Insta-Shield

Demonstration of the Insta-Shield in Sonic the Hedgehog 3's Angel Island Zone.

The Insta-Shield, known as the W Spin Attack (W回転アタック) in Japan, is a special move first used by Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Pressing jump twice generates a brief flash which extends Sonic's attack radius and renders him temporarily invincible. No character but Sonic is able to use this technique.

This move is not used in any 3D games, due to the fact the "jump, then jump while midair" move was changed to the Jump Dash, or if enemies/items are nearby, the Homing Attack. It was last used in the Sonic Advance series.

Insta-Shield in the Comic Books

In the two-part Sonic the Comic story "Enter Knuckles", Sonic explains that he creates the insta-shield by vibrating the air around him so quickly that it creates a static effect. In the Archie Comics Sonic 3 special, Sonic only uses this once, and did not know how he managed to perform the Insta-Shield in the first place. Much later on, he remembers and perfects the technique.

Insta-Shield Effects

• Performing an Insta-Shield with a fire shield causes Sonic to briefly turn into a fireball and fly across the screen at high speed.
• Performing an Insta-Shield with a water shield makes Sonic bounce in his bubble.
• Performing an Insta-Shield with a lightning shield makes Sonic jump twice, with sparks flying off of the shield.
• Performing an Insta-Shield while being Super Sonic does nothing.
• Performing an Insta-Shield while being Hyper Sonic causes all badniks on screen to be destroyed. Sonic is also propelled in much the same way as if he did the Insta-Shield with a fire shield, but the player can control the direction of his flight with the D-pad and is much faster. If dashing to the left or to the right, Hyper Sonic can glitch through certain kinds of small walls.