And now for a brief history lesson: there is an old Sega came called "Flicky," where you play as a mother bird trying to rescue her chicks from hungry cats. The more chicks she brought to the goal at a time, the higher the bonus. You can see some hints of this old Sega classic in Sonic 3D Blast.

Story: Flickies can travel between dimensions. Upon discovering this, Robotnik decides to turn the Flickies into robots and use them to locate the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic arrives at the island (Flicky Island) only to find robots. Thus begins Sonic's quest to free the Flickies and stop Robotnik.

Levels: There are eight levels:

Green Grove Zone
Rusty Ruin Zone
Spring Stadium Zone
Diamond Dust Zone
Volcano Valley Zone
Gene Gadget Zone
Panic Puppet Zone
The Final Fight

Each level has three acts (with the exception of The Final Fight).

Chaos Emeralds: There are seven Chaos Emeralds to collect in the game. In the different stages, Tails and Knuckles stand in wait for Sonic. If Sonic brings at least 50 rings to either Tails or Knuckles, he can enter the special stage to try and get one of the Chaos Emeralds. (In order to fight "The Final Fight," the last stage possible in the game, Sonic must collect all seven chaos emeralds.) There are two chances to get a Chaos Emerald per stage: once with Tails, the other with Knuckles. Once the Chaos Emerald has been obtained for that level, you can play the stage again to earn an extra life. Note: Sonic cannot change into Super Sonic.

Miscellaneous: There are always five Flickies at a time that Sonic needs to rescue. Sonic must bring all five Flickies to a floating ring (which can transport Sonic to another dimension).

Sonic has a couple new items that he can collect: Sonic Medals and gold shields. Sonic Medals look like Sonic's head, and they are scattered throughout the levels. By collecting 10 Sonic Medals, Sonic can earn a continue. A gold shield is important because it can protect Sonic from an attack and it enables Sonic to perform the Blast Attack. This new attack helps Sonic hone in on enemies, making it easier to destroy them.

Can you spell baracuda? (Not the fish, it has two r's.) To use the level select code, you must spell "barracuda" at the title screen using a combination of the buttons and the directional pad: B, A, Right, A, C, Up, Down, A. Now you can select any of the levels in the game, including the seven special stages for Knuckles and Tails.