"Sonic & Tails" redirects here. For the Sonic Mania Adventures episode, see Sonic and Tails.

Not to be confused with Sonic Chao or Chaos Sonic.

Sonic Chaos, released in Japan as Sonic & Tails (ソニック＆テイルス, Sonikku & Teirusu^?), is a platforming video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Aspect and published by Sega for the Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System, being the third 8-bit video game in the series and the follow-up to Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It was first released for the Master System exclusively in Europe in October 1993, with a worldwide release for the Game Gear in the following months.

The plot of Chaos begins when Doctor Eggman steals one of the six Chaos Emeralds for his schemes, causing the other five to scatter and South Island to slowly begin sinking into the ocean. Sonic and Tails must retrieve the Emeralds and stop Eggman's plan to save the island.

Largely based off its predecessor, Chaos features new movesets, power-ups, and mechanics. It is also notable for being the first 8-bit Sonic title to feature Tails as a playable character. Aspect used the experience it had made from developing Sonic 2, making improvements to the gameplay to make it run faster and refining the visuals. Sonic Chaos was initially met positively, being praised for the graphics and gameplay. However, it received a more mixed reception in retrospect, with many reviewers feeling that it was too easy and the presentation was lacking in quality.

Plot[]

South Island is a peaceful island, where the six mystical Chaos Emeralds of infinite power that give life to all things lay dormant. Depending on their use however, they can become fearful weapons used for nuclear bombs and laser weapons.^[6] It is this potential that has prompted the evil genius scientist Dr. Eggman to take action once more.^[7]

One day while out on an adventure, Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower hear a nasty rumor that Eggman has gotten his hands on one of the Chaos Emeralds. Hurrying back to South Island, they discover that the once peaceful island is in a state of chaos. As it turns out, when Eggman took one of the Chaos Emeralds, the rest were scattered and the island has begun sinking into the sea, as it is usually held together by the power of the Emeralds. While Eggman is sure that he has won this time, Sonic resolves to regather the Chaos Emeralds and save South Island. As such, he sets out on his new adventure, with his sidekick Tails right by his side.^[7]

Characters[]

Image	Character	Biography
	Sonic the Hedgehog	No matter what, Sonic is very cool! For that reason, the people who play him are high class... don't you think? Only Sonic can collect the Chaos Emeralds.[8]
	Miles "Tails" Prower	Miles is my real name, but everyone calls me Tails. My goal is to be Sonic! But I still don't have enough training...[8]
	Doctor Eggman	Eggman doesn't lose heart whether he loses or fails... He's incorrigibly appeared three times!! What he likes are the Chaos Emeralds. What he hates is Sonic. His hobby, after all, is world domination![9]

Gameplay[]

Sonic Chaos is a 2D side-scrolling platforming game with similar gameplay to the previous 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog games. The player can choose between Sonic the Hedgehog or Miles "Tails" Prower to play as. With Sonic, the player gets three lives and no Continues from the start, while Tails grants the player five lives and three Continues.^[6] By comparison, Tails moves slower than Sonic. The main goal is to reach the end of each Act of a Zone (a level in the game) within a time limit.

The characters can use the basic Spin Jump and Super Spin Attack maneuvers, along with the Super Spin Dash introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. From Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Sonic has also been given the Strike Dash to dash off at maximum speed. Tails has similarly been given a separate ability called Airman Tails which lets him fly in mid-air for a short time.

Rings are found in every Zone and like in other Sonic games, collecting them protects the player from taking damage. Receiving a harmful hit will make the player drop all their Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Getting hit a second time without any Rings causes the player to lose a try and make them restart the Act. A character will also lose a try if they spend too long underwater without replenishing their air supply, fall into a bottomless pit, or run out of time. If a character loses their last try, the game will end, but the player can use Continues to resume playing. For Sonic, collecting 100 Rings transports the player into a Special Stage. For Tails, who cannot enter the Special Stages, he instead only gains an extra life after collecting 100 Rings. Also, each Ring grants points at the end-of-Act tally for each character.

Like many other Sonic games, Sonic Chaos features Video Monitors that contain power-ups, such as Super Rings (grants ten extra Rings), Speed Shoes (increase acceleration briefly), Invincibles (grants temporary invulnerability) and Extra Lives. Exclusive power-ups to Sonic are the Rocket Shoes, which let him fly in the air for a short time. For Tails, any Video Monitors with Rocket Shoes in his Acts are replaced with Super Rings.

Each Zone in Sonic Chaos is quite short, with a linear design and few alternate routes, making progressing through the game rather simple. Zones contain structures like loops, corkscrews, and high-speed warp tubes, along with a few other gimmicks. Generally, Springs are hidden in the ground for the player's surprise and the new Pogo Springs can be activated from metallic boxes. The latter gimmick lets the player bounce around on a mobile Spring for higher elevation.

Aside from the game's main goal, the player can collect the six Chaos Emeralds for Sonic. The first five Emeralds can be collected from the Special Stages while the sixth is obtained automatically after the game's final boss. Collecting all six unlocks the game's cinematic good ending. When playing as Tails, the player gets the good ending either way.

Scoring system[]

Main article: Point#Sonic Chaos

Controls[]

Button formation		Movement
Master System[10]	Game Gear[11]	Sonic	Tails
left/right		Walk/Run
up		Look up
down		Look down/Crouch
/		Jump
left/right + down		Super Spin Attack
down + / > release		Super Spin Dash/Super Dash Attack
up + /		Strike Dash	Airman Tails/Helicopter
Pause	START	Pause

Objects[]

Items[]

• Air bubble
• Chaos Emerald
• Large Ring
• Ring
• Video monitor^[12]
  • Extra Life/1-UP^[13]
  • Invincible
  • Power Sneakers
  • Rocket Shoes (first appearance)
  • Super Rings
  • Time Stop (first appearance)

Gimmicks and obstacles[]

Bonus Plate rewards[]

Like in previous games, Bonus Plates appear at the end of the first and second Act of each Zone. Upon passing them, the player's speed, which is seemingly based on an Act's completion time, is tallied in kilometers per hour. The highest possible speed is 999 km/h. Having three of the same numbers in the measurement, such as 555 km/h, grants the player an Extra Life. Also upon being passed, the Bonus Plates will spin and give awards based on the image they show. The rewards are:

Image	Name	Reward[14][15]
	Dr. Eggman (default)	Nothing
	Sonic	Extra Life (Sonic) Continue (Tails)
	Ring	10 Rings & 100 points
	Tails	Extra Life (Tails) Continue (Sonic)
	Flicky	Nothing
	Backwards	Spin plate again

Characters[]

Playable characters[]

• Miles "Tails" Prower
• Sonic the Hedgehog

Non-playable characters[]

• Dr. Eggman
• Flicky

Enemies[]

• Boing-o-Bot (first appearance)
• Bomblin
• Buzz Bomber
• Frogger (first appearance)
• Mecha Hiyoko
• Metal-o-Turtle (first appearance)
• Veg-o-Bot (first appearance)

Bosses[]

1. Lady Bug Boss
2. Bead Worm Boss
3. Bouncy Boss Robot
4. Tree Crawler Boss
5. Sphere-o-Bot Boss
6. Laser Walker

Zones[]

Sonic Chaos contains a total of six Zones, each split into three Acts. After clearing the first two Acts, the player encounters the Zone's boss in the third, shorter Act. Defeating the boss allows the player to progress onto the next Zone. The Zones in order are as follows:

1. Turquoise Hill Zone
2. Gigalopolis Zone
3. Sleeping Egg Zone
4. Mecha Green Hill Zone
5. Aqua Planet Zone
6. Electric Egg Zone

Special Stages[]

Main article: Special Stage (Sonic Chaos)

Special Stages are extra levels where the player can collect five of the six Chaos Emeralds. To access one of the five Special Stages, the player has to collect 100 Rings as Sonic during an Act.

The Special Stages in Sonic Chaos are unique amongst the Sonic the Hedgehog games due to how each Special Stage has its own level design where the player has to either fly through the sky, navigate high-speed warp tube mazes, scale platforms, or speed-run an area. In general, the player has to cross each Special Stage's obstacle course within sixty seconds to earn its Chaos Emerald. The Special Stage ends when the player runs out of time, fall off the screen, or reaches the Emerald (which also earns them a Continue). The player will then be sent to the next Act in the Zone. If the player already has all the Chaos Emeralds, collecting 100 Rings will no longer warp Sonic to the Special Stage and will instead only reward him with an Extra Life.

Reception[]

Sonic Chaos received generally positive reviews during its release. GamePro praised the game's graphics and gameplay, stating that while the game was "not as tough as some of the other Sonic adventures, it's still a cart that fans of the hogmeister are gonna wanna roll with."^[19] Sega Magazine also praised the Master System version of the game for its polished graphics and playability while stating that it was "very entertaining, this had us coming back for more even when we'd finished it."^[27] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game an 8.25 out of 10, commenting that it retains all the elements that made the 16-bit Sonic games fun while also praising the graphics and the ability to play as Tails.^[17] Mean Machines Sega gave a mediocre score of 71%, praising the graphics and gameplay, but concluded the review by stating that it was "a very weak Sonic game that combines lack of originality with complete absence of challenge."^[21]

Over the years, the game received more mixed reviews. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN gave the Virtual Console re-release score a 6 out of 10, noting that the game "isn't total retread of territory covered before in earlier Sonic titles -- but it's pretty close."^[20] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer gave a score a 7 out of 10 for its Virtual Console re-release, stating that "perhaps the strongest argument in favour of Sonic Chaos is that it's a relatively unseen entry in a franchise where most of the attention was directed at the [Mega Drive] titles. For Sonic fans who know most of the games inside out, this one will probably still seem quite fresh."^[18] Darren Calvert of Nintendo Life criticized the game for being uninspired and lacking of discernable challenge, saying that "hardcore Sonic fans might get a kick out of this lesser known incarnation, but for most there will be no reason to bother with this."^[23]

Sonic Chaos was awarded "Best Sega Game Gear Game of 1993" by Electronic Gaming Monthly.^[28]

Re-releases[]

After its initial release, Sonic Chaos was re-released for the Sega Game Gear by distributing company Majesco in the United States. Because of this, the game is one of the first Sonic titles to be re-rated "E for Everyone" by the newly established Entertainment Software Rating Board. Years later, the Game Gear version was featured as unlockable content in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut. To unlock it in the game, the player has to collect either a total of 60 emblems or complete 60 missions with all the playable characters. The game was also included in Sonic Mega Collection Plus in 2004.

Sonic Chaos and the Game Gear version of Sonic Spinball were featured in Sonic the Hedgehog, a plug and play console released in 2005 by Techno Source. Sonic Chaos is also one of the Game Gear titles to be featured on Coleco's plug and play console "PlayPal Plug & Play" released in 2006. The Sega Master System version of Sonic Chaos would not see a re-release until 2009, when it was ported for the Wii's Virtual Console. Over ten years later, in 2020, the Game Gear version was included in the blue Game Gear Micro.

The Game Gear version of Sonic Chaos was included in Sonic Origins Plus, released on June 23, 2023.

Image	Game	Platform	Description
	Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut	Nintendo GameCube PC	Featured as an unlockable mini-game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut in 2003. To unlock it, the player must collect 80 Emblems.
	Sonic Adventure 2-Pack	Nintendo GameCube	Featured as an unlockable mini-game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.
	Sonic Gems Collection	Nintendo GameCube PlayStation 2	Released in a compilation with several other Sonic games in 2005.
	Sonic the Hedgehog	Plug-and-play console	Released by Techno Source in a compilation with Sonic Spinball in 2005.
	PlayPal Plug & Play	Plug and Play console	Released in a compilation with several other games in 2006.
		Wii	Released in 2009.
	Sonic PC Collection	PC	Featured as an unlockable mini-game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut in 2009.
	FunPlay 20-in-1	Plug and Play console	Released in a compilation with several other games in 2009.
	Game Gear Micro (Blue)		Released in 2020.
	Sonic Origins Plus	PlayStation 4 Xbox One Nintendo Switch Xbox Series X/S PlayStation 5 PC (Steam, Epic Games Store)	The Game Gear version was added to this re-release of Sonic Origins, which released on June 23, 2023.

Platform differences[]

The Sega Master System and Game Gear versions have a number of differences between them that were made between their respective releases, these include:

• The resolution was lowered with little regard for the overall viewing area - for instance, a Ring that flies straight into the air upon taking damage will hit the "out of bounds" area at the top of the screen, resulting in it disappearing.
• Compared to the previous entries, this game takes slightly more advantage of the Game Gear's increased color range - for instance, the unique peach and brown checkered soil of Turquoise Hill Zone was changed to the series' now-familiar orange and yellow pattern, and the green skyline with pink streaks of Mecha Green Hill Zone was changed to a pink hue with green streaks.
• The title screen and character select screens were changed, as well as the Zone title card fonts.
• Some of the music was mildly rearranged, with this being most noticeable when listening to the Turquoise Hill Zone, Sleeping Egg Zone, and Aqua Planet Zone themes back-to-back.
  • In the case of Gigalopolis Zone, the theme was entirely rewritten.
  • The track that plays when claiming a Chaos Emerald was removed, but music was added to the formerly silent Power Sneakers power-up.
  • The intro was also given an original piece, rather than using the Electric Egg Zone theme.
• The bosses appear to be redrawn to make up for the smaller viewing area, as they are stretched a bit taller.
• There are layout changes in Act 3 of most, if not all, of the Zones.
• The Bead Worm Boss no longer shoots a spiked ball upon defeat.
• The Tree Crawler Boss is no longer over a pit of spikes and is instead fought over flat ground.
• The first four Master Robots take eight hits to defeat in the Master System version. On the Game Gear, the first and third bosses take five hits, the second boss takes three hits, and the fourth boss takes ten hits. The fifth boss also takes fifteen hits to defeat in the Game Gear version rather than the original eleven.
• After the final boss is cleared and Dr. Eggman escapes, the usual victory animation and theme plays rather than the screen simply fading to white.
• Sonic originally rolled during the bad ending, but in the Game Gear version that was changed to Sonic instead walking then tripping as he begins to run after Eggman.
• In the Master System version, Tails' name is written as "Miles Power" instead of "Miles Prower" during the credits. The Game Gear version corrects this mistake.
• The Japanese version of the Game Gear release changed the font yet again, as well as the title screen, and replaced the Eggman name with Eggman in the cast roll. However, it retained Gigalopolis Zone's name, as other regions changed it to Gigapolis Zone.

Cheat codes[]

• Level Select: As the "Press Start" text appears on the title screen, input the following:
  • Game Gear: up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left, START.
  • Master System: up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left, , .
• Sound Test: As the "Press Start" text appears on the title screen, input the following:
  • Game Gear: down, down, up, up, left, right, left, right, START.
  • Master System: down, down, up, up, left, right, left, right, , .

• Hadoken easter egg: In either version of the game's Sound Test, press: down, down-right, right, /. Sonic will then shoot a fireball from his hands, similarly to the Hadoken from the Street Fighter games.

• Bonus Plate tricks: There are ways to guarantee a certain Bonus Plate reward from each Zone, this depends on the amount of Rings the player has.
  • The following means can be used in Turquoise Hill Zone, Sleeping Egg Zone, and Aqua Planet Zone:
    • Super Ring: Any numbers ending in 9 (9, 19, 29, etc.)
    • Continue: 15, 30, 40, or 60 Rings.
    • Backwards plate: 16, 28, 32, 44, or 58 Rings.
    • 1-UP: 55, 65, 77, 88, 95, 97, or 99 Rings.
  • The following list includes means to get the following rewards in Gigalopolis Zone, Mecha Green Hill Zone, and Electric Egg Zone:
    • Super Ring: Multiples of 10 (10, 20, 30, etc.)
    • Continue: 0, 24, 48, or 72 Rings.
    • Backwards plate: 18, 36, 45, 81, or 89 Rings.
    • 1-UP: 11, 33, 77, 87, 94, 96, or 98 Rings.

Trivia[]

• Sonic Chaos was the first game in the Sonic series to actually show how fast the player was moving through Zones, as it features a km/h speedometer at the end of each Act. Only two other games have adopted this feature: Sonic Labyrinth and Sonic Unleashed.
• The background music for Mecha Green Hill Zone is a remix of Green Hills Zone's music from the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which was also remixed into the main theme of the Japanese soundtrack for Sonic the Hedgehog CD, "Sonic - You Can Do Anything."
  • Similarly, this game's final boss theme is an arrangement of the previous Sega Game Gear game's boss theme, which was remixed into the music for Metallic Madness from Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
• When accessing the Sound Test feature in the game, "BGM#09BH" is a track that never plays through the entire game. Interestingly, it was later used in Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble as the background theme of Sunset Park Act 3.
• The title and life lost themes from the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are reused in a higher pitch.
• Sonic Chaos was the first game to let the player control Miles "Tails" Prower's flight.
• The Sega Game Gear version of the game was released on Doctor Who's 30th Anniversary in North America.
  • Sonic Spinball was also released the same day.

Videos[]

• North American commercial
• Japanese commercial
• Hidden Valley stickers commercial

References[]

External links[]

• Sonic & Tails at Sega's Wii re-release mini-site (Japanese)
• Sonic Chaos at Nintendo (English)