Sonic Advance 3 General FAQ

SONIC ADVANCE 3 GAMEPLAY FAQ

Q: What is your second character doing?

A: The gimmick in this game is that you control a lead character and have a secondary character following you (like Tails follows Sonic in the genesis games). The second character has an ability to perform an action for your lead character; this is called a Tag Action. The lead character also gets different/enhanced abilities depending on who the partner is. This basically means that you effectively have 20 characters in the game, since they all have their strengths and weaknesses all around!

The Tag Action can be used on ground or in air, and the tag action depends on who the partner character is:

Sonic
Ground Tag Action - Give the lead character a sudden burst of speed forward and puts him/her in boost mode.
Air Tag Action - Same as ground, but in the air.

Tails
Ground Tag Action - Toss the lead character up and slightly to the side.
Air Tag Action - Fly and carry the lead character.

Knuckles
Ground Tag Action - Tossed forward by the lead character as a power attack.
Air Tag Action - Glide and carry the lead character.

Cream
Ground Tag Action - Give the lead character control of Cheese. Pressing B commands Cheese to attack.
Air Tag Action - Same as ground, but in the air. Also gives the lead character an upward boost.

Amy
Ground Tag Action - Shoot the lead character straight up with her hammer.
Air Tag Action - Same as ground, but gives significantly less height.


Q: Why are you pausing so much?

A: Sonic's tag action puts the lead character on a boost pad for one frame. This means that character is technically grounded for that one frame. Thus, if Sonic's tag action is used in the air, and you press A the frame you let go of R, the lead character will get a second jump while entering boost mode. I pause to buffer this input: hold R, pause, let go of R and hold A, unpause.

There's another important reason for this. If you either roll the frame you use his tag action, or jump on that frame, the boost applies for two frames rather than one. This makes the lead character initially move about 20% faster than just using the tag action without jumping/rolling on that frame, and that extra speed matters a lot in the long run.


Q: How are you doing those huge jumps with Cream?

A: Cream's Air Tag Action is interesting. Most players assume it's not very useful as it seems to just give a second jump that isn't as useful as tails/amy tag actions. However, what happens is, using her air tag action directly multiples the lead character's vertical velocity. As a result, you get the most boost and height if you use it just as you jump (as opposed to at the peak of your jump), or if you hit a spring/ramp.


Q: Version Differences?

A: Detailed Differences - https://pastebin.com/a9wraBK9

Basic Speedrun-Relevant Differences:
-JP/EU is very slightly faster for most levels
-Some jumps are more consistent in JP/EU than US because of more air control, but there are also situations where jumps can be less consistent because there's more variability with air control.
-JP/EU in 100% can cut out a team swap for Cyber Track 1, this saves about 10 seconds.
-US saves about 2 seconds each for 5 bosses with offscreen kills. JP/EU cannot regain control instantly. If executed properly, it's about a 10 second timesave.
-You can change the text in any version so it is irrelevant for version differences