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Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Manuals

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Revision as of 20:03, 20 April 2018 by Windii (talk | contribs) (Knuckles the Echidna profile)
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The following are the instruction manuals of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Stories

Story from US and EU version manuals

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes place on the mysterious Floating Island which holds many special powers. The source of these powers are Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic and Tails thought that they had destroyed the Death Egg, which was Dr. Robotnik's heavily armoured ship. Instead, Dr. Robotnik managed to crash land on the Floating Island. After learning that the island is able to float in the sky by harnessing the power of the emeralds, the Doc decides to steal the emeralds so he can repair his Death Egg ship.

To obtain the emeralds, Dr. Robotnik tricks Knuckles, the guardian of the Floating Island's Chaos Emeralds. He also tells Knuckles that Sonic and Tails are the ones trying to steal the emeralds.

Between battling the new types of Badniks and trying to outsmart Knuckles, Sonic and Tails have their work cut out for them once they arrive on the Floating Island and search for Dr. Robotnik.

You'll soon discover that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is packed with Zones which are three times larger than those found in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Each Zone is made up of two Acts, and each Act contains dozens of challenges and obstacles for Sonic and Tails to overcome.

Literal translation from Japanese

File:Sonic3 MD JP SonicJam manual.pdf (Translated by SamIAm. Translator’s Note: In this translation, the sentences have been left as grammatically intact as possible in order to more accurately convey the exact wording of the original text. This method, however, results in an unusual sentence structure and flow.)

On that day, he was looking around the island's altars, just like he always does. It was his mission to look after the 7 Chaos Emeralds that control the power of the "Pillar" that sleeps in the depths of the island.

His name is Knuckles the Echidna. He's a spiny anteater who his friends on the island call "Knuckle". To Knuckle, who was born and raised on the island, its nature and its animals are all his friends. And the thing which protects his friends is the crystal pillar [called the "Pillar"].

It happened rather suddenly. Knuckle thought he would go check on one of the Chaos Emeralds to see if there wasn't something wrong with it. He could hardly believe it as the Chaos Emerald lit up with a sparkle before his very eyes and began to vibrate strangely. Knuckle was bewildered by this phenomenon, the likes of which had never happened before. In the blink of an eye, the vibrations grew suddenly intense. As these vibrations peaked, there was another flash of light and loud ring. Knuckle could remember feeling as though his body was gently floating, and there his memory stopped.

When he regained consciousness, Knuckle found his body thrown outside of the altar. What Knuckle saw as he slowly picked himself up and looked around was the half-destroyed ruins of the altar. Knuckle jumped back inside it in confusion. However, the Chaos Emerald that should have been in there had disappeared, without leaving a single fragment behind.

Knuckle wandered outside the alter in a daze. Then, with no energy left, he looked out over a distance…and noticed the appearance of something mysterious next to a lake. Looking at this huge, round, egg-like object, he felt himself jump.

"Does that huge egg belong to the legendary dragon..?"

There was no doubt that this egg was the one that appeared in the writings on the altars of the Chaos Emeralds, the one that was to bring catastrophe to the island.

Over the next few days, Knuckle went around to all 7 of the Chaos Emerald altars on the island, but every last Emerald had disappeared without a trace. Then, refusing to give up in spite of all this, Knuckle was investigating all over the island when he came across a man he was unfamiliar with. This man, who called himself Dr. Eggman, knew that Knuckle was the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, and told him this:

"I happen to be a scientist who has come here to study that egg. Hmm, and if you're the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, I suppose I must tell you this. The truth is, there's this bad hedgehog called Sonic who is getting in the way of my research, and it looks like he's come to the island with his eyes on those Chaos Emeralds.

"He's going for the Chaos Emeralds…?"

Knuckle was very easily tricked by Dr. Eggman's skillful lie. And this is how the rivalry between Sonic and Knuckle began.

Earlier translation from Japanese

(Translated by Michael "G. Silver" Stearns)

That day, as he always seemed to, he was making his patrol around the alter on the island. Protecting the 7 Chaos Emeralds who sleep and control the power of the "Pillar" is the mission he has been charged with.

His name, Knuckles the Echidna. But to inhabitants of the island, he is an echidna called "Knuckle." Born and raised on the island, all of nature and the animals who live in it are his friends. And that which protects his friends is none other than the Chaos Emerald's crystaline "Pillar."

Suddenly something awoke.

Just as he was verifying that that not one Chaos Emerald was out of place, the Chaos Emerald right before his eyes rose and a strange vibration started.

Knuckles was confused by this phenomenon, which had never occurred before. In the blink of an eye, violent shaking occurred within the Chaos Emeralds. Then, as the shaking reached its climax, a "kiiiin" sound was heard along with a brilliant flash. The next thing Knuckles remembered was his own body, seeming to be lightly floating, and at that moment he was interrupted.

When Knuckles regained consciousness, he found his body thrown outside of the altar. He slowly go up, and what entered his eyes as he looked around was the Chaos Emerald altar--partially destroyed. In a flurry, Knuckles flew into the altar. However, in place of the emerald that should have been there, were fragments left of what had disappeared...

In a daze, Knuckles left the altar. He gazed off into the distance, powerless... it seemed like a peculiar thing had appeared around the lake. The sight of the giant, round, egg-like body that Knuckles beheld sent a shiver down his spine.

"That big egg is the dragon in the legend's...."

That egg appeared in the legend depicted in the Chaos Emerald altar--there was no doubt that it was the egg which would bring disaster to the island.

Some days later, Knuckles was patrolling the altar of the island's seven Chaos Emeralds, but all traces of the Emeralds had vanished. While in his relentless investigation of the island, Knuckles encountered an unfamiliar man in the woods.

The man called himself Dr. Eggman, and already knew Knuckles was the guardian of the Chaos Emeralds. He said to Knuckles:

"I am a scientist who came here to stop (?) that egg. Uumu, since you are the Chaos Emeralds' guardian I knew I had to inform you. The truth is, there is an evil hedgehog named Sonic that has been interfering in my research, he is the one who has stolen this island's Chaos Emeralds."

"The Chaos Emeralds were stolen....!"

With Dr. Eggman's ingenious lies, Knuckles was very easily tricked. That is how Knuckles' challenge to Sonic was started.

Central storyline

(Translated by Sega's PC division, done for the release of the Sonic & Knuckles Collection.)

In his previous adventure, Sonic destroyed Dr. Eggman's base, the Death Egg; now the debris has started its fall to Earth. And right in the path of the falling base floats a giant cloud-like mass. The giant shadow of Death Egg hides the cloud... Towering mountains, a gigantic forest... the cloud is none other than the legendary floating island, suspended in the sky.

The Death Egg became a fireball and hit the floating island; mountains were destroyed, the forests decimated...

This disastrous event greatly alters the island's path, forcing it towards the Earth.

The island crashes into the sea surface. The impact creates a gigantic wave, but the island doesn't sink. The floating island now sits on the sea surface as if nothing happened.

Many days pass...

On an island far from where the floating island hit the sea surface, Tails, a two-tailed fox, read a strong Chaos Emerald reaction on the Jewel Reader, a machine he has developed.

"Maybe this has something to do with that big wave I saw a few days ago..." he said.

Thinking there may be trouble, he decided to consult with Sonic.

At the same moment, while relaxing on the beach, Sonic found a small ring washed up on shore. Sonic looked at the ring carefully, and noticed some ancient characters carved on it.

The ring reminded Sonic of a legend he once heard about a "mystery island."

In an ancient time, the "mystery island" was part of the main continent. A people with an extraordinary culture inhabited it. That civilization had built a peaceful and happy society using the energy of something they called "The Mighty Stone". But at a certain point, a faction of dark-minded elders tried to steal the energy of the stone, and by accident made that energy explode.

The civilization was wiped out in a second, erased from history. Time passed, and a god descended from the sky to the newly created "mystery island". The sky god restored part of the civilization to the island, and threw the "Mighty Stone" into the open sky...

A ring washed up on the shore - the legend of the "mystery island" - Sonic, feeling his excitement build, made his preparations for another adventure.

Dr. Eggman, who managed to escape from the Death Egg before it fell, had heard that Chaos Emeralds are supposedly buried on the floating island. From the crevice created by the fall of the base, a massive presence of Chaos Emeralds is detected.

"If their energy could be utilized", Dr. Eggman thought, "the Death Egg may be able to fly into orbit again."

Dr. Eggman then quickly built a base on the floating island to harvest the Emeralds. He kidnapped animals and transformed them into robots, and changed the island's environment into a nightmare with his new Environment-Control Machine.

"Yes! Even if Sonic comes to the island, it will be too late! This time the Emeralds are mine!".

The actors and the stage are now ready; here starts Sonic the Hedgehog's newest adventure.

Knuckles the Echidna profile

Translation from Japanese

File:Sonic3 MD JP SonicJam manual.pdf Translated by Windii

  • A guardian who protects the Chaos Emeralds of the Floating Island.
  • An echidna of the marsupial family. His nickname is "Knuckle."
  • A short-tempered, reckless type. He is a gentle and kind guy, though.
  • Because he's sincere and docile, he is easily fooled.
  • He doesn't hate girls, but doesn't seem to be very good with them?
  • He can dig holes and climb walls with special gloves.
  • His hobby is, of course, digging holes. He is a mole, after all.
  • He is good at finding hidden routes.
  • He can fly in the sky for a short while.
  • Likes fruit. Hates strong sunlight.

Original Japanese Text

  • 浮遊島のカオスエメラルドを守るガーディアン。
  • 有袋類のハリモグラ。ニックネーム“ナックル”だ。
  • 短気で突っ走るタイプ。だけど優しいイイ奴なんだ。
  • 純真で素直なだけに、ダマされやすいのだ。
  • 女の子は嫌いじゃないけど、チョット苦手?
  • 得意のグローブで穴を掘ったり、壁を登ったりできる。
  • 趣味はもちろん穴掘り。モグラだもんね。
  • 隠しルートを見つけるのが得意。
  • チョットだけ空を飛ぶこともできるのだ。
  • 好きなものはフルーツ。嫌いなものは強い日差し。


Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic3 title.png

Main page (S3&K)
Comparisons (S3&K)
Maps
Achievements
Credits


Manuals
Promotional material
Magazine articles
Video coverage
Reception
Merchandise


Development
Hidden content (S3&K)
Bugs (S3&K)
Region coding
Hacking guide
Bootlegs