Sonic Advance 3

Pick a partner, sprint for the goal, and chase down Dr. Eggman's plans in Sonic Advance 3. This side-scrolling Sonic platformer on the classic handheld setup lets you mix two heroes into one team and rush through several zones while you grab rings, keep your life counter safe, and rack up score with fast finishes.

Form a duo from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, or Cream, then drop into stages filled with enemies and traps. The first pick acts as your main runner. The second hero tags along as support and adds team actions based on their abilities. Every character brings a different move style, so a Sonic and Knuckles pair feels different from, say, Cream with Tails. Rings still work as your buffer. Take a hit while holding them and they scatter, then another hit with none left costs a life. Reach the end sign as quickly as you can to boost your time bonus and final points. The game follows the events of Sonic Battle and uses Emerl’s parts as a story hook. Dr. Eggman rebuilds the destroyed Gizoid into Gemerl, a new robot that copies your attacks and links up with Eggman’s machines until you finally shut it down in the last showdown. Music and sound effects tie everything into one faster-paced run compared with earlier handheld entries.

How to play?

Move your lead character through each stage and let the partner back them up with their support actions. Jump across platforms, keep momentum on slopes, and slide through tight paths when your team combination allows it. Watch enemy positions, then either jump on them or slip past to avoid taking a hit that strips your rings. When you spot ring trails, follow them to refill your count before harder enemy clusters or traps show up. Learn how your current duo behaves in motion, then swap pairs between runs to see which one gets you to the end line faster.