Editing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (section)

===Special Stages===
{{Main|Special Stage (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)}}
[[Image:Sonic 2 SpecialStage.gif|thumb|right|225px|[[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]] and [[Miles "Tails" Prower|Tails]] in a Special Stage.]]
In ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'', there are seven Special Stages. When the player has collected at least fifty [[Ring]]s and hits a Star Post, a [[Star Circle|red halo of stars]] will briefly float above it, which they can then jump into to get to a Special Stage.

Special Stages track the player from behind while they run through a three-dimensional half-pipe course filled with Rings and [[Bomb (obstacle)|Bombs]]. A set number of Rings must be collected to pass through three checkpoints and eventually obtain a [[Chaos Emerald]]. Playing co-operatively with Tails raises some of the Ring targets in the early Special Stages. The order of stages is fixed in rising difficulty, and the player cannot enter the next stage without passing the previous. Whether the player is able to obtain the Emerald or not, Sonic is transported back to the last Star Post he hit in the [[Zone]] when the Special Stage is over.

Once returned from a Special Stage, the entire Zone is reset (except the game timer) - the player is without Rings but all the collected [[Item Box]]es, Rings, and [[Badnik]]s reappear. Also, if Sonic activates a Star Post, all the Star Posts before that one will be activated as well, whether or not with fifty Rings in hand. This creates a tactical element to getting the most out of each Zone in terms of opportunities to grab Emeralds. It is possible to collect all seven within [[Emerald Hill Zone]].