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Find these giant rings within each zone and jump into them to enter Special Stages.

Chaos Emeralds can be obtained in only one way in Sonic Mania: clearing Special Stages. Special Stages are modeled after Sonic CD's take on the series staple, in which a UFO carrying a Chaos Emerald must be chased down. However, before you can attempt Special Stages, you must first find the giant rings scattered throughout the game's zones. These giant rings give you access to one of seven Special Stages; once you clear the first Special Stage, the giant rings will take you to the second, and so on.

The Special Stages themselves are very simple: Sonic is constantly running, first at Mach 1 speed. Fill the gauge at the top of the screen by collecting blue spheres to enter Mach 2, then fill it again for Mach 3. While the higher speed may be tempting, don't go too far out of your way to collect the blue spheres; if you don't keep a steady pace behind the UFO, catching up to it before time runs out may prove impossible. Blue spheres also reset after each cycle around the track, giving you an endless supply. Rings are a different story, representing your time in the Special Stage. As time goes on, your ring count will steadily drop, and as the rings do not reset after each lap, you have a limited amount of time to clear the stage. Just be sure to make the most of your time, jumping over gaps to take shortcuts wherever possible, avoiding hazards (which cause you to lose a great number of rings if hit), and hit item boxes (which may increase your ring count, increase your blue sphere count, or level up the gauge).

Below is a list of Special Stages by number and some tips to clear them. If you don't collect all seven Chaos Emeralds in one playthrough, you can return to a zone of your choice from the cleared game file and keep returning to the same giant ring, exiting the stage and returning to it until your attempts are successful. If you manage to collect a Chaos Emerald this way, you can exit the zone immediately afterward, as your progress will be saved to that file.

Stage How to clear
Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 1.jpg Start by picking up some of the blue spheres in the two groups to the left and right of the road. Once around the bend, take the path to the left of the trees to pick up some rings. Pick up some more blue spheres, which will be weaving across the road, and you should enter (or be close to entering) Mach 2 speed. Around another corner, you can pick up some more blue spheres, but don't dawdle on them; keep your attention to the left of the road, where you can cut across a corner by hopping on an item box holding rings. You can pick up some more rings up ahead, but don't go out of your way; keep close to the UFO and you should catch up to it before long.
Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 2.jpg You'll be starting this stage with less rings and the map is a little more complex, but as always, practice makes perfect. Start by picking up the blue spheres to the left of the track; the UFO will veer right, but you should continue heading straight for the item box. Along this path are blue spheres and some more item boxes which should be hit, but be wary, as there are spiked balls to jump over as well. Where the paths converge is a big box of rings; jump through it to collect some extra time and pick up some more blue spheres to the left of the road. Continue to follow the path, picking up blue spheres and dodging more spiked balls, and your first cycle around the track will be complete.


You can pick up some blue spheres to the right as was suggested at the start, but make sure to take a sharp turn into the path veering to the right this time. Down here will be more hazards, but also more rings. This path is also much quicker than the other, so make sure to take this path from now on. Eventually, you should enter Mach 3 speed, at which point it will be easier to catch the UFO.

Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 3.jpg Around the first corner, pick up the blue spheres by the edge, then hop on an item box across a gap in the middle of the road. Pick up the blue spheres to the left and around another corner, pick up the blue spheres by the edge again. At the next turn, jump across to the bunch of rings to the left for a shortcut. In this next area, keep straight, collecting some blue spheres that are rotating around gaps along the way, and step onto a ramp to be launched to some rings. Another ramp up ahead will launch you toward some more rings, after which you'll have looped around the track. Follow the same path, this time jumping over the ramps to save time (you should at this point have a sufficient amount of rings), and after entering Mach 3 speed, you should be able to catch up to the UFO.
Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 4.jpg After running through the first group of blue spheres, hop on the item box at the corner for some rings and a shortcut. Pick up the blue spheres to the right of the road, avoiding the hazards, and walk through a box of rings. Jump over the first ramp you come across to land on an item box right in front of it. Following a long series of blue spheres are some more hazards, which you can jump over. By the next group of hazards is another item box which you can use to collect some more rings. At a split in the road, take the path to the left. Ignore the big group of rings off to the right and simply continue down the path, taking the same turns that you did before. You can take the ramp if you feel you need the rings, but otherwise just focus on picking up the blue spheres in your path to catch the UFO.
Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 5.jpg Jump over the hazards directly in your path and when the road splits, take the left path. Pick up the blue spheres here and when the paths converge, hop on the item box. Continue to pick up blue spheres and avoid the ramps for now. Hop on the item box and jump over the spiked balls on the left, for some rings and the sake of efficiency. Pick up some more blue spheres by the left of the track, and around the corner, hop on an item box across a gap. Take the path to the left of the split for some more item boxes (make sure you're leaning left to land on the last one, which will level up your gauge, giving you a significant boost).


Pick up some more blue spheres if you still haven't entered Mach 3, and utilize the ramps to collect some rings and avoid the hazards completely. At this point you can simply continue to follow the UFO's path to reach it. If you're still having trouble, try jumping across the grass on corners instead of going all the way around, even if the space covered by the grass is so big that it takes two or three jumps; if you've reached Mach 3 speed, this should save you more time rather than slow you down.

Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 6.jpg The stage starts with a series of hazards and ramps; aim your falls so that you land on the ramps rather than the spiked balls that surround them. At the first split, take the right to pick up some much-needed blue spheres and dodge the spiked balls at the end of the path. Hop onto an item box across a gap and hop on another for a shortcut. The rest of the track is pretty straightforward; just continue to hop on item boxes wherever you see them and pick up as many blue spheres as you can until the gauge is maxed out. The next time you see the ramps, you can also jump over a couple to save some time, though being careful to avoid hazards is key; one hit can both slow you down and cut your time to the point of no return.
Sonic Mania screen Special Stage 7.jpg This final stage is fittingly dark, and the UFO starts off the stage a great distance away from Sonic. Perhaps the one advantage is the great number of rings you start with, giving you a little more time to focus on picking up speed by collecting blue spheres. Just jump over gaps in the road wherever you can in order to keep going straight; the less turns you take, the better. Also hop on whatever item boxes you see and pick up whatever blue spheres you can. If done efficiently enough, you should be able to catch the UFO without even reaching Mach 3 speed, though doing so makes the process easier.