Sonic Superstarsis finally here, bringing us back to the 2D-era Sonic we all know and love, giving us a fantastic cast of characters to choose from, exhilarating levels to speed through, and a staggering amount of boss encounters for you to take down strategically.

To say there’s lots to see and do in Sonic Superstars would be an understatement, which can make your jumping-off point a bit more complex than previous entries. From the many modes to the different character traits to the collectibles found in some levels, you can miss lots of stuff in the early goings, but going in prepared will give you a slight upper hand!

An image showcasing (From Left to Right) Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic, the four playable characters in Sonic Superstars!

Choosing Your Character In Sonic Superstars

When diving into theStory Modeof Sonic Superstars, you canchoose between four characters,all offeringunique traversal traitsthat may better suit your preferred playstyle, and we recommend checking out every character to see which one gels with you the most.

Not only that, but you can alsoswitch between the four anytime you wish between levels.So, if you feel Knuckles' abilities would better suit a stage than, say, Sonic’s, then you can -and should- switch to him to complete the stage if you feel it would make it more manageable. You can find a brief rundown of all the characters below!

Sonic running through the Press Factory Stage in Sonic Superstars

Skills

Sonic

Dash instantly after jumping, allowing them to maintain and increase momentum.

Knuckles

Glide while airborne and latch onto walls, enabling him to climb them.

Fly upward for a brief period, making vertical traversal effortless.

Amy

Double jump, making her a prime candidate for tricky platforming sections.

While some Acts and Stages may be better for one character over another, you can clear every stage with the same character. So, if you prefer playing as Amy, you can beat the entire game as her, as the level design considers every character’s abilities. Some Special Stages are explicitly made for a specific character that will lock you in as them, but other than that, you are free to use whoever you like for the vast majority of Stages!

Sonic using the Avatar Chaos Emeralds to summon in many clones of himself to defeat Eggman in Sonic Superstars

Don’t Worry About Clear Time Or Score… At First

It’s only natural to want to achieve the highest score on each stage before moving on to the next, but westrongly recommend not getting bogged down by your overall score on the first pass throughthe Story Mode.

Even if ‘Gotta Go Fast’ is Sonic’s catchphrase,attempting to blaze through each stage with a large sum of Rings and Medals collected can lead to unnecessary frustrationearly on.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy running through a loop in attempts to gather a Medal in Sonic Superstars

Youcan always revisit the act later,even after rolling the credits, so there’sno need to rush trying to get the best possible score right from the jump.Just focus on gathering the essentials in each stage and learning the boss encounter, then return later with that knowledge to go for the gold!

Seek Out Every Chaos Emerald As Soon As Possible

Speaking of gathering the essentials, thefirst Act of the first seven Stages contains a Chaos Emerald,offeringunique abilities for the playable cast of charactersthat range from being able to summon in an onslaught of clones to stopping the time around you to growing a large vine toward the heavens and practically anything in-between.

Gathering all seven Chaos Emeralds is crucial,as they will be beneficial in some boss encounters, even help you reach secret areas in some levels, and allow you to acquire other Chaos Emeralds. Please don’t sleep on getting all of them as soon as possible, as they are all immensely powerful.

A robotic Amy Avatar created in Battle Mode winning against other players in Sonic Superstars

Furthermore,obtaining all seven Chaos Emeralds will unlock something elseSonic fans will be excited about, which we won’t spoil here. Still, it is anincredibly strong and cool addition that makes the time and effort of tracking all of them down well worth it!

Exploration Is Crucial

We know we’ve been driving this point home with the past two entries, but youcannot overlook the importance of explorationwhen navigating through the many Acts and Stages of Sonic Superstars.

Aside from the Chaos Emeralds and Medals, you may alsodefeat enemies to free Animals,which will play a large part in boosting your score and obtaining even more Medals. Not only that, butevery stage has Item Box Power-Upsthat can go a long way for you.

[From Left to Right] Fang, the Hunter, chasing down Sonic and Amy in Sonic Superstars

Description

Invincibility

Grants invincibility, instantly killing enemies on contact and making you immune to environmental hazards (except pitfalls).

Power-Up only lasts for a brief period.

Magnet

Draws nearby Rings toward you, enabling you to collect them by merely passing by them.

Power-Up is lost when getting hit.

Power Sneakers

Drastically increases the speed of your character for a short duration.

Shield

Places a protective barrier around you that absorbs one hit of damage, preventing you from spilling your Rings.

Obtain +10 Rings when breaking the Item Box.

Entering a Portal, Chaos Emerald Chase, or Medal Chase will get rid of the effects of Invincibility, Magnet, Power Sneakers, and Shield for some reason. So, keep that in mind before entering one if you were planning on utilizing the Shield or Magnet throughout the rest of the stage!

Checkout The Other Modes

In addition to the Story Mode, there are a couple of other modes for you to check out in Sonic Superstars: Battle and Time Attack.Battle Modeis alight Fall Guys-like modethatpits you against other players in several rounds of mini-games,ultimatelyending with one survivorat the end.

Battle Modecan be played both online and offlineand is where you will spend the Medals you’ve gathered in the Story Mode and Battle Mode.Medals enable you to purchase gearfor yourrobotic avatar,allowing you to change itsHead, Body, Arms, and Legs,along with thecolor and pattern!

Time Attackis just as it sounds and is a modefixated purely on how fast you may clear any of the Acts and Stagesin the game, making it a perfect mode for players that Gotta Go Fast. This is also adecent way to earn Medalsif you’re into this sort of thing!

Post-Game Activities

Lastly, while everything about is still a healthy dose of things you may see and do in Sonic Superstars, that’s not quite everything, as you willgain access to a new Mode and Character upon rolling creditsfor the first time.

To avoid spoiling what it entails, we will just state that it willgive you a new story to progress through,meaning your adventure isn’t quite over once you take down the final boss with the core group. If youenjoyed your first time through the game, you will likely enjoy what lies beyond the credits,making it crucial to learn the ins and outs of everything before then.

Whether your focus is on theStory Mode or Time Attack, this will give you even more sights and sounds to speed your way through or explore with a new characterwith their own unique set of skills and playstyle.