Hunting Guide - Treasure Hunting 099: Reuniting Master Emeralds since 1999
Submitted by SadisticMystic
I already made a hunting guide for Sonic Adventure 2 (http://www.soniccenter.org/guides/sonic_adventure_2_b/guide90 ), so it's only natural that I make one for this game as well. The principle is the same: collect 3 pieces of the Master Emerald in each stage (this time there are no extraneous objects such as keys, just pieces all the way). The mechanics are a bit different, though, so here goes.
Random pieces will end a lot of runs from the start. There are 21 possible piece locations in each level. They're separated by piece number (a spot that holds piece #1 will always be #1, never #2 or #3), with one piece getting 12 of the locations, one getting 6, and one getting 3. (Exception: Casinopolis has only 14 piece locations, divided 6-5-3.) For speed purposes, one of the locations for each piece (usually the closest) will be the "best" one, the only one worth playing once you're aiming for a record. This means that a given run has a 1-in-216 chance (1-in-90 for Casinopolis) of being the best layout. These levels will require you enter and leave quite a few times just because the piece layout isn't perfect, and nothing you do can get you the record on this layout. It's tough, but it's something you have to put up with on Knuckles stages.
When you get just the right layout, you get to keep it. In the sequel, piece locations changed with every life, so if you missed a piece when it was in the right spot you might not see it again for a few dozen tries. Not so here. The pieces stay in the same spots after a restart; you have to quit and re-enter to change the layout. I wouldn't necessarily call it better than SA2's system, or worse; but rather just "different" (you did have to put up with re-entering the stage over and over until you hit your 1-in-216 shot to get to this point, right?) Once you have the right pieces, you can take as many tries to get them as you want, making sure your lines are completely flawless, and the pieces will still be there each time.
Restart locations can be good or bad. After getting a piece, if you die, or pause and choose restart, you don't necessarily go back to the beginning. Each piece has a designated restart point, where you pick up on a new life after getting that piece. It tries to be as close to the piece as is safely possible (for a piece that's inside an enemy, it can't respawn you on top of that enemy for obvious reasons). For some pieces, though, you'll get moved a considerable distance in some direction from the piece to start subsequent lives. This can be beneficial for a speedrun, as in Sky Deck, or it can be detrimental, as with piece #3 in Speed Highway. Take note of where pieces drop you off, and if it's good, then by all means just restart. If it's bad, then you have to be careful, as you only get one shot at the next piece without blowing your chances at a record.
Radar is good. It's always good to know the piece locations from memory, of course, but the radar can show you whether the run is worth playing, or if you should throw it out. For pieces that aren't visible (such as by being inside an enemy), the radar makes it so that you don't have to hit the enemy, possibly in a suboptimal time, to know if the piece is in the right place. And unlike the sequel, radar can be active on all three pieces at once, not just one at a time. Use it to your advantage.
It can take several tries to get your lines right; come prepared. Even when you do get lucky and find the perfect layout, you may not complete it on your first try. You can practice lining everything up, and taking the fastest paths, but it costs a life for each restart. I recommend bringing a good number of lives with you, which can be done via Adventure mode (rather than Trial, which always starts you with just 5 lives). It's possible to dig up rings for lives in either mode, but this gets very time-consuming. When you have your layout, be ready to spend as many lives as it takes to weed out your errors.
Now you have some tips that can help you. But the biggest tip of all--know where the desired piece locations are. Of course they vary from stage to stage, and the remainder of this guide will be a list of those locations. I'll list the best layout I know for each stage. If you have a better layout, send it to me in a PM and I'll incorporate it into a future update.
[EDIT 2006/07/14] Changed around Lost World a bit, and clarified a piece in Casinopolis
[EDIT 2006/07/16] There's a faster way to get that Casinopolis piece
[EDIT 2006/08/21] Changed the Lost World layout to one that's definitively faster
[EDIT 2007/03/21] Changed a piece in Speed Highway, as well as the ordering of pieces there
Speed Highway:
3. Go right from the start, staying near the building that's on your right as you travel down the street (but ideally above street level, as you should remain gliding). Before you get to the large building that serves as a blockade except for a few tunnels, there's a balcony along the right wall. Your glide should still have enough height to land you there smoothly, and you may find piece 3 sticking out. Grab it.
1. From piece 3, jump out of the balcony and to your left, where a raised tunnel with rings goes through the building up ahead. Sometimes, in addition to the rings, you'll find piece 1 there as well. Drop down a bit and run through the tunnel. You need to get this in one try after the successful piece 3, or else you restart at street level and have to spend time climbing back up.
2. Restart after grabbing piece 1, and you'll be moved closer to where you want to be for 2. Specifically, you'll start on the rooftop that's above and to the left of where you would emerge from the tunnel. There's no shortage of piece 2 locations in relative proximity to this point, but ideally you want the one that's fastest to reach. Jump up a level, track down the spikeball enemy, and roll into it. If it has the piece, then congratulations, you're done. Otherwise, you're playing an unoptimized layout.
Casinopolis:
1. This is on top of the triangular directory structure, in front of the vault room. Glide in a straight line and jump high enough to get on it, then turn, jump to grab the piece, and head towards...
2. In the string of enemies leading to the vault. You want the 3rd-closest enemy; it'll be a bit to the left. You need to get this in one try after the successful piece 1, or else you go back to the beginning and you have to retrace all your steps again, wasting time.
3. In the Sonic statue. Restart before attempting this, to go back to the starting location. Do one quick glide toward the center to get up to speed, then jump just before the stairs down and glide to make it to the top of the center structure. You'll be on the wrong side of the statue's foot, so jump over the foot and land next to the statue's weak spot. To get the piece in the fastest way, face some direction other than the weak spot, press B twice, then turn to face the weak spot and press B a third time. As the statue falls (and your path to the piece is now open) you'll be thrust forward to grab the piece.
Red Mountain:
1. Glide forward and a bit right, and you'll see a set of monkey bars. The correct piece 1 is visible under the middle. Release your glide when you get close and drop onto the piece.
3. This is close to piece 1, underneath it. If you want to get this in one try after piece 1, press B to drop off of the monkey bars and glide left, attempting to fall on the piece. If you miss, a restart isn't terrible. You start on the opposite side of the monkey bars from where you need to be, so glide around them and drop down to land on the piece.
2. Facing the mountain, turn left. Glide until you see a lava bridge. There will be some spinner enemies near it. There's one to the right of the bridge, and one in front of it (from your perspective), and piece 2 has locations inside each one. From this spot, the one in front of the bridge is closer. Drop off and hit it to finish the level.
Lost World:
2. There are lots of chameleon enemies surrounding the start. Any one of them can hold piece 2. The closest one is to your left from the starting block. Hop down to it to get its attention, wait for it to materialize (hopefully within 2 seconds) and punch or roll into it when that happens to kill it and grab the piece.
1. This piece is fastest if you get it immediately after #2 without restarting, so you only get one shot at this one if you want a good time. Continue through the enemy and head forward and left from start, and piece 1 can be in those boxes on the ground.
3. Now it's time to restart. The restart location is on a block to the side of where the piece was, and there's a second, higher block next to you. Jump to the higher block (staying away from the wall because there are spikes that drop down there), then after they do drop, jump again onto the flat top of the spikes. Now you want to jump a third time into the wall. Start climbing, heading up and a bit left. Eventually, near the top corner, you'll find a platform that has a fiery block popping out occasionally. Jump off the wall and onto that platform as soon as you're high enough to reach it, and get the third piece.
Sky Deck:
1. There are only 3 possible locations for the first piece, and all of them are behind doors that require a tilt. Fortunately, the time spent tilting the ship doesn't have to count against you. If you tilt the ship and then restart, the ship will retain its tilt position at the start of your next life. In Sky Deck, there are two fast layouts that are virtually symmetrical. The one starting with door 06, on the right side, is slightly faster than the one with door 09 on the left. If the radar starts out blue, the piece is behind 06. If not, and you're willing to try a slower layout, glide left and if the radar turns blue on your way, the piece is in 09. (If the radar doesn't turn blue, the piece is behind door 02, an unplayable location on the far side of the ship.) Once you know where the piece is, tilt the ship slightly forward and restart, then glide off the starting platform toward the target door. There's a bit of luck involved here; you have to hope that the door is open (it opens and closes randomly to allow falling objects through) as soon as you arrive there. Get through the door and run up to the piece as fast as you can.
3. This piece is in a large cannon in the back corner (whether you chose the left or right path, each of the corner cannons is a possible piece 3 location). Restart after getting piece 1 to get a head start getting out of the room the piece was in, starting on top of a box. Glide into the corner, hit the cannon, and land on the piece that's left in its remains.
2. Restart after getting piece 3 to start atop the ledge in front of the cannon. The piece is in the spinner enemy on the same ledge; run up to it and either glide or roll into it and you're done!
Random pieces will end a lot of runs from the start. There are 21 possible piece locations in each level. They're separated by piece number (a spot that holds piece #1 will always be #1, never #2 or #3), with one piece getting 12 of the locations, one getting 6, and one getting 3. (Exception: Casinopolis has only 14 piece locations, divided 6-5-3.) For speed purposes, one of the locations for each piece (usually the closest) will be the "best" one, the only one worth playing once you're aiming for a record. This means that a given run has a 1-in-216 chance (1-in-90 for Casinopolis) of being the best layout. These levels will require you enter and leave quite a few times just because the piece layout isn't perfect, and nothing you do can get you the record on this layout. It's tough, but it's something you have to put up with on Knuckles stages.
When you get just the right layout, you get to keep it. In the sequel, piece locations changed with every life, so if you missed a piece when it was in the right spot you might not see it again for a few dozen tries. Not so here. The pieces stay in the same spots after a restart; you have to quit and re-enter to change the layout. I wouldn't necessarily call it better than SA2's system, or worse; but rather just "different" (you did have to put up with re-entering the stage over and over until you hit your 1-in-216 shot to get to this point, right?) Once you have the right pieces, you can take as many tries to get them as you want, making sure your lines are completely flawless, and the pieces will still be there each time.
Restart locations can be good or bad. After getting a piece, if you die, or pause and choose restart, you don't necessarily go back to the beginning. Each piece has a designated restart point, where you pick up on a new life after getting that piece. It tries to be as close to the piece as is safely possible (for a piece that's inside an enemy, it can't respawn you on top of that enemy for obvious reasons). For some pieces, though, you'll get moved a considerable distance in some direction from the piece to start subsequent lives. This can be beneficial for a speedrun, as in Sky Deck, or it can be detrimental, as with piece #3 in Speed Highway. Take note of where pieces drop you off, and if it's good, then by all means just restart. If it's bad, then you have to be careful, as you only get one shot at the next piece without blowing your chances at a record.
Radar is good. It's always good to know the piece locations from memory, of course, but the radar can show you whether the run is worth playing, or if you should throw it out. For pieces that aren't visible (such as by being inside an enemy), the radar makes it so that you don't have to hit the enemy, possibly in a suboptimal time, to know if the piece is in the right place. And unlike the sequel, radar can be active on all three pieces at once, not just one at a time. Use it to your advantage.
It can take several tries to get your lines right; come prepared. Even when you do get lucky and find the perfect layout, you may not complete it on your first try. You can practice lining everything up, and taking the fastest paths, but it costs a life for each restart. I recommend bringing a good number of lives with you, which can be done via Adventure mode (rather than Trial, which always starts you with just 5 lives). It's possible to dig up rings for lives in either mode, but this gets very time-consuming. When you have your layout, be ready to spend as many lives as it takes to weed out your errors.
Now you have some tips that can help you. But the biggest tip of all--know where the desired piece locations are. Of course they vary from stage to stage, and the remainder of this guide will be a list of those locations. I'll list the best layout I know for each stage. If you have a better layout, send it to me in a PM and I'll incorporate it into a future update.
[EDIT 2006/07/14] Changed around Lost World a bit, and clarified a piece in Casinopolis
[EDIT 2006/07/16] There's a faster way to get that Casinopolis piece
[EDIT 2006/08/21] Changed the Lost World layout to one that's definitively faster
[EDIT 2007/03/21] Changed a piece in Speed Highway, as well as the ordering of pieces there
Speed Highway:
3. Go right from the start, staying near the building that's on your right as you travel down the street (but ideally above street level, as you should remain gliding). Before you get to the large building that serves as a blockade except for a few tunnels, there's a balcony along the right wall. Your glide should still have enough height to land you there smoothly, and you may find piece 3 sticking out. Grab it.
1. From piece 3, jump out of the balcony and to your left, where a raised tunnel with rings goes through the building up ahead. Sometimes, in addition to the rings, you'll find piece 1 there as well. Drop down a bit and run through the tunnel. You need to get this in one try after the successful piece 3, or else you restart at street level and have to spend time climbing back up.
2. Restart after grabbing piece 1, and you'll be moved closer to where you want to be for 2. Specifically, you'll start on the rooftop that's above and to the left of where you would emerge from the tunnel. There's no shortage of piece 2 locations in relative proximity to this point, but ideally you want the one that's fastest to reach. Jump up a level, track down the spikeball enemy, and roll into it. If it has the piece, then congratulations, you're done. Otherwise, you're playing an unoptimized layout.
Casinopolis:
1. This is on top of the triangular directory structure, in front of the vault room. Glide in a straight line and jump high enough to get on it, then turn, jump to grab the piece, and head towards...
2. In the string of enemies leading to the vault. You want the 3rd-closest enemy; it'll be a bit to the left. You need to get this in one try after the successful piece 1, or else you go back to the beginning and you have to retrace all your steps again, wasting time.
3. In the Sonic statue. Restart before attempting this, to go back to the starting location. Do one quick glide toward the center to get up to speed, then jump just before the stairs down and glide to make it to the top of the center structure. You'll be on the wrong side of the statue's foot, so jump over the foot and land next to the statue's weak spot. To get the piece in the fastest way, face some direction other than the weak spot, press B twice, then turn to face the weak spot and press B a third time. As the statue falls (and your path to the piece is now open) you'll be thrust forward to grab the piece.
Red Mountain:
1. Glide forward and a bit right, and you'll see a set of monkey bars. The correct piece 1 is visible under the middle. Release your glide when you get close and drop onto the piece.
3. This is close to piece 1, underneath it. If you want to get this in one try after piece 1, press B to drop off of the monkey bars and glide left, attempting to fall on the piece. If you miss, a restart isn't terrible. You start on the opposite side of the monkey bars from where you need to be, so glide around them and drop down to land on the piece.
2. Facing the mountain, turn left. Glide until you see a lava bridge. There will be some spinner enemies near it. There's one to the right of the bridge, and one in front of it (from your perspective), and piece 2 has locations inside each one. From this spot, the one in front of the bridge is closer. Drop off and hit it to finish the level.
Lost World:
2. There are lots of chameleon enemies surrounding the start. Any one of them can hold piece 2. The closest one is to your left from the starting block. Hop down to it to get its attention, wait for it to materialize (hopefully within 2 seconds) and punch or roll into it when that happens to kill it and grab the piece.
1. This piece is fastest if you get it immediately after #2 without restarting, so you only get one shot at this one if you want a good time. Continue through the enemy and head forward and left from start, and piece 1 can be in those boxes on the ground.
3. Now it's time to restart. The restart location is on a block to the side of where the piece was, and there's a second, higher block next to you. Jump to the higher block (staying away from the wall because there are spikes that drop down there), then after they do drop, jump again onto the flat top of the spikes. Now you want to jump a third time into the wall. Start climbing, heading up and a bit left. Eventually, near the top corner, you'll find a platform that has a fiery block popping out occasionally. Jump off the wall and onto that platform as soon as you're high enough to reach it, and get the third piece.
Sky Deck:
1. There are only 3 possible locations for the first piece, and all of them are behind doors that require a tilt. Fortunately, the time spent tilting the ship doesn't have to count against you. If you tilt the ship and then restart, the ship will retain its tilt position at the start of your next life. In Sky Deck, there are two fast layouts that are virtually symmetrical. The one starting with door 06, on the right side, is slightly faster than the one with door 09 on the left. If the radar starts out blue, the piece is behind 06. If not, and you're willing to try a slower layout, glide left and if the radar turns blue on your way, the piece is in 09. (If the radar doesn't turn blue, the piece is behind door 02, an unplayable location on the far side of the ship.) Once you know where the piece is, tilt the ship slightly forward and restart, then glide off the starting platform toward the target door. There's a bit of luck involved here; you have to hope that the door is open (it opens and closes randomly to allow falling objects through) as soon as you arrive there. Get through the door and run up to the piece as fast as you can.
3. This piece is in a large cannon in the back corner (whether you chose the left or right path, each of the corner cannons is a possible piece 3 location). Restart after getting piece 1 to get a head start getting out of the room the piece was in, starting on top of a box. Glide into the corner, hit the cannon, and land on the piece that's left in its remains.
2. Restart after getting piece 3 to start atop the ledge in front of the cannon. The piece is in the spinner enemy on the same ledge; run up to it and either glide or roll into it and you're done!
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