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Difference between revisions of "Sonic 3 & Knuckles: The Challenges"

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==Known Bugs (or maybe not =P)==
 
==Known Bugs (or maybe not =P)==
* All challenges are unlocked at the beginning. The levels are locked after finishing / failing a challenge or resetting the game
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* All challenges are unlocked at the beginning (except Final Battle 3). The levels are locked after finishing / failing a challenge or resetting the game
  
 
[[Category:Hacks]]
 
[[Category:Hacks]]

Revision as of 06:35, 31 March 2010

S3KTC-Title.png
Sonic 3 & Knuckles: The Challenges
Version: 1.0
Last release: September 11th, 2009
System: Sega Mega Drive
Original game: Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Credits: ColinC10

Sonic 3 & Knuckles: The Challenges is an award-winning hack of Sonic 3 & Knuckles by ColinC10. In this hack you play through the normal levels of S3K. In each one you're given a time limit and a specific challenge to complete, such as collecting a certain number of rings or protecting Tails from danger. Completing challenges unlocks more challenges, and your progress is automatically saved to SRAM.

Gameplay

In the main screen of the game, somewhat a Level Select, you have the choice of twelve groups of challenges. In each one of them, you've got to accomplish a certain goal with a determinated character within the given time and reach the end of the level. There, you’ll get a Rank based upon the amount of time left and your ”score”, the number of which depends of the content of the challenge itself.

The Timer goes backwards in every level of the game, and if it reaches 0:00 you'll instantly die and be teleported back to the main screen, no matter how many lives did you have at the moment of dying or how much time did you have left the last time you hit a Checkpoint.

Several levels have been slightly altered, specially in the fact that the Special Stage rings have been removed completely from the game and that the Checkpoints no longer teleport you to any Bonus Stage. Additionally, the bosses of some levels have been transported to another level for a different challenge (such is the case of the Death Egg Zone, Act 1 Boss). On the other hand, if you die on a level (not by Time Over), once you restart on the last Checkpoint, the Timer will keep the time you had left when you died, NOT when you hit said Checkpoint.

Challenges

Following is a list of all the challenges that create the game, their respective characters and the levels where they are set.

Time Attack

There are two Time Attack groups of challenges. In both of them, you just have to reach the end of the act before the time runs out.

Ring Grab

In this one, available from the start, you play as Tails. Your goal is to grab a total of 200 rings throughout the corresponding level and reach the place where Knuckles' pre-boss cutscene occurs. If you arrive there without the total needed, Knuckles won't appear, a Game Over message will show and you'll have to re-do the level again, starting from the main screen.

It's not important if you get hit by a badnik and lose all your rings, because every ring you grab adds a point to the ”Score”, so you just simply have to collect rings until you have a number of 200 on the Score.

The levels are Hydrocity Act 2 and Carnival Night Act 2, bosses included; the cutscene of the latter where Knuckles turns the power of the carnival off has been altered, giving you the choice of turning it off by yourself or just passing it by.

Vandal

Available from the start. Here you get on Knuckles' skin, and you get 1 point for every breakable object you smash. In order to face Robotnik, you've got to score a total of 35 points; otherwise, when you reach the boss area, the Game Over message displays and you return to the main menu with the challenge incomplete.

Breakable objects include Badniks, Monitors, destroyable walls/rocks/whatevers, and essentially anything you destroy by jumping or Spin dashing.

The levels are Mushroom Hill Act 2 and Flying Battery Act 2, all bosses included.

Sidekick

Sidekick is unlocked after completing other 4 challenges. Here, the Player 1 controller will move a Player 2 Tails; you'll have to make Tails follow Sonic through the hedgehog's programmed route on the levels. Every time you are left off-screen and have to come back flying to reach Sonic, you will lose one of your points (shown in ”Score”). If your points drop to 0, the level is over!

It is worth noting that the only factor that will determine your Rank will be the amount of points you have upon finishing the level, as the time left will always be the same because of Sonic's route being already programmed.

Angel Island Act 2 and Sandopolis Act 1, with their bosses included, are the levels where this challenge takes place.

Gravitation

It is also unlocked after completing 4 other challenges.
Probably the hardest one of all the levels of the game, you have to reach (as Sonic) the end of the level but with the gravity switching every time you jump! (Not to mention that you still have to go as fast as possible, as you don’t have all the time of the world but just less than 5 minutes.)

The corresponding zones are Death Egg Act 1 and Lava Reef Act 2. The first ends right before the sub-boss area, while the second ends several steps before triggering the cutscene (where Knuckles smashes you with a boulder right to the boss level). In other words, neither of them have bosses, as it would be impossible to defeat them with the gravity switching, and trying to reach Knuckles’ cutscene in Lava Reef would make you die by falling... up.

Tag Team

Available after completing a minimum of 4 challenges, too. This is one of the most creative challenges of all, yet not so difficult: you start the level as either Sonic or Knuckles but you can transform into the other character whenever you want (pressing A), complete with his abilities. Your mission is to reach the end of the level and defeat its boss.

This is one of the two challenges that consist of three levels rather than two (the other one being the Final Battle). In this case the levels are Marble Garden Act 1, IceCap Act 1 and Sandopolis Act 2, all bosses included. In all of them you can take which character's route you consider the fastest or shortest. And to make things harder, the light switches in Sandopolis were removed, and the ghosts are already released when you start the level, so you will have to deal with them too.

Bodyguard

The Bodyguard challenges aren't available until having completed 8 challenges. This one is another of the most creative challenges, but also one of the hardest, as you play as Knuckles with Tails as your partner, and your goal is to reach the end of the level without Tails dying. You share with him your rings and your lifes, and he will always try to follow you; that means that if either of you get hit by a Badnik all your rings drop to 0, and that if one of you dies you lose a life no matter who died (you start with 3 lifes).

But not everything is really hard in this game, because you start with a countdown of 9:59, and that means “plenty of time”.

This challenge is set on Mushroom Hill Act 1 and Hydrocity Act 1, bosses included. Curiously enough, Mushroom Hill plays Knuckles' background music and doesn't show a title card at the beginning, while Hydrocity plays its normal music and displays a title card.

Ring Drain

Unlocked with a minimum of 8 completed challenges. In a race against both the time and the ”poison” you got (as the info of the challenge says), you need to hurry up to the end of the level while keeping Sonic's “Rings” meter as high as possible. Much like Super Sonic, you'll lose a ring per second, starting with a poor 10 rings; if you run out of rings, you will lose your current shield (if held) and then a live.

Getting hit by something and losing all your rings can be really dangerous, but for the few seconds you are invincible (kind of disappear and appear quickly) you can recover some rings so you won’t die. In a few words, running out of rings is like being touched by a Badnik or by spikes, as you don't die right then if you have a shield or if you grab some rings before stopping blinking.

The settings for this one are Marble Garden Act 1 (boss included) and Launch Base Act 2 (entirely until you defeat the first boss).

Double Team

You get to play the Double Team challenges after completing the goals of other 12 challenges. And much like Tag Team, this involves Sonic and Knuckles working together to reach the end of the level, but each of them taking their own routes... Switching between both of them costs 50 rings and only requires pressing A.

The meaning of switching is that you get warped to the other character's parallel position in the level, NOT to the beginning of it. When you switch them, the character you have switched to will have the same shield than the other one. You can still switch them when you are already in the boss area, and it will look like switching on the Tag Team challenge, but it will still cost 50 rings.

Carnival Night Act 1 and Lava Reef Act 1 were the chosen levels for this challenge, both bosses included.

High Voltage

After completing 12 of the other challenges you get to face the High Voltage one.

From the creator of the Gravitation dare, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, here you will have to control Tails across the whole level with the only condition of not touching the floor with his feet (i.e. running or standing). He must Spin Dash, roll, hang up on anything and fly until the end to avoid being electrocuted; each time this happens, you’ll lose a point from your “Score”, and if you reach 0 points... you happen to stop again on the main screen, regardless of how many lives do you have. It’s important to note that after being hurt by something else than the floor, you’re invincible for a few seconds and thus the floor doesn’t electrocute you.

The word "floor" stands for the main level layout, so that means you can stand on floating platforms, several objects and even on monitors. Always have in mind that here you have a countdown of 9 minutes and 59 seconds, so you can take your time to get to the end. Because of this, finishing the level with all your “Score” points guarantees an excellent S as this time's Rank.

This time, the chosen levels were Flying Battery Act 1 (boss included, as it is possible to defeat it by just jumping when appropriate) and Sonic's Sky Sanctuary level (everything, except for the final showdown with Mecha Sonic; here you end by standing on the teleporter the mecha would destroy).

Final Battles

Once you had completed all the challenges available, you get to the final showdown of each character against Robotnik’s most intimidating machines.

Downloads

Download.svg Download Sonic 3 & Knuckles: The Challenges
File: S3K - The Challenges.zip (2.44 MB) (info)
Current version: 1.0

This version only works in some emulators.

Known Bugs (or maybe not =P)

  • All challenges are unlocked at the beginning (except Final Battle 3). The levels are locked after finishing / failing a challenge or resetting the game