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Like any Sonic game,Sonic X Shadow Generationsis all about getting to the goal in the fastest, and most stylish way possible. It’s not all about hitting top speed though. You’ve got to to tactical about the paths you take, be wary of enemies in your path, and keep that ring count high.
And it wouldn’t be a Sonic game without some collectibles along the way, too. Space Ark Colony is the very first stage you will play with Shadow, and it isn’t afraid to throw you right into the deep end. Here’s our guide on how to get an S Rank on both Acts, and where to find all of the hidden keys.
How To Get An S Rank Space Ark Colony
Achieving an S Rank is always a coveted prize in any Sonic game, and Sonic X Shadow Generations is no different. Even better,Shadow has a much tighter, refined control schemecompared to Modern Sonic in the base game, making each of Shadow’s levels that much more fun to perfect.
Space Ark Colony Act 1 S Rank
Space Ark Colony Act 1 is one of Shadow’s longest levels in the whole game, likely due to the fact that it’s introducing all of its mechanics from the get-go, as well as its long-awaited villain, Black Doom.Achieving an S Rank in this Act 1 is relatively generous, though you don’t want to make too many mistakes due to its length.
Any keys you collect during the mission are saved upon completion, letting you focus entirely on getting an S Rank.
The key thing is tomanage your speed. If you’re going too fast, you might miss certain jumps that let you get to the goal even faster. You’ll want to master Shadow’s Homing Attack as well, as it lets himbypass any laser fieldsas long as he attacks the Artifical Chaos enemies behind them.
The Radical Highway sections can be particularly dangerous asone wrong jump can lead you immediately to death. If you’re not sure if you want make a jump, take the safer path. It’s better to go a little slow than plummet to your death and have to repeat from the last checkpoint.
Chaos Control lets Shadow stop time temporarily. This is essential both to make pathways out of the many rockets, but also to make the route safer for Shadow. Getting hit by rockets wastes precious time, especially when they fire so unpredictably.Never be afraid to use Chaos Controlwhere they’re involved.
As an added bonus,Chaos Control also freezes the in-game timer, letting you save a few extras seconds each time you use it.
Any timeunder five minutes with around 40,000 pointsis guaranteed an A Rank. All you need to do to bump that up to an S Rank is to get a Perfect Clear, which is gained by beating the Act without dying once.
Space Ark Colony Act 2 S Rank
The second act of Sonic X Shadow Generations is significantly shorter than Act 1, and features no Radical Highway sections. It is pure Space Ark Colony, thoughadds a healthy number of its own gimmicks.
Act 2 has a lot more sections where you have to be careful with your footing if you want to get to the goal quickly.Haphazard boosting may make you miss a certain rail to grind, or a mis-timed Homing Attack may have you fall to the lower sections of the map. Keep this in mind especially for the side-scrolling sections.
The Gravity Poles will likely be your strongest enemy in this Act. They only appear in side-scrolling sections, thoughcan make it hard to actually judge where you’re jumping. You may not die jumping from them, but you likely still lose time navigating. If there’s no top to them though, make sure to boost up them. There’s typically a faster path.
Near the end of the level, you will start to encounter sections that require Doom Wings.These aren’t necessary to get an S Rank, though they will absolutely help you save time if you’ve made an mistakes so far.
Doom Wings is onlyactivated automatically if you play without Doom Wings. You need to activate them yourself if you already have the ability, as confusing as that sounds.
The Doom Spear switches you can hit will be the next biggest hurdle, making you slam against a wall if you don’t activate them fast enough.Holding the Doom Spear buttonwill make you automatically lock-on as soon as they appear, taking away the guesswork.
Keep in mind that during Chaos Control however,your Doom Spears also won’t move, meaning you have to be even closer to the switches to activate them.
Completing this Act with a timeunder three minutes and a score of at least 40,000will net you an A Rank, with a Perfect Clear boosting it up to an S Rank.
Where To Find Every Collection Box Key In Space Ark Colony
In every Act of Shadow Generations, be they Main Acts or Challenge Acts,there are three keys to be foundthat open the various Collection Boxes around White Space. They’re called keys, but look like medals. Go figure.
The two Acts of Space Ark Colony come withtwo of each type of key, giving you a wide spread of chests to open. Here’s where to find them all.
Space Ark Colony Act 1 Collection Box Keys
The three keys in Space Ark Colony Act 1 areall found prior to the Radical Highway section, letting you dash through that section without worries. Here is the approximate location of each key.
ensure tofinish the Act after collecting all threeof them to save them.
If you die before reaching a checkpoint, you will have tocollect any keys you picked up again.
Space Ark Colony Act 2 Collection Box Keys
The three keys in Act 2 of Space Ark Colony aremore spread out than in Act 1, with the final key appearing right by the very end of the Act.
With that, you have collected every key there is to find in Space Ark Colony, and hopefully have gotten your S rank along the way as well,Congrats, and enjoy the remaining stages.
