The acclaimed 2015 ROM hack by D.A. Garden comes to Sonic 3 A.I.R., with plenty of content to keep you speeding through zones across the Floating Island and beyond!

Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition provides…

• Level layouts: Experience a full game of new level layouts and special stage layouts from Angel Island Zone to The Doomsday Zone, all maintaining the feel of classic 2D Sonic games.
• Aesthetic changes: Experience different times of day, and occasionally different weather, as you traverse Angel Island all over again.
• Challenges: In the Act Select / Challenges menu, change the game mode to Time Attack to race the clock or to Time Stone Trial to try to stop the clock as you run for the goal. Attempt the Hard difficulty for Knuckles in Revisited Mode to really ramp up the challenge, giving Knuckles's Eggrobo antagonist a greater fleet of minions and providing special stages that truly test your mind and reflexes.

…as well as plenty of new content added since the SHC 2022 entry.

• Red Star Rings, more Challenge Stars, and unlockable content: Explore for Red Star Rings (5 per character per act) in Revisited Mode, or tackle Time Attack and Time Stone Trial challenges to earn stars and unlock additional content. Time Attacks and Challenge stars now extend to special stages as well, including unlockable special stages from prototype versions of the project.
• Two new unlockable acts by D.A. Garden and brand new accompanying special stages: Two zones from Sonic 2: Return to Westside Island by D.A. Garden are available at 50 and 100 stars, each with added routes for Knuckles's Hard difficulty and brand new special stages available from star posts with a new set of rules.
• Endless Return to Westside Island special stage mode: After beating a single special stage from unlockable acts, experience the challenge of the new ruleset in the traditional endless Blue Sphere format.
• Cosmetic HUD options: Access customisation options from the pause menu. Choose from the game's default aesthetic or looks from other games, affecting the HUD, level title cards, level results, pause menu, and even when the music starts. Adjust the positions of HUD elements to match classic games, Sonic Origins, or whatever makes you happiest.
• Three new bonus stages: Accessed from star posts as in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, new bonus stages allow for flexibility in how you acquire bonuses. Collect bonus items for immediate benefits, or complete as many circuits of the stage as possible within the time limit to earn ring bonuses that increase every lap.
• Increased default screen resolution: Play with 240-pixel screen height instead of the default 224 pixels of Sonic 3 A.I.R., aligning more closely with modern 2D Sonic games such as Sonic Origins and other fan projects. Within the Options menu in the Mods section, choose classic or Origins screen heights and set screen widths ranging from the classic 320 pixels all the way to 496 pixels to fit your screen. (Modes tracked on our speedrun.com page will force 426x240 when gameplay is affected.)
• Classic Mode: The original Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition ROM hack (v1.02) has been fully recreated. Classic Mode strives for higher accuracy than Sonic Origins provides, showcasing everything about the original ROM hack except for its hardware limitations.

Installation instructions:

• Sonic 3 A.I.R.:
• Ensure you have a copy of the Genesis / Mega Drive version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles on your device. The now-delisted Steam release of SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics meets this requirement. Sonic Origins and Sonic & Knuckles Collection are not compatible.
• Download Sonic 3 A.I.R. from sonic3air.org and follow installation instructions for your device. Versions exist for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS/Web.
• Run the program/application and select your copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles when prompted. The Steam release will be automatically detected if installed in its default location.
• Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition:
• Download the project from this page.
• Place the project into the appropriate folder/directory.
• Windows/Linux/macOS:
• After selecting Start Game in Sonic 3 A.I.R., Right-click the game window and choose "Open mods folder".
• Place the downloaded project ZIP file into this folder. THERE IS NO NEED TO UNZIP THE FILE. Remove any older versions of the project.
• Android/iOS/Web:
• After selecting Start Game in Sonic 3 A.I.R., enter the OPTIONS menu, navigate to the SYSTEM header, and scroll down to and select DATA MANAGEMENT | Open File Browser.
• Use the "Import file…" button to import the downloaded project to the mods folder.
• Use the "Return to Options" button to return to the game.
• HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Still in the OPTIONS menu, navigate to the CONTROLS header, select CONTROLLERS | Setup (Keyboard &) Game Controllers…, and ensure your controls are setup as desired for your chosen input method with correct glyphs (Visual Style) and with L and R correctly mapped. Older installs of Sonic 3 A.I.R. may not have automatically applied L and R buttons after being updated. Either button can be pressed in lieu of Up+A to trigger Tails Assist flight or held when stationary on the ground to charge a spin dash without mashing buttons, making complex controls more accessible.
• Exit the OPTIONS menu and enter the MODS menu.
• Highlight Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition in the INACTIVE MODS panel. Hold the A button down while pressing Left on the D-pad to move the mod to the ACTIVE MODS panel.
• Exit the MODS menu and select NORMAL GAME to play!

The START GAME option on the title screen will lead directly into Sonic 3: D.A. Garden Edition until the project is disabled through the A.I.R. menus. Various options for gameplay, visuals, resolution, and more can be accessed within the MODS header of the OPTIONS menu.

Unlocking all content (cheat code):

As much as we want to see players experience everything in the project, we acknowledge the contest is full of wonderful games and you only have so many hours in the day to see it all.

To unlock all content and see all Sonic 3 A.I.R. D.A. Garden Edition has to offer, press B in the main menu or A.I.R. menu to return to the SEGA screen. When the title screen appears, hold the L and R shoulder buttoms (ensure these controls are mapped in A.I.R.'s options first!) and press A, B, Right, A, X, A, Down, A, B, Right, A in quick succession. (This assumes an Xbox controller layout.) An "UNLOCK ALL CHEAT ENABLED" message will appear to confirm this has been done correctly.

Thank you for trying our project!