Sonic The Hedgehog 3

With Knuckles tricked and trying to stop the heroes at every turn, will they be able to stop Robotnik in time? Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the third in the Sonic series of games.

As with the previous games, it is a side-scrolling platformer based around speed.

The basic game remains the same - players collect rings to earn extra lives, which are also used for protection, and scatter everywhere when Sonic is hurt.

Sonic can jump on enemies to defeat them, and Spin Dash by holding down and the jump button, then letting go of down.

New to Sonic 3 are three different types of shields - the Fire Shield (which protects you from fire but disappears if you enter water), the Water Shield (which lets you breathe underwater infinitely) and the Electric Shield (which pulls nearby rings towards you).

Sonic can use extra abilities when he has these shields by pressing jump while in the air - either a horizontal fireball dash, a vertical bubble bounce, or an electric double jump.

If Sonic has no shield active, he can activate a brief energy shield, also by pressing jump in the air.

Tails cannot use the shields' special abilities, but he can instead either fly or dog paddle (in water) for a limited time.

He can also carry Sonic with him while doing so.

There are now two types of bonus stages - one is available by collecting 50 or more rings, running past a checkpoint lamppost and then jumping into the stars (as you could in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 .

This stage give you the chance to earn bonus rings, lives and power-ups.

In this stage, there is a giant gumball machine.

By hitting the crank, you'll spit out a bonus item that can either be rings, lives or bonus shields.

The stage is over when

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 for Sega Genesis is currently worth €57.12 loose, €48.98 complete in box, and €174.53 factory sealed. Prices are based on real sales and update regularly on Gamevaro.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 has a steady sales history on the tracked marketplaces, meaning it trades hands regularly and isn't considered particularly rare.

Loose means cartridge or disc only, CIB (complete in box) includes the original box and manual, and sealed means factory-sealed and never opened. For Sonic The Hedgehog 3, loose is €57.12 and CIB is €48.98 — CIB commands a premium because original boxes and manuals are fragile and often don't survive.

The PAL version of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is currently worth €57.12 loose, versus €27.01 for NTSC-U. Regional price differences usually come down to print run size and regional collector demand.