Sonic Superstars is a side-scrolling platform game similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis in the 1990s. The player must complete a series of levels across several zones, presented from a 2.5D perspective,[1] to defeat Doctor Eggman, who has hired Fang the Hunter and Trip the Sungazer to capture the North Star Islands' giant animals so he can build a powerful army.[2] There are four initial player characters, each with their own unique abilities: Sonic the Hedgehog can roll into a dash after a jump; Miles "Tails" Prower can fly; Knuckles the Echidna can glide and climb; and Amy Rose can attack enemies with a hammer and double jump.[2][3] Players unlock an additional character, Trip, by completing the main campaign once; her moveset combines Amy's double jump with Knuckles' climbing.[4]
The North Star Islands comprise 12 zones,[3][5] which house 26 levels ("acts").[6] The number of acts in a zone varies between one, two, and three.[7] Each contains elements such as springs, vertical loops, collectible rings that serve as health, and shield power-ups.[8][9][7] Some zones feature unique elements, such as a jungle with vines the player can grind on and a futuristic zone where they transform into a voxel creature,[1][9] and some feature acts exclusive to the selected character.[10] Each act ends with a boss that the player must defeat while dodging attacks.[9] In between levels, the player explores a 2D hub world where they can select a zone and change or customize their character.[10] The campaign takes four hours to complete as a single character,[11] and about 15 hours as every character.[12] Unlike previous 2D Sonic games, Superstars does not feature lives, so the player will never receive a game over.[13] Completing the main game unlocks a more difficult campaign in which Trip is the only playable character.[14]
Superstars features two kinds of special stages. In the first, accessed through giant rings hidden in each act, the player swings from bubbles in a 3D environment to obtain one of the seven Chaos Emeralds.[8][3] Each emerald grants the player a power-up ability, such as the ability to swim up waterfalls or create clones of the chosen character;[15] the seventh provides a character-specific ability.[8] Collecting all seven emeralds allows the player to transform into their character's super form, granting them speed and invincibility at the cost of ring depletion.[16] The player can swap abilities from a selection wheel at any time.[16] Players must complete both the main campaign and Trip's with all the Chaos Emeralds to unlock the Last Story.[17] In the second special stage, accessed by passing checkpoints,[18] the player navigates a rotating maze, similar to those from Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), to collect medals.[3]
