If Tails sustains damage from an enemy or projectile, he'll lose control and start falling to the ground: quickly tap button 1 or 2 to resume flight. Smack into a wall, floor, or ceiling, and Tails immediately falls off the screen at the cost of 1 life. Also, keep an eye on the power gauge at the top-left corner of the screen: if it hits empty, Tails gets exhausted and plummets into the abyss. Keep the growing child fueled with Mint Candy, which some kind soul has very thoughtfully left lying around the landscape. Tails begins the game with 3 lives and unlimited continues: lose a life and you'll start back at the last Bell you tagged; lose all your lives and you'll start back at the beginning of the stage. Extra lives are earned at 10,000 and 30,000 points, but can also be acquired by grabbing 1up items hidden around each stage.

	Mint Candy (ミントキャンディ) -- Grab these to replenish the power gauge. Candy can be found in sets of 1, 2, or 3, each filling incrementally larger portions of the gauge.
	Crystal (クリスタル) -- Worth 1,000 points each at the end-of-level tally.
	Bell (ベル) -- Ring the bell to mark your spot in the stage: should you lose a life, you'll return to the last bell you tagged.
	1up -- Gives Tails an extra chance
	Muteki Star (ムテキスター) -- Temporary invincibility from all obstacles, including walls

   In addition to basic power-up items, each course is also stocked with gymnastic bars, balloons, and other miscellaneous interactive objects.

	Pole (ポール) -- Latch on to swing up or down the pole and be flung far and away. Arrows indicate which direction you'll be slung into.
	Bar (バー) -- Like poles, but shorter.
	Catapult (カタパルト) -- Latch onto the handle to be flung forward at high speed.
	Daruma Block (だるまブロック) -- Smash the blue blocks to destroy them one-by-one or smash the yellow blocks to destroy the entire wall at once.
	Balloon (バルーン) -- Latch on for a speedy ride upward.
	Kurukuru Panel (くるくるパネル) -- Rotating panels. Time your passage so you slip by while they're parallel to Tails' flight path: smack into one and you lose a life.
	Truck (トロッコ) -- Latch onto the mine cart for a ride. If you don't like where you're headed, let go by tapping button 1 or 2.
	Bon Metal (ボンメタル) -- Breakable brown spheres typically found in large clusters. Pop them for 100 points each.
	Switchbolt (スイッチボルト) -- Hit the colored button to reverse the rotation of the spiked ball: blue for counterclockwise, red for clockwise.
	Omori (おもり) -- 10 ton (apparently) weights. Latch on for a speedy descent.
	Switch (スイッチ) -- Flip the switch to trigger a change in the surrounding structures.

   Eggman is nowhere to be seen, but Witchcart has her own modest army of mechanical critters to keep furry do-gooders on their toes. Slap a robo with the broad side of your Ring to destroy it.

	Tobikoshi Crow (トビコシクロー) -- Dive bombing crow bots that dip down to attack, then quickly retreat. In later stages, they fire projectiles. Worth 600 points; projectiles worth 100 points a piece.
	Balloon Gun (バルンガン) -- Hovering cannons that fire projectiles. Destroy the gun half to release the balloon which can then be latched onto. Pop the balloon half to send the gun half plummeting. Worth 500 points; projectiles worth 100 points a piece.
	Dorigame (ドリガメ) -- Bipedal turtle bots that trot along the ground and toss projectiles at low-flying mascots. Worth 1,000 points; projectiles worth 200 points a piece.
	Bee Fly (ビーフライ) -- Fly bots that hover around in erratic patterns. Worth 700 points.
	Haneruton (ハネルトン) -- These skeletons fling themselves from the earth upon being approached and explode into a shower of bones in midair. Worth 800 points; bones are worth 100 a piece. ("Haneru" is Japanese for leap.)
	Bound Head (バウンドヘッド) -- Glowing balls of light that fall from above and bounce along the ground. Worth 300 points.
	Minokichi (ミノキチ) -- Bagworm bots that drop down from the ceiling. Worth 400 points. ("Minomushi" is Japanese for bagworm.)
	Capture Berry (キャプチャーベリー) -- Get too close and these bots snap shut on Tails' Ring, momentarily immobilizing him. They can't be destroyed.
	Gon (ゴン) -- Voracious chomping bots that leap at Tails and try to latch onto his Ring: if they succeed, they'll hang there for a few moments and hinder flight speed. They can't be destroyed.
	Carronade (カロネード) -- Immobile cannons that tilt in all directions and fire cannon balls at Tails. Worth 900 points; cannon balls worth 200 points each.
	Tashiya (タシヤ) -- Octopus bots that waddle along the ground and balance circus balls. Worth 400 points.

   There are five stages with a boss waiting at the end of all but the first. Bosses take 20 whacks a piece, but the job can be done faster by snagging them with the Ring and tossing them into the ground for 4x the damage of a basic slap. At the end of each round, a score tally adds up all the Crystals you managed to snag for 1,000 points each along with an Area Bonus that multiplies each stage.

Training Area -- A seaside highland with graphics plucked straight from Sonic 2's Emerald Hill. There are no enemies and no boss fight, just some simple obstacles for getting used to the controls. The Area Bonus is 1,000 points.

Rail Canyon -- A canyon region with pine trees and graphics borrowed from Sonic CD's Palmtree Panic. Area Bonus is 5,000 points. Fockewulf (ホッケウルフ) -- The wolf chucks mines that bob around through the air and shatter into 4 pieces when they hit something: bust them for 400 points each (the shattered pieces are worth 100 each) or grab them with your Ring and drop them on Fockewulf.

Ruin Wood -- A mountainous region outfitted with colorful ruins. Area Bonus is 10,000 points. Bearenger (ベアンジャ) -- The bear throws projectiles in sets of 3: avoid them or smack them for 100 points a piece.

Metal Island -- The airship is spacious but confusing. Propellers can blow Tails into unspeakable dangers (read: walls). Borrows graphics from Sonic CD's Tidal Tempest. Area Bonus is 15,000 points. Carrotia (キャロッティア) -- The rabbit attacks with a constant barrage of carrot-shaped homing missiles and big floating smooches. Pop the missiles for 100 points each; knock the smooches away or back at their progenitor. Note that Carrotia flies too fast to snag with your Ring, so you have to beat her the hard way.

Dark Castle -- The castle is rife with enemies and cannons and is especially difficult to navigate. Graphics are borrowed from Sonic 2's Casino Night. Area Bonus is 20,000 points. Witchcart (ウィチカート) -- Witchcart rides along in her silver mine cart spouting a constant stream of projectiles and magic sparks: both are worth 100 points a smack.