What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

This page contains a list of cheats, codes, Easter eggs, tips, and other secrets for Sonic the Hedgehog 1991 for Genesis. If you've discovered a cheat you'd like to add to the page, or have a correction, please click EDIT and add it.

Bonus Points

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For extra points, pass any zone in a certain amount of time. For the best bonus, enter the Debug Mode code. The clock will freeze and you'll always score a 50,000 bonus!

Time Points
0:30 50,000
0:45 10,000
1:00 5,000
1:30 4,000
2:00 3,000
3:00 2,000
4:00 1,000
5:00 500

Confused Demo

While the demo is playing, hold A + B + C. Sonic will get confused, lose his place, and possibly die.

Control Mode

At the title screen, press Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right. While playing, you can pause the game and use A to restart, B for slow motion, and C for frame advance.

Level Select

At the title screen, hold A then press Up, Down, Left, Right. When you hear the chime, press Start. <p> If that doesn't work, try this: at the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, hold A, and press Start. After doing this once, you only need to hold Start + A to enter the level select.

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Extra Lives

In Green Hill Zone - Act 3, there is a 1-Up at the very bottom of the level. Collect it along with enough rings to make 100 for a second life. Next, grab the 1-Up at the top of the loop-de-loop and die. Repeat until you have enough lives.

Debug Mode

Enable Control Mode. After pressing Start to begin a game, hold A until you see Sonic. If you see a bunch of hex numbers on the top of the screen, you're in Debug Mode.<p>

To start debugging, press B, then you can select any sprite in that level and put it on the screen. To select a different sprite, press A, and to place it on the screen, press C. Note that sprite selection is different from Zone to Zone. Also, instead of displaying the time elapsed, it displays the number of sprites currently on the screen. Control Mode functions work as well.<p>

Note: This only works on the first production releases of Sonic.

(Sonic the Hedgehog) Cheat: Extra Lives

In Green Hill Zone - Act 3, there is a 1-Up at the very bottom of the level. Collect it along with enough rings to make 100 for a second life. Next, grab the 1-Up at the top of the loop-de-loop and die. Repeat until you have enough lives.

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Scrap Brain Teleport

On the last level (Scrap Brain), find the ledges that move right then left. Go to the left side of the wall and wait for the platform to move. As soon as it starts to move left, duck. You'll go through the wall. While here, press Left to teleport right and Right to teleport to the left.

Get all Emeralds

This cheat allows you to start at the First Level with all the Emeralds, and with lots of Continues. Use the Level Select cheat (see above) to get to the Special Zone. When you get the Emerald, and have entered into the First Zone, press Reset.<p>

Use the Level Select cheat to get to the Special Zone again. When you get the next Emerald, and have entered the First Zone, press Reset again.<p>

When you have all the Emeralds, continue on with the first level. You get to keep the Emeralds and the Continues accumulated so far.

Marble Zone Shortcut

In Marble Zone act 3 you will find three chandeliers with spikes in them. Go to the far wall (on the right) and jump to the right to find some goodies. Now jump through the wall on the right again, but be careful of the other chandelier.

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Up Next: Sonic the Hedgehog 1992 Cheats and Tricks

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Sonic the Hedgehog is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis in North America). Featuring the new mascot of Sega, the titular Sonic the Hedgehog, this game served as the launch title for the famous video game franchise known as the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

The game was originally released for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in North America and Europe on June 23, 1991, with a Japanese Mega Drive release following three days afterward on June 26. Advertising its fast gameplay based on Sonic's extraordinary speed, the concept of a high-speed platform game was unique for its time and solidified the style of gameplay the series would be best known for. Due to the Genesis/Mega Drive's Motorola 68000 processor, the power of the console would allow for faster gameplay, dubbed by some as "blast processing".

Being rereleased through compilations, it has also been ported and released individually by multiple developers, being a part of Backbone Entertainment's PlayStation 3 releases, and M2's Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch remasters. It has also been extensively remade on the Retro Engine by Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley for mobile devices, with widescreen support and a plethora of new content.

Regional Differences[]

The Japanese version's cheat codes are different from the International releases of the game.

International Cheat Codes[]

All of the codes provided relate to the original Mega Drive and Genesis releases of Sonic. Later re-releases or remakes may not have these cheat codes, or the codes may have changed.

Zone Select On the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, A+Start (After pressing Right, a ring noise will sound, indicating that you've inputted the code correctly).

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Debug Mode On the title screen, press Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right, C, A+Start. Keep holding A until Sonic appears on screen.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Debug Mode in action.

Zone Select + Debug Mode On the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, Right, C, A+Start, select a zone, and keep holding A until Sonic appears on screen.
Messed Up Demo Mode While the in-game demo is playing, press and hold A+B+C. Sonic will get confused, lose his place, and, in some cases, die.

Japanese Cheat Codes[]

All of the codes provided relate to the original Mega Drive releases of Sonic. Later re-releases or remakes may not have these cheat codes, or the codes may have changed.

Zone Select On the title screen, press Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, A+Start (After pressing Right, a ring noise will sound, indicating you've inputted the code. Then hold A and press Start to access Zone Select).

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Debug Mode On the title screen, press C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, A+Start. Keep holding A until Sonic appears on screen.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Debug Mode in action.

Zone Select + Debug Mode On the title screen, press Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Up, C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, A+Start, select a zone, and keep holding A until Sonic appears on screen.
Staff Roll and Ending Sequence from Zone Select Go to Zone Select, then press Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Up, C, C, C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, A+Start.
- Alternate Staff Roll Method Press C, C, C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, wait until the demo starts, press Start to stop the demo, enter the Zone Select cheat, go to 9E in Sound Select and press A, B, or C to go to the Staff Roll.
- Alternate Ending Sequence Method Press C, C, C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, wait until the demo starts, press Start to stop the demo, enter the Zone Select cheat, go to 9F in Sound Select and press A, B, or C to go to the Ending Sequence, which will also lead into the Staff Roll.
Hidden Japanese Credits Screen On the title screen, press C, C, C, C, C, C, Up, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, then hold Down+A+B+C while the demo starts up. The credits will appear instead of the "Sonic Team Presents" screen.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

The hidden credits.

Trivia[]

  • Due to Sega not wanting to fully credit Sonic Team's developers in the Staff Roll, instead choosing to use nicknames for each developer, Sonic Team decided to include a hidden Japanese credit screen in the "Sonic Team Presents" screen.
    • The credits screen, in English, translates to "Program - Naka Yuuji, Plan - Yasuhara Hirokazu, Design - Ooshima Naoto, Ishiwatari (Jina) and Kataoka, Sound Produce - Nakamaru Masato, Sound Program - Kubota Hiroshi and Makino Yukifumi".
  • On all cheat codes containing C, the total amount of C's can be input at almost any point in the code.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Zone Select.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

Debug Mode in action.

What is the level select code in Sonic 1?

The hidden Japanese credits.

How do you get level select in Sonic 1?

Sonic Origins – Sonic 1 level select code On the title screen, when the words 'Press Button' appear, enter Up, Down, Left, Right. You'll hear a ring chime. Then press X (on an Xbox controller), Square (on a PlayStation controller) or Y (on a Switch controller). This will take you to the level select screen.

How do you get level select in Sonic 1 mobile?

Otherwise, on the touch screen, tap the letters S-E-G-A in that order and listen for a ring chime. Then hold two fingers on the bottom of the touch screen. When the title screen appears, slide both fingers to the top of the screen to enter the level select. Here you can enter the sound test for some additional cheats.

How do you cheat in Sonic 1?

At the title screen, hold A then press Up, Down, Left, Right. When you hear the chime, press Start. <p> If that doesn't work, try this: at the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, hold A, and press Start. After doing this once, you only need to hold Start + A to enter the level select.