The player collects rings as they explore the stages. When hit by an enemy, the player will lose 30 rings, or 50 if they touch a spike obstacle. In other "Sonic" games, the player would normally lose all their rings for any damage. If the player has 50 or more rings and destroys a box with a Chaos Emerald icon, they will be transported to a special bonus stage for an opportunity to obtain the gem. Some of these stages are labyrinth-like platforming stages while others have the player piloting a plane, collecting rings.