Editing Sonic Mania (section)

===Bonus Stages===
{{Main|Bonus Stage (Sonic Mania)}}
[[File:DGUIRF2UAAAmaqz.jpg|thumb|225px|right|[[Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles]] in the Bonus Stage.]]
'''Bonus Stages''' are thirty-two special areas. They can be accessed by jumping into the [[Star Circle]] that appears over [[Star Post]]s when said gimmicks are passed while carrying at least twenty-five [[Ring]]s. Bonus Stages in ''Sonic Mania'' play like the [[Special Stage (Sonic 3 & Knuckles)|Special Stages]] from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' and ''[[Sonic & Knuckles]]'', as well as the secret "[[Blue Sphere]]" bonus game that could be played by connecting a ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' cartridge to ''Sonic & Knuckles''. Here, the player must run across a spherical planet. To succeed, the player must collect blue spheres (and Rings as a bonus) whilst avoiding the red spheres (with the blue spheres turning into red spheres when collected; boxing a group of blue spheres inside a perimeter of red spheres will turn all the spheres in the box into Rings). Collecting all Rings on the board will result in a "[[Perfect Bonus|Perfect]]" score and the stage will end either when the player hits a red sphere or collects every blue sphere. The longer the player stays in the stage, the more it will speed up, thus increasing the difficulty and putting the player at risk of touching a red sphere.

Two types of [[Medal]]lions are awarded upon the completion of a Bonus Stage. Silver Medallions are awarded to those who only collects all the Blue Spheres, while Gold Medallions are awarded to those who collects all the blue spheres and Rings.<ref name="Bonus stage/time attack"/>