Sonic the Hedgehog platforming of the main levels. The 16-bit "Sonic the Hedgehog " consisted of a giant rotating maze, which many considered a major technical achievement. The most common special stages, however, were segments with the character running through a long tunnel to collect certain items. 3D "collect item" levels, as in "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles", used the same perspective but had Sonic collecting all the blue-colored orbs on the surface of a giant sphere. Finally, "Sonic Advance 2" employed a 3D ring-collecting stage, and "Sonic Chaos" ("Sonic and Tails" in Japan) used a variety of gimmicks for its levels.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) stories that fit into the series continuity. Since 2013 these issues have served as a combination free comic special with the Mega Man series; a free Sonic issue serving as a prequel to "Sonic Lost World" was also released in 2013 for Halloween Comic Fest. Various compilations have also been put together, such as the "Sonic Saga Series, Sonic Archives" and "Knuckles Archives, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe" and standalone graphic novels, "Sonic Legacy, Best of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Super Digest" and "Sonic Super Special Magazine." Following "Worlds Collide" the latter two series and the Free Comic Book Day