Sonic & Knuckles Collection/Hidden content

Cheat Codes

These are cheat codes for Sonic & Knuckles Collection which can be accessed by inputting button sequences or by various other methods.

Button Cheats

• Zone Select: While in Mushroom Hill Zone or Angel Island Zone (in either Sonic the Hedgehog 3 or Sonic 3 & Knuckles), jump on to one of the hanging platforms, then press then hold ALT + R to return to the title screen. After being taken back to the title screen press twice and select the Sound Test option.
• Play in any level as any character: In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, start the game with the any character. Grab onto the vines in Angel Island Zone and enter the Level Select code and return to the title screen. At the title screen press arrow key and you will be taken to a level select using the character you chose. Some levels can't be chosen with your character. Go to Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1. Grab onto a pully and re-enter the Level Select code. Now go back to the level select screen any level will be playable using the character that was chosen. Even the ones the characters normally aren't allowed in.

• Take a screen capture: To take a picture of the gamescreen press "F9" at any time. Then go into the Sega folder in the C Drive. From there locate the S3k folder and the image will be labeled Cap with numbers following it. This only works while debug is enabled.

Hacking-based Cheats

By creating a file in the folder C:\Windows (where C is the main partition for Windows) named S3K.ini, additional cheats can be enabled with hacking the file, similar to the special debugger option in the Sonic CD INI file. Type the following into the file:

[Debug]
MukaiDropFrame=0
DebugMode=1
EnableFrameDrop=1
ShowFrameCount=0
EnableFrameCapture=1
UseModeX=1
NoSoundEffect=0
CDCheckEnable=0
SonicGameMode=0

Notes: The first option enables proper framerate on more advanced systems in the windowed modes, the second enables debug mode (the only currently known way to do so), the second to last stops the CD check which allows the game to be played without having the CD in the drive, and the last option sets the game loaded when the main executable is opened (default is Sonic 3 & Knuckles but can be set to Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles by putting a 1 or 2). Note also that generally a "1" means the option is enabled and a "0" means that it is disabled.

Once the debug is enabled pressing Esc will initiate the place object mode. From there the numberpad will perform the debug options.

Accessing Flying Battery and Knuckles in Sonic 3

With the help of a save file editor such as this one, one can edit values for save files in the game. Because Knuckles and the Flying Battery Zone were planned for Sonic 3, they can be used/accessed as well. They are fully usable. As mentioned before though, Angel Island 2 and Launch Base 1 are the only levels Knuckles can't beat, and clearing the game will crash it. Flying Battery is sort of an odd stage. Clearing it and resetting the game will advance the player to the Ice Cap Zone. Continuing to play it after clearing it will allow the player to play through all of the Sonic & Knuckles zones starting with Sandopolis. Clearing the Sonic & Knuckles game will give the player the normal credits and ending based on how many Chaos Emeralds you collected, but when s/he gets back to the data select screen, the file that the player was using is redirected to Zone 3 for some reason. Once the player clears Flying Battery, it can't be accessed again unless another file is created that can access it.

Other Cheats

• Play as Knuckles in Sonic 3
  • First, enable the Level Select option for Sonic 3. ( on a hanging platform.)
  • Then, go to the Sound Test and select Special Stage 1. This will take you to the "Blue Sphere" minigame. Press Esc or Enter/Return when the CODE option is highlighted to change the star on the sphere icon from blue (Sonic/Tails) to red (Knuckles). If you're using a joystick, you'll only need to press "Button 3" to change this icon.
  • Finally, press ALT and R simultaneously to return to the Sonic 3 title screen. Go to the Level Select menu and select any level, bar Mushroom Valley and Sandopolis to play as Knuckles in that level. Note that Angel Island 2 and Launch Base 1 are impossible to complete as Knuckles since only Sonic's/Tails's boss triggers are in place (with the exception of Angel Island 1 and Marble Garden 2), Launch Base 2 can't be completed without gliding over to Sonic's boss area from his boss area, and clearing the game with Knuckles will crash the game since he never had an ending programmed for Sonic 3 alone. This is the only way to use Knuckles in this game without hacking.
• Easy Game Clear
  • In either Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles, enable the Level Select option on a saved game file. ( on a hanging platform.)
  • Then, head to Sound Test and select the final zone. In Sonic 3, this is Launch Base 2. In Sonic & Knuckles this is the The Doomsday 1 or 2 (for Sonic/Tails) or Sky Sanctuary 2 (for Knuckles). When you clear the zone, after viewing the credits, go back to the data select screen. You'll see that the game file you were using is cleared.
• Easy Emeralds
  • First, once again, enable the Level Select option for Sonic 3 on a saved game file. ( on a hanging platform.)
  • Then, select Special Stage 2. This'll take you to a Special Stage to get a Chaos Emerald. Note that the character used for obtaining Emeralds is always Sonic & Tails. You'll still use your selected character in normal levels.
  • When you get the Emerald, repeat.

Resources

• GameFAQ's - Regular cheat codes.
• The Tails Archive - Save file editor.