Sand Ocean (SA2)

Sand Ocean is the 3rd stage in the Dark story on Sonic Adventure 2. Eggman is used to play this stage.

Speed Tips

Strangely enough, all missions on this stage have the exact same time potential, as the clock can be stopped faster than any of the objectives can be completed normally. You can start out with the same path anywhere and save the mission-specific details for when the clock isn't running.

Missions 1, 2, 3, and 5

Go forward and left from the start to the mystic shrine. You can get close enough to play Mystic Melody from below without having to jump up to the platform where the shrine itself is located, so do that, then jump into the warp portal.

You'll re-emerge far ahead in the level. Shoot the Rhino enemy that's in your way while you're twisting around. You now want to head backwards through the level. Run towards the screen and to the right. Use the mini-tombs as steps to jump up to the big tomb, and from there jump onto one of the pillars on the right side. See that exit further right that's really supposed to be the entrance to this area? You want to jump and hover through it, and be careful of the camera that's going to spin around here. Don't touch the walls or they'll drag you down into the quicksand.

You can use the dynamited pillar to give yourself a path to walk on, but if you jumped high enough, you don't need it. Hover to the right of that pillar once you're past the walls and land on one of the red platforms, then work your way toward the screen, jumping over gaps. Along the way, you'll cross a checkpoint.

Once you hit the check, go diagonally left (from your perspective; Eggman's right) and jump and hover before the walkway runs out. There's a platform floating out in the sand, and it has a spring on it. You want to fall just short of the platform and just to the right of the spring. Hold up-left after you hear Eggman's "NO!"

Most levels have a kill plane mechanism that causes your death once you fall out of the stage's boundaries. Hidden Base and Sand Ocean work slightly differently. In those stages you get a sinking animation when you fall into the sand, and the clock does stop, but you aren't regarded as dead just yet. See the spring? If you can hit it during the sinking animation, you'll bounce out and won't die, but the clock remains stopped. The camera won't move until you cross a certain point, making it difficult to deal with the Hawk enemies that come to get you, but do what you can to dispose of them, then run toward the screen when the turntable lines up so that you don't fall into the sand.

You're now free to go do what you're supposed to do, and take as long as you want to do it. It won't matter.

Record video (set on mission 3): 0:29.44 by yoshifan