocked separately.
Unofficial Pro Action Replay Cheat Codes
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| FFE443:00 | All Rings Collected |
Also Released for
- Sonic & Knuckles Collection for PC (1997)
- Sonic Jam for Sega Saturn (1997)
- Twin Pack: Sonic CD and Sonic & Knuckles Collection (2002)
- Sonic Mega Collection for Nintendo Gamecube (2002)
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus for Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft X-Box (2004)
External Links
| Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Sonic & Knuckles | Sonic 3 & Knuckles |
|---|---|---|
| Main Article | Enemies | Bosses | Magazine Articles | Game Development | Game Secrets | Bugs | SCHG | Cheat Codes | Main Article | Blue Sphere | Knuckles in Sonic 2 | Enemies | Bosses | Game Secrets | Bugs | SCHG (S2K) | Cheat Codes (S2K) | Main Article | Game Secrets | Bugs | SCHG | Cheat Codes |
| Levels in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | ||
| Angel Island Zone | Hydrocity Zone | Marble Garden Zone | Carnival Night Zone | IceCap Zone | Launch Base Zone | Special Stage | ||
| Levels in Sonic & Knuckles | ||
| Mushroom Hill Zone | Flying Battery Zone | Sandopolis Zone | Lava Reef Zone | Hidden Palace Zone | Sky Sanctuary Zone | Death Egg Zone | Doomsday Zone | Special Stage | ||
| Two-Player Levels in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | ||
| Azure Lake Zone | Balloon Park Zone | Chrome Gadget Zone | Desert Palace Zone | Endless Mine Zone | ||
