Editing Sonic the Hedgehog series (section)

===Special Stages===
{{main|Special Stage}}
Usually, a Chaos Emerald may be earned in a '''Special Stage''' or '''Special Zone'''. Special Stages usually take place in surreal environments and features alternate gameplay mechanics to the standard platforming of the main levels: the 16-bit ''Sonic the Hedgehog '' consisted of a giant rotating maze (which many considered a major technical achievement);<ref>{{Cite journal|date=September 2001|title=The making of... Sonic The Hedgehog|journal=[[wikipedia:Edge (magazine)|Edge]]|issue=101|pages=121|accessdate=9 February 2007|quote='''[[Yuji Naka]]''': ...the Mega Drive allowed this stunning demonstration of rotation during the bonus stages. This was said to be impossible on the hardware at the time.}}</ref> ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'', ''[[Sonic 3D Blast]]'', ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'' and ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' featured "in your face" segments with the hedgehog running along a long tunnel, with a variant of this used for ''[[Knuckles' Chaotix]]'', ''[[Sonic Advance]]'', and ''[[Sonic Advance 3]]''; 3D "collect items" levels, as in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' ''[[Sonic & Knuckles|&amp; Knuckles]]'', which used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the [[Blue Sphere|blue-colored orbs]] on the surface of a giant sphere and a different version, the 3D ring-collecting Special Stage, used in ''[[Sonic Advance 2]]''. ''[[Sonic Chaos]]'' (''Sonic & Tails'' in Japan) utilized a variety of gimmicks for its levels.

Some games include Special Stages, but not as a means of collecting Chaos Emeralds. As the Emeralds of the 8-bit version of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' were hidden in the main stages, the game's spring-filled Special Stages were used to obtain [[1-Up]]s and [[Continue]]s. Similarly, ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]] [[Sonic & Knuckles|&amp; Knuckles]]'', in addition to their main Special Stages, featured entirely optional [[Bonus Stage]]s, one of which combined the rotating maze of the 16-bit ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' with the pinball gambling of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]],'' and ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'' had an alternate Special Stage for earning lots of extra lives, very much like the one in which Chaos Emeralds are collected, but with the objective being to get to the Goal Ring before time ran out, rather than catching up to the Chaos Emerald at the end of the tunnel.

Just as the design of the Special Stages has changed, so has the means of accessing them. In ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'', [[Giant Ring]]s were hidden in levels to take the player to the Stages, but most other titles involve the collection of a certain number of rings, usually fifty. In both the 8 and 16-bit versions of ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', they were reached by finishing a level with more than fifty Rings; the player would then have to jump inside the giant ring that would appear just after the goal post. In the 16-bit ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2]]'', reaching a Star Post when they held this number would create a warp of stars which would take a player to the Special Stage when jumped through. ''[[Sonic 3D Blast]]'' required the player to deliver rings to [[Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles]] and [[Miles "Tails" Prower|Tails]], who could be found within each level. ''[[Sonic Chaos]]'' changed the figure, with access to a Special Stage being the reward for collecting a hundred Rings, although only when playing as Sonic.